Civil War Preservation Trust

One Thumb Up, One Thumb Down The Danville City Commission finds itself with two important positions to fill, and you wouldn't get much of an argument if you suggested they are the two most important - the city manager and the chief of police. That's a double handful for a new mayor and a commission sworn in for just three months. Interims have been appointed, and assistant Chief Tony Gray will run the shop while the commission ponders a replacement for Chief Jeff Peek, who is retiring.

PERRYVILLE - A former National Park Service employee, who worked at Civil War battlefields in Virginia and New York, has been named executive director for the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association. Chris Kolakowski assumed his position in November with the non-profit organization charged with preserving and interpreting Kentucky's largest Civil War battleground. He replaces Stuart Sanders, who took a position at the Kentucky History Center in Frankfort. With his background in preservation and tourism, Kolakowski will handle registration for the national Civil War re-enactment scheduled in October.

PERRYVILLE - In 1992 the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site amounted to 98 acres of land, a very small piece of property compared to the size of land over which the battle was fought. In mid-September, the battlefield lands purchased and protected totaled 520 acres, and Christopher L. Kolakowski, executive director of the Perryville Enhancement Project and the Perryville Battlefield Protection Association, hopes 54 acres will be added soon. "That's quite a success," Kolakowski says.

PERRYVILLE - The Perryville City Council voted 4-1 Thursday night against a zone change approved by Boyle County Planning and Zoning that would have allowed a subdivision on land bordering Perryville Battlefield. Landowner Pete Coyle was seeking a zone change that would have allowed for a housing project. Although the zone change was approved by planning and zoning, the city council spoke in favor of preserving the historical significance of the land bordering the battlefield. In releasing its annual Most Endangered Battlefields report for 2008, The Civil War Preservation Trust named Perryville as one of 10 endangered sites.

Perryville Battlefield is one of the most endangered battlefields in the nation, a national Civil War preservation group says. The Civil War Preservation Trust recently released its annual Most Endangered Battlefields report for 2008, and the 10 sites on the list include Perryville. The battlefield was listed because a "developer is asking for the last agriculturally zoned land within Perryville city limits to be rezoned for highway commercial and high-density residential uses.

Heritage Hospice plans run Heritage Hospice Inc.'s Ninth Annual HOPE Run will be 10 a.m.-noon April 12 at the new Heritage Hospice building in Danville. Registrationo fee is $10. A free T-shirt will go to the first 100 to register. All proceeds go to Heritage Hospice Inc., sponsored by Concerned Bikers of KY Inc. Perryville Battlefield to dedicate signs The Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association, a nonprofit organization charged with preserving and interpreting Kentucky's largest Civil War battleground, will dedicate two new signs that honor Indiana soldiers 11 a.m. Saturday at the 38th Indiana sign at Perryville Battlefield.

Volunteers are needed for spring cleanup projects that begin this weekend and run through the end of April. Projects include the Adopt-a-Highway for state highways, the Boyle County Solid Waste Department cleanup, and Park Day at Perryville Battlefield Historic Site. Groups working with the Adopt-a-Highway Spring Clean Week Sunday through April 8 are asked to pick up trash along their highways, said David Thacker of the district Transportation Cabinet office in Lexington. Only 10 percent of highways in Boyle County, 4 percent in Mercer, and 3 percent in Garrard have been adopted.

PERRYVILLE - A portion of the land that once thrived as an African-American farm community has been purchased by the state and will be preserved by the state Department of Parks. A deed recorded in Boyle County clerk's office states that Deborah S. and James P. Mullaney sold 96 acres on Hays May Road to the state for $390,831. That is a portion of the 150 acres where the Sleettown community was located in the early 1900s, adjacent to the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site.

PERRYVILLE - Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site has scheduled a wide variety of living history events for spring and summer. Including re-enactors, speakers and living history demonstrations, many of the events are co-sponsored by the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association, a non-profit organization preserving and interpreting Kentucky's largest Civil War battleground. "These living history events are an excellent way to learn about Kentucky's Civil War period," said Kurt Holman, manager of the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site.

Technology is taking some of the pressure off the Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau when it comes to fielding questions about The Great American Brass Band Festival. Carolyn Crabtree, secretary, said calls to the office have declined as the number of hits on the bureau's Web site increase. And the Web site has been busy this year. Still, there have been some desperate callers seeking hotel rooms. There are still a few left, she said. "Newcomers don't realize how big this thing is," Crabtree said.