Oh, Kentucky

Back to school? Yes, with social distancing, face coverings, health screenings, sanitation and contact tracing.

Back to baseball? Yes, at Brooks Stadium starting Monday with a league of two.

Upon further Fancy Farm review ... picnicking, yes; political speaking, no. Posted the priest, per The Mayfield Messenger: "The parish of St. Jerome has been in existence for 184 years. During those 184 years, the people have lived and prayed through times of drought, wars, pandemics, times of plenty and times of scarcity and have held steady to the faith and depended on God's providence. We will continue to do the same in our time and in the future."

Expanded racial-bias training for officers and community policing were said to be among the topics of discussion at a second closed unity meeting in Paducah, report Abisola Adeyemo and Mason Watkins of Channel 6.

The state attorney general: "Strong, empowered communities and safe policing are not mutually exclusive; in fact, they must go hand-in-hand in order for the Commonwealth to thrive."

The state ag commissioner: "We must do something to ensure rural Kentucky get its fair shake at connectivity."

The governor: "In Kentucky, we’re going to reopen and rebuild our economy even stronger than it was before COVID-19."

Drive-through hiring today in Lebanon, for Marion and Washington counties.

Oh, Kentucky

Oh, Kentucky

Catching up ...

Oh, Kentucky

Not the old, old Whaler's Catch, but Paducah's old Whaler's Catch appears headed for new life next year.

Hiring in Dawson Springs, Dixon, Graham, Madisonville, Sebree, etc. Closed for good in Lawrenceburg, Radcliff and Winchester.

Hail to the bus-driver woman, Miss J.

The Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System was in better position again in fiscal 2019, says the state auditor.

It appears it'll be back to biz for Kentucky's apparently former New Hampshire vice-presidential hopeful.

Turning to sports, in Murray, it's rodeo time again. In Elkton, they had "the annual Meet the Rebels. YSE was there and got some of the first pics of the season of this year's team." And rest in peace, Mr. Terrell--he "loved the City of Corbin, he loved the Redhounds and most of all he loved people."

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29; Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, London, Monticello and Pineville, Dec. 6; Barbourville, Berea, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Calvert City, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Owingsville, Paducah, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Trenton, Versailles and Whitley City, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10; Burnside, Elkton and Williamsburg, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

Catching up from the weekend on Facebook ...

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29; Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville and Monticello, Dec. 6; Berea, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Calvert City, Columbia, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Owingsville, Paducah, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Trenton, Versailles and Whitley City, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10; Burnside, Elkton and Williamsburg, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

Home sales are up in Kentucky.

Is Lexington's Helix Garage the country's coolest parking lot?

Public libraries are the best. At Glasgow's, you could be learning American Sign Language this summer.

Both the state's governor and its attorney general--opponents in the governor's race--are chasing miners' unpaid wages from a bankrupt Harlan County operator.

Plenty of law-enforcement opportunities in Elkton.

Bridge is out, in northern Crittenden County.

I'm so happy for Brenda Powers with the Big Sandy Area Development District and the other involved federal-, state- and local-agency personnel that the third phase of the more-than-a-decade-old "Pride on the River" sewer project is complete. (And I loved the level of detail on the saga that Mary Meadows delivered in her reporting for the Floyd County Chronicle.)

Oh, Kentucky

Good jobs news from Bowling Green, Coalgood and Morehead.

Cycling update: Remembering the Removal, in Princeton.

Oh, Kentucky

The 72-student 2019 class for the Governor's School for Entrepreneurs is out. It starts next month at Northern Kentucky U, and, per Corbin's Times-Tribune, "students learn firsthand about the opportunities, benefits and pitfalls of beginning a business. Teams of high school students develop business models, design prototypes, and pitch startup ideas to a large audience and panel of judges."

Meanwhile, starting in the fall, one no longer needs to leave Pulaski County to attain a four-year degree from Eastern, Morehead, Western or UK.

Working out a 98k salary with her, Frankfort reeled in its new finance director from Boise, Idaho. Thorough city 411 from Zack McDonald in The State Journal.

Houchens Industries of Bowling Green has taken its Crossroads IGA game to Lexington.

Oh, Kentucky

Good jobs news from Campbellsville, Hebron, Independence, Lebanon, Lexington and Louisville.

The proposed aluminum mill for South Shore ... still not yet.

Kentucky has a new poet laureate, and he's "very eager to spread the gospel of poetry around the state."

New roofs are in the mix for Greenbo Lake, Jenny Wiley, Lake Barkley and several other state resort parks.

Guns, guns, guns: Manchester edition.

Turns out Kentucky is having a hay shortage.

Turning to sports, it appears as though you can still get tickets for tomorrow night's South Regional championship in Louisville for from $200.03 to $4,602 apiece.

Oh, Kentucky

Corbin's proposed, Kentucky Fried Chicken-reminiscent splash park has a new and apparently better home because the local Economy Inn owner "loves Corbin so much and wants to do something great for the community," Erin Cox reports in what in a fantastic Times-Tribune meeting story that has become typical of today's world of spartan community journalism in Kentucky (All Along™).

Hemp sales surge.

Man, oh, man ... everything's complicated (sun edition). 

Well, not everything: The state education minister gave 10 school districts until close-of-biz yesterday to name names. Bullitt County's superintendent, for one, was "still evaluating," per Shepherdsville's Pioneer News.

Rest in peace, John Horace Cox, born in Madisonville shortly after the Maroons' first Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1938, proud member of UK's "Marching 100,"  teacher in every Hopkins County school, Saint Mary's Episcopal organist, organizer of family "caveman suppers" and more.

Oh, Kentucky

Kentucky in 100-word gulps.

"466 blacked-out pages" ... "irresponsible" teacher sickout ... Gov. Bevin vs. The Courier-Journal ... and Jefferson County schools ... culture wars ... blah, blah, blah ... you can fill in the blanks.

On Berea’s Sunday billiards ban, city-council Christian invocations and district-champion Lady Pirates.

Good for the Bell County High band director who got Dale Ann Bradley performing at Pine Mountain State Park.

Murray State angles to be a hemp-research leader.

Good jobs news from Lexington and maybe Shepherdsville.

Oh, Kentucky

On this last day of Black History Month, Madisonville’s Concerned Citizens Society details (in The Messenger) Hopkins County’s 1866-1941 history of schools, teachers, administrators and rules for its African-American students.  These reports have been fantastic all month. I've learned a lot; for example, I learned today there was a "Kitchen" in Hopkins County. Thank you, Concerned Citizens Society.

McCracken County High's alleged mishandling of sexual-abuse complaints prompts a Murray Ledger & Times review of policies in its local districts.

Hardin County Schools ups its ante against drivers who ignore those bus stop-sign arms.

Teachers are back in frankfort to protest a bill that would restructure the board of the Teachers Retirement System. @BGPolitics @heraldleader pic.twitter.com/zlGopPahKS

— Marcus Dorsey (@mdorseymedia) February 28, 2019

The protest "sickout" grinds to a halt public schools in (at least) Fayette, Jefferson, Madison and Marion counties.

Covington greases skids for commercialized urban farming.

Here's the long and winding road to Winchester's South Main Grocery.

Hiring in Louisville (for a Courier-Journal digital producer). 

Here's a fun FREE event for the kids this weekend! https://t.co/8xLnH6glp6

— WBKR (@WBKR) February 28, 2019

Hit the trails, in Dawson Springs.

Have some fun, in Henderson, courtesy of The Gleaner's Douglas D. White.

Oh, Kentucky

Christmas parades: Owensboro (more than 20k expected), Nov. 17; Ashland (grandly marshaled by the voice of the Reds), Nov. 20; Berea, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Lawrenceburg (indeed, featuring the New Jersey woman credited with helping prevent school shootings in Anderson and Shelby counties), Madisonville and Paducah, Dec. 1; Dawson Springs, Dec. 2; Richmond, Dec. 7; Hopkinsville, Dec. 8, La Center, Dec. 15.

Country Loving hails Bardstown as one of the nation's best 30 small towns for Christmas.

American Pickers falls for Big City of Madisonville.

"Unnecessary and extremely unfair." The Lebanon Enterprise takes on the grinches on the local Property Maintenance Code Enforcement Board.

In Russellville, "you will think you are on vacation in Florida." Neat story on a "ground blessing" for a forthcoming local hotel by Chris Cooper in the News-Democrat & Leader.

The last link of the once-13-stores-strong Food Fair of Somerset chain is apparently finished, reports Janie Slaven in the Commonwealth Journal.

Kentucky’s longest wooden covered bridge (in Washington County) is back!

Good jobs news from Russellville and Wilder.

Oh, Kentucky

Good (steel) jobs news from Coalton.

Freeze warnings are creeping into Kentucky forecasts, and the Barren County Detention Center lobby remains available to folks who need a place to stay overnight. The jailer "kept it open all summer, actually. We had some coming and going, and we actually had a woman and some kids stay up there a couple of nights. (Homelessness is) still prevalent. It's still out there and we're doing what we can to help them." I'm always impressed with a good meeting story, and Melinda J. Overstreet has a good one about the Barren County Fiscal Court in the Glasgow Daily Times. My favorite sentence is the last of her story: "The entire meeting, including the time for the roll call, prayer and Pledge of Allegiance, was just shy of 15 minutes."

“The wealthiest Kentuckians benefit the most from our growing economy, and by a widening margin,” Kentucky Center for Economic Policy Senior Policy Analyst Anna Baumann said. “It would be reasonable for them to pay a little more in taxes, according to their ability, for the investments that benefit us all. But instead, we have been cutting their taxes, cutting investments in our schools and community based services, and leaning more heavily on middle- and low-income Kentuckians.”

Re-org at Papa John's.

Recovery at Goodfellas.

A fresh start in Madisonville.

I've never been to one, but I'm always interested in these auctions of stuff confiscated by the state government. It's fun, for example, to imagine myself becoming a jon-boat guy.

Rest in peace, Sen. Huddleston, a Cumberland County native and World War II veteran who moved town to town up and down the dial of Kentucky radio stations before going to Washington and eventually being felled by 1984 "Switch! To! Mitch!" fervor at Fancy Farm and elsewhere.

Oh, Kentucky

Good jobs news from Franklin, Hebron and Winchester.

Effective words and picture from Glenn Puit and Tim Preston in the Grayson Journal-Enquirer: "Cashiers on duty at Grayson's K-Mart Big K Monday afternoon said they have been informed of plans to close the store, although they have not been given a closing date. The cashiers said the store employs about 50 workers. It is a retail mainstay in the small community."

Etown loses its tourism chief to BG.

A former Paducah tourism director has taken it upon herself to commence the long process of restoring McCracken County's 83 historical markers, and Leah Shields of WPSD tells how you can help.

A Bardstown antiques collector is offering his Civil War artifacts to a Bardstown museum for half-a-million off. Interesting report by Randy Patrick in The Kentucky Standard.

Manchester now has its own oncology clinic, but Clay County is short on deputy sheriffs.

A downtown block of Henderson is bouncing back to life.

Louisville is losing out on millennials.

Rest in peace, Lebanon's "Dr. Salem," son of immigrant parents, proud St. Augustine School alum, deliverer of more than 6,000 babies and founder of several nursing and other medical facilities in and around Marion County.

Oh, Kentucky

Lexington’s first Walmart, under construction in this 1993 aerial photo of the Mist Lake Plaza shopping center at the intersection of Richmond Rd. and Man o' War. On Aug. 10 the store is closing. https://t.co/U7GEk3XKfr pic.twitter.com/ITU40TWkrO

— KY Photo Archive (@KYPhotoArchive) July 11, 2018

Bad Walmart-jobs news from Louisville, too.

Papa John's is presumably hiring, however.

Friend of Coal®, sure. But friend of coal miners?

"This is not just a problem for Murray and Owensboro. There are not many city pools left anymore. You used to see them in almost every town ..." (I woke up in not a confident-enough mood to accept this John Wright Q&A in the Murray Ledger & Times with the local parks director.)

"A gold mine" of photos from 50 years of Paducah has been preserved. (Thank you, WPSD's Pauline Fitzgerald--I needed that one.)

"'Truly phenomenal' are the words Corbin Middle School Principal Christi Lefevers used to described the new facility that sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students will be learning in this fall." (YEAH! Good for you, Angela Turner, in the Times-Tribune.)

Fourteenth year (and biggest ever) for Jets Over Kentucky, at Lebanon/Springfield Airport.

Crime is reportedly (way) down in Bullitt County.

An incarcerated congregation in Louisville, digging in the dirt--"you can't help but feel good."

Harvesting Hope, among opioid addicts in Berea.

Thank God that the boys and their coach were rescued in Thailand, and now here are some helpful words about cave safety from the Kentucky State Parks.

Rest in peace, Rev. McNeil, the Landers and others buried in Hopkinsville's Union Benevolent Cemetery No. 5.

Oh, Kentucky

Streamlined occupational licensing for veterans, focusing on opportunities for the state to serve as model employer, more money for job opportunities for youth aging out of foster care and the state's Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and Office for the Blind and partnering with ensuring students with disabilities are included in school career-readiness and development programs are among the policy recommendations from Gov. Bevin’s Kentucky Work Matters Task Force.

Good jobs news from Guthrie and Madisonville.

Hopkinsville Community College has launched a construction-technology program.

A national model for lessening food insecurity grows in Berea.

Oh, Kentucky

Here are the stories that made our front page pic.twitter.com/Al3KRVBCbw

— Kentucky New Era (@KentuckyNewEra) May 9, 2018

 

It's always interesting to see when Sen. McConnell chooses to be clear and when he chooses to be not clear. The number of words (4 vs. 134 in this case) is a pretty dependable tell.

A robo cop (not Robo Cop) appears to be coming to Madisonville.

Maker's Mark plans an expansion near Raywick, reports Stevie Lowery in The Lebanon Enterprise.

They're growing tennis players at Springfield's Idle Hours Park, writes Zack Penalva in The Springfield Sun.

Metcalfe County is raising its birds-per-barn ribbon by about 7 percent to better align with trends in today's poultry industry, Gina Kinslow details in the Glasgow Daily Times.

Angela Turner in Corbin's Times-Tribune: "(I)f you buy a bushel of tomatoes or a mound of cucumbers at the Whitley County Farmers’ Market, you just might be buying them from a hometown hero."

Jeff Neal and Janie Slaven deliver an interesting report on a mistake and correction around a burial at Pulaski County's Science Hill Cemetery, and the Somerset Commonwealth Journal article thoroughly answers a question I had never thought to ask: What happens to a person with no money or identifiable next of kin when he or she dies?

Rest in peace, Alvin Luther Randlett, 32-year janitor at Covington's Sixth Street Elementary School and $175,000 giver to the state Child Victims Trust Fund.

Oh, Kentucky

Beautiful morning. #PikeCoKY @WYMT @AndrewWYMT @ArdenWYMT @Kentuckyweather @ChrisWKYT @brobwx @nwsjacksonky @SpecNewsKY @JoshFitzWx @weatherchannel @WeatherNation @AMHQ @EarthandClouds @spann pic.twitter.com/pT7siZRAbE

— Mary Reed Runyon (@MaryReedRunyon1) January 22, 2018

 

I'll bet Matt Jones runs for governor next time if he doesn't believe Andy Beshear can win ...

Hiring in Lebanon and then "C'ville." Perhaps in Hawesville? Perhaps in Boyle County?

On legalization of marijuana, the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police (of Dawson Springs, which I did not know) is a nay.

Ah, good ... the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy completed--in clearer, more succinct form--what I was starting to do last week.

Oh, Kentucky

Chuck Culpepper returns to Rupp Arena and finds what he was looking for, for The Washington Post.

Year 2 of ice skating in Bowling Green commences Nov. 17.

Paducah International Racing gets back to business in 2018.

Sunset in central Kentucky, by @GtTheJeweler pic.twitter.com/uzf1nFfR69

— ScenesOfTheBluegrass (@BluegrassScenes) November 10, 2017

 

In Madisonville, "Keeping the Dream Alive: How is the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. relevant to your generation?"

What guidelines would you suggest for elective social-studies courses in "Hebrew Scriptures and the Old Testament of the Bible," "The New Testament of the Bible," and "Hebrew Scripture and the New Testament of the Bible?"

Christmas parades: Irvington and Owensboro, Nov. 18; Lebanon, Nov. 24; Danville, Nov. 25; Greenup, Nov. 28; London, Monticello and Richmond, Dec. 1; Barbourville, Beaver Dam, Fordsville, Georgetown, Hartford, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Madisonville, Murray, Somerset and Winchester, Dec. 2; Mount Sterling, Dec. 4; Lexington, Dec. 5; Bardstown, Dec. 7, and Cave City, Elkton, Hanson and Hopkinsville, Dec. 9.