Hazard Does the Right Thing

You didn't have to be a fly on the wall during the meetings of Hazard city officials to know what went on:

"Dammit, just when we think we've finally risen above the hillbilly, snake-handling stereotypes, something like this happens."

"Fire that idiot. And his boss."

"Can't do that. The preachers will kill us in the next election."

No, it's not all of what they should have done. But it's damn close.

As protesters spoke out on Saturday against the expulsion of two gay men with intellectual and developmental disabilities from a city-owned pool in Hazard, the city took several steps to try to remedy the situation.

Kim Haynes, the city employee who cited the Bible while telling the men and their caregiver to leave the Hazard Pavilion on June 10, will be suspended without pay for five days because of his "failure to be respectful to the public," "unsatisfactory job performance" and "his use of inappropriate language" about pool policies, the city said in a press release.

The release also states the city plans to:

■ Issue a letter of apology to the staff of Mending Hearts Inc., the company that provides care for the two men.

■ Install a new sign that makes clear that the Hazard Pavilion is "available for use without regard to race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, age, sexual orientation or physical/mental disability as required by federal and state law."

■ Modify its rules-for-conduct sign to include its previously unwritten prohibition against "excessive public displays of affection," and

■ Provide additional training to the pavilion staff regarding non-discrimination laws and regulations.

Read the whole thing.

Still waiting for a bible verse citation on swimming pool etiquette ....