June 5: Our readers write

Protect private ownership of land

Mr. Beckerdite made a statement in his letter to the editor Monday that county government should utilize eminent domain to seize land in Glendale to attract Volkswagen’s interest for a proposed industrial site.  While I certainly appreciate Mr. Beckerdite’s many contributions to government policy — he does after all claim to be the one who came up with the ingenious and completely original idea to have one government building downtown — he would not think so lightly of government seizure of this land if he were the landowner.

One of the greatest tragedies of American legal history, in my opinion, was the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to allow private land to be condemned through eminent domain for commercial ventures. Mr. Beckerdite’s proposal would condemn land owned by hard-working farmers (Glendale is primarily a rural area after all) and turn around and hand it to a foreign-owned company.

When we begin allowing private enterprise to exercise eminent domain in land disputes, how long before the next great shopping mall decides that it would be in the “best interest” of the community to seize the land that our parents grew up on?  How would Mr. Beckerdite feel to see his great-grandmother’s log cabin torn down for a new Starbuck’s? This is the policy this man is espousing.

Michael Owsley

Vine Grove 

First step in finding funds is cooperation

I managed the ballparks  from 1984-1991 and dealt with Vine Grove mayors and council members in the past and was treated with great respect. 

Funding could not have happened if the mayors, council members, Optimist Club and Hardin County’s budget were not behind it. Our ballparks always needed repairs and upgrades.

There always has been federal grant money available for these projects. I asked the Radcliff Recreation Department how to go about getting these grants. It takes a mayor and council members willing to take time and submit applications for it. Some of these grants are are quite large amounts. You just have to meet certain guidelines.

If you cannot fix the fields or make repairs, you risk the chance of injuries. Take away the ball fields and soccer fields and you take away a chance for a child to develop in sports, meet other kids and take away their idle times.

Jim Reed

Former Recreation Director

Vine Grove