RECOVERY KENTUCKY WORTHY PROJECT FOR AREA

It is the lot, duty really, of elected officials to worry about money. It
is called being fiscally responsible. But it is also their responsibility
to weigh the risks and be willing to say yes to worthy projects.

A $4.38 million Recovery Kentucky substance abuse treatment center is one
such worthy project for the Owensboro-Daviess County community. The
facility will require Daviess Fiscal Court to allocate $200,000 from its
"wellness fund" account to match a Community Development Block Grant of
$831,000. The Kentucky Housing Corp. will contribute $1.13 million to the
project.

Lighthouse Recovery is the local agency applying to operate what will
essentially be a state facility intended to help people with substance
issues who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless. Gov. Ernie
Fletcher has called for 10 of the facilities to be built around the state.

The state will provide operating funds for the facilities. Or will it?

A little more than a week ago, Daviess County Judge-Executive Reid Haire
expressed fears about future funding of the center, wondering if funding
would fall to the county should state support dry up. Haire took particular
note of the state Department of Corrections' promised major support role in
the project, pointedly reminding everyone that the Department of
Corrections once promised that juvenile inmates would continue to be housed
in Daviess County and also reviewed the plans for the Daviess County
Detention Center.

Juveniles were removed from the detention center in 2001, at great expense
to the county, and the jail has now been found to possibly be out of
compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Just a few days later, however, Haire's ire had apparently dissipated and
he predicted that Fiscal Court would support the project, despite
reservations. "The need for a facility outweighs the misgivings that I
have," he said. "Any progress, there is a certain amount of risk."

That is the kind of response needed if this community is to have another
tool in the struggle against substance abuse. Counties rely on state
government for many things, and funding reductions are always a
possibility. But that is not enough of a reason to turn down what could
prove very valuable to hundreds of people who need help in the worst way.