Betty Jean Hall, front right, applauds during the Coal Employment Project's annual conference in Charleston, West Virginia, in 1984. (Photo by Earl Dotter/UMW Journal, with permission)
Betty Jean Hall, the young attorney who overcame coal company resistance to hiring women miners in the 1970s and went on to become an important federal administrative law judge overseeing decisions on appeals of workers’ compensation claims, has died.? She was 78 years old.
Hall attended Buckhorn School in Perry County in southeastern Kentucky and moved to the Berea College Foundation School, a high school then operated by the college, when her father became the head of woodworking in the Industrial Arts Department at Berea College. She graduated from Berea College in 1968 as a history major.? She was an active debater at Berea, challenging teams from Ohio to Florida.
Just one year out of Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C., Hall founded and led the Coal Employment Project from 1977 to 1988 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.? She became a terror to the nation’s coal companies that were refusing to hire women as miners.
The Coal Employment Project filed a lawsuit charging 153 coal companies with sexual bias in hiring. By December 1978, a settlement was reached with Consolidation Coal Company to pay $370,000 to 70 women denied jobs because they were women and to hire one woman for every four men. Two of the other largest coal companies at that time, Island Creek and Peabody coal companies, were under investigation because of Hall’s unrelenting work. As a result, coal companies had hired 830 women miners by late 1978. By the mid-1980s, that number had increased to over 4,000.
The work of the Coal Employment Project was featured in the 1982 Appalshop documentary “Coal Mining Women.”
Jean Kilgore, whom Hall represented in a successful lawsuit against the then Pittston Coal Company, said Hall had a major impact on her life. “Betty Jean embraced me and hundreds of other women with pure kindness, acceptance, support and equality,” Kilgore wrote in an email. “I learned so much from Betty Jean. To value myself, to give a hand up to others, to never give up, to never give in, to never quit caring.
The work with the Coal Employment Project was only one part of several leadership efforts in which she was engaged with social-justice organizations across the Appalachian region. She worked at Highlander Research and Education Center, New Market, Tennessee, and was on the organization’s board of directors and executive committee. She also was chair of the board of the Appalachian Alliance Steering Committee, Southern Appalachian Leadership Training Program from (1979-1985) and was on the board of the directors of the Southeast Women’s Employment Coalition.? The Highlander Appalachian Program focused on leadership development for community leaders all over the mountains to fight for social justice and the right to fully participate in American prosperity.
Hall’s legal and leadership skills were soon noticed by the U.S. Department of Labor. She was appointed as an administrative appeals judge in 2001 for the Benefits Review Board of the federal Department of Labor. The board issued decisions on appeals of worker’s compensation claims under the Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act and the Black Lung Benefits amendments to the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969.? She quickly rose to become the chief administrative appeals judge and chairperson of the Benefits Review Board (1994-2001 and 2014-2019) until she retired.? Under her leadership the board streamlined the benefits review process, ensuring that coal miners with black lung disease and other workers injured in their occupations received fair and timely reviews of their applications for compensation.
Her efforts on behalf of workers drew notice. The Louisville Courier-Journal wrote:
“With hard-edged skill hidden in a friendly front-porch style, she is using the federal bureaucracy, the federal courts, and the national media to advance her cause (for women miners). The result, others noted, could be far more than just a ladies’ room in the bathhouse.”
In 1981 she won the John D. Rockefeller Public Service Award. That award presentation stated:
“A lawyer who is committed to helping women overcome barriers in the job market, Betty Jean Hall has successfully led an effort to generate employment opportunities for women in the U.S. coal industry. As director of the Coal Employment Project, she developed a model training program for women miners which has now been adapted for men. She organized support groups across the country to assist isolated women miners in facing common problems. Betty Jean Hall has expanded her efforts to help women in the West to find jobs in the newly identified coal reserves there, and she is developing training programs for mine management officials to orient them to the idea of women in the mining work force. Most important, her leadership has served as an inspiration and practical guide for women who seek to determine for themselves where they will work and under what conditions. The results are improved economic security for women and their families as well as the important affirmation of individual dignity and fundamental fairness.”
She also won a John Hay Whitney Fellowship Award (1978-1980); National Women’s Health Network “Health Advocate of the Year” (1980); Ms. Magazine “Woman to Watch in the 80s” (1980); and Berea College Public Service Award (1984).? In 2023 she was awarded a Distinguished Alumnus Award by Berea College.
Hall’s higher court admissions included the District of Columbia Court of Appeals (1977); Virginia Supreme Court (1977); Tennessee Supreme Court (1979-1989); and the U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit (1986).
Hall retired to Cary, North Carolina, in 2019 but found time to serve on the Berea College Alumni Executive Committee. Her proudest accomplishments are children, Tim Hall and Tiffany Olsen (Kevin), and two grandchildren, Blake and Athena.? She is also survived by sister Janet Hall Smith.? All family members reside in Cary.
Hall’s Berea College classmates and friends have founded a scholarship in her name at Berea College (donation information). The scholarships will go to students from the most economically distressed counties in Appalachia, which are mostly the coalfields.? A memorial service is planned for October at Berea College.
This article is republished from The Daily Yonder under a Creative Commons license.
U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie posted photos of himself and his wife, Rhonda, as he announced her death. (Posted on X)
U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky announced his wife, Rhonda, has died.?
In a Friday morning social media post on X, the congressman expressed thanks for “prayers for our family in this difficult time.”?
“Yesterday my high school sweetheart, the love of my life for over 35 years, the loving mother of our 4 children, the smartest kindest woman I ever knew, my beautiful and wise queen forever, Rhonda went to Heaven,” Massie wrote.?
The congressman, a Republican who represents Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, met his wife at Lewis County High School in Northeastern Kentucky in the 1980s. They both went on to earn degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and launched a business, SensAble Technologies. They later sold the business and moved back to Lewis County.?
The Massies have four children. No information about the cause of death has been released.?
Several Kentucky Republicans offered their condolences Friday morning. Fellow Congressman Andy Barr said on X that he was “deeply saddened” to hear of Rhonda Massie’s death.?
“Rhonda’s warmth, kindness, and dedication to her family and community touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing her,” Barr said. “During this heartbreaking time, my thoughts and prayers are with Thomas, their four children, and the entire Massie family.”?
State Auditor Allison Ball, who became the first statewide officer in Kentucky to give birth while in office as treasurer, shared on X that she sought parenting advice from Rhonda Massie on several occasions.?
“I am saddened to hear of the passing of Rhonda Massie,” Ball said. “Rhonda was always so wonderful to me. She encouraged me through my first pregnancy and made the best homemade pies. Asa and I are praying for Congressman Massie and the Massie family.”
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said on X he and First Lady Britainy Beshear were “deeply saddened for U.S. Congressman Thomas Massie and his family at the tragic news of the passing of his wife, Rhonda.”
“Please join us in sending prayers of peace and comfort,” the governor said.
]]>Doris Y. Wilkinson (Photo provided by University of Kentucky)
Doris Y. Wilkinson, a University of Kentucky sociologist and part of its first class of Black undergraduates, died June 23. She was 88.?
Wilkinson entered UK in 1954, the year a U.S. Supreme Court decision outlawed racial segregation in public education and the first year that Kentucky’s flagship public university accepted Black undergraduates.
She had graduated from Lexington’s segregated Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, where, according to her obituary, she was valedictorian and homecoming queen.
Wilknson went on to earn master’s and doctoral degrees from Case Western Reserve University and in 1985 a master’s in public health from Johns Hopkins University. She taught at Kent State University in Ohio before returning to UK in 1969, where she became the first Black woman to secure a full-time faculty position, joining the Department of Sociology.
She was director of the Project on African American Heritage in the UK sociology department, the winner of many honors and author of numerous articles and eight books, according to the Notable Kentucky African Americans Database. She was a Ford Foundation Fellow at Harvard University in 1989-90.
In honor of UK’s 70 years of integration, in 2019, Wilkinson was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters — “a testament to her lifelong commitment to academia and social justice,” says a UK release.
UK President Eli Capilouto described Wilkinson as “powerful, influential and, at times, larger than life.”
“It is with deep sadness that I learn of her passing, but I am comforted in knowing that her legacy continues to run deep across the foundation of our community. Throughout her life, she faced adversity with the kind of fierce determination and unwavering grace that pushed open doors and ensured they never closed,” Capilouto said. “We are grateful to be beneficiaries of her goodness and intellect, her perseverance and drive, her passion for education and devotion to progress. We are proud to count her as an indelible part of the UK family.”
Doris Yvonne Wilkinson was born ?June 13, 1936 in Lexington to Howard T. and Regina L. Wilkinson. She was preceded in death by her sister, Carolyn Wilkinson-Baker, and is survived by many first cousins. She was a member of East Second Street Christian Church and attended Historic Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church.
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 29, at Milward Funeral Home, 391 Southland Drive in Lexington. Visitation will be prior to the service from? 11 a.m. to 1 p.m Internment will be at Cove Haven Cemetery, 984 Whitney Avenue, Lexington.?
]]>Dr. Wendell Roy Kingsolver, a longtime physician and advocate for family medicine and public health, especially in rural Kentucky, died Thursday, May 30. He was 95 and lived in Nicholasville.
After graduation from the University of Kentucky and an internship and residency, Kingsolver set up a family practice at Carlisle in his home Nicholas County. He was one of the few physicians in the area and served patients of all ages at all hours in emergency, operating, and delivery rooms, He was among the first physicians certified by the American Board of Family Practice, and trained UK medical students in rural family practice as they lived in his home and learned what a diverse rural medical career was like.
In the 1960s he was a medical volunteer in the Republic of Congo, and later on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia and the Newfoundland coast town of St. Anthony.?After retiring from five decades of full-time private practice, he was a public-health doctor for the Wedco District Health Department in in Nicholas, Harrison, Bourbon and Scott counties.
Kingsolver was an early adopter of organic farming, and he and his first wife Virginia were founding members of the Sierra Club chapter in Kentucky, the group that built Lake Carnico in Nicholas County, and the First Christian Church in Carlisle, where he was an elder and sang in the choir. He was a board member of the Cane Ridge Meeting House, where the Disciples of Christ denomination began. He enjoyed birdwatching and served a term as president of the Kentucky Ornithological Society. He and Ginny, who predeceased him, established a KOS scholarship for young people interested in the study of birds, and worked to preserve natural land in Nicholas County, some of it donated to the Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park.
Kingsolver was born in Winchester on July 21, 1928 to Roy Alva Kingsolver and Louise Auxier Kingsolver.
His survivors include his wife, Eva Lee (Lynam Kanatzar) Kingsolver; son Robert (Paula) Kingsolver; daughter and noted author Barbara Kingsolver (Steven Hopp); and Ann Kingsolver, former director of the Appalachian Center at UK. A viewing will be held Tuesday, June 4, at 2 p.m., followed by the funeral at 4 p.m., at Milward Funeral Home, 391 Southland Drive in Lexington.
Information for this article was taken from the obituary.
This article is republished from Kentucky Health News, ?an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.
]]>The demolition of the Thomas Hart house in 1955 to make way for a parking lot galvanized the historic preservation movement in Lexington. Many feared Hopemont, also known as the Hunt Morgan House, across the street would be the next to fall. Hart, a veteran of the American Revolution, was an early Lexington settler. (Library of Congress, 1940)
Bettye Lee Mastin, a member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame and champion of historic preservation in the Bluegrass, died May 8. She was 97.
Mastin said her mother encouraged her to write every day and that when she graduated from high school in Jessamine County she wanted to be a poet. A professor at the University of Kentucky steered her toward journalism, saying “Betty Lee, poetry doesn’t pay.”
Mastin worked as a proofreader at the Lexington Herald during college, graduated from UK Phi Beta Kappa and began a 50-year career at the Lexington newspaper as a reporter and feature writer.
Respected as an architectural historian, Mastin taught university classes and seminars. She was the author of “Lexington 1779: Pioneer Kentucky as Described by Early Settlers” and “A Walking Tour of Shakertown.”
In an oral history interview in 1980, she said she became interested in “old things and old buildings as a child.”
“I think anyone living in Lexington, growing up around here would become acquainted with a lot of old buildings —? until the age of the bulldozer — because we had so many of them.”?
In the 1960s, the newspaper assigned her to write about preservation and urban renewal after Ed Wilder, the executive secretary of the Lexington chamber of commerce, returned from a conference in Washington, D.C. with about 100 color slides of the posh Georgetown neighborhood, where President John F. Kennedy had lived when he was in the U.S. Senate, Mastin told the oral history interviewer.
Wilder had been struck by the similarities in Georgetown’s and Lexington’s historic architecture. He convinced the Herald’s general manager, Fred Wachs, that Lexington’s old buildings and neighborhoods were “a resource that Lexington was stupid not to use,” Mastin said.
The newspaper made Mastin available to local groups to talk about preservation and to present a slide show highlighting the similarities of D.C.’s Georgetown section and the areas around downtown Lexington.
Mastin also visited other cities — Baltimore, Richmond, Philadelphia — to report on their preservation and urban renewal efforts and worked briefly in Lexington’s urban renewal agency. She said her stories for Kentucky readers about other cities’ preservation successes were “geared to profit, dollars and cents,” emphasizing the higher real estate values in historic areas.
In 1965, she became a member of the board of the Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation.
She lived in a home that was built in 1795.?
She was friends with the late Clay Lancaster, an architectural historian, artist and author. She? alerted Lancaster when the Moses Jones house, built in the early 1800s, in Salvisa on the Kentucky River in Mercer County went on the market. He bought the property now managed by the Warwick Foundation. Mastin served on the foundation’s board and was an emeritus member when she died.
Mastin said she was disappointed that Lexington allowed so much of its built history to be destroyed and replaced with nondescript architecture and parking lots, even as awareness and interest in preservation bloomed.
When asked whether growth and preservation can coexist, Mastin in 1980 said, “When you look at the type of community we inherited and the situation now I wouldn’t say they’re coexisting very well.”??
Long-time Herald-Leader readers will remember her Sunday Home spreads; many were detailed descriptions of historic residences, interviews with their occupants and multiple photographs.
In 2017, Tom Eblen, former Herald-Leader managing editor and columnist, wrote that he nominated Mastin for the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame “because no journalist did so much for so long to inform Central Kentuckians about the unique built environment that surrounded them.”
Her legacy will likely live on in future scholarship. Mastin’s papers, covering the period from 1823 to 2013, are archived at the University of Kentucky in more than 100 boxes, including research files, urban renewal records, maps and architectural drawings.
Bettye Lee Mastin was born April 9, 1927 in Midway to the late Winfield and Ruby Glass Mastin, one of six sisters. Her obituary says she loved plants and wildflowers and knew their Latin names. She was a long-time member of Nicholasville Baptist Church where she had been a Sunday school teacher. Her family will have a private scattering of ashes at Indian Falls in Jessamine County at a future date.??
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George L. Atkins Jr., 82, a Hopkinsville native and former mayor, died Sunday, April 14.
Atkins was born July 10, 1941, the son of George L. Atkins Sr. and Frances Shaver Atkins. His family owned and ran Atkins Dairy next door to their Walnut Street residence and across the street from the old Hopkinsville High School.
A 1959 graduate of HHS and a 1963 graduate of the University of Kentucky, he played college basketball for Coach Adolph Rupp.
In 1972, Hopkinsville City Council appointed Atkins, a Democrat, as mayor to fill a vacancy in the office — a decision that helped launch a political career that took him to Frankfort.
While still serving as mayor, he ran for Kentucky state auditor. He won that race in the 1975 general election at age 34.
Atkins ran for governor in 1979 but pulled out of the race early and threw his support to the eventual winner, John Y. Brown Jr. He served as Brown’s finance secretary and then as cabinet secretary.
In 1983, Atkins ran for lieutenant governor but lost to Steve Beshear.
The memorial service for Atkins will be Friday, April 19, in Louisville. A Hopkinsville visitation is planned from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at Hughart, Beard & Giles Funeral Home.
This story may be updated.?
This story is republished from Hoptown Chronicle.
]]>Charlotte Henson, with her son, Robby, and daughter, Heather, at the theater in Danville.
Charlotte Hutchison Henson, the matriarch of the historic Pioneer Playhouse in Danville, has died. She was 93.
Charlotte Henson, with her late husband, Col. Eben Henson, brought Broadway to the Bluegrass by establishing what is now Kentucky’s oldest outdoor theater. It has attracted hundreds of young actors over the years, including John Travolta, Lee Majors, Jim Varney and Bo Hopkins and will be celebrating its 75th season this summer.
Charlotte shared her husband’s vision of the Playhouse and continued his legacy after he died in 2004, said Mike Perros, who was mayor of Danville from 2014 to 2022 and longtime board chairman of the theater.
Perros gave her the nickname “Iron Butterfly.”? “I called her that because she was tough as could be. She was light on her feet but could be all over the place at the theater. She was graceful but could get her message across. She was delightful yet so strong. She cared about that place.”
Charlotte Henson was producer and president of the Playhouse’s board of directors when she died Feb. 13 at her home on the grounds back of the historic theater.
Her daughter, Heather, said her mother had suffered a series of mini-strokes but had been able last summer, as she did every summer for decades, to sing for the patrons before the show. ? Her repertoire never varied, and she would start off her set with “Follow the Drinking Gourd.” The noted folk singer and archivist, John Jacob Niles, called Charlotte’s voice one of the purest he had ever heard.
Charlotte was born on Jan. 3, 1931 and raised on a farm on the Boyle-Mercer County line.
As a youth, she was praised for her voice. After graduating from Burgin High School, she studied music at Transylvania College (now University) in Lexington. After college, she taught music in North Carolina and later was the choir director of the First Christian Church in Danville.
Charlotte first met Eben Henson when she attended an early performance of his fledgling theater at Darnell State Memorial Hospital. He used a free auditorium at the site for his plays, where Northpoint Training Center is now located.
Later, Eben met Charlotte and her mother for lunch at a drugstore soda fountain booth in downtown Danville. He asked Charlotte for a date. Charlotte’s mother kicked Eben in the shin to signal disapproval but Charlotte already had said yes.
In the early years of their marriage, the Hensons saw big-name movie stars flock to their area of the state to star in MGM’s “Raintree County.” Charlotte was a featured extra in the film. The distinctive gingerbread ticket office at the Playhouse was taken from the set of the movie.
Charlotte worked hard with Eben to make the theater go. She also raised four children, all of whom grew up in the theater. Robby Henson today is artistic director, Heather is managing director. When Eben,
known as “the Colonel,” died in 2004, daughter Holly took over the helm of running the theater. It flourished under her leadership. But she died unexpectedly in May 2013 from breast cancer. Her husband, Tom Hansen, is the theater’s chef today. Another son, Eben David, has contributed musically and in other ways to the theater.
The theater also has been guided over the years by a board of directors and influential emeritus board members like the late Gov. Brereton Jones and Lexington businessman and philanthropist Warren Rosenthal.
Charlotte Henson was named Danville’s Arts Citizen of the Year in 2006. She donated space in the old Henson Hotel building for the Danville/Boyle County African-American Historical Space to have a home for meetings, exhibits and archives. She was a lifelong member of the First Christian Church of Danville.
Tori Kenley, office manager for Pioneer Playhouse, said she will miss “Miss Charlotte.”??
“She would come by every morning about 10:30 to say hi and ask how things were going.? She always took pride in the kitchen and was always working with the gift shop,” said Kenley. “Miss Charlotte was very much involved.”
Daughter Heather said it will be difficult to run the theater without her mom, “but as we always have said, ‘The show must go on.’? We will.”
Stith Funeral Home in Danville is handling arrangements. Visitation at the funeral home will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 22 and the funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Feb. 23 at the First Christian Church in Danville.
Donations may be made in Charlotte’s name to Heritage Hospice of Danville or to Pioneer Playhouse, both of which are non-profit organizations.
Former Kentucky governor and first lady, Brereton and Libby Jones. Brereton Jones has died at 84. (Airdrie Stud photo)
Former Kentucky Gov. Brereton Jones has died.?
Jones, a Democrat, served one term as governor from 1991 to 1995. He was also lieutenant governor from 1987 to 1991.? Jones was 84.?
Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed his death on social media Monday afternoon.
In addition to his political career, Jones and his wife Elizabeth Lloyd “Libby” Jones bred successful Thoroughbred race horses. According to America’s Best Racing, Jones’ horse farm near Midway, Airdrie Stud, was home to five Kentucky Derby winners.?
Jones grew up in West Virginia and was a member of the state’s House of Delegates. He moved to Kentucky after his marriage to Lloyd, an activist for farmland conservation.
Brereton Jones was instrumental in gaining support for a constitutional amendment that now allows Kentucky governors to succeed themselves. Jones’ willingness to exempt himself from the chance to be the first? governor to run for a successive second term helped gain support for the amendment in the legislature.?
In a tweet, Beshear said the Jones family has asked for privacy but more information will be shared soon.?
“I was sad to learn that former Governor and Lt. Gov. Brereton Jones has passed away,” Beshear said. “Gov. Jones was a dedicated leader and a distinguished thoroughbred owner who worked to strengthen Kentucky for our families. Please join Britainy and me in praying for Libby and his family.”?
]]>Kentucky's 58th governor, Brereton Jones will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday. (KET screenshot)
Former Kentucky Gov. Brereton Jones, who emphasized health care reform and government ethics in his administration from 1991 to 1995 and who was a major figure in the state’s horse industry, has died at 84.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced the death late Monday on social media.
“I was sad to learn that former Governor and Lieutenant Gov. Brereton Jones has passed away,” said Beshear, a fellow Democrat. “Gov. Jones was a dedicated leader and distinguished thoroughbred owner who worked to strengthen Kentucky for our families. Please join Britainy and me in praying for Libby and his family.”
Beshear noted that the Jones family has asked for privacy, and that more information will be shared in the coming days.
Jones has been ill for several years.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Louisville said, “The people of Kentucky benefited from Governor Jones’ leadership, both when he was in public office and afterward when he dedicated himself to educating Kentuckians about our state’s unique cultural heritage.
“I know his leadership and public service will continue to serve as an inspiration to us all.”
Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, said Jones was “a good man and a fine man. He cared deeply about the people of our Commonwealth and his commitment to Kentucky remained a common thread in every aspect of his life, whether it be political, civic, business, or personal.
“One of the greatest hallmarks of his character was that he simply did not care who got the credit as long as the goal was accomplished. As governor, as well as in the three decades since leaving office, he found a way to balance progress with knowing what must be preserved. We saw it in the issues he tackled in office, as well as in his work to bring the equine industry together.”
While Kentucky lost a great leader, said Osborne, his family lost a husband, father and friend. “I hope they find comfort in knowing that the Commonwealth is better because of his efforts.”
Kentucky House Democratic leaders — Derrick Graham, Cherlynn Stevenson and Rachel Roberts — said in a statement, “We are saddened to learn of the passing of former Gov. Brereton Jones, and extend condolences to his family.
“He served Kentucky admirably as lieutenant governor and governor, twin roles in which he left an indelible mark on the commonwealth. He was a staunch advocate for improving health care access for all citizens; he embraced needed ethics reforms for government; he was a vocal supporter of our signature horse industry and state parks; and he helped clear the way for future constitutional offices to serve two consecutive terms.
“There is no doubt that Kentuckians are much better off because of Governor Jones’ public service.”
Keeneland President and CEO Shanon Arvin said Jones “was widely respected for his leadership and integrity, serving the Thoroughbred industry as a statesman and visionary and the Commonwealth of Kentucky as governor and lieutenant governor.
“His passion for horses and the land knew no bounds and culminated in his beloved Airdrie Stud, which for more than 50 years has been one of the world’s foremost breeding operations. He believed in racing and worked tirelessly to improve our sport as a founding member of the Breeders’ Cup and the Kentucky Equine Education Project, a member of The Jockey Club, and by championing formation of the Kentucky Breeders’ Incentive Fund.
“At Keen-----eland, we will remember Gov. Jones fondly as a breeder, owner, consignor --and a buyer of the highest caliber, and for being a valued member of ---our Advisory Board.? We will celebrate his life and contributions, and the tremendous legacy he leaves behind.”
Louisville strategic communications executive Chad Carlton, who covered the Jones administration for the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Frankfort bureau, said Jones was “a hard person not to like.”
“He really believed he could bring people together. He was most upset when he couldn’t do that all the time. Overall, he helped restore integrity to government.”
Brereton Chandler Jones was born June 27, 1939, in Gallipolis, Ohio, and was raised in West Virginia. He was a Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and served as its GOP floor leader.
He left politics to run a real estate business. In 1970, he married Elizabeth “Libby” Lloyd,? whose family owned an estate in Kentucky’s Woodford County known as Airdrie Farm.? They had two children, Lucy and Bret.
Jones and his wife founded Airdrie Stud, a prominent Thoroughbred breeding operation.
In 1975, he changed his party registration to Democrat and was appointed to several boards and commissions by the late Gov. John Y. Brown Jr. and Gov. Martha Layne Collins.
In 1987, Jones won a bid for lieutenant governor and was not shy about saying he viewed it as a stepping stone to the governorship. At the time candidates for governor and lieutenant governor ran separate from each other.
As lieutenant governor, he had a strained relationship with then-Gov. Wallace Wilkinson. He did not help Wilkinson reach his goal of achieving gubernatorial succession, allowing governors to succeed themselves.
That did not come until Jones was governor, in no small part because he did not insist on being the first governor eligible to run for re-election. In 1992, the legislature approved and voters ratified a constitutional amendment allowing governors to succeed themselves.
Jones’ relationship also was frayed with the Kentucky General Assembly, primarily due to his comments about the federal Operation Boptrot investigation that uncovered corruption in the state legislature. He called it “a cleansing process.”
Besides working to strengthen ethics laws, Jones championed health care reform, especially universal health care for all Kentucky citizens. He did not achieve that goal but did sign into law reforms aimed at making health insurance available and affordable to all Kentuckians, including those who had been priced out of the market by insurers because of their health histories or pre-existing medical conditions. Kentucky could not sustain Jones’ state health insurance reforms. But they were enacted into federal law as part of the Affordable Care Act signed by President Barack Obama in 2010.
On Aug. 7, 1992, Jones and five others were on board the state helicopter when it crashed in Shelby County. Every one survived but Jones suffered back strain and a damaged kidney.
Brereton and Libby Jones pushed during his administration for creation of a state history center. In the final year of Jones’ governorship, the legislature approved $19.5 million to design and build the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, named after the legendary University of Kentucky history professor and author.
After serving as governor, Jones focused more on the horse industry. He founded the Kentucky Equine Education Project, a non-profit established to support the industry.
Jones also headed the Kentucky Thoroughbred Commission and was treasurer of the Breeders’ Cup. Three horses bred at his farm have won the Kentucky Oaks since 2007.
The former governor also got involved in the radio and television business, while he and his wife were strong supporters of Pioneer Playhouse in Danville.
This article is republished from the Northern Kentucky Tribune, a nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism.
]]>Joseph "Joe" Richard Wright, 1940-2023
Former state Sen. Joe Wright, a leader in the Kentucky General Assembly’s fight to become independent from the control of the governor more than four decades ago, died Saturday at Louisville’s Baptist East Hospital. He was 82.
Joseph “Joe” Richard Wright of Breckinridge County served in the state Senate from 1976 to 1992. From 1981 to 1992, he was the majority floor leader for the Democratic Party.
In 1978, Wright joined a group of Democratic senators led by the late John M. Berry Jr., in a push for legislative independence from the governor’s office in a direct challenge to their party’s leadership.
Berry and Wright were joined by senators Mike Moloney, David Karem, Lowell Hughes, Danny Meyer, Ed O’Daniel and John “Eck” Rose.?
The group was known as the Black Sheep Squadron. They demanded that the legislature be open, transparent, accountable and, above all, independent (that bills be heard regardless of the governor’s opinion).?
The movement started in the administration of Gov. Julian Carroll and flourished in the administration of Gov. John Y. Brown Jr. with support from Senate Republicans.
Wright, as Senate majority floor leader, became a pivotal, effective figure in the independence movement.
Wright and his colleagues then used their newfound independence to reform education and to pay for the sweeping improvements by enacting a penny increase in the sales tax and by reforming property tax collections. The Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 wrested direct governance of public schools from politicians and entrusted it to educators and parents.?
Asked why Wright was such an effective legislator, Moloney, a Lexington attorney who headed the Senate’s budget committee, said, “You could always count on what he had to say. Always.”
Moloney said Wright, a farmer from the tiny community of Harned, was a prime example of a citizen-legislator.? “No question about it.? He was one hell of a man.”
His obituary said Wright was born in the same house he would call home for his entire life on July 29, 1940.?
Karem, who served as Senate majority caucus chairman and majority floor leader, echoed Moloney’s words by saying Wright was “a man of his word.”
“When you sat down with Joe and he made a commitment to you, that commitment always was good.? I never once knew that he ever left a commitment.”
Karem also said Wright had “the strong capacity to communicate to every legislative area throughout the state.
“He was a farmer so he knew how to talk to people in rural areas and he had a strong affinity for urban areas and their cultures.? He was able to pull together a very diverse group of legislators.”
Wright “was certainly strong in defending the legislative process,” said Karem.
Karem recounted a breakfast meeting former Gov. Wallace Wilkinson scheduled with legislative leaders late in a session. Wilkinson had been making a strong pitch to allow governors to be given the opportunity to run for reelection and succeed themselves, starting with him.
Legislators liked the idea of gubernatorial succession but thought it should start with the next governor, said Karem.
“Gov. Wilkinson brought up the topic instantly at that breakfast and Joe, in a very calm, deliberate manner simply said, ‘Governor, that’s not going to happen.’”
Karem said that meeting lasted only a few more minutes.? Gov. Brereton Jones was able to see succession pass because he was willing to exempt the incumbent, himself, from its provisions.
Diana Taylor, a former Capitol reporter and chief of staff for Gov. Jones, said, Wright presented himself like a statesman.
“He was focused on what he was doing and did so in a calm, strong demeanor.? He actually was pleasant to deal with.”
Taylor said the power of the legislature has increased since the days of the Black Sheep.??
Before the Black Sheep, it was not unusual for the governor to tell the legislators what bills to pass.??
Since then, “we have seen a growing level of legislative independence.? What you seek is three equal branches of government.”
Wright’s funeral will be held at Harned Methodist Church in Harned on Friday, July 21, at 12 p.m. under the direction of Trent-Dowell Funeral Home. Visitation will be held at the church on Thursday, July 20, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m at the church on the day of the funeral.? All times are Central.
‘Just as farming is more stewardship than ownership, so is public service. I do not own this seat. I’ve held it for awhile.’?
This is Joe Wright’s farewell address to the Kentucky Senate, delivered April 14, 1992.
Mr. President, members of the Senate…
As this session grew shorter, and this day and this moment approached, I found myself dreading it in ways I hadn’t imagined I would. I thought to not say anything. But of course I must. I cannot close out 17 years of my life with people I love and an institution I cherish, without saying goodbye.
As you know, I’ll be retiring from this Senate at year’s end. The time has simply come — both for me personally, and for the greater public good, I think. Some have tried to dissuade me, and I truly appreciate it; but I doubt I’m as irreplaceable as some have flattered me by saying.
As George Washington said in his Farewell Address: “I have the consolation to believe that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it.”
Washington knew that one man can make a difference. He also knew that no living democracy is based on the presence or absence of any individual.
As you know, I’m a farmer. As a farmer, I know something about the idea of stewardship. The land I farm is, in every conventional sense, “mine.” But I know I will never truly own it. I can only use it for a time, and pass it on to someone else, someone who’ll come after; and when that time comes, I’ll pass it along in hope, and in faith, that the land will not just endure, but prosper.
My goal, every true farmer’s goal, is to leave the land a little better for my stewardship, a little more prepared to do the work of the good earth, a little more fertile for whoever follows.
That is the covenant of farming.
Just as there is a covenant of farming, there is a covenant of public service. And just as farming is more stewardship than ownership, so is public service. I do not own this seat. I’ve held it for awhile.?
When I first came to this chamber in 1976, I did not receive a lifetime appointment. I never took it as such. I was elected for a four-year term. And every four years I had to make a conscious decision to renew my covenant with the people who elected me. I knew the day would come that our covenant would end. I came hoping to stay eight years. I’ve been here 17.
Like the farmer I am, I have tried to leave the ground of this seat a little better for my work here, better prepared and better able to produce the works and fruits of democracy.
It’s not for me to say if I’ve succeeded or failed.
That is a judgment history will make.
But I would remind every member of this body that you too will pass on the seats you occupy, for you can never own them. Your seat preceded you and will succeed you. And you too will be judged by history, by those who come after, on the basis of how healthy, or how poor, is the soil of our democracy as symbolized by the health of this institution, the Kentucky General Assembly.
From my own perspective — the perspective of one whose time is near over — I can say its health is much improved over what I found here 17 years ago.
I was fortunate, I think, to have come here at a historic moment, and to serve in historic times. The historic moment we faced years ago was the arrival of what we call the legislative independence movement. In it, the Kentucky General Assembly asserted, and won, its proper prerogatives as a co-equal branch of government. This Legislature and this Commonwealth are better for it.
Such progress as we’ve made in recent years—from court reform in the ‘70s to education reform in the ‘90s—can be credited in large measure to the work of a forceful Legislature.
I know I’m identified with the legislative independence movement; I know I’m one of the last still here of those who set it in motion. I know I’m seen as a symbol for much of what has happened to the Kentucky General Assembly over the past two decades.
I’m comfortable in that role, because I’m proud to have played it.
But I also know that others along with me defined the legislative independence movement. I would name them all if I weren’t afraid to leave someone out. They know who they are. And so do you.
You know their names form the lore of this chamber, for I would say the legislative independence movement originated here, in the Senate. What was to be called the Black Sheep Squadron, a group of independence-minded senators, emerged here in 1974. By 1978, the Black Sheep were a force. And by 1979, the work we began culminated in passage of what is called the Kenton Amendment, a constitutional amendment with far-reaching consequences for legislative independence. It was, I think, a last nail in the coffin of improper executive-branch domination of state government. Out history since has been to consolidate and define the actual terms of legislative independence; to state in words and express through actions our proper role in the governance of this Commonwealth.
I also know, and want to stress, that each of you has been critical in that movement too. And you will continue to be. The legislative independence movement goes on—and you are that movement. For the true work of legislative independence is, finally, the everyday work of doing what the constitution calls upon you to do:
Function as a co-equal partner with the other two branches, in a spirit of compromise and goodwill, but with firm resolve to preserve and defend the legitimate role and legal prerogatives of this legislative branch.
That is, institutionally, your first duty.
I am confident you’ll meet that duty.
It is traditional, in American politics, for farewell speeches to include cautions. Anyone who’s been in politics long enough to warrant a farewell speech has supposedly learned a thing or two. Washington cautioned against sectionalism—and, interestingly enough, the encroachment of one branch of government into another.
(Wright is referring next to the BOPTROT scandal in which an FBI investigation of bribery resulted in multiple lawmakers, including a House speaker, going to prison.)
Moreover, events of the past two weeks have weighed heavy on me, and I know on many of you. To have the integrity of this institution called into question is a blow to the work so many of us have given our lives to; such allegations, even when they’re unproven, can never be taken lightly. For even the rumor of impropriety can shake the foundation of public trust on which this body is built.
I am saddened by this, as we all are. But I would say to you this can be a step forward rather than a step back, if we see it correctly as opportunity rather than defeat.
If we welcome this scrutiny, if we do not flinch, and so prove our commitment to the highest standards of public conduct, I think we will gain in stature with the people we serve. And if we move forward from these days with a renewed resolve to be impeccable in our conduct, if we redouble our efforts to earn and deserve the public trust, we will be a stronger institution for it.
With that in mind, I want to draw against whatever wisdom I may have gained in my years here, and issue some cautions of my own today.
I would caution you that a legislative body must be constantly on guard, to balance public interest with special interest. With legislative independence has come explosive growth in the attention this body receives from special interests. That’s not all bad. But it can be. And often is. We need to remember there’s an OVERALL public good that transcends individual issues. Our focus on that greater good must be steady.
I would caution you against a growing perception nationwide that while legislatures are quick to criticize the executive, legislatures are slow to police themselves and their perceived excesses.
I would caution you about the arrogance of power and loss of public trust that has afflicted certain other legislative bodies in recent years. We’ve seen that with Congress. Let’s not see it in Kentucky.
I would caution you to remember that this is—or should be—a deliberative body, not a reactive one. A modern Legislature often finds itself reacting in haste to a crush of events. It too seldom reflects on the things it’s doing.
I would caution you against the creeping professionalism that in modern America threatens to turn any body of Jeffersonian citizen-lawmakers into a chamber of isolated political professionals.
Similarly, I would caution you against the ever-expanding and ever-growing demands on a legislator’s time, demands that make it almost impossible for a “citizen,” in a true sense, to serve this body.
Finally, I would caution you that the moral and ethical fiber of any democratic institution are the strands that hold it together. When moral and ethical fiber are lost, the institution itself is lost and irrelevant, for its bond of trust with the people is shattered.
These are not criticisms; they are reminders. Reminders that vigilance against abuse must never falter. Reminders that, as a human institution, we may always seek, but surely never reach, perfection. Reminders that, in knowing we’re not perfect, we can guard against our human failings. For this too is the work of legislative independence: Legislative responsibility.
To paraphrase Wendell Berry, a great Kentucky writer, brother of our friend John, and fellow farmer: If we had known the difficulty, we would not have come even this far. If what I ask of you seems hard, remember how far we’ve come on a hard road. We must defend what we’ve gained, and press on.
Before I close, there are some people I must thank. “Thanks” is such a poor expression of what I feel, but to say it publicly seems the least I can do.
Thanks to my wife and family, who are here today. Without their love and support and encouragement I doubt I could have survived this life, let alone 17 years in the Legislature.
Thanks to my constituents—my friends and neighbors—for their faith and trust in me, which I hope I’ve earned and earned again over the years.
Thanks to LRC staff, the best staff in the world; and to my personal staff, for dedication not only to me, but to the people of Kentucky, above and beyond any call of duty.
And I hate to single anyone out, but I have to mention the Senator from Harlan, my friend, for his good companionship and good conversation over the years; the Senator from Fayette 13, whose dedication to public service, often at great cost to himself, exemplifies what is best about a citizen-Legislature; and the Senator from Clark, who has been both friend and ally in the struggles of recent years.
I want to thank the other members of Senate leadership, past and present, who have helped me and supported me and made my job much easier.
I would also like to thank the members of the minority party, for their under-appreciated contribution to the dialogue that takes place in this chamber; and to the members of House leadership, with whom I’ve always had a good working relationship.
As I say, I’m proud of my time here. I’m also proud of you, and of every senator I’ve served with. Thank you, each of you.
I’m proud too of my constituents. In the weeks leading up to this day, many well-wishers in Frankfort have said kind things about the independence of judgment they say I’ve shown. I always reply I was blessed: At no time, ever, did I feel my re-election to office, or my re-election as majority leader, depended on how I voted on any particular issue.
I always felt free to make those decisions based on my own best judgment. That implied great trust. I always tried to live up to that trust. And I always sought to return it. As both lawmaker and Senate leader, I’ve tried to strike a balance between tough-mindedness and tender-heartedness. That’s a thin rail to balance on, believe me.
By almost any measure, I’ve given the best years of my working life to this job. From age 35 to age 52. I have reached a point in my life where the old fire for this particular job has left me. And take it from someone who knows: To do this job right, you need that fire.
Lacking it, I feel obliged to step down. Knowing when to move on is the last, best service we can pay our constituents and our Commonwealth.
I’ve been asked if I’ve left anything undone, an item on my agenda I’d like to see accomplished. The answer, honestly, is no. I have never had individual goals. All I ever really wanted was to bring credibility to the process. To serve and leave with people feeling good about my time here. I think—I hope—I’ve done that.
As I survey this chamber on my leaving, I’m encouraged at what I see. So many new faces have joined us this session—bright, qualified, committed faces, in many cases young, in all cases full of the passion for public service that drives this body onward.
I leave this chamber in good hands, this patch of democracy fertile.
Thank you.
Virginia L. Moore Photo: obituary
A “Celebration of Life” for Kentucky’s Virginia Moore is set for June 11 at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville.?
The service will be from 1 p.m. to 5 ?p.m. that day, a Sunday, in View Pointe Hall on the top level of the Ali Center at 144 North Sixth Street in Louisville.?
Moore, 61, interpreted – in American Sign Language — news of many deaths and announcements about COVID-19’s hold on Kentucky for Gov. Andy Beshear.?
She died Saturday — Derby Day.?
She became popular when she started signing at many of the official COVID-19 news conferences. In addition to interpreting these news conferences, Moore taught Beshear and the public bits of ASL, her first language.
The Louisville woman’s death came “after an extended stay in the hospital for heart surgery and complications with her lungs and kidneys,” her obituary says.?
In October 2020, the Kentucky Colonel – and subject of a bobblehead – took a roughly two-month break from work to battle ?uterine cancer. She used her experience to advocate for getting mammograms and pap smears and for being COVID-safe.?
Now that she’s gone, her obituary says, “Her dogs, Teddy Bear and Georgia, also mourn her passing as well as many other dogs who loved her over her lifetime.”?
Moore was the executive director of the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.?
The commission asked that anyone who wants to donate in her honor give to Jacobs Hall Museum or to the Knowledge Center on Deafness.?
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This article mentions suicide. The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988.
A Kentucky state senator announced Tuesday her transgender son, who fought for LGBTQ rights, has died by suicide.?
Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, in a statement?shared on social media by Kentucky Senate Democrats, said 24-year-old Henry Berg-Bousseau was “a beloved son, brother, nephew, dog parent and friend.”?
“Henry spent his life working to extend grace, compassion, and understanding to everyone, but especially to the vulnerable and marginalized. This grace, compassion and understanding was not always returned to him,” Berg said in the statement. “As a mother of a transgender son, I gave my whole heart trying to protect my child from a world where some people and especially some politicians intentionally continued to believe that marginalizing my child was OK simply because of who he was.”?
Berg-Brousseau died Dec. 16 at his home in Arlington, Va.
Berg said he had recently received a significant promotion at the Human Rights Campaign — a nationwide LGBTQ advocacy and lobbying organization — and that he was doing work that was important to him.
According to an online obituary, he served as the deputy press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign after graduating from George Washington University in 2021. He was born in Louisville, where in high school he worked with the Fairness Campaign, an statewide LGBTQ rights advocacy group, to advocate for the transgender community.??
Berg said his job had made him aware on a daily basis “of the hateful and vile anti-trans message being circulated” in the country and at his workplace.?
“This hate building across the country weighed on him. In one of our last conversations he wondered if he was safe walking down the street,” Berg said. “The vitriol against trans people is not happening in a vacuum. It is not just a way of scoring political points by exacerbating the culture wars. It has real-world implications for how transgender people view their place in the world and how they are treated as they just try to live their lives.”
Berg asked in her statement for people to practice “tolerance and grace” and work on “loving your neighbor.”?
This story was updated to correct an earlier misspelling in Henry Berg-Bousseau’s name.
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