Chamber of Commerce meeting's focus is on benefits of agriculture

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November 3, 2009

By HEATHER PYLES, CJ Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Tue Nov 03, 2009, 11:32 PM EST

Agriculture and its importance to the county, state, and nation was the topic of discussion at this week’s Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce meeting.

“You can take any road out of Somerset, you’re going to see nice farms, you’re going to see nice homes,” said Mark Haney, with Haney’s Appledale Farm, during Tuesday’s meeting. “Farms with good fences and well kept, you’re going to see nice churches, new schools, all that is from a base, a back bone of agriculture.”

Haney, who is also the president of the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, spoke to the November membership meeting of the chamber about agriculture’s impact on the local, state and national economies.

“Less than 10 percent of our available income is feeding ourselves,” Haney said, adding that residents in other countries, even industrialized countries, see as much as 50 percent of their incomes go to feeding themselves and their families because of a lack of local agribusiness.

“It’s an amazing industry that takes a lot of people,” Haney said, noting that 22 percent of jobs in the U.S. are through agriculture.

Haney touched on an idea that has taken hold in many areas of the country. Saying that the ‘buy local’ sentiment is “picking up steam,” Haney said retailing on the farm is beneficial to both the farmer and the consumer.

“Retail on the farm works,” Haney said, noting that he can confirm that from his experience on Haney’s Appledale Farm. “Not only is it good for us as farmers, but it’s good for the county, it’s good for the way of life we have in our county.”

That’s not to say agriculture isn’t changing. Haney said ethanol production and renewable energy exploration will no doubt change agribusiness in the near future. Haney added that he’s been asked to represent Kentucky Farm Bureau on a task force appointed by Gov. Steve Beshear to explore the benefits of renewable energy for the state.

“We see this as a huge puzzle and there’s a lot of pieces to it,” Haney said.

Haney told Tuesday’s crowd that coal will continue to be used in the state, but that ethanol may still be tapped to bring business into Kentucky. Currently, a Christian County ethanol plant exists, but Haney said there’s certainly room for more plants to help ease the demand of the corn-based resource.

“More than 75 percent of gas burned in Kentucky is an ethanol blend,” Haney said. “Only about half of that is made in Kentucky.”

Add to that the idea of biomass and ethanol made from algae, and Haney said the task force is looking at numerous ways to hopefully bring renewable energy into the forefront of Kentucky citizens’ minds.

“There’s a lot of things on the table we’re going to be looking at,” Haney said.

In other news from the meeting:

• Seasonal flu shots were made available through Walgreens, and by the end of the meeting, several people had received the vaccination, which has been in limited supply.

• Brooke Carey, community representative for the American Cancer Society, was honored as the 2009 Businesswoman of the Year.

• Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital CEO Jeff Seraphine was accepted as the 2010 chamber vice president and Doug Parkey was accepted as second vice president.

• Pulaski County Schools Superintendent Tim Eaton was elected to the chamber board of directors for a three-year term as education representative. Larry Combs was accepted as nonprofit representative, Marion Price was elected as retired representative and Megan Damron as banking representative.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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