After a lull of many months, efforts to restrict smoking in public in Kentucky seem to again be picking up steam. Expect the trend to continue as fewer Kentuckians smoke and more non-smokers want to be free of second-hand smoke when they dine out and shop.
The central Kentucky city of Radcliff, which is located near Elizabethtown and the large Fort Knox Army base, became the latest Kentucky to restrict smoking in public when the city council voted just before Christmas to approve an ordinance to restrict smoking in much the same way as Ashland’s ordinance does. The ordinance — which was approved by a 4-2 vote — will not take effect until April 1.
Soon after Lexington became the first Kentucky city to restrict smoking in public, about 20 other cities and counties across the state — including Louisville and Ashland — soon followed suit. But then the trend slowed to a halt and only picked up steam in the last couple of months.
Meanwhile, the three northern Kentucky counties of Boone, Kenton and Campbell continue to make Covington, Newport, Florence and the numerous other smaller cities in the three counties across the Ohio River from Cincinnati the largest metropolitan area in Kentucky without a restriction on smoking in public. Calls by health care professionals and other anti-smoking advocates to get the fiscal courts in the three counties to enact identical ordinances to restrict public smoking have fallen on deaf ears.
The Kenton County Fiscal Court did recently agree to prohibit smoking in county-owned buildings, but banning smoking in the courthouse still is a long way from restricting smoking in most public places, including private businesses.
Meanwhile, the same organization that successfully convinced the Ashland Board of City Commissioners to restrict smoking in public has announced it hopes to expand the restriction to include all of Boyd County. We hope that effort is successful as we are convinced the advantages of the public smoking ban in Ashland far exceed any disadvantages. That being said, we seriously doubt that the current Boyd Fiscal Court will approve any restrictions on public smoking, particularly during an election year.
Nevertheless, we are convinced that the day will come when smoking is banned in most pubic buildings throughout Kentucky. After all, such bans already exist in many states, including neighboring Ohio. Even in a state where tobacco was once king and smoking was actively promoted by state leaders, it’s just a matter of time.
Editorials
Radcliff's turn — 01/02/10
Move to limit public smoking again is picking up steam
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Focus on music
There will be no new trophies for winning marching band competitions for the Boyd County High School band. Nor will band members be spending as many summer days in the hot sun in band camp and autumn Saturdays taking long bus drives to compete in band festivals in distant communities.
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Memorial Day
Unlike our other wars, the American people were never asked to sacrifice for the war in Iraq and the one still ongoing in Afghanistan. They have been wars fought by an all-voluntary military and by the “weekend soldiers” in the National Guard and in the Army, Navy and Air Force Reserve
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Still more cuts
If you believe the cuts mandated by the two-year state budget that will take effect July 1 will have little impact on services, consider this.
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Earmarks again?
Immediately, following the midterm elections of 2010 which saw Republicans regain control of the House of Representatives and capture seats in the U.S. Senate, Republican leaders in Congress announced they had heard the voice of the voters and vowed to cease using “earmarks,” the name given to appropriations slipped into bills by influential legislators without a vote.
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Best in the nation
It may surprise many readers that Newsweek’s “best high school in America” is located right here in Kentucky and is open to selected students throughout the state, but then the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green is hardly your typical high school. In fact, it would be impossible for even the best public high schools to emulate the amazing success of students at the Gatton Academy.
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After the vote
We offer today a few reflections on the messages voters sent in Tuesday’s primary election in Kentucky.
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A mild winter
As we approach the Memorial Day weekend, long hailed as the unofficial start of the summer vacation season, we pause to reflect upon the winter that wasn’t.
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Devices banned
Emergency breathing devices that tests have proven unreliable are being phased out under a directive issued by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. However, MSHA has given mine operators more than 18 months to remove all the air packs from underground mines.
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A free weekend
In an effort to promote increased recreational use of the two lakes in the Daniel Boone National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service will offer free fishing and boating during the first weekend in June.
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Ho-hum election
Psst! Want to know a secret? There’s a primary election Tuesday. And it’s right here in Kentucky! However, there has been so little interest in this election, that Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, the state’s top election official, is predicting that only betwixen 10 and 12 percent of the state’s eligible voters will take the time to go to the polls tomorrow.
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