Rockcastle County

For years southern and eastern Kentucky has been plagued by straight pipes, inadequate septic systems and contaminated drinking water.  Sensing the need, Rogers has supported programs and secured funding for Lake Linville and beyond so that Rockcastle County could extend their sewer and water lines which helps the environment, is important for economic development and essential for clean drinking water.

Opening up southern and eastern Kentucky through expanding road infrastructure is key to economic development.  Rogers has made transportation a priority and secured funding for the improvement of US 25 N to Renfro Valley and for the expansion of KY 461 and I-75.  Rogers recognizes that improving roads continues to bring new opportunities and growth to the region. 

Kentucky’s fifth district has a reputation for a strong, vibrant workforce, low energy costs, and a meaningful quality of life.  For decades, Rogers has endeavored to open up Rockcastle County and the entire region to federal business and service opportunities, chiefly through coordination with the non-profit, Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation.  These efforts have resulted in successfully attracting forward-leaning companies like SourceCorp. to establish and grow operations in Mt. Vernon.

UNITE Coalitions 

Rockcastle County UNITE Coalition & UNITE Bikers Against Drugs (UBAD) Motorcycle Association
Carl Varney – cvarney@centertech.com, 606-330-1406 (work), 606-594-8144 (cell)

Coalition Meetings
Noon on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. Meetings will are held at the Renfro Valley Lodge Restaurant on U.S. 25, Mt. Vernon.

Rockcastle County UNITE

UNITE Bowl-related events very successful

Congressman Rogers commends Rockcastle County on the “Wipe Out Drugs Challenge”, the poster contest, and the “Red Balloon Memorial Launch.” They collected 8,681 rolls of toilet paper and were able to give Chad’s Hope, Beth’s Blessing, and Healing Rain nearly 2,900 rolls each. If each roll cost 25 cents (and that may be a low estimate of cost), the value of the toilet paper was $2,170.25! The final breakdown was: Brodhead – 1985; Mt. Vernon – 481; Roundstone – 1978; RCMS – 1238; RCHS – 3062.

Recent Coalition Events
  • “Dead Serious … about life,” a musical/drama that explores issues that we don’t want to talk about or face, was held at Rockcastle County High School November 2011.
  • A preview of UNITE’s newest anti-drug program, “Addicted: A Dose of Reality,” was presented to the coalition at its July 2011 meeting.
  • Rockcastle County UNITE clubs swept the 2009 UNITE Club Cumberland Region Awards. Mount Vernon Elementary, Rockcastle Middle and Rockcastle High School all won the “UNITE Club of the Year” awards for their divisions.
  • Operation UNITE teamed up with former University of Kentucky standouts Tim Couch and Craig Yeast to offer a regional football skills camps at the Rockcastle High School field on June 12-13, 2009. Friends of Coal and Joe Craft sponsored the football camps.
Rockcastle County PRIDE 

James Renner, Rockcastle County PRIDE Coordinator
Jill Medley, City of Mt. Vernon PRIDE Coordinator
Mayor J. C. Griffin, City of Livingston PRIDE Coordinator

Rockcastle County PRIDE Accomplishments

Homes Affected by Waste Water Treatment Programs

265 homes in Rockcastle County have received funding from the Homeowner Septic System Program
35 homes in Rockcastle County have been affected by the Wastewater Construction Projects

Cleanup Summary

Following is a summary of cleanup totals for Rockcastle County:
17 streams/lakes/rivers cleaned
93 dumps eliminated
562 roadways cleaned
1360 miles of roadway cleaned
129 individual appliances and 716 tons of appliances collected
4,655 tires collected
21,693 bags of trash and 6,336 tons of trash collected
6,301 volunteers contributed 22,267 volunteer hours