Todd has state’s third-highest uninsured rate

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

In 2010, Todd County had Kentucky’s third-highest rate of people without health insurance, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Of roughly 10,458 people below age 65, the county had about 2,455 who didn’t have health insurance. That’s 23.5 percent.

The only counties topping it were Casey and Monroe.

Judge-Executive Daryl Greenfield noted that Todd has a fairly high number of people who are self-employed. Many don’t get health insurance from their companies and can’t afford to buy it independently, he said.

Todd has state’s third-highest uninsured rate

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

In 2010, Todd County had Kentucky’s third-highest rate of people without health insurance, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Of roughly 10,458 people below age 65, the county had about 2,455 who didn’t have health insurance. That’s 23.5 percent.

The only counties topping it were Casey and Monroe.

Judge-Executive Daryl Greenfield noted that Todd has a fairly high number of people who are self-employed. Many don’t get health insurance from their companies and can’t afford to buy it independently, he said.

County hardly adds to state’s pollution

Local air quality still hard to determine

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

Kentucky ranks 10th in the nation for releasing toxic chemicals into the environment.

However, this ranking shouldn’t worry Christian County residents about the quality of the local air, as the state’s worst offenders, by and large, are power plants.

The nearest power plants to here are the Lake Barkley Power Plant and the Paradise Fossil Plant in Muhlenberg County.

Earlier this month, the National Resources Defense Center named this state’s power plants the worst in the country for exposing residents to toxic air pollution.

For the toxic chemicals Kentucky releases in highest quantities — sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid — power plants dominate the list of worst culprits.

Three Kentucky counties that have power plants — Carroll, Jefferson and Muhlenberg — rank among the top 50 counties in the U.S. for the pollution they produce.

Christian County, on the other hand, is nowhere near the top of the list.

Uninsured Rates

As my story in today's New Era explains, Todd County has the third-highest uninsured rate in Kentucky, according to 2010 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. To report this story, I put census data into spreadsheets and sorted it by different variables. You can view simplified charts here.

Click here for a chart of Kentucky's counties ranked by uninsured rates.

Click here for a similar chart that only has information on the poor: those whose incomes are below 138 percent of the federal poverty line.

To view the data at its source, head over to the Census Bureau’s website.

School nurse sharing raises concerns

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

In the last two weeks, since classes started at Crofton Elementary School, Donna Crick has often asked the school nurse in the mornings whether she would be at the school all day.

“She just tells me she’s there until she hears different,” Crick recalled on Friday.

Crick’s 7-year-old daughter Kaylie was diagnosed with diabetes earlier this year. When she thinks of Kaylie’s blood sugar dropping so low she falls over or goes into a coma, Crick seizes up with fear. She knows it would take an ambulance a long time to reach Crofton from Hopkinsville.

Lately she’s had trouble sleeping.

When facing a budget shortfall in June, the Christian County Board of Health asked the school system to contribute more funding for nurses. It presented two options for staffing levels based on how much the schools would give.

Our Opinion: Leadership right plan for board of health

New Era Staff Editorial

What happens inside the walls of the Christian County Health Department on Canton Street, and what happens outside those walls in the second-largest county in Kentucky, are both concerns for the local health board. Mark Pyle, the county health director, acknowledged this fact during a board meeting Monday. He told the board members their focus should shift from managing the department’s finances to addressing the county’s health needs.

Christian County has serious health problems, and it is consistent with the public health department’s focus to lead the community’s response to those problems. That’s why Pyle’s plan to shift the focus of the health board is an important positive step for the community.

Funds amassing for Little River test

Scientists could identify amount, sources of pollution

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

Eleven years after the last test, the federal government still has Little River classified as “impaired.”

And if nothing changes within six years, a government agency will impose more restrictions on local farmers and businesses, in an effort to reduce river pollution, said Brian Lacefield, who works for Hopkinsville Elevator Company and Agri-Chem, LLC. For instance, it could ban fertilizers that local farmers depend on, Lacefield said.

Farmers and local officials want a new test conducted. Some believe the 2001 test lacked thoroughness, and they say their farming practices have become more eco-friendly since the test.

To that end, the Christian County Health Department will contribute $20,000 for a three-year test that will start in October. The board of health voted unanimously to do this.