By Al Owens

Dr. Wayne Andrews, President of Morehead State University visited Vanceburg Tuesday, April 26, at 5:30 p.m. Dr. Andrews held a meet and greet session at Kenny's Restaurant on Second Street.

John O'Cull, a member of the university's Board of Regents, and Eugenia O'Cull hosted the event and introduced Dr. Andrews to the crowd.

Dr. Andrews said that the visit was a part of his plan to visit each of the 22 Eastern Kentucky counties served by the university. The goal is to let the people of the area simply know that the institution cares about them.

The educator assumed office as MSU President in January of this year. He came to the university after 17 years at East Tennessee State. Prior to that he served at Illinois State University.

The visit to Kenny's was preceded by a stop at the Lewis County High School where Dr. Andrews set the young people to singing I'll Fly Away.

He told the crowd at Kenny's that MSU started as a Christian Mission but became a state supported school in 1922.

Dr. Andrews said that the school has about 53,000 alumni, and probably about 40,000 of those are schoolteachers.

He said, "We’re in the education business together, and we’re partners."

The university president sprinkled his speech with Christian references.

Referring to being in the area he said he felt like the words of an old Tom T. Hall song, Me and Jesus Got a Good Thing Goin'.

He said he was well impressed with the quality of faculty at MSU as well as the beautiful country.

President Andrews stated, "The folk here want a quality education."

He added, "We’ll do our dead level best to give you that quality education."

Andrews asked the community to do three things. First, to brag about Morehead State University. Second, to send your kids to MSU. And third, to support the institution financially.

He told the attendees that the school would do every thing possible to keep tuition costs down.

Andrews said that keeping an inmate in prison in Kentucky costs about $35,000 per year but education at MSU only costs about $8,000. With that he encouraged parents to insure that their children attend college. He said that a college graduate would earn about three times the income of a high school graduate.

Dr. Andrew and his wife Sue have two children, Jill and Josh. Jill is a professional bluegrass musician.

His investiture into office as the 13th President of MSU is scheduled for Friday, May 13.

By Al Owens 

Meeting in regular session on April 19 the board of the Helen H. Rayburn Public Library of Lewis County learned that the institution might receive money from the Bill Gates Foundation to purchase new computers. Nationwide the Gates program totals $41 million, but Library Director Marilyn Conway did not yet know how much the local library would receive.

She reported that the air conditioner on the bookmobile was not working. Carl Ginn had added some freon, but the AC is still not cooling. Ginn said that it might need a new compressor.

Laurel Elementary School has requested that the bookmobile arrive there at 8:00 a.m. on its monthly visit rather than at 8:30 a.m. because of the school's schedule. The Bookmobile Librarian, Margie Valentine, had indicated that did matter to her so the board moved to comply with Laurel Elementary's request.

Conway told the board that librarian Kathy Hartley and Margie Valentine had labeled about 6,000 children's books plus some videos. The books were labeled by grade reading levels. The project was part of an assignment in their class work. Both are taking classes to become certified library employees.

Board President Carol Gilbert informed the board that they would start planning the 2006 fiscal year budget at the May session and try to complete it by the June meeting.

Gilbert also told the board that her term expires July 1, 2005, and Helen Rayburn's on July 31, 2005. Two other names need to be sent in to the state. These will then be presented to County Judge Executive Steve Applegate who will appoint new members with the approval of the Lewis County Fiscal Court. The names of Bonnie McEldowney and Lena Wamsley Fugate were suggested.

Shellie Prater, preschool teacher at Central Elementary, invited a member of the library board to attend a meeting on Thursday evening, April 21, at 5:30 to explain to the parents what the library has to offer to the members of the community. Helen Rayburn said that she would attend that meeting.

Rayburn also expressed a desire to see the board spruce up the library. She said it needed new shelving and new carpet. The board discussed possible funding for the project and decided to investigate that matter further.

State Attorney General Greg Stumbo visited local officials last week to discuss the growing prescription drug problem in the Commonwealth.

Stumbo met with Commonwealth's Attorney Cliff Duvall, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Tom Bertram, County Attorney Clayton "Buddy" Lykins Jr. and Sheriff Bill Lewis.

Stumbo discussed the recently formed Kentucky Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and ways to crack down on so-called "doctor shoppers", and those who order multiple prescriptions on the Internet.

He said the KBI recently arrested several in Eastern Kentucky who had ordered prescriptions on the Internet. Stumbo said the KBI is working closely with UPS and FedEx to track down those who are abusing the system to attain prescription drugs illegally.

The officials also discussed the increase in methamphetamine labs across the Commonwealth and ways to apprehend and prosecute the makers and dealers. The Lewis County Sheriff's Department recently made their first methamphetamine lab related arrest.

Stumbo made note of recent pharmacy robberies in this area in which robbers specifically asked for Oxycontin. He also mentioned the several doctors in Eastern Kentucky who have been charged in connection with prescribing pain killers improperly.

He said Kentucky has systems in place to track prescriptions of certain prescription medications and added that officials are diligently working to curb the illegal use of those medications.

Stumbo told local officials that his office will assist them in investigating and prosecuting the offenders.

The Lewis County area thrives on great people and great business! That is why the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce has established the 1st Annual Best of the Best Awards for 2005.

This awards program was developed to honor those individuals and businesses which have helped make Lewis County a wonderful place to live. The chamber is inviting the community to take part in the voting process for these awards.

The chamber looks forward to presenting these awards at their annual meeting in June.

Rules and Regulations:

1. Nominations for the awards will be accepted from chamber members and the general public.

2. Winners will be judged based on criteria developed for each award. Incomplete applications will not be considered in the selection process.

3. Winners will be announced at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting in June.

4. Submit ballots before Friday, May, 20, 2005, to Lewis County Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 472, Vanceburg, KY 41179.

The "Spirit Award for Business Beautification" will be presented to the business that has made the best effort to upgrade and beautify its store front/office property.

"Manufacturer/Industry of the Year" will be presented to a manufacturer/industry that has shown commitment to the county by involvement in the creation of jobs, capital investments and/or endowments.

"New Business of the Year" will be presented to a new business that opened its doors between January 2004 and the present. The new business needs to have shown commitment to the county by involvement in the creation of jobs and capital investments.

"Educator of the Year" will be presented to an individual employed by the Lewis County School System or who lives in Lewis County and is employed in an educational capacity at a college/university who supports and encourages advances in education of Lewis Countians.

"Agribusiness of the Year" will be presented to the enterprise that represents outstanding knowledge and understanding of agriculture and its impact on Lewis County.

"Community Organization of the Year" will be presented to the Lewis County organization that displays outstanding community support for programs that benefit the citizens of Lewis County.