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SWINGING BRIDGES ARE PART OF OUR HISTORY AND THEY SHOULD BE KEPT UP SO OUR KIDS CAN EXPERIENCE A WALK ACROSS ONE. I TOOK MY KIDS TO BREATHITT COUNTY TO LET THEM WALK ACROSS ONE AND THEY LIKED IT ALOT.
WHEN I WAS YOUNG WE LIVED UP IN JOHN;S LITTLE CREEK WHERE WE HAD TO WALK A MILE JUST TO CATCH A RIDE WITH SOMEONE FOR ANOTHER MILE
TO CATCH THE BUS A RIDE ANOTHER TEN MILES TO GET TO SCHOOL.
I REMEMBER THAT SWINGING BRIDGE THAT WE CROSSED EVERY DAY I WOULD RUN AHEAD JUST TO GET TO SCARE MY BROTHER AND SISTER ON THAT OLD SWINGING BRIDGE MAKING IT ROCK   THEY WERE AFRAID TO WALK ACROSS IT SOMETIMES .SO I HAD TO STOP ALL THE PLAYING AROUND SO WE COULD GET TO SCHOOL AH I MISS THOSE DAY.
WELL I AM TRYING TO GET THAT SAME SWINGING BRIDGE FIXED SO WE CAN GO AND VISIT OUR DADS GRAVE. A STORM BLEW A TREE OVER ON IT ABOUT A YEAR AND AHALF AGO CAUSING IT ALOT OF DAMANGE.
I WENT TO THE COURTHOUSE TO SEE JUDGE WARRIX AND HE TOLD ME THAT THEY DO BRIDGE REPAIR WITH GAS TAX MONEY AND I AM THINKING HIGH AS GAS IS THEY SHOULD BE ROLLING IN GAS TAX MONEY TO FIX THE BRIDGE REPAIR. BUT I HAVE BEEN    UNSUCCESSFUL IN GETTING THE SWINGING BRIDGE FIXED UP IN JOHNS LITTLE CREEK LOOKS LIKE I;AM GOING TO HAVE TO GET A PETTION
STARTED JUST TO GET IT DONE WE HAVEN;T GOT TO GO AND PUT FLOWERS ON OUR DADS GRAVE AND I;AM SURE THEIR ARE ALOT MORE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOVE O NES AT THOSE TWO GRAVEYARDS THAT IS ACROSS THAT SWINGING BRIDGE THEY HAVEN;T GOT TO GO AND PUT FLOWERS UPON THEIR LOVE ONES GRAVES EITHER.. I THINK THAT THE SWINGING SHOULD BE FIXED SO PEOPLE CAN GO TO THE GRAVE YARDS AND VISIT WITH THEIR LOVE ONES .
SO IF ANYONE OUT THEIR IS WILLING TO HELP ME OUT IN THIS CAUSE
PLEASE CONTACT ME OR THE NEWSPAPER AND VOICE YOUR OPINION
OUR KIDS SHOULD GET TO EXPERIENCE A WALK ACROSS A SWINGING BRIDGE
SO MUCH OF OUR HISTORY IS GONE AND WE HAVE ONLY PICTURES TO SHOW OUR KIDS OF THE DAYS GONE BY . SO LETS KEEP MUCH AS WE CAN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF OUR MOUNTAINS ALIVE AND LETS GET THOSE SWINGING BRIDGES FIXED AND KEPTED UP SO ALL THE PEOPLE THAT COME TO OUR STATE GET TO SEE THE WAY IT WAS BACK THEN TO CROSS A SWINGING BRIDGE JUST TO GET WHERE WE WERE GOING.
MARTHA MAGGARD HURD
31 HURD LN.
VICCO KY; 41773

Troubled Teens Need Everyone’s Help 7-19-05

Dear Editor,
Anywhere from one-third to two-thirds of the young people brought into juvenile court have drug and alcohol problems.
As judges assigned to juvenile court, we see them regularly. Our job is to balance holding them accountable for the offenses they commit with the need to get them involved in the kind of activities that will prevent them from coming back to court.
In our experience, juveniles with substance abuse problems are more likely to re-offend than juveniles who don’t have such problems.
Punishment alone will not sure a young person’s substance abuse problem. Comprehensive, strength based treatment can cut the cost of substance abuse, both to the individual who misuses drugs and to society at large. Treatment costs as little as $3,000 per year; incarcerating a young offender costs anywhere from $40,000 to $83,000 per year. Studies estimate the cost of allowing one youth to drop-out of high school for a life of crime and drug abuse may cost up to $2.3 million over the course of that person’s life. Who pays that $2.3 million? You and we do.
Research shows that the successful approach to treatment requires collaboration among treatment providers, judges, police and juvenile justice staff as well as educators, the business community, the nonprofit and faith community, families, parents and the teens themselves.
Treatment must be gender, age and culturally appropriate, and it should emphasize connecting teens positively with their communities by helping them finish school, find jobs, develop healthy relationships and contribute to their communities.
Unfortunately, not all juvenile offenders with substance abuse problems get the treatment they need. A recent study found that nationwide only 3.6 percent of these juveniles receive any form of substance abuse treatment.
Here in our community, people are trying to provide more and better treatment options for our teens.
Reclaiming Futures in the Mountains of Kentucky, in partnership with Kentucky River Community Care, Inc., has been working for the last three years to build a more integrated, community-based approach to working with youth. We are providing more and better substance abuse treatment as well as trying to connect youth to education and work opportunities, positive role models and productive activities. To date, more than 95 Eastern Kentucky youths, ages 12-17, have been screened by Reclaiming Futures. Seventy-two have been assessed, 90 have received treatment.
Reclaiming Futures in the Mountains of Kentucky is one of 10 pilot projects across the country funded through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest health-oriented philanthropic organization. The Foundation created Reclaiming Futures in 2002 as a $21 million, five-year effort to address this serious public health issue.
Concerned judges can provide an important leadership role in efforts like this, but they cannot do it alone. In order to provide effective, community-based treatment, everyone must be committed to the effort.
Most kids don’t get into trouble, but the ones who do need our help. These youth are our children who still have the rest of their lives ahead of them, and those lives will be lived in our community. We need to fight for the future of our youth. We need to find ways to get adults in this community, to join in supporting positive youth activities.
It is our responsibility to help our children. If we fail to do so, our community will suffer the consequences. By working together, we can help reclaim their futures.

Sincerely,
Judge Kenny Profitt
Judge Ralph McClanahan
For more information on Reclaiming Futures you may call the Kentucky River Community Care, administrative offices at 606-666-9006.

FORCING WORKERS TO PAY UNION DUES IS BAD FOR EVERYONE
Before breaking out the champagne to salute Toyota’s decision to build its new hybrid car in Georgetown, it would be wise to take a moment to reflect on the fact that not all of the news from the automobile industry has been good lately, a fact that can’t be ignored in Kentucky.
Just days before Toyota’s announcement, bond rating agencies downgraded General Motors and Ford stock to junk bond status citing reasonable doubt that either is a “going concern.”
It is safe to say that how each story was received might depend on where you live and which of the big three automobile makers provides the most jobs in your area.   As pleased as we are with Toyota’s plans to expand in Kentucky, no one is happy with the news out of Detroit about Ford and General Motors.
Certainly no one relishes the job cuts recently announced by Ford and GM, but how and why those companies reached this point bears scrutiny by anyone interested in the long term health and prosperity of the automobile industry in Kentucky.
Sandwiched between the Toyota announcement and the GM/Ford stock announcement was a lesser noted news item that the United Auto Workers was opening a 900-square-foot office building in Georgetown in a continuing effort to require workers at the Toyota plant to join and pay dues to the union.
The fact that the UAW is trying to unionize the Georgetown Toyota plant is nothing new. Those efforts have been ongoing for some time. New members and the ability to compel the payment of dues are essential to unions already facing declining participation. Over the past ten years union membership has declined in 48 of 50 states.
That is a big problem for organizations that spend, according to federal disclosure forms, about $3 billion a year on payroll alone. Put another way, nearly $12 million a day of dues are spent on salaries and benefits for union officers and staff.
Another big chunk of union dues is used to finance political campaigns, estimated at between $300 million in past election years to as much as $900 million in the 2000 presidential campaign.
Without doubt, GM and Ford did not get in the position they are in simply because of unions. But it is equally apparent, given the adversarial relationship between management and organized labor, particularly in industrialized states, that each side has a significantly different perspective on how to be efficient and competitive.
Contrast that to Toyota where the line between management and the work force does not seem to be as distinct or broad and where there appears to be a realization that everyone benefits when you sell more cars. And many people are saying better cars.
Just as it would be wrong to lay GM’s and Ford’s problems in Michigan solely at the feet of union officials, it would be just as wrong to assume that a unionized Toyota plant where all employees are compelled to pay dues would produce a better work force and a better car.
One way to make sure that the Kentucky of the future doesn’t become the Michigan of today is for our state to adopt right-to-work legislation that provides the legal right of employees to decide for themselves whether or not to join and financially support a union.
Twenty-two states, including all of our Southern neighbors are right-to-work states.
In those states, the fundamental protection provided by right to work legislation contributes to an environment in which both sides, management and union officials, must be responsive to the person each depends on the most, the individual worker.
According to the United States Census Bureau, right to work states saw a 7% increase in plant growth from 1982 to 2001 while non-right to work states had a net loss. From 1992 to 2003, real per capita income grew at a rate 42% faster in right to work states than in non-right to work states.
The evidence is compelling that everyone benefits most in an environment where individuals have the right to decide for themselves what organizations to join and how to spend their own money.
Furthermore, the lessons of history offer ample evidence that business models of the past do not fit today’s worker or the economy of the future.
Per capita income in Kentucky has languished at or near the bottom ten of all states for the past 30 years. It’s time for us to join the ranks of states that are building strong economies by passing right to work legislation that protects the rights of individual workers and contributes to job creation and economic development.

April 7, 2005
Dear Editor,
I am writing to you with great worry and fear. My husband, Kevin (only 29 yrs. Old), has been battling cancer for eight years. He has tumors throughout his body, including his brain. As you can imagine, statistics for melanoma that has progressed this far are alarming to say the least. Kevin, however, has beaten the odds thus far through prayer and proper medication. Two weeks ago, we received a letter from First Health Services Corporation, a contractor for Medicaid, stating that Kevin’s Thalomid chemotherapy drug could not be approved any longer. The reason given was “Not Medically Necessary”. Obviously, we were stunned, shocked, and very upset emotionally. Kevin has been taking Thalomid for about two years, and his tumors, according to a recent test, are stable. I believe that this stability is a result of this drug. A simple solution for us would be to purchase it ourselves, but at over $15,000 (that’s right---$15,000!) for a 28 day supply, that is impossible for most folks. I feel extremely fortunate that we are able to have Medicaid for Kevin, as my full-time employment and income alone could never, ever meet all his medication needs. Our family (I, Kevin and our son Peyton, age 3) is not seeking a handout, but rather a “hand up”. Since Kevin has not had any Thalomid since April 1st, I feel that this is a dire situation requiring great measures to be taken. I don’t understand how a contractor such as First Health Services could know more that my doctor about my husband’s illness. First Health Services Corporation has only been a contractor for Medicaid since December 2004, and appears to be diligent about cutting costs, despite what harm it may be to people like my husband.
This letter is written not only to express my personal concern for the health and wellbeing of my spouse, but also to note this rejection as an indicator of imminent changes to Medicaid and other such public safety nets. If insurance companies such as Medicaid, who are supposed to be there to assist the lower-income population with much needed medication, are going to start cutting costs by denying us the ability to afford these medications, then what will they cut next? How would the decision makers at First Health Corporation feel, if a member in their family was suffering and did not have access to the medication that they know was keeping them alive? I encourage everyone to take heed to my husband’s story and be prepared for what is to come.
Sincerely, Tanya Rice

Pitch in during PRIDE Spring Cleanup, April 9-23, 2005
Dear Mr. Hamblin:
Spring in southern and eastern Kentucky means blooming flowers and redbud trees. The only way to make Spring prettier in our region is to clean the trash out of the scenery.
To do just that, I invite Breathitt County residents to pitch in during the PRIDE Spring Cleanup, April 9-23.
Your local PRIDE Coordinators have organized cleanup events for volunteers, as well as opportunities to dispose of the bulky trash you collected over the winter. PRIDE will provide the cleanup supplies and T-shirts for volunteers. It is up to Breathitt County residents to provide the manpower to clean roadsides, hillsides, and waterways.
Volunteers can make a difference by joining Breathitt County’s Spring Cleanup team. Since PRIDE began in 1997, just look at what Breathitt Countians have accomplished together:
·         1,447 volunteers worked 12,107 hours. 8,868 individual appliances and 2,009 tons of appliances collected. 35,701 tires collected. 1,088 bags of trash, 2,433 cubic yards of trash, and 6,286 tons of trash collected.
Clearly, Breathitt County is cleaner today, thanks to the people who have pitched in with PRIDE — Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment. In addition to volunteering during the annual Spring Cleanup, here are some things Breathitt Countians can do every day to keep the community clean: make sure trash doesn’t blow out of the back of trucks, have trash picked up regularly by a licensed garbage hauler, and report littering and illegal dumping to the county’s solid waste coordinator.
To learn about Spring Cleanup events in your area, please call your PRIDE Coordinator, Calvin Saum, at 666-3818.
Sincerely, Richard Thomas Executive Director

Dear Editor, Our Treatment at BHS
I attended the tournament last night at Breathitt County, PCC vs Knott Co. I was very disappointed in the seating arrangements that the host school had made in the gym. The large sections were equally divided among PCC/Whitesburg, Breathitt/Knott Co., which was proper, however, one end zone, the one with the stage, was given to the Knott County pep club the other end was totally devoted, posters top to bottom and side to side for Breathitt County, no space given for the PCC pep club. When some adults and children proceeded to go stand behind the railing, which was directly behind our cheerleaders, also supporting them, they were approached by a constable and made to leave the area. They then came to the large PCC section to stand with their own crowd and was once again told to leave. I believe these actions were done intentionally because Breathitt County was still upset over their loss to PCC boys on Friday night. Breathitt County being the host school should have remained impartial and given PCC their own pep section. If they cannot respond to a loss any better than this I think they should be taken out of the rotation and future tournaments not be held there.

I live and work in Perry County and I am a PCC fan, my daughter cheers for the girls team. These people who wanted to form a pep section were not acting up, or making trouble as far as I could see. I don't feel it was an oversight that they were not given a pep section, but instead it was done on purpose because of bitterness of Friday night's game between PCC and Breathitt Co. I do need to appologize for the adjectives I used in describing the constable, that was uncalled for, there may have been more than one there, I'm not sure. I feel he was acting on direction from some Breathitt fans in that section that simply did not want PCC there, especially one woman who I was told was at the game of Friday night making comments to PCC kids at the ballgame for wearing their PCC t-shirts.
Signed Nancy

Dear Editor, 3-16-05
I’m writing to inform the community of a serious situation that can not be ignored!
Allow me to explain the problem. Whatever state a Thoroughbred is foaled in is the state that horse is considered to be bred in. Twenty years ago, an Indiana mare was sent to Kentucky to be bred and left here until after she foaled. That foal would be considered a Kentucky bred foal. At the time the resale value of a Kentucky bred foal was higher than that of an Indiana bred foal because Kentucky offered specific races for Kentucky bred horses and Indiana did not.
Within the last twenty years other states have begun to offer incentives programs for their state-bred horses. No big deal, right? WRONG! Other states can add more money to their purses, which is drawing mares away from Kentucky.
Of course people still want to breed mares to stallions here in Kentucky. We are now home to Smarty Jones! We are also home to Derby winners Monarchos and Thunder Gulch. Just because mares are bred to Kentucky stallions doesn’t mean they are being left here to foal and have Kentucky bred foals.
The gestational period for a foal is 11 months. Almost a year! That is almost a year that mare is eating hay from Kentucky fields, and grain from Kentucky feed mills. The bedding in her stall is coming from a Kentucky supplier. She is being groomed and cared for by Kentuckians who wouldn’t otherwise be employed. That’s not just one mare that’s thousands of mares! These mares are fueling Kentucky’s economy.
So why do other states have the capability of adding more money to their purses? It’s simple, really. Slot machines! In Pennsylvania, the equine industry gets approximately 10% of the revenue from the slots. 10% may not sound like a whole lot, but when revenue from the slots totals in the hundreds of millions it is a whole lot! Around 30% of slots revenue goes toward property-tax reduction. Doesn’t that sound appealing?! 5% goes to public projects and 4% goes to counties and local governments that host slot parlors.
Recently, a county in Florida legalized slot machines on the racetracks. One has to ask themselves how this will effect Kentucky’s horse industry. There will be specific races for Florida bred horses and you can bet your last dollar on the possibility that those races will have the largest purses. So ask yourself, if you were a Thoroughbred owner, would you want a Kentucky bred horse verses a Florida bred horse if Kentucky didn’t offer the same incentives? I wouldn’t!
Okay, let’s just say Florida isn’t a threat (Even though they really are). Let’s just say they are too far away to cause us any trouble. States such as Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia and Pennsylvania offer these same incentives. Now, doesn’t that hit close to home?!
I realize gambling is a controversial subject and I don’t expect everyone to agree with me, but I firmly believe that in this world there are necessary evils. War is a good example of a necessary evil. Well, ladies and gentlemen we must declare war in order to save our position in this industry.
I love what I do and I wouldn’t trade my equine background for anything else in this world. I am proud to be from Kentucky and a member of the Morehead State University Equestrian Team. In the last few years it suddenly appears that the rest of Kentucky’s pride in the horse industry begins around April 25th each year and ends on the first Sunday in May. NOT FAIR! Wake up people! We are the “The Horse Capital of the World,” or used to be anyway. We should be proud of that fact 365 days out of the year!
We have a champion to our cause that comes in the form of the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP). My family and I are card-carrying members and you can be too! KEEP is currently working on legislation to have taxes dropped from horse feed. I don’t care what kind of horse you have, if you have a horse that effects you! The same goes for fencing equipment. If you are buying fencing equipment for a horse farm, it’s taxed. KEEP is working to have that tax removed.
If I get nothing else done by writing this letter I hope that I can gain support and raise awareness for the KEEP program. I sincerely believe they are going to be the saving grace for the Kentucky horse industry and they need our help.
The bottom line is, Kentucky’s horse industry is in trouble. Right now we are relying on an age-old reputation that we have earned through years of quality horses and quality service. That reputation will only stretch so far. Sooner or later the facts and figures are going to catch up with us. Heaven help us if and when that happens!
Allow me to leave you with something to think about. Kentucky is losing tobacco. Can we really afford to lose our position in the horse industry too?
Sincerely,
Ginny Richardson

Power of the people proven 3-9-05
Dear Editor:
Legislation creating dramatic improvements in our state's war on drugs unanimously passed the Kentucky House of Representatives on Wednesday, March 2, and will undoubtedly be signed into law by Governor Ernie Fletcher - who pushed for the bill - after the Senate reaffirms its support.
Such swift and overwhelming success is due, in large part, to a strong bipartisan effort by General Assembly members and a tremendous outpouring of community support - especially from coalition members in the 29 counties served by Operation UNITE (Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment and Education) in southern and eastern Kentucky.
As approved, Senate Bill 63 makes it more difficult for individuals to acquire pseudoephedrine, a primary ingredient in the production of methamphetamine, in tablet form (gelcaps and liquid products are exempt) by restricting its distribution to pharmacists or pharmacy technicians, limiting the quantity that may be purchased, and requiring the purchaser to sign a log. The legislation requires Internet pharmacies to register with the state pharmacy board and be monitored by the KASPER system that tracks prescription drug purchases in Kentucky. In addition, the bill requires only two or more ingredients or items used to produce meth be present for police to charge suspects with manufacturing; makes it illegal to make meth in the presence of children; and holds meth makers liable for the cost of cleaning up illegal labs (between $2,000 and $5,000 per site).
On February 14, more than 2,000 people rallied on a cold, rainy day in Frankfort to support this anti-meth legislation. The contingent included bus loads of school children; concerned citizens and parents; city, county, state and federal law enforcement officers; civic and community organizations; fire, EMS and rescue personnel; business leaders; local, state and federal government officials (including Gov. Fletcher,
Attorney General Greg Stumbo, and Fifth District U.S. Congressman Harold "Hal" Rogers), and many House and Senate representatives. It was very heart-warming and uplifting to witness the passion and enthusiasm these individuals displayed to send the message drugs will no longer be tolerated in our communities.
Then, when amendments were proposed that would significantly reduce the bill's effectiveness, hundreds of UNITE coalition members and supporters from across the state were mobilized in 24 hours to call their legislative representative. Their efforts worked, proving the power of people does make a difference. It is impossible to personally thank everyone, but I wanted you to know how much I appreciate everything you have done, and will continue to do, to protect our children, our families and our communities from the dangers of drugs.
While stopping criminals who provide drugs is an important mission, it is just one aspect to the overall success. UNITE coalitions, anchored by faith-based organizations, provide strong leadership in education, training and treatment opportunities and I challenge each person to become involved and take ownership in securing solutions to specific needs
in your area. To learn more, call 1-866-OP-UNITE.