Somerset —
Pulaski County Judge-executive Barty Bullock is hoping to get fiscal court’s approval for a new position — but most magistrates were tight-lipped upon hearing Bullock’s idea earlier this week. During a fiscal court meeting Tuesday, Bullock told magistrates he’d like to create a position for a “community development coordinator.” The individual who would be named to the proposed job would “be so much more than a grant writer,” Bullock said, although grant writing would be a vital component of the position. The community development coordinator would seek out funding for local projects, write grant applications for projects, and serve as a liaison to fiscal court concerning ongoing projects, Bullock said. “There is a huge need for this, and it’s more than our office staff can do. It’s more than a full time job,” he added. Bullock told magistrates the individual hired for the position could help create projects which will, in the long run, make Pulaski County a more attractive option to families and businesses considering making a move to the area. He noted that the county’s Industrial Development Foundation has already committed to sharing in the cost of the individual’s salary if the court approves the position. Bullock is envisioning a salary of $32,000 to $33,000 for the qualifying individual. With the Industrial Development Foundation’s help, the cost to the county should only be around $17,000. “I think it would be very well accepted by the public, and it would be a great help to our court and our county,” Bullock said. The county judge’s idea didn’t appear to be very well accepted by magistrates, however. The idea was essentially met with silence. Magistrate Kenny Isaacs suggested that the job description sounded much like one of a deputy judge. Bullock noted, however, that a deputy judge’s position would demand a higher salary — ”and the development foundation is not going to pay half of their salary.” Magistrate Mike Strunk said, if the community development coordinator’s position is created, the county’s current grant writer position should be eliminated. The court opted not to take any action on the matter this week. Isaacs suggested that the magistrates take more time to look at Bullock’s proposal.Local News
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Big Bang Theory
Pulaski County is not at war. The booming you may hear at dusk is mock cannon fire to scare away birds.
Stuart Spillman, environmental director for the Lake Cumberland Health Department, said at least three cannons are on loan from the department to residents who want to scare away swarms of starlings and blackbirds settling in to roost.
He said a cannon is being used by a resident on Laura Lane off Ky. 39; another is in the Oak Hill Road area and a third is on Ashurst Street in the eastern part of Somerset.
Spillman said a timer on each cannon allows it to “fire” at whatever frequency is desired. The cannons must be used as the birds circle before going to roost. “After they settle in, nothing will chase them out,” Spillman said.
The Health Department doesn’t operate the cannons unless there is a specific complaint in an area where there are lots of birds, Spillman noted. He said so far this year the birds are not as bad as in the past. -
Boil water advisory is lifted countywide
The water controversy that Pulaski County has been boiling over — so to speak — for the last week is finally over.
At 10 minutes after noon Wednesday, the “boil water” advisory for the Western Pulaski Water District was lifted — almost a full week after the problems began around 1 p.m. last Thursday.
Prior to that, the Somerset Water Service — along with the other water providers in its system, including Science Hill Water, Southeastern Water, and Eubank Water — lifted their advisories, with Somerset on Saturday afternoon and the last, Southeastern, by Monday morning. Western Pulaski was the last in the system to complete sample testing for potential contaminants, due to not being able to access its Pikeville-based testing lab until Monday.
Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler thanked the public for its patience and understanding during the duration of the boil water advisory — put in place to keep citizens from drinking water that could have been contaminated after an accident last Thursday at the water plant site — and also thanked all the city employees for their hard work during this time.
“The boil water advisory went about as well as would be expected,” said Girdler.
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