Video releasedWe should not forget that it has been 11 months since a Lexington officer shot and wounded a black man on Chestnut St. and that we still have to wait for the video from the police body camera. It is amazing how long it takes for Police Chief Lawrence Weathers and his team to complete an internal investigation. What happened to transparency? The Herald-Leader editorial staff also needs to be accountable. The Herald-Leader published an editorial in April critical of Lexington police over their refusal to release video from the Lexington case in which an officer injured and struck a 19-year old autistic man using his cruiser. The editorial's headline demanded that the video be released. It stated that transparency is the only way for Lexington police to be judged in this recent incident. The video was released by police. Is there any outrage among the editorial boards over the refusal of police departments to release video footage regarding officer-involved shooting at Chestnut Street on July 31, 2020? I have waited 11 months for that video footage. Is it possible that the community and the editorial board forgot about this case?Thomas Tolliver, LexingtonKeep their stories aliveVictory Farm was an opportunity for young people to volunteer to help on farms and feed the troops during World War II. Harold, my father in law, signed up for the program in 1943. He traveled five days by train from his southeastern Kentucky home to reach a Maine potato farm. Harold was more suited for handling livestock than he thought, so the farm owner hired him. He was just 15 years old. My wife claims he fell in love this place at the age of 15 and would have stayed if his grandfather hadn't died. He returned home, but he never came back. Harold died in July 2020. His death was not due to COVID-19 but rather from isolation during the pandemic. We took some of his ashes and buried them next to his wife's grave. Some were also spread in the pond. The rest of the ashes will be spread on the Gantier farm in Maine. We will take him to his wartime home. This is an opportunity for anyone who knows someone in this age group (85 to 95 years old) to tell their story so that this incredible time in history does not disappear forever.Continue the storyJay Brashear ViperStupidityKentucky passed a law allowing concealed firearm carry without the need for a license in 2019. This kind of stupidity is difficult to believe. Shame on Sen. Brandon Smith, the legislator who introduced it. I am an avid firearms enthusiast. I was an Army rifleman expert. I sold guns in Houston, Texas. I sold hundreds of Raven.25 automatics for $50 per piece, sometimes against my will. This was before there was sensible gun legislation. A woman also entered the store and bought a Ruger Security-Six handgun. She then shot herself on the store's front porch. This is the law that we must follow. Police and concerned citizens should raise awareness. Police should ban the phrase "within his rights" and replace it with "wielding a loaded gun in extraordinary circumstances".Doug Epling, LexingtonFoster careGateway Childrens Services, Mount Sterling, Kentucky has been providing A Lifeline for change to Kentucky's children who have been neglected, abused or abandoned for 40 years.Children benefit from our therapeutic foster care program:Ages 0-21All over KentuckyChildren who reunited with their biological familiesAdoptive childrenOur foster care system is the least supportive for teenagers. Foster families are urgently needed to care for teenagers.Only 76 foster homes are available in Fayette County for children 12 and over. Fayette County currently has 272 children 12 and older who are in out-of-home care. This means that 55.88% are not being met.Gateway Childrens Services, a registered 501 (c)(3) charitable non-profit organization in Mount Sterling is. To learn more, please call (859) 498 9892 or email fostercare@gatewaychildren.org.Olivia Ledford is a senior case manager/supervisor at Gateway, Mount Sterling
