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June 4, 2008

Burnside Island golf course re-opends after major upgrade

By HEATHER PYLES, CJ Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Wed Jun 04, 2008, 08:45 PM EDT

Golfers will finally be able to play a few rounds on the revamped golf course at General Burnside Island State Park —with a few changes — after it was closed 18 months for renovations.

On Wednesday, local and state leaders celebrated the grand opening of the course, which joins seven other courses in the state as a State Park Signature Series course.

“This redesigned golf course and new practice facility ... will be fun and challenging for all levels of golfers,” said Kentucky Commerce Cabinet Secretary Marcheta Sparrow during the event.

The State Park Signature Series consists of seven courses located in all corners of the state — including Dale Hollow Lake in Burkesville, Grayson Lake in Olive Hill, Kentucky Dam Village in Gilbertsville, Lake Barkley in Cadiz, Mineral Mound in Eddyville, Pine Mountain in Pineville and Yatesville Lake in Louisa.

Sparrow also said the course — which will feature parts nearly unrecognizable to golfers who frequented the course in the past — will help bring in more revenue for an area that is largely dependent on tourism.

“We have high expectations for the future of this golf course,” Sparrow said.

Also in attendance was Senator Vernie McGaha, who agreed with Sparrow that the course — which saw 125 rounds of golf played every day during the first week it reopened — will help bring even more people to the area than before.

“This area receives so much of its revenue through tourism ... this course will definitely be a thrust for tourism.”

Brian Ault, the course’s architect, designed other reputable state park golf courses such as Dale Hollow in western Kentucky and Hidden Cove at Grayson Lake in eastern Kentucky.

“We walked the walk for almost a year” in order to plan the course and to “boldly go where no golf balls have gone before,” Ault said.

The 71-par course features bent grass trees, greens and sodded zoysia grass fairways along with four sets of tees ranging from 5,036 to 6,394 yards. The course also features several holes that overlook Lake Cumberland and the surrounding wooded areas.

Season passes are available for sale at the course and give players full access to all 19 Kentucky State Parks Golf Trail courses, including four that have been ranked nationally by Golf Digest. Local patrons who purchased a 2006 season pass will receive a pro-rated credit upon purchasing their season pass for the 2008.

Green fees during the week are $37.75 and $42.75 on the weekends including golf car.

Tees and Zzzs golf packages are available with lodging at nearby Cumberland Falls State Resort Park.

More information about General Burnside Island Golf Course and golf packages can be found at www.parks.ky.gov or by calling the course at 606-561-4104.

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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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