Quick thinking averts parade malfunction during ‘Best of Road’ welcome
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette
Saturday, June 23, 2012, 1:55 a.m. — The city’s welcome parade Friday night for the Rand McNalley/USA Today “Best of the Road” contest judges almost had an unexpected entry — an EMS ambulance on an emergency run — when an injured man turned up unexpectedly in front of a North Third Street business just as the event began.
Nikki and Dusty Green of Austin, Texas, arrived in Bardstown Friday evening for a two-day stay. The pair are judges in the “Best of the Road – Most Beautiful” contest sponsored by Rand McNalley and USA Today.
A grand welcome was planned for Nikki and Dusty Green of Austin, Texas, the judges for the “Most Beautiful” category of the contest. The parade was to begin at the Old Kentucky Dinner Train and end at the Court Square. City police were manning the intersections along North Third to block traffic during the parade. The parade was to start at 6 p.m., but the judges’ arrived late and a camera crew setup held up the start for several minutes.
During the wait, at 6:09 p.m., police were called to the sidewalk in front of Mammy’s Kitchen, 114 North Third St., for a report of a disorderly and possibly intoxicated white male subject with blood all over him standing in front of the business wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Police officers quickly arrived and requested an EMS ambulance for the injured man.
An EMS squad was already in town as part of the welcome parade and parked at the staging area on the north end of town. The run was assigned to a second ambulance that would have entered the parade route while the judges were entering downtown.
Quick action by Assistant Police Chief Major Ray Lewis prevented what could have been a parade malfunction while the EMS squad attended the injured man. Lewis, who was on scene at Mammy’s Kitchen, radioed dispatchers and canceled the ambulance. He helped the injured man into his cruiser and drove him to the Emergency Room at Flaget Memorial Hospital for evaluation and treatment.
His action allowed the welcome parade to continue without interruption by the EMS ambulance.
WHAT IS THE ‘BEST OF THE ROAD’ CONTEST ABOUT? Bardstown is one of six small towns selected as a finalist in the “Most Beautiful” category of the contest sponsored by Rand McNalley and USA Today. Its competition includes fellow Kentucky small town, Danville, and these cities: Sedona, Ariz.; Jim Thorpe, Penn.; Baker City, Ore.; and Tybee Island, Ga.
The judges who arrived in Bardstown today will spend a month on the road, blogging, videotaping and photographing the cities they visit. The contest has already generated significant media coverage for Bardstown and Nelson County, with more to come.
Follow the judges on the “Two for the Road” Twitter feed by visiting https://twitter.com/TeamTwo4TheRoad.
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