A petition to name Paintsville Lake State Park after country music legend and Johnson County native Loretta Lynn now has nearly 26-thousand signatures. Last year, state Senator Robin Webb, a distant cousin of Lynn’s, authored a resolution asking the state parks system to honor her in some fashion. She said the renaming ran into some pushback, and hopes local support keeps growing.
“Any ideas and things needs originate from the ground up, but the local electeds and, and see what the temperature is for that, because, you know, it's been kind of back and forth.”
Lynn grew up in Butcher Hollow, in Johnson County, less than 15 miles from Paintsville Lake State Park. Webb, who represents four eastern Kentucky counties, offered her own suggestions about how to honor Lynn and other artists.
“What I'd personally like to see maybe is some type of amphitheater, a lodge, anything to draw people to Johnson County, and let them learn about our country music character heritage.”
That heritage includes newer artists like Chris Stapleton, who grew up in Johnson County, and Tyler Childers, who hails from Lawrence County.
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