Columns

By Gov. Matt Bevin

and Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Sec. John Tilley

We’ve reached a critical point in Kentucky — one where our prisons and jails are full, overdose deaths continue to rise and far too many children have parents who are imprisoned.

We can no longer afford to cling to the outdated idea that prison is the only way to effectively hold people accountable for their crimes. Instead, we need to take a smarter, more measured approach to criminal justice.

Column as I see ’em …

Sometimes getting a problem fixed is knowing the right person to call.

I spent a couple of hours last week interviewing a fellow named Ashley Courchene, one of the residents who lives on Berdine Way, a dead end street across the highway from Honeysuckle Drive.

Ashley, who motors around the community in a power scooter, called to let me know about a big pothole in the road and share his frustration in getting someone, anyone in county government to fix it.

Those rascally rabbits just ate 100 of my tomato plants. At least I hadn’t planted them yet.

Those were my later tomatoes, but still. It was easy pickins, and my fault, because they were in a float tray, in a tub, on the ground. Oh well, the trials and tribulations of a farmer.

There have been several new gardening tips come my way lately and I thought I’d share with you this week. Gardening does have its expenses, so any time I can find a way to save, I’m on it.

Let’s start with flowers.

Cedar-apple rust is the most common and economically important rust disease of apple in Kentucky. Symptoms of this disease are beginning to appear across the state. The pathogen overwinters as galls on cedar and juniper. Removal of these pathogen sources on cedar can later reduce disease incidence on apple. Once apple trees become infected limited management options are available.

Cedar-apple rust facts