Burnside Police working on making U.S. 27, Ky. 90 intersection safer

Local News

December 6, 2007

By CHRIS HARRIS, Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Thu Dec 06, 2007, 07:38 PM EST

Somerset — Burnside Assistant Police Chief Bruce Blevins was standing on the side of the road Wednesday, surrounded by the chilly December air at the intersection of Ky. 90 and U.S. 27, when he was almost hit by a passing car.

Ironic, considering he was busy handling the scene of an automobile accident — one of two consecutive wrecks at that same spot of road.

“(One of those involved in the accident) had a small child in the back of the car,” said Blevins, “and a car slid past it to avoid another car.”

In other words, not a safe situation for anyone — adult or child.

That’s why Blevins is trying to get the word out now, advising motorists to take precaution when on the road and at that intersection in particular, where construction is currently underway on a partial cloverleaf interchange.

Blevins knows construction can make traffic a little hairy — but the situation doesn’t have to be made worse by drivers not taking precautions, he suggested.

“Most of (the recent problems) are due to traffic congestion, with four lanes going down to two lanes,” said Blevins.

“There are too many distractions, with people doing other things while they’re driving — talking on the cell phone, putting on make-up — and taking away from the driver’s attention,” he added. “They’re too much in a hurry and aren’t paying attention.”

On that particular Wednesday, Blevins worked two accidents, one right after the other — and three more were narrowly avoided while he was in the course of duty.

Worse, he said, the prime time frames for the auto mishaps that have been occurring there are in the morning between 7 and 8 a.m. and the afternoons between 3 and 4 p.m. — times when children are headed to school in cars and buses.

“It is imperative that motorists pay attention to traffic laws at all times, but especially during these particular times,” said Blevins.

And it’s not like there’s a sudden speed zone trap — motorists can go 45 m.p.h. at that intersection, yet speeding remains a problem, Blevins noted.

“People need to just pay attention to traffic laws,” said Blevins. “Speed is the number one factor in traffic accidents. People are disregarding the stoplights at the intersection. The (workers) who hold up the (caution) signs along the road, people are ignoring the signs. We’ve gotten complaints that people are driving through their signs.”

Traffic violations don’t pay, either. Court costs are $128, observed Blevins — and that’s not including the actual fines for speeding, running lights and not wearing a seat belt.

It takes money to fight the problem, too. The Burnside Police Department has received $12,000 from the Governor’s Highway Traffic Safety Program. The money will be used for officers to work overtime specifically to target traffic violations, and is in effect until October of next year.

Burnside police also reminded motorists of the Kentucky laws that require them to slow down and move over for emergency vehicles.

Hopefully, said Blevins, these problems can be avoided if his agency lets people know right now to slow down, pay attention and be careful — especially at the intersection of U.S. 27 and Ky. 90 in Burnside.

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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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