A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

John Schickel: Always great events to attend, but there are two recent ones that had a deep impact


One of the things I enjoy about my job as your state senator is all the special events I get invited to. These last several weeks before the holidays, I attended two particularly nice events which had a deep effect on me.

On Veterans Day, I was invited to the Goodridge Elementary School for a Veterans Day program. I have attended many Veterans Day programs and was expecting this to be like the others I attended in the past. However, I was in for a wonderful surprise and the event was like no other I had ever attended.
 
The children at Goodridge Elementary had adopted the Army’s 1st Battalion 28th Infantry 1st Infantry Division, a group which saw heavy combat during the Vietnam War. These veterans travel from all over the country to attend this event each year at Goodridge in Hebron.

Goodridge Elementary’s staff, including Principal Jennifer Patrick, School Resource Officer,Laura Mosqueda; and teacher Ashley Kleisinger, did a wonderful job with the program, which included singing by the students choir, color guard from the Boone County Sheriff’s office, and remarks by Student Council President, Braydon Thornton.

It was truly a memorable event.
 
On November 15 I attended the re-dedication of Boone County’s original courthouse which was built in 1889. Since the new Justice Center was built, this building has basically been vacant.

It is a beautiful old courthouse which had been completely refurbished as a community center. Our Judge Executive, Gary Moore, and the fiscal court are to be commended for preserving this piece of Boone County history.
 
As I sat in the large courtroom upstairs, I thought of all the historic events which had taken place in that courtroom.

The Kiger murder trial in 1941 was famous for being the first time in history a person was ever found not guilty for murder by reason of insanity in the United States. In that trial, a 16-year old daughter and sister of the victims was tried in that very courtroom and made national headlines when she was acquitted.

The murder trial of Paul Kordenbrock, who savagely killed Stanley Allen and injured Western Auto Store owner, William Thompson, during a burglary, was tried in that courtroom, and I remember it vividly.

As a police officer, I was a witness to many jury trials in that very room. Now the stately building has been completely refurbished and is available to the public for special events.

If you have not visited it, this is something you must see.


 
John Schickel is a state senator representing Senate District 11. As always, if you have any questions or comments about these issues or any other public policy issue, please call him at 502-564-8100, Ext. 617, or visit my LRC webpage to submit a message. You can also follow me on Twitter at @SenatorSchickel. You can review the Legislature’s work online at www.lrc.ky.gov.


Related Posts

Leave a Comment