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Ashland Daily Independent - 2.11.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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Speaker 1: We now turn to The Ashland Independent to bring you
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news from in and around Ashland and Boyd County. Your
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reader today is Jane. We begin with the addition dated
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February tenth, twenty twenty sixth As a reminder, RADIOI is
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a reading service intended for people who are blind or
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have other disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material.
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Our first article, parking structure, remains controversial subject city manager
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Is there any way we can give the parking garage back?
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By Aaron Snyder of the Daily Independent. If the city
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manager's question during a commission work session is any indication
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of the City of Ashland might be experiencing a bit
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of buyer's well taker's remorse when it comes to the
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parking garage at the corner of seventeenth Street and Carter Avenue.
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Community Trust Bank had donated the parking garage to the
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city in May twenty twenty two. Nearly four years later,
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Tony Grubb posed the following question, is there any way
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we can give the parking garage back? Grub was the
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city's finance director when a previous commission, mayor and city
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manager were involved in making the decision to accept the donation.
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Marty Goot is the only person still on the commission.
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He voted for it, the loan commissioner to vote against
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the move in twenty twenty two with Sheryl Spriggs. During
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Thursday's work session, Commissioner Sonny Martin asked, is the parking
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garage in any greater use now that the city owns
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it than when the bank owned it. Grub and Michelle Veach,
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the city's finance director, said they warned previous city leadership
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about potential financial issues pering to the garage. We were
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supposed to implement a parking plan to charge people to
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park there, Beach said. For three different years, we never
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implemented a parking plan. There were proponents and opponents among
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the public. Residents shared concerned, but some express benefits, such
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as downtown workers utilizing the garage, thus freeing up spots
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for business patrons. Former Commissioner Amanda Clark said public restrooms
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and later hours for downtown events were reasons for accepting
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the donation too. Since October, much of downtown parking is
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limited to two hours. Veach broached the topic of parking kiosks,
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which the city purchased for about two hundred and fifty
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thousand dollars. However, the city never installed them. Previous leadership
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never could make a decision to go forward. Yet we
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are budgeting five hundred thousand dollars in the general fund
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every year and collecting zero, Beach said. Martin remarked those
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machines are not feasible with the existing downtown electrical layout anyway, no, sirp,
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they could not have been installed. Each confirmed. Commissioner Tim
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Renfrow asked if that was verified through an electrical engineer.
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Indeed it was, as the electrical engineer tasked with the
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determination was in the commission chambers Thursday. Each said the
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city attempted to find buyers for the machines to no avail.
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She and Grubb, when both were in the finance department,
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proposed in twenty twenty two it may be wise for
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the city to purchase the garage as to qualify for
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collecting rental costs. There's no income coming in for fifty years,
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she said. Parking in the garage is free to go.
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Back to Martin's question, Grub wonders if the city benefits
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much the bank gets the benefit of it with the
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drive through, Grub said, we get the risks, we get
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the expense. We're responsible for the maintenance of the entire garage.
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Gave the bank a fifty year lease without cost, and
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gave up the tax being paid when it was on
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the tax roll, Martin said. Veach added the bank received
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a large tax deduction for its donation too. Let's move on, Mayor,
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Chuck Charles said, before the group proceeded to another topic.
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Our next article, Getting Laughs Local comedian releases special by
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Lee Board of The Daily Independent. Most agree it's healthy
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to laugh at oneself. Lee May's is making a career
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of it. The Ironton Man's humor comes from his life,
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he said. Most of my humor comes from my own life.
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I've lived and continued to live a very interesting life,
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and I somehow always end up in bizarre situations some
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of my own making. May said, I leaned heavily into
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self depreciation, my upbringing and the dumb choices I've survived.
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Eddie Murphy inspired him to become a stand up although
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I wouldn't look great in the leather suit, he said,
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adding he's also a big fan of Davittel, Jim Gaffigan
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and Anthony Jesslink. He began the journey in twenty twelve
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when he grew tired of repetition content on Facebook. I
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was sick of seeing nothing but pictures of people's lunch
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and Farmville updates. So I started posting jokes just to
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break up the monotony. That slowly turned into something big,
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he said. The comic does stand up only, Although he
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said he appeared in a very bad movie a few
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years ago, a movie that got him an IMDb credit,
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he said that was the goal. He recently released a
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twenty plus minute comedy special, metal Head, which is available
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on YouTube. It was professionally recorded during a live performance
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in Provo, Utah in twenty twenty four. It's straightforward stand up,
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just me making fun of myself and my life experience.
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As he said, it was his post that launched his
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stand up career, getting him a showcase appearance in Huntington.
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That was the first time things felt real, he said.
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In other news, ag no license needed to hunt on
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OWM farmland by Liam Neiemeier, Kentucky Lantern In and About Face,
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Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman's office says Kentuckians can legally
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hunt and fish on their own farm land without a license,
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even if their residence is elsewhere in the state. The opinion,
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published Wednesday ends the agg's efforts to unseat the chair
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of the state's Wildlife Management Board. In December, the AG's
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office demanded the resignation of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commissioner
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Chair Chuck Meade, saying he did not meet a requirement
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that members of the commission must have had hunting and
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fishing licenses for five consecutive years at the time of
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their nomination. The office had launched an investigation into Mead's
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eligibility to serve after receiving a citizen's complaint. Meade argued
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in response that he was exempt from the requirement for
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the years he did not purchase a license when he
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hunted only on his family's Lawrence County farmland, pointing to
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the farmland license exemption. Aaron Soletto, an attorney in the
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Attorney General's office, wrote in response that Meade had to
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live on the farmland to be eligible for the exemption.
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Soletto pointed to Attorney general opinions from the twentieth century.
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Soletto's interpretation of the law raised hackles among hunters and
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anglers across the state. Who said it was in conflict
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with how the law had long been understood and enforced.
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Senator Gary Boswell, Republican from Owensboro, requested the opinion that
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Coleman released Wednesday. It points to feedback from the Kentucky
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Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources or kd f w R,
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the state's wildlife management agency, that stated the Department has
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previously interpreted the exemption to apply to bonifide farmland owners
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without regard to whether such owners physically resided upon the
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farm land. While the interpretation of statutes is ultimately a
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question of law for Kentucky courts, the manner in which
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kd f WR has historically construed the exemption is not
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contrary to the plain language of the licensure Exemption statute,
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Coleman wrote in his opinion. Coleman wrote that while Kentucky
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residents who owned farmland are not required to get a license,
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the opinion was not intended to discourage only's owners of
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farm land from voluntarily purchasing hunting and fishing licenses, given
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that license sales were a critical source of support for
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kdf WR. As someone who grew up hunting with my dad,
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on his logan County Farm. I'm proud to stand up
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for the rights of all sportsmen, Coleman said in a
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press release. Kentucky is home to some of the finest
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natural and wildlife resources in the world, and I encourage
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every Kentuckian to responsibly enjoy them while supporting critical conservation
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and preservation efforts. Doug Raymie, president of the League of
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Kentucky Sportsmen, which represents thousands of hunters across the state,
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told The Lantern he was glad Coleman was open minded
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enough to revisit the interpretation of the license exemption. Rami said,
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while he does by fishing licenses, he has a stream
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on his property where he would like to drown a
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worm without having to worry about whether his fishing license
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is expired. I was delighted to see that they changed
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that change their mind. Raymi said, Now we can hunt
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and fish on property that we own without fear of
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having to get a ticket. Coleman's new opinion overruled the
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interpretation of the decades's old opinions. A release from Coleman's
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office stated that following the publication of the new opinion,
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the office notified Mead that it would close the matter
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involving his eligibility to serve. Mead told the Lannard he
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was glad Coleman took a personal look at it, and
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that Coleman's interpretation of the exemption was based on what
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the sportsmen and women of the Commonwealth had always believed
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it was and thought it was. I appreciate the Attorney
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General and his hard work, Mead said, I believe that
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this will help few future landowners in the Commonwealth for
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many years to come, and I'm grateful to get this
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chapter over with so we can get back to work
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on issues that really matter. Some of the issues Mead,
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who represents eastern Kentucky counties on the Commission, said he
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wanted to work on include a growing bear population and
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better maintenance of wildlife management areas in his district. Commission
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members are volunteers who oversee the Kentucky Department of Fish
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and Wildlife Resources budget, consisting of tens of millions of
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dollars in hunting and fishing license fees, boat registration fees,
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and federal grants. The Commission also implements and changes hunting
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and fishing regulations. Members are chosen for the Commission through
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a vote by hunters and anglers, an appointment by the
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Governor and confirmation by the Kentucky Senate. State law directs
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the Commission to keep a watchful eye over the department,
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and the Commission controls the employment of the Department's head
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executive Commissioner, Rich storming On. Like good neighbors, physician deputies
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come to the aid by Lee Ward of the Daily Independent,
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the right place, the right time, and the right person
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converged Sunday to help save the life of an Iron
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fille Man. Doctor Juck Justin Dixon, a urologist at U. K.
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King's Daughter's medical Center, was on his way to the
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hospital when he thought he saw someone lying under the
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eve of his garage. He turned around to get a
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closer look and discovered a man in distress. He apparently
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had fallen on ice, and Dixon thought he'd knocked himself
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out and had bit out in the weather for a while.
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I think he was between thirty five and forty five.
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Dixon said there were no obvious signs, no bleeding, but
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I assumed he had been there an hour or so.
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He was conscious, but was hallucinating and blue and cold.
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The physician called nine one one deputies and AMTS arrived quickly.
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A statement from Boyd County Sheriff James Race said deputies
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began warming immediately and EMTs took him to UK King's
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daughter's medical center. The Boyd County Sheriff's Department extends our
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sincere appreciation to doctor Dixon for his quick response, professionalism,
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and willingness to assist a member of our community. Race
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said his actions very likely helped save this individual's life.
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This also serves as a reminder to check on our neighbors, friends,
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and family during these times with the recent inclement weather,
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he said. Dixon downplayed his part, but said he was
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impressed with the Sheriff's deputies who showed up to help.
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Officer Major Steve Lake went into the man's house to
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get some blankets. Dixon said, when the mts were taking
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him to the hospital, he went in and got his wallet.
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This wasn't the first time Dixon ran across someone who
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needed help. In fact, it was the second time in
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a week. He said he found an elderly neighbor who
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had fallen in his driveway. Fortunately, he was fine. Dixon
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said he noted the responding deputy in that case also
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did a great job. They both went above and beyond
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the call, he said. In other news, Pancake Breakfast rescheduled.
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The Ironton Rotary Club has rescheduled its fiftieth annual Pancake
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Breakfast for Saturday because of weather conditions. The event will
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be from seven am to noon at the Nights of
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Columbus Hall. Club leaders made the decision to postpone the
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original date out of concern for the safety of community members, volunteers,
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and guests. The Pancake Breakfast is the Ironton Rotary Club's
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largest annual fundraiser. Proceeds support two nursing scholarships for Lawrence
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County students, helping invest in the next generation of healthcare professionals.
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Scholarship recipients are eligible regardless of where they attend college,
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provided they are Lawrence County residents. The event features pancakes
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and sausage prepared and served by rotarians and volunteers. Assistance
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is provided by Ironton Boy Scout Troupe one OZH six
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and members of Ohio University Southern Student Nurses Association who
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help with service and cleanup. February tenth, twenty twenty six,
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at six pm, the winners of The Young Illustrators Contest,
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presented by the Cabell County Reading Council, will be recognized
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at six pm today at the Huntington Museum of Art.
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Light refreshments will be served. In its twenty fifth year,
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the Young Illustrator's Contest honors one student in each grade
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from kindergarten through twelfth grade. For more information, call area
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code three of zero four five, two nine, two seven
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zero one our next article. City it team results in
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great savings by Aaron Snyder of The Daily Independent. Since
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the City of Ashland terminated its contract with an outside
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IT company in the spring of twenty twenty five, the
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city has experienced great savings. According to City Manager Tony Grubb.
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Regarding one of dozens of topics discussed in a City
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Commission work session Thursday afternoon, Ashland Police departments Ryan Conley
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and Adam Daniels pulled back the curtain on how the
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city is handling IT issues to make for more efficient operations.
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Kudos to these two guys. Absolutely stellar job, said Michelle Veach,
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the city's finance director, said the city previously paid one
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point one million to VC three and outside IT company
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with only negligible improvements. With Conley and Daniels steering the
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IT ship. Vach estimated nearly nine hundred thousand dollars in
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savings already and some gifts keep on giving. This took
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us out of the dark ages of each said improved
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technology with these savings and helped on operational cost reduction.
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Conley and Grubb tasked the duo with elevating the performance
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of IT infrastructure and enhancing efficiency. We've consolidated a lot
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of things, Conley said. We've learned ways to basic take
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all the different departments and IT structures and merge them
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into one. It brought us a lot of value because
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we could consolidate all those licenses into one and we're
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operating on one system. Conley said they're on pace for
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between three hundred thousand dollars and four hundred thousand dollars
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worth of savings in annual recurring costs that accompany security systems,
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cloud systems, and software. Daniels has taken the lead on hardware.
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When we started last year, we started off as basically
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getting internet to all city sites, Daniels said. The plan
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was to start with eighteen sites. They've completed fifteen of
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the current goal of twenty with major ones out of
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the way such as the city building, police Department, and
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Fire department. We looked at infrastructure, the network, the backbone
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of everything, he said. Connolly said three Parks Department staff
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members saved the day in terms of running wire. Tackling
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that task alone resulted in about one hundred and eighty
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five thousand dollars of savings. He said. Instead of paying
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fifteen people, we're paying one at a much reduced rate
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because we're doing the most work once it's set up.
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Conley said the city has experienced significant cost reductions in
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cellular building. He said the phone system is working well too.
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Once a call comes into the city, the goal is
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for residents to wait less than sixty seconds. They can
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see the metrics and they're knocking it out of the park.
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On that, Conley said, the IT team is avoiding signing
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contracts when possible, and so far that's dramatically benefited the city.
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One major challenge is tackling isp internet service providers. He
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said the city can continues to rely on Kinetic and Spectrum,
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which are still going strong, Conley said. Conley said one
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example of improvement is with keys instead of department heads
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having multiple keys. For instance, you now have one key,
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he said, specifically referring to Police Chief Todd Kelly. It's
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the little things, Conley said. You don't have to change
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locks because somebody lost a key. He said, they're trying
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to mitigate risks as they move forward. We've moved a
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lot of hardware, he said. Adam has been moving fast.
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The team is aiming for the best and latest technology
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all the time, Conley said. He said the next big
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investment is the internet, as the city is using more
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cloud storage than ever before. Commissioner dj Rimer asked about cybersecurity.
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While Conley couldn't divulge too many details, he said, there's
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some expenses there. Michelle Veach keeps us in check. We've
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had a green light all the way. Our next article.
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Man listed as pastor arraigned on child porn charges by
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Aaron Snyder of The Daily Independent. A Flatwood's man listed
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as a pastor of a local church, was arraigned on
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child pornography charges Thursday in Greenop County Circuit Court. Stephen A. Garden,
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forty six, was in front of Judge Brian MacLeod for
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the arraignment. He is represented by public defender Charlie Oppenheimer.
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Garten was arrested in mid January according to Kentucky State Police,
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when he admitted to KSP to downloading and possession child
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sexual abuse material on his personal computer and iPad. He
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is charged with two counts of possessing matter portraying a
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sexual performance by a minor under twelve and two counts
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of possession of sex related material depicting miners between ages
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twelve and eighteen. Garden signed a criminal information in district court.
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According to multiple online sources, Garden is listed as a
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senior pastor at Freedom Hall Tabernacle, a non denominational church
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in South Shore. Garden will return to court for pre
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trial in early March. He remains in Greenough County Detention
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Center on no bond. In other news, scholarship now available
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in Boyd. The Boyd County Republican Women's twenty twenty six
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Scholarship is now available. According to a news release, the
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Boyd County Republican Women's objective is to make a vital
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difference in the community by advancing conservative ideals and values.
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The release stated, in keeping with that objective, the BCRW
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YOU is offering a scholarship for the seventeenth year to
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a graduating female senior who resides in Boyd County. The
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scholarship is one five hundred dollars and will be awarded
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on the basis of academic achievement, financial need, and most importantly,
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the desire to embrace the conservative ideals of the Republican Party.
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According to the release, the applicant must plan to attend
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an accredited college or university as a full time student
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beginning the fall of twenty twenty six. Applications are available
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from guidance counselors at all Boyd County High schools, b CRW, Facebook,
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and Boyd County Republican Party's website. You may also email
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Sonya O'Brien at sso'brien at windstream dot net if you
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would like an application email to The deadline for the
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scholarship application is Friday, May eighth, twenty twenty six. The
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successful candidate will be a guest along with her parent
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or guardian at the club's June first meeting. Moving on,
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ACTC connected musicians to perform an annual Ashland concert. A
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former Ashland Community and Technical College professor, the son of
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a current ACTC faculty member, and a group of accomplished
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regional musicians will be features featured in an upcoming concert
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celebrating both Appalachian and classical music. The concert will take
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place Saturday, February twenty first, at twenty twenty six at
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twelve thirty pm at First Presbyterian Church, located at sixteen
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hundred Winchester Avenue in Ashland. The program will feature Max Jackson,
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an alumnus of Ashland Junior College and retired faculty member
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of Ashland Community College. Jackson earned a Bachelor of Arts
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in music with a concentration in organ from Georgetown College,
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along with advanced music degrees from the University of Kentucky
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and Southern Methodist University. He taught music at Ashland Community
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College for more than thirty years, where he conducted choral
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ensembles and served as music director for the college's theater productions.
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His academic career also included teaching appointments at the University
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of Kentucky and Georgetown College. In addition, Jackson has served
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as an organist and choir director at churches throughout Kentucky,
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North Carolina, and Ohio, and currently serves as an organist
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at First Presbyterian Church in Ashland. Also performed will be
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Calvin Riggs, son of ACTC faculty member doctor Mark Riggs.
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Riggs hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Piano Performance
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from Marshall University and currently holds a position as organist
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and pianist at Beaumont Presbyterian Church in Lexington. He also
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serves his community as a full time EMT. For more
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information about the concert, contact Betty George Frye at Betty
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George dot f r Ye at KCTCS dot edu. This
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concludes excerpts from recent editions of the Ashland Daily Independent.
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Your reader has been Jane On behalf of everyone here
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at radio. I thank you for listening, Keep on listening
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and have a good day.