Meeting in regular session last week, the Lewis County Fiscal Court moved to approve the second reading of an ordinance creating the Lewis County North-Central Fire Protection District.

A proposed new firehouse will be constructed on county-owned property on Lions Lane, and the district would extend in a diameter of five miles by road from that location.

The tax is not to exceed ten cents per $100 of assessed property value. The tax should create an estimated $24,431 annually to operate the district.

Second District Magistrate Todd Ruckel could not attend the meeting but at his request Judge Steve Applegate announced that the magistrate supports the ordinance.

The court approved the first reading of the Lewis County Proposed Budget for fiscal year 2004-2005 that will end June 30, 2005.

Lewis County Attorney Clayton "Buddy" Lykins, Jr. read the budget to the court. He said that the budget calls for a total of $2,041,432 in the General Fund; $1,494,280 for the Road Fund; and $678,111 for the Jail Fund. The grand total for all three funds comes to $4,213,824.93.

Jim Vaden and Barbara Kennedy appeared before the court to explain a request for the court to act as fiscal agent for a partnership of local entities to establish a Boys and Girls Club of America in Lewis County. The leaders of the effort are writing a grant under the 21st Century Program for $150,000 annually for the next three years and then $75,000 and $50,000 the next two years respectively. The court is asked to assist as the agent to handle the finances.

Plans are to establish a community learning center that would include recreation along with the learning effort. The Lewis County Board of Education, the Vanceburg United Methodist Church, the Harmany Foundation, the Clarksburg Christian Church and the Boys and Girls Club of Madison County, in addition to the Lewis County Fiscal Court, would form a partnership to establish the local club. In the beginning the Lewis County club would be a satellite of the Madison County organization.

The Harmany Foundation is so spelled and named after the late Allan Harman, long time teacher and Methodist minister in the area.

Kennedy explained that in conjunction with the Board of Education’s after-school programs the objectives of the program are to provide academic remediation and enrichment, to provide a safe environment for kids after school, and to give students service learning opportunities that are rather like on-the-job training.

In addition to that, a parenting skills component, a technology education component, nutrition and health and drug and alcohol prevention plus sports and fitness components will be written into the program.

The program is for elementary, middle school and high school students. Plans call for opening the Learning Center at two sites four hours a day after school five days a week. In addition to that it would be open four hours a day during the summer.

Meeting in regular session last week the Lewis County Board of Education listened to the eight principals of the local schools elaborate on their successes in improving reading in the district.

Richard Anderson, principal at Central Elementary, noted that the principals are competitive yet support one another and help the schools reach their goals.

Every school has made good progress in moving the students to read at grade level or beyond.

Jerry Bloomfield at Laurel and Tim Douglas at Tollesboro reported that all their fourth grade portfolios were rated proficient. The portfolios are rated as apprentice, novice, proficient or distinguished.

Stanley Allen, principal at the Foster Meade Career and Technical Center said that 239 eighth grade students were at risk of reading below grade level at the start of the school year. That number had been reduced by 126 students down to 113 by April.

The board approved a leave of absence for one classified employee due to medical reasons.

The board approved renewal of the School Based Health Service Contract with Primary Care. That program provides two nurses to work at the schools.

The board also approved the annual non-resident student contract. With most area schools the contract is on an any-or-all basis except the one with Mason County. That is a one-on-one contract.

The board moved to make major changes in the math program in the future by approving a new math program for the high school.

Jackie Claxon explained to the board that she feels strongly that what the school is doing in math right now by using the traditional approach is not working well and a change is needed. She added that the change would take some of the teachers out of their comfort zones but the transition is necessary.

The new program majors on doing math by problem solving rather than with a procedural approach.

The board approved a 21st Century Grant Partnership with the Lewis County Fiscal Court in order to help establish a Boys and Girls Club of America (BGCA) in Lewis County.

Meeting in a brief regular session last Tuesday night the Electric Plant Board of the City of Vanceburg rejected the only bid received for two transformers that are no longer in use.

The bid came in well below expectations so the board moved to reject the bid and to store the transformers until an opportunity came to dispose of them at a more reasonable price.

The transformers came from the substations at Vances Creek and the Industrial Park at Black Oak. Solomon's bid for both was only $1,000 credit on the utility company’s next purchase.

Kennedy said that he still hasn't finished the new budget because he doesn't have any information on health insurance.

He informed the board that he continues to work on the Grayson situation but hasn't heard from them in the last week.

The superintendent reported that he has hired Larry Spencer to work in the Electric Department. Spencer was in Louisville working for a big electric company down there for about five years and then moved back here and worked for a company in Maysville. He will be a great asset to the local utility company.