Those following the effort to get funding through the Kentucky Main Street program to hire a downtown manager to promote the city in the same way a mall manager does, will be disappointed to learn that Columbia has been turned down for the second time.

Kentucky Main Street Director Roger Stapleton says the funds just aren't there to be gotten. He also told Heart of Adair Chairman Ben Arnold that Columbia is farther along working by itself than many of the towns they have awarded funds to.

A lot of good things have happened since the original invitation to Main Street representatives. The town meeting they recommended brought many people together who have like views on the subjects of renovation and improving the quality of life in Adair County.

Indeed Heart of Adair has become an inclusive organization embracing a broad centrist group of participants, who favor development with a long-term outlook, and growth which does not chip away the unique attributes which attracted us to Adair County in the first place.