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.”

On July 20th, Mayor Allen made an important message that sparked the interest and opinion of several Powell County citizens. “Due to the spike of COVID in Powell County, we are considering canceling some activities. People are not wearing the masks as ask to, this could influence our decision. At this time, the splash park, Music in the Park, ballfields, and basketball courts are open, but with the spike in cases we may be forced to cancel these activities for the health and safety of our employees and citizens. The City of Stanton will make a decision in the next couple days.”    -Mayor Allen

By Madison Fugate

The Barn at the Gorge located in Stanton, Kentucky and owned by Jennifer Drake, has in store some events for this Summer season that have been triggering the excitement of several locals. On July 9th, they hosted their first ever Karaoke Night. This was an event hosted outside, with a lot of comfortable fanning and a large enough space to accommodate the mandated 50 or less capacity at a safe distance. There is no cover charge, there was however food and drinks available for purchase. The food was prepared and provided by another well known and locally owned restaurant, The Red River Smokehouse. Owner and operator, Jennifer Drake, expresses her pursuit to host this event each Thursday, if all goes accordingly. She states you can follow the events more closely by liking her Facebook page and following the events posted online.
Typically, this location is most often times used as a venue for weddings and is a popular and sought after spot for said occasions. Drake devotes the majority of her time and energy into these special days for her clients. One motto she prides her business behind for her wedding events is “creating the best day ever.” This amazing barn is located just on the other side of the gravel drive that leads to the 4 Guys RV Park at the Gorge where you will find another popular area, more particularly known as a camping site that offers a pool, playground area, and more.
In addition to karaoke nights, the Barn at the Gorge also hosted a night for musician Tyler Halsey to perform acoustic on July 11th with an admission fee of $10.00 and a limit of 50 people as recently mandated. There is another date set for a live performance in store at the Barn at the Gorge. The Cornbread Opera is scheduled to play on July 18th with the same regulations, as of now, and an entry fee of $5.00. As with anything for the duration of this prolonging pandemic, the agenda and regulations are subject to change and you can stay updated by following their Facebook page.

By MADISON FUGATE

Times Editor

An election like never before, an election that will most likely hold an interesting read for history books in years to come. Despite the challenges, Powell County Clerk, Jackie Everman and the rest of the office teamed up with Stanton Postmaster, Danna Hughes, to ensure mailed ballots were delivered to and from on time and their hard work and determination allowed for a very different poll in votes as required from them this year. The clerk and staff pulled long hours and added days to count votes. Everman summarizes her view and thoughts behind the process, “This year’s voting was definitely different, thanks to the pandemic, but all in all, I think it went rather smooth. Even though there was a lot more pressure on me and a lot of extra work and time that went into it versus a “normal” election, I think we handled it rather well. We went from less than 10% of people voting by mail up to almost 60%. I’m anxious to see how we will proceed with the General Election.” Kentucky’s primary election was originally scheduled for May 19, but was delayed until June 23 as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. In the 2016 general election, Donald Trump won the state with 62.52% of the vote in Kentucky, compared with Hillary Clinton’s 32.68%. The winning presidential candidate has carried Kentucky in every election from 1964 to 2004. In 2008, John McCain won the state but lost the White House breaking that streak. Kentucky’s state Legislature is controlled by Republicans, while the governor’s office is in Democratic hands under the leadership of Governor Andy Beshear. Republicans hold both of the state’s US Senate seats and a majority of US House seats. This year in Powell county, there were more absentee ballots than in person votes. Republican candidate, Donald Trump led the president of the United States primary election in Powell County by 33 votes at a total of 877 votes with Joseph Biden, democratic candidate, following closely behind at 844 total votes. Bernie Sanders received 154 total votes and the remaining candidates had 50 or less each total in Powell County. Mitch McConnell led the United States Senator poll in Powell County with 791 total votes and Democrat, Amy McGrath, followed closely behind with 778 votes total. Democrat, Charles Booker received a total of 385 votes for Powell County and Democrat candidate
Mike Broihier had 161 total votes in the county. The remainder of candidates for United States Senator held 50 or less votes for Powell county. As far as the United States Representative in Congress, Democrat, Josh Hicks, led the poll for Powell County with 961 total votes and Republican Andy Barr had 872 total votes. Democrat Daniel Kemph received 443 total votes for United States representative in Congress, again in Powell County alone. The remaining candidates for United States Representative in Congress had 50 or less votes total each. The next choice on the ballot was for state senator, Albert Robinson led this campaign in Powell County with 455 total votes. Kay Hensley had 275 votes and Brandon Jackson Storm had a total of 192 votes for Powell County. The last choice on the ballot was for Justice of the Supreme Court, Robert B. Conley led the votes for Powell County with 1,080 total votes, the largest accumulation of supporting Powell County voters compared to any other candidacy. Sam Wright held 672 votes and Chris Harris had 570 votes total for Powell County.