Rumors, misinformation, and outright hysteria. That quite succinctly sums up the barrage of printed commentary and front yard chitchat focusing on the Aylesford/UK/historic preservation/bad neighbor issue. Although nearly a year, three public hearings, and multiple slice and dice compromises have passed since the Aylesford Neighborhood Association first proposed an H-1 overlay, Aylesford's "problems" just will not die, despite the fact that a historic designation has now been granted. For proponents and detractors alike, it's more obvious now than ever before that the strife within this community goes well beyond a distaste for vinyl-clad apartment buildings.

With the historic zoning now approved and in place, one would assume that Aylesford should once again be a content and happy community. The architecture of the neighborhood is protected, for the most part, which is what proponents of H-1 were concerned with, right? Surely it was clear to everyone involved that this was all H-1 zoning could hope to accomplish. As proponents vehemently asserted, this was about preservation. Not land use. It had nothing to do with people (unless you count absentee landlords who just LOVE that vinyl siding).

And then a funny thing happened during this H-1 debate to add fuel to the fire: UK banned alcohol on campus.

Now, even though historic zoning is in place, many of the same arguments concerning the "character" of the neighborhood are resurfacing. Suggesting that maybe, just maybe, the dissent of the past year really has been about people, more than places-and bad behavior moreso than inappropriate architecture.

And the thing about behavior -if everyone's finally willing to own up to bad behavior (as opposed to buildings) being the heart of the debate -is that actions have consequences. And those consequences and mechanisms for dealing with bad behavior are already in place (in the form of ordinances) or could be more stringently dealt with via a far more germane zoning proposal -R1 -which limits density, if one is willing to concede that too many people in too little space is asking for trouble (whether they're students or not).

For example, the UK ban on alcohol has done little to prohibit students' consumption of it (big surprise), and thus the students have simply taken their partying ways into the neighborhoods where they live. Now complaints about large vinyl-sided multiplexes have subsided, but new complaints about noisy parties, litter strewn yards and sidewalks, and illegally parked cars have replaced them.

And of course there's absolutely nothing H-1 can do about this latest "bad neighbor" issue. The thing is, the mechanisms to prevent or punish these activities are already on the books, and have been since long before the H-1 debate arose. Students aren't exempt from these ordinances, any more than anyone else is.

In "How to be a Better Neighbor," a free publication of the LFUCG, it's stated that "The Urban County Government's noise ordinance prohibits any sound that annoys or disturbs a reasonable person of normal sensitivities."

As for trash, a nuisance ordinance prohibits the improper disposal of trash and debris on property, and a litter ordinance covers this problem when the trash is disposed on property by someone other than the owner or occupant of that property.

Finally, parking ordinances are in place to prohibit blocking of driveways and parking on sidewalks or in yards. Complaints should be directed to the Division of Police. Their non-emergency number is 258-3600.

All of these ordinances exist, so it's really a matter of individuals reporting violations of them and police patrols ensuring that the ordinances are being followed. To this end, Mayor Pam Miller stated the city is already working to provide more code enforcement and more police in the Aylesford area.

However, even if residents finally realize that architectural preservation never had that much to do with last year's controversy and that H-1 is not the cure-all many hoped it would be, misconceptions and misinformation continue to plague the H-1 issue as it pertains to Aylesford.

Starting with the most recent of the multitudinous misunderstandings, many residents of both Clay and Central Avenues were surprised recently when they received a packet welcoming them to life in a historic district. Why the surprise? Although both these streets were included in the original zoning area, the Herald-Leader reported after the final hearing on the proposal that these streets, along with other areas, had been deleted from the zoning district passed by the Council.

In its articles on both the UCC vote and the report of a compromise prior to that hearing, the Herald-Leader stated, "Under the compromise...properties along Main Street, Old Vine Street, Central Avenue and Clay Avenue will no longer be part of the district." And the headline for the initial report on the compromise reads, "New Aylesford plan omits Main, Central, Clay." No further explanation was provided in either article, leaving most who rely on the daily paper for accurate and unambiguous reporting of government proceedings with the understanding that "properties along" the aforementioned streets was meant as an all-inclusive statement.

On the contrary, however, only certain properties (most of them businesses) along these streets have actually been deleted from the zoning plan which recently passed. Specifically, street numbers 508-658 on Clay Avenue are indeed included in the historic district as well as 128 and 131 through 333 on Clay Avenue.

And now that "H-1" is securely embedded in the community's vocabulary and collective psyche, even greater clarification is called for as the term is erroneously tossed around as an explanation for every little change to the physical landscape of the area.

For example, one of the latest H-1 rumors involves the razing of several houses by UK, including the German House on Columbia Avenue. Rumor has it that UK plans to raze these buildings because the renovation costs required by H-1 would be too costly. Perhaps no example better epitomizes the misconceptions and hysteria that have characterized this issue ever since the Aylesford proposal was first introduced.

Aside from the facts that this area is not in the historic district and that UK would be exempt from H-1 guidelines even if it were, H-1 cannot force anyone to renovate or make certain improvements or repairs to their property. Only violations of building codes allow the city to force property owners into making these kinds of changes.

Furthermore, UK Architect Warren Denny stated, "The area bounded by Columbia, Woodland, Euclid and Rose is to be developed mainly for student housing."

Alas, this is surely not the last we'll hear of H-1 and the Aylesford neighborhood. What may prove the saddest part of the whole thing, though, is if this issue leaves a bitter taste of H-1 for other communities considering historic zoning. Before Aylesford, H-1 had proven (and continues to prove) an invaluable means of preservation in Lexington, but then those districts made solid and unambiguous cases for their preservation goals.

An Easy 'A'
Well it seemed like a good idea. Under a program adopted by the General Assembly earlier this year, high school students can receive scholarship money based on their grades. Money always being the great motivator, this seemed like a good way to not only reward those students who do well in school but to encourage all college-minded students to study and get good grades.

Unfortunately every silver lining is just waiting to be tarnished. And it's already happening in some Kentucky school districts because there has been a call for lowering grading standards so that more students will be eligible for the scholarships. These school districts argue that their students should not be punished because their system has higher standards than other school districts. This logic produced the inevitable reaction of calling for a state standard for grading, but this would go against the established KERA philosophy of local control. Looks like the carnival show that is Kentucky's educational system just keeps adding new rides.

Planned Parenthood Benefit
On Nov. 4, there will be an event held at the State Theater to benefit Planned Parenthood. Planned for the event is a screening of Rain Without Thunder. Described as a "political horror film," this mock-umentary takes place in 2042 when abortion and most forms of birth control have been outlawed in this country. The Washington Post calls the film, "the abortion-rights movement's 1984." The benefit will take place at 7:30 and tickets are $10 for students, $15 for adults.

Save Black Mountain
Both the Kentucky Resources Council and the Harlan County chapter of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth are urging state officials to take the necessary steps to ensure the protection of the higher elevations of Black Mountain from any form of mining. The lower parts of the mountain are already being mined, but the higher parts are currently home to one of the state's most unique ecological systems. That's due to the fact that Black Mountain is the only place in Kentucky with elevations reaching over 3600 feet above sea level. Kentuckians for the Commonwealth is also urging citizens to contact the governor and their state representatives and urge them to take measures making the upper elevations of the mountain a protected nature preserve.

House of Fundamentalist Horrors
Just in time for Halloween, the Victory Hill Ministries in Bowling Green has sponsored its "Hell House." But if Dante were alive today, he certainly would never envision a hell like this one. Unlike your typical cheesy display of fake blood, rubber masks, and the K-Tel 8-track of "spooky" sounds, five bucks will give patrons a glimpse of the "real" hell.

Of course, Satan is the guide through Hell House, but this non-denominational church obviously has a wee bit radical conception of hell. Instead of the standard vision of fire, brimstone, and hellhounds which we have come to know and love, Hell House consists of dramatizations of various kinds of sinners. According to an AP report, these scenes include "a mock abortion, complete with a simulated fetus," the funeral of a homosexual who died from the AIDS virus, and a teenager who committed suicide.

Victory Hill Pastor Nathan Oakes does not think that the display is condemning any of these people. Unless, of course, you don't see eternal damnation as a picnic in the park.

Another Brick in the Wall
In the wake of a particularly gruesome year of high-profile violence in the nation's public schools, Gov. Paul Patton recently announced that he wants to look into the possibility of adopting a uniform policy for all Kentucky public schools.

Following a recent White House conference on school violence, Patton and Education Commissioner Wilmer Cody said that it was worth studying uniforms as a means of addressing violence issues. Relatively few studies have been done to show the correlation between uniforms and violence, but most schools that have adopted a uniform policy feel that violence and competition are down.

No word yet from Tommy Hilfiger, but be on the lookout for his new spring collection in drab gray.

What a Joke
There must be some weird cosmic law that says dentists-cum-politicians have a knack for telling bad jokes. Chuck Ellinger is pretty notorious for his one-liners, but state Rep. Ricky Lee Cox takes the cake for a twisted sense of humor. In his bid for re-election in the 51st district, Cox has recently had to address what has come to dominate this particular race. That being his odd sense of humor. First he challenged a local newspaper editor to a duel after reading an editorial he didn't care for. Then, when a Louisville television station interviewed him about the challenge, Cox said that in Taylor County "if somebody says something you don't like, you just shoot him and that's the end of it." Oh boy, hope you haven't already made your vacation plans.