Letters to the Editor: Capitol statue. School reopenings. Support for Cal, Cats.

Honor martyr

Alice Dunnigan is a worthy candidate for a statue in Frankfort: an African-American woman who braved the twin prejudices of gender and race to carve a place for herself in a very bigoted Washington.

But I’d like to propose Robert Charles O’Hara Benjamin who gave his life trying to register four Black men to vote in October 1900, right here in Lexington’s Irishtown. This martyr has a small monument in the African cemetery on Seventh Street, but otherwise is one of those we choose not to remember.

I don’t mean to put him in competition with Alice Dunnigan. But Robert Benjamin deserves the attention and respect of present-day Kentuckians. He fought and died for our democracy.

Joseph G. Anthony, Lexington

School question

I wonder if Lexington- Fayette Health Commissioner Kraig Humbaugh has been inside a classroom or is just ignorant of what most schools that have in-person learning in Kentucky know or what the Centers for Disease Control has commented?

To help him out, the most compliant groups of kids who wear masks and follow social distancing are elementary age students. Schools that randomly test kids for COVID-19 show that elementary schools have few outbreaks while their middle school and high school counterparts have much higher positive cases.

Elementary schools have never been the problem.

I wonder if it is this information that has kept thousands of young children out of school?

Joshua Crabtree, Lexington

Why the secrecy?

Kentucky Republicans have been complaining and criticizing the decisions made by Secretary of State Michael Adams for nearly a year; surely they had time to prefile a bill. Delaying the release of this mystery bill until the day before the committee vote seems to be a very convenient way to avoid public input into a matter that will affect every person of voting age in the commonwealth of Kentucky. Sen. Rand Paul clearly has information regarding the bill; is the public not to be trusted with the same information? Are other lawmakers not to be trusted with information? Is public input not the foundation of a democratic system?

Talking directly with the committee recently Paul cautioned that we should reduce the number of mail-in ballots, lest we go the way of “other states.” Washington approved vote by mail in 2005, Arizona in 1991. If we go the way of Washington and Arizona, we will have high turnout, secure elections that enfranchise citizens that have limited access to physical polling locations. What a terrible, terrible outcome. Elections aren’t about voter enfranchisement, clearly.

This stinks about as much as a sewer bill that was transformed into pension legislation.

Laura A Kennedy, Lawrenceburg

PPP vital for church

The Herald-Leader recently ran an Associated Press story that was critical of the Catholic Church’s participation in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) which was offered to help small businesses who met certain requirements to retain their employees during the pandemic. The Catholic Church is not a monolithic entity in the United States; through its many institutions, dioceses, schools, social services, parishes, missions and more, the various entities of the Catholic Church employ many tax paying persons whose jobs are worth protecting at a critical time in the economy. Each of those church entities that applied for PPP funds understood that they were applying for a loan, had to seek approval with and through a financial institution, and if they were to seek forgiveness for these loans would face considerable reporting requirements about how these funds were used.

The Catholic Diocese of Lexington is grateful to have received the assistance offered through the PPP program. The funding was used to keep employees in parishes and schools on the payroll, allow employees to return to work from furlough and prevent others from having to face unemployment at a time when the nation and the Commonwealth of Kentucky were facing stay-at-home orders and restrictions on operations for the health and safety of all. Most of our parishes depend on the income generated from donations offered during the celebration of Mass, our schools are heavily dependent on tuition, and temporary shut-downs of worship and classroom instruction imperiled the ability to continue making payroll. Back in April when the application for PPP was made, a vaccine was a long way off, restrictions on public worship and in-person instruction were made for short periods of time in the face of an unknown future. The inability to hold public services at Holy Week and Easter, when we draw the largest attendance, and the inability to hold the fundraising events that usually supplement our schools and parishes operating expenses hit us hard. We are grateful that our faithful members have continued to support the church and its ministries and that our parents have continued to send their children to our schools despite all of the interruptions we faced.

Bishop John Stowe, Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington

Positivity needed

Coach John Calipari and the University of Kentucky Wildcat men’s basketball program members and staff do not need me to defend them. Most universities and coaches would trade their program results over time with those results achieved by Coach Calipari and his staff. I am concerned that critical comments from fans, even if they are a minority of the fan base, with their unhelpful, “coaching from their recliner” comments can unfairly demoralize young men who are currently putting forth their best efforts to represent the University of Kentucky basketball program. In addition, these negative comments from critical fans can also be detrimental to future recruiting. Stay positive, stay loyal, and be proud of your Kentucky Wildcat basketball program.

Gary Tucker, Kingsport, Tenn.

Support our coach

University of Kentucky basketball fans, heed the words of Teddy Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena speech. Roosevelt said credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena striving valiantly. It is not the critic who counts. Coach John Calipari is our man in (Rupp) Arena. He and his team deserve our support and appreciation.

Diane Allen Wallace, Virginia Beach, Va

Eyes on the ball

Don’t mix sports and politics. Everyone loses focus. Enough said!

Scott Joublanc, Versailles

Eviction halt

I would like for Gov. Andy Beshear to either cancel the non-eviction moratorium or at least place some restrictions on the tenants. Too many tenants are taking advantage of this that are very capable of paying rent. He is destroying the landlords’ rental business. All this does is give a free ride to all tenants, no consideration to landlords, and eventually will cause many to lose their property to the mortgage companies. I have called his office and sent emails, without any response. I cannot imagine who thought this was a great idea, especially for an extended period.

Dee V. Jones, Columbia

Conversion therapy

Throughout the United States and beyond I work to create safe places for LGBTQ+ youth — and all LGBTQ+ persons — especially within the Catholic Church. Through the Diocese of Lexington Catholic LGBT Ministry and the national ministry, Fortunate Families, both of which I lead, I see firsthand the harm that is inflicted upon the dignity, hearts, and will to live of my siblings who want nothing more than to be embraced with respect, compassion, sensitivity, and acknowledged, rightfully, as wonderfully made children of God — their dignity defended, upheld, and celebrated.

Torture therapy, despite being called by any other name that tries to soften its toxic effects, cries to heaven for vengeance. It offends God and those made in God’s image.

Kentucky does need conversion therapy. We need to convert every heart so every person can recognize the divine presence in every LGBTQ+ person. We need conversion — metanoia — to clearly see how inhumane torturous “therapy” destroys the dignity of the human person, kills the spirit, and too often leads to death.

Ban “conversion therapy” for our LGBTQ+ siblings.

Instead, let us focus on our own need for personal conversion.

Stan “JR” Zerkowski, director, Catholic Diocese of Lexington LGBT Ministry; executive director, Fortunate Families

Bratty behavior

Shame on Sen. Rand Paul! His maskless doodling with his feet up during these most consequential congressional proceedings demonstrates his arrogant disrespect, disinterest, and disregard for the sanctity of our judicial system and the well-being of our democracy. Further, his behavior makes a mockery of the pandemic crisis, sacrifice and suffering. Watching him is like watching an entitled brat lift his middle finger to those who gave him life. His behavior diminishes the dignity of the office he holds, disgraces the people of Kentucky, and dishonors our nation. Nothing less than shameful and sickening.

Beverly Johnson-Miller, Lexington

‘Compassionate citizens’

We sincerely thank the wonderful people of Lexington, our hometown. Recently, during the funeral procession of our brother, William Hankla Westerfield, citizens stopped and got out of their cars, placing hands over hearts as we slowly passed by. Their show of respect truly lifted our spirits during this sad time. The Westerfield family also thanks the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department for their escort to Hillcrest Memorial Park. The compassionate citizens of Lexington are a shining example of the greatness we all have within us. The Westerfield family is grateful to the citizens of Lexington.

Logan Westerfield, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Not militias

Armed domestic extremist groups such as the Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, and Boogaloo Bois are not militias, and should not be referred to as such. They are gangsters in camouflage who attempt to dress up their gang activities with military garb. If we listen to what these groups say and observe their actions, their message is simple: “give us what we want, and nobody gets hurt.” That’s mafia not militia.

Terrorism is the pursuit of political goals by violent methods, and these groups fit that definition. How should the United States deal with these groups? The intersection of terrorism and law enforcement occurs when terrorist groups commit crimes in pursuit of their political agendas. Law enforcement officers didn’t arrest the Capitol attackers because they wanted to keep Donald Trump in power, the attackers were arrested because they violated specific laws by breaking into the Capitol building. That means these groups can and should be dealt with by law enforcement officials, not the military. In addition, the American public must continue to condemn these groups, so they and any potential recruits know public opinion is overwhelmingly against them.

Jason Belcher, Harold

McConnell a RINO

As a Republican living in Kentucky, I sincerely hope that a candidate can be found to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell! Having a turncoat representing my interests (and the interests of many associates in my group) is appalling. As a voting Republican, the first rule is never throw your own under the bus (Democrats rarely ever attack each other). We have seven RINOs in the Senate; Mitch McConnell has joined their ranks, making him number eight.

We need a new Republican senator.

Donald Caruso, Vine Grove