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This story was originally published in the Jan. 6 issue of the Community Voice. For the latest in local news and sports, call 270-384-9454 for a subscription

Columbia City Council member Mark Harris asked city clerk Woody Sharpe at the council’s January meeting Tuesday to gather information from the Kentucky League of Cities on what cities similar in size to Columbia pay their mayors.

Harris would like the council to consider increasing the salary for the position of mayor and said it would have to be through two readings of an ordinance, which would need to be completed by the council’s March meeting to ensure it, if passed, go into effect following the 2022 elections.

“There is a lot that’s being done down here, and the mayor works very hard,” said Harris. “I don’t know if you realize this, but you can make more money flipping hamburgers right now than you can being mayor of Columbia. That is the truth.”

According to Sharpe, the mayor’s salary is currently $30,128.

“If you look at some of the other elected officials, it is four times what the mayor is paid. It is good to brag on folks when they work hard, but it is good to show you appreciate them, too. I believe this is a full-time job and whomever is going to be mayor should be compensated accordingly.”

The ordinance is expected to hear a first reading at the council’s February meeting and, if passed, will go in effect after the 2022 elections. Harris also asked Sharpe to check with the KLC about salaries for city council members.

Mayor Pam Hoots opened the evening Tuesday by swearing in Holly Necessary of Jamestown as the city’s newest police officer.

“We’re pleased to announce Holly Necessary was sworn in tonight. She will start work with the Columbia City Police Department on Jan. 10,” Hoots said. “We are very excited about her addition to the force and what she’s going to be able to offer to the citizens of the community. I think everybody is going to be excited about her coming aboard.”

This story was initially run in the Jan. 6 issue of the Community Voice. For access to the latest news and sports, call 270-384-9454 for a subscription.

For close to three hours, Annette Slaven clung to a tree, praying and awaiting rescue after her vehicle was washed away in floodwaters early in the morning on New Year’s Day.

Her story of survival defies the odds of someone at risk of hypothermia or drowning and her account of the fearful morning is filled with a multitude of “God moments.”

 “God gave me a tree”

Slaven was awakened around 4 a.m. by a phone call from her daughter, Jennifer Suratt, who was frantic after a call from her daughter, Allie. Allie was on her way to work when a tide of water rushed her vehicle and left it disabled with her inside.

In the confusion, Slaven thought Allie’s car was flipped and she was entrapped while water was pouring in. The car was not upside down, but Allie was in trouble.

“She didn’t drive through water. It was like a big wall of water hit her on the passenger side and knocked her off the road,” Slaven said.

Allie was taking a common “cut through” used by people who live near Greensburg Road north of Columbia to get to Campbellsville Road in the Coburg area. Adair, Green and Taylor counties converge on the trail, which starts just north of the Green/Adair line on Ky. 61 and ends on Ky. 1913 near Ky. 55. Allie had cleared most of the cut through and almost reached Ky. 55 when the flood- waters left her stranded.

After the frantic phone calls, Jennifer Suratt and Jennifer’s father, Ronnie Slaven, took off in search of Allie. Annette stayed home because their two grandsons had spent the night. Once their parents got there, Annette set out on her own in search of her family.

“I’m going to die in this car”

Slaven was traveling Skinhouse Branch Road – a road Allie traveled with no difficulty – when she drove into water.

“When I hit that water, I knew I was in trouble, but I didn’t see it,” Slaven said. She tried to back up, but she was not where she thought she was, so instead of finding a driveway, she ended up off the roadway.

“It went spinning. It didn’t take me under right then,” she said.

That’s when Slaven saw three people who were stranded in the floodwater on top of a car.

“It took me right down that creek and I floated by them kids,” she said. Slaven said her husband complained that the dark, tinted windows on her vehicle were dangerous, but this time they helped save her life. She always opens her windows at night when she puts her vehicle in reverse to better see her mirrors. Because this night was no exception, her windows were down.

“If I hadn’t had them, I would have drowned,” she said.

The vehicle lights went out and Slaven searched for her phone but didn’t find it.

“The next thing I know, I guess a tree or something hit the back of my hatch and the window was broken out and the water just gushed in. It just rolled me.”

Slaven said her first thought was, “I’m going to drown. I’m going to die in this car.”

She laughs as she says she has told some people that her second thought was, “I should have listened to Ronnie…but I’d never admit that.”

Then she grows more serious, and says her second thought was, “God, get me out of this car. And my third thought was, ‘Don’t panic or you will die.’”

The seat had pushed forward on the driver’s side, but she felt her way through and managed to get out of the vehicle through the passenger window.

“When I got out, I bobbed up and got some air. I saw that I was flying through there. I thought, ‘Lord, help me, they are going to find me out here.’”

Her coat kept slipping over her head and she prayed for God to get the coat off of her.

It just washed off, I guess, it just came off. I was just flying through there and thinking, ‘I’m gone; they are never going to find me.’ And I prayed, “God, give me a tree.’”

She tried to grab one tree and missed but was successful on her second attempt.

“All at once I got hold of a tree and I wrapped my legs around it. And hung on. I just wrapped up and hung on.”

According to the timeline from when Slaven’s granddaughter called until Slaven was rescued, it appears that she clung to the tree for well over two hours and possibly closer to three hours. She recalls spending her time praying for herself and others, and thanking God for a good life.

“I said, ‘Thank you God for this tree,’” Slaven said. “I was not afraid to die, but I didn’t want to, if that makes sense.”

She prayed for the people she saw on top of the vehicle. She prayed for her granddaughter, and her husband and daughter who went in search of her granddaughter. She didn’t know it yet, but her granddaughter had been rescued and her family was all safe.

The flashlight

When the water hit Allie’s car, it stalled. She was able to call her mother and she called 911. For most of the time, she was able to stay on the phone while rescuers tried to determine her location.

Emergency personnel from Taylor, Green and Adair counties were in the area of the flash flooding. Waters separated them but personnel were on different sides of the flooding to help anyone they could find in trouble.

Allie was the first rescue of the morning by the Campbellsville Fire and Rescue – Special Operations. Green County Rescue was able to reach the three people on the car and take them to safety.

Jennifer Suratt, Allie’s mom, said a friend had given her a flashlight for Allie just the day before, and Allie had put it in her car.

When rescuers were trying to locate Allie, her car lights quit working and they were unable to locate her until she used her new flashlight to signal her location.

Allie was rescued at 6:12 a.m. (eastern time), according to Special Operations. It was another hour and 37 minutes before her grandmother was rescued.

While Slaven continued to grasp the tree, the water continued to rise.

“It kept slapping up at my mouth, and I thought, “Now don’t panic or you are gone.’ I thought to myself if I had a 20-year-old body I could climb this tree,” she said

She used the waves to help inch her way up the tree and was able to get her left leg over a tree limb. There she remained, holding on until her arms and legs were numb. At one point, she even found a young, flexible branch and wrapped it around her hand so it would help hold her up.

As she waited, Slaven said she thanked God for a good life and for all the good things and good people in her life.

“And I thanked him for saving me and redeeming me by his blood. And I said, ‘Lord, I don’t want to go; I don’t want to die, but I want to go to heaven and my Bible says if you are redeemed by the blood of Jesus, you will go to heaven. If I go I want to see Jesus, and I want to see my Mama and I want to see my Daddy.”

But she also asked God for mercy and said she wanted to be here for her husband, her daughters and her grandchildren.

The rescue

“I just kept praying and thanking him for everything. Then I saw lights. It looked like when they block off a road, so I saw lights. And I thought I heard people hollering. So I got to hollering, ‘I’m over here. I see your lights. Can you hear me?’”

She could see people in the distance, but the sound of the rushing water kept them from hearing her. Then, someone else came to where the rescuers were – Slaven said she thought she was told he was a deputy sheriff – and as he walked from his vehicle over a rise, he heard her.

“He heard me hollering, ‘I’m here. I’m holding on to this tree, and I’m getting weak.’”

She started to see the light from a spotlight flowing over the trees as the rescuers searched for her.

Soon, two men in a motorized rescue boat arrived. Slaven said one of the rescuers told her she was a “tough cookie.”

“I remember saying to him, ‘I prayed for a tree and God gave me a tree.’”

She told them she would help all she could to get into the boat, but said, “I will try but I can’t move my arms and legs. They won’t hardly move.”

She was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where she was treated for hypothermia. She also suffered from several cuts and bruises.

Slaven said she wanted to thank all the emergency personnel involved in her rescue and treatment and with helping her family. From the rescuers, to dispatchers, to EMS
and hospital personnel, Slaven said she and her family were treated with great care.

In the ambulance, she was told her family was safe and she was able to talk to her husband.

The person assisting her in the ambulance told her, “People have really been hunting for you. She said, ‘I’m not going to lie to you, I didn’t think they would find you.’”

She then asked Slaven how she was able to hang onto the tree for so long

“By the grace of God and his good mercy,” she said. “God took care of me. I prayed for a tree, and He gave me a tree.”

This story first appeared in the Dec. 30 issue of the Community Voice. For your best source for local news and sports, call 270-384-9454 for a subscription.

The Adair County Fiscal Court approved first reading of a policy Tuesday that moves the county toward tighter vaccination requirements for all employees.

The policy would require all county employees to show proof of vaccination or wear masks during work hours and get tested weekly. The county would cover costs for testing.

“We don’t like this any more than the employees do, but we don’t have a choice,” said Adair County Judge Executive Gale Cowan. “I am vaccinated, and I don’t care to tell people I am vaccinated. But I don’t think I should mandate our employees have to be vaccinated. I think it should be their personal choice.”

The county falls under a federal mandate through U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration Covid-19 requirement for employers with 100 or more employees.

Employers now have until Jan. 10 to develop their policy, determine which employees have been fully vaccinated and to begin requiring unvaccinated employees to wear a mask. They have until Feb. 9 to begin weekly Covid-19 testing for employees who decline to be vaccinated.

“This OSHA requirement is to take effect on Jan. 10, while the Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on it on Jan. 7,” Judge Cowan said. “So, we’re having to move forward as if it is going to take effect. The second reading will be Jan. 10. We’re going to have to move forward until we get a ruling from the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court votes it down, then we will end the policy. “If OSHA checks and we are found to not be in compliance, then we could be fined $13,000 per employee. If we’re found to be a repeat offender, we could be fined over $130,000.”

Elected officials are included in the mandate as well as employees of the fiscal court, county judge, sheriff, county clerk, jailer, coroner, county attorney and constable.

“I think this is going to cause a lot of companies to start losing employees,” Cowan said. “I don’t think it is right. I believe it should be a personal choice. I want all our employees and the community to realize this is not something we want to do. The federal government is requiring us to do it.”

Jail has major water break

The court also voted Tuesday to declare a state of emergency at the jail because of a water break.

“We declared a state of emergency, which allows you to avoid bids,” Cowan said. “They turned on the main valve today and there is a leak somewhere between the meter and the building. They’re estimating it to be a $30,000 project. Usually, any project over $30,000 has to bid out. But we can’t turn the water off; inmates have to have water. So, I want to get rolling on it and save as much time as we can.”

By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com

Tommy Melson guides his wheelchair from the kitchen table and moves down the hallway, makes a complete turnaround, goes into the utility room, then returns to the kitchen.

That short trip is a monumental change for Melson and is just one example of how his life has been impacted by community members who helped build his family a new house.

“I have my life back ,” Melson said.

Tommy and April moved into their new home on Nov. 8. The house is a labor of love that started with local businessman and retired educator Chester Taylor (and was featured in the Aug. 16 Community Voice).

After working 30 years in the commercial roofing business, Tommy retired several years ago after a spinal cord injury. When complications from diabetes resulted in the loss of his foot, he found himself with almost no mobility because they owned a house that needed repair and offered limited accessibility.

“I didn’t know I was sad until I got in here,” Tommy said as he sat at the dining room table in his now house. “My body was wasting away in that bed. I’m just now getting my muscles back to where I can do things.”

The new house is designed to allow wheelchair accessibility and Tommy is making full use of the opportunity.

“I can go anywhere in the house I want to,” he said. “I can circle this table; I can go back through there (pointing down the hallway); I can get to the refrigerator if the kids want milk.”

Tommy said when they first moved in, “I cried for three days – just because of the pure blessings.”

He becomes emotional as he talks about the shower in his and April’s bedroom, which he can access by himself.

“Getting a sponge bath is alright but It’s not the same as taking a shower by yourself,” Tommy said. “The dignity that I lost, it’s all back.”

Tommy and April share lighthearted banter as he says she now gives him a honey-do list.

April said she still has unpacking to do, but she was able to host a family Thanksgiving dinner just two weeks after moving into the house. She works full time at Lake Cumberland Community Action.

One of the most important changes that came from moving into the new house are the family meals around the kitchen table.

“We always eat at the dinner table. I remember when I was growing up, you ate at the dinner table. We connect at the dinner table. When we come to the dinner table (April) makes sure we have a conversation. She is a blessing,” Tommy said.

The family is quick to express their appreciation for all the help that went into building the house.

“I’ve lived here all my life and I don’t know half the people on this list,” Tommy said about a list of donors to the project. “I am just in awe.”

A Community of Giving

Just as Tommy talks about his freedom to move around as he gives a tour of the house, Taylor also walks through the house with a story to share. He points from room to room and tells who donated what materials or labor to get the work done. From a new refrigerator to a heat and air system, local churches, individuals and businesses contributed to the cause.

“This is the easiest building project that I have ever done,” Taylor said, “because of how great the people were.”

Bedroom furniture was given as gifts for sons Jayden and Wyatt, who each enjoy their own room. Kitchen cabinets were donated, people donated drywall and painting work, and the list goes on and on. Then there is the list of people who donated money toward the purchase of supplies. The old house that was next door is even gone now, with demolition also donated.

“I told April and Tommy it would take a year,” Taylor said. “In 105 days, they moved in…because of the good Lord above and because of the great people in the community, it was done in 105 days.”

Columbia City Councilman Craig Dean has been hired as manager of operations at Synergy Food Group, LLC.

“I am so excited,” Dean said. “I have been at Amazon in Campbellsville for 21 years. I worked through all the departments there, but to be able to get back home is great. This is a really good opportunity for me. I am glad to be over here building something huge for this area. We have very big hopes.”

Dean started Dec. 1 and is overseeing the day-to-day operations of the building, the receiving, shipping and packaging in the plant. He will be the contact person for Adair County.

“Synergy food groups packs shelf stable meals for senior feeding and K-12 schools,” said Greg Durrett, managing partner for Synergy. “That will be the first production that we start in the plant in Columbia. As we ramp up the business there, we will build out coolers and freezers to do frozen meals. We thought Craig Dean would be a good fit for both of those projects.”

The company, headquartered in Murfreesboro, Tenn., is moving into the former Majestic Yachts property at 100 Westwood Way. Durrett refers to Synergy’s Columbia location as “The Boathouse.”

Dean played an integral role with the city council in working to bring Synergy to Columbia. He said the deal for the company’s move to town was complete and final before he was hired to his new position.

“They came in and worked with (Columbia Mayor) Pam (Hoots),” he said. “I told them to keep me in mind when they were hiring, but that was long after everything with the city was done.”

Durrett said they ’re already getting inquiries from potential new customers about running production for them at the new location once they build out the coolers and freezers.

“I think realistically we will probably be getting started around the first of the year,” Dean said. “A lot will depend on the construction we’re doing now. It is mainly a lot of contractor stuff right now.

“It is going to be a soft opening to get started, five to 10 people with a mix of full- and part-time. We’re prepping the building but expecting to send out product hopefully in early January while we’re waiting for the freezer to be built out and the kitchen to be built out.”

Dean said he’s excited to get things rolling as soon as possible.

“This is a totally new adventure for me. It is something I have always taken pride in to grow Columbia,” he said. “This company could be massive for this area. We’re here on the ground floor with a business that seems to be booming.

“If the trajectory continues the way it is right now, we’re going to get there very fast. I am hoping we’re on the ground floor right now of something that could change this region of Kentucky going forward.”

By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com

This story originally appeared in the Nov. 25 issue of the Community Voice. For your own subscription to the latest in news and sports, call 270-384-9454.

Art teacher Darlene Campbell joined a group of artists who were invited to the Capitol Rotunda last week after having her work accepted into a traveling exhibit.

Campbell, art teacher at Adair County Primary Center, applied to have her work included in an exhibit entitled, “Native Reflections.”

The Kentucky Arts Council, Kentucky Heritage Council, and the Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission coordinated the exhibit.

To be eligible for inclusion, applicants must have Native American heritage and produce art of high quality. The exhibit was scheduled to tour the state of Kentucky for one year, but due to Covid-19, some of the showings were canceled and the tour was extended to last throughout March of 2022.

This past week, participating artists were invited to the Capitol Rotunda to meet with Gov. Andy Beshear.

The governor personally interviewed each artist and then spoke about the importance of promoting the arts in Kentucky and the importance of preserving Kentucky’s history.

Campbell was pleased to hear her hometown spoken about affectionately while she was visiting Frankfort.
“While I was at the capitol building, I heard the capitol staff talking about the LWC singers coming and I was like, ‘Wow, this is a great day for seeing Columbia recognized in Frankfort.’ I dream of the day when Columbia, Ky. is a name that people associate with the arts and education,” Campbell said.

Campbell includes the high school band and a number of talented teachers and students when she talks about her love for art and her vision for the community.

“I would love to see Adair County – in particular, Columbia – become the Art Capital of Southern Kentucky. Every town needs to be known for something. Why can’t we be known for our commitment to the arts?” she said.

Campbell plans to have her kindergarten through second grade students work on displays around the public square by Dec. 4 and sends her appreciation to business people who said yes to highlighting the students of Adair County and displaying their work.

Submitted by Laura Marcum, ACPC

This story originally appeared in the Nov. 25 issue of the Community Voice. For your own subscription, call 270-384-9454.

Annita Dial’s Thanksgiving celebrations are probably a little different than what most people have around Columbia. Sure, there is always a big turkey, there are mashed potatoes, green beans, dressing and even several desserts. She says everyone always eats too much.

However, what makes Dial’s annual dinner a little different is after the meal, she reads, “The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower,” the story of John Howland by P.J. Lynch. Howland is Dial’s ancestor and he sailed to America on the Mayflower. The reading closes out the evening festivities each year.

“The tradition of reading the book with the grandkids has been something we’ve done probably the last four or five years. We include everyone in the group most of the time,” Dial said. “Everybody that’s blood related has a shirt listing all of our descendants dating back to John Howland. We wear those that day. The kids are probably over the traditions, I think, by now. But now they know it is important to me and it is mom being mom.”

Dial was born and raised in Columbia. She graduated Adair County High School in 1989 and is the single mom to eight children. Dial developed a love of history and genealogy as a child. Now, researching her family is a passion.

“I started by filling out a five-generation chart on my family. When I did that, then you have to link onto new charts,” Dial said. “After so long, you get to where you can connect to people. You have to take the info and then search for yourself.”

That’s how Dial found out she was an ancestor to Howland and his connection to the Mayflower.

“It wasn’t really surprising,” Dial said. “I was very happy when we found out because I wanted that piece of history. I also have an ancestor that was at Valley Forge with George Washington. I even have other family members that fought in the Revolutionary War.”

She said the process was tedious. With family members spread liter- ally across the country, tracking down the information has been a lot of work. She received a lot of help from the John Howland Society, a group designed to track descendants of the infamous Mayflower passenger.

“I have always liked history and I think the neat thing is to be able to place my ancestors where history was taking place,” Dial said. “Knowing all of this kind of helps me place myself where they were.”

Dial hopes her children and grandchildren will feel the same way. That, in a nutshell, is why she reads the story to her family each Thanksgiving.

“I love Thanksgiving, and nothing has changed about that over the years,” she said. “I am hoping this tradition continues in the family. I would like to be reading the book with my great, great, great grandchildren, and I hope when I am not around, my children will carry on the tradition. I hope they always remember family is important.”

By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com

 This story originally appeared in the Nov. 11 issue of the Community. For your connection to the latest news and sports, call 270-384-9454 for a subscription. 

Tony Rush can still remember how he would push his way through the rows of people lining the streets of Friendsville, Md. each year on Veterans Day. As a young boy, he just wanted to get a glimpse of the soldiers marching down the street in their uniforms. He remembers the crowds cheering, the flags waving.

One day, he thought, they would be cheering for him.

“I can remember every soldier marching down the street in that small little town,” said Rush, now 79 years of age. “I felt Veterans Day was an honor. Today, I don’t think people appreciate that like we used to. It is not for everyone, but I can’t say anything bad about my time in the service.”

Rush left home at the age of 18, a family practice started by his father. Rush’s dad believed when children reached a certain age they left home and started working. So, Rush hitchhiked his way to Washington, D.C. when his time came. He got a job, ate a lot of White Castle burgers because they were cheap, and decided to join the Navy in 1962.

Military service fit Rush’s needs. The smart, sometimes “wild” young man, said he found direction, focus and discipline. He went to San Diego for boot camp and after a couple of weeks he was sent to electronics school, which eventually led to Rush working as a sonar man on a submarine.

After graduating from sonar school in New London, Conn., he was put on a nuclear submarine, the U.S.S. George Washington. The sub was based near Scotland, so Rush and his crew would leave Connecticut to serve on the vessel for three months at a time. Another crew would relieve them every 90 days.

Rush served four years in the military, retiring in 1966, before the Vietnam War engulfed the country. Retirement didn’t come as a shock for those who knew Rush; he just said it was time.

“I wanted to settle down and it was just time to do it,” Rush said. “I didn’t think about getting married, but I wanted to settle down because I was a little wild. I do miss being in the service, but I miss the guys most.”

Rush said he is able to meet up with most of the guys he served with, that are still physically able, at annual reunions around the country. He said there are a lot of stories told when they gather.

“I kind of have a bad look on Veterans Day now,” said Rush, recounting how he and other veterans of the time were treated by some of the public.

“There are so many people out there today that had the opportunity to go in the service and didn’t take it. It was so important in my life, and it made me what I am. I respect anyone that has served. But I think our country has gone downhill since we stopped the draft. I don’t know if there is a lot of pride in our country anymore.”

If Friendsville officials would ever call to see if Rush would like to be part of the town’s next Veterans Day celebration, would he be interested?

“If Friendsville had a Veterans Day celebration, I would go to that immediately,” Rush said. “I would be there, and I would love it.”

This story originally appeared in the Nov. 11 issue of the Community Voice. For your connection to the latest news and sports, call 270-384-9454.

“The water district is going to turn into the hospital. Every one of you have heard that, right?”

Utility district manager Lenny Stone got straight to the point as he answered questions from the fiscal court Tuesday night and assured the court that the utility district is on sound financial footing.

Stone, utility board chairman Wid Harris and board member Junior Brown attended the fiscal court meeting at the request of the court. Stone said he was not sure what the court wanted but he was there to answer questions. Stone said the Columbia Adair Utilities District pays its bills, has rates that are similar to other providers in the region, has positive annual audits, and has been able to provide a safe water supply to around 90 percent of the homes in Adair County.

Harris, the board chairman and former magistrate, agreed.

“We are in good shape,” Harris said. “We get audited. We have people looking over our shoulders on everything we do.”

The district currently operates with a $20 million debt, but Stone said the district will always have debt if it continues to grow and maintain what it has.

That debt, he added, is not the reason the district’s customers could be facing major water and sewer rate increases. Stone said PSC has ordered the district to set aside funds to cover depreciation values, and that could translate into 20 percent water rate and 60 percent sewer rate increases.

Stone said board members planned to vote against the rate increases but were told that PSC would remove them from the board if they did. Instead, four members of the board voted to submit paperwork voicing their concerns.

“Our customers can’t handle this. We don’t need this,” Stone said.

If the mandatory rate increases take effect, the funds will not be used to reduce the debt, Stone said. Instead, the district will be required to deposit the funds into a depreciation account.

Those funds would then hurt the district’s chances of receiving funding through Rural Development from low interest or forgivable loans when they plan an expansion or a replacement project.

“They are going to look at our financials and say, ‘You have money in the bank,’” Stone said.

Stone said he is also concerned about the impact rate increases would have on customers.

“We had people who couldn’t pay water bills for six months; they just couldn’t afford it (during the pandemic),” Stone said.

Harris said that he would like to see the utility district board and the fiscal court get along and suggested that one individual is causing strife between the two groups, with someone claiming the district is in bad shape. That isn’t true, he said.

Magistrates asked few questions and Sammy Baker commented on the importance of rural water to the community.

“The economy of Adair County, without the kind of water we have, especially farmers, there’s no way we could have it,” Baker said.

Also, during the meeting, the court reappointed utility district board member David Jones to another four-year term.

Pay Scale Approved

The court approved final reading of a policy adding $1 per hour to the current pay scale for part-time employees and $1.50 to full-time employees.

The court also gave treasurer Melinda Quinn approval to cut premium pay checks for employees when they receive final approval to use ARPA funds. Quinn said the checks of $5,000 to eligible full-time employees and $2,500 for part-time employees should be cut within the next two weeks.

County Judge Executive Gale Cowan said the court needed to rebid financing to fund two sheriff’s vehicles. The original bid was written requesting a loan, but the funds must come as a lease agreement. The court voted to open the bid once again.

The court received a check from the county clerk’s office that brings the total balance for 2020 from the fee-based office to more than $366,000.

The court also approved first reading of a 911 wrecker policy that outlines procedures for calling wreckers when an accident has occurred.

The court gave final approval to make Sneed Lane and RC Lane private passageways.

The court voted to change meeting schedules starting in January. Meetings will be held the second Monday at 6 p.m. and the last Monday at 4 p.m. beginning in 2022.

Magistrates Chris Reeder, Sammy Baker, Harold Burton, Billy Coffey, Greg Caldwell and Terry Hadley were present for the meet- ing. Daryl Flatt did not attend.

By Sharon Burton snburton@adairvoice.com

With Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, we’re wondering what traditions your family has for this special holiday? Certain foods have to be on the table? Family divides up for a Turkey Bowl football game?

Let us know and we may use it in the newspaper?

This story originally ran in the Nov. 4 issue of the Community Voice. To get the latest news and sports with your own subscription, call 270-384-9454.

When Jordan Humphress looked at his band after the state competition Saturday night in Lexington, he could see it in each face. The “Marching Indians” had left everything on the field and, now that it was over, the emotion was coming out.

For the past five months, the Adair County band members had worked endless hours to put together a “perfect” program to try and bring home their 25th state title. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough this season as ACHS finished third overall at the 2021 Kentucky Music Educators Association final event.

“I would say the students were acceptant of how we did,” said Humphress, who is in his first season as director. “After they got done with their performance, we went out to the trailer, and everybody was either crying or smiling. I think they were just overwhelmed with the emotion of performing at the state finals.”

Murray High School won the Class AAA championship with 90.4 points. Estill County was second with 88.3 and Adair County finished with 85.6 points.

“We told the students all the way along the season that we compete against ourselves at Adair County,” Humphress said. “It doesn’t matter what six people (judges) in the box put on a piece of paper because you can’t control any of that stuff. What you can control is how you feel about the performance and what you did with it on the field.

“On Saturday night, they gave their best performance of the entire season. That’s why whatever the score was we knew we would be okay with the outcome. As the Adair legacy goes, these guys put their stamp on it, their mark on it and we’re extremely proud of them.”

Humphress and his staff took a quick listen to the semifinal tapes before taking the field in Lexington. They wanted to have one final look at the judges’ comments as they headed into the title event.

“The big thing for us was they performed to that crowd Saturday night,” Humphress explained. “The cool thing about Adair County is when they get to finals night, they shine under the lights.

“They did exactly what we wanted them to do and that was showcase the fun they were having out on the field, the love and passion they have for the art they’re doing, and it was easy to tell the audience could feel it.”

Now, Humphress said, it is time to get ready for next year.

By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com

This story originally appeared in the Oct. 28 issue of the Community Voice. For a subscription to get the latest local news and sports, call 270-384-9454.

It is not unusual for Tami Strange to cry on her drive home from work. The Covid-19 ICU nurse at T.J. Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow makes her way back to Columbia often through eyes full of tears and with a heavy heart. Strange is worried about her patients.

She just became a practicing nurse last May, though it isn’t exactly what Strange thought she would be doing years ago when she first dared to dream of a career, she knows it is exactly what she’s supposed to be doing.

For now, this is her life as a nurse.

“I really questioned my purpose in life,” Strange said. “I always thought my purpose was to be a nurse. But there came a point in time when I thought, ‘this is not what I signed up for, I didn’t sign up to watch people die. I signed up to fix people, get them healthy and send them home.’”

Fellow nurse Susannah Trammel agrees.

“It is an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “We see some get well, but even when they leave to go home, they’re on oxygen, or they’re sent to long-term acute care. It is hard to see all of this because we as nurses see our family members there.”

Strange said working in a Covid-19 unit keeps nurses both physically and mentally tired. She said it is nothing for her to go into a patient’s room to help because their numbers have gone down, to only leave the room, look at the patient screens at the station, and see another patient in medical need. There is always something happening.

“The atmosphere in the unit is very heavy and dark. When you have so many people on ventilators it is like hope is being pushed out of the room,” Strange said. “It is a type of reality, and a type of death I have never seen before now. You’re in and out of rooms just trying to keep your patients stable.”

Most of the patients come into the Covid-19 unit feeling very anxious about being there. They think, Strange said, they must be getting worse because they ’re there. She said she’s seen patients not sleep for days because they’re afraid if they close their eyes they won’t wake up. In the meantime, the nurses try to always stay positive and sometimes tell the patients, “Go to sleep, we’ve got you.”

Strange said when the positivity doesn’t work and the patients die, it affects everyone.

“I have been known to just hold their hands and sing to them,” Strange said. “I try to smile through the tears. It is like being at a funeral and you don’t even know the person; your heart just breaks for them.”

“Death is never routine,” said Trammel. “Even though we may know a patient is not going to make it, we try everything we can to save them. We whisper a prayer every time, and just trust God has a plan for them.”

With that kind of daily stress, nurses look for ways to decompress.

“You try to let the stress come off you, but when you go to bed, you can still hear the patients during their Facetime sessions with their families. You hear the ‘I love You,’ all the regrets about not being able to do what they wanted to do. I have always been good about leaving work at work, but with this job you can’t.”

“I think working this job has made me value life more,” said Trammel. “There is a small time period where the patients are getting worse, and they realize the oxygen they’re getting is not enough to keep them alive. Until Covid, I had never had a patient ask me to be put on a ventilator. There have been many that have asked that.”

Strange said she isn’t sure what the future of this pandemic holds. She just knows she wants everyone to be safe.

“I hope there is an end to this. My prayers are it will become where we get a vaccine for it once a year,” Strange said. “I think for a while, this is going to be our new norm. I will tell you the patients that go through less physically and recuperate faster, have been vaccinated. (Non-vaccinated people) if they’ve seen what I have seen, they wouldn’t hesitate to get the vaccine.”

By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com

Sometimes, events happen in life that change people forever. Local military veterans Charles “Pete” Reliford and Wilburn Cheatham may have experienced such a day last week .

Reliford and Cheatham, who served their country proudly, were given a proper welcome home and a special day to remember when they took part in an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.

“Probably besides my wedding day and the birth of my kids, it was the best day I have ever had in my life,” Reliford said. “I really can’t explain what it was like.”

“I really enjoyed it after I went,” said Cheatham. “They took us to a lot of different things throughout the day. We went to all the memorials; it was a lot of fun.”

The event was coordinated by Honor Flight Bluegrass, an organization located in Louisville that takes veterans from World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam on a one-day trip to the nation’s capital.
The attendees spent the day getting to know each other, visiting memorials and monuments around the capital and, maybe most important, being honored for their military service.

Reliford, 73, was draft- ed into the Army on Jan. 10, 1968 at the age of 19. He served as an artillery mechanic during his two years of service.

“The way I looked at it was I didn’t ask to go, but I was ready to go if I was called,” said Reliford. “The country said they needed me. I am by no means a hero and I don’t want to be presented that way. I was asked to do a job and I went and did it.”

Cheatham, a 90-year- old Army veteran, served almost two years in combat. He currently lives in Campbellsville, but Cheatham left for the service from Adair County in 1952.

“We were supposed to serve 13 months in Korea before we could come home,” Cheatham said. “I was on the front line all the time; we were in combat just about every night.”

The Honor Flight left Louisville bright and early the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 20. After arriving in Washington, D.C., the veterans stayed busy. The day included stops at the Air Force Memorial, Arlington Cemetery, the Korean War Memorial, the FDR Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and that was all in the first few hours. They arrived back in Louisville at 9:15 p.m. CST.

“They had something for us to do the entire day,” Cheatham said. “I knew a lot of guys while I was in the military, but I didn’t know any of them on the Honor Flight. We got acquainted with a lot of them over the flight.”

“Arlington Cemetery stood out above everything else for me,” Reliford said. “We watched the changing of the guard and the laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was a great moment.”

He also said he spent a lot of time at the Vietnam Memorial looking up the names of some of the men he fought with.

Before the veterans left Washington, D.C. to return to Louisville, the organizers of Honor Flight Bluegrass had a “mail call.” Each veteran received a package of cards and letters from family and friends recognizing them for their service to their country.

They were met with cheers and welcome home signs after their return flight, a proper welcome home some veterans have never before received.

“The trip was just a week ago, so I haven’t really been able to let it all sink in,” Reliford said. “The trip had a big impact on me. It may sound crazy, but now I think I feel more at peace with myself.

“I didn’t go on the flight to be honored for what I did. I went on the flight to honor the veterans that didn’t make it home. I always have lived with a guilt about how I made it home and others didn’t. I went on the flight as my way to honor them and thank them for their service.”

By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com

This story was originally published in the Oct. 28 issue of the Community Voice newspaper. To get the latest local news and sports, call 270-384-9454 for you subscription.

At the age of 90, Kenneth Scott had lived a full life, and he was going strong until his final day. His last days and weeks included farm work, time on the lake with family, and warm conversations with an abundance of friends.

Scott died Saturday during an accident doing what he loved to do – working on his farm near Edmonton Rd., just west of the Columbia city limits.

He was driving a Ranger UTV and had been spraying a fence row when the vehicle flipped and ended his life. Local emergency services were called when a pilot was preparing to land at the local airport and spotted the overturned utility vehicle. Scott was dead when they arrived on the scene.

Scott was a Korean War veteran, receiving a Purple Heart and an Infantry Combat medal for his time in the Army. He worked in the grocery business and worked his way up to become vice president of operations for Houchens Industries in Bowling Green.

When he retired and returned to Columbia, Scott became involved in the local VFW and served as post com- mander and quartermaster.

Ronnie Holt, Senior Vice Commander at Post 6097 in Columbia, recalls the day he met Scott. Holt was invited by a niece to attend a Veterans Day event and he met Scott there for the first time.

“He looked at a badge on my uniform and knew I was an ex-drill sergeant, and he said, ‘You are the man we need to run this Honor Guard.’ He said, ‘Can you march these guys up through there and give them some basic movements,’ and I said, ‘I sure can,’” Holt said. “From that day on we hit it off and I joined the VFW and I got involved in the Honor Guard.”

That Honor Guard will pay tribute to Scott when he is laid to rest tomorrow. They will need to be at their top performance, because Scott believed the Honor Guard should do things the way they are done in the military.

“He believed in good order, he believed in discipline; there was a right way to do things,” Holt said. “When he wore his uniform, it was put together correctly. Kenneth was a soldier until the day he was gone.”

Scott was known as the “Mayor of Bliss” and was a regular at the Clubhouse Grill in Gradyville.

“He’s as good as they come,” said Chris Reeder. Scott was Reeder’s great uncle. “Everybody out through there knew him and liked him. He was 90 years old out spraying a fence row. He had cancer a few years ago, and was pretty sick, but he come out of it bigger and stronger.”

“He was good people. We need more like him,” Reeder added.

By Sharon Burton
snburton@adairvoice.com

This story originally appeared in the Sept. 30 issue of the Community Voice. For the latest local and news, call 270-384-94564 for your online or print subscription.

Arrests were made Monday night after a burglary over a week ago at Diamonds on the Square in Columbia. Kyle W. Jones and Marly D. Arms, both of Columbia, were taken into custody Monday evening when officers spotted the pair at their residence on Hill Street, just off Tutt Street.

“I am so relieved,” said Ben Watts, who owns the jewelry store with his wife, Bridget. “Justice was served and it makes me feel good to know the public will know what really happened.”

City Police Officer Kevin Atwood said the burglar y happened sometime Saturday, Sept. 18 through Sunday, Sept. 19.

“Whenever you have something like this happen, you do have persons of interest,” Atwood said. “We followed up on those leads. Whenever you have a case at the beginning, it seems like you have a haystack the size of the world to find the needle in. That’s kind of what we’re doing.”

The use of social media helped solve the case. Ben Watts shared information about the theft on a private group page for jewelers.

“It paid off in Nashville. Some of the stolen goods were able to be specifically identified,” Atwood said.

Currently Jones is being charged with two counts of receiving stolen property, $10,000 or more, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Arms is being charged with receiving stolen property, $10,000 or more. Additional charges are possible. Both are lodged in the Adair County Regional Jail.

Watts said Jones is a former employee at the store.

Sgt. Evan Burton initiated the contact with the subjects Monday with several officers on standby. He said they believed there was a possibility there would be a firearm involved. He was able to get them out of the house and the two were taken into custody without incident.

“This took a lot of teamwork , from a lot of different people, and within this agency,” Burton said. “But we’ve still got a lot more work to do.”

A weapon was seized on the property, as well as two vehicles with money and stolen property in each vehicle, Atwood said. Other items were recovered at Green Hills Jewelry and Loan Store in Nashville. Burton said approximately three-quarters of the stolen property has been recovered, and there are also reports some of the stolen property may be in Alabama.

Watts estimated the total value of the items stolen to be between $250,000 and $300,000.

Atwood said apparently Jones climbed up a pole on the outside of the building and broke out a window on the second floor. He made his way downstairs and cleaned out the cases. Watts believes Jones crawled on the floor around the showroom cases to avoid the motion detectors. Atwood said he has no idea why the alarms did not go off.

Burton said there’s really not much Watts could have done different in the case. He said this is why it is so important for the community to realize they need to work together with law enforcement.

“We’re eager to get open,” Watts said. “We don’t know how long it will take. Officers Kevin Atwood and Evan Burton did an awesome job on this case. I can’t stress how appreciative I am.”

A gofundme account (the Watts family) was organized for Watts and his family to help offset his losses before the stolen items were recovered. Watts said his insurance coverage would not cover the majority of his loss.

By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com

This story first appeared in the Sept. 30 issue of the Community Voice. For the latest local news and sports, call 270-384-9454 for your online or print subscription.

While many people fully recover after becoming ill from Covid-19, the community was reminded this past week that the virus is indeed deadly.

Adair County lost seven people during a seven-day period ending Tuesday to Covid-19. Since Sept. 1, a total of 11 Adair County residents have lost their battle to the virus. New case numbers are in decline on a state level, with a seven-day average dropping to levels seen in August.

Gov. Andy Beshear listed eight deaths over the weekend of Kentuckians in their 30s and 40s and encouraged people in those age ranges and younger to get vaccinated.

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department did not provide age information for the people who have died in the district this month. They did provide a report from Tuesday that showed that 58 percent of the active Covid-19 cases in the district were people under the age of 50.

The health district has reported 30 deaths during a seven-day period on Tuesday and 98 deaths during September for the 10-county area. Of those 98 deaths, 88 people were not vaccinated and 10 people were vaccinated. The district has experienced 22,590 cases since the vaccine started becoming available, and almost 94.56 percent were unvaccinated.

Adair County residents continue to lag behind other counties in making the decision to vaccinate, with the state’s vaccination rate now at 60 percent but Adair County’s lagging at 37.71 percent. Taylor County has the highest rate in the district at 52.42 percent. Casey County has the lowest at 35.29 percent. Other county rates are Pulaski, 48.89 percent; Russell, 46.21 percent; Green, 41.08 percent; McCreary, 40.8 percent; Wayne, 40.42 percent; Cumberland, 40.26 percent; and Clinton, 37.99 percent.

Hospitals are reporting a decline in Covid-19 patients, although numbers in the intensive-care units aren’t dropping as fast, Kentucky Health News reported Tuesday. Kentucky hospitals reported 2,045 Covid-19 patients on Monday, 617 in intensive care and 399 on mechanical ventilation.

The hospital-cases number was 166 fewer than Friday. It went down 49 Saturday, fell by 117 Sunday, then stayed the same Monday. ICU numbers dropped to 608 Saturday, but rose to 609 Sunday and to 617
Monday. Patients on mechanical ventilation were 30 fewer on Monday than on Friday, Kentucky Health News reported.

Also, fewer hospital regions are reporting using more than 80 percent of their ICU beds, although two of them are reporting 100 percent capacity: Northern Kentucky and Lake Cumberland.

Beshear said the state has 104 ICU beds available and 68 of the state’s 96 acute care hospitals are reporting critical staffing shortages.

This story first appeared in the Sept. 16 issue of the Community Voice. For your access to local news and sports, call 270-384-9454.

Fiscal court meetings usually start with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer, but prayer by magistrate Greg Caldwell during Tuesday night’s meeting included words for one of their own.

Magistrate Terry Hadley was flown to a Louisville hospital earlier that day after suffering from a medical condition.

Judge Executive Gale Cowan said following the meeting that family members said doctors had not yet diagnosed Hadley’s condition.

The meeting, held at the Jim Blair center to allow social distancing, lasted less than an hour with what appeared to be the most difficult decision coming during other business from the audience.

Around a dozen members of Adair County EMS attended the meeting and Chad Wheet, assistant director, asked the court to include their staff in a pay incentive to employees coming from American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The court is still finalizing details but has approved giving up to $5,000 to full-time employees and $2,500 to part-time employees who have worked through the pandemic. Wheet asked that the incentive also be provided to EMS employees.

“Our employees are about as essential as you can get,” Wheet said.

Magistrate Chris Reeder quickly responded, “I totally agree. These guys didn’t have an option to stay home or get behind a shield.”

Sammy Baker agreed with Reeder but Billy Coffey said he believed the court would be “opening a can of worms.”

The ambulance service is operated as a taxing district that was created by the county, but it operates independently with its own budget and its own authority to impose taxes. The pay scale for EMS employees is not determined by the fiscal court nor are employees paid by county funds.

Coffey questioned how the court would respond when other taxing districts or the fee-based utility district make the same request for their employees. The county’s independent taxing districts include the health department, library, extension, conservation and schools.

Caldwell suggested he would like to wait until they know more about the cost.

County Attorney Jennifer Hutchison Corbin was asked if this was a legal use of ARPA funds and she said she believed it could be done. All uses of ARPA funds are being reviewed by a consulting firm hired by the county.

Reeder made a motion to approve the funding and Baker seconded. The motion failed, however, with Harold Burton, Coffey and Caldwell voting no.

Magistrate Daryl Flatt, who is director of Adair EMS, left the room prior to the discussion to recuse due to the conflict of interest. In addition, Reeder said if the funds are approved for EMS that Flatt would not receive any.

Following the vote, Judge Executive Gale Cowan asked Wheet to come back with information about number of employees and their qualifications for the funding.

Court further defines employee ARPA bonus

Earlier in the meeting, the court agreed with a recommendation from the ARPA committee on the way to pay an employee incentive for employees who have worked through the pandemic.

Treasurer Melinda Quinn said most counties are paying a specific amount an hour, with a set limit. The court agreed, upon approval, to pay employees who are currently employed $3 an hour for working hours from March 1, 2020 through Oct. 1, 2021. The hours must be hours worked and do not include vacations and sick time, or time off while under quarantine. Former employees do not qualify.

An employee would have to have worked 1,667 hours during the 19-month window to receive the maximum of $5,000 for full-time or $2,500 for part-time. An employee who did not work the maximum hours would still be paid $3 an hour extra based on qualified hours. The court agreed to send the proposal to consultants for approval with all magistrates voting yes.

Court approves first reading of animal ordinance

Also during the meeting, the court gave first reading to an animal ordinance that had been hotly debated in a past meeting. No discussion was held prior to the vote.

The ordinance requires a kennel license for anyone with more than 10 cats or dogs, or a combination of 10 cats and dogs. It exempts farms over 10 acres.

Enforcement will be provided through the county’s nuisance committee, which is primarily made up of appointed magistrates. Violations could lead to a misdemeanor charge and include a fine up to $250 and 90 days in jail.

Other action

The court approved more than $14,700 in ARPA funds for a CRT device for the ambulance service. The vote is pending approval through a consulting firm.

Magistrates voted to spend $280,000 in road funds, with $40,000 going to each magisterial district for blacktopping.

The court approved a $10,000 pass-through grant for the ambulance service.

The court approved first reading to change the speed limit on Gentry Mill Road to 30 mph. The court also approved a new pay scale as part of the jail’s policies to include a recent pay raise voted on by the court.

The next meeting date has been changed to Monday, Sept. 27 due to a conference for magistrates.

By Sharon Burton
snburton@adairvoice.com

This story initially appeared in the Sept. 16 issue of the Community Voice. To get your own subscription to local news coverage, call 270-384-9454.

The nominees are set for the special election to determine who fills the currently vacant state representative seat in District 51 following meetings last week between Adair and Taylor counties’ Republican and Democrat parties.

The Democrat board and precinct officers for Adair and Taylor counties met Thursday at Miller Park in Campbellsville for a meeting chaired by the Kentucky Democrat Party. Eddie Rogers, a former four- term judge executive for Taylor County, was theonly candidate, nominated by Vicky Pike and unanimously approved.

“They called me about 9:30 Thursday night and told me that I was nominated as the Democrat candidate,” Rogers, who was not in attendance for the meeting, said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “It’s my goal to make Adair and Taylor counties prosper, more than we have in the past. I feel very honored that the committee, Adair and Taylor County, have given me the opportunity to go to Frankfort and represent the 51st district the way we should be, as two of the top counties in the commonwealth. We have so much here to offer; we just need to let people know.”

Adair County Democrat Party chairman Ben Loy said Tuesday that he expects Rogers to run a strong campaign, and that his success might hinge on voter turnout.

“I think Eddie represented Taylor County well for the 16 years he was in there, and I think he would really work for this area,” Loy said. “He’s a good leader and I think he would work well with the (Gov. Andy) Beshear administration. In a special election like this, you usually expect a 10 to 15 percent turnout, so it might come down to which party can mobilize their voters the best.”

Loy said that fundraising efforts for Rogers are in the planning stages. Rogers, for his part, said campaigning this time around would be much different from the four races he ran for judge.

“I’m kind of leery of going door-to-door this time because of Covid, which is what I always did before,” Rogers said. “I think right now people probably don’t want someone coming by their house like that, but I’ll do some advertisements and find other ways to campaign and meet people, interact with people.”

Republicans choose Pollock

Just 24 hours after Rogers earned the Democrat nomination, Sarge Pollock secured the Republican nod at a meeting held at the Campbellsville Community center, ran by the Kentucky Republican Party.

While Tim Shafer had publicly announced his intentions to seek the nomination, only Pollock was in attendance, and he was the only candidate nominated, securing all votes from both the Adair and Taylor delegations.

“I was the only candidate there, and they all voted for me,” Pollock said Tuesday. “I shared a few thoughts on my vision and what my intent is for the 51st District and that was about it. Obviously, I’m super excited for this opportunity to represent Adair and Taylor County. I look forward to meeting people, sharing my vision, what I stand for, and the values we hold dear to us in this district.”

Pollock said he plans to hit the ground running with his campaign, meeting as many people as possible. He said that he intends to spend plenty of time in Adair County between now and the election, scheduled for Nov. 2.

“We don’t have a lot of time, but I plan on working as hard as I can to meet voters and hear their concerns,” Pollock said. “I’m going to be out at events in Adair and Taylor County, so I hope to meet as many people as I can. I’m going to work for people’s votes.”

County Clerk gears up for election

The matter of where voters will go to cast their ballots on Nov. 2 has not yet been resolved. Adair County Clerk Lisa Greer submitted her plan – which includes five precincts – to the state last week, but has yet to receive word of approval or denial.

Another challenge for Greer this election will be finding precinct workers to fill the required roles. Two Democrats and two Republicans are required to work each precinct.

To contact Greer about working the election, or for information on receiving an absentee ballot, interested parties are encouraged to contact the county clerk’s office at 270-384-2801.

By Wes Feese
wes@adairvoice.com

This story first appeared in the Sept. 9 issue of the Community Voice. To get your subscription, call 270-384-9454 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Mary Ann Loy and other local volunteers have been diligently working over the past month to get ready for the 200th anniversary celebration of the Trabue Russell House on Jamestown Road. The home of Daniel Trabue and Mary Haskins, well-known pioneers and patriots, was built in 1821 to house themselves and five of their nine children.

The celebration is slated for Friday, Sept. 17, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“It is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., but some of the Lindsey Wilson College Chamber Singers will be here around 10 a.m. singing vintage songs from that time period,” Loy said. “There will also be a violinist and a guitarist moving throughout the property.”

Loy said Richard Phelps will portray Daniel Trabue in one room in the house, talking about his life, and Russell County author Mel Hankla will be there to talk about and sign copies of his new book.

Don and Betty Knifley will provide white beans and cornbread for visitors, Robert Flowers will make burgoo, and there will be fried pies with cider to drink.

Admission is free and visitors will be able to freely walk the property.

“Trabue was one of the three men, along with Creed Haskins and William Caldwell, that owned the land that would eventually become Columbia. They bought the land that is now the public square and the land immediately surrounding it,” Loy said. “All three men were leaders and prominent business men, and had leadership roles in county government.”

Trabue built the house in 1821, but owned it for only eight or nine years. Several other owners had the house before James Montgomery Russell bought it in 1873.

The Adair Heritage Association eventually took ownership before the city of Columbia took possession of the property in 2001.

Loy said credit for getting the property ready for the anniversary celebration goes to several people, but a big thank you goes to Vonny Kolbenschlag.

Loy said she turned the house into more than just a house, but “a history museum for the county.”

“I have an appreciation for the people that started the county,” Loy said, “and I think history needs to be local. You need to know your local history.”

By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com

This article first appeared in the Sept. 9 issue of the Community Voice. To order your subscription, call the office at 270-384-9454.

The Columbia City Council will consider an ordinance to increase garbage rates from $15 to $18 after hearing a report of monthly losses.

Council member Linda Waggener gave a report from a sanitation meeting and said rates are too low. She said the department director believes rates should be in line with the county (the county does not provide garbage pickup service but the service is provided countywide by private haulers).

Robert Flowers followed up saying the garbage department lost $20,000 in January and agreed the city is not charging enough.

Following the meeting, City Clerk Rhonda Loy said the city lost $10,000 last month but has improved its revenue by around $12,000 a month after assessing usage from commercial customers and adjusting billing based on usage.

In addition, Loy said, the city now employs three additional people in the department because they are no longer able to use jail inmates on the trucks.

Mayor Pam Hoots also made a recommendation that the city consider developing its own transfer station on property owned by the city on Hwy. 80, east of town. Hoots said they have spoken with environmental officials and are also getting a projected cost. The council voted to move forward with the project.

Tax Rate Proposed

The council gave first reading to setting the tax rate at .217 cents per $100. The proposed rate is the compensating rate and is reduced from last year’s rate of .221. The rate was .225 in 2019 and .227 in 2018. In 2017, the rate was .23.

The council held a brief public hearing due to applying for a $33,900 grant from USDA Rural Development. The city will contribute $11,300 to the project to purchase computers for the police department. Chief Jr. Murphy said the funds would equip seven or eight vehicles.

Council member Robert Flowers questioned if the city’s portion is budgeted and was told it is not and the budget would need to be amended if the project is approved.

“I don’t know how we approve these things until we have it in the budget,” Flowers said.

The council approved a bid from Gaddie Shamrock for $41,841 for road paving, which set the price at $84 a ton.

Hoots recommended Leon Lewis and Joe Willis to the city’s committee overseeing the use of ARPA funds.

Hoots told the council that they now have a draft agreement with Lindsey Wilson College for use of a track that adjoins the city park on Fairground Street and the agreement is expected to be for 10 years.

Hoots asked if the council wanted to pay $5,000 to $8,000 to paint “Columbia” on a water tank at the industrial park near Hwy. 55 south. Flowers again questioned using unbudgeted funds and remarked the city will need to raise taxes again if they continue to keep spending.

The proposal was tabled for council members to consider the cost and visibility of the tank.

The meeting ended with some council members recognizing that it would be Loy’s last regular monthly meeting as city clerk. Loy is retiring at the end of the month. The council then approved the appointment of Woody Sharpe as the next city clerk.

Flowers, Waggener, Sharon Payne, Mark Harris and Dr. Ronald Rogers were present for the meeting. Craig Dean was absent.

By Sharon Burton

snburton@adairvoice.com

The Adair County School District has released its latest cafeteria menu for the four schools.