>> Every day that I go to work.

Over these 3 years of very rarely seen anyone that looks likely is one of 4 patients.

And it concerns me.

>> Opioid overdoses and deaths on the rise in Kentucky's black communities.

>> We can't change the circumstances of weather or economics, but we can provide a >> hope and food meeting.

The chefs giving disaster victims more than just the basics.

>> And so we're exposing them to the different levels of occupations, whether it be from grooming to work in marketing and sells.

>> And how one nonprofit is working to diversify the equine industry.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions.

Leonard Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION on this Wednesday, January 18th, I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you for wanting down your Wednesday with us.

Dozens of people filled a Lexington Church last night to address the growing number of opioid overdoses within the black community.

Community members who spoke at the meeting said more programs and needed to help those struggling with addiction and more people of color me to help lead them.

>> Let's listen.

This is the number one in 2 people are done.

I want to go where we're needed to get information that they didn't.

I mean, it was just being in the U.S.. >> I've been practicing in medication, assisted treatment to 3 years working us about something.

And every day that I go to work.

Over these 3 years of very rarely seen anyone that looks like me is one of my patients.

And it concerns me.

>> And I do want to know >> how we can come together and give folks of color to actually come into the clinics for treatment.

>> We need.

>> More.

>> Council is more than this of college.

>> To street people of color of the same ethnicity.

You know, when you get people from out of jails and out of prison, which is no way to treat a person with an addiction.

Maybe if they're up column may >> Therapist of Cala know, says that this of cholera.

>> That may understand.

I'm just a little bit been done.

>> And we have largely tried the criminal justice solution to a public health problem.

We failed dismally edits.

But I think we're learning a new path.

I think we're learning some new strategies.

I think we all know we're not going to arrest our way out of this epidemic.

There are other solutions.

If someone has an addiction and they're leaving a treatment center or prison.

They have had mental health evaluations.

And they're out there.

You cut him loose.

What do you expect?

There's a gap that needs to be bridged and we can do it because we're not this losing people.

We're losing souls.

>> The town hall meeting was held in partnership with the Kentucky opioid Abatement Advisory Commission.

The commission has taken community input on how to distribute nearly 842 million dollars and opioid settlement funds.

The Fayette County Board of Education has a new sace board.

Members voted yesterday to appoint Marilyn Clark to fill the vacancy in district.

One Kristy Morris resigned from the post last November.

Clark is a diversity manager at the University of Kentucky.

She'll be the only person of color currently on the school board.

She'll be sworn in January 23rd and will serve until at least November 7th when voters will fill the seat.

From the school board to the state House will introduce you to new members of the Kentucky General Assembly now and throughout the legislative session that resumes February 7th.

>> Tonight, you'll meet 2 Democrats, one from Lexington, another from Shively who serve in the Kentucky House of Representatives.

♪ ♪ >> Every test a I represent district.

44, which was fondling Joni bows much of Shively.

Before that.

I was also a school teacher with just 10 public schools, 19 use, which I just date, January one it and they've also been them and shot one for 4 years City Council for 10 of that and the city of shopping as well being an educator for some that have been.

I believe that I'm well versed in the issues that are happening in education system.

And I think that I would be able to bring a lot of volume has to maybe some weather next steps could be and want to improve our education system.

I know we have a major teacher shortage.

We didn't need to take a look at what it takes to retain our teachers.

We may have to go back and look at what's not classroom management and Oviedo involvement and community resources that you can tie making sure that.

All students can be at the 4 potential that you have been corporal way on a number of sources that are willing to collaborate work together.

From my standpoint is I think that there are many issues that.

State legislators may not know about that.

When you are on the outside looking in the sometimes you think you have the answer, but I really feel like that you need to get more close up to what's going on.

You know, personally, I am hoping to, though I take some of the Legislature's to go into the schools with me so that they can see for themselves.

You know what resources they are lacking, what they need and have a new one on one up close and personal visit rather than sitting back.

You know, in our seas and just assuming that we know what the answers are.

You know, I'm hoping to be agreed to bridges and not walls, meaning that I know that we are in the minority and they were in the majority.

And so we will have to cross the Owls in order to collaborate and think about what's the best.

Opportunities that we can put forth for all about people in the commonwealth.

Not just.

So it wants.

♪ >> Chad, all 79th District House representatives.

I've been active in public service for a long time here in the Commonwealth and had always wanted to serve and maybe an elected capacity.

And really at one point in my life thought seriously about doing that.

But life threw me a curve.

Ball had a second child later on and kind of had put that on the shelf and forgot about those aspirations well about a year ago.

This time representative season Western called me and said that she was considering retired and would want to know if I would consider running if she were to go through that and that may mean Paws.

And thank you reflect about how important is that.

We have good people in public service.

You know, we need people to aspire to help their neighbors and serve their community.

at the end of the day, that's reason I chose to run because we still need good people, too.

Thank you.

Serving the public can be in public service is a noble profession.

And so I decided to give it a go.

I started Frankfort career working for Jonathan Miller when he was a state treasurer that I for us, Steve, this year when he was governor, I was his director of constituent services.

And Wayne State picked up Lieutenant Governor Jerry Abramson to run on his ticket.

I wound up working in Jerry Abramson is office for until he to go work in the President.

Obama's administration.

And then the last couple my service here in Frankfort before I laughed was in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

I was fortunate enough to get to work on the connector project, which was a pretty successful role model for other state-run health care exchanges throughout the country and what did not he sector and that kind of spent me down a different career path altogether.

Not been the health care at the space ever sense.

Working on the Connect Project.

Yeah, I think there's I think there's a lot of places where anybody who's willing to work across the aisle to make impact and have influence.

You know, it's no secret that I'm a Democrat and that's fine.

But, you know, there's 20 of us.

And so we're going to have to in the minority party.

We're going to have to work with our colleagues in the in the majority party and try to give our perspective and our opinions to kind of reach across the aisle, make those relationships.

I'm fortunate that I come from an AG background.

I grew up in rural western Kentucky and there are several members of the General Assembly that I KET before was stated by officers.

I went to college with some of them.

So there's a lot of folks on the other side.

The AO that I'm where I'm going to try to have the most impact and influence is using those personal relationships and that trust that I have with those folks going back 20 some odd years prior to being and Frankfort to just get him to talk to me about about things and see where there can be compromised and issues that we can work together to, you know, really impact the lives of everyday.

Kentuckians.

We're here serving, you know, 4.3 million, 4.4 main have many of us there are now in Kentucky.

If we remember at the center of all of our decisions and our votes and our legislation that we serve at the pleasure of the constituents of the pleasure of bar our voters.

If I have helped make those folks lives better, I have to ♪ ♪ ♪ >> As we told you yesterday, Agriculture Commissioner Ryan corals, a candidate for governor, postponed a parents before the Republican Women's Club of South Central Kentuckyian Bowling Green.

Corals did not want to speak to the group the same day as former Louisville Police Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly, who was involved in the deadly breonna Taylor raid, Coleman Al Ridge, the state Democratic Party chair is blasting the group for having Mattingly as a speaker.

Eldridge said, quote, The extreme right has a legacy of traumatizing and ridiculing people of color when innocent black folk are murdered.

But this is a poor.

It apparently the worth of a murdered innocent black woman as a country called dinner at $40 per person end quote.

Time now for a midweek check-in of some major political developments in Kentuckyian even abroad.

A little back with our good friend, managing editor of Kentucky, Public Radio and Ohio Valley Resource Rylan Barton.

Good to see Rolland.

>> So 3 items want to get to today.

First, let's talk about a Congressman James Comer of the first congressional district of Kentucky.

You're seeing him on a lot of air waves recently since he has ascended to be chairman of this very powerful House Oversight and Reform Committee.

That does investigations and he is really on the hot tip when it comes to President Biden and these classified documents.

What do we take away from his approach to this case so far?

>> Yeah, he was a pretty nimbly able to switch a lot of this committee's energies into asking about more information about the president's, you know, whether yes, classified documents or other documents on its properties.

You know, we remember before he of our Anderson Cooper became chair of the House Oversight and Investigations Committee.

you know, it said he wanted this all to be about investigating Hunter Biden, though, now with this revelation there have been the classified documents in that the president's properties.

You want to look into more of and this is just this is kind of the role of these committees hold of whatever there's a switching parties, especially parties can switch the the energies of what these committees do.

We saw a former President Trump's administration, House Democrats really investigating into that the presidents of business deals and relationships with Russia and Russia's role in the 2016 election.

And then even before that, when Republicans hold those committees before investigating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails, this is something that switches back and forth with the parties at this point.

But the news here is Chairman Comber has sent a letter to the White House basically asking for more documents and communications what's left out there.

What do they know you know, where these documents are?

and he's really making good on that promise to to use this committee to investigate the president's administration.

>> So let's bring things a little closer to home, if you well, and let's talk about the governor's race in a couple of key developments this week.

Let's start with AG Commissioner Ryan Quarles who is running for the Republican nomination from got for governor.

He decided not to attend an event and Bowling Green sponsored by the Republican, a women's group there because of another guest who was going to appear at that same event.

Tell us about this.

>> Yeah, John Mattingly, the of former police sergeant who was involved in the raid on Breonna Taylor's apartment.

He was actually shot during that raid by of Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth and he was scheduled to be the speaker has been kind of a controversial speaker about you know, about the whole incident.

Here's what you wrote.

A book about it, essentially blaming the raid on a catwalk or last He was scheduled to appear at this event it sound like the perimeter to the description of what his speech would be about was really trying to reset the narrative on what the whole rate was I think that some people real.

Corals issued a statement saying that, you know, he was invited independently.

It seems like he may have not totally realize that, you know who all the speakers were of the morning of.

He decided to withdraw his attendance at that event.

I'm saying, you know, use doing so because of the controversial nature of the other speakers on the panel.

So it's it is an interesting moment in in his campaign to seize going this crowded race.

Republicans trying you're vying for the chance to unseat of the Democratic Governor Andy him not exactly wanting to be in controversial at that event in Bowling Green.

>> And does that send or please, the Republican Party that he's trying to court to vote for 8 with a look at that small biz snubbing the thin blue line and some way and he could actually cost himself some votes or is it more of a general election move and trying to broaden his appeal to those who might not look at him as a challenger to Andy Beshear the he would like them to.

>> I think it's a really interesting question.

And and so far we haven't seen like a lot of the the Republican blowback of why didn't you at this particular event or why are you not defending of one former officer Mattingly in this in this case?

And so I'm waiting there were I think we're all kind of waiting to see what this primary will look like.

If there are moments where the candidates kind of start going after each other for the sort of thing?

Well, certainly might be fodder for later fight down the road when the primaries in May.

But at this point, it's not like that.

It it does kind of look like it's a little bit leading towards a broader appeal of, you know, this is a controversial You know, they're look like they're going to be protests involved if this were of the event was going to take as as switching schedule.

So I think that he was always avoided that moment and dipping his toe into that particular controversy at this point in time.

>> So another Republican contender for her, the nomination for governor.

He's also start up some conversation.

So shall we call it?

This is Kelly Craft to former UN ambassador who has released a new ad and it looks like this.

>> Family suffering because fentanyl and other dangerous drugs have stolen our loved ones away.

As a mother.

This is personal to me.

Because I've experienced that a teacher at my table.

>> So really, what's the conversation about this?

We need what what's the press trying to figure out and who is she speaking about in this ad that is affected her when it comes to drug addiction, opioid abuse, etc.

>> Yeah.

I mean, investor craft is really putting your finger on one of the most important issues in Kentucky, which is, you know, it's been a drug addiction of, you know, for years.

This is something that Kentucky has been dealing with.

And it's one of those things that if you don't know somebody has been doing with you dealing with it, you're you're really fortunate because something has touched so many people.

I think a lot there is some attention given to the fact that use identify an empty chair at her own a table of wlky, its mark Vanderhoff.

That's real question after this.

At who exactly is this and and then she wouldn't identify it specifically.

She said it was a relative.

So I think there's there's some question there, as you know, who exactly was she talking about?

You know, how close is she actually to this issue?

But, you know, this is that's kind of one of those broad political points that I think that people from both parties are always going to be running around, trying to by this ongoing epidemic in in Kentuckyian across the country.

>> And she is on this kind of kitchen table 2 or if you will.

So she's really trying to connect with the average Kentucky ends experience and what they are concerned about.

We'll see how this works for her.

>> Yeah.

Coming out with ads, you know, very early in the primary season to win over.

Opponents really aren't doing that.

And that's really been her challenge.

That's her challenge going into this primary is getting her name out there.

You know, she's might not be as well-known as somebody like Daniel Cameron on the Republican in this Republican race and but you really going to try to make up that ground.

Some of these big TV ads.

>> Well, we'll wait and see and watch and see.

Thank you, Roy Lynn Barton, of course, for always being on the lookout for this and other things political.

We appreciate you.

>> Thanks for that.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> It's been almost 6 months since the devastating floods hit eastern Kentucky.

But recovery and relief efforts they're far from over.

A national nonprofit is redefining disaster relief meals and it's made its way back to the Commonwealth.

>> Mercy Chefs is a 16 year-old nonprofit that was founded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

I was living in Virginia when Hurricane Katrina struck and I went down and volunteered with all the other agencies.

And when I got home, I kind of got angry.

I didn't like the food that I saw being served.

I thought there was a better way.

I thought there was a higher level of food that could be delivered in the disaster zone.

None of the organizations were doing it that way.

And so that was the genesis of mercy chefs.

I believe that you could do high quality handcrafted chef-prepared meals the same way you could just be plain food.

Now is what mercy chefs 1000.

Mercy chefs primarily works and disasters around the country and around the globe.

We also do a lot of social feeding community outreach.

That's why we're back here in Kentucky.

Mercy Chefs has worked in 27 states.

11 foreign countries served over 24 million meals and over 170 disasters.

Unfortunately, mercy chefs to spend a lot of time in Kentucky over the last year started Western Kentucky with the tornadoes in Mayfield.

We were on site within 12 hours and had dinner out the next night.

And so and we stayed in Mayfield.

I'm doing disaster relief for 3 weeks after that, we stayed for another 8 months to in a long-term recovery center.

We call it a beacon of hope.

And then we had the floods here in eastern Kentucky.

Mercy chefs came in and worked in Whitesburg for another 3 weeks.

And the way we've just come to love the people of Kentucky.

We love seeing the people in eastern Kentucky come out.

We always know that neighbors helping neighbors is the best way to recovery.

What I know is it something amazing?

Happens over a shared meal?

You know, we do it as friends.

We do.

It is family.

But the coming to a place where people have been affected where they may be and share a beautiful meal with them.

We just see it Brighton and that's all we can do.

We can't change the circumstances of whether or economics but we can provide a little hope.

We can remind people they've not been forgotten and that there's though loved >> what great work they do.

Indeed.

Mercy chefs is expected to cook 2 to 3,000 hot meals a day with plans to increase production to meet the needs and Wolfe County and the surrounding area.

♪ ♪ The Legacy Equine Academy is an educational program started by equine enthusiasts Ron Mac teaching black students about careers in the horse racing and agricultural industries.

But this education goes beyond the classroom.

These students are getting a firsthand look at everything in wine.

We caught up with some of the students as they visited Cayman.

♪ >> Like the iconic academy started in 2016.

And what we do is we help bring opportunities and awareness and access 2 African Americans as well as racially diverse youth Kentucky.

So we think about quite industry oftentimes becomes, you know, it's it's through a limited perspective.

So we are broadening their horizons on all of the different opportunities that exist, not just in point industry but agriculture as well.

And so we're exposing them to the different levels of occupations, whether it be from grooming to work in marketing and sells work in earnest ration business.

So we're just helping to broaden the scope of how that whole field is viewed and what different opportunities live >> My group of students who participate with the Legacy Clark Academy is called Cap a club.

The reason why we got involved with a legacy kind kind is because several years ago I watched side of the program and I've talked to arrive many a times that he wanted work with us.

And so I said, why not?

Because we are in Kentucky.

We are learning more about agriculture.

So this is a a vehicle to do that to the legacy.

Kyra Academy, when you look from 6 to 12th grade, that is like a prime decision-making time.

When people start to go, this is what I want to do with the rest of my life.

Will it probably helps to have access and a viewpoint to where you can go okay.

>> These are the different types of jobs and careers and opportunities available, but it's even better if you can actually go and become a Merced in that to really get some hands-on experience.

>> And get a closer view of what life would be like in that career.

>> 2 doors behind you said credit.

>> I want them to take that they can do anything possible.

You know, whether it's working with horses, whether it's working on a farm with his own and the farm.

You know, I want them to know the day can do anything.

They set their mind to agriculture and beyond.

>> We create not only a broadening of horizons, but we do have a way to take that academic or that of that classroom.

Learning and moving into a career where that knowledge is applicable.

So when you can apply your knowledge and you can utilize that to sustain to make a good living for yourself, I think that is hugely important.

And the horse industry, I don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon.

>> The Legacy Equine Academy is open to middle and high school students in Fayette County.

It hopes to expand and reach more students across the Commonwealth.

Tomorrow night on Kentucky EDITION, which we hope you'll tune in for.

You can make more new lawmakers serving in Frankfort and we speak with Ace Herald-Leader reporter John Cheves about Kentucky's juvenile justice facilities.

>> The staff feel overwhelmed.

I've spoken to personnel have spoken to medical personnel who say they just don't feel safe in these facilities.

And these are the grownups.

So imagine how the youths probably feel.

>> John Cheese discusses the issues with the juvenile justice system in Kentuckyian what his reporting shows.

Will it take to fix it?

And we'll have more on this topic on juvenile justice and corrections and Kentucky coming up on Kentucky tonight, Monday at 8 Eastern 7 Central.

We have a big panel of guests who will dissect that issue.

That's Monday night.

But we hope to see you again tomorrow night 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central for Kentucky edition where we inform connect and inspire subscribe to our weekly Kentucky Edition email newsletter and watch full clips and episodes at KET Dot Org.

>> You can also find Kentucky Edition on the PBS video app on your mobile device and smart TV.

And of course, we hope you'll follow KET on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay in the loop.

You're more than welcome to follow me on Twitter at Renee K E T. Thank you so very much for watching.

Take good care.

And I will see you right back here tomorrow night.

♪ ♪ ♪