Saturday November 15, 2025
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SubscribeJefferson County PVA Tony Lindauer and Metro Council representatives will host a community meeting tonight from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Southwest Regional Library located at 9725 Dixie Highway, Louisville, KY 40272.
The PVA community meetings are part of a broader strategy by Jefferson County PVA Tony Lindauer to keep the community informed by disseminating important information on the local real estate market and to provide transparency in the assessment process. There will be information on the upcoming 2017 PVA reassessment. Maps and sales data will be available for citizen review.
The community meeting will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m.
Meghann Clem Mattingly, a health and wellness teacher at Cane Run Elementary School, has been awarded the Excellence in Classroom and Educational Leadership (ExCEL) Award. Representatives from Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) and from the award sponsors — LG&E KU and WHAS11 — honored the teacher last week during a ceremony at the school.
“Visiting Ms. Clem Mattingly’s classroom is a relaxing and rewarding experience,” said Cane Run Principal Kimberly Coslow. “Her creative teaching techniques enhance classroom learning, and she fosters academic success through mindful movement, self-regulation and focused attention, all through the lens of compassion.”
A leader with the Compassionate Schools Project (CSP) Professional Learning Community, she frequently collaborates with the University of Virginia’s CSP project director as well as the District’s CSP resource teacher and the school’s physical education teachers to ensure the unique CSP curriculum is implemented with fidelity. She has been featured in numerous national media outlets advocating for the project, including National Public Radio and the Christian Science Monitor.
“Meghann is a force to be dealt with,” said Heather Watson, a counselor with JCPS. “She exudes positive energy and calmness throughout the building. She is the compassionate vision of what we need to have in place for our students to thrive in life.”
In addition, she is a strong advocate for the school, serving as a member of the Site Based Decision Making Council, the Instructional Leadership Team and the Interview Committee, and regularly meeting with guests and community leaders about the CSP and its impact on her students. She is also the school lead for the American Heart Association fundraising initiative.
As an ExCEL Award winner, Clem Mattingly will receive a $1,000 instructional grant from LG&E KU.
Credit: Louisville Metro Police
Mayor Greg Fischer appointed former U.S. Attorney Kerry B. Harvey to conduct a wide-ranging special investigation into allegations surrounding the LMPD Explorer program.
The Mayor also ordered a separate extensive inquiry into all city programs that involve children and teenagers. This inquiry will determine if adequate steps are in place to protect youth and will review and recommend national best practices and policies.
Mayor Fischer has also asked the FBI’s Louisville Office to investigate potential violations of federal law related to sexual abuse allegations in the LMPD Explorer program.
“We have to get to the bottom of these disturbing allegations — for ourselves, for our citizens, for the thousands of LMPD officers who are honest, compassionate, courageous people of integrity,” Mayor Fischer said. “We need to know the truth. And, most importantly, for the victims of anyone who may have committed a crime while wearing an LMPD uniform.
“We have to get the whole story — and we will.”
Special investigator appointed
Until this year, Harvey served as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, a position from which he oversaw the high-profile investigations of former state Personnel Cabinet Secretary Tim Longmeyer and state Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer.
Louisville Metro Government today contracted Harvey to examine the allegations of sexual abuse in the LMPD Explorer program, and also actions of city employees and others regarding the alleged abuse.
Mayor Fischer’s office began discussion with Harvey on Tuesday and signed a contract today. Harvey will also periodically update the Metro Council Government Accountability committee on his work.
“Kerry Harvey has a reputation for conducting dogged investigations and holding public institutions accountable,” Mayor Fischer said. “That’s exactly what I expect he’ll do here — conduct a full, comprehensive investigation that will lead to accountability.”
Harvey is being commissioned to look into LMPD and other city entities — conducting interviews, reviewing documents and other activities — to fully ascertain what happened within and around the Explorer program. His investigation will parallel a criminal investigation of the allegations underway by Louisville Metro Police.
“The allegations surrounding the Explorer program, if true, represent unacceptable conduct involving children, and the citizens of Louisville deserve to know what happened,” said Harvey, who assumed the U.S. Attorney post in 2010 and currently is with the Lexington office of the Dickinson Wright law firm.
Citywide inquiry to ensure safety
A separate inquiry will examine all city departments and agencies that have programs for children and teens — or interactions with youth — to determine if adequate steps are in place to protect youth.
The inquiry will also lead to recommendations of national best practices and policies.
“I believe the vast majority of our programs operate effectively, safely and are following best practices, but I am extremely disturbed about the allegations that have surfaced in the Explorer program,” Fischer said. “My concern is that children are protected – and I want parents and grandparents to know that we are taking the welfare of their children seriously.”
The review will be wide-ranging because many departments offer programs for or interact with youth, from Metro Parks to LMPD to Youth Detention Services. The inquiry will also appraise the policies of agencies that partner with Louisville Metro Government, to ensure that they align with the best practices followed by the city.
The first step will be an inventory of all programs involving youth, which the city’s Human Resources Department will undertake. Then, the city will hire an outside national agency to review the programs.
The Mayor said the inquiry is necessary because Louisville Metro Government offers programs or partners with many local agencies on children and youth programming – and a fresh perspective is important. He will direct that the inquiry is both comprehensive and undertaken swiftly.
Fischer said that “no stone will be left unturned” as the city investigates the allegations that have surfaced in the Explorer program. The Mayor also said that transparency is of utmost importance. That is why he asking the courts to unseal the civil lawsuit while the criminal investigation continues.
Nine students from the Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) District are national award recipients of the 2017 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades seven through 12. The nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers announced the names of the more than 2,500 national award recipients today.
“This is the Oscars of the teen art world, so we are very excited to see these talented JCPS students recognized on the national stage,” said JCPS Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens. “The arts are important and truly have the ability to energize classrooms and inspire the students inside them. Congratulations to our national recipients—we’re excited to celebrate their creativity and achievements.”
The recipients, which include students from Atherton, Butler Traditional, duPont Manual and Pleasure Ridge Park, are:
Gold Medal
- Morgan Betsill, DuPont Manual High School, Mixed Media – Jasmine, Art Teacher: Alana Alford
- Morgan Betsill, DuPont Manual High School, Sculpture – Who Are You?, Art Teacher: Cyndi Young
- Teanna Courtney, Pleasure Ridge Park High School, Ceramics – Clifton’s Tea Time, Art Teacher: Tammy Podbelsek
- Jordan Heller, Atherton High School, Drawing & Illustration – Imprisoned, Art Teacher: Rachel Gibbs
Silver Medal
- Grace Bradley, DuPont Manual High School, Photography – Grasping for News
- Megan Dyer, Butler Traditional High School, Art Portfolio – Sun Tea, Art Teacher: Becky McClinton
- Mackenzie Smith, DuPont Manual High School, Drawing – Outdoor Portrait, Art Teacher: Alana Alford
- Abigail Stewart, Pleasure Ridge Park High School, Ceramics – Decorative Bone, Art Teacher: Tammy Podbelsek
- Celeste Stokes, Pleasure Ridge Park High School, Sculpture – My Urban Queen, Art Teacher: Tammy Podbelsek
- Tammy Trieu, Atherton High School, Painting – Beneath, Art Teacher: Rachel Gibbs
American Visions Medal
- Morgan Betsill, DuPont Manual High School, Sculpture – Who Are You?, Art Teacher: Cyndi Young
All submissions are judged based on the program’s three criteria: originality, technical skill and emergence of personal vision or voice. Student works are first judged regionally, with students receiving Gold Keys, Silver Keys, Honorable Mentions or American Visions & Voices Nominations.
Gold Key works are then judged nationally by a panel of creative-industry experts to receive Gold, Silver, American Visions & Voices, Portfolio Silver with Distinction or Portfolio Gold Medals.
An online gallery of artwork from the JCPS students is available here.
Sixteen seniors from Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) have been awarded the 2017 Vogt Educational & Leadership Scholarship, which recognizes the students for their academic achievements and leadership in and out of the classroom. The students will be celebrated for their accomplishments during the annual awards luncheon, held yesterday at The Olmsted, 3701 Frankfort Ave.
Prior to his death in 1999, Henry V. Heuser Sr. established the endowed scholarship fund at the Community Foundation of Louisville to provide $10,000 college scholarships annually to remarkable JCPS high school seniors. This special award honors exceptional students throughout Jefferson County who have demonstrated high standards of scholarship, leadership, character and citizenship. Including this year, more than $2.7 million has been awarded to 278 students.
Henry V. Heuser Jr. will host the annual awards luncheon to present the scholarships. He will be joined by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, JCPS Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens, JCPS principals, more than 100 business and community leaders, and several university and college presidents from the region who have contributed additional scholarship incentives if the awardees attend their colleges.
Student winners are selected based on SAT/ACT scores and cumulative GPAs, as well as demonstrated community and campus leadership, participation in extracurricular activities, and recommendations from principals and community leaders.
The 2017 Vogt Educational & Leadership Scholarship recipients are:
- RyAnn Schoenbaechler, Atherton High School
- Laina Meyerowitz, Ballard High School
- Sylvia Ramsey, Butler Traditional High School
- Matthew Sato, Brown School
- Jasmine Scott, Central High School Magnet Career Academy
- Lydia Mason, duPont Manual High School
- Evan Conder, Eastern High School
- Shan’Taya Cowan, Fairdale High School
- Mary Daniels, Iroquois High School
- Anna Nelson, Jeffersontown High School
- Cameron Fontes, Louisville Male High School
- Johnathan Frech, Pleasure Ridge Park High School
- Julia Easley, Seneca High School
- James Painter, Southern High School
- Kelsey Gatton, Valley High School
- Ethan Taylor, Waggener High School
A proposed liquor store on South Shelby Street will be the subject of an important community meeting hosted by Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith (D-4) and Councilman Pat Mulvihill (D-10) on Tuesday, March 21st.
“There have been concerns raised by many neighborhood residents and businesses as to how appropriate this proposed liquor store is for this area of District 4,” says Sexton Smith. “This meeting will be a chance for anyone to voice their concerns and hear how others feel about this proposal as we move forward.”
The proposed store would be located at 1496 South Shelby St. While the actual location is in District 4, it would be right across the street from District 10.
“We all want to see good economic development in our neighborhoods but is this proposed store the right kind of economic development,” says Mulvihill. “If there is opposition to this store, then we want to make sure everyone knows what the options are to keep it from happening.”
The neighborhood meeting is scheduled for Tuesday March 21, 2017 at St Elizabeth School Cafeteria. St Elizabeth is located in the 1020 block of East Burnett Ave, just about two blocks from the proposed liquor store.
For more information about the community meeting, contact Councilwoman Sexton Smith’s office at 574-1104 or Councilman Mulvihill’s office at 574-1110.
Twitter/@realDonaldTrump
President Donald Trump visited Louisville this evening for a rally in Freedom Hall. The arena was filled to capacity with supporters holding “Women For Trump,” “Promises Made, Promises Kept,” and “Buy American, Hire American” signs as well as the omnipresent “Make America Great Again” caps while a long line of people stood outside hoping to be let in.
Not everyone in attendance was a supporter, however, as there was a scattering of several protesters outside of the event.
During the event, President Trump hit on all of his usual talking points including terrorism, imigration, tax reform, crime and drugs, trade agreements, and the Second Amendment.
He covered the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in depth, while making multiple references to US Congressmen Andy Barr and James Comer (both from Kentucky) for their help and a reference to the efforts of US Senator Rand Paul in making sure the replacement is not just “Obamacare lite”. He pointed out that as many one third of the counties in the entire US are limited to only one health insurance provider because of the regulations that the ACA put into place, causing health insurance companies to pull out of many markets.
He went on to outline that the real issue is not just the cost of health insurance, but the cost of health care and medicines. Trump tied in tax reform with this repeal and replacement, stating that the administration cannot accomplish tax reform until they know how the new health law will be structured. The President was very optimistic with the replacement plan that is coming forth and is confident that a plan that will make everyone happy will be on his desk at the end of the day.
Near and dear to many Kentucky workers, Trump also specifically mentioned the automobile manufacturing and coal industries. He recently signed a bill that eliminated a piece of regulation that many supporters of the repeal believe was put into place to shrink the coal industry by requiring coal mines to spend millions on compliance costs. More than 600 coal mines have closed since the 2009 regulation went into effect. Since the rule has been revoked, many coal mines have slightly increased their labor force, but POTUS Trump promised that this is just the beginning.
No Trump event would be complete without Trump’s trademark jabs at the “fake news” and former political rival Hilary Clinton. The President even made light of the Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team’s second-round elimination from the 2017 NCAA basketball tournament. He did continue on to say, “They are a great team, great coach.”