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In recognition of October as Manufacturing Month, area students this month will visit manufacturing plants, job shadow workers and get a virtual tour of GE’s Appliance Park – all efforts to expose them to potential careers in manufacturing and create a new flow of skilled employees to fill good-paying jobs.
Mayor Greg Fischer will help tout Manufacturing Month at events throughout the month, including Carrithers Middle School’s first-of-its-kind virtual tour of Appliance Park on Oct. 7, which is National Manufacturing Day.
Other students will tour Appliance Park, KCC Manufacturing and the Louisville Ford Assembly Plant this month to learn more about careers in manufacturing and to gather information about training and educational opportunities.
“Manufacturing is vital to our local and regional economies, and it’s increasingly important that we create a stronger pipeline of educated and skilled employees to meet the demand,” the Mayor said. “These students are seeing the kind of jobs available in modern, technology-driven manufacturing facilities, and seeing people working as efficient teams to make a broad range of products.”
The Louisville area has 1,600 manufacturing companies employing approximately 76,000 people and providing an $11 billion impact to the local economy. The Louisville region has added 18,000 jobs in manufacturing since the height of the recession in 2009, outpacing the national recovery rate.
The tours at GE, Ford and KCC Manufacturing were developed by KentuckianaWorks, the Kentucky Manufacturing Career Center Employer Advisory Group and Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana, and funded by a grant from the Louisville Redevelopment Authority.
“Our goal is to promote career opportunities in manufacturing,” said Mike Kopp, recruiter with KCC Manufacturing. “By spotlighting our facilities and products, we hope to educate and motivate these young people to consider a career in manufacturing. “
“This year’s manufacturing celebration allows JA to reach even more students with JA Job Shadows,” said Debra Hoffer, president of Junior Achievement. “The experience of spending time in an actual workplace is extremely impactful for students and helps them to make better decisions in regards to their future careers. Students will have exposure to jobs in manufacturing that have opportunities for advancement, education and a great pay right here in our community. “
As manufacturing rebounds in the Louisville region, the demand is increasing for workers who have greater skills and training.
KentuckianaWorks is currently offering free training through the Manufacturing Training and Employment Connection (M-TEC). It’s an intensive, two-week program where participants can earn multiple training certificates valued by local manufacturing companies. Graduates also get direct connections to employers who have jobs to fill.
New M-TEC classes are scheduled for October and November at the Kentucky Manufacturing Career Center in south Louisville. For more information, call (502) 276-9711, ext. 4001.
Schedule of Manufacturing Month activities
October 4
- Students from Bullitt County High School will tour GE Appliance Park, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., 4000 Buechel Bank Road.
October 6
- Rabbit Hole Distilling, NuLu’s first distillery, will break ground on its new $12.5 million distillery, 1:30 p.m., 711 E. Jefferson Street.
October 7
- Students from Butler, Iroquois and Shawnee High Schools will tour KCC Manufacturing, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., 2716 Grassland Drive. Contact: Mike Kopp, 502-491-9881.
- More than 90 middle school classes from Greater Louisville will participate in a first-of-its-kind virtual tour of Appliance Park. Mayor Fischer will join 8th grade students from Carrithers Middle School for the virtual field trip, 9:30 a.m., 4320 Billtown Road.
October 12
- Mayor Fischer will team up with Ford and Junior Achievement to give students from Jefferson County and Central High Schools a look inside the Louisville Ford Assembly Plant through the JA Job Shadow program, 9:00 a.m., 2000 Fern Valley Road.
October 14
- Crown World, dental laboratory and manufacturer, will have its ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening celebration of its new state-of-the-art facility, 1:30 p.m., 3841 Business Park Drive.
October 15
- Mayor Fischer will join officials from BAE Systems, along with employees and their families to celebrate the 75thanniversary of the Naval Ordnance, 2 p.m., 163 Rochester Drive.
October 21
- The West Louisville Career Fair will be heldFriday, October 21 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Louisville Central Community Center, 1300 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd. Companies recruiting at this career fair will have a heavy focus on the manufacturing sector.
October 26
- Mayor Fischer will join officials from Clariant Corporation to break ground on its new manufacturing facility, 11 a.m., 1300 S. 11th
Louisville-based manufacturers and those participating in events are encouraged to join in Manufacturing Month by using #LouMFG on social media.
To learn more about Louisville’s robust manufacturing sector, visit
The two day long Louder Than Life music festival rocked heavy metal and rock fans from all over this past weekend with a jam-packed lineup of nearly 40 acts from around the world for the third annual celebration of bourbon, music, and gourmet man food.
Music fans made the journey to Louisville’s Champions Park in massive numbers despite the rain and chilly temperatures early on the first day. Once inside the venue, they were treated to a series of unforgettable shows from their favorite artists – along with all the staples of a good music festival: food, booze, dancing, and band merch.
The three-dozen-plus bands shredded, pounded, screamed, and, yes, even bagpipe-ed for the electric crowds in front of the festival’s three stages. Although the two main Monster Energy stages were side-by-side at one end, the third was located at the far opposite corner of the venue – good for not having bands drown each other out, bad for trekking back and forth.
As the performers thrilled festival goers, thousands of fans packed as far forward toward the stages in a closer-than-usually-socially-acceptable mass of humanity that smelled of unwashed campers, smoked turkey legs, smoked pork, and other, possibly illicit, smoked items. Dancing, hugging, fist bumping, fist pumping, moshing, and getting knocked down only to be helped back up was the routine throughout the crowd.
Despite the signs warning the faint of heart against the potential dangers, crowd surfing fans could be seen during nearly every performance. This activity started off slow until, on day one of the festival, Michigan metalcore rockers I Prevail instructed everyone to make with the crowd surfing. After this, the waves of surfers grew throughout the weekend until Sunday’s headline acts Korn, Disturbed, and Slipknot were greeted by an absolute sea of bodies skimming the surface of the crowd toward the stage where they were helped down and escorted back into the audience by the alert security staff. The smaller venue at the Zorn stage – where bands like Clutch, Zakk Sabbath, Kyng, Being As An Ocean, and Bishop Gunn played – had minimal crowd surfing and only a small handful of mini-mosh pits.
Likely thanks to the easy going nature of rock fans, despite some of the crazy outfits, and the large presence of event security and LMPD officers, Louder Than Life attendees were on their best behavior. I did see one possibly dehydrated, likely inebriated reveler being carted off by medical staff to be checked out. The condition was apparently not serious enough that I didn’t spot him back out in the crowd later with a bandage on his arm – perhaps from an IV to help recover from the dehydration brought on by all-day dancing in the heat. Continue reading
The Louder Than Life Music Festival is set to rock Louisville fans in Champions Park this weekend. The jam-packed lineup for the two-day festival features mainstream headliners and newer groups from across the spectrum of rock and metal genres.
Bands will be playing on Louder Than Life’s three stages from 11AM until well into the night on both days of the festival.
Headline acts on Saturday include heavy hitters like Anthrax and Slayer, who have been rocking metal fans since the 80s and 90s; Brit rockers, The Cult, recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Cheap Trick; and powerhouse rockers Avenged Sevenfold. Other acts throughout the day include Pierce the Veil, Hellyeah, The Amity Affliction, Sick Puppies, and others.
The music and fun continues on Sunday with massive headline acts that include Slipknot, Disturbed, Korn, Clutch, and Sevendust. Earlier shows on the second and final day of Louder Than Life include Alter Bridge, Ghost, Zakk Sabbath, Crobot, Trivium, and many more.
Weekend and single-day tickets are still available starting at $80 with multi-day, VIP, camping, and hotel packages also available.
Admission to the festival also includes access to the Gourmet Man Food dining options and the various other entertainment, refreshment, and Louder Than Life Experience opportunities.
So, Are You Ready to ROCK, Louisville?
Educators qualify to compete for 2017 Teacher of the Year
Three teachers from the Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) District are among the 24 statewide named this week as recipients of the 2017 Valvoline Teacher Achievement Awards by the Kentucky Department of Education and Valvoline.
Winning teachers Carren Cook of Kenwood Elementary, Alexandra Howard of Barret Traditional Middle and Kip Hottman of Fern Creek High now qualify to compete for the 2017 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Award, which will be announced next month.
“I am extremely proud of these remarkable teachers who are highly deserving of this great recognition,” 
“Each Teacher Achievement Award recipient is selected by a process that includes recommendations from peers, students, parents and administrators – making this award a very special honor and true reflection of the dedication and passion these teachers have for their students and for learning.”
Judging was conducted in August by a blue-ribbon panel of veteran educators, many of whom have more than 25 years of teaching experience.
All 24 teachers will be honored at a ceremony in Frankfort on Oct. 19 in the State Capitol Building. State leaders and Valvoline company officials will honor the teachers and recognize the Kentucky Elementary, Middle and High School Teachers of the Year.
From this group of three finalists, the Kentucky Teacher of the Year will be named and will represent the state in the National Teacher of the Year competition.
The opening weekend of the Kentucky State Fair may be in the books, but there is a lot of Fair left to enjoy.
The Midway is open throughout the fair, which lasts through Sunday, August 28th. The midway is open for the duration for fair visitors who wish to try their hand at games of skill or seek some thrills on the rides. The indoor exhibits, including Main Street Kentucky, Health Horizons, Pride of the Counties, Heritage Hall, Gourmet Garden, the Product Showcase, and the Performing Arts Showcase also last through the end of the fair.
Also at various time throughout the fair are numerious free shows, which include Miller’S Border Collies, The Buck Trout Show, Cuzzin’ Grumpy’S Porkchop Revue, Neecha’S Amazing Dobermans Show, Lady Houdini, Chinese Acrobats Of Hebei, a simulated Trial By Jury, and The Magic Of David Garrard.
If those acts don’t satisfy your appetite for entertainment, there are also still several free Turf Concert Series shows left, including Newsboys with special guest 7eventh Time Down tonight, the Happy Together tour tomorrow, and Chris Janson, Brooke Eden, Dylan Schneider; Blood, Sweat & Tears, Bo Bice, Stephen Bishop; American Authors, Public; Rachel Platten, Jeffrey James; Francesca Battistelli, Building 429, Lauren Daigle, and Finding Favour later in the week. On the main stage, Chris Young and Brett Eldredge will be performing with special guest Chris Lane on the 28th.
For the animal lovers, different animals will be rotating into many of the spaces in the West Hall and Pavilion on changeover day today. Dairy goats, dairy cattle, poultry, pigeons, mules, and rabbits will be on display through tomorrow while today is the last day to see the meat goats. Tomorrow and throughout the week, visitors will have the opportunity to see the sheep, swine and beef cattle. This Thursday will feature the 4-H & FFA Sale of Champions and the Draft Horse and Mule Pull will be on Sunday the 28th.
Be sure to stay with Louisville Dispatch for more about the 2016 Kentucky State Fair online and on our Facebook Page – where you can see our photos from the fair and share your own.
Learn about the neurobiology behind pain at Beer with a Scientist, August 17
At this month’s Beer with a Scientist, Kristofer Rau, Ph.D., researcher at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, will discuss the neurobiology of why we feel pain. He’ll give an introduction to the neuroanatomy involved in pain processing and explain why the “funny bone” hurts so often, why we get ice cream headaches, why amputees feel pain in a lost limb and other painful topics.
Rau is a senior research scientist in the UofL Department of Anesthesiology and a member of the Louisville Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience. His work focuses on the neurobiology of pain and the electrophysiological and molecular changes that occur following tissue injury and spinal cord trauma.
The program begins at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17 at Against the Grain Brewery, 401 E. Main St. A 30-minute presentation will be followed by an informal Q&A session.
The Beer with a Scientist program began in 2014 and is the brainchild of UofL cancer researcher Levi Beverly, Ph.D. Once a month, the public is invited to enjoy exactly what the title promises: beer and science.
Admission is free. Purchase of beer, other beverages or menu items is not required but is encouraged.
Organizers add that they also encourage Beer with a Scientist patrons to drink responsibly.
For more information and to suggest future Beer with a Scientist topics, follow Louisville Underground Science on Facebook.
COMING UP: Andrea Behrman, Ph.D., UofL Department of Neurological Surgery,September 14.
Beer with a Scientist founder, Levi Beverly, Ph.D., will speak at the event during Research!Louisville, October 12.
Councilman Kevin Kramer of District 11 and Councilman Stuart Benson of District 20 will be holding a town hall meeting tonight at the Jeffersontown Fire Department (10540 Watterson Trail). The meeting will start at 6:30 PM.
The councilmen will be present as well as officials for other local government agencies to answer any questions. The meeting will include an update on the Urton Lane Project.
For more information, contact the office of Councilman Stuart Benson at 574-1120.
