Careers

The evening was full of laughter and teary eyes last week as the Jessamine County Schools community wished a hometown boy a happy retirement and said “see you later” to a leader taking the reins in another district. About 60 people gathered at Jessamine Career and Technology Center on June 26 to celebrate the district careers of chief operations officer Paul Hamann and deputy superintendent Owens Saylor, who started July 1 as schools superintendent in Daviess County. Videos featured many from around the district delivering messages to the pair.

MOUNT STERLING - George Rogers Clark High School golfer Ashley Caudill didn't want to see her high school career come to a close. Caudill nearly extended it another week during the girls' 9th Region Tournament here on Wednesday at the Mt. Sterling Golf and Country Club. "It's sad and it's my last time," Caudill said after completing her round. Caudill just missed making the state cut by three strokes and finished with a 98. Caudill shot a 49 on both the first and second nine holes.

A summer camp sponsored by the Ephraim McDowell Health Care Foundation, the Southern Kentucky Area Health Education Center and Campbellsville University will allow children the opportunity to explore careers in the health care industry. This year's camp is planned for July 16-20. Activities will be offered from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center and McDowell Wellness Center in Danville as well as James B. Haggin Memorial Hospital in Harrodsburg with an optional one-night stay at Campbellsville University.

More than 200 girls from the Girl Scouts of Kentucky's Wilderness Road Council learned about engineering careers as part of the "Girls Enjoying Math and Science" program Saturday at the University of Kentucky. Linda Bridwell, project manager for Kentucky American Water's on-going water treatment project, a UK College of Engineering alumnus and a former Girl Scout, participated in the opening ceremony of the event. "Girl Scouts has left a lasting impression on me. Not only was it fun and exciting as a young girl, but it taught me about community, compassion and careers," Bridwell said.

Health care offers many options for potential careers, and many of those will be explored at a summer camp sponsored by the Ephraim McDowell Health Care Foundation and Campbellsville University. This year's camp will be July 17-21. Activities will be offered from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical and McDowell Wellness Center in Danville and James B. Haggin Memorial Hospital in Harrodsburg with an optional one-night overnight stay at Campbellsville University in Campbellsville.

Holiday closings Garrard County Courthouse will close Saturday and reopen on Wednesday. The Garrard County Sheriff's office will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday. Garrard County Judicial Center will be closed Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. Learn about careers Lincoln County Public Library welcomes children ages 8-14 to learn about careers that may interest them. “A Day in the Life of” is held 9:30 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month. On Jan. 5, Phil Pendleton of 27 Newsfirst will speak.

Students from the Clark County Area Technology Center got the chance to try out their future careers Thursday, following local workers during Clark County's annual job shadow day. The program lets students see what a real workplace is like, gain knowledge about behavior expectations and learn what is required to perform specific jobs, said Lisa Stephens, secretary for Community Education. "It gives them an opportunity to go into the workplace," she said. "It gives them an idea of how it works.

STANFORD - Three Lincoln County students have been invited to build their math, science and technology skills this summer as participants in The Center for Rural Development's 2012 Rogers Explorers youth leadership program. Lincoln County Middle School students Craigory Coppola, Sammy Griffin and Jonathon Kirk were selected from 187 applicants from across Southern and Eastern Kentucky to strengthen their academic skills and begin working toward future careers in some of the country's most demanding career fields.

Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center can help teens decide if a career in health care may be for them. The Medical Center's Auxiliary invites teens to spend some of their free time this summer as a teen volunteer. Participation in the Teen Volunteer Program is open to teens age 14 through their senior year in high school. This program is particularly helpful to those interested in pursuing careers in health care. The program will begin June 18 and continue through August 3. Volunteers must attend a three-hour orientation session before the program begins.

Roger "DJ" Dale Sanders, a senior at Lincoln County High School, attended the Institute for Future Agricultural Leaders (IFAL), held June 15-19 on the Murray State University campus. IFAL is a unique five-day summer leadership conference that exposes students to college life and explores different fields of study for careers in agriculture. The conference included special leadership classes and speakers, team building activities and visits to research farms and agriculture-related industries.

LEXINGTON - Kentucky coach Mark Stoops admits he's been influenced by different people, but none had a bigger impact on his coaching career and life than his father, Ron. Ron Stoops taught and coached football for 28 years at  Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio. During a game in October of 1988, he felt chest pains on the sideline and stopped coaching during the fourth quarter. Mooney won in triple overtime and Ron Stoops  watched the final moments before being placed into an ambulance.

Members of the Jessamine County Chamber of Commerce learned a little more about how high-schoolers are preparing for life after graduation nowadays during a chamber luncheon at Jessamine Career and Technology Center on Tuesday. Principal Dexter Knight shared a little bit about the school's basics; JCTC serves as a hub for career and technical education in the county and includes students from East Jessamine, West Jessamine and The Providence School. But the bulk of the presentation came from Vanessa Ruda, who directs the school's center for college and career readiness.

Danville coach Paul Morse earned his 300th career victory Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader that the Admirals split with Bullitt Central at Shepherdsville. Danville (5-2) won the first game 14-1 in five innings, but Bullitt Central (4-2) took the nightcap 6-5. The Admirals cranked out 13 hits in the opener. No. 9 hitter Chase Ransdell went 3 for 3, and J.B. Williams and Mason Stamm had two hits each. Stamm and Will Graham drove in two runs each; Stamm and Jay Hunn stole two bases each.

Ask your typical blue-collar Kentucky basketball fan where the pinnacle of college basketball is located and more often than not, their finger will point you north along Lexington Road, toward Rupp Arena in Lexington. A few local alumni have even ventured there during the years, but East Jessamine High School spawned its own hard working athlete, and the only from his team to play varsity college basketball. Located in Grayson, Kentucky Christian University watched on as its big man on campus, Clay McKinzie, recently closed the book on his basketball career.

At least for the time being, Danville is the best girls team in town again. The Admirals' coach told them that wasn't the case prior to their rematch with Boyle County, which had ended a five-game losing streak to Danville last month. Danville was back on top Friday night, however, after dominating the second half to post a convincing 70-44 victory. Kasey Young scored 29 points to reach 2,000 career points and Laken Grey scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Admirals, who outscored the Rebels 33-12 after halftime.

Patrick Cooper is sleeping well into the afternoon this winter, but that doesn't mean he's hibernating. The offseason offers little down time for Cooper, a 2007 Boyle County graduate and one of two area athletes currently playing professional baseball. His days and evenings are filled with workouts, and he spends most of his nights working. He has very little spare time during the few weeks he'll spend at home before reporting to spring training in February, but he has no complaints.

Holiday closings Garrard County Courthouse will close Saturday and reopen on Wednesday. The Garrard County Sheriff's office will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday. Garrard County Judicial Center will be closed Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. Learn about careers Lincoln County Public Library welcomes children ages 8-14 to learn about careers that may interest them. “A Day in the Life of” is held 9:30 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month. On Jan. 5, Phil Pendleton of 27 Newsfirst will speak.

I have a longstanding tradition of fine performances in church Christmas plays. Brandon's mom directed the play at her church this year, and it reminded me of all the years I spent standing in front of the Bethel Baptist Church congregation in tinsel and robes, pretending to be various characters from the nativity story. There was the year of “Away in a Manger,” when, for some reason, the play director (AKA my mother) entrusted a group of 6-year-olds with candles. I have been just about every character in the nativity story you can imagine with mixed results.

Following your dreams, big or small, requires a leap of faith. For Junction City resident Cindy Nevius, that meant leaving her job of 24 years as a dental assistant and starting a cake shop in Junction City.  “I went from taking care of teeth to giving them sugar,” she said with a smile. Taking that chance wasn't easy, but it was necessary for the woman who always has liked to bake. When what seemed like the perfect space came available on Shelby Street, she and her husband realized that now was the time to take the chance.  “I thought, 'If I don't try it, I'll never know,'” Nevius said.

By day, Tom Lockridge often stands in the Jessamine County courtroom as the state's prosecuting attorney. By night, he teams with Asbury University's Jeff Day to make movies. The two formed Lucky Day Studios in 2008 and filmed their first movie, “Unrequited,” in 2009. They are currently working on their second feature film, “Joy Cart,” which tells the story of a Nicholasville boy who started a program to bring new toys to children in hospitals. Day, who has been at Asbury for 10 years and is the director of theatre and cinema performance, has a background in Hollywood.