Recognize the Check?

Governor Fletcher is busy. Randomly, he is issuing checks for votes. However, his strategy was predicated on ignorance. He did not believe someone would ask him why money was given.

Daviess received road money but doesn't know why
By James Mayse Messenger-Inquirer

When Gov. Ernie Fletcher came to Owensboro last week, one of the many checks he handed out went to Daviess Fiscal Court for road work. While county officials appreciate the check, they said Monday they need more information from the state before the money can be put to use.

Fletcher gave Fiscal Court $350,000 on May 1 for road resurfacing projects. But Judge-Executive Reid Haire said the county received no direction as to how, or where, the money could be spent. Since the county has applied for state funds for several projects, officials are awaiting word about which project or projects are covered by the funds.

Keith Todd, a spokesman for the Transportation Cabinet's Madisonville office, said the number of road projects the county has submitted for state funding is causing the confusion. Owensboro-Daviess County has submitted four or five different requests. That's why there has been trouble matching (a project) dollar amount to that" $350,000 award, Todd said. The state official who knows what road project the money was intended for was on the road Monday and unable to provide the information, Todd said.

County Treasurer Tony Sook said Monday when the county received notice of the $350,000, "we weren't given information as far as (if) that money was related to applications we had filed. Still today, we have not been given the details on how that money can be spent."

It's just a matter of matching up the check with a specific request," Todd said. The funds would be distributed as reimbursements for road work done by the county, Haire said. The money could be full funding for a project or only partial funding, he said.

The Transportation Cabinet is working with a lot of counties of road funding projects, Haire said. "They've given out so many checks to so many communities that it can be confusing," Haire said