Fire Hydrants

The fire hydrant painting project is reaching completion, and the Arts Commission of Danville/Boyle County couldn't be happier with the results.  This is a special thank you to all those community members of all ages who took time from their busy lives to put stars and stripes or swirls on hydrants all around town. Thanks, also, to Woody Ball and the Danville City Fire Department for guidance and assistance in readying the hydrants.   Here's a big round of applause to DecoArt, our corporate sponsor, who supplied the paint, the designs and the instructions for this project.

JUNCTION CITY - Questions arose about the city's fire hydrants durings Tuesday's Junction City Council meeting. Councilman Kenny Baldwin questioned the location of hydrants in the city, especially those with stronger water lines. According to councilman and former fire chief Jimmy Gipson, some places were difficult to put in hydrants and some hydrants were on the ends of lines, causing the pressure to be lessened.  In some locations, hydrants need to be added. Gipson said the number of houses to hydrants was to be three houses to 600 feet of water line.

The Danville Fire Department will begin flushing fire hydrants Tuesday. Flushing will be done between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The tests are to ensure all hydrants and water lines are working and can be used in case of an emergency. Flushing may cause discoloration in household water and is caused by iron deposits being disturbed. Deposits build up inside pressure tanks, water heaters and water pipes. The discoloration is common when household water lines are moved, replaced, back flushed or repaired.

Danville released a list Thursday of 17 fire hydrants that need repairs or replacement, three more than reported at at City Commission meeting Monday. The city repaired a leaky hydrant in Perryville between Bob Hill and Roger Hundley's houses, City Manager Darrell Blenniss said Wednesday, and added that it always worked, it was just leaky. Hill and Hundley appeared before the Danville City Commission Monday night about the problem. The work resulted in a boil-water advisory for Perryville for water customers who live in the section of Perryville east of the Chaplin River.

HARRODSBURG - Water pressure or the lack of it may slow developers of Harrods Glen subdivision. Shawn Moore, executive director of Greater Harrodsburg/Mercer County Planning and Zoning Commission, said city government has asked that plans be tabled until the problem of fire hydrants in the subdivision can be worked out. The subdivision behind Jeff Sachs Auto is served by North Mercer Water District, and engineer Kendal Wise said it is...

The Nicholasville Fire Department wil be testing fire hydrants throughout the city during the month of May. Deputy chief Kevin Baker said water service throughout the city should not be effected.

WAYNESBURG - An early-morning fire destroyed a Lincoln County home today. The house fire on Parker Road began about 3 a.m. while three people were still inside, WLEX 18 reported. All three made it out safely, as firefighters from Lincoln and Pulaski county fire departments battled the blaze. Crews had a difficult time fighting the flames because no fire hydrants were located near the rural home, WLEX reported.

PERRYVILLE - Police coverage in Perryville and Boyle County was a focal point of discussion at Thursday's Perryville City Council meeting. During a recent interview with The Advocate-Messenger, Boyle Sheriff Marty Elliott said his department was dangerously understaffed and had the same number of road deputies as in 1985. “Sheriff Elliott's recent comments in the newspaper about manpower in the county have me a little bit concerned,” said Perryville Councilman Harold Jones.

The Nicholasville Fire Department battled a mobile home fire just before noon on Saturday. Accoridng to the NFD report, a fire broke out at 3181 Catnip Hill Road. When firefighters arrived, they discovered smoke coming from the home and found fire conditions in a wall of the back bedroom. Firefighters were on scene for just over an hour. Members of the Jessamine County Fire District were also called to the scene for mutual aid. “Out in that area, we do not have any fire hydrants, so we had to use the mutual aid from the county,” deputy chief Kevin Baker said.

Winchester Municipal Utilities employee Chad Wells applied a fresh coat of paint to a fire hydrant on Fitch Avenue on the College Park property this week, top photo. Wells has been sprucing up WMU's fire hydrants around College Park and on streets that surround the park in preparation for the 33rd annual Daniel Boone Pioneer Festival. Each hydrant top is painted a different color to indicate the water pressure to firefighters, with this hydrant's top being painted red, bottom photo.

JUNCTION CITY - Questions arose about the city's fire hydrants durings Tuesday's Junction City Council meeting. Councilman Kenny Baldwin questioned the location of hydrants in the city, especially those with stronger water lines. According to councilman and former fire chief Jimmy Gipson, some places were difficult to put in hydrants and some hydrants were on the ends of lines, causing the pressure to be lessened.  In some locations, hydrants need to be added. Gipson said the number of houses to hydrants was to be three houses to 600 feet of water line.

The Nicholasville Fire Department wil be testing fire hydrants throughout the city during the month of May. Deputy chief Kevin Baker said water service throughout the city should not be effected.

Woody Stigall, a volunteer in Perryville, wears many hats as he goes around town to see what needs to be done. He's a volunteer firefighter; displays red, white and blue flags along the main streets on  holidays and Sundays; paints fire hydrants; and is a member and chaplain of the Sons of American Legion Post, which sponsors the 106 American flags displayed to honor the military veterans. Stigall was recognized last month by Fox 56 Television and Becker Law office in Lexington for “Going the Extra  Mile” and received a $500 cash prize.

Investigators are trying to determine what started a blaze destroyed the office at Rod Hatfield's used car lot after and damaged the rest of the building early this morning. Firefighters were called to the scene on West Lexington Avenue shortly after 5 a.m. today to find flames shooting through the roof, part of which had already collapsed. Winchester Fire-EMS Major Greg Beam said the roof and attic over four garage bays in the back also were damaged to the point that it was not safe to enter.

The Nicholasville Fire Department battled a mobile home fire just before noon on Saturday. Accoridng to the NFD report, a fire broke out at 3181 Catnip Hill Road. When firefighters arrived, they discovered smoke coming from the home and found fire conditions in a wall of the back bedroom. Firefighters were on scene for just over an hour. Members of the Jessamine County Fire District were also called to the scene for mutual aid. “Out in that area, we do not have any fire hydrants, so we had to use the mutual aid from the county,” deputy chief Kevin Baker said.

At long last, the Armory Place area of Nicholasville will soon have an up-to-date water distribution system after Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson announced that the city and Jessamine County Fiscal Court were awarded a $391,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Friday morning. According to Nicholasville utilities director Tom Calkins, the Armory Place area includes High and Gayle streets, Armory Place, Jessamine, Bristol, Twilight and Terrace avenues. The grant will be used for the installation of new water lines, fire hydrants, valves and meters to upgrade the undersized and obsolete distribution water system within the designated area.

The fire hydrant painting project is reaching completion, and the Arts Commission of Danville/Boyle County couldn't be happier with the results.  This is a special thank you to all those community members of all ages who took time from their busy lives to put stars and stripes or swirls on hydrants all around town. Thanks, also, to Woody Ball and the Danville City Fire Department for guidance and assistance in readying the hydrants.   Here's a big round of applause to DecoArt, our corporate sponsor, who supplied the paint, the designs and the instructions for this project.

The Winchester Municipal Utilities Commission approved a measure in its regular meeting Thursday that could change how fire hydrants are painted in Clark County. Utility commissioners approved a change order to a bid approved two weeks ago to have 160 of the county's 2,200 hydrants painted by an outside contractor. In years past, WMU has handled the painting in-house. “We were painting them ourselves,” WMU general manager Mike Flynn said. “We have never had anyone in here to paint these hydrants.

PERRYVILLE - Police coverage in Perryville and Boyle County was a focal point of discussion at Thursday's Perryville City Council meeting. During a recent interview with The Advocate-Messenger, Boyle Sheriff Marty Elliott said his department was dangerously understaffed and had the same number of road deputies as in 1985. “Sheriff Elliott's recent comments in the newspaper about manpower in the county have me a little bit concerned,” said Perryville Councilman Harold Jones.

Danville fire officials will continue flushing hydrants throughout the city to ensure they will work in an emergency.  Signs will be posted in each area before flushing begins. Streets include adjacent areas and roadways. Rain and emergencies may delay testing. Flushing will be done between 8:30 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. on the following days: Monday: Stanford Road area, Stewarts Lane and Boyle County Government Center April 17: Highland Court, Duncan Hill, Baughman and Imperial Mobile Home Park April 18: Cloverdale, Ridgefield and Paula Heights subdivisions April 19: Lincoln, Jefferson, Madison, Lisa areas and Brookshire subdivision April 20: South Danville bypass area, Walton and May Boulevard and Popplewell Hydrant flushing may cause discoloration of your household water in or near the areas being tested, which is a result of iron deposits being disturbed during the flushing process.