I know I’m not alone in my belief that time is a strange thing. Sometimes things that happened long ago seem like just yesterday, and sometimes things are new – yet it’s hard to remember a time when they didn’t exist. As I looked back on the pages of our newspaper from just ten years ago, I was a little surprised this week to see an article mentioning “Somerset’s proposed new energy center” – still just a dream for which ground had not even been broken.
The energy center has become such a landmark in the downtown Somerset area, it’s hard to believe that it didn’t even exist ten years ago. I have included a large portion of the article about the energy center, because it’s interesting to see which plans stuck and which were adjusted. (Note that the original plans were to tear down the building that was then city hall.
That structure remains to this day and has been used to house a few small businesses over the years.) Here’s what was newsworthy in Pulaski County this week in 2014, from the pages of the Commonwealth Journal. Groundbreaking ceremonies for Somerset’s proposed new energy center will be held in two or three weeks, Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler said Wednesday.
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Somerset City Council accepted a low bid of $9,180,000 from D.W. Wilburn of Lexington and Somerset to build the energy center.
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The energy complex, designed by Brandstetter Carroll Inc., Lexington, is a unique structure, probably the only one of its kind in the nation. It will be the nerve center for Somerset’s vast natural gas network.
The 36,200-square-foot building also will contain space for city hall. The glass-bedecked structure will be located on what is now a city parking lot at the corner of East Mt. Vernon and College Streets.
The area will be expanded by demolition of some structures now considered blight. The former Meece Hardware building on the west side of the parking lot has already collapsed when steel beams were removed to use in an amphitheater being Constructed in Rocky Hollow. .
.. An adjoining building, built in 1945, was originally Ben Mattingly Tire Store, then Shamrock Glass.
It also will be razed. Also to be torn down are the former city utilities building on the west side of College Street north of the parking lot, and the current city utilities building on the east side of College Street just north of Somerset City Hall. The existing city hall, a former automotive repair shop building converted to a honeycombed city hall in 1951, will be torn down to make way for a parking lot.
Heart of the energy center will be on the second floor. It will contain the technology center and engineers’ offices as well as space for city police department detectives and planning and zoning department. Girdler said there will be city hall offices on all three of the above-ground floors.
The city clerk’s office, city staff, Somerset Police Department offices, conference room and public use spaces, including a drive-through, will be on the first floor. An emergency command center will be in a portion of the basement along with police department lockers, mechanical and electrical areas and storage space. The top floor is labeled as future space.
Girdler said this area will be left mainly vacant for future research and development work with the private sector. The center will be energy self-sufficient. An adjacent natural gas-powered generator will provide electrical power for the center and more.
Excess electricity will be put in Kentucky Utilities’ grid in a trade-off deal with the city. Kids in Pulaski County will soon have a little more excitement on their weekends, thanks to an entertainment permit proposal approved by Somerset City Council on Monday night. The council held a public hearing before Monday’s council meeting to discuss the proposal from the Loft, at 1340 S.
Hwy. 27, Suite 8, which will provide kids with snacks including nachos, hot dogs, popcorn and soft drinks and entertainment, including a live DJ. The Loft will open its doors to kids ages 13 to 15 on Friday nights and kids 16 to 19 on Saturday nights.
The Loft’s doors will also be open to church groups on Sundays when requested. “This is a teen center,” said Mayor Eddie Girdler. “There will be about five adults watching the kids.
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The city council unanimously voted to approve the entertainment permit proposal. Filing deadline for small city, school board and independent candidates passed at 4 p.m.
yesterday and mayoral contests developed in Eubank, Ferguson and Burnside. Contests also developed for seats on Burnside City Council; in Division 3 of the Pulaski County School District; and for a seat on the Somerset Independent Board of Education. Charles A.
Carrender, an unsuccessful candidate for judge-executive four years ago, will try again as an independent candidate for the county’s top office. Carrender’s name will be on the November 4 ballot to face GOP nominee Steve Kelley and Democratic nominee Rodney Casada. A ripple is spreading across normally calm waters at Eubank.
Frey Todd, the only mayor Eubank has ever had, will be challenged in November by Michael Walls. Todd has served as mayor of Eubank since the makeup of 6-class city governments changed from town boards to mayor-commissioner. In Ferguson Linda Strunk Hughes, a veteran city councilor, will attempt to unseat incumbent Mayor Allen R.
Dobbs. In Burnside, incumbent Ronald E. “Ron” Jones will face former mayor Richard M.
Sadler. ..
. In addition to a new judge-executive, Pulaski County will have a new county clerk, sheriff, jailer and coroner. Greg Speck, a retired commander of Kentucky State Police Post 15 at Columbia, defeated incumbent Todd Wood for the GOP nomination for sheriff.
Speck will be unopposed for election as sheriff in November. David Moss, currently serving as police chief of Ferguson, came out on top in a nine-candidate race for jailer. A Republican, Moss upset incumbent jailer Mike Harris.
Moss has no opposition on the November ballot but Rodney Stevens, fourth-place finisher in the GOP primary for jailer, will try again in November as a write-in candidate. Clyde Strunk, pastor of Potter’s Place church, outpolled four candidates in the May 20th primary election to win the coroner’s race. He will succeed Charles E.
“Chuck” Godbey, serving as coroner by appointment. Linda Burnett, longtime deputy county clerk, won a four-candidate primary contest to become the next county clerk, succeeding Ralph Troxtell who will retire at the end of this year. More than 62 years after being wounded by an enemy mortar during the Korean War a Pulaski County man was recognized for his service and received a Purple Heart.
George Gibson, of Keno Mountain, joined the U.S. Army in 1949 when he was 17, with his parents’ permission.
He served in Korea before being wounded by a mortar that was shot over a tank. Gibson was treated at a Naval Hospital for his injuries and for some reason he fell through the cracks, never receiving his purple heart. .
.. According to daughter Rhonda Gibson, it wasn’t until 2002 that her father was contacted by the Army telling him that he had been awarded a Purple Heart.
Gibson said that her family spent the next 12 years trying to get her father an actual medal. George Gibson, now in his 80s, was awarded his purple heart at a V.F.
W. near Scottsburg, Ind. “We’re so grateful that dad finally got the recognition that he deserves,” Gibson said.
“He’s always been my hero, now everyone else can see him as the hero he is.” Workers are clearing land in northern Kentucky to build a long-stalled tourist attraction featuring Noah’s Ark. Ken Ham, head of the Christian ministry Answers in Genesis, posted video of the excavation work on his Facebook page this week.
It is the first sign of large-scale construction activity at the site in Grant County since plans for the 510-foot long biblical ark were announced by Answers in Genesis in 2010. The project had been delayed when private donations did not keep pace with the construction timeline. Local author, photographer, geologist, artist and instructor Jonathon Thompson will be having a book signing of his new releases, “Days of a Natural Year” and “The Richards’ Bend Journals,” at the Carnegie Community Arts Center on Friday, Aug.
15, at 7 p.m. He will also have note cards and photographs available for sale.
Thompson is one of Somerset’s academic and artistic treasures. His love of nature and the outdoors, as well as his thirst for learning about wildflowers, trees, rocks, caves, rivers, bicycling, roads and the history of them all will never be quenched. His lust for life and the vast amount of beauty surrounding him is captured in his brilliant photographs of sunrises, sunsets and all in between.
For four decades, they’ve come together, celebrating the memory of a very special community — one forged out of bleaker times, but nonetheless became very precious to so many in Somerset. The 40th anniversary Dunbar School reunion will be held this weekend — Friday and Saturday — in remembrance of the school for young African Americans that held classes throughout the early part of the 20th century. Dunbar High School closed its doors in 1956, when black students finally started attending Somerset schools.
The elementary school continued on through 1964. But the origins of the school began much earlier, as an old wooden building on the corner of Market and Maple Streets around the turn of the century. in 1909, a new brick schoolhouse was built and remained until 1940.
As the third building was being constructed, students attended classes at South Maple Street Baptist Church, Davis Chapel AME Church and a Masonic Hall. ..
. Every two years, the Dunbar Alumni Association holds a reunion for Dunbar graduates, though president of the group, Jeff Perkins, noted that attendance is becoming more and more sparse. .
.. Still, there are enough alumni around to keep the memories alive.
Take Sarah Stigall. She graduated from the school in 1939. Now at age 92, Stigall figures she may be unique among the Dunbar faithful.
“I guess I’m the oldest black person in Somerset,” she said. ..
. Stigall was one of the first people to help start the reunion 40 years ago this week. She’s remained in Somerset throughout her life, raising a family and working in housecleaning services.
-Ms. Elizabeth Ann Drake and Mr. Blair Gregory Hoelscher were united in marriage on June 14, 2014, in a ceremony officiated by the Reverend Don Williams.
The wedding and reception were held at Brookgreen Gardens of Pawleys Island, S.C. The ceremony took place under live oak trees in a section of the gardens titled “The Gates.
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The bride is the daughter of Dr. Robert Drake and Ms. Vickii Drake of Somerset, Ky.
, and granddaughter of Margaret Wood of Nancy, Ky. Elizabeth currently teaches fourth grade at Hopkins Elementary. The groom is the son of Mr.
Greg Hoelscher of Holland, Mich., and Ms. Shelia Hoelscher of Amelia, Ohio.
Blair serves as the director of sales at Team Modern. ..
. Following the wedding, the couple traveled to Rome, Italy, and the seaside town of Sorrento, Italy, for their honeymoon. The couple will reside in Somerset, Ky.
-Gene Strunk and Darlene Hudson were united in marriage September 5, 1964, by Bro. Robert Silvers in Tateville, Ky. They have been blessed with two children: Mike Strunk of Bronston and Debbie Strunk of Somerset; five grandchildren, Ashlee (and Brandon) Ingram, Brianna Allen, Chelsea (and Lewis) Kemish, Wesley Noe and Jeremy Strunk; and three great-grandchildren: Scarlett Rose, Lacey Roseann and Carter Wayne.
Darlene is the daughter of the late Herman L. and Bernice Hudson. Gene is the son of the late Everett Strunk and Elsie Strunk Bray.
They live at Tateville, Ky., and attend Buena Vista Baptist Church. Their faith in God and love of family is very important to them.
The Strunk family will be spending a few days at Apple Bear Lodge in Gatlinburg, Tenn. -Ollie L. Overbay, age 69, of Somerset passed away on Monday August 11, 2014, in Somerset.
Survivors include one daughter, two sons, four grandchildren, and three sisters. She was a member of the Acorn Baptist Church, and she enjoyed working in her yard and garden and she also enjoyed working in flowers. She was a kind lady who will be greatly missed and she leaves a host of relatives and friends who mourn her passing.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday morning, August 15, 2014, at the Chapel of the Pulaski Funeral Home.
Burial will follow in the Chaney Cemetery at Ano. -Dorothy “Dotty” Laverne Rothan Cranfill, 91, died very peacefully at home on August 15, 2014, surrounded by the love of her family, near and far. Widow of the late John C.
Cranfill, Dotty grew up in Lexington, Ky., and was a member of the first graduating class of Lafayette High School in Lexington before moving to Somerset, Ky., in 1955.
She and John were partners in and former owners of Auto Electric in Somerset where they raised their large and loving family. Dotty was deeply religious and a member of St. Mildred Catholic Church in Somerset for more than 59 years.
Her unwavering faith and trust in God and her strong love of family were the hallmarks of her life and served as inspiration to everyone who knew or met her. She had a unique way of making every family member and friend feel loved and special. Her quick wit always brought joy and laughter to every setting.
Her most cherished legacy is her family. She was the beloved mother of five surviving children. Dotty also leaves behind 14 loving grandchildren.
In addition, she leaves behind 15 great-grandchildren as well as a host of nieces, nephews and extended family. She leaves behind a strong legacy of faith, family, fun and traditions that will bind and sustain the family she so cherished. A Mass of Christian Burial ceremony for Dotty Cranfill will be held at 10 a.
m. Tuesday Morning at St. Mildred Catholic Church with burial to follow in the Somerset Cemetery.
-Helen Phelps Webb, 88, died peacefully at her home on Saturday, August 16, 2014. She was united in marriage to Mr. Edward B.
Webb on February 9, 1944, as he was preparing to spend the following 19 months in Europe during World War II; he survives. Other survivors include her brother and a host of nieces and nephews who mourn her passing. Helen was a licensed Practical Nurse at Somerset City Hospital and Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital from 1956 until retirement in 1989.
She was a member of the Science Hill Nazarene Church and she also had a great love for animals, having rescued 19 cats since her retirement. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014, at the Chapel of the Pulaski Funeral Home. Burial will follow in the Science Hill Cemetery. -Four members of the Somerset Elite Training Center power tumbling team recently traveled to Des Moines, Iowa to compete in the 2014 National Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games.
The athletes brought home eight top ten places including one silver medal and two bronze medals. The tumblers competed in their respective age categories and skill levels against top athletes in the nation in three events: tumbling, trampoline, and double-mini trampoline. Grace Burgess placed 3rd in sub-advanced trampoline, 5th in intermediate double mini, and 18th in sub-novice tumbling.
Kendall Burgess placed 5th in sub-advanced double-mini, 7th in sub-advanced trampoline, and 8th in intermediate tumbling. Morgan Burgess placed 3rd in advanced double-mini and 8th in advanced tumbling. Skylar Strunk placed 2nd in intermediate trampoline, 13th in intermediate double-mini, and 14th in intermediate tumbling.
Kendall Burgess and Morgan Burgess are members of the 2013-2014 AAU National Team. Morgan Burgess was invited to sing the national anthem during the Parade of Champions and Awards Ceremony. -Two-time All-Stater and nationally-ranked Elsa Moberly kicked off her final prep campaign with a runner-up finish in the Lady Maroons Invitational this past weekend at Eagle’s Nest Country Club.
Moberly, a senior at Pulaski County High School, verbally committed to the Division I SEC powerhouse, Mississippi State University during her junior year of high school. On Saturday, Moberly fired an even-par round of 72 to place second to Rockcastle County’s Hannabeth Owens’ 2-under par round of 70. Pulaski’s Kelli Blount shot an 88 to place in the top 20, while Lady Maroon Kaylee Wilson finished 24th with a round of 97.
Southwestern’s Ashley Chaney led the way for the Lady Warriors with a round of 102 and a 32nd place ranking. Lady Warrior Samantha Dick placed 45th with a 109. Southwestern’s Breanna Owens shot a 114, and McKenzie Mullins shot a 124.
Pulaski’s Jaley Broughton shot a 131 and Kacie Baker shot a 139. -The Somerset High School boys golf team is off to a good start for the boys’ 2014 season. After shooting an outstanding team score of 295, the boys claimed second place in the Estill County Invitational on Saturday, Aug.
2. Leading the team was Zach Whitis firing a 69, followed by Cameron Claunch who shot a 73. Chandler Purcell and Jarrod Murray both finished with a score of 77, and Kannon Tucker shot an 84.
On Monday, Aug. 4, the boys traveled to Ashland to compete in the Blazer’s Invitational at Bellefonte Country Club where the Briar Jumpers came in fourth place. The individual scores for Somerset were, Zach Whitis, 78; Cameron Claunch, 84; Chandler Purcell, 91; Kannon Tucker, 92; and Jarrod Murray, 93.
-This past weekend, the 9u all-star team from Lake Cumberland Cal Ripken closed out their summer schedule with their 3rd tournament victory of the summer. Along the way, LC beat the Russell County Storm twice and the Hart County Renegades in the rain-shortened event at Lindsey Wilson College. .
.. Lake Cumberland won the finals in an extra-inning thriller.
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LC has developed into a strong competitor in the 9u age group in the state and look to do great things as a 10u team next spring and summer. Team members are: Head Coach Richard Todd, Coach Johnny Cain, Coach Josh Cimala, Brady Cain, Chance Todd, Bailey Brummett, Jace Frye, Conner Phelps, Cayden Cimala, Kam Hargis, Zach Ousley, Will Blankenship and Noah Brummett. Let’s Be Cops – Into the Storm – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Guardians of the Galaxy.
