In Our View: Too long for Dawson
We are glad the City of Ashland is taking quick action on the repair of Dawson swimming pool. Not many communities have municipal swimming pools. Ashland, Flatwoods and Kenova do have municipal pools.
One can look at Google Earth of our area and find home swimming pools dotted throughout the community. Not every family can afford to have a swimming pool in their back yard. We can recall the glory days of Southside swimming pool in Ashland.
After its closure in the early 1990s, that left Ashland with just one municipal swimming pool. Dawson Pool is located off Central Avenue near the Ashland Town Center Mall.
The pool did not open in 2024. Despite promises from city officials it would open later in the summer, it never did.
At the last city commission meeting, Parks and Recreation Director Sean Murray gave an update on progress of pool repairs.
Right now is the time to be working on a municipal swimming pool. Murray indicated the majority of the repairs have been concluded. He anticipates an on-time opening Memorial Day weekend.
We realize this is right in the middle of winter. Most of our minds are not focused on swimming. Too many area residents don't have access to swimming for recreational purposes. In 2024, Ashlanders wanting to use the pool had to meet at the pool and take a city bus to the Flatwoods municipal pool.
Ashland has been working on consolidating expenses. In Washington, they have Department of Government Efficiency, aka DOGE. It is led by non-elected officials. Ashland is taking a different approach with elected officials and newly appointed city manager, Tony Grubb.
One of the items that recently caught our eye Is an elimination of a $300,000 IT contract. Grubb, working with city department heads, determined it would be more cost-efficient to have some of the police officers and a firefighter perform this task. Those departments have personnel trained in IT.
We realize that that's not necessarily the role of a police or fire department. At any rate, saving $300,000 is an efficiency.
This is the kind of thinking local governments need in today's world. Soon to disappear will be Covid funding, and the infrastructure funding from a federal program.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
40 minutes ago
AmeriCorps must restore grant funding and members to states that sued over cuts, federal judge rules
The Trump administration must restore hundreds of millions of dollars in AmeriCorps grant funding and thousands of service workers in about two dozen states, a federal judge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman granted a temporary block on the agency's cancellation of grants and early discharge of corps members, but only for the states that sued the administration in April. The federal lawsuit, filed by Democratic state officials across the country, accused President Donald Trump's cost-cutting efforts through the Department of Government Efficiency of reneging on grants funded through the AmeriCorps State and National program, which was budgeted $557 million in congressionally approved funding this year. Boardman also said all AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps members that were discharged from their service terms early should be reinstated, if they are willing and able to return. But Boardman allowed the 30-year-old federal agency for volunteer service to proceed with its reduction in force, denying the states' request to restore the majority of staff that were put on administrative leave in April. The agency employs more than 500 full-time federal workers and has an operating budget of roughly $1 billion. AmeriCorps did not immediately respond to request for comment. The Department of Justice declined to comment. The 30-year-old agency created to facilitate volunteer service across the country oversees several programs that dispatch hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of people to serve in communities. It sends roughly 200,000 corps members across the country as part of its service programs. Most corps members get a living stipend during their service and become eligible for funding for future education expenses or to apply for certain student loans. As part of the AmeriCorps State and National grant program, state volunteer commissions distributed more than $177 million in formula-based distributions, as well as $370 million in competitive grants that supported nearly 35,000 corps members serving at 300 organizations, according to announcements last year. Notices of grants being terminated were sent late on a Friday in April, explaining 'the award no longer effectuates agency priorities' and directing grantees to immediately shut down the projects, according to a copy reviewed by The Associated Press. The states that sued the administration said those extensive and immediate cancellations did not provide the legally required notice and comment period. They said the result would be severely curtailed services and programs for vulnerable populations since states and organizations could not fill the funding void. AmeriCorps argued in court filings that a temporary block on the agency's actions as the lawsuit proceeds would disrupt efforts to comply with Trump's executive order creating DOGE and to 'act as responsible stewards of public funds," according to court filings. Despite bipartisan support, AmeriCorps has long been a target of critics who decry bloat, inefficiencies and misuse of funds. 'President Trump has the legal right to restore accountability to the entire Executive Branch,' Anna Kelly, White House deputy press secretary, previously said in a statement after the lawsuit was filed. The lawsuit was filed by officials in Maryland, Delaware, California, Colorado, Arizona, Connecticut, Washington, DC, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Joe Biden 'optimistic' about treatment plan for Stage 4 prostate cancer
Former President Joe Biden said on May 30 that he is 'optimistic' about the treatment plan for his Stage 4 prostate cancer, which involves taking a daily pill for six weeks. "We're underway and all the folks are very optimistic," Biden said. 'The expectation is we're going to be able to beat this. It's not in any (other) organ. My bones are strong, it hasn't penetrated. So I'm feeling good.' More: Biden urges Americans to support veterans on anniversary of son Beau's death Doctors found a 'small nodule' on Biden's prostate during a routine exam; the 82-year-old was diagnosed Friday, May 16, according to a statement released by his office. Speaking to reporters at a Delaware Memorial Day event for the first time since announcing his diagnosis, Biden said that he is being treated by a top doctor in the field. Biden's physician has lived through the same aggressive form of cancer as the former president. 'We're all optimistic about the diagnosis. Matter of fact, one of the leading surgeons in the world is working with me and he was diagnosed with the same exact thing 32 years ago,' Biden said. 'He's alive and well, doing very well.' Biden spoke with reporters as he left the annual Memorial Day event at Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle, Delaware, which coincided with the 10th anniversary of his son Beau Biden's death. It was also the first time Biden spoke to reporters since a book was published raising questions about his physical and mental fitness while he was president. A White House spokeswoman alleged Thursday that former first lady Jill Biden conspired to keep her husband's health from the American people. When asked to respond, Biden, who had just given a 10-minute speech and walked over to the throng of reporters, joked, "You can see that I'm mentally incompetent and I can't walk." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Biden 'optimistic' about cancer treatment, doctor, meds
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'Kill the bill': Elon Musk tries to nuke Trump's GOP tax plan
WASHINGTON – Elon Musk is launching an all-out attack on President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and policy bill, urging his 220 million-plus followers on social media to lobby their lawmakers and "KILL the BILL." Musk, who formally left his job working for Trump on May 30, has been publicly lambasting the Republican president's signature legislation that would extend 2017 income tax cuts and implement new tax cuts on tipped wages and overtime that were central promises from his successful 2024 presidential campaign. Those provisions are expensive, and Musk is now railing against the overall bill's costs. The House-passed legislation is expected to add around $2.4 trillion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years if it were to become law, according to the most recent nonpartisan analysis. In highlighting his fiscal concerns, Musk argue the legislation's price tag undermines the work that he did leading the Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting project. On June 3, Musk called the bill a 'disgusting abomination" and suggested that Republicans who voted for the package – all but two of them in the House – should face primary challenges. "I think he's flat wrong. I think he's way off on this, and I've told him as much, and I've said it publicly and privately," House Speaker Mike Johnson responded on June 4 when pressed on Musk's public comments. Trump, known to lash out at his critics, has pushed back on Republicans senators who oppose his tax bill but has remained silent about Musk. A senior White House official told USA Today that Trump is disappointed by Musk's criticisms over the tax bill but the president is committed to get the legislation passed. The argument signals a showdown between Trump and his billionaire former advisor, and it may threaten to derail the legislation as Musk inflames existing tensions in the Republican conference. Several GOP senators, including Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, Rick Scott, R-Florida, and Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, have also raised concerns about the package's overall cost. But some lawmakers have brushed off the impact that Musk may have on the legislation's future. "If Elon was going to give me advice on how to get to the moon, I'd listen. If he was going to give me advice on how to raise several billion dollars from other billionaires, I'd listen," said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota. "But he doesn't govern. To be honest, he's just not that big a factor." Contributing: Joseph Garrison This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Kill the bill': Elon Musk slams Trump's GOP tax legislation
