Officials already had plenty to worry about following the December 10 and 11 tornadoes, when an EF3 twister roared through its southern section and through Pembroke — causing significant damage and some injury.
Add on a surprise January 1 tornado in downtown Hopkinsville, and a considerable snow event the week after, and Christian County’s emergency response has been considerably tested through the last six weeks.
During Tuesday’s Christian County Fiscal Court meeting, County Emergency Manager Randy Graham noted the January 1 tornado damage alone met the requirements for disaster declaration, but that assessments across Kentucky still needed to be completed before federal authorities could intervene.
click to download audioDebris removal has continued for both the downtown and near Pembroke, Graham added, with more than 14,000 cubic yards of vegetative refuse cleared from properties and roadways.
That effort had to cease, in order for those same crews to shift their focus from tornado cleanup to winter-weather preparation.
click to download audioGraham noted hundreds across the county have filed for both FEMA and Small Business Administration assistance in the last month.
The fiscal court also unanimously approved its 2022 Christian County road plan, which currently maintains more than 483 miles of blacktop within its borders. As of January 12, 2021, Judge-Executive Steve Tribble said the county had 38.649 miles of gravel road adopted in the plan. Following nearly four miles of paving in this last fiscal year, Tribble added there remains roughly 35 miles of gravel roads in the county, and that since 1994, nearly 165 miles of gravel roads have been paved by county authorities.
Pennyroyal Museum Director Alissa Keller also gave a year-in-review update to the fiscal court, noting the establishment held 73 programs either virtually or in-person during 2021. Of those events, 86% of them were free to the public. More than 470 items were added to the museum’s collection, and she particularly noted signed books from Hopkinsville laureate bell hooks, a well-traveled grandfather clock and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl gear from Keith Tandy among those.
Six new museum workers, all part-time, were hired, and the museum had nearly 4,000 visitors in 2021.
Keller noted there is anticipation of potentially holding an Edgar Cayce hometown seminar — something that hasn’t happened since 2019 — as well as adding a “Batter Capital of the World” exhibit to the museum.
Along with Kentucky New Era archives, Keller added there’s hope of collecting TV43 archives, as well, in the coming months. A $25,000 grant from T-Mobile will also help paint the town clock in 2022.
