Latest / Eastern Kentucky Newspapers / Hazard Herald - 10.18.26

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Hazard Herald - 10.18.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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  Speaker 1: Now we turn to the reading of the Hazard Herald
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  Speaker 1: for news of hazard in Perry County. I'm Lou Townsend.
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  Speaker 1: We begin with the online edition dated October 14th, 2026.
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  Speaker 1: As a reminder, Radio Eye is a reading service intended
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  Speaker 1: for people who are blind or have other disabilities that
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  Speaker 1: make it difficult to read printed material. Supreme Court denies
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  Speaker 1: to hear Hazard Restaurant Tax Challenge. City cannot impose the tax.
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  Speaker 1: The Hazard City Commission's attempt to impose a restaurant tax
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  Speaker 1: officially ended last month after action by the Kentucky Supreme Court.
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  Speaker 1: According to the court documents, on September 16th, the Supreme
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  Speaker 1: Court denied discretionary review of the city's legal action challenging
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  Speaker 1: a decision by the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which found
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  Speaker 1: that under statute, the city could not impose the tax.
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  Speaker 1: Hazard City Attorney Denise Davidson said, The Supreme Court refused
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  Speaker 1: to take up the case on a constitutional issue, meaning
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  Speaker 1: the city cannot impose the tax. Hazard cannot charge a
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  Speaker 1: restaurant tax without a legislative change in the law, Davidson said.
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  Speaker 1: The restaurant tax was initially approved by the city in
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  Speaker 1: 2004 with proceeds intended to fund the Hazard-Perry County Tourism Commission.
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  Speaker 1: The tax took effect January 1st. However, the city's authority
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  Speaker 1: to impose the tax was contested before it was enacted.
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  Speaker 1: Under legislation signed into law in 2014 by then-Governor Steve Meshear,
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  Speaker 1: certain city classifications were fixed for purposes of assessing with
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  Speaker 1: restaurant tax. Hazard was not included among the cities authorized
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  Speaker 1: to levy the tax. In 2023, the city of Hazard
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  Speaker 1: challenged its classification in Frankfurt Circuit Court and obtained a
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  Speaker 1: ruling that adjusted its status in a way that would
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  Speaker 1: have allowed the tax to be collected. That ruling was
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  Speaker 1: later appealed by Attorney General Russell Coleman to the Kentucky
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  Speaker 1: Supreme Court of Appeals. In October 2025, the Court of
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  Speaker 1: Appeals issued an opinion remanding the case back to Fayette
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  Speaker 1: Circuit Court with instructions to dismiss it. In its opinion,
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  Speaker 1: the Court of Appeals found that Franklin Circuit Court Judge
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  Speaker 1: Philip Shepard exceeded the court's authority. All parties acknowledged that
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  Speaker 1: Hazard had been misclassified, the opinion stated, but that error
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  Speaker 1: does not grant the judicial branch the authority to do
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  Speaker 1: what only the General Assembly can do under the 1891 Constitution.
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  Speaker 1: On December 30, 2025, the Hazard City Commission approved an
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  Speaker 1: ordinance formally repealing the tax. Davidson told the Hazard Herald
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  Speaker 1: that she is currently not aware of a plan for
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  Speaker 1: the distribution of the collected tax money, which officials have
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  Speaker 1: said is being held in escrow. The city knows which
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  Speaker 1: restaurants paid and the amounts, but the tax was paid
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  Speaker 1: by the customer, Davidson said. Man connected in Perry County
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  Speaker 1: murder dies on death row. A Perry County man who
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  Speaker 1: was convicted in a brutal murder and hazard in 1989
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  Speaker 1: has died awaiting execution on Kentucky's death row. According to
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  Speaker 1: the Lexington Herald-Leader, Donald Herb Johnson, 59, died on October
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  Speaker 1: 1st of apparent suicide at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville.
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  Speaker 1: According to court documents in the case, Johnson was convicted
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  Speaker 1: in connection with the murder of Helen Madden. According to
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  Speaker 1: Kentucky Supreme Court documents, in November 1989, Madden was beaten, stabbed, mutilated,
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  Speaker 1: and tortured to death in the supply storage room of
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  Speaker 1: the laundromat where she worked. Her body was so disfigured
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  Speaker 1: that a co-worker of 13 years was unable to identify,
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  Speaker 1: the filing said. The crime has stuck with Perry County
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  Speaker 1: Jailer Minor Allen, who responded in 1989 to a member
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  Speaker 1: of the Hazard Police Department. I had been on the
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  Speaker 1: force for about four years at the time, said Allen.
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  Speaker 1: Ken Duff was the case officer at the time, but
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  Speaker 1: unfortunately passed away earlier this year. I'm one of the
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  Speaker 1: few still around who was there that day. Allen said
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  Speaker 1: Madden was not discovered until the following day and described
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  Speaker 1: the scene as one that remained with him throughout his career.
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  Speaker 1: Madden wasn't found until the next day, said Allen. There
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  Speaker 1: were several officers on the scene by the time I arrived.
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  Speaker 1: It was a very brutal murder that had taken place.
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  Speaker 1: The victim was unclothed and had been stabbed multiple times.
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  Speaker 1: It was the most brutal thing I've ever witnessed in
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  Speaker 1: my life. It's something you never get out of your mind.
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  Speaker 1: As the investigation continued, Allen said, Hazard Police requested the
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  Speaker 1: assistance from the Kentucky State Police to process the scene
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  Speaker 1: and collect evidence. We contacted the Kentucky State Police and
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  Speaker 1: they brought a forensic team to the scene and helped
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  Speaker 1: process the crime scene, he said. Officers kept collecting evidence
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  Speaker 1: and soon developed a suspect that they were able to
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  Speaker 1: track his whereabouts that night. Allen said officers continued searching
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  Speaker 1: for Johnson throughout the day before eventually locating and arresting
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  Speaker 1: him near his residence. Officers stayed on the case the
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  Speaker 1: entire day, and he was taken into custody near the residence,
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  Speaker 1: and officers were able to recover the murder weapon, said Allen.
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  Speaker 1: We had pretty much every officer out searching for the
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  Speaker 1: whereabouts at the time. After he was apprehended, he spent
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  Speaker 1: time at what was then the Perry County Jail. He
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  Speaker 1: had multiple hearings lasting three or four years. Eventually, he
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  Speaker 1: got a change of venue, and it was moved to
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  Speaker 1: Floyd County, and that's when he received a sentence and
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  Speaker 1: was convicted. Johnson challenged his conviction and death sentence through
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  Speaker 1: multiple appeals, claiming that his guilty plea was induced by
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  Speaker 1: a secret deal for his belief in the existence of
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  Speaker 1: a secret deal, in which the trial judge indicated that
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  Speaker 1: he would not sentence Johnson to death if he entered
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  Speaker 1: a guilty plea. According to the Supreme Court filing, Johnson
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  Speaker 1: had claimed his plea was coerced by his lawyer's threat
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  Speaker 1: to withdraw from representing him if Johnson did not enter
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  Speaker 1: a guilty plea. However, in a 2013 ruling, the Supreme
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  Speaker 1: Court upheld a lower court decision finding that the proof
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  Speaker 1: did not support Johnson's claims. Perry County to receive FEMA
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  Speaker 1: reimbursement for 2025 flood repairs. The Perry County Fiscal Court
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  Speaker 1: will receive more than $ 215, 000 in federal emergency management agency
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  Speaker 1: reimbursements for road, culvert, and embankment repairs completed following the
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  Speaker 1: severe weather in 2025, according to Governor Andy Beshear's office.
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  Speaker 1: Beshear announced September 30th that his administration had secured more
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  Speaker 1: than $ 21. 9 million in FEMA disaster funding to reimburse Kentucky cities, counties,
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  Speaker 1: and utilities for expenses tied to severe weather events in 2019, 21, 25,
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  Speaker 1: and 26. The funding also includes reimbursement for a Bowling
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  Speaker 1: Green Hospital for protective measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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  Speaker 1: According to the announcement, Perry County will receive two reimbursements
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  Speaker 1: totaling $ 215, 954. 92 for road resurfacing, culvert work, and embankment repairs
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  Speaker 1: or replacement resulting from severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides,
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  Speaker 1: and mudslides. President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration
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  Speaker 1: for Kentucky following the flooding, authorizing FEMA assistance for individuals
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  Speaker 1: and households in 16 counties, including Perry and several local
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  Speaker 1: governments in 66 counties. From federally declared disasters to the pandemic,
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  Speaker 1: Kentucky was owed millions of dollars to help support our
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  Speaker 1: communities and our people. and I am proud my administration
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  Speaker 1: was able to secure those funds so that we can
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  Speaker 1: continue to move forward together, Beshear said. This is federal
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  Speaker 1: support that's essential, and I will continue the work to
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  Speaker 1: ensure every dollar promised to our Commonwealth is delivered. According
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  Speaker 1: to the Perry County Fiscal Court, the reimbursements cover work
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  Speaker 1: completed in 2025, including covert replacement at Strong Branch and
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  Speaker 1: Lick Branch, and excavation and geotile work at Buffalo Run,
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  Speaker 1: culvert replacement at Jack's Branch, Beehive Road and lost work
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  Speaker 1: embankment restoration, culvert replacement and ditch restoration on Lower Pigeon Roost,
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  Speaker 1: culvert replacement on Lick Fork Lane, and gravel roadway work
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  Speaker 1: at Ritchie Hollow. Perry County Judge Executive Scott Alexander said
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  Speaker 1: the funding will reimburse the county for work that has
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  Speaker 1: already been completed. These are reimbursements for projects that have
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  Speaker 1: already been completed, said Alexander. We're super thankful to getting
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  Speaker 1: some of the money back. This is $ 200, 000 we're getting
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  Speaker 1: back of about $ 18 million so far. As we start
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  Speaker 1: getting more of this money reimbursed, this will help us
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  Speaker 1: recover financially from the flooding disaster and lift us out
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  Speaker 1: of any financial crisis. So we're very thankful to be
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  Speaker 1: getting back some of this money. The annual Oktoberfest was
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  Speaker 1: held at the Forum at the Hal Rogers Center on
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  Speaker 1: October 10th after inclement weather forced the event to move
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  Speaker 1: from its usual Main Street location. The event featured vendors
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  Speaker 1: including Beery Me and Chocolate and This Is How We Roll,
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  Speaker 1: along with performances by Josh Craig, Emily Jamerson, Jordan Lee King,
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  Speaker 1: and Ian Ngo. The Perry County Conservation District celebrated 75
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  Speaker 1: years of service with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 6th,
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  Speaker 1: recognizing current and former members, community members, and local officials.
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  Speaker 1: Among those honored was retired Master Sergeant Bobby Brown, a
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  Speaker 1: Green Beret paratrooper and longtime conservationist, for 27 years of
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  Speaker 1: service and dedication to the community. Perry woman charged with
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  Speaker 1: sexual abuse of juvenile detention center inmate. A Perry County
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  Speaker 1: woman is pleaded not guilty to a charge of sexual
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  Speaker 1: abuse related to her former employment at Breathitt Regional Juvenile
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  Speaker 1: Detention Center. Rebecca Duff, 47, of Terry Drive, Bulin, was
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  Speaker 1: indicted on a Breathitt County grand jury on the charge
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  Speaker 1: on September 22nd and pleaded not guilty to at arraignment
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  Speaker 1: on October 9th, according to court documents. Breath of Circuit
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  Speaker 1: Judge Lisa H. Wiseman set a $ 10, 000 bond for the case.
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  Speaker 1: The Lexington Herald-Leader reported the charges were related to a
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  Speaker 1: series of kisses Duff shared with a teenage boy inside
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  Speaker 1: the facility while she was employed there as a licensed
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  Speaker 1: clinician social worker. Thus, Harrell later reported that a review
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  Speaker 1: of security video from the facility found 14 times Duff
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  Speaker 1: kissed the boy during December 2025 and January 2026. Duff
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  Speaker 1: is scheduled to be in court for a pretrial hearing
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  Speaker 1: on November 6th. Several honored with 2026 Soar Inspires Awards.
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  Speaker 1: Shaping our Appalachian region honored several Eastern Kentuckians during the
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  Speaker 1: 2026 SOAR Inspires Award presented by the Kentucky Community and
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  Speaker 1: Technical College System at the Corbin Arena. According to a
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  Speaker 1: statement from SOAR, the award celebrated individuals and organizations who
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  Speaker 1: chose to lead, serve, build, teach, invest, innovate, and create
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  Speaker 1: opportunity in the communities they call home, and served as
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  Speaker 1: a kickoff for the organization's annual summit presented this year
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  Speaker 1: by Appalachian Wireless and the Appalachian Regional Commission. Throughout the evening,
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  Speaker 1: business leaders, educators, students, entrepreneurs, health care providers, workforce champions, innovators,
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  Speaker 1: and community servants took center stage, the statement said. Their
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  Speaker 1: work is different. Their stories are different, but they share
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  Speaker 1: something important. a belief in this region and the willingness
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  Speaker 1: to do the work required to move it forward. Individuals
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  Speaker 1: and organizations honored included community bank Rick Newsom, who was
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  Speaker 1: honored as Business Person of the Year. Throughout his career,
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  Speaker 1: Newsom has remained deeply connected to eastern Kentucky, investing his
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  Speaker 1: time and leadership in his community, church, and organizations working
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  Speaker 1: to move the region forward, the statement said. His career
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  Speaker 1: demonstrates that growing a successful business and investing in the
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  Speaker 1: place you call home don't have to be separate pursuits.
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  Speaker 1: They can strengthen one another. Mountain Association, which was recognized
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  Speaker 1: as Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Partner of the Year. Eastern Light Distilling,
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  Speaker 1: which was recognized as Startup of the Year. Lynn Parrish,
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  Speaker 1: who was recognized with the Appalachian Innovator Award. As Eastern
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  Speaker 1: Kentucky and Cone County economy changed, Parrish recognized the problem-solving abilities,
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  Speaker 1: mechanical and technical skills, and work ethic that powered one
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  Speaker 1: industry could be applied to another. The idea was bold.
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  Speaker 1: Go from mining coal to mining code. That vision helped
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  Speaker 1: create BitSource in Pikeville, opening pathways into technology careers and
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  Speaker 1: demonstrating that those jobs could be created right here in
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  Speaker 1: eastern Kentucky. The Appalachian Leadership Award was presented to Rich Pruitt.
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: Martin County was recognized as Community of the Year. Dr.
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  Speaker 1: Keela Miller, Vice Chancellor of Workforce Solutions at Hazard Community
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  Speaker 1: and Technical College, was recognized as the Appalachian Workforce Champion.
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  Speaker 1: Miller has brought employers directly to students, including a recent
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  Speaker 1: career expo connecting more than 200 students with 40 local employers,
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  Speaker 1: the statement said. She worked closely with SOAR to develop
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  Speaker 1: nuclear force training and helped expand access to cybersecurity and
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  Speaker 1: other technology training. Her work also reaches individuals in recovery,
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  Speaker 1: creating pathways into careers ranging from peer support and fiber
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  Speaker 1: optics to advanced manufacturing. Jeffrey Clare and Professor Carlton Hughes
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  Speaker 1: were recognized as Teachers of the Year, Harlem High School
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  Speaker 1: Senior Engineers, Natasha Harris was recognized as Student of the Year.
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  Speaker 1: Corbin High School Senior Trey Pearson was recognized as Male
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  Speaker 1: Student Athlete of the Year. Paintsville High School Senior Kylie
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  Speaker 1: Kenner was recognized as Female Student Athlete of the Year.
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  Speaker 1: Backroads of Appalachia was recognized with Tourism Organization of the
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  Speaker 1: Year Award. The Center for Rural Development received the Connect
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  Speaker 1: Appalachian Awards. Beacons of Hope, with locations in Perry and
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  Speaker 1: Knott counties, was recognized with the Appalachian Recovery Award. Baptist
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  Speaker 1: Health Corbin received the Healthy Communities Award. Woodley Judge Executive
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  Speaker 1: Pat White was given the Appalachian Humanitarian Award. Senate President
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  Speaker 1: Robert Stivers, a Republican from Manchester, received the inaugural Appalachian
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  Speaker 1: Film and Arts Award, which will carry his name in
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  Speaker 1: future years. Iowa Gets Steel, Appalachia Gets the Shaft by
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  Speaker 1: Jeff Vanderbeck. Last week, President Trump announced that America is
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  Speaker 1: getting back in the steel business. Not in Pittsburgh or Bethlehem,
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  Speaker 1: where steel is coded into their DNA, but in Iowa.
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  Speaker 1: The Hawkeye State, you know, that pesky state where Republican
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  Speaker 1: Senators' shift failed miserably at his gotcha attempt during the
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: Jack Smith hearing as he confused the Hawkeyes with the Hawks.
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  Speaker 1: there are plans for a company to build a $ 15
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  Speaker 1: billion steel complex in hopes of producing 10 million tons
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  Speaker 1: of steel per year, creating more than 1,500 full-time permanent jobs,
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  Speaker 1: good for Iowa. The timing raises questions. Is it just
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  Speaker 1: a coincidence that the announcement came in Iowa, a battleground
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  Speaker 1: state just before midterms? Announcements for manufacturing plants like this
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  Speaker 1: take many years of planning A multi-billion dollar steel complex
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  Speaker 1: does not suddenly appear just because someone noticed the calendar. But,
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  Speaker 1: as you see all over the place, this great country,
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: politics and ribbon cuttings make good bet fellows. Iowa is
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  Speaker 1: important as it sets the tone for the upcoming elections.
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  Speaker 1: An announcement like this tells voters that manufacturing is coming
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  Speaker 1: back and that Washington and corporate America are watching. It
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  Speaker 1: gives Trump a powerful backdrop, American-made steel creating jobs in
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  Speaker 1: the heart of America. Loaders, however, should be able to
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  Speaker 1: see the difference between an announcement and a completed mill.
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  Speaker 1: In 2015, we were promised coal mining would come back,
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  Speaker 1: which didn't happen. What bothers me is the announcement of
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  Speaker 1: resurrecting an industry in an area where that industry has
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  Speaker 1: no previous track record. Iowa and steel are not synonymous.
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  Speaker 1: They shouldn't plan to mine coal in downtown Cincinnati. Communities
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  Speaker 1: built around steel, like Pittsburgh and Bethlehem, have rail services, rivers,
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  Speaker 1: generations of knowledge, and a strong workforce. Not saying Iowa
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: doesn't possess that, but why? It follows the same thinking
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: as the attempt to remodel your bathroom, but instead you
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  Speaker 1: build a whole new house. Here's the kicker for us
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  Speaker 1: in Appalachia. The proposed Iowa plant is expected to use
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: furnaces processing iron ore and scrapped steel in their manufacturing.
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  Speaker 1: That means it will not rely on coke, therefore metallurgical coal,
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  Speaker 1: the way traditional blast furnaces that built Pittsburgh and Bethlehem did,
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  Speaker 1: further slapping Appalachia in the face. Electric furnaces are not energy-free.
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  Speaker 1: They require enormous amounts of electricity, and this plant could
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: put a huge demand on a power grid that in
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: some cases is already at capacity. When large data centers
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: are proposed, which use large amounts of electricity, communities go
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: crazy and the people demand that no data centers be built,
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: just like landfills. So if data centers are a major
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: concern to residents about rising power rates, Will the residents
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: of Iowa revolt as well over the massive amount of
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: electricity needed to run the new steel plant? Will there
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: be transparency? And why not use met coal and put
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: American coal back in circulation? For years, we mined met coal,
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  Speaker 1: shipped it overseas only to buy cheap steel from China
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: and Europe. How stupid is that? We export more met
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: coal than we use domestically, and with this announcement, that
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  Speaker 1: pattern may not change, and there will not be a
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  Speaker 1: need to mine more met coal. Now we're asked to
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  Speaker 1: celebrate the return of steelmaking while using resources other than
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: met coal, which was a staple of steelmaking back in
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: the day. Progress has a strange sense of humor, a
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: utility bill and job loss in Appalachia. If the future
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: of steel depends on electricity, Appalachia should be competing to
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: supply that power and build infrastructure around it. Why should
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: the next generation of energy-intensive manufacturing go to places other
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: than where it's got a proven track record? The elephant
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  Speaker 1: in the room? All this steel will not be used
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  Speaker 1: in the United States. America is not an island, and
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: it depends on other countries to help support our domestic economy.
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  Speaker 1: That means domestic steel needs to be affordable in countries
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: like Canada and Mexico. with whom we have obliterated relationships,
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  Speaker 1: need to be on the buy list. We need to
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: make nice with a whole lot of countries if America's
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: steel is to survive. That is, unless the plan is
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: to bomb the crap out of countries like Iran and
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: force them to buy American-made Iowa steel to rebuild their countries.
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  Speaker 1: If that's the case, then that plan is brilliant. If
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  Speaker 1: the goal is to produce a stronger manufacturing economy with
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: American steel, we can't hide behind a wall of tariffs
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: and be told that the tariffs are good for our economy.
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  Speaker 1: We are being fed lies about this economy. A steel
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  Speaker 1: mill needs predictable resources that include reliable power, workforce, and
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  Speaker 1: affordable foreign trade, and the republic should not be expected
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  Speaker 1: to foot that bill. On the surface, this seems like
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: patriotic rhetoric in an effort to keep power. And if
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  Speaker 1: the steel mill is ever built, it does not do
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  Speaker 1: one damn thing to revitalize the coal industry like we
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  Speaker 1: were promised in the first go-around that also never happened.
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: Made in America sounds great at the podium, but there
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  Speaker 1: are too many obstacles that we the public are not
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  Speaker 1: being told about for this to become a reality. If
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  Speaker 1: the midterms were not this year, would this announcement have
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: been made? If America is to be first, we need
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: to start acting like we deserve that ranking with truth, transparency,
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: and real plans that build global relationships while all hardworking
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: Americans prosper, not just the uber-wealthy. Thanks for reading The
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Hazard Herald. Action or Empty Promises by Russ Cassaday Ah,
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: October in an election year. Among the preparations for Halloween
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: and the changing leaves, there's an undercurrent that's impossible to ignore.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: It's the steady stream of promises candidates are making in
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: an attempt to secure your vote. There seems to be
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: nothing off limits when it comes to campaign promises, and
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: some will offer you the world to get you and
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: hopefully your family and friends to vote for them. But
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: the problem with some of the more extravagant campaign promises
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: is they're in the worst-case scenario a lie and in
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: the best-case scenario made without full knowledge of what's involved
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: in actual fulfilling them. There are so many topics that
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: are the focus of promises, but here in eastern Kentucky
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: and central Appalachia, the key promises often are on infrastructure
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: such as roads or, more often, water and sewers. The
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: problem with infrastructure, however, is that it's a far more
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: complicated issue than many, including many of those seeking public office, understand.
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: With water and sewer, for example, it's not just a
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: matter of finding a community that needs them and running
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: the lines and maintaining the infrastructure. There's no doubt that
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: the quality of life here and the equality of the
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: environment would be vastly improved by running water and sewer
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: service in every holland. but when you look below the surface,
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: there's more to it. Often the focus is on getting
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: funding to install the infrastructure, and that's understandable and important.
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: Sometimes that can be obtained through grant funding. However, there's
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: something that a lot of people don't consider. It's more
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: expensive and difficult to install and maintain infrastructure here. There
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: are a lot of reasons for that, including the topography,
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: the makeup of the soil and often rock that has
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: to be moved, the location of housing and other factors,
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: so they're automatically at a disadvantage for seeking funding for
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: these kinds of projects. Once you install an infrastructure, it
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: creates a whole host of new costs. Not only does
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: the equipment have to be replaced and repaired often, resulting
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: in material costs, but it also requires human beings qualified, capable,
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: and committed workers to maintain it. Heck, it can even
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: result in a need for more workers to simply track
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: and bill for new customers. Local government utility services are
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: already stretched thin and often find their employers poached by
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: for-profit entities that can afford to pay them better for
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: their expertise and abilities. Any new service results in a
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: new cost for residents of the area. Some people can
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: afford the new bill. Many cannot. That means that before
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: the first foot of dirt is turned, utilities have to
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: do surveys in communities to make sure that people are
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: actually willing to pay the increased costs for receiving the service.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: On November 3rd, it's incumbent upon us to weed through
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: the promises and choose those individuals who will try not
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: those who are good at telling us what we want
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: to hear. Reality often sinks in only after the ballot
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: is cast. Make sure that when the campaign hangover sets in,
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: you're not left with a sinking feeling that you were
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: swayed by empty words and left wanting for action. Here
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: are the obituaries. Larry Baker, 64, of Gays Creek, died Monday,
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: October 5th. Peggy Hall, 79, of Viper, died Saturday, October 3rd.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: Jimmy Lee Miller, 34, of Hazard, died Monday, October 5th.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: Pat Lewis, 75, of Hazard, died Sunday, October 11th. Shaping
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: our Appalachian region became the latest Kentucky organization to join
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: the University of Kentucky's Advancing Kentucky Together Network at the
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: SOAR Summit on October 8th in Corbin. This formalized relationship,
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: the statement said, will create a more intentional connection between
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: UK statewide education, research, health care and outreach missions. This
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: concludes the reading of the Hazard Herald. Thank you for
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: joining me. On behalf of everyone here at Radio Eye,
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: this is Lee Townsend wishing you a good day.