Trail Towns: Ellen Zornes, Holly Grimsley 2014-04-08 - City Hall, 116 Campbellsville Street, Columbia, KY - Photo by Ed Waggener. Ellen Zornes left and Holly Grimsley of the Trail Towns Core Group organizers, received an enthusiastic reception at City Hall last night. Zornes has asked for, and received, official City of Columbia backing for the Trail Towns Initiative. Above she was pointing to other members of her core group who were in the audience: Jelaine Phillips and Brenda Mann, who along with Lee Ann Jessee and Councillor Linda Waggener, are key organizers of Trail Town. Both presenters emphasized the health benefits, and also emphasized how tourist dollars are add to revenue, shore up small businesses, and help reduce the tax burden on local citizens. Zornes said that, surprisingly, most of the infrastructure for meeting Trail Towns requirements are in place in Columbia, and that community investment would be minimal. Grimsley, who has been involved in similar programs in North Carolina, told the council that signage will be one of the big responsibilities, and that Trail Towns, USA organizers are working with the Kentucky Highway Department to develop signs which meet state standards. She said that Trail Towns is about preservation, that experience has shown that Trail Town tourists are drawn to towns like they remember or like they imagine as ideal. Zornes told the Council that Columbia may be a "Certified" Trail Town in as little as 6 months, probably no more than 12. At present, only two towns, Livingston in Rockcastle County, and Dawson Springs, Governor Beshear's hometown in Hopkins County, are "Certified." She noted that Columbia is not alone in the effort, that Campbellsville and Greensburg are helping to complete the "Triangle around Green River Lake" with their own Trail Town programs, and that the groups are hoping Russell County will begin a Trail Town program soon. Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.

No more. Chief Cross on Operation Spring Cleanup 2014-04-08 - City Hall, 116 Campbellsville Street, Columbia, KY - Photo by Ed Waggener. Columbia Police Chief Jason Cross delivered a passionate speech to Columbia City Council on the ongoing police crackdown on illegal drugs in Columbia, KY. He told the council that the police now feel they move with confidence, knowing they have the full support of the mayor and council, and knowing that law enforcement has the full support of the CJE and Adair Fiscal Court magistrates. He said that drugs are the most serious threat to children with too many being cared for by grandparents whose parents are incarcerated or are incapable of caring for their kids because of drugs. The Department's Operation Spring Cleanup will continue, he said. Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.

Listeners at Monday night's Columbia City Council Meeting 2014-04-08 - City Hall, 116 Campbellsville Street, Columbia, KY - Photo by Ed Waggener. It was a night for City Council to Listen at its April 7, 2014, regular meeting. Three presenters held there attention: Barbara Armitage, for Farmers Market on the Square; Ellen Zornes and Holly Grimsley for Columbia's Trail Town USA initiative; and Chief Jason Cross, on Operation Spring Cleaning, the Columbia Police Department's ongoing crackdown on drugs. Listening, clockwise, are Councillors Dr. Ron Rogers, Charles Grimsley, and June Parson; City Clerk Rhonda Loy, Mayor Mark D. Harris, City Attorney Marshall Loy, and Councillors Craig Dean, Linda Waggener, and Robert Flowers. Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.

Downtown Columbia's Hextapus Tree 2014-04-08 - Above Hurt Street, Columbia, KY - Photo CM Staff Photo. A six armed Green Creature reaches Tentacles to the Sky ready to catch something, maybe a helicopter, in a Sci-Fi movie? Maybe, but not. It's just a wonderful tree covered by English Ivy - actually an invasive killer - which has grown into a Columbia landmark which fascinates and tickles the imagination. Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.

Double pleasure with Double Daffodils 2014-04-08 - Columbia, KY - Photo by Daffodil Editors. These Daffodils are the old fashioned double ones, brightening the bomb shelter in this photo. The Daffodils have a beautiful aroma - "bouquet' if they were wine, and there is a Daffodil wine by Galena Cellars, but it's made with grapes - - and a note, the person who reduced the living stand of Daffodils here by half a dozen says she "saved" them because they were laying over. Daffodil rustlers - mostly female - use all kinds of excuses for their crimes. CM Daffodil Editors. Got a favorite show of Daffodils? Please share on CM. Send using any Contact Submit button. Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.

213 Pinwheels denote 213 cases of child abuse in Adair Co., KY 2014-04-07 - 500 Public Square, Columbia, KY - Photo by Greg Thomas, Thomas Photography. April is child abuse prevention month and if you drive around the Courthouse in downtown Columbia you'll see 213 pinwheels surrounding it. The Lake Cumberland Children Advocacy Center asked the Adair County Jaycees to place these. Each pin wheel represents a child abuse case turned in from Adair County that they investigated last year. In the picture are Adair County Jaycee members Jamie Hadley, Jennifer Carter, and Alisha Stotts. - Greg Thomas Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.

Travel: Sunset on the Gulf of Mexico 2014-04-07 - Lido Key, FL - Photo by Pen. Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.

If you have photos you'd like to share with ColumbiaMagazine readers, please email .jpg files to photos@columbiamagazine.com. Please include your name, an email address or phone number, the date the photo was taken, and the location and names of anyone in the photos.

Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728.
Phone: 270.403.0017