It's time to start thinking about participating in Butler's Christmas Parade.

The parade will be December 15 with the line up beginning at 12:15 p.m. The parade will start at 1 p.m. from the Community Center at 110 Mill Street.

Santa will be riding on the city float so no other Santa's please.

We welcome organizations, people walking, bicycles, tractors, motorcycles, cars, fire trucks, horses and of course floats.

After the parade Santa will meet with the children at the Community Center. There will be cookies, coffee and hot chocolate for everyone to enjoy.

If you know of anyone that would be interested please pass this information on to them.

Come out and help us make this the best parade ever. The theme for this year is simple..."It's Christmas!"

Hope to see you on December 15.

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Shelter volunteers at the 2012 Wool Fest

Woolfest provided the perfect opportunity to showcase adoptable dogs from the Pendleton County Animal Shelter. Volunteers from the shelter set up a booth outside of Woolfest on October 6, 2012 to promote adoptions, distribute animal-care tips, and provide information on spaying and neutering of pets.

According to volunteer Janet Scanlon, "Woolfest is an ideal venue for showing off the terrific adoptable dogs from the shelter and to discuss the importance of spaying and neutering pets. By spaying and neutering, we can reduce pet overpopulation and the number of homeless, unwanted dogs at the shelter."

A pre-paid metering program became available to residential members of Blue Grass Energy in late September. With prepay, members purchase electricity before they use it. This program allows members to avoid paying deposits, late fees, disconnect or reconnect fees.

"Blue Grass Energy is excited to offer this program to our membership," said Blue Grass Energy President and CEO Mike Williams. "This voluntary program offers our members options, allowing them to manage their electric usage and pay when it’s convenient to them."

Deer movement peaks in late October through early December, during the rut, the whitetail's annual mating season.

Motorists should be on the lookout for deer crossing roads, especially at dusk and dawn, when deer are feeding and bucks are beginning to follow or chase does.

About the American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. Together with our millions of supporters, we are creating a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

We save lives by:

Helping people stay well by showing them steps they can take to reduce their risk for cancer or detect it early;

The Kentucky State Fire Marshal is asking Kentuckians to inspect home heating appliances in preparation for the cold weather season.

“According to national statistics, heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires during the winter months. In fact, half of all home heating fires occur in December, January and February,” said William Swope, director of Kentucky’s Division of Fire Prevention. “The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates that heating equipment was involved in about 58,000 reported home structure fires in 2009, which resulted in 480 civilian deaths, 1,520 injuries and cost more than $1 billion in property damage.

Natural gas costs at the start of the 2012-2013 heating season are projected to be lower than at any time in the last 10 years, the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) reports.

On average, Kentucky customers can expect to pay about 12 percent less this November than last if they consume 10,000 cubic feet of natural gas. The average total bill for 10,000 cubic feet - including base rates - is projected to be about $85.55.

That is down more than $65 since November of 2008 - a decrease of 43% over the last four years. The lower cost of natural gas has more than offset any increases in base rates over that time.

By Carrie Louise Sandstrom, SADD National Student of the Year
carrie.sandstrom@my.und.edu

I am a teenager. I stay up too late; I wake up too late. I get emotional. I don’t want my parents circling me like hawks, and I definitely don’t want them to try to tell me what to do, especially behind the wheel. However, now that students are falling back into the school routine, it’s time for everyone to pay attention to teen safety on the road.

With the departure of Senate President David Williams, my colleagues elected me as acting senate co-chair of the Legislative Research Commission. The LRC is a 16-member panel consisting of the Democratic and Republican leaders from the senate and House of Representatives. The panel serves as the administrative and research arm of the General Assembly. As acting co-chair, I have the authority to approve the in-state and out-of-state expenses for members of the Senate until such a time that the Senate elects a new president in January. As senate president pro-tem, this is a natural role for me and I look forward to upholding the high standards of the office while ensuring that our fiscal house is in order.

In addition, we had two legislative meetings this week. The Special Subcommittee on Energy met on Monday at the enter for Applied Energy Research at the University of Kentucky. The executive director for the center briefed committee members. We learned that China buys much of our intellectual property in the energy research field and because of less government regulations, they can refine the knowledge and have put it to practical use. I am continually frustrated by the many ways the administration in Washington, D.C. stymies job-creators.

Robin Mulloy, the activities director at River Valley hosted a coffee break event to have the residents participate in the demonstration of the voting process, October 30, 2012.