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Ashland Daily Independent - 1.7.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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Speaker 1: We now turn to The Ashland Independent to bring you
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news from in and around Ashland and Boyd County. Your
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reader today is Jane. We begin with the addition dated
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January fifth, twenty twenty six, as a reminder, Radioized a
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reading service intended for people who are blind or have
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other disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material.
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Our first article special Education Advocates, slated to appear by
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Lee Ward of the Daily Independent. A top us educator
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will visit the area this year to speak at special
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Education Lifeline sites in the Tri State. Special Education Advocate
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Karen Mayer Cunningham is a nationally recognized keynote speaker and
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professional development trainer with more than twenty five years of
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experience transforming how families, schools, and systems serves students with disabilities.
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The conferences will be on February fourteenth in Huntington and
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February fifteenth in at the UK King's Daughter's Pavilion in Ashland.
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Both are from nine am to noon. Cost is thirty
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five dollars. She is the founder of the Special Education Academy,
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an online training platform serving parents, educators, and professionals. She
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is also a certified mediator and a John Maxwell certified
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speaker and behavioral analysis trainer, offering a blend of leadership, communication,
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and conflict resolution expertise. Her book, The epic Iep, a
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powerful playbook for parents, educators, and advocates navigating the special
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education process, published by Mission Driven Press, will be available
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for purchase on January twenty seventh. Part memoir, part step
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by step handbook, The epic IEP gives readers the tools, knowledge,
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and confidence needed to become effective advocates for students with disabilities.
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Those interested in attending one of the conferences may email
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Angie at special Education Lifeline dot com or visit the
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Facebook event page. Next. Flemingsburg woman writes about father's murder
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By Lee Ward of The Daily Independent, a dairygoat farmer
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took on a wildly different side job that was especially
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personal writing about the loss of her father. Jenny Taylor,
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author of The Final Word, A True Account of Murder
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and Redemption, said her father, Junior Taylor, was murdered in
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twenty eleven by a distant family member. However, Taylor said
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the story goes beyond the crime. It is far more
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than just an account of that gruesome crime, which is
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unusual in itself, along with the events that followed. She said,
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the final word is raw and bears it all, the
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heartache and struggle, the overwhelmingly reality of God's power and mercy.
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It dives deep into my family, my faith, and an
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incredible proof for the need of forgiveness. God truly does
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bring forth beauty from the ashes, even in the midst
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of such tragedy. After a military career, Junior Taylor owned
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and operated a trucking business, which kept him away from
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home a good bit. On February thirteenth, twenty eleven, he
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happened to be home when the relative, Stephen Stuart, stopped
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to discuss selling a cart, ended up assaulting and stabbing
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Taylor and setting his house on fire. Taylor writes about
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her experience following the case, also about her journey to forgiveness,
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starting the night before her father's death. I bolted awake
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out of a deep sleep during the night of February twelfth,
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twenty eleven, with an overwhelming feeling of urgency to pray
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for my dad, she wrote, noting she didn't know what
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was happening with her father, but wondered if he was sick.
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Then she realized it was for my dad's very soul.
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I then knew I was to pray for, Taylor said.
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She kept notes throughout the investigation and the two and
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a half year trial. The book was accepted by the
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publisher in November twenty twenty four and became available in April.
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I knew God called me to write it and it
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would get published, she said. God works in the midst
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of horrific things. In other news, Honeyton Children's Museum to
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add sensory garden by Joy Adkins for The Daily Independent.
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The Honeyton Children's Museum, which opened in July twenty twenty four,
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plans to add an inclusive outdoor sensory garden thanks to
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recently receiving a fifty thousand dollars T Mobile Hometown grant.
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Features of the new sensory garden, which the Children's Museum
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hopes to open in May, will include tactile and fragrant plants,
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musical and sound based elements, a ferry garden, wide pathways,
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raised beds, shaded sitting areas and outdoor classroom space, quiet
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sensory regulation areas, and possibly a mural. The T Mobile
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funding was awarded specifically to develop the sensory garden. Joe Barber,
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rural market manager for T Mobile, presented the check to
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the Huntington Children's Museum in December. This project really stood
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out because of the impact that was going to make
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in the community, he said, while encouraging children to learn
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through play. The Huntington Children's Museum is dedicated to fostering
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curiosity and offers interactive exhibits indoors such as a child
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sized city, a water table, a sand table, an indoor
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climbing area, and a stop motion video creation station. Rain
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Clover is the executive director of the Huntington Children's Museum.
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We need to get our kids outside more and with
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sensory gardens specifically, Clover said, we are allowing children and
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people with low vision to experience it. She added there
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will be signage and sensory cues throughout the garden to
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have the best experience. It will also be accessible for wheelchairs.
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One of our core values here at the museum is accessibility,
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and we want everyone to be able to enjoy the space,
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she said. The sensory garden will be behind the museum
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in an already fenced off area. Plants will be featured
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in different areas that focus on different learning objectives like
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color or senses such as scent and touch. Features of
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the Sensory Garden project will include diverse plant life. The
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garden will showcase a variety of textured and fragrant plants
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catering to different sensory preferences and needs. These plants will
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not only engage the senses, but also provide educational opportunities
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about biodiversity and horticulture. Auditory engagement. By incorporating musical instruments
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and sound elements, the garden will create an auditory landscape
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that enhances the sensory experience. This feature encourages exploration and interaction,
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making learning fun and engaging. Mobility friendly design. The garden
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will include wide pathways, raised garden beds, and ample seating areas,
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ensuring accessibility for all visitors. This thoughtful design addresses the
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mobility restrictions faced by many children and caregivers, creating a
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welcoming space for everyone. Therapeutic environment. The calming natural environment
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will promote stress reduction and anxiety relief, providing a safe
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space for children and their caregivers to unwind. This aspect
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is crucial in supporting mental health, especially in light of
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rising mental health concerns among young populations. Social interaction. The
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garden aims to enhance social connections, allowing children to engage
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with peers and caregivers through collaborative play and shared exploration.
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This fosters a sense of community and belonging, which is
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essential for individual well being. Educational components the garden will
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provide an immersive environment for guests to explore scientific concepts
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related to botany and ecology. Through discovery, children will develop
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an in depth understanding of plant species, insects, and our ecosystem.
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The T Mobile grant builds on other funding like past
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support from the Pilot Club for a reading nook, a
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grant from LOWS, and American Rescue Plan Act funds for renovations.
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At seventeen hundred Washington Avenue in Huntington, the Children's Museum
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is available for birthday party, private events, and field trips.
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Admission is ten dollars for adults and children to and
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older infants free for those who receive SNAP or WIG benefits.
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Admission is two dollars for adults and children two and older.
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Hours are ten am to five pm Thursday through Sunday.
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Parking is free. For more information, call area code six
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eight one three seven eight three three three zero or
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visit HCM kids dot org moving on KSP. Woman buried
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developmental infant after medication abortion by Sarah Ladd of The
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Kentucky Lantern. Kentucky State Police have charged a Campton woman
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with first degree fetal homicide after saying she took medication
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to complete an abortion in the US and buried a
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developed male infant in a shallow grave near her home.
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Melinda S. Spencer, thirty five, was also charged with abuse
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of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence. According to police,
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it's unclear how far along her pregnancy was. Kentucky has
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very few and only narrow exceptions to its abortion ban.
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According to a KSP news release, a medical clinic in
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Campton contacted state police on December thirty first, around two
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thirty pm and reported that there was a lady in
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the clinic who disclosed that she had aborted her pregnancy
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at her residence. After police arrived at united clinic, they said,
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the woman stated to detectives that she had ordered medication
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online to complete an abortion and took the medication, which
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resulted in the death of a developed male infant. After that,
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said she buried the infant on the backside of her
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property in a shallow grave. Police say they went to
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the resident's property and located the infant in a shallow grave.
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The case is still under investigation. Kentucky state law defines
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first degree fetal homicide as causing the death of an
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unborn child, except when a person acted under the influence
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of extreme emotional disturbance, for which there was a reasonable
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explanation or excuse. The crime is considered a capital offense
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in Kentucky. The woman's other charges, abuse of a corpse,
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and tampering with physical evidence, are Class D felonies. Kentucky
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state law describes abuse of a corpse as treatment that
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would outrage ordinary family sensibilities, and includes burial without proper preparation.
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Moving on, local restaurants closes Ashland. Uncle Paul's and Missy's
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Country Kitchen announced it has closed. The restaurant at two
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thirty sixteenth Street opened in March twenty twenty five. The
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owner made a post on the restaurant's Facebook page on
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January second, I appreciate all of you so much. I
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will miss seeing all your smiling faces and all of
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our conversations. I did decide to sell the restaurant. It
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is now closed and will be soon be a Mexican
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restaurant with a bakery. The new owners are super sweet
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and I believe everyone will love them. Next, take a
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walk on the meditative side. My husband has an interesting
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observation on walking and what people have to say about it.
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He said, it is a very Appalachian thing for someone
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to say I saw you the other day? Is everything okay?
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It's ought to folks that walking is preferred by some
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as a way to take care of themselves. But he's
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right that sentiment comes from the kindness and concern you
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can expect from people around here. I have had drivers
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slow down to offer me rides. Even friends who know
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I'm getting my steps in try to pick me up
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or drive me home. As long as I have an
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okay pair of shoes, an umbrella and gloves for the
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cold mornings, I try to start every day with walking,
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just one foot in front of the other, over and
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over again. You can keep things simple by letting your
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iPhone track your activity with its built in health app,
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and keep your phone in your pocket. I don't listen
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to podcasts or music. I let my own thinking spill out.
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Walking really gives me time to sort my inner thoughts.
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It's easy to notice little details in your surroundings things
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you miss when you drive. Walking can feed your productivity
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problems and help you feel accomplished without breaking a sweat.
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It's personalized by your own pace and direction. It's autonomous.
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Your own walking rhythm is your essence. I do agree
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though we see people walking and assume they're down on
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their luck or struggling in some way. Ashland has made
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a lot of accommodations for walkers by maintaining sidewalks and
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installing crosswalks, but drivers seem to forget to watch for pedestrians.
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I used to tell my best friend growing up. Her
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last words would be pedestrians have the right of way,
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and I'm reminded of that often. Andrew Forstaffel wrote Walking
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to Listen about his four thousand mile walk from his
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back yard in Pennsylvania in search of guidance from all
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whom he encountered. He discovered kindness from strangers, shared stories,
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forged connection, and found unity and diversity. I will likely
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never attempt even a fraction of that distance at once,
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but I have seen the effect of slowing down enough
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to saunter along and be seen by others. I get
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waves from folks I know, and take pleasure in waving back.
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Those encounters are a reminder that we are surrounded by
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good and friendly people, ones who recognize me. I wave
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to the same dogs I see and can hear howling
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at me through window panes. I get asked about my walks,
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how was your walk this morning? And how far did
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you go today? In Wild by Ryl Strade, she writes
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about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone in the wake
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of her mother's death, a failing marriage, and a drug addiction.
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During her time putting one foot in front of the other,
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she confronted her life's past, path, her struggles, and found
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ways to overcome her own grief. It was a time
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she spent alone that allowed her to be face to
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face with her only choices for moving on. Self reliance
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is at the forefront when one takes off on foot alone.
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Bell Bryson wrote a very funny book, A Walk in
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the Woods, about hiking the Appalachian Trail while being a
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bit out of shape to do so, but was up
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for the challenge. Ben Montgomery wrote Grandma Gatewood's Walk about
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a sixty seven year old farm reared woman who walked
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eight hundred miles along the Appalachian Trail in nineteen fifty five.
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After years of heartache and suffering, she was able to
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come to terms with her history and claims she wasn't
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walking toward anything, but rather metaphorically walking away from her
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past and its troubles. Walking is empowering. It is a
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chance to make decisions and to solve problems. Some mornings,
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I am only faced with inclement weather whend that bends
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my umbrella backward, or tires at splash puddles onto my pants.
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I do hope the crows recognize me. I believe they
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are saying good morning to me as I pass along
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my route, and so I say good morning back. My
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missions are only to make it to the gas station,
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for a newspaper and to work on time. However, I
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somehow seem to solve the world's problems within a smile,
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within a mile. If you consider taking a walk, you
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can start with going to the mailbox and back. Before long,
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your path will expand, and so will your daily experiences.
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Sarah Justice is a guest columnist in Other News. Homeless
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youth say they need more from schools and social services
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by Robbie Saquira state Line. Twenty year old MICHAELA. Foreman
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knows her experience is meaningful. Dealing with homelessness since eighteen
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and currently living in a shelter, Foreman has managed to
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continue her academic journey, studying for his James this month
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in hopes of attaining a nursing degree. But Foreman believes
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there were intervention points that could have prevented her from
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experiencing homelessness in the first place. If someone in school
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had understood what I was going through, things could have
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been very different, she said in an interview with state Line.
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As more city in cities and post bands fines or
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jail time for adults living on the streets, young people
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who have been homeless say they face unique problems that
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could have been addressed earlier. Through more than four hundred
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interviews and survey responses, young people across the country recently
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told researchers how earlier guidance and intervention might have made
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a difference for them. The research suggests the country is
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missing its biggest opportunity to prevent youth homelessness by intervening
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well before a young person reaches a shelter in years
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before they are chronically homeless. The report from Covenant House
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in the University of California, Berkeley finds that the pathways
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into youth homelessness are different from those of adults experiencing
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temporary or chronic homelessness. A young person coming out to
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their family, or becoming pregnant, or experiencing unrelated trauma can
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create conflicts that push them into homelessness. A lot of
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that doesn't show up in current data. The survey responses
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offer the nation's schools and social services agencies the chance
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to get ahead of youth homelessness, researchers say, not only
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by intervening earlier, but also by pinpointing and responding to
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the diversity of needs among teenagers and young adults who
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might be close to losing their housing. Advocates say there
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are multiple intervention points in school, in childwood welfare organizations,
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and inside family dynamics where the worst outcomes can be avoided.
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States such as California, Florida, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington have
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explored some of those intervention points in policies that range
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from guaranteed income pilot programs to youth Pacific rental assistance
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and campus housing. Hawaii has made its youth drop in
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and Crisis Diversion program permanent. In Oregon and Washington have
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expanded rental assistance and education centered supports for vulnerable youth.
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Florida now requires collegists prioritize housing for homeless and foster students.
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With young people, we have opportunities to intervene much further
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upstream in schools, in families, in child welfare before anyone
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has to spend a single night on the streets. That's
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simply not the case with older adults, said David Howard,
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former senior vice president for Covenant House and a co
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author of the new research, in an interview with State Line.
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Even at eighteen, twenty or twenty four years old, young
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people are still developing. Howard said, their vulnerabilities look very
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different from middle aged adults, and the support systems they
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need are different too. One of the key points of
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intervention for potentially homeless youth is school. Public schools across
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the country have increasingly reported more homeless students since the
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COVID nineteen pandemic, and homelessness has many various regional factors
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outside of individual circumstances such as climate driven homelessness. More
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than five thousand, one hundred students in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina,
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and South Carolina became homeless as a result of Hurricanes
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Helene and Milton in twenty twenty four. Homelessness is multifaceted,
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and lots of us slip through the cracks because the
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system isn't designed for our reality, said Foreman, a former
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Covenant House resident who helps conduct the new research. Foreman's
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insights and lived experience were included in the study, which
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showed that youth homelessness rarely begins with an eviction or
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job loss frequent causes of homelessness among adults. The top
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three reason that young people experience homelessness for the first time,
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according to respondents, were being kicked out of their family homes,
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running away, and leaving an unsafe living situation such as
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one affected by domestic violence. Other instigators included being unable
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to afford housing, aging out of foster care, being kicked
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out of or running away from foster care, and moving
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away from gang violence. However, respondents also had suggestions for
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ways government, schools, and the community could help or prevent
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youth homelessness. They suggested youth specific housing options, identifying and
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helping out at risk youth in health care settings, providing
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direct cash assistance, and offering conflict resolution support within families.
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Among the most common suggestion was to offer services that
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create long lasting connections for young people. Strong relationships with
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non parental adults, including mentors, teachers, service for providers and
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elders were identified as especially important when family connections were
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strained or absent, the report said. The surveys and interviews
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also demonstrated that young people want mental health care tailored
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to their personal experience, said Benjamin Perry, a lead researcher
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on the report, speaking during a September webinar hosted by
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Point Source Youth, a nonprofit that works to end youth homelessness.
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The research breaks out responses from a few specific groups Indigenous, Latino, immigrant, LGBTQ, plus,
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people of color, and pregnant or parenting youth to understand
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their distinct needs, said Perry, a post doctoral researcher at
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the University of California Berkeley School of Public Health. There's
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so much nuance in specificity within these different groups. Indigenous use,
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for example, often are dealing with the effects of intergenerational
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trauma and alcoholism that have been projected onto them. Perry
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said those young people have far different needs than pregnant
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or parroting youth. He noted, they are like I don't
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know where my next paycheck's going to come from. I
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don't know how to put food in my baby's stomach.
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I don't have a support network or someone to go
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to for this advice. He said, that specific, that specificity
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is exactly why we need to understand this better and
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do better to tailor our approaches and responses. This concludes
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excerpts from recent editions of the Ashland Daily Independent. Your
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reader has been Jane On behalf of everyone here at radio.
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I thank you for listening, Keep on listening and have
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a good day.