Ms. Issac:
Why if the budget is so tight right now, and we are telling city workers that they are going to be laid off, did your office (council and all) vote yourselves an almost eight percent pay increase?
I am not sure how it has been in any job that you have ever worked at, but mine have always been you must prove yourself before you earn you raise. Even then, you're elected, and it is a privilege, should you really even get a pay increase?
Also, you (the council) only gave our police officers, the men and women who protect and serve us, a 1.5% pay increase, and then told them their health payments would increase by 14% also.
We have lost over nine police officers to pay being too low, and more are on the way out. This is all with out any more layoffs. So at which point is enough going to be enough? What accomplishments has your office made that outweigh what has obviously been done wrong.
And a smoking ban? In the second largest city in one of the largest tobacco producing states in the US if not the world? I don't even smoke and I see that as plain ridiculous. You should have left it up to the owners of the stores.
It is clear that I made the wrong choice when I voted this year. I will not make it again. You are gonna have to earn my family and friends' votes, I have seen no hard work by the council, I have seen noone listening to the people.
And I have not seen your office earn any sort of pay increase.
Disgruntled Citizen,
Doug VanWinkle
Ps. I will take no response to this letter as a form of admitting what I have seen as right. I would like to hear a response if you feel differently about what I have written. All figures are public knowledge and are easy to find.
---Original Message---
From: teresa@lfucg.com
To: xxxxxx.com
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2003 7:23 AM
My raise was the same as the employees. Mayor Isaac
We're in Business
Mayor Teresa Isaac, in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, the Lexington Urban League, et al., will open this city's first-ever Minority Business Expo.
The aim of the expo is to provide more opportunities for minority businesses to get their product and their services out to a larger community.
The expo will take place Thursday, July 17th at the Holiday Inn North, located on Newtown Pike. Proceedings will start at 8:30am, with a panel discussion at 10am and an expo ceremony at 1;30pm.
More info on the event can be found online at: ftp:/ftp.lfucg.com/LFUCG/MB_Expo.pdf.
Shrine On
The Bluegrass Group of the KY Sierra Club will hold its monthly meeting on Monday, July 21, at 7:30PM, at the Shriners' Hospital, 1900 Richmond Rd. Environmental activist Lynne Faltraco will speak on "Bridging the Gap." Free and open to the public.
Off and Runnin'
The Division of Parks and Recreation is seeking public input for a new master plan for the Raven Run Nature Sanctuary. Any and all ideas are welcome, as a meeting will be held at the Parks and Rec offices on 469 Parkway Drive.
The meeting will be held Tuesday, July 22 from 7pm to 9pm. Info at 288-2982.
Open Lanes
The city has announced that swimming pools at the Castlewood, Southland, and Woodland locations will remain open until August 17th, the day before the first day of school for Fayette County. All other pools will close after August 3. For more info on pool schedules contact Parks and Rec at 288-2973.
Give a Hoot
In May, the Environmental Impact Statement was issued by the Bush administration. The information within contained documents of the destruction of our land, water and forests by mountaintop removal. Still, the president wants to make it easier for coal companies to get permits for mountaintop removal and valley fill.
In response to this, the group Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) is seeking group members, and members of the public to speak up and to say NO to more destruction and YES to preserving our streams, forests and mountains. On Tuesday, July 22 there will be a public hearing on this report.
The hearing will be from 2pm - 5pm and 7pm - 11pm in "The Forum" at the Hal Rogers Center, 101 Bulldog Lane on Route 15 south of Hazard. For more info, contact KFTC at 606/ 632-0051 or check their web site www.kftc.org.
Making Waves
Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson will be the featured speaker at a Thursday, July 24 "Shirt Sleeve Rally" fund-raising event hosted by Bluegrass FLOW. (You remember them don't you?) Abramson will talk about the Louisville Water Company and it's relationship to local government. In that situation, the city of Louisville is the sole stockholder in Louisville Water Company. LWC is not an extension of city government.
The LWC is publicly-owned, privately-operated for-profit and has an appointed board of directors and can be looked to as a model for Lexington.
Tickets for the FLOW Rally are $1,000 per person and are tax deductible.
Those interested in attending (and who can afford to shell out a G per ticket) may call 221-1032 for ticket information. A limited number of tickets are available.
Closing Time
With the smoking ban being passed recently, bar owners are trying to find a way to try an way to increase revenue they feel they will lose once the ban goes into effect in October.
So, bar owners are proposing a measure that would allow bars to stay open an extra hour. The hope being, that the extra hour would help offset some of the expected lost income from the ban.
The Urban County Council is not expected to take any type of action on extending current bar hours until they come back from their summer break on August 18th.
Looking Ahead
Oh, the Humanity
The fourth annual Freedom Fest, a fund-raiser benefitting the Woodford County Humane Society, will be held at 6pm on Saturday, July 26 at Ashford Stud, 5095 Frankfort Road, in Versailles and there will be food provided by Carrabba's Italian Grill, tours of Ashford Stud, music, dancing, and a cash bar. There will be more than 100 live and silent auction items including a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, a painting by local artist Debbie Graviss, Keeneland box seats, a Lexington Legends luxury box, and more. Tickets run $50, a reserved table for eight is $500. Call 859/ 873-5491 between the hours of noon and 6pm Monday - Friday, and noon and 5pm Saturday and Sunday. For more information, see www.woodfordhumanesociety.org.
Chopper City
The Masonic Buford Lodge No. 494 in Midway will sponsor the Charity Ride for Cystic Fibrosis, Saturday, July 26. The motorcycle ride begins at the Woodford County Park on Beasley Road, Versailles. Registration for the ride will take place from 11am. to noon, and is $20 a person, which will get you a lunch and a T-shirt. The ride will start off in the the park, and last about 55 miles along US. 127 to the Kentucky Motor Speedway in Sparta. All riders must have insurance. Call 859/ 873-1057 or 859/ 873-9842.
To submit an advocacy/activism activity or event for Quickies, email rkirkland@aceweekly.com, or editor@aceweekly.com.