Friday October 17, 2025
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As a way to start a new school year off right, Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin (D-2) and 1st Neighborhood Place will host Back to School Fest 2017 on Saturday, August 12th.
“It is important that children be ready to learn and have the tools they need in order to get off on the right foot this year,” says Shanklin. “This event will not only help with school supplies but it will be a chance for parents to get information about the new school year and have some fun.”
The Back to School Fest 2017 will be held at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, 1501 Rangeland Road from 10:00am to 1:00pm.
Joining the Councilwoman and 1st Neighborhood Place is the Family Resource and Youth Service Centers of the Jefferson County Public Schools.
Some 1200 backpacks containing school supplies will be distributed on a first come first serve basis. A parent or adult must be with the child to receive a backpack. Councilwoman Shanklin and several Metro Council members provided funding for the backpacks and supplies.
Louisville Metro Police and the Okolona Fire Department will be on hand with local churches to provide fun activities. There will be a clothing giveaway and free hot dogs for everyone who attends.
For more information about the Back to School Fest 2017, contact the Thomas Jefferson Youth Services Center at 502-313-4541.
Visitors to the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville this month can get information and expert guidance on health, wellness and family assistance programs at the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) exhibit.
The fair is Aug. 17-27 at the Kentucky Exposition Center, and the CHFS exhibit in the Health Horizons area of South Wing B will feature information to help support the strategies of Gov. Matt Bevin’s Kentucky HEALTH (Helping to Engage and Achieve Long Term Health) initiative, his Medicaid transformation proposal, which empowers individuals to improve their health and well-being through healthy lifestyle habits.
CHFS Secretary Vickie Yates Brown Glisson said the CHFS exhibit will encourage fair visitors to follow healthy patterns like choosing nutritious foods, getting regular physical activity and regularly seeing a doctor.
“In the spirit of Kentucky HEALTH, our CHFS staff at the state fair will encourage individuals to take meaningful steps toward improving their health with the help of our programs,” Glisson said. “There is so much we can do on our own, too, like choosing to stop smoking, buying ingredients for meals at the local farmers market and fitting in walking or other exercise every day.”
Glisson said that for many guests at the fair, meeting with an expert and talking about health concerns in such a relaxed environment can be a first step toward meeting wellness goals.
“Lifestyle modifications can contribute to chronic disease prevention, savings in health costs, and ultimately, a longer life,” she said. “Every day, our exhibit will offer new information about how to ensure a healthier lifestyle by making good decisions about nutrition, daily activity and behavioral health. It’s not easy, and many of our programs offer families help toward better well-being.”
The interactive display will feature learning activities for children and adults, free health screenings and on-site health educators who can speak one-to-one about wellness and prevention.
The exhibit includes a 45-foot dental screening van, sponsored by CHFS, the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville. Medical staff will offer free dental screenings to children entering public school kindergarten or first grade who have signed consent from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
Duffle Bag and Backpack Drive
Also to help children in foster care, CHFS is collecting new duffel bags and backpacks at its display. Children in foster care will receive the bags to carry their belongings. Everyone is encouraged to bring a bag or backpack with them to the fair and place it in our donation bin.
CHFS Secretary Vickie Yates Brown Glisson said that the need for bags surprises a lot of people.
“Often times, when children are removed from their home and placed into state care, all their belongings are literally stuffed into a black garbage bag,” Secretary Glisson said. “Can you image how that makes them feel? No child deserves to be given a trash bag for their belongings. This effort changes that.”
Focus Days
Visitors and media are invited to ask top experts about several Cabinet programs on special “focus days.” From 10 a.m. to noon, the Cabinet leadership will be on site to speak with guests and reporters about some of the agency’s highest priorities.
Glisson said the “focus day” topics include dental health (Aug. 17), foster care and adoption (Aug. 23), Zika education (Aug. 24) and substance use disorder (Aug. 25).
“Substance abuse is our state’s No. 1 public health issue,” Secretary Glisson said. “We will have experts on hand to talk about harm reduction education, behavioral health referral services, prescription drug abuse prevention and family preservation efforts that are making a difference in the fight against this terrible epidemic.”
Media and guests can also talk to dental health experts including Dental Director Dr. Julie McKee about improvements to oral health and the state’s updated Strategic Oral Health Plan.
When Zika education and mosquito prevention is in the spotlight, guests can learn about how to protect against harmful mosquitoes and even pose for pictures with life-size Marty Mosquito, who travels the state educating families how to “Fight the Bite.”
Glisson said the cabinet’s new Adoption Czar, Daniel Dumas, and several adoptive families plan to join her on the foster care and adoption “focus day” the morning of Aug. 23.
“Every child deserves a safe and loving home,” Glisson said. “For children in foster care, safe reunification is always the goal. But when that cannot happen, we look for other families to open their hearts and their homes. Families considering that journey can learn more at our fair exhibit just by having a conversation with a veteran recruiter or adoptive parent.”
More CHFS Staff Providing Services at the Fair
In the South Wing, the cabinet’s Nutrition Services Branch staff will assist visitors with the Rock and Relax room, sponsored by Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness and Baptist East Hospital. Parents can stop by to privately and comfortably nurse, feed or change their infants and learn about breastfeeding and baby safety.
And throughout the fair, inspectors from the Food Safety Program of the Department for Public Health will be monitoring food services.
Fair Admission and Hours
Exhibit buildings at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center are open daily at 9 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Advance tickets are $7 for adults, seniors and children; free for children 5 years and under. Parking in advance is $5 per vehicle (car and bus). Advance discount prices are available through 10 p.m., Aug. 16, at Kroger and online at http://www.kystatefair.org and on the Kentucky State Fair app.
Admission at the gate is $10 for adults, seniors and children; free for children 5 years and under.
Parking after Aug. 16 and at the gate is $10 per car.
JCPS Acting Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio provided additional guidance to our school principals on August 8 regarding the solar eclipse later this month.
Here are the highlights:
- All JCPS middle and high schools will have a delayed dismissal the day of the eclipse, Monday, August 21. The dismissal time for these schools, including all special schools and alternative schools, will be 2:41 p.m. This is a delay of 21 minutes past the regular dismissal time of 2:20 p.m.
- Elementary schools will have an on-time dismissal, but parents should know that their child may be delayed when arriving home that afternoon due to traffic. This is especially true for students whose transportation may run through a depot.
- Students and teachers may participate in instructional activities regarding the eclipse if proper safety protocols are followed. Each school should develop a plan and communicate that plan to the appropriate assistant superintendent. The plan should include which classes are going outside for instruction and the safety protocols being followed to ensure student and staff safety.
- Each student involved in outside instructional activities must complete a permission form that will be provided by the school.
- Additionally, all non-eclipse outdoor activities (e.g., recess, physical education) between 12:30 and 3 p.m. should be moved indoors.
If parents are requesting an excused absence to attend the eclipse, an educational enhancement form must be submitted by Friday, August 18. Normally, these forms would be due on August 16, but we are providing two extra days because August 16 is the first day of school. Each school should have forms to provide parents and information about additional student obligations, if required by your school’s School-Based Decision Making (SBDM) Council.
A link to the district form is available here: http://bit.ly/2vM2j22.
Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease has been reported in white-tailed deer in several east Kentucky counties. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources received confirmation from the Georgia- based Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study Wednesday morning of a Kentucky deer with a strain of the disease.
“Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease is not transmittable to people or pets,” Dr. Iga Stasiak, state wildlife veterinarian for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “However, we always recommend that hunters avoid eating venison from deer that were obviously sick.”
Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) is a viral disease transmitted to deer through the bite of a midge or gnat. The disease has been present in the United States for more than 60 years. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife receives and confirms EHD deer mortalities sporadically, with a small number of mortalities each year. Larger outbreaks tend occur every 5-7 years. Outbreaks cease at the first frost, which kills the biting bugs.
Gabe Jenkins, big game coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, said small outbreaks of EHD also have been reported in the mountainous areas of Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife is receiving a growing number of suspected cases.
“We’re monitoring this situation closely,” Jenkins said. “If we receive little rain between now and the first frost, the numbers could increase because deer are drawn to water. Midges breed along mud banks, so drought would concentrate the deer around larger bodies of water and make them more susceptible to infection.”
Deer can exhibit signs of illness within 24 to 72 hours after receiving a bite from an infected midge. Infected deer may appear sluggish and unresponsive to humans. EHD causes dehydration and fever in deer, which causes the animals to seek water. Infected deer are often found dead near bodies of water. Kentucky last had significant outbreaks of EHD in 2007 and 2012.
Anyone who finds a sick deer or a deer they suspect may have died from EHD is encouraged to report the finding to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The department staffs a toll-free number weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Eastern). The number is 1-800-858-1549.
Reports can also be emailed to info.center@ky.gov. Reports should include your name, contact information, county and date the deer was found, number of deer found and whether the deer is sick or recently deceased.
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is also urging hunters to report any observations of deer that appear to have died of natural causes.
EHD primarily affects white-tailed deer and is most noticeable during the late summer and early fall (August to October). For more information on this disease, visit the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website at fw.ky.gov and search under the keyword, “EHD.”
Councilman David James will join volunteers with the 1st Gethsemane Center for this year’s Back to School effort to get school supplies to needy students in District 6 schools on Friday, August 11th. “The best way to ensure children in need get the things they need for learning for the new school year is to make sure school supplies are delivered to the schools in need,” said James. James and the volunteers have been collecting donations of schools supplies from Walmart and Kosair Charities. Those donations will be sorted on Friday and then delivered to six schools on Monday, August 14th. The schools are Cochran, McFerran, Engelhard, Wheatley and Frasier Elementary Schools and Noe Middle School. “We are happy to partner with Councilman James, Walmart and Kosair to once again to take care of children in need who live in our neighborhoods,” says Keith A. Bush Sr., Director of the 1st G. Center for Family Development”
On Friday, the volunteers will begin the sorting process of supplies at 12:30pm. The donated supplies include:
- Crayons
- Notebooks
- Pencil boxes and pouches
- Backpacks
The sorting operation will start at 12;30pm at 1st Gethsemane Life Development Center located at 1221 First Gethsemane Ave.
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) and McDonald’s® Restaurants of Kentuckiana announced the continuation of a partnership that will recognize teachers at the district’s eight transformation schools.
The program at transformation schools rewards teachers for being in class and ready to increase student achievement. Each month (August-May), a teacher with perfect attendance from each of the eight schools will be randomly drawn to win a gift package, valued at $20, courtesy of McDonald’s Restaurants of Kentuckiana. The eight teachers chosen each month will also be recognized on the district’s social media as the McDonald’s Teacher of the Month.
“These attendance incentives help recognize and reward our staff who are focused on being in the classroom ready to teach some of our most vulnerable students,” JCPS Acting Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio said. “We have the best teachers in the country right here in JCPS. I appreciate the local McDonald’s owner/operators for helping recognize their hard work and dedication to the district and its students.”
“At McDonald’s, we recognize the importance that educators play in strengthening our community,” said George Saliba, local McDonald’s owner/operator and president of the Kentuckiana Co-op. “We appreciate everything they do and are proud to show our appreciation for local teachers who are making a difference through learning.”\
Schools participating in the program include:
- Wheatley Elementary
- McFerran Preparatory Academy
- Camp Taylor Elementary
- Wilkerson Elementary
- Blue Lick Elementary
- Coleridge-Taylor Montessori Elementary
- Trunnell Elementary
- Blake Elementary
Be sure to follow JCPS on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @JCPSKY. To learn more about how local McDonald’s owner/operators are making a difference in the Kentuckiana community, follow on Twitter and Instagram @McDKentuckiana or any of the 100 McDonald’s Restaurants of Kentuckiana Facebook pages.
Gov. Matt Bevin’s office will begin placing painted rocks around Kentucky this afternoon in order to raise awareness for Kentucky’s opioid epidemic and the “Don’t Let Them Die” (DLTD) initiative.
“Though this promotion is intended to be encouraging and fun, it seeks to raise awareness across the Commonwealth about a tragically serious epidemic,” said Amanda Stamper, Director of Communications. “Last year, 1,404 Kentuckians died as a result of an opioid overdose. Gov. Bevin is committed to providing the policies and resources necessary to ensure we eradicate this scourge.”
Painted rock searches, a form of hide-and-go-seek, is a new, wildly popular trend. The concept is simple: volunteers paint and decorate rocks, then place them for others to find. When one finds a painted rock they can photograph themselves with it and then post the photo to their social media outlet of choice. Finders are encouraged to then hide the rock for others to find. The goal is not to find and keep the rocks, but to make continue placing them for others to discover.
The DLTD painted rock campaign will be promoted on the Governor’s social media pages, including his new Instagram account. In addition to decorative art, these rocks will include a brief message of encouragement and hope, as well as the URL DontLetThemDie.com, a website providing information about opioids, treatment options, and the overdose antidote, naloxone. Rocks for this campaign will initially be hidden in the Frankfort, Lexington and Louisville areas but the Governor’s office hopes to have rocks placed in all 120 Kentucky counties within two weeks.
The “Don’t Let Them Die” theme encourages Kentuckians to recognize the inherent value of human life – even in the grip of addiction – and take proactive steps to support their friends, family and communities as they overcome this crisis. Kentuckians can help spread the word by painting and hiding their own rocks with DontLetThemDie.com painted on the back and sharing on social media using hashtag #DLTD.
