Kentucky

Kentucky landed its second highly-ranked recruit of the spring signing season today when Huntington forward Patrick Patterson announced that he would play for Kentucky and not Florida or Duke. He joins guard Alex Legion, who signed earlier this month, as the first two signees for new UK coach Billy Gillispie. Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Virginia, Wake Forest and West Virginia all received consideration from Patterson during his recruiting process. He was first recruited at Kentucky by former coach Tubby Smith.

Over a month ago Huntington (W.Va.) Prep sophomore point guard Nevell Provo said that teammate Andrew Wiggins had Kansas No. 1 on his recruiting list. That came as a bit of a shock because the logic was that Kentucky and Florida State were the leaders for the nation's top high school prospect. However, Provo's proclamation came true Tuesday when the 6-8 Wiggins announced he was going to Kansas and not UK, Florida State or North Carolina. So why Kansas? Provo said at the time Wiggins had listed the pros and cons of each team on his recruiting list and Kansas was the clear winner.

Dear Editor, Each November, as I enter the voting booth I ask myself, “How do I make sure that my vote is not wasted?” In this year’s Senate race, the answer has seldom been clearer. Jack Conway was born and raised in Kentucky. His number one goal is to protect and serve its people. Rand Paul is Pennsylvania born and Texas bred. When he speaks, it is to support big business over the public good. Jack will protect Social Security and Medicare. He will end tax breaks for the wealthy and companies who ship jobs overseas, while holding Wall Street and Washington accountable for their actions.

According to Ben Chandler, cutting federal spending could damage the economy. Which economy? The nation’s or Chandler’s. One might say that Ben is heavily invested in spending. For example, he recently endorsed $56 billion for high speed railways. Kentucky won’t benefit, but Ben’s bottom line will. Those hoping for contracts are generous. To date, labor unions have given Ben $785,000; transportation interests more than $232,000. Ben has a vested concern in other votes as well.

Kentucky coach John Calipari still thinks having five players drafted in the first round, including John Wall as UK’s first ever No. 1 overall pick, was the “biggest day in Kentucky basketball history.” However, the UK coach said during the Southeastern Conference basketball teleconference Monday that it meant no disrespect to any past UK team or any previous Kentucky basketball accomplishments. “Just being able (to be at the draft), I can’t explain the emotions and be able to be part of five families and players realizing their dreams and we were connected to that,” said Calipari.

Gatewood Galbraith. Regardless of the fact that he keeps placing a strong second in numerous polls, and even first in a few of them, he seems limited to one sentence just mentioning his name at the end of campaign articles. They fear anyone who really does want to change things or wants to give the power back to the people, such as Gatewood does. Any chance of breaking away from the nation splitting two-party system immediately gets swept aside for fear of shaking up the status quo. I strongly urge everyone to remember that you are an individual when you step into that booth, with an independent mind and thoughts.

As heat and dry conditions bake the Bluegrass, Lincoln County, along with nearly the entire state of Kentucky, has been classified by weather officials as being in drought. The cities of Stanford and Hustonville have issued burn and fireworks bans that are in effect until further notice. Temperatures reached triple digits Thursday and were expected to make it there again today and Saturday. After an expected high of around 98 on Monday, weather forecasts predict a relative cooldown, as highs dip into the lower 90s. Lincoln County Health Department Director Diane Miller said everyone needs to stay well-hydrated.

We are experiencing an early and intense influenza season this year with the activity level in Kentucky remaining at widespread. Influenza is a very contagious disease caused by the flu virus, which spreads from infected persons to the nose and throat of others. Flu can lead to pneumonia and can be especially dangerous for the elderly, young children, pregnant women, or those with heart or breathing conditions. It is very important that the public remembers to practice good health habits to prevent the spread of the flu at home, work, or school.

I know it has been almost a week since the election, but things have remained very busy even after the election with picking up signs, thanking people, and still attending functions related to my legislative duties.  I wanted to take just a moment to thank everyone who supported me, worked hard for me, and prayed for me and my family. We could not have made it without your support.  Now is the time for all of us to come together. Whether your candidate won locally and/or nationally, I would ask that you pray for all our leaders, from the top to the bottom, and that you pray for our nation.

If there is anything Emmanuel Mudiay can't do well, his coach has not seen it. Ray Forsett, Mudiay's coach at Dallas Prime Prep Academy, said the 6-4 point guard, who is regarded as one of the top five overall players in the 2014 recruiting class, said Mudiay could play for virtually any school in the country. “He is just a special player. He can do it all from getting to the rim to shooting the ball. He's electrifying,” Forsett said. “You've got to see him play to appreciate all the special things he can do. He could go to Kentucky, Baylor, Arizona or about anywhere else because of the type player he is. “He can do it all. He can get teammates involved.

While pondering a trip to the Bluegrass state to visit a variety of wineries, something caught the eye of Cincinnati's Nadia Laabs. That something was an advertisement for the 2013 Kentucky Wine and Vine Fest in Nicholasville. So instead of going all over to visit the many different wineries, Laabs and Peter Stark decided to go to the one place where many of the wineries could come to them. “We were going to tour all the wineries in the area, but we found this, so it was very convenient,” Laabs said, as she and Stark sat on grass near the wine tents on the warm and muggy Saturday afternoon.

Count Florida's Will Yeguete as one who expects big things from Willie Cauley-Stein next season. Yeguete said he was impressed by the progress the Kentucky center showed in the second of two meetings between the Wildcats and Gators and said he believes Cauley-Stein will continue to get better. “I think he did a good job defensively this year. He was a factor. He was blocking shots, tipping the balls. I think he did a really good job overall,” Yeguete said. “The first time we played them, he didn't really play that much and do anything to impact the game because (Nerlens)

LEXINGTON - If Kentucky coach John Calipari is right, last year's NIT season was “the beginnings of success” for the upcoming season for the Wildcats. “What we're about to undertake has never been done before. Trying to put teams together like this, where you're talking a big number of players, whether it be the Lakers, the Miami Heat, it takes time,” said Calipari during his summer press conference Wednesday. “There's a learning curve. There's a galvanizing process that we have to go through.

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.

Since House Bill 415, known as the texting while driving law, was signed into law by Gov. Steve Beshear in April 2011, the Nicholasville Police Department and Jessamine County Sheriff's Office have yet to issue a warning or citation in violation of the law. NPD Officer Kevin Grimes cited difficulty in detecting whether or not a driver is texting for the lack of ticketing. “We have to be able to prove an individual was texting, and it's hard to determine what an individual is doing with their phone,” Grimes said.

He came into his sophomore season with seven Division I scholarship offers and now Madison Southern running back Damien Harris says the number is around 15 or more, including Kentucky and Louisville. That's how impressive the 5-11, 205-pound Harris, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds, has been. He ran for 742 yards and 11 touchdowns on just 76 carries in 2011 as a freshman and came back last season to gain 1,911 yards on 160 carries and score 37 times. He also caught five passes for 176 yards and three more scores.

Over a month ago Huntington (W.Va.) Prep sophomore point guard Nevell Provo said that teammate Andrew Wiggins had Kansas No. 1 on his recruiting list. That came as a bit of a shock because the logic was that Kentucky and Florida State were the leaders for the nation's top high school prospect. However, Provo's proclamation came true Tuesday when the 6-8 Wiggins announced he was going to Kansas and not UK, Florida State or North Carolina. So why Kansas? Provo said at the time Wiggins had listed the pros and cons of each team on his recruiting list and Kansas was the clear winner.

Andrew Wiggins, considered the top prospect in the Class of 2013, will make his college decision Tuesday and Kentucky is in the mix to sign the Huntington (W.Va.) Prep standout. Wiggins has narrowed his choices to Florida State, Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina. Despite the hype surrounding Wiggins, he will sign the national letter-of-intent at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday in a light setting. “He will not hold a press conference type ceremony,” Wiggins' coach Rob Fulford said in a Twitter message Sunday night.

Former Kentucky quarterback Freddie Maggard says it's not hard to understand why the verbal commitment the Wildcats got Friday from four-star quarterback Drew Barker is so important to the program. “The significance of the commitment is yet another national recruit that coach Mark Stoops and his staff have been able to keep in Kentucky - first two being (Jason) Hatcher and (Ryan) Timmons (in the 2013 recruiting class,” Maggard said. Barker had basically been ignored by previous Kentucky coach Joker Phillips and his staff - they didn't even know he attended a summer camp at UK - yet Stoops and offensive coordinator Neal Brown convinced the Conner quarterback during the last five months to pick UK over South Carolina and Tennessee.