Last week was a great week for the Boone County Fair. Great weather contributed to the large crowds. For the first time in several years, I was elated to receive two blue ribbons for my Schickel’s Pickles, made from my own home-grown cucumbers. For the first time ever, I also received a Best of Class Award, making pickles the top award-winners in the entire canned food category. I am very excited!
The highlight was being congratulated by the president of the Boone County Homemakers, my good friend Linda Padgett. I am also happy to report Boone County living legend, retired secret service agent, and president of the Rabbit Hash Sportsmen Association, Bill Murphy, received a blue ribbon in the photography category for a beautiful picture of his grandchildren walking down the driveway at their farm.
Linda Padgett congratulates Schickel for his award-winning pickles. (Photo provided)
Another highlight of the fair was seeing Jack and Mary Armstrong, who first went on the Fair Board in 1932, honored for their service and longevity. And, of course, a Fair column would not be complete without a congratulations to the winner of the Miss Boone County Fair Beauty Pageant, Morgan Roberts, and her entire court.
The Fair is the one time of year when I get to visit with many constituents whom I only see once a year, and I have a lot of fun talking to them, catching up, and hearing what their concerns are.
One of the issues which has been a priority for me during past sessions is the role of the site-based council in our school systems and how it relates to the elected school board. I believe that this relationship needs to be adjusted to give taxpayers and the general public more representation. I am happy to report that the chairmen of the Education Committees, Chairman Bam Carney and Chairman Mike Wilson, have agreed to have an interim hearing on this issue on Monday, August 28, at their meeting that will be held at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg.
The meeting will be at 1 p.m. I am very pleased that Boone County Superintendent Randy Poe and Boone County School Board member Ed Massie have agreed to attend and testify. I am fully aware that this is a complex issue and that not everyone agrees with me, but this is a discussion we must have. I am grateful for the chairmen of these committees for agreeing to have this hearing to begin the discussion.
I am also happy to report that we are making progress on an issue that I have been working on the last few years: judicial redistricting. The co-chairmen of the Interim Judiciary committee, Whitney Westerfield and Joe Fischer, have agreed to have a hearing on this at their interim meeting on September 15 in Frankfort. The Senate passed a judicial redistricting bill last year, but the House failed to pick it up for various reasons. I am working with House and Senate leadership as well as Representative Jason Nemes, who has an interest in this issue. I am hopeful that we will have a bill that we can all agree on by this next session.
This coming session, 2018, will be a budget session which will include the road plan, and I have been working closely with Boone County Representative Sal Santoro, who is chairman of the Transportation Budget Review Subcommittee, and Boone County Judge Executive Gary Moore, State Representative Addia Wuchner, State Representative Adam Koenig, and State Representative Diane St. Onge to prioritize our road projects.
As always, if you have any questions or comments about any public policy issue, please call me at 502-564-8100, Ext. 617, or visit my LRC webpage to submit a message. You can also follow me on Twitter at @SenatorSchickel. You can review the Legislature’s work online at www.lrc.ky.gov.
Senator John Schickel (R-Union) represents the 11th District in Boone County. He serves as chairman of the Senate Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee; as well as a member of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee; Judiciary Committee; Natural Resources and Energy Committee; and the Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice and Judiciary.
