Jessamine County

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.

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)

The Jessamine County school district is moving forward with an effort to raise the dropout age, creating a task force to examine the issue over the summer and bring back a recommendation in the fall. A bill that allows school districts to increase the compulsory attendance age for students from 16 to 18 goes into effect July 1. Superintendent Lu Young told the Jessamine County Board of Education at a Monday work session that several districts have plans to enact the change this summer but that she didn't want Jessamine County to “fling headlong” into the move without proper planning.

The Kentucky United Methodist Home for Children has experienced great change since getting its start in 1871, and the next few years will be no exception. The home, currently located in Versailles, plans to move to a 31-acre property on Ashgrove Road in northern Jessamine County. According to Rev. Randy Coy, president of the Kentucky United Methodist Home for Children, the decision to relocate came after consideration of several important questions, starting with, “Where is childcare going in the future?

THURSDAY - The Jessamine County Senior Center will host a “Seniorcise” fitness program for adults 60 years of age and older. The 10-week session will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-11 a.m. and started April 23. The center is located at 111 Hover Drive. For more information, call 859-885-9102. - The Wilmore Senior Community Center will host the Body Recall: Fitness for Life program each Thursday in May at 11 a.m. - The Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency, located at 1530 Nicholasville Road in Lexington, will host its meeting Thursday, May 16, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Jessamine County Historical Society, located in the Farmer's Square in downtown Nicholasville.

Soon, those in certain areas of Jessamine County will have the power to save someone's life if necessary - no training required. Jessamine County Emergency Medical Services has purchased seven automated external defibrillators (AEDs) it plans to distribute throughout the county. The AEDs will be placed in locations where large groups of people typically gather, EMS director Jerry Domidion said. “If there's a large congregation, there probably will be an AED,” he said.

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.

The Jessamine County school district is one of 17 to apply to be “Districts of Innovation.” The distinction would exempt districts from certain administrative regulations in an effort to improve student learning. The Jessamine County Board of Education approved its application at an April 22 meeting, and the Kentucky Department of Education announced the 17 districts who had applied May 6. Jessamine County's application centers on work through the Project 225 (P225) program at East Jessamine High School.

On Dec. 5, 1831, the Ohio River froze over, making voyage impassable for Alexis de Tocqueville and his party. They disembarked at Westport, Oldham Co., Ky. and walked the cold 22 miles to Louisville. It was one of many poor experiences that during a 10-month voyage planned to determine “what a great republic is like.” Upon reaching Louisville, the river still offered no passage and de Tocqueville experienced a large swatch of central Kentucky as he traveled south toward Nashville.

The Jessamine County Board of Education got the ball rolling on the search for a new superintendent Saturday, creating a timeline that could have a new chief in place by July 1. The board contracted with the Kentucky School Boards Association for the search at an April meeting, and KSBA consultant Mike Oder met with the board at a special work session Saturday morning to go over the search process. Current superintendent Lu Young is leaving July 1 to become chief academic officer in Fayette County.