Schools

If the recruiting pressure is bothering Conner quarterback Drew Barker, it doesn't show. If anything, this has been what he's wanted for years. Barker is not only Kentucky's top-ranked recruit, but he's regarded as one of the nation's best prep quarterbacks. He's being heavily courted by South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, a quarterback guru, along with Tennessee coach Butch Jones, who offered Barker a scholarship when he was the coach at Cincinnati. Kentucky? Well, he's simply the No. 1 target for  offensive coordinator Neal Brown.

STANFORD - Lincoln County Board of Education members approved cuts last week that will slice about $149,000 in expenses from next year's budget. The board voted 4-1 to cut one contract day from all employees including teachers who were scheduled to work more than 180 days. It also unanimously approved shifting about $20,000 worth of an employee's salary from the general fund to the food services budget. The cuts are part of the school board's effort to reduce next year's budget by $500,000 in order to remain on financially solid ground.

A mock shooting was performed Tuesday afternoon at Centre College just as a college community in Texas was struck by a real attack. While Centre students prepared for the drill about 3:30 p.m., students of Lone Star College were just being released from lockdown after 20-year-old Dylan Quick went on a stabbing spree, injuring more than a dozen people. Boyle County Sheriff Marty Elliott said the coincidence reinforced the very purpose of active shooter training. “Situations like that are the very reason why we try to prepare here,” Elliott said.

This week, I found a great collection of ads that ran in The Interior Journal on April 10, 1953, which you would never see run (by advertisers, at least) in today's paper. Landline telephones are dying off quickly; there's definitely nothing that can be bought for 1 cent, even on sale; and power steering is obviously 100-percent standard. But the ads themselves still have a warmth and a friendliness to them that you don't always see in today's flashy, fine-tuned ad campaigns.

Warner Elementary School will soon undergo a substantial face lift, the last major school-construction project for Jessamine County in a string that began with a new middle school four and a half years ago. Two architectural firms made presentations to the Jessamine County Board of Education at its monthly work session Monday night, both vying to be chosen for the renovation project at the board's regular meeting April 22. The string of recent...

After a 30-year career in Jessamine County schools, superintendent Lu Young is leaving her home district to assume a new position in Fayette County. Young will become chief academic officer in Lexington on July 1. The announcement was made at a Fayette County leadership meeting Wednesday morning; she will present a formal resignation to the Jessamine County Board of Education at its April 22 meeting. Young, 53, called the new position “the right challenge” for her career and said the decision had been emotional, professional and spiritual.

The National Center for Educational Achievement, a department of ACT Inc., has recognized Burgin Elementary School as a 2012 NCEA Higher Performing School in Writing.  NCEA defines its Higher Performing Schools as “those schools that consistently have more success in preparing students for college and careers than their peers that serve similar student populations, continually challenge the thought of what is possible, and demonstrate their commitment...

STANFORD - Lincoln County Superintendent Karen Hatter has said she looked at the potential for cutting central office positions while considering which budget cuts to recommend, but found that the central office was not overstaffed. An analysis by The Interior Journal of district data profiles from the Legislative Research Commission found no evidence contradicting Hatter's assessment. Hatter told board members earlier in March she contacted other area districts about the size of their central office staffs and determined Lincoln County's central office has an appropriate level of staffing.

All A's - Saragrace Ramlochan, Marley Ranck, Chaney Hagan, Alexis Adams, Charity Bowling, Emmalee Patterson, Ryan York, Brianna Johnson, Ricky Carter, Madison Caudill, Maili Cole and Logan Martin. A's and B's - Heather Barnett, Landon Burton, Christopher Carter, Danielle Cornett, Flint Crabtree, Joey Ellis, Desirae Ellison, Nicholas Estep, Brooklyn Garrett, Tyler Grodi, Christian Hargis, Benjamin Harris, Jacob Hensley, Samantha Honaker, Dalton Jenkins, Adam King, Phillip Lane, George Lansaw, Emily Liming, Victoria Long, Dylan Maloy, Isiah Murphy, Abigayle Nicholson, Dalton Patterson, Donovan Reynolds, Alexis Rodriguez, Rosaicela Rodriguez, Meshala Rose, Brandon Rowe, Sarah Salyers, Jacob Schuler, Alexis Snow, Kayla Spencer, David Walker, Tara Watson, Trent Watson and Trent Wren.

STANFORD - Administrators may have found a solution to leaks that have plagued the Lincoln County Middle School since it was built in the early 1990s. According to an analysis by architectural firm Sherman, Carter and Barnhart, porous bricks on the school building are allowing rainwater to leak into the gymnasium and some classroom areas. "It's been a source (of leaks) for a long time, we just hadn't been able to determine what it was," said Ronnie Deatherage, chief deputy of quality support for Lincoln's school district.