AY 1_Layout 1
Yeoman e SERVING THE TRI-STATE AREA SINCE 1889
T HE H E A DVANCE D VA N C E
We all scream for Ice Cream... ... page A4
WEDNESDAY
H JULY 13, 2011
In God we trust
Making Progress on the Refuge
Shelby Lake Dock tangled in trees. Photo by Sam Paul by Kelly Paul Editor, Advance Yeoman
BALLARD - Things seemed to be looking up down on the Refuge. A simple trip to Shelby Lake around the 4th of July would have shown that some progress had been made in an effort to restore the refuge to the way it had been in the past when residents used to camp and fish. The dock is still a sore sight, but the surrounding area looked to have been mowed and cleaned up a bit. Beth Hunt said she went to Shelby Lake on July 3rd to try to catch some fish. She said, “Didn’t catch much more than turtles and a sunburn, but it’s looking good out there.” On his facebook page entitled Ballard County Wildlife Management Area, Tim Batts posted a conversation he had with Rep. Steven Rudy regarding Rudy’s meeting in Frankfort with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife. When asked how the meeting went, Rudy responded, “Pretty good. I gave them your list, and they said
they would look into each matter. I told them to work on communication, and they promised they would.” Batts says he is already seeing improvements on the refuge and hopes it will continue. David Logsdon said he had seen improvement when the area had been mowed following the pubic meeting he held on June 28 regarding the conditions of the refuge. Logsdon took his family camping over the 4th of July and said the area had been bush hogged. The day before going camping, Lodgsdon said the grass was knee high, but the next day it was ankle high. While mowing and bush hogging were a welcomed attempt at restoring the refuge, that progress seems to have come to a stand still in that it has not been mowed since then. Regarding the responsibilities of those who utilize the refuge, Scott Wildharber did post a note of caution regarding usage of rip-rap at a campground. He said, “You can’t take rip-rap from a bank that was put in
place for erosion control to put around a campfire.” Wildharber contends this causes a couple of problems, one problem being that the bank will not work as designed. The second problem is that a new obstacle will now be in place for the guys on the tractors mowing. Wildharber said, “This could tear up a mower and is essentially littering because the state workers have to put it back in place.” Wildharber also stressed the need for fishermen to be sure to take up trot lines/limb lines and not throw mono-filament line in the water. He said, “Mono-filament will entangle wildlife.” A group including David Logsdon and others will be traveling to Frankfort on Friday the 15th to meet with Chris Garland, Superintendant of Wildlife Management in Kentucky. A representative for Kentucky Wildlife Commissioner John Gasset will also be at the meeting. Details including who, exactly, will be attending the trip with Logsdon were unavailable at the time of the printing of this article.
Chamber on board Kentucky’s Great River Road by Kelly Paul Editor, Advance Yeoman
LA CENTER- The Kentucky Great River Region Organization (KY GRRO) would like the Ballard Chamber of Commerce to get on board with its endeavor to grow tourism along Kentucky’s Great River Road. KY GRRO Executive Director Norma Pruitt addressed the Chamber at July’s breakfast meeting in an effort to pull resources from Chamber members to make Ballard County a travel destination for individuals who want to explore life along the expansive Mississippi River. Pruitt, a recent retiree of over 20 years from the Purchase Area Development District (PADD), began by giving some background information regarding KY GRRO and its involvement with Kentucky’s Great River Road as it pertains to the four counties that border the Mississippi. Pruitt presented her mission to get the counties of Fulton, Hickman, Carlisle, and Ballard recognized tourist destinations. To date, Kentucky Western Waterlands (WWA), located at Grand Rivers, has as its
primary focus for tourism the areas of Land Between the Lakes and Lake Barkley. Due to this, the 4county region along the Mississippi is sorely neglected when it comes to promoting tourism. With the help of each of the Chambers involved with KY GRRO, Pruitt hopes to put this region of Kentucky’s Great River Road on the map. To see the treasures of the Great River Road, one only needs to look at a map of the 10 counties that border the Mississippi River and comprise the National Scenic Byway that was conceived in 1938 and extends 3,000 miles. Extending from Minnesota to Louisiana, the Great River Road travels alongside the river and even crisscrosses it at points, offering several points of interest for tourists from all over the world who wish to see the Mississippi River. Some of these destinations include: Itasca State Park in Minnesota; the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium/National Rivers Hall of Fame in Iowa; The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (The Arch) in Missouri; and the Tunica River Park Museum in Mississippi. These are only a few
of the tourist attractions that are not only great points of interests along the Mississippi, but are also great sources of tourist revenue for local economies. Pruitt would like to see Ballard County and the other three counties to be as successful at bringing in tourism revenue as have other destinations along the river. Pruitt spoke of the Kentucky Mississippi River Parkway Commission’s annual meeting that was held on June 24th in Frankfort. Discussed at the meeting was the reimbursable grant of $326,893 for a visitor center at the Fort Jefferson Memorial Cross. The Cross would serve as the Northern Portal to the Scenic Byway of the 4county region. Plans are being made to make Carnegie Library in Hickman the Southern Portal. Pruitt’s message to the Chamber was the need to educate the public regarding the importance of recognizing the assets Ballard County already has. She said, “We are going to have to spruce up some of the things we have taken advantage of --Fort Jefferson Cross, Wickliffe Mounds and Belmont.” Pruitt stated that the National Mississippi Park-
VOL. 123 H H H #28
Ballard County Soldier receives honors
Sergeant Josh Medlin receives Bronze Star with Valor. Medlin is the soldier facing the camera by Kelly Paul Editor, Advance Yeoman
LA CENTER - Attorney Mark Medlin is extremely proud of his son. On July 6th, Josh Medlin (24) received the Bronze Star with Valor at a ceremony held at Fort Campbell. This was in addition to the 2 purple hearts he had already received. This all stemmed from an incident on November 12, 2010, that first caused Mark Medlin much worry and anxiety over the welfare of his son, and then led to relief and admiration for the war-hero he calls his own. On November 12, Sergeant Josh Medlin and his team were conducting operations in the mountain areas of northern Afghanistan when they were ambushed. Medlin knew several men had been shot, but he did not know if there had been any casualties. He did not find out until later that there were indeed 7 casualties and 40 wounded. What Medlin did know was that the two men closest to him had both been shot in the leg. He only knew this because they were right next to him when the incident occurred. He said that one man was up searching for cover when he was shot. The soldier fell in a hole and broke both his legs. Medlin tried to provide cover and took a graze to the neck by an AK-47 bullet. He also received a shot to his face just under his check. The bullet had hit his cheekbone and turned. Medlin did
not realize how badly he had been hit until he had been loading men to be seen by the medics, and one of his men said, “Sergeant, you’re bleeding all over me.” Since enlisting in 2005, after graduating from Dyer County High School in Tennessee, Medlin has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He was first part of the 10th Mountain Division in New York. At the time of the ambush in Afghanistan, Medlin had been deployed out of Fort Campbell as part of an air assault team. Medlin’s father was not at all surprised that his son’s first reaction during the ambush was to be worry about the other guys. He said, “Josh is a really tenderhearted guy. He could walk up to a light post and make friends out of it.” What caused Mark Medlin the most anxiety over the whole incident was the waiting. He and his wife first received news about it on November 13th when they received a call in which they were simply told, “He’s been shot.” Medlin says they were tormented for several days until Josh, himself, called him several days later. Mark Medlin said, “It was a week and a half to 2 weeks until we knew it wasn’t life threatening.” The time spent waiting to see Josh and find out the extent of his injuries was a tough one, not only for Josh’s parents, but also for his wife Kristina and 15 month old son Karsyn. ...see Ballard County Soldier page A3.
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director with Norma Pruitt, Executive Director KY GRRO
way Commission wants to host its annual meeting in the 4-county region in 2012. That would call for a need for more hotels to house those in attendance. Although there isn’t a lot of time to do that, there is time to start promoting Ballard County in an effort to not only bring in more tourism, but more business opportunities that come with that influx of tourism. She encouraged businesses
50 CENTS • THE ADVANCE YEOMAN • PUBLISHED WEEKLY • 50 CENTS
to post pictures on KY GRRO’s Fb page in order to promote Kentucky. In doing this, she will be able to further promote the county. She said, “We’ve been left behind; this is our launching pad for us to grow our population.” For more information about KY GRRO visit them on Facebook. Friend them at: Promote KY, and Like them at KY GRRO.
T HE H E A DVANCE D VA N C E
We all scream for Ice Cream... ... page A4
WEDNESDAY
H JULY 13, 2011
In God we trust
Making Progress on the Refuge
Shelby Lake Dock tangled in trees. Photo by Sam Paul by Kelly Paul Editor, Advance Yeoman
BALLARD - Things seemed to be looking up down on the Refuge. A simple trip to Shelby Lake around the 4th of July would have shown that some progress had been made in an effort to restore the refuge to the way it had been in the past when residents used to camp and fish. The dock is still a sore sight, but the surrounding area looked to have been mowed and cleaned up a bit. Beth Hunt said she went to Shelby Lake on July 3rd to try to catch some fish. She said, “Didn’t catch much more than turtles and a sunburn, but it’s looking good out there.” On his facebook page entitled Ballard County Wildlife Management Area, Tim Batts posted a conversation he had with Rep. Steven Rudy regarding Rudy’s meeting in Frankfort with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife. When asked how the meeting went, Rudy responded, “Pretty good. I gave them your list, and they said
they would look into each matter. I told them to work on communication, and they promised they would.” Batts says he is already seeing improvements on the refuge and hopes it will continue. David Logsdon said he had seen improvement when the area had been mowed following the pubic meeting he held on June 28 regarding the conditions of the refuge. Logsdon took his family camping over the 4th of July and said the area had been bush hogged. The day before going camping, Lodgsdon said the grass was knee high, but the next day it was ankle high. While mowing and bush hogging were a welcomed attempt at restoring the refuge, that progress seems to have come to a stand still in that it has not been mowed since then. Regarding the responsibilities of those who utilize the refuge, Scott Wildharber did post a note of caution regarding usage of rip-rap at a campground. He said, “You can’t take rip-rap from a bank that was put in
place for erosion control to put around a campfire.” Wildharber contends this causes a couple of problems, one problem being that the bank will not work as designed. The second problem is that a new obstacle will now be in place for the guys on the tractors mowing. Wildharber said, “This could tear up a mower and is essentially littering because the state workers have to put it back in place.” Wildharber also stressed the need for fishermen to be sure to take up trot lines/limb lines and not throw mono-filament line in the water. He said, “Mono-filament will entangle wildlife.” A group including David Logsdon and others will be traveling to Frankfort on Friday the 15th to meet with Chris Garland, Superintendant of Wildlife Management in Kentucky. A representative for Kentucky Wildlife Commissioner John Gasset will also be at the meeting. Details including who, exactly, will be attending the trip with Logsdon were unavailable at the time of the printing of this article.
Chamber on board Kentucky’s Great River Road by Kelly Paul Editor, Advance Yeoman
LA CENTER- The Kentucky Great River Region Organization (KY GRRO) would like the Ballard Chamber of Commerce to get on board with its endeavor to grow tourism along Kentucky’s Great River Road. KY GRRO Executive Director Norma Pruitt addressed the Chamber at July’s breakfast meeting in an effort to pull resources from Chamber members to make Ballard County a travel destination for individuals who want to explore life along the expansive Mississippi River. Pruitt, a recent retiree of over 20 years from the Purchase Area Development District (PADD), began by giving some background information regarding KY GRRO and its involvement with Kentucky’s Great River Road as it pertains to the four counties that border the Mississippi. Pruitt presented her mission to get the counties of Fulton, Hickman, Carlisle, and Ballard recognized tourist destinations. To date, Kentucky Western Waterlands (WWA), located at Grand Rivers, has as its
primary focus for tourism the areas of Land Between the Lakes and Lake Barkley. Due to this, the 4county region along the Mississippi is sorely neglected when it comes to promoting tourism. With the help of each of the Chambers involved with KY GRRO, Pruitt hopes to put this region of Kentucky’s Great River Road on the map. To see the treasures of the Great River Road, one only needs to look at a map of the 10 counties that border the Mississippi River and comprise the National Scenic Byway that was conceived in 1938 and extends 3,000 miles. Extending from Minnesota to Louisiana, the Great River Road travels alongside the river and even crisscrosses it at points, offering several points of interest for tourists from all over the world who wish to see the Mississippi River. Some of these destinations include: Itasca State Park in Minnesota; the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium/National Rivers Hall of Fame in Iowa; The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (The Arch) in Missouri; and the Tunica River Park Museum in Mississippi. These are only a few
of the tourist attractions that are not only great points of interests along the Mississippi, but are also great sources of tourist revenue for local economies. Pruitt would like to see Ballard County and the other three counties to be as successful at bringing in tourism revenue as have other destinations along the river. Pruitt spoke of the Kentucky Mississippi River Parkway Commission’s annual meeting that was held on June 24th in Frankfort. Discussed at the meeting was the reimbursable grant of $326,893 for a visitor center at the Fort Jefferson Memorial Cross. The Cross would serve as the Northern Portal to the Scenic Byway of the 4county region. Plans are being made to make Carnegie Library in Hickman the Southern Portal. Pruitt’s message to the Chamber was the need to educate the public regarding the importance of recognizing the assets Ballard County already has. She said, “We are going to have to spruce up some of the things we have taken advantage of --Fort Jefferson Cross, Wickliffe Mounds and Belmont.” Pruitt stated that the National Mississippi Park-
VOL. 123 H H H #28
Ballard County Soldier receives honors
Sergeant Josh Medlin receives Bronze Star with Valor. Medlin is the soldier facing the camera by Kelly Paul Editor, Advance Yeoman
LA CENTER - Attorney Mark Medlin is extremely proud of his son. On July 6th, Josh Medlin (24) received the Bronze Star with Valor at a ceremony held at Fort Campbell. This was in addition to the 2 purple hearts he had already received. This all stemmed from an incident on November 12, 2010, that first caused Mark Medlin much worry and anxiety over the welfare of his son, and then led to relief and admiration for the war-hero he calls his own. On November 12, Sergeant Josh Medlin and his team were conducting operations in the mountain areas of northern Afghanistan when they were ambushed. Medlin knew several men had been shot, but he did not know if there had been any casualties. He did not find out until later that there were indeed 7 casualties and 40 wounded. What Medlin did know was that the two men closest to him had both been shot in the leg. He only knew this because they were right next to him when the incident occurred. He said that one man was up searching for cover when he was shot. The soldier fell in a hole and broke both his legs. Medlin tried to provide cover and took a graze to the neck by an AK-47 bullet. He also received a shot to his face just under his check. The bullet had hit his cheekbone and turned. Medlin did
not realize how badly he had been hit until he had been loading men to be seen by the medics, and one of his men said, “Sergeant, you’re bleeding all over me.” Since enlisting in 2005, after graduating from Dyer County High School in Tennessee, Medlin has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He was first part of the 10th Mountain Division in New York. At the time of the ambush in Afghanistan, Medlin had been deployed out of Fort Campbell as part of an air assault team. Medlin’s father was not at all surprised that his son’s first reaction during the ambush was to be worry about the other guys. He said, “Josh is a really tenderhearted guy. He could walk up to a light post and make friends out of it.” What caused Mark Medlin the most anxiety over the whole incident was the waiting. He and his wife first received news about it on November 13th when they received a call in which they were simply told, “He’s been shot.” Medlin says they were tormented for several days until Josh, himself, called him several days later. Mark Medlin said, “It was a week and a half to 2 weeks until we knew it wasn’t life threatening.” The time spent waiting to see Josh and find out the extent of his injuries was a tough one, not only for Josh’s parents, but also for his wife Kristina and 15 month old son Karsyn. ...see Ballard County Soldier page A3.
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director with Norma Pruitt, Executive Director KY GRRO
way Commission wants to host its annual meeting in the 4-county region in 2012. That would call for a need for more hotels to house those in attendance. Although there isn’t a lot of time to do that, there is time to start promoting Ballard County in an effort to not only bring in more tourism, but more business opportunities that come with that influx of tourism. She encouraged businesses
50 CENTS • THE ADVANCE YEOMAN • PUBLISHED WEEKLY • 50 CENTS
to post pictures on KY GRRO’s Fb page in order to promote Kentucky. In doing this, she will be able to further promote the county. She said, “We’ve been left behind; this is our launching pad for us to grow our population.” For more information about KY GRRO visit them on Facebook. Friend them at: Promote KY, and Like them at KY GRRO.
