Human rights commission reviews essays, handicap accessiblity issues
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015, 1:30 p.m. — The Bardstown-Nelson County Commission on Human Rights selected the winners of its 2015 essay contest at its meeting Tuesday. The winners will be announced later and honored at an awards ceremony set for 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16.
Commission member Michael Johnson reviews essay entries during Tuesday’s meeting of the Bardstown-Nelson County Commission on Human Rights.
The prompt for the essay asked the writer to review the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and select one that the writer felt was the most important.
This year, the school that submitted the most entries in the elementary division was St. Joseph School, where it was believed the essay may have been a required assignment in some classes.
Ann Bell, a Bardstown resident observing the meeting, questioned the fairness of one school making it an assignment versus other schools which make participation optional for their students.
How the essay contest is handled is up to each school that participates, commission member Paula Pace said. The human rights commission has no control over the essay and if it becomes a graded assignment or not.
CITY INFORMATION FAIR. Commission Chair Kathy Reed reported that she and two other board members participated in the city’s recent information fair. She told the commission they had several people inquire about the commission’s work, and she received several comments supporting adoption of a Fairness Ordinance.
HANDICAP ACCESSIBILITY. After receiving complaints that the handicap-accessible doors at Bardstown City Hall and the Old Courthouse, Reed said members of the commission personally checked the doors. They found the doors functioning property at City Hall, but not at the Old Courthouse. The commission will follow up with a letter regarding the issue to county government.
The commission heard a complaint about the handicap-accessible doors being shut down early and the Nelson County Justice Center, and plans to check into the matter.
NEXT UP. The commission meets monthly on the first Tuesday of the Month at the main branch of the Nelson County Public Library.
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