The Kentucky Division of Water (DOW) is recognizing Groundwater Awareness Week, March 10-16, by emphasizing the importance of groundwater to communities as well as the actions Kentuckians can take to protect this vital natural resource.

Groundwater is the water from rain or other precipitation that soaks into the ground and moves downward to fill cracks and other openings in soils and rocks. It is an abundant natural resource and makes up 90 percent of all the freshwater in the world.

Pictured from left, Agriculture Commissioner James Comer and state senators Robin Webb and Damon Thayer speak to the news media regarding Senate Bill 50 on Thursday in Frankfort. (Kentucky Department of Agriculture photo)

Agriculture Commissioner James Comer told reporters he’s hopeful the industrial hemp bill will get a vote in the Kentucky House of Representatives after the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Paul Hornback, reported that a House leader assured him Senate Bill 50 would get another hearing.

“We’re still hopeful this bill can be brought back up and the people’s voices will be heard by the legislature,” Commissioner Comer said. “That is the role of the General Assembly.”

The measure, which would set up an administrative framework for industrial hemp production in Kentucky, was debated in the House Agriculture and Small Business Committee on Wednesday when committee Chairman Tom McKee blocked a vote on the bill and abruptly recessed the meeting. Rep. McKee promised to reconvene the committee following Wednesday’s session of the full House but instead adjourned the meeting from his desk in the House chamber.

By: Scott Wartman

The future of the industrial hemp bill remains uncertain this session after the House Agriculture Committee quickly adjourned Wednesday on the House floor without taking a vote.

Boos erupted in the committee room when a vote on Senate Bill 50 didn’t happen Wednesday morning.

Ag Committee Chairman Rep. Tom McKee, D-Cynthiana, recessed the meeting in the morning and called the committee back into order at his desk on the House floor that afternoon to adjourn the meeting.

McKee said he doesn’t know whether the bill will get voted on this session.

“There are a lot of feelings, I think,” McKee said. “It’s best to just back away for the day and look at this sometime in the future.”

The Kentucky House of Representatives voted unanimously for two bills House Speaker Greg Stumbo sponsored to address concerns with Medicaid managed care and to update last year’s law targeting prescription drug abuse.

“Taken together, these bills will improve our healthcare system by making some common-sense changes and clarifications,” said Speaker Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg.  “House Bill 5 will do that by making it easier for medical providers to resolve payment disputes much more quickly with the state’s Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs).  House Bill 217, meanwhile, will make some minor changes to last year’s ‘pill mill’ legislation and ensure that both the law and the regulations being finalized by the medical licensure boards mesh well.”

Last week, the House leadership refused to address pension reform thus contributing to the insolvency of the plan in an estimated four years. Even after our great efforts in the Senate to set a new tone for bipartisanship, the House leadership has chosen to obstruct and seriously derail this most important effort to save Kentucky from falling over our own fiscal cliff by refusing to adopt the agreed upon pension reform compromise bill, Senate Bill 2. In refusing to even go into conference committee to talk about it, they have failed the taxpayers of Kentucky and at best, have kicked the can down the road to a special session that will cost us $60,000 per day unnecessarily. This is truly unfortunate.  Pension reform is the most pressing issue in this session and to ignore is irresponsible. While SB 2 didn't have everything that we in the Senate wanted, we agreed to it because it was a compromise that had been worked out last summer in a bipartisan fashion. Unless House Leadership use the few remaining days left in this session to come back to the table, their continued inaction will place Kentucky in extreme financial peril!

Having already passed the aforementioned pension bill in the Senate and with eight legislative days left, the Senate debated and passed more education bills as well as legislation to support the electoral process and protect Kentucky from an overreaching federal government.

Long before this year’s legislative session began, my colleagues in the House and Senate and I knew the biggest task before us would be putting the retirement systems for state and local governments on firmer financial ground.

These systems were doing extremely well as recently as a decade ago, but the country’s two recessions since then have hit them especially hard, much as they have shrunk the state’s budget, which has been cut $1.6 billion over the last five years.

It is best to think of this situation like a balloon mortgage.  In other words, if we do nothing now, state and local governments could face a severe financial crisis just a few years down the road.  The sooner we act, then, the less likely that will be, especially as the stock market continues its upward trend.

Last Wednesday, the House voted for a plan that provides a viable way forward.  It does not raise any taxes, and it does not lower benefits public retirees and employees have earned.  It also would help the state meet its full payments to the retirement system every year.

A new report from the Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics (KCEWS) shows that 61 percent of graduates from the state’s public or independent postsecondary institutions in 2006 appear to be employed in Kentucky five years later.

“This information is important to policymakers because it provides a preliminary gauge for the return-on-investment for education programs, and it helps us understand how likely our college graduates are to remain in Kentucky after they finish their credentials,” said Charles McGrew, executive director of KCEWS. “In addition, educators, parents and students can use the data to make more informed decisions about career choices and what they can expect in income from various degrees.”

The Pendleton County Board of Education started, in 1993, recognizing outstanding graduates of Pendleton County Schools who have made outstanding contributions and/or achievements in their life.

This program was called “Wall of Fame” and each year recognizes a past Pendleton County Alumni who has made “unique and special contributions to society through their work or other notable activities.”

Each year the award recipient(s) are recognized during commencement exercises at Pendleton High School and their picture/bio portrait is displayed on the walls of the high school.

Nomination forms are available at the Board of Education office and on the district website www.pendleton.kyschools.us. Nominations for this recognition will be accepted in the office of the Pendleton County Board of Education until March 29, 2013.

The criteria are as follows:

• Graduate of a Pendleton County School

• Must have made a “unique and special contribution to society through work or other notable activities.”

• Nominations will be held and considered for five (5) years.  After five years, a new nomination will need to be submitted.

Nomination forms for the 2013 Wall of Fame may be sent to: Wall of Fame, %Pendleton County Board of Education, 2525 Highway 27 North, Falmouth, KY  41040.

A selection committee consisting of the Board Chairman, Superintendent, High School
Principal, President of Pendleton County Chamber of Commerce and the Student Council President at Pendleton High School will select the winning candidate.

If you have any questions please call 654-6911, ext 2110.

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This year's Spring Cleanup will begin on March 8 and end on April 14.

Registration will begin at 9 a.m., March 4 by calling 859-654-1000 and will last until all miles have been assigned. A cleanup date must be provided at the time of registration.

Permission slips will be needed for any children between the ages of 8 to 17. You may get these from the solid waste coordinator.

For questions or additional information please contact Fred Edwards at 859-654-1000.

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Even when times are tough, many Americans budget a portion of their assets to go to charity. According to Giving USA, a research institute that publishes data and trends on charitable giving, Americans contributed more than $298.42 billion to charities in 2011.

While your heart may guide you to a particular charity, don’t just hand over your hard-earned money without getting some information. Though all charities purport to be doing good work, some organizations have less than stellar track records. Just as you would scrutinize a financial investment, so should you examine a charity to ensure your money makes the biggest impact possible.