Kentucky Book Fair

The 26^th annual Kentucky Book Fair (KBF) will be Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Frankfort Convention Center. Attendance is free and books will be sold at a 10 percent discount to patrons.

More than 175 authors will be in attendance and many special events are planned.  There will be a special children's area with face painting, costumed characters and readings by authors. 

Featured authors include Ann Ross, Wendell Berry, Sally Denton, Miss Manners Judith Martin, political commentator Robert Novak, actress Robin Givens and a host of others. 

A luncheon featuring Martin will be held at the Convention Center. Tickets for the luncheon may be purchased by calling Joseph Beth Book Sellers in Lexington at (800) 248-6849 or (859) 273-2911.

Here’s a look at the book fair symposium schedule. All symposiums are free and open to the public, unless listed.

·         9:15 a.m., Jon Carloftis, Kentucky Ingenuity: It Can Take You A Long Way

·         10:00, Lucille Carloftis, A Beautiful Journey: A Collection of Stories From The Rockcastle River

·         10:30, Joe Nickell, Investigating the Paranormal

·         Noon, Luncheon with Miss Manners, Judith Martin, author of No Vulgar Hotel: The Desire and Pursuit of Venice (This event requires pre-purchased tickets.)

·         2 p.m., Robert Novak, The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington

·         3:15, Mystery Writers Panel

In addition to the symposiums above, the Kentucky Book Fair and the Thomas D. Clark Kentucky History Center are partnering to present five History in the Making symposiums at the Kentucky History Center, just a short walk from the Frankfort Convention Center. Download the schedule for these symposiums here.

National Child Safety and Protection Month

Does your child know what to do when approached by a stranger? Does your teen know how to respond when he or she is offered drugs or alcohol by a classmate or friend? Do you know how to police what your youngster is viewing on television or the Internet?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, there are resources all around to help you decide the best way to work with your child to protect them from harm’s way.

November is National Child Safety and Protection Month and the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) has useful information and links on how parents can better protect their children. Among the topics discussed are:

• helping kids choose what to watch
• Internet safety
• dealing with strangers
• guns
• bullying
• emergencies
• being home alone
• school safety
• alcohol, tobacco and other drugs
• bicycle safety
• safe shopping

The National Crime Prevention Council also has an interactive Web site for children. To go to the site, click here.

Parent Leaders conference Nov. 13-14

The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence’s Center for Parent Leadership conference, “Parent Leaders: An Untapped Resource in Education,” is set for Nov. 13-14 in Lexington at the Radisson Plaza Hotel. This two-day seminar gives those working in school districts, community-based organizations, advocacy groups, parent liaison programs, foundations, community organizations or business-education coalitions the chance to learn how to develop and sustain a successful parent leadership program. For more information, contact Molly Toney at (859) 233-9849, ext. 226, or mtoney@pritchardcommittee.org.

Kentucky Virtual High School registration update

Registration for Kentucky Virtual High School’s (KVHS) Spring 2008 semester is currently open and will end on Dec. 7, which is earlier than usual. The early registration date will allow adequate time to open sections of courses, ship textbooks and ensure sufficient faculty are in place. Many courses filled to capacity in the fall semester and had to be closed, so early registration will ensure there are seats available for students.

Some of the courses offered in the spring are: AP psychology; biology; chemistry; algebra I; Spanish I, II, III; Mandarin Chinese; U.S. history; and English I, II, III, IV.

The entire spring course catalog is posted on the KVHS Web site.

The semester will begin on Jan.7, 2008.

For more information, contact Kentucky Virtual Schools at (866) 432-0008 (toll free in Kentucky) or (502) 564-4772.

Spencer County FFA honored

The Future Farmers of America named the Spencer County High School FFA Chapter in Taylorsville as the National Model of Innovation in Chapter Development at its 80^th annual convention recently.

Model of Innovation awards are presented in three areas including student, chapter and community development. Ten chapters were selected in each area based on National Chapter Award applications. Members were interviewed by a panel of judges, which later selected the Model of Innovation Chapter in each area.

Spencer County FFA was recognized for strengthening community ties through hosting a local commodity breakfast and working with community leaders on a fundraiser for a local charity. The chapter also hosted a recruitment program which led to over 140 8th-graders signing up for an introduction to agriculture class.

In addition to this award, Spencer County had 11 national proficiency finaltists, three national career development event teams and a national winner in the Agri-Entreprenuership contest at this year’s convention.

Spencer County FFA advisors are Darryl Matherly and Bland Baird.

You've sprung forward, now fall back

Don’t forget to set those clocks back on Sunday, Nov. 4. That’s when Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends.

The change will officially take place at 2 a.m., and the period will last until March 9, 2008, when Daylight Saving Time will begin again.

In 2005, President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, stating that the time change dates for DST in the United States would be moved up approximately a month starting this year. Now, Daylight Saving Time will begin the second Sunday every March and end the first Sunday in November.

Congress will receive an impact report from the Secretary of Energy, and it has the power to resume the previous DST schedule should it choose to do so once the report has been completed and analyzed.

In the United States and its territories, DST is not observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. With the exception of the Navajo Nation, the state of Arizona doesn’t recognize Daylight Saving Time.

Parents also are encouraged to change the batteries in home smoke detectors each time they change their clocks. It’s a good practice to have, according to fire departments throughout the country.