Fiscal Court: County to install 23 new fire hydrants, place 2 GC residents on Edmonson Co. Water Dist. Commission, purchase new dump truck

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Grayson County Fiscal Court met Thursday for the first time in 2023 and welcomed three new magistrates to the court: Ben Hodges (1st District), Brenda Huffman (3rd District) and Jason Dennis (4th District).

Of course, Dennis is not a stranger to county government as he served on Fiscal Court for over 15 years and was selected temporary judge-executive on August 2, 2017, after then-Judge-Executive Gary Logsdon resigned.

The trio of new magistrates joins four returning Fiscal Court members: Darin Whitely (2nd District), Jason Ashley (5th District), Neal Saltsman (6th District), and Judge-Executive Kevin Henderson.

County purchases dump truck for road department

Magistrates voted to purchase a new dump truck for the county road department.

The new dump truck, purchased from Palmer Trucks of Bowling Green, replaces a dump truck that is no longer “road worthy,” as the cab mounts have eroded and fell onto the frame, among other mechanical issues, according to the Grayson County Road Department.

The road department has been looking for a dump truck for about a year, according to Henderson. Initially, officials were looking for a used truck but because the cost of a used dump truck is “astronomically high,” Henderson said, Fiscal Court approved purchasing a 2024 Kenworth T880 dump truck for $210,614.

23 new fire hydrants to be installed

After a major fire caused widespread damage in Wax in March 2022, Henderson conferred with fire chiefs throughout Grayson County and discovered there “were a lot of locations in the county that didn’t have hydrants … anywhere.”

Henderson said Grayson County Water District (GCWD) Operator Jeremy Woosley researched the issue and recommended the placement of 23 hydrants in Grayson County.

Fiscal Court, appreciating the community safety aspect of having an adequate number of hydrants, approved remitting the GCWD the cost of the fire hydrants, $88,679, using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

2 Grayson County residents to be appointed to Edmonson County Water District Commission

After nearly 3,000 Grayson County residents, served by the Edmonson County Water District (ECWD), went without water for several days when sub-zero temperatures struck the region in December, Henderson said he decided to do a “little investigating.”

He discovered the ECWD has three people on its commission, all from Edmonson County, Henderson noted.

“The reason I say that (the commission is comprised of Edmonson County residents) is because I called, and I’m not going to throw the guy under the bus, but it wasn’t anybody with the water district … but I said, ‘Are you all aware we have 3,000 people in Grayson County without water?’ And I heard the response of, ‘Well, everybody in Edmonson County has got (water).’ My response wasn’t quite as … nice as it should have been,” Henderson said.

This compelled Henderson to investigate further, and he discovered that because 25 percent of the ECWD’s assets are in Grayson County, the county can appoint no more than two people from Grayson County who are ECWD customers to the ECWD Commission.

Fiscal Court approved Henderson appointing two (as yet to be determined) people to the ECWD Commission.

GC Detention Center donating truck to Caneyville Fire Department

Jailer Jason Woosley said he was approached by Caneyville Mayor James Paul Embry asking for help finding the Caneyville Fire Department a new brush truck. Woosley said because the jail has recently purchased new vehicles, a 2011 Ford F-250 FWD with about 200,000 miles is being placed out of service.

He added that the truck is precisely what the fire department needs. The truck is mechanically sound, Woosley said, but will need “cosmetic work.”

Woosley asked for and received permission to donate the truck to the Caneyville FD.

By Ken Howlett, News Director

Contact Ken at ken@k105.com