Henry Wombles, whose varied life took him from Ky.'s eastern coalfield to Midway's restaurant row, dies at 82

Henry Wombles signed copies of his book, Under
the Flagpole, outside Heirloom on Sept. 20, 2015.

Henry Wombles, who helped his son Mark start the Heirloom restaurant in Midway after a very varied life in work and business, did peacefully at his home Thursday, March 26. He was 82.

"He was one of the kindest men I ever knew," Mark Wombles said on Facebook. "He always had a clever story, a gentle voice, and a hopeful smile. I’m devastated I won’t hear more of his stories, but I’m eternally thankful for the ones I have. I’ll cherish them as I tell them to my children as I age. His influence over me, as I now father two children is extraordinary. He always had words of encouragement for me. He always told me I was the most handsome boy he ever saw. He believed in me, way before I started to believe in myself. . . . I’m really going to miss him."

After high school, Henry Wombles worked several years in coal mines for his father. Henry Elliott Wombles, then for an engineering company in Hazard, then helped a Florida engineering firm with restoring the home of Samuel Lerner, who owned the Lerner Shops, into the Compleat Angler Hotel, a favorite of Ernest Hemingway, on the island of Bimini in the Bahamas.

After several years in Florida, Wombles returned to Kentucky to help his father, but lived in Lexington, and when the coal business slowed, he joined the Lexington Herald-Leader in single-copy sales, late making and directing training films for new employees. He retired at 63 to a small farm on the Woodford-Fayette county line, but had many projects, and partnered with Mark Wombles to open Heirloom in 2006. He frequented the top-rated restaurant long after he no longer owned an interest in it, and was a familiar figure to locals and visitors who enjoyed his stories and sense of humor.

His heart remained in Eastern Kentucky, and in 2015, he published a novel set in Appalachia during World War II, Under the Flagpole, which he described as a "work of love" for the people he grew up with. He hosted tours of Hazard for friends who had enjoyed his book. "I’m so thankful he wrote a book in his late years," Mark wrote. "It holds many of his childhood memories . . . and recounts the story of an overlooked region of America during the turn of the century."

His survivors include his wife of 61 years, Jeanne Cox Wombles; three children, Shayna (Gary) Cooper of Warsaw, Ind., Jeanne (Dave) Gillespie of Leland, N.C., and Mark (Kyla) Wombles of Lexington; and two brothers, James (Charlann) Wombles Sr. and Bobby (Joy) Wombles of Lexington.

The family says a celebration of his life "will be planned for a later date when circumstances permit," but a scholarship is being established in his name for students in his hometown. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to Hazard High School, 157 Bulldog Lane, Hazard KY 41701, for the Henry "Buzz" Wombles Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Read Across Our Community Week events will begin Monday night at The Homeplace at Midway, library says

The Midway Branch of the Woodford County Public Library is sponsoring a community reading event at The Homeplace at Midway at 6:30 p.m. Monday. The library is inviting children to come read with residents of the assisted-living cottage (the green cottage). Books will be provided.

Dr. Seuss and his most famous book

The event is the first in a series that will be held as part of Read Across Our Community Week. At 6 p.m. Thursday, children will meet at the Midway Makers Market on East Main Street to read a story and make a craft.

At 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the library will hold a birthday breakfast for Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel), perhaps the best-loved author of children's books. During the week, students at Northside Elementary School will participate in projects inspired by Dr. Seuss. His birthday is Monday, March 2.

Midway University to host author of bestseller that is first-year students' common-read book 7 p.m. Nov. 7

Jennifer Teege, author of My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me, Midway University’s "common read" book for the year, will give a lecture to all first-year students and the public at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7 in the Duthie Auditorium of the Anne Hart Raymond Building, followed by a book signing.

The general public is welcome, but priority seating is for enrolled Midway University students. First-year students in their first semester use the book for class discussions, projects, and writing assignments in the MWY 101 Pathways and Perspectives course. "The culminating experience is for students to be able to meet the author in person and have their books signed," said Ellen Gregory, vice president for marketing and communications.

Teege’s memoir was hailed as “haunting” by The Washington Post, “unforgettable” by Publishers Weekly and “stunning” by Booklist. Subtitled A Black Woman Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past, the book tells how Teege responded to the discovery that her grandfather was Amon Goeth, the vicious Nazi commandant so chillingly depicted by Ralph Fiennes in the movie Schindler’s List. The film was shown in MWY 101 classes recently.

"When Teege, a German-Nigerian woman, randomly picked up a library book from the shelf, her whole life—her whole sense of self—changed forever," a Midway University press release said. "Recognizing photos of her mother and grandmother in the book, she discovered a horrifying fact they had kept from her."

Holly Hill Inn spotlights Silas House in fourth installment of Poetry Dinners; buffet with live music Saturday

House (Berea College photo)

Appalachian poet and award-winning author Silas House gets the spotlight in the fourth installment of Holly Hill Inn's Poetry Dinner series, which runs through Oct. 5.

House is the National Endowment for the Humanities Chair in Appalachian Studies at Berea College and the author of six novels: Clay's Quilt, A Parchment of Leaves, The Coal Tattoo, Eli the Good, Same Sun Here (co-authored with Neela Vaswani), and most recently Southernmost, which was listed for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. He has co-written a book of creative nonfiction, Something's Rising, with his husband Jason Howard; and three plays: "The Hurting Part," "This Is My Heart for You," and "In These Fields," with Sam Gleaves.

The dinner series will spotlight "Hazel Dickens," House's poem about how he cooked a meal and reflected on the 2011 death of the iconic bluegrass musician from West Virginia who was a feminist and labor-union advocate. The dinner, which does not include any poetry readings, is $35 for a three-course menu and $50 for a six-course tasting menu.

Menu for Saturday outdoor buffet

The menu, taken partly from the poem, includes sweet-potato biscuits and skillet cornbread; Whitley County soup beans with sweet onion and chow chow; pickled cucumber, onion and sliced-tomato salad; a house-smoked salmon patty; hand-pinched tomato pie; pork belly with roasted chiles, creamed corn and redeye gravy; and for dessert, "Smudge This," made of cake, peanut-butter fudge and marshmallow cream; or Alice's apple dumpling.

On Saturday, Aug. 17, the restaurant will host a special celebration of House's poetry and the music of Dickens with an outdoor buffet from 6 to 9 p.m. The Local Honeys will perform on the front porch beginning at 6:30 p.m. The price is $50. Wine and cocktails will be available. Outdoor seating is available for up to 100 people. In case of rain, it will move inside. Make a reservation by calling (859) 846-4732 or going online.

Dr. Jim Roach's second book, Vital Strategies in Cancer, reflects his integrative-medicine approach

Dr. Jim Roach

By Kristi Fitzgerald
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

“Wow, I’m a doctor now. Now, what?” So said Dr. Jim Roach when he got the title. He wanted to be more than just a typical physician, so he became active in Habitat for Humanity, then focused on smoking, a sensitive subject in a big tobacco state. “The next decade was philosophy, and finally I’m headed on this pathway.”

That pathway is integrative medicine, a form of medical therapy that combines practices and treatments from alternative medicine with conventional medicine. It led him to write his latest book, Vital Strategies in Cancer, which focuses on integrative medicine strategies to combat cancer.

It dives into the spiritual and holistic methods of healing, characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease. Roach places emphasis on de-stressing, cultivating a sense of peace within oneself, forgiveness, energy work, proper nutrition, botanicals, and more.

“Learning those strategies and connecting in spiritually can be transformative and that’s what I try to do with all my patients,” Roach told the Midway Messenger. He called Vital Strategies in Cancer  “the most comprehensive book, to date, that has been written on this topic.” It is available on Amazon.

“This book has 630 references, 458 pages so it’s very comprehensive, but perhaps the most important aspect is the incorporation of spirituality,” said Roach. That connects with his previous book, God’s House Calls, about his patients’ near-death experiences.

He explained why spirituality can be such an important component to healing: “My mother died in a car wreck New Year’s of 1994 and I didn’t get to say goodbye to her. I’ve been able to spiritually work through that and I’m fine with it now, but at the time it was tough,” said Roach. “With cancer, you have a chance to mend fences; you have the opportunity to share with special loved ones and with family how much you care about them. You can live in the moment.”

Asked why more medical professionals don’t take a holistic or spiritual approach to cancer, he said, “There are financial incentives to go the pharmaceutical route, to go the chemotherapy route because it makes money for hospitals.”

Roach says he has seen the results in numerous patients that he has treated over the years and would like to share his cancer-fighting methods with cancer patients, doctors, and anyone who would like to learn about preventative measures one can take to live a healthier life. “If you stop worrying about dying,” he said, “that’s the perfect catalyst for healing.”

Roach said he has cancer patients from Rhode Island, Maryland, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky. “Overall, I have had patients with many different health conditions from perhaps 30 states,” he said. “Having twelve years of clinical experience, I have seen the results with my patients.” He operates the Midway Center for Integrative Medicine.

Roach said he has “trained under some of the top cancer specialists in the country,” been published in Nutrition and Cancer: An International Journal and the Cancer Strategies Journal, spent over 13,000 hours studying and researching various topics, and seen over 10,000 patients, who have granted him a deeper understanding of cancer and how to heal people, according to the book's website. “I want to see what other doctors can’t fix because by being thorough you can accomplish so much more,” he said.

Roach said Vital Strategies in Cancer can be beneficial for everyone: “This book helps you to appreciate life while you’re here, how to get the most out of life, and how to stop worrying.”

At 67, Roach, says he has no plans for retiring. He continues to work to create better lives for his patients and to inform the public about spiritual and holistic ways to live a healthier and happier life through his book and medical practice.

Sam Shepard's last book, written at his Midway home, is an intimate, precise portrait of Lou Gehrig's Disease

Shepard chose his book's cover image, of an old
man staring at circling birds, by Graciela Iturbide.

Playwright, author and actor Sam Shepard, who had a home near Midway and spent his last days there, is the author of a just-released book about his fatal struggle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Spy of the First Person "is an unvarnished, intimate portrait of a man facing the end of his life, as he reflects on his past and observes how his own body has betrayed him," Alexandra Alter writes for The New York Times.

"He had always been incredibly private, and he didn’t want to publicize his deteriorating health," Alter reports. "Few people apart from his family, closest friends and collaborators knew about his diagnosis." It was known among those in Midway who knew him, but as usual, they respected his privacy.

"Shepard explored his condition through his writing in vivid, precise prose that transformed his worsening symptoms into something akin to poetry," Alter writes. "He wrote in notebooks at first, as he always had, but when his condition grew more grave and he could no longer control his hands, he dictated into a recorder" while sitting in the garden of his home near South Elkhorn Creek in Scott County. He got help from his longtime editor, LuAnn Walther, and his old friend, singer Patti Smith.

Sam Shepard's home near Midway, where he died July 27

“He was always a very private writer, and the fact that he was now having to involve his family in his process was not easy for him,” Walker Shepard, one of Shepard’s two sons, told Alter in an email. “I think it was a relief for him to work with Patti because she is not family.”

Shepard's sisters, Sandy and Roxanne, "transcribed the tapes and gave the pages back to him to read over," Alter reports. Sandy Rogers told her, “His mind was like a steel trap. He would dictate for an hour and a half or two hours from the top to the bottom, and he would never change anything.”

Alter writes, "One of the most moving moments in the book occurs before the story even begins. In a heart-rending inversion of a typical dedication page, where the author often thanks his or her family, 'Spy of the First Person' is dedicated to the author himself: “Sam’s children, Hannah, Walker and Jesse, would like to recognize their father’s life and work and the tremendous effort he made to complete his final book.”

The 96-page book is available at the Historic Midway Museum Store. For Midway City Council Member John McDaniel's remembrance of his friend, written shortly after his death, click here.

Bill Penn’s book, Kentucky Rebel Town, is a lifetime achievement; reading Thursday evening at library

Penn poses with his book outside his Midway Museum Store.

Story and photos by Austyn Gaffney
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

It could be said that Bill Penn’s book, Kentucky Rebel Town: The Civil War Battles of Cynthiana and Harrison County, is 55 years old.

Penn, co-owner of the Historic Midway Museum Store, first wrote about “the best rebel town of our native state,” a Confederate officer’s reference to Cynthiana, in 1962. Dr. Thomas D. Clark, University of Kentucky history professor and founder of the University Press of Kentucky, taught Penn in his History of Kentucky course. Penn turned in a 40-page paper on his hometown of Cynthiana, the seed of his future book.

Although Penn never went back to school, the history bug never left him. In 1995, he synthesized research he had done since his undergraduate years, self-publishing the book Rattling Spurs and Broad Brimmed Hats. The title was a quote from a letter on Gen. John Hunt Morgan’s Confederate raiders who rode through Cynthiana.

When Penn sent the book to Clark, his old professor wrote back: “One can never tell where bread he casts upon waters will come floating home.” His proud appreciation of Penn’s book encouraged Penn to do further research. He expanded his study to nearly 400 pages of historical text, published by the University Press of Kentucky last fall.

Penn will give a reading at the Midway branch of the Woodford County Public Library at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, and will be at the Northern Kentucky Regional History Day at the Boone County Library for a workshop on his book March 25.

The Kentucky Civil War Bugle editor, Ed Ford, said of Penn’s work: “Penn deserves an “A” for his research and another “A” for his skill in effectively pulling the story together.”

Close-up of cover shows cropped image.

Penn’s insistence on historical precision begins with the book’s cover. The painting of the Civil War emblazoned on the bottom half comes from Frankfort.

“The battle is realistic,” said Penn, “But an anomaly exists in the bottom right.” According to Penn, rifles are shown instead of a cannon atop a wheeled carriage. Because a cannon carriage is more historically accurate to the time period, Penn had the University Press cut off the image at the carriage wheel.

His research is undoubtedly a labor of love. Unable to find any Civil War battlefield maps of Cynthiana, Penn studied primary texts of citizens and soldiers. The extensive analysis allowed him to redraw battlefield maps for Morgan’s raids, and the subsequent first and second Battles of Cynthiana.

According to Penn, there is an assumption that Morgan rode through town on horseback shooting guns and quickly leaving. But Morgan and his troops actually dismounted and fought bigger battles in Harrison County.

Morgan raided Cynthiana because of its tactical position bordering the Kentucky Central Railroad. But his interest in Cynthiana may have also been its initial pro-Southern leanings. State Rep. and slave-owner Lucius Desha advertised for Southern sympathizers to join a volunteer company led by his sons. At the beginning of the Civil War, a Confederate flag flew from the Harrison County Courthouse.

Penn did several maps. (Click on image for larger version)

Reviewer Lawrence K. Peterson of Civil War News was impressed with Penn’s distinctive story. In his article, “A Gem Concerning Middle Kentucky,” Peterson stated, “This book is a gem for two sets of students of the Civil War: those interested in the fighting in Kentucky other than Richmond/Perryville, and those interested in civilian life during the war.”

Those interested in civilian life can also look forward to Penn’s next book. “A project I had started before I finished this was a history of Midway and northern Woodford County horse farms,” said Penn. “And I laid that aside. I’ve done two chapters of that, I’ve done one on the settlement period around this area from the first surveyors. They actually camped near here. And then I’ve written a chapter on the Civil War period here.”

Penn is obviously a hard worker, but is anything but self-congratulatory.

“I plagiarized all I could,” Penn joked when asked how long it took to complete the book. He teased Dr. James Ramage, a history professor at Northern Kentucky University, when Ramage visited Penn’s shop. “Dr. Ramage was in here about a month ago,” Penn said. “I told him that I had stolen all I could out of his book on John Hunt Morgan.”

Joking aside, Penn’s love of history continues to guide his life. Penn interrupted the Midway Messenger’s interview to greet a customer purchasing books on Versailles from his store’s upstairs library. Hopping up from his stool, Penn ran upstairs to get another book to “throw in” for free.

“This is a prize,” Penn told the customer, handing him a book on the architecture in Versailles. “I just want someone who’s interested to have it.”

“He forgets we have bills to pay,” Leslie Penn teased her husband. Bill Penn smiled and insisted on the gift. History, for him, is just that, a gift.

Penn poses in the upstairs library and bookstore of his and wife Leslie's Midway Museum Store.

Bill and Leslie Penn celebrate 20 years of Historic Midway Museum Store

Bill and Leslie Penn held an open house at the Historic Midway Museum Store on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their iconic business. Bill showed visitors the cover of his book, Kentucky Rebel Town, about his hometown of Cynthiana, due to be published by the University Press of Kentucky in October. Congratulations to the Penns on their business anniversary and their contributions to Midway.

Henry Wombles of Heirloom writes a novel, Under the Flagpole, about the people in his native Eastern Ky.

By Kayla Loy

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

Henry Wombles signs books outside Heirloom Sept. 20

You can usually find Henry Wombles helping his son, Mark Wombles, run the Heirloom restaurant in Midway, especially since Mark opened a restaurant in Lexington. But while running a restaurant, Wombles recently finished a novel.

Under the Flagpole focuses on people in Eastern Kentucky who have never been outside the area or lived anywhere except the mountains.

Wombles said they are smart people but haven’t traveled a lot. The protagonist of the book, Miles Hudson, lies about his age when he joins the military so he was able to join at 16.

“I thought it was a story that never been told that really needed to be told,” he said.

As a younger man, Hudson develops a fever that reaches 103 degrees. His mother doesn’t want to take him to the hospital so she tells Hudson’s 17-year-old sister, Evaline, to go get Silver Eyed Jane to heal him with her magical powers:

“Scared and confused, Evaline lashed out. “I’ll tell you something, Miss Silver-Eyed Jane! I never wanted to come up here on your mountain in the first place, but my momma sent me here!”

Hudson goes through hardships and wants to do something more than only being a coal miner. He tries to find himself.

Wombles, 76, said he wrote the book because he is from Eastern Kentucky: Hazard, where his father owned coal mines. He said he always wanted to write a book about the region.  “I grew up in that area and knew all the people,” he said.

Those people in Wombles’ generation were very patriotic during the World War II years. “It was a different experience for them” to go to war, Wombles said, because the life they lived in Eastern Kentucky was different from the rest of the world.

During this time, people in Eastern Kentucky had movies and radio, but no television. The only thing they saw from the outside world was what they saw on the movie screen. In Hazard, there were two theaters.

“Everyone in the mountains loved going to the movies, especially the cowboy movies,” Wombles said. Many of them “never thought they would ever see anything except mountains.”

Wombles said he started on the book two or three times due to the deaths of his parents.

It took him about four years to write it. Finishing it was a “weight off my shoulders,” he said.

Wombles describes the self-published book as a “work of love” for the people he grew up with.

For several years after high school, Wombles worked for his father in the mines. After that, he found work in Hazard at an engineering company, then with an engineering firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., that was restoring the home of Samuel Lerner, who owned the Lerner Shops.

“The home had a lot of history to it,” said Wombles, indicating Ernest Hemingway wrote many of his stories in that house.

The project lasted about three years. Wombles said it was a great experience for a man in his early 20s, and he hopes to go back to Bimini this summer.

When Wombles left Bimini, he moved to Winter Park, Fla., just outside Orlando. He lived there for about five years, working at a one-hour cleaners, but his father kept asking him to come back to Kentucky to help him work in the mines. Wombles did come back, but to Lexington, and traveled back and forth to work in the mountains.

When the coal business slowed down, Wombles got a job in single-copy sales at the Lexington Herald-Leader, where he made and directed training films for new employees. He retired from the newspaper at age 63.

Wombles held a few other jobs, then retired to his small farm on the Woodford- Fayette county line. 

“I just wanted to live out in the country. I like country living,” he said. "I’ve been there now close to 30 years.”

Dr. Jim Roach's book about near-death experiences, God's House Calls, is being published tomorrow

By Kacie Kelly
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

Dr. Jim Roach (Photo by Kacie Kelly)

On a typical Friday, Dr. Jim Roach is seeing patients at the Midway Center for Integrative Medicine. But today, he is in Southern California doing radio interviews to promote a book being published tomorrow about his patients’ near-death experiences.

God’s House Calls: Finding God Through My Patients stands at No. 2 on Amazon book pre-sales and is being pushed by Roach and his promotion team to become No. 1.

Roach said in an interview that he wants his book to spread the words of these occurrences and even change medicine: “I feel like this could be the tipping point towards that transformation to recognizing the reality of these spiritual experiences.”

The book reflects not only on patients’ experiences, but on Roach’s integrative approach to medicine. Integrative medicine is a practice not common among doctors. It uses natural methods of healing while utilizing modern medical technology and advances.

Roach became interested in integrative medicine when he was about 50 years old. “I wanted to see how well and long I could live,” he said. After attending conferences about integrative medicine and its benefits, he began incorporating spirituality into his practice.

“Spirituality is a big part of my practice now,” he observed. “We are finding that incorporating spirituality is impacting patient health.”

For the last 15 years Roach has been pulling patients off of prescription drugs and incorporating more natural medicine, such as botanicals. Roach says botanicals can combat pain, allergies, digestive problems and more without the negative consequences of modern pharmaceuticals.

Roach began being fascinated with near-death experiences when a patient told him a story of her “blissful” encounter with death: “She told me she didn’t fear death after that.” Roach replied, “What do you mean you don’t fear death? Everyone is scared of death.”

He said the episode posed a question for him: What about these experiences makes people no longer fear death? For two years, he collected the stories found in God’s House Calls.

Examining near-death experiences has become a part of Roach’s practice and he says they are, “the gateway to understanding it all.” Roach said that “If someone reads this book with an open mind … I think you can’t read this book and not be convinced of the reality of God.”

One story from the book asks, “Could death be pleasant?” and is about Roach's own near-death experience. He was swallowing supplements when he accidentally swallowed the plastic preservative. Roach choked for minutes and felt “a peaceful feeling settle in.” He laid down and gravity saved his life when it made the preservative pass through.

The stories don’t always involve the patient coming close to dying. Sometimes it is about someone being intuitive. One story is about a woman named Karen who had a daughter named Amanda, who was suffering from spousal abuse and committed suicide. Two weeks before the incident, Roach writes, “Karen heard God’s voice telling her, ‘Amanda isn’t going to be with you for long.’”

The book is filled with very different experiences with death or near-death experiences. Some patients have a first-hand encounter with it, and some sense “spiritual entities.”

Roach says in his introduction, “Their lives were substantially impacted by these events, always in a positive way.”

Roach and his wife, Dee Dee, said they continue to grow spiritually as they learn of patient experiences. “It has been eye opening,” she said.

Roach said, “When writing this book, there was temptation to whitewash its contents, to conform to a particular spiritual belief system. That would have made it more tidy and acceptable to a traditional audience. But I do not accept that as my calling.”

Roach said he likes to take a personal approach to his practice. “I realized how important relationships are in the healing process,” he said after he saw one patient’s health dramatically decline at the beginning of his career. The patient was seen by a nurse every day, and Roach watched the patient begin to heal. The nurse had some time off work and from then on the patient’s health decline dramatically.

Roach said he finds that building strong relationships with his patients improves his ability to treat them. In doing this he is able to find the best method and course of action to improve their overall health. “My greatest need is to serve the needs of others,” he said.

Roach said he has come to the conclusion that “The way we live our life matters.” He said, “Maybe if we are making the world a better place, we shouldn’t have to fear death and dying.” He said he lives by this motto and will donate all profits from the book to charities including Habitat for Humanity, the Academy for Integrative Health and Medicine, Midway Christian Church, and Midway College (soon to be Midway University). In churches where this book is sold, buyers will have $4 of their purchase donated back to the church.

Roach said he will continue to push and promote his book until his “face turns blue.” The books kick-off party will be held at the Holly Hill Inn Tuesday, March 31, from 5 to 7 p.m. Roach and his wife will be there along with people featured in the book. He said those who know him are invited.

Council backs group's letter opposing Versailles bypass; mayor views Chamber's budget request favorably

By Paige Hobbs

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

The Midway City Council voted Monday evening to endorse a letter of expressed concerns from an alliance of Woodford County groups about proposed construction of a bypass in the Northwest Versailles Mobility Corridor. 

The council also heard from the executive director of the Woodford County Chamber of Commerce, Don Vizi, who requested a $4,000 appropriation from the City of Midway for the 2015-16 budget. He got a favorable reaction from Mayor Grayson Vandegrift.

The Corridor Study Group is composed of members from various Midway organizations including the Woodford Coalition, Citizens for Sustainable Growth, Midway Citizens Group, Midway Renaissance, Pisgah Community Historic Association, and a Woodford county farmer.  They wrote a letter to the members of the Mobility Corridor Citizen’s Advisory Committee and representatives of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

Co-Chair Joyce Evans spoke to the council on behalf of the group. The group is encouraging the ‘no build option.’ “People think it’s not a real option,” Evans said. ”It is a real option.”

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift elaborated, saying no-build is one of four possible options for this project,the other three where the extension would join US 60. The middle one is Midway Road (US 62). “You can extend Fall Springs Boulevard to US 60 . . .  or you don’t build this bypass at all,” said Vandegrift, a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee.

Council Member Daniel Roller added, “No build does not mean do nothing; it means do something to improve the volume of traffic flow in Versailles.” Roller suggested increasing signage along US 60 near the Bluegrass Parkway exit to help guide truck traffic to the Sylvania plant on US 62 west of Versailles. This would be a much less expensive option.

The list of concerns centered on safety of Midway citizens because of the potential for increased traffic along Midway Road. Another concern is whether it is appropriate to use road funds for this project when there are other roads and bridges that need repair and improvement.                               

The group proposed moving the “Federal AAA trucking highway” designation of the Midway Road portion from US 62 to US 60 to improve safety in the area. They also suggested making the needed repairs and improvements to existing roads rather than building a bypass.

In drafting the letter, Evans asked members of the community for support. Among others, council members Roller, Sara Hicks, Libby Warfield, and Kaye Nita Gallagher supported the letter. Vandegrift noted that they did not do so behalf of the city council. Council members Steven Craig and Bruce Southworth joined in the council’s endorsement.

For a PDF copy of the letter, click here. Last month, the council passed a resolution calling for "extreme caution and careful consideration" in the bypass design.

The mobility corridor citizen’s advisory committee will meet Thursday, March 5, to discuss plans for the project. Evans told the council no public input will be permitted at this meeting. UPDATE: This meeting was canceled due to heavy snow and will be rescheduled.

The chamber of commerce has approached the council several times for money without success when Tom Bozarth was mayor, but Vandegrift said after the meeting that he was 99 percent sure that he would put the request in the budget and let the council members decide.

In a letter to the council, Vizi explained how the funding would allow the chamber continued management of the community portal website, www.woodfordcountyinfo.com. The chamber is using it as way to boost economic development for the county. He was accompanied by Midway gallery owner Kenny Smith, who is chair of the chamber’s board this year.

In remarks to the council, Vizi offered to provide Midway a digital TV board to display activities of community organizations. There are six digital boards around Versailles.

              

Police and speeders: The Versailles Police Department, which patrols all of Woodford County, provided its 2014 annual report. Hicks requested the department break out statistics for Midway; specifically including the number of speeding tickets, where they occurred, the time of day, and the speed of vehicles going down Winter Street.

Warfield shared this concern, and said she and Hicks spoke with state Rep. James Kay about the speeding issue on Winter Street.  “He has some plans to help us . . . and we think the more information we have to back him up the better,” Warfield said. Vandegrift said he would make a request for those numbers.

Roach book: Dr. Jim Roach of The Midway Center for Integrative Medicine requested a resolution from the council endorsing his upcoming book, “God’s House Calls,” By declaring March 31 “God’s House Calls Day.” Roach said he has spoken with patient after patient who have had spiritual near-death experiences. “They don’t want to come back from death. . .they’re not afraid of death anymore,” said Roach. The book will discuss the science behind these experiences.

Vandegrift said city attorney Phil Moloney would draft a resolution and present it at the next council meeting, March 16. The book will be available March 28, Roach said.

Water project: The council approved a resolution authorizing Vandegrift and city clerk Phyllis Hudson to sign the final assistance agreement between the city and state for the Higgins Street water line project. Due to the recent weather, the project will be delayed two weeks, now starting March 16. Completion is expected by the end of April.

Vandegrift expressed his gratitude for the cooperation of Midway College during this project as they allowed the city to store materials on their soccer field. “There was very good cooperation from the city and the college,” said Vandegrift.

Vandegrift noted the new fire truck has been delivered and is in town.

Weather: Gallagher made a comment about several sidewalks in town that are still frozen over. Vandegrift said, “Each business owner has responsibility for the sidewalks. . . . It’s an ordinance, we should be enforcing it . . . there are probably penalties attached to it.”  He said he would look into the matter.

Vandegrift concluded the meeting by complimenting the job of Wright Farm Services, a company based in Richmond, for their efforts clearing streets during the recent weather. “We had the best looking streets around,” said Vandegrift.

Midway business faculty write problem-solving book

Business faculty members at Midway College have written a book aimed at helping businesses solve their everyday problems. Solutions: Business Problem Solving will be published Thursday, June 14.

"The book idea came about when Dr. Eric Bolland, chair of the MBA Division, joined Midway and found the business faculty's combined talents spanned the spectrum of problems that business people face day in and day out," a college press release said.

Bolland said the book is written as both a reference manual and a textbook, covering 19 topics including "everything from deciding whether to buy or lease equipment to human resource issues to analyzing your competition and the book addresses needs of various size organizations," the release said. The 406-page book is published by Gower Publishing and is available in hard copy through AshGate Publishing.