The Kentucky Cancer Program (KCP) is encouraging everyone to Dress in Blue on Friday, March 1—or at special events throughout the month— as part of the fifth annual nationwide campaign to promote lifesaving colon cancer screening.

Madeline Abramson, Kentucky lieutenant governor’s wife, will serve as the Dress in Blue Day honorary chair for Kentucky.

Community partners, led by KCP District Cancer Councils, are sponsoring many special activities March 1 (national Dress in Blue Day) and throughout the month).  Included will be a special tour by a 20 ft. long inflatable giant colon, traveling throughout central and Eastern Ky. at some time during the month in every district.

Eleven major construction projects at six state universities, including dormitory renovations, new student centers, and athletic facility improvements will soon be underway thanks to the quick passage of a bill that allows the schools to issue bonds for project financing – all at no cost to Kentucky taxpayers.

Gov. Steve Beshear, joined by a bipartisan group of legislative leaders and state university presidents, signed House Bill 7 into law today. The law authorizes $363.3 million in agency bonds by Kentucky’s public universities for campus improvements supported by university revenues, according to a news release from the governor's office.

With Low Vision Awareness Month in February, the Kentucky Optometric Association is urging people with vision problems to have them checked.

“Low vision is not a normal part of getting older,” said Dr. John Musick, an optometrist in Nicholasville, Ky., who specializes in low vision and is one of only 50 diplomates in Low Vision in the Low Vision Section of the American Academy of Optometry. “Rather, most people develop low vision as a result of certain eye diseases, such as macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma and diabetes. It’s important to have an annual dilated eye exam to determine the cause of low vision, so any illness can be diagnosed and treated in a timely manner. We also can provide help for people to cope with low vision.”

We are half-way through the 30-day session and many of our priority bills have made their way to the House to await action there.

This week, the Senate passed House Bill 7, a bill authorizing university bonding projects. Universities will use their own bonds at no cost to Kentucky’s General Fund to renovate or build 11 critically-needed buildings. Northern Kentucky University, for example, has laid out a plan for the renovation and expansion of the Albright Health Center and a residence hall. The universities must use their own funds to operate these buildings once they’re built. The Senate also added language that these projects could not be subsidized with tuition increases.

On Thursday, the Senate passed the bill that I sponsored, Senate Bill 6, in response to the overwhelming number of deaths resulting from heroin overdoses in Kentucky. The bill amends current law to state clearly that an overdose death from a Schedule I drug is a foreseeable event.  Schedule I drugs are by definition highly addictive and have no legitimate medical use. SB 6 applies criminal homicide liability to any individual in the chain of possession of those drugs related to the overdose death of the user. It also states that the illegal trafficking of these types of drugs is, by itself, sufficient to support a charge of criminal homicide in an overdose death. This allows authorities to bring these charges against anyone who supplied the lethal does, regardless of their position in the supply chain.

Although the Kentucky House of Representatives considers a wide variety of bills during any given week of a legislative session, there are times when broad themes emerge.  We had three last week, and they affected our universities, our farmers and our legal system.

For our universities, the highlight came on Thursday, when Governor Beshear signed the session’s first bill into law.  It gives many of our four-year public universities the ability to spend $363 million of their own money to build 11 projects, which are expected to support about 5,000 construction jobs.  This will not use any new state tax dollars or cause tuition to rise.

Most of the money will be used by the University of Kentucky, which will now spend $110 million to upgrade Commonwealth Stadium and $100 million for a new science building.  Two-thirds of the cost for that building will come from the school’s athletics department, the first time in Kentucky that athletics revenue has supported academics.

On Tuesday, I was proud to take part in a Capitol Rotunda ceremony that unveiled a new five-year plan for agriculture.  It notes both the successes farming has seen in recent years and the challenges the profession faces down the road.  A copy can be found online at www.kyagcouncil.org.

The regular meeting on February 26, 2013  for the Pendleton County Industrial Development Authority has been canceled. We will hold a special meeting at 7  a.m. on March 5, 2013 at the Citizens Building, 135 West Shelby Street, Falmouth, Kentucky.

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Pendleton County Fiscal Court meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., February 26, 2013.

Tentative agenda will go as follows: Call to order, prayer, pledge, approval of agenda, approval of minutes, approval of treasure's report, severe weather proclamation, rural secondary plan presented by District 6 Hwy Department, Simplex Grinnell Justice Center contract, Department of Ag Spay/Neuter Grant, approve FEMA applicant agent resolution for 2013, inundation map grant resolution, one year tornado rebuilding celebration, transfers, pay bills, closing remarks by Judge Bertram/magistrate and adjourn.

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Kentucky law designates Feb. 15 through April 30 as spring forest fire hazard season.  During this time, it is illegal to burn anything within 150 feet of any woodland or brushland between the daylight hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. The law is intended to prevent forest fires by allowing outdoor burning only after 6 p.m. when conditions are less likely to cause a wildfire to spread.

“Wildfire is an extremely dangerous situation that doesn’t have to happen,” said Leah MacSwords, director of the Division of Forestry (KDF).

“Kentuckians have lived with wildfires for so long that people think they are a natural occurrence, but nothing can be further from the truth.  Deliberate or careless acts by people lead to wildfires with the largest two causes by far being arson and burning of trash and debris.” Last year, KDF suppressed 1,234 fires that burned 32,855 acres across the state, and arson continued being the leading cause of wildfires in Kentucky.

To reduce the risks of wildfire, forestry officials recommend that citizens be aware of fire hazard seasons, outdoor burning laws, campfire safety and precautions to take while burning woody debris. The following guidelines provided by KDF summarize the specifics of forest fire season:

Be aware of all outdoor burning restrictions, including forest fire hazard seasons, air pollution regulations and restrictions imposed by local ordinances and county burn bans.

Avoid burning debris during fire hazard seasons and during times of dry, windy conditions.

Completely extinguish all campfires and debris piles. Never leave a fire unattended and always extinguish fires if conditions become too windy. The smallest spark can lead to a dangerous wildfire.

Properly extinguish smoking materials. Put out cigarettes, cigars or pipes only in cleared areas free of vegetation or debris.

Avoid parking cars, trucks or recreational vehicles on dry vegetation. The exhaust system on a vehicle can reach a temperature of more than 1,000 degrees, which could easily start a wildfire.

Incorporate “Firewise” practices around homes and communities in forested areas. Firewise practices range from creating defensible space around homes by removing leaves, debris and firewood and ensuring access for fire response personnel and equipment in rural or isolated areas.

Report suspicious acts of arson to the nearest Kentucky State Police post of call the Target Arson Hotline at 1-800-27-ARSON.

For more information about fire hazard seasons, outdoor burning laws and safe burning practices, contact the Kentucky Division of Forestry at 1-800-866-0555 or visit the division’s website at http://forestry.ky.gov.

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Agriculture Commissioner James Comer testifies to the state Senate Agriculture Committee as U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, right, and Reps. Thomas Massie, left, and John Yarmuth listen in Frankfort. Kentucky Department of Agriculture photo by Chris Aldridge.

Before a packed house filled with hemp supporters, the Kentucky Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously passed Senate Bill 50, Sen. Paul Hornback’s legislation that provides an administrative framework if and when the federal government legalizes industrial hemp.

Republican Majority Leader Damon Thayer made the motion for passage as U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, U.S. Reps. John Yarmuth and Thomas Massie and Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer testified together in support of the bill. In a showing of bipartisanship, the motion was seconded by Democrat Sen. Robin Webb.

“This is by far the most impressive panel to testify on a bill in my 13 years in Frankfort,” Commissioner Comer said. “We’re honored that Senate Bill 50 passed by a unanimous vote.”

Initial figures from Kentucky’s Tax Amnesty program show a strong response from delinquent taxpayers.  Actual and estimated receipts of $56.9 million slightly exceed the budgeted amount of $56.7 million.  However, total revenue attributed to amnesty will not be conclusive until the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30.

“More than 27,000 delinquent taxpayers from all 120 Kentucky counties and all 50 states participated,” said Lori H. Flanery, Secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet.  “This means we have 27,000 more taxpayers who are now compliant and have come clean with the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”