Webbers set example for community

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Al and Ruth Webber

July 18, 2008

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Anonymous The Commonwealth Journal Fri Jul 18, 2008, 06:19 AM EDT

PRIDE has honored a Somerset couple who regularly picks up litter in the Omega Park area.

Al and Ruth Webber, who live on Bolton Hollow Road, received the PRIDE Volunteer of the Month Award for July for their service.

“The Webbers demonstrate the true spirit of PRIDE, which is taking personal responsibility for the environment,” said Tammie Wilson, PRIDE vice president and chief operating officer. “They don’t wait for someone else to clean up a mess that takes away from their area’s scenic beauty. Instead, they pick up the litter and make a visible difference in their community. Just imagine how clean our region would be if everyone followed their lead. I am grateful for their service.”

“The Webbers are what I call true volunteers,” said Pulaski County Solid Waste Coordinator Gerald Hines, who nominated the Webbers for the PRIDE award. “They do the work to make the community better without seeking praise or glory. They are great examples to all.”

The Webbers have volunteered to pick up litter in the Omega Park area for about six years.

Several times a year, they pick up litter along the roads and take their trash bags to the local fire station to be picked up by the Pulaski County Solid Waste Department.

The couple also volunteers during the annual PRIDE Spring Cleanup, which is held in April, and Roadside PRIDE Month, which is held in October. In October 2007 and April 2008, they volunteered a total of 25 hours cleaning in the Omega Park area.

The PRIDE Volunteer of the Month program recognizes hard work and dedication to the PRIDE initiative.

With corporate sponsorship from TECO Coal, WYMT-TV airs commercials about each PRIDE Volunteer of the Month.

The 12 Volunteers of the Month are considered for PRIDE’s annual Tony Turner Volunteer of the Year Award.

“Volunteers are the backbone of PRIDE,” said Congressman Hal Rogers (KY-5), PRIDE co-founder. “We wouldn’t be where we are without our volunteers. More than 230,000 volunteers have helped with PRIDE cleanup and education projects. We want to thank TECO Coal for helping PRIDE give these generous people the recognition they deserve.”

PRIDE links citizens with the resources of local, state and federal agencies to clean up the region’s waterways, end illegal trash dumps and promote environmental education and awareness.

PRIDE is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

For more information about PRIDE, call the PRIDE office, toll free, at 1-888-577-4339 or visit www.kypride.org.

To volunteer, please call your local PRIDE Coordinator.

In Pulaski County, the PRIDE coordinators are Gerald Hines (677-0320) and Joe Dungan (423-5211). The Burnside PRIDE coordinator is Amy Mink (561-4113), the Ferguson PRIDE co-coordinators are Melody Jones and Janie Ping (679-6800), and the Science Hill PRIDE coordinator is Robbie Gossett (423-4109).

To volunteer with the Friends of Lake Cumberland, please call PRIDE Coordinator Dudley Hosch (561-4399).

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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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