Center offering schools Presidents Day presentation

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February 15, 2009

CJ Staff Report The Commonwealth Journal Sun Feb 15, 2009, 01:34 AM EST

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.

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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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