Chris Bratton

Bowling Green

Lead Photographer at WNKY-TV (Bowling Green, KY)

Featured in: Favicon

wnky.com

dujour.com Favicon

thehardtimes.net Favicon

brotherlygame.com

Articles

Throwback Thursday: South Union Shaker spirits, its history of bourbon

1 week ago | wnky.com | Chris Bratton

South Union Shaker Village in nearby Logan County recently announced a special new partnership with an unexpected twist – distilling and selling its own Shakertown Spirits bourbon whiskey as the first non-profit distillery in Kentucky and the second in the whole country. The Shakers are more commonly associated with conservative lifestyles and values, but there is a whole history of spirits in the Shakertown communities across the country. In 1821, South Union’s Shakers set up their first still.
Pipeline response training hosted in Bowling Green prepares first responders

1 week ago | wnky.com | Chris Bratton

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Kentucky Public Service Commission brought some important training to Bowling Green Wednesday. The commission investigates all natural gas pipeline breaks, and they want to make sure that the first responders, the utility operators and the contractors involved know how to handle these emergencies. Mike Close, Bowling Green operations manager at Atmos Energy, says, “Response time is critical. Moments can save lives within our industry.
Throwback Thursday: WKU Herald and Talisman celebrate 100 years

2 weeks ago | wnky.com | Chris Bratton

Last weekend, a couple of nationally-recognized student-led organizations on Western Kentucky University’s campus celebrated a century of student-run journalism and media. The College Heights Herald, the student newspaper, turns 100 this year, and Talisman, the student lifestyle magazine and yearbook, turned 100 last year. While the programs that run these student publications have evolved with the times, there core values of journalism and media lead the students to seek knowledge and truth.
Warren County waiting on presidential emergency declaration after April flooding

2 weeks ago | wnky.com | Chris Bratton

WARREN COUNTY, Ky. – Counties in our area are waiting for a presidential emergency declaration so that the Federal Emergency Management Agency can make funds available to help cities and counties repair public infrastructure as well as assist citizens and businesses with their flood damages. The recent denial of Butler County’s application for the February floods has made some nervous about the process.
Warren County purchases property for future emergency management headquarters

3 weeks ago | wnky.com | Chris Bratton

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – At the Warren County Fiscal Court meeting Thursday morning, officials took the first step in creating an emergency operations center. They purchased property adjacent to the airport. The existing building will be renovated, and the land provides room for additional facilities, including a storm shelter. The new headquarters will allow emergency management the room to coordinate disaster recoveries with partner agencies.
Throwback Thursday: Bowling Green life in 1943, stories from a diary

3 weeks ago | wnky.com | Chris Bratton

April 24, 1943: Dear diary, Euphema and I went this afternoon to the Capitol to see “Star Spangled Rhythm.” That nite, mother, Fema, and I went to the Diamond to see “Pirates of the Prairie.”That was written exactly 82 years ago this week. Straight from the personal diary of Anna Oleda Runner – this reporter’s grandmother – who grew up in Downtown Bowling Green before moving to a farm in Warren County. Oleda would be turning 96 this year, if she was still around.
Throwback Thursday: The battle of wet vs dry in Bowling Green and Warren County

4 weeks ago | wnky.com | Chris Bratton

Considering Kentucky’s long and proud association with Bourbon whiskey, you would think the state would have been a champion for the right to sell and drink alcoholic beverages, but its history is more complex, with cities, counties and even the whole state moving back and forth, sometimes outlawing alcohol, sometimes making it legal. That prohibition forces ran strong in Kentucky shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Throwback Thursday: History of the Barren River Dam

1 month ago | wnky.com | Chris Bratton |Telia Butler

Signed into law by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Flood Control Act of 1938 authorized dams, levees and other flood control measures throughout many states, including Kentucky. One of those projects was the Barren River Dam that formed the lake and made the state park there possible. The Glasgow Daily Times proclaimed the dam would create the largest lake in Kentucky, and some hoped it would include a hydro-electric plant.
Edmonson County officials report ongoing road closures amid flooding

1 month ago | wnky.com | Chris Bratton

EDMONSON COUNTY, Ky. – The flooding in Edmonson County may not have required any water rescues and there have been no reports of flooded homes or businesses, but eight roads are still blocked by the rising of the Green River. County officials will get a better estimation of the exact damage when the water begins to recede. Scott Lindsey, judge executive of Edmonson County, says, “We’re waiting for Green River to crest.
Throwback Thursday: The Mammoth Cave Railroad was built nearly 140 years ago

1 month ago | wnky.com | Chris Bratton |Telia Butler

The movement of people and modern transportation shapes the way our cities are established and developed. For Bowling Green, its nearness to Barren River played a critical role in its early history, with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad not making its way to the area for nearly 50 years after its founding. The L&N Railroad completely changed the way people and goods traveled, connecting the smaller communities between Louisville and Nashville with access to bigger city amenities and beyond.