Jessamine County

• Thomas C. Walters, 46, 2751 Wilmore Road, was arrested Sept. 11 at that address and charged with first-degree wanton endangerment. • Deana L. Kinison, 39, 3720 Combs Ferry Road, Lexington, was arrested Sept. 22 at 108 Keene-Troy Pike and charged with alcoholic intoxication. • Rodger M. Maze, 71, 2615 E. U.S. 60, Owingsville, was arrested Sept. 30 on U.S. 27 and charged with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and resisting arrest. • Gregory L. Smith, 1749 Liberty Road No. 36, Lexington, was arrested Oct. 1 on southbound U.S. 27 at the Garrard County line and charged with driving with a suspended license and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

More than one in five children in Jessamine County lived in poverty in 2009, according to a report released last week. The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book was released last Wednesday, Aug. 17, and included child-poverty estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Nearly 21 percent of Jessamine children were below the official federal poverty level two years ago, up from 17.9 percent in 2008 and higher than the county's rate has been in the 13 years available from the data center.

Hi, I'm Tucker. I was brought to the shelter as a stray. I was very cold and hungry. Now I'm warm and my belly is full, but I would like to have a home of my own. I am very fun and playful. I love playing fetch. I also like to play with squeaky toys and give kisses. I'm a very sweet guy. If you adopt me, I promise to love you forever. The Jessamine County Animal Shelter is located at 120 Fairground Way in Nicholasville. For more information, call 859-881-0821.

Baby lambs from Preston Farms in Nicholasville were part of pet therapy at Morning Pointe of Lexington recently. Two baby boy lambs visited the senior living community thanks to Gin Preston. They are just 2 and 3 weeks old. Preston specializes in other animals on her farm in Nicholasville and actually just got these baby lambs for her two boys for their 4-H project.

Destination Jessamine, a Jessamine County Fiscal Court organization dedicated to promoting tourism throughout the county, is pleased to announce the launch of a free Jessamine County, Nicholasville/Wilmore app through Kentucky Monthly magazine's Travel Kentucky app program. The app serves as a one-stop-shop guide for visitors to discover and explore Kentucky's unique destinations, including historic sites, attractions, lodging, dining, shopping and much more. The app assists users in finding locations with turn-by-turn directions using Google maps and GPS tracking; learning about attractions and events with web links, photos and videos; and exploring entire regions with walking tours and city guides.

With the recent placement of a “new” Norway spruce tree as the county's official Christmas tree, and the continuation of several annual holiday traditions, this year's Jessamine County's official holiday celebrations will include a focus on both the old and the new. The tree formally used as the county's official Christmas tree was replaced by a 15-foot Norway spruce from Glynn Young Nursery in Nicholasville; it will be the only significantly “new”...

Taxpayers in the county will once again see no rate increase this year. The Jessamine County Fiscal Court voted Tuesday night to accept Judge-Executive Neal Cassity's recommendation to keep county taxes at the same rate for the fourth year in a row. Magistrates voted to hold the current rates the same for real-estate, motor-vehicle and watercraft taxes, which haven't changed since 2008. This  year, personal-property taxes also stayed the same at 16 cents per $100 of assessed value after dropping from 17 cents last year.