THE FIRST ANNUAL Midway Bourbon & Blues Festival was this past weekend. Attendees were entertained by blues bands, sampled bourbon from several distilleries and shopped at a wide array of vendors. The band Soupbone, pictured above, played an energetic set of rhythm and blues. (Photo by Scott White)
By Scott White
Woodford Sun Staff
The Board of Architectural Review (BOAR) met for nearly three hours last Tuesday, June 6, as it dealt with an application for a new certificate of appropriateness (COA) sought by Naser Alamdari the owner of a building at 116 East Main Street in downtown Midway.
The City of Midway and county planning officials have long attempted to resolve the failure of Alamdari to follow through on previously approved COAs and building permits. The building, which has an historical overlay, is not just unsightly but poses a threat to public safety, according to neighboring business owners.
Planning Director Steve Hunter began the meeting with a history of the planning and zoning process involving the building since 2016. Hunter stated that contrary to applicable local regulations and state statutes, the original COA was renewed annually which is prohibited.
Thus, from a regulatory perspective, Hunter suggested the most appropriate approach was to approve the new COA with conditions on a tight timeline followed by a new building permit. At that point, the appropriate oversight and enforcement could be undertaken if Alamdari continued to fail to follow through. Hunter indicated he had met with Alamdari, Midway Mayor Stacy Thurman and Woodford County Judge-Executive James Kay on the proposed option.
This led to a discussion about the impact of the mistake in renewing the original COA and whether applicable state statutes could offer a solution. Hunter indicated that the board did not have legal counsel to provide an answer and nor is Woodford County Attorney Alan George its counsel. This left several members expressing frustration and confusion on the best way forward.
Alamdari next took to the podium. Rather than speaking in support of his request for a new COA, he claimed the proposal was new to him and that he had not been given a copy of the COA packet until late that afternoon. BOAR member Debra Shockley pointed out that nearly all of the conditions attached to the original and annually renewed COA are contained in the renewed application signed by Alamdari when it was originally approved in 2016.
Alamdari complained that Shockley was being disrespectful to him and accused her of having “an attitude problem.” When others posed questions, he continued to evade or ignore the question with statements of his history of alleged mistreatment by the board as well as various public officials. By the time he was requested to take his seat after a lengthy back and forth with several members and chair Mike Hall, Alamdari never provided any update or reason for not addressing any of the conditions of the original and renewed COAs; nor did he address the current safety hazards the building has created to members of the public and nearby businesses.
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MIDWAY, Ky. -- Following a couple weeks of training and practice, Nevaeh Brown of the Midway women’s track & field team made the trip north to Marion, Ind. to compete in the 42nd Annual NAIA Women’s Outdoor Track & Field National Championships.
It was yet another successful showing for the junior from Louisville, Ky. after she earned the third All-American honor of her storied career. Brown cleared 3.70 meters in the pole vault which earned her a fifth place finish out of 21 total vaulters.
For Brown, it is the second All-American honor of the season after carding an eighth-place finish at the Indoor Track & Field National Championships in March.
The first All-American honor of her storied career came at the 2022 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships where she finished in fourth.
By Woodford Sun Staff
June 12, 1924…
The Booth Tarkington play, “The Trysting Place,” is highly complimented by the paper this week. The cast included Miss Florence Cannon, James Cogar, Mrs. A.B. Arnett, Mr. and Mrs. A.L. Willis, F.V. McChesney and R.W. Lacefield. Mrs. Roy Farmer, Miss Lily Parrish and Mrs. T.M. Roach entertained with a musical and reading prelude. Miss Lucy Peterson directed, Mrs. W.G. Lehman was business manager and Miss Elizabeth Lehman was in charge of scenery.
More than 600 visitors crowded around Pinkerton and Parrish Halls for the 75th commencement of the KFOS last week. This is the first Protestant school for the education of orphan girls in America. Fourteen out of a student body of 138 received diplomas. Two hundred alumnae from some 30 classes, from 1876 to 1923, were on hand for the occasion. Last year 140 girls were turned away because there was not enough room. Mrs. Ella Johnson Mountjoy is superintendent, and the Rev. E.J. Clarke is financial director.
John Dupee has been granted a permit to build a garage on Higgins Street.
Two fiery crosses were burned in Versailles Thursday night. One on the old Seller Carriage Co. lot, the other on Court Place just north of the courthouse. There was an open meeting in the Troy and Nonesuch area. By actual count, there were 3,500 autos and some 12,000 to 15,000 people present Friday night on the Blake Farm, near Troy and Nonesuch, at a huge Ku Klux Klan meeting. Between 100 and 200 men were initiated and an address was delivered by a Frankfort minister. [Ed. Note: We are re-publishing this terrible event from the Clipper for historical purposes.]
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By Bob Vlach
Woodford Sun Staff
The Board of Adjustments (BOA) voted unanimously to deny a request for a conditional use permit (CUP) to operate an equine waste composting facility on Georgetown Road (KY 341), north of I-64.
During a hearing prior to the BOA’s decision on Monday, neighboring landowners voiced their opposition to the plan to construct the composting facility on 20 acres of farmland in the A-1 (agriculture) zoning district. Environmental and traffic concerns were cited as reasons to deny the CUP for a portion of the farm at 1278 Georgetown Road (owned by the Homer Michael Freeny Jr. Trust).
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By Scott White
Woodford Sun Staff
Midway City Council had a short agenda this week with only a few action items. The most significant was the first reading of the budget ordinance. It will receive its second reading at the June 20 meeting, which is being held on Tuesday due to the Juneteenth federal holiday that Monday.
The council approved the permit application for the sixth annual Bourbon Burn bike tour, which is a three-day, 250-mile ride through the Bluegrass visiting distilleries and horse farms. The riders will pass through Midway on Sept. 30.
Austin Render, the event organizer, described the route will travel through Midway. Councilmember Sara Hicks raised a concern about riders crossing Winter Street from Stephens Street. Reeder indicated that since the event is on a weekend that a traffic safety monitor may not be necessary.
Councilmember Kaye Nita Gallagher questioned this given typical weekend tourism traffic. Assistant Police Chief Rob Young agreed with the council’s concerns and advised that he would work with Reeder to have police placed at higher risk street crossings. Reeder welcomed the idea and agreed to immediately reach out to Young. Reeder said, “Our riders love the Midway leg as they usually will eat lunch here and check out shops.” The riders will gather at the new Midway Distilling Company on Leestown Pike before heading off to the next phase.
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