Now is the time to be optimistic and pleased with happenings in Corbin and Williamsburg

In anticipation of writing this column while driving to work today I counted the number of garbage cans and the number of houses on one block in Corbin. There were nine houses and 26 garbage cans at the edge of the street waiting to be emptied on this particular street.

Don Estep is publisher of the News Journal.

This is about three cans per household. With each can holding 32 gallons it would take three cans to fill one of the proposed 95 gallon cans the city of Corbin will be giving to each residential home.

Perfect! After years of debate and controversy the city of Corbin made a huge positive step by budgeting $209,000 to purchase 3,500 new 95 gallon garbage cans and one will be provided to each residential home in the Corbin city limits.

For years Corbin has suffered with an unsightly situation with garbage collection. For too many years too many people have not followed the rules and regulations and trash has been piled up beside and over the top of the cans. In addition to this, cans and lids could be found in the street, on neighbor’s driveways, about anywhere when the wind would blow.

When the new cans are distributed it is my hope that the city will rigidly enforce the rules that all garbage must fit in the cans and all cans be located out of sight until collection day. The new cans will have attached lids.

Although, in the past some people tried to make a bigger issue than it was out of the size of a 95 gallon can with the difficulty of rolling it to the curb, I assure you it is not difficult.

The bigger wheels make it easy to roll and if you have more trash than will fit into one of these cans, you probably ought to evaluate your buying habits.

My wife and I spent a couple of years in Henderson, Ky. a few years ago and that city had the 95 gallon cans. We never saw unsightly messes and when a neighbor had yard waste or more than the can would hold an extra bag would be left along side the can.

Now that the city has made this move, could somebody come up with a solution to either fix up or tear down unsightly properties that exist. This is a universal problem that many towns face.

More good news is that additional funding at the Kentucky Splash Waterpark in Williamsburg could be coming after it looked like part of the expansion project would have to be cut due to cost overruns. Mayor Roddy Harrison recently told the Williamsburg City Council, “We have a good chance at getting another $2.5 million and we wouldn’t have to pay that back.” That would be part of an $8 million expansion at the park.

With the additional money a $1.3 million swimming pool could be also built. The plans also call for two new softball fields, a new walking and bicycling path, new campground sites, and a splash pad.

It is great that we have facilities that attract tourists, but it is even greater that we have these facilities for our own people. We have never had it this good and it keeps getting better for all of us in Corbin and Williamsburg.

An arena, a waterpark, volleyball courts, block parties, car shows, and the list goes on and on. Things are happening.

This week we are proud to present the 19th annual News Journal People’s Choice Awards. See the reader’s top choices in the special section in this edition of the News Journal.

Because of all that is happening I am adding one more category that was not listed on our ballot. To the cities of Corbin and Williamsburg you are the BEST in Kentucky! Congratulations to all!