By: Lovina Eicher

We are having some snowy days this week although there is not much of an accumulation.  We have had quite a day already.  Joe left for work around 3:30 a.m.  I had turned off the light and was ready to go back to bed until 5 a.m.  I heard an alarm go off in the basement so I went to go out and check it out and it was a carbon monoxide alarm. I could smell soot so I checked our coal stove but it looked okay.  I figured that it might be the gas water heater and shut it off.  I get worried more since the fire we had last year and decided to wake all eight children.  I called 911 to ask what I should do.  They said to get everyone out of the house and they  would send someone to take a look.  Everyone was still sleepy and it was difficult to find clothes and coats by flashlight. I didn’t want to turn on our gaslights just to be safe.  Remembering the fire we had everyone was shook up a little more.

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.”

Old men like toys too.  I have ridden and worked horses all my life.  Dad never had a tractor until I left home after I graduated.  I hated to work the team we had, since all the other boys my age in the neighborhood had tractors.  Today, I would give anything to have the team I hated when I was a boy. Even though I have had many good horses over the years, I guess my favorite would have to be the old mare, Miss Daisy whom I now have.  She is eighteen years old and beginning to show her age.  Miss Daisy and I have had some good times together over the years.  We have been to Texas, Florida, Mississippi, the Carolinas, and perhaps some seven other states. She is dependable in both city and mountains, and is an excellent sidekick.

Horses age in a formula of four years to one in relation to man. So multiply eighteen times four and Miss Daisy is 72 years old.  The Scripture says, and I believe it, that man should “take note” of “three score and ten” which is 70 years old.  Now I know that all of us are not going to drop dead at 70, but life changes drastically at that point.  The commercials on TV boast about 75 year old men becoming young again with a dose of Viagra. This commercial is misleading.  Miss Daisy and I are now in the same age bracket and she understands me and I am comfortable with her.

Dear Editor,

I want to take a moment to express my thanks and gratitude to Pendleton County Chief Deputy Todd Dennie and others that were involved in helping to locate and return belongings that were taken from my home on November 30. I am blessed with great family, friends and a community of leaders who care about one another and are so willing to meet ones needs as they arise. Praising and thanking God for each of them.

Dee Browning

Dear Editor,

First I would like to thank you for the opportunity to respond to the letter in today's issue titled "In Who's Best Interest?" on behalf of the Pendleton County Board of Education. There were numerous misconceptions and incorrect statements in the letter. I want to set the record straight on the following:

1. The benefits and reasons why we support the NKU Ed .D program for the district and superintendent.

2. Clarification on the reduction in positions at the district level and the $140,000 in savings to the district.

3. Explaining the reasons for changes in the salary structure and how that will benefit staff.

4. The reasons for changing our staffing formula and how those were determined.

5. That programs were not eliminated during the change in staffing.

In December of 2012, each member of the board of education received a letter from the Northern Kentucky University College of Education inviting the district and Superintendent Strong to participate in the 2nd Superintendent Ed. D Cohort.

The executive doctoral cohort is a program designed to improve the district by refining and improving upon the skills of the superintendent. This process focuses on developing competencies in the superintendent through work that is to be completed on projects that will benefit the district. The competencies developed will tie directly back to efforts that help improve the district. In addition to the competency work, the district will have access to all programs within the college of education, as well as other departments of the university for a two and a half year period. This type of professional development could cost the district thousands of dollars. The cost of this program is $33,980, less than $5.00 per student over the three year period. The board certainly understands that there is a cost, but more importantly felt that it was an investment in the future of the district. In addition to the board agreeing to pay the tuition, it also asked Mr. Strong to sign an agreement requiring him to reimburse the district for all or portions of the tuition depending upon his length of service to the district. Mr. Strong is also responsible for all other expenses associated with the program. Ms. Key must have been unaware of this information or neglected to share that important part with her readers. Where will this money come from to pay for the Ed.D? Currently the board provides for professional development of the superintendent and other administrative positions. We will redistribute those funds and look at other general fund options. The funds used will not be taken from any reductions made due to staffing.