Western Pulaski Water only system under advisory

News Live

January 31, 2012

By CHRIS HARRIS, CJ Staff Writer Commonwealth Journal The Commonwealth Journal Tue Jan 31, 2012, 07:00 AM EST

Somerset —

It’s good news for most of Pulaski County, bad news for some.

The good news: The “boil water” advisory that proved chaotic for local citizens and businesses alike over the weekend has been lifted for the majority of the county.

The bad news: Western Pulaski Water District customers, you’re going to have to hang in there for another day, most likely.

According to Tammy Vaught, office manager for Western Pulaski Water, it will likely be until Wednesday morning before the advisory is lifted for its coverage area.

The Western Pulaski Water District serves approximately 8,500 customers in the western part of the county.

“We’ve not gotten the test results back from the lab,” said Vaught. “We’re hoping they get those results to us by Wednesday morning.”

Vaught said that they use a laboratory in Pikeville for water sample testing, and that the lab wasn’t open over the weekend.

That meant that the testing process couldn’t begin until Monday morning, according to Vaught.

Policy dictated that the water providers in the Somerset Water system — Science Hill Water, Southeastern Water, Western Pulaski, and Eubank Water — conduct their own water sample testing after the City of Somerset finished doing likewise. Somerset’s testing began at 10 p.m. Thursday night and came back with clean results Saturday at 4 p.m., at which time the advisory was lifted for those who pay their bills with Somerset Utilities.

However, the other water companies — Science Hill Water, Southeastern Water, Western Pulaski, and Eubank Water — had to do their own testing at that point. Somerset Water Coordinator Dana Whitis contacted those entities and told them that they could commence testing samples for possible contaminants as soon as Somerset lifted its advisory.

Whitis said that Science Hill and Eubank had their testing completed by Sunday evening, around 6:45 p.m., at which time the boil water advisory was lifted for those areas. The Southeastern Water Association completed theirs by Monday morning at around 8 a.m., clearing the way for its customers to stop boiling drinking water before use.

Whitis said that different companies may use different labs for the testing; for instance, Somerset uses one in Lexington.

However, since the Pikeville lab which Western Pulaski uses wasn’t available until Monday, that will result in a later completion time than the other water providers.

Testing the water became necessary after workers building a new addition to the Somerset water plant broke a 24-inch main water line.

The break was fixed by Thursday night; however, there was a risk of dirt getting into the water while the line was broken, and that could provide a breeding ground for potentially harmful bacteria. Hence, the water companies needed to test water samples to make sure they were clean.

Under the boil water advisory, it is safe to use your water to shower and bathe, and to wash your clothes. Only the water that you’re going to ingest needs to be boiled.

Users are advised to bring water to a rolling boil for three minutes before ingesting it to kill off any potential harmful organisms.

Burnside Water customers have had nothing to worry about, as that city produces its own water, and have not been under the advisory that started Thursday. Burnside Water serves about 450 customers in the southern part of that community.

The City of Somerset has apologized for the inconvenience to customers and those affected throughout the county.

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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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