WQXE NEWS

West Point Mayor Richard Ciresi says the city has continued to make efforts to make the city aesthetically pleasing in order to attract new residents and tourism.

Ciresi says the city accomplished several goals in 2025, including the opening of a Dollar General store, which he believes is the first national retailer to open in the city in decades.

“That filled the big demand,” Ciresi said. “Now you can buy some groceries and pick up some things without going five or six miles in either direction, so that was a big one. We completed our bank stabilization study, which is going to put us in a position to apply for funds to fix our river bank so it doesn’t continue to slip into the river.”

Ciresi says the city also found new opportunities for revenue in 2025.

“We sold the long-term lease on our water tower, which gave us some cash, and we also sold the 99-year lease for the cell tower property on Dixie Highway, which again generated some cash,” Ciresi said.

The mayor says progress made in 2025 looks to support goals for 2026.

“I would like to get development started on the (city-owned) 55 acres and start building some new homes,” Ciresi said. “I would like to start doing in-fill on the vacant lots here in West Point. We should, hopefully, get the grant to complete our bank stabilization or riverbank stabilization. We are also in pursuit of a grant to perhaps build a new firehouse that would be above base flood.”

Ciresi also said park improvements are on the agenda for 2026, which in addition to benefiting residents creates opportunities such as the Kentucky Folklore Festival held at Veterans Memorial Park in October.

With the Kentucky General Assembly legislative session that begins Tuesday being a long session, 10th District State Senator Matt Deneen says the state budget is top priority.

“We have a lot of issues with housing and Medicaid that we’re going to have to deal with, and we’re always going to be concerned with looking at ways to invest in education as we always have, and of course infrastructure across the state, but there’s a multitude of issues that we will have to address as the COVID money comes to an end, and we are back into a session here that really reflects what the commonwealth’s revenue is,” Deneen said.

Deneen says he hopes to see the continued structured reduction of the state income tax, along with progress on workforce development and infrastructure issues.

“A lot of those things are in the works, and I work closely with the Veterans Military Affairs and Public Protection Committee as the chairman, so I do have some bills related to veterans benefits and national security issues around our military installations,” Deneen said. “I serve on several other committees, so there’ll be lots of bills related to those committees as well.”

Deneen encourages Kentuckians to follow the progress of the legislative session, and those with concerns can contact their representatives and senators.

“Several local constituents call me with issues related to health care, related to insurance, related to all kinds of topics from disaster relief and all of it,” Deneen said. “It’s a wide gamut, but I look forward to having those conversations with them and doing the very best I can to be honest, transparent, and forthcoming with the answers they need to help them.”

Contact information for legislators, information on bills as they are filed, and a schedule for the session can be found on the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission’s website.

After delaying the originally scheduled event, Norton Healthcare is one again planning to host a listening session regarding the construction of a second dedicated pediatric care campus in Jeffersontown. The event will be held Tuesday, January 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at G.C. Burkhead Elementary School.

Norton Healthcare President and CEO Russell Cox says Norton wants to hear from a wide range of community members, from current parents and grandparents to future generations that may be parents by the time the facility opens.

“We’re extending it a little bit further than most ever have, because we’re not just talking about the services clinically for the pediatric patient, but we’re also talking about those support services for mom, dad, for family, for other people who provide care in the home for these pediatric patients, because we know that they are a significant part of the support mechanism that helps the healing process,” Cox said.

The listening session will be an opportunity to learn more about the plans for the new campus as well as for Norton to collect survey data.

“Our main reason for coming there is to have that conversation and to look people in the eyes and say, ‘how can we do better with what we’re doing in E-Town right now?’, but also, ‘how should we be thinking about this new pediatric village, if you will, that’s going to be out in J-Town?’” Cox said.

Registration is requested but not required. Learn more, and fill out the survey if you are unable to attend the listening session, at www.nortonchildrens.com/new-campus.