Toys

Santa Claus tried on some new headgear Saturday, sporting a firefighter's helmet as members of the Nicholasville Fire Department and other volunteers helped with the organization's annual toy drive to give gifts to needy children. Held at East Jessamine Middle, the event provided toys to 777 children from 386 families in its eighth year. The toys all came by way of donation. Walmart contributed many toys and was also the collection site for monetary donations. Battalion Chief Bob Carpenter, the event's chairperson, said the program had humble beginnings in an NFD station but had grown to fill the gym and café-theater at the new middle school.

A “foreign body” is the term we use to describe anything other than food that your pet may have swallowed. It can be very complicated to determine whether a particular foreign body will make your pet sick. The most difficult cases of foreign body ingestion occur whenever the pet owner doesn't know that their pet swallowed something. Also, many foreign bodies that pets swallow are not dense enough to show up on an X-ray. However, the statistics about pets swallowing foreign objects may shock you. About 95 percent of all foreign objects swallowed by pets will pass without causing any problems.

The Nicholasville Fire Department will be distributing toys 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at East Jessamine Middle School gym. "We've gotten a great response this year," firefighter Jeremy Lowe said, of the department's annual toy drive. "People have given quite a lot. We'll continue to take donations all the way up to the day we give them out. " To date, the fire department has a 15-by-10-foot storage area and a 24-foot trailer filled with toys and other items. The department also has a 15-by15-foot storage unit half full of toys.

HUSTONVILLE - Toys for Tots fundraising is getting a jump start this weekend in Hustonville. Hustonville Fire Department and Ladies Auxiliary are hosting a kickoff event for the Toys for Tots season with Autumn Fest from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. The city holds its own festival each summer, but Kim Simpson with Ladies Auxiliary, said this festival is separate from the city's, and is the first fall festival held by the fire department. "It was just an idea where everybody can have fun," Simpson said.

LIBERTY - Casey County's annual Christmas Celebration Friday raised more than $800 for the Toys for Tots project, said Linda Gosser, executive director of the local Chamber of Commerce. The celebration featured a parade, vendors selling local arts and crafts and free cookies. Santa Claus also was on hand for the opening of the holiday season. Trophies and cash prizes went to the parade floats and non-float units. Casey County Community Education Dance Team took first place and $100 in the float division.

We all love our puppies and dogs, don't we? We like to brag on them, how they respond to directions, how they let you know they need to go out, how they like to love you and cuddle. So, what do we give them in return for all those good feelings? Well, some of us carry treats in our pockets and dole them out whenever the dog looks up at us. Others can't resist purchasing a toy whenever they go shopping; and a few owners glue their pets to themselves and never expect to be separated.

Christmas was a little merrier for more than 750 Jessamine County children this year thanks to the Nicholasville Fire Department and the generosity of hundreds of local residents. The department held its annual Nicholasville Firefighter's Toy Drive Sunday, Dec. 21 at East Jessamine Middle School. "Everybody was overly grateful," Firefighter Jeremy Lowe said. "We didn't have any issues with anybody being rude; everybody was just so happy to get what they got. " The school gymnasium was overflowing with toys for children of all ages, the majority of which came from individual donations by Jessamine County residents.

Christmas was a little nicer for more than 450 Jessamine County children this year thanks to the Nicholasville Fire Department and the generosity of hundreds of local residents. The department held its annual Nicholasville Firefighter's Toy Drive Saturday, Dec. 22 at East Jessamine Middle School. The school gymnasium was overflowing with toys for children of all ages, the majority of which came from individual donations by Jessamine County residents. Nicholasville Fire Department Battalion Chief Bob Carpenter said many of the donations came from a booth set up in front of Wal-Mart.

Forget the "some assembly required" warning that comes with bicycles - getting into a present now almost requires a crowbar. I'm sure quite a few parents and grandparents struggled with the packaging this Christmas as their families' young ones waited and waited for the toys to be free. It seems like the little men my son likes to play with are in danger of escaping from their boxes. The Chinese factory where the little guys originate must have half its workforce devoted to installing the twisted wires around each limb.

Having blood drawn, undergoing a medical procedure or being in the hospital can be frightening for anyone, especially for a child. However, under a new program initiated by the Ephraim McDowell Health Care Foundation, children at Ephraim McDowell Health's facilities will now receive something that hopefully makes their experience a bit more pleasant. The foundation, through the Kids Wish Network based in Holiday, Fla., has received a significant gift of toys - everything from coloring books to stuffed animals to video games - for distribution to children who receive services through Ephraim McDowell Health facilities.

A “foreign body” is the term we use to describe anything other than food that your pet may have swallowed. It can be very complicated to determine whether a particular foreign body will make your pet sick. The most difficult cases of foreign body ingestion occur whenever the pet owner doesn't know that their pet swallowed something. Also, many foreign bodies that pets swallow are not dense enough to show up on an X-ray. However, the statistics about pets swallowing foreign objects may shock you. About 95 percent of all foreign objects swallowed by pets will pass without causing any problems.

For several weeks I was very ill. However, I am now about 80 percent recovered. I am now ready to resume doing what I love to do. And I would like to speak out on an issue critical to millions of Americans. That issue is the future of Social Security. Republicans continue their effort to destroy the Social Security system. The big question to me is why? What is it about Social Security they see as a monster? Fact One: The Social Security Trust Fund does not contribute one thin dime to our national debt.

One of the important jobs you have as a parent is to help your child to become a responsible person. You can begin teaching responsibility to your child with “the little things,” such as asking him to put silverware on the dinner table, to put away his clothes or to fold washcloths while you fold towels. At times, you can create a game with your child in order to teach responsibility to him. One way to do this is to ask him to pick up toys from the floor and then have a race to see which one of you picks up the most toys.

Local people in and around Boyle County are helping a Livingston family after its home caught fire Christmas Eve.  About 9 a.m. Tuesday, Neal James of Stanford, Turtleman's sidekick on the “Call of the Wildman” show on the Animal Planet channel, sent out a request on Twitter and Facebook for ideas on where to get toys on Christmas day.  Amy Cromer and her three children lost everything in the fire at their house, including their Christmas...

STANFORD - More than a dozen Kentucky state troopers responded to the Stanford Walmart Saturday morning, but there were no crimes in progress or any shady business going on. The troopers were on-hand to help 66 local children do some memorable Christmas shopping. Kentucky State Police spokesman Paul Blanton said 2012 was a very successful year for his organization's annual "Shop With a Trooper" event. In all, the local KSP post provided free Christmas gifts and clothes to 141 children at the Richmond and Stanford Walmarts.

In a society that is focused on materialism, there are families who have to be concerned more with basic necessities. Granting a material wish to their child, the simple idea of a toy for Christmas, is something they cannot do. When 8-year-old Timberlie Cook-Leslie of Lancaster learned there were children in her own community that wouldn't get such items for Christmas, she wanted to help. Lancaster Fire Department hosts a toy drive every year. Last year, firefighters were unable to reach their goal, and this year, more community members and groups are stepping up to help, including Timberlie.

Danville Fire Department officials are accepting applications for this year's Christmas toy drive and hope to garner about another $23,000 in donations as soon as possible. Families wishing to sign up for the annual toy drive can stop by the fire department headquarters at 420 W. Main St. between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. today, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The program is restricted to those who have proof of Boyle County residency, photo identification and either a Social Security or medical card for each child.

Whether fighting fires or getting a cat down from a tree, Nicholasville firefighters have the reputation of being helpful. That helpfulness doesn't stop during the Christmas season as members of the Nicholasville Fire Department will pitch in to make this holiday season a little brighter for many in Jessamine County with their eighth annual Christmas Toy Drive. Firefighters will be collecting donations outside Walmart on the weekends until Dec. 9, Lt. Craig Cox said. “Of course, items can be dropped off at the fire stations at any time,” Cox said.

Most of the time pet owners aren't too concerned about the various objects, play toys, and things found in nature that their pets chew on. This is primarily because pets seldom seem to have any difficulty with their favorite chew toys. Actually, it is often very comical to watch a pet spend hours playing with something as simple as a plastic water bottle or bouncy ball. However, the statistics about pets swallowing foreign objects may shock you. Approximately 95 percent of all foreign objects swallowed by pets will pass without causing any problems.

In September 1987, Ronald Reagan was president of the United States and the No. 1 pop song was the late Whitney Houston's “Didn't We Almost Have It All.” Also in September 1987, Jessamine County's Clay Miller answered a newspaper ad to purchase a crab-eating macaque - Gizmo - for his future wife, April Truitt. That purchase and the subsequent research that followed gave birth to the Jessamine County-based Primate Rescue Center. PRC sits on 35 acres of land near Wilmore.