Kentucky Center

LOUISVILLE - This summer, The Kentucky Center will present the Kentucky Institute for Arts in Education (KIAE), a two-week, professional development seminar for Kentucky's teachers. Through hands-on experiences with dance, drama, music and the visual arts, KIAE participants will develop an awareness of how to integrate the arts across the curriculum, while at the same time exploring their own artistic potential as they create works of art in a variety of disciplines. Professional artists who have worked in educational settings will serve as the Institute's faculty.

This summer the Kentucky Center hosted more than 200 students from every region of Kentucky, as The Kentucky Center Governor's School for the Arts (GSA) took place at Lexington's Transylvania University June 21-July 11. During their three-week stay, 225 student artists from 51 counties were immersed in a rigorous schedule of daily seminars, master classes, lectures, hands-on workshops and field trips to regional arts attractions. Instruction was offered in nine disciplines: architecture, creative writing, dance, drama, instrumental music, musical theater, new media, visual arts and vocal music.

George Rogers Clark Orchestra members Chris Griffith and Blake Combs, both seniors, played in the Kentucky Music Educator’s All-State Commonwealth Orchestra during its performance Feb. 12 at the Kentucky Center in Louisville. The orchestra, conducted by Richard Clark from the Butler Symphony Orchestra, played selections from various composers, including a special medley of songs from West Side Story. This was the fourth appearance in the all-state orchestra for Griffith.

Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President Dave Adkisson will close out the 2010 Danville/Boyle County Chamber of Commerce presented by AT&T with a speaking engagement at noon Wednesday at Danville Country Club. Adkisson is president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the largest business organization in Kentucky. Adkisson has held several statewide leadership posts in Kentucky, including chairman of the Kentucky Advocates for Higher Education, co-founder of Leadership Kentucky and chairman of the Kentucky Center for Public Issues.

Pulaski County farmer Mark Haney is the new president of Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation. Haney, who has served on the Kentucky Farm Bureau's executive committee for 10 years, was elected president at the organization's annual meeting in Louisville. Haney is the 22nd president of Kentucky Farm Bureau, the largest organization representing agricultural interests in Kentucky. He has been a director of the state board since 1993 and has served as first vice president since 2005, following seven years as second vice president.

Historic homes and a book signing will be in the spotlight at this month's Second Thursday program at the Bluegrass Heritage Museum.Bobbie Newell of Winchester, a researcher and genealogist, will speak on "Historic Homes of Winchester" at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the museum, 217 S. Main St. At 6 p.m., Harry Enoch, Clark County author and historian, will sign his newly published book, "Where In The World? Historic Places in Clark County, Kentucky. " The 197-page book contains 100 articles written by Enoch and published in The Winchester Sun between Jan. 6, 2005 and Aug. 23, 2007.

FRANKFORT - Gurney Norman, who has been appointed by Gov. Beshear as Kentucky Poet Laureate for 2009-2010, will be formally inducted on Kentucky Writers' Day at 11 a.m. E.D.T. April 24, in the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort. During the past 30 years, Norman has been a major force in the literary and cultural renaissance throughout the state and region. Norman is best known for his work "Divine Right's Trip" and "Kinfolks: The Wilgus Stories. " Presently the director of the University of Kentucky creative writing program, Norman soon will complete his 30th year teaching at the university.

Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President Dave Adkisson will close out the 2010 Danville-Boyle CountyChamber of Commerce presented by AT&T with a speaking engagement at noon, Nov. 18 at the Danville Country Club. Adkisson is president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the largest business organization in Kentucky. The Kentucky Chamber represents businesses large and small, from Paducah to Pikeville, and works to advocate a strong business climate in Kentucky. The organization’s slogan is “Uniting Business.

LEXINGTON – Kentucky coach John Calipari had one request for Jon Hood. “Play like you’re playing in practice,” the Kentucky coach said following the Wildcats’ 89-52 rout over Winthrop Wednesday afternoon at Rupp Arena. Hood’s minutes have been hard to come by this season, but the former Kentucky Mr. Basketball played nine minutes against the Eagles, the most since he was on the court for the same amount of time in a win over Boston on Nov. 30. Hood missed both of his shots from the field, including a 3-pointer, but grabbed an offensive rebound and dished out an assist as part of his contributions.

Josh Harrellson’s senior campaign will come to an end during the Final Four. He just hopes Kentucky is one of two teams playing for a national title Monday night in Houston. Harrellson couldn’t pinpoint his favorite game this season, but has one in mind, an obvious no-brainer. “Hopefully my favorite one will be Monday night if we make it that far,” he said earlier this week. Harrellson has had a big hand in Kentucky’s successful ride in the NCAA Tournament. The Kentucky averaged 14.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in Kentucky’s four games in the Big Dance, a tour that includes wins over Princeton, West Virginia, top-seeded Ohio State and North Carolina.

LEXINGTON - From the day he arrived on campus in August, Kentucky center Nerlens Noel has continued to work on basically the same things. “Just continuing to do what I do now. Working on my skill set 15 feet in and staying in the weight room to get stronger and put on good weight,” Noel said. “Those are the things it will take for me to help this team all I can.” Noel was the nation's top-ranked player in the 2012 recruiting class. He arrived on campus about two months after Kentucky's other freshmen - Alex Poythress, Archie Goodwin and Willie Cauley-Stein - after finishing necessary work to graduate following his reclassification from the 2013 recruiting year to 2012.

Judicial centers will be closed statewide and all court services will be unavailable Monday as the Kentucky judicial branch shuts down for the third of three furlough days in 2012. This will be the first time since Kentucky's modern court system was formed in 1976 that the judicial branch must close judicial center doors to balance its budget. The furloughs will affect only non-elected court personnel, who will be off work without pay as part of the judicial branch's fiscal-year 2013 budget-reduction plan.

LEXINGTON - Kentucky senior center Matt Smith remembers what it was like last season when UK¿lost to Louisville to start the season and everyone questioned the offense. That's why he knows the 32-14 opening-game loss to Louisville this season should not be blamed solely on the defense. “The offense did move the ball, but we made mistakes and had two fumbles that cost us scores,” said Smith. “Hopefully we can realize how important it is to keep the ball and do what we know how to do. We have to back to square one and come out and show people we can play against Kent State.

LEXINGTON - Kentucky senior center Matt Smith remembers what it was like last season when UK¿lost to Louisville to start the season and everyone questioned the offense. That's why he knows the 32-14 opening-game loss to Louisville this season should not be blamed solely on the defense. “The offense did move the ball, but we made mistakes and had two fumbles that cost us scores,” said Smith. “Hopefully we can realize how important it is to keep the ball and do what we know how to do. We have to back to square one and come out and show people we can play against Kent State.

The Kentucky Equestrian Center on Kiddville Road is hosting a Fun Show today at the center. The fun begins at 10 a.m. with the American Competitive Trail Horse Association ride. Signup begins at 8 a.m. with a riders' briefing at 9 a.m., concluding with the awards presentation at 1 p.m. A fun horse show begins at 4 p.m. with 24 categories open to all breeds. The event continues on Sunday with another trail ride beginning at 11 a.m. Cowboy Church will be before the ride at 10 a.m. For more information contact Julia Bowen at 327-9089 or by email at julia@kentuckyequestriancenter.org, or Mikie Bowen at 771-4692.

The Kentucky Equestrian Center located at 880 Kiddville Road in Clark County will be the place to be this weekend for horse lovers of all ages. Beginning at 1 p.m. today and running through Sunday, the United Mountain Horse Association will host “The Bonanza,” a family friendly event which includes clinics, riding exhibitions, a competitive trail ride, and other activities for children and adults. The event, the association's largest fundraiser, also gives the club an opportunity to introduce people to the Rocky Mountain horse breed, and showcases the equestrian center, said Robert Lawson, a founding member of the association and owner of Stoner Ridge Farm in Paris.

NEW ORLEANS - Louisville sophomore center Gorgui Dieng knows his matchup with Kentucky center Anthony Davis could be critical to who wins Saturday's Final Four matchup. Yet he insists even if Davis has a good game,¿Louisville could still win. “It isn't about me. It's about the team first,” said Dieng. “This game is not going to be easy. This game is very important at every position. It's not about me and Anthony Davis. It's about everybody. He is a great basketball player.

ATLANTA - If John Calipari has his way, all the “drama” about Saturday's Kentucky-Louisville Final Four matchup will be focused on him and his staff, not Kentucky's players. “We're playing a basketball game. Believe me, we will not change,” Calipari said Sunday after Kentucky defeated Baylor 82-70 to advance to its second straight Final Four and a matchup against Louisville on Saturday in New Orleans. “The drama of the game will be on the staff, but I don't have many Kentucky players on my team.

ATLANTA - Revenge was sweet for Kentucky. The Wildcats erased the pain of a buzzer-beating, one-point loss to Indiana earlier this year with a 102-90 victory over the Hoosiers in the NCAA South Region semifinals this morning at the Georgia Dome. It ended more than three months of frustration for the Wildcats, who swore revenge wasn't a factor earlier this week despite the pregame hype surrounding the much-anticipated rematch. It was hard to notice Kentucky wasn't thinking about its previous experience against Indiana.

NEW ORLEANS - The first time Kentucky played LSU, center Justin Hamilton was just 3-for-7 from the field and had only seven points and three rebounds in 19 minutes of play against the Wildcats - all well below his season averages. Part of the reason was Kentucky center Anthony Davis, who had 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. Kentucky blocked eight shots and outrebounded LSU 39-29 in a 74-50 win that the Tigers hope to show as a fluke when they take on No. 1 UK today in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.