Madison County Schools’ diesel powered buses will soon emit fewer pollutants, thanks to a grant of nearly $40,000 from the Kentucky Division of Air Quality.
The money will be used to purchase devises that will oxidize pollutants in the diesel engines’ exhaust systems, Superintendent Tommy Floyd told the board of education Thursday.
The grant application was written by Skip Benton, the district’s transportation director, and Erin Stewart, community education director, Floyd said.
“When they learned the grant was available, they brought the application to me,” he said.
The oxidation devices will be attached to bus exhaust systems by district personnel, Stewart said.
By redesigning routes to eliminate duplication and reducing the idling of engines, the districts’ buses consumed 24,000 fewer gallons of fuel in the past year, Floyd said.
The redesigned routes include stopping buses “at safe points” to transfer students so two buses would not run the same route, the superintendent said.
The buses traveled 157,000 fewer miles because of the route redesign, he said.
Construction update
Denark Construction, the contractor for Madison Southern High School expansion and renovation, is making every effort to have the building ready by the delayed school opening date of Aug. 24, architect Tony Thomas told the board.
Lights are in use to allow some work to take place after dark, he said.
The building’s new entrance was never planned to be completed before the school year began, Thomas said, but the new classrooms should be ready.
The board has delayed the opening of school from Aug. 12 to Aug. 24 because rainy weather in the spring delayed work on the high school in Berea.
Work is progressing well on the B. Michael Caudill Middle, said Thomas, who represents the architectural firm of Clotfelter-Samokar.
“With the extra days they have now, the contractor should have no problem getting the school ready,” he said.
Work to replace the roof on Clark-Moores Middle School in Richmond also should be completed before Aug. 24, the architect said.
Truancy program
Staff from the Bellevue Center reported on the district’s truancy intervention program.
The program has a 68-percent success rate, said John Fields, who directs the alternative programs housed at Bellevue. Only 13 percent of the truancy program’s cases were labeled unsuccessful. Another 19 percent of cases were closed for other reasons, including students moving out of the district.
Other business
The board approved student handbooks submitted by each schools’ site-based council.
Board member John Lackey said he was hesitant to vote approval because he had not had time to read the handbooks, which include school dress codes.
While most of the handbooks were given to board members in electronic form one week before the meeting, some were not, Lackey said. Even one week was not sufficient time to read the voluminous documents, he said.
Floyd said the handbooks were the purview of school councils, and most changes were made to bring them into conformity with new state and school-board policies.
The board approved two out-of-state school organization trips over Lackey’s objections.
The archery teams from Glenn Marshall Elementary and Madison Southern High School will participate a world championship in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 7-11.
Lackey said he doubted the educational value of such a trip and whether it met state accountability standards.
“This sounds like fluff,” Lackey said. “I think its more about filling hotel rooms in Orlando and selling tickets to Disney World.”
He also questioned the trip’s cost, estimated at $12,000 to $15,000.
Archery team coaches, Kendra Sewell of Glenn Marshall, and Doug Carter of MSHS, said most of the expense would be paid with money generated by fundraising projects and not be a burden to students’ families.
Floyd and the coaches said teachers and principals have reported improved academic performance and fewer behavior problems from archery team members.
Members of Madison Southern’s archery team participate in no other sports, Carter said.
Lackey also was the lone dissenter as the board gave approval for the Madison Central girls’ volleyball team to participate in Johnson City, Tenn., tournament Sept. 25-28 and tour the campus of East Tennessee State University.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.
Local News
Schools get grant to reduce bus emissions
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Friday at library : Lecturer to portray founder of Berea
John G. Fee, abolitionist and founder of both Berea and Berea College, will be portrayed Friday night by performer Obadiah Ewing-Roush as part of Kentucky Humanities Council Chautauqua performance series at the Madison County Public Library. There is no charge to attend the 7 p.m. event.
As the son of a slave-holding father, Fee witnessed firsthand the benefits of having slaves and the profits that could be made from their labor. When he graduated from college and enrolled in Lane Theological Seminary, he began to understand the inherent wrong and destructiveness of slavery. -
Berea woman dies Tuesday in Laurel County crash
A Berea woman, Tommie Johnson, 60, died Tuesday evening in a Laurel County crash, according to the the Laurel Sheriff’s Office.
The accident took place about 7 p.m. at the junction of Maple Grove Road and KY 363 south of London, as Johnson was attempting to turn onto the state highway.
Laurel County Chief Deputy Eddy Sizemore said Johnson’s Chevrolet Cavalier pulled out in front of a Dodge Durango driven by Charles Joseph, 19, that was traveling south on KY 363.
After being extricated from her vehicle, Johnson was transported to St. Joseph-London hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Joseph also was transported to the hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries, according to the accident report. -
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Ian Rosser, an Eastern Kentucky University student from Lexington, clears snow from his car parked on campus Wednesday
morning after about an inch of snow fell in Richmond. Temperatures are forcast to be in the upper 40s today. Kentucky has seen a lot of rain in the past few months, as was predicted by the Farmer's Almanac, but very little snow has fallen. -
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The Appalachian Foothills Therapeutic Equestrian Center will be hosting two, one-day volunteer training workshops for those interested in helping others with special needs.
The volunteer orientation days will be Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., but only one day of training is required, according to Mark Martin who co-owns Appalachian Foothills Therapeutic Equestrian Center (AFTEC) with his wife Cheryl.
The all-volunteer organization, which is based in Jackson County, uses horses to help humans deal with physical and emotional challenges. -
Man accused of holding samurai sword to girlfriend’s throat
A Madison grand jury will hear the case of a man accused of threatening to cut his girlfriend’s head off, and attacking her father with a samurai sword.
Russell M. Masters, 42, of Richmond, is charged with two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, which is a Class D felony, and fourth-degree assault (domestic violence with minor injury) and resisting arrest, which both are Class A misdemeanors. Masters could receive one to five years in prison on each wanton endangerment charge, and the misdemeanors both carry a maximum sentence of one year in jail. -
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Richmond police have made an arrest in connection with property stolen from two homes last fall.
A woman reported to police Monday that she had discovered several items that were missing from her home on South Killarney Drive and her grandmother’s home on Raintree Drive, according to Richmond Police Chief Larry Brock. The items were a set of gold hoop earrings, a white Sony Vaio laptop, a yellow gold heart pendant, a gold tennis bracelet and a ladies’ wedding band with a diamond setting.
The complainant said the belongings had gone missing sometime between August and October. -
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Several people operating businesses along a section of US 25 gave comments Tuesday to the Berea City Council, asking them reconsider plans to widen the road to five lanes.
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The attorney for a man accused of stealing copper from a handful of electric poles questioned his identification as the same person who took copper from 32 poles two days earlier.
Public defender Meena Mohanty questioned Richmond police officer Nicholas Duvall during a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Madison District Court. Her client, Jeffrey W. Nester, 46, of Fourth Street, was arrested in connection with a Jan. 23 copper theft. He is charged with second-degree criminal mischief, theft by unlawful taking, possession of burglary tools and failure to notify address change to the Department of Transportation. These charges are all misdemeanors that, at most, carry a sentence of one year in prison. -
Judge weighs constitutionality of legislative redistricting
Kentucky’s deadline for filing to run for legislative seats was in flux on Monday because a judge did not immediately rule on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of newly redrawn district boundaries.
Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd said he expects to enter a ruling in the case by mid-week.
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Couple recovering from injuries suffered in weekend house fire
A couple was hospitalized after their home was set ablaze Sunday by a spark from a cigar, according to a county fire official.
County Fire Chief Jim Cox said the city and county fire departments were called to the home at 111 Concord Road in the early afternoon. Waco Volunteer Fire Department and the Richmond Fire Department also responded.
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