News

The Rowan County Fiscal Court hired Justin Caudill as building inspector for Rowan County and Rodney Perkins for maintenance of county facilities.

Rowan County has a lot to celebrate! Governor Andy Beshear announced more than $2.5 million in funding for Rowan County, to support our local airport, tourism, economic development, new senior center building, Clearfork Road, safe household hazardous waste disposal, and recycling. Governor Beshear said, “This is what we can do when we come together to build a better Kentucky.” We look forward to the long-term benefits this funding will bring to our community.

Reapportionment is the process by which the boundaries of Fiscal Court districts are redrawn based on the decennial census. Magistrates serve as members of the Fiscal Court representing their district, and the number varies from county to county with three being the legal minimum and eight being the legal maximum. Rowan County has four districts and therefore four magistrates. Read more here to learn about the duties of magistrates and the Fiscal Court, how boundaries are determined, and more.

Rowan County will soon be the home of the Commonwealth's newest addition to our signature bourbon industry, Eastern Light Distilling - a $143.7M investment expected to bring over 50 new jobs to our community. We expect Eastern Light Distilling’s announcement today will have a major positive impact in regards to tourism and economic development, and we believe that this investment speaks volumes to the quality of workforce and expansive capabilities we can bring to the table here in Rowan County.

The Rowan County Fiscal Court is investing in the safety of our community by installing two new tornado sirens. We have received grants which will cover half the cost, and the Fiscal Court will pay the other half.

The Army Corps of Engineers and EMS Director Danny Blevins held a Lake Safety Day at Stoney Cove, Cave Run Lake on Saturday July 22nd. Attendees practiced water safety, including but not limited to dive search, rescue training, and removing a victim in the water.

We were thrilled to welcome the Kentucky Coroner's Association to our beautiful Rowan County for an exciting in-service training opportunity. Per Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS), it is mandatory for Coroners and their Deputies to attend 18 hours of in-service training each year. The KY Dept of Criminal Justice Training hosted this certified training session, providing valuable knowledge and skills to enhance these vital roles in the community.

Congrats to the Morehead All-Stars, our little league state champions! We are so proud of them representing our community on the baseball diamond.

Road improvements across the county are underway to enhance our infrastructure. We have begun tile replacements to prepare for blacktopping later this year. We will be fixing Gene White Bridge in the coming weeks. Later this year, we will be using discretionary funds to pave Clearfork Road. Continue reading below for a full list of upcoming paving projects, separated by district. For updates on road closures, follow our Facebook page @RCFiscalCourt.

Funds are now available to Rowan County nonprofits to help fight the opioid epidemic. Thanks to the passing of House Bill 427, half of the settlement proceeds from lawsuits against certain manufacturers and distributors of opioids will go to local governments. This bill also includes certification and reporting requirements that will help prevent fraud and waste, ensuring every dollar ends up where it is needed most.

Morehead-Rowan County Tourism promotes every inch of this community, from east to west and from north to south. This has given us a unique opportunity for economic growth and development as we emerge from the pandemic, particularly within the area of outdoor tourism. Because of our location in the Daniel Boone National Forest and on the Sheltowee, we have access to over 100 miles of trails, with natural beauty and recreation opportunities for everyone to enjoy.

In our community, Cave Run Lake is a beloved hallmark of the area as well as a significant recreational and tourism asset. It is important to us that everyone has an opportunity to enjoy what this has to offer for generations to come. That's why the Rowan County Fiscal Court, with the US Forestry Service, has applied for and received this Land and Water Conservation Fund grant

Gateway Area Development District (GADD) has launched a mobile meal distribution site program, MotorMeals. GADD will canvas the region targeting populated areas, communities, and housing developments to provide seniors with a hot nutritionally-qualified meal. To participate in the MotorMeals program, individuals must be enrolled, or enroll, in a GADD senior center program. Signing up is quick and easy and can be completed over the phone by contacting your local senior center.

The Rowan County Public Library is working with the University of Kentucky on a research study to provide home radon detectors at the library at no cost to you. Patrons can check-out a Corentium Home by Airthings® Home Radon Detector and test their home for two weeks. At the end of testing, patrons will know their average home radon level

The new Kentucky Fishing & Boating Guide is now available at the courthouse or online at https://bit.ly/41uBGKJ.

Clearfield Elementary School has been hard at work this semester on their project based learning activity that allows students to give back to their community. After identifying hunger as a need, students were given the task of creating ways to have a positive impact on their town, while also continuing to master grade-level content within their classrooms. After much thought, CES students decided to address hunger in Clearfield by adding a Blessing Box to their community.

Over a year ago, we began our work release program at the Rowan County Detention Center, allowing qualified inmates to work at local businesses. We have had over 40 inmates involved in the program, and we’re incredibly grateful for the positive feedback from businesses and the lasting impact we anticipate it will have on participants’ lives post-release. The work release program gives these individuals the means to build a better life, with a paying job, work experience, and the influence of community-minded folks who also benefit from the expanded workforce.

This month, we celebrated the groundbreaking of our new secondary ambulance service facility, the John "Pete" B. Hamm Station. The site will serve as a hub for emergency medical services in the eastern half of the county and dramatically cut response times for our people in need. Rowan County EMS makes over 5,000 runs yearly and serves a regional medical facility. To respond to the needs of our growing county, it is essential that we grow our services. This will help set us up for the future, with an impact felt by Rowan Countians long after we’ve all moved on.

The pictured check for $1,000 was presented to Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 1525 for their Flight Training Scholarship Program: “Giving Wings to our Next Generation”. Funding for this donation comes from the estate of member Steve Fouch who recently passed away and asked the Legion to devote a portion of his estate to a worthy community cause. Major Fouch was an Air Force Veteran, and it was thought that a program supporting aviation training for youth would be most appropriate to honor his legacy. This check is the first that will be donated from Major Fouch’s estate to the EAA Flight Scholarship fund over the next 10 years.

We invite all citizens of Rowan County to join us for the 30th annual City- County Christmas Dinner! The dinner will be held at the Carl Perkins Center on December 1st and will begin at 4:30pm.