Letters

Coal is not Kentucky’s future
It seems every level of state government is endorsing coal mining. Gov. Steve Beshear and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell have spoken out against federal regulations imposed on the coal industry by the Environmental Protection Agency. Local leaders attended a FACES of Coal press conference Friday in Elizabethtown. Again the theme was that the EPA is endangering Kentucky’s future by requiring full compliance with federal law to obtain a permit to mine Appalachian coal. Here are the facts these coal advocates have avoided:

Meth puts Hardin County’s residents at risk
Methamphetamine is an extremely dangerous drug, yet there are some people in Hardin County who choose to forego the associated risks in order to not only utilize, but manufacture it as well.  Because of meth’s highly addictive nature, a single use can lead to dependence, as well as a blighted future attempting to obtain and manufacture enough to sustain the insatiable desire for the original euphoric sensation.

End the war, not just the surge
I am happy to see that U.S. troops are starting to move out of Afghanistan, but the pace is too slow.
Nine years after the 2001 invasion there are 250,000 foreign forces in Afghanistan.  100,000 U.S. troops, 50,000 NATO troops and 100,000 Pentagon paid contractors.  It is a high water mark that should never be approached again.
Last year Afghanistan experienced the largest number of civilian casualties since the war began.

Doing something about downtown
Applause to Mayor Tim Walker and the Elizabethtown City Council for finally taking steps to save our downtown. For many of us who have worked with the Heritage Council and other interested groups throughout the years, and a handful of us who actually have actually struggled to make businesses in downtown work, it is nice to see ideas and solutions suggested and talked about for decades finally given a chance to make a difference.