By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The candidates for mayor of Olive Hill previously debated at the old high school, but each had final thoughts to offer voters as they prepare to cast their ballots in November. The current Mayor of Olive Hill, Jerry Callihan, and his challenger, Eric Rayburn, both have definitive ideas to share on what they each believe is the best path forward for the city.
“I would like to continue what I have been doing,” Callihan said. “We need to keep rebuilding the infrastructure. We have done a lot, but there is a lot more we need to do. Without utilities and infrastructure, you don’t have a city. You just have a bunch of buildings.”
Callihan said that people may not realize just how bad a shape the city had been in.
“I’m not going to point fingers or anything like that,” Callihan said. “But if you’re in there then it’s your job to fix it. So, that’s what I have concentrated on as mayor. But there is still a lot more to do so everyone can be comfortable.”
Water and water leaks are a major concern to him, Callihan said, but he believes they are on the right track to fix those. Of course, that “fix” won’t be completed until new water lines are installed, he said. But for now, the city is faced with repairing lines that have been in the ground since the 1970s. Lines that in many places are still galvanized and not exactly compatible with newer lines. “Between the night of the debate and the regular council meeting we fixed 13 leaks,” Callihan said. “That’s why water loss hasn’t gone down. It’s going to go up until the new lines are laid.”
Callihan said his plan for the future of Olive Hill includes replacing old pipes and reducing water loss down to an acceptable amount. Once at that point he said he would like to expand city sewer and possibly gas.
“We have plenty of gas,” Callihan said. “I’d love to get more gas customers all the way up 60 to the valley.”
That would be more revenue for the city, he said, as well as providing a cheaper heat source for residents who need it.
Callihan said that he knows some people think the city made a poor investment when it purchased the new garbage truck, but he said he believes it to be the best option.
“Our truck was falling apart,” Callihan said. “We looked into outsourcing garbage collection, but it would have been more expensive.”
Callihan also said that replacing the truck allowed the city more control over pickup times, rates, etc.
“And” Callihan added, “If one of our 80-year-old residents is late setting out her garbage, we can send someone back to get it. You couldn’t do that if a company was running garbage pickup.”
\What is best for the residents of Olive Hill is what is always on his mind, Callihan said.
“I appreciate every one of them, and I appreciate their vote if they want me to continue,” he said. “If they want me to continue to fix things, I would like to continue. We have battled it, but everything is starting to come into place. Olive Hill is a great place to live, and it’s a great place to call home.”
He would like to thank everyone for their vote and support, he said, while he and the city employees work to make it even better.
Mayoral candidate Eric Rayburn said that he feels Olive Hill has been neglected over the years due to inaction.
“I am extremely motivated to work with anyone that wants to get involved in changing that,” Rayburn said. “Whether that is business owners or other community members, council, or other organizations to try to make what I believe most of us want.”
Rayburn said that could include growth, beautification, or correcting utility bills. To make that happen, though, Rayburn said that Olive Hil needs a change.
“We need someone to come in and take over and keep moving forward. I feel like there has not been progress for a long time,” Rayburn said. “And there have been a lot of issues in the last few months that I have uncovered since I decided to run for mayor.”
“It’s not anything egregious,” Rayburn said. “But the fact that I can go out myself in a few minutes and find water leaks, with people calling and reporting to me, that the city just hasn’t fixed; I feel like that’s a problem.”
Another problem Rayburn says he has uncovered is that he feels funding would be easier to secure if the city would participate and interact with other government organizations in the area. Rayburn said he has reached out to both mayoral candidates for the City of Grayson, and one has already responded that they would be willing to work with him if he won the election.
“We need to try to partner any way we can because that helps Olive Hill,” Rayburn said. “And of course we would help them any way we can as well.”
Rayburn said it only makes sense to work with sister cities because both would benefit. That interaction and participation, he said, would help everyone learn what works, and along the way possibly even generate jobs for every city involved.
“I’m already talking to landowners in the city and trying to help them discover ways to bring businesses to Olive Hill,” he said. “And there are several business owners here who support me and hope that I win the election.”
Rayburn said that he is invested in Olive Hill and its future in a very personal way.
“I have a family here, and that’s why I moved back,” he said. “I have two small children and several friends, and my children have friends here. We aren’t going anywhere because we want our kids to grow up here. And we want to bring as much opportunity here as we can. And I want to add as many recreational activities to the city as possible. We want to give people numerous opportunities, both for the people who live here and for tourism as well.”
Financial oversight is also something Rayburn said he believes the city needs.
“If we have someone with the background I have that is overseeing what is going on in the executive branch, then we won’t get into the situation we are in now with the audits and noncompliance with the state,” Rayburn said. “I plan on going after more funding, and we have to be in compliance to do that. The budget now is unbalanced,” he said of another problem he hopes to remedy. “I think there is a lot of overspending issues that need to be fixed.”
Rayburn said he hopes to reinvigorate the city if residents choose to cast their vote for him in November. The city, he said, needs to change the way it does business in order for it to grow. And growth will benefit not only residents, but business and visitors as well. But, he said, that growth won’t happen unless Olive Hill becomes adaptable and competitive, and has a more focused pattern moving forward.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
