Ohio County woman named finalist for 2025 Fred Award
Officials say the Fred Program celebrates support staff who work in public schools. A finalist for this year's awards is Allie Richards, who is the Lead Custodian of Ohio County Schools, and she placed third on the 'finalist list.' Richards specifically works at Fordsville Elementary.
Funds approved for Audubon Conference Center
KASA says Richards, lead custodian at Fordsville Elementary, is a 'cherished and selfless member of the school community' whose influence reaches far beyond her role. Some refer to her as 'Miss Allie,' and KASA says Richards serves with a 'joyful spirit'—leading reading groups, encouraging students and volunteering at every opportunity. According to KASA, Richards 'shows up daily with a smile and unwavering commitment.' KASA says Richards embodies 'humility, heart and the spirit of service.'
KASA explains the Fred Award Program annually invites nominations from districts across the state of Kentucky. Inspired by the story of Fred Shea, who was present in Mark Sanborn's bestselling book, 'The Fred Factor,' the award honors non-administrative staff whose 'exceptional contributions' create an environment conducive to learning and growth within their school communities. Finalists for this accolade embody four guiding principles:
Makes a positive difference each day
Has a heart for people
Changes ordinary moments into memorable ones
Leads by example
Public input needed for roadway safety survey in western Kentucky
'Freds represent the heart and soul of public education. They exemplify selflessness and unwavering dedication,' said Dr. Rhonda Caldwell, KASA Chief Executive Officer. 'Their impact is foundational to the classroom—they inspire, uplift, and foster a culture of belonging. These individuals make every student feel seen and valued, often without recognition, but their legacy of kindness and leadership is immeasurable.'
Officials with KASA say each finalist's district will be visited by a film crew to capture the essence of their service. These videos will aid the judging panel—a consortium of education leaders from districts statewide—in selecting the recipient of the prestigious statewide award. The winner will be unveiled on July 25 at KASA's annual leadership institute in Louisville. Both the winner and finalists will be honored with a distinguished marble plaque, a copy of 'The Fred Factor' by Mark Sanborn, complimentary accommodation at the Galt House Hotel and a financial award of $1,000 for the winner or $500 for the finalists.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Miami Herald
09-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Riverbed washes away in NC to reveal 1862 shipwreck is wrapped around older ship
A confounding act of nature has uncovered one of the nation's most unusual wartime shipwrecks in eastern North Carolina. The Union gunboat USS Picket spent much of the past 163 years buried in mud in the Tar River, about a 110-mile drive southeast from Raleigh. But for reasons unknown, up to 7 feet of riverbed has been scoured away, excavating parts of the 130-foot-long ship not seen since it sank in 1862, according to Nathan Richards, director of the Maritime Studies program at East Carolina University's Department of History. The discovery was made as Richards led an ECU field school at the wreck site, and divers started seeing details that are uncommon among Civil War military shipwrecks. The USS Picket is essentially two shipwrecks, or as Richards explains: 'An iron-hulled watercraft 'wrapped' in a larger wooden hull, integrating the earlier structure into the U.S. Army gunboat.' 'We are able to access previously unseen parts of the ship that have long been buried. Added to this, the site is well known for having very bad visibility for divers (mere inches), but we have been very lucky to have had several feet of visibility,' Richards told McClatchy News in a phone interview. 'The wreck is largely intact below deck level. ... It appears to not only be intact bow(s) to stern(s) but there is 7 (feet) of exposed structure in many places.' The Picket remains completely submerged, but two-thirds of the hull are now free of mud, providing the team with 'tantalizing clues' of how two distinctly different types of American ship building were merged in desperate times. Ship within a ship The USS Picket exploded in mid battle in 1862, killing 19 crewmen and the captain, historians say. Before that, it led the kind of history that makes for a great war story. It had been a flagship for Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, who led a notorious 'motley fleet' crewed by sailors who 'conformed to neither army nor navy standards,' reports. Its mission was to shut down North Carolina's ports and starve the Confederacy of supplies, and the fleet did its job well. The Picket was among the smallest of the fleet, and its unusual construction resulted from an urgency to expand the Union's naval capabilities. 'At least three other Civil War ships were created in a similar way, but none survived to be studied by historians,' Maritime Studies graduate student Rebecca Kelley, who is writing a thesis on the wreck's construction, told McClatchy News in an email. The Winslow, built in 1845, represents one of the earliest examples of iron ship construction, and its hull is still intact, Kelley says. And because the wreck was encased in protective mud, much of the timber that made up the Picket's hull is also still there, she says. That makes the Picket a rare opportunity for researchers. The Picket's last day Little is known about the history of the Winslow, which was a barge built for New York's canal system, historians say. 'They are the least romantic type of ship. They often don't have stories associated with them or a spectacular romantic narrative that allow us to track them through history. Nothing really incredible happens to them,' Richards says. 'But it was transformed in multiple ways when it became the Picket. It was a witness to multiple battles as part of the Picket and was a flagship. It really went from a nondescript thing to something of prominence.' The Picket was used to transport Union troops and was a participant in a number of assaults on Confederate forces in North Carolina, Richards says. Its final battle was Sept. 6, 1862, when Confederates pulled off a surprise attack on federal troops near Washington, North Carolina, according to the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort. 'The gun boats, Picket and USS Louisiana began to shell advancing opponents. The Picket was only able to fire one gun before something went wrong onboard,' the museum reports. 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'Information from the wreck site provides a window into this period of experimentation and innovation under rare circumstances. Little of this seems to have been preserved in written records.' Kelley's thesis could be the most in-depth analysis made public on the ship's mysterious construction, Richards said.
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- Epoch Times
The Slave-Turned-Spy Who Infiltrated the Confederate White House
It's unsurprising that the details of the life of a spy and ex-slave would be hard to pin down. Its various narratives and pseudonyms shift and merge like shadows cast by a roving flashlight, so that historians today have as much difficulty tracking the elusive Mary Jane Richards as her enemies did during her lifetime. But throu gh the work of scholars like Lois Leveen and Elizabeth Varon, we can sketch a fairly accurate outline of the life of this Civil War spy. Mary Jane Richards was sometimes called Mary Elizabeth Bowser or Mary Richards Denman. Her story leads from slavery to spycraft. She gathered i ntelligence at the highest levels of the Confederacy and passing it along to the Union. A Humble Start was likely born around 1840 near Richmond, Virgini a. Her exact parentage is unknown, and Richards herself gave varying accounts of it. But we do know that from a young age, probably from birth, Richards was enslaved by John and Eliza Van Lew, wealthy natives of Richmond. A May 17, 1846 baptismal record for a 'Mary Jane' 'belonging to Mrs. Van Lew' appears at Saint John's Church in Richmond.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Warrick County Indiana Pride hosts Pride Month Talk
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT)- Several events have taken place across the Tri-State in celebration of Pride month, and there are still a few more on the schedule. Warrick County Indiana Pride will host a Pride Month Talk event at the First Presbyterian Church in Newburgh. The event will take place on June 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and is completely free to attend. The event will feature speakers, including author Karen Edwards. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
