Letters to the Editor: UK president’s raise ‘a slap in the face.’ State is lucky to have Andy.

Pay hike ‘irresponsible’

The recent column by Linda Blackford in the Herald-Leader exactly expressed my opinion regarding the action of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees regarding the remuneration of the current president.

A native Kentuckian, UK graduate and faculty member for 30 years, I served the university in numerous capacities including being a nominee for the board of trustees. Approximately 7,000 total students were in my classes.

The board’s decision to raise Dr. Eli Capilouto’s salary as it did was irresponsible in every sense of the word, especially during this time of the COVID pandemic, economic turmoil, and a horrible natural disaster. To quote from the article: “…to give him another, 24 percent raise that pushes his base pay over $1 million a year — when faculty and staff have gotten measly 1 percent and 2 percent merit raises amidst constant budget cuts — is a shocking dereliction of duty.”

I commend the two trustee faculty representatives for voting against the exorbitant raise. The action by the trustees was indeed a slap in the face of the faculty, the students and every Kentucky citizen.

M. Ward Crowe, Versailles

Lucky to have Andy

I doubt that many of us would have signed up to run for governor had we known we were headed for the worst health and natural disasters in history. It’s doubtful that Andy Beshear would have either.

But Kentucky is so very fortunate that he did. He has illustrated a rare combination of leadership and strength along with sincerity and compassion. The hardest work is yet to come and there is little doubt that he is up to it.

Tom Padgett, Lexington

Great loss

It’s heartbreaking to hear that bell hooks has passed away. What she gave to Black feminism is simply incalculable. Her words of wisdom with such exact precision that delivers truth will live on for generations.

Rest In Power, bell hooks.

Paul Bacon, Hallandale Beach, Florida

Outages not issue

We all want uninterrupted service and no outages. And we agree Kentucky Utilities should protect their lines and has the right to do so. Protests are about indiscriminate cutting. Lexington has worked to establish a tree canopy, winning the designation American “Tree City” for 30 years. Many trees are ornamentals and dwarfs that don’t pose a threat to high wires and never will. Some neighborhoods have funding for keeping trees well below wires. Small trees aren’t causing outages at KU sites; large trees entwined in wires need to be cut before KU decimates smaller trees gracing neighborhoods.

A perfect example: KU approved varieties planted by Lansdowne Neighborhood Association on Lansdowne Drive 15 years ago. They are now beautiful flowering trees, well below even the lowest wires which sag with ice and snow. Some could have been saved. In fact, some were destroyed where wires were so high it was clear they would never have interfered with lines or exceed margins for maintenance .

KU needs to revisit its “policy” and save as many trees as possible. It has taken years to establish these trees which add to the city’s aesthetics and are an environmental asset.

Roberta Erena, Lexington

Culpability cover

There’s a reason GOP members, Donald Trump’s family, and Fox News personnel sent White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows messages imploring Trump to stop the insurrection as it was unfolding, and it has nothing to do with saving democracy or protecting the Capitol and those within. They were involved up to their necks with planning the attempted coup and recruiting participants for the purpose of overthrowing the government. They knew that once their plan for a peaceful overthrow got out of hand, they would each and every one of them be exposed as complicit. So the first thing they did was implore their leader to call off the dogs immediately. That way, when their complicity was made public, they could claim they tried to stop it. However, that rationale falls apart since each of them has, in effect, sanctioned the insurrection and the riot, either by downplaying it, lying about it, or whitewashing the whole thing. If they had stuck to the tone of their emails and texts, they could have honestly claimed they tried to stop it. But spending the next 10 months sanctioning the coup, they are in it and remain in it up to their necks.

Ross DeAeth, Lexington

This story was originally published December 20, 2021 at 8:05 AM.