{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Mountjoy, Smith honored during ceremony Sunday afternoon &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"zRa3lXQVi6\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/mountjoy-smith-honored-ceremony-sunday-afternoon\/\">Mountjoy, Smith honored during ceremony Sunday afternoon<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/mountjoy-smith-honored-ceremony-sunday-afternoon\/embed\/#?secret=zRa3lXQVi6\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Mountjoy, Smith honored during ceremony Sunday afternoon&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"zRa3lXQVi6\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/4-col-whole-Smith-family.jpg","thumbnail_width":480,"thumbnail_height":270,"description":"Sunday afternoon was a time of recognition in Williamsburg for work to develop the old First Street area into a natural area of beauty that local residents can utilize for a walk along a nature trail, a leisurely canoe trip down the Cumberland River or just a place to have a picnic lunch. It was a time to honor former Williamsburg Mayor Marcella Mountjoy, the late Dave Smith, and Williamsburg maintenance and sanitation workers, who were responsible for much of the work on the nature trail. Sunday officials dedicated the First Street boat ramp in Mountjoy\u2019s honor, and the new nature trail in Smith\u2019s honor. \u201cIt has kind of been a long time coming,\u201d noted Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison. In 1990, Mountjoy was mayor of Williamsburg, and started work with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to get a boat ramp built in the downtown area. About two years later, the boat ramp on First Street was built. \u201cWe owe the first boat ramp on the Cumberland River to Mrs. Mountjoy,\u201d Harrison noted. During Sunday\u2019s ceremony, city officials unveiled a sign officially naming the boat ramp the \u201cMayor Marcella Mountjoy River Launch.\u201d The sign includes a quote from Mountjoy that states, \u201cPeople notice beautification. Things don\u2019t just happen; they are made to happen by people who care. I\u2019m proud of us.\u201d Mountjoy said she was touched and thankful for the honor. \u201cThis is kind of a dream,\u201d she noted. \u201cLiving by the river, I often wondered why we couldn\u2019t just take advantage of it more locally. Places like Lexington now are trying to dig a canal. We have it all here for us \u2026\u00a0So many other people don\u2019t have what we have.\u201d Also Sunday afternoon, city officials unveiled a sign dedicating the new nature trail that reads \u201cWelcome to the Dave Smith \u2018The Cap\u2019n\u2019 River Walk.\u201d The sign also includes a quote from the late Smith that reads, \u201cYou can learn more from nature than from reading books.\u201d Harrison said the idea for the nature trail came about in 2010 when he went down to the boat ramp while maintenance workers were weed eating, picking up trash and so forth. At the time, the weeds on the hillside were so high you really couldn\u2019t see the boat ramp. Harrison commented to Cecil Powers, then city maintenance director, that the area would make a nice little park if they could get it cleaned up, to which Powers replied, \u201cWe can do that.\u201d Harrison had his doubts that the men would have time to do this between picking up garbage on a daily basis, sweeping and picking up trash along roadways in addition to other duties, but he was proven wrong. Maintenance crews worked on the project about three days a week for eight years in order to complete it. \u201cThey have really stepped it up and cleaned this place up. It is really nice and I am proud of it,\u201d Harrison said. The area now features the nature trail, a butterfly garden, a gazebo, and donated picnic tables. The trail also includes several birdhouses that were decorated by Williamsburg Independent School Art Teacher Karen Field\u2019s classes and donated for the effort. Initially, 34 birdhouses were put up, but Harrison noted that vandals had already damaged some of them. Harrison said after some discussion, Powers suggested naming the nature trail after Smith, who placed duck and bird boxes up and helped keep the area cleaned up. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t a day that I was ever around him that I didn\u2019t learn something,\u201d Harrison said about Smith. \u201cSo to honor him with the nature trail just seems like the perfect thing to do. Dave Smith and nature just seem like they go together.\u201d Harrison added that the nature trail was constructed through numerous donations and the work of city maintenance workers. \u201cWe\u2019ve nickeled and dimed this thing for eight years. We\u2019ve not used any grant money. We\u2019ve not asked for anything. We have done it on our own,\u201d he noted. Harrison said that the city plans to keep building onto and improving the nature trail each year. &nbsp;"}