Government

Barring a slew of write-in candidates, Marion County voters will only be casting ballots in a handful of contested races this fall.
Election day is Nov. 4. Marion County voters will be selecting two members of the Marion County Board of Education and three members of the Marion County Soil and Water Conservation Commission. They also have the opportunity to vote for State Representative, U.S. Congressman and U.S. Senator.
The Senate race now includes three candidates on the ballot and three write-in candidates.

By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
Lexington Herald-Leader

A bill prefiled this month in Kentucky's General Assembly is not the first that state Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington, has introduced to allow homeschooled children to participate in athletics at public middle and high schools.
But Kentucky High School Athletic Association Commissioner Julian Tackett said the legislation for 2015 "would fundamentally alter high school athletics in the state."

The Marion County Board of Education will be setting its property tax rates for 2014 later this month.
Last year, the school board set its tax rate at 53.8 cents per $100 of real and personal property.
The board has scheduled a public hearing to consider increasing that rate to 55.7 cents per $100 of real and personal property for this year. That hearing is scheduled for 5 p.m. Aug. 28 at the board office.
Lisa Caldwell, chief financial officer for Marion County Public Schools, presented a report on tax rate options during the board's Aug. 12 meeting.

The Marion County Fiscal Court has approved keeping its tax rates the same as they were last year.
During their Aug. 7 meeting, the magistrates voted 4-0 to keep the tax rates the same. Magistrate Larry Caldwell was not present during that portion of the meeting, although he did arrive later.
The fiscal court’s 2014 tax rates are 8.6 cents per $100 in real property and 10.9 cents per $100 in personal property, which include motor vehicles and watercraft.