The Cadiz Chamber of Commerce and Kiwanis Club had a joint meeting in the back of the restaurant last Wednesday, and guest speaker Pape spoke to the group as everyone waited for their meals. He said he was sorry that Whitfield, who has represented the 35 counties in Kentucky’s First District for more than 13 years, could not be at the meeting because of his voting schedule in Washington. He also introduced Jason Hasert, a field representative for Whitfield who lives in Hopkinsville.
Pape said that it was a good thing for the First District that Whitfield had been in office for as he had because he acquired a great deal of seniority in the House. He said that it helped Whitfield get higher in the committee structure, with 435 other representatives competing. Pape told the audience that when they see Whitfield in public, they should encourage him to continue running for his seat in the future.
“He always says to me, ‘I’ll run for Congress as long as I feel that I’m making a difference in the First District,’” Pape said.
Pape talked about how important four-lane roads are to Western Kentucky. He said that it would be a good thing when the section through Land Between the Lakes was finished because the bridges over Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake could then be replaced.
Pape said that Whitfield was trying hard to do something about keeping the water levels at Barkley and Kentucky lakes at the highest levels until the end of the summer. He said the Army Corps of Engineers begins lowering the level in July now, but Whitfield had made the argument to them that keeping the levels high would be good for the economy.
For a complete report on Pape's visit to the Chamber of Commerce, see The Cadiz Record.
