Joel Scarbrough, Paducah, Kentucky, Director of Inspections, longtime Code Council Member and former president of the Code Administrators Association of Kentucky (CAAK), died August 22 following a long illness. He was 51.

During his all-too-short life, Scarbrough, a Paducah native, was known for his fire, both in his work and in his off-time passion: barbecuing.

"If it has hooves, it can be barbecued,"he would say, remembered Steve Doolittle, Executive Director of the Paducah Riverfront Development Authority. "He was an outstanding cook."

And an outstanding building official, Doolittle added. "Joel Scarbrough was not your typical code guy," he said. "He had encyclopedic-type knowledge of the technical issues, but also a vision of how plans develop, as well as what worked and what didn't."

Doolittle said they worked together on many renovations and teardowns to usher a renaissance in Paducah's historic neighborhoods. "He was an aggressive inspector," Doolittle said. "But he also was a guy that knew that the purpose of code was not to stop the community from what it wanted to do, but to do it in a safe manner."

Like making sure all plans, from the smallest neighborhood project to the massive Four Rivers Center for the Performing Arts Center (now the Carson Center), were code compliant.

Or like when the American Quilter's Society nearly had to move its annual spring show and sale from its founding town. David Flowers, who worked with Scarbrough until he became McCracken County Building Inspector in 2007, said the Paducah Director of Inspections worked with the owners of the old Executive Inn to make sure enough of the old building could be used, safely, for their show.

Flowers said Scarbrough would work with people, but "he would not back down from codes. I can't say he went 100 percent by the codes, but it was pretty close. … When he had his name on the bottom line, that project was going to be safe."

Unlike some building officials, Scarbrough was willing to accept part of a job that was ready for his inspection, rather than wait for its completion. Doolittle said that allowed him to be thorough, while at the same time keeping projects on schedule.

"He would say, 'We're gonna do this right,' and if that meant he had to stay late or work weekends to make it happen, then that's what he did."

For that, Scarbrough earned the respect of contractors, Doolittle said, as well as for being one of them. Before becoming a building official, and pretty much right after graduating from Paducah Tilghman High School, Scarbrough did some carpentry and renovations, sometimes working with larger contractors.

But he was no pushover, said Robert Blanton, Development Services Director for Winchester, Kentucky, who met Scarbrough through CAAK. If he heard an argument going on about a code issue, he wouldn’t hesitate to jump in. "And he was probably right," Blanton said with a chuckle.

"He was a straight-shooter," Flowers said. "You'd ask him, 'What do you think about this?' And he’d say, 'What does the book say?' He wanted you to learn, too."

George Mann, Deputy Commissioner for Kentucky's Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, said Scarbrough, a staunch supporter of the Code Council and CAAK, was his go-to person for issues of buildings requiring seismic codes. Paducah, as well as being on a floodplain along the confluence of four rivers, is built on the New Madrid fault. Bracing and anchoring are critical in single-family construction in that area, Mann said, and his longtime CAAK friend and colleague was the expert.

"He didn't just tell you what your problem was, he found a solution," Mann said. "He was a problem-solver and a great friend.

"He was the friend who everyone would like to have," Mann said. "It didn't hurt that he built himself a grill that he would haul behind his truck, barbecuing for just about anyone who wanted him to."

When his daughter was getting married recently, Mann said he asked Scarbrough for recommendations of caterers in the Paducah area. He recommended one: himself. "He could kick out some ribs," Mann said, "and I don't know what seasoning he used on his steaks…"

That willingness to help people brought out the same in others. If Scarbrough reached out, some saw it nearly as an honor to help.

"He never kept numbers in a phone," Doolittle said. "He would just pick up a phone and call someone. Never give them a name, but they knew who it was. He would ask them for help, and they would do it. Not many people can do that."

Flowers still has trouble believing his long-time friend is gone. "I guess it took a day or so to set in, but it felt like a part of me was gone," he said. "He was great. He was fun."

Doolittle remembers the many buildings he and Scarbrough worked on together. All of them, he said, are testament to the late man's legacy. "There are no buildings with his name on them, but they are safer because of him."