By Carl Keith Greene
Staff Writer
Janet B. Miller moved into her home on Walker Park Road south of Barbourville 21 years ago.
She said from the start she and her family tried to improve the home but, “It broke down as fast as we tried.”
With winter heating bills sometimes hitting the $400 mark last winter, and cold air intruding through poorly installed windows and doors and little or inadequate insulation, living in the home became difficult.
“I was freezing to death,” she said.
As she spoke Friday morning, a Kentucky Communities Economic Opportunities Council (KCEOC) team was working to make the life of the 79-year-old retired nurse a lot easier.
Miles Estes of KCEOC said the work being done on Miller’s home will easily save about 30 percent on her heating bills.
KCEOC’s Michael Swafford said broken windows and inadequate doors will be replaced, open spaces around windows and doors will be sealed. New thick insulation will be blown into the walls and attic, raising the R-value from about R6 to R30.
The job by the five-person crew should take about three days, he estimated.
KCEOC’s Weatherization Assistance Program is federally funded and continues year-round, said Estes.
The Department of Energy program is designed to reduce energy costs for low-income families who either own or rent their homes.
It also applies to multifamily homes or mobile homes.
“I think it’s a marvelous thing. It’ll be warmer, I know,” Miller said of the work in progress.
Born on Stinking Creek, Miller lived her life as a nurse at Logan Hospital in Barbourville and other medical facilities in Dayton, Ohio, and Clearwater, Fla.
Energy department estimates indicate that for every dollar invested in a weatherization, $2.73 are returned in benefits. Those benefits include $1.65 in energy-related benefits and $1.07 in other benefits.
It estimates that low-income families save about $350 in energy bills after their homes have been weatherized.
And, it says, by decreasing the amount of personal income spent on energy, the weatherization makes housing more affordable and lowers the demand for public assistance and keeps more money in local communities.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act increased the average statewide expenditure limit to $6,500 for the 2009 fiscal year. The previous fiscal year, KCEOC served 43 homes with 135 still on the waiting list. Swafford said there is an average of six to eight months on the waiting list.
Miller said of the work of KEOC, “I think they do a great job. I’m so glad they’re here. I couldn’t have done it on my own, absolutely not. I do well to buy groceries.”
For more information about the Weatherization Assistance Program, call KCEOC at 606-546-3152.
Local News
KCEOC working to make homes warmer
- Local News
-
-
Police search for suspect in highway beating
It was called by some as “road rage,” but Barbourville Police say last Saturday evening’s fight at a city intersection was definitely an assault. And they are still looking for the man who police say threw the first punch.
-
Woman gets five years for drugs
In U.S. Federal Court Wednesday, Heather A. Collins, who was called by Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove as a “kind of leader for the group,” was sentenced to five years after using prescription forms to acquire various drugs.
-
Father, son rearraigned for meth charges
A son and father were rearraigned Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in London.
-
Hounds hold on
Corbin Coach Rob Ledington rolled the dice after his Redhounds took a 6-0 lead, but it paid off with an 8-7 win over Whitley County as Corbin advanced to the 50th District Championship tonight with an ace up their sleeve.
-
Drugs suspected in fatal Knox County crash
Drug use may have been a factor in a crash Monday in Knox County in which an 11-year-old boy was killed, according to Kentucky State Police Post-10 Harlan Public Affairs Officer Trooper Shane Jacobs and Sgt. Jimmy Young.
-
Marie Rader wins 89th Rep. District Primary
Republican Marie Rader won the primary election for the 89th District House of Representatives.
-
Barton wins another circuit court clerk term
Whitley County voters went with experience when it came to electing the next circuit court clerk, choosing incumbent Gary Barton, according to unofficial election results.
-
Bunch victor in 82nd House District
For incumbent State Representative Regina Petrey Bunch, the votes came in bunches Tuesday night.
-
Voter turnout higher than expected
The election day ran fairly smooth in Whitley, with the exception of several precincts losing power briefly and a few complaints regarding signs being too close to polling places.
-
Kenneth S. Stepp to face Hal Rogers in fall
Two Democrats, Kenneth S. Stepp, of Clay County, and Micheal Ackerman, of Rowan County, running for the Fifth Congressional District ran a heads-together race in the 30-county district.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Police search for suspect in highway beating




