New Year S Day

Grace Baptist hosts Christmas events Grace Baptist Church, 5990 Lexington Road, is hosting Christmas Eve and Christmas day worship services. The Christmas Eve service will be at 5 p.m. Saturday and the Christmas day service will be at 10:45 a.m. Sunday. Ark of Mercy Christmas dinner Ark of Mercy Church of God will host its community-wide Christmas dinner at 12:30 p.m. Christmas Day at the church located at 240 Winn Ave. Christmas Eve service at Central Baptist There will be a Christmas Eve candlelight and Communion service Dec. 24 at 5 p.m. at Central Baptist Church.

A New Year's Day brawl between two brothers took an unusual turn Wednesday when one brother pleaded guilty to his charges, then was called to testify for his brother. Jeffrey Hanley and his brother Michael, both of Versailles, were each arrested on multiple offenses after they allegedly got into a fight in a room at the Best Value Inn in Winchester. At the time, Jeffrey Hanley told police that Michael hit him over the head with a beer bottle in an attempt to steal his wallet. Both men were intoxicated at the time, and both received injuries during the incident.

Running may be primarily a source of stress relief for David Anderson, but it has taken him to some new heights and interesting places over the past 12 months. The Centre College professor enjoyed one of his best running years in 2010, and he has big plans for 2011 as well. Anderson ran five marathons for the second straight year as part of his quest to complete a marathon in all 50 states, and now he is in training for another Ironman triathlon later this year. These are good times for Anderson, who is as active and as successful as ever at age 46. “So I guess the 40s are the new 20s,” Anderson said.

By burying 75-100 people per year in the city of Nicholasville-run Maple Grove Cemetery, in about a year and a half the cemetery will be completly full, city commissioner Andy Williams said. “That Richmond Avenue area is filling up quick,” Williams said during Monday’s city commission meeting. This was the primary reason the city commission approved to raise the rates for opening and closing graves in the cemetery during Monday’s meeting. As of Aug. 1, charges for opening and closing the graves for the burial of city and Jessamine County residents before 3 p.m. will be $800, up from $600.

Because of a law passed during the short legislative session, Kentucky residents can now legally purchase the types of fireworks that for years have sent enthusiasts south to Tennessee. House Bill 333, which was signed by Gov. Steve Beshear last month, allows for the sale of Class C fireworks. They include bottle rockets, roman candles and larger items that shoot exploding fire balls into the air. The old law permitted only fireworks that stayed on the ground, with nothing shooting into the air beyond a relatively short fountain.

Ahh,to be 13 again. First skateboard, first movie without a chaperone, first cell phone ... first cigarette? Believe it or not, the average age for trying tobacco for the first time is 13. A staggering one-third to one-half of kids who experiment with smoking will become regular smokers. As a matter of fact, 80 percent of current adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18. To make matters worse, according to the Centers for Disease Control, Kentucky ranks dead last among all states for youth between ages 12 and 17 who smoke at 15.9 percent compared to the national average of 6.5 percent.

Sept. 4 at Louisville The Cats have won the last three meetings between the two teams and the trend shouldn’t change this time around in Joker Phillips’ debut as coach of the Wildcats. Prediction: Kentucky 32, Louisville 14. Sept. 11 Western Kentucky The Hilltoppers enter the season with a 20-game losing streak and are in a rebuilding mode under first-year coach Willie Taggart. Look for Kentucky’s reserves to get some valuable playing time in the Cats’ first home game.

MAYSVILLE — George Rogers Clark senior Travis Purvis didn’t like the way the season ended last year following a 62-60 setback to three-time defending champion Mason County in the 10th Region Tournament at The Fieldhouse in Maysville. “We didn’t want to feel that feeling again,” he said. “We’re feeling a way different feeling today.” The Cardinals had plenty of reasons to be happy, and were grinning from ear-to-ear after leaving town with two sets of nets, their eighth 10th Region championship trophy, and their first state tournament berth since 2007 following a 62-40 blowout over Pendleton County.

The Boyle County Farmers Market Vendors wish everyone a happy, healthy New Year! If you are interested in becoming a member of our market for 2012, contact Gary Taylor at (859) 332-2539. The Boyle County Farmers Market is located at Boyle County Fairgrounds. The market manager is Gary Taylor of Knobview Farms. From the Farm: We enjoyed a nice, relaxing Christmas Day at the farm. Jon and Heston came down on Christmas Eve. We munched on our favorite holiday snacks and watched  the classic “It's a Wonderful Life.” It was nice to just sit and visit while waiting for Santa.

Our calendars are packed full aren't they?  Personal calendars are used by many of us to track our appointments and schedules.  If you closely examine one of these commercially printed calendars you may see little reminders noted on certain days like “New Year's Day” or “Martin Luther King Day”.  If you happened to have a calendar printed by the Kentucky School Board Association like I do, you would see a reminder proclaiming, “January is...