By GAGE WILSON
for Glasgow News 1
Cave City Council members found themselves at the intersection of juvenescence adventure and adult responsibility at their April meeting. From clubs, courts and curfews the council’s agenda ran the gamut of community development and social interaction.
The meeting began with a change in order to the agenda as Cave City Mayor Dwayne Hatcher proposed that talks of the reconstruction of Caverna’s tennis court should take precedent, as spokesman, Terry Bunnell, would need to leave in a timely manner to make his city council meeting in Glasgow at 6 p.m. With no objection, Bunnell, who was present to ask the council to support the project, began his appeal.
“I’m very aware that as a council member in Glasgow, that you have limited resources, you have taxpayer dollars and how you allocate them,” Bunnell said. “So I’m asking you to invest in this community even more than the projects that you have been involved with.”
Terry Bunnell recounts his time as a youth playing on the Caverna tennis courts, saying that he learned, “Fitness, fun and fellowship.” Gage Wilson/for Glasgow News 1
Bunnell went on to say that it had been a number of years since the Caverna courts were maintained, and in that time they have suffered from its disrepair.
“Those courts were built in the late ’70s and have been resurfaced one time since then, and they’re in need of major repair.” According to Bunnell, the state of the courts now is such that the school’s newly formed tennis team cannot play home matches. They can only play away matches.
“I’ll tell you what this has to do with the residents of Cave City,” he said. “It’s for this community, that school system is part of this community.”
He went on to list the support the project has received from the United States Tennis Association and the Community Foundation of Western Kentucky. Bunnell added that the courts would not be locked and would be open to the community and tourists, provided the school was not hosting a home match.
Bunnell said he would also speak to Horse Cave city officials about providing support for the tennis courts. Caverna’s school district is the consolidated former school districts of Horse Cave and Cave City. The Cave City council decided to delay a decision on funding to see what came of Bunnell’s meeting with Horse Cave officials.
Craig Thomas apprises the council of what RBS Design Group has planned for the proposed location of the Cave City Branch of the Boys and Girls Club. Gage Wilson/for Glasgow News 1
The council then turned its attention to RBS Design Group president, Craig Thomas, who presented the council with the finalized construction documents needed that, should the council approve them, would move the project into its next stage of putting the project out for bid.
Through questioning, Thomas provided a brief synopsis on what the architects have in mind, most importantly the building will be fully accessible to anyone regardless of disability.
Barren River Development District representative Matt Pedigo said that the documents would also have to be approved by a building inspector as part of the “evidentiary process” of the project for funding to be released. He recommended that, due to the uncertainty of when the Department of Local Government would release the funds, the municipality should plan on making a line item within the 2025-26 budget to show the presence of the grant.
While the Boys and Girls Club may still take some time to open, recent events show that the need for youth engagement could not be greater as a string of recent vandalism, attributed to roaming youths, has sparked the interest of local law enforcement to implement a curfew for those under 18 years old.
The proposed ordinance would apply to juveniles outside the time of Monday through Friday from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Cave City Police Chief Paul Reynolds speaks in support of a youth curfew ordinance after a string of vandalism that has, purportedly, been perpetrated by young adults in the area. Gage Wilson/for Glasgow News 1
Councilwoman Beverly Ford was the first to scrutinize the ordinance, stating her discomfort on fining a child for being out past specified hours.
“Kids roaming the streets at night, ain’t no way they have $50 or $100,” Ford said.
Cave City Police Chief Paul Reynolds said, “I understand your point, but fines are the only way we can get their attention, you can call social services, but they’re not going to do anything with it…it’s up to the parents on making these kids stay home.”
“You can’t make kids do anything these days,” Ford retorted. “Parents can’t make their kids get out of bed to go to school, they’re sneaking out of the house…money is not going to make that happen.”
Ford emphasized how parents or authorities should contact the Department of Community Based Services to better mitigate the risk to, not just businesses or property, but for the youths themselves.
“We deal with them all the time,” Reynolds replied. “They don’t do anything with these kids…kids are kids and if you get the parents involved that’ll get their attention.”
The first reading of the ordinance for the curfew passed with the understanding that it could be amended, only one council member dissented the vote, Beverly Ford.
Boys and Girls Club CEO Mallie Boston said in a written statement to the council, “Statistically youth engage in those activities right after school so being in an after school program alone supports better behavior.”
Ultimately, the council deferred to its safety committee to explore the issue and possible ramifications of implementing the curfew as it was written.
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