Dec. 31, 2008 — The city of Olive Hill’s drug policy will soon change. The employee handbook states the city’s employees should be drug free but the rule is not currently enforced.
Council discussed the first reading of an ordinance establishing a policy for a drug-free workplace at a special meeting, held Monday, Dec. 22. The ordinance was part of a special meeting’s agenda. Mayor Danny Sparks called for the special meeting. However, Sparks did not attend the meeting because he forgot he had tickets to a UK game and decided to go to that, instead, according to Sheree James, city clerk. Madeline Powell, council member, acted as mayor.
The city will start enforcing the new policy in order to get financial help from the United States Department of Agriculture.
“We’re hoping to get two police cruisers,” Powell said in an interview. “We buy two and they match us with two but in their stipulations they require a drug free policy within your city ordinances.”
She said she does not know much about the new ordinance.
Gayle Smith, council member, pointed out to his fellow council members that, according to the new policy, city employees can easily fail a drug test.
“If you read that very first page where it talks about alcohol, say you laid down and took NyQuil, you could be in violation of this policy,” he said.
“Absolutely,” Tony Williams, council member, said.
James said the group needs to study the policy in order to discuss the second reading of the ordinance at city council’s next meeting.
“There’s a lot of room here for lawsuits,” James told the group during the meeting. “There’s a lot to this and you all just need to come up with your questions.”
During the discussion, James told council enforcing a drug policy is expensive.
“Right now all of our gas employees, and have been ever since I’ve been here, because of the federal service commission, their names are given to this company and randomly this company will send us a letter and they are drug tested constantly,” she said. “Anybody that comes around to the gas meter. That is expensive and we’ve only had to pay for it for gas.”
Powell said in an interview she is not sure how expensive enforcing the ordinance will be.
“If we can use someone that’s already employed with the city to do the training that can actually do the drug testing, that would be great but if we have to hire somebody else to do the drug testing it will add a cost to the city,” she said.
She said there is no special funding for the program.
“I know that the drug free policy is trying to bring us into compliance with what the state requires for us to receive certain funds that they provide for things that help operate the municipals around the state,” she said.
James read part of the policy aloud during the meeting.
“The city will pay for all conductive tests as described in this policy except for a second controlled substance test if requested by the employee,” she read. “When the test confirms the initial test be positive, employees may utilize all service benefits available to the city’s employee assistance program.”
Smith reminded everyone that the discussion was about the first reading of the ordinance establishing a policy for a drug-free workplace.
“It could cost us more that you think long term but really I don’t know whether it’s bad or good,” he said.
Williams disagreed with Smith.
I really think in the long run it will probably save us money because of the insurance,” he said.
James said there is a discount available for the city but she is not sure what it is.
“The state is really pushing this or we’re going to lose funding,” she said. “We need to do it, we just need to get it down to something we can manage.”
Council will discuss the second reading of the drug-free workplace ordinance Jan. 12.
Local News
City of Olive Hill to make changes to drug policy
- Local News
-
-
Olive Hill man dead after KSP standoff
Kenneth Douglas Dyer, 55, was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon in a standoff with Kentucky State Police just hours after his release from jail.
-
Wine label honors Olive Hill
Olive Hill is the latest of 36 Kentucky cities east of Frankfort to be featured on bottles of the award-winning “Kentucky Chambourcin,” a red table wine produced by CCC Trail Vineyard of Rowan County.
The collectors label shows an Olive Hill street scene featuring the historic depot. Like the other city labels, it was painted by Morehead artist Brenda Salyers.
-
Regional jail debate takes shape
The prospect of a regional jail has been a widely discussed topic in Carter County since Judge-executive Charles Wallace first unveiled the initiative in last week's Fiscal Court meeting. The idea was met with much opposition, but Wallace defends the regional jail as a need for the overall health of both the county's roads and its' pocketbook.
-
Community reacts to regional jail authority
The Kentucky Department of Local Government has advised the Carter County Fiscal Court that the first reading of two ordinances passed last week concerning a regional jail authority must be redone. According to DLG Commissioner Tony Wilder, the meeting held last Tuesday was a special meeting because the regular meeting set for May 8 had been cancelled.
-
Grayson Gallery celebrates first anniversary
Memory Days will be a time of great joy and celebration for many citizens of Carter County, but for Dan and Mindy Click, the visionary couple behind the Grayson Gallery and Art Center, this year’s festivities will mean a great deal more. That’s because the Grayson Gallery will be celebrating its one-year anniversary this weekend, a milestone that the Clicks weren’t sure would ever come to fruition.
-
School board approves staff pay raise, wish list for high schools, no consolidation
Monday night was a busy time for the Carter County Board of Education. One of the biggest items addressed was a report from the survey that addressed the question of consolidation of the county’s two high schools.
-
Board makes heavy budget cuts
With funds set to expire from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the Carter County Board of Education finds itself forced to make tough financial decisions for the upcoming year. Immediate impact can be felt upon first glance at the financial documents. The beginning balance for last year's budget was just over $2.9M, but the upcoming year will only see the county begin with $1.4M in educational funds.
-
Olive Hill City Council discusses water project
Fiinal steps were taken toward beginning the upgrade of the city's water system at Tuesday's meeting of the Olive Hill City Council. The project will be conducted in three phases, with a total bid cost of approximately $500,000. The project will be completely funded by two separate grants from the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority.
-
Smokey Valley Truck Stop back in business
It’s not actually located in Smokey Valley and hasn’t been a real truck stop for years but the Smokey Valley Truck Stop has become a national icon. And much to the relief of its customers who love the home style food in its now famous restaurant, Smokey Valley Truck Stop reopened last Friday after being closed a week.
-
City lawsuits appear in Circuit Court
Lawsuits concerning both Carter County cities appeared in Carter Circuit Court on Monday afternoon. In the case of 4th Leaf LLC vs. the City of Grayson, a motion to intervene was filed by attorney Will Wilhoit on behalf of Johnson and Goebel. Wilhoit argued that his clients own property that will be affected by the outcome of the case.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Olive Hill man dead after KSP standoff
