http://www.richmondregister.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Wed, 15 Oct 2008 07:53:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_289075442.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_289075442.html “Meddling,” “political interference” and “micro-management” are just three catch phrases used by community members when asked to describe the relationship between city government and the city police.“The relationship between the Richmond Police Department and the city appointed and elected officials can best be described as improving,” the on-site assessment of the Regional Community Policing Institute (RCPI) states. Tue, 14 Oct 2008 08:33:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_288083419.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_288083419.html An external review of the Richmond City Police Department has been completed.“It’s an overall picture of where we have been and where we hope to go in the future,” Chief Larry Brock said.A group of nine Kentucky Regional Community Institute assessors turned in the nearly 90-page evaluation report, which first began in January, to Brock earlier this month.“We invited the assessment team into the department to evaluate multiple issues as they relate to the community policing,” Brock said. Tue, 14 Oct 2008 08:31:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_288083221.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_288083221.html A group of outside assessors who evaluated the city police department in late January has released its findings, which include a substantial amount of praise for the direction in which the agency is headed.“Citizens tend to describe an ethical and honest department that appears to be improving since the ‘new chief’ assumed command,” the report from the Kentucky Regional Community Police Institute (KRCPI) reads. “Agency employees were extremely confident that the new chief would insist on a well-run, ethical department and they believe ‘things were getting better.’” Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:09:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_281081026.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_281081026.html The 1975 photograph of the last Marine helicopter lifting off the rooftop of the American Embassy in Saigon, a long line of luckless Vietnamese evacuees stranded below, created an indelible portrait of human desperation.Those left behind had been soldiers in the defeated Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), or friends of the U.S. government. They anticipated dreadful consequences at the hands of Ho Chi Minh’s victorious vassals.The beauty of Vietnam is evident in the hills and valleys of the northern highlands. The mist rising from the land against the morning sky creates a picture-postcard scene. Mon, 06 Oct 2008 07:35:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_280073616.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_280073616.html Vietnam is a country blessed by fertile lands, bountiful seas and an industrious human spirit. Yet the average personal income is less than $500 per year, and nearly one-third of the people live in poverty.Dreadful as those statistics can seem, they’re a vast improvement from the country’s dark period during and after the Vietnam War and before the adoption of open-market capitalism in the 1990s.Vietnam remains mostly an agricultural nation, mired in the farming methods of the 19th century. Women in conical hats still harvest the rice, one stalk at a time. Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:29:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_278213001.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_278213001.html When Ho Chi Minh’s battalions swept into Saigon 33 years ago to establish a reunited Vietnam, the communist conquerors made one critical miscalculation: military victory would make life better for the war-weary nation. Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:27:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_268132709.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_268132709.html Many Hispanics often say they do not understand why Americans find their trek to the United States any different from the migration of Germans, Irish, Japanese and other ethnicities to America in the early 1900s. Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:24:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_268132439.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_268132439.html A strong agricultural base attracts many Hispanic immigrants to work in and eventually settle in Madison County. When many Hispanics first began immigrating to the area, it was to work on tobacco farms, said Rona Comley, advocate/recruiter for the Madison County Migrant Program, a federal program that offers assistance to migrant families. Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:31:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_268073152.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_268073152.html It’s highly controversial and an explosive political issue: How should the United States handle an ever-increasing population of undocumented immigrants?From building fences and employing more border patrol agents to offering amnesty to those who already are here, proponents for reform have many ideas, but none have been implemented.With millions of immigrants already in the U.S., and no sign of a decrease in the number of illegals entering the country, members of Congress have proposed legislation to help better control immigration. Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:28:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_268072952.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_268072952.html Immigrating to the United States is not easy.There are forms to be filled out, visas to be obtained and eventually, tests to be taken — not to mention the inevitable bureaucratic red tape to cut and hoops to jump through. Yet many foreigners choose to take the road to America — both legally and illegally — because for them, the benefits far outweigh the hassles.“Believe me, people would choose to come here legally if they had a choice,” said Sandra Anez Powell, director of Mujeres Unidas, a support group for Hispanic women. “There are people who will never qualify for a visa. And that’s why they have no choice but to come and risk their lives and their loved ones.” Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:54:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_267075540.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_267075540.html Joaquin Salgado and his wife Arsenia have been owners of Mi Pueblo Grocery Store II, 465 Eastern Bypass, for more than four years, which Joaquin claims as a big privilege something he is very proud of.“I don’t have to work for another person, and this is my very own business,” he said.Salgado speaks English well and has been an American citizen since 1997. Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:52:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_267075354.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_267075354.html There are many differences between Spanish-speaking cultures and the American way. Besides the obvious distinctions — such as our looks and languages — are not the biggest ones.Mary Bonilla, a Columbian woman who moved to the U.S. almost eight years ago, said her American neighbors are not as easy to get to know as her neighbors back home. Bonilla and her husband first came to America in 2000 to visit her daughter, who was living in Florida with her husband, an American she met in the Air Force. Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:56:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_266083425.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_266083425.html Madison County school are facing a growing need to implement programs geared to help immigrant children prepare for a successful future, and there are several entities at work to meet that need.The problems caused by language barriers in schools is one that leaks out into everyday activities and is becoming more of an issue, said Socorro Zaragoza, assistant professor of Spanish at Eastern Kentucky University. “I think the language barrier is a great problem for everybody,” she said. “However, there has been more interest from Spanish and English speakers to learn the basics of the language. Both parties agree that it is very important to be able to communicate.” Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:54:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_266082538.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_266082538.html The strain on local resources such as health care is just one of the challenges presented by immigration in Madison County. With an influx of new residents over the past few years, local health care providers have been pushed to expand services and learn new skills in order to adequately serve the entire population.Eight years ago, the Madison County Health Department had no need to have Spanish interpreters on staff. Today, the department has four interpreters on contract working part-time. Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:54:00 +0000 http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_266082328.html http://www.richmondregister.com/seriesnew/local_story_266082328.html Immigration poses a unique problem to those involved in law enforcement. The chain of justice, stretching from your local beat cop up to the highest courts in Kentucky, must be able to handle and effectively deal with language barriers and cultural differences.“It’s just as important as a scalpel (to a doctor) and it’s just as important as a weapon (to a police officer),” said Fred de Rosset, a Spanish professor at Berea College.