Local News
Berea schools closed because of illness
County schools remain open
Illness has shut down Berea Independent Schools.
At all three schools — Berea Community Elementary School, Berea Community Middle School and Berea Community High School — students were sent home Monday and classes were canceled for the remainder of the week.
“It was determined that after 12 percent of our population were absent on Friday and 19 percent of our student population absent (Monday) we should close for the remainder of the week,” said Donna Lovell, director of pupil personnel for Berea Community School.
There also was an increase in the number of staff members who were absent because of illness, Lovell said.
A notice on the district Web site states, “Berea Independent Schools will be closed Tuesday October 20th through Friday October 23rd due to illness. Students will return to school on Monday October 26th.”
“Our hope is that the cancellation of school will allow for the students and staff who are ill to recover and perhaps prevent additional students and staff from becoming ill,” Lovell said.
The closure of Berea Independent Schools sparked a flood of calls to Madison County Schools.
“We are getting a lot of phone calls at the office, just people inquiring if we are closing,” said Erin Stewart, community education director for Madison County Schools. “We are just letting people know that at this time we don’t have any plans of closing unless our numbers drop and we don’t foresee that at this time.”
Although still open, Madison County Schools are keeping an eye on the attendance levels.
“Anything below 90 percent, we start taking a look at our options,” Stewart said. “We are not at that level right now. (Monday), I believe we are at a little above 91 percent.”
Also on Monday, the Madison County Health Department issued a press release detailing a plan for schools to receive H1N1 (swine flu) vaccinations.
The Madison County Health Department, along with Madison County Schools and Berea Independent Schools, met on Friday and decided to begin sending home packets this week with information on how students can get a flu shot at school beginning the first week of November.
Children with special health care needs will be given priority in receiving the vaccine, the press release said.
All students will need parental permission to be vaccinated.
Students also can receive the vaccine at Saturday clinics. Those clinic dates will be announced as soon as the health department knows more about the vaccine supply.
Tim Mandell can be reached at tmandell@richmondregister.com or 623-1669 ext. 6696.
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Berea men arrested for robbery
Berea police arrested two men in connection with a March 8 robbery at a check-cashing business, a spokesman said Monday.
Shawn Burns, 32, was charged with first-degree robbery and misdemeanor receiving stolen property, while Bradley Lamb, 21, was charged with complicity to first-degree robbery and misdemeanor receiving stolen property, said Capt. Ken Clark, Berea Police Department spokesman. -
City seeks proposals for Gibson Bay Cafe
The operation lease for Gibson Bay Cafe expires at the end of May, and the City of Richmond will be accepting bids for the operation of the restaurant from the public until Friday, March 26.
Gibson Bay Cafe, which is located at Lake Reba Recreational Complex on the Gibson Bay Golf Course, is owned by city commissioner Bill Strong and his wife Jeanie Strong. -
Reports of home burglaries keep Richmond police busy
The new owner of a mobile home on Bradbury Pointe reported to Richmond police Friday that appliances had been stolen from the home.
A stainless steel refrigerator, a white stove, a white microwave and a three-ton Trane heating and air conditioning unit were discovered to be missing from the home on March 7, said Chief Larry Brock. -
Parents upset about test scores, deficiencies
The frustration was evident in the voices of a number of Berea Community School parents who spent more than an hour Monday night addressing the Berea Independent Board of Education.
The parents spent most of the evening talking directly to middle school/high school principal John Masters about a lack of communication with school personnel and asking for answers about how the district intends to correct a number of deficiencies identified by the state in a December audit. -
Time to stand up, be counted
Madison County households will be receiving questionnaires in the mail today through Wednesday from the U.S. Census Bureau which is carrying out it constitutional mandate to count all U.S. citizens every 10 years.
Letters were mailed last week advising household to be watching for the census questionnaire, according to J.C. Barbour, the bureau’s media specialist for Kentucky. -
‘Sunshine Boys’ dedicated to Kerby’s memory
The late Dr. Clifford Kerby, former mayor of Berea, was a longtime supporter and often an actor in community theater.
One of his favorite plays, in which he played one of the two lead roles for the old Berea Community Theater back in 1977, was “The Sunshine Boys,” said his wife Diane. -
Two chances to meet, hear candidates
“You can’t tell the players without a program,” vendors at old minor league baseball games used to yell.
With so many local candidates in the running for election this year, voters may know too little about them to make an informed choice, some observers have remarked.
However, two Madison County organizations have scheduled events for Thursday evening to help clarify who the candidates are and what they stand for. -
Local group to meet on skate park on Tuesday
A local group seeking to build a public skateboard park in Richmond will conduct a public meeting next week in downtown Richmond.
Skate Richmond, KY is a non-profit group founded in 2007, according to group member and local attorney Wesley Browne, and is interested in constructing a public skateboard park in downtown Richmond. -
Lots of ‘energy’ at expo Saturday
Gloomy weather and college basketball did not keep people away from Saturday’s Madison County Home Energy Expo at the Perkins Building on Eastern Kentucky University’s campus.
The second-annual event, hosted by Madison County’s University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension office, moved to the EKU campus this year after last year’s event was conducted at Glenn Marshall Elementary School. -
Kentucky Blood Center collection Tuesday in Berea
Kentucky Blood Center will conduct a blood drive on Tuesday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Union Church in the Community Room, 200 Prospect St., Berea.
Every volunteer who presents to donate blood with the Kentucky Blood Center (KBC) will have a chance to win a trip to the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four games. One winner will receive a package for two that includes hotel stay April 2-6 and tickets to the Final Four (April 3) and Championship Games (April 5) in Indianapolis. The drawing will be conducted on April 1. - More Local News Headlines
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Berea men arrested for robbery
