Some county officials in Kentucky are criticizing Governor Steve Beshear's authorization of more than $4 million from coal tax revenue to provide college scholarships to students from nine eastern Kentucky counties over the next two years.
The scholarships will be available starting July1 to college juniors and seniors from Bell, Floyd, Harlan, Johnson, Knott, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, and Pike counties. The funds can be used only at the University of Pikeville and Alice Lloyd College, as well as off-campus centers run by Morehead State, Lindsey Wilson College, and Lincoln Memorial University.
Some county officials in eastern and western Kentucky told the Courier-Journal that the program should include all coal-producing counties.
Several counties in the listening area of WKU Public Radio, including Daviess, Henderson, and Webster, produce coal.