The Garrard County High School Marching Band had a special performance for a hundred or so people at the new high school on Wednesday afternoon. Terri Lane invited me, and I was very impressed with the performance. I took a few photos, though seeing it live was far more impressive than what I was able to shoot.

There was a wreck on U.S. 27 that injured three people this morning. I was heading in from Lexington and wound up caught in the traffic, but as a result I was able to be on-scene and get some (basic) details. Deputy Tim Davis told me a bright orange pickup truck headed south on 27 ran into the side of a van as it pulled out from the Ky. 152 intersection in front of the truck. There was one man driving the van, and one man driving and one man riding in the truck. All three were taken to McDowell Hospital, but Deputy Davis said the driver was up and walking around before he was transported.

The traffic on the northbound side was backed up almost to Hill of Beans BP at Ky. 34 when I left the scene at about 7:10 a.m., and it was still continuing to back up farther.

The Logan-Hubble park at the Lincoln/Garrard line is getting some new (at least for the park) playground equipment that was rescued when they were clearing space for Godfather’s Pizza.

Judge-Executive John Wilson said the equipment is almost brand-new. The road department saved it and now it will be at the park. The equipment includes some swings, as well as the climb/explore-type walkways that kids’ playgrounds feature.

I thought this sounded like an interesting fundraiser being put together:

Ford Motor Company and Stuart Powell Ford Lincoln Mercury are partnering to help raise up to $6,000 in support of Garrard County High School as part of the Drive One 4 UR School program. Members of the Garrard County community will have the opportunity to raise money for their school by test driving a Ford, Mercury, or Lincoln vehicle. The one-day event takes place on Saturday, August 14th at the Stuart Powell dealership in Danville. Ford Motor Company and Stuart Powell Ford Lincoln Mercury will donate $20 to Garrard County High School for every person who test drives a 2011 Taurus, Fusion, Fiesta, Mustang, Escape or Lincoln MKZ. The school will be using the proceeds to help fund their marching band.
When: Saturday, August 14th
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Each test drive will last approximately 5 minutes.
Where: Stuart Powell Ford Lincoln Mercury
225 S Danville Bypass, Danville, KY 40422
Participants must be 18 or older and have a valid driver’s license.
Limit one test drive per household.

Update: Full story here.

The city council is looking at potential contracts with companies that would provide wireless Internet access around Lancaster. Two companies have approached the city council with proposals for adding some kind of wireless capability in Lancaster, and now the city council is asking for formal proposals. I’ll have a more complete story ready tomorrow, but here are some basic points from the two companies who made the initial proposals:

Kudu Systems:

• Would provide a free low-end wireless Internet connection on the square and nearby streets
• Would provide a charge-based high-end wireless Internet connection in the same places
• When people join the network, they would pass through an authentication page with ads and city news
• Cost to city: possibly about $25 a year in electricity to power the repeaters that create the wireless network’s range

WiMax:

• Would provide a pay-for-service Internet access service in the Lancaster area
• Would provide free Internet access to city offices
• Would need to locate wireless equipment on top of the water tower near the square
• Would need access to the water tower for maintenance of equipment

These proposals aren’t necessarily what the companies will put forward again in their formal proposals, but I would expect them to look similar. More in tomorrow’s paper.

UPDATE: Read the AMNews story here.

There’s an event coming up on Saturday at the fairgrounds to raise money for a local Garrard County family whose son is in need of a heart transplant.

Family friend Erica Martin told me 3-year-old Jaydon Griffith was born without the left side of his heart, and in April open-heart surgery caused him to develop a form of bronchitis that worsened his condition and made it necessary for him to get a heart transplant. Jaydon and his mom are currently waiting in Little Rock for a heart to become available.

The fundraising event features an all-day concert, a motorcycle ride, a raffle and a silent auction. Two items being raffled are a Rocky Top Log Furniture bed and an acoustic guitar signed by John Michael Montgomery.

Gates open at 1 p.m. General admission is $5. To participate in the bike ride, which leaves at 3 p.m., it costs $15, and an additional $5 for a second rider. Raffle tickets can be bought at the event or before the event at Rocky Top Furniture. All money collected is going to Jaydon’s family.

The city council and fiscal court both voted tonight to start drawing up the paperwork for $250,000 in KACo MACED (Mountain Association for Community Economic Development) loans ($125k from each entity) that will be used by the private company Mine Shields to purchase equipment for their new Lancaster location.
The plan is for the city and county to take these loans out, and then for Mine Shields to pay the city and county back.
The plan was announced (though in less detail) at the April announcement of Mine Shields’ intention to locate in Garrard. It can be broken down into a simple risk vs. reward situation.

Risk: The city and county would both be placing themselves on the hook for $125,000. Don Rinthen told me the equipment being bought by Mine Shields can be used as collateral and repossessed and sold if Mine Shields defaults or goes under or something like that. But reselling the equipment will only reimburse the city and county some of the cost (used equipment sells for less than new), so there is some risk involved.

Reward: By negotiating this loan deal with Mine Shields in private, the city and county were able to lure the company to Garrard County. Assuming Mine Shields is successful and pays back the city and county (over the next five years), then the city and county won’t owe anything, but will have successfully brought at least 35 new jobs to the area.

Just a note for clarity’s sake: the city council and fiscal court haven’t actually taken out these loans yet, they just voted tonight to start drawing up the paperwork. Rinthen and John Wilson said there could be votes on the actual loan documents next month.

Update/clarification from Nathan Mick:

FYI on the Mine Shields loan. It’s actually coming from MACED (Mountain Association for Community and Economic Development in Berea) rather than KACO.  Originally the plan was to use KACO but that changed once we did more research on best terms.

A quick rundown of what the Garrard/Lincoln Solid Waste Management Area is getting from its $169,000 grant:
- Six new permanent recycling collection sites. Four in Lincoln and two in Garrard will make a total of four collection sites in each county. Garrard’s two new sites will likely be in the extreme north of the county around the Bryantsville area and in the Buckeye area north of Lancaster.
- A new horizontal baler and conveyor belt to improve capacity, efficiency and speed at the recycling processing operation in Lincoln.
- Recycling bins for every classroom in each school. While schools had already been recycling, now the bins will be standardized and easily recognizable.
- Four $200 recycling bins on the Lancaster Public Square.
- Six $200 recycling bins at Logan-Hubble Park
- Increased ability at the Garrard convenience center to handle e-scrap (cell phones, laptops, some TVs) and cardboard.

I’m out of town today, but there are two events of interest going on in Garrard County:

- The public library is having the grand opening of its new wing this afternoon, with a dedication ceremony at 2 p.m.

- The Garrard County Humane Society’s Bark at the Park is this afternoon from 1-6 p.m. at Logan Hubble Park.