Jessamine County

Polls are open for voters on Election Day in Jessamine County from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The statewide races on the ballot include governor, secretary of state, attorney general, auditor, treasurer and agriculture commissioner.

THURSDAY - The Creative Art League of Jessamine County will host its first meeting Thursday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. at the Jessamine County Public Library. CAL is an interactive group for established and emerging artists directed toward the enrichment of art appreciation in Jessamine County. For more information, call 859-885-5536. - The Wilmore Senior Community Center will host Memory Banking each Thursday in September at 1:15 p.m. - The Wilmore Senior Community Center will host “Smiling Memories and Melodies of 1942” on Thursday, Sept.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet announced that a section of U.S. 27 near Baker Lane in Jessamine County will be closed for a period of time on Tuesday, March 26, from 2-4 a.m.  The closures are necessary for overhead utility crossing work to be completed.

The Nicholasville Fire Department put out a large grass fire Monday off northbound U.S. 27 near the railroad underpass near the R.J. Corman Hanger. Nicholasville battalion chief David Johns said the fire likely started from either a discarded cigarette or fireworks. As of 3:30 p.m., the Nicholasville Fire Department had put out three grass fires Monday while the Jessamine County Fire District had put out one. Last week, Jessamine County judge-executive Neal Cassity signed an executive order that enacted a burn ban throughout Jessamine County.

• Jason R. Jordan, 30, homeless, was arrested Dec. 28 at Spears Trailer Park No. 20 and charged with second-degree burglary and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Residents with old tires cluttering up the garage or yard will have a place to dispose of the wheels in early October. The Jessamine County Fiscal Court in partnership with the Kentucky Division of Waste Management will be hosting a waste tire amnesty Event Oct. 4, 5 and 6. “It's for residents only,” environmental services operations manager Richie Horn said. “When I say residents, I mean a dealer (or other businessess) cannot bring tires in; it's just for the residents.” Any type of tire will be accepted, and the event will give Jessamine County residents the opportunity to dispose of waste tires free of charge.  The last tire amensty event was held in 2009, and it saw nearly 70,000 tires disposed of in Jessamine County, according to Mike Cassidy, director of Jessamine County Enviromental Services.

Though I've lived in Nicholasville since 2004, I've never experienced one of her grandest events because a scheduling conflict has always found a way to keep me from Nicholasville and the Kentucky Wine & Vine Fest. That is, until this year. Last Saturday, I cycled from home to the large white tents at York and Oak streets where a significant crowd had already gathered. Judging from the license plates, many locals were joined by citizens of several Kentucky counties and even those from a handful of states.

One-third of the screening committee for a new superintendent in Jessamine County is in place. School-board chair Eugene Peel announced at Monday's regular meeting that he would appoint vice chair Amy Day as the board's representative on the committee, and current superintendent Lu Young said the district's principals had selected Rosenwald-Dunbar Elementary School principal Beth Carpenter to represent them on the committee. The screening committee will face the task of narrowing the applications down to five or more applicants to recommend to the board of education.

Three Jessamine County educators received Excellence in Teaching awards from Campbellsville University on Saturday at the school's campus. The awardees were the three recipients of Jessamine County Schools' Excellence in Education awards, Shawn Carlstedt of Rosenwald-Dunbar Elementary School, Anna Campbell of West Jessamine Middle School, and Tasha Bowlin of East Jessamine High School. Carlstedt is a first- and second-grade teacher at Rosenwald-Dunbar Elementary School. She has also taught at Warner Elementary School.

The Jessamine County Board of Education unanimously approved its tentative 2013-2014 budget Monday night. The budget included everything board members asked for at the earlier May work session: intervention support, technology upgrades, new security measures and no raises for teachers. The technology upgrades and intervention support were expected to take additional dollars but will be covered through existing expenses and Title I funds, respectively, superintendent Lu Young said Monday.

Gov. Steve Beshear appointed Jessamine County director of Public Services Mike Cassidy to serve a four-year term on the Kentucky Animal Control Advisory Board last week. The duties of the Kentucky Animal Control Advisory Board include making recommendations to the commissioner of the Department of Agriculture relating to animal control issues, evaluating applications for disbursement of animal care and control funds, establishing shelter standards, and creating training programs.

An alert deputy stumbled upon two men with several items designed to manufacture methamphetamine early Wednesday morning off Short Shun Road, Jessamine Sheriff's Chief Deputy Allen Peel said. Shawn P. Brown, 29, of Lancaster, and Bo S. Anderson, 34, of Lexington, were arrested at the scene. Both men were charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, which is a Class B felony, punishable by 10-20 years in prison if convicted. Brown was also charged with first-degree possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine)

The Jessamine County Board of Education chose a familiar face Monday night as the architect for an upcoming renovation to Warner Elementary School. The board heard presentations from two firms, Tate Hill Jacobs and Murphy + Graves, at a work session April 8. Chief operating officer Jimmy Adams told the board at its May work session that the administration would be recommending Tate Hill Jacobs because of architect Margie Jacobs' familiarity with the school and her history with the district.

Jerry Abshear died Monday, May 20, at Baptist Health Care. He was the loving husband of Sandra Abshear for 26 years and devoted father to Stephen Abshear, Ashley Mae Abshear, Jerrye Abshear Huber and Karen Abshear Cronin. Additional survivors include three grandchildren, Ali Abshear, Alec Huber and Eric Selby; brothers Paul Abshear and Mickey Abshear and wife Debbie; sisters Carolyn Boggs and husband Bruce, Linda Sewell and husband Dwight, and Beverly Janes and husband Don; mother-in-law Anna Chavez; and father-in-law Porfirio Granados.

Thirteen athletes from Jessamine County schools are competing in the Kentucky High School Athletic Associations 2A track-and-field state championships Friday. Below are the competitors and their respective events in the order they are scheduled to compete. The Journal will update results throughout the day. Follow @thejj_sports on Twitter for the latest news. 2:30 p.m. - boys' shot put • Robbie Irgang - West Jessamine High School - 12th place (43 feet, 10.25 inches) 4 p.m. - boys' triple jump • Noah Daniel, East Jessamine High School - 18th (38 feet, 5.5 inches)

A new initiative in Jessamine County schools' world-language program aims to begin Spanish instruction in third grade and aim for Spanish proficiency in district students by the eighth grade. Director of secondary schools Maurice Chappell presented the plan to the Jessamine County Board of Education at a work session Monday, telling board members that having a half-time position at each elementary school and two full-time positions at each middle school would not add any additional cost.