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SubscribeCan a rabbit police officer and a fox con artist work together to figure out what’s going on in a city of animals where certain species are disappearing? That is the premise of “Zootopia” the next Free Summer Movie at Iroquois Amphitheater on Saturday, July 15th.
“As the Free Summer Movies celebrates its tenth year, we have a fun film for everyone. It’s free to the community at the Iroquois Park Amphitheater, a state of the art outdoor facility,” says Councilwoman Marianne Butler (D-15).
The 2016 animated film from Walt Disney Studios tells the story of a rabbit, Judy Hopps, who fulfills her dream of becoming a police officer in Zootopia. On the beat she comes in contact with Nick Wilde, a fox who is also a con artist. The two become unlikely partners as savage animal behavior starts breaking out though the city.
“Zootopia” features the voices Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrence, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, Tommy Chong, J. K. Simmons, Octavia Spencer, Alan Tudyk, and Shakira.
Joining Councilwoman Butler as sponsors of this year’s Free Summer Movies are Council Members Rick Blackwell (D-12) Vicki Aubrey Welch (D-13), Dan Johnson (D-21) President David Yates (D-25), Mary C. Woolridge (D-3), David James (D-6), Cindi Fowler (D-14), Cheri Bryant Hamilton (D-5), Angela Leet (R-7), Pat Mulvihill (D-10), Barbara Sexton Smith (D-4), Bill Hollander (D-9), Robin Engel (R-22), Barbara Shanklin (D-2), Madonna Flood (D-24), Stuart Benson (R-20) and James Peden (R-23).
The remaining summer lineup for “Movies Under the Stars” is as follows – all movies begin at 8:00pm:
- August 12 – Sing
Here is the lineup of Free Monday Night Movies for 2017 – all movies begin at 8:00pm:
- July 17 – The Jungle Book
- July 24 – Dial M for Murder
- July 31 – The Wild Life
- August 14 – The Legend of Tarzan
The Concession Stand is open for these events selling hotdogs, popcorn, ice cream and sodas.
To see all the great summer entertainment this year at the Iroquois Amphitheater, go to www.iroquoisamphithearter.com or call 502-368-5865.
Photo: Kentucky Department Fish and Wildlife
With every passing season, anglers are building their knowledge base about how to catch saugeye stocked in a handful of central and northern Kentucky lakes.
A saugeye is a fast-growing cross between a walleye and sauger that can reach 15 to 19 inches in its second year. The hybridization is evident in the species’ physical appearance. Saugeye display the faint saddle markings of a sauger and the white fin tips of a walleye. Unlike either, it features black smudges on its dorsal fin.
Three lakes – 317-acre Guist Creek Lake in Shelby County, 148-acre Bullock Pen Lake in Owen County and 175-acre A.J. Jolly Lake in Campbell County – received experimental stockings of the species in 2013 and five have been stocked this year by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
Guist Creek Lake received more than 15,000 fingerlings this spring. Anglers have reported good success in recent weeks fishing jigs off mud flats in 4 to 10 feet of water.
Paul Wilkes and Dane Balsman had never tried fishing for saugeye before they visited Guist Creek Lake one day in late June. They spoke with other anglers and studied bottom contour maps available on Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s website at fw.ky.gov beforehand.
“We were able to identify some flats that we wanted to hit and then went out and graphed some baitfish near the drop-offs of those flats,” said Wilkes, fisheries program coordinator with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “We went out there with a mindset of if we caught one or two we were going to be pumped because this was a new species for us.”
The two reeled in 11 saugeye, including one that weighed 4.5 pounds and two others that weighed better than 3 pounds.
“We went out there and tried it and tried a few different drop-offs we mapped,” Wilkes said. “We stuck to the basics of jigging slowly in the areas we had identified. Strikes were kind of a thud, where you almost thought you were hung up until you really pulled it in. Once we found the fish, it seemed like they were in small schools. You’d catch several.”
Minnow or worm-tipped jigs or small shad-imitating crankbaits are good options for saugeye, as are small suspending jerkbaits or swimbaits in grey and white. Wilkes and Balsman, urban fisheries program coordinator with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, found bladed jig heads with chartreuse bodies worked best for them.
Mike Hardin enjoyed similarly good fortune on Guist Creek Lake this spring fishing a little deeper in 8 to 10 feet of water.
“If you look at the fishing reports from saugeye lakes in Kentucky and Ohio, you see a lot of reports of anglers finding them in shallow water on crankbaits,” said Hardin, assistant Fisheries Division director with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “For a long time, I looked and looked and fished extremely shallow water jigging and picking up the occasional saugeye.
“We pulled off the bank and found wads of baitfish in 8- to 10-feet of water and it was game on. Fish close to the bottom, just like walleye fishing.”
He’s also had caught saugeye on Taylorsville Lake. Fisheries biologists believe good saugeye fishing could be in the cards this fall on Salt River above Taylorsville Lake based on population sampling from last fall.
“It seemed like there was definitely a push up there in the river. There’s going to be crappie and saugeye and bass, a little bit of everything,” said David Baker, Central Fisheries District biologist with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “Honestly, I think we’re going to be getting a lot of phone calls about saugeye in Taylorsville here in the next year or two.”
This year, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources stocked more than 150,000 fingerlings in five lakes with Taylorsville Lake receiving more than 115,000 saugeye fingerlings.
Also receiving saugeye fingerlings were Guist Creek Lake, 92-acre Boltz Lake in Grant County and A.J. Jolly Lake in Campbell County. Lake Carnico, a 114-acre lake in Nicholas County, received its first saugeye stocking this year.
“It was a ton of fun and we were able to get on some really nice fish,” Wilkes said. “It definitely exceeded our expectations.”
For more information about saugeye fishing in Kentucky, including special regulations, consult the current Kentucky Fishing and Boating Guide. It is available online at fw.ky.gov and wherever licenses are sold.
Photo: The Kentucky Center
Following a nationwide search process, The Kentucky Center is announcing the appointment of Julie Roberts to the role of vice president of development.
Since 2013, Roberts has served as the director of development for Actors Theatre of Louisville, one of the most respected regional theaters in America and known worldwide for the Humana Festival of New American Plays. She previously served as vice president of development and communications at Maryhurst and as vice president of marketing & advancement for Sunrise Children’s Services.
Roberts has experience with multiple capital campaigns, building community partnerships and short- and long-term strategic planning. She is a graduate of the Fund for the Arts NeXt! Leadership program and serves on its alumni board. She also is a board member with Friends of the Waterfront. Roberts is a Kentucky native who studied print journalism at Western Kentucky University and has lived in Louisville with her husband, Jonathan, for 20 years.
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Acting Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio announced that retired administrator Timothy “Tim” Hagan will assume the role of acting principal of Norton Elementary School on July 17.
“Tim is a longtime administrator with a history of increasing student achievement at high-performing schools,” Dr. Pollio said. “Recent events have created an emotional experience for the staff, students and families of Norton. Tim’s experience and leadership provide an opportunity for the school community to heal and immediately begin preparing for the upcoming school year.”
Hagan retired from JCPS after serving as principal of Hite Elementary School for 18 years. Under his leadership, Hite was named a Distinguished School of Distinction by the Kentucky Department of Education. He previously served as an intern principal at Frayser Elementary for one year. Prior to that appointment, Hagan was the band director at Eastern High School for 12 years. He began his teaching career at Hart County Schools in 1982. A proud graduate of Fern Creek High School, he and his wife, Cathy, have three grown children—all successful graduates of JCPS.
“I look forward to working with the staff, students and families at Norton to continue building on the tradition of excellence,” Hagan said. “We’ll be ready to hit the ground running on the first day of school, and I look forward to welcoming and meeting everyone at our back-to-school events.”
Norton’s School-Based Decision Making (SBDM) Council will name a permanent replacement for the school this fall.
Photo: Beechmont Community Center
A program offered at the Beechmont Community Center will introduce storytelling and acting to youths ages 8-13 and culminate in a performance at the center on Friday, August 31. Led by actor and director Tony Dingman, the Beechmont Theatre will cultivate confidence, cooperation, compassion and joyful learning in its students through imaginative play and storytelling.
Dingman is the Co-Artistic Director of Louisville’s Think Tank Theatre and previously Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble. He has been building new works for the stage for more than 12 years. He has directed and taught young actors at Missoula Children’s Theatre, Kentucky Shakespeare, Walden Theatre and the Frazier Museum.
“Theatre is unique in the way it can tell a story, and there is a magic in it,” Dingman said. “It is a shared moment that can’t be reproduced, where the audience and actors are counting on each other to help build a world. I hope to help ignite the imagination of young people and give them tools to create and share their stories, the ones that they think are exciting and fun.”
The 8-week program begins on Monday, July 10, and the group will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m. through August 31 at the newly renovated theatre area at the Beechmont Community Center, located at 205 Wellington Avenue.
The class size is limited to 15 students, and the program fee is $145 and includes a free meal each night. The Beechmont Theatre Showcase will end the class’s run on Friday, August 31 at 7 p.m., and family, friends and the public are invited to attend.
Metro Parks and Recreation has recently renovated the basement at Beechmont into a theatre space, including new paint, floor tiles, a stage, curtains and sound system, as well as a colorful mural created with the help of the Kentucky Center’s ArtsReach program.
The Kentucky Court of Appeals has ruled that a lawsuit by the Office of the Attorney General against drug company Bayer Corporation will proceed at the trial court level.
In two June 29 orders, the three-judge panel denied Bayer’s request to dismiss the AG’s lawsuit, currently in Franklin Circuit Court, that alleges the company improperly promoted a drug and violated a 2007 agreement with the Commonwealth.
“Bayer is essentially seeking an appeal before the trial court has had the opportunity to enter an order,” the three judges wrote in the decision.
The Franklin Circuit Court had previously denied Bayer’s motion to dismiss the suit, prompting Bayer to appeal that decision. Bayer also sought an order prohibiting the trial court from considering contempt charges and blocking the attorney general from amending its complaint. The Court of Appeals also denied those requests.
The AG’s office is alleging that Bayer misled consumers and doctors about the risks of its combined oral contraceptive drug, YAZ.
Attorney General Andy Beshear said the company’s alleged activity with YAZ violates a 2007 multistate settlement involving Bayer misrepresenting certain risks associated with its anti-cholesterol drug, Baycol. Kentucky’s 2007 settlement with Bayer said the company would not make any false, misleading or deceptive representation regarding any of its pharmaceutical products.
“We appreciate the ruling by the Court of Appeals that will allow our case against Bayer to move forward at the trial court level,” Beshear said. “We will hold Bayer or any company accountable who tries to mislead Kentuckians about its products.”
In 2015, more than 225 Kentuckians died from a drug overdose with Opana in their blood.
Now that the makers of the opioid painkiller announced July 6 that it will no longer sell the drug, Attorney General Andy Beshear is calling the move a “first step” in fighting against what he believes is the single greatest threat to Kentucky – the state’s drug epidemic.
Beshear sent his concerns on the potential for abuse by Kentuckians on a reformulation of the drug, Opana ER (extended release), to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February during an open comment period on the drug.
“The FDA previously determined the reformulated Opana ER can still be readily prepared for injection and can be crushed with common items for snorting,” Beshear said in his comments to the agency. “‘Snortable’ or injectable drugs have crippled Kentucky, ranging from the widespread abuse of Oxycontin to the return of heroin. Where the reformulation has merely been found to impede one of many means of abuse, approving labeling Opana ER as ‘abuse deterrent’ may mislead patients and providers.”
In his comments, Beshear said he was “encouraged that the agency is taking a hard look at the safety of this powerful drug.”
The FDA requested on June 8 that Endo Pharmaceuticals remove Opana ER from the market.
Beshear’s comments to the FDA on Opana ER is part of his ongoing efforts to address the opioid crisis in Kentucky.
“Opana ER has already taken the lives of Kentuckians,” Beshear said. “Louisvillian Emily Walden, whose son, T.J., died of an Opana ER overdose in 2012, has led the charge to have the reformulated drug removed from the market. By working hand-in-hand with dedicated Kentuckians like Emily, we can and will end our opioid epidemic.”
On June 28, Beshear announced that his office intends to file multiple lawsuits against drug manufacturers, distributors and retailers where there is evidence that they contributed to the opioid epidemic by illegally marketing and selling opioids to Kentuckians.
To support this litigation, Beshear issued a request for proposal (RFP) for legal services to assist the Commonwealth in multiple lawsuits and to ensure that Kentucky tax dollars are not used for the costs of the litigations.
Beshear is co-chair on the National Association of Attorneys General Substance Abuse Committee.
The AG’s office previously settled a $24 million lawsuit with Purdue Pharma regarding OxyContin. Beshear’s office has provided $8 million from that settlement directly to 15 substance treatment centers across Kentucky.
From a different drug company settlement, the office dedicated $2 million to expand and enhance Rocket Docket programs that expedite drug cases, generate significant cost savings and allow select defendants rapid access to substance abuse treatment.
Recently, Beshear joined a multistate lawsuit alleging the drugmaker of Suboxone, a drug used for treating opioid addiction, tried to monopolize the market.
Beshear is currently working with local law enforcement and community leaders to host substance abuse awareness forums across the state. The office has also been instrumental in numerous drug related arrests, including working with federal authorities on arresting a fentanyl dealer whose drugs had killed several Kentuckians.
“The abuse and diversion of Opana and other strong opioids is devastating the health of many of our Commonwealth’s citizens, and they, as well as our Medicaid and corrections departments, pay an enormous financial price in the attempt to treat this epidemic,” Beshear told the FDA. “It would benefit public health for the FDA to create and implement deadlines for the pharmaceutical industry to develop more robust abuse deterrent formulations for these high-dose opioids and to require that development before granting abuse deterrent labeling.”
