Great Race

RICHMOND - Jenna Lee knew how her race was supposed to go, and it wasn't supposed to go like this. The Casey County runner wasn't supposed to take the lead in the 800-meter run in the homestretch. And she certainly wasn't supposed to win. But she did win, running a time she certainly wasn't supposed to run to take first place at the Class AA, Region 4 meet Saturday at Eastern Kentucky University. Lee was seeded fourth coming into the regional, nearly four seconds behind the best time turned in. But she cut five seconds off her personal-best time by finishing in 2 minutes, 26.41 seconds.

Dear Editor: At this special season of Thanksgiving, we at historic Penn's Store wish to extend our sincere appreciation and thanks to all in central Kentucky who attended the 2004 Great Outhouse Blowout. You were a terrific crowd! And, especially to the following whose assistance and contributions made the event possible, we salute you! The Advocate -Messenger, Bob Allen Motor Mall, Central Kentucky Federal, Century 21, Danville Bike & Footwear, Ephraim McDowell Health Care Foundation, Inter-County Energy, J&J Auto, McGlone Construction Co., Papa Johns Pizza, Slusher Enterprises, Southern States, Stith Funeral Home, Stuart Powell Ford, Wild Turkey Distillers, John "Muff" Adams, Ken Ansted, Josh Ayoroa, Jeremy Brown, Joe Cissell, Ed Cinnamond, John Coffey, Modine Ellis, Sen. Dan Kelly, Ed Lanham, Jr., Pat Moddrelle, King Pruitt, James Rogers, Larry Sanders, and Mr. and Mrs. Josh Stinnett.

Hugh Coomer will face Jamey Gay in a run-off for mayor of Danville in November after a near-tie Tuesday. Coomer inched over Gay by 11 votes. The two were the top vote-getters in the nonpartisan race. Gay received 1,724 votes, or 48 percent, and Coomer, 1,735 votes, also 48 percent. The third candidate, William Weyman, received 129 votes or 4 percent. Voters also narrowed the field for Danville City Commission from 10 to eight Tuesday. Terry Crowley, Kevin Caudill, Janet Hamner, Norma Gail Louis, Mike Orberson, George Cunningham, Steve Becker and Nathaniel Doneghy will face each other in a run-off for the four commission seats in November.

Danville coach Chris Verhoven knew if he put two-time defending state champion Ross Hempel in the 800-meter run at the All "A" Classic here Saturday he would not be challenged. Instead, he sent Hempel to Louisville to run in the Eastern Relays at the University of Louisville - the site of the Class A state track meet next month - where he would have to face some of the state's best runners. Hempel made the move pay off when he won Saturday's race in Louisville in 1 minute, 56.22 seconds.

The three-horse race for the Jessamine County Property Valuation Administrator turned into a lopsided affair for incumbent Brad Freeman Tuesday night. Freeman cruised to a near 5,000-vote win over Democrat Alex Carter and write-in candidate Darrell York. Freeman garnered 9,968 votes to Carter’s 5,062. York collected 415 votes. Freeman, a Republican, credited a power greater than his for his victory. “It was a lot of hard work, and most of all, we’ve drenched this campaign in prayer, and we give God the glory,” he said.

SOMERSET - Sam Morgan finished runner-up Saturday and Danville's Ross Hempel was fourth at the Southern Harrier Classic. "Sam had a great race," Boyle coach Joni Morgan said. "Considering it was his second race in three days, he had an excellent performance. " Morgan, who finished in 17:18, was coming off a win at the Boyle County Invitational Thursday. Diamond Pace of Danville was 14th and led area girls. BOYS RESULTS Teams standings - 1. Southwestern 51; 2. Butler 68; 3. North Hardin 135; 4. Somerset 136; 5. Danvillle 149; 6. Rowan County 184; 7. Knox Central 187; 8. Boyle Cunty 204; 9. Mercer County 242; 10. DeSales 244; 11. Monticello 249; 12. Bell County 257; 13. Barren Couty 309; 14. Paintsvillle 332; 15. Corbin 367; 16. Cawood 398. BOYLE - 2. Sam Morgan 17:19; 17. John Anderson 18:32; 61. Herbie Lynn 20:52; 66. Marcus Fluty 21:06; 81. Ed Raispis 22:42; DANVILLE - 4. Ross Hempel 17:33; 22. Byron Hempel 18:52; 38. Jamie Grey 19:50; 39. Cole Steber 119:50; 65. Reid Williams 21:05; 74. Joe Will 21:57; 86. Daniel Bodner 23:05; 87. Jared Rehberg 23:06; 88. Jamel Grey 23:10; 93. Jared Phillips 24:35.

In the only contested local race in Tuesday's election, Republican Brad Freeman defeated Democrat candidate and current 6th District Magistrate Duane McCuddy, garnering 6,071 votes to McCuddy's 5,377. This will be the first term for Freeman who was appointed interim PVA in July by Gov. Ernie Fletcher, following the retirement of Bob Thompson earlier in the year. Unlike the governor's race where both candidate's resorted to mud slinging at every opportunity, both candidates ran a clean race, showing respect for each other.

One thing is for certain come November. Nicholasville will have a new mayor ... or maybe an old one. Incumbent John P. Martin's bid for re-election fell 357 votes short of advancing to November's general election. Former mayor Sam Corman garnered 1,881 or 41.56 percent of the vote while current city commissioner Russ Meyer came in second with 1,439 or 31.79 percent of the vote. Martin carried 1,082 votes while Bill Hurst Jr. finished with 124. Corman - who'd served as mayor for 13 years before being beaten out by Martin in 2002 - beamed about a chance to once again serve as the city's mayor.

SOMERSET - The George Rogers Clark cross country teams went head-to-head in a face off with regional teams in a meet Saturday in Somerset and took fourth-place honors. The meet had implications for the upcoming regional meet scheduled for Saturday as 20 teams converged on GE Park in the Pulaski County Invitational. Among the teams present were all of the Lady Cardinals' regional foes, except for Madison Central. The Lady Indians were scheduled to attend but didn't appear. Madison Cenral girls are ranked seventh in the region, while the Lady Cards entered the competition ranked third.

WINCHESTER ? Lincoln's Emily Frith finished first in a field of 50 for her first Class 3A, Region 7 Championship title. Frith, an LCHS junior, emerged from the middle of the field to knock out the race favorite and claim the win Saturday at Lykins Park in a time of 20:59.78. "I'm really, really happy," said Frith, who caused a brief scare at the finish line after she collapsed face-down from exhaustion. "I feel great," she smiled after being helped up by Patriot runner Eric Sanders.

The three-horse race for the Jessamine County Property Valuation Administrator turned into a lopsided affair for incumbent Brad Freeman Tuesday night. Freeman cruised to a near 5,000-vote win over Democrat Alex Carter and write-in candidate Darrell York. Freeman garnered 9,968 votes to Carter’s 5,062. York collected 415 votes. Freeman, a Republican, credited a power greater than his for his victory. “It was a lot of hard work, and most of all, we’ve drenched this campaign in prayer, and we give God the glory,” he said.

WINCHESTER ? Lincoln's Emily Frith finished first in a field of 50 for her first Class 3A, Region 7 Championship title. Frith, an LCHS junior, emerged from the middle of the field to knock out the race favorite and claim the win Saturday at Lykins Park in a time of 20:59.78. "I'm really, really happy," said Frith, who caused a brief scare at the finish line after she collapsed face-down from exhaustion. "I feel great," she smiled after being helped up by Patriot runner Eric Sanders.

SOMERSET - The George Rogers Clark cross country teams went head-to-head in a face off with regional teams in a meet Saturday in Somerset and took fourth-place honors. The meet had implications for the upcoming regional meet scheduled for Saturday as 20 teams converged on GE Park in the Pulaski County Invitational. Among the teams present were all of the Lady Cardinals' regional foes, except for Madison Central. The Lady Indians were scheduled to attend but didn't appear. Madison Cenral girls are ranked seventh in the region, while the Lady Cards entered the competition ranked third.

Danville coach Chris Verhoven knew if he put two-time defending state champion Ross Hempel in the 800-meter run at the All "A" Classic here Saturday he would not be challenged. Instead, he sent Hempel to Louisville to run in the Eastern Relays at the University of Louisville - the site of the Class A state track meet next month - where he would have to face some of the state's best runners. Hempel made the move pay off when he won Saturday's race in Louisville in 1 minute, 56.22 seconds.

The Lincoln County High School Lady Patriot and Patriot cross country teams took their seasons as far as they could, running their final races in the KHSAA Class 3A Cross Country State Championships. Four-hundred thirteen runners trotted over the grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington Saturday in the state finals, and, while no Lady Patriot or Patriot took their place on the awards podium, Lincoln celebrated its best meet of the season. "As far as time goes, this was the best meet for everybody," said Lincoln Coach John Sanders.

In the only contested local race in Tuesday's election, Republican Brad Freeman defeated Democrat candidate and current 6th District Magistrate Duane McCuddy, garnering 6,071 votes to McCuddy's 5,377. This will be the first term for Freeman who was appointed interim PVA in July by Gov. Ernie Fletcher, following the retirement of Bob Thompson earlier in the year. Unlike the governor's race where both candidate's resorted to mud slinging at every opportunity, both candidates ran a clean race, showing respect for each other.

SOMERSET - Sam Morgan finished runner-up Saturday and Danville's Ross Hempel was fourth at the Southern Harrier Classic. "Sam had a great race," Boyle coach Joni Morgan said. "Considering it was his second race in three days, he had an excellent performance. " Morgan, who finished in 17:18, was coming off a win at the Boyle County Invitational Thursday. Diamond Pace of Danville was 14th and led area girls. BOYS RESULTS Teams standings - 1. Southwestern 51; 2. Butler 68; 3. North Hardin 135; 4. Somerset 136; 5. Danvillle 149; 6. Rowan County 184; 7. Knox Central 187; 8. Boyle Cunty 204; 9. Mercer County 242; 10. DeSales 244; 11. Monticello 249; 12. Bell County 257; 13. Barren Couty 309; 14. Paintsvillle 332; 15. Corbin 367; 16. Cawood 398. BOYLE - 2. Sam Morgan 17:19; 17. John Anderson 18:32; 61. Herbie Lynn 20:52; 66. Marcus Fluty 21:06; 81. Ed Raispis 22:42; DANVILLE - 4. Ross Hempel 17:33; 22. Byron Hempel 18:52; 38. Jamie Grey 19:50; 39. Cole Steber 119:50; 65. Reid Williams 21:05; 74. Joe Will 21:57; 86. Daniel Bodner 23:05; 87. Jared Rehberg 23:06; 88. Jamel Grey 23:10; 93. Jared Phillips 24:35.

One thing is for certain come November. Nicholasville will have a new mayor ... or maybe an old one. Incumbent John P. Martin's bid for re-election fell 357 votes short of advancing to November's general election. Former mayor Sam Corman garnered 1,881 or 41.56 percent of the vote while current city commissioner Russ Meyer came in second with 1,439 or 31.79 percent of the vote. Martin carried 1,082 votes while Bill Hurst Jr. finished with 124. Corman - who'd served as mayor for 13 years before being beaten out by Martin in 2002 - beamed about a chance to once again serve as the city's mayor.

Hugh Coomer will face Jamey Gay in a run-off for mayor of Danville in November after a near-tie Tuesday. Coomer inched over Gay by 11 votes. The two were the top vote-getters in the nonpartisan race. Gay received 1,724 votes, or 48 percent, and Coomer, 1,735 votes, also 48 percent. The third candidate, William Weyman, received 129 votes or 4 percent. Voters also narrowed the field for Danville City Commission from 10 to eight Tuesday. Terry Crowley, Kevin Caudill, Janet Hamner, Norma Gail Louis, Mike Orberson, George Cunningham, Steve Becker and Nathaniel Doneghy will face each other in a run-off for the four commission seats in November.

RICHMOND - Jenna Lee knew how her race was supposed to go, and it wasn't supposed to go like this. The Casey County runner wasn't supposed to take the lead in the 800-meter run in the homestretch. And she certainly wasn't supposed to win. But she did win, running a time she certainly wasn't supposed to run to take first place at the Class AA, Region 4 meet Saturday at Eastern Kentucky University. Lee was seeded fourth coming into the regional, nearly four seconds behind the best time turned in. But she cut five seconds off her personal-best time by finishing in 2 minutes, 26.41 seconds.