Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Kentucky Standard for news and
Speaker 1: Bardstown in Nelson County. Your reader today is Brian Hunt.
Speaker 1: As a reminder, Radio Eye as a reading service intended
Speaker 1: for people who are blind or have other disabilities that
Speaker 1: make it difficult to read printed material. We will begin
Speaker 1: with the edition dated July twenty six. Nelson County Schools
Speaker 1: move ahead with construction projects. Nelson County Schools is moving
Speaker 1: forward with a number of campus improvement projects as the
Speaker 1: school year is set to begin. On Tuesday, at the
Speaker 1: Nelson County Board of Education meeting, Kate Ward, architect and
Speaker 1: partner with Studio Kramer, gave an update on the ongoing
Speaker 1: design process for phase one of construction for Nelson County
Speaker 1: High School. Ward showed the board the design development documents
Speaker 1: and several mockups of the exterior and interior of NCCHS.
Speaker 1: Ward said one discussion they've had with Codel Construction is
Speaker 1: working the project to align with the occupancy of the school.
Speaker 1: For phase one of NCCHS, Ward said they have discussed
Speaker 1: working on the entrance and second story edition and would
Speaker 1: work clockwise once areas are completed. She issured these areas
Speaker 1: would become open to staff and students as they are completed.
Speaker 1: Superintendent Wes Bradley said working on the project in this
Speaker 1: way would give the team the ability to complete the
Speaker 1: project more efficiently. Additionally, he said this would get of
Speaker 1: them more options as teachers and students would be moved
Speaker 1: around during the construction and renovation process. The new Nelson
Speaker 1: County High School softball field has broken ground. Jim Codell
Speaker 1: with Codell Construction said the project is aiming for a
Speaker 1: February twenty, twenty seventh completion. Bradley said the current softball
Speaker 1: field would not be demolished until the new field is done.
Speaker 1: Bradley said the new softball field's Mike Lust Field signage
Speaker 1: and designation would be transferred over to the new field
Speaker 1: once complete. The up center is nearly complete and should
Speaker 1: be open or should be on track to open prior
Speaker 1: to the start of the new school year Nelson County
Speaker 1: School's first day August twelfth. In other news from tuesday's meetings,
Speaker 1: the board approved a Kentucky Community and Technical College Early
Speaker 1: College coordinator position for the district. Elizabethtown Community and Technical
Speaker 1: College agreed to fund half of a second dual credit
Speaker 1: coordinator for the district. This would put a coordinator at
Speaker 1: each high school campus. Mandy periear Incs Dual Credit Coordinator
Speaker 1: shared some data from the twenty twenty five twenty twenty
Speaker 1: six school year relating to dual credit. Nelson County schools
Speaker 1: had five hundred and eighteen students enrolled in dual credit courses.
Speaker 1: At ECDC, students have completed seventeen hundred and two courses
Speaker 1: and a combined forty six hundred forty nine credit hours. Additionally,
Speaker 1: or ninety seven students in the district have committed to
Speaker 1: earning an associate's degree in the next three years. During
Speaker 1: the twenty five twenty six school year, they had twenty
Speaker 1: one students earn an associate's degree, with some students earning
Speaker 1: more than one. We see kids not only taking one
Speaker 1: college class, but some of them are taking two, three
Speaker 1: or four courses. Pu Year said, we had some kids
Speaker 1: this year that earned up to seventy college credit hours.
Speaker 1: These kids are not just saying one course is enough,
Speaker 1: two courses are enough, but they're really challenging themselves to
Speaker 1: take more difficult courses, to take more of those courses.
Speaker 1: The Nelson County Board of Education will next meet next
Speaker 1: month on August eighteenth at the up DC Center at
Speaker 1: five point thirty pm. Next Bloomfield continues to debate Flock
Speaker 1: cameras trash contract. Bloomfield held its regular city council meeting
Speaker 1: Monday night, with much of the discussion dominated by the
Speaker 1: city's contracts with the Flock camera system, as well as
Speaker 1: its controversial decision to dump Waste Management as its garbage
Speaker 1: carrier and opting for Rumkey instead of Nelson County Solid Waste.
Speaker 1: Some council members in previous meetings and at Monday's meeting,
Speaker 1: most notably Ken Lemone and Laura Barnett, have raised objections
Speaker 1: over the city's contract with the Flock automated license plate
Speaker 1: reader cameras, including concerns about its yearly ten thousand dollars
Speaker 1: costs and the length of the contract, as well as
Speaker 1: worries about liability and their constitutionality. The city has four
Speaker 1: of the cameras positioned around town. Lemon said he worries
Speaker 1: that the cameras provide a false sense of security and
Speaker 1: warned that the camera's usage is one step further toward
Speaker 1: establishing a quote surveillance state similar to China. The cameras
Speaker 1: are set up to read license plate and send out
Speaker 1: warnings if a license plate has been tagged to a
Speaker 1: vehicle reported stolen or to a fugitive from the law.
Speaker 1: They are not set up for facial recognition, but Limon
Speaker 1: suggest it is only a matter of time before they
Speaker 1: are used that way. Councilman Todd Swazey said he thought
Speaker 1: Lemon was speculating too much on the issue, but he
Speaker 1: recognizes there may be quote bad actors at law enforcement
Speaker 1: agencies who would abuse the data collected by the cameras,
Speaker 1: similar to instances cited by Lemon of abuse at various
Speaker 1: locations around the country where officers have misused the technology.
Speaker 1: Bloomfield Police Chief Eddie Whitworth read a statement during Monday's
Speaker 1: meeting attempting to clarify a few things and hopefully allay
Speaker 1: some public concern about the camera systems. Whitworth said the
Speaker 1: data collected from the cameras are stored for thirty days
Speaker 1: before being purged, and the data collected is subject to
Speaker 1: regular audience by Nelson County and Nelson County Sheriff's Office.
Speaker 1: In addition to Bloomfield Police, the Kentucky State Police and
Speaker 1: the NCSO have access to that data and it can
Speaker 1: also be shared with other law enforcement agencies in the
Speaker 1: case of a search for a stolen criminal, a stolen car,
Speaker 1: or someone with an outstanding warrant. The encrypted data contains
Speaker 1: logs of who has as access them, but he conditioned
Speaker 1: the FLOCK cameras are meant to aid investigations, not as
Speaker 1: an impetus to start one. Whitworth said that the FLOCK
Speaker 1: system has helped to locate more than ten thousand missing
Speaker 1: people and helped aid in more than one million criminal investigations.
Speaker 1: Whitworth noted that the camera data has aided in a
Speaker 1: number of high profile cases in Nelson County and that
Speaker 1: taking away the cameras would limit the available resources law
Speaker 1: enforcement has to fight crime. Whitworth also spoke about the
Speaker 1: twenty thirteen killing of Bartstown police officer Jason Ellis on
Speaker 1: the exit third for rent for the Bluegrass Parkway just
Speaker 1: outside of Bloomfield, and that if FLOCK cameras had been
Speaker 1: deployed then ellis murder might have been solved. Whitworth was
Speaker 1: a classmate with Ellis in the Department of Criminal Justice training.
Speaker 1: He also warned that getting rid of the FLOCK camera
Speaker 1: system could further hamper Bloomfield's chances at attracting and retaining
Speaker 1: future law enforcement officers if the impression is out there
Speaker 1: that the city does not support the police officers. The
Speaker 1: city was without a police chief for more than a
Speaker 1: year before Whitworth came on board. Bloomfield's contract with the
Speaker 1: Flock camera system is a five year term of In
Speaker 1: twenty twenty eight, Barnett and Lamon asked Whitworth to provide
Speaker 1: statistics for how the data collected from the cameras is
Speaker 1: being In other news, Dereck Hagan tendered his resignation as
Speaker 1: Public Work Supervisor as of July tenth, citing another job
Speaker 1: opportunity and health and family concerns. Over time, the demands
Speaker 1: of my position continue to grow, while the resources in
Speaker 1: staffing available to accomplish the work did not. Hagen's letter reads,
Speaker 1: this has made it increasingly difficult to perform my responsibilities
Speaker 1: efficiently and to the standard I expect of myself. Part
Speaker 1: of this is because city worker Thomas Williams has been
Speaker 1: out for extended leave on Workmen's comp and Ricky Jewel
Speaker 1: is no longer helping the city as well. Hagen said
Speaker 1: he and now interim supervisor, Laying maddingly have had to
Speaker 1: compensate to fill in the crash, and that has caused
Speaker 1: Hagen extra stress trying to get the job done. In
Speaker 1: his letter, he can express thanks to the city and
Speaker 1: Mayor Chris Dudgeon for the confidence they showed in him.
Speaker 1: Dudgeon has posted a help wanted message on the city's
Speaker 1: social media paid seeking workers we are hiring, he said,
Speaker 1: if you know anybody we are currently hiring at the
Speaker 1: moment for one position. The city held the first reading
Speaker 1: of an ordinance repealing a portion of the city's Code
Speaker 1: of Ordinances as it relates to nuisances. Upon the second reading,
Speaker 1: those nuisance ordinance regulations would fall under the purview of
Speaker 1: Nelson County, whose regulations are stricter. Lemon had been concerned
Speaker 1: about how the city's nuisance ordance is being offered when
Speaker 1: it comes to a traffic hazard on Goodlow Avenue where
Speaker 1: residents landscaping has overgrown and adversely effects sight lines on
Speaker 1: the street. Dudgeon said he had asked Waste Management when
Speaker 1: they would be coming to the city to collect their
Speaker 1: branded trash cans since the city signed a contract with
Speaker 1: Rumky to take over trash collection. He said he had
Speaker 1: not gotten a response yet from waste management. The first
Speaker 1: Monday in August is when Rumki takes over Bloomfield's trash collection.
Speaker 1: July twenty seventh is the last day for residents to
Speaker 1: request a new camp from Rumki. Councilman Scott Stevenson asked
Speaker 1: if it was too late for the city to rescind
Speaker 1: its vote to go with trump Rumki for trash collection. Stevenson, Barnette,
Speaker 1: and Lamon each voted against Rumky at the city's main meeting,
Speaker 1: preferring Nelson County Solid Waste instead, while Swayze, John Hammon
Speaker 1: at Tina Long voted with Rumkey. Dudgeon said then cast
Speaker 1: a tie breaking vote in favor of Rumkin. Breaking the
Speaker 1: contract with Rumki would lead to legal issues for the city. Stevenson, Barnett,
Speaker 1: and Lamone each said they preferred keeping the city's money
Speaker 1: locally by going with the county, but the other three
Speaker 1: council members and Dudgeon expressed concern about people paying their
Speaker 1: trash bills through Salt River Electric, which is Nelson County's
Speaker 1: method of billing instead to Bloomfield City Hall were stuck
Speaker 1: with Rumky for three years. Stevenson said, Hammond said he
Speaker 1: got a quote of twelve hundred and forty nine dollars
Speaker 1: for a new water fountain at Bloomfield Memorial Park. A
Speaker 1: water fountain wasn't in the original plans for the major
Speaker 1: upgrades that have come to the park over the past
Speaker 1: year plus. There's no water access, he says, unless you're
Speaker 1: drinking out of the pond, and I don't recommend that
Speaker 1: the city will explore further in upcoming meetings. A handful
Speaker 1: of candidates in the upcoming November election were on hand
Speaker 1: to introduce themselves at Monday's meeting, including Republican sheriff nominees
Speaker 1: Aaron Culliver, as well as al Pacino Jones and Lonnie Knowle,
Speaker 1: who are running for Bloomfield's City council. Next. Reynolds Family rebuilding.
Speaker 1: We're going to make it our mission to pay this forward.
Speaker 1: On June twenty seventh, the Reynolds family lost their home. Immediately,
Speaker 1: Nelson County community came together. It's been nearly a month
Speaker 1: since lightning struck the home Matt and Megan Reynolds. The
Speaker 1: family was on their way to Outer Banks, North Carolina,
Speaker 1: when four bolts of lightning struck their home. Immediately causing
Speaker 1: a fire in the attic. First responders on the scene
Speaker 1: were able to save two of the vehicles in the home,
Speaker 1: one belonging to Megan and the other to their eldest
Speaker 1: son's girlfriend. Matt said it was neighbour who called him
Speaker 1: informing him his house was on fire. Another neighbor sent
Speaker 1: him a photo of his home as crews arrived on
Speaker 1: the scene to fight the fire, He said, their whole family,
Speaker 1: a caravan of four vehicles, returned home to salvage what
Speaker 1: they could from the home. Matt says they were able
Speaker 1: to salvage some memorabilia the day of the fire, with
Speaker 1: their insurance agent present. It was the agent who encouraged
Speaker 1: the family to return to their vacation and begin the
Speaker 1: process at fiter that we took off and we went
Speaker 1: on vacation that week, he said. On our way, my
Speaker 1: wife and I just started counting our blessings. Number one,
Speaker 1: especially after we found out the magnitude of the lightning strike.
Speaker 1: Just thankful and grateful that we weren't there, because it's
Speaker 1: a high probability it would have killed everybody in the house.
Speaker 1: Grateful and thankful that we were heading out on vacation.
Speaker 1: We had a week's worth of clothes. A lot of
Speaker 1: people in that situation run out of their house with
Speaker 1: nothing but what they have on and then they got
Speaker 1: to sit and wash their house burn. We didn't have
Speaker 1: to do that. We didn't have to sit and watch
Speaker 1: our house burn. As words spread on social media of
Speaker 1: the fire and the Rentals home being deemed a full loss,
Speaker 1: Nelson County came together. The Rentals family has been a
Speaker 1: cornerstone in the community over the last several years in
Speaker 1: any ways, but especially in area sports. It was their
Speaker 1: impact that brought community members together to raise funds and
Speaker 1: other donations. Once the Rentals returned home, tens of thousands
Speaker 1: of dollars were raised. Community members dropped off funds and
Speaker 1: donations to Nelson County High School. Kroom drug Store organized
Speaker 1: a clothing donation. Josh McKay's held a raffle to go
Speaker 1: toward the family. Megan said they still get items dropped
Speaker 1: off at their temporary residence or items in their mailbox
Speaker 1: and direct messages trying to donate clothing. She said it
Speaker 1: hasn't just been family and friends, but complete strangers doing
Speaker 1: what they can for their family. A former co worker
Speaker 1: of Megan's is allowing the family to stay in her
Speaker 1: airbnb until they are able to rebuild their home. I've
Speaker 1: said this multiple times. I don't feel like we're worthy,
Speaker 1: she said. Everyone always meets us with You're absolutely worthy.
Speaker 1: Once we get on our feet, like Matt and our kids,
Speaker 1: I mean, they've seen the generosity of this community. We're
Speaker 1: going to make it our mission to pay this forward somehow.
Speaker 1: Megan said it has meant a lot to them that
Speaker 1: family and friends have been here to support them and
Speaker 1: their three kids. She said her daughter was taken on
Speaker 1: a shopping spree to get new clothes. Matt's connection to
Speaker 1: the sports world has gotten companies reaching out to get
Speaker 1: sizes for new clothing. She said They've been happily overwhelmed
Speaker 1: with people donating items for their kids. Matt said their
Speaker 1: home was deemed a total loss upon returning home from vacation.
Speaker 1: What wasn't destroyed in the fire or the smoke or
Speaker 1: rain was covered in mold. The week of the fire
Speaker 1: was rainy and humid, which amplified the destruction. You couldn't
Speaker 1: even walk into the house. It smells just so bad
Speaker 1: from the mold that had grown over the week. He said.
Speaker 1: They are currently in the process getting the house demolished,
Speaker 1: wanting to get it cleaned up as quickly as possible.
Speaker 1: Once demolished, he said they will start the rebuilt process.
Speaker 1: He said it would be roughly a year in the
Speaker 1: making to get back on their feet. Megan said the
Speaker 1: last year has been a difficult one for the family.
Speaker 1: Outside of losing their home, their daughter has changed schools,
Speaker 1: Matt has changed jobs. Their eldest son will also be
Speaker 1: off to college in the fall. She said being there
Speaker 1: to support them both during this time has been crucial,
Speaker 1: but said the support for their family is all they
Speaker 1: really need. It has been completely humbling, overwhelming in a
Speaker 1: good way to know that we do have that much support,
Speaker 1: She said, I don't even know how we can thank
Speaker 1: all the people next. Bargetown Schools celebrate summer programs, BCS
Speaker 1: Athletics further partnerships with court Bargstown City Schools doesn't leave
Speaker 1: its students behind during the summer. Tuesdays, Superintendent Ryan Clark
Speaker 1: celebrated the district's programs lifting students up while school is
Speaker 1: out at the Board of Education meeting earlier this week.
Speaker 1: Clark said they've had programs throughout the summer that continue
Speaker 1: to support students. Year after year, the Summer Feeding program
Speaker 1: provides food for hundreds of kids. This summer alone, twenty
Speaker 1: six thousand, seven hundred and eighty two meals had been distributed,
Speaker 1: Clark said. In addition to the food, they've given and
Speaker 1: families books, backpacks, bracelets, and bookmarks. Thanks to community donations,
Speaker 1: the program has delivered nineteen hundred thirteen bags a week
Speaker 1: to families. Bardstown Elementary School Family Resource and Youth Service
Speaker 1: Center Coordinator Katherine Jean Baptiste delivered six hundred seventy two
Speaker 1: on her own. Katrina Hayden, another of the district's FRYSC coordinators,
Speaker 1: organize Stripes in the Streets, which brings summer fund to
Speaker 1: student neighborhoods during the summer. Other summer initiative students have
Speaker 1: participated in, including the Salvation Army Camp, the Nelson County
Speaker 1: Extension Office Pop Club, and the Grit and Growth Camp.
Speaker 1: Clark said, at the start of the school year gets closer,
Speaker 1: they're beginning their step camp camps for students transitioning into
Speaker 1: sixth grade and students transitioning into second grade. Bartstown City
Speaker 1: School's first day is August fourth. In other news from
Speaker 1: Tuesday's meeting, the district will be expanding its partnership with
Speaker 1: Court Physical Therapy to better serve its athletes. Ryan bring Hers, BCS,
Speaker 1: director of Athletics and Extracurricular of Activities, said they've noticed
Speaker 1: gaps in their support of students, primarily aiding high school students,
Speaker 1: and aim to expand Court's support to their middle school
Speaker 1: athletes as well. We've also talked about other opportunities potentially
Speaker 1: outside of this agreement, but to expand our partnership with
Speaker 1: Court to have more physical therapy service upon campus for kids,
Speaker 1: possibly even during the school day, bring Her said of
Speaker 1: potential future plans. Robbie Hincobine, president of Court Physical thirty Therapy,
Speaker 1: said the addendum to the athletic training services would expand
Speaker 1: services to middle school sports. He said, currently with every
Speaker 1: varsity team, the trainer is there to assist with coaches
Speaker 1: and develops an emergency action plans if the trainer is
Speaker 1: not there moving forward, Hincobine gave an example that instead
Speaker 1: of athlete trainer covering a high school volleyball game, they
Speaker 1: may cover the middle school football game. Instead, we need
Speaker 1: to go where the collision force injuries are more likely
Speaker 1: to happen. He said, the Bartstown Board of Education approved
Speaker 1: two memorandums of agreement with Jefferson County Community and Technical
Speaker 1: College and Eastern Kentucky University to provide dual credit courses
Speaker 1: for Bartstown High School students. Dana Cole, BCS Director of
Speaker 1: Curriculum and Instruction, said they are committed to finding partners
Speaker 1: to support students career and education goals through dual credit opportunities.
Speaker 1: Bartstown City School's Board of at its Board of Education
Speaker 1: will meet next month on August eighteenth, at noon at
Speaker 1: the BCS Central Office. Next in Community Notes, New Trivia
Speaker 1: on the Rails at Kentucky Railway Museum. Climb aboard for
Speaker 1: a train ride of wits and whistles with Trivia on
Speaker 1: the Rails at the Kentucky Railway Museum at two pm Saturday,
Speaker 1: July twenty fifth. Gather your crew, grab a seat, and
Speaker 1: get ready for a little friendly competition. Prizes breaking rights
Speaker 1: and a great time awake. Every person re sieves a
Speaker 1: charcuterie box to snack on while playing. Every person receives
Speaker 1: a charcuterie box to snack on while riding the train.
Speaker 1: The train ride is one point five hours Bartstown Farmers
Speaker 1: Market fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables, starter plants, hanging baskets,
Speaker 1: wooden crafts, baked breads and pastries, mushrooms, soap, lift bombs
Speaker 1: and much more at Bartstown Farmers Market at the dixiep
Speaker 1: Hebbs Farmers Market Pavilion V eight am to noon, Saturday,
Speaker 1: July twenty fifth. All products are made and are grown locally.
Speaker 1: An It Don't Ecology Camp will be at Bernheim Forests
Speaker 1: in Arboretum nine am to three thirty pm Saturday, July
Speaker 1: twenty fifth. This full day adventure is designed for adults
Speaker 1: who want to immerse themselves in Burnheim's ecosystems and discover
Speaker 1: that diverse flora and fauna found there. Explore beaver dams
Speaker 1: and lodges by kayak to take a closer look at
Speaker 1: what lives beneath the water surface, and spend time slowing
Speaker 1: down to observe the rural natural world more closely. You'll
Speaker 1: also have a chance to create a craft to take
Speaker 1: home as a reminder of your day in nature. Live
Speaker 1: music at American Legion Posts one twenty one. There will
Speaker 1: be live music at the American Legion Post one twenty
Speaker 1: one two oh six West Broadway Street in Barstown from
Speaker 1: seven pm to eleven pm Saturday, July twenty fifth, performing
Speaker 1: will be read Shadow. This is all the time we
Speaker 1: have for reading of recent editions of the Kentucky Standard newspaper.
Speaker 1: If you've enjoyed your reader today has been Brian Hunt.
Speaker 1: If you've enjoyed hearing this, please call us at eight
Speaker 1: five nine four two two six three nine zero and
Speaker 1: let us know. Thank you for joining me, and now
Speaker 1: please stay tuned for continued programming here on Radio I