Drug dealing at motel next to Central KY elementary school prompts call for closure
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- Community petition demands closure of Colonial Motel after drug indictments nearby.
- Bluegrass Narcotics Task Force links motel to multiple overdoses and trafficking.
- School officials report paraphernalia, lockdowns and safety concerns.
A petition in Bourbon County is calling for a motel that law enforcement officials say is a center of drug activity to be shut down.
The Colonial Motel, which is next door to Paris Elementary School, “had become a focal point for narcotics activity,” and recently, nine people were indicted in connection to a drug sweep centered on the business, according to a news release shared online by the Bluegrass Narcotics Task Force.
The task force said the motel “was linked to multiple overdoses and overdose deaths, prompting a coordinated response to dismantle a network of high-level traffickers whose actions fueled addiction, violence and loss throughout the community.”
“Operation Colonial Sweep was launched following a series of indictment warrants stemming from prior drug trafficking investigations,” the release stated.
The task force said in a comment on the post that all nine of the Bourbon County indictments “were connected to the hotel.”
The people indicted are all facing charges for drug trafficking, including charges related to cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Leann Pickerill, principal of Paris Elementary School, said she started a Change.org petition calling for the motel to be shut down in hopes that any agency with regulatory authority over the motel will take any enforcement action it can. She’s been in touch with the city manager in Paris about the property.
She said it’s a complex situation, and “it’s going to take multiple agencies working together to address it.”
She said she started the petition in her individual capacity has a resident of the community, not in connection with her employment with the school system.
“The hotel, in my opinion, poses a risk to the health, safety and well-being of families in our community,” Pickerill said. “We’re talking about cocaine and meth. ...We don’t want that type of activity next door to our school.”
She said criminal activity at the motel has been a lingering problem.
While Pickerill said students are safe at the school, she said needles and other drug paraphernalia have occasionally been found on school property, and the school has gone on lockdown a few times while police conducted “raids” next door at the motel.
Once, she said a man who was “obviously under the influence” was crawling around the school parking lot, and it’s not uncommon for first responders to show up at the motel.
The petition had been signed by more than 1,300 people as of Friday evening.
Two former principals of the elementary school shared comments online in support of the effort.
Rachelle Brooks, principal of Paris Elementary from 2005 to 2017, wrote that the motel was a problem when she worked at the school years ago.
“Police visit there regularly to serve warrants and despite asking the police chief several times I could never get a courtesy call ahead of time to get our students off the playground,” Brooks wrote.
“I have seen people strung out, a couple fistfights, and had soft lockdowns during my twelve years there. If that is not a safety concern to be bulldozed, I do not know what is!“
The petition calling for the motel to be closed reads “statistics show a direct correlation between proximity to criminal hotspots and adverse childhood experiences.
“According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, exposure to drug environments can increase the likelihood of children developing substance abuse issues themselves in the future. Furthermore, studies have demonstrated that constant exposure to criminal activities can lead to increased anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues among children.
“We cannot stand idly by and watch our community’s future be compromised.”
A call to the motel was not returned Friday night.
Chief operating officer Joel Price told WLEX he took over operation of the property two years ago and knew the motel was “rough.” He said he wants to make safety improvements, including adding more cameras to the property.
This story was originally published October 18, 2025 at 10:50 AM.
