Transcript

6.4.26 · Springfield Sun

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Speaker 1: We now turn to the Springfield Sun to bring you
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Speaker 1: news from in and around Washington County. Your reader to
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Speaker 1: day is Rob Aiken. We begin with the addition dated Wednesday,
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Speaker 1: June third, twenty twenty six. As reminder, RADIOI is a
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Speaker 1: reading service intended for people who are blind or who
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Speaker 1: have disabilities that make it difficult to read print material.
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Speaker 1: Our first article is entitled source of gas odor still
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Speaker 1: a Mystery by Jane Reid Clane, editor at the Springfield
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Speaker 1: Sun dot com. The article is headed by a picture
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Speaker 1: of a neighborhood with two workmen around pylons and a
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Speaker 1: barrier up that says road closed, and a truck driving off,
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Speaker 1: perhaps carrying some of the debris they removed. It looks
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Speaker 1: like it is possibly a dump truck on fifteen eighty
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Speaker 1: four going north. A caption for the picture says, the
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Speaker 1: Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet's Emergency Response Team works to
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Speaker 1: find the source of a gas smell that permeated downtown
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Speaker 1: Springfield throughout the past week, and Jane also took the photograph.
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Speaker 1: What's that smell was a question that consumed downtown Springfield
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Speaker 1: over the Memorial Day weekend. Calls were coming into the
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Speaker 1: Washington County nine one one dispatch center from businesses along
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Speaker 1: Main Street reporting a strong odor of some type of gas.
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Speaker 1: When Springfield and Washington County fire departments could not identify
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Speaker 1: the source of the gas smell, help arrived in the
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Speaker 1: form of a state emergency response team from the Energy
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Speaker 1: and Environment Cabinet. The state crews worked alongside local fire
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Speaker 1: departments in hopes of identifying and containing the smell, which
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Speaker 1: seemed to emanate near the Grab and Go b p
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Speaker 1: at the corner of Maine and Walnut Streets, and that
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Speaker 1: is where the real work took place. It was quickly
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Speaker 1: determined that gas was not coming from the pumps or
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Speaker 1: tanks at the BP station, and the search was on.
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Speaker 1: On Tuesday, crews dug up a section of Walnut Street
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Speaker 1: to examine the gas and sewer lines beneath. At the
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Speaker 1: end of the day, they still had not determined the
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Speaker 1: source of the odor, but had taken measures to prevent
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Speaker 1: the gas from entering the city's sewer system and spreading
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Speaker 1: further into the downtown area. On Wednesday, additional digging took
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Speaker 1: place and censers were in place to determine what the
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Speaker 1: odor was and where it may be coming. From Springfield
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Speaker 1: Fire Chief Forest Carrico said the source of the fuel
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Speaker 1: odor remains inconclusive. The section of Walnut Street that was
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Speaker 1: closed reopened on Thursday afternoon, but still needed to have
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Speaker 1: cement poured and asphalt installed. The work was expected to
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Speaker 1: be completed early this week. Washington County Fire Chief Mike
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Speaker 1: Mulholland advises if you smell gas at all, please don't
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Speaker 1: be hesitant to call. Despite not being the source of
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Speaker 1: the gas leak, the b P station was essentially shut down,
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Speaker 1: with pumps being inaccessible for several days and limited access
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Speaker 1: to the convenience store. Our pumps, our tanks are all good,
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Speaker 1: said one of the owners of the b P. He
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Speaker 1: said it was a hard hit for their business, but
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Speaker 1: things happen, he added with a laugh. The next article
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Speaker 1: is entitled Comer announces one million dollars in funding for
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Speaker 1: Springfield Water and Sewer by Jenna George. The article is
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Speaker 1: accompanied by a photograph of Comer, who, last week, during
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Speaker 1: a presentation at the Springfield campus of Elizabethtown Community and
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Speaker 1: Technical College, spoke on the decision to provide Springfield with
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Speaker 1: one million dollars in funding. Technical College Congressman Comber spoke
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Speaker 1: on the decision to provide Springfield with one million dollars
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Speaker 1: in funding. Congressman James Comer spoke last week about the
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Speaker 1: one million dollars in federal funding heading its way to
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Speaker 1: Springfield for the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission. The Water
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Speaker 1: and Sewer Commission will use this funding to complete a
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Speaker 1: critically needed infrastructure upgrade at the Clearview Commerce Center Industrial Park.
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Speaker 1: This improvement will help support the long term economic growth
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Speaker 1: all across the region. Joining Congressman Comber in making the announcement,
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Speaker 1: where general Manager of Lebanon Waterworks Company and the Springfield
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Speaker 1: Water and Sewer Commission Darren Thompson, Etive Director of the Springfield,
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Speaker 1: Washington County Economic Development Authority Daniel Carney, and Judge Executive
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Speaker 1: Tim Graves. Each of these contributors spoke at the gathering
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Speaker 1: about how this aid will help the county move forward
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Speaker 1: in infrastructure. The advancements aid the community by leveling the
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Speaker 1: playing field and ensuring Springfield is in the running for
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Speaker 1: competitive growth. It was also said that only partnerships at
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Speaker 1: all levels involving the state, federal, and local leaders make
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Speaker 1: this project possible. The current capacity of the wastewater plant
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Speaker 1: is one and a half million gallons, but with an
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Speaker 1: upcoming project this number will be growing to two million gallons.
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Speaker 1: The size is being boosted by thirty three percent and
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Speaker 1: includes room to expand another two hundred and fifty thousand
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Speaker 1: gallons later down the line. If we're going to keep
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Speaker 1: our best and brightest at Washington and we have to
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Speaker 1: make sure that they have the same opportunities here that
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Speaker 1: they would have in other states and other cities, said Comber.
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Speaker 1: You've got to have updated infrastructure. So when the request
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Speaker 1: was made, we did everything in our office to be
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Speaker 1: able to fill that request. The next article is Solar
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Speaker 1: farms Bring Energy and Concerns by Jane Reid Klein. No
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Speaker 1: one opposes clean energy. It is the current talk of
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Speaker 1: environmentalists and concerned citizens across the country. With a large
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Speaker 1: solar farm under construction on the Marion and Washington County
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Speaker 1: line near the airport, and another the crab Run project
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Speaker 1: between Lebanon and Loretto in the planning stages. Solar farms
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Speaker 1: also brings questions for the local community. It provides green energy,
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Speaker 1: said Steve Daniels, who owns the property on which the
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Speaker 1: Crab Run project will be constructed. No pollution, no noise
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Speaker 1: an alternative for green energy. Daniels and his wife signed
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Speaker 1: a twenty year lease agreement with Savion LLLC, developer of
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Speaker 1: the Crab Run solar project, with an additional tenure option
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Speaker 1: at the end of that lease. The Daniels leased four
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Speaker 1: hundred acres to save Yon and retained about fifty acres.
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Speaker 1: Steve Daniels said he signed the lease agreement with Savion
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Speaker 1: because he believes it is a good investment in the community.
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Speaker 1: Neighbors of these farms don't necessarily agree. While the panels
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Speaker 1: may be silent and non polluting, neighbors are concerned. Bobby Thompson,
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Speaker 1: who owns property near the Crab Run project, said his
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Speaker 1: biggest concern is to quote him run off into streams
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Speaker 1: that run through our farms. Richard Maddingly owns farmland that
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Speaker 1: has been in his family for two hundred and twenty
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Speaker 1: five years adjacent to the proposed project, and crab Run
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Speaker 1: Creek runs through his farm. His biggest concern was also
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Speaker 1: about runoff. We will get runoff, Mattingly said, I am
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Speaker 1: concerned about panels leaching chemicals into the water. Runoff is
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Speaker 1: a big concern, said Richard Hughes. Hughes said he has
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Speaker 1: solar at his home, which he had installed privately for
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Speaker 1: his personal use. He is concerned about heavy metals in
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Speaker 1: the solar panels and what could leach into the local
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Speaker 1: streams if a panel is broken. Savion presented an information
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Speaker 1: packet to neighbors in August twenty twenty five which says
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Speaker 1: this should not be a concern as the panels are
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Speaker 1: fully enclosed and to quote them do not contain sufficient
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Speaker 1: hazardous material to pose a danger to the environment and
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Speaker 1: human health. But neighbors say while they may be little
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Speaker 1: in each individual panel, how much is in seven hundred
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Speaker 1: acres of panels by the airport or four hundred acres
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Speaker 1: with over one hundred thousand panels at the crab Run
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Speaker 1: solar Farm. The information packet also states the risk of
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Speaker 1: a broken panel is minimal, and the quotation from the
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Speaker 1: packet says solar panels are designed to withstand extreme weather,
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Speaker 1: including hail and thunderstorms. If a solar panel were to
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Speaker 1: become damaged from severe weather or any other reason, it
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Speaker 1: would likely be the glass that has become damaged, and
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Speaker 1: there would be no risk of exposure to the contents.
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Speaker 1: End of the quotation the packet. State's other Savion projects
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Speaker 1: have been to quote them virtually undamaged by direct hits
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Speaker 1: from CAAT three storms or Category three storms. Another concern
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Speaker 1: expressed by neighbors is what happens when the project is
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Speaker 1: decommissioned or the company goes bankrupt. Will the panels be
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Speaker 1: properly removed or simply left behind. Janine Johnson, development manager
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Speaker 1: with Savion, said the company is required to put up
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Speaker 1: a bond to cover just that scenario. Johnson said the
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Speaker 1: bond is reviewed every five years and increased as needed
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Speaker 1: to cover the increase in costs for removing the panels.
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Speaker 1: Michael Cecil said his property is not real close, but neighboring.
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Speaker 1: While he echoed the concerns about runoff and decommissioning, he
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Speaker 1: also expressed an additional concern and to quote Cecil, this
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Speaker 1: doesn't affect me directly, but I have concerns about a
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Speaker 1: big company coming in and taking highly productive farmland out
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Speaker 1: of production. Opponents are also concerned about the environmental impact
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Speaker 1: of the changing landscape, loss of producing farmland, and a
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Speaker 1: decrease in their property values. Richard and Angela Maddingly said
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Speaker 1: they hope to pass their farm to their children, but
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Speaker 1: now the children are not sure they want it, at
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Speaker 1: least not the portion adjoining the solar farm. To quote Richard,
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Speaker 1: how does this affect the next generation of farmers? Richard asked,
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Speaker 1: taking more land away raises the price of farmland. Developers
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Speaker 1: say the farmland is not necessarily lost, as the landowner
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Speaker 1: can easily graze sheet below the solar panels, eliminating the
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Speaker 1: need for mowing, and some specialty crops can be grown
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Speaker 1: below the panels as well. They also contend it can
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Speaker 1: be great for the environment to plant certain native plants
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Speaker 1: below the panels. However, not all developers of solar farms
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Speaker 1: are allotting for these options, as they spread gravel around
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Speaker 1: and below the panels. The question remains as to what
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Speaker 1: the plans are for the two local solar farms, and
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Speaker 1: another quotation from Daniels, We can run sheep under the panels,
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Speaker 1: Daniels said, but not cattle or goats. We can also
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Speaker 1: still plant flowers for our bees. They actually like for
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Speaker 1: us to run sheep under the panels as it reduces mowing,
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Speaker 1: he added. Richard Mattingly said he was also asked to
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Speaker 1: sign an agreement to lease his land to say beyond,
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Speaker 1: but declined. He said he was then asked for an
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Speaker 1: agreement to run a line across his farm, which he
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Speaker 1: also declined. Based on her research, Gerwie Nicholson said, we
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Speaker 1: believe the risks are very low and there is little waste.
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Speaker 1: It is definitely better than fossil fuel. We believe it
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Speaker 1: is safe and effective. This is a colossal mistake. Cecil said,
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Speaker 1: there are too many unknowns. Angela Mattingly said, you don't
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Speaker 1: want to expose yourself to things you can't control, but
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Speaker 1: we have no choice. Angela had some additional thoughts on
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Speaker 1: the project. It is disheartening, she said, we don't know
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Speaker 1: what is going to come from it. We hope it
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Speaker 1: is okay, but it will be years before we know.
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Speaker 1: The next article is entitled two local women indicted in
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Speaker 1: connection with Ley's stalking case by Jane Reid Klein. Barbara
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Speaker 1: and Rebecca Lay of Springfield were indicted by a Washington
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Speaker 1: County grand jury in connection to a previous indictment handed
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Speaker 1: down for Bernie Lay in December twenty twenty five. The
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Speaker 1: grand jury issued an indictment for Barbara thirty six and
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Speaker 1: Rebecca sixty six on May twentieth, twenty twenty six. The
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Speaker 1: indictment charges each woman with first degree wanton, endangerment, tampering
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Speaker 1: with physical evidence, endangering the welfare of a miner, and
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Speaker 1: possession of marijuana. When serving an arrest warrant for Bernie
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Speaker 1: Lay on October thirty first, twenty twenty five, Washington County
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Speaker 1: Sheriff's deputies Tony Golden and Leslie Wagner found Lay at
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Speaker 1: home with his wife, daughter, and granddaughter. Upon entering the home,
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Speaker 1: deputies reported detecting a strong odor of marijuana. Deputies arrested
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Speaker 1: Lay for the charges on the warrant, along with additional
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Speaker 1: charges of possession of marijuana, endangering the welfare of a minor,
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Speaker 1: and misdemeanor probation violation. In December, Bernie Lay was indicted
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Speaker 1: for first degree stalking, first degree wanton and endangerment, possession
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Speaker 1: of marijuana, second degree disorderly conduct, contempt of court, libels, slander,
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Speaker 1: resistance to order, harassment with no physical contact, and first
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Speaker 1: degree persistent felony offender. He is awaiting trial on those charges.
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Speaker 1: Barbara and Rebecca Ley were also in the home when
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Speaker 1: their warrant was served, leading to the last week's indictment.
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Speaker 1: Bond was set at five thousand dollars unsecured for each.
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Speaker 1: Charles Young, thirty two, of Willisburg was indicted on eight counts.
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Speaker 1: Young is charged with first degree fleeing or evading police,
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Speaker 1: first degree possession of methanthetamine, first degree criminal mischief, resisting arrest,
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Speaker 1: possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to register the transfer of
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Speaker 1: a motor vehicle, failure to maintain required insurance in no
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Speaker 1: or expired vehicle registration. The indictment alleges the offenses occurred
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Speaker 1: on or about March twenty fourth, twenty twenty six. The
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Speaker 1: grand jury found no true bill on two additional charges
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Speaker 1: of possession of a controlled substance and did not indict
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Speaker 1: on those charges. Bond for Young was set at twenty
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Speaker 1: five thousand dollars. Dustin Harmon twenty of Lebanon was indicted
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Speaker 1: by the grand jury on charges of third degree burglary,
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Speaker 1: first degree criminal mischief, and second degree bas persistent felony offender.
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Speaker 1: The indictment alleges the offenses occurred on or about March
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Speaker 1: twenty seventh, twenty twenty six. Bond was set at ten
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Speaker 1: thousand dollars full cash James Lawson thirty nine, of Raywick
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Speaker 1: was indicted on six counts. Lawson is charged with two
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Speaker 1: counts of third degree assault, resisting arrest, third degree fleeing
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Speaker 1: or evading police, second degree disorderly conduct, and public alcohol intoxication.
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Speaker 1: The charge a stem from an incident occurring on or
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Speaker 1: about April seventh, twenty twenty six. Bond was set at
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Speaker 1: five thousand dollars full cash. Isaac Milbourne thirty five of
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Speaker 1: Lebanon was indicted on charges of first degree possession of methanthetamine,
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Speaker 1: second offense, possession of drug paraphernalia, operating on a suspended
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Speaker 1: or revoke license, and one headlight. Bond for Milbourn was
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Speaker 1: set at five thousand dollars unsecured. Todd Harrold forty two
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Speaker 1: of Bardstown was indicted by the grand jury on charges
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Speaker 1: of first degree possession of methanthetamine, first degree possession of
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Speaker 1: a controlled substance drug, unspecified, possession of drug paraphernalia, operating
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Speaker 1: on a suspended or revoked license, and possession of a
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Speaker 1: controlled substance prescription in the original not in the original container.
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Speaker 1: Excuse me the indictment charges. These offenses occurred on or
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Speaker 1: about March ninth, twenty twenty six, bond for Harrow was
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Speaker 1: set at two thy five hundred dollars cash. Editor's note,
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Speaker 1: an indictment is merely a charge. All defendants are presumed
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Speaker 1: innocent until proven guilty in the appropriate court of law.
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Speaker 1: The next article is from the column entitled front row Seat.
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Speaker 1: I was walking into Sunday Mass last week with my
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Speaker 1: seven year old grandson Jace, when he came up with
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Speaker 1: some interesting questions. Jace has always been a very observant
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Speaker 1: and likable little grogue. I prefer to think of him
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Speaker 1: as my redneck in training. Imparting my wisdom to the
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Speaker 1: younger generation at any available opportunity is a vital mission
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Speaker 1: for me. Jace asked me, Papa, how come people don't
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Speaker 1: like to sit in the front rows at church? Everybody
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Speaker 1: likes to sit crowded in the back. How come they
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Speaker 1: don't come up front to sit where there is more room.
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Speaker 1: That is a very shrewd observation, Jason. I'm glad you
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Speaker 1: brought it up to me so I can sit you straight.
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Speaker 1: Ha ha, sit you straight. It's a joke, son, don't
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Speaker 1: get it anyway. I asked this very same question of
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Speaker 1: a friend of mine named Tom. He's a Baptist. I
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Speaker 1: like to call him Tom the Baptist. Anyway, Tom said
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Speaker 1: that Baptists liked to leave the front rows open for
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Speaker 1: all the sin. That way the rest of the church
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Speaker 1: can see them and concentrate their prayers on them. I
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Speaker 1: can only guess that we Catholics thought this was a
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Speaker 1: good idea and copied the Baptists. Is Tom the Baptist smart? Well,
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Speaker 1: let's just say he's smarter than me. Okay. How come
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Speaker 1: a lot of times they don't sing all the verses
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Speaker 1: of the songs at church, Like sometimes we stop at
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Speaker 1: two or three, and there might be four or five
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Speaker 1: or even six verses. Jace. You know how sometimes you
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Speaker 1: see a friend and you talk a lot with them,
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Speaker 1: and then other times you only talk just a little
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Speaker 1: with them. Yeah, same thing. Some days you might just
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Speaker 1: be a two verse church. Other days you might be
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Speaker 1: a sixth verse church. Just depends on how the mood
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Speaker 1: hits you. I guess how come we are always standing
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Speaker 1: up and sitting down and kneeling and getting back up
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Speaker 1: again over and over. I get messed up sometimes. Why
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Speaker 1: do we do that? You get messed up at time? Yep?
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Speaker 1: You don't know how glad I am to hear you
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Speaker 1: say that. So do I and I've been going to
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Speaker 1: church for sixty eight years. I just thought it was
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Speaker 1: dementia setting in. Anyway, I guess us Catholics like to
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Speaker 1: stretch our legs a lot. Don't want to get any cramps,
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Speaker 1: you know, Papa? How come people leave so fast when
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Speaker 1: church is over? Grammy and Mom are always yelling at
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Speaker 1: me to be careful to not get run over when
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Speaker 1: we head out to the car. I guess we figure
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Speaker 1: once we have done our time, then it's time to go.
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Speaker 1: It's sort of like when you go to see a
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Speaker 1: relative more because you feel you ought to and not
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Speaker 1: because you want to. You mean, like when we see you?
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Speaker 1: Is that what your mom says sometimes? But not about Grammy. Interesting,
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Speaker 1: remind me to get my will out when we get home, Jase,
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Speaker 1: what's a will? Nothing important? Just something I need to
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Speaker 1: update now, don't forget to remind me With that. Jace
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Speaker 1: grabbed my hand and quickly led me into the church.
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Speaker 1: He pulled me all the way to the front pew
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Speaker 1: and sat me down. Then he leaned over and whispered
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Speaker 1: into my ear, I'll pray for you Papa before heading
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Speaker 1: back to the rest of the family, who said, kids
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Speaker 1: don't listen. I'll have to tell Tom the Baptist about this.
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Speaker 1: The next article is entitled ye I Gotta Keep Going
21:34
Speaker 1: by David Whitlock. Maya Angelou was on to something profound
21:40
Speaker 1: when she said, if you don't like something, change it.
21:43
Speaker 1: If you can't change it, change your attitude. She might
21:47
Speaker 1: have been echoing reinholdt Never's famous prayer, the one Alcoholics
21:51
Speaker 1: Anonymous adopted, which asks for serenity to accept what can't
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Speaker 1: be changed and couraged to change what can. It takes
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Speaker 1: both the grit to push forward and the grace to
22:04
Speaker 1: make peace with what won't budge those of us stepping
22:08
Speaker 1: into the sunset years no distention first hand. The mind
22:13
Speaker 1: and body don't always agree. My wife Lori and I
22:16
Speaker 1: follow our fitness instructors through workouts, and I catch myself
22:20
Speaker 1: thinking I could do this easily fifteen years ago. But
22:24
Speaker 1: if I push too hard, trying to recapture thirty five
22:27
Speaker 1: year old muscles, my seventy year old body will demand
22:30
Speaker 1: payback in the morning. So I carry those words of
22:33
Speaker 1: Angelou and Neber with me like a pocket compass, checking
22:37
Speaker 1: them often every now and then, though, I meet some
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Speaker 1: one who doesn't just carry those words, they live them,
22:45
Speaker 1: and it gives me a shot of something I didn't
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Speaker 1: know I needed. My son, David Junior, and I had
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Speaker 1: one of those moments not long ago when he and
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Speaker 1: his family were visiting. The two of us volunteered to
22:57
Speaker 1: make a food run for the whole crew three family,
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Speaker 1: more than twelve people counting the kids. We parked and
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Speaker 1: were heading into the restaurant when we passed three older
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Speaker 1: gentlemen settled into rocking chairs on the front porch. They
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Speaker 1: paused their conversation to speak to us. One recognized David
23:15
Speaker 1: from his high school football days. Another remembered me from
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Speaker 1: the pulpit. He had the look of a man who
23:22
Speaker 1: had outlasted a lot and said, you look like you're
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Speaker 1: doing pretty good. He didn't hesitate, You better believe it. Then,
23:31
Speaker 1: with the timing of a man who had told his
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Speaker 1: joke before and still enjoyed it, I'm not going bad
23:38
Speaker 1: for a ninety year old, Wow, I said, you are
23:42
Speaker 1: doing good. He was already grinning, trading looks with his buddies.
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Speaker 1: They reminded me of teenagers cutting up at a bus
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Speaker 1: stop and the ninety year old was clearly the ringleader.
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Speaker 1: He made me think of Satchel Page, the legendary pitcher
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Speaker 1: who played in the Negro Leagues before the doors of
24:00
Speaker 1: Major League Baseball finally opened to him. His career spanning
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Speaker 1: five remarkable decades, Page had a gift for wisdom wrapped
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Speaker 1: in one liner, age is a case of mind over matter.
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Speaker 1: If you don't mind, it don't matter. It clearly didn't
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Speaker 1: matter to our man on the porch. David and I
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Speaker 1: grabbed our orders, each of us balancing two large carryout
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Speaker 1: boxes stacked to our chins, and navigated past the porch crew. Again, David,
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Speaker 1: looks like you're feeding the whole congregation, one of them
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Speaker 1: called out. We laughed. We couldn't help it. You all
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Speaker 1: take care, I hollered as we loaded the car. Then
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Speaker 1: I turned to the ninety year old. You keep it up.
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Speaker 1: I'll carry that image for a long time. That old man,
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Speaker 1: leaning forward in his rocking chair as if he might
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Speaker 1: just stand up, peering across the parking lot with bright
25:03
Speaker 1: eyes shouting back, don't you worry, I will, And then,
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Speaker 1: with what I can only describe as defiant joy, he
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Speaker 1: pumped his fist in the air you gotta keep going.
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Speaker 1: This column was written by David Whitlock. This concludes excerpts
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Speaker 1: from recent a recent edition of The Springfield Sun. Your
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Speaker 1: reader has been Rob Aiken on behalf of everyone here
25:30
Speaker 1: at radio. I thank you for listening, Keep on listening
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Speaker 1: and have a good day.