New Episode of City Profile, 2012 State of the City Address

 “The two most important things that I can do to push Paducah forward are to push economic development which will bring the jobs here and to make sure there is a quality of life where people can come and enjoy themselves and have something to do,” says Paducah Mayor Bill Paxton.  Mayor Paxton is in the last year of his third and final term as Mayor.  In this episode of City Profile, Tom Butler, West Kentucky Community & Technical College Television Production Coordinator, interviews Mayor Paxton about his more than 11 years as Mayor and about his recent State of the City address presented at the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce Power in Partnership Breakfast held January 5.

City Profile can be seen on Government 11, the governmental access channel of the City of Paducah.  The episode also is online at www.paducahky.gov and the various social media outlets for the City of Paducah including Youtube and Facebook.  Check the website for Government 11 program information, videos, news releases, and broadcast schedules.

This episode of City Profile begins with an outline of the challenges facing the City of Paducah for 2012 including the future of the gaseous diffusion plant.  Mayor Paxton says, “The good news is that there’re a lot of good people working on this from Senator McConnell and Congressman Whitfield to Senator Paul, the City and County, the Chamber of Commerce, and GPEDC.  The bad news is that it’s going to be difficult.  In May or June of this year, the plant could be closing down.”

As a contrast to the challenges, Paducah in general has quite a few projects underway including the construction of the new middle school and a new orthopedic facility.  This year, plans are in place to extend the greenway trail, renovate the Noble Park Pool, and move forward on the Riverfront Redevelopment Project.

One controversial subject discussed in this episode of City Profile is the potential merger of City and County governments.  Mayor Paxton says, “I know the public is being educated on this and will be over the next few months.  Hopefully, people will look at it and not necessarily say ‘Well, is it going to be good for me?’ but say ‘Is it going to be good for the community?’  Is it going to help us grow and be more prosperous in the future?”

At the end of the episode Mayor Paxton urges people to get involved.  Mayor Paxton says, “I hope that people will continue to volunteer on the different boards that we have.  I hope that people will step up and run for public office.  You’ve got to have that if you are going to continue to have a strong community.”

City Profile can be viewed on Government 11 starting Monday, January 23, at 9:30 a.m.  It also airs that week on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., Friday at 9:00 p.m., and Saturday at 8:30 a.m.  Daily program information is available by watching the informational slides that air on the Channel 11 bulletin board.

For more information about City Profile or other Government 11 programming, call Tom Butler, WKCTC Television Production Coordinator, at 534-3208 or Pam Spencer at 444-8669.

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