Thoughtful, Thorough, and Truthful News Coverage in Columbia, Kentucky
Columbia Mayor Pam Hoots signs a proclamation recently proclaiming May 8-14 as Nursing Home Week in Columbia. The proclamation has been designated to recognize the essential roles of skilled nursing care centers.
Joining the mayor were Signature Health Care employees Deb Smith, Misty Sewell, Dana Helm, Jamie Turner, Lana Roy, and Latasha Harden; as well as residents Eula Moss, Rose Willis, and Rebecca Melton.
The Adair County Middle School Students of the Month include: front row: Brooklyn Fellows, Math; Briley Breeding, Reading; Taylor Schmeichel, Social Studies; back row: Clair Loy, Social Studies; Kaylyn Grant, Science; Camey Bernard, Math; and Braxton George, Reading. Sarah Goforth, Science; was not pictured.
This story originally ran in the May 5 issue of the Community Voice. For your own subscription, call 270-384-9454.
A Future Farmers of America team from Adair County High School finished fourth recently in the Kentucky Forestry competition held at Green River Lake State Park. Team members were (from left) Skylar Hare, Jake Hill, CJ Bryant, and Grant Feese.
This story first appeared in the April 28 issue of the Community Voice. For your subscription, call 270-384-9454.
The Adair County Fiscal Court voted at its regular scheduled meet- ing Monday night to include the ambulance service in the group of employees given essential pay for work during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Last year we gave our county employees essential pay. I think full-time employees got $5,000 and part-time got $2,500,” said Judge Executive Gale Cowan. “Ambulance service employees came to a fiscal court meeting and thought they should be included in that. They were not. Some people call them county employees, but they are not. They are a taxing district, just like the library, and the extension office, the health department.”
Monday, the court’s ARPA committee, head- ed by magistrate Billy Coffey, brought the motion before the court to include the ambulance service – depending on whether the county receives the second ARPA check from the federal government. The motion passed 5-1 with magistrate Daryl Flatt abstaining and magistrate Greg Cald- well giving the only nay vote. He wanted all qualifying groups, which included the water district, to receive the money.
Caldwell brought up another motion to give the water district essential pay, too, but the motion failed by a vote of 4-3. Harold Burton, Caldwell and Coffey voted Yes. Flatt, Sammy Baker, Chris Reeder and Terry Hadley voted against it.
“The reason I wanted to separate the issues was we have brought this up about the ambulance service before. I made a motion twice,” said magistrate Reeder. “The ambulance ser- vice were the people that were out here and didn’t have a choice (whether or not to work). They started with just a mask for protection. I am not opposed to the water department getting it, but there are some questions. Guys were out in a truck working on water lines? It is just as important, but it is a different situation.”
Flatt agrees. He said ambulance workers were right on the front line.
“This opportunity came about, and I am like Chris. I am not opposed to the water district getting the money, but certain employees,” Flatt said after the meeting. “It is depending on if we get the second payment. So, I would like to have more information on who (of the water department) is getting it, what they have done, and how they were around Covid.
“I can speak for the ambulance service. They had no choice about working or not, they couldn’t work from home. They were in the back of an ambulance, basically in a 6×8 box, with Covid patients and just a mask and no vaccines. They deserve this money whole-heartedly.”
All spending of ARPA money has to be approved by consultants and Adair County’s decisions go through attorneys Stites and Harbison in Lexington.
Cowan said second check, if the county receives it, should be around $1.5 million and could be received in June or July.
In other court business, Terese Penna was hired on as a part-time 911 dispatcher at $11.70 per hour.
Josh Withers was appointed for a three- year term on the Board of Assessment Appeals. Doyle Lloyd was also appointed chairman.
By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com
This story originally appeared in the April 28 issue of the Community Voice. For a subscription, call 270-384-9454.
The Adair County Band Boosters organization is under new leadership this week and efforts are being made to address a financial shortfall as the upcoming year’s program also gets underway.
Band director Jordan Humphress confirmed that the organization has an outstanding debt and numerous unpaid bills. While they are still confirming the amount of debt, he confirmed that it appears it may be around $58,000.
“The good thing we have going on right now is we have a wonderful slate of officers who are working diligently, along with myself, in finding ways to make sure we get things taken care of and squared away where these students don’t have anything to worry about,” Humphress said.
During a meeting held Monday night, members elected Todd Davenport as the new president, Lindsay Bryant as vice president, Denise Cremens as treasurer, and Bobbie Huckaby as secretary.
Humphress said the organization struggled as the pandemic closed the bingo hall – its primary fundraiser – and there was also previous debt before that. They are still trying to determine how much debt has been paid off and how much remains. Finances are being reviewed in the normal auditing process and fundraisers are already taking place, he added.
School Superintendent Dr. Pamela Stephens attended the Monday night boosters meeting and said during a telephone interview that she has been working with the band director, assistant director, and officers about the boosters’ financial shortfall.
“This is not a new problem,” Stephens said. “This is something that has obviously been practiced, some unwise practices by the boosters’ association for several years. Covid certainly did not help it any. They went for a solid year where they were shut down. And their expenses are about $2,400 a month just to pay the rent and utilities.”
Stephens said according to guidelines, the boosters could choose to eliminate the formal non-profit structure currently established and run their finances through the school board, which is how some athletic organizations are operated. If the boosters choose that route, the district would pay the debt, but band boosters would be required to pay it back to the board of education as they generated the revenue.
“This year’s program is going to cost around $75,000. That’s pretty standard for the program each year,” Stephens said. “They can easily double that amount in revenue if they are running their bingo well. They aren’t going to have any problems, but they don’t have the $75,000 now – between now and October when it’s all over. It’s a way for them to move forward.”
While the financial situation was part of Monday night’s meeting, Humphress said it was also a very positive meeting and band members and boosters are excited about the upcoming program. The band program has brought home more championships than any program in Adair County and has always been a program that has tremendous support from the community.
“We are really thankful we have such a wonderful community that comes out to support us,” Humphress said.
This story originally appeared in the April 21 issue of the Adair County Community Voice. For your own subscription, call 270-384-9454.
David Waltz has always been a creative person, always thinking about new and better ways to do things. When he was younger, unfortunately, those ideas would some- times get him in trouble in school.
Waltz has never lost his creative ideas over the years, and now the Adair County native gets paid for those ideas. He is one of the predominant artists in the region.
“My mother liked to paint on windows, so I probably picked it up from her,” Waltz said. “I remember some of the experiences I had with art as a child. I think my love of art stems out of emotion, communication, and wanting to say something.”
“Back in those days they didn’t analyze kids to death, and I wasn’t the greatest student, but I really did like art. Some teachers recognized that, and they told my family. In my life, that just shows how the influence of a teacher is so import- ant.”
Before coming to Adair County, Waltz sharpened his skills as a teacher in the Campbell County School District. He later did sales for a period of time, and taught art again later for 29 years at schools in Maryland.
Waltz, who considers himself an abstract expressionist, works in several different modes, including paint, ceramics and wood. However, he said he is open to exploring new ideas to please customers.
“I am somewhat color blind, so I get criticized for some of my work,” he said. “But I don’t real- ly care about that. I just have fun with it.”
Children may be the best artists, Waltz said, because they are uninhibited and not afraid to take a chance. He said art can be taught to anyone, but to make it a profession, you have to “click” with the work. He said he would rather work with someone interested in working hard, than with someone that is talented but has no work ethic.
“I remember the first ceramic piece I ever did, a bowl and a vase, which now I am ashamed of,” laughed Waltz. “There has been a big evolution and I have gone through a lot of different style changes.”
“But you know it is a journey, and you identify who you think you are through your work. I want to keep going on the journey. I am thinking I may need to focus on one thing and I am thinking about doing some work about the Ukrainian refugees.”
He often creates pieces on coalminers, mother-child images, and homeless people.
“I work from my mind’s eye a lot. I don’t really need an image of what I am doing,” Waltz said. “I can pull a lot of images from my memory bank. Once I come up with an idea, I think about it a while, let it incubate.”
“I have thrown away many pieces, probably from my abstract days. It all depends on how I feel about the piece. I usually like just about everything I do, if not out, it goes.”
Many of Waltz’s art pieces have been sold around the state and country. Some pieces have been bought by col- lectors in overseas locations.
“I enjoy getting recognition for my work, everyone does. But that is not utmost in my mind,” Waltz said. “I would be really frustrated if I couldn’t do my art. I would miss it, but I would miss more not being able to gift my art to others.”
By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com
This story first appeared in the March 31 issue of the Community Voice. For your personal subscription, call 270-384-9454.
There has been a lot of work already done on the Columbian Theater. Adair County School Superintendent Dr. Pamela Stephens, along with project manager Doug Beard, has been spearheading a host of renovations to try and bring the facility back to its old glory. However, Stephens and Beard will be quick to say there is a lot more work to be done over the next few months, in anticipation for a December opening.
“I want to let people know this is going to happen,” Stephens said. “We are probably looking right at a $500,000 in renovations to get things done. We are we excited about getting to share this with everyone. We are trying to look at the expense of it as well, but so far that is doable. We will be coming forward with a donor campaign because we have had many people reach out and ask about that.
“It is my commitment to the board, and especially to the school system, we are not taking anything away from the children to do this facility. This project includes the children and that is part of the motivation.”
Stephens signed a lease agreement for the theater with Dr. Ben Arnold last fall for $1. Her vision is to have a fine arts center to be used by district students, Lindsey Wilson College and the community.
The Columbian Theater opened in 1947 and was thought to have one of the largest screens in the south. In this proposal, Stephens sees the theater’s lights being turned on again for multiple uses, including drama events, choral performances, art displays, and special community occasions.
Beard said he is very pleased after talking with contractors with the news the theater is actually in pretty good structural shape.
Stephens agrees.
“The majority of the work so far is cosmetic,” Stephens said. “We are doing some work in the bathrooms, doing some painting. The big- gest expense, as of now, is the lighting and sound system, and streaming capabilities.”
Some work will be done to fix the ceiling in the theater auditorium. Instead of a rounded front to the stage, Beard said it would be shaped more like a square and come straight out. It is expected to be 600 square feet in size and reach out to where the first and second row of seats are currently located. He also said some work will be done to the area behind the stage. The seating capacity is to be just under 300.
“We are still shooting for Christmas for our first event,” said Stephens.
By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com
This story originally appeared in the March 24 issue of the Community Voice. For your personal subscription, call 270-384-9454.
Wes Irvin and Andrea Irvin are in their final push to get ready for parents to register their children for a spot in next year’s Headstart, preschool and kindergarten classes. The school year seems to be flying by.
The first day of registration will be April 15 at the Adair County Primary Center. There will also be registration days on April 22 and April 29 for Headstart and preschool.
“We feel like there are students out there we could be serving that we are not,” said Wes Irvin, preschool director for Adair County. “It may be parent choice, or it may be that we need to educate the parent as to what we can offer in preschool. The goal for preschool is that when they go to kindergarten, they will be kindergarten ready.”
“We screen our kindergarten students the first week of school to see if they are kindergarten ready,” said Andrea Irvin, ACPC counselor. “Our numbers have gone down the past several years.”
Registration for kindergarten will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., while registration for Head- start and preschool will be from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Kindergarten registration will be in the library, while preschool and Headstart registration each week will take place through Door 13 at ACPC. Parents are being asked to park near that door to help with traffic.
“The first thing we did to try and turn those low numbers around was take preschool from two days a week to four,” Wes Irvin said. “Now, we are trying to go from four classrooms to five class- rooms.”
Andrea Irvin said if any parents can’t make the scheduled registration day she will work with them.
“If any parents won’t be available during any of the registration times, they can contact me at the school 270-384-3367 or by email at andrea. irvin@kyschools,us. com,” she said. “I will be happy to stay after school or meet them during their lunch break to reg- ister their child for kindergarten.”
“I would recommend to any parent with a 3- or 4-year-old to at least register your child to allow us to screen them,” said Wes Irvin. “When they register, we will set up a day to be screened. Kindergarten will be screened the day of registration.”
Students must be three or four years old by Aug. 1 to qualify for Headstart or preschool. Children three years of age must have a disability to qualify, while four-year-olds can qualify on income or with a disability. Stu- dents can qualify for kindergarten by turning five years of age on or before Aug. 1. No income regulations must be met for kindergarten students.
“It is so important to get children registered for preschool and kindergarten. We can get the children the services they need to help better prepare them for kindergarten Preschool sets a good foundation for students,” Wes Irvin said.
Preschool students are getting a similar experience as a kindergartner. They are in school all day, fed breakfast and lunch. There are morning meetings, and story time. The curriculum Adair County uses come with activities. The students learn by learning reading and the sounds that go with it. Pre- schoolers also get a nap.
“Kindergarten is a lot more structured. Pre- school learns through play,” Andrea Irvin said. “Everything is hands-on learning. Every class- room has a morning meeting, then there is center circle work in the morning and in the after- noon. The students have calendar time, recess every day, and a 10-minute movement break.”
Wes Irvin suggested all parents make sure they bring a list of items to be prepared for registration. That list includes birth certificate, report from a physical, eye exam results, proof of income, and up-to-date immunization records. The information can be emailed to the schools or brought to the night of registration.
By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com
This story originally ran in the March 17 issue of the Community Voice. For your own subscription, call 270-384-9454.
A proposed project that sat idle for several years is back on the table after a group of farmers and other citizens attended Monday night’s fiscal court meeting.
County Judge Executive Gale Cowan said the discussion to consider starting a natural gas company originated during the previous administration, when Mike Stephens was judge.
“We are at the point now where we need to decide if we want to move forward with it, or if we don’t,” Cowan said.
The judge said she is in favor of looking into the project and believes it would help area farmers, rock quarries and homeowners.
She asked Lenny Stone, general manager of the Columbia-Adair Utilities District, if he would like to comment and Stone said he would answer any questions the court may have. Stone said the first step would need to be for the county to establish a commit- tee that could determine if a county-operated natural gas company would be financially feasible.
“We originally started this under Judge Stephens’ administration, looking into getting natural gas out into the county, and it’s a challenging thing to do but it can be done,” Stone said.
Stone said they reviewed state law and received Attorney General’s opinions. The county can establish a gas system and there are options on how it would be operated, he said.
The original plan called for running the first lines in the Portland area, but there is demand in other parts of the county, too, Stone said.
“You can see by a lot of people here tonight, this is not just a phase to go to Portland,” Stone said. “I think everybody here who supports natural gas is asking for a county gas system that would go all over the county.”
When they first started looking into it, Stone said the found there were 14 poultry houses that would be impacted by the first phase.
“ We had 135 people in that area that signed up that would take natural gas if it were presented to them – for their homes, people talking about their greenhouses, grain dryers,” Stone said.
Countywide, the utility district sent out a questionnaire and received around 4,000 back, with 3,000 to 3,200 people wanting gas or wanting to know more about it, he added. Stone said the court could set stipulations similar to what the utility board did when they considered a new water plant.
“We created a board just to look and see if it made sense, to see if we could get the money,” he said.
Cowan said a lot of people are saying she is interested in doing this because it is going to Portland, but she said she is only interested if it is countywide.
Magistrates asked numerous questions about the legal pro- cedures and the costs required to get the proj- ect in place. Those are the type of questions a committee would seek answers for, Stone said.
Magistrate Daryl Flatt asked about the possibility of the county merging a gas operation with the city, which already operates a natural gas company and has developed lines outside of the city limits within the county.
Stone asked one of the farmers in the audience how long he had asked the city for natural gas and he responded that it was going on 10 years.
“I think everything should be left on the table right now,” Stone said. “You just need to put a group together to look into it. I have to stop right now ; I can’t go any further until that group is formed.”
Magistrates voted unanimously to allow Cowan to recommend a committee to research the feasibility of a natural gas operation and Cowan said she would have the names for the next court meeting.
During an interview after the meeting, Cowan was asked why the project stalled and she replied that it was pushed to the back burner when the pandemic started. Cowan was part of a group that visited a county that operates a similar project during the beginning of her administration.
“They were very favorable of it, but Covid hit and we pretty much had to switch gears,” she said. She was approached again about the need for the county to make the next move, and she put it on the agenda, she said.
By Sharon Burton
snburton@adairvoice.com
For some of us, this week may be difficult because it marks the second anniversary of the start of the pandemic. Some fought the virus ourselves, and some lost loved ones whose battle with Covid-19 was too much to bear.
We at the Adair County Community Voice want to invite you to share your stories of loss or sacrifice. We hope by sharing our stories we can find comfort.
This story originally appeared in the Feb. 24 issue of the Community Voice. For a subscription, call 270-384-9454.
Billy Appleton still tears up a little when he thinks about it. Seven years ago, just three days after her birth, Appleton spent a horrific night holding the lifeless body of his young daughter Jocelyn. Her birth went well, but Appleton said something just didn’t feel right to him. His baby girl just didn’t look like she should, and she had even stopped breathing earlier in the night.
“I refused to let them kick me out of the hospital,” Appleton said. “I didn’t want to go home and have my child die. I did everything I knew to do to help, and I just held her and started praying. At the end of the prayer, I looked down and she is looking up smiling at me.
“I wasn’t taking no for an answer, and we were going to get some answers. When they told me she had Angel- man Syndrome, I just said, ‘What.’ Everybody knows what Downs Syndrome is, and everybody knows what autism is. Angelman Syndrome? It was shock and awe.”
Angelman syndrome (AS) is a rare neuro-genetic disorder that occurs in one in 15,000 live births or 500,000 people worldwide. It is caused by a loss of function of the UBE3A gene in the 15th chromosome derived from the mother, according to the Angelman Syndrome Foundation.
AS shares symptoms and characteristics with other disorders including autism, cerebral palsy, and Prader-Willi syndrome. Due to the common characteristics, misdiagnosis occurs often.
People with Angelman syndrome have developmental problems that become noticeable by the age of 6 – 12 months. Other common signs and symptoms usually appear in early childhood like walking and balance disorders, gastrointestinal issues, seizures and little to no speech.
Unfortunately, AS has affected children in the local area. Besides Jocelyn, Izzie Mae Bryant, the daughter of Mer-cedes and Easton Bryant, is also an Angelman Syndrome survivor. Jocelyn is a second grader and Izzie Mae is in preschool at Adair County Primary Center.
“Izzie Mae had a hard start at life,” Mercedes Bryant said. “She had colic and reflux so bad that she had failure to thrive. At six months old, we knew something was off and she was behind.” Numerous doctor visits followed, including trips to see specialists at Vanderbilt University, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and the University of Louisville.
“I was definitely getting frustrated at that time because deep down I am feeling something was off with Izzie,” Mercedes said. “But we just kept our faith and kept doing all we could for early intervention for Izzie. When we went to the University of Louisville, not even five minutes into the visit, the doctor asked me if I had ever heard of Angelman Syndrome. He said, ‘I think that’s what she has.’
“When he said that, deep down I knew he was right. The peace that only God can give came over me. It is so hard being in the unknown and not having the answers. Finally having the answer and having a peace about it, my soul was at such a good place.”
Appleton said the best way to explain how AS affects a child is they have the functionality and comprehension of someone with Downs Syndrome and the communication and understanding of somebody with autism.
“Jocelyn understands like us, but she doesn’t remember well,” said Hannah Colvin, who has been with Appleton for three years. “Telling her not to do something is an over-and-over process. Her pain perception is different than most. She might go over and stick her hand on the hot oven, and it take a while until she realizes it is hot. Jocelyn is very food oriented and her cutoff valve when she is full doesn’t work. She is always hungry.”
Mercedes credits the local school system, the staff at ACPC in particular, for having a big role in how Izzie Mae has developed.
“We try to live as normal of a life as possible,” Mercedes said. “Izzie is doing things that shouldn’t be possible, she walked at 21 months. She is a rock star, and we are blessed to have her.
“And that includes learning. I don’t have anything negative to say about ACPC. To be the parent of a child that can’t speak for themselves, but they have so many people in a school system that love them, care about them, pray for them and believe in them, there is nothing that compares to that.”
Appleton and Colvin say even though they love Jocelyn with all their hearts, parenting a child with AS is “no walk in the park.” Angelman Syndrome kids don’t sleep much and can go three or four days without sleeping. They have installed alarms on their windows and all doors because Jocelyn has gotten outside and taken off down the highway.
“Angelman kids are gifts to us,” Appleton said. “Seven years ago, God could have given us a ‘normal’ kid and he could have given Jocelyn to a family that may have had her aborted or given her up for adoption. He didn’t, he gave her to us. I am dad, and she’s mine. She is my little girl, and I will fight for her.”
“Izzie’s future is very bright, and I truly believe she will do all things,” Mercedes said. “There are many clinical trials going on. I have even spoken to moms with children in the trials and after one dose, the children went from non-verbal and saying nothing to saying up to eight words with one dose. Science is amazing.”
Mercedes said over the years she has had 18 people, some she knew and some she didn’t, tell her they dreamed about Izzie Mae speaking.
“To see a child do something that doctors said she would never do, our pride is immeasurable,” Mercedes said. “I can’t tell you what the future holds for Izzie, but I know it holds nothing but good things. One day, we will hear her voice and we will hear her speak. I can’t wait for that day.”
By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com
FRANKFORT – Legislation that would build on the School Safety and Resiliency Act enacted three years ago by requiring a School Resource Officer on every public school campus by August 1 passed the Kentucky House on Tuesday.
House Bill 63 clarifies the earlier law by stating the SRO must be physically on the assigned campus. It additionally requires school districts to report to the state security marshal if there are troubles with funding or finding enough officers, so a plan can be devised to help them.
“Let me be frank: this is not an unfunded mandate,” said the sponsor, Rep. Kevin Bratcher, R-Louisville. “The legislation is a good step forward and gets us on the right path toward funding safety in our schools. The School Safety and Accountability Act did many great things, including an annual report on school safety every year, but one thing lacking are reasons why schools cannot fund or find personnel. When the legislature gets those statistics, we can begin addressing the problem.”
Bratcher stated local school districts have the autonomy to hire for the resource officer position as long as they are qualified. As schools move forward with plans, they will continue to have full control over deciding which buildings have the SROs and which will get them later.
The measure passed 78-17.
Also winning adoption was House Bill 220, sponsored by Rep. David Hale, R-Wellington, which would make intimidation of a sports official a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine.
“We have seen, over the last few years, and it is getting progressively worse, the aggressive action that is being taken towards referees, umpires, and other officials,” Hale, a former official himself, told his colleagues. “Men and women are dropping out of the ranks of officiating at an all-time high.”
Bonnie Janes’ house is a shrine to all she has experienced in her life.
The 83-year-old Adair County native has photos of family members on the walls of her living room and up and down the halls leading to her bedrooms. Each of the pictures tell a story and means a lot to Bonnie.
Something else that means the world to her is her six-decade marriage to Ollen, and together they will celebrate their 66th wedding anniversary on Tuesday.
“I just kind of knew he was the one for me,” said Bonnie. “I wasn’t nervous about getting married because a lot of people were getting married at a young age back then. And I really believed and knew with all my heart that when I made my vows, that meant forever. That’s what I intended.”
Ollen, now 87, started courting Bonnie at the age of 17. He was the elder by four years but had known Bonnie for a long time as they grew up together around the Milltown area.
“We lived close together as we grew up about a mile or two apart and attended church together,” Ollen said. “On our first date, I walked up the road probably six miles to Pollard’s Chapel. They were having an all-day singing and dinner on the grounds.”
“Ollen came over to the church and wanted to know if he could come in and sit by me. That was our first date,” Bonnie chimed in. “I had noticed Ollen before that day, and I had sent him a Valentine’s Day card to let him know I liked him. …I heard he actually threw the card away.”
Ollen laughs and says he doesn’t remember throwing the card away, but that didn’t seem to hurt the relationship at all. The relationship continued for four more years before they married on Feb. 8, 1956. Ollen left for Korea two months later.
“A couple of months after getting married, Ollen was drafted and left for 16 months. That, I guess probably brought us together more than it hurt us,” said Bonnie. “Being apart put a lot of strain on us; we didn’t get to see each other for a long time. I went to stay with family most of the time while he was gone.
“We had always gone to church throughout our time together and I think God played a big role in helping
us get through that time in our lives.”
Bonnie and Ollen have one son, Barney, who lives in the same community where he grew up.
The couple said they can’t really remember any arguments they’ve had over the years. They are sure they’ve had some, but they must not have meant much because nothing really comes to mind.
“We never really had any problems,” Ollen laughed. “If Bonnie was upset with me, I usually left and went to the store. I think that’s the best way. It allows you to relax and then you can come back.”
All kidding aside, Bonnie said communication is the key to a long marriage. Talking through issues, she said, allows them to work through it.
“You also need to be ready to work at your marriage. Sometimes, people want to leave for any little thing. Talk to one another, if you are having problems, talk to each other or find someone to help counsel you.
“I think couples need God’s help. They need to remember that each of them is different, so there is some give and take in the marriage.”
“I would tell anyone getting married they need to go to church together. That is so important,” said Bonnie.
By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com
This story originally ran in the Feb. 3 issue of the Community Voice newspaper. For your own subscription, call 270-384-9454.
An Adair County man is facing several charges after a bailiff was assaulted in the Adair County Judicial Center last week during court.
Michah Roberts, 25, was remanded to jail during a hearing before District Judge Michael Loy last Wednesday. When bailiff Richard Redmon attempted to take him into custody, he reportedly resisted arrest and a struggle ensued.
The Community Voice requested a video recording of the incident from Circuit Clerk Dennis Loy but was told that the hearing was being conducted on matters that are not open to the public.
Redmon was transported by law enforcement to T.J. Columbia for treatment. Roberts was charged with assault, 3rd degree; resisting arrest; and disorderly conduct.
Sheriff Josh Brockman and Columbia Police Officer Kevin Atwood responded to the courtroom to assist.
This story originally appeared in the Feb. 3 issue of the Community Voice. For your own subscription, call 270-384-9454.
A lawsuit filed against county officials, former jailer Joey White and several jail employees following the November 2020 death of a jail inmate has been moved to federal court.
Skylor Turner died Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020 while being housed in the conference room at the jail. The lawsuit is filed on behalf of Patrick Turner, Skylor Turner’s father and administrator of his estate; and Natalie Moore, the mother of Skylor Turner’s child.
The lawsuit names former jailer Joey White, County Judge Executive Gale Cowan, the county’s seven magistrates, and multiple employees of the jail, all of whom are being sued individually and in their official capacity.
The case has been removed from Adair Circuit Court and has now been filed in U.S. District Court in the western district located in Bowling Green.
Two separate law firms represent the defendants in the case. English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP, a firm in Bowling Green, represents White and jail employees.
Vaughn Petitt Legal Group, PLLC, in Pewee Valley, represents Cowan and members of the fiscal court.
Carroll and Turner, PSC, in Monticello, and Cooper and Friedman, PLLC, of Louisville, represent the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit was moved to federal court following a request by the defendants. Aaron Smith, an attorney with English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, said the civil suit was moved because of the type of allegations made by the plaintiffs.
“The plaintiffs made allegations of constitutional violations against the defendants, and specifically violations against the United States Constitution,” he said. “That creates juris- diction for the case in the federal court where those matters are routinely handled.”
The primary accusations in the case are a violation of civil rights and wrong death.
According to the lawsuit, Turner was housed with another inmate from 6:52 a.m. on Nov. 11 until 12:34 p.m. He was left alone without communication from any jail staff from 4:03 p.m. until he was found dead the following morning at 3:11 a.m.
The defendants kept Turner in a room not designed to house prisoners and not safe for prisoners, then left him without communication, the lawsuit alleges. In addition, they should have known that Turner suffered from a serious medical/mental health condition and should have known the risk of not providing him with the help he needed.
A video recording of Turner shows him becoming agitated and, around 4:40 p.m., moving tables and chairs into a corner that was no longer visible by the camera. A few minutes later, he stares at the door, then craws under a table and disappears from sight.
There is no more activity until a female deputy walks in at 3:12 a.m. the following morning – nine hours later – to bring a food tray and finds his body.
An electrical cord around 20-25 ft. long was in the room along with an old tv shelf mounted on the wall. Turner wrapped the cord around his neck and attached it to the metal tv mount.
The lawsuit alleges that employees of the jail not only failed to protect Turner but were a substantial factor in causing his death and in causing him severe emotional distress. Former Jailer White is accused of not providing proper training. In addition, the lawsuit alleges fault by the fiscal court because White “had been requesting funding from the Adair County Fiscal Court so that he could maintain a safe jail but without such funding he could not operate a safe jail.”
The court is also accused of operating the jail without adequate personnel to supervise inmates, housing them in inadequate facilities and a facility that was extremely overcrowded.
This story first appeared in the Jan. 27 issue of the Community Voice. For your own subscription, call 270-384-9454 today.
The slate for the 2022 Primary Election is now complete. While several incumbents will run unopposed, others find themselves with a race in the May Primary or the November General Election.
Adair County Judge Executive
Gale Cowan (R) (I), Larry Russell Bryant, David Herbst
County Clerk
Lisa Greer (R) (I)
Count Attorney
Jennifer Hutchison Corbin (R) (I)
PVA
Landon Edwards (D) (I)
Jailer
Jeremy Wethington (D), Jamie Richard (R)
Sheriff
Josh Brockman (R) (I)
District 1 Magistrate
Tony Denton (R), Harold Burton (R) (I)
District 2 Magistrate
Daryl Flatt (R) (I), Sandra Antle (R), Ronnie Bryant (R)
District 3 Magistrate
Sammy Baker (R) (I), Brian Turner (R), Benjamin “Ben” Loy (D)
District 4 Magistrate
Chris Reeder (R) (I)
District 5 Magistrate
Billy Coffey (R) (I), Jason Grider (D)
District 6 Magistrate
Greg Caldwell (R) (I)
Ronald “Mark” Humphress (R)
District 7 Magistrate
Terry Hadley (R) (I), Terry Farris (R)
Coroner
Roger Huckaby Jr. (R)
District 1 Constable
William “Bill” Troutwine (R) (I)
District 2 Constable
District 3 Constable
Robert Loy (R) (I), Ken Hill (R), Brandon Nokes (D)
District 4 Constable
Jeff Dickson (R)
District 5 Constable
Jeffrey “Keith” Streeval (R), Tim Bottoms (R) (I)
District 6 Constable
Jason Rector (R) (I)
District 7 Constable
Charles Esch (R), Joe Collins Jr. (R) (I)
County Surveyor
Michael E. McKinney (R)
Adair County Soil/Water
Julie Day, Danny Wilkinson
US Senate
Republicans: Arnold Blankenship, Ashland Valerie “Dr Val” Fredrick, Murray
Paul V. Hamilton, Nicholasville Rand Paul, Newport (I)
John Schiess, Rice Lake WI Tami L. Stainfield, Marion
Democrats: Joshua Wesley Blanton, Sr., Louisville
Charles Booker, Louisville Ruth Gao, Louisville
John Merrill, McKee
US Representative
District 1
Jimmy C. Ausbrooks, Franklin (D), James R. Comer, Tompkinsville (R) (I)
State Senate
District 16
Justy Engle, Campbellsville (D), George Maxwell “Max” Wise, Campbellsville (R) (I)
State Representative
District 21: Jimmy Carter, Tompkinsville (R), Terry David Dubree, Tompkinsville (R) , Joshua Wes Ellis, Columbia (R), Daniel Thomas Glass, Summer Shade (R), and Amy Neighbors, Edmonton (R)
Judge of the Court of Appeals
District 3/Division 1, Jacqueline Caldwell, Cox’s Creek; District 3/Division2,
James H. Lambert, Mt. Vernon
Circuit Judge
29 District
Judy Vance Murphy, Glensfork
District Judge
29TH District
Michael Loy, Columbia
Holly Necessary has been working as a park naturalist at the Lake Cumberland State Resort Park for several years and, she will be quick to tell, loves what she does. It couldn’t be a better job.
However, Necessary had been thinking a long time about making a career change and on Monday, she took the big leap and began her first week as an officer with the Columbia Police Department.
“I loved working at the park, but it just wasn’t as satisfying as I had hoped,” Necessary said. “This is something I have always wanted to do. My wife is in law enforcement and my brother-in-law is, too.”
Necessary, 32, is also a private personal trainer in the Jamestown area.
“I know people that pursue this career are a lot younger than me, but I think my age actually benefits me in a way because I am a little more seasoned and mature,” Necessary said. “I have learned some life lessons and how to not sweat the small things. I have learned to try to navigate situations with as much integrity as possible.”
She isn’t too worried about making the transition. Physically, Necessary feels she’s on point. She thinks she’s going to have to study up on the other points of the job.
“I have to learn the rules and regulations, the laws. What stresses me out is it is a lot of responsibility. I don’t want to make a wrong decision and potentially impact a
person’s life negatively,” said Necessary. “I take the whole ‘protect and serve’ thing very seriously. I want to help people.”
She also said she’s excited about being the only woman in the department and the only female city officer for decades. Necessary said she’s worked in male-dominated fields before and believes the position of police officer comes down to just showing up and doing your job.
“In the first week with the Columbia Police Department you ride with someone, and they critique you as you go through some growing pains,” Necessary said. “I appreciate them doing that. It is import- ant to them that I am ready to represent the department and the community the best I can.”
Necessary is expected to start training at the police academy in Richmond on May 22.
“I really want people to know I am proud to be a part of the community,” Necessary said. “I am proud to serve. I will do my best to make them proud and to protect and serve the community.”
By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com
This story was originally run in the Jan. 13 issue of the Community Voice. For the latest in local sports and news, call 270-384-9454 for a subscription.
Redistricting bills have passed the House and Senate with enough support to override any possible veto by the governor, and candidates are now filing for office based on the new district boundaries.
Adair County has been moved from House District 51, currently represented by Sarge Pollock and covering Adair and Taylor counties, and moved into District 21, which will now include Adair, Cumberland, Metcalfe and Monroe counties.
Rep. Bart Rowland, of Tompkinsville, who has represented District 21 since 2012, announced last month that he would not seek re-election.
That leaves the field wide open for a newcomer, and several candidates have already filed for the position in the newly defined district.
Adair County resident Joshua “Wes” Ellis, a Republican, filed Mon- day. Republicans Jimmy Carter and Terry David Dubree, both from Tompkinsville, have also filed. Robert Hickman, of Hardyville, a Republican, and Democrat John W. Pennington, of Horse Cave, filed prior to redistricting, but Hart County, where they both reside, has now been removed from the 21st District.
Adair County will remain in the 16th Senate district but the boundaries for the district have changed. Currently District 16 includes Adair, Clinton, Cumberland, McCreary, Russell, Tay- lor and Wayne counties. The new District 16 will include Adair, Allen, Taylor, Metcalfe, Monroe and a portion of Warren counties.
Sen. Max Wise, the incumbent from Campbellsville, filed last week on the Republican ticket. Justy Engle, also from Campbellsville, has filed as a Democrat.
Adair County also remains in the 1st Congressional district, although the district will change. Congressman James Comer, a Republican, currently serves the 1st District and has filed for re-election. David L. Sharp, of Madisonville, has also filed on the Republican ticket.
Filing deadline extended
The deadline to file for all races in the May 17 Primary Election has been extended to Jan. 25. The original deadline was last week but a bill quickly passed through the legislature and was signed by Gov. Beshear because of redistricting efforts taking place.
This extension includes all races on the ballot in May, including local countywide races.
By Sharon Burton
snburton@adairvoice.com
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