Camp Promise ‘Fishing Day’ is May 3

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These photos were taken at last year’s Camp Promise’s Fishing Day.

May 1, 2008

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Anonymous The Commonwealth Journal Thu May 01, 2008, 07:59 AM EDT

Children and teens, who are grieving the loss of a special person or loved one or are affected by someone who is living with cancer, are invited to a day of fishing and outdoor fun with their families.

Youth, ages 6 to 18, are invited to a free Camp Promise Family Fishing Day on Saturday, May 3, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on a farm in northern Pulaski County.

Fishing, games, crafts and other fun activities and a cookout for youth and their families will provide an opportunity to “destress,” share feelings – if desired – and get support from others who understand the grief experience.

Children and teens experience grief differently from adults and often don’t know others their age who are grieving and, therefore, feel completely alone in their grief.

The loss of an important person in their life might be as a result from illness, accident, suicide, incarceration, permanent termination of custodial rights or loss of their home due to fire.

Camp Promise aims to bring youth and families together for a day of support, acceptance, awareness, fun, relaxation and remembrance.

Parents or other family members are encouraged to participate with the youth, but adult participation is not required for youth to attend.

Hospice of Lake Cumberland, which hosts Camp Promise, has teamed up with the American Cancer Society and the Pulaski County schools to provide an exciting day outdoors for youth and their families.

Participants will have a wide variety of activities in which they may choose to participate including fishing in a stocked pond, planting in a flower pot and decorating the pot, limbo and parachute games, coloring sand and making journals.

Each youth participant will also receive a special friend in the form of a stuffed animal with a hand-made blanket and message of support and comfort. Hospice social workers, support staff, Hospice volunteers and American Cancer Society volunteers provide staffing for the camp.

Youth may bring fishing poles and life jackets if they have them, but equipment will be provided for those who do not have them. Fishing will be on private property so a fishing license is not required.

Transportation to and from the farm will be provided by bus from the parking lot of Hospice of Lake Cumberland, 100 Parkway Drive, Somerset, just off the Parkway (west) and Tiger’s Way, next to the Pulaski County Cooperative Extension building.

Advance registration is free, but required. Applications are available by contacting Hospice of Lake Cumberland at 606-679-4389 or 800-937-9598 or the American Cancer Society at 606-678-0203. Same-day registration is available if a phone reservation is made in advance and the parent or legal guardian will be present to sign permission forms the day of the camp.

Camp Promise is made possible through generous donations made by individuals to Hospice of Lake Cumberland. Hospice of Lake Cumberland is a non-profit organization which serves Pulaski, Wayne, McCreary, Russell, Casey, Clinton and Cumberland counties.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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