Beshear celebrates addiction recovery, infrastructure improvements in Owensboro
Gov. Andy Beshear made two stops in Owensboro on Thursday, attending a ribbon-cutting for a new rehabilitation facility and recognizing improvements to existing infrastructure.
Addiction Recovery Care (ARC) — a Louisa-based organization that provides residential and outpatient drug and alcohol addiction treatment — recently held the soft opening of its Yellow Banks Recovery Center, its first residential treatment program in western Kentucky, in July when ARC transitioned female clients close to completing treatment to the new center from its other treatment centers.
The center, at the former OYO Townhouse hotel at 3136 W. Second St., has been undergoing renovations since early 2022 after being approved for a conditional use permit by the Owensboro Metropolitan Board of Adjustment in December 2021.
According to a press release, the facility will be able to deliver care for up to 300 women once fully operational, while program offerings will include ARC’s nationally-recognized “Crisis to Career” model, which “combines treatment with job training, education and life skills to set up clients for success long after (clients) completed the program.”
GED classes and vocational opportunities are also planned to be offered on-site, while 100 job opportunities are planned to be available upon the official grand opening.
Before the official ribbon cutting, Beshear addressed the crowd by stressing how the nationwide drug and opioid epidemic has affected everyone and has “maybe hit us harder than anybody else” in the state of Kentucky.
“It spares no one,” he said. “All of us have lost not just one person, but multiple people we love and care about, and (those) sitting here right now can probably picture that last person we have lost in our mind.
“It tears families apart and … takes the lives of people’s kids, people’s parents, aunts and uncles, cousins (and) friends. It’s truly torn at the fabric of our very society.”
However, Beshear applauded those looking to turn a new leaf by attending recovery programs like ARC and its Yellow Banks facility.
“(Whether) you’re in recovery or seeking active treatment right now — we are proud of you,” he said. “I think it’s important for us to continually say (however times you’ve tried), as long as you are trying — we are there with you, we are there for you, and we want the best for you.”
He also took time to thank people who help those looking to improve their lives.
“There are so many people in this room doing God’s work that get up every day to fight for the lives of people that maybe … (they) just recently met,” he said. “We have peer support specialists that are here that go back into their own trauma that they might have otherwise left behind to help that next person who needs it.
“So many people in this room are the living embodiment that there is hope beyond addiction, that recovery is real and that there is a better world in front of people.”
Beshear said programs like ARC can help with “rebuilding individuals” and “rebuilding our state.”
“It’s groups like this that help put people’s souls and lives back together, help people get back with their families and their kids (and) get people good jobs,” he said.
Beshear also made an appearance at the Owensboro Riverport Authority for the groundbreaking of the $30 million improvement project for Kentucky Highway 331 and Rinaldo Road, which would aid economic growth and improve residential traffic flow in and around the riverport grounds.
According to a press release, the improvements will include widening two miles of Kentucky Highway 331 and adding a center turn lane in the congested southern industry strip, while Rinaldo Road, which is owned by Owensboro Riverport and serves as the northernmost entry into the riverport, will also be widened to three lanes from Kentucky Highway 331 to the rail loadout.
The project — which has been in the works since 2018 — uses a mix of federal, state and local funds, including $11,520,000 in Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation, $15,380,885 in state matching funds and $3,247,793 in local matching funds, according to the press release.
“Across the commonwealth, we are securing infrastructure updates that have only been talked about for decades,” Beshear said, “and I want to thank folks at the Owensboro Riverport for their partnership in getting this massive project off the ground.”
By Alan Warren Messenger-Inquirer