Despite being forced to cut more than a billion dollars in spending in order to balance the budget during the next two years, a fair and sensible way to curb spending in one of the fastest growing parts of the state budget — the cost of housing prisoners — has hit a roadblock that could kill the measure for the 2010 General Assembly.
Surely no one is surprised that Kentucky received failing grades in all four areas in the recent State of Tobacco Control Report produced by the American Lung Association. After all, the state received four F’s in last year’s report, and since Kentucky has done little to curb smoking since then, the failing grades should have been expected.
Alas, for the first time in at least a decade, we will not be able to write an editorial commending the people of this region for digging deep into their pockets to enable the annual United Way campaign to exceed its goal
With legislators struggling to cut state spending by more than $1 billion, the odds of the state Department of Public Advocacy receiving more money are not promising.
Fred W. Nall spent more than 40 years as an employee and executive of Ashland Inc., retiring in 1985 as vice president of Ashland Coal. However, Fred Nall’s most positive impact on this community may have come from what he did after his retirement.
Less than two weeks after the Kentucky Department of Corrections banned inmates at the Mason County Detention Center in Maysville from helping to build houses for Limestone Habitat for Humanity, a compromise has cleared the way for prisoners to again volunteer for Habitat.
Here’s hoping that Buckeye Chuck is better at predicting the length of winter than Punxsutawney Phil. Buckeye Chuck, who spends his winters in Marion, Ohio, is not nearly as famous as his Pennsylvania cousin, but since Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Groundhog Day Tuesday and Buckeye Chuck did not, we’re rooting for Chuck to be the more accurate predictor of winter’s length.
According to the German/Dutch superstition, if an animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2 — which also happens to be the little known and seldom observed Christian holiday of Candlemas — there will be six more weeks of winter.
While it is doubtful that the average voter even noticed it, the Obama administration last week received some positive economic news as further evidence that the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression is behind us and the nation’s economic is slowly, but steadily improving.
For the second time in less than a year, residents of northeast Kentucky have proven that they will take the time to go online to vote for a worthy cause.
Fifty years ago Monday, four college freshmen walked into an F.W. Woolworth in Greensboro, N.C., and quietly and peacefully took seats at the lunch counter. In so doing, they changed American society.
It took far too many years for the Kentucky General Assembly and the courts to clearly state that cockfighting is against the law in Kentucky.
Now, the Humane Society of the United States is lobbying for the 2010 Kentucky General Assembly to enact a law against cockfighting that is strong enough to effectively discourage this barbaric blood sport in the state.
House Bill 169, sponsored by Rep. Joni Jenkins, D-Louisville, is not just limited to cockfighting. It would amend Kentucky’s animal cruelty law to make promoting or being a spectator at any animal fight a felony. While cockfighting certainly is the most popular blood sport in Kentucky, one need only to be reminded of the legal problems of NFL quarterback Michael Vick to realize that dogfighting still exists in this country.
Legislative leaders in both parties say the issue of expanded gambling is dead for the 2010 session of the Kentucky General Assembly, but it need not be. Approval of Senate Bill 87, sponsored by Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, would let Kentucky voters decide whether to allow video slot machines at race tracks in the state.
If you have concluded that you cannot afford to attend college, you may want to stop by Ashland Community and Technical College Sunday afternoon. If you do, you could be surprised to discover just how many opportunities are available to help those from families of modest means pay for collge.
Does anyone seriously believe that last August’s riot by inmates at the Northpoint Training Center near Burgin would have been prevented had state employees been preparing meals at the prison instead of Aramark, a private company that holds a $12-million-a-year contract to provide food service state prisons?
Six Catholic churches in Ohio’s largest city are beautiful old structures that probably could easily qualify for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, which owns the old churches, doesn’t want them designated as landmarks of historic significance.
Although no other Ashland city commissioner was willing to join Commissioner Cheryl Spriggs in supporting her proposal to move the time of one of the two commission meetings each month from 7 p.m. to noon, we think the idea has merit and deserves further discussion.
The day opponents of the importation of elk into Kentucky predicted 15 years ago has arrived: The elk have become so plentiful in southeastern Kentucky that some residents consider them to be more of a nuisance and a hazard than an asset that will draw more hunters to the state.
Quarterly earnings reported by corporations tend to be a bit on the boring side and may represent only short-term revenue gains or losses. However, the fourth quarter earnings reported Monday by AK Steel Holding Corp. certainly are an encouraging indication that the worst days of the recession have ended and things are looking up for one of this community’s largest employers.
The board of directors of the Kentucky Association of Counties erred in choosing Denny Nunnelley, its long-time deputy director, over former state Auditor Ed Hatchett as its new chief executive officer.
Only about 300 Kentucky families participate in a Christians-only health care plan that counts nearly 40,000 participants in 49 states, but that’s enough for Attorney General Jack Conway to ask the Kentucky Supreme Court to bar Medi-Share from operating in the state.
From our vantage point, the Kentucky Department of Corrections failed to look at the broader picture in determining that inmates in the Mason County Detention Center can no longer help Habitat for Humanity build affordable homes for low-income families. Instead of looking at the long-term role Habitat can play in eliminating substandard housing in a community, the corrections department looked no further than the single Habitat residence inmates have been helping build for one family.
While coal continues to fuel the economies of West Virginia and Kentucky, an environmental consulting firm has warned that coal in this region is not a growth industry, and the region needs to diversify its economy to compensate for steadily declining revenue from coal. It is wise advice.
One aspect of the recent announcement by Midway College to launch a pharmacy school in Paintsville should be communicated to counties throughout the state. It is the important role high scores by students in both the Paintsville Independent School District and the Johnson County School District on state mandated achievements tests played in convincing a private college in central Kentucky to invest in a small eastern Kentucky town.
The battle over the display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings continues with the courts providing seemingly inconsistent rulings.
A critically needed service eliminated by state budget cuts nearly a year ago is returning to Ashland.
The most surprising aspect of the selection of the late Robert W. Ross to the USTA Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame is that it did not occur years ago. After all, no other individual did more to promote tennis in this community and introduce the sport to generations of young players than the man known by most as simply Professor Ross.
House Bill 176 is not the only bill to move quickly through the Kentucky House of Representatives. House Bill 1 — better known as Amanda’s Bill — was approved by the entire House in a 97-0 vote just eight days after it was filed.
However, don’t expect Amanda’s Bill to speed through the Kentucky Senate like HB 176, which was put on the fast track only to meet a federal deadline. The fate of HB 1 in the Senate has almost everything to do with the politics behind the bill and almost nothing to do with the actual merits of the bill.
There is nothing quite like the chance to apply for up to $200 million in federal funds for school improvements to convince the 2010 General Assembly to take only nine days to enact the law necessary to qualify for those funds.
During a period when bills in the General Assembly typically move along at an exceedingly slow pace, House Bill 176 was filed on Jan. 5, endorsed by the House Education Committee the next day, approved by the entire House of Representatives on a 96-0 vote on Jan. 11, approved by the Senate Education Committee on Jan. 12, and by the entire Senate by a 38-0 bill on Jan. 13. It was signed by Gov. Steve Beshear on Jan. 14, and since the General Assembly had declared it an “emergency,” it took effect immediately.
Why the rush? Well, the federal government had established a Jan. 19 deadline for states to apply for federal funds of up to $200 million over four years. While approval of the law is no guarantee that Kentucky will receive any of that money, it is a certainty that the state would not have received a dime unless the required state law was on the books by Jan. 19. Thus, the state beat the federal deadline by four days.
So what does HB 176 do? Well, among other things, it holds teachers and principals in “persistently low-achieving schools” more accountable for the academic performance of their students. It would make it easier for administrators and teachers in schools whose students consistently perform poorly on statewide tests to be terminated or reassigned. Even teachers and administrators who have tenure protection could face removal from the classroom if their students continue to perform poorly on tests.
The law is a good one — and not just because of the possibility of the state receiving more federal dollars for enacting it. How better to judge the abilities of teachers and principals than by the performance of their students? If a teacher’s students consistently perform well below grade level on statewide tests, then maybe a change in the classroom is in order.
At least the federal government thinks so. That’s why it encouraged states to enact laws like HB 176 by offering additional federal dollars for them that did so.
The newly formed Greenup County Habitat for Humanity is ready to begin building affordable homes for low-income residents. All it needs is a place to build.
Just as Haiti seemed poised to turn the corner toward prosperity, it is hit by a horrific 7.0 earthquake. As this is written, the death toll is projected to top 50,000, thousands of building have been leveled, and virtually the entire infrastructure of the poorest nation in the Americas has been destroyed.
Bowling Green has lost an international competition that it is a safe bet the vast majority of Kentuckians never knew the city hosted.
The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, but instead of looking at its past, the commission has its eyes on the future.
State Rep. Rick G. Nelson, D-Middlesboro, has filed a bill that would outlaw what any reasonable person should know is one of the most dangerous things an individual can do while operating a motor vehicle: Use a “personal communication device” — a.k.a. cell phone — to send text messages.
While the 2010 General Assembly is certain to consider other bills to expand gambling in the state, Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, has filed the bill gambling bill that deserves the most support and should be enacted.
Midway College, a small private school first opened in 1847 and until just a few years ago served only female students, is located more than 100 miles from Paintsville, but Midway is bringing something to eastern Kentucky that the region’s leaders have sought for many years : A pharmacy school.
For decades, playing basketball for the University of Kentucky has put young men on the path to success not only in sports but in life. Players have parlayed the statewide fame and adoration they gained by dribbling a basketball for the beloved Wildcats into success in business and politics.
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, began the new year by expressing confidence that the United States will overcome war, recession and double-digit unemployment in 2010. And during the GOP’s weekly radio address on Jan. 2, the Senate’s top Republican somewhat surprisingly predicted the new year will see the nation’s leaders unite for the common good despite sometimes sharp political disagreements.
Kentucky’s continuing financial woes are casting dark shadows as the 60-day 2010 session of the Kentucky General Assembly begins today. The approval of the biennial budget for the two fiscal years beginning July 1 clearly is the most important task of this session.
As we do each Jan. 1, we begin the new year by listing some hopes we have for the community, state and nation in 2010.
We begin by repeating two of the hopes we had for 2009 because they remain major needs that did not even come close to be achieved during the year: Economic recovery and more cooperation.
After a lull of many months, efforts to restrict smoking in public in Kentucky seem to again be picking up steam. Expect the trend to continue as fewer Kentuckians smoke and more non-smokers want to be free of second-hand smoke when they dine out and shop.
Just before Kentucky’s first legal bear hunt in more than a century, we boldly predicted that hunters in Pike, Letcher and Harlan counties would have no trouble reaching the kill limit of 10 male bears or five female bears or some combination of the two during the hunt on Dec. 19-20.
Tough economic times require some creative ideas, even in one of the state’s most affluent school districts. However, just because an idea is creative does not make it a good one.
As we do each year, we began 2009 by listing five “hopes” we had for the new year. As the year comes to a close, it should surprise no one that based on the five broad “hopes” we listed in this space back on New Year’s Day of 2009, this was far from a banner year. While there was some progress in a few areas during the year, for the most part 2009 was a year in which our expectations fell short of what we had hoped.
The death of Dr. Loren Ledford is a tremendous loss to this community that cannot be easily measured. Literally thousands of residents of this community mourn for Dr. Ledford and extend their sympathy to his family.
Those reading the audit of the Kentucky League of Cities released Thursday by the office of Auditor Crit Luallen could be excused for asking, “Haven’t we read this before?”
The answer is not quite, but almost. Many of the shortcomings Luallen’s office found in the League of Cities audit — “excessive spending,” “unprecedented salaries” and a board of directors composed and city leaders who were asleep at the wheel while the League’s staff spent lavishly — closely parallel the findings in an audit of the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACO) that Luallen’s office completed earlier this year.
No alternative to power of coal
Some ways to help military families
One hopes that the fact that state social workers are confirming far fewer allegations of child abuse than they did a decade ago is evidence of less abuse of the state’s youngest residents. But we know better.
Most Kentuckians probably would not be the least bit surprised to learn that the state ranks near the bottom in spending for programs to persuade people to quit or to never start smoking. In fact, we suspect that there are many residents of this state where tobacco was once king who would be surprised to learn that there are actually 10 states that spend less on smoking prevention and cessation programs than the $3.9 million Kentucky spent during the fiscal year that ended June 30.
For the first time in more than a century, it will be legal to hunt bears in three Kentucky counties Saturday. Regardless of what one thinks about the sport of hunting, the fact that there are enough bears in Pike, Harlan and Letcher counties for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to declare a limited, one-day bear hunt is further evidence of the continued success of wildlife restoration efforts in the state.
The relocation of Portable Solutions Group and Price Solutions from a small location near Olive Hill to the giant former Ashland Inc. hangar at the Ashland Regional Airport in Worthington is evidence of a new company finding its niche in a new and growing industry. While the number of new jobs the expansion initially will create — 30 in addition to the 20 employees now in Carter County — will be relatively few, the potential for future growth is great.
Vandals who did an estimated $10,000 worth of damage to the Winter Wonderland of Lights in Ashland’s Central Park succeeded in enraging thousands of area residents who consider the beautiful lights a beloved part of this community’s Christmas celebration and one of the few local attractions that annually draws thousands of visitors to Ashland just to see the lights.
Superintendents and school board members in districts with low-achieving schools could face removal under a proposal approved Thursday by the Kentucky Board of Education as part of the board’s legislative agenda for the 2010 General Assembly.
As certain as complaints about how businesses observe the season arise each December so do complaints about how NCAA Division I college football determines its national champion. While just which team is declared a national champion would seem to be a matter of no great importance to most of us, Congress just can’t resist getting involved — or at least trying to.
A legislative proposal by the Kentucky Narcotic Officers’ Association goes too far by attempting to require prescriptions for effective cold remedies now available over the counter.
While located a number of miles from this community, a new traffic light on the A-A Highway at Ky. 57 near Tollesboro in Lewis County will increase safety for all who travel both the A-A and Ky. 57.
With the availability of flu shots — both the H1N1 vaccine and the regular flu vaccine — continuing to be in short suppoly, many employers are doing what they can to prevent a flu epidemic within the workplace. In simplest terms, the best way to prevent flu from spreading throughout the workplace is by practicing good hygiene and using common sense.
In special elections Tuesday to fill vacant seats in the 14th District in the Kentucky Senate and the 96th District in the state House of Representatives, voters sent a clear message to Gov. Steve Beshear, House Speaker Greg Stumbo, and the state horse racing industry led by the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP): Give up on efforts to allow video slot machines at Kentucky race tracks by simply enacting a law. It’s not going to happen.
In the midst of this season of joy we are saddened by the death of an individual who spent more than eight decades giving others what, besides unselfish love, is probably the greatest gift anyone can give: Laughter.
If the results of a new survey by the state Department of Alcohol Beverage Control is accurate, it is getting increasingly difficult for youths to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products in Kentucky.
Jay Box. chancellor of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, says the statewide network of 16 schools that includes Ashland Community and Technical College will need 50 new faculty members next year, but they won’t be teaching college-level courses. Instead they will be teaching students what they should have learned in high school.
Kentucky agricultural income is expected to drop by almost a half billion dollars in 2009 after enjoying a record year in 2008.
Voters in Carter and Lewis counties will go to the polls Tuesday to choose between two political newcomers — Republican Jill York and Democrat Barry Webb — to fill the vacancy in the 96th District created when former State Rep. Robin Webb was elected to the 18th District Senate seat earlier this year. Most political insiders predict only a small percentage of registered voters in the two counties will cast ballots Tuesday.
The difference between the decisions of the Ashland Board of Zoning Adjustment and Boyd Circuit Judge C. David Hagerman regarding a controversial housing project on Kirk Street is that the BZA based its rejection of the project on the intense opposition of neighbors attending a heated July 23 meeting, while Hagerman based his ruling overturning the BZA’s action on the evidence presented. In short, the BZA’s decision was mostly political while Hagerman based his ruling on the law.
President Barack Obama made the right decision in agreeing send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Our military commitment to Afghanistan pre-dates our military action in Iraq, and while there is no credible evidence that the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq had any involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it is clear that the al Qaida terrorists who carried out the attacks on the World Trade Centers and on the Pentagon did so with the full support and assistance of the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Indeed, it could well be that our military objectives in Afghanistan could have been completed by now if we had not invaded Iraq.
The financially strapped All-American Soap Box Derby continues to struggle for its survival causing one to wonder whether gravity cars will continue to roll downhill in Ashland in hopes of qualifying for the chance to compete in Akron, Ohio.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., were on hand Monday to joyfully welcome NCR Corp. to Peachtree City near Atlanta.
More than a year after Russell residents overwhelmingly voted to go “moist,” the Greenup County city has yet to see any economic benefits from allowing the limited sale of alcohol. In sharp contrast, the Central Kentucky city of Lancaster — where voters agreed to go “wet” just a month before Russell went “moist” — has seen a significant increase in economic development as a direct result of legal alcohol sales despite a nationwide recession
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has just discovered that Mary, the zoo’s giant, 400-pound tortoise, is actually a male.
In a case that extends back to the administration of former Gov. Ernie Fletcher, the Kentucky Court of Appeals has ruled that a blanket pardon the former governor gave that protects members of his administration from criminal prosecution in connection with a hiring scandal does not protect those employees from being investigated by the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.
Since its inception, the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine has been a dependable source of well-trained primary care physicians, most of whom remain in the region to launch practices in small towns where there is a woeful shortage of physicians.
The pessimist in us could easily make this a “Bah humbug!” Thanksgiving. After all, there is much in our nation and in our community for which we are not particularly thankful.
Just as he did 16 years ago at the Lexington Country Club, former University of Kentucky basketball star Sam Bowie is testing whether another all-white club in Lexington — Idle Hour Country Club — is sincere when it says it has no prohibition against black members. Instead, Idle Hour officials said the only reason it has no black members is that none have ever applied.
Believe it or not, we see a rally by members of the Mississippi White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan — prior to Saturday’s football game between the University of Mississippi and LSU — as yet another positive sign that the old racist South has fallen.
If the Odyssey addiction recovery program does become a reality in Louisa, it is abundantly clear that it will not be welcomed by numerous residents of the city and Lawrence County. For that, Odyssey’s local leaders deserve much of the blame. Their silence has only fanned the flames of controversy and created the perception that they have something to hide.
One needs to cite only one statistic as evidence of just how far short the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center has come from reaching its original lofty aspirations: When it opened in 1994, its supporters were boldly predicting the center would attract more than a million visitors a year, but in its first five years, the center drew fewer than 900,000 total visitors.
In the firm belief that what is good for Ashland is good for all of Boyd County, the Boyd County Smoke-Free Initiative has used the occasion of the annual Great American Smokeout to launch a campaign that they hope will lead to the Boyd County Fiscal Court and the Catlettsburg City Council to follow the Ashland Board of City Commissioner’s lead by enacting ordinances to ban smoking in restaurants and most other public places.
Potentially, students, faculty and alumni of the 16 schools that make up the Kentucky Community and Technical College System hold tremendous clout with the elected leaders of this state. After all, more than half the students — 53 percent — currently enrolled in higher education in Kentucky are attending a community and technical college.
In the midst of a region-wide epidemic of prescription drug abuse, it is absolutely unbelievable that any governing body, community organizations or individuals would oppose a church-sponsored program designed to help individuals kick their addictions to prescription drugs. Incredible, but sadly true.
For the first time in almost 15 years, the rate of smoking among American adults has increased. That’s a number that we find both surprising and distressing.
There is little that is new in the “Cost of Incarcerating Adult Felons” written by the Kentucky General Assembly’s staff for the Program Review and Investigations Committee. The only question is whether legislators will use this report to continue to bemoan the soaring costs of the state’s prisons while actually doing little or nothing at attack the problem.
James Garfield is one of eight U.S. presidents born in Ohio, but like most of the Buckeye State’s other presidents, Garfield is not well known. In fact, even residents of Ohio are more likely to think of the comic strip feline than the president when they hear the name Garfield.
Bedbugs — the tiny bloodsucking insects that were once thought to be nearly eradicated in this country — have now become so widespread that neighboring Ohio has petitioned the federal government to allow an industrial insecticide to be used in homes to fight the bedbugs. While apparently not yet as widespread in Kentucky as they are in Ohio, one can expect that tiny insect to soon become a problem on this side of the Ohio River. That’s why we support Ohio’s efforts to halt the spread of bedbugs.
The more than one out of 10 Kentuckians who continue to be unemployed are not alone in feeling the impact of a nationwide recession that economists and Washington politicians assure us has ended. State revenue continues to fall, which virtually assures that the two-year budget the 2010 General Assembly will approve will be an extremely lean one that will call for less spending than the biennial budget legislators approved in 2008.
A few years ago an “In Your View” letter published on this page sharply criticized area school districts for having classes on Veterans Day. But schools throughout Kentucky have found a much better way of observing this holiday than dismissing classes. Instead, they use the day for special programs honoring those who have served our country in the military.
The battle Lawrence County farmers currently are having with a huge flock of birds — mostly starlings, blackbirds and grackles — is not a new one, but its source can be traced to 1890. That’s when the first European starlings were imported across the Atlantic Ocean to the U.S.
More than two years after enacting a law requiring more coal mine inspections, the state finally is getting the additional inspectors needed to enforce that law. Previously, the state’s continuing revenue woes had made it impossible for the state to hire the additional inspectors.
On Tuesday, Gov. Steve Beshear approved an additional 15 new mine inspectors plus 19 new mine permit reviewers, with 16 being permanent positions and three being temporary.
By making his biggest investment to date in a traditional American industry, Warren Buffett unequivocally expressed his faith in the future of the U.S. economy.
While Kentuckians watched from the sidelines while voters in Ohio, Virginia, New Jersey and other states went to the polls to vote Tuesday, Kentucky’s once-every-four-years break from constant campaigns ended just hours after the votes had been counted in other states.
Invariably, every election produces some results that are, to say the least, a bit surprising. Here is one from Tuesday’s vote in neighboring Ohio:
Did you sleep well last night? Apparently, many Kentuckians would answer that question with a resounding, “No!” according to the first government study to monitor state-by-state differences in sleeplessness.
Since it was initiated in January of 2008, Project Graduation — a collaborative effort between the Council on Postsecondary Education and the state’s universities — has encouraged 203 former students to return to college and earn their four-year degrees.
The recent rash of school closings because of the flu has led to legislative proposals to change the way Kentucky calculates the amount of state funds local districts receive. It is an idea that has generated much discussion among legislators for at least 20 years — but no action. Will it be any different in 2010? Don’t bet on it.
Although architects have just started drawing plans for the new Boyd County High School and the building will not be ready for occupancy until at least the 2013-2014 school year, it is clear than school officials already have put much thought into the building and there is much about which to get excited.
Help is needed to understand reform
GOP opposes a public option
Private services can reduce abuse
Elected county officials who have expressed shock and dismay over a scathing audit of the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) may soon be joined by elected city officials throughout the state. That’s because the office of Kentucky Auditor Crit Luallen also is auditing the expenditures of the Kentucky League of Cities and that audit is expected to be released before the end of the year.
Kentucky Auditor Crit Luallen has released her office’s audit of the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) for the period from July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2009, and its findings should enrage county officials throughout the state and taxpayers who have helped support the wasteful spending of the organization that portends to be the voice of the state’s 120 counties in Frankfort.
For the record, Sunday is the longest day of the year — 25 hours. We gain that extra hour as we “fall back” from daylight saving time to standard time.
Ashland attorney Ernest M. Pitt Jr. is an excellent choice as the new Area 4 director for the Kentucky Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. Pitt knows first hand the essential role National Guard and Reserve units play in today’s military and how the support of civilian employers is critical for both the National Guard and the Reserve to maintain the manpower they need to do their increasingly important jobs.
Think of Gov. Steve Beshear’s appointment of state Sen. Dan Kelly as circuit court judge for Green, Marion, Taylor and Washington counties as the start of Round 2 of the governor’s effort to regain control of the Kentucky Senate for the Democratic Party. Just how successful the governor will be in this round will depend on whether a Democrat or a Republican wins the Senate seat vacated by Kelly in a special election set for Dec. 8 in the four counties.
Tiny goblins, witches, ghosts and other not-so-scary creatures will be roaming the streets throughout Ashland, Boyd County and most other area communities tonight as young children celebrate Halloween by going trick-or-treating.
As we prepare for this annual event, we offer a few words of caution:
