Government Needs Honesty, Transparency and Fairness

Letters

February 11, 2010

letters to the editor

by Jewell Florea, President People for Ethical Government Inc. Somerset, KY 42501 The Commonwealth Journal Thu Feb 11, 2010, 08:58 AM EST

Dear Editor:

Thank you for the recent editorials and news articles dealing with the subject of magistrates’ pay.

Our nonprofit citizens group, People for Ethical Government Inc., has a particular interest in this issue.

In 1994, when Pulaski Fiscal Court voted to increase magistrates’ pay from $15,000 to $30,000 per year, several members of our group filed suit challenging the court’s action. The case took almost five years to make its way through the justice system, and demanded a tremendous investment of both time and money, but in June 1998, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in our favor and ordered the magistrates to repay more than $186,000 to the county treasury.

We were successful in our suit, not because the court found the pay increase excessive, but because Pulaski Fiscal Court failed to follow the time frame prescribed by law. Kentucky law allows magistrates to increase their pay, within prescribed limits, but the increase cannot become effective until the next term. This time frame is important because it requires magistrates who vote to raise their own pay to seek and win re-election before they can reap the benefit of their action.

Shortly after the Supreme Court’s ruling, the same group of magistrates again voted to double their pay, but this time they were careful to follow the letter of the law. Because the rate of pay was legally established, and because reasonable people may disagree about what our magistrates should be paid, People For Ethical Government has decided to take no position on the matter of whether or not the current rate of pay is excessive. We have a very definite position, however, concerning a citizen’s right to know exactly where every candidate stands on important issues. The attention that the Commonwealth Journal has focused on the subject of magistrates’ pay has already prompted at least two candidates to issue public statements. We encourage all remaining candidates to follow suit.

As we enter this election cycle, however, a focus on magistrates’ pay should not be allowed to obscure other important issues which should be a part of the public discussion.

People for Ethical Government supports government transparency and the people’s right to know. We have called upon county officials to place financial records, fiscal court minutes, contracts and other public information on the county’s Web site and to always conduct county business in accordance with Kentucky’s Open Meetings and Open Records laws.

We have called upon county officials to amend the Pulaski County Ethics Code to include stronger restrictions on nepotism and conflict of interest, and to extend these restrictions to all boards, commissions and special districts overseen by fiscal court.

We have called upon county officials to conduct an audit of the county road system, remove all roads which serve no legitimate public purpose and amend the County Administrative Code to prohibit the adoption of such roads in the future.

We have called upon county officials to comply with the constitutional prohibition against

spending public funds on private property and to discontinue the practice of giving blacktop, gravel and drainage tiles to real estate developers and private landowners.

So far, county officials have declined to respond to, or even acknowledge these requests. While they are in office, that is certainly their prerogative. As candidates for public office, however, they should not have that luxury. As previously stated, we believe that voters have a right to know exactly where every candidate stands on the issues. People for Ethical Government encourages all candidates to present a detailed platform dealing with these, and other, serious issues facing our county. We encourage Pulaski County voters to demand nothing less of those who ask for their vote.

The mission of People for Ethical Government Inc. is to promote honesty, fairness and transparency in Pulaski County Government. We invite interested individuals to attend our meetings (first Monday of each month at 7 p.m., Pulaski County Library) and to visit our Web site:

www.peopleforethicalgovernment.org

Jewell Florea, President

People for Ethical Government Inc.

Somerset, KY 42501

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Dear Editor:
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February 9, 2012
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Dear Editor:
In response to the article by staff writer Chris Harris concerning the Battle of Mill Springs recently held in your county. I have concerns over the objectivity of the content, particularly with Bill Neikirk’s comments.
I am a living historian and travel from Florida to Virginia taking part in approximately 30 events per year; thus, I do know something of which I speak.

February 9, 2012
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Dear Editor:
This letter is in response to the article printed January 31, 2012, in the Commonwealth Journal titled “Local Nursing Homes on par with rest of nation.” The article incorrectly noted that the only Kentucky nursing home with zero deficiencies was the Nursing Facility of Hardin Memorial Hospital in Elizabethtown. I would kindly ask you to correct the information to include our facility.

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Dear Editor:
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February 3, 2012
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Dear Editor:
I am writing this letter in response to the recent Somerset city limits Smoking Ban.
I would like to know WHY the city council can stop smoking in nursing homes. The nursing homes are OUR HOME! This is the only home that many nursing home residents have had for many, many years.

January 31, 2012
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Dear Editor:
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January 31, 2012
Kentucky children need expanded preschool
To understand why my proposed budget expands access to preschool to 4,000 more Kentucky 4 year olds, it helps to imagine two kindergarten classes arriving for the first day of school.
In one class, the kids are bright-eyed and healthy. They know the alphabet, their numbers, and a little rudimentary math (think basic addition and subtraction). They can even read a little bit, and are able hold a conversation with adults. In short, they’re confident, curious, creative and energetic. They want to learn.
In the other class, the kids are just the opposite. Several have health problems, like tooth aches, asthma and lingering sickness caused by poor nutrition. They’ve never been read to, don’t know either their letters or numbers and can’t spell their names. They’re too timid to interact with their teachers and classmates, show little interest in anything around them and—to summarize—are completely unengaged.
You don’t have to be a kindergarten teacher to predict the outcome of the year: One class will learn, the other will struggle.
When the students enter first grade the following year, the same gap will exist, only it’ll be larger. In later grades, the gap will be larger still.
Barring aggressive intervention, the kids who began their school careers behind are likely to remain behind the rest of their lives.
That’s why getting our youngest children off to a good start—by laying a foundation of good health and cognitive development that enables them to hit the ground running in kindergarten—has been one of my top priorities as governor.
The seeds of learning are planted early in life. Earlier, even, than kindergarten. Scientists say that some 90 percent of physical brain development occurs from birth to age 3.
That’s why we’ve brought health care coverage to nearly 60,000 children whose families didn’t have any.
We’ve improved dental care for tens of thousands of children by increasing the number of dentists who treat children and bringing treatment straight to our classrooms.
We’re aligning our preschool and early care programs around a common definition of kindergarten readiness, one that guides our care workers in preparing our children mentally, physically, emotionally and socially to do the work involved in kindergarten.
And we’re seeking to expand access to preschool to 4,430 of our at-risk 4-year-olds.
My proposed budget for the 2013-2014 biennium—which I presented to the General Assembly on Jan. 17—includes $15 million to expand eligibility to families whose incomes are 160 percent or less of the federal poverty level, up from the current cut-off of 150 percent.
Bu the end of my term, I intend to set eligibility levels at 200 percent or below, which would help us add 3,920 additional children on top of this year’s gain.
Anecdotally, this makes sense.
Statistically, it’s a wise investment.
The Committee for Economic Development -- a national nonprofit, nonpartisan business-led public policy organization -- produced a report funded by the Pew Charitable Trust that studied the benefits of early childhood education. The report found that kids who had access to high-quality preschool were less likely to drop out of school, less likely to commit crimes, earned higher incomes and were healthier.
Consequently, experts say that every dollar spent on preschool programs carries a return on investment that ranges from $2 to $17.
The formula is simple—we can invest in our children early, or we can pay substantially higher costs later for things like remedial school work, basic job training, expanded welfare and prison costs.
If we don’t give kids the best possible start to their education, the bill comes due again, again and again.
Our people—especially our children—are Kentucky’s greatest resource.
To bring transformational change to our state, we must cultivate that resource by making substantial investments in our intellectual infrastructure.
Even in the most wretched financial times, there are certain investments that we cannot ignore.
But this is more than a financial argument. It’s also a moral one.
We owe all of our children—whether they live in our inner cities or our mountain hollows, our suburbs or our farms -- a chance at a promising and productive life.
And that process starts early.

January 26, 2012 1 Photo
Act of Kindness Appreciated
Dear Editor:
Santa Claus does not always wear a red suit and a red hat with white fur, neither does he have soot on his clothes from the chimney.

January 25, 2012
Subsidies and Socialism
Dear Editor:
Robert Moore is totally wrong about the Black Lung Program. I worked as a disability examiner when Black Lung was enacted. Black Lung was a political boondoggle for buying votes.

January 24, 2012
‘What’s a body to do?’
Dear Editor:
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Retailers say the prices are regulated by the distributors. Distributors say the prices are regulated by the market.

January 12, 2012
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