First Midway Living History Day stirs memories

Story and photo by Megan Wimpy

Midway residents young and old came prepared and shared stories, photographs and artifacts at the first annual Midway Living History Day on Oct. 25 at the historic Thoroughbred Theatre. The first Midway Living History Award was given to Coach Ed Allin (in blue sportcoat), following a slideshow tribute to the Midway High School State Basketball Champions of 1937.

“Midway is unique,” said lifetime Midway resident Carolyn Logan, “there are few opportunities to celebrate small communities, so this is a very special day.”

Logan and friend Dorris J. Leigh were volunteers at the Midway Public School Alumni table. “The oldest yearbook on the table is from 1913,” said Leigh. “In 1947, we only have paperback yearbooks probably because of the war.” Leigh said 1963 was the last graduating class of Midway High before the merger with Woodford County.

Logan shared fond memories of school, including her senior trip to New York City and later marrying her high school sweetheart. Logan said, “I only had 10 classmates in my graduating class from Midway High School in 1958.”

Twenty-two year resident Bill Penn shared his story about working with Jim Sames, a local historian. Sames had started writing a book about Midway, but died a couple of years ago, said Penn. “Sames’s research files were donated to the Midway Museum,” said Penn, “I am going to co-write this local history book.”

Midway College Public Relations Director Sarah Wilson, sat at the college history table. “Midway College has gone through several transformations,” said Wilson. “It began as the Kentucky Female Orphan School and since has expanded offering online courses, an evening program for career development, and a graduate degree program.” Midway College has 1,700 students including 400 enrolled in the women’s day college, said Wilson.

Bob Rouse manned a table with information on how to update and expand the Midway Historic District. “Thirty years ago my mom decided Midway should be listed on the National Register of Historic Places,” Rouse said. “She filled out a timely application and documented the historic value of Midway.” Today 70 percent of Midway is documented on the register, he said.

Participant Joyce Evans has lived in Midway 40 years but still claims herself as a new resident. “I love coming to these events because so many people care so much,” said Evans. “These people have taken care of so much to our benefit.”

Randy Thomas, president of Midway Renaissance, which sponsored the event, began a slideshow tribute to the “Boys of ’37.” The presentation recognized the Midway High School state basketball champions of 1937 as the team that helped popularize Kentucky’s “Sweet 16” tournament and Kentucky sports radio.

Woodford County Judge-Executive John Coyle presented Coach Ed Allin the first annual Midway Living History Award for his dedication as a teacher, coach, humanitarian and contributions to the history of Midway. He also received a resolution from the City of Midway and a state House citation from Rep. Carl Rollins.

African American players coached by Allin talked about what it was like to play basketball during the 1960’s. They presented Allin with a poem about his courage to take a stand for African American players on the court.

After the 1963 school merger, Midway Bluejays became Woodford County Yellowjackets. A current Woodford County basketball player stood on each side of Allin as he was recognized, one wearing blue and white and the other wearing black and gold to symbolize the schools’ colors coming together.

Betty Ann Voigt, a lifetime resident of 85 years, said the boys of ’37 are a well-remembered team. “My father was a physician in Midway,” said Voigt. “Everything closed down so we could go watch the team play in Lexington. It was a memorable night.”

Megan Wimpy of Hopkinsville is majoring in agricultural communications at the University of Kentucky.

Council votes 5-1 to turn failed industrial park into residential and commercial development

By Ana Clegg
Community Journalism
University of Kentucky

The vote is in. Five of the six Midway City Council members were in favor tonight of re-zoning the Midway Station industrial park to a commercial and residential property.

After a two-and-a-half hour council meeting at City Hall, in which the council heard from lawyers on both sides and from members of the Midway community, the industrial park will be re-zoned.

Each citizen had only a minute and a half to voice opinion for or against the re-zoning. Most members of the community used the allotted time, while others ran out of time and Mayor Tom Bozarth cut them off. Most were against the proposal, saying Midway would lose its uniqueness.

Marcella Long said she would like to see more stores in Midway. Her story included a personal example of when she was trying to hang a picture in her home she couldn’t find a nail and had to drive another county over to get one nail.

Speaking longer were Henry W. “Hank” Graddy III, attorney for the Woodford Coalition, a group of neighborhood organizations active in land-use issues, and Richard Murphy, lawyer for developer Dennis Anderson. They took questions from council members about what the commercial part would include. Their answers included a wine vineyard, health-care facility and a reception hall.

Woodford County Fiscal Court Magistrate Gerald Dotson of Versailles said he was for the re-zoning because he wants the county stop paying the $508 a day in debt service on Midway Station, which has attracted little development. It has only three property owners. The city makes an identical payment.

Nick Bentley, a real-estate broker and developer who lived in Midway for 20 years and still has property in the town, said the residential development would “soften the rental market and de-value the real estate re-sale market … and Midway will go bankrupt.”

The county Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the re-zoning on the condition that no more than 50 homes be built each year. The development plan calls for just over 600 homes. That could double the population of Midway, which was 1,620 in 2000.

Diana Queen was the only council member to vote against the re-zoning. Generally, supporters of the re-zoning said it would bring more jobs to Midway.

Dancing Dog Design joins ranks of retailers

By Ana Clegg

Dwayne Cobb has turned his hobby of jewelry making into a fulltime job. (Photo by Ana Clegg)

Cobb, 47, who’s the new owner of Dancing Dog Design at 101-B Main Street in Midway, started producing pottery, sculptures and jewelry when he attended the University of Kentucky. He gave the store its name because of a beagle named Ginger he owned when he was a teenager.

After undergraduate school, Cobb went on to seek a master’s degree in sculpting, but decided to go out into the working world before he finished. After 18 years of working for Hunter Manufacturing in Lexington as a manager of research and development, the company downsized and he was left looking for another job. (Read more)

First Midway Living History Day scheduled Oct. 25

Midway Living History Day is an informal ‘show-and-tell’ affair, with displays showcasing a variety of artifacts, photographs, and documents primarily from the private collections of citizens. The displays planned include the histories of Midway’s African American schools and churches, Midway College, the cemeteries, the railroad, the Midway Historic District, various historic farms, audio and video history projects, and much more.

More than 20 organizations and individuals are scheduled to present. Owners of the historical items will be on hand to discuss their collections and their knowledge of Midway’s history. We want to hear your stories, too! Midway Renaissance will offer free on-site scanning of historic documents and photographs related to Midway. For more information on the Annual Membership Meeting, Midway Living History Day, and other projects of Midway Renaissance Inc., click here.

Magistrate urges rezoning, threatens funding

By the Community Journalism class
School of Journalism and Telecommunications, University of Kentucky

If the Midway City Council doesn't rezone Midway Station, Woodford County might stop paying debt service on the failed industrial park, a magistrate said at last week's Fiscal Court meeting, The Woodford Sun reports tonight. (The Sun does not publish stories online.)

"The citizens of Midway need to understand that they are paying double for this debt -- county taxes and Midway city taxes," Magistrate Gerald Dotson said. He added that the proposed residential and commercial development is the only option for the local governments.

If the council votes down the rezoning, continuing a controversy that has raged for almost two years, Dotson said he would "personally have difficulty in voting to pay any other interest past Nov. 1" and might lobby the other court members to do likewise.

City council postpones lawyers' arguments on Midway Station rezoning, votes to hear public

Again voting 4-3, the Midway City Council decided tonight to put off a decision on rezoning Midway Station to give citizens a chance to comment in a public forum on the proposal to turn the failed industrial park into a residential and commercial development that could double the size of the town.

Mayor Tom Bozarth broke a tie, passing Council Member Charlann Wombles' motion to postpone until Sept. 29 a hearing in which lawyers will make arguments -- and add to that meeting's agenda the opportunity for citizens to comment. Members Diana Queen and Aaron Hamilton voted in favor of the motion; Sheila Redmond, Sharon Turner and Matt Warfield voted against it.

At the start of tonight's meeting, Bozarth asked lawyers for both sides to allow comments from the public. Both objected on procedural grounds. Richard Murphy, attorney for Lexington developer Dennis Anderson, said that would be unfair to Anderson because the room was filled with people opposing the rezoning. Murphy said he had told supporters of the change not to come because only lawyers were supposed to speak to the council.

Hank Graddy, attorney for the Woodford Coalition, a group of neighborhood organizations active in land-use issues, said he had to agree with Murphy on the procedural point, but said the council needed to hold a formal, trial-type hearing to hear from the public. (He said after the meeting that speakers at such hearings traditionally are not sworn but must be subject to cross-examination.)

Wombles then moved for an argument-type hearing with public comments, "so anyone in this community who wishes to be heard will be heard." She said she was responding to the pleas of citizens and "in keeping with the democratic principles we all hold so dear." Queen agreed, saying “It is our duty to seek, hear, and welcome the different perspectives of Midway.”

Bozarth said city officials have heard plenty of comments outside public meetings. "I can't say anybody has been denied an ear, because we've been there and we've been listening," he said.

Queen said she didn't understand "what the downside is" to another hearing and still wasn't confident that citizens knew they might not have another chance for public comment after the county zoning commission hearing in Midway on May 29. The commission recommended rezoning on the condition that no more than 50 homes be built each year. Anderson's plan calls for more than 600 homes, plus commercial development.

City attorney Phil Moloney said speakers at the Sept. 29 meeting should be limited to comments on the record from the zoning hearing. Queen said it was "a pretty high standard" to expect citizens to know the contents of that record. Wombles said those who spoke at the hearing had to limit their comments to zoning issues, and she wanted a broader discussion.

In interviews after the meeting, Midway residents showed eagerness to express and hear different viewpoints about the rezoning. Former Mayor Becky Moore said, “It is ridiculous we have to ask our public officials to take time out of their busy schedules to hear the community residents.”

Thirty-three year Midway resident Sally Kinnaird said doubling the size of any community means profound change. “My fear is the services our city will have to provide to the new growth will bankrupt us,” she said. “We can’t double our city without complications.” Supporters of the rezoning say it would generate sufficient revenues and relieve the city of debt service on the industrial park, $509 per day.

Megan Wimpy, a Community Journalism student at the University of Kentucky, contributed to this story.

City Council votes to hear from lawyers before voting Sept. 2 on rezoning of Midway Station

Citizens will not get another formal opportunity to comment on the proposed residential and commercial zoning of the failed Midway Station industrial park before the City Council finally decides the issue on Sept. 2, the council voted tonight.

But lawyers for both sides will make arguments at that meeting, based on the record of a Woodford County Planning and Zoning Commission hearing that was held in Midway, the council decided on a 5-1 vote. The "no" vote was cast by Diana Queen, who wanted a full hearing.

Phil Moloney, attorney for the city, said after the meeting that the "Citizen Comments" period that opens council meetings would not be open to comments about Midway Station on Sept. 2 in order to limit the official record to that of the zoning hearing.

An initial motion, to proceed without any kind of hearing, failed on a 3-3 vote, with Queen joined by Aaron Hamilton and Charlann Wombles. Mayor Tom Bozarth cast a symbolic tiebreaking vote against the motion, saying he had some questions he wanted to ask the lawyers in a formal setting.

Asked after the meeting why he didn't want to open the door to new evidence, Bozarth said, "We already had a public hearing, and most of the people in the room were there." He said his mind remains open about the matter. About 25 people attended last night's meeting at City Hall. More than 100 attended the zoning commission hearing, but Queen said she wasn't sure that citizens understood their opportunity to comment.

Peggy Johnson said after the meeting that the zoning hearing was the first time she had attended such a hearing, and "I didn't know what the protocol was and I didn't know what [Dennis] Anderson was going to say," and speakers had to sign up in advance.

Anderson is the Lexington developer who has agreed to buy the industrial park north of Interstate 64 and turn it into a 612-unit residential development with commercial areas. The sale would relieve the city of debt service on the property, which Council Member Sharon Turner said is $509 a day.

Richard Murphy, the attorney for Anderson Communities, said an additional hearing was unnecessary. "Everybody had the right to cross-examine, and did cross-examine" at the zoning hearing, he said. Hank Graddy, attorney for the Woodford Coalition, which opposes the rezoning, said a full hearing would correct what he called procedural defects at the zoning hearing.

Johnson, of Lexington, said she is a sales representative for a travel magazine and has a niece who lives in Midway. She said the development would "destroy tourism here" because the development would "take away the magic of Midway." Supporters of the rezoning have said it would remove the city's debt burden, expand its tax base and create jobs.

UPDATE, Aug. 20: U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, a resident of Woodford County, said on Lexington's WVLK Radio this morning, "It's a shame that the people of Midway don't have the opportunity to have the input that they deserve . . . about their future." Chandler was replying to Johnson, who called in. To a later caller with similar views, Chandler said he didn't have all the facts about the situation, but he generally believes government officials "should bend over backwards to make a special effort, to let people have their say, whenever possible." With his family, Chandler is part owner of The Woodford Sun, the county's weekly newspaper. The paper does not run local editorials, but his father, A.B. Chandler Jr., occasionally expresses opinions in a column, and the congressman's column for local newspapers often appears on the editorial page.