 On April 12, 2005, the City of Hyden celebrated recent improvements to its sewer system by releasing fish into the Middle Fork of the Kentucky River. The $3.8 million project upgraded the city’s sewer plant so it could treat more sewage. In addition, new sewer lines were extended to 120 homes and 60 businesses in the Rockhouse Creek, Wendover Road and Hospital Hill areas.
Sixty-five students from Hyden Elementary School helped the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife release 2,000 channel catfish. The fish release symbolized that new sewer service meant fewer homes polluting the creek.
“Everything we do today to clean the water and countryside means a better future for these young people,” said Richard Thomas, executive director of PRIDE. “And we know they will keep the water and environment clean because they’re learning about Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment.”
Thomas read a letter from Congressman Hal Rogers (KY-5). Rogers secures federal funding for the PRIDE program and directed $1.5 million to the project through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The city received a PRIDE grant of $750,000 for the project.
The event was hosted by Angela Muncy, City Clerk and PRIDE Coordinator, and City Commissioners Barbara Asher, Lonnie Hendrix, Frank Morgan and Mary Wooton. Guests included State Representative Tim Couch and County Commissioner Randall Combs. Sandra Dunahoo and Eddie Brown participated on behalf of the engineering firm for the project, Kenvirons, Inc. Ron Jones represented Kenney, Inc., the contracting firm that built the new sewer lines. Judy Construction built the plant.
Kenneth Slone, state director of the USDA Rural Development, and Jane Ruhl, project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, spoke about their agencies’ roles in the project. Rural Development provided a $1 million grant and $250,000 loan for the project, as well as administered the PRIDE grant. The Corps of Engineers provided $300,000 for the project design.
PRIDE has invested more than $4,238,377 in Leslie County since 1997, through grants to local governments, the Clean Community Board, schools and low-income homeowners. Results of PRIDE cleanup efforts in the county include:
• 2,783 volunteers worked 13,679 hours.
• 74 dumps cleaned up.
• 544 homes have gained access to sanitary wastewater treatment, either through a septic system or public sewer service.
Eastern Kentucky PRIDE — Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment — serves 38 counties in southern and eastern Kentucky. Rogers co-founded PRIDE in 1997 with the late General James Bickford, former Secretary of the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet. PRIDE encourages and supports the region’s waterways, end illegal trash dumps and promote environmental education.
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