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October 7, 2009

Library reopens — 10/08/09

Jimmy Carter’s achievements have come after his presidencyThe revamped Jimmy Carter Library and Museum reopened Oct. 1 — the former president’s 85th birthday — with more space being devoted to Carter’s time after his presidency than any other presidential library. That’s as it should be. Jimmy Carter has had more accomplishments as a former president than he had as president.The revamped Jimmy Carter Library and Museum reopened Oct. 1 — the former president’s 85th birthday — with more space being devoted to Carter’s time after his presidency than any other presidential library. That’s as it should be. Jimmy Carter has had more accomplishments as a former president than he had as president.The revamped Jimmy Carter Library and Museum reopened Oct. 1 — the former president’s 85th birthday — with more space being devoted to Carter’s time after his presidency than any other presidential library. That’s as it should be. Jimmy Carter has had more accomplishments as a former president than he had as president.

Anonymous The Daily Independent Wed Oct 07, 2009, 03:43 PM EDT

The revamped Jimmy Carter Library and Museum reopened Oct. 1 — the former president’s 85th birthday — with more space being devoted to Carter’s time after his presidency than any other presidential library. That’s as it should be. Jimmy Carter has had more accomplishments as a former president than he had as president.

In many ways, Jimmy Carter was a failure as president. While he did succeed in brokering at peace pact between Israel and Egypt at Camp David, the U.S. economy was crippled by double-digit inflation during his presidency. Carter’s decision to keep the U.S. out of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan likely prevented world class athletes like Ashland native and diver Megan Neyer from winning a gold medal. And, of course, employees of the U.S. embassy in Iran were held hostage for more than 440 days, during which time Carter authorized a rescue attempt that failed miserably.

But after being easily defeated by Ronald Reagan during his bid for a second term in 1980, Carter refused to fade quietly into the pages of history. He has remained in the public eye, monitoring elections in other countries, occasionally undertaking diplomatic missions either on his own or with approval of the sitting president, and shining the spotlight on important world health and economic issues. He even has won the Nobel Peace Prize since leaving the White House. In addition, the former president has authored a number of inspiring books in which he has shared his faith, co-authored one about marriage with his wife, Rosalind, and even penned one novel.

We have not always agreed with the former president. Sometimes we think he has meddled where he didn’t belong. But we have never questioned his sincerity or his intentions. In our view, the years after his presidency have been the most productive of his life. The revamped library recognizes that.

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Editorials

Charles Chattin
Before it merged with Ashland Community College to form Ashland Community and Technical College as a result of the 1997 Higher Education Reform Act, the Ashland Area Vocational-Technical School compiled an impressive record for teaching job skills to young adults and placing more than 85 percent in jobs for which they were trained.

February 10, 2012
Try again
It is time for Kentucky Speaker of the House Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, and Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, to cease playing political games and redraw district lines that are compact and are based far more on population changes during the first decade of this century than on partisan politics.

February 9, 2012
'Asset poor'
More than one in four Kentucky households are “asset poor,” meaning that they are living from paycheck to paycheck with little or no financial cushion to fall back on should they suddenly lose their jobs or have another emergency resulting in a temporary loss of or delcine in income.

February 7, 2012
Safer mines
The head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) says coal operators throughout the country are improving their operations and, as a result, mines are becoming safer. However, MSHA chief Joe Main said too many coal operators still “don’t get it” and are continuing to cut costs by ignoring safety. That’s why MSHA plans to continue targeting mines with a history of repeated violations for additional inspections.

February 7, 2012
Not far enough
For the past three sessions of the Kentucky General Assembly, bills that would raise the minimum dropout age from 16 to 18 have been approved by the Kentucky House of Representatives by wide bipartisan margins only to die in the Senate without even a vote.
Now the Senate Education Committee has unanimously approved a dropout bill hailed as an alternative to the House bill, but it does not go nearly far enough. It is a halfway measure that would have only a limited effect on preventing teenagers from quitting high school before graduation and virtually assuring themselves of lives on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder.

February 6, 2012
Not their job
The local government committee of the Kentucky House of Representatives has wisely killed a bill — dubbed “Cooper’s Law” — that would have allowed the family of the Lexington toddler with cerebral palsy to have a playhouse on their property despite a deed restriction that apparently prohibits such structures.

February 6, 2012
Keeping FADE
Despite an increase in cost to the department, Carter County Sheriff Casey Brammell told the Carter County Fiscal Court that his department will continue to be active in the FIVCO Area Development Drug Enforcement (FADE) Task Force — at least for now.

February 4, 2012
Needed changes
The soaring enrollment that Kentucky’s community and technical colleges have experienced in recent years could come to a sudden end — or at least be slowed — as about 5,500 students in the statewide system that includes Ashalnd Community and Technical College are expected to lose their financial aid under new rules being implemented by the federal government.

February 3, 2012
Released early
While it is disappointing that 75 of the 952 prisoners granted early release in January have violated the terms of their releases, the good news is that none of the former inmates have been charged with new felonies. That’s an early, but positive, indication that the nonviolent felons released before their sentences were up have been carefully selected and are among those least likely to return to a life of crime.

February 2, 2012
Obese children
Almost a decade after former Gov. Ernie Fletcher called childhood obesity an “epidemic” in Kentucky, a majority of Kentucky adults still think that there are too many overweight children in the state and they place the bulk of the blame squarely on the shoulders of their parents.

February 1, 2012
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