Mr. Mitchell

R. B. Mitchell, 82, of Maysville Road, Carlisle, died Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009, at his residence.
He was born in Fleming County, April 27, 1927, to the late Robert and Blanche Hopkins Mitchell.
Mr. Mitchell was a retired carpenter and construction company employee and a United States Korean Conflict Army veteran.
Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by seven brothers, Clinton Mitchell, Thomas Mitchell, Hubert Mitchell, Harlan Mitchell, Jimmy Mitchell, Richard Mitchell and Clifton Mitchell; and four sisters, Beulah Blythe, Louise Mingee, Ruth Dailey and Irene Mitchell.

He is survived by his wife, Ida White Mitchell; two sons, R. B. (Wendy) Mitchell Jr. and William (Melissa) Mitchell, both of Robertson County; four daughters, Nancy (Jerry) Allison of Cynthiana, Jo Ann (Elza) Dale of Nicholas County, Connie (Eddie) Zornes of Nicholas County and Nellie Rankin of Robertson County; a brother, Billy Wayne Mitchell of Maysville; two sisters, Jean Bradford and Geraldine Shepherd, both of Maysville; 10 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and a special pet and friend, Gabby.
Services will be conducted at 1 p.m., today at the Robertson County Funeral Home by Rev. Peter Stephens.
Visitation was Thursday evening.
Burial will be in the Piqua Cemetery. Active pallbearers will be Joe Jolly, Mike Warner, Larry Curtsinger, John Wagoner, Frankie Hilander and Ricky Kitchen.
Grandchildren and great-grandchildren will serve as honorary pallbearers.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Hope.
Condolences may be sent to www.robertsoncountyfuneralhome.net.

Crain at Climate Change meeting

By Lauralee Crain

Senior at Transylvania University

21 years old

Daughter of Eugene and Sandy Crain.

“We do note inherit the Earth from our grandparents, we borrow it from out grandchildren.”

In October, I received a phone call with the long awaited news that I had been chosen to be a United Nations delegate for the Sierra Student Coalition (the student branch of the Sierra Club) at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen. All at once, I realized that I would be a part of the world negotiations to formulate a bold and just climate treaty.

I found all of this out only a couple months ago, but my roots in being a steward of God for the Earth began long before. My father, a sure tree lover, planted nearly all of the trees you can see on the fence line on the bypass when he was a teenager. My mother, who learned from her father, still picks up every stray and starving pet she comes across. From both sets of my grandparents, I learned the importance, beauty and deliciousness of cultivation done right by growing gardens and orchards.

It was not until I was 19 that I began applying my duty to take care of my environment, when I joined the Transylvania Environmental Rights and Responsibilities Alliance. Since then I have been involved with environmental activism and lobbying on the state and national level, and now with my attendance to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change I am involved on the global level.

I imagine by now that most people from home have heard something about the climate talks going on in Copenhagen, but the issues are complex and often hard to delve into. The first global recognition and conference about climate change began in the 1970s. The climate change issue has continued since then, but the debate is over. The science has spoken for itself. This last week, the US Environmental Protection Agency finally announced that carbon dioxide is a pollutant, is harmful to human health, and must be regulated. Unless an international climate treaty can be produced, our lives as we know it will begin to change. Unfortunately, the developing countries, generally the third world countries, are feeling the initial brunt of climate change in events such as floods, droughts, and pollution.

In this movement, we are calling for equity. In the United States, people suffer from the use of fossil-fuels everyday. Unfortunately, it is the minorities and low-income areas that are affected the most by this, as we can see in our very near neighboring coal fields. The coal areas of the state are also the poorest regions. At one time, America was leading the world in science and technology developments. My generation has seen America in a recession for half of our lives. However, the recession is our great opportunity to create economic and job opportunity while simultaneously solving our energy crisis. It is not a question of environment versus economy, but resourcefulness versus business as usual.

What can you do? There are a number of really simple things you can do to begin living greener. On the local level, you can be a good neighbor. Eat from your own garden or buy vegetables from our local farmers. Compost your organic waste to use in your gardens as fertilizer. On the state and national level, call your representative and senators and tell them to keep sustainability and green economy in mind when voting. It is important that Kentucky is not left behind in green economy initiatives because of our dependence on a nonrenewable resource. A diversity of energy and economic sources is crucial. Further, we cannot move forward with a global climate treaty without ratification of the treaty by Congress.

My time here in Copenhagen at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change will include a visit from President Obama, meeting with United States delegates and Cabinet Secretaries, connecting with international youth organizations (including China), and writing up personal accounts of my own experience here. You can follow my work and my 18-person delegation at sscinternational.org. I appreciate all of the support I have received from home and was delighted to see the article about elementary students from Hillsboro starting a community garden. Efforts like this are essential to the bigger goals in achieving a more sustainable world.

Lucas Cannon comes home! A stop at the high school allowed friends to greet the courageous young man whose story has captivated Fleming County.

New business opens

On Wednesday, December 9, 2009, the Fleming County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony for Premier Auto Care, LLC.

Located at 138 Taylor Mill Road in Flemingsburg, Premier Auto Care specializes in service, including major and minor repairs on both foreign and domestic cars and trucks. They also have computer diagnostic capabilities. Their hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM until 5:30 PM and Saturday from 8:00 AM until 12:00 PM. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, you can call Premier Auto Care at 849-AUTO (2886).

Pictured, L - R: Fleming County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Crystal Ruark, Chamber Directors Tiffany Reeder and Donna Bumgardner, Fleming County Judge Executive Larry Foxworthy, Premier Auto Care owners and staff Kara Wiley, Todd Wiley, and Mike Florence, and Chamber Directors Sue Holt, Connie Crain, Dina Gooding, and Dana Clark. Photo by Debbie Richardson.

Thomas G. Fern to Serve as State Director for Rural Development in Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky., Dec. 1, 2009– The Obama Administration has announced that Thomas G. Fern will return to the position of Kentucky State Director for Rural Development at the USDA. Fern previously served as State Director from 1993-2001.

“Thomas Fern will be an important advocate on behalf of rural communities throughout the state and will help administer the valuable programs and services provided by USDA that enhance the economic success of Kentucky’s residents and communities,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.

Fern began his career in USDA more than four decades ago, after graduating from Morehead State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in General Agriculture, Economics and Sociology.

“I grew up in a rural community and I’m personally familiar with the needs of rural Kentuckians,” said Fern. “To have the opportunity to return as state director for an agency that has so many programs structured for enhancing their quality of life is an honor.”

Fern joined USDA in 1965 and worked his way up the ranks, starting out as an Agriculture Management Specialist, County Supervisor, in Vanceburg. He held this position until he was promoted to District Director of the Farmers Home Administration in Morehead in 1978. He remained there until his first appointment as State Director during the Clinton Administration. Fern also served as the director of advertising and marketing for the Kentucky Tourism Development Cabinet, Department of Parks, from 2001-2003.

Full details are in the Gazette print edition

PFC Hurst

PFC Dustin Lee Hurst, 21, passed away Sunday evening. PFC Hurst was a member of the 299^th Chemical Co., Army National Guard, Maysville, Ky. He was born in Morehead on May 25, 1988. His parents are Jimmy Hurst, Hillsboro, and Ruby Rigdon Applegate of Tollesboro.

PFC Rigdon is survived by one son, Justin Lee Hurst of Hillsboro; one stepdaughter, Kaylee Tackett; three sisters, Amanda (Josh) Wilson, Tollesboro, Natasha Applegate, Ewing, and Rachel Applegate, Ewing; and by three brothers, Timothy Forest Hurst, Hillsboro, Christopher (Kim) Hurst, Flemingsburg, and Billy Hamilton, Tollesboro.

He is also survived by maternal grandparents Lonnie and Bonnie Rigdon, Hillsboro, and paternal grandmother Clara Black, Hillsboro.

Funeral services will be 11 A.M. Friday, Dec. 11, at the Boone-Nickell Funeral Home with Rev. Harley Sexton officiating. Burial will be in the Rigdon Christian Cemetery with full military honors.

Visitation at Boone-Nickell Funeral Home after 6 P.M. on Thursday.

State highway crews ready for snow season!

Priority routes established

FLEMINGSBURG, Ky. – Winter’s officially here, at least for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Department of Highways District 9!

Highway crews logged their first miles Dec. 5-7 on snow-covered roadways, treating them with nearly 400 tons of salt to clear lanes.

Throughout the Transportation Cabinet’s “snow season,” typically November to March, district highway crews remain at the ready – prepared to keep about 2,000 miles of state roads in Bath, Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Fleming, Greenup, Lewis, Mason, Nicholas and Rowan counties passable during inclement weather.

To accomplish that mission, crews plow and treat roads using a priority system based on the amount and nature of traffic within each individual county. Priority A routes include major through routes and are those most heavily traveled. Priority B routes include other important, but lesser traveled, state routes. Other roads fall into Priority C.

While it’s the Transportation Cabinet’s goal to treat all routes within eight hours of a routine winter storm event, higher priority routes are treated within a one- to four-hour turnaround time.

In Fleming County, Priority A routes include US 68, KY 11, KY 32 east of Elizaville, KY 32X (Flemingsburg Bypass) and KY 165. Priority B routes are KY 32, KY 57, KY 170, KY 111, KY 559, and portions of KY 344 and KY 158. Other routes are Priority C.

“The Transportation Cabinet recognizes how important roadway conditions are to Kentucky motorists,” said Randy Stull, Project Delivery and Preservation Branch I manager. “During a winter storm, our highway crews often spend long hours away from home to keep roadways clear and safe for the traveling public. We appreciate their service.”

More detailed information about the Department of Highways’ snow and ice response plans, including maps of priority routes in each county, is available on District 9’s web site at www.transportation.ky.gov/d9/ by clicking the “District Snow Operations!” link.

Throughout “snow season,” Transportation Cabinet response teams serve weekly on-call rotations. The teams monitor weather reports when snow is in the forecast and determine when to activate the cabinet’s arsenal of snow and ice equipment across the state, including more than 1,000 snow plows.

In District 9, more than 100 crew members operating 75 snow plows – plus 10 contract plows and crews – are involved with snow removal operations. And, approximately 23,180 tons of salt are currently stockpiled to battle winter precipitation. Crews work around the clock until storms pass to keep roadways in the best possible condition.

Motorists are reminded to give a wide berth to plows, salt trucks and other snow-clearing heavy equipment. To be effective in dispersing de-icing material, trucks tend to travel at a slower speed. Also, snow plows may create a snow cloud which can cause a white out or zero visibility condition, so keep a safe distance away from the trucks.