KYTC - Hopkinsville Traffic Advisory

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet sent out a traffic advisory Monday night that warned of delays along Ft. Campbell Blvd.  The full alert is below:

A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to halt traffic for brief periods along US 41-Alernate/Fort Campbell Boulevard near Lovers Lane in Hopkinsville starting Wednesday, December 3, 2014.

All traffic on US 41-Alternate will be halted near the Lovers Lane Intersection from time to time to allow blasting on the Lovers Lane improvement project.  The contractor will be using explosives to loosen rock to allow trenching for a water lane adjacent to the new section of roadway.

Flaggers will stop traffic briefly about 1/4th mile on each side of the intersection when explosive charges are being detonated.  These occasional traffic stoppages are expected to continue during daylight hours for approximately one week.

Motorists may avoid these brief closures on US 41-A/Fort Campbell Boulevard by traveling the Breathitt-Pennyrile Parkway between Interstate 24 and the US 68 Hopkinsville Bypass.

 The Lovers Lane (CR-1652) Reconstruction Project is designed to improve connections between US 41-Alternate and the Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway while providing improved access to the Hopkinsville Convention Center entrance.

Westate Construction of Hopkinsville is the prime contractor on the $1,993,975 transportation improvement project.  Completion is expected in mid-August, 2015.

Juvenile Justice Reform Work Begins

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Sen. Westerfield (R, Hopkinsville) speaks at the ceremonial SB200 bill signing at the Christian County Day Treatment center in Hopkinsville (formerly CCMS) on August 28, 2014.

After a two year task force process, and an arduous legislative session filled with thousands of hours of writing, studying, debating and re-writing (rinse and repeat), Senate Bill 200 was finally passed by the General Assembly, and signed into law by the Governor.  SB200 is easily my biggest accomplishment to date, and my bill (as well as the task force process that led to it) has already become a model used by states across the country, the most recent of which are West Virginia and South Dakota.  Best of all, the bill has already brought agencies together to collaborate in an unprecedented way.  The trajectory of the lives of Kentucky's children and their families have already begun to change, and it will only get better.

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Gov. Steve Beshear prepares to ceremonially sign Senate Bill 200, sponsored by Sen. Westerfield (R, Hopkinsville - 4th from the right) on August 28, 2014.

A critical part of SB200 sets up a temporary group called the Oversight Council (the group dissolves after 8 years so as to avoid creating another permanent governmental bureaucracy).  The Oversight Council is made up of various agency heads and stakeholder representatives, is co-chaired by the Senate and Judiciary Chairs (as non-voting members), and has two objectives:  (1) discuss each agency's SB200 implementation efforts, including a discussion of problem areas to make recommendations for administrative or legislation action to keep the reforms of SB200 on track, and (2) study and debate a handful of policy issues that SB200 did not include, but that we believed warranted further discussion and possible legislative action down the road.

The first meeting of the Oversight Council took place today (September 4, 2014) and uncovered a couple of trouble spots that agencies can begin to work on immediately.  The collaboration amongst agencies is just refreshing - this is the way government is supposed to work, cooperation, communication and openness.  The meeting was a refreshing break from politics, easily one of the more productive meetings I've had on the job.  I hope this keeps up!

Recently, I had a chance to give an interview with Nick Storm at cn|2 Pure Politics about SB200 and the work agencies have already begun.  Read about it here, and watch cn|2 clip of the interview below.

Uploaded by cn2Kentucky on 2014-09-04.

You can download either a two-page summary of the bill or the legislation in its entirety by heading over to this page.

SPEA Letters of Support

As has been reported widely in the last few weeks, the U.S. Army is considering vast cuts to both Ft. Campbell and Ft. Knox as part of the Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment (SPEA).  Recently, Ft. Knox and the surrounding communities were hit very hard with a troop drawdown, and with the SPEA Ft. Campbell could lose as many as 16,000 – roughly half the installation which brings an estimated $4.7 Billion economic boost to the Pennyrile region.  Today is the deadline to submit public comments, which can be done by email or by phone here:

“U.S. Army Environmental Command
ATTN: SPEA Public Comments
2450 Connell Road (Bldg 2264)
Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-7664

direct email:usarmy.jbsa.aec.nepa@mail.mil
or call 210-466-1590
toll free: 855-846-3940”

I sent letters on behalf my constituents in support of both installations, with courtesy copies heading to my own federal Congressional delegation, the Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Odierno, and Secretary of the Army John McHugh.  You can see my letters here:

SPEA Ft. Campbell Letter

SPEA Ft. Knox Letter

KCAA 2014 Distinguished Legislator of the Year

LEXINGTON, KY — Third District State Senator Whitney Westerfield was selected as the 2014 Legislator of the Year by the Kentucky County Attorney Association (KCAA) on Thursday, August 21, at the annual Prosecutors Conference in Lexington. The award was made by Christian County Attorney J. Michael Foster, President of the KCAA.

Foster praised Senator Westerfield, who serves as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, for being “sensitive and attuned to the needs of prosecutors in the state.”  During the 2014 General Assembly session, Senator Westerfield spearheaded significant revisions of the state juvenile justice code designed to reduce the number of juvenile status offenders who are incarcerated by the Commonwealth. 

Senator Westerfield’s Senate Bill 200 was the result of a two year-long study of juvenile offender issues by the Task Force on the Unified Juvenile, created by the 2012 General Assembly and reauthorized by the 2013 General Assembly.  Senate Bill 200 passed the 2014 General Assembly and was signed into law by the Governor. Foster noted that Senator Westerfield did an “amazing job” of listening to the concerns of the county attorneys as the issue was being studied and the bill was being drafted, and incorporating prosecutors’ suggestions into the substance of the bill.

Foster also praised Senator Westerfield for his work on legislation in the 2014 General Assembly impacting the traffic safety programs run by county attorneys. Fees from these programs help cover the county attorney office expenses.  Foster stated that Westerfield “went to war for us” over this legislation in order to protect this funding stream.

Senator Westerfield, a former Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney in Christian County, expressed his gratitude to the KCAA for the award and his camaraderie with the prosecutors who daily work to protect the safety of communities and families across Kentucky saying, "As a former prosecutor, I am particularly proud of this award, and thankful I can continue fighting for public safety in the Kentucky Senate.