By: Madison Fugate

The Stanton Tourism and Convention Commission have been considering some somewhat major developments and transitions within the city. If these changes do follow through as planned, the community will soon be able to witness the growth of the commission. Ultimately, the Stanton Tourism and Convention Commission have been considering opening a sort of “Welcome Center” within the city limits. The said center would also be the location for where the office lies for the recently appointed Stanton Tourism Director, Natalie Faulkner. Natalie, of course, attended the special called board meeting and had several questions for the owners of the building under consideration being Brenda Crabtree, Penny Crabtree, and Johnny Crabtree. Many locals may recognize Brenda Crabtree as being the part-operator and owner of Crabtree’s Candies. The building up for consideration is now home to That’s Sew You sewing shop, that is located next to the aforementioned candy and baked goods store, Crabtree’s Candies. Co-Owner of That’s Sew You, Susan Watson, also serves on the Stanton Tourism and Convention Commission and vowed for the dependable and understanding sort of working relationship the Crabtrees offer as renters. The popular sewing shop has made a recent announcement of their plan currently underway to move their business to have more room to expand and grow. That’s Sew You will obviously no longer occupy the building alongside Crabtree’s Candies as they do currently and will now be located at 316 Steamshovel Road, Stanton, Kentucky 40380. The location often times is also directed as being approximately 1/8 of a mile behind the street beside Dairy Queen, located on the right just before you start up Steamshovel Hill. The business has announced their grand opening will be held on October 1^st, the date in which they plan to once again open their doors. They encourage all of their supporters and any considering newcomers to plan for the event and show their support in the growth of a local business and take the opportunity to get in on the excitement.

The Stanton Tourism board have already began creating and discussing several ideas to improve the building that was once That’s Sew You and draw tourists and locals in. The board members plan to offer merchandise such as sweatshirts and items with their brand, “Exit 22,” and brochures for the public. The Crabtrees overall seem compliant and open to renovations and any improvements upon discussion. “Anything that promotes the town is good,” Penny Crabtree expressed. “We like the location and the price is very fair,” one board member, Joey ___ states. They plan to use local craftsmen to create signs for the center and renovations such as flooring and a few more improvements were mentioned throughout the meeting. The next step before dismissing the Crabtrees from the meeting was the plan for Scott Graham to draw up a lease for the said lease. The Stanton Tourism and Convention Commission mentioned beginning the agreement and introducing the welcome center to the public as early as October 1^st of this year, 2020.

Custom made and unique locally designed benches were also mentioned as part of porch decorations for the new welcome center. The next matter of business for this tourism commission is to plan for also improving the drive-in location and including several of these same benches at the drive-in location as well. These benches are supposed to have unique designs with license plate and even possibly tailgate details and bottle openers on the sides.

By: Madison Fugate

Martina Skidmore, owner of 4 Fit and Fab Studio located here in Stanton, has introduced a new and upcoming event that has gained quite the popularity here in the community. With such a successful outcome, it should come as no surprise that these community events will be recurring for the next few weeks according to a video message shared on social media from Skidmore. The event has been introduced as Sunset Yoga and is held outdoors at the Mountain View Drive-In, therefore allowing a very manageable approach as for safety guidelines regarding the pandemic. Skidmore teamed up with on of the tourism commissions here in the county, Stanton Tourism and Convention Commission, to make this event possible. Also, helping make the night possible was yoga instructor, Tara Young. Young had several there attending eager for a night full of relaxation, as many of us are eager for these days.

Skidmore elaborated on how excited she is to have the opportunity to take advantage of the beautiful location and also shared this statement with the community, “We have several different things that we’re gong to be offering over the next few weeks.” The Stanton Tourism and Convention Commission is supportive of Martina’s studio and efforts in the community and display that in their sponsorship of the event. “All community members can come free of cost to them, because the Stanton Tourism and Convention Commission has paid for us to be here tonight. So, we’re super thankful for that. We are so excited and I would love to see your faces at some point over the next few weeks,” Skidmore also expresses. To track upcoming details and to ensure you don’t miss what they have planned for coming weeks, the Stanton Tourism and Convention Commission has requested you stay tuned for updates on their Facebook page.

By: Madison Fugate

On August 31st the City of Stanton Police Department released some disturbing news to the citizens of Powell County. It appears there has been a series of robberies from vehicles in Powell County within these most recent weeks. After several reports have been made of local residents missing items from their vehicles the next day, an open investigation is now underway at the City of Stanton Police Department in an effort to put a stop to these criminal acts. It is evident these perpetrators are acting out these crimes in the darkest hours and some reports have been made of missing items and hearing strange noises of car doors and some reports of hearing motorbikes outside their homes between the hours of 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. Seeking any valuable item they can get their hands on with no specific target, many are said to be missing guns, electronics and monies that were left in their unlocked vehicles. The city of Stanton Police Department released this statement and description of the crime activity to the public, “The criminals are using the cover of darkness, going car to car, pulling on door handles until they find one that is open.  These individuals are taking guns, electronics and monies left in these unlocked vehicles. We are attempting to locate these individuals but wanted to pass along the following safety tips. Make sure when you leave your vehicle unoccupied that you lock the doors.  These individuals are only, at the moment, pulling on door handles until they find an open door. Remove all valuables from your vehicle.  Like everyone, we all leave stuff in our car out of ease. Whether that’s our work iPad or wallet, these items are easily removable from an unlocked car and are even harder to track back down.  Attempt to make sure all important items that can be taken in are done to prevent them from growing legs and walking off. Finally, never ever leave a firearm or handgun in a vehicle while being unoccupied.  These devices not only can be deadly but most people do not write the serial numbers down for these weapons and that prevents us from entering the gun as stolen and sometimes we are unable to return a located gun to the owner because we don’t know who it belongs to with no serial number to go by. We are working to make the city safer and will work on locating these individuals disrupting our city. Thanks!” Many homeowners in the area have since invested in security systems and cameras since news spread of these acts to prevent these sort of crimes from happening in their own homes.

A new business serving shaved ice has proved to earn the title of shaping up to be quite a hot commodity here in the town of Stanton, Kentucky. However, if you’ve already had the privilege of tasting some of what they have to offer from their wide variety on their menu of shaved ice flavors, then that statement may come as no surprise to you. For the owners, Mike and Tonya Lindon, it all started with fond childhood memories of their favorite treat. After so much time spent reminiscing to the days of their youth visiting the popular stand in Hazard, Kentucky, the Lindons decided it would be their next goal to set out to hopefully obtain the familiar recipe that made the shaved ice so delicious and kept them thinking back on it still, all these years later.
After some time scavenging for this unique recipe for a cream that would blend well in with the shaved ice to truly set it apart from the average shaved ice stand, they were fortunate enough to have access and bring the taste to Stanton! It would only make sense that the Lindons would long to bring the shaved ice stand to Stanton, as they have been residents here for 26 years now. So, the business Red River Shaved Ice was born. Each year the shaved ice business continues to grow and become more popular throughout the community. This is however the first year that Red River Shaved Ice has been set up in town with a schedule weekly. Red River Shaved Ice is now set up in town Thursday-Sunday from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m. Before this year you were only fortunate enough to come across the shaved ice truck at a social event or ball tournament. The shaved ice truck continues to hold occupancy in the gravel parking lot near Whitaker Bank in Stanton, Kentucky, or across from Sticks, Stones and Stiches. Red River Shaved Ice is currently intended to be seasonal and the truck may no longer offer any sweet treats to the public at the end of August or possibly into the middle of September- so be sure to head on down while you have the option to do so.

Although regular availability may be limited to the seasons, you may still be have the opportunity to find the truck set up at local events or special occasions thereon after. Red River Shaved Ice has had the privilege of becoming a valued part of the community that locals look forward to as they have participated in so many local events and occasions. They were set up for the Ice Cream Social held in Clay City, the Clay City AM Vets 4th of July Celebration held each year, little league games, Music in the Park, softball and baseball tournaments, and more. The Lindons summarize their experience thus far with this next statement, “Owning the truck has been a great learning experience. We’ve built this from scratch and it’s been great watching it grow each year.”
The owners of Red River Shaved Ice are also mindful of what their customers are eager for in a sweet treat. They now offer some allergy free options for those with dye allergies. Those options are: Tiger Blood, Cherry, and Coconut. To ensure excellence, the cream mixed with the strawberries and cream flavor is homemade by the owners and also includes a healthy topping of fresh strawberries. In the future, they hope to also add a peaches and cream flavor to the menu. What’s your favorite flavor? Give it a shot and find out.

By: Madison Fugate

The city of Stanton advertised for a need for a police officer last month. Fortunately for the city council, they received an application that was qualified for the job and the entire council was in favor of hiring the applicant, who has a history of working with the state police, Grant Faulkner. Mayor Allen informs the board Faulkner will be ready to begin his new position at the 1^st of October. The chief of police was also present and gave his recommendation to hire Faulkner for said position as well.

Mayor Allen then informs there was some questioning as to where the city limits ended on a roadway the city has managed for many years now. He references it as “The old county road that led to the old county dump” and also as West Halls Road. City Attorney, Scott Graham, adds to Allen’s statement and further explains to the board, “We have always treated it as a city street, but something came up. Mr. Tuttle was kind of interested in opening the roadway up and he thought maybe the city roadway ran all to his property, which it couldn’t because his property is outside of city limits. Once we got looking at it, to see how far the road actually ran, we realized like several of these streets the city has been up-keeping for 50, 60, or 70 years, there was never actually an ordinance done adopting that into city limits. Since that’s been open for a period of more than 5 years and the city has always treated it as a city street. We can go ahead and do an ordinance and just formally make it a city street.” There was a first reading for this ordinance and there will be a publication in the paper.

Also at this meeting, Mayor Allen informed the city council there were 10 applicants for the full-time position of a City of Stanton Tourism and Convention Commission Director. They came down to 6 interviews and then narrowed that list down to 2 applicants, being Jennifer Rose and Natalie Faulkner, that were asked to come back again for a more in-depth interview. On Wednesday, August 12^th, the Stanton Tourism and Convention Commission board had a closed-session meeting to discuss these candidates and were to vote in a special called public setting after that. Their selection would then be forwarded to the mayor and city council for appointment of said position. During the Stanton Tourism and Convention Commission meeting, there was a 4-1 vote. After much consideration between the two candidates, four of the members of this tourism board voted for Natalie Faulkner and one member voted for the next candidate. Ultimately, Natalie Faulkner would be the applicant presented to city council as per recommendation of the Stanton Tourism and Convention Commission. A motion was carried for the nomination of Natalie Faulkner by the Stanton City Council at the city’s meeting on August 13^th, 2020.

There was a first reading for the 2020 property tax rate ordinance in order to establish tax rates. This ordinance includes property tax rates and tax rates within the city limits for use of general and municipal purposes within the city of Stanton. The city council seems to agree that now is not a good time to raise taxes as a result of the pandemic, however, Mayor Allen informs the council “At some point, whether we’re here or whether we’re not, this will probably have to increase one day.” According to the language of this ordinance, it’s within the city council’s discretion as to when taxes should raise, according to Allen.

There was a member of the Parks and Recreation board present to update the city council on recent decisions made by the Parks and Recreation board. They voted to “okay” a fall baseball league. This is for age ranges: 5-8 year-olds and the registration window is from August 14^th until August 31^st. Practice begins on September 8^th with the first game being planned for September 14^th. The park is allowed 50 spectators present at each game per safety guidelines. It is said that sanitizer and other safety equipment have already been supplied and are ready for use. The representation on behalf of Parks and Recreation also informed the city council that the older age group of kids are not playing as per the coaches’ decision, explaining the coaches’ belief that the KHSAA recommendations would be too difficult to maintain for the duration of the season. Mayor Allen states if the teams and coaches are not able keep up with guidelines following the pandemic for the fall league, there will be no other option other than to cancel.

An additional recreational event that also received the “okay” by Parks and Recreation was to host an “open-mic night” with plans to clean the microphone in between use. Music in the Park is then mentioned. Mayor Allen and others present are pleased with the ability to still provide this to the public safely and that Music in the Park has done so well this season considering the pandemic. Also related to the parks and recreation, the playgrounds are still being sanitized thoroughly daily. The basketball courts will remain closed due to the inability to social distance while using.

Late in the afternoon on August 10th, Governor Andy Beshear made another decision that would have a drastic impact on families state-wide. He gave a strong recommendation that schools should wait to begin in-person classes until September 28th. He later further recommended that students should not begin in-person classes again until Kentucky has witnessed a decline in positive COVID-19 cases. Powell County originally planned to offer in-person learning in the classroom and had a special called board meeting planned for that same afternoon of the governor’s announcement to meet and discuss vital questions with local health professionals. However, following the announcement the meeting was canceled and this statement was posted to social media as a response, “With Governor Beshear’s announcement strongly recommending no in-person learning at schools before September 28th, the PCS Board of Education’s special called meeting for tonight has been canceled. We will still have a brief question and answer session which will be live streamed using a link found at www.kyschools.us. Since we will not be considering in-person learning until late next month, we will focus on answering questions that do not relate to in-person learning. It breaks our hearts that we cannot spend the time we want with our students for the next several weeks. We continue to put the health and safety of our students and staff at the highest priority. Stay tuned for information about Remote Learning Orientation sessions which will be planned for August 25-27.”