Fair board responsible for fairgrounds

GREENUP Greenup County Judge-Executive Bobby Hall opened Tuesday’s monthly fiscal court meeting by clarifying who is responsible for handling bills and insurance claims regarding the county fairgrounds.

Early April storms wreaked havoc on the fairgrounds as trees and wind damaged buildings.

Hall said the fairgrounds are not funded by tax dollars “unlike other entities.” The county owns the fairgrounds, but the fair board operates the grounds.

“The fair board is responsible for paying the bills, including the insurance premiums,” Hall said during the meeting, which was conducted in Judge Jeff Preston’s courtroom on Tuesday. The usual meeting place is currently affected by the primary election.

“The insurance claims due to recent storm damage and the rebuilding process is the responsibility of the fair board, not the fiscal court,” Hall said. “… By law, the fiscal court has no jurisdiction in the day-to-day operation of the fairgrounds.”

Hall said it is much like the health department, the extension office, the library and ambulance service in that regard.

“We, the fiscal court, work side by side with these boards, but we do not control the finances and the day-to-day operations,” Hall said. “Our legal department has confirmed the information and as the fiscal court we want to eliminate as many rumors, gossip and hearsay as possible.”

Other notable items from Tuesday’s meeting:

• The new Greenup County Farmers Market pavilion will officially open on Saturday at 9 a.m. It is next door to the extension service in Wurtland.

• Hall proclaimed April 19, 2024, “Virgil Headley Day.” Headley, of South Shore, turned 101 years old on that day. Headley served nearly three years in the Navy during World War II.

• The Greenup County High School EMT class is officially a “go.” As the newspaper published in March, the school district announced a partnership with the Greenup County Ambulance Authority in an effort to eventually issue EMT certifications to students.

Kevin Callihan, the Ambulance Authority’s director, said the class has been approved by KBEMS and the school system. Students have been selected for the fall of 2024. The plan is for the class to provide dual-class credit through KCTCS — six hours of college credit.

The Authority reported 629 total calls for April 2024. Callihan said Greenup County ambulances tallied 15,663 miles in April.

• Public Safety Director Buford Hurley requested approval of an emergency purchase of a new “command truck.” The previous one — a 1980 school bus — is “dead in the water,” Hurley said. The emergency purchase, which was approved, will allow Public Safety to purchase one currently in inventory.

If an emergency was not declared, it would take 24 months to get a new command vehicle, according to Hurley. The old bus became “surplus.”

• Emergency Management Director Garth Wireman reported “several” missing juvenile calls over the last month. The good news is all of them returned safely to their homes.

• Anne Stephens, of the Greenup County Extension Office, shared results of the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Community Needs Assessment. It’s a tool the office uses when assembling its “plan of work” every five years.

“It gives us that accountability to our county and to the University of Kentucky for what it is we’re doing on a daily basis,” Stephens said.

Stephens highlighted the top 15 priority issues for Greenup County. Among them, according to the study, are as follows: ensuring individuals and families have access to affordable, nutritious food; access to high-speed internet; and minimizing substance abuse.

“We’re asking the community to talk to us about what are the most important things we can be doing for our community,” Stephens said.

• The fiscal court voted to allow a gate to be erected at Skeens Cemetery Road.