Oh, Kentucky

Carroll Hubbard--now an R-Murray--is running for the state house.

Fischer for Bloomberg. Bevin at the Trump.

A couple of Leitchfield 18-year-old entrepreneurs plan a Nov. 30 grand opening for their new Foam Fort indoor Nerf arena, which sounds like a heck of a lot of fun.

One of Marion's two groceries is not closing; neither, presumably, is the other one.

Here are your Kentucky wines of the year.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29; Guthrie, Mayfield and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, London, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond and Trenton, Dec. 6; Barbourville, Berea, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Calvert City, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Hawesville, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Rabbit Hash, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10; Burkesville, Burnside, Elkton, Williamsburg, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

By the way, it turns out "The Fort Campbell Courier has been suspended for an undetermined period to fulfill contractual requirements for the selection of a new service provider."

The First Lady is coming to Toyota; AOC, to a coal mine?

There might be a buyer for TVA's coal-fired Paradise Power Plant.

Charles Bethea's article in The New Yorker on environmental reporting in Kentucky is fantastic.

Kentucky had a record February for home sales.

Bad jobs news from Franklin.

Hiring in Shepherdsville.

It's almost drive-in season again in La Grange.

Covington honors a fast-acting ambulance crew (and Ryan Clark in the Northern Kentucky Tribune delivers a compelling report).

Turning to sports, a 10-year-old Reidland Intermediate School student will be covering MLB19 (but, according to WSIL, he's a West Paducah native).

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

"Something that has stuck with me from my latest work is, 'Everyone wants to be a lion until it’s time to hunt.' I find this applies to many things and not just writing but specifically to young writers I would say it means to you that everyone wants the novel, the play on Broadway...the finished product. That is the metaphorical 'lion' but not as many want to be a lion when it’s time to write the 15th draft, or format a script or do all the “stuff” that isn’t as glamorous. You can’t be a lion without doing the hunt which is the blood, sweat and tears of what makes a lion so magnificent." Just a fantastic Q&A in Barbourville's Mountain Advocate with Cathy Goguen, "former Knox County teacher, published playwright and author, and mobility advocate...just to name a few," writes Brooke Cole Stansbury.

"We are reminded of God’s creativity and deep connection with all creatures, ecosystems, and humans.  Psalm 24 says, 'The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants too.' This invites us to protect the earth as home, not only for people including future generations, not only for all plants and animals, rocks and mountains but for God. The word 'ecology' is formed from the Greek words for 'house' (oikos) and 'word, purpose' (logos). Creation is the home of God and for God’s people, ecology calls us to our purpose in this joint household. Our purpose for living, according to the Psalms, is to praise God – not alone, not as a solo, but to join our whole being in praise, with the sun and moon, with sea monsters, trees, creatures that creep along, and birds that fly. We praise God by being who God created us to be, to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God, to love one another, care for the least of these among us, and to protect and care our common home." Amen, Carol Devine of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Nicholasville.

"According to a study on religion in America by the Pew Research Center, 22% of Kentucky residents are religiously unaffiliated. Younger Americans are even more likely to be nonreligious. Kentucky lawmakers should not stigmatize these students by promoting religious messages in school! National motto display bills like HB 46 are being pushed by special interests as part of Project Blitz, an effort by Christian nationalists to rewrite American history so that it favors their agenda. These bills aim to undermine the separation of religion and government and spread a false narrative that America was founded as a Christian nation. We cannot allow special interests to use our children to achieve their political goals." American Atheists Inc. issues a call to Kentuckian action.

Turning to sports, “I thank God for the opportunity to do the job I love so close to home.”

And speaking Pine Mountain State Resort Park, which is fantastic ... hiring in Pineville (immediately for a front-desk clerk).

Good jobs news from Erlanger, Elizabethtown and Lexington--and maybe Cave City, too. Bad from Madisonville.

Per USA Today, the richest Kentuckian is an Oklahoman who got himself really rich in California after a trip to Texas.

Paducah and San Antonio, Texas, are trading their UNESCO Creative City crews.

The Beaver Dam Amphitheatre summer schedule is out, and the Class of '86 is going to freak!

Spring cleanup nears in Elkton.

Beds for 50 Shepherdsville Elementary kids who need them.

Relief for cross-state commuters to and from Wickliffe.

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

.@covingtonkygov Piece by piece, the Covington floodgate takes shape https://t.co/91Eslz9elp pic.twitter.com/F20Gkwd7Nk

— The Lane Report (@TheLaneReport) February 12, 2019

Lexington homelessness reportedly is down 55 percent since 2014, and a $1.8 federal grant is intended to accelerate the trend.

A "Mobile Grocery Store" is coming to parts of Bowling Green where bricks-and-mortar versions do not exist.

"You can come one day a week, you can come every day if you want to. But seven days a week we are going to try to feed our community as long as we possibly can. We just want to show you the love of God." Erin Cox in the Corbin Times-Tribune delivers an inspiring feature on Lily's new New Day Cafe.

Guns, guns, guns: Pikeville.

On the specter of police cuts in Louisville.

Toward boosting Fort Knox's civilian workforce.

Toward stricter dog control in Clarkson.

Toward a less-shabby Paintsville.

Toward what is said to be the state's first "outdoor bodyweight circuit-training system," in Mount Washington.

Toward marketing "Our Paducah."

Good jobs news from Wurtland.

Turning to sports, I am thankful that Kacie Goode's reporting in The Kentucky Standard gives me reason to launch the HP's #khsabowl label.

And, finally, happy Saint Valentine's Day tomorrow: The eastern golden eagle that Bernheim Forest officials have been tracking over the last four years appears to have found a mate.

Oh, Kentucky

Record Attendance At 2018 Halloween On The Square

— The Edmonson Voice® (@edmonsonvoice) October 31, 2018

 

Meanwhile, in Owensboro, ... 

And in Louisville ...

And, finally, Shepherdsville ...

"I feel that she's not just the people in Kentucky's hero, but also our hero." (Also, Christmas parades: Owensboro, Nov. 17; Berea, Bowling Green, Lawrenceburg and Paducah, Dec. 1; Richmond, Dec. 7, and Hopkinsville, Dec. 8.) 

Way to go, Bloomfield Elementary fourth-grader Cameron Blair.

Happy retirement from McDonald's, Mr. Gill.

A church brings new life to an old school in La Center.

The agenda for the Nov. 30 Kentucky Creative Industry Summit at Georgetown is compelling: "ensure that artists are thriving with support from every sector ... how to develop their aspirations into an intentional, concrete and strategic foundation for future success ... connecting your financial goals to your creative ones ... ensure you have the tools you need to protect your work, and yourself, in your arts practice ..."

Good jobs news from Paris.

Oh, Kentucky

Helpfully for those of us who are preparing for our Fantasy Legislature drafts, Tom Latek dopes the 2019 General Assembly for the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism.

Good jobs news from Shepherdsville.

Ohio Co. Museum annual bean dinner Sept. 14 - https://t.co/Nz3jDTpocL

— Ohio County Monitor (@OCMonitor) September 10, 2018

"Louisville, Not Kentucky"?

About that $215K raise for the governor's old Army buddy, via The Courier-Journal ...

Oh, Kentucky

Good jobs news from Hazard, Henderson, Lexington, Lexington (wow!) and Shepherdsville (WOW!).

Toward reversing Paducah's decline.

The Madisonville McDonald's restaurants are now locally owned.

CVG-Hebron set a new passenger record in July.

New day for Franklin's Goodnight Memorial Library.

The coal-fired power plant in Owensboro and maybe the one in Henderson are closing.

The Stoner Creek Golf Club fight in Paris is headed to court.

Once more ... about that rehab facility that might open in the old Cox's Creek school ...

And, as for the resident copperheads of Red River Gorge, ...

Christmas parades: Owensboro ("Our Christmas Wish"), Nov. 17; Bowling Green, Dec. 1; Richmond, Dec. 7, and Hopkinsville, Dec. 8.

Oh, Kentucky

Not enough interested players causes cancellation of Trimble County High School football https://t.co/pin3fzhMJi pic.twitter.com/D1aYI8lpZ4

— WHAS11 News (@WHAS11) August 7, 2018

Meanwhile, fewest Greater Bullitt County Youth Football League teams in a decade, per The Pioneer News.

When I was at WKU in the late 1980s, there was a student a little older than me who, the story went, had paid for his college by ordering a sun-tanning bed out of a magazine, installing it in his parents' garage and opening the first service of its kind in his home Kentucky county. Then, in the early 1990s, when I was traveling around the state so much, I noticed how it seemed that even the littlest Kentucky town had a place where you could get a sun tan, a place where you could rent a movie and a place where you could get a pizza--and that sometimes you it was one place where you got all of those things ... a one-stop date shop. Then, in 1999, the Kueber brothers launched the Sun Tan City chain out of a video-rental store in Etown. And now, reports The News-Enterprise, that family has given what is "believed to be the largest single private donation to a public school district in state history" to fuel entrepreneurism in Meade County.

"If the U.S. inland waterways system has a hub, Paducah, Ky. is it."

There may or may not be Kentucky Minute reporting in the HP from the Hopkins County AARP Annual Banquet on Monday.

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

Good jobs news from Bent Mountain (and elsewhere in Pike and Letcher counties), Florence and Hickman.

Owensboro and most of Daviess County have been without running water, but the local municipal utility says process is being made.

The Versailles First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) mission team is reportedly stranded in Haiti. "Everyone is safe," says the pastor.

Per Venita Fritz in the Marshall County Tribune-Courier, it's more school resource officers, metal detectors and clear backpacks in the short term and, hopefully, more mental-health counseling in the long term for the local schools.

Mike Farmer in Shepherdsville's Pioneer News hails the Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken baseball leagues for their innovation in tournament formats and suggests they now ought to take a fresh look at their policies and lack thereof around heat index.

A former Highlands High Bluebird and Centre College Colonel has a new focus: "Can I better enable Marines to be better Marines?" Neat Chuck Keller feature in Fort Thomas Matters.

Oh, Kentucky

Christmas parades: Bowling Green, Dec. 1; Richmond ("THEME: coming soon ..."), Dec. 7, and Hopkinsville, Dec. 8.

It's the 60th season for The Stephen Foster Story, and it's high time I get to Bardstown and see it.

Can the show go on at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts--in particular, Waitress, scheduled to open June 26?

Reviews were strong for Hopkins County Farmers Market Family Fun Day.

Here are the stories that made our front page pic.twitter.com/pMPJipfTz4

— Kentucky New Era (@KentuckyNewEra) June 18, 2018

 

Good jobs news from Beaver Dam, Corbin, Franklin, Ghent, Lewisport, Louisville and Shepherdsville.

The feds boost Kentucky's apprenticeships program.

Oh, Kentucky

Barbara Bush is remembered across the nation today. Our condolences go out to the Bush family.

Mrs. Bush is pictured here with President Carter at the 1983 Beaux Arts Ball. pic.twitter.com/5xncokl8eh

— KY State Archives (@KYStateArchives) April 18, 2018

 

The privatization of education in Kentucky moves forward.

A year after its student government association passed a resolution supporting resolutions for black students, Western Kentucky University's students elected a president/executive vice president/administrative vice president ticket, whose campaign promoted itself with a chalk drawing featuring a cartoon character popular among the "alt-right" racists. The College Heights Herald has been on the story.

Spring QuiltWeek is here, and, this year, so, for the first time in Paducah, is the Lyft on-demand-transportation service.

The decision to sell Wildcat Hollow, a Boy Scout camp in Russellville, has its detractors.

Oh, Kentucky

There's an alleged (balding) stereoscope thief on the loose in or around Paducah.

Jacob Ryan with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting dives into the link between availability of public trash cans and poverty across Louisville.

Bad jobs news from Winchester.

The WKMS Battle of the Bands entry deadline is March 4.

Hiring in Madisonville (production technician starting at $15.36 an hour or receptionist for $10-$12 per).

Rep. Toby Herald (R-Beattyville) has proposed a 54-county Kentucky, and Ralph B. Davis with EKB-TV gives us the 411 of what that would look like.

Eighty-nine women filed to run for seats in the state legislature.

Oh, Kentucky

Facing calls from both parties to resign, Rep. Dan Johnson refuses. He denies molestation accusation, blames political climate: https://t.co/ZIsLxnjQMz #LongCon pic.twitter.com/5wOW1QI6dy

— Kentucky CIR (@KentuckyCIR) December 12, 2017

This will take you about an hour. It's worth it, and you can support the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting here.

Good for First Baptist Church of Corbin!

Good for Madisonville Fire Department!

Christmas parades: Irvington and Owensboro, Nov. 18; Central City, Nov. 19; Ashland, Nov. 21; Lebanon, Nov. 24; Brownsville and Danville, Nov. 25; Greenup, Nov. 28; Cumberland, London, Monticello and Richmond, Dec. 1; Arlington, Barbourville, Beaver Dam (they typically alternate year to year with Hartford, but ...), Bowling Green, Cadiz, Corbin, Fordsville, Georgetown, Glasgow, Harlan, Hartford (... this year both it and Beaver Dam just went ahead and did parades on the same day), Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Madisonville, Marion, Munfordville, Murray, Paducah, Somerset and Winchester, Dec. 2; Dawson Springs, Evarts and Nortonville, Dec. 3; Mount Sterling, Dec. 4; Lexington, Dec. 5; Bardstown, Dec. 7; Frankfort and Fredonia, Dec. 8; Augusta, Berea, Burnside, Cave City, Crofton, Edmonton, Elkton, Hanson, Hickman, Hopkinsville, Paintsville, Salem, Vanceburg and Whitesville, Dec. 9, and La Center and Oak Grove, Dec. 16.

Oh, Kentucky

Christmas parades: Irvington and Owensboro, Nov. 18; Central City, Nov. 19; Ashland, Nov. 21; Lebanon, Nov. 24; Brownsville and Danville, Nov. 25; Greenup, Nov. 28; Cumberland, London, Monticello and Richmond (more than 50,000 reached via Facebook), Dec. 1; Arlington, Barbourville, Beaver Dam, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Corbin, Fordsville, Georgetown, Glasgow, Harlan, Hartford, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Madisonville, Marion, Munfordville, Murray, Paducah, Somerset and Winchester, Dec. 2; Dawson Springs, Evarts and Nortonville, Dec. 3; Mount Sterling, Dec. 4; Lexington ("the state's largest," per WTVQ), Dec. 5; Bardstown, Dec. 7; Frankfort and Fredonia, Dec. 8; Augusta, Berea ("A Star Spangled Christmas"), Burnside, Cave City, Edmonton, Elkton, Hanson, Hopkinsville (please note the "Hop." street closings), Paintsville, Salem and Whitesville, Dec. 9, and La Center and Oak Grove, Dec. 16.

Good news: A new HUD study indicates homelessness in Kentucky is down this year 5 percent since 2016 and 39 percent since 2010.

Two years ago, Kim Davis denied David Ermold a marriage license because he was gay, despite it being legalized.

Today, she had to watch as he signed up to run against her in the next election. pic.twitter.com/y6HSoThcNi

— Cole Ledford (@ColeLedford11) December 6, 2017

 

We parents of Kentucky schoolchildren need to be getting our Hepatitis A game in gear.

Per this Richmond Register report, about 20 percent of all the aluminum cans that are recycled in the United States are recycled at the Novelis plant in Berea--and now it's expanding.

Oh, Kentucky

Christmas parades: Irvington and Owensboro, Nov. 18; Ashland, Nov. 21 (but the party has already started); Lebanon, Nov. 24; Danville, Nov. 25; Greenup, Nov. 28; Cumberland (for the whole "Tri-City"), London, Monticello and Richmond, Dec. 1; Barbourville, Beaver Dam, Fordsville, Georgetown, Harlan ("It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"), Hartford, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Madisonville, Murray, Somerset and Winchester, Dec. 2; Dawson Springs and Evarts (the football team is serving as grand marshals), Dec. 3; Mount Sterling, Dec. 4; Lexington, Dec. 5; Bardstown, Dec. 7 (Leigh Ann Florence, creator of "Woody, the Kentucky Weiner," will be grand marshal); Frankfort ("Saving Christmas" and "Votes For Women"), Dec. 8; Augusta, Cave City, Elkton, Hanson and Hopkinsville, Dec. 9, and Oak Grove (no downtown/no problem), Dec. 16.

This dude has been living the dream. One of my dreams, in fact. Good for him.

This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas and his wife Cathleen, touring Red River Gorge in opposition to a proposed dam. See Tom Eblen’s story of the Nov 1967 visit https://t.co/3C8Pu3pn6t pic.twitter.com/M4peeqgcDT

— KY Photo Archive (@KYPhotoArchive) November 19, 2017

Godspeed, Mr. Cox, 1990-94 mayor of Madisonville, President Carter-appointed federal highway administrator, a man who knew his way around Frankfort, husband of the former Ms. Pritchett of 54 years and purveyor of "exciting adventures, fits of laughter, political stories and other tall tales, and a treasure trove of fond memories."

Oh, Kentucky

After the eclipse last Monday, traffic was up (compared to the 2014-16 daily averages) by 30 percent on U.S. 31-W in Hardin County, 32 percent on I-65 in Simpson County, 37 percent on I-24 in Lyon County, 46 percent on I-65 in Warren County, 60 percent on the Pennyrile Parkway in Christian County, 80 percent on I-65 in Bullitt County, 123 percent on U.S. 62 in Grayson County, 127 percent on U.S. 68 in Logan County and 222 percent on U.S. 31-E in Hart County, per Kentucky Transportation Cabinet tracking devices. (I love all of those roads.)

Hoptown turns the page to "Christmas on the Silver Screen."

Kentucky for sale ...

Hooray for TV.

Washington Monthly (again) rates Berea College as the nation's best liberal-arts school.

Harlan is getting a guaranteed 10 Mb/s via fixed wireless, says the service provider.

Oh, Kentucky

Out of 754 Econo Lodges in the United States, No.' 1 is Russellville.

Good jobs news from Danville, Eubank, Park City and Shepherdsville. 

Businesses in Kentucky filed 189,132 annual reports for 2016, and Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes reports that's a new record.

Lily is getting a mini-golf course!

I don't much care to fish, but I love reading stories about big fish.

There's a new wrestler called the Progressive Liberal and the fans love to hate him https://t.co/QXYYNUTLRW pic.twitter.com/OeRqhCobYV

— deathandtaxes (@DeathAndTaxes) June 26, 2017

"One of his on-camera routines is correcting people’s pronunciation of 'Appalachia' and 'hollow.'"

It's almost time "to celebrate the greatest tradition in the Ohio Valley Conference"--and, specifically, Popeye Jones!