Julie Wagner

Heart of Danville Executive Director Julie Wagner has resigned, according to a press release issued by the agency this morning. Wagner, who took over the job in 1998, is the group's longest serving director. According to figures from the Heart of Danville, downtown added 365 new jobs, saw $205,102,000 in new construction and had total reinvestment of $310,935,446 during Wagner's tenure. Wagner declined to comment on whether she is pursuing another job opportunity but said she will miss the people she has worked with more than 14 years while she looks forward to new challenges.

In Main Street circles around the state, Julie Wagner is known as a rock star for the success Heart of Danville has had in luring investment, preserving history and creating a lively atmosphere downtown during her 14 years as its leader. Now Wagner is taking that act up U.S. 127 to neighboring Harrodsburg, where she hopes to duplicate her performance with Harrodsburg First. “Downtown Harrodsburg is pretty and historic and has a lot of potential. I want to take what I've learned here and see what I can do with it there,” Wagner said Wednesday, the day after her resignation from Heart of Danville was announced.

Dear Editor: As a board member and future president of the Heart of Danville Main Street Program, I would like to thank the members of Third Street Development, the doctors involved with the surgery center, Ephraim McDowell Health and Audrey and Richard Haisfield. Your investment in our downtown will strengthen our future and bring new life and long-term stability to a part of our community that has been threatened for many years. I think Janet Hamner and Julie Wagner should be commended.

U.S. Rep. Ernie Fletcher (R-Ky.) has secured $1.75 million in the federal transportation budget for Danville to build a parking garage behind the Hub-Gilcher building. The budget has passed the U.S. Senate and now must go into conference committee negotiations. Julie Wagner, executive director of the Heart of Danville, said that she was optimistic that Danville would receive the money. "Congressman Fletcher and (U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning) should be commended for their vision and leadership," she said.

Dear Editor, Congratulations to the Danville High School marching band for qualifying to perform at the state marching band finals on Saturday and to the Boyle County marching band for their 10th consecutive appearance at the finals. These two programs are another example of the exemplary staff and students that exist in our community. It was a heartwarming experience to watch our two local programs perform alongside the best of the best from across the commonwealth. Great job to all. Julie Wagner, KCMM Executive Director Heart of Danville Main Street Program

Sixteen authors will be on hand at the Constitution Square Arts Fest to sign copies of their books and share stores, and give festival-goers a candid look at what it takes to be a Kentucky author. "The increased number of participating authors is a new addition to the festival and something we hope we can improve each year of the festival," said Julie Wagner, festival coordinator. Thomas Freese will be on hand Friday as part of Friday's School Day activities. Freese is a storyteller and author of five books of ghost stories, including "Shaker Ghost Stories," "Fog Swirler," "Strange and Wonderful Things," "Ghosts, Spirits and Angels," and "Haunted Battlefields of the South.

Dear Editor: The Boyle County Band Boosters would like to thank J. Paul Newton and the staff of Lee's Famous Recipe for their generosity and assistance during Boyle County Band Day. Mr. Newton is a hero in our book and we thank him for supporting the band program. We also thank our fans and supporters who came to Lee's during our event. It was our most successful Band Day ever, because of you. The band members are grateful to see the overwhelming support for their program.

The Heart of Danville is sponsoring two free concerts tonight and Friday. Melodic Brotherhood will perform from 6-8 p.m. today at Weisiger Park at the courthouse. BillyBlues will perform from 7-9 p.m. Friday evening in Weisiger Park. "We are providing these concerts, free of charge, to give our community something to do in the evenings. Last year, we gave one Friday night concert, and the crowd overwhelmingly endorsed more to do on Friday nights. We listened and have planned several extra venues to supplement our regular Whimsy schedule," said Julie Wagner, executive director for Heart of Danville Main Street Program.

The Heart of Danville will accept applications to participate in the third annual Military Appreciation Parade until May 19. The parade is scheduled for 11 a.m. May 20 in downtown Danville and is part of a day-long schedule of activities. Anyone who represents a serviceman overseas, is a veteran or survivor of a veteran, a guardsman or is in any way related to armed forces is invited to participate. The Armed Forces Day celebration commemorates the service of our troops to protect American values and freedom, said Heart of Danville executive director Julie Wagner.

The Boyle County Marching Rebel Band has received approval to host a KMEA marching band competition Sept. 30. The Boyle County Festival of Bands will be the first band competition at Boyle County High School since 1995. "We are looking forward to reinstating this marching band tradition at Boyle County and we are glad that our school board members and administration were so committed to resolving the problems relating to the field, and working with us to bring a competition back to our school," said Tim Blevins, band director.

In Main Street circles around the state, Julie Wagner is known as a rock star for the success Heart of Danville has had in luring investment, preserving history and creating a lively atmosphere downtown during her 14 years as its leader. Now Wagner is taking that act up U.S. 127 to neighboring Harrodsburg, where she hopes to duplicate her performance with Harrodsburg First. “Downtown Harrodsburg is pretty and historic and has a lot of potential. I want to take what I've learned here and see what I can do with it there,” Wagner said Wednesday, the day after her resignation from Heart of Danville was announced.

Heart of Danville Executive Director Julie Wagner has resigned, according to a press release issued by the agency this morning. Wagner, who took over the job in 1998, is the group's longest serving director. According to figures from the Heart of Danville, downtown added 365 new jobs, saw $205,102,000 in new construction and had total reinvestment of $310,935,446 during Wagner's tenure. Wagner declined to comment on whether she is pursuing another job opportunity but said she will miss the people she has worked with more than 14 years while she looks forward to new challenges.

Danville appears to have found a solution for the foul smelling fruit from ginkgo trees lining Main Street. Julie Wagner, director of the Heart of Danville, said a spray the city is using on the trees has made a remarkable difference this fall. By this time last year, Wagner and others were worn out from picking up after the trees and trying to explain away the stench. “The difference has really been amazing, and we are only seeing a few, probably no more than 10 percent of what we saw last year,” Wagner said.

Dear Editor, Congratulations to the Danville High School marching band for qualifying to perform at the state marching band finals on Saturday and to the Boyle County marching band for their 10th consecutive appearance at the finals. These two programs are another example of the exemplary staff and students that exist in our community. It was a heartwarming experience to watch our two local programs perform alongside the best of the best from across the commonwealth. Great job to all. Julie Wagner, KCMM Executive Director Heart of Danville Main Street Program

This will be the second year for the Constitution Square Arts Fest to be completely run by the Heart of Danville, and the revamped event will be slightly smaller with some spirited additions. Alcohol will be served for the first time at the end-of-summer festival, which runs Friday through Sunday at Constitution Square State Historic Site. The festival had been funded by the state and organized by longtime park director Brenda Willoughby for more than a decade. When the state announced it would cut funding for the event last year, the Heart of Danville and its director, Julie Wagner, stepped in. “It really requires an army of volunteers to do what Brenda did, and there are hundreds of people to do little things it takes to put something like this on,” Wagner said.

An idea five years in the making is finally making its first appearance tonight at the Constitution Square lawn. Every Friday at 9 p.m., for the entire summer, Lawn Chair Theater will be presented — an event the Heart of Danville’s executive director, Julie Wagner, is excited about. “It’s really cool to offer movies downtown,” said Wagner. The goal of the theater is to provide expanded free entertainment in a family-friendly environment. Not your average theater — to promote more community involvement, each event will have a theme to follow the movie.

Now that the tents have been folded and the crowds from the Sept. 18-20 Constitution Square Arts Fest have subsided, Julie Wagner finally has some time to reflect. And take a vacation. Before heading out of town Friday for a long awaited break, Wagner, executive director of Heart of Danville, said she was thrilled with the outcome of the event. "I couldn't have dreamed it would have gone this well for the first time," Wagner said. "We had so many people come out and the team that put this on was outstanding.

The smell of BBQ and bluegrass tunes drifted through the air of downtown Danville Saturday as festival-goers made their way through Constitution Square, buying crafts and chatting with local vendors. This weekend marks the 31st annual Constitution Square Arts Fest, but the event nearly wasn't to be this year after it lost state funding due to economic hard times. But the Heart of Danville, The Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and The Community Arts Center worked together to keep the festival alive.

Sixteen authors will be on hand at the Constitution Square Arts Fest to sign copies of their books and share stores, and give festival-goers a candid look at what it takes to be a Kentucky author. "The increased number of participating authors is a new addition to the festival and something we hope we can improve each year of the festival," said Julie Wagner, festival coordinator. Thomas Freese will be on hand Friday as part of Friday's School Day activities. Freese is a storyteller and author of five books of ghost stories, including "Shaker Ghost Stories," "Fog Swirler," "Strange and Wonderful Things," "Ghosts, Spirits and Angels," and "Haunted Battlefields of the South.

The best picnic tables Saturday at the Great American Brass Band Festival were: Sousa Award for Best of Show: Table that stands out above all others - "Fishing For Brass," Martha and John Caywood. Celebrating 20 years: The table that reflects something special or memorable for the past 20 years - "The Way We Were," Bill Grimes. Brass Band Festival Theme: The table that reflects the spirit of the Great American Brass Band Festival - "The Beat Goes On," Eben and Jan Henson Off Centre: The table that displays the most humor in decorations - "Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk," Kelly Brown Speilberg Award: The table exhibiting the most creativity and novel idea - "Magrite American Brass Band," Mary Beth Touchstone's Community Arts Center table Judges Picks: Tables that are excellent but do not fall into a given award category: "Recycle Curbside," Clay Albright; and "Casino Royal Robert," Robert and Julie Wagner and Jeanie Collier.