New Orleans

It was getting dark, and we were driving through abandoned neighborhoods of New Orleans, trying to find our way back to the highway. Minutes earlier, we were stopped by a military patrol and received some friendly advice to "get the hell" out of there. The middle-aged officer said we were lucky it was him, and not his partner, who dealt with us. "You guys can easily get in trouble," he said. For example, he explained what could happen if someone wanted our vehicle. No matter how adventurous we were, nobody liked the idea of being on one's own in New Orleans.

Ed Isaacson of NBAdraftblog.com spends all season evaluating players who will be picked in the NBA draft and now he's already getting set to start watching those players just drafted as well as others in summer league play. Isaacson says his site has “real analysis and true player reports” that are more than just statistics. He offered these insights into how the draft played out for six University of Kentucky players. Question: What do you feel getting Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers and Darius Miller adds to New Orleans?

Leaving Houston last year wasn't an easy feeling. Just ask Darius Miller. The Kentucky senior hasn't forgotten what it felt like following a 56-55 loss to eventual national champion Connecticut in last year's national semifinals. The narrow setback was hard to swallow, especially considering the Wildcats used a four seed as motivation during a successful march through the NCAA Tournament. The disappointment quickly turned into determination, which included emotional victories over top-seeded Ohio State and North Carolina in the East Region bracket.

Dear Editor: The poor, destitute people in New Orleans and Biloxi need all of the assistance that our country can give them. I think that it is a national shame that the National Guard could not be on the ground in those cities, performing their primary responsibility, rather than being far away in a Vietnam-style war. The $300 billion that we are spending on that war could most certainly be better used in helping our unfortunate southern neighbors....

NEW ORLEANS - There was no way Kentucky senior Lindsey Buehner was going to miss the Final Four - and she even managed to get front row seats in the student section for Monday's national championship game. Buehner is a UK dance team member, but Kentucky did not bring the dance team to any of its postseason games. That left Buehner and several other dance team members on their own to not only get here, but go through the difficult process to get into the games. “You have to go through three or four lines just to get in. We had to actually line up outside the parking garage to even get in the parking garage,” Buehner said.

These Kentucky farm leaders served as delegates at the recent American Farm Bureau convention in New Orleans. From left are: Marshall Coyle of Owingsville, Kentucky Farm Bureau president; Mark Haney of Nancy, KFB first vice president; and John Hendricks from Winchester, second vice president. They were among some 250 Kentuckians who took part in the national Farm Bureau meeting.

Centre College President John Roush's CentreTerm leadership class recently had the opportunity to put their leadership skills to the test. Roush and the students, along with Student Life intern Katie Kelley, left on Jan. 9 to spend a week in New Orleans helping with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Roush, who teaches the class every year, decided to take the group of students to New Orleans after a conversation with a freshmen student in September. "One of our first-year students stopped me in the Buck Fitness Center and asked me what the college would be doing to help New Orleans," Roush recalled.

When you go down to New Orleans to gather the dead, you come back with stories beyond the pale of imagining. Of long-swamped bodies turned black beyond recognition, flesh falling from the bones. Of a 12-year-old child whose final resting place was upside down in a tree. Of a suicide note tucked in the shirt pocket of a man who ended his life with a gun before the flood waters could. Of nursing home employees who pushed their bed-ridden patients to the front door, raised the backs of their beds up so their heads would be that much higher above the rising water.

NEW ORLEANS - A group of Lincoln County volunteers in New Orleans to help victims of Hurricane Katrina recover their homes became victims themselves Wednesday night when someone stole their tools. Watch this site and The Interior Journal print edition for more updates.

NEW ORLEANS - Sawdust flew and hammers broke the silence of the early morning as the Lincoln County Baptist Association construction team labored under the sub-tropical sun here last week. The group of eight repaired a local church which was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Once a thriving place of worship, the church now lacks both a roof and a congregation. Signs still hang from the rafters of Faithful Community, proclaiming the church "the place where you meet God," but its members are no longer present to read the message.

The Heart of Danville Main Street program started off the New Year with a new executive director. Bethany Rogers, a Danville native and the daughter of Buck and Jan Rogers, stepped into her new role Jan. 3. Brenda Willoughby, interim director, will remain in that position until the end of this month. Local officials, including Danville-Boyle County Economic Development Partnership Director Jody Lassiter and Boyle County Judge-Executive Harold McKinney, both expressed excitement about Rogers' new role.

LEXINGTON - It's not easy to admit you were wrong, but Bookie Cobbins is not afraid to do so. He came to Kentucky last year as a highly-touted quarterback/athlete out of New Orleans. He was ranked as the nation's 26th-best dual-threat quarterback and a top-30 prospect in Louisiana. He missed most of his senior season in high school with a knee injury, he was expected to become a playmaker either at quarterback, wide receiver or wildcat quarterback. Instead, he was redshirted when he had trouble grasping the offense and then in the spring after he was moved full time to receiver, he was taken off the practice field because of academic deficiencies.

Ed Isaacson of NBAdraftblog.com spends all season evaluating players who will be picked in the NBA draft and now he's already getting set to start watching those players just drafted as well as others in summer league play. Isaacson says his site has “real analysis and true player reports” that are more than just statistics. He offered these insights into how the draft played out for six University of Kentucky players. Question: What do you feel getting Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers and Darius Miller adds to New Orleans?

Get ready for Mardi Gras on Main Street as downtown Danville transforms into New Orleans for the Great American Brass Band Festival's first-ever Bayou & Brass. The event, set for 5:30-10 p.m. June 8, will be a New Orleans-themed celebration and fundraiser for the festival. It will be held on Main Street between the intersections of Third and Fourth streets, as well as in Weisiger Park at the Boyle County Courthouse. Visitors can expect an event for the whole family unlike Danville has seen before, including celebratory beads, bayou-themed treats, Mardi Gras crafts and activities for the kids, as well as an assortment of beer and hurricane drinks.

NEW ORLEANS - There was no way Kentucky senior Lindsey Buehner was going to miss the Final Four - and she even managed to get front row seats in the student section for Monday's national championship game. Buehner is a UK dance team member, but Kentucky did not bring the dance team to any of its postseason games. That left Buehner and several other dance team members on their own to not only get here, but go through the difficult process to get into the games. “You have to go through three or four lines just to get in. We had to actually line up outside the parking garage to even get in the parking garage,” Buehner said.

NEW ORLEANS - He's getting set to play the biggest basketball game of his young life, but Anthony Davis doesn't mind letting everyone know that there is an off-court side to him as well. “I am a very laid-back guy off the court. I like to draw in my spare time.I watch a lot of movies. Terrence (Jones) is a big movie guy, so we like to go to movies a lot,” Davis said. He will draw “whatever pops into my head” and especially likes doing cartoon characters. “Stuff I have seen on TV. I put up a picture on Google sometimes.

Leaving Houston last year wasn't an easy feeling. Just ask Darius Miller. The Kentucky senior hasn't forgotten what it felt like following a 56-55 loss to eventual national champion Connecticut in last year's national semifinals. The narrow setback was hard to swallow, especially considering the Wildcats used a four seed as motivation during a successful march through the NCAA Tournament. The disappointment quickly turned into determination, which included emotional victories over top-seeded Ohio State and North Carolina in the East Region bracket.

NEW ORLEANS - Kay and Tommy Davis started coming to the Southeastern Conference Tournament in 1996, and the Stanford couple now considers it an annual part of their Kentucky basketball experience. “Kentucky lost to Mississippi State in New Orleans the first year we came and Rick Pitino was the coach,” said Kay Davis. “We keep coming back because of all the UK¿fans. We always meet someone new and become great friends.” In recent years, though, many of those “great friends” have come with them.

Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, falls the day before Ash Wednesday, or the first day of Lent. Lent is a period where many Christians traditionally give-up a food or bad habit. Fat Tuesday is the last day to indulge before this period of abstinence. While many countries all over the world celebrate Mardi Gras, sometimes calling it Carnival, New Orleans, Louisiana is most famous for their Mardi Gras celebrations, parade and of course food. Most popular Cajun dishes are derived from original New Orleans French and Spanish settlers.

Matthew L. Smith, a native of Jessamine County, passed away on July 25. He was a graduate of Tates Creek High School and Tulane University in New Orleans, majoring in engineering and psychology. He had a special place in his heart for both Tates Creek and Tulane. Matthew loved New Orleans; it was his favorite place. Matthew's passions were the piano, classical music, horses, the Atlantic beach, animals, and, of course, farming life. He was an accomplished classical pianist with Mozart, Bach, Glenn Gould, and Scott Joplin, which were also his musical inspirations.