THE LAST WORD

Hope shines again

The last year while other communities and cities across our country have been struggling, the City of Russell has found a way to spread hope during these trying times of budget cuts and economic setbacks. We welcomed 29 new businesses to the City of Russell in 2021 and have more planned to open in 2022. Instead of despair, we decided to revitalize our community by seeking out and encouraging new small businesses to open and by revitalizing the heart of our city in downtown Russell.

Working with the council, we have managed to make difficult budget cuts to create a balanced budget after suffering a significant loss in payroll taxes after our beloved Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital was shut down. Our city employees have worked harder than ever and have foregone pay raises over the last four years. We have still managed to raise money to continue to provide excellent fire service to our city and the surrounding area. We just ordered new police cruisers and are actively hiring new law enforcement officers to police our city. With grant funding, we are improving our water and sewer systems.

We have had free community events organized by Revitalize Russell, a non-profit organization that was formed to raise money for beautification and economic development here in our City. Halloweentown and Hometown Christmas brought thousands of people downtown to celebrate the holidays together and you could feel the enthusiasm and hope created by sharing our small town values and history together.

In short, while times are certainly tough, the state of our city is good — and I look forward to this year bringing more prosperity and hope for our community. May God bless all of us as we seek to serve the community in which we live.

Ron Simpson has served as the mayor of Russell, Kentucky since 2019 after serving on city council for several years.

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