Fresh off a spate of recent winter-weather school cancellations, students across Pulaski County will be in class on Monday, Feb. 16, rather than at home in observance of the Presidents Day holiday.
That in mind, The Center for Rural Development is utilizing its in-house technology to allow the more than 8,000 students in the Pulaski County School System’s 14 schools to view online presentations on the life of Kentucky native Abraham Lincoln on the holiday officially recognizing his and George Washington’s February birthdays.
The effort is an extension of The Center’s initiative to bring Lincoln’s 200th birthday celebration to students in each of the 42 Southern and Eastern Kentucky counties in its primary service area through on-site presentations and dramatic performances developed by its Arts and Culture Outreach Program. “Since Pulaski County Schools will be in session on Presidents Day, we felt it very appropriate to provide teachers the opportunity to show their students portions of the Lincoln Bicentennial presentations The Center has taken across our region this month,” Lonnie Lawson, president and CEO of The Center, said.
“We’re proud to bring these living history lessons to students in such a way that truly is next best thing to being there in person,” Lawson said.
Mardi Montgomery, director of programs for the Pulaski County School System, said The Center’s efforts are providing Kentucky’s 14th-largest school system the opportunity to take learning to “the next level.”
“As a school district, we appreciate The Center for Rural Development’s support and willingness to go the extra mile with hands-on human capital and commitment to provide learning experiences with cutting-edge technology for our community in a variety of settings,” Montgomery said.
Using Mediasite—which records and synchronizes video and digital presentations for online distribution and viewing—The Center captured educational multimediapresentations by Steven Wilson, assistant director and curator of the Abraham Lincoln Library & Museum at Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) in Harrogate, Tn., and Stephen Brown, education specialist with the National Park Service’s Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Ky.
On Friday, The Center added its latest entry to this online catalog with a one-of-a-kind multimedia presentation by Jim Sayre, a Lawrenceburg, Ky. resident who portrays Lincoln as part of the Kentucky Humanities Council's Kentucky Chautauqua touring group.
Sayre delivers his presentation—“A Visit with President Lincoln”—as if he were Lincoln, recalling his Kentucky childhood all the way to the fateful evening Lincoln was assassinated while viewing a play in Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C.
Mediasite combines Sayre’s presentation with photos and images chronicling key stages of Lincoln’s life, including his career as a lawyer in Illinois, his presidential inauguration, and his famed Gettysburg Address.
Teachers and school administrators in Pulaski County and across Kentucky can access the Mediasite presentations during class Monday or any other time simply by opening a web link to an online Mediasite Presentation Catalog.
The school system, Montgomery said, is appreciative of The Center’s latest effort to use its technology to provide exciting new educational opportunities for students.
“Without reservation,” Montgomery said, “the Pulaski County School System is proud to call The Center for Rural Development a partner in success through numerous community outreach initiatives, and the fostering of lifelong learning and improved economic development with quality educational opportunities.”
The Center’s celebration will continue through February with its housing of the exclusive “Abraham Lincoln: Icon and Enigma” visual arts exhibit from the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum at Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) in Harrogate, Tn.
The exhibit, which combines authentic, traditional works from the 1800s with contemporary images of Lincoln painted in the 1970s by artist Harry Wood, may be viewed during normal business hours Monday through Friday, and during extended weekend hours when The Center is open for events.
The Center’s Lincoln Bicentennial presentations can be found by visiting www.centertech.com and clicking the links in the special Lincoln Bicentennial section on the homepage.
The Center for Rural Development, located in Somerset, Ky., provides economic and community development programs to residents in a 42-county service area of Southern and Eastern Kentucky, and is home to several statewide and national technology-based programs. For more information on programs available through The Center, visit www.centertech.com.
Local News
Related Photos
Center offering schools Presidents Day presentation
- Local News
-
-
Hal Rogers defends Somerset’s Streetscape project
-
Survey may attract commercial passenger service
-
Somerset on verge of becoming natural gas hub
It sounds like a Buck Rogers fiction series, but it’s true. The city of Somerset is about to become the energy hub of Kentucky, maybe even regionally or nationally.
Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler, gas company manager Dan Henderson and city engineer Reggie Chaney discussed the grandiose energy network this week with a reporter for the Commonwealth Journal. It’s more than a vision. City officials say it’s about to become reality. -
Old districts are back ... for now
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Such is the legislative redistricting debacle in Frankfort.
Judge Phillip Shepherd in Franklin Circuit Court on Tuesday tossed out the General Assembly’s controversial redistricting plans and reverted everything back to where it was before. -
Fast-moving blaze guts mobile home off Slate Branch Road
-
Big Bang Theory
Pulaski County is not at war. The booming you may hear at dusk is mock cannon fire to scare away birds.
Stuart Spillman, environmental director for the Lake Cumberland Health Department, said at least three cannons are on loan from the department to residents who want to scare away swarms of starlings and blackbirds settling in to roost.
He said a cannon is being used by a resident on Laura Lane off Ky. 39; another is in the Oak Hill Road area and a third is on Ashurst Street in the eastern part of Somerset.
Spillman said a timer on each cannon allows it to “fire” at whatever frequency is desired. The cannons must be used as the birds circle before going to roost. “After they settle in, nothing will chase them out,” Spillman said.
The Health Department doesn’t operate the cannons unless there is a specific complaint in an area where there are lots of birds, Spillman noted. He said so far this year the birds are not as bad as in the past. -
Boil water advisory is lifted countywide
The water controversy that Pulaski County has been boiling over — so to speak — for the last week is finally over.
At 10 minutes after noon Wednesday, the “boil water” advisory for the Western Pulaski Water District was lifted — almost a full week after the problems began around 1 p.m. last Thursday.
Prior to that, the Somerset Water Service — along with the other water providers in its system, including Science Hill Water, Southeastern Water, and Eubank Water — lifted their advisories, with Somerset on Saturday afternoon and the last, Southeastern, by Monday morning. Western Pulaski was the last in the system to complete sample testing for potential contaminants, due to not being able to access its Pikeville-based testing lab until Monday.
Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler thanked the public for its patience and understanding during the duration of the boil water advisory — put in place to keep citizens from drinking water that could have been contaminated after an accident last Thursday at the water plant site — and also thanked all the city employees for their hard work during this time.
“The boil water advisory went about as well as would be expected,” said Girdler.
-
SCS to host Medal of Honor recipient
The message is clear: There are heroes. Even here in our own hometowns.
That’s the idea organizers hope to get across Saturday night at Somerset Christian School, when Congressional Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Dakota Meter speaks to all who choose to attend.
For further questions, ticket purchases, and sponsorship opportunities please contact Susan Adams at (606) 875-0255. -
Newspaper veteran name Publisher of Commonwealth Journal
SOMERSET — A fourth generation newspaperman has been named publisher of the Commonwealth Journal.
Rob McCullough, 50, who started working in a newspaper mailroom when he was 15, officially assumes his duties today. He succeeds Jack McNeely who has accepted a position with the Daily Mountain Eagle in Jasper, Alabama.
-
Blakley receives worldwide honor
- More Local News Headlines
-
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
