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Heartland Pkwy. Foundation sets up South Central KY Caucus Click on headline for complete story with photo(s) By Drew Tucker CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY - It was a cold day outside the Frankfort Capital Annex on February 18, 2016 but inside was filled with warm excitement as the Heartland Parkway Foundation met with State Senators, Representatives and Transportation Cabinet officials to discuss the merits of the parkway project, encourage additional funding in the current and future legislative sessions, and announce the formation of the new "South Central Kentucky Caucus" within the Kentucky General Assembly. The Heartland Parkway is a proposed 60-mile parkway project involving the addition of passing lanes (a so-called 2+1 modified plan) along Highway 55 beginning at the top of Washington County and going through Marion and Taylor Counties before ending at the southern tip of Adair County, connecting to Bluegrass and Cumberland Parkways. The importance of creating a "South Central Kentucky Caucus" is extraordinary for the project and the counties. "The legislative caucus will be a bipartisan coalition of State Senators and State Representatives who will work together to advance the educational, economic development, infrastructure, and overall wellbeing of the South Central part of Kentucky," Dr. John Chowning, chair of the Heartland Parkway Foundation, said. "This part of the state has never had a regional identity and regional voice in Frankfort, and this promises to be a very important step forward in promoting regionalism and advocacy for our part of Kentucky." The parkway would be elevated in awareness and take precedence within the new caucus, something it hasn't had before. "I had sat in a meeting for the Western Kentucky Caucus for Adair County. Adair County is three hours away. We have no voice. Taylor County is in the Central Kentucky Caucus in Lexington. We have no voice either," Kentucky State Rep. John "Bam" Carney (R), who represents House District-51, said, naming other counties which don't have a voice either because they're too far away. "So often when people talk about Central Kentucky, they're talking about the Fayette County area and the area that's surrounds it - they don't talk about our area," Kentucky State Rep. Terry Mills (D) said. Carney said he wants to "unite our voices in a larger group than just one or two for economic development and infrastructure projects." Mills said Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin's budget left the Heartland Parkway out, but is trying to get the transportation budget to add a section for the parkway. Kentucky Sen. Max Wise, who is co-chair for the 2015-16 budget review for transportation, said the Heartland Parkway Foundation has sought funding for over 15 years, and it's been beneficial. "Persistence wears down resistance," he said. "We need the South Central Kentucky Caucus. [The] coalition will give us a voice." Besides economic development and infrastructure, other benefits of creating the caucus and the parkway are the advancement of the state parks (Green River Lake, the Stephen Foster Home, and Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace) and private colleges in the area (St. Catharine College, Lindsey Wilson College and Campbellsville University). "One thing about the private colleges in this state is that they reflect the ethos and the ethic of their communities," Chowning said. "Our state parks are some of the only ones that actually made money last year," Carney and Wise said. During the meeting, it was also announced that construction began on a portion of the parkway in Adair County by Holly Grimsly, deputy judge executive in Adair County. Other parts of the parkway that have been completed include the bypasses around Columbia and Lebanon, the Campbellsville southern bypass has had engineering design work completed and is slated to begin construction in 2017-2018 with completion by 2020. "We were very pleased with our day in Frankfort," Chowning said. "We were able to make some very important connections during our visit to help advocate the merits of the Heartland Parkway project. We appreciate the excellent support and leadership given by the State Senators and State Representatives from our region. We are also very excited about the formation of the South Central Kentucky Caucus, commend the leadership of State Representatives Bam Carney and Terry Mills in working together on this initiative, and thank State Senators Max Wise and Jimmy Higdon for their support as well." The Heartland Parkway Foundation Board of Directors consists of the Mayors and County Judge Executives from the counties of Adair, Taylor, Marion, and Washington, the economic development officials from each of the counties, representatives of the three private colleges/universities in the region (Campbellsville University, Lindsey Wilson College, and St. Catharine College), two additional members from each county, and the state legislative members representing the region. Drew Tucker is marketing and media relations coordinator for Campbellsville University This story was posted on 2016-03-07 15:58:34
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Adair Co. Republican Party will meet Tue 15 Mar 2016 Transportation crews to begin treating for noxious weeds Columbia City Council Meeting - Mon 7 Mar 2016 - AGENDA First Monday Siren Test Sirens sounded late this morning Adair GOP Caucus doubled last GOP Presidential Primary turnout Adair Family Values (Vote No) group to meet at Hadley Church KSP Post 15 Activity Report February 2016 Comments on the massive fog of February 16, 2016 Republican Caucus Results: Link DAV Service Officer at VFW Post 6097, Mon 7 Mar 2016 View even more articles in topic News |
 
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