Opening Night

The Winchester Opera House Gallery will be transformed into a county-wide student art exhibit for the next several weeks, displaying paintings, drawings, sculptures and painted furniture created by George Rogers Clark High School students. "The kids are really excited about it," said Julie Baumgardner, art teacher at GRC. "They've worked really hard throughout the year. " Approximately 150 students will show their work through May 19, with opening night set for Friday from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The public is invited to attend the kickoff event.

The opening night of the "Unity in the Community" week of worship drew 307 people to First Baptist Church on the North Danville Bypass on Sunday night, despite a steady rain. The Rev. Ronald McCowan of First Baptist Church, Second and Walnut streets, was the featured speaker and also sang a solo. The revival continues at 7 p.m. today at St. James A.M.E. Church, 124 E. Walnut St., with the Rev. Quentin Scholtz of Centenary United Methodist Church delivering the message. The "Unity" services are organized by a mix of 12 predominantly white and predominantly African-American churches in Danville and Boyle County, focusing on building new connections between people of different races and denominations.

Students in the West Jessamine High School Fine Arts Program are hard at work this week, rehearsing for Friday's opening night of their spring musical, "Fiddler on the Roof. " The musical tells the story of the poor milkman Tevye, played by Sam Lockridge, who tries to arrange marriages for his three oldest daughters, played by Beth Ann Williams, Laura Musick and Jordan Cuckler. The daughters want to choose their own spouses instead of relying on the local matchmaker Yente, played by Kelsey Carlstedt.

Lincoln County at Garrard County Will the real Garrard County defense please stand up? Red flags have gone up from Paint Lick to Camp Dick after Paris dropped 484 yards and 46 points on the Golden Lions. But this is the same team, theoretically, that held Barren County to 150 yards and six points in its first game. Now Garrard has to deal with Lincoln County and its speedy running backs when the Lions and Patriots knock heads Friday night. Lincoln didn't exactly light up the scoreboard against Pleasure Ridge Park, but that's a pretty tough assignment for opening night.

For a couple of hours in Wilmore Saturday, the steady drone of the cicadas wasn't the only chorus echoing through the trees. Opening night of the second-annual Stonebridge Concert Series took care of that. Young At Heart, a big-band ensemble based in Lexington provided the entertainment. The classic feel of the night was not lost, even on the younger folks in attendance. "It's good," said 12-year-old Hayley Brownlow. "I don't usually listen to it, but it's good. " That was the sentiment echoed by several of the people who came out to the concert.

HUSTONVILLE - Hustonville offers more than one way for people to get spooked. A giant, brightly-lit arrow points the way to the Haunted Castle right off U.S. 127, just south of Hustonville. The castle features two haunted houses in one, a haunted graveyard, giant maze, live freak shows and a live horror show. "You're going to get a show," said Hustonville Police Chief Fred McCoy. "It's action packed all the way through. " McCoy said the freak show is reminiscent of those featured at carnivals years ago. The horror magic show features classic magic tricks with unexpected twists that go horribly wrong.

JUNCTION CITY - Liberty's Joey Daniel won the late model feature race on the opening night of the 2006 season Friday at Ponderosa Speedway here. Harrodsburg's Jay Mobley won the modified feature, Winchester's Peydon Pelphrey took the Bomber feature and Columbia's Shawn Bardin was first in the Chevette feature. Daniel took the lead on lap 12 after a restart. Johnny Wheeler could not get past him on lap 14 and the two pulled away from the field as Bobby Carrier Jr. and Victor Lee battled for third place that Carrier eventually took.

Organizers of Winchester SuperStar hope the threat of storms and rain will have eased by the time competition is scheduled to begin this evening, but will make alternative plans if weather forces a postponement. Participants and the public are asked to check winchestersun.com or call Winchester First at 737-0923 if they have any questions about the event and whether or not there will be a weather delay. The conclusion of the first round of competition is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. tonight with approximately 20 singers participating in three age groups.

Steve Sleeper's mom leaned over to him at one point during opening night of "A Breath of Dusty Air" at West T. Hill Community Theatre. She pointed out a man farther down the row. "She said, 'He sure is enjoying the play,'" said Sleeper, the director. " I said, 'I don't know, but he really is enjoying it.'" The then-unknown man who was loving Friday night's performance was Perry Steele Patton, the playwright. He saw an article about the West T. Hill production online. He said after reading it he was "so touched by how the actresses got it. ... That made me that much more excited about coming.

Matt Westerdale is in a wheelchair, but he's a fighter. And over the weekend, he had a lot of folks in his corner. Westerdale, who has had muscular dystrophy since childhood, has been active in Jerry Lewis Telethons and other Muscular Dystrophy Association events. This summer, he decided to organize his own fundraiser for MDA at St. Joseph Catholic Church's fellowship hall. The event was held from 7 to 11 Saturday night and was attended by about 50 or 60 people at one time.

Danville High School held its opening night of “Wizard of Oz” Thursday to a packed house. Backstage, director Beth Marlowe met with the cast and crew for warm-ups and a pep talk.  “The most important thing -  have fun,” Marlowe emphasized as she glowed - with a little sweat beading on her forehead. All indications pointed to an incredibly tight-knit cast -  they stayed together backstage for a warm up session lead by Kolton Winfield, aka the Lion, who had them reaching for the sky and making silly noises to ready their vocal chords.

Maybe I just carry this “togetherness thing” too far! What do you think? Rebecca, or Rev. Becca as we call her, is my son Clarke's wife, the pastor of a beautiful church 30 minutes from our house, and she and I are very close. Not only does she lead her congregation in every capacity necessary, but she sings and plays a number of musical instruments and besides all that, she manages to participate in many local plays. Recently she played the part of the Baroness in “The Sound of Music.” Our whole family naturally wanted to attend on opening night here in Salida.

The curtain goes up Friday on a musical take of a popular Christmas production in Wilmore. The Bluegrass Arts Association is presenting a musical version of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol” in the McKenna Chapel at Asbury Theological Seminary. Director Janelle Gore said the adaptation follows traditional dialogue but the music is what makes the production different. “It is very traditional for those hard-core Charles Dickens fans - it sticks very closely to the original script - but the music is what makes it special,” she said.

When Tommy Rector's daughter began singing and playing her original music in Lexington, he began to wonder why there weren't more opportunities for musicians to perform locally. Although Hannah Mae Rector grew up performing in the Winchester Seventh Day Adventist Church and even won a few local competitions like Winchester SuperStar, most of her stage experience came from performing in other towns. Both father and daughter believed that plenty of musicians would take advantage of a local jam session if the opportunity presented itself, so they decided to host an event themselves.

Dear Editor, Earlier this week, questions arose pertaining to the weekend and night usage of the parking garage. The parking garage remains open and free each day after 5:30 p.m. and all weekend. While the gates remain down, customers must take a ticket to access the garage, but when used to exit the garage, there will be no fee. Those who wish to visit a sick friend in the hospital or attend worship services on Sunday need not worry; our new parking garage is open and ready for use. There are cameras in the garage for your safety and an elevator on the northwest corner.

100 YEARS AGO - 1908 Robert Fox of Marksbury has filed a lawsuit against the town of Danville seeking to recover $10,000 in damages. Fox claimed he was driving along Lexington Street on June 5 last year when his horse took fright at the steam street roller and became unmanageable. Fox was thrown from the horse and suffered a broken foot and ankle. He claims that proper care was not exercised in operating the machine. Of course, the town will attempt to show that hundreds of horses pass the street roller daily without becoming frightened and that Fox's horse was responsible for the damage.

For a couple of hours in Wilmore Saturday, the steady drone of the cicadas wasn't the only chorus echoing through the trees. Opening night of the second-annual Stonebridge Concert Series took care of that. Young At Heart, a big-band ensemble based in Lexington provided the entertainment. The classic feel of the night was not lost, even on the younger folks in attendance. "It's good," said 12-year-old Hayley Brownlow. "I don't usually listen to it, but it's good. " That was the sentiment echoed by several of the people who came out to the concert.

The Winchester Opera House Gallery will be transformed into a county-wide student art exhibit for the next several weeks, displaying paintings, drawings, sculptures and painted furniture created by George Rogers Clark High School students. "The kids are really excited about it," said Julie Baumgardner, art teacher at GRC. "They've worked really hard throughout the year. " Approximately 150 students will show their work through May 19, with opening night set for Friday from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The public is invited to attend the kickoff event.

The Lincoln County girls hit seven of eight 3-point shots in the first half Monday night to spark a 71-59 victory over Pulaski County on the opening night of the high school basketball season at Stanford. Guards Nikki Bustle and Jessica Upchurch scored 19 points each for the host Lady Patriots, and inside players Kendra Brown and Keira Henderson added 13 and 10 points, respectively, to help them score 38 points in the paint. "Jessica and Nikki shot the ball really well for us," Lincoln coach Don Story said.

The opening night of the "Unity in the Community" week of worship drew 307 people to First Baptist Church on the North Danville Bypass on Sunday night, despite a steady rain. The Rev. Ronald McCowan of First Baptist Church, Second and Walnut streets, was the featured speaker and also sang a solo. The revival continues at 7 p.m. today at St. James A.M.E. Church, 124 E. Walnut St., with the Rev. Quentin Scholtz of Centenary United Methodist Church delivering the message. The "Unity" services are organized by a mix of 12 predominantly white and predominantly African-American churches in Danville and Boyle County, focusing on building new connections between people of different races and denominations.