Opinion

 One of the most moving and important services we conduct each year in the House of Representatives is the memorial ceremony to honor members of our armed forces who join more than 6,700 American men and women who have lost their lives in recent wars.

We paid tribute to Army Sergeant Michael Cable and Staff Sergeant Daniel “Danny” Fannin, true Kentucky heroes who died defending our freedom.

 Check out the latest scams and bad business in BBB’s March 2014 Hot Topics!

1.    IRS Phone Scams are on the rise. Scammers call, saying they are with the IRS, telling the taxpayer he or she owes money. Then threatens the taxpayer with arrest unless they pay right away. Scammers also call “fishing” for personal information, claiming the taxpayer is owed a large refund.

 We guess that the great thing about America is that even when an idea appears too good to even discuss, we will be proven wrong.

Bullitt County Public School officials seemed to have a good idea on the table Monday evening.

The plan was to create an academy where the top middle school students would join together in a single facility to do what they love - study math and science.

The Discovery School would be part of Hebron Middle. It would open in the fall of 2014.

It would be a great thing.

 Every year, BBB receives thousands of calls and emails from consumers who have been scammed. Some scams are widespread, getting a lot of people for small amounts. Others are more narrowly focused, but take people for thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. Here are BBB’s Top Scams of 2013:

 FRANKFORT - We are nearing the halfway point of the 2014 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, and while we continue work and debate on a budget for the next two years, numerous bills have been filed and are making their way through the legislative process.

One bill filed lastweek was in honor of a fallen Kentucky police officer.

Rep. David Floyd of Bardstown filed House Bill 368, which is being called the Officer Jason Ellis Memorial Act.

 There is no doubt that it would be a wonderful thing if every school in the United States could have a trained police officer inside its building every day.

In years past, the federal government has provided money for school resource officers. This money has basically dried up.

Even with the grant money, there were not the funds to pay an officer in each school.

 In this month’s Lane Report, there is a special section titled, Research Kentucky 2014.  If you are interested in looking at it yourself, it can be found digitally at www.lanereport.com.   

The section highlights several institutions of higher education and the work they are doing with important research initiatives.  

 If the state sees things like the local school district sees things, it might be easy to make up some of the days lost due to snow, ice and cold this year.

However, without knowing what the state will decide, Bullitt County Public School Board officials had the task of making a no-win situation. And, any decision would be sure to jack up those who have plenty of comments on the social media.

With 13 days to make up, board officials opted to use this Friday and next Monday. The final day - barring any other missed days - would be June 6.

  Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! Scam artists take advantage of every major event or holiday to launch scams, and Valentine’s Day is no exception! BBB warns, look out for these scams:

Social Media Scams

Beware of any “free” love giveaways, like flowers, perfumes, or vacations. These “free” giveaways take you to a third-party site, where your personal information can be compromised.

Phishing