Pendleton County Fiscal Court meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., May 14, 2013.

Tentative agenda will go as follows: Call to order, prayer, pledge, approval of agenda, approval of minutes, presentation of treasure's report, award bids on blacktop, approve resolution and blacktop agreement with rural and municipal aid, discuss and possible award bids on Jagg and Hayes Station bridges, discuss of flush hydrants on county water lines, possible award of 911 console installation at dispatch bids, possible award of air condition installation in dispatch quotes, possible award of grounding installation at EOC/dispatch bid, possible award of purchase of large screen computer monitor quotes, possible award of fiber connections sole source, possible award of 911 dispatch camera and installation sole source bid, possible award of 911 radios installed at state price contract, approve 911 dispatch electrician bid, award ADF Grant application to City of Butler for cruiser, approve athletic park maintenance projects, approve Jimmy Roseberry to cemetery board, second reading of flood damage ordinance, approve jailer copier lease agreement, approve part-time employee at Animal Shelter (Taylor McClanahan), county road and LGEA public hearing, second reading of county budget for fiscal year 2013-2014, Rumpke Landfill update, transfers, pay bills, closing remarks by Judge Bertram/magistrate and adjourn.

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By Marla Toncray, The Ledger Independent

Company officials with The Old Pogue Distillery, LLC, announced the release of the first barrel aged whiskey distilled in Maysville in more than 70 years.

The limited quantity brown spirit will be available only at The Old Pogue Distillery in Maysville beginning at 1 p.m., on Wednesday, May 1. The release of Five Fathers Pure Malt Rye Whiskey, a barrel aged, 55 percent alcohol by volume (110 proof) whiskey, is the culmination of several years of planning by the Pogue family, and is the first barrel aged whiskey distilled and aged by one of Kentucky’s legendary bourbon whiskey families since before Prohibition.

The Department for Medicaid Services (DMS) is encouraging more than 3,300 eligible primary care providers to sign up now to receive enhanced Medicaid reimbursement rates for primary care services retroactive beginning Jan. 1, 2013. The enhanced payments are estimated to mean an additional $65 million per year statewide and are part of Affordable Health Care Act changes designed to ensure preventive services are easy for Medicaid recipients and others to access.

Nonpoint Source Pollution: According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS) results from land runoff, precipitation, atmospheric deposition, drainage, seepage or hydrological modification. The term "non-point source" is defined to mean any source of water pollution that does not meet the legal definition
of "point source" in section 502:(14) of the Clean Water Act.

"Point Source" pollution can be loosely defined as concentrated pollutants having originated from a pipe of some kind; usually an outlet pipe from an industrial source, but can also mean pollution coming from a ditch or other outlet with agricultural origins.

Pictured from left: Kurt Reiber, Freestore Foodbank; Don Fulford, Feeding America Kentucky's Heartland; Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes; Tamara Sandberg, Ky Association of Food Banks; Governor Steve Beshear; Cassia Herron, Community Farm Alliance; Representative Tom McKee; Tina Garland, Ky Farms to Schools; Fred Nesler, Ky Dept of Agriculture; Bill Wickliffe, Ky Dept of Agriculture; and Heather Hyden, Community Farm Alliance. Photo courtesy of Governor's Office.

Governor Beshear hosted a ceremonial signing of a bill this past week that will provide an incentive for farmers to donate to food banks. Beginning in 2014, Kentucky farmers donating fruits, vegetables, beef, poultry, pork, fish, or other edible agricultural products to a food bank will be eligible to receive a credit against their state tax liability equal to 10 percent of the value of the donated product.

State Rep. Tom McKee, second from left, recently joined with several others in Governor Steve Beshear’s Capitol office as the governor signed Rep. McKee’s HB 295 into law.

If you had the flu and a high fever, no one would criticize you for seeking medical help. In fact, most would criticize you for ignoring such a health problem.

But mental health issues often bring a different reaction.  People sometimes see mental illness not as a health issue, but as a serious defect, something that marks a person as weak, unstable, perhaps even violent or dangerous.

By Larry Rowell, The Casey County News

The Kentucky branch of the American Civil Liberties Union has sent an open records request to superintendents in all of the state’s 174 school districts, seeking information on how religious groups and other outside organizations distribute literature. The letter also names the distribution of Bibles by members of Gideons International.

An estimated 21% of all adults (45 million people) smoke cigarettes in the United States. Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke, is a complex mixture of gases and particles that include smoke from the burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe tip (sidestream smoke), and exhaled mainstream smoke.

Agriculture Commissioner James Comer credited industrial hemp supporters for encouraging lawmakers and Governor Steve Beshear to approve historic legislation that will help restore hemp production to Kentucky.

Governor Beshear said he will take no action on Senate Bill 50, allowing it to become law.