Former four-term county judge-executive Terril Flanagan passed away at the Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville on Tuesday afternoon, October 15, after battling illness the past several years.

The former county judge served four terms between 1973 and 1993 and was instrumental in bringing the county, Russell Springs and Jamestown together to work on projects.

Fruit of the Loom, the Russell County Hospital and the Russell County Airport were built under his administration as were the Jamestown and Russell Springs Parks; various important taxing districts such as the ambulance service, the Tourism Commission, and the Chamber of Commerce also came about under his administration.

Just last year, Gary Robertson, the current county judge/executive, proclaimed Tuesday, May 15, 2012 as Terril Flanagan Recognition Day.

While in office, Flanagan presided over a dramatic change in the duties, responsibilities and power that a judge/executive wielded under a system that was first put in place in the 1891 constitution of Kentucky, and would be redefined in the mid-70s.