Variance

Gander Mountain Company, a nationwide outdoor lifestyle retailer, is eyeing property in Jessamine County that may provide as many as 75-85 jobs if a new store is built. There has been no official announcement by the company, but Gander Mountain Company has a purchase agreement for a parcel of land that sits between Hobby Lobby and the vacant area expanding to Lancer Drive in the Brannon Crossing shopping area. The privately owned company, headquartered in Minneapolis, is a strong contender among outdoor sporting-goods stores in the United States, averaging more than 5,500 employees and revenue topping $1 billion a year, a representative from within the company has confirmed.  There are currently two Kentucky locations, one in Paducah and one in Bowling Green.

HARRODSBURG - Auditors found more than $11,000 in undeposited receipts in the office of Mercer County Clerk Ronnie Compton. That is just one of the findings in the report released Monday by Crit Luallen, the state auditor. The report says the clerk's office earned $99,686 in excess fees for 2005. However when it came time to turn those fees over to Mercer County Fiscal Court, only $89,521 was available. Judge-Executive John Trisler said today that the unpaid $10,165 still has not been received by his office.

HARRODSBURG - Mercer County Clerk Ronnie Compton says "unfair attacks" on his character have hurt him and his family. He was referring to allegations in-cluded in a state audit of his office that was released earlier this week. Compton, who faces opposition in the Nov. 7 election, issued a press release Tuesday denying claims made in the audit. He also fired a member of his opponent's family who works in his office. Compton, a Republican, fired JoEllen Horn, the aunt of his opponent, Democrat Chris Horn.

The Jessamine County-Wilmore Joint Planning Commission met last week and approved the following items: â?¢ A request for a variance of section 4.206 of the Jessamine County-City of Wilmore Subdivision regulations, road widening, for 10 acres, submitted by Terry R. and Kay Anderson for property located on Hall Road. â?¢ An application for a cluster development, to be known as June Rich Farm, for 82.29 acres to be divided into 16 lots, submitted by N/R Enterprises, LLC, for property located on Jessamine Station Road at the intersection of Drake Lane.

Construction plans for two developments, as well as a final plat application for a cluster, were approved Tuesday night by the Jessamine County/Wilmore Joint Planning Commission. Planners approved construction plans for The Reserve at Chrisman Oaks, submitted by NARO Properties II, LLC for property located 1,500 feet northeast of the intersection of Chrisman Mill and Logana Pike. The development will consist of 57 one-acre lots. The motion to approve the construction plans, made by planner James McKinney, was made contingent upon the developer obtaining an encroachment permit and a letter from the city of Nicholasville concerning the realignment of the water line going into the development.

Monday, attendance at the McGuffey Sixth Grade Center dropped to 72.6 percent and Superintendent Larry Woods made the call to close the school for the rest of the week. Director of Pupil Personnel Bruce Smith said that the district's plan recommends closing a school when attendance drops below 80 percent. Tuesday's attendance report from across the district indicated that attendance was at 85.1 percent, the worst being Highland Elementary which had dipped down to 78.5 percent. "When attendance approaches 85 percent we start asking whether or not it is beneficial to stay open," Smith said.

By Michael Broihier Monday, attendance at the McGuffey Sixth Grade Center dropped to 72.6 percent and Superintendent Larry Woods made the call to close the school for the rest of the week. Director of Pupil Personnel Bruce Smith said that the district's plan recommends closing a school when attendance drops below 80 percent. Tuesday's attendance report from across the district indicated that attendance was at 85.1 percent, the worst being Highland Elementary which had dipped down to 78.5 percent.

Clark County Judge-Executive Henry Branham is following committee recommendations to redraw magisterial districts into three areas that balance voter strength between the city and county. Branham announced Wednesday that after a public hearing Tuesday night, he is backing recommendations to split Clark County into nearly equal pie shapes that begin in the city and expand toward the county's rural areas. "I think the methodology that the committee used in coming to this redistricting was very sound," he said.

Late Tuesday, Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd gave Kentucky House Republicans and a lone Democratic senator a reprieve from redistricting plans signed into law by Gov. Steve Beshear in January. The Republicans argued that House Bill 1, written in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly, was unconstitutional because it divided more counties and precincts than the plan that they had proposed. State Senator Kathy Stein, who currently represents the heart of Lexington had her district moved to the northeastern corner of the state.