Council members to inspect old sewer plant, Spring Station Road property Monday morning

"Three or more Midway City Council members" will view the old wastewater treatment plant on Leestown Road and city property on Spring Station Road Monday, Oct. 3, at 9:30 a.m., says a notice this afternoon from City Hall. The notice did not say which property would be visited at that time, but listed the Spring Station site first.

The notice was necessary because a gathering of four council members is a quorum that constitutes an official meeting under the state Open Meetings Act. All such meetings are subject to public-notice requirements and are open to the public.

Tom Roach remembered as a smiling gentleman, a traditionalist and a fine Thoroughbred breeder

By Nate Courtney
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

Tom Roach knew tradition.

He was the fourth generation to operate his family’s Parrish Hill Farm, co-bred a Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of the Year, and was known as a true gentleman.

At his funeral Sept. 10 at Midway Christian Church, longtime friend and Midway Mayor Tom Bozarth summed up the man he knew in a fitting sendoff.

"The definition of a gentleman is a well mannered and considerate man with high standards of proper behavior," Bozarth said. "This describes Tom."

Roach was born in Lexington on May 26, 1948, but lived in Midway for most of his adult life, working as a Thoroughbred breeder on the family farm after graduating from Duke University and attending the University of Kentucky law school.

The son of the late Ruth and Dr. Ben Roach, Tom learned his character traits from his father, who helped him breed the family’s only Derby winner, Charismatic, with Will Farish.

Virginia Glass delivered Charismatic at Parrish Hill Farm from Roach's mare, Bali Babe, and witnessed the 1999 Horse of the Year's rise to prominence.

"Charismatic raced at Keeneland and Tommy said he might run in the Derby if he won,” Glass recalled. “Coming down the stretch Charismatic was leading and Tommy was running with him to the finish line as he won."

After his victory, Glass asked Tommy if she got a raise for delivering him. "He smiled and gave me two thumbs up," Glass said.

Charismatic went on to win the Derby and the Preakness, falling just short of the Triple Crown. Roach also bred Princess Rooney, which won the first Breeders’ Cup Distaff race.

According to The Blood-Horse, Roach also bred graded stakes winners Millennium Wind, Storm Tower, Tossofthecoin, Cormorant, Lawyer Talk, Inca King and Queen of Song, and "The breeding of current millionaire and multiple grade I turf runner Get Stormy was planned by Roach for his longtime client and dear friend, Mary Sullivan. Get Stormy was born and raised at Roach’s Parrish Hill Farm until he left to be broken for racing."

Roach always used a traditional, hands-on approach with his horses. In fact, he fed them personally every night, after eating his own dinner.

"Tom would go to the barn and mix his famous concoction of who knows to his beloved race horses," Bozarth said. "It sure did stink but the horses ate it.”

There was no job too big, too small or too smelly for Roach. "He always did what needed to be done," Glass said.

Tom and his wife Robyn decided in 2008 to sell the original Parrish Hill property in Midway and move to Versailles, where they continued breeding under the Parrish Hill name. He resided at that home at the time of his death, when he lost his longtime battle against a stomach disorder.

Roach was a director of the Thoroughbred Club of America, a member of the Midway Christian Church, and a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, and the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels.

He is survived by his wife Robyn, daughters Amanda Parrish and Hallie Thompson Lewis, grandson son-in-law Drew Lewis, grandson Parrish Lewis, brother Jim Roach, sisters Julia Roach and Helen Rentch, and many nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.

Bozarth said at the funeral, “He was always smiling.”

That's a tradition that will live on through his legacy.

Policy committee to discuss several issues at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday

The Ordinance, Policy and Finance Committee of the Midway City Council will meet Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 8:30 a.m. at City Hall to discuss parking tickets, the candidate filing deadline, alcohol ordinances and "CD Review," which the notice from City Hall did not define. The next council meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3. All council and committee meetings are open to the public.

Renaissance calls open meeting Monday night to discuss its future and recruit new leadership

Midway Renaissance will conduct an open meeting Monday, Sept. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Midway Christian Church to discuss the organization's future. Outgoing President Randy Thomas says the group is looking for volunteers to serve as board members and other leadership positions.

In the past year, Renaissance has experienced personnel losses caused by staff resignations and members rotating to a volunteer status. In a letter notifying the city of the meeting, Thomas wrote: "We will hold this public discussion to inform our community of the opportunities that exist for this community and volunteer driven organization."

Thomas plans to leave the Renaissance board at the end of the year, "and the other board officers do not intend to run again after serving for a number of years," says a notice on the group's web page. "Change in leadership is good for an organization and both Midway Renaissance and Francisco's Farm are in need of new leadership and additional volunteers if they are to continue."

37th Fall Festival blessed with great weather

The 37th annual Midway Fall Festival was blessed with perfect weather this weekend and drew big crowds downtown. The Old Smoky steam locomotive of R.J. Corman Railroad Co. was an object of curiosity, as usual. Corman was one of the major sponsors of the festival, with Christian Care Communities and Midway College. "It was one of our best festivals yet! We had lots of help from Midway residents, City Hall and fantastic support from our sponsors," said John McDaniel, president of the Midway Business Association. "It was good to see that much energy in our our downtown area."

Photos by Dick Yarmy,
University of Kentucky
School of Journalism
and Telecommunications

Community commemorates 9/11 at joint Service of Peace and Hope; to be an annual event

Story and photographs by Dick Yarmy
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

“It just felt right,” said the Rev. Heather McColl of Midway Christian Church.

Sunday, nearly 200 Midway citizens gathered for the first annual Service of Peace and Hope. The event commemorated the toll of Sept. 11, 2001, was sponsored by eight local churches, and was initiated by McColl.

Seated in the Bradley Park pavilion, the worshipers were surrounded by a panorama typical of Woodford County and the Bluegrass. The view included fenced pastures, grazing horses and a steeple of Midway College.

Community members came in all ages, shapes and sizes, sporting fashions that announced membership in one of the many generations in attendence. The overall scene could be described as a collage of virtual snapshots, any one capable of inspiring a Norman Rockwell magazine cover.

There were seniors arriving with the help of walkers and golf carts; families struggling to carry toddlers; pre-schoolers clutching American flags; a father, son and grandfather attending together; and a city council member arriving in a pick-up truck carrying additional folding chairs for the overflow.

The audience was diverse. Yet, when members rose to “pass the peace” (right) and began greeting neighbors, the scene looked more like a community than a collection of individuals.

The service was simple, ecumenical and moving. Ministers and lay people representing six churches took the podium to read scripture and share their thoughts.

A cascade of concise messages flowed from the pulpit.

Phrases like: “Father give us strength,” from a reading by city council member Joy Arnold.

From the Rev. Don Johnson: “ Where there is unity there is strength.” And, “Although we worship in different buildings we should worship as one.”

At times, the worshipers reacted to message lines with a simple “Amen.”

Other messages talked of the history of 9/11 as a placeholder. “We felt a lot safer before then,” said Bud Ratliff. “ It was easy to think that peace and quiet, was the same thing.” Ratliff ended his thoughts with topical humor: “If the wolf and the lamb can lie down together, there may even be hope for the elephant and the donkey.” (Photo: Bud and Zoe Ratliff)

Between each message the audience sang well known songs like “Down by the Riverside,” and “We Shall Overcome.” The crowd’s voices were reinforced by the Community Choir and backed by keyboardist Angela Eaton and guitarist Blake Jones.

After sharing communion, the crowd was invited to prepare "peace flags," using their imaginations to express their own personal feelings. The flags were attached to lines and displayed around the pavilion.

“It was a perfect place and a perfect setting,” McColl said afterward. “They loved getting together as a community, and we’ve decided to make this an annual event.”

For more and larger photos, with another version of this story, click here.

City Council to meet one hour later than usual

The next meeting of the Midway City Council has been set for one hour later than usual, at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19, at City Hall. City Clerk Phyllis Hudson said in an email that the regularly scheduled meeting has been rescheduled for a special meeting at that hour.

Because the rescheduled meeting is being called a special meeting, its agenda will be limited to the subjects specified in the meeting notice: council questions about the audit for the 2010-11 fiscal year and an ordinance amending the budget for that year, in order to match the audit figures. The ordinance was on the agenda but was not acted on the last meeting, at which the audit was discuseed. UPDATE: The agenda has been expanded to include consideration of an adjustment request, passed on by the Water and Sewer Committee at its meeting Wednesday, Sept. 14.

Water and Sewer Task Force to meet Tuesday

UPDATE: This meeting was canceled.
The Water and Sewer Task Force will meet at noon Tuesday, Sept. 13 in the Piper Dining Hall on the Midway College campus. Meetings of the task force are open to the public.

Governor's wife to speak at dedication of new Midway College center, attend school convocation

Jane Beshear, the wife of Gov. Steve Beshear, will be the featured speaker at dedication of the Learning Resource Center building at Midway College tomorrow, Sept. 8, at noon. She will also attend the annual convocation starting the school year, in the Anne Hart Raymond Duthie Auditorium, and 11 a.m.

Midway College's new equine program director teaches how to train horses with body language

"Avo Kiviranna understands the silent language of the horse," KyForward contributor Elizabeth Troutman writes of the new chair of Midway College's equine program. said. “The horse, because it’s a prey animal, will instinctively scrutinize you. Because he wants to know what you are thinking, and the only way you can let him know what you’re thinking is through your body language,” he told Troutman.

Kiviranna, a New York City native who Troutman writes "marveled at the draft horses that delivered blocks of ice to his family’s brownstone," attended the University of Kentucky because “that’s where all the horses were,” he said. He returned to New York and worked as an extension agent, an assistant professor of equine science at the State University of New York at Delhi, a horse trainer, executive director of the American Morgan Horse Association and consultant for a Thoroughbred farm in New York.

He trains "through the least-resistance approach," using "calculated gestures" and what he calls "natural horsemanship," Troutman writes.