New ideas being sought for Kentucky
Meeting to collect ideas is Thursday
6/18/2007
By Keith Lawrence
Messenger-Inquirer
What this state oughta do is ...
If you can finish that sentence, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce wants to hear from you.
The state chamber has launched a program called "A New Agenda for Kentucky" -- an effort it hopes will "encourage creative thinking and a fresh approach to meeting the many challenges that persist in the commonwealth, particularly those related to education."
The goal is to collect the best ideas and present them to Kentucky's next governor along with a plan for implementing them.
Thursday, state Chamber President David Adkisson, a former Owensboro mayor, and Malcolm Bryant, who represents Owensboro on the New Agenda task force, will be at the Greater Owensboro Center of Commerce, 200 E. Third St., to collect ideas from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Jody Wassmer, president of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, said the meeting is open to the public.
"But we're focusing on the nearly 100 members of the Chamber Young Professionals," he said. "We're going to put people at different tables and each table will vote on its best idea."
Then, all the ideas will be voted on to select one "master idea" from the meeting, Wassmer said.
People who want to submit ideas on their own can go to www.newagendaky.com and click on "Submit Your Idea."
Ideas already on the site include such things as:
- Create a rail system between Lexington and Frankfort for commuters.
- Allow alcoholic beverage sales in all counties.
- Boost ethanol usage.
- Build a 60-mile Heartland Parkway between the Martha Layne Collins Bluegrass Parkway and the Louie Nunn Cumberland Parkway in central Kentucky.
- Create a department of public transportation.
- Cut the number of counties in half.
- Enact a statewide smoking ban.
- Grow crops in highway medians.
The state chamber says: "The result will not be another report on the status of a particular aspect of life in Kentucky -- a report that sits on a shelf and results in no action. Instead, it will emphasize new solutions and the importance of involving the rising generation of private-sector leaders in crafting those solutions."
