County Clerk

PERRYVILLE - One seat on the Perryville City Council is up for election Tuesday, but there will be no candidates on the ballot. Carol Reed, the sole council member up for re-election, decided not to file as a candidate and will not be on the ballot, citing personal commitments as the reason. "I have such a heavy schedule I'm not doing justice to any of the things I'm involved in," said Reed, who is employed by the Boyle County school system and is also involved in Habitat for Humanity and Hospice.

By Michael Broihier Monday, Attorney Jeff Ralston delivered a petition to Stanford Mayor Bill Miracle bearing the signatures of 87 property owners opposed to the annexation of more than 200-acres of land west of U.S. 150 into the City of Stanford. Ralston said he drafted the petition at the request of several clients. The Kentucky Revised Statutes gave the organizers of the petition drive two paths to choose from: they could either attempt to gather signatures from 50 percent of the registered voters in the area, or 50 percent of the property owners; they chose the latter.

STANFORD - Members of Lincoln County Fiscal Court took issue Tuesday with plans from the sheriff and county clerk to send their employees home with a little extra cash in their pockets. Magistrates voted against a budget that would have allowed a one-time bonus for County Clerk Sonny Spoonamore's employees, while Judge-Executive Jim Adams expressed strong disapproval of Sheriff Curt Folger's move to give his deputies 4-percent raises. Both situations stemmed from the fact that while the sheriff and county clerk's offices are responsible for their own budgets, fiscal court can still regulate salary caps, which limit how much each office can allocate for paying employees.

Applications taken for farm programs Boyle County Farm Bureau Federation will have cost-share money available for cattle handling equipment, forage and diversification programs. Applications will be available Jan. 18 at Farm Bureau Insurance Agency and Boyle County Cooperative Extension Service office. Deadline for completed applications to be returned is Feb. 1. Farmers who have received Boyle County cattle handling cost-share money in the past, are not eligible for the cattle handling program in this round of funding.

Mercer County Fiscal Court adopted a new budget for 2011-2012 during a special meeting Wednesday. The budget adopted totaled roughly $8.76 million. According to Judge-Executive Milward Dedman, as with most county budgets — revenues are down. “Probably the biggest change in the new fiscal year’s budget is the grants,” Dedman said. He said grants paid for the Safe Shelter at Anderson-Dean Park — to be used for severe weather protection, and the Emergency Management grant, which will be used to build a new emergency operation center.

LIBERTY - There were no major issues in the Casey County elections Tuesday night, according to Casey Davis, county clerk.  “It went really well. Very, very busy,” Davis said.  Casey County, which has 10,715 registered voters, 78 percent of which are Republicans, had a turnout of 57 percent. According to Davis, 6,179 is a good voter turnout for the county. The 29th District Circuit Judge's race was a closely watched one in the county, as Casey native Brian Wright competed against Judy Vance of Columbia.

HARRODSBURG - The nine candidates seeking their parties' nomination for Mercer County sheriff had two themes at a political forum Tuesday night. They promised leadership and they promised to be a working sheriff, making a not-so-veiled criticism of current Sheriff Ralph Anderson, although they did not name him. The forum at Lions Community Center drew more than 200 people. Of the nine candidates, three are Republicans and six are Democrats. Jim Caldwell, Gary Griffieth and Tommy Woosley are seeking the Republican nomination for sheriff.

STANFORD - Ron Lowe made a promise Thursday night at the Meet the Candidates forum that people don't hear every day. However, not many people were there to hear him say it. Lowe, Lincoln County clerk candidate, said if he is elected he will donate $20,000 - almost one-third of his clerk's salary - for teenage youth groups in the county's communities to help keep them out of trouble. "Politicians don't do that," he said. "I'm not a politician. " Lincoln Countians didn't take advantage of an opportunity to greet the candidates at the forum, and there weren't many candidates to meet if they had. Fewer than half of the candidates listed to speak attended, many who are involved in a primary race.

Dear Editor, In growing up alongside Chris Horn, I have admired him as he has not only been a great father and husband, but also a leader within his church and in the community. This fellow really puts his heart and soul into all of his efforts. I think back to our days at Mercer High. Whether it was studying hard to make the best grade on a test, or pushing himself just a little harder than anyone else to scramble for a loose ball on the floor, Chris has always been the guy who out-hustled everyone else in order to not only do the job but do the job at the highest possible level.

Dear Editor, I must agree with every letter that I have seen in the opinion section regarding voting precincts. I find the consolidation of precincts for the convenience of the county clerk rather than the voters to be outrageous. It makes absolutely no sense not to have at least one polling place on the east end of town. In my neighborhood, (the east end off Lexington Ave.) there are at least 20 people who I know leave early each morning to work in Lexington - a 40-minute drive.