Mayor says city will levy fines against Columbia Gas for closing part of Main Street without encroachment permit

Outdoor work on 116 E. Main started June 30.

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift says the city will levy fines against Columbia Gas for causing closure of the north side of East Main Street today.

"The work violated city ordinance, disrupted Friday traffic downtown, and burdened businesses such as restaurants, who rely on gas for their operations," Vandegrift said in an email. "We are starting the process to levy fines on Columbia Gas for violating our ordinances."

The mayor said the word was done without an encroachment permit allowing access to the city's right of way. "Encroachment permits are required of every citizen, every property owner, every utility company before cutting into city owned streets," he wrote. "We need to know before such action is taken and need to approve it so that we know the work to be done, and to have assurance that the replacement of the pavement will be to city specifications."

Vandegrift said a Columbia Gas supervisor told him that the work was being done "on behalf of 116 East Main Street," site of a historic but long-dilapidated building now being renovated by owner Ness Alamdari of Lexington under orders from the Woodford County building inspector.

"As to Mr. Alamdari, this is living proof of what we have been dealing with for more than four years," the mayor wrote. "For whatever reason, Mr. Alamdari continues to attempt to go around the city, around Planning and Zoning, and around any local law he can for his own purposes, despite the will and laws of our citizens."

Summing up, Vandgerift said, "Columbia Gas should have known better, and therefore should pay the penalty for doing such work without going through the process we as a city require. This behavior will not and cannot be tolerated. The interests of one person do not supersede the interests of the city and the people we work for."

Merchants reach foregone conclusion, cancel festival

The Midway Business Association canceled this year's Midway Fall Festival at its monthly meeting Wednesday, due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was a decision no one liked.

"It sucks," MBA President Cortney Neikirk and event coordinator Elisha Holt said, at different times.

Neikirk began the discussion in the Mezzo patio by saying, "I think we all know what the inevitable vote is." She said Mayor Grayson Vandegrift had made that clear, and though the City Council had issued a permit in  January for the event to be held Sept. 19-20, it could revoke the permit if necessary.

"In all fairness, we don't want to have the council make a decision that's ours to make," Neikirk said. She said the idea of having the event on private property wasn't "sensible . . . because Fall Festival is for the merchants."

Some events such as the Kentucky Derby are going ahead with limited attendance, but they are able to enforce limits because they can block access to parking, which can't be done with the festival, Holt said.

Neikirk said the merchants "still have some options to do a few things," such as socially distanced movie nights in the yard between Main and Martin streets, but "I don't know that it would necessarily help the merchants," and "The movies are pretty expensive" to rent.

Earlier, Holt said, "I honestly think that our fall time is dead." She said the association still hopes to have Santa Claus arrive on a train the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but remain on the train and have some sort of socially distanced interaction with children.

"People are itching to get out and do things," Holt said, but Nekirk gave the flip side: "The last thing we want to do is be overrun and be accused of causing an outbreak."

On more positive notes:

• Holt reported that the Facebook commercial filmed recently, with merchants and restaurateurs waving at a drone flying down Main Street, is almost ready and will be targeted to metropolitan areas within driving distance.
• Emily Downey, executive of the Woodford County Chamber of Commerce and the county Tourism Commission, said the agency is targeting markets such as Nashville and St. Louis with ads promoting "Woodford Weekends" for "families, gals and guys."
• After a discussion of the need for a public restroom downtown, especially on weekends when City Hall is closed, Neikirk said she would again discuss the issue with city officials.
• The city is accepting applications from businesses for federally funded grants to compensate them for pandemic-related losses. All those approved will get the same amount, Neikirk said, noting, "We fought for this." The City Council voted 3-2 for two more rounds of vouchers that citizens could redeem at businesses, but switched to grants after state officials said federal relief funds wouldn't pay for vouchers and 19 Midway business people signed a letter warning that most businesses in town could close if they didn't get direct aid.
• Vandegrift told businesses in an email, "The application is available for you to print on our city website meetmeinmidway.com. If you are unable to print you can pick up a copy at City Hall, you may just want to call ahead. Please fill out the application and return to city hall or scan and email it back to sonya@meetmeinmidway.com by 4 p.m. Friday, July 17."

Council OKs $75,000 in federal relief money for grants to businesses; mayor exploring options to fight speeding

Green lines show sewers involved in cleaning and renovation project; red outlines big main targeted for replacement.

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Midway City Council voted 4-0 Monday evening for a grant program to provide federal covid-19 relief funding to local businesses. 

This program will “keep them afloat, make up for lost revenue, pay their employees, purchase their goods, pay their bills, or keep their lights and water on,” Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said.

The council voted to appropriate $75,000 from the city’s $129,000 relief allocation to fuel the grant program. Vandegrift said the city has another $53,000 in pandemic-related expenses that the allocation will cover.

The $75,000 will be split evenly between businesses approved by a three-member council committee. “If 30 businesses apply and were granted this money, you divide it evenly, which would mean each business would get $2,500,” the mayor said.

Vandegrift and Council Members John Holloway and Stacy Thurman, members of an ad hoc committee, debated and worked out most of the details at a meeting last week.

“I think that we simplified it and mainstreamed it enough where we’re still showing some guidelines and that this is a serious application,” Thurman said. “But we give them enough credit that they’re going to be honest . . . with the money in the best way that they can to stay open.”

The application asks what costs or losses were suffered due to closure related to the pandemic. Vandegrift said city attorney Sharon Gold added a final section in which applicants agree to cooperate with any audit, certify that the information they give is correct to the best of their knowledge, and acknowledge that a false statement may require them to return the money.

Grantees must have a physical location in Midway, have been forced to limit activities due to the pandemic, and must not owe taxes to the city. No grant can exceed the amount of the funds business lost. The application asks what the money will be used for, and requires recipients to report by Dec. 30 how they used it.

The application also asks, “Is it your intention to continue operating your business in the City of Midway for the next six months?” Vandegrift said Versailles is requiring its recipients to stay open for a year; he asked, “How can you guarantee that?”

Council Member Sara Hicks said, “We’re just asking them to act in good faith.” For more details of the program and the application form, see the council meeting packet, downloadable here.

The plan is for the applications to be posted as soon as Tuesday and have the program launch on July 8, “time is of the essence,” Vandegrift said. All applications must be turned in by July 17 and can be picked up and turned in either online or at city hall.

As soon as the committee of Holloway, Thurman and Hicks reviews and approves applications, the mayor said, he will instruct Foster to begin writing checks. 

The three voted for the program along with Council Member Logan Nance. Vandegrift said Council Member Kaye Nita Gallagher was ill, and Council Member Bruce Southworth was absent because his mother, Ann Southworth of Georgetown, died unexpectedly; services are Tuesday in Georgetown.

Last month, Nance, Gallagher and Southworth made the 3-2 majority (Thurman had left for a work obligation) that voted informally for a second and third round of a voucher program that allowed residents to use $50 in “Midway Bucks” at local businesses, which the businesses turned in for cash.

The program was popular, but the state Department for Local Government said the federal relief bill didn't allow the city to be reimbursed for it, and 19 business people signed an open letter warning that some of them could close without help, so the council chose the grant program, which is specifically authorized by the relief bill.

Vandegrift noted that the council funded the program with $40,000 in unspent economic-development funds before the relief bill passed. He said only $27,000 in vouchers were redeemed by the end of the program on June 30, but he and the council praised the program.

Nance said, "I think a lot of people felt kind of helpless and wanted to help but didn't really did not know how, and I think the voucher program gave them a way to say, you know, I have this little bit of money that I can use to invest and I can support a business I appreciate. With everything going on right now that separates us, I feel like this was a really good way to connect us to come together and do something."

Vandegrift added the voucher program was one of his proudest accomplishments as mayor but feels the grant program will help give businesses a much needed “shot in the arm.” In originally proposing the grant program, he said retailers didn’t benefit from it as much as restaurants.

Nance said, “I definitely think this is going to be a great way to help our businesses.”

In other business Monday, the council:

● Heard Vandegrift say he wants to try rumble strips or speed tables (slightly elevated sections of a street) “on a bunch of streets” to reduce speeding, which he said is the main complaint he gets from residents. “I feel like we have to change the tactics here or lose the game,” he said, adding that he would check cost, probably refer the issue to a committee, and “I’m not saying we’ll vote on anything anytime soon.”
● Heard the mayor say that the next step in the city’s sewer work should be replacement of a 10-inch main leading to the treatment plant with a 15-inch main. He said sediment in the line in causing problems upstream, but cleaning of those lines has stopped manholes from overflowing during heavy rains.
● Heard Vandegrift say he would swear in and update the city’s new Code Enforcement Board on Thursday, even though the city still hasn’t named a code enforcement officer. He said that has been delayed by the pandemic.
● Appointed Michael Hunter to the county board overseeing the 911 dispatch system and its funding. Hunter, a Midway native and resident, is a former Woodford County EMT and 911 dispatcher who knows the system, Vandegrift said.
● Debated returning one block of Johnson Street to one-way. Holloway, who lives off the street, said one way or the other would make it difficult for residents to get into their driveways. The council agreed that residents need to be consulted.

● Approved encroachment permit for a new entrance for White Dog Trading Co. in Midway Station to separate the bourbon-warehousing firm’s office and truck traffic. “We just feel it’s a safety issue,” White Dog consulting engineer Matt Carter said.
● Approved an encroachment permit for Tom and Mur Greathouse to park their pumpkin-sales wagon in a space at 112 S. Gratz St. this fall, as they did last fall.
● Agreed to waive the sewer tap-on fee for 230 S. Gratz, the former home of the Midway Woman’s Club. Vandegrift reported that the new property owners discovered their sewer had never been hooked to a city main though the Woman’s Club had paid sewer charges for decades.

Mayor reinstates open-container ordinance, recounts fireworks rules, calls for empathy in that and masking

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said today that he has reinstated the "entertainment destination district" that allows customers to carry open containers of alcoholic beverages from the city's restaurants and bars. Vandegrift suspended the ordinance in March as the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Vandegrift made the announcement near the end of his biweekly video update on coronavirus matters, which he said he would now do monthly "unless circumstances dictate otherwise." He talked about the need to wear masks and said "I'm glad to see that mask wearing has become less of a political football."

Vandegrift offered more praise to Midway residents for doing "very well" with their response to the pandemic. "We are seeing spikes in cases all over the country, but in Kentucky, we're doing relatively well," he said. "In Woodford County, we're doing well and in Midway, we're doing very well."

He said that's because residents have stayed diligent and vigilant, with social distancing and wearing masks.

"I think mask-wearing is one of the most typical, straight on examples of empathy," the mayor said. "When I see someone wearing a mask I say that person cares about me.  If I can do the same we build on each other’s empathy."

Vandegrift also noted that wearing masks indoors and in crowded outdoor areas is important that masks are not necessary when people are spread out outdoors. "When you're outdoors in open areas and there are not a lot of people around, I don't think a mask is necessary," he said. "There's so much open air even if you were unwittingly carrying covid-19, the odds of you getting someone enough of a virtual load if you spread out is nearly impossible science has shown."

Fireworks: Ahead of the July 4 holiday on Saturday, the mayor reminded residents of rules and regulations regarding fireworks. "If you are someone who's going to shoot off fireworks, you're allowed to," he said. "You can't be shooting them the week before or after July 4."

He reminded those planning to shoot fireworks that they must be 100 feet from any structure, and can't shoot them before 10 a.m. or after 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, midnight Friday and Saturday.

Vandegrift again encouraged empathy, for those who have served in the military and may suffer from PTSD, as well as residents with dogs who may fear fireworks. "If we do empathize with each other I believe we will find a common ground," he said.

Mayor names committee to design grant program for businesses using covid-19 relief money, as they asked

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said Tuesday that he is setting up an ad hoc City Council committee to design a grant program for small businesses, using covid-19 relief funds, in place of a third round of vouchers that citizens can redeem at the businesses.

The committee will be Council Members Stacy Thurman and John Holloway and City Clerk-Treasurer Cindy Foster.

The move comes after Midway merchants expressed displeasure with last week’s 3-2 council vote to send residents two more rounds of $50 vouchers, at $40,000 per round, rather than making direct grants of up to $2,000 to businesses, as Vandegrift first suggested.

The mayor said restaurants, not retailers, were the main beneficiaries of the vouchers, and Tuesday he cited reports from local businesses of their redemptions to prove his point.

The Brown Barrel and Blind Harry's got the most vouchers. (Google photo)

The restaurants are getting far more than retail stores. The report shows that The Brown Barrel ($4,180), Goose and Gander ($2,910) Don Jockey ($2,410) were the only three businesses to get more than $1,000 in "Midway Bucks."

Eleven retail stores redeemed a total of $2,300, an average of $209; the highest was $430.

After the council voted for two more rounds of voucher instead of grants, 19 business people signed a letter warning that "without significant assistance or the lifting of pandemic restrictions . . . by the end of 2020, there will be more closed stores in downtown Midway than would be open."

In response, Vandegrift said he would ask the council to appropriate $40,000 for the grant program. Tuesday, he said the ad hoc committee would work on the exact details. "The committee will propose the details and the parameters as well as the potential paying scale of grants" hopefully for the council’s consideration July 6, he wrote.

"We've all agreed that time is of the essence for these businesses," he said. "We need to move as quickly as we can for them, regardless of what is decided."

The letter from the merchants noted that a grant program was clearly authorized by the relief bill but the voucher program was not. Vandegrift has said he thinks it will be approved.

In his latest statement, he said he is talking with the state Department for Local Government and the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who sponsored the bill, “to get as much guidance as possible” and would report to the council on at the July 6 meeting.

Merchants decry council's rejection of grant idea; mayor says he will ask for it instead of third round of vouchers

By Al Cross
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Midway merchants are upset over the City Council's decision last week to send residents two more rounds of $50 vouchers to spend at local businesses rather than Mayor Grayson Vandegrift's original idea of direct grants of up to $2,000 to any business, to spread pandemic relief to more of them.

Nineteen business people signed a letter warning that "without significant assistance or the lifting of pandemic restrictions . . . by the end of 2020, there will be more closed stores in downtown Midway than would be open."

The merchants said they are "disheartened and confused" by the council's 3-2 vote last week. It noted the possibility that the federal government might not reimburse the city for the vouchers, as it clearly would for direct grants, and Council Member Bruce Southworth's comment that the city could afford it because of its large surplus.

Each water customer has received $50 to spend by June 30.

"If such is the case, why couldn't both programs be implemented?" the letter asked.

Vandegrift told the Midway Messenger in an email that he will suggest the council do just that after the second round of vouchers, which he plans to issue in mid-July, and not do a third round.

"I appreciate their concerns and them bringing these concerns forward," the mayor wrote. "After the second round of vouchers, I am going to suggest to the council that we use the remaining $40,000 of aid money to go to grants for the businesses who do not meet a certain threshold, based on the data we are tracking. That is to say, the businesses who do not receive the lion’s share of the vouchers can then be eligible for direct assistance. This to me is the best compromise, as it shares these funds with both our citizens and our businesses who need it most."

Vandegrift had suggested direct grants, saying restaurants and the Corner Grocery were getting most of the "Midway Bucks" vouchers, which come in $10 denominations without the ability to have change returned from them. But Southworth and Council Member Kaye Nita Gallagher said the vouchers were popular, and Council Member Logan Nance he didn't think $2,000 would make a difference to a business at risk of closing.

The letter said, "This statement could not be any further from the actual truth of businesses in Midway. . . . This assistance would bridge the expense gap created by the government-forced closure" of retail stores that ran from late March to mid-May.

Nance replied, "Leading up to the City Council meeting, the only feedback I had received was how much citizens and business owners loved the Midway Bucks. I had heard nothing to the contrary or any opinion regarding a different type of stimulus. As a believer in the free market, I think any stimulus that allows taxpayers to have a say and direct where their money goes is more preferable than having a special committee to potentially pick and choose who qualifies for the grant."

He added, "Business owners are struggling and I am empathetic to that. I would fully support a follow up to the second round of Midway Bucks that supports businesses that haven't benefited from them as much as others, and am open to ideas of how we could do that. People are also struggling. The Midway Bucks are a great way to help people and business owners during this time."

The letter, written by Rob Mills of Damselfly Gallery, spoke to the struggle of businesses: "Two businesses have permanently closed, as well as one restaurant modifying its business plan drastically," he said. "I can speak with complete confidence that at least five additional businesses, including myself, are on the precipice of making permanent decisions regarding the future." Then he made the prediction of more businesses closed than open by the end of 2020.

Cortney Neikirk, president of the Midway Business Association, said Kennydid Gallery and Calamity Jane's have closed, though she was not sure the latter was related to covid-19.

Council Member Stacy Thurman, who said she had to leave the meeting before the vote due to a work obligation, wrote in an email, "I was torn during our discussion, but was ready to vote to at least explore the idea of small grants. The voucher program has been great, but I do worry about those shops that aren't seeing any Midway Bucks. If businesses start to close, it changes the character of our town. I want to give them a fighting chance if possible. I appreciate them coming forward with concerns and hope we can come up with a compromise."

Council prefers two more rounds of Midway Bucks to business-grant program mayor proposed; budget OKd

Leslie Penn of the Midway Museum Gift Store watched as Elisha Holt (facing camera) and Morgan Castle of the Midway Business Association recorded a promotional video for Facebook last month as stores prepared to reopen. (Photo by Al Cross)

By Aaron Gershon and Al Cross
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Midway City Council voted 3-2 Monday for a second and third round of vouchers for residents to spend at local businesses, rather than give money directly to the businesses for covid-19 relief.

The council also unanimously approved the city budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The budget, which the council worked out last month, calls for almost $1.8 million in spending. “It really well serves the city of Midway while preserving the surplus, but it’s not skimpy either,” Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said.

Business aid: When Vandegrift learned last week that the city qualified for $129,000 in coronavirus relief funds from the federal government, he proposed that the city apply for $80,000 to give grants of up to $2,000 to as many as 40 businesses to help make up revenue lost to the pandemic.

He told the council that it could issue $80,000 more in vouchers to citizens, on top of the $40,000 that it issued in May, but that would “roll the dice” because there's no assurance that it will be reimbursed. He said the grant program is clearly authorized by the relief law but the voucher program is not.

“We may not know for months,” Vandegrift said. But he added, “I’m confident it would be reimbursed.”

As for the grant program, he said, “Maybe $2,000 isn’t gonna save everybody, but I’ve talked to these shops and restaurants a lot lately, and there are quite a few that are close to having to pack it in.” He said grants would help shops more than vouchers, which he said are being spent mainly at restaurants and the grocery.

Vandegrift said a vote for the grant program would be “a preference vote” that wouldn’t commit the council to it, just start a process in which a council committee would work out details. “The clock is ticking for these businesses,” he said, “and if we’re gonna do a grant project we need to move on it for it to matter.”

Council Member Stacy Thurman said, “I feel we have to be responsible, and I have a hard time trying to make the decision when I don’t know for sure.”

The vouchers come in $10 denominations; no change is given.

Council Member Bruce Southworth said he preferred the vouchers. He said the city could afford to risk not getting reimbursed because it has a big surplus, and “It’s the people’s money to begin with. If we get reimbursed, it’s somebody else’s money. If we use our money, it’s the tax dollars they pay anyway.”

Council Member John Holloway disagreed. “I just don’t think it’s fiscally responsible to give away a bunch of money . . .when we don’t know if we’re gonna get reimbursed for it,” he said.

Council Member Sara Hicks, who had made the motion for the grant program, said the council needs to “prevent a lot of empty storefronts downtown … it can be a snowball reaction; we’ve had that happen before in Midway; if the town doesn’t have enough going on you start to lose more business.”

But no other members favored the grants. Thurman wasn’t present for the 3-2 vote because she had to leave the meeting for a work obligation, Vandegrift said.

Voting with Southworth were Kaye Nita Gallagher, who said earlier, “We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from citizens about the vouchers,” and Logan Nance, who said he didn’t think $2,000 would make a difference to a business at risk of closing.

After the vote, Vandegrift said, “This is what I hoped would happen, but I didn’t want to cloud it or make it difficult to have free discussion.”

He said the next round will be conducted exactly like the current one, except that the “Midway Bucks” would be a different color and he might delay before starting again. The current vouchers must be spent by June 30.

“I’m not saying we won’t do them again until August 1,” he said. “I think we’ll probably try to do it in the middle of July.”

St. Matthew AME Church is on South Winter Street.
(Photo by Christopher Riley, via Flickr)

Racial matters: Vandegrift said the St. Matthew African Methodist Episcopal Church wanted people in the city to know that it has put up surveillance cameras to catch someone who is “messing with them.”

“There’s just no way that I can’t believe its not racially motivated at this point,” Vandegrift said. “I’m pretty sure we know who it is. That’s not indicative of the people of Midway; it’s just one jackass.” Addressing the unnamed person, he said, “You should move, because you don’t belong in Midway, in my opinion.” Southworth agreed.

Vandegrift added, “I hope they catch him and we can say his name.”

In a related matter, Vandegrift complimented Versailles police, who patrol the whole county, for their participation in a peaceful demonstration June 3 at their headquarters to honor George Floyd, the African American killed by a Minneapolis police officer.

In a similar vein, Holloway said he is mapping the recently renovated St. Rose Tabernacle cemetery with short biographies of those buried there, and would like to put up an informational history sign about the African American burial ground.

He said he would like to do the same for several sites in town, like the Black History Tour in Washington, D.C., and asked people with information to contact him.

Covid-19 response: ” The virus has kicked into gear again a little bit,” with a recent uptick in Woodford County but no second case reported in Midway, Vandegrift said. He said mask wearing and social distancing should be encouraged.

Midway saw its lone confirmed case on May 22. As of Monday, Woodford County had 58 confirmed cases, with 24 of them recovered, according to the county health department’s Facebook page. One person in the county is hospitalized and with covid-19 and 30 are recovering at home.

During the grant-or-voucher debate, Hicks pitched the idea of having a coronavirus testing site in Midway. Vandegrift said he had talked to county Emergency Management Director Drew Chandler about a mobile site in Midway but had “no luck yet.” He said there is much demand for such services “and we’re small.”

There are two testing sites in the county, including a rapid testing site at Bluegrass Community Hospital in Versailles, where results can be received in less than an hour. The mayor said a Midway resident went there Monday and the test came back negative.

In other business, the council approved a quitclaim deed to Scott Bradley, clearing up some property-line discrepancies at the Midway Corner Grocery, so he can sell the real estate to Nik Patel, who bought the business in January; and approved the addition of Todd Pack’s name to the veterans memorial in the cemetery.

The mayor announced that the city would not have its annual Sparks in Park gathering on July 4 but might come up with “some way of helping to do something.”

City in line for pandemic relief funds; mayor proposes giving up to 40 businesses $2,000 each for shortfalls

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The city of Midway can get more than $129,000 in for expenses related to the covid-19 pandemic, and Mayor Grayson Vandegrift has proposed funneling the money to small businesses.

The mayor said in an email to city council members Thursday that he plans to apply for over $49,000 to reimburse the city for the $40,000 it spent on the “Midway Bucks” voucher program and $9,000 for expenses such as hand sanitizer,  protective spray in city vehicles, masks and food programs.

Vandegrift said he will apply for $80,000 to “grant 40 businesses in Midway with $2.000 to help make up for the revenue they lost due to being forced to close or partially close. While I feel it is unlikely that more than 40 would apply, should that happen, I propose we award grants first to businesses that were forced to close their doors completely.”

He said that would be “clearly reimbursable,” more so than the voucher program, which “is not specifically spelled out” in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which appropriated the money. “I am very confident the voucher program will be reimbursed . . . because frankly, it’s that cutting edge,” Vandegrift write. “In reading a summary of the act, I do feel that it falls under the eligibility requirements.”

The mayor said the grant application process would be simple and “would likely verify that the business applying are in good standing with the city on taxes and plan to stay open.”

He said he would ask applicants to say how much revenue they normally make in April and May, “though we would not ask them to open their books to us,” and probably require each to report by year’s end how they used the money: “payroll, rent, supplies, debt, etc.”

Vandegrift said the grants “would give a much needed shot in the arm all at once for all Midway businesses, and help them stay open and contribute to our tax base and culture.”

When Council Member Sara Hicks asked if businesses in Midway Station would be eligible, Vandegrift said the grants would be available only to businesses with 50 or fewer employees.

Council Member John Holloway endorsed the idea in an email, with a caveat: “I like the idea that they can apply for funds in proportion to how much loss they've actually had rather than giving everyone the same amount, but only if we can determine a way to do that without causing infighting over the amounts.  Not everyone has been impacted in the same way, or to the same degree. Things are generally more complex than they first appear.”

Vandegrift said the council will discuss the plan at its meeting June 15.

Mayor reminds post-office-box users to respond to census, urges them to vote by absentee in primary

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Midway residents are getting a letter from Mayor Grayson Vandegrift urging them to fill out their census forms, encouraging them to vote by absentee ballot in the June 23 primary election and giving an update on the “Midway Bucks” program.

The notice about the census was prompted by a note the mayor and the Midway Messenger received from civic activist Helen Rentch, saying that she and many people in town had not received a census form. “Those of us who can only get our mail at the post office did not get them because our forms had been sent to our street address rather than our P.O. boxes,” she wrote.

The Postal Service couldn’t deliver the forms because it does not deliver mail to residences in Midway, with a few exceptions. “I hate for Midway/Woodford County to get undercounted,” Rentch said. “I suppose there will be surveyors come door to door, when restrictions for such are lifted. Just seem to have so little faith in the Feds right now!”

Vandegrift said in his letter, “In order for Midway and Woodford County to be appropriated the federal resources required it is important that as many of us as possible fill out our census.”

He encouraged anyone who had not received a direct email with instructions on how to fill out their census form to call or email him or visit the 2020census.gov website.

Voting: The mayor announced that there would be no in-person voting at the Northside Precinct on primary election day due to the covid-19 pandemic, and asked all citizens to cast absentee ballots by mail.

The State Board of Elections is mailing notices about the election changes to voters at their physical addresses, so post-office box users will need to request an absentee ballot by going to elect.ky.gov.

Vandegrift said anyone not able to vote by mail can request an appointment to vote at the Woodford County Courthouse by calling 873-3421. Anyone who enters the building will be required to wear a mask unless they can provide a medical reason not to do so.

Midway Bucks: The mayor reminded Midway residents that they would each receive $50 in “Midway Bucks,” five $10 vouchers redeemable at local, non-franchised businesses to encourage local shopping as retail reopens amid the pandemic.

“This is a local stimulus we share with you as dividend residents from our large budget surplus,” Vandegrift explained.

“I am happy to say we’re the first in Kentucky with such a program,” Vandegrift said. “We see it as a way to help our local brick-and-mortar businesses to get through this time.”

The mayor said the city’s expense for the program would be reimbursed by the federal government with money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress. He encourages residents to use their vouchers by the expiration date of June 30 to support local businesses.

Vandegrift wrapped up his letter by praising residents for their efforts during the covid-19 pandemic.

“We have stayed together and respected each other in a caring way,” he wrote. “Midway throughout the ages has always responded admirably and courageously to difficult circumstances and this time is no different."

Mayor thanks citizens, asks them to report businesses that don't follow required precautions in reopening

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

In his bi-weekly pandemic update Wednesday, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift praised Midway's response to the coronavirus and called for a proactive and careful approach as the town's economy reopens.

"You have done an outstanding job," Vandegrift said to open his update. "I'm so proud of Midway citizens."

He also praised residents for supporting local businesses amid the pandemic. "The way you've supported the restaurants to keep them through this is truly remarkable." However, he said one unnamed store "looks to be closing."

Then the mayor warned that Midway, which has not had a confirmed case of the coronavirus, might begin to see cases appear as more visitors come to town with reopening of retail stores Wednesday and restaurants (with greater limitations) Friday.

"The truth is, this is the phase where we may begin to see more cases," he said. "There's going to be more spread when people are out and about."

Vandegrift assured residents that they can keep the virus in check.

"We can control it," he said. "The virus can be somewhat controlled with the practices of social distancing, wearing a mask, which is one of the ultimate signs of sacrificing."

The mayor urged residents to let him know if a restaurant or shop violates social distancing guidelines such as not wearing a mask or keeping people six feet apart.

He also had a message regarding gatherings of 10 or fewer people, which will be allowed starting Friday, the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend.

"Practice social distancing the best you can,” he said. ”We're not going to be looking over your fence to see how many people are at your house or if they’re spaced out, but I think it's smart to keep the number of covid cases as close to zero as we can."

Mayors and judge-executive talk about the 'new normal,' say it needs to include the wearing of masks

Screenshot of, from top left, County Judge-Executive James Kay, Versailles Mayor Brian Traugott, Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift and Emily Downey, executive director of county Tourism Commission and Chamber of Commerce

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

While excited to reopen their economies, Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, Versailles Mayor Brian Traugott and Woodford County Judge-Executive James Kay all urged caution and mask wearing during a virtual town hall Wednesday.

The event on Facebook consisted exclusively of questions provided by Woodford County Tourism Executive Director Emily Downey and residents, and answers from the two mayors and judge-executive.

Are masks required to be worn? The trio highly recommended that people wear masks while at local businesses. Kay said the county is a "free society," but businesses have the right to deny service to anyone not wearing a mask.

Vandegrift said that the more people wear masks, the more positive pressure will be put on those choosing not to. He encouraged business owners and customers to "gently and kindly" remind or request people not wearing masks to put one on.

Kay noted that those with medical conditions such as asthma would not be required to wear masks.

Traugott said he plans to wear a mask when out, in hopes of setting an example for others to follow suit.

Where can people obtain masks? Kay said nearly every business that plans to require the wearing of masks would provide customers with them.

He and Vandegrift added that residents should contact the Woodford County Jail, whose inmates are still making masks, as they did for the Midway mask project.

Vandegrift said Midway still has around 200 masks available, many in children’s sizes.

What will the 'new normal' look like? Even as businesses reopen, things will look a lot different than before, as Woodford County tries to thwart the spread of the coronavirus.

Kay called the early stages of reopening of shops and restaurants a "soft reopening" and told residents to expect paper menus, plastic utensils and other disposable products, and nearly everyone in masks, at restaurants.

Vandegrift said business "will and look different." He said the use of masks, deep cleaning and limits on capacity will be crucial to keeping the spread slowed, and no businesses want to be known for spreading the virus.

"It's going to look a little different, it's going to feel a little different, but it's going to be all right," he said.

Traugott said the use of restrooms will be much different, since they will be cleaned much more frequently, but customers should not fear going out to eat at restaurants. He urged people to stay patient and polite, because businesses and customers will need time to adjust to the new normal.

When will government offices reopen? The county clerk’s office remains closed to in-person business but will still be available over the phone and via email.

The courthouse will remain closed to in-person services until June 1 and then will reopen by appointment only. Everyone inside the building will be required to wear a mask.

Versailles City Hall will not reopen for the time being but may soon offer in-person meetings by appointment. Midway's will not be open for at least a month to see if the reopening of restaurants and shops lead to a surge of covid-19 cases, but appointments can be made for meetings. Dropbox services and phone services will remain available.

When can yard sales return? Both mayors said they were unsure if there's a set a date for return of yard sales in Gov. Andy Beshear's guidelines. (There are not.) Kay encourages using online sale for the time being to prevent any potential spread of the virus.

Are retail spaces still one customer per family? Woodford County will still limit shoppers to one customer per household inside stores, with exceptions for parents with young children or the disabled.

Mayor says he will use persuasion, 'market forces' to compel compliance in reopening, but not 'three strikes'

Elisha Holt does a Midway Business Association video about the Historic Midway Museum Gift Store, part of a series tied to retail reopenings, as co-owner Leslie Penn watches and Morgan Castle records. The store will reopen on a limited basis.

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Midway City Council heard Mayor Grayson Vandegrift outline the city's game plan as several businesses are set to reopen this week with Kentucky’s covid-19 restrictions gradually being lifted.

Vandegrift also discussed his new “middle ground” budget, and the council approved three zoning-ordinance changes, in another council meeting held online due to the pandemic.

Reopening and enforcement: Vandegrift told the council that he has sent both digital and hard copies of the reopening guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to businesses, and expects workers and customers to follow them closely.

"We're going to be strict about this, as we should be," the mayor said, adding that violations of the guidelines should be reported: "Tipping ain't snitching." However, he said reports should be made to him directly via phone call, text, or email, not to police, who he said are busy enough already.

Vandegrift said “There are some things we can mitigate ourselves, just by talking to business owners,” who are responsible for controlling behavior in their premises. He said after the meeting, “The optics of having a police officer come to a business is not really something we want to do.”

Council Member Sara Hicks said she has had “some kind of scary experiences” in a Lexington grocery of people not wearing masks or keeping six feet apart, and asked Vandegrift “who is responsible for following those rules, besides the customers.”

He replied, "I do consider myself somewhat responsible for making sure the governor's guidelines are being followed. You know, we're not going to create a police state. . . . My approach is going to be this, that no restaurant and no shop wants to permanently damage their brand right now by being the place that created a virus farm."

He said customers will be expected to wear masks indoors, except when eating, but “We as a government can’t force people to wear masks,” so it’s up to business owners.

“Restaurants need to know that right now, their duty is heightened, in a sense,” he said. “They really, I think, need, and I think they will, step up to the plate and help enforce these guidelines, because they don’t want to be the restaurant that gets in trouble; they don’t want to be the restaurant or shop that gets shut down and loses their business license over, you know, infractions. They don’t want to be the restaurant known as the place that started an outbreak in a city that had zero confirmed cases. And I think in that sense, market forces can help keep them in line.”

The mayor, a former restaurateur, said he knows how hard it is to tell independent-minded customers that they have to do thing they don’t want to do, but should think of the mask rule as just the latest addition to the standard sign, “No shirt, no shoes, no service.” He added, “That mask is not to protect you, it’s to protect other people.”

Asked after the meeting what the penalties for violation would be, he said “I don’t think it’s going to come to a point where we have to do something drastic, like pull a business license.” He said he would use “open communication” and “honest dialogue” and give violators an opportunity to comply, but there is “not gonna be three strikes.”

Vandegrift said Midway’s experience would be “a bit of a case study” because it is a small town that attracts many visitors.

“Everyone's got to stay vigilant, using social distance, wearing a mask and using the proper hygiene to keep our numbers as close to zero as possible,” he said. No cases of the virus have been reported in Midway, but “I’m sure it’s been here in one form or another.”

Many visitors come to Midway’s restaurants, which can reopen Friday but with only one-third of their normal indoor seating capacity. Vandegrift said he would issue an executive order letting restaurants put tables in parking spaces that the city has designated for curbside pickup, and waiving fees restaurants normally pay to use their sidewalks to set up outdoor tables

He said the order will also allow alcohol sales at such tables, but he would not reinstate the "entertainment destination center" ordinance that allows patrons to carry open beverage containers between businesses. "I think we need to step slowly into this," he said. "I don't think it's the time to encourage congregation downtown."

Vandegrift said outdoor dining is safer than indoor dining. "Indoors has poorer circulation of air, and ventilation systems can pass covid-19 to others."

Restaurants will still be advised to encourage customers to use their curbside pickup, online ordering and delivery options.

“The restaurants and shops that adapt are the ones that will survive,” Vandegrift said. “No restaurant can survive on just 33 percent occupancy.”

Budget: With reopening on the horizon, Vandegrift discussed his recently revised "middle ground budget" that adds back some expenses he and the council agreed to cut when city revenues were more in doubt.

The “bare bones budget” cut almost $200,000 of spending from the mayor’s proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

That is now “not necessary,” he said, mainly because the city’s largest employer, Lakeshore Learning Materials, had furloughed 225 of its 300 employees, putting a hole in the city’s largest source of revenue, the occupational tax on wages and net profits.

Now Lakeshore plans to bring back its full workforce in the next few weeks, and “expects to have a profitable year,” which it did not expect last month, Vandegrift said.

The company also expects to receive a certificate of occupancy in September for its second Midway distribution center, with that facility opening officially in March 2021, adding revenue from up 100 new jobs in the last quarter of the fiscal year.

Nevertheless, Vandegrift reduced his estimate of occupational-tax income for the next fiscal year to $737,500, down from his original estimate of $825,000. He said the city also expects less income from restaurants. The mayor proposed restoring these “bare bones budget” cuts, totaling $67,500:

●            $10,000 for training and travel for employees and elected officials

●            $7,500 in donations (including $5,000 to Court Appointed Special Advocates)

●            $25,000 for street paving, for a total of $50,000

●            $20,000 for the sidewalk cost-sharing program

●            $5,000 for a water fountain and refill station on East Main Street

Vandegrift said he would like to see the council find a way to restore the $30,000 originally budgeted for completion of the pavilion in the cemetery, because city employees have told him about older people having a hard time in bad weather at the cemetery, with few family members to help them. Beshear has limited funeral and burial gatherings to 10 people.

The council will work more on the budget during a special budget workshop meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 26.

Zoning: The council gave second reading and final passage to three zoning ordinances that will:

●            Allow fences in the front building setbacks along rights of way to be up to 48 inches high instead of 42; John Holloway voted no.

●            Limit display of banners for charitable activities for up to 14 days, with a 14-day waiting period for reinstallation; Logan Nance voted no, calling it “silly.”

●            Prohibit permanent location of recreational vehicles in flood plains. All council members present voted yes; Kaye Nita Gallagher was absent.

The changes, in the countywide zoning ordinance, are being approved by the Versailles City Council and the county Fiscal Court. Those bodies are also approving another change recommended by the Planning Commission, which allows signs to project up to five feet from fronts of buildings, with nine feet of head clearance.

With the council’s tacit agreement, Vandegrift did not ask for approval of that change. He said at the last meeting, “Our downtown is beautiful and pedestrian-friendly, and I feel that this could only lead to a cluttered and unnecessary look.” He said it is “the first time I can remember when all three bodies didn’t adopt the same amendment” to the countywide ordinance.

Other business: Holloway, the unpaid manager of Walter Bradley Park, said it will “probably have 20 times more visitors than we did this time last year for obvious reasons,” but “most everyone is really considerate of getting out of the way of other people.”

Nance and Vandegrift said they had noticed more dog waste in the park. Holloway said he is placing signs to encourage owners to pick up after their dogs, but “Some people just don’t want to.” He said a dispenser for pet-waste bags is located in the fenced dog park. 

Vandegrift announced that the city’s annual Memorial Day service would be held largely online, with readings of the names of veterans on the monument in the cemetery, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

Midway retailers prepare to reopen, but for some the new normal will be very different from the old normal

Morgan Castle, right, of the Gigi & George shop on East Main Street talked with Elisha Holt, promoter for the Midway Business Association, about a Facebook video Holt was preparing to do about the shop and other stores last week.

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Many businesses in Midway are getting ready to reopen after the covid-19 pandemic forced them to close their doors for almost two months, but some won’t be as open as they were before.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear ordered all “non-life-sustaining businesses" to close March 26, to slow the spread of the coronavirus as the state's case numbers surged. Many restaurants went to curbside and delivery service, but that wasn’t feasible for most retailers.

With daily new cases at a rough plateau, Kentucky began phase one of Beshear's reopening plan Monday, May 11, with manufacturing, distribution centers, office-based businesses, pet groomers and other low-risk businesses allowed to open their doors.

On Wednesday, May 20, retail stores will be allowed to reopen and restaurants can open in-service dining at one-third capacity plus outdoor seating Friday, May 22.

For some local businesses, this kicks off what will be a resumption of some normalcy. 

As businesses reopen or prepare to reopen in Midway, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift has sent each local business a copy of the state guidelines for reopening.

“My biggest concern is that store and restaurant owners and employees wear masks when they are in the store or restaurant and around customers and that customers wear masks when they are in the store,” Vandegrift said.

“It’s going to be very important that businesses follow the guidelines strictly, which includes the limited-occupancy restrictions as well.”

In order to get Midway back to work safely, Vandegrift says the city will provide masks to any business in town that needs them, and it will use “all statutory authority available to enforce the guidelines if necessary. This would include pulling the business license of any business that creates a threat to the safety and health of Midway citizens and visitors.”

Vandegrift said the businesses that will open May 20 are:

●            Milam House

●            Damselfly

●            Fisher's Antiques

●            Southern Sunday

●            Midway Boutique

●            Midway Historic Gift Store (curbside only)

●            Breckinridge

●            The Back Room

What about restaurants? Vandegrift said he will sign an executive order temporarily allowing restaurants to use the sidewalks in front of their establishments for outdoor seating, so long as they maintain a walking path for pedestrians.

The Messenger talked with several businesses about their reopening plans, some that will open and some that stay closed for now.

Historic Midway Museum Gift Store, 124 E. Main St.

Owners Bill and Leslie Penn say they’ll continue to do business differently despite being allowed to reopen.

With books, jewelry and other items that customers often touch, the Penns say it’s impossible to clean them all. Also, they are both over 65, and thus considered more vulnerable to the virus, and want to assure the health of customers and themselves. So, they said they don’t expect to reopen as normal until a covid-19 vaccine becomes available to the public, which could take a year or more.

The Penns said they are thinking of opening on Saturdays with an outside booth full of items for customers to examine and purchase while keeping a social distance. Customers can reach them by phone or email to inquire about specific items.

The store will continue offering delivery and curbside pickup and will allow residents to pay with “Midway Bucks,” the $50 in vouchers that the city will mail to all water customers next week for spending at local, non-franchise businesses.

Gigi and George, 120 E, Main St.

Morgan Castle says her antique and leather store will reopen May 20 and continue its normal business hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.

Castle says customers may shop while maintaining a social distance and can also use curbside pickup if they do not feel comfortable coming indoors. She says one challenges of reopening will be keeping items clean, since many of the antiques cannot be cleaned with bleach. Instead, Castle says she is using fleece oil.

Anyone using Midway Bucks will get 10% off, Castle said.

Back Room, 138 E. Main St.

The Back Room is on the list of businesses that will reopen Wednesday but tell the Messenger that in-person shopping will be limited.

The store will continue both delivery and curbside pickup services and accept Midway Bucks. Items such as books, toys and their popular stuffed animals can be found on their website and Instagram page.

Milam House, 140 E. Main St.

The Milam House will reopen May 20, Jan Ramos said. It will resume normal business hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday but will be closed Sundays.

For customers uncomfortable entering the store, curbside pickup and delivery will be available, and Midway Bucks will be accepted.

Southern Sunday, 106 E. Main St.

Southern Sunday will be reopening their doors Wednesday but with strict protocols in place.

Owner Megan McClure tells the Messenger that no more than eight people can be in the shop at one time; everyone will be offered hand sanitizer as they come in the door and again at checkout, and everyone will be asked that to wear a mask upon entering and to maintain a distance of at least six feet between other shoppers.

All clothes that are tried on will be steamed afterward, and private appointments will be offered for anyone interested in shopping alone. Shoppers can email megan@shopsouthernsunday.com for more information.

Store hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m Monday through Friday.

Railroad Drug, 115 E. Main St.

As an essential business, Railroad Drug & Old Time Soda Fountain has been open to curbside customers since the beginning of the Pandemic.

On May 20, customers will be allowed inside the building to pick up prescriptions. Two days later, the soda fountain will be open to dine-in customers, along with restaurants, but at only one-third capacity.

Owner Ken Glass tells the Messenger all workers will be wearing masks and customers will be expected to do the same. To ensure social distancing, they will have the floor marked off to allow customers to spread out six feet apart.

They will maintain their normal business hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Information about other stores may be added by emailing Messenger intern Aaron Gershon here.

Mayor issues weekly report on Midway and pandemic, suggests #ThisIsMidway tag for praise on social media

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said he did his weekly update without a script. He compliments Midway citizens on doing well at social distancing and says that is probably a reason no cases of the highly contagious coronavirus have been reported in town, so "There's no reason to change horses in midstream" and ease up. "Now's the time to really buckle down and show what we're made of. . . . If we go too fast, we're going to undo all this work."

Vandegrift encourages residents to get takeout at restaurants, and thanks people for improving their social distancing at the grocery. He asks people who "see people doing great things and being awesome neighbors" to use a new hashtag on social media: #ThisIsMidway. "This is the greatest small city in the country, and you're showing why."

Council gives closed shops a utility-bill break, hears mayor predict 'There will not be large events' this year

By Madison Dyment

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The coronavirus is still going strong, and Midway is meeting the challenges head-on, even if some plans are being altered in the process. A plan to relieve some financial burden of closed downtown businesses was one of the ideas the City Council adopted Monday.

The meeting also included final passage of the new 911 service fee, and updates on covid-19, including a forecast from the mayor that Midway will have no major events for the rest of the year.

To help the 21 downtown businesses that have been forced to close, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift proposed to forgive their minimum utility payments of $59.30. The minimum, set by ordinance, covers water, sewer and garbage service.

The city has promoted takeout from restaurants and provided parking for that function, but “with shops, we just haven’t been able to help them out,” said Vandegrift. “I know at a time like now they’ll really appreciate it.”

The council debated whether more businesses, or all businesses, should get the break. It passed Vandegrift’s plan 5-0 with one abstention, applying it only to the April billing, which the mayor estimated would total $1,186. He said he expects to get federal emergency reimbursement.

Vandegrift had offered the option of also forgiving the minimum bill for May, but the council agreed to discussing extending the plan at its May 4 meeting, along with the possibility of adding additional businesses to receive relief. Council Member Bruce Southworth, who abstained on the vote, wanted to include more businesses.

City officials aren’t the only ones coming to help Midway during these trying times. Vandegrift said Ambrose Wilson, the Midway area’s representative on the county school board, told him about a Midway citizen getting food from a church blessing box.

“He was just out for a walk and the person was sort of apologetic, and Ambrose was thinking, ‘Why are you apologetic for that?’,” said Vandegrift. “Our concern is that we know these people exist and that they’re using the blessings boxes, but we just can’t seem to identify them to help them.”

Wilson, who challenged Vandegrift in the 2018 mayoral election, offered to form a way that Midway citizens in hardship can be helped in a confidential matter, Vandegrift said, and he was happy to oblige. He asked Council Member Logan Nance to work with Wilson, with help from the Midway Baptist Church, which runs the local food bank and delivers food anonymously to those in need. The church can be reached at 859-846-4514.

“We’ve got the food to do it, so no one should be going hungry in Midway right now,” said Nance, a member of the church.

This goodwill seems to be a trend within the community. Between efforts to feed those in need, volunteers making masks for free distribution at City Hall, and more, Midway has come together while staying apart.

“There are so many examples in Midway where if someone sees an issue, they don’t say ‘That’s too bad,’ but instead say, ‘How can I help?’,” said Vandegrift.

Despite that good report, Vandegrift sadly informed attendees that, while decisions are not absolute yet, Midway will not have its usual summer and fall events.

“The truth of the matter is that 2020 is not going to be completely normal,” said Vandegrift. “There’s going to be many questions going forward about events in Midway, and I think people need to start preparing themselves that there will not be large events in Midway in 2020.”

The Midway Business Association, which holds the Midway Fall Festival on the third weekend of September, has scheduled a special online meeting for 10 a.m. Thursday to discuss “how the association can help our members,” the meeting notice says.

Even if many effects of the coronavirus are felt across Midway, the mayor announced that Midway still stands at zero confirmed cases of the virus. Masks and sanitizer are still available at City Hall, with roughly 800 masks remaining.

Vandegrift attributed the lack of cases to citizens’ doing “such a good job following social-distancing guidelines, staying healthy at home, and only going out when necessary.”

He added, “We’ve got to keep hanging in there. We’re all getting antsy; I want to be able to see people and say hi again, but we all have to hang in there longer.”

911 fee, Windstream request: Outside of covid-19, the council gave second reading and unanimous final passage to the ordinance funding the 911 dispatch center and other emergency services, levying a $59 annual fee on residential lots and higher fees for businesses.

“This is taking a step towards making sure 911 is funded going forward in an equitable way,” said Vandegrift. The fee was agreed on by representatives of the three governments in Woodford County and will take effect when the Versailles council and the county Fiscal Court pass it.

The fee will be added to the tax bill for each residential, commercial and industrial property and will replace the telephone-landline fee of $3.50 per month at the end of the year.

The council postponed a decision on an encroachment permit requested by Windstream Communications. The company wants to bury fiber optic cables in the sidewalk on the south side of East Main Street to provide service to a customer in the area.

The Windstream representative in the online meeting was unable to answer questions about the project, so Vandegrift said he would arrange a discussion with Windstream engineers, expressing concern about the city’s streetscape being destroyed and calling that “a frightening concept.”

Wednesday night, Vandegrift sent the council and the news media an email reporting, "I talked to an engineer today who cleared everything up and there will be no tearing up of road or sidewalk, and it’s to service 395 customers." He called a special council meeting for 5 p.m. Monday to act on the permit and work on the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The next regular meeting will be May 4 at 5:30 p.m. via an online Zoom conference. Vandegrift encouraged citizens to join the call or to send in statements to be read, to facilitate public involvement at a time when meetings can’t be held in person.

Airdrie Stud and one of Ouita Michel's restaurants are part of food show to air on KET Friday at 9:30 p.m.

Airdrie Stud and Ouita Michel's Smithtown Seafood restaurant are shown the next episode of "Somewhere South," a new food series on KET, which airs Friday at 9:30 p.m.

Jacalyn Carfagno writes for the Lexington Herald-Leader, "The episode shows Howard exploring the Sri Lankan pickles Samantha Fore makes to add spice and crunch to her Tuk Tuk bites, pickled catfish escabeche Smithtown Seafood's Agnes Marrero adapted from her Puerto Rican roots. . . . Beautifully shot and edited, the Kentucky portion also takes viewers to Airdrie Stud in Midway (“everything I imagined horse country to be,” Howard says in the show) and to Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto."

“It was one of my favorite shoots of the whole season,” Howard told Carfagno in an interview from her home in eastern North Carolina.

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/lexgoeat/food/article241867711.html#storylink=cpy

Mayor's update: Keep your distances; kids, too; will take a little longer than we first hoped; beware of a rebound

By Grayson Vandegrift
Mayor, City of Midway

Another week in the books, and I’m so proud of how 99 percent of you are doing the right things to protect yourself and to protect the most vulnerable of us. To those who are still bucking some of these important, live-saving guidelines: There’s still time to join the team, but you need to do it right now.

We are beginning to see more cases in Woodford County, and although there are still no confirmed cases in Midway, we have to act like the coronavirus is here, because that’s the best way to fight back against this virus. In fact, the CDC says that one in four coronavirus cases is asymptomatic. But, an asymptomatic person can still transmit the virus to others, and the person you could transmit it to might not be physically as prepared as you. That’s why it’s so important that 100% of us follow these guidelines stringently. No one is immune, and no one is an exception. This is the first time in our lifetimes that every single human on earth is going through an experience that personally affects them, and we have to do it together.

And in Midway, we are. Thank you so much to the vast majority who are making the necessary sacrifices to protect each other and to save lives. There are one or two things that concern me, and one I addressed in a written message over the weekend. [Editor's note: Vandegrift said at the end of Monday's City Council budget workshop that some restaurants had called him to apologize.]

The other is reports I’m receiving that play dates are happening for kids here and there. Folks, I get it; I have a 3-year-old myself. Our children don’t understand this, and they want to see their friends. It’s very difficult to keep them occupied and happy during this crisis, as Katie and I are finding just as much as anyone. But we can’t be risking others. I know it’s hard to hear this, because we want so much for our kids to experience normalcy, but like Gov. Beshear has said; kids are the most resilient of us. So please, let’s not do anything that could further community spread and put other people in serious danger. We also need to limit any gathering of people outside our immediate family, and believe me, I know how hard that is. I sincerely thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

There are lots of ways to still entertain your kids in new and creative ways, while still practicing social distancing. One way is to take them to Walter Bradley Park. There are no current plans to close the park, as so far all reports, and my own experiences taking Jackson almost daily, is that people who are there are practicing social distancing well.

One more way to entertain the kiddos is the newly created “Window Walks.” Today, in light of April Fool’s Day, residents are encouraged to put funny jokes (keep them appropriate for children, please) in your windows or on the backs of your vehicles and kids walking this afternoon with their parents can get a hearty laugh. Here’s one of mine for the day: “what do you call a boomerang that won’t come back? A stick!” This Saturday, April 4, is Yard Art, April 8 is encouraging words, and April 11 is Easter Eggs. This is a great event that both younger and older can participate in. I’ll let you know as the creators of the event extend them through this period.

I know how hard this time can be on all of us, and I continue to encourage you to take care of your mental health as well as your physical self. Remember to limit how much cable news you take in, rely more on local news and official government sites for pure information. Take walks when the weather is nice, just keep using social distancing. Set aside time each day for stress relief and look for new ways to help yourself relax. The battle in our minds right now is just as important as the battle on the ground. Taking care of your mental health will help us remain focused and determined to beat this thing.

And we’re going to beat this thing, but it’s going to take a little longer than we all at first had hoped. I know this is difficult to hear, but I think we really need to prepare ourselves to do this through the month of May, perhaps even longer. The virus in Kentucky is expected to peak in the coming weeks, and then we should see a decline in cases as long as we keep following these guidelines of social distancing, good personal hygiene, and only going out of the house for essentials and safe exercise or activity. But, even as the cases decline, we’re going to have to remain vigilant so that we don’t allow it to make a comeback, and that’s going to take some time. History, both distant and recent, is full of examples where pandemics, including this very one, rebound because we loosen our practices too soon. Let’s not do that, and let’s do our very best to beat this thing on the first try.

As the virus does peak, there are going to be times when it’s easy to get frightened, even more than we already may be. Don’t let it overcome you, fear is a natural, and helpful, reaction, but only if we are able to control our fears and remember that we can do this, we are doing this, and we will do this. Keep practicing those good social distancing techniques, keep washing your hands often and having good personal hygiene, and keep showing why Midway is so very special. Thank you, and God bless.

UPDATE: The mayor posted on social media a request that people paying bills or dropping off correspondence at City Hall tape or clip their envelopes rather than sealing them, which "can potentially put our clerks in harm's way. Thank you for all you're doing! We're doing great, and we're doing it together."

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.