Junk

Dear Editor, I have been out of town and just read Mary Morgan's letter to the editor about eyesores not unusual. I also read the letter from Ms. Reed recently. I, like many people, sit at home reading about our "junk" problem, and while in total agreement don't make the effort to respond to such actions. After several responses from others, I decided to go that extra mile and voice my concern. I have read so much lately about how Danville, Junction City and other surrounding counties are trying to get a handle on the junk crisis that faces us daily.

JUNCTION CITY - The City Council is getting tough with the nuisance ordinance. It has instructed the police chief to start writing tickets to violators. Mayor G.G. Harmon said there are some areas of town that suffer from junk cars, debris, stacks of rubbish and vacant lots that haven't been cleaned up. These areas are considered a public nuisance. The police chief first will issue a notice to the property owner where there is a nuisance. That person will have 10 days to clean up the property or demand a hearing before the City Council.

JUNCTION CITY - When potential businesses visit, the city does not want junk cars, dilapidated houses and piles of garbage to be the hallmarks of their first impressions. Earlier this year, the city adopted nuisance ordinances that give the police chief authority to write citations to property owners with unsafe structures or unsightly garbage. Councilman Ron Pemberton started the rallying cry for a city-wide cleanup. Before he was elected, Pemberton and his wife came to the council meetings to talk about litter on Knob Lick Road.

Dear Editor: Jackie Walters of Lexington has eloquently explained the reasons to support pending bills relating to the health of Kentucky's schoolchildren. I write to put the Kentucky bills in a national context. Last month, California Gov. Schwarzenegger said it was "ludicrous" for our schools to be selling soda and junk food - that schools were "destroying" the kids. He urged legislators to bring a bill banning soda (regardless of grade level). There are newly proposed statewide bans that would do that in Montana, South Carolina, Connecticut, Mississippi, Nebraska, Arizona and New Mexico.

LANCASTER - The City Council wants to clear out the dozens of abandoned vehicles in town. Now it just has to figure out the best way to do it. The council heard Monday night from police officer David Shepherd that a police inventory showed there are about 70 vehicles inside the city limits that qualify as public nuisances. The obvious solution, he said, is to have them towed and charge their owners. Unfortunately for the city, he said, it's not that easy. Many of the cars' owners - who may be out of state or even dead - cannot be located.

For many Americans, the price of gas seemingly has become more of a burden every week. While prices jump only a few cents at a time, it can really add up. Such things as cleaning out your vehicle and keeping it maintained can help to raise gas mileage and, therefore, conserve gas so you don't have to pay so much money quite as often at the pump. The "AAA Gas Watcher's Guide" gives tips for conserving gasoline while driving. Some tips from the guide include: â?¢ Stick to a routine maintenance schedule.

Where the heck did I get all this stuff? It makes my head hurt to think about all that's left to unpack after a month in Winchester. And there is plenty of stuff to sort through. Call it the debris from a lifetime of collecting. I come by it genetically. My dad is a collector and lover of trains. As far back as I can remember, there has always been a train layout in his basement, an amalgamation of chicken wire and plaster of Paris for his Lionel trains. That doesn't even take into account his thousands and thousands of photos of trains, all organized, dated, annotated and properly filed.

As a computer-challenged chump, I was the last person in the United States of America to understand the Internet, Web sites, e-mails and all that other electronic stuff that has made my Stone Age life miserable. My lack of know-how in things computer has left most friends and associates wondering what cave I have been inhabiting. Thus, these same comrades thought I must have been Saddam's spider hole roommate when I was oblivious to spam. In fact, when I first heard all the moaning and groaning from folks about spam, I actually thought they were talking about the infamous faux ham, that treat that was developed for soldiers and peddled to the masses.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first day in a seven-part series that looks at how students, teachers, families and businesses, even a local city, are leading the charge for a more environmentally-conscious society. To see all the stories and videos from this series, click here . Techno-junk. E-waste. Electro-trash. Call it whatever you want to call it, but it's a serious problem. With each new technological gadget created, another newer version seems to be waiting in the wings to make the current model obsolete.

A Boyle Circuit Court ruling last week gives Robert Hamlin two months to remove the junked vehicles from his Stewarts Lane property that have been the subject of a long-standing dispute with Danville-Boyle County Planning & Zoning Commission and his neighbors. In an order entered Tuesday, Judge Darren Peckler directs Hamlin to take the more than 50 old vehicles and other clutter from the property within 60 days. If the "offending personality" is not gone within 60 days, the order authorizes P&Z to go on to the property and remove the vehicles at Hamlin's expense.