Speaker 1: How we turn to the Kentucky Standard for news and
Speaker 1: Bartstown in Nelson County. Your reader today is Brian Hunt.
Speaker 1: As a reminder, Radioiye is a service intended for people
Speaker 1: who are blind or have other disabilities that make it
Speaker 1: difficult to read printed material. We will begin with the
Speaker 1: addition dated June fourteenth, City County to purchase five hundred
Speaker 1: twenty seven acres for new industrial park. Nelson County now
Speaker 1: has a third industrial park on the way. In recent years,
Speaker 1: Wilson Industrial Park and Nolflank County Industrial Park have both
Speaker 1: builled up, leaving local government and economic development officials scrambling
Speaker 1: to find a new land for perspective companies looking to
Speaker 1: set up shop here. After much searching, the City of
Speaker 1: Bartstown and Nelson County Fiscal Court are teeming up to
Speaker 1: buy five hundred twenty seven acres of land off Pennebaker
Speaker 1: Avenue to meet that need. This acquisition represents a significant
Speaker 1: investment in the future of Nelson County and reflects a
Speaker 1: shared commitment to creating jobs, supporting local businesses, and ensuring
Speaker 1: future generations have opportunities to live, work, and raise their
Speaker 1: families in the community. The Paul Holmes according to a
Speaker 1: press relief issued by Nelson County Judge Executive Tim Hushes
Speaker 1: earlier this week, Bartstown City Council and Nelson County Fiscal
Speaker 1: Court have each passed budget amendment for the current fiscal
Speaker 1: year to dedicate money to pay for the land and
Speaker 1: associated infrastructure development costs where out of land, Husson said
Speaker 1: at a recent Fiscal Court meeting. As a result, the
Speaker 1: county is putting up five point five million dollars in funding,
Speaker 1: The City of Bardstown is committing three million, and the
Speaker 1: Bardstown Industrial Development Corporation will also be contributing. The city
Speaker 1: and county are also pursuing a five million dollars loan
Speaker 1: through the Salt River Electric to help funding. The press
Speaker 1: release said the property was purchased through a fifty to
Speaker 1: fifty partnership between the city and county following months of
Speaker 1: planning and collaboration focused on creating new opportunities for economic
Speaker 1: growth in Nelson County. The Bardstown Industrial Development Corporation will
Speaker 1: administer the property. This is the culmination of six to
Speaker 1: seven years of effort by the Bardstown Industrial Development Corporation
Speaker 1: to locate land, evaluate it with due diligence about the
Speaker 1: affordability of it and the necessary utilities that need to
Speaker 1: be brought to develop the land. Yardstown Mayor Dick Keaton
Speaker 1: said at a recent city council meeting, we have found
Speaker 1: a tract of land. City and county officials feel this
Speaker 1: large land purchase provides tremendous potential for long term growth
Speaker 1: and will lead to new employers as well as possible
Speaker 1: expansion by current businesses already located in the county. The
Speaker 1: move will create more jobs and boost the local economy
Speaker 1: and tax base. The size and location of the site
Speaker 1: allow flexibility for future expansion, including possibility of acquiring additional
Speaker 1: acreage if future economic development opportunity to warrant further growth,
Speaker 1: Hudson said in the press release. The location would also
Speaker 1: ideally connect to the coming bypass roads, which are in
Speaker 1: the state's road plan in upcoming years, and that could
Speaker 1: help alleviate traffic problems on the horizon. The City of
Speaker 1: Bardstown in Nelson County Physical Court also wished to address
Speaker 1: recent special speculation circulating on social media regarding the property.
Speaker 1: Hudson said in his press release, there have been no
Speaker 1: discussions regarding the development of a data center on this
Speaker 1: site and no such proposal has been presented or considered.
Speaker 1: Any claims suggesting otherwise are inaccurate. Officials tause the partnership
Speaker 1: between governmental institutes as an example of proactive planning and
Speaker 1: responsible growth that figures to benefit residents, businesses, and future generations.
Speaker 1: This investment demonstrates the commitment of both local governments and
Speaker 1: economic development officials to proactive planning and responsible growth. It's
Speaker 1: a good investment. We're all on board with it, said
Speaker 1: Barstown City Councilman Bill Sheckel, who also serves on the
Speaker 1: BDC board. Next National Bourbon Week begins Sunday, twenty third
Speaker 1: Annual Street Concert set for June twentieth, National Bourbon Week
Speaker 1: will begin Sunday while Barstown Main Street prepares for the
Speaker 1: twenty third annual Bourbon City Concert. June fourteenth is the
Speaker 1: first day of the third annual National Bourbon Week, kicking
Speaker 1: off eight days of celebration and bringing in visitors from
Speaker 1: across the county country. On June twentieth, the beloved Bourbon
Speaker 1: City Street Concert will offer another day for locals to
Speaker 1: come together. Sam Lacy, executive director of the Bourbon Capital
Speaker 1: Alliance and the core of National Bourbon Meek, is their
Speaker 1: ten partner distillers. He said, Throughout the whole week, there
Speaker 1: are thirty five events in and outside of Nelson County
Speaker 1: celebrating bourbon in the region. B HEA's ten partner distilleries
Speaker 1: are Heaven Hill, lux Row, Limestone Branch, James E. Bean
Speaker 1: Distilling Company, Preservation Distillery Makers, Mark Logs To Distillery, Old
Speaker 1: Steelhouse Distillery, Potter Chains Distilling Company, and Barton seventeen ninety two.
Speaker 1: Lacey said it's humbling for the Bourbon Capital Alliance to
Speaker 1: see how the community has bought into National Bourbonweek. He said,
Speaker 1: regardless if someone enjoys bourbon or not, no one can
Speaker 1: deny the economic impact the bourbon industry has had on
Speaker 1: Bardstown in Nelson County, not only from a tourism perspective,
Speaker 1: which is obviously massive, but our distilleries and our bourbon
Speaker 1: industry provides so many great jobs for Nelson County. Lacey said,
Speaker 1: we're really, really thankful, and it's good time to celebrate responsibly. Responsibly,
Speaker 1: the industry has formed the backbone of what Bart's town
Speaker 1: has become. Throughout the week, the ten partner distilleries will
Speaker 1: host events, but local businesses will also be hosting Bourbon
Speaker 1: Center gatherings. Bardstown Main Street Director Randy Mousser said a
Speaker 1: lot of their downtown businesses see the values and an
Speaker 1: event like National Bourbon Week and all the new people
Speaker 1: it can bring into the downtown area. Stacey Phelps, president
Speaker 1: of the Bardstown Nelson County Tourist Commission, said the experiences
Speaker 1: during National Bourbon Week are unique. Visitors and locals can
Speaker 1: take a distillery tour or speak with a national Master distillery.
Speaker 1: I think that sets us apart from everybody else, she said.
Speaker 1: It's not just a basic tour. These are things that
Speaker 1: you can go back and tell people about when you
Speaker 1: get home and how exciting it was to be able
Speaker 1: to have that access to these people. The twenty third
Speaker 1: annual Bourbon City Street Concert will be one of the
Speaker 1: final events to wrap up National Bourbon Week. Bardstown Main
Speaker 1: Street hosts the yearly concert with events all day for
Speaker 1: families along Third Street. Mouser said this year they wanted
Speaker 1: to tie the concert into the upcoming America Too fiftieth celebration,
Speaker 1: naming the event United e Chan Music will begin on
Speaker 1: June twentieth at sixty m with local bands Chasing Judah,
Speaker 1: followed by the Wilson Brothers. The event's headliner, will be
Speaker 1: unleashed the Toby Keith Tribute. The concert's largest sponsors are
Speaker 1: West Banco and James G. Bean's distilling company. Mauser said
Speaker 1: that the festivities don't begin with the concert. From noon
Speaker 1: to four pm on Saturday, the first two blocks of
Speaker 1: Third Street will be home to the events daytime activities.
Speaker 1: Smoke is sponsoring this year's keen Ztone with a wide
Speaker 1: selection of activities like bouncy houses, slides, games, and more.
Speaker 1: Derby City Mobile Mini Golf will have a short cut
Speaker 1: putt golf course for attendees, while Southern Swing, a mobile
Speaker 1: golf stimulator, will also be available on the rocks. Bartending
Speaker 1: will also be providing bourbon tasting from local distillers for
Speaker 1: five dollars. Another cool thing that we're doing too, is
Speaker 1: that we've partnered with the Gallery as since they've moved,
Speaker 1: they're right in the middle of everything now. Mauser said,
Speaker 1: we're going to have some live local artists that will
Speaker 1: be outside painting. Road closures will begin in preparation for
Speaker 1: the events, beginning at ten am on Saturday. Third Street
Speaker 1: to Broadway will be closed, as will flage A from
Speaker 1: the Farmer's Market to the city parking lot, although they
Speaker 1: will still be open and available for parking. Additionally, the
Speaker 1: outer lane of the roundabout of the intersection of Third
Speaker 1: Street will be closed, the inner lane will remain open.
Speaker 1: Next NCS redefining admin rolls on new six through twelfth campuses.
Speaker 1: Nelson County School is reimagining school administrative roles as the
Speaker 1: district transitions to a six through twelfth grade campus model.
Speaker 1: NCS is currently on track to complete the Thomas Nelson
Speaker 1: Middle School for the twenty twenty seven twenty twenty eight
Speaker 1: school year. The transition to the combined middle and high
Speaker 1: school campus has brought out discussions about school administrators moving
Speaker 1: away from being generalists to specialists. The combined middle and
Speaker 1: high school campus is also currently in the plans for
Speaker 1: Nelson County High School. KEM Holgan, human Resources for NCS,
Speaker 1: said they will be transitioning several roles to be better
Speaker 1: suited to build programs and support students. The assistant principal
Speaker 1: role is gaining several proposed changes in this reimagining campus
Speaker 1: principles will now oversee all six to twelve students, focusing
Speaker 1: on the vision and values as of program quality, and
Speaker 1: Resource Strategy Assistant pristals are moving to become Dean of
Speaker 1: Community Health and Dean of Work and Life Readiness, and
Speaker 1: a third role, Student Family and Alumni Life Coordinator, has
Speaker 1: also been proposed. Superintendent Wes Bradley said this is a
Speaker 1: big conversation over the last six months. He said they've
Speaker 1: spoken with school administrators to understand their roles and who
Speaker 1: they work closely with. He said they're trying to deepen
Speaker 1: the experience for students by specifying the role of administrators.
Speaker 1: We're not trying to duplicate the current model, he said,
Speaker 1: We're trying to create a model as deeper and substantive.
Speaker 1: He said the Dean of Community Health would focus on
Speaker 1: students' safety and behavior. Currently, there are administrators and teams
Speaker 1: that focus on this throughout the county. Thus, the specified
Speaker 1: roles would allow them to own the work. The Student,
Speaker 1: Family and Alumni Life Coordinator is part of a larger
Speaker 1: conversation of the seven year experience for students. Bradley said
Speaker 1: this role would be taken on would take on creating
Speaker 1: the culture and engagement for the school, focusing on the
Speaker 1: messaging and communication. He said this cannot be done haphazardly
Speaker 1: or peripherally. It has to be done directly. Bradley said
Speaker 1: with the board's approval, they are aiming to begin pursuing
Speaker 1: these roles and opening them up for applicants. He said
Speaker 1: current administrators would have the oper two team to apply
Speaker 1: for the roles and have been aware of the potential
Speaker 1: transitions for the future school year. Board chair Tracy Bowling
Speaker 1: said the new positions make sense for her. She said
Speaker 1: the new roles provide clarity to parents and students. Bowling
Speaker 1: said with the new roles, if a parent got a
Speaker 1: call from the administrator, they'd know what they'd be discussing
Speaker 1: for their students. Additionally, Bowling said she believes it will
Speaker 1: be beneficial to staff. She said they will be able
Speaker 1: to have a sense of pride in what they're working on,
Speaker 1: an ownership and what they do. The Nelson County Board
Speaker 1: of Education will host its regularly scheduled meeting on July
Speaker 1: twenty first at five thirty pm. Next. Local fire departments
Speaker 1: raised more than two hundred thousand dollars for Crusade this year.
Speaker 1: The local fire department raised and combined two hundred thousand
Speaker 1: dollars during the annual whas to Say for Children's campaigns.
Speaker 1: Every year, the fire departments across Nelson County bring their
Speaker 1: communities together to raise funds for the WHAS Crusade for
Speaker 1: Children campaign. In twenty twenty six, the state wide total
Speaker 1: was more than six point point two million dollars, the
Speaker 1: second highest total in Crusade history. In Nelson County, the
Speaker 1: sixth area fire departments raised two hundred one thousand, nine
Speaker 1: hundred forty eight dollars and six cents. Together. Rolling four
Speaker 1: for Fire Department raised one hundred fifty one thousand, five
Speaker 1: hundred fifty two dollars in eighty eight cen, far exceeding
Speaker 1: the gold the organization's goal of fifty thousand dollars. For
Speaker 1: their fiftieth anniversary, Deputy Chief Chris People said they focused
Speaker 1: on community engagement and pride this year. He said they
Speaker 1: did their annual roadblocks and sent out mailers asking for donations. However,
Speaker 1: this year was special as the department received an anonymous
Speaker 1: one hundred thousand dollars donation in memory of Bill Bidwell.
Speaker 1: Bidwell was one of the main leaders of the Kentucky
Speaker 1: Railways Museum train robbery events. People said they also got
Speaker 1: a matching donation of twenty five thousand dollars from Tom
Speaker 1: and Rondo Whimpsett. Although the couple live in Bardstown, Tom
Speaker 1: is a New Haven native. Keeple said he reached out
Speaker 1: to them asking if the department was able to raise
Speaker 1: twenty five thou thousand dollars, if they would match the amount.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of excitement this year with our fiftieth anniversary,
Speaker 1: he said, a lot of people are being drawn into that,
Speaker 1: and I really believe that it has helped drought the
Speaker 1: excitement for this twenty twenty six Crusade campaign people said.
Speaker 1: He believes people continued to donate to the Crusade for
Speaker 1: Children's campaigns because they know it will come back to
Speaker 1: the community. All of the proceeds for the Crusade go
Speaker 1: towards initiatives for children with special needs. Other fire departments
Speaker 1: in Nelson County were also feeling the generosity from community members.
Speaker 1: This year. Bargetown Fire Department raised twenty two thousand, four
Speaker 1: hundred eleven dollars, while Nelson County Fire and Rescue raised
Speaker 1: twenty four thousand, nine hundred dollars. Northeast Nelson Fire Protection
Speaker 1: Discs earned twenty thousand, one hundred dollars and New Hope
Speaker 1: Volunteer Fire Department got thirteen hundred twenty nine dollars in
Speaker 1: thirty cents, and the Boston Volunteer Fire Department raised seventeen
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty four dollars in eighty eight cents. Bardstown
Speaker 1: Fire Department Chief Ta Faulding said it was incredible to
Speaker 1: see people being willing to donate during the time of
Speaker 1: financial hardship. Spalding said it's wonderful to see people still
Speaker 1: have compassion and are able to pull together funding to
Speaker 1: support children. Spalding said they received a ten thousand dollars
Speaker 1: gift from a local American Legion Post. Additionally, DFD has
Speaker 1: a number of in memory donations, including one from forty
Speaker 1: four Auto Mark for Ron and Russ Mulvaney, grieted, Joey
Speaker 1: Yates for Gary and Tracy Borland, Takey's Lessinger for Janet Fish,
Speaker 1: and Judas Dennists for Pom Mobley. They enjoy it, especially
Speaker 1: when they know that the money is going back to
Speaker 1: the kids. Paulding said of participation from firemen, they enjoy
Speaker 1: this community interaction and being able to interact in and
Speaker 1: with the community outside of emergency situation. Northeast Nelson Pire
Speaker 1: chief said Shield has been in the field for more
Speaker 1: than thirty years and it seems the Crusade for Children's
Speaker 1: campaign continues to change. Shield said he remembers when they
Speaker 1: reached ten thousand dollars for the first time and what
Speaker 1: a huge deal it was. He said, to see so
Speaker 1: many people continue to give back as a testament to
Speaker 1: them for Northeast Nelson, Shield said they raise money from
Speaker 1: their rogue law, selling concessions at car shows, and generous
Speaker 1: donations from area businesses. He said their team is also
Speaker 1: anxious to participate in the donation each year. It's a
Speaker 1: labor of love for them all. It's outstanding because I'm
Speaker 1: sure that almost everybody involve with Crusade Collections in Nelson
Speaker 1: County probably knows somebody or somebody's family that benefits from
Speaker 1: these funds, he said. I'm sure that most of us
Speaker 1: are probably familiar with a family or a child that's
Speaker 1: benefited from the puns that are raised, so it's very gratifying.
Speaker 1: Next in sports, in Bethlehem trap shooting team has strong
Speaker 1: first season. On June sixth, seven students from Bethlehem High
Speaker 1: School traveled through Berea and took up arms to compete
Speaker 1: in a sport whose roots date back over one hundred
Speaker 1: years in the state of Kentucky. That sport the competitive
Speaker 1: effort is American trap shooting. The Bethlehem trap shooting team
Speaker 1: was harmed at the beginning of the spring semester of
Speaker 1: this past school year. The idea of began as a
Speaker 1: grassroots effort. Students and parents alike showed an interest in
Speaker 1: a program that allowed students to own their marksmanship and
Speaker 1: represent Bethlehem in competition, not to just show up as
Speaker 1: mere participants, but to have a real viable chance of
Speaker 1: standing on a podium at the end of the event.
Speaker 1: Launching the program turned into a successful effort that involved
Speaker 1: members from multiple communities. Bethlehem Athletic Director Gilly Simpson worked
Speaker 1: with these interested parents to set up the program in
Speaker 1: an official capacity. Several parents of interested students volunt generously
Speaker 1: volunteered their time and efforts to handle the team's administrative duties.
Speaker 1: To lead the students in their efforts, Bethlehem tapped the
Speaker 1: talents and knowledge of two local athletes, Charles Power, a
Speaker 1: trap shooter with decades of experience in the sport, and
Speaker 1: previous coach, to Trap teams for Nelson County High School
Speaker 1: and Spencer County High School Trap League, as well as
Speaker 1: Colin Howard charles Son and a competitive trap shooter in
Speaker 1: his own right. Having previously represented the Save Kentucky at
Speaker 1: a national level in Champion of Champions events sanctioned by
Speaker 1: the Amateur Trap Shooting Association, Bill Hahn inducted into the
Speaker 1: Kentucky Trap Shooting League of Hall of Fame. An owner
Speaker 1: of Ridge Trap Club, volunteered his range for the King
Speaker 1: to practice sessions twice a week in Shapelin over the
Speaker 1: course of five months. Bethlehem's student athletes used a mixture
Speaker 1: of both stimulated targets and live fire targets to learn
Speaker 1: how to safely handle firearms, properly mount and fire their shotguns,
Speaker 1: and the ins and outs of a round of trap.
Speaker 1: Several of the athletes had never fired a gun before. Still,
Speaker 1: the novelty of the experience did not prevent these students
Speaker 1: from owning their competitive edge even during their relatively short
Speaker 1: training period. Two students managed to shoot a perfect round
Speaker 1: of trap during practice, hitting all twenty five targets thrown
Speaker 1: in the round. Ryan Faybeck was the first to do
Speaker 1: so on April twenty one, and when Carter o'cole hit
Speaker 1: his perfect liak on May twenty eighth, the rest of
Speaker 1: the team gathered on the firing line to shoot the
Speaker 1: hat he wore that night in celebration. All of this
Speaker 1: practice culminated in the team attending the Kentucky Trap Shooting
Speaker 1: State Tournament, hosted by the Kentucky State High School Clay
Speaker 1: Target League. Over three hundred and fifty student athletes entered
Speaker 1: the event. One hundred targets were thrown for each shooter
Speaker 1: from the sixteen yard line, and shooters were divided into
Speaker 1: classifications Novice, Junior, Varsity, and varsity based on their spring
Speaker 1: season ending average. Bethlehem sent seven students, Faybec o'cole, Annealine,
Speaker 1: Cameron Grace, Ice, Bryce and Hagen, Lucy, Ferris, Smith and
Speaker 1: John Clayton Rogers complete in this event and did not
Speaker 1: return empty handed. Smith shot her first perfect round during
Speaker 1: the compon petition, winning a twenty five straight patch and
Speaker 1: shooting forty eight out of fifty for the second session.
Speaker 1: This exceptional run in the second half of the event
Speaker 1: earned her a ninety out of one hundred score and
Speaker 1: won her second place in the Female Junior Varsity high
Speaker 1: gun category. At the end of the event, Bethlehem posted
Speaker 1: respectable scores and introduced student athletes to the work of
Speaker 1: competitive marketmanship. Several of the athletes are returning to Bethlehem
Speaker 1: in the hall, and their team looked forward to their
Speaker 1: continued participation and further growth in the discipline. The efforts
Speaker 1: of the students at Bethlehem were greatly supported by Patrick
Speaker 1: Hayden of Kentucky Gun Company, who generously donated ammunition for
Speaker 1: their youth. Next Barstown Independent Board of Education meeting will
Speaker 1: be new to the two sixteen at Central Office, three
Speaker 1: o eight North fifth Street in Bardstown. This is all
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Speaker 1: here at Radio Eye. This is Bryan Hunt. Thank you
Speaker 1: for joining me, and now please stay tuned for continued
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