BEREA — Four new faces will be seen on the eight-member Berea City Council as challengers unseated four long-time incumbents in Tuesday’s election.
When the votes were officially tallied late Tuesday, Billy Wagers, Troy VanWinkle, Jerry Little and Ronnie Terrill Sr. had displaced Berea City Council members Chester Powell, Howard Baker, Denise Hagan and Truman Fields.
Incumbent Greg Lakes captured the highest number of votes for the second Berea City Council election in row, garnering 2,746 votes. Challenger Billy Wagers followed with 2,553 votes, while Troy VanWinkle and Jerry Little finished in the top four with 2,509 and 2,242 votes, respectively.
Eleven-year incumbent Virgil Burnside was next with 2,130 votes, followed by Ronnie Terrill Sr. with 2,080, Violet Farmer, 2,063 and Glenn Jennings, 1,941.
Four incumbents failed to make the cut for re-election, including 10-year incumbent Chester Powell, who lost his seat despite receiving 1,860 votes, followed by incumbents Howard Baker, who finished with 1,752 votes, and Denise Hagan, who garnered 1,706.
Robert “Peanuts” Johnson was next with 1,669 votes, followed by 10-year incumbent Truman Fields, who had 1,616 votes. In his losing bid for re-election, Fields ran on the promise of opposing the sale of alcohol by the drink in Berea, though an alcohol initiative must be passed by referendum, not by council action.
Glenn David Johnson, who ran an unsuccessful bid for Madison County clerk in 2006, was next with 1,601, while J. Donald Graham had 1,462 votes and Hubert Chasteen Jr. rounded out the voting with 1,121.
Berea City Council incumbents were perhaps facing a stiff re-election challenge because of discontent about an increase in property taxes, a 3 percent restaurant tax and an insurance premium tax.
City officials frequently reminded residents that Berea has one of the lowest tax rates in Kentucky, but discontent among some citizens may have been compounded by the fact the tax adjustments were all introduced in a single city council term.
In addition, the council came under fire just recently for moving forward with a plan to adjust municipal utility rates, though city officials maintained that utility rates needed to be adjusted in order to maintain adequate utilities infrastructure.
In the past two years, the council also has tackled some ambitious capital improvement projects during the most recent city council term, including the purchase of the Moore Farm for the new industrial park, expansion of the recreation park, completion of the first phase of the Berea Bypass, as well as making major purchases, such as a new office building in Old Town.
Challengers, meanwhile, ran on a platform of cutting back on major property purchases, as well as cutting back on general budget spending.
Tuesday night, Violet Farmer said she was disappointed that some of her fellow council members were retired by voters, though she said she expects the new council to work well together.
“I am honored to have been entrusted with a seat on the council again,” Farmer said. “I love this town and I do have a vision for the future. There are things this council has done that I would like to see continue.”
Local News
Challengers unseat four incumbents
- Local News
-
-
‘She wasn’t just a teacher’ : Lambert retires after 43 years at Berea
Scroll to the bottom of the story to read "Love for Lambert: Berea graduates share memories of their teacher," as well as a list of other Berea retirees this year.
Writer’s Note: Brenda Lambert is the reason I write articles today (Class of 2000).
Years ago, a little blonde-haired girl from Rockcastle County gathered her friends to “play school” in a 10-by-10 foot playhouse her father built.
Even at 12 years old, Brenda Lambert knew she wanted to be a teacher one day.
“I always felt like an old person trapped in a young person's body,” said Lambert, who is retiring after 43 years of service to Berea Community School. -
Special Olympics return for 18th year at EKU
Next weekend, the Special Olympics Kentucky State Summer Games return to Eastern Kentucky University campus. This is the 18th consecutive year EKU has hosted the event.
The games will be Friday through June 2. About 1,300 athletes will compete this year. -
Assault charges reduced, dismissed by grand jury
Two men arrested in connection with serious assaults had their charges reduced, and in one case dismissed, by a Madison grand jury.
Jerry Wayne Edington, 34, of Berea Road, was charged Jan. 19 with second-degree assault after an altercation at the Blue Moon bar on East Irvine Street, according to a Richmond police report. -
Dump of the Day
The Dump of the Day is a recurring series the newspaper publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Page A7 in Sunday's paper to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.
-
Paradise Cove open through Labor Day
Opening day of Paradise Cove Family Aquatic Center coincided with a spike in temperatures Friday which reached 90 degrees. The facility, located in Richmond’s Lake Reba Park, will be open through Sept. 3. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
-
Dump of the Day
An old mattress, a car seat and other debris sit Friday afternoon on North Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets where it was first spotted Thursday. The “Dump of the Day” is a recurring series the Richmond Register publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Sunday’s Richmond Register to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.
-
Undefeated academic team brings pride to Madison Middle School
Madison Middle School 6th and 7th grade academic teams have been undefeated for the last two years.
The 8th grade team also has done well, having some students qualify to compete at the state level. -
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
-
Man is indicted on additional sex charge involving teen in 1998
A man already accused of sex abuse in November 2011 has been indicted on a charge of first-degree rape involving a child in 1998.
Charles W. Peyton, 63, of East Irvine Street, was indicted Wednesday by a Madison grand jury. He used “forcible compulsion” to have sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl between March 1 and May 1 in 1998, according to the indictment. -
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
Officers responded to a call in the 1000 block of Scaffold Cane Road about a man trying to break into a home, according to a release from BPD Public Information Officer Jake Reed. - More Local News Headlines
-
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
