Pedestal replacement project begins at Sanders Park

The Colonel will soon be on stable ground once again.

An anonymous donor has agreed to give $3,000 to repair the pedestal for the Col. Harlan Sanders statute in Sanders Park.

Tuesday morning, workers began to replace the crumbling pedestal on which the bronze statue of KFC founder Col. Harland Sanders stands in the center of Sanders Park in Corbin.

Corbin Tourism Director Maggy Kriebel said the project involves removing the pea gravel concrete surrounding the statue.

“The concrete in the center was a differ pour. It has not deteriorated,” Kriebel explained.

Kriebel added that the materials and labor, which has been contracted to J&H Construction Company through an anonymous donor, are being covered with the $3,000 donation.

“We won’t have to pay a penny,” Kriebel said. “It is all going to be on the donor.”

Kriebel brought the situation to the tourism commission’s attention at a meeting in February, explaining that if a person stepped up on the pedestal, you could hear it popping and crunching.

“It is gone,” Kriebel said when asked about the possibility of repairing it.

Workers put up fencing at each entrance to the park as they prepared to demolish the old concrete. The statue will remain in place during the work, but has been covered in plastic to protect it from dust and flying debris.

Kriebel estimated the work would take approximately one week, depending on the weather.

The life-size statue was installed in 2015 as the centerpiece of the park bearing Sanders’ name. In addition to the statue, a series of placards around the park tell Sanders’ story.