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Fiscal court writes a letter in support of Sgt. Ricky Burke Melodie Phelps News Editor Wayne County Fiscal Court has heard no reply from U.S. Congressmen or Senators regarding their request for more information about a local National Guard member who is facing criminal charges in Iraq. County Judge-Executive Bruce Ramsey recommended Thursday evening that the court write a character letter for Sgt. Ricky Burke. "This was a decision that a soldier made and it was a snap decision," Ramsey stated, as he discussed the issue. "I think this is the most outrageous thing we have dealt with as a community." Burke is charged with premeditated attempted murder in connection with an incident that occurred March 20 in Iraq. According to accounts from the family, Burke shot and injured a captured Iraqi insurgent who appeared to be making a move toward a pile of confiscated weapons. This occurred after Burke and other members of the 1st 623rd were involved in a 45-minute gun battle with insurgents that ambushed their convoy. "I think he was trying to do his job," stated District Two Magistrate Jess Jones. Letters of character for Burke are being collected by The Outlook until August 18. They will be provided to Burkešs family and will be forwarded to Iraq. Sgt. Burke stated in an e-mail interview with The Outlook that the letters written about his character will be very important during his trial, which is set for September 2. Ramsey urged all Wayne County residents to write letters and show their support for Burke. Letters should be addressed to: Sgt. Ricky Burke, c/o The Wayne County Outlook, P.O. Box 432, Monticello, KY 42633. In other business Thursday night, the fiscal court discussed a new Department of Corrections mandate that requires medical care at the jail. Jailer Ray Upchurch said that jails across the state are addressing this in a couple of different ways. Upchurch said that a letter he received in June noted that facilities with 100 to 300 inmates should have direct access to a medical provider. The letter indicated that this should be available to inmates from 24 to 40 hours per week, according to Upchurch. The majority of jails are hiring nurses as part of the jail staff. A handful of the facilities are contracting with Southern Health Partners, the company that provides not only medical personnel, but also covers the cost of medication, as well as a percentage of hospitalization costs. Upchurch said the company he spoke with quoted an annual cost of $214,500 for providing this service at the Wayne County Detention Center. Upchurch said hiring a full-time nurse for the local jail would cost approximately $64,842 a year, including benefits. Upchurch stated that he feels hiring a nurse would be the most cost-effective solution for the county at this time. He said that a full-time nurse on site would likely reduce the annual costs incurred by taking inmates to the doctor. Upchurch said there is a medical room already available for use at the Wayne County Detention Center. Ramsey said that approximately $140,000 is budgeted for health care at the jail this year. He added this does not include the cost of transporting prisoners to and from medical facilities. District One Magistrate Jerry Sloan said he would like to get more information about contracting with the company before making a decision. Upchurch said that he would see if a representative of the company could attend a fiscal court meeting to explain what is and is not covered under the contract. The Wayne County Public Properties Corporation, which consists of members of the fiscal court, held a meeting also Thursday evening. The group approved a resolution to issue new bonds for final costs for the Justice Center. Dwight Salsbury, with Ross-Sinclair, said the issuance of $550,000 in bonds with pay for the completion of the project. He noted that this would keep the annual payment by the AOC for the facility at the level that was budgeted. The county will not be obligated to pay anything because of the bond issue and it also does not count against the countyšs bonding capacity. The fiscal court also approved the resolution so the bond sale can proceed. Solid Waste Coordinator Andrew Parmley told court members that a pre-bid meeting has been set for September 1 for any contractors interested in bidding on the PRIDE Supergrant project at Elk Spring Creek. The county received $152,000 from PRIDE for the cleanup effort. The meeting will be held in the district courtroom and will begin at 10 a.m. Parmley said any contractors who want to bid on the project must attend the pre-bid meeting. He noted that nine easements have been signed for the Elk Spring Creek project and that officials are ready to proceed to the next phase. Parmley also reported that Litter Abatement officers and crews of inmates collected 404 bags of trash and covered 215.3 miles of county roads during the month of July. That brings the total so far this year to 3,175 bags of trash and 787.9 miles of roadway. Parmley has completed 2005 PRIDE Community Grant training. Wayne County will receive a $50,000 community grant this year to cleanup several dump sites. Add a comment |
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