BEREA — Berea is one of three cities in the running for an industrial plant that would employ 100 to 200 people at wages comparable to that paid by employers already in the city’s industrial park, Tom McCay, Berea’s economic development director, told the city council Tuesday night. The prospect has expressed serious interest in the building that housed the Panasonic plant, which closed a year ago this month, he said. The competition is down to Berea, another Kentucky city and one in a bordering state, McCay said. If the prospect chooses Berea, it wants the city to divert to the employer half of the 2-percent occupational license fee its workers would normally pay the city. State law authorizes the city to offer the diversion as an incentive to employers recruited by the Kentucky Economic Development Cabinet. The local incentive would be in addition to any incentive the state would offer and would remain in effect for 10 years. McCay said was unsure if the other Kentucky city competing for the plant had authorized a similar incentive or what the out-of-state city could offer. All seven council members present voted for a resolution authorizing McCay to offer the incentive to the prospect or any other that may express interest in relocating to Berea. Council member Ronnie Terrill was absent. “This (authorization) gives Mr. McCay another tool to help him attract good paying jobs to Berea,” said City Administrator Randy Stone. McCay said he had been impressed with the amount of interest expressed in the vacant former Panasonic plant. Six prospects have visited the site in the 12 months it has been available, he said. In other business: • The council heard first reading of an ordinance to amend the city budget, reflecting an anticipated $300,000 decline in occupational license fee collections for the fiscal year. This year and last, the collections will have fallen by $500,000, Stone said after the meeting. The tax on all insurance premiums except health insurance has made up for the loss, he said. The insurance tax likely would be able to make up any further decline, however. Occupational license fee collections, or payroll tax as it is commonly known, have leveled off in the past three months, Stone said. That is unusual, because they typically fall in the winter. That bit of good news was tempered by a 35 percent rise in the cost of claims filed against the city employees’ health insurance plan the previous 12 months. The current provider, Bluegrass Family Health, along with United, Humana and Anthem, were expected to submit bids to provide coverage for the coming year, Stone said. Given the rising claims, he suggested that costs could go up. • Workers began assembling the components of the city’s $64,000 skate park Tuesday, Stone said. The work could be completed this week and the park could be opened to the public in the near future. • The council authorized the mayor to open in his office at 4 p.m. April 1 bids for sod to cover ball fields in the new park expansion. If the council waited until its April 6 meeting to open the bids, sod could not be in place until up in May, Stone said. Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmond register.com or at 624-6622.
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‘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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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