Thursday,
February 26, 2009
Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery
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Thursday,
February 26, 2009 |
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Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery |
Letters to the EditorThank you to HSUD: Hello, I just wanted to thank the HSUD electrical utility repair crew that worked our neighborhood this afternoon and restored our electrical power. We were without electrical power for 12 days after a severe ice storm hit western Kentucky. Thank you for the HSUD crew that traveled to our area to help with power restoration.
Dear Paul, Congratulations! We are pleased that the Holly Springs School District Board of Trustees qualifies as a Board of Merit. We look forward to having you and your fellow board members at the Annual Conference and at the Awards Luncheon to receive the Board of Merit Honor. The Board of Merit Honor is bestowed upon school boards that have earned 100 or more continuing education hours for the school year, during which the Holly Springs School District Board of Trustees earned a total of 111 hours. We commend you for exemplary commitment to professional development and to improving the lives of the children served by your school district. Again, our most sincere congratulations.
Crisis treatment center: I recently attended the Marshall County (MC) Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting on Tues., February 17, at 9 a.m. I got there a little before the start of the meeting and was able to get a seat. The room was crowded; once the meeting began, it was standing room only. It turned out that almost all of the people in the crowded room were there to show their concern and support for a Marshall County Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation facility. This was the most people I had ever seen attend a BOS meeting. Now, I have been at these meetings when I was the only one in attendance who was not an official of Marshall County. I have attended enough meetings to witness first hand the earnest dedication of the BOS to their responsibilities in Marshall County. Mr. Bennett, Mr. Zinn, Mr. Fleming, Mr. Taylor, and Mr. Dixon have always demonstrated a concern to do what is right, fair, and just in their decision making for MC, within the law. I have witnessed them allow parties to negotiate a solution for when and where to ride three-wheelers, struggle with the zoning concerns when people have lost their homes to fire, clean-up of properties, care for animals, negotiate cost with garbage pick-up service providers; being fair to taxpayers and the provider, and keeping emergency services up and running in MC. In my opinion, all of the decisions I have witnessed the BOS make have always been with the idea of what is in the best interest of MC, up until the last meeting on Tues., Feb. 17. The BOS did not return $2.1 million to the building of a Marshall County Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation facility. The BOS did not second Mr. Zinn’s motion and choose to use the $2.1 million to complete a highway project in Holly Springs. I have struggled to understand how the BOS could make such a wrong decision. This is the same BOS who, in my opinion, has consistently done the right thing when making decisions for MC. The highway bypass is needed in MC, but this is not a case of either/or where citizens of MC get one or the other. Both of these projects are good for MC and we should all work together to build the A&D rehabilitation facility and complete the highway project. The BOS decision is wrong because a highway bypass is not a human being. This is a quality of life issue. Alcohol and drug abuse is a serious problem in MC and everyone in the county knows someone directly or indirectly affected. Our greatest resource in MC is our citizens and the most valuable resource is our young people, the future of MC. It is a known fact that alcohol and drug abuse is a temptation in our communities. It is our responsibility as citizens and elected officials to secure our future by providing every opportunity for our citizens to lead proud and productive lives. Young people make mistakes and so do adults; an A&D rehabilitation center can make a significant difference in the lives of our citizens. The quality of life of every citizen in MC presently and in the future is affected negatively by the BOS’s wrong decision. An A&D rehabilitation center can provide a sorely needed second chance that will allow our men and women to become productive, tax-paying citizens as opposed to repeat offenders. Such a facility would be good for employers in MC by supporting employees with A&D problems. It is more cost effective to rehabilitate an employee rather then lose them to A&D. In addition, an A&D rehabilitation center would create permanent jobs in MC. Making a decision that promotes human life, human growth, and human development is a right decision. The reasons given by the BOS to keep the money for the highway bypass was the possibility of losing the money. There is no guarantee that the money will be there for the highway bypass or the A&D rehabilitation center. Therefore, this is not a valid reason for the BOS to move the monies from the A&D rehabilitation center to the completion of the highway bypass. Why would the BOS not do what is right, why would the BOS not promote human life, growth, and development? Why would they choose not to build the A&D rehabilitation facility that affects the quality of life for all county citizens, current and future? As citizens of this community, we have a responsibility to do what is right, to support what is right, and to correct what is wrong. It is wrong for the BOS not to use the $2.1 million to build an A&D rehabilitation center. It is wrong not to give our citizens every opportunity to improve the quality of all of our lives. It is wrong to reason that the chance of losing the $2.1 million is a reason to make a wrong decision. The money is always at risk. Marshall County citizens should make their voices heard on the urgent matter. The BOS needs to do what is right, the community needs to do what is right, and what is right is that MC has an A&D rehabilitation facility. Everyone who attended the meeting last Tuesday knows the difference between right and wrong. I call on the BOS to make the right decision and use the $2.1 million to build the A&D rehabilitation center for MC. I call on the citizens of MC to hold the BOS accountable for their wrong decision in this matter. I ask what example are we going to set for our children and what will the quality of life be in Marshall County? A good example is all of Marshall County’s BOS, citizens, and elected officials working together to improve our quality of life.
Local ministers and concerned citizens filled the supervisors’ meeting room (standing–room only) at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, February 17. The purpose of the gathering was to encourage the Marshall County Board of Supervisors to rescind a prior action of the board to stop funding of a crisis rehabilitation treatment center in Marshall County. The negative action of the board (lack of a second) was a great surprise to the citizens in attendance. The State Legislature approved $2.1 million in 2007 to pay the cost of constructing, furnishing and equipping a crisis rehabilitation health facility in Marshall County (see Senate Bill #3201). This was done at the request of the board and State Rep. Kelvin Buck. Later, the board (4-1) voted to cancel that request on a rumor that the money may be lost if it were not shifted to the road fund. In spite of the evidence of the fallacy of such a rumor and the expressions by local pastors and leading citizens on the need for using these funds for a treatment center in Marshall County, the supervisors of districts 1, 2 and 5 last week failed to second a motion by the supervisor of District 4, who supported the legislation. The supervisor of District 3 was absent. Comment: This negative action was a great surprise to the citizens of Marshall County. This facility would bring meaningful jobs to Marshall County and more importantly would provide “treatment” for citizens who are addicted to alcohol and harmful drugs. The Concerned Citizens Coalition hopes that the supervisors will rescind their action and permit funds to enter the county to help citizens who need employment, and especially those who need medical care. This facility will enhance the fast growing medical service in Marshall County.
I have been down here several times to Holly Springs to see nothing has been done about the parking problem all the way from city hall to the light by Rust College. The angle parking, except for the post office, is a problem. They should use straight parking all the way down because this causes less space on Memphis Street through downtown to Rust College. I have done planning and community development for several newspapers and newsletters, to just only make as a suggestion. So take it how you want.
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