OHIO COUNTY, KY (WFIE) -
With an area as big as Ohio County, with a small population, Judge Executive David Johnston realizes hearing from every resident isn't easy. That's why he's started a series of Town Hall meetings.
"Speak to people right where they live, not make them come to where we are," said Johnston.
"Down to earth, one on one," said resident Brandon Thomas.
On Tuesday, Johnston made his way down to Biships, the Centertown Grocery Store. Centertown residents' main concern is road conditions.
"You don't think you're going to get it widened, do you?" asks Thomas. "When trucks come in the morning, they run lickety split and you can't stop them. A lot of it is the mud and debris on the road from the coal mines."
Some residents were under the impression the care of their roads would be dropped even more than it is now because the roads are less traveled.
"Just because there's not a house on a road doesn't mean that the road shouldn't be taken care of," notes Thomas.
"It lets me explain and separate rumor from fact. This community would suffer greater than anyone else if we were to drop the maintenance or to decrease the maintenance. But that's not the fact. We're going to either do the same or better," said Johnston.
Johnston plans to return to Centertown for another meeting to discuss progress in late summer.
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