School too slow to return phone

On Oct. 5, my son had his cell phone taken away by a teacher. He wasn’t talking on it or texting; he merely forgot to turn his ringer off and some “telemarketer” phoned him. Once the teacher heard it ringing, it was confiscated.

I realize the school has a policy against cell phone usage during school hours, and outlines its detention and confiscation policy with great detail. But there has to be a “gray” area when it comes to discipline. My son has never been in trouble in or around school. He’s always been an honor student.

A cell phone is how my son communicates with his father. I make my son take his cell phone to school because I’m terrified something will happen during school hours and his only way to communicate with me will be via his cell phone.

I have no problem with the phone being taken away nor do I have a problem with the detention he will be forced to serve. My problem is that they refused to return his phone at the end of the day.

I waited until 5 p.m. to personally retrieve the phone only to be refused. I was told that during school hours I’m not the parent, they are. You’ve got to be kidding! What a ridiculous statement!

Again, I support our school staff, support their discipline policy, but it ends with the confiscation of my son’s personal property without access.

It seems to me that the “initial” seizure was proper, but the “extended seizure” cannot be justified. In my opinion, the extended time frame for the return of my property is an "unreasonable seizure".

I’m not an attorney, but I’m tired of seeing our rights being stomped on by egomaniacs on power trips.

Laura Potter, Worthington



Small businesses have few choices

When President Obama recently mentioned that one big insurer controlled 96 percent of the market in a just one state, a collective (and very loud) gulp went down the throats of insurance industry executives. You see, this domination of the small group market, where small businesses are forced to buy insurance, drives costs up at an unsustainable rate.

So, the secret is out, but will the insurers fess up? As the state director of the National Federation of Independent Business/Kentucky, I hear first-hand from small business owners about their ever-increasing costs and lack of choices. But the proof is in the pudding or, in this case, the Government Accountability Office’s research.

According to the GAO (February 2009), 96 percent of Kentucky’s small group health insurance market is controlled by the five large insurers, with Anthem Health Plans of Kentucky writing nearly half of all policies.

Yes, there are 1,300 health insurance providers in the United States, but the vast majority of them aren't doing business in Kentucky

Why not? Because state-regulated health care for small business has become a virtual monopoly for big insurance. Small business owners and their employees have been crushed under this model, while companies like Anthem and a few others have flourished under it.

We are in new times, however.

Congress is considering reforms that would allow small businesses to shop for health insurance like each of us buys our car insurance and groceries. A transparent exchange would spur badly needed competition, help contain rising costs, increase pool size and keep big insurance honest.

I urge your readers to encourage our members of Congresss to make meaningful market-based healthcare reform a reality.

Tom Underwood, Kentucky State Director, National Federation of Independent Business, Frankfort



Museum is still a great place

I recently had the opportunity to return home to Ashland to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Kentucky Highlands Museum.

It was a remarkable evening. The people who put so much effort into the creation of the museum a quarter century ago were still there: Bill Martin, Mary Jo Burton, Jim Powers, Pete Deal, Joy Fairchild and so many others. Joining them was a new group of leaders who have adopted the museum as their own and built on the past to create an interesting and vital depository for the history of the region.

It was fascinating. The original displays have held up well over the years, and new displays and interactive exhibits have kept it relevant and very much alive. While everyone involved deserves a pat on the back, the greatest compliment would be to enjoy a visit to the museum and offer your financial support for its future success.

Michael Vogt', Walton