Vacation

Many local pastors are beginning to prepare for some kind of time away from pulpits, meetings, funerals, weddings and all the other activities that make their jobs a 24-7 calling. So with summer vacation time just around the corner, clergy as well as their flocks are airing out luggage, double-checking reservations and pouring over road maps. Pastors are people, too, local clergy say, and just as they are not immune from the stresses and strains of every-day life, they also need to take time to recharge their mental, emotional and physical batteries, like everyone else.

Salt River Baptist Church - 6-8:30 p.m. Monday through June 16 for kindergarten through 12th grade. Family night is June 18. Theme is Arctic Edge. Transportation is provided. For more information, call (859) 339-0787. Hopewell Baptist Church - 6:30-9 p.m. Sunday through June 16. Call (859) 734-2931. Shawnee Run Church - 6:30-9 p.m. Monday through June 16. Call (859) 734-6233. Mitchellsburg Baptist Church - 6-8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. "Fired up for Jesus" is the slogan for the fiesta-themed school.

STANFORD - Lincoln County 911 dispatchers were left in a lurch last week without a coordinator after former coordinator Jeff Crowe left weeks short of his scheduled last day. Crowe had given his notice of resignation Aug. 26 after eight years on the job, but at that time had pegged Oct. 1 as his last day. Crowe's first letter of resignation said he was leaving after years of pressure from the Fiscal Court and judge-executive, who Crowe believed had...

Are you already dreaming of your next vacation? Do you find yourself wishing you had your toes in the sand while the waves wash over your beach chair? Have you always imagined yourself hiking down into the Grand Canyon or visiting Mount Rushmore and want this to be the year? Then you need to check out a new site called State by State Travel. State by State Travel is designed to help you find great vacation ideas all across the great United States. www. statebystatetravel.com There are several ways for State by State Travel to help you plan your vacation: - Search by state: There is a searchable list of all 50 states.

Tennessee is like a second home. It might as well be. Although I'm a homegrown and proud Kentuckian, my wife Rhonda and I take enough trips to Tennessee, namely Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, to be considered at least part-time residents. We take numerous trips to the Great Smoky Mountains, but every once in a while, we discover something new and exciting. During our visit last week, along with our dinner stops at the Apple Barn Restaurant and Bennett's Barbecue, we attended the Lumberjack Feud and Dinner Show one evening and changed our last name from Taylor to Dawson for more than two hours.

Lincoln County Sheriff Curt Folger invites those going on vacation to visit the sheriff's office and fill out a request form to take advantage of a new service: Vacation Security Request. "With summer thoughts turning to vacations, we want to provide this service for families planning to be away from their homes," Folger said. "My deputies will check your property daily while you're away. " In his weekly newsletter to Lincoln countians, Folger also emphasized his department's crackdown on the riding of four-wheelers and dirt bikes on public highways.

Summer is almost here. And for many people, summer is synonymous with "vacation. " If you have children or grandchildren, they're most likely on vacation from school, and if you've got the time and motivation, you may take a family vacation over the next few months. But there's one part of your life that should never go on vacation - and that's your investment portfolio. How can you keep your investments working for you in all seasons? Here are a few suggestions to consider: Don't stop investing If you want your investment dollars to continue working, you can't pull them out of the "work force.

Now that the year is almost over, you may want to explore some last-minute steps you can take to potentially boost your financial fortunes and improve your tax returns for 2010. And one good place to look is your 401(k). Your 401(k) is a great retirement savings vehicle. You typically fund your plan with pretax dollars, so the more you put in, the lower your taxable income. Plus, your earnings can grow on a tax-deferred basis, which means your money can grow faster than if it were placed in an investment on which you paid taxes every year.

Steve Becker of Danville and his wife, Mimi, have three kids in college, which can put a strain on any family's budget. But Becker says he and his wife are getting their own "personal stimulus package" by the beginning of summer. Two of their children are graduating this spring, leaving only one, a freshman, still in college. So the Beckers feel they now have a little more room in their budget to pay for their vacation plans. "We are taking a trip overseas, and we are able to do so by taking advantage of some very big bargains and by budgeting carefully," Becker said.

LEXINGTON - Michael Aitcheson isn't used to Christmas break in Kentucky. Aitcheson, a senior offensive lineman from Miami, won't mind spending the holidays on campus this year as the Wildcats prepare for the postseason for the first time since 1999. "It's a great feeling," said Aitcheson, one of 16 seniors who will be honored prior to the Cats' home finale against Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium. "The last couple of years, we've been talking about what we're going to do when we go home for our Christmas vacation.