The judge executive of wolfe county, Raymond Hurst, has been aggresively prosecuting people for illegal dumping
Man, I LOVE Wolfe County and all of Southeastern KY, having grown up in Letcher Co. However, if the judge is prosecuting illegal dumping, I will have to abstain from moving there at any point in my life, because ALL the dumps I take should be declared ILLEGAL! Just kidding. Welcome to the board. Sorry, I have been drinking beer and the word "dump" just strikes a chord somewhere deep in my dry, depraved, Napoleon Dynamite lovin' sense of humor.
Mj
...quitting drinking is kinda like washing your hands after you take a crap...why start now?
Is anything being done about the abandoned trailers and whatnot that litter the sides of the road? I can remember one in particular that is on the way to Muir that looks like it's been there and ransacked for several years. Do they have any sort of serial number on the frame so you can track the last owner? In IN we have barns that are abandoned and falling down. KY seems to prefer houses and trailers which for some reason seems more asthetically offensive.
Sikmonkey, Not only should these dumps be illegal, there is probably EPA superfund money out there for clean up. At least we could have some of the sites declared a "brownfield."
On dumpy trashed trailers:
Marathonmanic, Unfortunately, there is nothing that would allow the county to "force" people to deal with rusted out old trailers.
Remember, some of the amenities and services you have grown up with in other places, just have not been started here (yet!). Raymond Hurst, the judge executive is trying to do lots of things his first term. He hir3ed me (the first ever E.D. director) and has hired a solid waste coordinator (another first), but there is still a lot to do. Have patience. Recycling and mandatory garbage collection etc. are coming.
You may want to look at the strategic plan that was generated by a group of people from the county. It is pretty forward thinking on a lot of topics. You can read it at
If enough of us create our own corporations based on a new vision of social responsibility, and if we choose to buy and invest in these firms, other corporations will either adapt or die.
Some of us old people "get" Beavis and Butthead and South Park.
Your attitude, Larrey, is refreshing and actually gives me a glimmer of hope for the future of rural Kentucky. If small businesses catering to tourists could be combined with revival of family farms (perhaps by catering to the gourmet, organic, and free-range folks), Wolfe Co. could become a beacon for "rural renewal." I find the collapsing barns and farm houses in this State to be so depressing, especially as beautiful farmland is bulldozed and covered with oversized cookie cutter houses filled with strangers that drive hours to and from work everyday, never leaving their house on foot except to plant their fat ass in the seat of a riding lawnmower.
And what the hell is up with all the scatalogical humor lately? "Brownfields?" (groan)
Sincerely,
Alan Evil
[size=75]You are as bad as Alan, and even he hits the mark sometimes. -charlie
"Not all conservatives are stupid, but most stupid people are conservative." - John Stuart Mill[/size]
If small businesses catering to tourists could be combined with revival of family farms (perhaps by catering to the gourmet, organic, and free-range folks), Wolfe Co. could become a beacon for "rural renewal."
Sincerely,
Alan Evil[/quote]
Alan,
There is actually a lot happening to "reinvent" rural Kentucky. For the last seven months I have been participating in a U.K. program that trains lay people to work one on one with entrepreneurs. The program was funded by the state ag development board, so there is and emphasis on alternative revenue generation.
Slowly, ever so slowly, we are seeing more organic growers, more innovation and more willingness to try something different. One of the challenges is that for seventy years the ag economy was tobacco based. One of the reasons tobacco growing was so popular was because there was no marketing involved. You raised your crop. The gov told you how much you could sell, and every once you brought to market was bought.
Now people are having to think about markets and profit margins, etc. It is a whole new batch of skill sets for a lot of people.
The most interesting thing about these times is that there is no one solution. It is going to take a myriad of businesses and activities to stimulate this economy. Tourism alone won't do it. Manufacturing certainly won't do it. I personally think that success will not come from recruiting the next Toyota to town. It's a myth that our state government and just about every other state (Maine and New Mexico are the exception.) have bought into.
In Kentucky, small businesses account for about 65% of new jobs created. Yet the gov spends about 97% of their economic development money on business recruitment of companies from other states. And if they get a company to move herefrom overseas, they really strut.
The alternative? Locally owned businesses producing products for local (not exclusively) consumption and the local control of capital. But don't get me started.
This thread is on the "community" section of the board. The climbing community is a wonderful part of the larger community in Wolfe. I hope as I meet more and more of you folks you will become more aware of what's out here. There's no doubt about it. Wolfe County is at the bottom of all the indices. Kids have little opportunities after school but to leave.
I would love to see the climbing community interacting more with locals. The Webers have made great strides in that direction. How about some people volunteering to teach climbing to some of the high at-risk kids in the community? I've got more ideas than fingers about ways people can get involved, if anyone is interested.
Enough. I'm off to the big city for an appointment.
Pax,
Larrey
If enough of us create our own corporations based on a new vision of social responsibility, and if we choose to buy and invest in these firms, other corporations will either adapt or die.
Just kidding. Welcome to the board. Sorry, I have been drinking beer and the word "dump" just strikes a chord somewhere deep in my dry, depraved, Napoleon Dynamite lovin' sense of humor.
I resemble that remark.