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How much fertilizer do you really need to use on your lawn and garden? If you are just making a guess, you could be using too much. But how can you know for sure? A simple and inexpensive soil test can tell you all you need to know to make your lawn and garden look great and to protect the environment from runoff of excess nutrients. Soil fertility testing is a program designed to provide homeowners, landscape contractors, turfgrass managers, greenhouse managers as well as others with a soil management tool to determine fertilizer requirements of their lawn, garden, trees and shrubs. The University of Kentucky Division of Regulatory Services...

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Let us use this time to reflect on this problem and to recognize the importance of good parenting. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act is a federal law that broadly defines child abuse and neglect as any recent act or failure to act by a parent or caretaker that results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, exploitation or presents an imminent risk of serious harm. Commonly recognized forms of maltreatment include physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse and neglect. It is also important to note, in the majority of cases, the abuse is committed by someone the child knows. With the...

Phone Scam! Many of you have had telephone calls from telemarketers and local scam artists trying to lure you into providing credit card or other information. These crooks prey on the elderly and the uneducated. According to Consumers Union, consumers lose $350 million a year to such scams. Locally there is a scam happening right now to customers of Jackson energy. According to Laurel County Sheriff John Root the scam caller is identifying themselves falsely as Jackson Energy and stating that money is owed to Jackson Energy and the caller is seeking credit card information. These phone scams are attempting to steal money from you. Jackson Energy advises they do...

I was reminiscing this past week with a friend about the wonders of the good old video game arcade. I know there are still some around. Some quite good ones, in fact, if you know where to look. But they aren’t as ubiquitous as they once were. In-home video game consoles, the rise of gaming on mobile devices and the overall decline of coin-op gaming systems in general saw to that. I miss those days. I remember vividly going to Aladdin’s Castle in the mall where I lived and playing games for hours on Friday nights. People used to gather around the game cabinets to watch particularly good players. It was fun. It...

Following record breaking years, the Kentucky agricultural economy, like the overall U.S. agricultural economy, slumped in 2015, with concern looming for 2016. On the national front, USDA is projecting 2015 net farm income to plummet to $56 billion, down 28 percent from 2014 levels and 55 percent off the record high established in 2013. In response to mounting supplies and depressed demand, prices for most crops and livestock are falling from their record high levels of recent years. U.S. agricultural exports declined from its peak in response to a strengthening U.S. dollar, sluggish economic growth overseas, and abundant supplies. Land values and crop rents appear to be slowly adjusting to...

Laughter encourages many individual health benefits such as reduced stressed levels, lowered blood pressure, enhanced memory, stronger immune system and enriched creativity and alertness. Families who laugh together are also often healthier and happier. Happy families are often close; they enjoy spending time together and supporting one another. While the typical day may be busy with school and work routines, it can be easy to add the goof-factor. For example, you can sing in the car or tell jokes or funny stories while you cook dinner or wait at a restaurant. Other ways that a family can laugh more includes: • Be silly. Say silly things, use crazy voices, make funny...

“This year’s first observed eastern tent caterpillar egg hatch is seven days earlier that 2015, reflecting the warm spring temperatures,” said Lee Townsend, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Extension Entomologist. “The hatch is not synchronized; tiny larvae will continue to emerge over the next two weeks from eggs laid last summer on wild cherry, flowering cherry, apple and related trees. This is a hardy insect so low temperatures in the 30-degree Fahrenheit range should not affect their survival.” Eastern tent caterpillars spend the winter as tiny, fully developed insects in distinctive egg masses that encircle twigs of wild cherry and related trees. It is one of...

If you are a gardener or are thinking about gardening, spring is definitely a welcome season. Gardening can save you a significant amount of money at the grocery store. If you are planting a produce garden, it can also add curb appeal to your home increasing your home’s value. However, did you know that there are some considerations that you should keep in mind to save money when planning your spring garden? Be patient. While it may be tempting to start your garden at the first sign of spring, hold off a bit. You will want to make sure that frost season is over before planting. Think about your yard’s sunlight. Before...

Until last year, I’d never heard of Bainbridge, Georgia. The town, located in the extreme southern part of the state, is now forever linked to Corbin. Bainbridge donated the old steam engine and coal tender you now see parked along Depot Street … part of the static displays that tie into the planned railroad museum that will be located in the old L&N Depot building. Their act of generosity, to me, is amazing. I imagine myself as a member of the Bainbridge city council. In walk total strangers from a town in Kentucky who want given to them an iconic part of one of our popular local parks. Brazen, to say the least. My immediate...

In the 1930s, 40’s, and well into the 50’s dining out was considered a luxury, something done on special occasions. But as lifestyles began to change so did the restaurant business. With more women stepping out of the kitchen and into the workforce, local eateries emerged as did chain restaurants, both recognizing that we were becoming a society on the move. And we’re still on the move. That’s why in Kentucky alone there are hundreds and hundreds of quality spots to dine. Of course most of the chains are good, but the purpose here is to zero in on several of the “local types” that will be well worth your time...