Throughout the third quarter of 2024, the City of Princeton buzzed with excitement as it celebrated a series of notable events, starting with the grand opening of a new fast-food restaurant.
In July, Mayor Brock Thomas and Princeton Economic Development Director Jenny Clark joined Christy Schaefer, Director of Operations at Friends Hospitality, and others to cut the ribbon and officially celebrate the grand opening of Arby’s Restaurant on US 62 West.
Clark shared her excitement about the new addition to the community, while Mayor Brock Thomas was equally enthusiastic about the addition of a new restaurant in Princeton.
click to download audioIn July, local leaders and community members also gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the newly constructed Community Medical Center in Princeton, highlighted by a ribbon-cutting ceremony
Marketing and Outreach Coordinator Chloe King highlighted the services the new facility, located at 1022 West Main Street in Princeton, offers to the community.
click to download audioThe third quarter of 2024 was filled with community celebrations, including the Princeton Optimist Club’s Black Patch Festival in September, the community’s largest annual event.
As the festival concluded, Optimist Club member Roy Gene Rogers, a veteran of many Black Patch Festivals, remarked that the 2024 event was among the best he had experienced.
click to download audioThe grand marshal’s of the 2024 Black Patch Parade were local 4-H Agent Rhonda Jewell and George Pruitt, a lifelong advocate for agriculture, both locally and statewide.
In August, the community came together to celebrate the annual Dotson Days in Princeton. Paulette Gray from the Community Disciples shared insights into the history of the Dotson School, now a park, and its significance to the community.
click to download audioDotson High School served not only local students but also those from neighboring counties. After the school was destroyed by a fire, the property was transformed into a park.
Meanwhile, the annual Thunder In The Fourth of July Celebration was held at Buddy Rogers Ballpark in Fredonia, followed by the Fredonia Lions Club’s 59th annual Fredonia Valley Festival at Buddy Rogers Park in August.
Brother Presley Lamm remarked that he believes the festival improves with each passing year.
click to download audioIn August, a large crowd comprised of law enforcement, state officials, local leaders, family, and friends gathered in Princeton to officially dedicate and rename a section of KY 293 in Caldwell County as the Chief Deputy Jody Wayne Cash Memorial Highway.
Cash, a native of Princeton and the chief deputy with the Calloway County Sheriff’s Office was fatally shot in the line duty on May 16, 2022, in Marshall County.
In an interview with WPKY’s News Edge prior to the ceremony, Wayne and Teresa Cash, Jody’s parents, shared their hopes of how the public would remember their beloved son.
click to download audioIn September, the Princeton City Council appointed city employee Laci Harper as the new director of the Tourism Commission, following Deputy City Clerk Jenny Clark’s tenure as acting director while serving on the board.
