Task force narrows nursing-home sites to four

By Tilly Finley, Sarah Livesay, Meg Quigley and Ashley Trosper
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

The list of potential sites for Midway's first nursing home has been reduced to four.

Helen Rentch of the Nursing Home Task Force told the city council Tuesday night that there are two potential sites north of Interstate 64, one at Midway Station and one just north of Midway Station. The two sites south of I-64 are an unspecified location on or near Midway College’s campus, which would allowing the nursing home to collaborate with nursing students at the school, and a site that has yet to be revealed.

The college and the city pledged in 2007 to donate about 6½ acres near the college and Northside Elementary School for the nursing home, but geologic tests have found the location unsuitable, Rentch said. She said four acres of land is needed, which is hard to find because Midway is "land-locked" by large farms. She said the task force is hoping to have its final assessment by March 15.

This is not the first time Rentch and fellow task force members have set a deadline. They began their journey toward building a nursing home in 1999. They gained a state certificate of need for 23 beds after Woodford Memorial Hospital closed, and two years ago joined forces with Christian Care Communities, which would get the certificate and take over ownership and management of the facility when it opens.

When the effort began, local citizens needing nursing-home or assisted-living care had to travel up to two counties away. Since then, Taylor Manor has opened in Versailles, but does not accept Medicare or Medicaid patients as the Midway nursing home plans to do. The home would not have assisted living upon opening but Rentch hopes it will be added.

The task force envisions a home with a “green-house” concept, which would include 12 to 13 people per building, providing a home-like feel to all residents. Member Doris Nave said it would be a family-style facility where patients would “see familiar faces and eat meals together.”

The task force has received a $500,000 community development block grant, because a nursing home would create jobs -- at least 40 jobs, Rentch said. But she said it would still need to raise $2 million to $2.5 million for construction, depending on the site.

Although it has been a long process, task force members have not given up hope. Rentch said there is a very large demand for this type of care in Midway community and she will continue her 10-year efforts to meet it. Mayor Tom Bozarth said, “The council would like to help this dream become a reality.”

Old Friends is a home for retired Thoroughbreds

Story and photos by Ashley Camblin
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

Horse racing is a multi-million dollar industry that continues to grow and attract fans both nationally and internationally. Once thoroughbreds have finished their racing careers what happens to them? Where do these beautiful, retired horses end up?

Southwest of Georgetown on Paynes Depot Road, six miles from Midway, is a farm for retired race horses called Old Friends. It was started by Michael Blowen in 2003 as a retirement and rescue facility for pensioned thoroughbreds. After news broke in 2002 of the presumed slaughter of 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand, Blowen wanted to save at-risk horses.

“We knew such a death must never happen again,” Blowen says on the Web site for Old Friends. “And so the plan became to bring 'at risk' racehorses, those whose racing and breeding careers had come to an end, to Old Friends, provide them with the dignified retirement they deserve.”

Old Friends has 30 horses at the Dream Chase Farm. Old Friends is the only retirement and rescue facility that houses stallions, and there are 15 on the farm. Some stallions include Ferdinand son Bullintheheather, and Williamstown (left, with tour guide Charlie Brown), a son of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew.

The farm is also home to four mares and five geldings. The mare with a star-studded pedigree is Bonnie’s Poker, the dam of 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Silver Charm. The most popular gelding is Popcorn Deelites (photo at top), who was one of the many horses used as Seabiscuit, in the movie "Seabiscuit." The scenes with Popcorn Deelites are all the starting gate scenes and the race with War Admiral.

Amanda Bennett came from Lexington to go on a tour of Old Friends. “I love horses and had a horse when I was growing up,” she said. “I really enjoyed seeing the beautiful horses and learning about each of them and their racing careers. My favorite horse was Popcorn Deelites, or Seabiscuit.”

The connection with the movie was a draw for Jonathan Clark, a visitor from Indiana. “Seabiscuit is a great movie and one of my favorites,” he said. “My fiancé told me that Old Friends was home to one of the stars of Seabiscuit, so I had to come see it for myself.”

The mission of Old Friends is to provide a safe harbor and dignified retirement for Thoroughbreds whose racing and breeding careers have ended. Visitors are encouraged to come see the retirees. Tours are free and open to the public, but donations are always gladly accepted.
Old Friends, at 1841 Paynes Depot Rd., offers daily tours at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. year round. Tours take about an hour to an hour and a half. The mantra of Old Friends “Guests come out to see a few old racehorses, but they leave touched by the heart of a Thoroughbred hero.”

Council endorses Sunday liquor sales, wants more information and support regarding airport ads

Story and photo by Sarah Rayan
UK School of Journalism and Telecommunications

The Midway City Council again put off restaurateur Bill Van Den Dool’s request to fund advertising of the city at the Lexington airport, but endorsed his plea for a letter asking Woodford County Fiscal Court to legalize alcohol sales on Sundays.

Council members unanimously decided at the Dec. 1 meeting that Mayor Tom Bozarth would send a letter to the county, after some uncertainty about what authority they had in the matter.

Van Den Dool (in photo at council meeting) owns The Black Tulip, a restaurant he opened last September. The main reason he gave for his question to serve alcohol on Sundays was competition from nearby towns with Sunday sales. Van Den Dool said he “went to the fiscal court and they were favorable about the idea.”

The members heard a request, again, from Van Den Dool to support funding to advertise the city at the Bluegrass Airport. The council indicated that it would agree after seeing a more detailed plan for the ads and commitment from more members of the merchants’ association.

The council voted unanimously to issue bonds for St. Leo’s Catholic Church to build a school and related facilities just outside Versailles, nine miles from Midway. The council issued the bonds because Versailles and Woodford County did not have enough revenue-bond authority to cover the costs.

Up to $8 million in bonds will be issued to build the facility on Huntertown Road. According to Becky Mayton, an attorney with Frost Brown Todd, it is constitutional for a city to issue bonds for a church, and in another locality as long as the two have “significant ties.” She said 135 residents of Midway are parishioners of St. Leo’s, and several were in the audience. Mayton represents Central Bank, which she said will buy the bonds, and the Lexington Diocese.

Council members also heard first reading of an ordinance setting policies for extending water and sewer services to formerly unserved customers, and passed an ordinance that formally assigned the role of city alcoholic beverage control administrator to the mayor.

Christmas in Midway: Quieter than the malls

Story and photos by Kelly Wiley
UK School of Journalism

With fresh snow on the ground and McGee, the community cat, scurrying around looking for a place to get warm, shop owners stayed inside the warm confines of their stores Saturday. However, even with the cold weather, shop owner still had a reason to be cheerful ­– it’s Christmas time.

Christmas in Midway means many things, but for most store owners it means an increase in customers. “A lot of people like the come here to get away from the mall. It’s not real crowded and it’s a relaxing atmosphere with old Victorian buildings, especially when there is a little snow it kind of reminds you of a Victorian Christmas,” said Bill Penn, owner of the Historic Midway Museum Store.

Penn said he sells a lot of handmade jewelry and crafts, along with a bookstore upstairs full mostly of books by Kentucky authors focusing on Kentucky history, with some children’s books packed in there as well. He has owned the Historic Midway Museum Store for 12 years. He and his wife moved to Midway from Indiana because of their love for museum stores, he said.

“We always liked museum stores. When you go into a museum there will always be a museum shop and they always sell educational things related to history,” Penn said.

Being a museum store, it is only fitting to have a museum, which they do. In a room to the left of the entrance there is a smaller than normal museum containing a timeline of Midway history with pictures and artifacts to go with it.

Penn said they have tried to persuade the City Council to purchase one of the vacant buildings along Main Street and turn it into a museum, but they have been turned down. So, for the time being, the history of Midway can be found in the extra room of Penn’s Historic Midway Museum Store.

At the end of the road is Celtic Trends, which sells mostly items imported from Ireland and Great Britain that are Irish or Celtic themed. Clare McCarthy, owner of Celtic Trends and an Ireland native, said Christmas in Midway is better than bigger cities like Lexington because stores are not overly crowded and most times there is always a parking spot that doesn’t require you to walk a mile to your destination.

“We have quite a few Midway residents (who shop here), but the majority are outside from Lexington, Cincinnati and Louisville,” McCarthy said. “They come here with the intention to shop or for the restaurants.”

On Midway Street, commonly called Railroad Street, there are a few restaurants on both sides of the tracks that cut through town. Out-of-towners can enjoy a variety of restaurants like Bistro La Belle, Quirk Café and Coffee and Darlin Jean’s Apple Cobbler, but McCarthy said the restaurant that attracts the most customers is the Black Tulip, known for its fine wine and Kentucky food.

In the same row as Celtic Trends and the Historic Midway Museum Store is SaopWerks. Just as unique as the rest of the stores, SoapWerks sales soap, candles and jewelry all made by family members and friends of owner Kathy Werking.

“My mother makes the soap, which is all natural. I do soy wax candles. My sister makes the pillows out of old linens, then my brother in law makes salt and pepper shakers … those are out of old chair and table parts,” Werking said. “What we really try to do is do natural products and recycling and repurposing.”

In the past, Werking used her store as way to raise the money necessary to adopt her daughter Leah from a Beijing orphanage. Less than a year ago, Werking said she added to the family with her “recent addition,” Yulan. “Chinese adoptions, well any international adoption is pretty expensive, and, so, I did a lot of fundraising from selling my products,” Werking said. “And people responded really, really nicely.”

As Werking gets ready to close shop and her girls sit making jewelry, outside the snow is still falling and McGee has found some form of shelter near a Christmas tree outside one the many specialty shops on Railroad Street.

Midway Station project awaits technical review

By Matt Jordan
UK School of Journalism and Telecommunications

Redevelopment of the Midway Station industrial park into a residential and commercial community is moving according to the expected timeline, Mayor Tom Bozarth said this week.

Bozarth said now that the city council has voted to rezone the property to allow for the construction of 600 new homes, the only thing city officials are waiting on is the technical review by the Woodford County planning staff.

Anderson Communities has purchased the right to develop the industrial park for the sum of $6 million. The contract was signed earlier this year, contingent upon passage of the rezoning. Now the only barrier to be overcome is the technical review, which Bozarth anticipates should happen on or around Jan. 1.

Dennis Anderson of Anderson Communities declined to be interviewed on when he expected to turn in the papers for technical review or begin redevelopment.

The council approved the rezoning Sept. 29 by a vote of 5-1, after months of deliberation. The county Planning and Zoning Commission recommended rezoning on the condition that the development be limited to the construction of no more than 50 homes per year.

Ed Lane, a Lexington real estate agent and publisher of The Lane Report, a publication on real estate and other business in Kentucky, said he feels optimistic about developer Anderson's plan and considers him a "very good builder" to tackle this project. And though the real estate market in America is currently on the rocks, Lane said that might actually help this project.

"With the development in Midway, that's going to be a 10- to 15-year deal," Lane said. "Actually it may be a good time to start when the market is at its lowest and you start out slowly. They're not going to go in and build all those houses; they're going to build them in chunks."

Lane also pointed to a few indicators that make him think the project will succeed. He cited Midway's high number of commuters, quality of life and close proximity to Lexington as factors that will likely fill up some of the newly constructed homes. An average home in Fayette County costs about $140,000, he says, and low property values in Midway could play a factor in selling some homes. And though he says home construction is at about 50 percent of what it was a year ago, he expects that the market will likely improve one year from now. Also, the small size of Midway has led to stability and room for expansion.

"Woodford County has got the lowest unemployment rate in Kentucky and they've got a real shortage of houses there," Lane said. "I would be optimistic that they could do well."

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.