Ethics

The Right Rev. Chilton Knudsen, the  interim assisting bishop of the Lexington Diocese of the Episcopal Church, spoke at the third installment of Emmanuel Episcopal Church's Lenten lecture series on ethics. Knudsen emphasized the importance of building relationships within the church, among congregation members and between congregations and their leadership. Ethics, Knudsen said, is “how we behave when we know we belong together.” In order to preserve relationships and promote understanding, in the broader community as well as the church, discussion is vital, Knudsen said.

Dear Editor, As I stated at Monday night’s commission meeting, even though it was very unpleasant to me, I felt a responsibility to bring up the issue of Commissioner Janet Hamner’s contract with the city to furnish window blinds. The article in Tuesday’s Advocate-Messenger did not reference the sections of the Code of Ethics that I read at the meeting. For a complete understanding of the issue, the most pertinent are: Sec. 2-264. Personal Honesty and integrity: “Each officer and employee has a responsibility to the organization and his colleagues to demonstrate the highest standards of personal integrity, honesty, and fortitude in all public activities.

The Danville Board of Ethics will meet at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the conference room at city hall to hear recent charges submitted against Mayor Hugh Coomer.

Counties' compliance with their own ethics codes ranges from diligent to slack. Boyle County appointed an ethics committee in the 1990s, but many of the terms have expired. The committee has never received a complaint and hasn't met recently, said Judge-Executive Tony Wilder. A candidate for judge-executive in Garrard County has filed a complaint with the state because that county's committee is inactive. The complaint has been sent to the Governor's Office for Local Development, but it is unclear what if any action will be taken.

The Clark County Ethics Committee postponed a ruling Thursday on whether Clark County Magistrate Rick Smith violated ethics code last year when the Fiscal Court hired an insurance agent. Committee members heard more than an hour and a half of closed testimony from five witnesses, including Magistrates Smith and Vanessa Oaks Rogers, Jailer Bobby Stone, County Clerk Anita Jones and insurance agent Billy Edwards. Chairman Mike Irwin said the committee wants to receive testimony from one more witness - Magistrate Steve Palmer - before it issues a ruling.

YouTube's biggest fight!" That's how the Internet remembers the 1992 basketball game between visiting Prestonsburg High School and host Paintsville. The rivarly had been smelling blood for a while leading up to the infamous brawl. The two towns are seperated by maybe 10-15 minutes and both teams had built strong programs. A minor scuffle (in comparison) had broken out in a football game earlier in the season. Looking back more than 15 years in the past and trying to seperate fact from rumor, it's hard to decipher exactly what caused the fight.

Dear Editor, As a former employee, I am writing to support Chris Horn for Mercer County Clerk. Chris has great work ethics - he takes pride in all he does. Chris has the knowledge and willingness to learn all aspects of the job. Chris will work with the deputies to learn all jobs related to the office, and in doing so will be able to accurately complete all reports required by the county and state. Chris Horn is my choice for Mercer County Clerk. Rhonda 0. Beasley Salvisa

MAGISTRATE ACCUSED OF ETHICS VIOLATION A local businessman has alleged that a Clark County magistrate violated ethics codes last year as the Fiscal Court obtained a hew health insurance policy. TRAVELING TRAILS GRAND OPENING Clark County residents can take their first steps on a temporary walking trail with a grand opening celebration Saturday. By Katheran Wasson TWO ARRAIGNED IN CHILD ABUSE CASE Jesse Patrick and Genne Burgess, the two people accused of assaulting Patrick's 3-week-old son, pleaded not guilty and asked for a reduction in bond at their arraignment Thursday.

The Jessamine County Board of Education approved a 2008-2009 calendar at its meeting Monday which once again includes a one week fall intercession. The board had been considering drafts of two calendars, one with the fall intercession and one without, which had been prepared with input from principals and staff represented by certified council members. The original intent of the intercession was for it be used as a time for students who were falling behind to catch up before the end of the semester.

Dear Editor, After reading one of the many official ethics complaints against the mayor of Danville, I can honestly say that I am nearly speechless and extremely disappointed in both Mayor Hugh Coomer and Commissioner Gail Louis. As if all of the complaints were not bad enough, both gave an interview to a reporter with the Lexington paper further proving that they don't appreciate the gravity of the situation and that they do not understand our form of government. In the article, Louis stated that the other commissioners want to make the position "a figure head" and Hugh Coomer said "It's politics.

FRANKFORT (AP) - The Executive Branch Ethics Commission has handed down public reprimands and fines to three former employees in the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. The panel took the action Monday against Bruce Harper of Harrodsburg, Chris Parsons of Mount Vernon and George “Doug” Begley of London. Harper agreed to pay a $4,500 fine for soliciting donations from businesses his agency regulated and for attempting to interfere with enforcement actions in cases involving grain storage and disposal of dead animals.

Boyle County Judge-Executive Harold McKinney is renewing his efforts to keep the county's ethics commission available as a public service. Junction City and Boyle Fiscal Court officials will be appointing a total of three ethics commission members in the near future, McKinney reported during Thursday's meeting. The existing members are Doug Davis and Preston Miles, both of Perryville. Both men hope to be reappointed to serve another four-year term, which would start in July. “I would like to reconstitute us (as a commission)

JUNCTION CITY - During Tuesday night's Junction City Council meeting, Councilman Dewayne Taylor requested a referral to the Boyle County Ethics Commission regarding a special-called  council meeting held Dec. 17. Taylor claimed he was not made aware of the meeting. “They have been done wrong since you've been mayor,” Taylor told Mayor Jim Douglas. “It's supposed to be either hand-delivered, fax, or certified mail, if I'm correct. And it has to be within 24 hours of notification of a special-called meeting.

LEXINGTON - As he tried to recall all the things he enjoyed about being an honorary assistant Kentucky basketball coach for one day, George Goodwin said three things stood out to him. “The top three things are professionalism, kindness and just awesome,” said Goodwin. “The coaching staff, being able to watch them work on and off all day, no wonder we always have a good team. Those guys literally work all the time.” Goodwin was coach John Calipari's “assistant” Monday when the Wildcats hosted Transylvania in their final exhibition game.

One would think the old adage “Where there's smoke, there's fire” would apply to the Nicholasville Ethics Committee. For a number of months, allegations of conflicts of interest among the city's planning commission members have swirled around in public forums and in articles of this newspaper. This has led to a public perception of corruption among developers and appointed officials. But the ethics committee apparently has chosen to turn a blind eye in regard to looking into the alleged violations.

Several questions concerning members of the Nicholasville Planning Commission's possible conflicts of interest have been raised over the past few months, yet the city's ethics committee has not initiated an investigation because it says no formal complaint has been filed. Within the past year, there have been multiple incidents where alleged conflicts of interest between three planning commissioners and Jessamine County developer Clay Corman have been brought up in a public forum.

Ephraim McDowell associate appointed to board Tressa Mason, general counsel and corporate compliance officer at Ephraim McDowell Health, recently was elected to serve on the Heart of Danville board of directors. Mason, a native of New Haven, Conn., joined Ephraim McDowell in 2010. Since moving to Danville, she has been active in the community, serving as master gardener for the Salvation Army Community Garden, a member of Kiwanis and a member of the Big Brothers-Big Sisters advisory committee.

Dear Editor, I will add my voice to the issue of replacing members of the ethics board. Every member who was sitting on that board on Jan. 25, 2010, should have been replaced long ago. I had a hearing before the board on that date for a complaint I filed against the code enforcement officer and the city manager. These two city officials had refused to enforce the nuisance ordinance on property beside me with weeds and trash. I presented a thorough case with facts, documentation and photos.

A second member of the Danville Ethics Board has stepped down in less than a week, but Paul Smiley said his departure is not directly related to fellow member Jeff Trueblood's resignation over the body's lack of diversity. Smiley, who is running for a seat on the City Commission, tendered his letter of resignation Tuesday to City Clerk Donna Peek. The end of Smiley's term in November coincides with the election, but he thinks it would be inappropriate for him to sit in judgment over the next several months of anyone he may be running against or employees he may be asked to work with if he is elected.

A member of the Danville Ethics Board resigned his position Tuesday, citing concerns that the five-member board had no minorities or women. Jeffrey Trueblood, who was in the middle of his second term, delivered a letter of resignation to The Advocate-Messenger and City Clerk Donna Peek. Trueblood said he hoped Linda Tillman, who was replaced by Tom Cummins in June after her three-year term expired, would be reappointed to the committee. Tillman asked for a formal apology at the last City Commission meeting, citing that she was replaced without being asked whether she wanted to continue her service.