Retiring editorial writer offers parting opinions on what's needed in rural Kentucky, especially the eastern part

Jamie Lucke

After more than 20 years, editorial writer Jamie Lucke (pronounced Luke, as in "Book of") is among several longtime Lexington Herald-Leader employees taking an early-retirement offer from The McClatchy Co. In her last piece, she offers a laundry list of things she wants the paper's mainly urban readers to understand, remember and do to help the rural parts of the state, particularly mountainous Eastern Kentucky.

Much of her advice is familiar to rural residents across the country. It's also sharp, well-informed, and worth a read.

Rural places should invest in more recreation-based economies, she writes, noting the recent study showing how much better off rural recreation counties are faring. She also advises Kentuckians to protect rural areas from strip mining, which offers limited benefits and hurts rural water supplies, and to skip building a proposed federal prison in Letcher County, near the Virginia border.

"I know this sounds simplistic, but the mountains have earned some kindness," Lucke writes. "Let’s do things that will make newcomers want to put down roots, even if it’s just letting some places be."