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Credit: KY State Parks
The grand opening for a new splash pad at E.P. “Tom” State Park will be Saturday, June 3, at 11:30 a.m.
State and local officials will be on hand to open the splash pad. Admission to the pool area will be free from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday. There will be refreshments, music and prizes.
The celebration is being organized by the Tom Sawyer State Park Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the park. The foundation played a critical role in raising the funds that paid for the splash pad.
The youth pool at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park has not been able to open for several years because of federal swimming pool regulations that could not be met. A fund-raising campaign to pay for installation of a splash pad where the youth pool was located was initiated by the park’s foundation board. The funds were raised with the support of Mr. Sawyer’s family and members of the Louisville Metro Council. Construction ensued in summer 2016.
The park is named for Erbon Powers Sawyer, who was a Jefferson County Judge/Executive and local attorney. Daughters Diane Sawyer and Linda Sawyer Frankel are longtime supporters of the park as was their late mother, Jean Sawyer Hayes.
E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park is a 580-acre park within the urban landscape of the city of Louisville and serves as the only state park within Jefferson County. Recreational facilities include an Olympic-size outdoor pool; fully functional gymnasium with basketball, badminton and pickleball courts; athletic fields for soccer, lacrosse and flag football; a three-field softball complex; tennis courts; archery range; radio controlled airfield; and BMX bicycle track.
Meeting space is available with small classrooms in the administrative building or the large reception hall and conference room found at the Sawyer Hayes Community Center. The park also has three picnic shelters.
During the month of June the Kentucky Artisan Center will present “The Sands of Time” a 10 ton sand sculpture by Damon Farmer; a reading by Kentucky’s new Poet Laureate Frederick Smock, demonstrating artists creating handmade artist books, and authors Crystal Wilkinson and Terry Foody signing copies of their books.
The month begins with a demonstration on June 3, by Whitney Withington who joins recycled wood, decorative handmade papers, waxed linen threads and hand-torn archival pages with Coptic stitch binding. Her journals give creative space for people’s drawings and stories.
The Kentucky Artisan Center celebrates Kentucky’s 225th Anniversary with the creation of an original sand sculpture by internationally known sand sculptor Damon Farmer, bringing Kentucky history to life in sand.
Beginning on Saturday, June 3 and continuing on June 4, June 5 and June 6, Farmer will sculpt a huge pile of compacted sand into intricate imagery. From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 4, 5, and 6, visitors are invited to watch Farmer carve and shape sand using only the simplest of tools. Carving from top to bottom, he will carefully sculpt the wet sand to illustrate moments in Kentucky’s history. Come watch!
On Friday, June 9, the Kentucky Artisan Center will celebrate the completion of a historic sand sculpture by Damon Farmer, with an open to the public event beginning at 10:30 a.m. The artist will be present along with guest speakers including Tourism, Arts and Heritage Deputy Secretary Regina Stivers, Travel and Tourism Commissioner Kristen Branscum and newly designated poet laureate Frederick Smock, of Louisville, reading selected poems. The celebration will continue all day long as visitors can enjoy free birthday cake, a candy tasting by Ruth Hunt Candy and cheeseburgers for $2.25 all day.
Then on Saturday, June 10, artist Linda Kuhlmann, of Berea, will demonstrate how she creates her one-of-a-kind books from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Kuhlmann began making journals in response to the way the process of writing is changing in society. With acronyms and emoticons are being used instead of words, Kuhlmann hopes that the handmade journals she makes will speak to the more personal and artistic side of writing.
Also on June 10, the Center will offer free guided gallery tours of the exhibit “225: Artists Celebrate Kentucky’s History” at both 11 a.m. and again at 2 p.m.
On June 17, three members of the Berea Welcome Center Carvers will demonstrate a variety of woodcarving styles and techniques from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Then on Saturday, June 24, to help celebrate books, well-known author Crystal Wilkinson and newly published author Terry Foody will be signing copies of their books from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Center.
Wilkinson recently won the Ernest J. Gains Award for Literary Excellence and her book “The Birds of Opulence” was named the winner of the 2016 Weatherford Award for Fiction and the 2017 Judy Gaines Young Book Award..
Author Terry Foody has worked in community health in New York State and Kentucky, taught nursing at
Kentucky State University, and coordinated research projects at the University of Kentucky. She has lectured about cholera for the Kentucky Humanities Council and written the book, “The Pie Seller, The Drunk, and the Lady: Heroes of the 1833 Cholera Epidemic in Lexington Kentucky.”
Both Authors will be available to talk about their writing and sign copies of their books from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day at the Center.
The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea is located at 200 Artisan Way, just off Interstate 75 at Berea Exit 77. The center’s exhibits, shopping and travel information areas are open daily, year-round, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the cafe is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information about center events call 859-985-5448, go to the center’s website, or visit the center’s Facebook page.
Photo: Kentucky Department Fish and Wildlife
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources will conduct public meetings across the state June 5 and June 6 to solicit feedback from the paddle sports community.
“We want to hear from the paddling community – and we will use this input to shape our paddling program going forward,” said Gregory Johnson, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
The meetings will address access, boater safety and other aspects of paddling.
“We are seeking to engage paddlers and learn more about the paddling community,” said Paul Wilkes, fisheries program coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “Kentucky’s paddlers are as diverse as the waters they traverse. They are whitewater kayakers, stand up paddleboard enthusiasts, canoeists, flatwater kayakers and anglers who fish from a kayak.”
All meetings will run from 6-8 p.m. local time.
June 5 meetings
London
- University of Kentucky Extension Office
- 200 County Extension Road
Morehead
- Morehead Conference Center West Collins Hall Room
- 111 East 1st St.
Bowling Green
- Barren River Area Development District Office
- 177 Graham Ave.
June 6 meetings
Gilbertsville
- Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park
- 113 Upper Village Dr.
Louisville
- Sawyer Hayes Community Center
- 2201 Lakeland Road
All meetings are open to the public.
Photo: Kentucky Department Fish and Wildlife
Kentucky’s lakes and streams are bound to be crowded with anglers, paddlers and pleasure boaters during the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Boating safety officials want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable experience on the water.
“On really busy holidays, the boat’s operator has to remain extremely attentive,” said Zac Campbell, boating education coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “They need to go slower than they normally would, and they should be wearing a life jacket at all times, but especially while they are underway, day or night.”
Recreational boating statistics compiled annually by the U.S. Coast Guard show an overwhelming percentage of people who had been involved in boating accidents and drowned were not wearing a life jacket at the time.
Federal and state law require a Type I, II or III life jacket for each person on board a vessel. Anyone operating or riding on a personal watercraft must wear an approved life jacket. Children under 12 are required to wear an approved life jacket any time they’re in an open portion of a boat that’s underway. Boaters ages 12 and older aren’t required to wear a life jacket, but there should a readily accessible one for every person on board.
“If a person can’t swim, they really need to have a life jacket on at all times,” Campbell said. “People who are strong swimmers should try this test: dive in the lake then have someone throw them a vest. Now try to put it on – it’s difficult to do once you’re in the water.”
Operators should have passengers try on their life jackets beforehand to familiarize themselves with how they work and make any necessary adjustments.
A person must be 12 years or older to operate a motorboat or personal watercraft in Kentucky. To drive a motorboat or personal watercraft powered by a 10 horsepower or greater motor, children ages 12-17 years old will need either a Kentucky Safe Boating Certificate Card or a certificate showing successful completion of a National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA)-approved boater education course.
A boater education course benefits novice and experienced boaters alike. Courses are offered in person around the state at no charge and online for a fee. Course schedules are posted on Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s website at fw.ky.gov. Registration is required.
Visitors to the department’s boater education web page can find links to the online courses as well as a boating safety checklist.
Nobody wants to get to the launch ramp only to realize they forgot to renew their boat registration, or they don’t have enough life jackets or a throwable cushion, or they forgot to charge their boat batteries.
“For a lot of people, Memorial Day weekend is the first time their boat’s been on the water this year,” Campbell said. “Ideally, you should take your boat out on a smaller body of water to test everything out before the big weekend to make sure it’s mechanically sound.”
Either way, you will want to have your boat numbers and decals properly displayed. Slide the registration receipt into a sealable sandwich bag and stow it on board. If the boat has an engine, lantern, stove or other equipment fueled by a flammable liquid, you will need to have a fire extinguisher. A horn or a whistle is required for boats 16 feet or longer, but good to carry in smaller boats. Test the red, green and 360-degree white navigation lights to ensure they are in working order. One small thing that is easy to overlook is securing the boat’s plug. Always double check that it is in place before launching.
When lake and river levels are up, as they have been in recent weeks across Kentucky, boaters must also be on the lookout for floating debris and keep in mind that some hazards may be hidden just below the surface.
“The water might not be as clear when the water is up, so objects that aren’t normally submerged can be even harder to spot,” Campbell said. “The operator is in charge of everybody’s well-being on the boat, but a good operator will have a good spotter who can help identify any hazards.”
A log striking a lower unit can throw occupants overboard and capsize a boat. An ignition kill switch combined with wearing a life jacket can be a godsend in such an event.
Most boats are equipped with a flexible red cord or lanyard that attaches to the ignition or throttle and clips to the boat operator’s life jacket or is worn around the wrist. Should the operator be ejected from the boat, the kill switch trips and stops the engine. If your boat’s lanyard or cord is missing, replacements are available through retailers that sell boating equipment.
The Memorial Day holiday weekend revs up the summer boating season and is one of the busiest boating weekends of the year. Make it a safe one by preparing ahead of time and operating responsibly while on the water.
Photo From KY Transportation Cabinet
The arrival of Memorial Day weekend signals the start of boating season at lakes and marinas across Kentucky.
The Kentucky State Parks and the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction want your boating experience with your family to be a safe one. This May – National Electrical Safety Month — the two agencies want to alert boaters to the dangers of “electric shock drowning.”
Electric shock drowning occurs when faulty wiring, equipment or damaged cords on a boat or dock cause surrounding water to be energized with an electric current. There is no visible warning and the electricity is enough to paralyze the muscles of a nearby swimmer, causing them to drown. In some cases, there may be enough current to electrocute the swimmer.
Here are some tips to prevent electric shock drowning:
- Never swim in the water at marinas. Boats often plug into electric pedestals at the marina for power.
- Make sure all electrical devices on your boat are working properly. If you suspect a problem, contact a certified electrical inspector immediately. To locate a certified electrical inspector near you, visit https://ky.joportal.com/License/Search
- If you suspect an electric shock drowning is taking place, turn off the power, throw a life ring to the victim and call 911. Do not jump in the water – you could become a victim.
Kevin Ritz, whose son Lucas was electrocuted while swimming near a dock in 1999, has worked to raise awareness of electric shock drowning. He said the first step for parents is to avoid the danger.
“Let’s not swim in and around marinas,” Ritz said. Boat owners and marina operators also need to be aware of the issue and take the proper precautions. Ritz founded the Electric Shock Drowning Prevention Association and has worked with the American Boat & Yacht Council.
For information about boat and electric safety, visit these sites: www.electricshockdrowning.org; www.abycinc.org
To learn more about the Department of Housing, Buildings & Construction, visit http://dhbc.ky.gov/. For more information about Kentucky State Parks and marinas, visit www.parks.ky.gov
Breaking Barriers: Sports for Change exhibit, presented by ESPN® and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, opens to the public at the Ali Center on May 25th. The exhibit invites visitors to walk among giants like Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, and Billie Jean King. Breaking Barriers: Sports for Change is included in the “I Am Ali” festival, the six-week, community-wide festival celebrating the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali, taking place from June 3-July 15, 2017.
Said Jeanie Kahnke, Sr. Director of Public Relations and External Affairs, “The Ali Center is honored to offer this exhibit, for it demonstrates ways in which athletes—including Muhammad Ali—have utilized sport as a platform to transform social issues and to raise awareness of how sport can be used to unite people and open doors.”
This traveling exhibit tells the story of how athletes have used their celebrity to fight for social change. It includes interactive displays that show how some of history’s super athletes like Muhammad Ali, Martina Navratilova, Jesse Owens and Terry Fox scaled to the heights of sports by defying expectations and restrictions levied by governments, advertisers, and spectators alike. In doing so, they became potent symbols that helped drive movements that changed sports and society.
Derreck Kayongo, CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights said, “Similar to Ali’s legacy, the exhibit shares how athletes have empowered people to stand up and protect human rights. Their courageous struggles in America and around the globe gave people everywhere the strength to persevere and make change happen in their communities.”
To learn more about Breaking Barriers: Sports for Change visit sports4change.net.
In a united effort to promote history and tourism in Jefferson County and beyond, eight National Historic Landmarks representing the most historically significant sites in the area have united to form a new organization, National Historic Landmarks of Louisville.
The group includes Actors Theatre, Belle of Louisville, Churchill Downs’ Twin Spires, Life-Saving Station #10, Locust Grove, Louisville Water Company Pumping Station No.1 and Water Tower, the U.S. Marine Hospital and Zachary Taylor’s Boyhood Home.
“There’s only one Louisville, and Churchill Downs’ Twin Spires, the Water Tower, Actors Theatre and the other national landmarks are synonymous with who we are as a city,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “I’m excited that National Historic Landmarks of Louisville will be promoting these places of culture and history. I encourage every citizen to learn more about the landmarks of Louisville, because their history is our history.”
National Historic Landmarks of Louisville is launching a new program to encourage people to visit six of the eight sites that are currently open to the public. (The U.S. Marine Hospital is closed to the public. Zachary Taylor’s Boyhood Home is a private residence).
“The eight National Historic Landmarks of Louisville will connect you to our nation’s vibrant past in a way that cannot be experienced through images, film or the pages of a book,” says Anna Gibson Holloway, PhD, Maritime Historian, with the Park History Program, National Park Service. “Local preservation efforts are key to keeping these Landmarks accessible to current and future generations of Louisville citizens and to those visitors from around the world who come to experience Louisville’s hospitality and heritage.”
Guests can get a special pass validated at each of the public National Historic Landmark sites when they visit, and then bring the pass to the Louisville Visitor Center at 301 S. Fourth St. to receive a gift. The passes are available at any of the landmarks and the Louisville Visitor Center.
Visitors are encouraged to use the hashtag #LandmarkLover to share their experiences via social media.
