SHOUTING FROM THE MOUNTAIN-TOP
ING SERVICES, INC. brings you the best of both worlds—a
stom design
Page 2of your dream home, and the top construction team August 21, 2019
Wednesday,
By Abe Yokem
ake it reality.
TIMES-
VOICE
Postmaster
Voice of Reason Demonstrating freedom of expression through open forum
please send address changes
to:
P. O. Box 999
Jackson, KY 41339
USPS 272-240
Under Construction
Established Decem- By Lauren Ditsch
ber 28, 1888 as The Jack-
Lately I’ve been
son Hustler, The Times- thinking a lot about
Voice (USPS 272-240),
progress and what it means
is a free and independent to move forward. Progress
in ideas, progress in our
newspaper dedicated to
own lives, and progress in
the principles of freedom the world around us.
of the press. Periodicals My boyfriend
postage paid at Jackson, volunteers as the coach
Kentucky and at addi- for a high school robotics
team and last weekend
tional mailing offices. he, along with a few of
A weekly newspaper, the other parent-sponsors,
published every Wednes- were interviewed on a
day, 52 weeks a year, by local radio station. During
the interview a gentleman
Intermountain Publish- called into the show to
ing Company, Inc., 22 complain that “robots are
Howell Lane, Jackson, taking away all of our jobs,”
KY 41339. and before long, teaching
kids to build robots is
going to effectively ruin
2019 Staff: their chances of finding
James David Fugate future employment (insert
BIG eyeroll here). One of
General Manager the other sponsors fielded
the comment with a fairly
Jeff Noble neutral, PC kind of answer
and the conversation
Editor moved on but I’ve been
thinking about that caller
and his comment a lot
Jeanie Noble since then.
Composition I actually asked my
boyfriend what his response
would have been, had he
Shellie McDannold been the one to respond to
Advertising the caller. He’s quite the
history student so he said
he would have pointed
Derek Fugate out that these are not new
Sports arguments. People have
been protesting “progress”
since the industrial
COLUMNISTS revolution, and he’s
Lauren Ditsch right. Just as some people
disavow robots today
(Under Construction) because they’re going to
Stefanie Rose Miles take our jobs, there were
people who stood outside
(On The Edge)
factories starting in the
Jeff Allen early 1800s protesting the
implementation of looms
and sewing machines.
Sulphur Gap News These people became
Sam Strong known as “luddites” and
were mostly disgruntled
Fugates Fork News
Adna Mae Hudson ‘CITY COUNCIL;’ From Front
By Jeff Noble
Noble Times-Voice Editor
A small piece of
property between Douthitt
Helping Hands
and Kiwanis Parks will
Cathaleen Abner soon be city property, as
the Jackson City Council
unanimously approved the
Forward in Faith action at last Thursday’s
(August 15th) regular
Sam Strong
meeting.
The strip is currently
Creekside Cabin leased to the city, and is
commonly referred to
Martha Stoltzfus as “The Exercise Park.”
Mayor Laura Thomas told
council there was an option
Not I, but Christ in the lease for the city to
Bill Scott purchase that property for
either $160,000, or at fair
market value. She pointed
Jackson Woman’s out, “So had a professional
Club real estate appraisal of
that property. It is for
Dorothy Marshall $60,000. I have contacted
the property owners, and
told them we would be
Walk on Water
voting on this tonight. The
James David Fugate owners are aware of it,
and they said they would
like for us to go ahead and
The Bible Way News proceed with that vote.
We’ll ask the City Attorney
Robert Bailey
to go ahead and prepare a
deed. After the motion
was made and seconded,
Senior Citizens News
Council Members Jason
Jack Niece Hall, Joy Shelton, Mildred
Lee Rogers, Rich Buntin,
Peggy Shepherd and
Columnists Emeritus
Harold Deaton voted in
James R. Fugate favor of the measure.
Next, unanimous
approval was also given to
Subscription Rates:
creating a Complete Count
Committee for the 2020
In Breathitt County Census. Reminding the
$27.00 per year council about brochures
Elsewhere - $35.00 per year currently out in the area
about the Census, Thomas
stated she’d like to see the
Copy Deadlines city go ahead and create
News: Monday,
the committee. “What
12:00 noon we’ll do is we’ll just bring
Ads: Monday, 4:00 p.m. people in the community as
‘Stakeholders.’ Their job is
to just get the word out how
The Times-Voice does important it is to complete
not knowingly ac- your census. It affects
cept advertisements our federal money, our
that are inaccurate or state money, and so many
misleading in content things. It is important. The
or technique. committee is about helping
to bring in the right people
who can get the word out,
Phone: (606) 666-2451 whether it’s involving the
schools, different civic
gm@jacksontimesky.com
textile workers.
Did sewing machines
replace many of the jobs
that these textile workers
were doing? Of course. But
where would we as a society
be today if we’d never
pushed for automation,
never learned how to build
a proper, efficient factory,
never allowed ourselves to
move forward? The 2000’s
are a much cushier, more
comfortable and safe time
to be alive than the early 19th
century and I would argue
that even though, yes, jobs
are often lost (or initially
seem to disappear) with the
adoption of whatever new
machine is being created,
what about all of the other,
different types of jobs that
are created as a result? The
demand for textile workers
decreased, but the world
saw an incredible rise in
the demand for machinists,
manufacturers, repairmen, etc.
The reality is, and I
think this is the part that
scares people, progress
means change and change
is often difficult and
uncomfortable and hard.
Progress requires growth;
it requires us as individuals
and us as a society to adapt
to a new way of thinking
and behaving and working.
Sometimes it requires more
education and schooling
than we otherwise might
have needed, in order to
land an equally lucrative
job. Sometimes it forces
us to relocate, away from
the safety of our childhood
homes, to be in an area
where the demand for
skilled labor is higher.
It sometimes requires us
to change our views on
political candidates as
we realize that hollow
promises of “bringing
back coal” for example,
groups, or whoever, to help
get the word out about the
census.”
One moment of
interest came up when the
Mayor mentioned the late
word on this year’s Honey
Festival. Thomas said an
update meeting what held
last Monday evening,
“with a really good crowd.
Each committee gave their
reports and everybody’s
ready. They’re ready,
everybody’s excited, and
the Honey Festival’s a go.”
To add to the curiosity,
she showed off the official
T-Shirts of this year’s
festival, which will be on a
yellow background with a
honey jar and bees on the
shirt’s front. “I did bring
T-Shirts, and the Honey
Festival Committee’s
selling them. They’re 10
dollars. I think they’re
really…’It’s all the buzz!’”
While much of the festival
will take place from next
Thursday, August 29
to Monday, September
2, Thomas reminded
the council the Honey
Festival’s “Citizens of the
Year” Awards will be given
out during a reception this
Sunday at 4 p.m., inside
the Senior Citizens Center
on Broadway.
Other updates were
given at last Thursday’s
meeting, held inside the
Council Chambers of
Jackson City Hall. One
was an update on a Jackson
To u r i s m - C o n v e n t i o n
Board meeting earlier in
the week. It was noted a
funding request for this
quarter of the year was
made from the Breathitt
County Museum, to
continue funding the
$10,000 of the Tourism
Board funds to the museum,
for it to continue operating.
Also, the Downtown
Christmas Committee
asked for $4,000 for their
“Downtown Christmas”
project this December.
Ginny Grulke with the
Appalachian Horse Center
also presented an update of
things going on at the Elk
are not only never going to
be fulfilled, but in fact are
handicapping us because
they’re binding us to an
outdated idea that the
future is somehow going
to look more like the past
instead of letting reality
motivate us to grow.
Will future robots
replace people in jobs that
humans are doing today?
Undoubtedly. In fact, that
ship has already sailed in
so many areas, my friends.
But is that such a terrible
thing? Often times, its
machines that are making
our lives more efficient
and more comfortable, and
allowing us to spend our
time and energy on things
we find more fulfilling.
Plus, just think of all the
potential jobs the future
will hold; we’ll need
software developers to
write code and program
robots and machines
and people to build and
maintain them – those
skills are, and will continue
to be in high demand for
the foreseeable future, if I
had to guess.
So I guess what I would
have said to that gentleman
who called into the radio
show last weekend would
be something along the
lines of this; let’s not do
our children a disservice
by refusing to teach them
math and science and
engineering because we’re
afraid of what progress
looks like; let’s prepare
them as best we can for the
future that’s coming and
do everything we can to
ensure that they have the
skills necessary to thrive.
“I guess you can try to
fight the future and protest
progress but that’s a fight
you’re always going to
lose.” – Nolan Finch
View Center with the free-
running horses. Thomas
also mentioned she’s
been working with CSX
Railroad, in regards to the
Railroad Street situation in
South Jackson, in regards
to the road breaking off
on the street. “We couldn’t
do anything because the
railroad’s retaining wall is
falling, and anything we’d
do up on the top would just
slip away.” She added the
railroad agreed to work on
the retaining wall, which
would start, “in about a
week or two.” The city
will also get money from
the state, after Governor
Matt Bevin released funds
from coal severance money
back to cities and counties
earlier this month. While
Breathitt County’s share of
the excess severance funds
came to $107,539.35, the
City of Jackson’s share was
a check for $11,948.
In addition, the mayor
noted that in relation to the
Juniper Health building
project in Lakeside, the
USDA (U.S. Department
of Agriculture) grant for
a small utility dump truck
- with a snow blade and
salter on it – was approved,
with the city purchasing
the truck. Plus, the city’s
working on their request
for discretionary funds
from the Governor’s Office
in Frankfort, “and we did
finally get our estimates
back today.” Thomas said
the city was going to turn
in some road repairs on
some city streets as a result,
such as Sycamore Street,
Jefferson Avenue, up on
Picnic Hill and on Court
Street. Also mentioned
would be requesting repairs
on a couple of drainage
issues over on Lakeside,
“because the pipes that
have been there for so
many years are failing.”
Jackson City Council’s
next regularly scheduled
meeting is set for Thursday,
September 15 at 5:30 p.m.
at City Hall.
TIMES-VOICE
SHOUTING FROM THE MOUNTAIN-TOP
By Abe Yokem
The submittal, as printed below, showed up on the
doorstep of the Times-Voice last week. It’s written by one
Abe Yokem, which I assume is a penname as no other
identification was provided. Nonetheless, his or her
submittal was considered worthy of print by the Times-
Voice. As with all opinion pieces, columns, and letters
to the editor printed in this newspaper, the submittal as
presented below does not necessarily reflect the opinions
or views of those representing the Times-Voice.
Jeff Noble was indicted Monday on two felony
counts and one misdemeanor. The allegation involves his
purportedly using $700 (roughly) of public money to buy
lumber for personal use. Even the charge, as reported to
the newspaper, is misleading.
Noble’s attorney, Derek Campbell, said the money
was used for a publicly-owned bridge and not for Noble’s
personal gain. Campbell, in speaking with Lexington’s
“Herald-Leader” said “The fact of the matter is that, under
the dictates of KRS (Kentucky Revised Statutes) Chapter
178, the bridge…is a county owned property that must
continue to be maintained…Such points were made clear
to…investigators…but…have fallen on deaf ears.” 
Campbell goes on to tell “The Herald-Leader” he
thought he would never see the day a political machine
would “…pervert our justice system simply to beat down
their political opponents.” 
I suppose the proposition Mr. Campbell finds it sin-
gular any political machine would pervert the justice sys-
tem simply to beat down a political opponent is the fun-
niest part in a tragic situation really not funny to anyone,
particularly not in the Noble family. Political machines
have historically used our justice system to beat down op-
ponents. 
Perhaps some of you are familiar with the Chuck
Panici story. Michael Volpe wrote about the trial and ul-
timate conviction of the former Mayor of the city of Chi-
cago Heights in his book “Prosecutors Gone Wild: The
Inside Story of the Trial of Chuck Panici, John Gliottoni,
and Louise Marshall.”
Chuck Panici was an important man who had per-
sonally “hobnobbed” and entertained the likes of Ronald
Reagan, George Bush, and former Illinois Governor, Jim
Thompson. Panici became known simply as “the boss of
Southern Cook County.” 
Then, owing to largely political reasons, Panici
was charged with, and ultimately convicted of, charges
brought under the Federal RICO (Racketeer Influenced
and Corrupt Organizations Act) statute together with a
qualifying state predicate. The trial featured corrupt deals
between federal prosecutors and mobsters and other ne-
farious types to whom the government offered leniency,
and even absolution for far greater crimes, in consider-
ation for telling a government authored “version” it hoped
would net both Panici’s conviction, but more importantly,
his removal from office. It worked famously.
We don’t have to look as far back as Panici to see this
same type handiwork. The Justice Department appointed
a special prosecutor to look into whether President Trump
had either permitted or even cooperated in a foreign pow-
er’s attempt to intervene and swing the outcome of the
2016 Presidential election. 
Trump claims the entire investigation was nothing
short of a coup d’état to remove him from office brought
on by disgruntled political adversaries bent on winning an
election this way where they had lost it in the Electoral
College. Others believe Trump did both obstruct justice
and, at the very least, facilitate the Russian interference
into the 2016 election. 
Regardless of where you come down on the debate
regarding the Mueller Report or the Panici case, the fact
political adversaries use charging authorities as a batter-
ing ram against political opponents to gain through the
justice system what they lost at the ballot box is well
settled. It happens. It happens all the time. That is plain. 
In the end, Jeff Noble is still who we have always
known him to be. If he is someone you have always found
to have enormous integrity and who you know to be hon-
est and forthright, then his being charged with an offense
by a government not only fallible but even capable of
cheating to get what it wants shouldn’t change that opin-
ion. After all, there is a reason our forefathers, in their in-
finite wisdom, intended for defendants to be PRESUMED
INNOCENT until their guilt be proven BEYONE A REA-
SONABLE DOUBT. 
They knew charging authorities are staffed by hu-
mans. They knew humans were (and still are) inherently
fallible. They knew governments were capable of bring-
ing charges for reasons other than a good faith belief a
crime had been committed. After all, aren’t we the same
people who tried, convicted, and then executed the Son of
God? I believe we are…
This is Abe Yokem and I am still up here SHOUT-
ING FROM THE MOUNTAIN-TOP!​
BCRTA to meet August 23rd
The Breathitt County Retired teachers
Associations (BCRTA) will meet August 23,
2019, at the Breathitt County Public Library;
1 p.m.
Guest speaker will be Kim Boggs, Market-
ing and Public Relations Director Kentucky
River Medical Center,
Updates relating to issues affecting retired
educators will be given. BCRTA dues ($10
per year) can be paid at the meeting. Retired
educators are encouraged to attend and stay
informed.