Farm

Jim Mahan grew up on a farm just north of Jessamine County using equipment that has since been antiquated. Now the 67-year-old has a barn full of the now-antique tractors that he says help keep people in touch with the past. Mahan has more than 30 restored tractors on his farm that sits in Fayette, Scott and Bourbon counties. Some tractors date back to 1939, and he has many different makes - Farmall, John Deere, Allis Chalmers and Ford. Mahan moved to the farm north of Lexington from his property near the corner of Nicholasville Road and Man O' War Road about 20 years ago. It was about that same time that Mahan began taking his tractors to antique-farm-equipment shows.

Feeding cattle was a tougher job for Albert Charles and other Clark County farmers the past two days, having to deal with temperatures around 10 degrees and wind chill factors near zero. Charles had to climb out of the warm cab of his tractor to open a gate to a farm he works on Irvine Road. Once on the farm, Charles slowly makes his way toward the back of the farm to drop one of two rolls of hay down a steep hill. Charles is feeding more that 100 cattle on three farms.

Caitlin Swartz, 17, places her entry in the floral arrangement category in the FFA booth at the Clark County Fair. Swartz grew and arranged the entry on her farm on Water Works Road.

Vicki started at The Advocate-Messenger in 1979 and credits the newspaper with helping her meet her husband. She was a reporter sent out to cover the Garrard County Tobacco Festival, and he was the tobacco-spitting champion. The rest is history. She and Phillip have two daughters, Sarah and Shannon, and live on a farm near Preachersville in Lincoln County. They are active in Grace Fellowship Church in Stanford and Gideons International. Vicki is a graduate of Memorial High School and Campbellsville College (now Campbellsville University)

The Thomas' celebrate 60 years of marriage with a family dinner at Shakertown. There were 29 of their family in attendance. James Thomas and Dora Rhorer were married in Wilmore on Nov. 14, 1947 at the Asbury College farm by the Rev. Nelson Bradshaw. Bradshaw was a student at Asbury College and the farm manager of the Asbury College farm. James was the son of Hugh S. Thomas and Lorena Grace Moore Thomas, Dora was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Rhorer and Elda Ruth Watson Rhorer.

Sept. 25, 1960 Congressman John C. Watts said here Saturday that he was hopeful that the next Congress could work out an effective farm program. He said that “farm voting power” in the congress had been greatly reduced in recent years and that it was becoming more difficult to pass beneficial farm legislation. Two hundred and two shares of stock in the Clark County National Bank were sold at public auction Saturday for $27,362, an average of $135.45. The purchaser was J. Smith Hayes Jr. The shares of stock were in units of 10 shares up and names of the sellers were not disclosed.

The man accused of mistreating horses in his care at a northern Boyle County farm will be arraigned Sept. 22 in Boyle District Court. James Lancaster, of 3316 Gentry Lane, has been charged with 10 counts of second-degree cruelty to animals. He was lodged in the Boyle County Detention Center for one day and is now out on a $2,000 cash bond. Ten horses removed from Lancaster's farm on Aug. 10 were described by Boyle County Animal Control Director Dan Turcea as emaciated and encrusted with their own feces.

The annual Terrapin Hill Harvest Festival again will provide the region with an agritourism event Sept. 22-24 at the farm in Mercer County that is owned by Pete and Brenda Cashel. Three hand-crafted cedar stages and a cornfield-turned-campground are connected by wooded trails and rustic gravel roads, which create a rural atmosphere that makes Terrapin Hill Farm an accessible festival venue. Boasting a varied spectrum of entertainment and education, attendees can anticipate a weekend devoted to creativity, community awareness and knowledge.

LIBERTY - A man was found dead Monday afternoon on his relative's farm on Ky. 70 West, about seven miles from Liberty. Casey County Coroner Tommy Clark said Neil Harris, 37, of Liberty, was pronounced dead at 1:10 p.m. Harris was found beside his truck on his brother's farm with a gunshot wound to the chest. Clark said the death investigation is pending through Kentucky State Police, and he could not comment on whether an accident, suicide or foul play is suspected. KSP Detective George Atwood could not be reached for comment.

Two local historic preservation projects will receive $1.3 million in federal Transportation Enhancement funds, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet announced Friday. Part of Isaac Shelby's farm in Lincoln County will be preserved. Shelby was Kentucky's first and fifth governor. The state will give Lincoln County Fiscal Court $998,000 to buy the development rights from the farm's owner, David Downey, a Lincoln County banker. Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site will receive $320,000 to help purchase the Sleettown property on Hays-May Road.