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Photo: Louisville Metro Council
Seasonal festivities continue in Metro Louisville as Councilwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton (D-5) joins the Shawnee Neighborhood Association, and area churches would like to invite the community to the first “Light Up Shawnee” at French Plaza at Amy and Market Street.
“One by one neighborhoods all over the city are welcoming the holiday season by throwing the switch to bring the lights of Christmas to glow in the weeks ahead,” says Hamilton. “This new event will be a break from the hustle and bustle of the season and a time for a little seasonal fun for all.”
With the theme, “We Are The Light of The World!” the lights will be turned on at 6:00pm for all to see!
There will be fun for the whole family at the event. Children and families can take pictures with Santa! Also, enjoy free food and hot cocoa, stop by the crafts stations, come here the angelic voices of churches from the Shawnee Neighborhood!
Everyone is welcome to participate in this signature holiday event!
For more information contact Anne Peak at (502) 778-0001.
The Muhammad Ali Center today announced it has received a $100,000 donation from Islamic Relief USA in support of Muhammad Ali’s legacy. The donation will fund the Ali Center’s current temporary exhibit, America to Zanzibar: Muslim Cultures Near and Far, which is on display at the Center through December 30th.
“The Muhammad Ali Center is infinitely grateful for this generous gift to sponsor perhaps the Center’s most significant temporary exhibit to date,” said Donald Lassere, president & CEO of the Muhammad Ali Center. “Being affiliated with Islamic Relief USA, an organization that provides relief and development resources regardless of the recipients’ gender, race, or religion, is a natural fit for the Center’s mission and a tribute to Muhammad’s legacy. Having the ability to announce this donation on the date of the Ali Center’s 13th anniversary makes it even more meaningful.”
The family-friendly interactive exhibit explores the diversity of Muslim cultures in our community, country and the world. The innovative hands-on exhibit, and specially designed programming, showcases the cultural expressions of various Muslim communities around the world through experiences with art, architecture, travel, trade, design and more.
The America to Zanzibar exhibit is a timely and educational exhibit for visitors during a period in the country’s history when there is a growing need to explore, understand and respect cultural diversity.
Said Anwar Khan, president of Islamic Relief USA, “In addition to being one of the greatest American Muslims of all time, Muhammad Ali serves as a strong example for people around the world to follow. He famously said that service is the rent you pay for your room on this earth. Muhammad Ali is still paying it, even though he’s physically no longer with us. He is uniting people around the world, serving as a model of integrity whose actions are reflective of many of Islamic Relief USA’s values, including social justice, compassion, and excellence. He stood up for what he believed in, especially when it wasn’t popular. Today’s contribution (of $100,000) will help ensure current and future generations continue to learn about the accomplishments of this great man whenever they visit this center.”
The work Islamic Relief USA does, including their efforts to empower all individuals and assure them a voice in the world, also makes IRUSA a valuable resource to the Louisville community.
Said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, “America to Zanzibar: Muslim Cultures Near and Far is a fantastic exhibit that helps break down stereotypes and helps people of all faiths and backgrounds better recognize the human connections that unite us all. My thanks to the Muhammad Ali Center and Islamic Relief USA for their partnership and for providing the people of Louisville the chance to experience this tremendous learning opportunity.”
Photo: Louisville Metro Public Health And Wellness
The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness is reminding residents to get immunized against hepatitis A and the flu.
“While we have seen some encouraging trends in Louisville with the number of new hepatitis A cases falling over the past six months, the hepatitis outbreak isn’t over yet,” said Dr. Sarah Moyer, director of the Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness and the city’s chief heath strategist. “In other areas of the state, new cases have grown quickly. In fact, nearly 80% of Kentucky counties have a hepatitis A outbreak. If you haven’t already done so, please get immunized against hepatitis A, especially considering all the travelling people do during the Thanksgiving holidays. Protect yourself and your family. Get immunized!”
“Also, please get a flu shot’” said Dr. Moyer. “Last year 49 people in Louisville died of the flu and its complications. So, when you’re out getting your hep A shot, get a flu shot as well.”
As the hepatitis A outbreak continues to spread throughout Kentucky and the surrounding region, new cases per day in Louisville fell for the sixth month in a row. New cases in Louisville have fallen from more than four per day in April to less than one per day in October. October’s new case per day rate of 0.58 was close to the same (0.39) as what it was in October 2017, before the outbreak was declared.
As of November 3, Kentucky had 2,545 hepatitis A cases and 17 deaths spread out over ninety-four counties. By comparison, Louisville had 634 cases (as of November 13) and five deaths. While Louisville once had the overwhelming majority of Kentucky’s hepatitis A cases, it now has less than 25% of the state’s cases.
More than 83,000 hepatitis A immunizations have been given across Louisville since the outbreak was declared, nearly 21,000 by Public Health and Wellness alone. The CDC has called Louisville’s response to the outbreak “the gold standard” for other cities to emulate.
Hepatitis A immunizations are widely available at local pharmacies and health care providers. The cost is covered by most insurance plans. People should check with their health insurance provider on where the insurer prefers that they go to get the vaccine and what, if any, cost might be associated with it.
For information on where to obtain the hepatitis A vaccine for those insured or uninsured, CLICK HERE.
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) today opened a survey to gather input from parents, students and community members as the district reviews and considers changes to its student assignment plan. The survey runs through Friday, Dec. 21.
“Community input is absolutely vital to this process,” JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio said. “The survey offers another avenue for families and stakeholders to weigh in on the issues and values that are important to them as the district reviews and updates how students are assigned to school. Our goal is clear: maintain our commitment to a diverse learning environment and meet the needs of the community; to do that effectively, we need to hear from as many voices as possible.”
Information from the survey, and from a series of community listening sessions held earlier in November, will help form a recommendation to the Jefferson County Board of Education in early 2019. Changes to the plan would begin being implemented in the 2020-21 school year.
The district reviews its student assignment plan every five to seven years and makes changes as necessary. Since the current student assignment plan was approved, multiple factors have changed, including population shifts and changing student demographics; passage of a racial equity policy; a districtwide review of JCPS facilities and magnet programs and policies; and the state audit.
The survey is available here. In addition, students, parents and community members will be selected at random to complete the survey, making sure to include respondents from specific groups and organizations to ensure an accurate report.
Coroner seeking next of kin for Lester Shoftshall, white male, age 64, of Louisville. Please contact the coroner’s office at 574-6262.
By Laura Mullaney
Actors Theatre of Louisville proudly announces the lineup for the 43rd Humana Festival of New American Plays. A cultural highlight for theatre lovers, artists and producers across the country, the Humana Festival runs March 1 through April 7, 2019 in Louisville.
This year’s Festival program will feature five world premieres, listed in order of first performance:
- We’ve Come to Believe by Kara Lee Corthron, Emily Feldman and Matthew Paul Olmos
- The Corpse Washer adapted by Ismail Khalidi and Naomi Wallace, from the novel of the same name by Sinan Antoon
- The Thin Place by Lucas Hnath
- How to Defend Yourself by Lily Padilla, co-world premiere with Victory Gardens Theater
- Everybody Black by Dave Harris
By investing in the future of playwriting, Actors Theatre makes a significant impact not only on the national theatre canon, but also on the economic prosperity and cultural vibrancy of Louisville. The 2018 Festival was attended by more than 38,000 people, with visitors from 41 states and 52 colleges and universities represented in the audience.
For over four decades, Actors Theatre of Louisville has been a driving force in new play development, introducing more than 450 plays into the American theatre repertoire and representing the work of more than 400 playwrights and ensembles. The internationally acclaimed Humana Festival is recognized as a crucial incubator for new work and a launchpad for myriad subsequent productions around the country and the world. Plays that have recently premiered at Actors Theatre—including Molly Smith Metzler’s Cry it Out, Leah Nanako Winkler’s God Said This, Jen Silverman’s The Roommate and Colman Domingo’s Dot—have continued to be produced on stages far and wide.
This year’s lineup of plays will be performed in rotating repertory in three theatres located in Actors Theatre’s downtown Louisville complex: the 633-seat Pamela Brown Auditorium, 318-seat Bingham Theatre and 159-seat Victor Jory Theatre. The 2019 Humana Festival schedule also offers a weekend of enrichment events for college students, and features special weekend packages for theatre lovers and practitioners alike. These weekends are packed with discussions, networking opportunities and parties, making Louisville an exciting destination for the American theatre this spring.
Weekend packages for the 2019 Humana Festival of New American Plays are now on sale and are available for the following weekends, enabling you to see a variety of Humana Festival plays and access special events: March 15-17, March 22-24, March 29-31 and April 5-7, 2019. Packages are available for theatre lovers and practitioners on all Festival weekends, and for college students and professors the weekend of March 22-24.. Single tickets prices start at $25, and go on sale January 3, 2019. For more information, please visit ActorsTheatre.org or call our Box Office at 502.584.1205.
Actors Theatre celebrates the 43rd Humana Festival with underwriter the Humana Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Humana, Inc. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.
Photo: Kentucky Department Fish And Wildlife
The first snippets of snow fell this week, making most people frown, but put a smile on the faces of Kentucky waterfowl hunters. The cold weather the week before the waterfowl season opener on Thanksgiving Day is a good sign.
“Waterfowl hunting in Kentucky is nearly 100 percent weather dependent,” said Wes Little, migratory bird biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “We will have more birds to hunt if we get cold weather to the north of Kentucky. If we continue with this cold weather, we should have a good opener.”
Little said fantastic habitat conditions for waterfowl await those birds. “The moist soil vegetation such as wild ryes, annual smartweeds, millets and sedges are looking great across the state. The habitat is here and population wise, we are living the glory days.”
A slight dip in duck numbers in 2018 resulting from adverse weather conditions during breeding season in the prairie-pothole region on the northern Great Plains and Canada in 2017 should not concern waterfowl hunters. “We are still well above the long term average for duck numbers,” Little said. “This trend is basically a blip and should not impact hunting at all.”
New public waterfowl hunting opportunities on Sloughs Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Henderson and Union counties offer a chance for excellent hunting each week of the season. Little explained hunters who have not put in for a quota hunt on the area may try for a minimum of 10 slots via a weekly draw each Monday night of the season.
“Nine of those slots are on the Jenny Hole Unit with one on the Sauerheber Unit,” Little explained. “More slots may be available if those drawn for quota hunts on the area don’t check in on the Sunday before their hunts.”
Waterfowl hunters on Ballard WMA in Ballard County, an anchor of Kentucky waterfowl hunting for decades, no longer have to hunt from blinds. “For the first time, a few boat-in hunting spots are available on Ballard WMA,” Little said. “There are many wade and shoot opportunities as well.”
Boatwright WMA, also in Ballard County, and Doug Travis WMA in Carlisle and Hickman counties, offer daily walk-in waterfowl hunting. For more information on these opportunities, refer to the 2018-2019 Kentucky Waterfowl Hunting Guide available in a printable PDF format at the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife webpage at www.fw.ky.gov. There is no longer a paper version of this guide.
Little said Cedar Creek Lake in Lincoln County, Barren River Lake in Allen and Barren counties and Green River Lake in Adair and Taylor counties offer some of the best waterfowl hunting in the central Kentucky region. He also recommended Cave Run Lake for duck hunting in east Kentucky, especially later in the season. Goose hunting is not permitted on most of Cave Run Lake. The Ohio River also offers good later season duck and goose hunting.
Hunters without a boat and other gear needed to hunt large bodies of water should try farm ponds. “Farm ponds always provide opportunity,” Little said. “You must get permission from the landowner. Do not be afraid to ask, many landowners with resident goose issues are open to waterfowl hunters. Do not forget to close the gate behind you; that is the number one way to lose hunting permission on a farm.”
Steel shotshells in No. 2 through No. 4 work well for ducks while those in BB through No. 2 make good goose loads. “The modern non-toxic loads with tungsten or bismuth allow hunters to use smaller shot sizes,” Little said.
“I mostly use 3-inch, steel shotshells with 1 1-4 ounces of shot for waterfowl hunting,” Little said. Waterfowl hunters may not use or possess lead shot while hunting.
Duck, coot and merganser season opens Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22 and closes Nov. 25. This season opens again Dec. 3 and closes Jan. 27, 2019. Goose season also opens Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22 and closes Feb. 15, 2019.
As a reminder, waterfowl hunters must complete a short survey and get their Harvest Information Program (H.I.P.) confirmation number before hunting. Visit the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife homepage at www.fw.ky.gov and click on the “My Profile” tab to begin. The process takes less than 5 minutes.
In addition to the H.I.P. confirmation number, waterfowl hunters need a valid Kentucky hunting license as well as a Kentucky Migratory Bird – Waterfowl Hunting Permit along with a signed Federal Duck Stamp to be legal waterfowl hunters.
Waterfowl hunting provides a fun reason to get outside in winter while providing excellent tasting, nutritious table fare. A meal featuring properly cooked duck is as good as any expensive restaurant