Archive for October, 2009

Haydon will be Democratic candidate for Senate seat

FRANKFORT — Democrat leaders in the 14th Senate District picked a former state representative on Saturday to run in a Dec. 8 special election for the seat recently vacated by former Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly.

The Democratic leaders from Marion, Mercer, Nelson, Taylor and Washington counties choose Jodie Haydon, Democratic leaders said Saturday.

Haydon, a Democrat from Bardstown, retired from the Legislature in 2004, after serving for eight years. He will face state Rep. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, in what promises to be a closely-watched and expensive race. Higdon was picked by Republican leaders in the Senate district last week. Democrats are trying to make a dent in the Republican hold in the state Senate. They recently won a seat in an August special election that was held by a Republican.

With Kelly, the Republicans had a 20-17 majority in the Senate. One independent caucuses with the Republicans. Kelly was appointed last week by Gov. Steve Beshear to an open circuit court judgeship.

Candidates for House seat to be announced next week

FRANKFORT — Candidates for an open Eastern Kentucky state house seat will be selected by early next week. A Republican nominating committee consisting of party leaders in Carter and Lewis counties will meet Tuesday at the Carter County Justice Center to nominate a candidate for the 96th House District seat, according to Republican officials. The [...]

Report: Slight gains in elected minority officials in Kentucky

FRANKFORT — The number of minority public officials in Kentucky increased slightly from 2008 to 2009, but non-white elected officials still only make up 2.8 percent of those surveyed, according to a new report released Friday.

The report, “United We Stand: Encouraging Diversity in Kentucky’s Leaders,” by Secretary of State Trey Grayson surveyed city and county governments, school boards, judicial positions and state elected positions. It found an overall increase of five non-white elected leaders from 2008 to 2009. In 2008 there were 136 minority leaders compared to 141 in 2009.

The gains came in the number of non-white mayors and school board members. Meanwhile, the number of minorities in the county and city council categories dropped by 11.

Twelve of the 21 elected official categories had no minority representatives. For example, there are no minority sheriffs or county clerks in Kentucky. No minority holds a constitutionally-elected office in Kentucky.

Although there were overall gains, minorities are still under-represented in public office. They make up about 2.8 percent of the office holders but are 10 percent of Kentucky’s population, the report showed.

Bill would protect funding for schools hit hard by flu

FRANKFORT — A proposal backed by Senate President David Williams that would keep flu outbreaks from affecting school district funding could be fast-tracked in the opening days of the legislative session that begins Jan. 5.

Although some school superintendents had not yet seen the bill, which Williams pre-filed on Friday, many said any move to keep the cash-strapped districts from losing money would be welcomed.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, also expressed support for the measure, which Williams said could be referred to a committee for action in January.

School districts receive the bulk of their funding through the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky funding formula, commonly called SEEK funding.

The SEEK funding formula is based in part on a school district’s average daily attendance. If too many kids are absent because of influenza or other illnesses, a school district’s funding is lowered in the following school year.

Many schools have chosen to close rather than take a financial hit.

As of Friday, 271 schools in 43 of the state’s 174 school districts had closed at some point since the school year began because of influenza-like outbreaks.

Plans for new Eastern State Hospital unveiled

FRANKFORT — State officials said Thursday that they expect to break ground on a new Eastern State Hospital at the University of Kentucky’s Coldstream Research Campus in June 2010.

The tentative date for the opening of the 230-bed psychiatric hospital is 2012.

At a news conference, Gov. Steve Beshear, Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry and University of Kentucky President Lee Todd unveiled architectural plans for the $129-million, 300,000-square-foot facility that will replace the existing campus on Fourth Street and Newtown Pike.

“This new hospital is certainly a leap ahead for the entire Lexington community,” said Newberry.

Patient advocates and officials of the Bluegrass Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board, a nonprofit which has the contract to run Eastern State Hospital, have been pushing for more than a decade to replace the aging buildings with a new facility. Eastern State Hospital is the second-oldest psychiatric hospital in the country and recently celebrated its 185th anniversary.

Critics angry over state ‘holiday tree’

By ROGER ALFORD – Associated Press Writer

FRANKFORT — Gov. Steve Beshear has angered some Christians with his yuletide terminology.

A giant evergreen that will brighten the Capitol lawn this winter won’t be called a Christmas tree. Instead, the Beshear administration has dubbed it a “holiday tree.”

The Rev. Jeff Fugate, pastor of Clays Mill Baptist Church in Lexington, said Christians find the change troubling.

“If you call it a holiday tree,” Fugate asked, “which holiday are you talking about? We don’t put up a holiday tree for Easter or New Year’s or Thanksgiving. We put a tree up for Christmas.”

Beshear administration spokeswoman Cindy Lanham said the tree will be in celebration of a variety of winter holidays, including Christmas and Hanukkah.

“This is a special time of the year for many Kentuckians,” she said.

The spat in Kentucky is only the latest in an ongoing Christmas debate. Some retailers, including Wal-Mart, have returned to greeting customers with “Merry Christmas” after coming under attack for directing employees to say “Happy Holidays.”

Report on Northpoint riot due soon

FRANKFORT — A report detailing the cause of a riot at Northpoint Training Center will likely be completed in the next few weeks, state prison officials told legislators during a Wednesday hearing.

Kentucky Department of Corrections Commissioner LaDonna Thompson told the Interim Joint Committee on Local Government Wednesday that she could not say yet why prisoners at the prison outside Danville rioted. Several legislators had asked questions about whether complaints about the private food vendor, Aramark Correctional Services, had lead to the riot.

“I have not seen the results of the review,” Thompson said, referring to a report by investigators who have spent hours interviewing inmates, correction officers and others at the facility. Thompson said that review should be completed in the next few weeks and will be shared with legislators.

Mountjoy resigns education secretary post

Kentucky Education Secretary Helen Mountjoy has resigned her position effective Nov. 30, citing a long commute from her home in Owensboro and a desire to spend more time with her family, Gov. Steve Beshear’s office announced Wednesday.

Mountjoy will continue to serve as Beshear’s point person on the recently appointed Transforming Education in Kentucky (TEK) task force.

Beshear appointed Mountjoy as cabinet secretary in 2007. She previously served as vice president of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation and was a member of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence. Mountjoy also served on the Kentucky Board of Education for 15 years and chaired the board from 1998 to 2004.

“Education and workforce development are the issues closest to my heart, and it’s been a privilege to serve as cabinet secretary,” Mountjoy said. “I am looking forward to continuing some of that work, and I’m also looking forward to spending more time with my family in Owensboro.”

Beshear said he will immediately begin a search for Mountjoy’s replacement.

- Linda Blackford

Former E. Ky. high school coach seeks legislative office

By Karla Ward – kward1@herald-leader.com

A well-known former basketball coach from Eastern Kentucky has announced that he will run for state representative.

Bill Mike Runyon who retired from coaching at Paintsville High School last year, is seeking the Republican Party’s nomination to run in the 97th District, which serves Johnson and Martin counties, and parts of Pike and Floyd counties.

The seat is currently held by Rep. Hubert Collins, a Democrat who has served since 1991.

A press release said Runyon would like to tackle issues, such as “the full out assault on coal mining, the strangle hold the government has on our individual liberties, the problems with our state budget, and the need to move forward in education.”

Runyon who has also retired from teaching, currently serves on the Paintsville City Council.

During his 26 seasons at Paintsville High, he led the Tigers to 531 wins, eight regional titles and, in 1996, a state championship. The team was state runner-up in 1998. He also served as the school’s athletic director and coached baseball and football.

He is married and has three grown children.

GOP nominates Higdon for state Senate race

By Beth Musgrave – bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — Republican leaders nominated Rep. Jimmy Higdon on Tuesday to run for the open 14th Senate District seat, which was vacated Monday by Dan Kelly.

The executive committees of the Republican Party in Mercer, Marion, Nelson, Taylor and Washington counties met Tuesday night in Campbellsville and chose the businessman from Lebanon as their nominee for the Dec. 8 special election.

Higdon’s likely opponent will be former state representative Jodie Haydon of Bardstown. The Democratic nominating committee will meet Saturday to make its selection.

Higdon said Tuesday he is ready for what promises to be an expensive election that focuses heavily on the expansion of gambling at horse racetracks.

“I think I will be outspent,” Higdon said. “I am the underdog going in, but I will win. I like being the underdog.”