Bare Bottom Tanning, located at 131 Jessica Lane near Save-A-Lot in Olive Hill, brings new tanning technology to the city and the county. The tanning salon offers a stand-up booth, bronzing beds, a red-light bed, and a high velocity bed among other features; all of which are new and on the cutting edge of the latest tanning technology. In addition, the salon is also looking into a spray tanning booth that might be available in the near future.

The salon is open from 11 am until 7 pm Monday through Friday, and is open on Saturdays from 11 am until 6 pm. The hours are planned to be extended, however, as the summer months approach. “We do church and family time on Sundays, so we are closed then,” co-owner Bubba Johnson said. “Everyone needs at least one day to recharge.”

Johnson said that all of the credit for conceiving of and running the shop goes to his wife Amanda and daughter Kenley, and he is quick to brag on both.

“They have all state-of-the-art stuff,” Johnson said. “She’s (wife Amanda) got a tanning bed that people in Olive Hill have never had access to, and they also have all different kinds of lotions and creams. Pretty much anything you would ever need; they even sell handbags and stuff like that.”

Johnson, who is well established in Olive Hill with his towing business and community engagement, said this more than just another business for them. They’re invested in Olive Hill and Carter County.

“She rented a spot at the Olive Hill location, but its long term because she expects to be there quite a while,” Johnson said. “She made a huge investment and completely remodeled the building from floor to ceiling. It’s a really nice facility, and a state-of-the-art facility for tanning.”

Johnson said the goal was to provide Olive Hill and the surrounding region with a tanning salon that was comfortable and served every need the customer might possibly have.

Bare Bottom Tanning not only provides for pre-tanning and after-tanning care but also offers some potential health benefits.

“The red-light bed she has is really good to help with arthritis and muscle pain,” Johnson said. “It also helps with other aches and pains and can be used for skin pigments. When you research red-light beds, you’ll find that the list of what it can do goes on and on.”

Johnson said the best thing for residents that are interested in using the facility, or are simply curious about what their equipment can be used for, is to just come visit and see for themselves. The staff will be more than willing to explain everything and work with individuals on what their goals and needs might be, and how Bare Bottom Tanning can help them meet those needs in the best way possible.

“They do run packages like monthly memberships,” Johnson said. “They welcome walk-ins, and every kind of customer. You can spend as little as ten dollars. Or it can go higher depending upon what you actually need. “

Johnson said his wife and daughter have worked tirelessly to bring what they believe is a one-of-a-kind tanning experience to Olive Hill.

“When they picked this building out for the tanning salon, they started remodeling. It took them over a year of hard work to put this all together.”

Johnson said an indirect benefit of their hard work and investment of independent capital was that initially there were four empty buildings near the one now housing Bare Bottom Tanning. Since the business opened and has been promoted, two of those empty buildings are now the home of two new businesses (a beauty salon and a spa) for Olive Hill. And, Johnson said, there is another entrepreneur interested in renting the two other available buildings.

Bare Bottom Tanning can be reached at 606.315.2133, by email at barebottomtanning@outlook.com, or by visiting their Facebook page.

Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com

All the original stained-glass windows from the 1941 construction of the Bayless Memorial Presbyterian Church in Grayson, were recently restored as part of the church’s ongoing maintenance and improvement efforts. The church’s charter began in 1878, and after a relocation, has been in its current location since 1912. That church building was lost in a fire, but was rebuilt around 1941 with brick from the Hitchins Brick Yard.

The recent restoration process included refitting all of the joints between each piece of glass that was placed together to make the windowpanes, as well as each window being treated and having a clear, separate pane installed in each window casing. The restoration work was performed by Willet Studios, a company based out of North Carolina. During the process, the studio was able to replace some of the individual glass pieces that had been damaged, matching them perfectly to the existing windows.

“Those are real lead glass, stained glass windows,” Donny Malone said, explaining why the results from the project were so exceptional.

Malone said that after the repairs were made, Willet Studios also regrouted the windows and restabilized them.

“It was neat to watch them,” Malone said. “They are truly artisans. And the windows look beautiful.”

“The history of the windows is quite interesting,” Malone added. “I recently found some documents about who donated the windows and what the original cost was. Each one of those windows cost $34.60 and contain the names of those who donated.”

The total cost for all the windows purchased was $340.90, Malone said. Comparatively, the money spent would be the equivalent of at least $7,500 today – but the windows themselves could be much more depending upon the current market.

Malone said the church raised money for the project internally and was fortunate to have some generous donors as well.

“We wanted to do it for years and we knew it needed to be done, so we were saving up for it,” he said.

As for the cost of the window restoration project, Malone said it wasn’t cheap, but it also wasn’t extravagant.

“Let’s just say it was a lot more than they cost originally,” Malone said with good humor.

Malone is currently gathering all the information he can find on the original donors who made the beautiful stained-glass windows possible, so the church can have it as a compilation of part of its history in the community. The names on the windows include Cova and Margaret Baker, who founded and ran Baker’s Department Store in Grayson, as well as Charles and Emma Woolery, family of actor, musician, and game show host Chuck Woolery.

“The people who donated these windows are still very much alive in the church memory,” Malone said. “And I plan to put cards with each window to help preserve this for the younger generation.”

Malone said the window restoration project not only helped to preserve the historic beauty of the church, but it also yielded a positive result to the church’s overhead expenses.

“I remember the church being somewhat cold and drafty as a child,” Malone remembered. “But now it is much warmer and much more cost effective to heat and cool.”

This is in addition to the church upgrading all of the conventional windows to double-paned as well, compounding the comfort of both the parishioners and the other members of the community who use the building.

“We really want the community to be able to use the church because we see it as a blessing to the community, and we like to share it. We are more than happy to let people use our building who need it.”

Pastor Josh Akers echoed Malone’s sentiments of Bayless Memorial Presbyterian Church being part of the community and of the church welcoming the community to use its facilities.

“We have done a massive amount of renovations over the past 12 years,” Akers said. “We have renovated the kitchen and fellowship hall downstairs, one of the bathrooms, and the windows.”

The renovations have not been extravagant, Akers said, but rather geared toward the practical to make the building more usable to the community.

“It has made the building more energy efficient and usable,” Akers said. “And that’s one of the things we are proud of.”

“The church has in the past been made use of for yoga classes, CPR classes, and an exercise class for quite a while, among other things. And we have also hosted community dinners as well,” Akers said. “It has been important to us that the building see some use beyond just Sunday mornings. Because if it just sits here empty when we aren’t using it, then we feel like we as a congregation aren’t doing our job to be part of the community.”

“We don’t see the building as our asset but rather as a community asset,” Malone added.

Akers agreed with Malone’s assessment and added his own thoughts on the mission of the church in the community.

“We don’t do things for the community just so they will attend our church, though they are more than welcome to and we would be glad if they did,” Akers said. “We do it because we have a strong sense of our place in the community. The community needs us and we want to be good neighbors in the community. So, we organize everything we do around that.”

Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com

Troy’s Law, a piece of legislation designed to address safety concerns and add an extra layer of protection for individuals operating towing vehicles, has made an adjustment to its initial proposal and is gaining support. The law, named for wrecker operator Troy Caldwell who tragically lost his life while operating his rollback, initially proposed that wreckers, rollbacks, and other towing vehicles be allowed to add blue flashing lights to their vehicles.

It was proposed that adding those lights would dramatically increase public attention during emergency calls, thereby improving the safety of not only towing operators but others on the state’s roadways. The proposed law garnered initial public support, though there was pushback from those who believed that blue flashing lights would confuse tow operators with law enforcement, and initially the proposed law failed to pass. A recent adjustment, however, has increased the chances of the proposed law being adopted.

Local tow operator Bubba Johnson, a long-time friend of Troy Caldwell, was and is one of the law’s staunchest supporters.

“Troy’s Law made it through the (Kentucky) House 92 to 0,” Johnson said. “Now we are moving on, and it has to be assigned to a Senate Committee, and then the Senate Committee will have to vote on it. Then it will move on to the Senate House floor, be voted on, and move to the governor’s desk.” Once those hurdles are cleared, the law will become official, Johnson said.

Johnson said he believes Troy’s Law has enough support to ultimately become Kentucky Law.

“I have been working with senators since we realized it went through the House of Representatives,” Johnson said. “I started calling and contacting senators and so far I have been getting really great feedback. But we are kind of in limbo waiting on it to be assigned to a committee.”

Johnson said that once Troy’s Law is assigned to a committee, he can start working toward picking up cosponsors to help get it passed through. So far, he said, Representative Richard White has been making connections as have Senator Robin Webb and Senator Steven West.

“The feedback we are getting seems to be really positive,” Johnson said. “Everyone seems to be in favor of it.”

Johnson also commented on the adjustment to the proposed law that has increased support for it. “We made a compromise,” he said. “We changed from blue lights to green lights. I had a meeting with the Fraternal Order of Police. And had discussions with the Kentucky State Police. They were really wanting us to try the green lights before we do the blue we wanted.”

“They are wanting to hold onto the blue lights for themselves,” Johnson said. “And you have to compromise sometimes to move forward.”

Johnson said that he realized Troy’s Law, the proposed law to honor his fallen friend and fellow tow operator, was not going to proceed without some sort of compromise. Johnson was determined to see Troy’s Law passed regardless of how long it required, but rather than keep hitting a brick wall year after year, he knew some reasonable accommodation needed to be made.

“I felt like we should compromise,” he said. “So, we will run these green lights a few years and collect some data. That way we can see how much of a difference it makes.”

Johnson said there are some tow operators that have already begun running the green lights because they feel it is a ‘done deal,’ but it won’t become official until after Troy’s Law crosses the governor’s desk.

“The great thing about Troy’s Law is not just the safety for people in the towing industry,” Johnson said.

The people responsible for Troy Caldwell’s death escaped prosecution, he said, and are currently evading law enforcement.

“There will never be any true justice for Troy,” Caldwell said sadly. “But Troy’s Law will help keep his death from being in vain. His name will be in Kentucky Law and will always be talked about. And more importantly, his story will always be told.”

Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com

By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times

An Olive Hill man, 30-year-old Donavan Kyle Porter, was announced deceased on scene by the Rowan County Coroner’s office following an accident that occurred Saturday evening during a Kentucky State Police (KSP) pursuit.

According to a release from the KSP, a trooper on patrol in Bath County observed a speeding vehicle near the 128-mile marker on I-64 and attempted to pull him over at around 8:45 p.m. The vehicle, a gray colored 2017 Chevrolet Camaro, increased their speed instead of pulling over, leading to a pursuit.

According to the KSP release the vehicle exited the interstate onto KY 801 at exit 133, where the trooper lost sight of the vehicle and ended his pursuit approximately five minutes after beginning it.

Shortly after 9 p.m., and following reports of the speeding vehicle from residents along the stretch 801, a second KSP trooper located the Camaro and again attempted a stop. During the pursuit by the second officer Porter apparently lost control of the vehicle as they approached the intersection of KY 801 and KY 519. According to the KSP report this resulted in “the vehicle leaving the roadway and striking a utility pole at around 9:05 p.m.”

The vehicle then caught fire, according to the KSP report, and “became fully engulfed.” Though troopers reportedly “made every effort to remove the driver from the vehicle,” they “were unsuccessful.”

Donovan was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Rowan County Coroner’s office and was transported to the medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.

The Kentucky State Police Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) is investigating the incident, and the investigation remains open and ongoing.

The Carter County Times has been in contact with KSP regarding this incident, and will provide updates with additional details as they become available.

Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com