Daily Archives: July 27, 2022

Henderson County Mayor Elect Robbie McCready talks about ideas he would like to implements during his time in the Henderson County Mayors office.File Photo / The Lexington Progress

Article by Steve Corlew-

Henderson County Mayor-elect Robbie McCready has hit the ground running as he prepares to take office in September.

Not only does McCready work out by running but since winning the May Republican primary, he has been meeting with local community leaders, elected officials, and others preparing for his upcoming administration.

McCready sat down for an exclusive interview with The Lexington Progress.

McCready will rely on his experience as an administrator, his retired military service, and education to guide the county during his upcoming term.

The first major issue McCready will have to tackle is the funding of the Beech River Regional Airport Authority. In the past, the airport has been funded

For complete coverage, see the July 27th edition of The Lexington Progress.

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McCready Hits the Ground Running Preparing for Office - lexingtonprogress.com

Lexington Police officers Zack Siegler and Jason Hamlett hand out hot dogs during a community event at Lexington Village on Thursday.Photo by: Steve Corlew / The Lexington Progress

Article by Steve Corlew-

Officers with the Lexington Police Department were grilling hot dogs and reaching out to the community through Hot Dogs with a Cop program.

The first event was held July 7, 2022 and then continued this past Thursday at Lexington Village just off of South Broad Street.

This is a good program, Lexington Police Chief Roger Lofton said. It is a good way for officers to interact with the public.

LPD Investigators Ricky Montgomery and Jesse Gibson came up with the idea.

This is a positive thing, Lofton said. It shows that law enforcement is just a small part of our job.

The police department will also be working with Lexington Fire

For complete coverage, see the July 27th edition of The Lexington Progress.

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LPD Reaches Out to the Community Through Hot Dogs - lexingtonprogress.com

PARIS, July 23 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his disappointment to his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi at the lack of progress over talks on the 2015 nuclear agreement, the Elysee Palace said in a statement on Saturday.

In June, Iran began removing essentially all the agency's monitoring equipment, installed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

The French leader urged Raisi to make a "clear choice" to reach a deal and go back to the implementation of Iran's commitments under the 2015 nuclear agreement, the Elysee Palace said.

Macron said he was convinced that such an outcome was still possible but that it should take place "as soon as possible," the French presidency said.

Macron also urged the liberation of four French citizens that he said were "held arbitrarily" in Iran.

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Reporting by Mathieu RosemainEditing by Marguerita Choy

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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France tells Iran it's disappointed at lack of progress over nuclear talks - Elysee Palace - Reuters

On the same day the American League beat the Senior Circuit in this years Major League Baseball All-Star Game again its nine straight now Jim Carroll, president of Kentucky Government Retirees, was again back in Frankfort with his hand out.

Carrolls repetitive tune during his recent presentation to the Public Pension Oversight Board sounded much like the one he made last year, but this time as he and others in his corner think rising inflation adds momentum to their push for increasing benefits.

Carroll and those in his corner hold that retirees need higher benefits or extra checks because stuff costs more.

He argues that a taxpayer-funded cost-of-living increase in benefits for retirees is an investment in Kentuckys economy now more than ever as we retirees are spending more in our local economies on goods and services.

He should find a new argument; this one doesnt work.

A thief, after all, can make the same argument by robbing a bank, spending the stolen money at the mall while claiming he boosted the communitys economy by spending those dollars locally.

Carrolls ideological supporters see an opportunity to score political points by pushing a narrative that focuses on tying the painful effects of inflation to those whove been retired the longest.

Their storyline: These retirees, the most elderly among the 51,00 currently collecting from the Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS), need more because inflation has now made their salaries when they quit working for the state insufficient.

Frankfort Democratic Rep. Derrick Graham jumped on board that rhetorical train, pointing to public retirees now struggling after retiring in the 1990s with salaries and benefits they thought they could live off of.

Grahams argument brings to mind one of the costliest culprits contributing to the enormous, ongoing unfunded liabilities in Kentuckys retirement systems: failing to require beneficiaries to work, or wait, longer before collecting full pension benefits.

According to Kentucky Public Pension Authority data, the commonwealth has thousands of retirees whove been retired nearly as long as some even longer than they worked in and contributed to the system.

More than 10,500 state government and police retirees have collected pension benefits for 20 years or more, over 4,400 of whom havent clocked in for a quarter-century or longer.

Employees, whether in government or the private sector, cant be blamed for accepting benefits offered by employers, which may be a reason for offering some type of one-time prefunded prefunded benefit to all or perhaps older retirees.

But even if such a benefit is granted, we need to understand that many of these retirees should have worked longer much more so, in many cases to adequately fund their retirement years, especially considering the significant increase in life expectancy since the commonwealths pension funds were created during the last century.

While the commonwealth has made progress in addressing its pension predicament, policymakers need to keep pushing for commonsense, fiscally responsible reforms, like raising retirement ages to help better mitigate future scenarios involving inflation or other uncertain developments.

Why cant state policy reflect federal policy, which requires Social Security recipients to wait until at least age 66 or 67, in some cases to collect their full benefits?

New analysis from the Pew Charitable Trusts indicates that Kentucky is one of only six states where unfunded pension liabilities comprise more than 15% of personal income.

Also, the KERS remains one of the nations unhealthiest public retirement plans with only 18% funding.

Policymakers must not allow the progress Kentuckys made in funding, and reforming, its underwater pension plans to cause them to lose that hard-fought ground.

They especially must resist pressure to grant unaffordable permanent benefit increases and, instead, protect Kentucky taxpayers in the private sector, who are dealing with the higher cost of stuff, too.

Jim Waters is president and CEO of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, Kentuckys free-market think tank.

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Naturally at ease on a diamond or court, Dee Wisneski wasnt exactly in her comfort zone walking into a spotlight in a banquet hall.

Wisneski had earned a place in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Hall of Honors class of 1991 as a multi-sport standout at Waimea. When the formal induction rolled around, she found herself as the lone girl in the 12-member group.

Wisneski recalled her fellow inductees were super nice and made me feel comfortable. Still, the disparity was stark and didnt go unnoticed by the evenings keynote speaker, former University of Hawaii womens volleyball player Nahaku Brown, who used her time on the microphone to admonish the selection committee.

At first being up there it was more the intimidation factor, said Wisneski, who excelled in softball, volleyball, basketball and track over a decorated prep career on Kauai. Once she stood up for not having enough women up there it was just, Yeah, what the heck?

It did sink in. It did give me a little more confidence in myself as to, yeah I really do deserve to be here with the people who helped me get to where I was at that point my parents, my coaches, my family. Sitting there (at first) with a whole bunch of guys you kind of second guess yourself like, How did I get here?

Wisneski had signed with the UH softball program and enrolled that fall, hanging out in the dorms with several Hall of Honor members who joined the Rainbow Warrior football and baseball teams.

She has been a fixture in Manoa ever since, serving as an on-field leader for the Rainbow Wahine during a breakthrough era in the programs history and transitioning into coaching almost immediately after graduation.

Now heading into her 27th year working with head coach Bob Coolen, Wisneski has proved integral in the programs growth while witnessing the transformation of the softball teams niche on the Lower Campus.

Its been an amazing journey, Wisneski said. Ive seen the good, the bad, the ugly, the in between, but I cant complain.

I cannot complain about where I am in my career and my softball playing days and just watching all these young women play the sport they love. Not just moving on to play at the next level, but just becoming vibrant members of the community. It melts my heart to see that happen.

I can look back and say if it wasnt for Title IX I wouldnt be where I am, Wisneski said of the laws impact on the growth of softball among other womens sports. So I want these young kids to experience everything I have.

Kauai didnt have much of a softball scene while Wisneski was growing up, and she started out playing baseball. Among her first softball experiences came while playing with her mother and aunts on an adult slow pitch team at 12, when literally my number was 1/2 on my jersey.

While in middle school, she received an exception to play in a fastpitch league among the islands private schools, and she went on to lead Waimea to the high school state championship in 1990.

Waimeas repeat bid fell short in Wisneskis senior year, which was when Coolen first met her at Roosevelts football field, which was converted into a softball field for the state tournament.

I remember sitting in the stands with her and she was so salty because they had already been eliminated and couldnt win it, said Coolen, then a UH assistant under Rayla Allison. I could tell right there she was just extremely competitive.

Coolen succeeded Allison as head coach in Wisneskis freshman year and acknowledges the shortstop took my guff early on.

Dee took the brunt of my rookie coaching years at the Division I level for sure, Coolen said. Id get under her skin sometimes, because I put all the burden on her shoulders to be the leader because she was my shortstop. I would really come down on her if the team wasnt doing what I wanted them to do.

Wisneski was entering her junior year when Coolen recruited Brooke Wilkins from Australia to anchor the pitching staff. During a bullpen session prior to the 1994 season, I looked at Dee and said were going somewhere, Coolen said.

Wisneski was a mainstay at shortstop for all 132 games as part of a dynamic lineup, and with Wilkins and Kym Weil leading the pitching staff, the Wahine went 98-33 over the 1994 and 95 seasons. UH made its NCAA Tournament debut after winning its first Big West championship in 1994, having placed no higher than fifth in the programs first nine years of existence.

She had the Hawaii spirit, she had the cultural connection and she wanted everyone to fit in regardless of who you were, Coolen said of Wisneskis role as co-captain in UHs first two NCAA Tournament seasons.

We want to be a team, we want to be a family, and she did espouse the ohana nature of playing in Hawaii.

Wisneskis graduation coincided with a vacancy on the coaching staff and Coolen invited her to stick around as a student assistant. A full-time position followed in 1997, and in 2010 she was given the designation as the programs first associate coach.

As a player and coach, she has been around for each of Coolens 1,062 wins at UH, as well as six conference championships and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, highlighted by the 2010 trip to the Womens College World Series.

For the past 12 years, shes worked alongside another UH alum in Kaulana Gould, an outfielder from 2005 to 2008, and has seen several former players go into coaching, whether locally in high school or at mainland colleges.

I chose to stay home and I have no regrets, Wisneski said. God has blessed me to be home and do what I love to do for such a long time. Ive got good support from Bob and coaching with Lanz (Gould) for over 10 years. I feel we have had good chemistry.

Since Wisneski commanded the infield as a player, shes seen the small set of bleachers on either side of the field replaced by 1,200-seat grandstands with an artificial turf field. A clubhouse behind the first-base dugout was unveiled in the spring with offices for the coaching staff.

Its mind-blowing, Wisneski said of the contrast between the field she played on and the current facility. I had friends here (former UH teammates) Julie Luft, Cheyenne Thompson, Steph Keeler. Steph walked around on the turf and she was blown away by how much it has grown and how amazing our stadium is compared to what we had.

She has also seen opportunities expand to play beyond college, including Nawai Kaupe, UHs starting shortstop for the past three seasons, playing with the Florida Vibe this summer.

Title IX has blessed women in softball with so many opportunities to continue to play the sport, Wisneski said.

Back then (in her playing days) nobody really talked about it. But now a lot of my student-athletes graduate, and when they go to grad school they write their research paper on Title IX. Everybody knows about it, but were still learning a lot about it.

As for the Hall of Honor, the classes have been far more balanced since Wisneskis induction and Browns speech in 1991. The 1995 class was the first year the class was split evenly, and eight girls were selected in 1998.

It wasnt just the opportunities, but I dont think girls got the exposure or the credit that we deserved in putting in the same amount of time in practice and on the field and the sweat and the tears and the work, Wisneski said. Maybe we didnt get that recognition that girls deserved back then. Good for her that (Brown) did that because it did open up the eyes of the committee.

DEIRDRE WISNESKI

University of Hawaii softball associate head coach

Education:

>> Waimea High School, 1991; University of Hawaii, 1996

Highlights:

>> All-State and All-KIF in softball, basketball and volleyball

>> Honolulu Advertiser Female Athlete of the Year, 1991

>> HHSAA Hall of Honor, 1991

>> University of Hawaii softball co-captain, 1994-95

>> Starting shortstop on UHs first Big West championship team (1994) and first two NCAA Tournament teams (1994, 95).

>> Member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association West Region Coaching Staff of the Year, 2007

June 23, 2022, marked the 50th anniversary of Title IX. To commemorate this watershed event, the Star-Advertiser will publish a series of stories celebrating the achievements of female pioneers and leaders with Hawaii ties.

Click here to view the Title IX series.

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Dee Wisneski once stood alone but Title IX has brought progress - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

KANSAS CITY, Kan. Northeastern State took a couple of steps forward in 2021 and will look to advance furthermore this upcoming season.

The RiverHawks got into the win column for the first time since the 2017 season and did so twice, going 2-9. It was the programs first two-win campaign since 2016.

Really excited about the opportunity of the season being right around the corner, said NSU head coach J.J. Eckert Tuesday at the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Football Media Day at Kansas City Convention Centers Little Theater. As you go back and recap 2021, you have expectations. You had the whole 2020 COVID year and the things that went along with that and hopefully youre looking for better things and the opportunity to improve in a lot of areas. I think big picture wise, we were able to do some things as a football program to do that. The problem was that we didnt do the things we had to do down the stretch to be the kind of program that we would like to be.

Eckert, who was joined Tuesday by players Blake Corn and Isaiah Davis, emphasized the differences in the past two offseasons.

You look at that 2-9 and when you come out of September and youre where youre at, you want to work hard as far as trying to improve, so obviously going into the spring that was a big, big, big emphasis was just trying to make sure that we continue to be a mentally and physically tough football team a lot like this league is made of up, Eckert said.

This year got us back on track with a full offseason. You had an opportunity to have an eight-week winter conditioning program, and thats important. In this league there are a lot of guys that are redshirt juniors, redshirt seniors, super seniors like we had last year. Weve got to continue to get bigger, faster, stronger to be the kind of program that we want to be, and I think that was something this year allowed us to do it. This spring was the best weve had up to this point from a weight room standpoint.

In his first full season with the RiverHawks, Corn collected 19 total tackles, including 4.5 tackles for losses, and had 3.5 quarterback sacks and a quarterback hurry in 11 games.

Corn is a former Tahlequah High School standout that has made a big impact for NSU at the defensive end position.

It means everything to me, Corn said of representing NSU Tuesday. Tahlequah is where I grew up. Tahlequah is where Ive lived my whole life, and to play for the university in my hometown its one of the greatest honors, especially being coached by another Tahlequah alum. Its just a great feeling to have to be able to be home.

Davis, a junior running back, rushed for a team-high 346 yards on 85 carries (4.1 yards per carry) with four touchdowns. Davis, who played in all 11 games, also had 14 receptions for 129 yards and a pair of TDs.

Davis feels hes made strides, along with the entire offense.

I think I improved by getting bigger, faster, stronger, Davis said. I feel like as a whole offense we have all taken steps in the right direction. We were young last year, so weve got a bunch of guys coming back that know the offense.

The RiverHawks are currently in search of a defensive coordinator with the start of fall camp less than two weeks away. Former defensive coordinator Michael Conrad departed a couple of weeks ago.

Theres never good timing when you lose a coach in any situation, Eckert said. But at the end of the day I think its important to find a way to make it a situation you can get better from, and the timing piece makes that difficult sometimes. Hopefully we can get something turned around in a quick manner, and hopefully we can get everything situated so come Aug. 1 were ready to roll.

The RiverHawks open fall camp Friday, Aug. 5 and their season opener is Thursday, Sept. 1 on the road against Emporia State. Their home opener is Saturday, Sept. 10 against Missouri Southern at Doc Wadley Stadium.

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BUILDING BLOCKS: NSU will look to continue its forward progress in 2022 - Tahlequah Daily Press

Judy Ridley at Davis Clothing in Lexington checks out items as they prepare for back-to-school and the tax-free weekend which begins Friday, July 29, 2022.Photo by: Steve Corlew / The Lexington Progress

Article by Steve Corlew-

Its back-to-school time in Tennessee and time once again to save on your taxes.

The traditional state tax holiday on clothing, school supplies, and computers will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 29 and ends at 11:59 p.m., Sunday, July 31, 2022.

Items exempt from taxes include apparel that cost $100 or less per item such as shirts, pants, socks, shoes, and dresses. School supplies priced less than $100 per item, and computers, laptops, or a tablet priced $1,500 or less.

There will also be a sales tax holiday on food and food ingredients

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Time to Save on Taxes Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com