Guthrie will be in Owensboro on Thursday

U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, a Bowling Green Republican, is scheduled to make five stops in Owensboro on Thursday.

His stops include:

7:30 a.m., Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce Rooster Booster  Breakfast, Owensboro Christian Church, 2818 New Hartford Road.

9 a.m., Seniors Information Fair, Bellevue Baptist Church, 4950 Kentucky 56.

11 a.m., dedication of new Western Kentucky University-Owensboro building, 4821 New Hartford Road.

2 p.m., Career Day, Sutton Elementary School, 2060 Lewis Lane.

 5:30 p.m., Town Hall meeting on underage drinking, Home Builders Association of Owensboro, 3315 Wathens Crossing.

Senate candidate to visit Whitesville

Want to meet a candidate for the U.S. Senate?

Dr. James Buckmaster, a Henderson physician who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the U. S. Senate, is scheduled to attend the Whitesville Lions Club Fish Fry from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday in Whitesville.

He is a graduate of Brescia University and has family connections in Whitesville. His mother-in-law, Dorothy Boarman, grew up there, according to Buckmaster’s Web site.

For information on Buckmaster, check his Web site  — www.buckmaster2010.com.

State building no cause for concern, employees told

 

   Employees of the downtown Owensboro state office building were hit with the headline “Hotel site contaminated” streamed across the top of the front page of Wednesday’s Messenger-Inquirer. The story about serious soil contamination at the site wasn’t lost on Frankfort. Before the day was over, employees of the building received the following message from state officials:
 
“You may have read in this morning’s Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer about environmental concerns from the City of Owensboro regarding use of the site on which your office building is located. I want to assure each of you that there is no reason for concern on your part. The concerns raised in the story have no impact on the quality of the air inside your office building, as they relate directly to the potential implications of demolishing the building and developing the property for other uses.

To ensure the safety of our employees, the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (DEP) recently conducted indoor air quality samples at your worksite. On March 10, 2010, DEP collected 8-hour time weighted samples from nine locations inside the building. This was done after working hours so that they could isolate the air flow in the building, allowing for any possible accumulation of vapor to be present. The samples were analyzed by an independent third party analytical laboratory for an exhaustive list of volatile organic compounds, including chlorinated solvents.   The results of the tests were negative. They did not detect any chlorinated solvents in air inside the building and no volatile organic compounds were detected in air at levels that pose a threat to human health.

As the result of a leak from a nearby dry cleaning business many years ago, the city and state have closely monitored the quality of the soil beneath the state office building for nearly a decade and have never had any reason for alarm. The current presence of any chemicals that may have leached beneath the site of the building will not pose any threat to health or safety. The soil’s environmental condition does not preclude the future reuse and redevelopment of this property with proper mitigation of the soil.

The air quality in and around your building poses no threat to your health.  Please be assured there is also no risk associated with enjoying your lunch or breaks in the area outside of the State Office Building.”
 
According to Cindy Lanham, director of communications for the Finance and Administration Cabinet, the message was signed by various state department directors who have workers in the Owensboro facility.

Friday, the Owensboro City Commission will hold a special called meeting to vote on repealing the ordinance that was approved earlier this month purchasing the state building. According to a source, the city now wants nothing to do with the building because of the contamination problems.

Mongiardo, Conway debate health care by e-mail

First, there was stumping for office.

Then, there was barnstorming.

Now, there’s e-mailing.

Two candidates for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate debated health care Tuesday by e-mail.

First up was Dr. Daniel Mongiardo, the incumbent lieutenant governor, saying in a news release, “Healthcare reform is a passion of mine. We have to get it done and get it done right.”

The statement continued: “I would support the House version of the bill, if and only if, I had assurances from the President that other critical reforms would be taken to rescue a healthcare system in danger of collapse, reforms that would do more to squeeze out the waste and inefficiencies of healthcare, improve patient care, and lower costs for everyone.

“Without those assurances, I would vote no because in and of itself  this bill will not fundamentally address our healthcare challenges — and could undermine the laudable goals of reform.

“The Republicans failure to work with Democrats and seek common ground was unacceptable. And the special interest horse trading in the Senate bill was destructive to the cause of reform. The last thing our health system needs is partisanship. In the Senate, I will look for real solutions to move reforms forward.

“If Jack Conway believes this is the magic solution to healthcare, it’s proof that we need to send a doctor to the Senate — not just another politician.”

Conway fired back, “Nearly 24 hours after health care reform legislation passed the House, Daniel Mongiardo put out a press release restating his opposition to health care reform.

“I support health care reform, Daniel Mongiardo doesn’t. It’s as simple as that.

“My primary opponent stands with Mitch McConnell, Jim Bunning and Republicans who want to kill health care reform legislation while I stand with the hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians who have been abused by insurance companies, and desperately need access to affordable health care coverage. There is a clear choice in this race.”

It’s Mechanicsville, not Dugan Best project

What began as the Dugan Best Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan will now be known as the Mechanicsville Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan.

The name change came at the request of residents of the west side neighborhood that will see the infusion of $7.5 million in public and private housing and infrastructure improvement funds over the next four years.

The area was first known as Mechanicsville when it was developed by 29-year-old Robert Conway in 1892. The Dugan Best Recreation Center and Dugan Best Park at West 10th and Omega streets are part of the neighborhood.

Later this year, the Mechanicsville Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan is scheduled to begin with the construction of a section of Omega Street.

What is planned for the Mechanicsville neighborhood is similar to the redevelopment projects that brought improvements to the Baptisttown and Old Germantown neighborhoods in recent years, centering on the construction of many new government subsidized single-family homes, with many other homes renovated and streets, sidewalks and lighting were enhanced, all in an effort to increase home ownership rates and improve the look of the communities and overall quality of life for their residents.

Guthrie to host Seniors Information Fair

U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, a Bowling Green Republican, will host a free Seniors Information Fair from 9 a.m. to noon on April 1 at Bellevue Baptist Church, 4950 Kentucky 56.  

More than 30 organizations and businesses are expected to participate.

The event will include information on health and aging issues, benefits counseling, disaster preparedness, fraud and crime prevention and community activities.

Seminars include:

 • Daviess County Sheriff’s Office: “Identity Theft and Scams,” 9:15 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.

• Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office: “Elder Abuse Prevention,” 9:15 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.

• Owensboro Police Department: “Senior Citizens Safety,” 9:45 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.

• UK Cooperative Extension Agent: “Quick and Easy Meals for 1 or 2,” 9:45 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.

• Social Security Administration and Medicare: “Information on benefits available to seniors,” 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

For more information, check www.guthrie.house.gov or call 842-9896.

How does health care law affect you? Check this site

So, how does the new health care law affect you?

Here’s a Washington Post site that lets you check your status: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/what-health-bill-means-for-you/

Just plug in the information the site asks for.

Tuesday’s work session at Edge Ice Center

  Tuesday’s Owensboro City Commission work session will be held at the city’s newest facility, the Edge Ice Center on West Parrish Avenue next to the Sportscenter. It will be second consecutive meeting for the City Commission away from City Hall. Last week’s regular City Commission meeting was held at the Dugan Best Recreation Center on the west side of town.

  At today’s noon meeting, city commissioners are expected to received answers to questions they had earlier this month about the Owensboro Family YMCA’s request for up to $198,500 in city funds to assist the organization in the building of an outdoor day camp on 25 acres it owns on New Hartford Road.

City Manager Bill Parrish said Monday that the answer to the question of whether the city can provide money for the religious-affiliated Y’s camp is yes. But on the second question pertaining to any possible savings for the city by shifting city summer recreation activities to the Y camp, it would not be a lot, only about $5,000 a year, he said.

However, the 12 acres proposed for the summer day camp is outside the city limits and may need to be annexed if the city provides funding, Parrish said.

City Attorney Ed Ray said the city may provide financial support for the specific program the YMCA has proposed, which is a summer day camp that is religious and gender neutral and nondiscriminatory.

Also on the agenda for discussion today: A new city sign, a new city-produced show for cable channel 75 on downtown development and proposed changes to the city’s personnel manuals.

Finally, the City Commission will be given a report on the Edge Ice Center’s first eight months of operation and members will tour the facility.

Thompson on Kentucky Tonight

State Rep. Tommy Thompson, a Philpot Democrat, will appear on KET’s “Kentucky Tonight” tonight (March 22) at 7 p.m.

Host Bill Goodman and his guests will discuss the 2010 General Assembly.

Scheduled guests are:

State Rep. Steve Riggs, D-Louisville, chair of the House Local Government Committee

– Thompson, chair of the House Budget Review Subcommittee on Primary/Secondary Education

– State Rep. Danny Ford, R-Mount Vernon

– State Rep. Tim Moore, R-Elizabethtown

Viewers with questions and comments may send e-mail, including name and town or county, to kytonight@ket.org or use the message form at www.ket.org/kytonight.

The phone number for viewer calls during the program is (800)494-7605.

Guthrie says health care needs ‘better solutions’

U.S. Rep.  Brett Guthrie, a Bowling Green Republican, said Tuesday in remarks on the House floor that everyone wants to make health care both more accessible and more affordable.

“But for the past year, the majority has been working on the pieces of a puzzle they call health care reform; and now that their puzzle is complete, the picture doesn’t make any sense,” he said.

 “Their final image includes billions of dollars in new taxes, over a trillion dollars in new government spending, increases the premiums of the 85 percent of those who have health insurance now and cuts Medicare by half-a-trillion-dollars,” Guthrie said.

 “And I continue to hear from Kentuckians from home who remain concerned over the possible passage of this bill and who are frustrated with this process,” he said of health care legislation.

 “We need to start over,” Guthrie said. “We need to piece together better solutions in an open and honest system. Now is the time to work on incremental reforms that will lower the cost of health care, without spending trillions and bankrupting future generations.”