Black history celebration set for Saturday
Jessamine County’s Black History Month Celebration will be on Saturday, Feb. 26, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the East Jessamine High School auditorium. The free event will include musical selections and commentaries as well as refreshments.
For more information, call Dorice Brown at 859-885-4161.
County fire battles grass blazes
The Jessamine County Fire District spent much of last weekend fighting grass fires. The biggest fire burned between 30 and 40 acres near 665 Vineyard Road Saturday evening around 7 p.m., Fire Chief Mike Rupard said.
“They had a controlled burn about two or three days prior to that,” Rupard said. “And where the wind picked up Saturday, it was probably still burning underneath all of that. It blew it out in the grass and caught the grass on fire.”
Firefighters spent two and a half hours battling that blaze. The fire district was also called to a grass fire on Newman Road, just off Tates Creek Road, near the Kentucky River. Rupard said the homeowner managed to put the fire out before fire crews arrived.
Nicholasville fire battles structure fire
News briefs for Feb. 24
The Nicholasville Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 146 Olivia Drive at 3:39 a.m. Monday.
When they arrived, firefighters found a small fire on the deck of the home.
Firefighters quickly put out the blaze and there were no injuries reported.
Council OKs police cruiser purchase
Members of the Wilmore City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve the purchase of a new police cruiser for the city’s police department.
The council tabled the issue at its Feb. 7 meeting, with members requesting more budget information before making the decision.
Council members Jim Brumfield and Jeff James pushed to table the issue at the previous meeting, but after reviewing the budget, both made motions to approve the purchase, using impact fees, Monday night.
The cruiser will cost about $21,000, Wilmore Mayor Harold Rainwater said at a previous meeting.
Commonwealth Commitment to College and Career Readiness
Jessamine County Schools Superintendent Lu Young addressed the governmental bodies in the joint session Tuesday night. She was urging the officials to sign a resolution indicating each body’s support of a statewide effort to push students toward a higher rate of college and career readiness before graduation. Numbers calculated by the state show 42 percent of high school seniors in Jessamine County are prepared to continue to a career or college after graduation, Young said.
Each senior’s highest ACT score was compared to standard benchmarks to find the level of readiness. Gov. Steve Beshear is urging each county to increase their scores by 50 percent by 2015.
“We’ve heard the saying, ‘It takes a village to raise a child,’” Young said. “Well ... it takes our village to graduate every child in Jessamine County Schools and make them college and career-ready.’”
No action was taken on the resolution.
