Transcript

5.1.25 · The Mountain Eagle

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Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
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from Whitesburg. Your reader today is Bill an Arsdale. We
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will begin with the addition dated April thirtieth, twenty twenty five,
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which the publishers have donated to RADIOI as a reminder.
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RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
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blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
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read printed material. The first headline is Trump administration claws
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back three million dollars that was to pay for twenty
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five new school buses. Here. The Electric County School District
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ordered twenty five new buses in the spring of twenty
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twenty four to replace those destroyed in the July twenty
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twenty two flood on a promise from the US Education
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Department that it could use three million dollars left in
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COVID nineteen recovery money to pay for them. But with
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continued supply chain issues and the time it takes to
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build twenty five buses from the ground up, the new
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fleet of IC buses didn't start arriving from Oklahoma until
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this spring, just as the Trump administration clawed back the
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money that had been promised by the Biden administration. That
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left the school district without the money it had counted
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on to pay for the buses. It's about two point
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five million dollars, so we'll either have to look at
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borrowing money or look at our budget, Superintendent Deniseiance said.
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And Lectri County isn't alone. School districts all over the
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country are in similar predicaments. In Kentucky alone, the state
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Department of Education lost eighteen million dollars in the clawback,
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and local districts from the Ohio River to the Mountains
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lost thirty eight million dollars, said Jennifer Jin, director of
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communications for the State Department of Education. Laurel County Schools
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lost ten million dollars that had already been obligated. So far,
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the Attorney's General of sixteen states and the District of
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Columbia have filed suit against the U S Department of
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Education and Secretary Linda McMahon because of the clawback. According
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to the suit, McMahon, a former World Wrestling Entertainment executive,
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waited until the day the money was removed to tell
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districts on Friday, March twenty eighth, twenty twenty five, at
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five o three p m. With no advanced notice. Or warning,
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ED and Education Secretary McMahon abruptly and arbitrarily reversed course,
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notifying plaintiffs by letter that as of five p m.
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That day, ED had unilaterally rescinded extensions of time to
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liquidate grant funds previously approved by ED. The suit alleges,
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if the recision action is not vacated and the approved
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extensions are not reinstated, key programs and services that address
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ongoing and emerging education needs of plaintiff's students and local
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school districts to combat the long term effects of the
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pandemic will have to be dissolved or disbanded. The suit
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warns state employees and contractors have been and will continue
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to be dismissed from their roles, along with the employees
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of businesses providing academic and other services in schools. The
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result of ed's recision is a massive, unexpected funding gap
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that is causing serious harm to the public, cutting off
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vital education services, all to the detriment of the students
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whom Congress intended to benefit. Kentucky hasn't joined the suit,
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but Governor Andy Busheer, who served as state attorney general
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before becoming governor, told the Mountain Eagle last week that
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he's looking at the case. Any funding that is provided
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by an Act of Congress a law, and is then
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funded by appropriation of Congress, then has a contractual agreement
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with the Kentucky entity is something we're going to enforce.
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Basher said. That's a country giving its word through multiple actions,
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and we're going to make sure that any time we
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have an obligation that is enforceable, we're going to do it.
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He said. Kentucky is already a beneficiary of two suits
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it is involved in that have nationwide injunctions, and whether
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he decides to join in this one will depend on
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whether a nationwide injunction is granted to the sixteen states
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already involved. Jin said the extended liquidation of funds was
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approved in Washington last year and by the state, but
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since the new administration clawed back that money, projects will
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have to apply again and hope they get approved. The
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problem Jin said is the contracts had to be signed
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and the money obligated in order for the grants to
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be approved the first time. Now that the money has
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been pulled back, those are delegations still exist, she said.
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We hope used will return those funds. But there's no guarantee.
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Buses aren't built until they're ordered, and from order to
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delivery takes several months. Brian Johnson, transportation director for the
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Letter County District, said this order has taken nearly a year,
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but the buses have started to arrive. About half are
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already on routes, with the cameras and two way radios
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already installed. The suit to recover the grant money, known
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as Esser Funds, is one of several filed against the
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Department of Education and McMahon, who was co founder and
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a former executive of World Wrestling Entertainment. Suits include challenges
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to the department's treatment of student loans and loan recipients,
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the department's attempt to cut its workforce by half, and
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a Dear Colleague letter threatening to cut funding for schools
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that don't end all discussion of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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The Dear Colleague letter claimed without evidence that schools discriminated
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against white and Asian students and toxically indoctrinated students. A
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judge last week issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the
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US Department of Education from acting on its plan to
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restrict discussions and programs on diversity, equity, and inclusion in
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educational institutions, and its threat to withhold federal funding for
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engaging in such efforts. The next story is Bashir brings
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thirty million dollars to lecture. Nearly thirty million dollars in
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new grants has been awarded for the construction of the
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ongoing high ground housing projects in Letcher County. Governor Andy
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Basheer came to the proposed Grand View subdivision in Jenkins
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on Friday to announce the grants. The spending will include
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fifteen point three million dollars for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
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to build a road from U. S. Twenty three to
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the Grand View site and lay out the streets on
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the reclaimed strip mine, and another four million, seven hundred
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sixty two thousand dollars will be used to extend water
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and sewer service to the site. Added to that will
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be four million, two hundred twenty two thousand dollars to
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build houses on property at Thornton and four million, five
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hundred thirty three thousand, eight hundred ninety seven dollars to
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convert the old Fleming Neon High School into a mixed
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income apartment building. In twenty two, we had a terrible
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flood here in Letcher County and Eastern Kentucky, and it's
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caused us to rethink the way we do business here
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in the mountains. Lescher County Judge Executive Terry Adams said,
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since the twenty two flood, we've had three other floods
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in Letcher County. The need to get our folks and
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our community to higher ground is not just luxury for
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Eastern Kentucky. It's something we need, Adam said. Basher was
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booting on the ground before the water even went down
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and saw firsthand the devastation in Letcher County and Eastern Kentucky.
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He made a commitment to Eastern Kentucky and Letcher County
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to help us get some higher ground sites. And you know,
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in the moment of need, it's easy to promise stuff
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and it never happens. But our governor has stuck with us,
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and it did happen. Adams said, We're just almost three
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years out and we've made tremendous progress in Letcher County.
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Basher recalled his first trip here after the flood and
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recounted stories of residents jumping in bass boats and kayaks
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and swimming through floodwaters to help their neighbors. The National
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Guard rescued thirteen hundred people after the flood, But I'll
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never forget that every day Kentuckians looking out for their
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neighbors saved so many more. The response was massive, everybody
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doing their part in the aftermath. We saw so many
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people coming together in this community from across the country
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and across the world. Basheer said, if you ever lose
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your faith in humanity, just go back to those days
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after when so much help showed up. About how many
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people are offering whatever they had. And you know, people
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are still good no matter how much noise is coming
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out of Washington, d C. Or anywhere else, Basheer said.
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Soon after the flood, he asked Adams and Jenkins mayor
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Todd de Priest to come to Frankfort and tell disaster
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recovery officials what the county needed. We put every agency
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we could find, state, federal, and otherwise in a room
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and we let these leaders tell them their plight. I
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looked at everybody in that room and said, we're going
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to do something big that has never been done before.
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Bascher said, We're going to move people out of danger.
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We're going to build communities on top of abandoned coal
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mines where it will never ever flood again, because the
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folks that have been through the worst should get the
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best and should never have to worry about their home
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being swept away ever again. There are now eight high
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ground sites under way across eastern Kentucky, with Grand View
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at Jenkins slated for nearly ninety homes. Ten more are
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nearly complete on Thompson Branch at Marlow, just outside Weisburg.
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The four million, two hundred twenty two thousand dollars announced
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on Friday was included in a seventeen point five million
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dollar already announced. According to Jacob Wolfe, director of Disaster
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Resilience at FAHE, the nonprofit administering housing grants for the county,
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it will be used to acquire and prepare property at
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Thornton and build up to twelve houses on it. After
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the announcements, Wolfe said it's difficult to say when home
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construction will begin, but site preparation should begin by the
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end of the year. Environmental studies are still underway, but
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engineering will be done at the same time. The sites
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for which funding was already announced are off Gallop Drive
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at US and on the hill overlooking Sicco. The money
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for Fleming Neon will be used to remodel the old
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Fleming Neon High School into nineteen mixed income apartments. Gregg Johnson,
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who along with his brother donated the property for Grandview,
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said he was thankful to see the subdivision plan. Several
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governors back. I mentioned this very thing, Johnson said, drawing
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a quick response from Bashir that he had spoken to
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the wrong Bashir, a reference to his father, who was
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also governor. When the laughter died down, Johnson continued, I
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saw the value of getting people up out of the floodplain,
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but also the opportunity to lay things outright. Pikeville or
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Fleming Neon, they developed over time. But when you go
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and you can get a fresh start, get the water underground,
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get the power underground, do the things the way they
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need to be done, lay the streets out correctly. Then
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you've got a much better community. And I proposed that
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many years ago we have that opportunity. And I proposed
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that many years ago state government ought to work with
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people in the mining industry and leave it in better
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condition so people can step in after that and do
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what needs to be done. Johnson and his brother owned
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Johnson Industries in Pike County and received the property they
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donated in a trade with Tico Coal. They donated only
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part of the old Strip mine to the state and
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retained the rest for commercial development after the subdivision is built.
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In the next story, board votes to close Eolia School.
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When Letcher County public schools close for the summer, Arley
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Bogg's Elementary School will close for good. After two meetings
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and emotional entreaties from parents, grandparents, teachers, and community members,
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the Letter County Board of Education voted three to one
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to close the tiny school, citing falling enrollment and the
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problems finding teachers certified in the correct correct areas of
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such a small student body spread out over eight grades
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in kindergarten. The vote came during a board meeting held
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in the gymnasium of Callan elementary school where students from
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Arley Boggs will be attending if they choose to continue
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in the district. Some parents said they will never send
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their kids to school in Letcher County now. Principal Freddie Terry,
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his voice breaking, spoke to the board near the first
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of the meeting. He started school at Arley Bogs and
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got his first and only teaching job there and then
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became principal. His father was a volunteer basketball coach there
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and he helped coach when he was in high school.
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I'm forty nine years old and forty four years ago
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I had my first experience as a wildcat, he said.
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But he acknowledged that the school, which was once in
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the top five percent in the state, has struggled with
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falling enrollment and the inability to find teachers who have
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certifications in math, science, social studies, and English for all
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eight grades at the school, He said, it has had
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to rely mainly on emergency certifications that expire after one year.
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Two teachers, he said, had dual certifications they left for
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other jobs. Since twenty sixteen, we've had six different math teachers,
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he said. And while Terry said the district does a
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fantastic job of making sure all the schools get the
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same amount of money per student, he anticipated thirteen thousand
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dollars in allocated funds next year. The copier costs eight
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thousand dollars a year and the phone system costs another
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four thousand, Terry said. At the last estimate. Superintendent Denise
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Jance said the district expected eighty six students in grades
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one through eight and just six in kindergarten next year.
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About a third of the students live in Harlan County.
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Clinton Macomb, a parent who sits on Arley Boggs's site
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based decision making counsel, said he's one of the parents
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who sends his child from Harlan County to Arley Boggs.
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Macomb said many of the kids at the school come
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from difficult family situations and taking them out of the
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school will be devastating. This is the only stability they
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have in the lives for a lot of them. Macomb said.
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Most of the people at the meeting cited the danger
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of busing kids across Pine Mountain as a reason to
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keep Arley Boggs open, and others said the small class
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size and dedication of the teachers was another reason. Board
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chairman Robert Kaiser said, over the course of his twelve
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years on the board, the county has lost one thousand
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students from the school district, and Arley Boggs has suffered
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even larger percentage losses. Board member Angie Holbrook taught for
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twenty eight years at the district and said she would
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not vote to do away with the school. I'm just
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not going to do it, she said. When it was
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time to vote, Kaiser made a motion to close the
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school at the end of this year, and vice chair
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Will Smith seconded the motion. The vote was three to one,
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with only Holbrook voting no. The crowd sat in silence
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for a moment before erupting in angry exclamations. Most stood
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and walked out, but some members of the community advanced
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to the board table to yell at board members. Four
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police officers on hand because of the emotional response expected
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in case of closure vote, stood by the table but
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didn't interfere when it became clear that there was no
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violence intended. The vote also led to a heated exchange
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between District one Magistrate Jack Banks, whose district includes Cumberland River.
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Banks his back to the audience couldn't be heard as
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he directed comments at Smith, who replied by telling Banks
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everyone knew he was running for re election and wouldn't
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be there otherwise. He accused Banks of doing nothing other
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than putting a payroll tax on the working people. The
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next article is Saturday is one hundred fifty first running
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of the Kentucky Derby. The first Saturday in May means
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it's time for the one hundred fifty first Kentucky Derby,
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America's longest continuously held sporting event. Twenty horses stampeding one
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and a quarter miles around Churchill Downs. Isn't just a race,
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It's one hundred fifty thousand fans jammed under the Twin
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Spires for a fashion show mixed with an all day
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party that is heavy on traditions like mint julips singing
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My Old Kentucky Home and a garland of red roses
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draped on the winter. When is the Derby? Post time
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six fifty seven p m Eastern on Saturday. What's the forecast?
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Saturday's forecast is for a high around sixty eight degrees
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with sunny skies. How to watch. Friday coverage runs from
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one p m to six p m Eastern on USA
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Network and streaming on Peacock. The highlight is the one
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hundred fifty first Kentucky Oaks for Phillies, with a post
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time of five fifty one p m. Saturday Derby Day
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coverage begins at noon Eastern on USA Network and streaming
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on Peak. NBC and Peacock have coverage from two thirty
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pm to seven thirty pm. Telemundo de Portes begins at
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six thirty pm on Universo and streaming on the Telemundo App.
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All races at Churchill Downs except the Derby will be
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shown on fan Dual TV. Who Are the Favorites? Journalism
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was the three to one morning line favorite. The southern
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California based colt is trained by Michael McCarthy and ridden
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by Umberto Ruspolly. Journalism will break from the number eight post,
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which has had nine winners, the last being made in
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twenty twenty three. He has won four races in a row.
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The morning line favorite has won eighteen times, the last
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was Justify in twenty eighteen. Sovereignty was the early second
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choice at five to one. The Florida Derby winner is
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trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and ridden by
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Junior Alorado. He drew the number eighteen post, putting him
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outside most of the twenty horse field. Third choice on
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the morning line was Sandman at six to one odds.
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The Arkansas Derby winner is trained by Mark Cass and
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ridden by Jose Ortisse. He will break from post seventeen,
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which has never produced a winner. Keep an eye on
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six time Derby winner Bob Baffert is back after serving
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a three year suspension by Churchill Downs. He has twelve
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to one shot Rodriguez, who won the Wood Memorial with
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a front running style and is ridden by two time
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Derby winner Mike Smith. Baffert's other horse is twenty to
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one long shot Citizen Bull, last year's two year old champion.
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He drew the dreaded number one post with Martin Garcia aboard.
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No horse has won from the inside post since nineteen
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eighty six. Hall of Fame trainer d Wayne Lucas saddles
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his fifty first Derby starter, second most ever with thirty
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to one shot American Promise. He has four Derby victories
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and at eighty nine, he would be the oldest trainer
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to win. The Colt drew the number five post, which
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has had the most Derby winners with ten. Fun fact,
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while some of the owners, trainers and jockeys are the
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same from year to year, the horses never are. The
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Derby is for male and female three year olds only,
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meaning a horse is eligible just once in its career.
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Only three Phillies have won. The last was in nineteen
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eighty eight celebrity connections. The late country singer Toby Keith's
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Dream Walking Farms is a part owner of thirty to
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one Shot Rendered Judgment. Former Philadelphia Phillies store are Jason Worth,
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whose stable is two to eight Racing in a nod
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to his old jersey number, is a co owner of
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Flying Mohawk, also at thirty one. Grammy nominated singer Grace
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Potter performs the national anthem on Derby Day seven. Time
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Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles gives the rider's up call,
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signaling the jockeys to climb aboard. What does the winner get?
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For the second straight year, the derby total purse is
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five million dollars, with the winning owner earning one point
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three million dollars and a gold trophy. Second place is
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worth one million dollars, with payouts down to fifth place.
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The winning horse's breeding rights are likely to soar. The
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winning jockey typically receives ten percent of the purse and
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a smaller trophy. The next article is Letter describes hard
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time traveling here by Jaden Gibson. General O. O. Howard
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of Gettysburg fame is given much credit for the founding
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of the burgeoning Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee. The
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General and his close ally, doctor E. O. Garrant, founded
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many schools and churches in the mountain area. Here is
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a letter written by Grace Garrant to her sister Anne
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during a trip with her father to the mountains in
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the late eighteen hundreds. Dear Anne pop Up promised to
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take me with him the next time he went into
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the mountains to preach. We started on the tenth of July.
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We took the Kentucky Union Railroad at Lexington. We passed
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between big cliffs that were hundreds of feet high on
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both sides of the road. Many of the mountains have
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dome like rocks on top, bigger than a church. They
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are spectacular. I saw a large rock with a tree
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growing right on top of it. The river is lined
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with beautiful flowers, including ivy and laurel. I saw men
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cutting oats with a big scythe with something like fingers
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on it. Papa called what they were doing cradling. After
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a couple days, they had to continue with horses and
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two buggies. Mister Little, a friend of my papa's, and
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his knees Kate Patrick were traveling with us. She continued
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in her letter, Kate will be helping with the singing.
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Papa brought a little sti organ which is tied on
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behind the wagon. As we traveled up the creek, we
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had to get out and help the wagon down the
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rocky stair steps in the road. We arrived at a
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place where we saw several barefooted ladies. One lady was
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wearing shoes but no stockings. Another lady must have been
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an old maid, as she had a dress on that
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was shorter than mine. The mountains are very steep, but
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have corn growing on the sides nearly to the top.
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It is so steep they must plow them sideways rather
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than up and down. We see coal mines sticking out
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of the mountains all along the road. Sometimes we rode
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over solid beds of coal. I've seen the biggest trees imaginable,
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growing along the creeks and rivers, and we saw a
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big boy who had only a shirt on. Most of
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the men go barefoot, but they seemed very clever. I
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thought for a while that we had traveled on bad roads,
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but I later found that we were just beginning. Three
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men went along to cut trees and roll logs and
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rocks out of the road. The roads were made up
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of big rocks, logs, steep banks, deep holes, and splash dams.
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I thought our buggy would be smashed all to pieces.
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The horse pulled one trace in two and a big
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rock broke a spoke out of the buggy. Sometimes we
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had to walk and climb. The roads were so bumpy
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we couldn't keep our hats on. Sometimes I bumped Papa
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and sometimes he bumped me. It was so funny. Papa
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got a man to leave the horse around a big
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tree on the mountain while he and another man held
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the buggy. The horse got strangled and the man cried out,
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here's a dead horse. It scared me nearly to death.
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But they finally got the horses up. It was very
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steep going down the mountain. Mister Little jerked back on
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the horse, causing him to fall down with the buggy
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on top of him. Papa and some men got the
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buggy off the horse. Then the buggy got loose and
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ran down the mountain side and broke the shaft. It
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was very hard work for them to get the buggies,
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horses and everything to the bottom of the mountain. I've
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never seen so much in my entire life. Every day
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seems like a week long. Papa calls it my vacation trip.
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It took us five hours to go seven miles because
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Papa and mister Little had to walk, lead the horses
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and roll the logs out of the way. We finally
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arrived and Papa is preaching in the little schoolhouse on
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the bank of the river. Most of the people walk
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to church and it is crowded. At ten am and
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at four pm. Miss Kate Patrick and I play the
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little organ. It is the first one ever used here
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in a worship service. Twenty five people have been saved.
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One was a seventy year old man and another was
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a pretty little girl. We are going to take dinner
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to church and have it all day meeting on Sunday.
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We went swimming in the river one evening and had
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lots of fun. It is very cool and quiet in
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the mountains. When you get tired and want a vacation,
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you should come to the mountains. The people will be
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glad to see you. They are as clever as can be. Goodbye,
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your sister Grace. This concludes the reading of the Mountain Eagle.
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Your reader has been billed in Arsdale. Now please stay
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tuned for continued programming on behalf of everyone here at
27:58
Radio I thank you for listening and have a good day.