Kentucky Kernel: March 31, 2020

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Tuesday, March 31, 2020 est. 1892 | Independent since 1971 www.kykernel.com @kykernel @kentuckykernel

First COVID-19 cases in UK community confirmed

By Kernel News Desk news@kykernel.com

UK HealthCare offers drive-through testing for front line employees

By Natalie Parks & Jacob Eads news@kykernel.com

Drive-through COVID-19 testing will be offered to UK HealthCare’s “frontline employees and patient care providers.”

Testing will be by appointment for employees who have symptoms, but do not need in-patient care and will begin later this week, a press release sent Thursday shows. It’s not clear

exactly what day testing will begin.

UK HealthCare will use a survey, filled out by workers with symptoms and those who have returned from a destination that is designated as high risk by the CDC, to identify individuals for drive-through testing.

“We want to make sure we take care of our employees so they can take care of our community,” said Dr. Mark Newman, University of Kentucky executive

vice president for health affairs. “With the availability of tests and supplies, we are prioritizing testing for inpatients and health care employees who are symptomatic at this time.”

The media release stated that approximately 100 drive-through appointments will be scheduled each day, but that testing is dependent on the available supplies.

The media release did not say what day

drive-through testing would begin, but that employees were trained in drive-through care on Wednesday and “appointments for those being screened begin later this week.”

Dr. Sarah Schuetz, internal medicine physician at UK HealthCare and co-physician lead for drive-thru testing for COVID-19, said testing was focused on health care employees because they are most at risk for exposure and because

the hospital needs employees back to work to care for patients.

“We do not want any of our health care workers feeling like they have to work when they are sick, and we want to be able to get them a diagnosis as quickly as possible,” said Schuetz.

Drive-through testing will serve UK HealthCare employees who have been pre-screened, but an expansion of the

See DRIVE on page 4

According to an email sent to the campus community, nine members of the UK community have tested positive for coronavirus.

The email, sent by Chief Joe Monroe of the UK Police Department on Friday, said two students and seven employees had contracted the virus.

The two students both live off campus. One campus staff member and six healthcare employees had contracted the virus, the email stated.

Monroe said that “those community members are following our established protocols and have been in self-isolation or remain so.”

Additionally, three people from outside the UK community have been hospitalized on the campus with the virus, one of whom has already recovered and been released.

The email from Monroe came on the final day that students were allowed to move out of dorms.

Of the 6,849 students who were living in the dorms in the spring semester, about 450 undergraduate and 60 graduate students have applied to stay.

Those students are being housed in Boyd, Jewell and possibly Blazer Hall, a UK press release stated.

Each student is being housed in a suite with no roommates, the release stated. There is no visitation allowed and the common areas are locked down.

Natalie Parks and Rick Childress contributed reporting.

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

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Tuesday, March 31, 2020

KY SUPREME COURT DECLINES TO RULE IN DEATH PENALTY CASE

The Kentucky Supreme Court has balked at a chance to decide whether criminal defendants between the ages of 18 and 21 can face the death penalty.

The state’s highest court declined to interfere Thursday in two Fayette Circuit Court cases involving young defendants facing the possibility of the death penalty.

One case at issue involves the prosecution of two men charged in the 2015 murder of UK student and Kernel photo editor, Jonathan Krueger.

On Thursday, the court ruled the defendants’ appeals lack standing because their trials have yet to be held. As a result, their cases will be sent back to Fayette County for trial. “…None of the appellees has been convicted, much less sentenced, and thus none has standing to raise an Eighth Amendment challenge to the death penalty,” reads a portion of the court’s unanimous opinion.

These appeals to the Supreme Court come after a 2017 decision from Fayette Circuit Judge Ernesto Scorsone that ruled imposing a death sentence on anyone younger than 21 would be unconstitutional.

The cases in question involve those of Efrain Diaz Jr. and Justin D. Smith, who are both charged with Krueger’s murder,

and Travis Bredhold, who is charged with the 2013 murder of gas station attendant Mukeshbhai Patel.

All defendants were between the ages of 18 and 21 when these crimes were committed.

Patel was killed while working at a Lexington Marathon gas station, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. He had moved from India to the United States 10 years prior in search of a better life for his wife and their two sons.

Krueger was shot and killed on East Maxwell Street during a robbery in April of 2015. Krueger’s mother says she was “stunned” when she received word about the Supreme Court’s Thursday ruling.

“I’ve been waiting and watching since it went there in 2017, and I just kind of, out of habit, went to check and was absolutely stunned when I saw it,” said Mary Krueger.

“It was like I’ve been waiting forever, but to see it was a surprise.

However, she says the ruling does provide some relief to the families who have been waiting years for word from the court.

“I was relieved, because it’s not our case with Jonathan, but it’s the case with the other family, the Patel family. We’ve been in limbo for years,” she said. “At least I feel like at this point, with that decision behind us we can maybe start moving forward and moving this to a resolution…it’s been a long time.”

-Jacob Eads

An “essential” worker bee gathers nectar from flowers on Friday, March 27, 2020, in Corinth, Kentucky. JORDAN PRATHER I STAFF

JUZANG ENTERS TRANSFER PORTAL

Kentucky freshman guard Johnny Juzang has announced on Twitter that he’s entering the transfer portal. “...From the bottom of my heart I’m going to miss this place. With lots of thought and consideration, I’ve decided to put my name in the transfer portal,” Juzang said in the tweet.

Juzang, a Los Angeles native, played in 28 games and averaged 2.9 points in 12.4 minutes per game as a Wildcat. His career high was 13 points in Kentucky’s road game against Tennessee.

“I talked to Johnny last night along with his family and let him know if he wants to come back here that this option is always open to him,” UK head coach John Calipari said in a UK press release. “Johnny had a great year and really got better as the season went on. I always enjoyed coaching him, and if there’s an opportunity to continue to do so, I would welcome it with open arms because Johnny is a great kid and a skilled basketball player with a bright future.

“When we spoke last night, his family talked about Johnny going back to the West Coast, which I understand. If this is what he ultimately decides to do, we wish him all the best. He has our full support.”

-Erika Bonner

SOME NEAR-CAMPUS STREETS TO BE SHUT DOWN, MADE ONE WAY

Starting Monday, March 30, Bolivar Street will be made one way from South Upper to allow construction crews to complete a major sewer line replacement beneath the street.

Additionally, the entirety of Avenue of Champions will be one way from Rose Street on April 1, to make way for the same sewer line replacement project. A portion of the street has already been one way for close to a month.

East Maxwell Street will continue to function as a detour for both Avenue of Champions and Bolivar.

In south campus, Complex Drive, which runs in front of the Johnson Center will be shut to traffic and parking on Monday and will reopen on June 19.

Contractors will be replacing piping and manhole covers on the street near the Lancaster Aquatic Center and the Seaton Center.

-Rick Childress

kentuckykernel

CONTACT Editor-in-chief

Rick Childress editor@kykernel.com

Managing editor Jacob Eads editor@kykernel.com News/features editor Sydney Momeyer news@kykernel.com Asst. news editors

Addison Lander Emily Laytham Natalie Parks Hailey Peters

Sports editor Erika Bonner sports@kykernel.com Asst. Sports editor

Braden Ramsey

Opinions editor Brianna Stanley opinions@kykernel.com Asst. Opinions editor

Sarah Michels

Photo editors

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Social media editors

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KENTUCKY KERNEL OFFICES 340 McVey Hall University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40506

ON THE COVER

The William T. Young Library on the University of Kentucky campus is lit up with green lights on March 25, 2020, in honor of the Kentuckians who have died in relation to COVID-19. ARDEN BARNES | STAFF

spring 2020 | 3

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

news

A skateboarder rides across the Blue Courts on the University of Kentucky campus on Saturday, March 28, 2020, after the hoops on the basketball goals were taken down after Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton closed other outdoor athletic facilities to better enforce social distancing. ARDEN BARNES | STAFF

The Don and Cathy Jacobs Science Building on the University of Kentucky campus is lit up with green lights on March 25, 2020, in honor of the Kentuckians who have died in relation to COVID-19. ARDEN BARNES | STAFF

UK pauses hiring in response to coronavirus challenges

By Emily Girard news@kykernel.com

As a result of campus shutdowns in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, UK has temporarily stopped hiring new faculty and staff. Though this pause does not apply to student employment, it applies to both

DRIVE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

service to other groups and the public “will be considered once access to tests increases,” said the media release.

Same-day tests available for ‘sickest patients.’

UK HealthCare officials announced Monday that providers are now testing potential COVID-19 patients at UK HealthCare facilities from start to finish.

Of the over 900 COVID-19 tests administered by UK

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full-time and part-time faculty, staff, administrative and STEPS positions.

“Our focus needs to be on caring for ourselves and the health of our families,” said UK president Eli Capilouto in an email to students and faculty. “It is difficult to onboard new employees while we are working remotely and observ-

HealthCare since March 6, most had been previously been sent to state labs for results, according to according to Dr. Derek Forster, Medical Director of the Infectious Disease Division.

Now, UK HealthCare providers now have the option to run “same-day” tests at their own facilities for their “sickest patients.”

“We have sufficient capacity to test all of the patients in our outpatient clinic, our inpatients and our emergency room here at UK,” said Dr. Darrell Jennings, Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. “Basically our motto is the right test for the right patient at

ing appropriate social distancing protocols.”

Capilouto cited “heightened economic uncertainty” as another cause of the hiring pause, explaining that UK needs to focus on the work of its current employees. Capilouto also mentioned that the closure of local courts makes required background checks impossible.

A UK HealthCare employee directs an employee through at the drive-through testing site at UK HealthCare Turfland. PHOTO PROVIDED BY JEREMY BLACKBURN | UK PR

the right time.”

UK’s new in-house tests typically take between five and six hours to complete, which is faster than the time it takes to

UK will still hire employees who were offered jobs prior to March 23, and UK HealthCare will continue its usual hiring process. However, all other positions and interviews are paused indefinitely. All other areas wishing to advance positions must contact UK Human Resources for exceptions. ”Our core principle since the

beginning of this health crisis is ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of our entire community,” said Capilouto. “We will get through this together.”

Questions about the hiring pause should be directed to Emily Curtsinger (Emily.Curtsinger@uky.edu, (859)-257-9632) in UK Human Resources Employment.

conduct state lab tests, Jennings said.

Of the over 900 potential COVID-19 patients tested by UK HealthCare this month, only 17 have tested positive, according to Forster. Four of those people have been admitted as patients. Two were still currently undergoing treatment in-house at UK Hospital Monday afternoon, Forster said.

Aside from in-house testing procedures, UK HealthCare officials are also lauding their new telehealth system which launched last Wednesday after eight days of development. By way of Zoom, providers now have the ability to take “acute

visit” calls from patients across the state. T The new telehealth program will help to keep populations at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 out of crowded HealthCare facilities.

The telehealth program has already seen over 100 patients since its launch, according to Dr. Roberto Cardarelli, Chair of Family & Community Medicine.

“To us that means we’re keeping patients safe at home.

We’re keeping our community safer by keeping people isolated who might have symptoms,” said Cardarelli. “We’re excited to extend the software and the service to our state.”

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

opinions

Thinking like a farmer is Kentucky’s path forward

By Cameron Luker opinions@kykernel.com

Kentucky has always sat at a crossroads. It sits at the geographic and cultural meeting point of the South and the Midwest that has given it it’s unique identity that is greater than the sum of its parts.

We now find ourselves at a new crossroad. Since settlers first made claims west of the Cumberland Gap, we have always been a very agrarian state; however, the technological advancements that have

brought us easy access to information, increased productivity, and global communication and transportation networks have begun to rapidly change this. A Kentuckian from a century ago would hardly recognize our commonwealth. When she or he was born, half of Americans worked on farms. Now, GPS systems, half-million dollar combines, and drones have left less than 2% of our population working the land.

While some might see this as progress, or as liberation from the agrar-

ian lifestyle, I fear that it has far-reaching implications that we must combat. First, we as consumers have become removed from where our food comes from. Most Kentuckians likely haven’t stepped foot on a farm, and I bet that few could identify many of the plants that farmers grow.

This is because we as consumers have found ourselves at the end of a long marketing chain that involves transforming food into “products,” “alternatives,” and “substitutes” — packaging it

in plastic and setting it on a grocery store shelf.

As author Michael Pollan chides, “Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.” I feel few of us would do her proud with the products we consume.

The second concern we face is the loss of farms in general. Commodity agriculture has become an arms race of land size, machinery, and technology focused on producing the most for as cheap as possible. Kentucky doesn’t have the large

tracts of easy to farm land.

We have beautiful hills, creeks, rivers, knobs, and caves that keep us from being one big field of corn and soybeans. But this also means we can’t compete well with corporately owned operations that cover thousands of acres with a single monoculture and are run more like factories than farms.

In Kentucky, more than 90% of our farms are family owned and the average farm size is 169 acres. Small family farms have already begun to fail to compete with cor-

porate farms. According to FarmAid, “In 2018, median farm income was -$1,840 — meaning that farm households lost money from the farm.” Many have been pushed into the game of buying newer, bigger equipment to stay competitive, but purchase this equipment on loans they won’t be able to pay.

It is clear that our farmers are facing a financial crisis, and with this comes a culture crisis.

As family farmers are forced to sell their farms

See FARMER on page 6

How trail-running helped me ‘lose my mind and find my soul’

By Miranda Phipps opinions@kykernel.com

I spent five months of 2018 in treatment for an eating disorder. Now, almost two years to the date of when I left to go to treatment, I will be running my first ultramarathon. I could never have imagined that this was a possibility back then. Yet here I am in recovery, healthy and happy, and I owe a lot of that to the healing I’ve found on the trails.

I have run off and on since I was about 12, but at the height of my eating disorder my relationship with exercise wasn’t so healthy. I had to give it up in my early recovery, but

Miranda Phipps and her father after completing the Rough Trail 25k, organized by Next Opportunity Events. PHOTO PROVIDED BY MIRANDA PHIPPS

eventually I was able to lace up my shoes again.

My runs started out short and on sidewalks — nothing like they are now. I didn’t ever want them to

turn into a compulsion or part of an eating disorder, and through them I found trail running.

Something about trail running just made sense to

me. I study environmental science and love hiking and hanging out with trees. The more I learned about the people who sometimes ran for days at a time, the more I realized I had found my tribe. They were average people who didn’t push for weight loss or restrictive diets. They just ran for the love of the run. So, I did too. (We all might be just a bit crazy, too.)

I found that after the first few miles everything else faded away. I was too busy trying not to trip on roots and running away from snakes to think about anything else. I started listening to my body, because I had no other choice if I wanted to stay injury free.

I got to spend my time in

the middle of the woods bumping into other hikers, trail-runners and all kinds of wildlife. I could finally run away from the world without running away from my problems or my demons anymore.

Over time, I started adding more miles, and I found my “why.” Why do I run for hours at a time? Why do I spend my free time making my legs turn to jelly? Because I can! Because I respect my body, love what it allows me to do, and am making peace with it. Because I get to explore.

Because I get to do it with my dad. Because I love it, and because it makes me feel free.

I’m not super-fast, and I’ll never be competitive.

And that’s okay with me, because I do it for me. I run for the love of the run. And I run because it keeps me sane and reminds me just how great recovery is.

Things look different with COVID-19. My race is going to be virtual and verified by the organization, but that’s okay. No matter what is going on in this world, I’ve still got my trail shoes and a world I can explore… on the trails and staying isolated from anyone else.

In the words of the great John Muir, “Into the woods I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” I’ve found who I was always meant to be somewhere in those countless miles through the woods of Kentucky.

spring 2020 | 5

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

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www.kykernel.com FARMER

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

or the farms are abandoned by the children of farmers not wishing to carry on their parent’s labors, we will lose some of the best stewards of our land. People who have relied on their land to sustain both themselves and their children have only been able to do so out of respect.

Before the rise of industrial agriculture, farmers had to be in tune with the natural process-

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es that regulate our ecosystem: climate patterns, water and nutrient cycles, and biological systems.

To understand these concepts and harness them to create food requires an understanding of cause and effect. This holistic worldview is missing in many parts of our society, which has trended towards specialization, as Wendell Berry observed almost fifty years ago.

I am not the first to notice the decline of family farms and their rural communities. Berry has long been an outspoken

advocate for the agrarian lifestyle, and nearly all of my points raised in this article were foreseen by him. It is urgent that we revisit his ideas and face the realities that we face as a state moving forward.

This will require us to rethink how we apply the word growth. Growth is often tried to be measured through single variables: population, increases in GDP, farm productivity, etc. We must begin to think about the cause and effect behind every statistic, trend, and

policy that we see. The numbers may show we are producing more corn, but is it mainly being produced by only a few large farms? Are soils being allowed to recover and build? Is that increase in tonnage a result of an equal increase in nitrogen-based fertilizers that lead to the eutrophication of our waterways? Are farmers being forced to sacrifice their solvency for bigger yields?

This is the kind of critical thinking necessary to identify the problems and seek solutions. Kentucky

is still an agrarian state at least culturally, even if the economic impact is being overshadowed by the service and industrial sectors. That culture is something we cannot allow to perish. The holistic thinking of a family farmer considering the well-being of their land and family is essential to addressing the larger problems facing our state.

I don’t foresee Kentucky becoming the wealthiest, healthiest, or most socially progressive state anytime soon, but we can become the wisest.

By supporting Kentucky family farms, we can rejuvenate rural communities, provide healthier food across the Commonwealth, and keep alive a lifestyle that has served as the backbone of Kentucky for centuries.

We will be establishing a wisdom that is now often called “sustainability” that recognizes that healthy growth can’t come from the decline of something else. Similarly, Kentucky can’t grow if our family farms are failing, and we can’t afford to lose them.