Aug. 19, 2009 — Skateboarding

Editor,

By now many people have heard about skateboarding in our community. There is a large group of youth and adults who enjoy the self made breeze that comes from gliding along on our boards. Some of us enjoy the challenge of acrobatic tricks, and some find carving the concrete wave soothing to the soul. It is a sport like no other. A lifetime of enjoyment can prove to be a means to a healthy lifestyle.

Carter County Skateboarding Association has been assisted along the way by kind and generous individuals and businesses for our quest to build a skatepark in the Grayson area.

The skaters themselves have spent many years trying to find a safe, fun place to enjoy doing what they love best.

Parents of skaters have driven hundreds, some thousands of miles just to give their kids a chance to go where they are allowed to skate safely.

CCSA gives its thanks to Jill York of Prints Works, Papa John’s Pizza of Grayson, and the Carter County Fair Board for their generous support and passion for our youth.

Our cause has been helped by good friends of the media which includes Jim Phillips, news director for WUGO-WGOH, Tim Preston of the Independent and Grayson Journal-Times for accepting our photos and articles.

We have been fortunate to have a great centrally located place to meet at the First Church of Christ Family Life Center.

The Carter County Recreational Alliance and the Carter County Fiscal Court has offered its informational support.

Our parents and grandparents have been very supportive by getting skaters to meetings, donating their time and driving them to skateparks for field research.

We give our highest regards and thanks to all of our find advocates. We look forward to others who are willing to help us accomplish our goal to have a safe skatepark built for our kids.

Skate Safe-Carter County,

Andy Tomaselli

Chair Parent Advisory Board

Carter County Skateboarding Association



HPS

Editor,

On behalf of the Hitchins Preservation Society, we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support of our food booth at the Grayson Fair last week.

All of the folks who cooked and donated food to sell, everyone who gave up their evenings to brave the elements, rain and heat, to work at the booth and all of you that ate with us every evening.

Your generous help will provide us with the means to help continue the renovation of the old Hitchins School.

Thanks so much!

Sincerely,

HPS Board Members

Edward Isaac, Mike Johnston, Donna Bond and Iva Bradford



P.O.M.C.

Editor,

Parents Of Murdered Children would like to thank everyone that participated in the benefit run for POMC on Saturday, August 15.

Thank you goes to Terry Bauers, Horton and Brown, Light House Frames, Wilma’s Dress Shop, Gordy’s Shoe Repair-Ashland, Stan Market, New Hope Church of God Prophecy, New Beginnings, Holy Rollers, Andy Bond, Widows Son’s, Bobby Tackett, Eddie and Jean Adams, Miller Ins., Custom Pools and Spas, Grayson Journal and Olive Hill Times, Daily Independent, and The Morehead News.

Thanks to Pastor Curtis Daniels and Pastor Kyle Burchett.

Thank you,

Ann Bauers and P.O.M.C.



4H/Youth Livestock

Editor,

The Bush Family wants to thank Farm Credit Services of Mid America and Doug Shannon for the purchase of their four year old daughters’ Lynnsey’s market goat Downtown Buster Brown during the 4-H/ Youth Livestock auction at the 2009 Carter County Fair. During these tough economic times it was great to see a business support such a great club. We commend you for your kindness and support. You are greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,

The Bush Family

Lynnsey & Downtown Buster Brown



The public option

Editor,

Senator Mitch McConnell, Senator Jim Bunning and Representative Geoff Davis–these are the men elected to represent my interests in Congress. If so, I cannot understand why they would oppose a public option for health care.

In 2008, the health insurance industry made a profit of $11 billion. Health insurance in this country is provided primarily by for-profit corporations. Corporations are funded by shareholders and the shareholders have a right to expect to make money from an increase in the value of their shares. In fact, it is one of the duties of the corporation to make a good faith attempt to secure a profit for its shareholders.

Profit is all income left after payment of employees and officers and other deductible expenses. One of the interesting things about our system is that corporations get to deduct the employee health insurance they pay as an expense, but employees do not get taxed for their health insurance package as a fringe benefit.

Normally, profit making is great. But I firmly believe the duty of health insurance corporations in making profits is antithetical to the purpose of the corporation to provide for the health of its subscribers. Why? Because the only two ways to make large profits is to refuse to approve care or to sell premiums only to healthy persons who will not use it.

What can help bring premium costs down is a public option in the health care plan to be passed by Congress. The public option will allow ordinary citizens to pay premiums to a government run health plan. Since the government does not need to have an $11 billion profit, the premiums will be far less than those of the few insurers in Kentucky. And the policies will not exclude pre-existing conditions, which prevents many from obtaining health insurance.

Those who represent our interests in Washington D.C. say a public option will wipe out heath insurance companies. The truth is that they will be forced to become more responsive to their premium holders–such as actually providing benefits instead of denials. Also, maybe they will have to pay their top executives $10 million a year instead of $30 million a year, and maybe their profits are $2 billion a year instead of $11 billion.

And what if they do cease to exist? Sorry, but I’m okay with that. As our president has said–if you work, you should have decent health care. If these companies care only for executive pay and for profits for shareholders, then maybe they should be in an area other than the care of the sick, the injured and the dying.

The aged, the rich and the poor are already provided health care. The only ones who can’t afford it are what Senator McConnell calls “the backbone of our country”–the working age men and women who own and are employed by small businesses. The inability to afford health insurance for owners and employees is a big factor in the decline of small businesses. It is also a major reason for failure to start a small business. Even for a good business, an owner will be unable or have great difficulty in insuring himself or his employees, unless, of course, they are all healthy persons in their 20's.

According to the January 2009 edition of the Small Business Watch of Discover Financial Services, 85% of small business owners do not offer health insurance to their employees. Of those who offer it, 36% are considering discontinuing it as a fringe benefit. In addition 28% of small business owners have no health insurance for themselves. And, according to the Service Employees International Union report posted in June 22, 2009, small business owners and employees are half of the uninsured in this nation. A public option is essential in assisting those who work in small businesses, and those who own them, to have affordable health care.

The next time you go into a small business, whether it’s your hairdresser or a store owner, take a minute to ask if they and their employees are satisfied with their health insurance or if they even have any. In all liklihood, you will be talking to an uninsured person.

Is your daycare provider, that person you trust with your children, or your auto mechanic, that person you trust with your means of transportation, less deserving of health care than the person who works at the courthouse or at city hall or in the Congress in Washington D.C. And doesn’t he or she provide a necessary service to our county and to our state?

If your answer is yes, support the public option and allow those small business owners and their employees to have the same degree of protection that you have as a government worker, or an employee of a large corporation, or a member of the United States Congress. If you want to continue to give away your money to a for-profit health care corporation to pay millions to its executives and billions to its shareholders, that is your right. But please support my right, and the rights of all other small business employees, to make a different choice–to allow a public option to protect our health.

MaLenda S. Haynes

Grayson, Ky



Setting the record straight

Editor,

After speaking in Maysville last week, I read a half-page newspaper ad that appeared in The Ledger Independent on Tuesday, August 11. To my surprise, the ad stated: “The Family Foundation praised Robin Webb for standing up for Family Values.”

I’ve also received reports that The Family Foundation’s name has been used by that campaign in radio and television ads with similar statements.

Let me be very clear with three important points: #1 Neither The Family Foundation of Kentucky, nor its 501(c)3 affiliate has “praised Robin Webb for standing up for Family Values”; #2 Neither of these groups endorses candidates or has ever endorsed a candidate; and, #3 Neither group, as issue organizations, allow their names to be used in politics.

Both groups have always stood FOR family-friendly issues, but have NEVER stood for any candidate or Party.

I am currently hoping for the best – that these ads were simply a distortion by an over zealous communications director. I trust it is not the worst – a deliberate deception to somehow promote the candidate in a dishonest way.

The timing on these ads was particularly ironic – I was in Maysville doing an educational presentation regarding the dangers associated with government-sponsored expanded gambling, and Rep. Webb voted for the slot machine bill in the Special Session earlier this summer.

In fairness, and to our purpose, I have contacted the Webb campaign and asked those at the helm to stop all ads with the use of the name “The Family Foundation.”

Thank you for your time. May you have a meaningful election on August 25.

Kent Ostrander

Executive Director

The Family Foundation of Kentucky

(859) 255-5400