News

Kentucky's Lieutenent Governor is taking a pass on the 2015 governor's race. Speaking Tuesday (August 6) in Elizabethtown, Jerry Abramson said he will focus on education issues during his remaining time in Frankfort. Abramson has been on the short-list of potential Democratic gubernatorial candidates, but he said he is no longer interested in running for public office.

Heavy rains this summer and high water on the Ohio River will not impair the city’s efforts to encourage more business development along the waterfront…That’s the view of Ashland Vice-Mayor Kevin Gunderson. 

Steady precipitation last month during Ashland’s annual “Summer Motion” celebration caused the river to spill over the city’s boat dock and make for soggy grounds in its Veterans Park. However, Gunderson says the festival was a success anyway and he doesn’t think entrepreneurs will shy away from investing in opportunities along the river…

Governor Beshear says Kentucky schools should get more money when the General Assembly approves a new state budget next year. He says they need additional support to help prepare students for the 21st Century economy…

"We are going to work very hard in this upcoming session…hopefully to find revenues that we can increase our educational funding." - Governor Steve Beshear    

A Bath County farmer who has just been re-appointed to Kentucky’s Agricultural Development Board says more of the state’s tobacco settlement money should be spent in the eastern and central parts of the state. Betty Bailey serves on the 15-member panel that decides on applications for use of the funds.

She says too many farmers from her region are having difficulty transitioning from tobacco to alternative crops…

With classes for the fall semester starting Thursday, the Rowan County School District is gearing-up for the expected traffic backups that will encircle its facilities.

Superintendent Marvin Moore and other district officials spent today talking about the situation with leaders of the Morehead Police Department, the Rowan Sheriff’s Department and the Kentucky State Police.

According to Moore, their assistance should help get the district’s traffic problem solved quickly…

A Jessamine County woman has been killed in a three-vehicle crash in Rowan County. The Fleming-Mason Airport has received a federal grant to expand a safety area around its runway…and one of the biggest heroin busts in Scioto County history took place late last week in West Portsmouth.

Many drivers say seat belts scare them.  They worry about being trapped in a sinking car.  However, a state highway safety official says such fears are unwarranted.  Bill Bell, who directs the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety, says a seat belt gives you better odds of survival.

The chair of the Kentucky Board of Education doesn’t expect the controversy over newly-adopted science standards to lead to a change in those standards before they're implemented.

The standards were developed by an independent consortium of 26 states, including Kentucky. The new standards are based around scientific research and include more lessons around climate change and evolution, among many other topics.

Kentucky has just a fraction of the butterflies it did a decade ago because the habitat they need to reproduce is being destroyed…That’s according to the President of the Fleming County Garden Club Dana Sorrell.

That’s why, says Sorrell, the club has developed a Monarch Way Station in the hopes of getting butterflies to land, eat and lay eggs. She says butterflies need milk weeds and other types of flowers that are now being wiped out by the herbicides and pesticides Kentucky farmers are using.

The chairman of the Fleming-Mason Airport Board says a federal grant worth more than half a million dollars will help make landings safer at the facility. John Sims says the money will be used to buy property at the west end of the airport to expand a safety area…

"If an aircraft would overrun the end of the runway, you will have a 1000 feet protection zone to run out into grass area...not just drop off or hit trees. It's a major thing today to have that…just for protection." - John Sims

A Bath County boy has been found safe after being reported missing Thursday. An Ashland Blazer graduate has been tapped by President Obama to become the next commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service…and U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell says it’s not likely the current Congress will pass any major reforms to the federal tax code.

#502 Show Summary (Under the Dome Show):

Remember – August is Hair Loss Awareness Month. Health Matters does not endorse any hair replacement product or technology. We do worry about West Nile virus, falling life expectancy in Eastern Kentucky, and tall women developing cancer. We will explain why this week.

Tip: We believe that municipal mosquito control efforts will need to be intensified in order to avoid outbreaks of West Nile virus infections.

Links:

One of May’s Lick’s most notable citizens is about to be recognized nearly a century after his death through restoration of his log cabin and a possible military promotion. 

Colonel Charles Young was the third African-American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point and be commissioned as an army officer.  He died serving in Nigeria in 1922. Mason County judge executive “Buddy” Gallenstein says Young lived a life devoted to military and diplomatic services, but because of his skin color, he never achieved a higher rank than colonel…

Rowan Judge-Executive Jim Nickell says it’s a project that could bring a lot of jobs to his county.

He’s talking about a proposal that he recently received from Cave Run Energy LLC of Boulder, Colorado to build a hydroelectric power generating station at the Cave Run Lake Dam. It’s an idea that Nickell likes…

The president of the Grayson Rural Electric Cooperative says the utility is trying to help its customers reduce their consumption of energy, as well as their bills, through audits and home weatherization programs. Carol Fraley says that’s especially important since so many of the households it serves are economically disadvantaged…

The Pioneer Playhouse production of ‘Cockeyed’ begins Tuesday night on the Danville stage.  It’s a romantic-comedy about a philosophy major who turns accountant.  Joining the cast is a theater professor from Eastern Kentucky University.  EKU’s Steven Higgonbotham sees his work in Danville as clearing a path for his theater students.

This Saturday (August 3), Lexington’s YMCA will once again host its citywide Back to School Rally.  Volunteers will distribute some 8000 backpacks of school supplies at 18 different locations around Lexington.  Spokeswoman Julie Balog says that while children are the primary focus, the event is designed to engage the whole family.

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell does not expect any major tax reform legislation to pass in the current Congress. The Kentucky Republican accuses Democrats of pushing the issue to generate extra revenue for the federal government…

“Well, I honestly don’t see how we get there. Back in the 80’s, there was a bi-partisan agreement between President Reagan and Speaker Tip O’Neill that the whole purpose of comprehensive tax reform was to make the country more competitive, not to raise revenue for the federal government.” – Sen. Mitch McConnell

Maysville Community and Technical College (MCTC) has become the latest school to adopt a tobacco-free policy. Jessica Kern is Director of Marketing and Public Relations at MCTC. She says this change reflects a growing desire among students and visitors…

President Obama’s nominee to head the Internal Revenue Service is a graduate of Ashland Blazer High School. 74-year-old John Koskinen is widely recognized as a corporate restructuring expert. He most recently served as chairman of mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. Koskinen was also deputy director for the federal Office of Management and Budget.

In an August, 2011 speech before the Chautaqua Institution in Washington, Koskinen talked about economic and housing policy. He also took questions from the audience…

Fleming County will hold a 4-H Rally Day August 6th for youngsters interested in competing for prizes in horticulture, arts and crafts and photography and sewing. A co-owner of the Proctorville Flea Market has been sentenced to prison on charges that he sold stolen items there…and an official with the Kentucky Department of Education thinks too many local school districts are neglecting capital projects to cover operational expenses.

The former commander of Fort Campbell is back on post this week preparing to help the Army slim down. He says some who thought they’d make a career of the military will have to leave. 

The Army is already marching its numbers down to fewer than 500,000 in uniform. And further budget cuts being considered could chop another 100,000 from the ranks at the post on the Tennessee/Kentucky line. Gen. John Campbell says being in the military is a privilege, not a right…

Chuck Mraz speaks with Health Matters host Dr. Tony Weaver.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved a request by Grayson Rural Electric Cooperative for a rate increase that will allow the utility to maintain its financial stability. The PSC authorized Grayson to raise rates to generate an additional 1.9 million dollars in annual revenue. The commission, however, termed the increase "problematic." It said the utility has been aware since 2010 that lower energy sales and rising costs were causing its financial position to deteriorate but waited until late last year to seek a rate adjustment.

A bus ride from Lexington to northern Ohio should be quicker and cheaper.  Megabus is launching a new connector service to Cleveland.

Catching a Megabus at Lexington’s downtown transit center can start you on your way to Cincinnati.  It’s there, where connectors are available for trips to Chicago, Cleveland, and Buffalo.  Cut rate tickets, which are sold over the internet, can be as low as a dollar.  Megabus spokesman Mike Alvich says low fares are available, if travelers plan ahead…