Data center plans demand public scrutiny

Recent events in Mason County show why local gov­ern­ments must exam­ine data cen­ter pro­pos­als open­ly and care­ful­ly. A planned Meta hyper­scale facil­i­ty involves tax con­ces­sions, indus­tri­al bonds, infra­struc­ture com­mit­ments, annu­al pay­ments, thou­sands of con­struc­tion jobs, and 400 per­ma­nent posi­tions. Yet major ques­tions remain about long-term tax loss­es, cleanup oblig­a­tions, water use, noise, pow­er sources, and poten­tial effects on res­i­dents’ energy... 

Leaving room for what comes next

In this mov­ing reflec­tion, Jill Hamlin con­sid­ers how grief changes the way we under­stand end­ings, mem­o­ry and the ordi­nary moments we often over­look. Through the sto­ry of Brooke, a life­long friend who became cho­sen fam­i­ly, the essay fol­lows child­hood paths, long-dis­tance phone calls, unex­pect­ed roads and the punc­tu­a­tion that helps make sense of love after loss. Periods may mark what... 
Jill and Brooke.

Features

  • Frances Figart’s Clark Co. roots shape Smokies writing

    Frances Figart’s Clark Co. roots shape Smokies writing

    Clark County native Frances Figart’s new book, Word from the Smokies: A Nature Reader, gath­ers 24 pieces from her week­ly col­umn explor­ing the nat­ur­al world of the Great Smoky Mountains. Steve Flairty traces Figart’s path from a child­hood in Trapp, Kentucky, through work in Lexington, life in the Daniel Boone National Forest and even­tu­al immer­sion in Southern Appalachia. Along the way, Figart’s love of wildlife, con­ser­va­tion and place deep­ened into a… 

    Read more: Frances Figart’s Clark Co. roots shape Smokies writing
  • Change Collective KY gives parents a place

    Change Collective KY gives parents a place

    Change Collective KY, a Winchester-based par­ent-led orga­ni­za­tion found­ed by Valerie Frost, is build­ing an inde­pen­dent space for Kentucky par­ents to find prac­ti­cal help and doc­u­ment their expe­ri­ences with schools, health­care sys­tems, CPS, courts and oth­er pub­lic ser­vices. Through its Parent Real Talk Resource Library, com­mu­ni­ty events and fam­i­ly expe­ri­ence intake tool, the orga­ni­za­tion aims to turn indi­vid­ual sto­ries into mean­ing­ful pat­terns while remain­ing account­able to the fam­i­lies who share them. Frost… 

    Read more: Change Collective KY gives par­ents a place
  • Recovery, hope and community take center stage

    Recovery, hope and community take center stage

    Recovery took cen­ter stage at Winchester’s Rally for Recovery, where neigh­bors gath­ered for food, music, games, resources, and sto­ries of hope. Now in its 11th year, the event hon­ored peo­ple rebuild­ing their lives and the com­mu­ni­ty part­ners walk­ing beside them. Organizers pre­pared to feed up to 500 atten­dees, while first-time vis­i­tors praised the rally’s size, ener­gy, and wel­com­ing spir­it. Through first­hand reflec­tions from Lindsay Horseman, social work stu­dent Jaxon, and attendee… 

    Read more: Recovery, hope and com­mu­ni­ty take cen­ter stage
  • Winchester keeps Halloween Mainia tradition alive

    Winchester keeps Halloween Mainia tradition alive

    When the City of Winchester stepped away from orga­niz­ing Halloween Mainia, local busi­ness own­ers, orga­ni­za­tions and vol­un­teers stepped for­ward to keep the down­town tra­di­tion alive. Led by Shannon Tipton of The Crystal Coven Mystic Cottage, the new Halloween Mainia Committee is pre­serv­ing a beloved com­mu­ni­ty cel­e­bra­tion while adding The Pumpkin Quest, a free fam­i­ly event focused on cre­ativ­i­ty, pump­kins and shared mem­o­ries. This year’s Halloween Mainia returns to Main Street on… 

    Read more: Winchester keeps Halloween Mainia tra­di­tion alive

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