Former Providence School Board Chair to join Webster County Board

by Matt Hughes

Dr. James Kemp and Venita Murphy,
the Providence Board Chairman during
merger talks in 2006.

J-E News Editor

The Webster County School Board seat vacated by David Higgins earlier this year has now been filled. After soliciting applications and going through the interview process, Venita Murphy of Providence has been named the county’s newest school board member.

Although a new comer to the Webster County School Board, Murphy was chairman of the Providence Board of Education in 2006 during Providence Independent School’s merger with Webster County.

“My acquaintance with Ms. Murphy was through that consolidation process,” said Superintendant Dr. James Kemp. “She represented herself, her board and her district well under the most difficult of circumstances.”

“I served on the Providence Board of Education for 11 years,” Murphy said. “Hopefully my past experience  will be an added asset to the Webster County Board. As always I am for the betterment and achievements of the students in Webster County. I will serve passionately our community.”

Providence Council Meeting Brief

By CHARLIE HUST

Providence City Council handled a short agenda Monday night in regular session in the council chambers.

First item of business was to pass a resolution to meet all the requirement needed to retire part of the debt service on the water treatment and sewer plant.

The resolution will combine funds remaining from the Baptist Hill sewer line project in the amount of $396,000 along with $198,000 awarded to the city from coal severance funding. This will retire one loan to the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority (KIA), with two remaining loans on the facility.

The city just recently passed a water rate increase to help retire the other two loans. The passing of the resolution on Monday was a formality to execute all the paperwork necessary with the Department of Local Government to transfer the payments to KIA.