Around Town

By:  Ernie Wren

What an amazing week in Southern Boone! The Southern Boone High School baseball team won their first state championship, and the girls high school soccer team won their fifth consecutive district championship (read more in today’s Journal edition)! Congratulations go out to all the athletes, coaches, parents/families, and those cheering them on! Also, this past Saturday we witnessed a tremendous outpouring of community support at the “Tossing for Terri Cornhole Tournament” in which over $62,000 was raised to help Terri Nichols recover from her head injuries. Katie and Hayden Nichols did a fantastic job as fundraiser organizers, and were thankful for the many donors, players and attendees that packed the Optimist Building. FANTASTIC!

Another shout-out goes out this week to the Ashland Police Department (APD). If you read the Boone County Journal’s “Police Report” each week, and compare it to crime in nearby cities, you will notice the extreme differences in the levels of crime. Now some of that comes with population and demographics, but I believe a lot of it comes from prevention and presence as well. This last week, there was exactly one police report item, an arrest for “failure to register a motor vehicle.”  Granted these listings fluctuate, and Ashland does have some arrests for more serious crimes from time-to-time. But I believe APD prevents a lot of potential crime by patrolling not only the streets of Ashland, but also the section of Highway 63 that leads to Ashland. Watching carefully what comes in and out of our community is important and sends a signal to criminals. I also had the pleasure of talking to a friend at the cornhole tournament this past weekend about police responses to speeding within subdivisions.  He stated the APD was making significant efforts in responding to citizen concerns. This will always be an issue, as will crime in a growing community, but I again wanted to say “THANK YOU” to Chief Gabe Edwards and all the officers and staff members who serve.

See more in this weeks Boone County Journal