While many people read for fun, everyone needs to read to be successful in today’s economy, said Ron Wolfe, co-chair of Madison County Project Read’s Read-a-Thon conducted held Saturday at Richmond City Hall.
Even with the emphasis on education in Madison County, home to two institutions of higher learning, “We still have hundreds of people who read very poorly if at all,” Wolfe said.
Project Read offers tutoring in math, reading and English as a second language for individuals 16 and older, he said. “The annual Read-a-Thon is held to make people aware of the services we offer and to recruit tutors.”
The goal of Project Read’s tutoring is to help students qualify for the General Education Diploma (GED), Wolfe said.
In recent years, the Read-a-Thon was conducted in the Richmond Mall, but this year the event was moved to Richmond City Hall to facilitate video taping, Wolfe said.
The Read-a-Thon tape will be shown on Adelphia Cable Channel 12 for the first time March 3. “We hope to have it shown several other times as well,” he said.
Readers came from all parts of Madison County and included Richmond Mayor Connie Lawson, Berea Mayor Steve Connelly and Eastern Kentucky University President Joanne Glasser.
A group of third-graders from Model Laboratory School read compositions they wrote as if they had been passengers of the ill-fated Titanic, the supposedly “unsinkable” ship that went down in the chilly waters of the Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg in April 1912.
The children imagined themselves as passengers in various classes aboard the ship, from rich to poor.
While describing the terror and tragedy that occurred all around them, the students wrote scripts with happy endings for their families.
All described how Titanic crewmen “shoved” or “forced” their fathers onto lifeboats with their wives and children despite the captain’s orders that only women and children be allowed on the lifeboats.
With TDS Restaurants, owner of the Richmond McDonald’s franchise as its sponsor, the Read-a-Thon’s list of more than 70 readers included Ronald McDonald.
While the young school children were still present, Ronald read “Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car.”
“This is a story that I enjoyed when I was just a little clown,” he said.
Some seventh-graders from Madison Middle School read papers they had written for a statewide soil conservation essay contest.
“We must conserve the rich soil that makes the grass in Kentucky so green,” one student wrote. “It’s so green it’s called bluegrass.”
During the Read-a-Thon, Project Read recognized its longest-serving board member, retired EKU English professor Dr. Martha Conaway. She also took her turn reading.
For details about Project Read’s tutoring services or becoming a tutor, call 623-4905.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.
Local News
Read-a-thon focuses on local literacy needs
- Local News
-
-
‘She wasn’t just a teacher’ : Lambert retires after 43 years at Berea
Scroll to the bottom of the story to read "Love for Lambert: Berea graduates share memories of their teacher," as well as a list of other Berea retirees this year.
Writer’s Note: Brenda Lambert is the reason I write articles today (Class of 2000).
Years ago, a little blonde-haired girl from Rockcastle County gathered her friends to “play school” in a 10-by-10 foot playhouse her father built.
Even at 12 years old, Brenda Lambert knew she wanted to be a teacher one day.
“I always felt like an old person trapped in a young person's body,” said Lambert, who is retiring after 43 years of service to Berea Community School. -
Special Olympics return for 18th year at EKU
Next weekend, the Special Olympics Kentucky State Summer Games return to Eastern Kentucky University campus. This is the 18th consecutive year EKU has hosted the event.
The games will be Friday through June 2. About 1,300 athletes will compete this year. -
Assault charges reduced, dismissed by grand jury
Two men arrested in connection with serious assaults had their charges reduced, and in one case dismissed, by a Madison grand jury.
Jerry Wayne Edington, 34, of Berea Road, was charged Jan. 19 with second-degree assault after an altercation at the Blue Moon bar on East Irvine Street, according to a Richmond police report. -
Dump of the Day
The Dump of the Day is a recurring series the newspaper publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Page A7 in Sunday's paper to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.
-
Paradise Cove open through Labor Day
Opening day of Paradise Cove Family Aquatic Center coincided with a spike in temperatures Friday which reached 90 degrees. The facility, located in Richmond’s Lake Reba Park, will be open through Sept. 3. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
-
Dump of the Day
An old mattress, a car seat and other debris sit Friday afternoon on North Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets where it was first spotted Thursday. The “Dump of the Day” is a recurring series the Richmond Register publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Sunday’s Richmond Register to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.
-
Undefeated academic team brings pride to Madison Middle School
Madison Middle School 6th and 7th grade academic teams have been undefeated for the last two years.
The 8th grade team also has done well, having some students qualify to compete at the state level. -
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
-
Man is indicted on additional sex charge involving teen in 1998
A man already accused of sex abuse in November 2011 has been indicted on a charge of first-degree rape involving a child in 1998.
Charles W. Peyton, 63, of East Irvine Street, was indicted Wednesday by a Madison grand jury. He used “forcible compulsion” to have sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl between March 1 and May 1 in 1998, according to the indictment. -
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
Officers responded to a call in the 1000 block of Scaffold Cane Road about a man trying to break into a home, according to a release from BPD Public Information Officer Jake Reed. - More Local News Headlines
-
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
