PARIS, Ky. (LEX 18) — Saturday, the culmination of decades of work came to fruition and made its way to the silver screen.
People in the westside Paris neighborhood celebrated their revitalization work with a documentary highlighting the impact trash burning in the middle of the community had one generations of families.
Community members, city officials and first responders joined together to watch a documentary based on the new solid waste trash center's location.
"It was an anxious time. It wasn't easy. Vanessa and everyone that was supportive of the project stuck with it and eventually it got across the finish line," said Bill Alverson, a Paris community volunteer.
"We wasn't fighting with anybody. It was just people coming together and wanting to help to get this project moved and out of a neighborhood," said Vanessa Logan, the president of the Paris Westside Neighborhood Association.
Back in 1965, a trash incinerator was built on Stewart Street right in the middle of the neighborhood. Which is also a predominantly black neighborhood.
For decades, the incinerator sat in the neighborhood burning and emitting fumes that harmed the soil, water and quality of life of the people around them, according to EPA research.
In 2019, the association formed and made a plan to take out the trash. By 2022, it was awarded $2M by the state. "I think that it is necessary for us to understand that we are here because we're standing on the shoulders of people who came before us."
The association says showcasing this documentary during Black History Month was a no-brainer as it represents the positive growth the neighborhood has experienced over the last several years.
"I'm right there and they can come and talk to me, and they do. They do. They still- a lot of people still don't want to go down to City Hall and talk to them," said Logan. "I find it easy to go down and just talk to them and find an answer for them because a lot of people just don't want to do that."
On Saturday, the trash incinerator is under construction internally but is set to open in early spring.
"When you have a conviction about something don't give up on it and sometimes you can reach for the stars but you may land in the clouds and still accomplish the goal," said Alverson.
"Keep talking to the right people or ask someone you know who should I talk to and stay on it. Eventually somebody is going to answer you," said Logan.
The grand opening of the incinerator is set for early spring but a date has not been decided on yet.
