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Justin Stapleton

1987-2020

Mr. Justin Stapleton, age 32, of Olive Hill, Kentucky, passed away Tuesday afternoon, June 16, 2020, from injuries sustained in an accident.

He was born September 25, 1987, in Boyd County, Kentucky, a son of Donnie and Deborah Waugh Stapleton.

Justin was owner and operator of Grahn Tie Lumber and he enjoyed being outdoors, hunting and having cookouts for people. He was known as the “jack of all trades” and loved spending time with his little girl and family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his maternal grandfather, Roy Waugh, and his paternal grandparents, Carl “Bud” and Joyce Davis Stapleton.

In addition to his parents, Justin is survived by his wife of 12 years, Megan Thornsberry Stapleton; one daughter, Willow Rynn Stapleton of Olive Hill, Kentucky; his sister and brother-in-law, Whitney Brooke and Shane Salley of Olive Hill, Kentucky; his maternal grandmother, Phyllis McCoy Waugh of Olive Hill, Kentucky; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Vaughn and Joyce Smith Thornsberry of Morehead, Kentucky; and his nieces and nephews, Hannah Salley of Olive Hill, Kentucky, Xander Thornsberry, Autumn Thornsberry, and Meadow Thornsberry, all of Morehead, Kentucky. He also leaves many other family members and friends who will sadly miss him.

Funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, 2020, at Globe Funeral Chapel in Olive Hill, Kentucky, with Brother Ray Simmons officiating. Burial will follow in the McFarren Cemetery in Olive Hill, Kentucky.

Friends may visit from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, June 22, 2020, and after 9 a.m. on Tuesday at Globe Funeral Chapel, 17277 West Highway US 60, Olive Hill, Kentucky 41164.

Bryce Waugh, Reece Waugh, Trace Waugh, Derrick Stevens, Todd Minor and Zeb Brown will serve as pallbearers. Todd Humphries, Jason Carroll, Wes Hedge and Craig Utley will serve as honorary pallbearers.

Condolences may be sent to the family at Globe Funeral Chapel.

Two birds with one stone

Face mask program keeps people safe and feeds the hungry

By: Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times

When the COVID-19 crisis caused schools to close early last year, Mary Jane Suttles, a teacher’s aide at Prichard Elementary, lost one of her main fundraisers for supporting a program near and dear to her heart, Love the Hungry. But while the pandemic might have closed one door to fundraising, it has opened another. Suttles is now giving away face masks to anyone who contributes to the charity program, which helps feed hungry people here at home and abroad.

“I started making the masks when the church (First Baptist Church of Grayson) asked anyone with sewing skills to make them for area nursing homes, essential workers, etc.,” Suttles explained. “I donated the first 50 or so. Then a coworker asked if she could purchase one. I told her I wasn’t selling them but I’d make her one. She refused unless she could pay me. She was the one that suggested doing it for a fundraiser.”

It helped fill a vital need for her charity work with Love the Hungry. While she had already made her donations for the previous year, fundraising for the program – which feeds hungry and malnourished children and families at home and abroad – is a year-round endeavor.

“Our biggest fundraiser at Prichard is selling snacks in the teachers’ lounge and since school was dismissed, that cut out the money,” Suttles said. “We had just had our annual pack two days before school was closed so we are starting on funds for next year.”

So far the mask program has been a resounding success.

“So far, I’ve sewn just over 400 masks with donations around $1,300. That means over 5,000 meals for the hungry,” she said.

Each meal distributed through Love the Hungry costs about twenty-five cents, but that quarter can make a huge difference in the lives of hungry children and their parents. Suttles first saw that impact, and became involved with the Louisville based charity, during a mission trip to Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake that hit the island nation.

” The earthquake is how I got started going,” she said. “My youngest daughter was at Morehead in nursing and the students went for a medical mission in August after the earthquake in January. I went to a packing event in Stanton, Ky that Children’s Lifeline was putting on. I was hooked. It costs 25 cents a meal, which doesn’t seem like a lot of money, but when you’re talking about doing 40,000 meals each year it takes some doing to raise funds.”

Since then she’s worked with Love the Hungry (formerly Kids Against Hunger – Louisville) to distribute meals through Children’s Lifeline and has gone on six mission trips to Haiti to help distribute the meals.

“We did our first packing event at First Baptist in November 2012,” she explained. “Prichard started in October 2015. To date, we have packed 524,706 meals. My first trip to Haiti in 2012 was through a mission called Children’s Lifeline. Dale Oelker with Love The Hungry, formerly called Kids Against Hunger, supplies them with meals.”

Children’s Lifeline also supplies meals to needy children here at home, feeding “2,700 kids a day at school,” she noted. They have other suppliers as well, and supplement their meals from Love the Hungry and other sources with beans and rice, but Love the Hungry still makes a huge impact for the people they feed.

“Love the Hungry supplies meals for many different organizations around the world,” Suttles said.

That has included, “over 50,000 meals for Kentucky and surrounding areas during this pandemic,” she explained in a Facebook post about the program.

Anyone interested in donating for a face mask can contact her through her Facebook post in the Carter County Citizens for a Better Way Facebook group, or send a check payable to First Baptist Church at P.O. Box 577, Grayson, KY, 41143. She asks that anyone sending checks to the church put Love the Hungry, or LTH, in the memo line of their check.

For more information on Love the Hungry, check them out online at lovethehungry.org.

Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com

After 40+ years of home grilling, the cruel truth comes out

By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times

Are fathers supposed to get their feelings hurt on Father’s Day? Well, it happened to me again this year.

I waited patiently for any of our eight kids to suggest coming to our house and letting me prepare another feast on my portable, flat top grill or my upright grill.

On the way home from our Father’s Day event at someone else’s house, I mentioned my injured feelings to my loving wife of 49 years.

To my surprise, she offered to poll our children about my outdoor cooking skills. I hesitantly agreed, never imagining the rejection I would feel when she reported two days later.

First, good grill cooks don’t burn the meat and punish their guests with greasy, overcooked burgers and charred hot dogs in an atmosphere of choking thick smoke.

Secondly, real outdoor chefs know how to skillfully grill vegetables instead of turning them into ashes.

At that point, she recalled that the first cookout we had at home seemed more like a cremation than dinner.

As I tried to catch my breath for a nifty response, she said one of the kids suggested I wear firefighting “rollout” gear instead of my “Papaw” apron.

Another of the ingrates claimed that I used so much water to put out grease fires on the old grill that it spiked the water bill.

To add insult to injury, she admitted that she seldom lets me grill steaks because my cooking is so bad it somehow seems like cruelty to animals.

And then she had the audacity to recall my grill-buying history of the last few years.

My upright gas grill with a cast iron grate is too hard to clean. The stainless-steel griddle I bought to sit on top of the cast iron takes forever to get hot.

As for my fancy flat top grill. I’ve cooked about four meals on it. All were delicious but I’ll never get used to eating alone.

(Keith can be reached at keithkappes@gmail.com)

Improving care and saving cash

New jail medical contract already paying dividends

Carter County Jailer RW Boggs has worked tirelessly to not only save money for the county, but to make the Carter County Detention Center profitable since taking office. He’s renegotiated phone contracts, taken on prisoner transports and inmate housing contracts for I.C.E. and other federal inmates, and worked to use commissary funds to provide services that benefit inmates. 

His latest move, a new medical contract with Quality Correctional Health Care (QCHC), is improving on-site health care for inmates while also saving the jail funds spent on overtime, transport, and other off-site hospital visit costs, Boggs explained. 

Under the jail’s previous health care contract they had on-site medical personnel for eight hours a day. The jail does two medical passes in that eight hour period, which includes checking on inmates’ vitals and handing out medication. Because of end-of-shift work that nurses must do, other jail staff usually ended up doing the second pass. The staff, Boggs said, have had the training required to hand out medication, but it’s better for the inmates if nurses hand it out because they can address other issues that inmates might have at that time too. 

With the new QCHC contract, the jail has medical staff for 12 hours a day,  soon to be 16 hours a day. Therefore, nurses can handle both medical passes and provide better care for the inmates. Under the old system, if an inmate had other medical complaints they would often end up having to take them off-site to visit a doctor or nurse practitioner because the other jail staff weren’t trained medical professionals despite being certified to hand out medication. With this new system, Boggs explained, off-site visits are already down by 80 percent. Previously, he said, they would have “from four to five (off-site visits) per week.” With the new system, they’ve dropped that number to two off-site visits since May 1. 

“It’s safer for everyone – staff, inmates, and the community,” Boggs said. It’s safer for the community, he explained, because there is less chance of an inmate escaping since they aren’t outside the facility. It’s safer for staff because they aren’t at risk when transporting. And it’s safer for inmates, he said, because there is more staff present in the facility to help keep order.

It’s also better for the inmates because they now have more on-site equipment to serve them, such as EKG monitors to check heart rates. That one piece of machinery, Boggs noted, has already helped them rule out whether some issues are actual heart attacks, panic attacks, or an exaggeration of symptoms by inmates that want a short trip outside the facility just to break the boredom of incarceration.

While QCHC will also provide refund checks to the jail once the initial costs of equipment and start-up are covered, Boggs said the major costs savings come from cuts in deputy overtime and in fuel and time costs for transports. 

One of the other improvements offered with QCHC is access to electronic medical records (EMR), which Boggs said is a “safer” and “more seamless” way of getting records to providers when they do have to transport inmates off-site for medical services. 

The start-up didn’t cost the county anything either, he explained, as the initial funding came from commissary funds. By state statute, commissary funds can only be used for programs that benefit inmates. But, he said, “nothing in my mind is better for them than more health care.” 

“We wanted to provide the best services we can at no cost to the county,” Boggs continued, explaining that he feels the QCHC contract helps the jail do just that. 

Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com

Indictments – February and March 2020

The attached indictments were returned by the Carter Circuit Court on February 21 and March 5, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the grand jury has not met since that last date and no new indictments have been released.

An indictment is not a determination of guilt or innocence. It is simply a charge that an offense has been committed and indicates that a case is pending on the charges listed. All defendants have the presumption of innocence until found guilty in a court of law.
Though it may be a part of the public record, the Carter County Times does not make a habit of printing the names of minor children or the victims of alleged crimes, except under exceptional circumstances.

February 21 Indictments

  • James P. Costigan, 38, of Morehead, assault in the second degree with a dangerous instrument causing physical injury, a Class C felony; wanton endangerment, first degree, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference for the value of human life, creating a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury, a Class D felony; criminal mischief, first degree, by intentionally damaging a tow truck causing pecuniary loss of $1,000 or more, a Class D felony. On or about December 25, 2019.
  • Elwood C. Eldridge, 20, of Grayson, incest – victim under 12 years of age by having sexual intercourse or deviant sexual intercourse with his (relative) a child less than 12 years of age, offenses occurring between 2013 and 2019, a Class A felony; sodomy, first degree by having deviant sexual intercourse with a child less than 12 years of age, a Class B felony; sexual abuse, first degree by having sexual contact with a female less than 12 years of age, a Class C felony. On or about September 1, 2013 through April 20, 2019.
  • Jason Lee Goodan, 42, of Olive Hill, trafficking in a controlled substance, first degree, first offense, over or equal to 2 grams of meth by knowingly and unlawfully trafficking in a schedule I narcotic, by selling, or possessing with intent to sell, more than 2 grams of methamphetamine, a Class C felony; operating a motor vehicle under the influence, aggravating circumstances, by operating a motor vehicle on a public roadway while intoxicated under aggravating circumstances, a Class B misdemeanor; unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to use for the purpose of introducing into the body illegal or controlled substances, a Class A misdemeanor; trafficking in marijuana, less thnan 8 ounces, first offense, a Class A misdemeanor; fleeing and evading police, first degree, by operating a motor vehicle in an attempt to flee from a Kentucky State Trooper which created a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer, a Class D felony; two counts of wanton endangerment – police officer, first degree, Class D felonies; resisting arrest by using physical force against a peace officer, a Class A misdemeanor. On or about February 16, 2020.
  • Gary Jamal Howard, 30, of Essex, Maryland, operating a motor vehicle under the influence, first offense, aggravating circumstances, by operating a motor vehicle on a public roadway, while intoxicated and speeding in excess of 30 mph over speed limit, a Class B misdemeanor; wanton endangerment, first degree, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, by driving a vehicle in a wanton manner endangering other motorists including a Kentucky State Trooper, all of which created a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to the other motorists and trooper, a Class D felony; driving with a suspended license, a Class B misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; disorderly conduct, second degree, when in a public place and with intent to cause public annoyance, he made unreasonable noise and his action which caused others to be alarmed, a Class B misdemeanor. On or about January 31, 2020.
  • April D. Knipp, 31, of Grayson, operating a motor vehicle under the influence, first offense, a Class B misdemeanor; possession of a controlled substance, first degree, first offense, when she unlawfully possessed a schedule I controlled substance, heroin, a Class D felony; possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. On or about January 1, 2020.
  • Phillip Michael Roar, 42, of Olive Hill, possession of a controlled substance, first degree, first offense, for unlawful possession of a schedule I controlled substance, heroin, a Class D felony. On or about January 1, 2020.
  • Eric Sprouse, 34, of Grayson, promoting contraband in the first degree by knowingly introducing danger contraband into the Carter County Detention Center, being drugs, a Class D felony; possession of a controlled substance, first degree, first offense, unlawful possession of a schedule I controlled substance, heroin, a Class D felony. On or about January 20, 2020.

March 5 Indictments

  • James Coburn, 48, of Piqua, Ohio, public intoxication while appearing in public manifestly under the influence of a controlled substance, not therapeutically administered, to the degree that he may endanger himself of other persons, a Class B misdemeanor; possession of a controlled substance, first degree, first offense, unlawful possession of a schedule I controlled substance, methamphetamine, a Class D felony. On or about December 29, 2020.
  • Anna Gillispie, 30, of Grayson, public intoxication, while appearing in public manifestly under the influence of a controlled substance, not therapeutically administered, to the degree that she may endanger herself of other persons, a Class B misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; possession of a controlled substance, first degree, first offense, unlawful possession of schedule I controlled substance, methamphetamine, a Class D felony; possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. On or about February 10, 2020.
  • Matthew Moore, 43, of Olive Hill, flagrant non-support by failing to support his minor children, accumulating an arrearage of $16,477.55, a Class D felony. On or about May 1, 2015 through January 31, 2020.
  • Ronnie Moore, 64, of Grayson, operating a motor vehicle under the influence, first offense, by operating a motor vehicle on a public roadway while intoxicated, a Class B misdemeanor; driving with a suspended license, a Class B misdemeanor; failure to maintain required insurance, first offense, a Class B misdemeanor; possession of a schedule I controlled substance, first degree, first offense, methamphetamine, a Class D felony. On or about February 7, 2020.
  • Carl Radford, 41, of Ashland, flagrant non-support by failing to support his minor child, accumulating an arrearage of $3,471.04, a Class D felony. On or about January 1, 2017 through January 31, 2020.
  • Ronnie Rice, 72, of Grayson, sexual abuse, first degree, by having sexual contact with a child less than 12 years of age, a Class C felony; sodomy, first degree, by having deviant sexual intercourse with a child less than 12 years of age, a Class A felony; incest by having deviant sexual intercourse with his (relative) a child less than 12 years of age, a Class A felony. On or about January 21, 2020.
  • Hannah Scott, 37, of Olive Hill, flagrant non-support by failing to support her minor children, accumulating an arrearage of $7,126.00, a Class D felony. On or about May 1, 2010 through December 31, 2019.
  • Charles E. Smith, 38, of Grayson, burglary second degree, by unlawfully entering a dwelling with intent to commit a crime, a Class C felony. On or about February 17, 2020.
  • Sandra Stoll, 41, of Bowling Green, flagrant non-support by failing to support her minor children, accumulating an arrearage of $5,442.40, a Class D felony. On or about February 1, 2018 through January 31, 2020.
  • David Stringfellow, 49, of Ashland, the offense of bigamy, by purporting to marry another person knowing he has a wife, a Class D felony. On or about June 6, 2017.
  • Melissa Wilburn, 43, of Rush, theft by unlawful taking over $500/under $10,000 by unlawfully taking monies/credit belonging to MIG Refractory Products Inc. with a value over $500, with intent to permanently deprive MIG of its property, a Class D felony. On or about August 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019.
  • Danny Withrow, 33, of Grayson, flagrant non-support by failing to support his minor child, accumulating an arrearage of $4,336.50, a Class D felony. On or about May 1, 2018 through January 31, 2020.

Hitting zero: Emergency ambulance board pleased with Loperfido’s work

By: Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times

If the reaction of the ambulance board is any indication, Rick Loperfido is doing a bang up job in his role as the executive director of the Carter County Emergency Ambulance Service. Loperfido and Valerie Nolan presented the board with their budget for the service, showing that they are hitting their goals and saving money for the service, and turning in a balanced budget.

“I do believe we are reaching a zero situation, and could begin going (positive),” board president John Brooks said in the last regular meeting of the ambulance board. “This is the first time I’ve had a true zero budget.”

Loperfido has helped curb unscheduled overtime for the department, with his report showing that in March unscheduled overtime was at 3.49%, which was decreased to 2.69% for April and down to 0.89% for May. This may be due in part to a decrease in the number of calls received during the covid-19 self isolation period, where fewer folks on the road and sticking closer to home led to a reduction in calls, Loperfido explained, noting that as self-isolation restrictions ease the call volume is beginning to return to pre-covid levels. He reported that the service ended May with 427 calls, compared to 322 in April, and 490 in May of the previous year.

Loperfido also reported that they have completed the month with no known employee exposures to covid-19 requiring isolation or quarantine. He also noted the service is “holding at good levels for our personal protective equipment (PPE)” for staff utilization on calls. This was due, in part, to a $2,500 grant from Marathon the service received for the purchase of PPE and supplies.

In addition to grants, Loperfido explained, he’s also cut costs to vehicle repair and maintenance thanks to assistance from Daniel Barker with the Carter County Garage. Barker has assisted the service with repairs to older ambulances and vehicles, including wiring and electrical work.

“Daniel’s assistance over the past couple of months has dramatically saved the service several hundred dollars in repair costs by providing the labor,” Loperfido reported, explaining that the only cost out of pocket for those repairs and maintenance was in materials. “This partnership has been a definite plus for the ambulance service in cost savings for truck repairs,” he added.

In addition to the reductions in repair costs, Nolan’s budget showed that the service has reduced equipment costs by around $60,000.Loperfido reported that the service did receive one complaint, about a wrapper from a medical device used on a call that was inadvertently left behind on a lawn, but he rectified the situation by sending the crew back out to pick up the wrapper. Otherwise, he noted, the ambulance staff has had positive feedback from the community.

“People are being nice (to us),” he said, adding that one person came into the office just to drop off a large bag of chocolate and candy bars for staff to snack on.

While his report also noted he received news from the federal government that the service would not be receiving further funding through the second round of CARES fund distribution, this was because the service had not lost enough revenue to “meet the threshold for more money at this time.”
Loperfido also reported they have had progress with having miscellaneous “junk” cleaned up on an adjacent property, which has improved the appearance around their offices.

Loperfido and Nolan also noted there had been a slight increase in overdose calls in the previous month, as a “bad batch of heroin” hit Carter County.

Looking past quarantine

Carter County Tourism Board discusses events after COVID-19

It’s been a strange summer for the Carter County Tourism Board and the businesses and events they support. Most of the county’s events, including the planned Fourth of July fireworks displays, have been cancelled. Only Tres Hermanos restaurant in Grayson is planning a fireworks display this year, according to the board. Hotel tax collections are also down as fewer people travel. Chris Perry at Carter Caves State Resort Park, for example, said accomodations at the lodge have been cut in half as they have to leave rooms vacant for a day before cleaning them and getting them ready for another guest to occupy to meet new park guidelines for cutting covid-19 risks.

But, despite all this, the park is ramping up for some summer activities. Bath facilities in the campground are being allowed to reopen, and the lodge will be allowed to return to 100 percent capacity after June 26. While the pool will likely remain closed a while longer, and equipment for the mini-golf course is not being rented, as the course isn’t technically “open”, mini-golf is still available for those who have their own golf clubs to bring along.

Perry said they are also hoping to get back in the caves after July 4, though with a different style of tour. What that will likely look like, he told tourism, is smaller groups and tour guides stationed throughout the caves to provide information, rather than large group tours. Instead of sending a large group every hour, he said the smaller groups will likely be staggered, and may be sent one every 15 minutes or so, so they can accommodate demand while still practicing social-distancing protocols.

At the other end of the county, Market 474 in Grayson is up and running, the outdoor setting being conducive to social-distancing. The organizers of the monthly event, on the second Saturday of each month, said with many festivals and events cancelled, participants in Market 474 have expressed gratitude they have somewhere to sell their goods. The next event in the series is set for July 11, but they are also looking at the possibility of organizing a second Market 474 event, to take place in the evening instead of the morning, perhaps with musical entertainment.

The tourism board also discussed the cancellation of county fairs, and how it might impact 4-H and livestock sales, and agreed to allow the fair board to use the tourism board’s movie screen if the fair board votes to use the fair ground property to organize a drive-in style movie event. While the drive-in movie experience hasn’t been approved yet, the tourism board has thrown their support behind it and agreed to help if the fair board moves forward.

Why a print newspaper?

By: Jeremy D. Wells
Editor
Carter County Times

That’s a question my partner and I have asked ourselves repeatedly since we started this whole endeavor. We’re already raising a toddler, a full time job in and of itself. She is working a full time job in the telemedicine field that has turned up to 11 since the covid-19 crisis struck. Working as a one-person reporting team was already a full time job, even with a corporate organization and layout team behind me. She and I are doing this all alone. When you add to all this the fact that newspapers aren’t nearly as profitable as they once were, and we’re more likely to lose money in the first year than to make any, it seems completely crazy.

So why do it? For me, it’s a simple two word answer.

It’s important.

More and more of our news is coming from corporate owned news outlets these days. The owners don’t live in your communities. They don’t care about what happens in your communities; beyond how much money they can take out. And when the money falls below a certain threshold, they’re gone.

That’s not going to happen with us. We live here. We care about here. We think it’s important you know what’s happening here. And we’re going to do our best to make sure you can find out. Because you’re important to us.
Are we crazy? Maybe. But we’re going to do our best to make this work, for all of us. Because local news is important.

God loves all the little children

“All Lives Matter,” chanted KCU student Dee Garrett while leading a peaceful rally against racial prejudice and police brutality in Grayson over the past two weekends, “but black lives are the ones being killed.”

Garrett wasn’t alone, this past Sunday or the previous weekend. He was joined by other KCU students, faculty, and staff as well as citizens of Grayson who wanted to show their support and solidarity. While Grayson and Carter County have thankfully experienced neither police related deaths of black citizens, nor the kind of rioting and looting that have accompanied protests in larger cities, Kentucky, as a state, can’t say the same. The death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, shot in her bed while police were serving a no-knock warrant, is one of several recent high profile cases that have reignited protests across the nation as black citizens, and their white allies, demand justice and police accountability. Taylor was not the subject of the warrant – who was later found to already be in police custody – and had no illegal drugs in her home. Demonstrations in Louisville have led to clashes between protestor and police, with journalists and others caught in the crossfire.

While arguments rage about whether other recent police related deaths may not have occurred if subjects had simply obeyed officers, or if they hadn’t potentially broken the law in the first place (in some cases they did, and in others it’s unclear), that cannot be said of Taylor. The 26-year-old EMT had broken no laws. While a judge had issued a warrant for her residence, because she had a previous association with one of the subjects of the drug warrant who may have received packages at her residence, Taylor and her boyfriend had no way of knowing who was breaking down their front door because police did not identify themselves.

Her death is an undeniable tragedy, and points to a need for reform. And while that need may be news for some of us, it isn’t for African Americans, who will tell you they have lived under the microscope of police and social scrutiny for generations.

We can disagree about whether or not the rioting and looting are justified. But focusing on the rioting misses the point. In the same way that police who have been videoed using excessive force are now being brought to task, we should be able to trust that video of looters will help bring them to justice as well. The rioting isn’t the point. What prompted the rioting is. And it’s something that all Americans need to do some serious soul searching about.

That’s one reason that demonstrations like Garrett’s faith-inspired gatherings are so powerful, and so necessary. It’s bringing black and white residents of Grayson together, to get to know each other as people first. And it’s helping white Americans understand the anxieties that our black neighbors live with every day.

Faith has always been an important part of Appalachia’s cultural identity. We begin our public meetings with prayers. We begin our family meals with grace. Now, we need to get ourselves into our prayer closets and ask ourselves, truly, how we should handle these issues. We all came up singing the refrains of that familiar childhood song that reminds us, “red and yellow, black and white, they’re all precious in his sight.” Now we need to take those lyrics to heart.

We can disagree about lots of things. We can disagree about the justification of rioters. We can disagree about the best way to address racial inequality. But we can’t deny that it has left an ugly scar on our nation that needs to be healed, and it’s going to take all of us, black and white, to heal it.

We think Garrett’s approach of Christian love and dialogue is a good starting point, and we thank him for bringing it to Carter County.

Sheriff releases property tax numbers

Counties share of more than $7 million is $808,468

Carter County Sheriff Jeff May released the numbers for property tax settlements and unmined coal settlements during Carter County Fiscal Court’s regular meeting last week. Out of a total of $7,286,403.90, the county’s share from property tax charges came to $808,468.14. Schools took the lion’s share of the funds, at $4,534,353.84. The health department’s total charges came in at $565,333.22, ambulance was second to schools, with $905,093.39, extension was a $469,058.03, and forestry was the lowest at $4,097.28.

Broken down by category, real estate for the county was at $545,042.12; tangibles, $41,810.72; new bills $1,901.45; limestone, sand, gravel, and clay, $380.57; omitted limestone, sand, gravel, and clay, $986.05; omitted real estate, $2,346.84; executive court orders – real estate, $221.93; executive court orders – tangible $0; franchise bank deposits, $80,571.34; franchise tangible, $118,065.68; franchise real estate, $13,076.53; and penalties, $4,064.91; for the total of $808,468.14.

Real estate funds for the schools was at $3,495,425.13; tangibles, $232,835.93; new bills $10,887.37; limestone, sand, gravel, and clay, $2,440.72; omitted limestone, sand, gravel, and clay, $6,323.88; omitted real estate, $14,990.52; executive court orders – real estate, $1,423.28; executive court orders – tangible $0; franchise bank deposits, $0; franchise tangible, $660,343.67; franchise real estate, $83,864.03; and penalties, $25,819.31; for the total of $4,534,353.84.

Real estate funds for the health department was at $436,018.43; tangibles, $29,170.43; new bills $1,358.11; limestone, sand, gravel, and clay, $304.46; omitted limestone, sand, gravel, and clay, $788.84; omitted real estate, $1,526.40; executive court orders – real estate, $177.54; executive court orders – tangible $0; franchise bank deposits, $0; franchise tangible, $82,371.00; franchise real estate, $10,460.67; and penalties, $3,157.48; for the total of $565,333.22.

Real estate funds for the ambulance board was at $697,624.97; tangibles, $46,672.46; new bills $2,172.94; limestone, sand, gravel, and clay, $487.13; omitted limestone, sand, gravel, and clay, $1,262.15; omitted real estate, $2,925.60; executive court orders – real estate, $284.06; executive court orders – tangible $0; franchise bank deposits, $0; franchise tangible, $131,794.21; franchise real estate, $16,738.01; and penalties, $5,131.86; for the total of $905,093.39.

Real estate funds for the extension agency was at $348,017.06; tangibles, $23,282.78; new bills $1,083.99; limestone, sand, gravel, and clay, $243.01; omitted limestone, sand, gravel, and clay, $629.63; omitted real estate, $1,461.21; executive court orders – real estate, $141.71; executive court orders – tangible $0; franchise bank deposits, $0; franchise tangible, $83,262.04; franchise real estate, $8,372.41; and penalties, $2,564.19; for the total of $469,058.03.

Forestry only had funds from real estate, $4,073.58, and penalties, $23.70, for their total of $4,097.28. In tax credits the county had a total of $34,985.12, schools $212,108.41, health $26,460.93, ambulance $42,337.42, extension $21,120.24, and forestry $175.92. These numbers included delinquent real estate, delinquent tangibles, executive orders – real estate, executive orders – tangibles, and discounts.

Less commissions and refunds, the net due, and less payments previously submitted, the balance due to the sheriff for the county was 0.74, for the school 0.64, 0 for the health department, 0.01 for ambulance, 0.16 for the extension, and 0 for forestry.

Carter County is not particularly rich in coal, and the unmined coal property tax settlement numbers reflected that. The total charges and taxes due for the county were $42, less $1.79 in commissions leading to a net due and payments of $40.21. For schools those numbers were $269.36, less commissions of $10.56, for a net due and payments of $258.80. For health it was $33.60, less commissions of $1.43 for a net due and payments of $32.17; for ambulance $53.76, less commissions of $2.15, for net due and payments of $51.61; and for the extension $26.82, less a commission of $1.14, for net due and payments of $25.68.

These numbers, the sheriff’s report noted, are subject to audit.

Smoothing out the rough spots

Slip repairs, like this one completed along Gregoryville Road lasat year, are among the types of projects covered by FEMA that may take the county more than a year to to reimbursed for.
Slip repairs, like this one completed along Gregoryville Road lasat year, are among the types of projects covered by FEMA that may take the county more than a year to to reimbursed for.

County borrows money to meet road repair needs

Carter County Judge Executive Mike Malone told the fiscal court last week that, at least when it comes to the money available from the state, he wishes every year was an election year. Malone told the court that while the county claimed a windfall $800,000 for paving projects from the state last year, this year they are back to a more standard funding rate. Malone said he expected to see $150,000 to $160,000 awarded to paving projects in the county this year. These numbers are more in-line with what the county typically receives, he said, noting that the only time in recent memory the county has received more than $240,000 was last year, which was an election year.

“I wish it was that way every year,” he told the court. “We’d get a whole lot done.”

Even with those projected funds, though, the county is facing a budget shortfall at least through August, Malone told magistrates, when they expect more money to be released . If county road crews plan to get any road work done before cool weather slows their ability to pave, he said, they would have to do it with borrowed money. Fiscal court approved Malone’s request to extend a $500,000 line of credit with the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) to get over their budget shortfall. Malone noted the county is still waiting for reimbursement on over $200,000 from projects that were covered by FEMA. He also said unanticipated repair costs for the courthouse, including repairs from termite damage and plans to improve insulation to cut down on heating and cooling costs, had cut into the county’s budget.

The court also discussed removing roads from, and taking roads into, the county system. Because the county must hold a public hearing before completing the process of removing or adding a road to the county system, no action has been taken on roads since COVID-19 related social isolation measures led to the closure of the courthouse. However, as public places begin planning to reopen, the county is again discussing road vacations and taking roads into the system, with the first public hearing scheduled for June 29, when the state will allow public meetings of 50 people or fewer to begin again.

At 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 29, the court will hold public hearings on the vacation of sections of Bailey Cemetery Road and Campbell Road, which were in discussion prior to the closure of public meetings by Governor Andy Beshear. County attorney Brian Bayes reminded magistrates that, before a road can be taken into or removed from the county system, the magistrates responsible for examining the road must present a written report of their observations. In addition to the observations of two disinterested magistrates – or magistrates who do not represent the district the road is in – the report must include comments from the head of the road department on what steps, if any, are necessary to bring the road into compliance with the county road ordinance and measurements from the head of the E911 department for purposes of public safety.

In other road news District 3 magistrate Jack Steele asked the court to consider a request to vacate a portion of Vincent Road, past the intersection with Jackson Road, which dead ends on private property. Steele also asked the county to consider a request from his constituents to take a section of Mandolin Drive that is currently private into the county road system. The court moved to begin the process of removing the section of Vincent Road from, and taking the section of Mandolin Drive into, the county road system.

Giving it Teeth

Grayson considers revision to nuisance ordinance

Local IKORCC senior representative Jerry Yates has been selected to fill the city council seat vacated by councilman Duane Suttles. Suttles has accepted a job with the City of Grayson as code enforcement officer.

Grayson city council began their regular June meeting by swearing in new councilman Jerry Yates, but then it was straight down to business. Yates, who has been a regular fixture at Grayson City Council meetings, works as a senior representative with the local carpenter’s union, the Indiana Kentucky Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights (IKORCC). He’s also responsible for introducing a fair bidder’s ordinance to city council that – in addition to giving preference to local contractors to help keep dollars circulating in the local economy – requires all contractors working on city projects to ensure that their employees and subcontractors are paying city payroll taxes and maintaining worker’s compensation insurance on their employees. Yates filled the seat vacated by long time city councilman and firefighter Duane Suttles, who accepted a position with the city as code enforcement officer. Yates will also take Suttles place as the city council representative on the Park Board.

After Yates was sworn in Mayor George Steele presented council with a preliminary budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. While Steele said the budget was “not as bad” as they initially thought it was going to be, finances in the city were “going to be tight for a while.” Steele asked council to study those numbers before a special meeting on June 23 to consider approving the budget.

“All the numbers are in order for you, so you can see where we’re at,” Steele told council.

The main item of discussion on the agenda, however, was suggested revisions to the city’s nuisance ordinance. Suttles, in his new role as code enforcement officer, said that in addition to “some language that needs cleaned up” in the ordinance, he was looking at ways to “add teeth” to the ordinance.

While he noted the city has “had a lot of luck collecting” on mowing fees for out of compliance properties, more needs to be done on enforcement to ensure property owners stay in compliance.

Yates asked Suttles why the $100 per day fine on unmowed grass wasn’t a sufficient deterrent and Suttles explained that while it could help spur some action, the city couldn’t leave those lots unmowed. But, he noted, the city can only charge when the property owners are out of compliance. Once the city took action to mow the grass that wasn’t being maintained by the property owners, those properties were no longer out of compliance, and the city could only charge the property owners for previous days that they were out of compliance. When the property owners lived outside the city, as many of those with unkempt properties do, he explained, it made it even more difficult for the city to collect on those properties.

Suttles said the city is tracking those instances though. He said they are also looking at the possibility of tying penalties for commercial properties that are out of compliance with their utilities. That way, he explained, the city could suspend utilities if the property was not in compliance as a means of “giving teeth” to the ordinance.

In other action council approved a motion to place speed bumps on Wildcat Drive, off of Midland Trail, after residents along that street requested them as a speed deterrent for vehicles and collected the appropriate number of signatures.

Steele also discussed the extension of water lines outside of the city toward Grayson Lake and considering other sources of water for the city.
“Right now we have an adequate source of water,” Steele said, but “down the road” the city might need additional water.

“Probably not in my lifetime,” he said, but the city needs to look to the future. “There might be a need for a better source of water in 10 or 15 years.”

He told council that the city was in the process of a study, with the Corps of Engineers, “that will tell us if that’s the right thing to do or not.”

“While I’m comfortable with what we have right now, I’m not comfortable with what we may need 20 years from now,” he added.

“It’s a long, drawn out process,” to make those plans for future needs, he told council, but it was important for the city to consider.

Steele also addressed recent social unrest in other communities related to racial strife and police brutality, and said that he was happy to see students from KCU and Grayson citizens discussing these issues and raising awareness in a peaceful manner. He said that he wanted Grayson’s minority population to feel secure in the city, noting that Grayson has been “blessed” by the contributions of their black and minority citizens, and recalling the legacy of folks like Dr. Rodney T. Gross and their positive impact on the community.

Pet of the Week – 6/17/20

Sunny is a one-year-old female hound mix. She’s one of the quietest, sweetest dogs you’ll ever meet! Sunny is fully sponsored and has a FREE adoption to an approved home. Stop by the Carter County Animal Shelter and meet her or call 475-9771 for more information.

Shelter hours are Monday through Friday 9am – 4pm and Saturday by appointment.

Fuss over Army facility names recalls the legend of Fort Riley, Kansas

By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times

Folks are cussing and fussing about the possibility of the U. S. Army changing the names of 10 of its installations within the United States because they were named for Confederate generals.

Listening to those discussions helped me remember a visit I made many years ago to Fort Riley, Kansas, which is not among those disputed names of Army posts.

I was working at Morehead State University when President Adron Doran assigned me and another staff member, Charlie Myers, to represent him and MSU on an official visit to Fort Riley.

The purpose of the visit was to check the morale and living conditions of about 50 MSU students training there that summer as Army ROTC cadets, along with hundreds of other cadets from colleges across the U. S.

Other than flying from Kansas City to Manhattan, Kansas, in a single engine plane with 10 other nervous passengers and a pilot who drank at least six cans of beer during a one-hour flight, the trip proved to be interesting, if not entertaining.

Our escort officer was an Army major, a member of MSU’s ROTC faculty, who was assigned there for the entire summer. He had been stationed earlier at Fort Riley, our nation’s oldest Army post, and loved to give tours to visitors.

As we made the rounds of facilities and training areas, including a herd of buffalo, our host told us lots of stories about the old cavalry post and its historic past. 

I mentioned to him a few times that I was surprised that Fort Riley, home of the 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One), perhaps the Army’s most famous combat unit, was located at such an old, rundown facility.

On our last day, having lunch with him at the Officers’ Club, he said he wanted to tell us the secret of why Fort Riley had become such a shabby place.

It seems that Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, a former general, rode out of there in 1876 as commander of the 7th Cavalry Regiment on his way to fight the Plains Indians at the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory.

As the brave troopers rode their horses out through the main gate, legend has it that Custer yelled to an officer in charge of the gate and told them not to do anything until he returned.

And they still haven’t.

Keith Kappes can be reached at keithkappes@gmail.com

Personal Note – As a proud son of Carter County, I’m pleased to be reconnected with home folks and with individuals committed to community journalism at its best. Please encourage your family and friends to support the Carter County Times.

Bring on the books: Carter County Public Library announces reopening plan

Book previously donated to the Carter County Library. (Photo by Jeremy D. Wells, Carter County Times)

New Carter County librarian Christy Boggs came on at an unusual time. Shortly after she accepted the position, the library board voted to close Carter County’s two library branches to the public in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Since March the library has been closed to the public, although they have still provided home book deliveries on request. They have also moved forward with plans for their summer reading program, switching from an on-site program to an online “virtual summer reading program,” Boggs said in her report to the library board last week. 

She explained the library’s phase plan for reopening begins with curbside pickup and continued home delivery. The curbside pickup began yesterday, June 16. This portion of the plan, “involves answering phones for book requests, checking the materials out to the patron, putting them in a bag, stapling the patron’s name to the bag, and putting the materials outside according to the time arranged (between the) staff member and the patron,” she explained. Patrons arranging this style of pickup will be asked to provide their first and last name, phone number, the books or other materials requested, and their preferred pickup time and date. Patrons will not be allowed into the building at this time, even to use the bathroom. 

“They must call (or) message ahead to get materials, and their materials will be outside according to the time they stated,” Boggs said. If they have not picked their materials up at the end of the day the items will be brought back inside the library and the patron will be contacted at the telephone number they have provided. 

Books returned through the book drop will be brought back inside and quarantined for at least two days before being returned to circulation. Items may also be misted with non-bleach disinfectants if they are available and will not harm the materials.

Curbside pick-up will continue through July 20. 

While Boggs acknowledged that internet and computer access is “vital to many of our patrons” they will not allow access to those services or to printing until after July 20. If a patron has a laptop or other device that can connect to the internet from outside the library they are still welcome to connect to the library wi-fi systems. In exceptional cases, she said, staff may be able to print documents for patrons and place them outside in the same manner as books and other material, if those documents are sent to the library through email or other online access. 

The summer reading program will continue online through August 15. The program can be accessed at https://caboggs2.wixsite.com/ccpl, and is open to all age groups. Prizes will be awared at the end of the program and are expected to be available for pickup by August 20. 

The library will also continue to accept book donations, for summer reading program prizes and the annual book sale. Patrons wishing to donate books are asked to leave those donations outside, after arranging for their pickup. Those books will also be quarantined and if possible disinfected before being distributed. 

The library will open their doors to the public, with some restrictions, beginning July 20. Only three individuals at a time will be allowed inside during this early reopening phase. All toys, games and puzzles usually available to small children will be put away during this second phase. Patrons will be allowed to use restrooms and computers during this phase of reopening, but staff will be required to clean the restrooms after anyone uses them. Computers will also be sanitized after each and every use. Patrons will be strongly encouraged to wear masks when utilizing the library during this reopening phase. 

“Ultimately, Phase Two will be a cautious reopening,” Boggs said in her report. “We will allow patrons inside, but restrict how many can enter at once. Computers and patrons touching materials will be the biggest issues.” She added that there needs to be further discussion about whether patrons should be allowed to retrieve their own materials, or if they should request them at the desk and have staff retrieve them. 

If all works to plan, she said, the library will return to “normal business hours and proceedings” by August 24. Depending on recommendations from the governor, she said, “masks may or may not be required” and it will be left up to employees if they wish to continue wearing masks and gloves during this phase. Until then, though, all library employees will be required to wear masks while working.

“By wearing a mak always while on duty, you are protecting yourself and your community members,” Boggs told employees in the report. 

All of this, of course, is subject to change depending on state recommendations, she added. 

“These are strange times,” she said. “The phase plan is a simple outline, and can easily change depending on what is released by the Board of Directors or the KY Governor. Ultimately (we will) use this as a template for upcoming dates and wishful planning, but be ready for sudden changes.”

Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com

Porter bags murder suspect

Olive Hill officer made arrest Wednesday evening

Daniel Lavelle Swanner was picked up in Olive Hill last night on multiple charges, including receiving stolen property, fleeing or evading, resisting arrest, and trafficking in a controlled substance, but it’s the warrant out of Mississippi – where Swanner is a suspect in a fatal shooting – that might be the most serious charge. (Photo courtesy of Carter County Detention Center)

Olive Hill Police got more than just another suspected drug dealer when they picked up Daniel L. Swanner for trafficking in a controlled substance last night. They also got a murder suspect.

Swanner, 41, of Morton, Mississippi was arrested by Olive Hill Police officer R.D. Porter on Wednesday evening, June 10, on five counts that included receiving stolen property; fleeing or evading police; resisting arrest; theft by unlawful taking or disposition of an automobile; and trafficking in a controlled substance, first degree, first offense. On top of those five counts, though, was a warrant for his arrest in his home state of Mississippi that made Swanner a fugitive from another state, for a sixth offense. 

Swanner has been a fugitive since earlier this month, when police identified him as a suspect in the May 28 shooting death of 37-year-old Jason Lee Dennis, at the Twin Oaks Campground and Mobile Home Park in Jackson, Mississippi. According to local ABC affiliate WAPT neighbors were shocked by the shooting death, remembering Dennis as a “sweet little guy” and mild-mannered neighbor who “never messed with anybody.”

Swanner is facing murder charges in the Dennis case. Mississippi is one of 32 U.S. states that has the death penalty as a possible punishment in murder cases.

We will update this story with more information as it becomes available.

Update 6/11/20 @ 10:12pm

Arrested alongside Swanner was Gena Freeman, 50, of Peral, Mississippi. Freeman was arrested by Kentucky State Police Trooper Tyler Daniels, on a warrant for murder in the same incident.

Also responding and assisting in the arrests were Sgt. Eric Ross, of the Carter County Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Eric Kouns, Kentucky State Police (KSP), Trooper Rufus Shearer, KSP, and Detective Daniel Cook, KSP.

Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com

Paving funds decrease

County expects around $150,000 from state for paving projects

6-8 Fiscal Court
Carter County Judge Executive, Mike Malone, addresses the fiscal court in an undated file photo. *Photo by Jeremy D. Wells, Carter County Times

Carter County Judge Executive Mike Malone told the fiscal court on Monday evening that, at least when it comes to the money available from the state, he wishes every year was an election year. Malone told the court that while the county claimed a windfall $800,000 for paving projects from the state last year, this year they are back to a more standard funding rate. Malone said he expected to see $150,000 to $160,000 awarded to paving projects in the county this year. These numbers are more in line with what the county typically receives, Malone said, noting that the only time in recent memory the county has received more than $240,000 was last year, which was an election year.

“I wish it was that way every year,” he told the court. “We’d get a whole lot done.”

The court also discussed removing roads from, and taking roads into, the county system. Because the county must hold a public hearing before completing the process of removing or adding a road to the county system, no action has been taken on roads since COVID-19-related social isolation measures led to the closure of the courthouse. However, as public places begin planning to reopen, the county is again discussing road vacations and taking roads into the system, with the first public hearing scheduled for June 29, when the state will allow public meetings of 50 people or fewer to begin again.

At 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 29, the court will hold public hearings on the vacation of sections of Bailey Cemetery Road and Campbell Road, which were in discussion prior to the closure of public meetings by Governor Andy Beshear. County attorney Brian Bayes reminded magistrates that, before a road can be taken into or removed from the county system, the magistrates responsible for examining the road must present a written report of their observations. In addition to the observations of two disinterested magistrates – or magistrates who do not represent the district the road is in – the report must include comments from the head of the road department on what steps, if any, are necessary to bring the road into compliance with the county road ordinance and measurements from the head of the E911 department for purposes of public safety.

In other road news District 3 magistrate Jack Steele asked the court to consider a request to vacate a portion of Vincent Road, past the intersection with Jackson Road, that dead ends on private property. Steele also asked the county to consider a request from his constituents to take a section of Mandolin Drive that is currently private into the county road system. The court moved to begin the process of removing the section of Vincent Road from, and taking the section of Mandolin Drive into, the county road system.

Magistrate Morris Shearer brought up an issue with Cash Express leaving unrequested materials in the yards of his constituents. Shearer said he was contacted about the business leaving bags with note pads, cups, and ink pens in yards and at the end of driveways where they were sometimes run over, leading to litter up and down the roadway. Fiscal court approved a motion to have the county attorney draft a cease-and-desist letter asking the business to stop leaving these and other unrequested promotional items in private yards.

In other action the court accepted department reports and approved claims, transfers and financial statements from the treasurer’s office. The court also opened bids from American, Mountain Enterprises, and Paving Solutions on asphalt, both for delivery to the county garage and laid by the provider, and accepted bids from other providers for propane (Arrick’s) and bids for pipe, gravel, and equipment rental. No action was taken on approving bids at the time of the meeting, with Malone encouraging magistrates to examine all bids and to consider accepting all bids on gravel delivery and equipment rental. Malone explained that, while rates between providers may vary, there may be times the county needs a piece of equipment that is already rented out from the cheapest bidder. In addition, while some companies may charge more per mile for delivery of gravel or equipment, the location of the quarry or garage in relation to a project may sometimes make an otherwise more expensive provider the cheaper option based purely on miles traveled.

In his report, Carter County Jailer R.W. Boggs noted that they have begun service under a new medical contract. This has so far been beneficial, Boggs explained, because his deputies no longer have to administer medicine, but that he would have a clearer picture of the financial impact next month. Otherwise, Boggs said, the jail has been, “pretty quiet.”

EMS director Rick Loperfido told the court that his service had 472 runs in the previous month, explaining that runs in general had been down since social isolation resulted in more people staying closer to home. Loperfido also reported on improvements to the ambulance service’s budget and other cost cutting measures, and expressed his “appreciation to Daniel from the county garage” for help with efforts at maintaining vehicles, which Loperfido expects to cut vehicle costs in the long term as well.

The court also approved extending a $500,000 line of credit with the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) to get over their budget shortfall until August, when they expect more money to be released. Malone noted that the county is still waiting for reimbursement on over $200,000 from projects that were covered by FEMA and that unanticipated repair costs for the courthouse, including repairs from termite damage and plans to improve insulation to cut down on heating and cooling costs, had cut into the county’s budget. Without the line of credit, he explained, the county might lose its window of time to complete necessary road work.

Sheriff Jeff May also released numbers from his department’s 2019 property tax settlement, which came to $7,286,403.90 across various tax sources. May also released numbers for the county’s unmined coal property tax settlement, with the county’s share of that settlement amounting to $42, less $1.79 in commissions, resulting in a payment to the county of $40.21.

Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com

 

Out of the mouths of babes

“We have to be nice to other people”

“No bullying black people,” admonished Elizabeth, age 6. “We have to be nice to other people.”

This simple wisdom from the lips of a tiny wisp of a girl couldn’t have been more appropriate to the setting and intent of Grayson’s Black Lives Matter demonstration. The event – like others across the nation in recent days – was organized to protest the deaths of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, and Breonna Taylor, in Louisville, at the hands of police and to remember Ahmaud Arbery. But organizer Dee Garrett, a football player at Kentucky Christian University, wanted to follow lessons learned from his Christian faith and emphasize the power of love to change hearts.

He said he understands how some protesters’ anger might boil over. He hasn’t always turned the other cheek either, he explained.

“It took me a while to get like that,” explained Garrett, who grew up in the Cincinnati area. “I didn’t used to think like that, but it took God’s grace to change the way I used to think. That’s what mattered. Love cast out all fear.”

Garrett’s football coach at KCU, Corey Fipps, was one of the many KCU staff members to address the demonstrators, emphasizing how Christian love should lead followers of Christ to stand up for racial justice.


“I’m thinking about how God is using this moment to change hearts,” Fipps said. “Some of us needed a change of heart.”


Rose, a Haitian-born teacher from Florida who was visiting her siblings at KCU along with her two daughters – six-year-old Elizabeth and three-year-old Harper – said she was on her way home when she saw the demonstration and felt compelled to pull over and join the event.

“I was on my way back to Florida and had to stop and say ‘Thank you, Grayson,'” Rose said when she addressed the crowd.

“This is unbelieveable, I can’t believe this is happening here,” she said. “Because they (her siblings) have experienced racism here.”

She told them that growing up in Haiti, where the majority of the population has black skin, she never thought about racial animus. But, she said, it expressed itself in America in multiple, and sometimes subtle, ways. For instance, she said, she often gets comments like, “You sound so educated.” At first, she said, it didn’t hit her. She was educated, after all. But, she said, “little by little these comments add up.”

She also noted that, as a mother, she didn’t want to have “the race talk” with her two daughters, but, she explained, that talk “is unavoidable.” 

Even though her daughters, who have a white father, have more privilege because of their lighter skin they are still “black” to the people who want to harm them simply because of their heritage.

“My children are black,” she told the Times. “They’re half white, but they’re still considered black, and I want them to see that, although we have passed the whole civil rights (era) and we’re not being lynched like we used to be, there are still different ways we are being lynched. We’re being killed in traffic stops and doing things that are minimal.”

Ahmaud Arbery was chased down and killed by three white men while walking through a south Georgia neighborhood,  at least one of whom uttered racial epithets over his dead body while his friend recorded it. George Floyd died after being pinned to the ground by officer Derek Chauvin, who held his knee in the handcuffed Floyd’s throat for nearly nine minutes while the 46-year-old father told him he couldn’t breathe and cried for his mother. Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was shot eight times in her bed after police served a no-knock warrant on the address 10 miles from the residence of their suspect. Later investigation revealed that the person they were looking for was already in custody.

These are three of the most recent and high profile deaths of black men and women at the hands of police and white men who racially profiled their victims. But, as demonstrators noted, they are only the most recent in a long history of racial violence.

Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com

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