Custom

Paul Hutt loves a challenge. That's why the owner of Alternative Design and Construction in Danville agreed to an offer by Mercer County Schools to build a custom-designed desk for its new sports complex. "It's just that the piece is so unique," said Hutt, while polishing his finished creation as it sat in the lobby of the Mercer Schools Sports Complex. The desk, made of Formica, weighs about 400 pounds and has rounded corners, something Hutt said the schools couldn't find when shopping for a desk but knew it wanted because of the high volume of traffic it expects in the sports complex lobby.

Lindsey Howard bought a house in Danville last summer. Since then she has made numerous trips to Louisville and Lexington looking for fabrics with which to custom decorate her home. "Basically I have pillows left to do," she said. "I'm sure that will turn into other things. " Now she can drive down the road to Fabric Shop.com for whatever she needs. Fabric Shop.com is a 6,400-square-foot fabric store located at 1000 E. Lexington Road, Suite 38 in Greenleaf Shopping Center.

Novice Reed liked to dress up, says Nellie Reed, his daughter-in-law. When he wasn't working for Southern Railway, he would "put on a white shirt and go to town," she says. When he died, her husband, Dale, inherited the cuff links. He has kept them because they belonged to his father, even though he doesn't wear them. "He doesn't have a shirt for them," Reed says. "He doesn't dress like his dad did. " Bruce Richardson says most of his shirts are French cuff - what you need for a proper pair of cuff links.

CARTERSVILLE - Since 2008, Bluegrass Lamb and Goat has been processing Kentucky Proud lamb and goats. Until just recently, a customer had to purchase nearly an entire animal to receive this custom service. With the grand opening of the retail portion of Kentucky Lamb and Goat, anyone can stop by and purchase as little or as much of an animal as they want. "Custom processing is a very cost-effective way to put meat in the freezer," said co-owner of Bluegrass Lamb and Goat Gil Myers.

object width="312" height="244"> Roy Bowen and Scott Leedy discuss their custom guitar shop, which has become popular among big-name musicians.

Helpingahero.org will host a groundbreaking on a new, custom adapted home that will be given to Marine Corps Cpl. Matt Bradford at 412 W. Brannon Road, in northern Jessamine County Thursday at 10:30 a.m. The home will allow Bradford, a blind and a double amputee due to injuries suffered while serving his country in Iraq in January 2007, better independence. Bradford was deployed to Haditha Iraq in September 2006. He was injured Jan. 18, 2007, by stepping on an IED. Shrapnel immediately entered both of his eyes, blinding him.  His left leg was immediately blown off and his right leg was amputated later at the hospital.

Name of business: AllStar Apparel Date business opened: Oct. 22 Address of business : 1560 Hustonville Road, Suite 105, Danville Manor Shopping Center Phone number for business: (859) 329-1454 Hours of operation for business: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Sunday Owners of business: Donnie Goode and Beverly Wells Wares/services this business offers: AllStar Apparel offers Rebel and Admiral apparel, letter jackets, custom uniform items, as well as custom screen-print items for businesses and schools, embroidery and other apparel needs.

Local poet William Jerry Ayers has been presented The International Poet of Merit Award. The award has a beautifully crafted with a genuine silver finish and features his name custom engraved and mounted on a cherrywood base.

Richard and Glenna Doughty announce the engagement of their daughter, Brenda Doughty, to Derrick Cooksey, son of Kenneth and Vicki Cooksey. The wedding will take place at the Ark of Mercy Church of God May 16 at 1:30 p.m. A reception will follow at the Hampton Inn banquet room. The custom of open church will be observed.

Ms. Theresa Hatfield and Sonny Dixon and Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Wills announce the upcoming marriage of their children, Courtney Michele and Joshua Ryan, on Saturday, Sept. 8. The wedding will take place at 5:30 p.m. at Calvary Christian Church, 15 Redwing Drive. A reception will be held at The Winchester Opera House, 10 East Lexington Ave., immediately following the ceremony. The custom of open church will be observed.

Winchester Municipal Utilities will implement a rate adjustment beginning July 1, but it will not affect WMU customers for another eight months after it takes effect. WMU General Manager Mike Flynn said The Kentucky River Authority recently passed a fee increase to help fund construction improvements of the dams along the Kentucky River. The adjustment will raise fees from six cents per thousand gallons withdrawn to 13 cents. “The adjustment will be very minimal in effect,” Flynn said.

STANFORD - Some Stanford residents have apparently been paying about $2 too much per month for trash pickup. City Councilwoman Amy Hazlett told council members Thursday night she had looked into the city's trash charges, which are billed through the water department, after a constituent complained to her that her bill was too high. "Apparently we've been charging $2.10 a month on water bills for a trash container," she said. One or two trash containers are supposed to be included at no additional charge to each address, according to the city's contract with Republic Services Inc. Stanford Mayor Bill Miracle said the city discovered the improper charge after the council approved a trash rate increase of 25 cents per month in February.

Helpingahero.org will host a groundbreaking on a new, custom adapted home that will be given to Marine Corps Cpl. Matt Bradford at 412 W. Brannon Road, in northern Jessamine County Thursday at 10:30 a.m. The home will allow Bradford, a blind and a double amputee due to injuries suffered while serving his country in Iraq in January 2007, better independence. Bradford was deployed to Haditha Iraq in September 2006. He was injured Jan. 18, 2007, by stepping on an IED. Shrapnel immediately entered both of his eyes, blinding him.  His left leg was immediately blown off and his right leg was amputated later at the hospital.

Nearly 50 Danville city employees attended TOUR Southern and Eastern Kentucky's “Shining STAR” Customer Service Training on Wednesday at Danville city hall. “Customer service plays a vital role in the tourism industry,” said Jeff Crowe, TOUR SEKY president/CEO. “In addition to customer service, training participants also learn about their local attractions and how to promote them to travelers.” The “Shining STAR” customer service program was established in 2003 and has trained more than 13,620 front-line employees in southern and eastern Kentucky.

Our central Kentucky newspapers - The Advocate-Messenger, The Interior Journal, The Jessamine Journal and The Winchester Sun, have proudly served our communities for more than 150 years. Our length of service is due in part to an unrelenting adherence to our core values and by producing content and services that add value to the lives of our customers. It is important to note that our first core value states, “We constantly strive to improve to meet the needs and wants of readers, listeners, viewers, users and advertisers ...”  And we get that in this digital world people are turning to us whenever they need content - no matter how they want that content delivered - and that they expect that content to be compelling, fresh and add value to their lives.

After a turbulent and high profile negotiation process,Ephraim McDowell Health and Humana reached an agreement days before thousands of area residents would have had to look elsewhere for medical care. McDowell's chief financial officer Bill Snapp said the two sides signed an agreement Thursday that will keep the hospital in Humana's network of providers and avoid an Aug. 1 deadline. If an agreement had not been reached, it could have had large ramifications for the many area residents insured through Humana, which includes all state employees and retired teachers under the age of 65.  “There won't be any discontinuation of service for our patients, which ultimately is the most important thing,” Snapp said.

HARRODSBURG - Harrodsburg is asking its water customers in the city, along with those in North Mercer, Lake Village and the city of Burgin, to begin voluntary water conservation. With the dry weather conditions, heat and construction at the water treatment plant, the facility is running 24 hours a day. At this time, the city is issuing only a voluntary conservation request; however, the weather forecast shows no relief in sight over the next few days. Contact plant superintendent Walter Bottoms with any questions at (859)

Amazon announced today that it will open a 70,000-square-foot customer service facility in Winchester, which will create about 550 full-time jobs and 600 seasonal jobs by 2017. The customer service center is expected to open in late summer at the Winchester Plaza while construction of the permanent facility at the industrial park is under way. The permanent facility is expected to open in 2013. The average hourly wage for full-time employees will be $15.64, or about $20 with benefits, said Todd Denham, executive director of the Winchester-Clark County Industrial Authority.

Community Education and the Winchester-Clark County Parks and Recreation are offering a free class for businesses and their employees to enhance thir customer service. “Give em a Pickle” Customer Service Training will be Tuesday, April 24 from 8-10 p.m. and Thursday, April 26 from 6-8 p.m at the College Park Gym, located at 15 Wheeler Ave. The class is designed to help inspire business teams to commit to raising the level of service offered to their customers. Using humor and anecdotal stories from restauranteur Bob Ferrell's video and book as a guide, the class, taught by Nancy Turner, executive director of the Winchester-Clark County Tourism Commission, will illustrate how easy it is to treat each customer like “the boss” by giving them what they want.

A Boyle County man is in custody for allegedly scamming more than a dozen people in Boyle and surrounding counties out of thousands of dollars by telling them he would do work he never delivered on. Boyle County Deputy Sheriff Dustin Clem said when he and Kentucky State Police troopers caught up with Jeffrey Adams, 26, of Junction City on Monday, Adams was in Lincoln County facing unrelated charges. However, they were able to serve a warrant for several counts of theft by deception in Boyle, Clem said.