County officials seeking repair funds for ramps

Local News

March 8, 2007

By BILL MARDIS Editor Emeritus The Commonwealth Journal Thu Mar 08, 2007, 10:13 AM EST

Representatives from Pulaski County Judge-Executive Barty Bullock’s office were in Frankfort Wednesday trying to get money to extend county-maintained boat ramps and assure drinking water supplies while repairs are underway at Wolf Creek Dam.

Deputy Judge Donnie Girdler and Administrative Assistant Lori Hines said they discussed the situation with Senate President David Williams and Sen. Vernie MaGaha of the 15th Senatorial District which includes Pulaski County. Williams lives in Burkesville and is acutely aware of the Lake Cumberland situation, Girdler noted.

Girdler and Hines said they made the following requests to the Governor’s Office of Local Development (GOLD):

. $300,000 to extend 11 of the 23 boat ramps maintained by Pulaski County. A dozen of the 23 ramps are so far out of the water that it is not feasible to construct extensions.

. $600,000 to enable Western Pulaski County Water District to provide water to Alligator Boat Dock No. 1. The dock is planning to move to the Jabez community and into the water district’s service area. Some $100,000 of the money would be to lay an 8-inch line across Fishing Creek, an improvement necessary to service the marina.

. More than a half million dollars to assist the city of Somerset with a $1.2 million project to extend its water intake at Waitsboro in case Lake Cumberland has to be pulled down about 30 feet lower than at present. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers has advised all communities that get water from Lake Cumberland to be prepared by December 31 in the unlikely event that the lake is forced to 650 feet above sea level. The level is now at about 680 feet.

. Get an undetermined amount of money to assist the city of Burnside with a $673,000 project to lower its intake on Pitman Creek to the creek channel.

. $150,000 for the Bronston Water Association to extend lines to at least seven houses where wells have gone dry since the lake has been lowered.

Girdler and Hines said Gov. Ernie Fletcher has directed communities affected by the low lake level to submit estimates of the cost of necessary projects. They said the House of Representatives did not put anything in the budget for the water projects and they want the Senate to include the requests in a line-item budget.

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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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