Meeting in regular session last week the Lewis County Board of Education heard from the parents of a high school football player who are upset over disciplinary action taken against their son.

Mr. and Mrs. Lonnie Potter told the board that last week after football practice their son, Nathan, had scratched off on some gravel and had thrown some on a couple of vehicles, evidently scratching some paint on two of them. One of those vehicles belongs to one of the assistant coaches.

The next day the assistant coach had Nathan do some exercises in the heat and he passed out. When he came back around the coach allegedly sent him back to practice without notifying the Potters that he had fainted, presumably from the heat.

Potter said that he was concerned about the safety of his kids at practice and simply wants an admission of mistakes made and the assurance that it wouldn’t happen again.

Superintendent Maurice Reeder Jr. said he would talk to the coaching staff and see what he can come up with. He assured the parents that the school is concerned about the safety of all the students.

No member of the coaching staff was present at the meeting to present their side of the story or to comment regarding the allegations.

Reeder reminded the board that the Lewis County School and Agricultural Fair was starting on Tuesday, September 14, and remarked about the parade set for Saturday, September 18, weather permitting.

The superintendent lauded the preschool programs in the district and said that over all those programs are doing really well.

Billie Jo Thornsberry, the president of the Lewis County Teacher's Association, said a strike is probably going to occur. She said that across the board $177 million has been cut from the insurance program in the state.

The board approved a BG-1 for the Tollesboro Elementary project. The grand total comes to $1,237,000. Reeder warned, however, that since Frankfort is short of funds the BG-1 may not get state approval.

Kasey Nolen informed the board about improvements on the district's web sites. He said that last year he did a complete overhaul of the site to make it easier to use. The web site can be found at www.lewis.k12.ky.us. Each school also has its own web site.

The board also approved pay of $50 for the sub bus drivers who spent eight hours of update training.

Following the pace of the Lewis County Fiscal Court the board approved the tax rates of 40.9 per $100 of assessed value for the real estate and 41.8 for tangible property.

The board also approved the dental sealant program. This is the second year for the dental help, and all the schools will benefit from it.

Meeting in regular session last week the Library Board of the Helen H. Rayburn Public Library of Lewis County established the new annual budget and hired a new Bookmobile Librarian.

The new budget totals $99,664.12 and includes raises in salary for all of the employees. The Library Director and other library workers get a four percent increase. The Bookmobile Librarian gets a $1.00 per hour boost in salary. The budget also calls for the purchase of two new computers.

The library now has DSL, and it has been well received. Library Director Marilyn Conway said that it is real fast, and the patrons love it. Going to DSL with Alltel also reduced the monthly expenses because the action eliminated two other bills required to get online.

The library received many good applications for the job of Bookmobile Librarian. The position is open because the current librarian, Margie Moore, is retiring in December.

Conway, after going over all the applications with the help of a committee appointed for that purpose, selected Marjorie Valentine to be the new Bookmobile Librarian. Valentine called the library last Thursday morning to accept the position. She will begin working on Friday, October 1.

The board accepted and approved the library rate set by the fiscal court. The real estate and Public Service Company rate was set at 2.80 per $100 of assessed value; the tangible rate at 4.08; and the motor vehicle and watercraft rate at 1.76.

Library Treasurer Helen Rayburn said that the auditor would begin the audit the last of October. Currently the library is audited every four years. Rayburn would like to have the audit done annually.

Michael Jones from the Kentucky Department of Libraries attended the meeting and told the board that state aid for the library this year would increase slightly. The aid is based on the county's population from the 2000 census. He added that it looks like state aid is on course with no problems.

Jones said the directors meeting will be held on Friday, October 8, and the local library can decide by then how it wants to spend the aid funds.

He told the board that that meeting would feature the Kentucky Talking Book Library. It highlights that program's 35th anniversary.

The board discussed repairing a roof leak on the building next door to the library. Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives construction consultant Christ Bishoff will attend the next meeting and examine the roof to see how much the project will cost and advise the board on the best way to correct the problem.

The library has rescheduled the open house originally set for Friday, September 24, from Noon until 3:30 p.m. It has been reset for Thursday, September 30, from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. The open house will include tours of the library and refreshments served next door.

The project to help move four families out of harm's way is the result of a partnership of several state agencies, local entities and the federal government.

The Kentucky Division of Emergency Management worked closely with Lewis County Fiscal Court and Buffalo Trace Area Development District to develop the project to acquire and demolish the homes using funds from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).

With the help of the Kentucky Geological Survey, whose experts twice visited the site known as Vanceburg Hill, it was determined that the threatened homes met FEMA's criteria to be acquired through HMPG funds.

Program rules require that the land be left as green space and never again be developed, in order to avoid the possibility of damages and costs to private or public property in the future.

Buffalo Trace ADD, which includes Lewis County, gathered all the necessary information about the homes and their owners, developed the application and is acting as the agent for the county in carrying out the project work.