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Left to Right: Steve Haney, warden of
Blackburn Correctional Complex; Barbara Jones, UK general counsel; John
Rees, commissioner of Kentucky Department of Corrections; Bob Wiseman, UK
vice president of Facilities Management; Jane Wooley, restoration manager at
Dry Stone Conservancy, Inc.; Linus Walton, associate dean at UK College of
Agriculture; and Bill Peterson, director of Management Operations at College
of Agriculture.
“The university always strives to
partner with local entities and provide educational opportunities.
Bob Wiseman,
Vice President of UK Facilities Management
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LEXINGTON, Ky., (Sept. 14, 2005) – The
University of Kentucky Physical Plant Division (PPD) and the College of
Agriculture honored the work of community partners at Kentucky Department of
Corrections, Blackburn Correctional Complex, and Dry Stone Conservancy, Inc.,
who assisted in the building and repairing of UK Maine Chance Farm’s stone
fence. The partnership helped to preserve this historically significant feature
that dots the Bluegrass landscape.
UK PPD and the College of Agriculture presented the community partners with a
certificate of appreciation for the service provided to the university at the
stone fence location Sept. 12.
“The university always strives to partner with local entities and provide
educational opportunities. This is a wonderful example of how organizations can
come together and positively impact a community. We are grateful to our partners
for assisting us in preserving the Maine Chance’s stone fence, which is valuable
to the bluegrass landscape,” said Bob Wiseman, vice president of Facilities
Management at UK.
The new partnership was arranged by the Conservancy, who provided trainer Neil
Rippingale, a master craftsman from Scotland, to teach a three-day workshop and
a refresher course on proper dry stone masonry techniques. Seven inmates under
the direction of Blackburn’s Officer Nicholas Dunaway were able to not only
develop masonry skills they could use when applying for future jobs, but were
also able to contribute to a community that values the beauty and utility of
this form of fencing.
When asked about the partnership, Jane Wooley, a restoration manager at Dry
Stone Conservancy said, “It was an exciting experience to work with the various
partners on restoring this beautiful stone fence and give something back to the
Lexington area.”
Repair was necessary to the fence that runs parallel to Newtown Pike due to the
age, weather, and traffic accidents that had impacted it over the years. The
inmates undertook this sizeable project starting in fall of 2004, putting in
approximately 300 man hours of labor a week in all types of weather.
The technique they utilized at Maine Chance is dry lay. Dry lay denotes the
absence of mortar which is applied in modern stone fencing to adhere to the
limestone. For every three feet of fencing, one ton of rock was used. UK and
Maine Chance neighbor Vulcan provided the limestone to lay the fence from scrap
collections on their properties. The project was completed in late June 2005.
Writer: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-1754
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