Airports offer the best, the worst

My wife, Pam, is from Oregon and I've spent a lot of time in airports the past eight years watching her come and go. She tries to get out there every three months or so, and her daughter, son and/or grandkids come see us occasionally. That was the case yesterday when Pam's daughter, Kayce, granddaughter three-year-old Madison and Kayce's boyfriend, Brandon, flew from Portland to the Nashville airport.

It was an emotional high when the kids rounded the corner coming up the A hallway and quickly approached us. The hugs flew from everyone and I thought of this as being one of those "best" moments that airports offer.

We'll make the most of it while they're here this week. Pam and I plan to take Madison to the zoo on Tuesday while Kayce and Brandon take a quick trip to Chicago to see friends. We'll take in the last Friday After Five of the season next Friday; on Saturday, we hope to take part in the march to the home of the family that will receive the new home courtesy of the Extreme Makeover, Home Edition show taping here in Owensboro.

Later next Saturday, they'll leave again out of the Nashville airport. That same place that was welcoming and full of anticipation yesterday will instead feel suddenly empty and lonely.

The cliff

The Advocacy Task Force of the Chamber of Commerce met today and one of the topics was the 2010 Kentucky General Assembly that begins in January. It will be the even-numbered year long session which means it's budget time. Law makers will craft a new two-year state spending plan, which in recent years has been difficult to reach.

This summer, the legislature came back into special session to plug the estimated $1 billion shortfall from the economic downturn that was staring the state in the face for the year that started July 1st. Thanks to $742 million in federal stimulus dollars, the hole was relatively easy to plug, and law makers even decided to take in less revenue by exempting military personnel from the state income tax.

Increasingly, though, I hear people talk about "the cliff." For years, legislators have been able to cobble together dimes and quarters from a wide array of state revenue pots, rainy day funds and other places to make end's meet. The stimulus dollars were "the solve" this year, but though we're hearing about economic recovery, the state's income continues to underperform. "The cliff" is the time Frankfort observers see as the day fast approaching when the cupboard is bare but the bills still need to be paid. "The cliff" was a topic today in an interim budget committee hearing. Read the C-J story here: http://tinyurl.com/nzlaw3

Which leads us back to the 2010 legislative session. Certainly, there will be those calling for raising taxes. I suspect the GOP-led Senate will decide a renewed "no tax increase" zest is their best route, particularly with Democrats having picked up two seats this year in special elections in that chamber. Just how tall is that cliff?

I appreciate BBQ more now

In my nearly 21 years in Owensboro, I've driven past many of the Saturday pit BBQ fundraisers and have occasionally stopped to buy a chicken. What I had never done was actually work in any capacity at one of them. That changed this past Saturday when my son, Reid, and I helped the OCHS band boosters with a BBQ chicken and rib sale at St. Joe & Paul Church on 4th Street in Owensboro.

Reid is an 8th grader and has taken to music like a duck to water; he's playing baritone and we're proud of him for working hard at it and actually practicing at home without having to be told to do so. He told me that if he gets good enough, perhaps he can get a scholarship to college so now I'm equally excited to play whatever part I can do. Last month, he sold soft drinks and water for what I'm told is a never-ending fundraising cycle. Saturday, it was BBQ time.

Reid and I arrived at 6 a.m. and along with about ten others were put to work dragging 150 rib slabs and 300 chickens to the pit. While others hosed the embers to keep them at the right temperature, I helped others turn the ribs over and over. The chickens went on and I helped turn them in the racks. It's not as easy as it looks, especially when thick smoke laps at your face and eyes. Eventually, the ribs were done and removed, placed on a long piece of aluminum foil where Reid dabbed them with a BBQ mop and I wrapped them in the foil to be placed back on the pit for their final broiling. As the morning wore on, more help arrived. A slab of ribs and a few chickens were declared samplers and we tasted our morning work. It was some of the finest meat I've ever tasted.

With plenty of workers now in place, Reid and I left shortly after the sales began. We had both worked our first ever Owensboro pit BBQ fundraiser and we enjoyed it. That's Reid in the photo learning how to spread the dip on the chickens. All in all, we had a good time and helped raise $2,300 for the band. I certainly have a new appreciation for what goes into an Owensboro pit BBQ fundraiser. I'll probably stop at more of them and enjoy the cuisine even more.

A more pleasant rebuild

I was sworn to secrecy awhile back, and the secret is finally out. Thompson Homes President Tommy Thompson announced today that his company is coordinating the construction for one of ABC-TV's Extreme Makeover: Home Editions starting September 5th, Labor Day Weekend. Tommy called it the "Super Bowl" for Owensboro.

One deserving family within a 20-mile radius of Owensboro will be the beneficiary of their dream home. Thompson has been busy gathering donated materials, building supplies and labor for the four-day build that will culminate with the family returning from a vacation on September 12th. The spotlight will be on Owensboro for that week and then again in late November or early December when the show airs to an audience of 14 million in the U.S. and abroad.

The coordination involved in the event is enormous. More than 1,000 volunteers are expected to help, the show itself will have 300 people in town, five meals per day will be served to people working on the home 24 hours per day. There will be a job for whoever wants to help. A rally will be held on Friday, August 28th at 8 a.m. to help explain the opportunities. Visit http://www.extremethompsonhomes.com/ to learn more.

In this community over the past nine years, we've rebuilt from two tornadoes, the mother of all ice storms, hurricane winds and more. This Extreme Makeover will be the best one yet.

A New Era of Bi-Partisanship?

Last week, Congressman Brett Guthrie spent considerable time in Owensboro. I was at a handful of his events, including a small business roundtable on Monday, the 10th, and at the GRADD board meeting on Wednesday when he spoke in the early afternoon. While he was wrapping up that meeting, I overheard him ask one of Governor Beshear's staffers who usually attends the meeting if it would OK for him to attend the governor's ceremonial signing of HB3 to be held about an hour later at RiverPark Center. Without thinking, I said something to the effect of, "Sure, you're welcome down there." It wasn't my place to give him "permission" but I was happy that Guthrie—a Republican—would want to attend a bill signing by Beshear—a Democrat.

Perhaps Congressman Guthrie has been listening to his constituents. They're the same people I hear all the time say they don't care about parties; they want the country's problems to get solved and most of them don't care if it's a Republican idea or a Democrat idea. Work together, whatever is required to lead progress. In my position, I work with both Democrats and Republicans and know neither party has a trademark on good ideas.

A week earlier, we saw another example of bi-partisanship. Governor Beshear and Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels—a Republican—shared the spotlight in Henderson for a ceremonial signing of the infrastructure authority portion of HB3, which should help Kentucky fund its share of the I-69 and Louisville bridges. The governors seemed very much at ease with one another and, for many I-69 advocates like myself, it was a rewarding sight.

Perhaps smart politicians are realizing that extending a hand across the political aisle is a smart move. The public wants to see it.

More Library Tax?

The Daviess County Public Library board is considering a small raise in the rate at which local residents support it. A tax payer who owns a $100,000 home and pays the annual $60 library tax under the current 6-cent rate would see that go to $61 with the proposed 6.1 cent rate. The board has advertised the higher rate and plans to discuss it at its August 19th meeting. Certainly, paying a $1 more per year is not a big expense for people in a $100,000 home. We have a very nice, new library at a great location on Frederica—a facility that is without doubt a community asset.

However, in these times of economic uncertainty, business closings/layoffs and decreased tax revenues at all government levels, I would suggest the library board make the necessary adjustments to avert a tax increase. I'm no Dewey Decimal System expert, but I would think some combination of reduced hours, fewer book and other material purchases might go a long way toward saving the 4% in new revenue the library apparently needs. After all, local and state governments are cutting more than 4%. Just because the board can raise the library tax doesn't mean it should. Certainly, tax payers are cutting back and business and industry are operating leaner than ever.

I found this story today http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/51360527.html from the Journal Sentinel in Milwaukee, WI. Faced with revenue shortfalls, their library board is taking entrepreneurial steps to look for alternatives to raising revenues. It's a different situation with several library locations in Milwaukee vs. one facility here, but the idea still applies: Instead of simply raising a tax, get creative like everyone else is doing.

Advocacy to Bill...

Yesterday's ceremonial bill signing by Gov. Beshear at RiverPark Center of HB3—the broad expansion of business incentives for Kentucky business/industry—was very rewarding to many of us who played a small role in its development.

In March of 2008, Gov. Beshear met with The Leadership Circle, a advocacy group of the Chamber of Commerce that sits down with elected leaders. In that meeting, the governor heard about "Hollywood" producers who were seriously looking at Daviess and Henderson counties for two film projects. He was told that while the state offered a variety of rural and urban settings that producers like, Kentucky's film incentives were woeful compared to other states. He was also told about the need for incentives for Broadway show production, which has found a home in recent years at the RiverPark Center. Though there had been similar discussion in past legislative sessions, the issue had not gained much traction in Frankfort.

The day after that meeting with the governor, I received a call from one of his aides telling me that Beshear had heard us "loud and clear" and that he would be working with Owensboro Representative Tommy Thompson and others to make it happen. Eventually, the First Lady promoted the issue and film and Broadway show incentives became part of the larger HB3 that passed during this summer's special session.

I was pleased yesterday when Gov. Beshear mentioned that March 2008 meeting in his remarks. Members of the Chamber's Leadership Circle had seen advocacy in action.

15 Years Later...

This evening, I took my bike for a spin and, for the first time, followed the greenbelt trail south and east across Fairview Drive alongside several neighborhoods through Lake Forrest all the way to Millers Mill Road. If you haven't been on this new Horse Fork section, I highly encourage it. Riding along seeing other bikers, walkers and runners practing their own version of healthcare reform—getting fit—was encouraging to me.

At the same time, I couldn't help but to think back to 15 years ago when the city landed the initial federal grant to build the first section of the greenbelt trail. "It's wasteful," "only a select few will use it," "what do we need that for?" were some of the nicer comments seen in the local newspaper and voiced around town. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical at the time. Would residents of the "fast food capital of the world" take the time to use such a trail?

Of course, today we know it's a big success. It's widely used—even by the guy I saw this evening smoking a cigarette while walking his dog. Developers have built and continue to build homes along it; young couples, families and empty nesters want to live near it. I'm proud that it runs through my east side neighborhood.

I also couldn't help but think that 15 years from now this community might look back and smile at the criticism about the redevelopment of downtown Owensboro. Yes, there's many differences but like the greenbelt, proponents and the politicians who approved it see the downtown plan as an investment in the future. If it turns out as well as the greenbelt, I think many will be smiling.

Horses and Kentucky

Growing up in southern Indiana, I was a fan of auto racing from an early age. Many people grow up in Kentucky with that same appreciation for horses. We've all read about the desire by some for expanded gaming in Kentucky. More recently during the June special session of the Kentucky General Assembly, adding slots to the horse tracks passed the House only to fail in a Senate committee. The issue is now expected to play a role in determining which party controls the state senate over the coming months.

I believe most people in the western part of the state (and probably eastern Kentucky too) appreciate the state's horse tradition even if they don't own horses. The popularity of the "Unbridled Spirit" state slogan speaks to this. Our Chamber of Commerce did not take a position on the idea of slots at race tracks. With there being no track in Daviess County, I believe most locals feel that Owensboro/Daviess County doesn't really "have a dog in that fight."

As the current president of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Executives, I recently took part in the interview process to hire a new director. The position is based in Frankfort, and we had about 50 applicants—most from the Lexington and Louisville areas. Four of the six people we interviewed had worked in a managerial position of some kind in the Kentucky horse business or with a company/association closely affiliated with horses. My eyes were opened to the fact that many people are touched by the equine industry in Kentucky. We see the jockeys, the trainers and hear about well-heeled horse owners, but there are many others we don't see.

I don't know where the debate about slots at the tracks will go. I highly doubt that I will ever own a horse. What I did learn one day, however, is that horses mean jobs and income for many people in Kentucky.