This is a response to your recent editorial urging that the construction of the new judicial center be outside of the downtown Cadiz area. We appreciate your interest in this endeavor, but would like to clear up some misinformation which was in your editorial.
You listed several judicial buildings in western Kentucky which had been removed from the downtown area. Those towns mentioned were Eddyville, Hopkinsville and Murray. The information in your editorial was simply not correct.
The judicial building in Eddyville is practically on the doorsteps of the old courthouse, right smack dab in the middle of town. The Christian County Judicial Center has remained downtown in Hopkinsville. And while the new Calloway County Judicial Center in Murray is not on the court square, it is only two blocks away. In summary, all three of these buildings are in fact in the downtown area.
Speaking as only one member of the Building Committee, I will strive to have a judicial center built that will be a compliment to the downtown area of Cadiz. It should blend in with the traditional buildings there and be consistent with the tremendous improvements which have been made by the Main Street Renaissance Program.
Keeping the judicial center downtown is in my opinion vital, not only to maintain the soul of the community, but also to assist the existing businesses there. Many of these merchants have staked their future on the downtown area remaining as the judicial hub and seat of government for Trigg County. We owe it to them to strive mightily to add to the downtown area, and not to detract from it.
We appreciate the interest of your newspaper in this very important project for our city and county. We also encourage and invite public input. Those of us on the committee are privileged as well as humbled by the awesome task before us. We intend to work toward the design and construction of a building which will be a credit to our community long after all of us are gone.
Sincerely,
Bill Cunningham
Circuit Judge
