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Madison County Reports 18 New COVID-19 Cases on Friday Governor Andy Beshear announced 531 new cases of COVID-19 during his update on Friday. He also announced eight new deaths in Kentucky. At least 21,605 Kentuckians have contracted the virus. The death toll is now at 653. Eight eastern Kentucky counties are now reporting more…
Hazard Schools Reopen Later Hazard Independent Schools released a statement saying they will be delaying the start day for school this fall.The board met and decided to push the start date for students until Monday, August 24 due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in the county. There will be a Facebook Live meeting…
Daniel Boone Festival Cancelled The Daniel Boone Festival Committee decided to cancel the 2020 festival that was supposed to take place October 4-10 in Barbourville.In a statement, the committee said, “Putting on a festival of this size is a huge responsibility but pales in comparison to the responsibility we have of ensuring the festival…
Education Commissioner Awarded Contract Kentucky’s new education commissioner, Jason Glass, was given a four-year contract with an annual salary of $260,000 by the Board of Education.Glass’s contract begins Sept. 14. The Brandenburg, Kentucky, native has been superintendent of Colorado’s second largest school district, Jeffco Public Schools in the metro Denver area, since 2017.He will…
Statue Stays County officials in western Kentucky have decided to keep a century-old Confederate statue at the community’s courthouse.The Calloway County Fiscal Court voted unanimously Wednesday morning to leave the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee where it stands, The Paducah Sun reported.The decision came despite calls over the last six weeks for…
Mountain Heritage Festival Cancelled 2020 would have marked the 38th year of the Mountain Heritage Festival in Whitesburg.The board of the festival met for months thinking of ways they could still hold the festival while not contributing to the spread of COVID 19.“But, there was no feasible way to do it. We talked about…
Pikeville Restaurant Closes A restaurant in Pikeville will shut down operations for the foreseeable future Friday night.In a post on their Facebook page early Thursday morning, officials with the Golden Corral location on Cassidy Boulevard said the COVID-19 outbreak has taken a toll on business, leading to the closing.Restaurants are still operating on a…
Kentucky Wildlands Initiative Congressman Hal Rogers announced $250,000 in grant funding from the Economic Development Administration on Thursday.The money will go to Eastern Kentucky PRIDE who will use it for the new Kentucky Wildlands initiative, designed to promote tourism in Eastern and Southern Kentucky.The project will help market the region, highlighting natural assets and…
Transportation Issues The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is seeking public feedback as part of a study on transportation issues in Mayfield.The study will look at safety and congestion issues in the western Kentucky city, according to a statement from the Transportation Cabinet.The goal is to identify short-term enhancements and long-term projects for future planning, said…
Laurel County Public Schools Reopening Plan Laurel County Public Schools have unveiled a plan for reopening.They are planning on allowing for both in-person attendance and instruction from home while also outlining a number of precautions schools will be taking to ensure safety.These guidelines include daily temperature checks, social distancing practices and buses being sanitized…