Daviess County Judge-Executive All Mattingly hopes western Kentucky coal counties will soon be included in a new coal tax college scholarship program.
The scholarship fund announced this week by Governor Beshear includes nine counties in eastern Kentucky. While not criticizing the Governor's plan, Mattingly says it could greatly benefit coal-producing western counties, like Henderson, Webster, and Hopkins.
"We have several hundred students that lack just a few hours from getting their degree. They simply don't have the money to go back to school to complete those degrees. If we could give them a scholarship program that would be a bridge... it would allow them to return and complete those three or six hours of classes, then there would be a tremendous amount of students in Daviess County who could get their degree."
Governor Beshear says a consultant hired by the state determined the nine southeastern counties were the most in need of a new scholarship effort. Beshear says he'll re-visit the program in two years, and might add more counties.
