Posted on December 22, 2008 by LuAnn Farrar
I’ve noticed driving downtown that recently several new sculptures have appeared throughout the downtown area. I drive Vine Street every day, and just recently noticed several works of modern art including one that appears to look like lips on the Triangle Park side of Rupp and a big tuning fork shaped object in front of the Financial Center and several others down the street towards the future site of Centrepointe. Did I miss something? Was this a city project? I think it’s great, but I didn’t remember hearing anything about it.
The sculptures are part of an exhibit, “Balancing Act,” which originated with the Mid-South Sculpture Symposium. The symposium was held Oct. 31 through Nov. 1, but exhibits are on display throughout 2009. The Herald-Leader reported about this exhibit in October.
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Posted on December 19, 2008 by LuAnn Farrar
I have a question about the mail collection boxes on Duke Road. Why does the city tolerate people driving down the wrong side of the street to access the mailboxes? I feel this is hazardous.
Susan Wright, Customer Relations Coordinator for the United States Postal Service office in Lexington, replied: “The Postal Service certainly does not want customers driving on the wrong side of the street to drop mail in the collection boxes at the Henry Clay Station on Duke Road, or any other location. The boxes are there for customer convenience; but, safety is also a concern. When the collection box is on the right side of the road, the passenger should drop the mail into the box. Otherwise, the driver should park the vehicle and walk to the box.
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Posted on December 17, 2008 by LuAnn Farrar
With the switch-over to digital television, where can I find a small, 14-inch television that will work properly?
Any size television currently in the stores will work properly with the new format.
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Posted on November 21, 2008 by LuAnn Farrar
Is Tampa Bay outfielder Ben Zobrist the first former Lexington Legend to play in the World Series?
No. Andy Shea, General Manager for the Lexington Legends, said four former Legends have played in World Series games. Most recently, Ben Zobrist played for Tampa Bay Rays in 2008. Zobrist started Game 1 in right field, and caught the next-to-last out in Game 5. While he played for the Legends, he was shortstop.
Two other former Legends, Mike Gallo and Wandy Rodriguez (who was known as Eny Cabreja while in Lexington) played for the Houston Astros iin the 2005 World Series. Cabreja led the 2002 team with 11 wins and 137 strikeouts. When Gallo was inducted into the Legends Hall of Fame, his 1.83 ERA in the 2002 season ranked fourth all-time among Legends.
And the fourth Legend to play in the Series? Roger Clemens. Clemens played in six World Series . He’s been on two Series winners, the 1999 and 2000 New York Yankees, and four Series losers: the 1986 Red Sox, the 2001 and 2003 Yankees and the 2005 Astros.
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Posted on November 20, 2008 by LuAnn Farrar
I want to visit that little nub of Kentucky that is separated from the rest of the state in the far south western part of our state. I have been told that the Mississippi River changed course during an earthquake and that is how it got separated. On the map, I cannot see any roads that lead to it from either Tennessee or Missouri. I am not even certain of the name. Someone told me it was the Madrid ledge. I saw in the election results map in the Herald-Leader that it was colored blue, so SOMEONE must live there. How do I get there and what is its name? I think it is in Fulton Co.
The area is known as Madrid Bend, and is, in fact, the westernmost tip of the state, in Fulton County. It has been known by several names. The French called the land inside the loop Greasy Bend. Today it is variously called Madrid (pronounced MAD-rid) Bend, New Madrid Bend, Bessie Bend or Kentucky Bend. The Herald-Leader wrote a story in 1989 about the history of the locale.
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Posted on November 19, 2008 by LuAnn Farrar
Can you tell me if there is a standard length of a school day in Kentucky?
The number of hours of instruction in the Kentucky public school system is governed by state law, in statute 158.060:
(3) Except for children with disabilities and children attending the primary school program who may attend a program of less than six (6) hours per day under policy adopted by the local school district board of education and approved by the commissioner of education and children attending a school district where the local board has approved a schedule that provides at least the equivalent of six (6) hours of daily instruction during the school year, a minimum of six (6) hours school work shall constitute a school day. Kindergarten programs may be operated for less than six (6) hours without state board approval. The Kentucky Board of Education, upon recommendation of the chief state school officer, shall develop and approve regulations governing make up by school districts of whole days missed due to emergencies, or partial days missed as a result of shortening regularly scheduled school days due to emergencies.
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Posted on November 7, 2008 by LuAnn Farrar
I noticed that the network and cable media did what they called “a new way of reporting” during the election returns yesterday. They gave nearly a minute by minute update of who was winning according to exit polls. However, if you happened to tune in and had not heard that, it appeared that they were giving “real” results, even when many polls had not closed. Was this type of reporting something that was decided by the broadcasting system to be allowed? Also what are the rules that govern when official results can be announced using real numbers? It seems to me that any of this information could either energize or deflate voters in other areas to either rush to the polls, or not bother to vote.
The media is self-regulating on when and how they report election results. The Los Angeles Times published a story Tuesday, about how the networks planned on projecting a presidential winner. From the Los Angeles Times story: “‘Based on everything we know about the speed by which the votes will be reported, I think it’s highly unlikely we’ll hit 270 before 11 p.m. Eastern time,’ said Sam Feist, CNN’s political director, who defended the networks’ right to report results as they come in. ‘This is information in the public domain that is our responsibility to share with our viewers,’ he said. ‘Indeed, trying to hold back the results when both exit poll data and vote returns will be available online is fruitless, network executives said.”
Several media outlets went to some effort to explain how they announced the outcomes. CNN.com explains their process for announcing the outcome of this election. According to CNN.com: “CNN editorial policy strictly prohibits reporting winners or characterizing the outcome of a statewide contest in any state before all the polls are scheduled to close in every precinct in that state.” The Associated Press also posted their process for “calling” an election.
As for exit polling, Time.com explains how a consortium of media outlets made use of them: “Pollsters stand outside more than 1,000 precincts around the country, all of which have been scientifically chosen to represent a particular area. As voters leave their polling places, the interviewer tries to randomly select about 100 of them to fill out a questionnaire.”
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Posted on November 5, 2008 by LuAnn Farrar
On the video clip of the Billy Gillispie interview at his home, there is piano in one of the shots. Does Coach Gillispie play the piano?
According to A. DeWayne Peevy, University of Kentucky Associate AD / Media Relations, Gillipsie does not play the piano.
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Posted on November 3, 2008 by LuAnn Farrar
With the nation’s focus on long lines at polling places, what’s the outlook for Lexington voters? Is the state predicting longer lines than usual? If so, are there any tips as to when the best time of day is to visit a precinct?
The Herald-Leader reported Secretary of State Trey Grayson’s advice about voting: Grayson “urged voters to vote at off-peak hours. The busiest times at the polls, he said, are at the beginning and end of the day and during lunchtime.”
The Kentucky Secretary of State provides voters with a lot of information about voting, including information they call “rumor control.” PolWatchers, a blog produced by the staff of the Herald-Leader, has extensive information on the election, including a voting guide.
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Posted on October 31, 2008 by LuAnn Farrar
Recently I acquired a large platter with the Phoenix Hotel Lexington logo on the front. The back lists the supplier or manufacturer as J.D. Purcell Home Furnishings, Lexington, Ky. From the web I discovered the Phoenix was razed in 1987, but couldn’t find any information on the J.D. Purcell Store as to the years it was in operation. Do you have the dates they were in business, and where they were located in Lexington?
The store owned by J. D. Purcell, known by patrons as Purcell’s, opened as the Racket Store in 1887. In 1923, he erected the building that housed the store which closed in 1970. Purcell was also the founder of what is now Central Bank.
The building was demolished in 1980 to make way for Vine Plaza and eventually the Radisson Hotel. It was located at 320 West Main St.
Purcell’s history in Lexington was rich. It was the first store to offer trading stamps and one of the first stores to have Santa Claus at Christmas.
The Phoenix Hotel, a fixture in Lexington since the mid-1800s, closed in 1974. It was torn down in 1982 by Wallace Wilkinson to make way for an office tower which never materialized. It was at 120-22 East Main Street and extended to the corner of Main and Limestone.
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My mother was a public school librarian. I earned a bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Kentucky. The Herald-Leader hired me as a news assistant 25 years ago; soon after, I moved to the news research department, where I’ve been ever since. We used to clip newspapers. Now, almost all of our research is online. We've come a long way.