WQXE News

As the leaves continue to change, Bernheim Forest is inviting area residents to a special event.

“ColorFest is our family-fun fall festival,” said Bernheim Forest Marketing and Communications Director Lynette Cox. “It’s coming up this Saturday and Sunday, November 1 and 2. We’re going to have lots of great activities for kids and families.”

In addition to engaging with nature in creative and fun ways, the event will feature live music, food trucks, and craft vendors.

“We’ve got some fun activities like a pumpkin roll and giant slides,” Cox said. “We’re also going to have a beanbag launch. We’re celebrating the Day of the Dead with a Day of the Dead altar as well where families can bring out pictures of loved ones that they’ve lost and they can be part of the altar. It’s going to be a great time for everybody.”

Cox says leaves this week have really hit their peak, so ColorFest is a great time to visit the 16,000-acre forest.

“It’s $12 for members and $15 for non-members, and kids 10 and under are free,” Cox said. “This is a fundraising event for us, so there is a charge to get in, but I think it’s an affordable and great time for everyone to come out.”

Tickets are available at the gate, located at 2075 Clermont Road in Clermont, or online at www.bernheim.org.

New regulations from Kentucky Fish and Wildlife regarding the use of drones are now in effect. 

A new administrative regulation now in effect makes it “unlawful to use aircraft or unmanned aircraft in the take of fish or wildlife.”

According to a release from KFW, the new regulation provides guidance for hunters and landowners while also providing a framework for game wardens when investigating potential violations.

Under the regulations now in effect, aircraft or unmanned aircraft may not be used to pursue, shoot, hunt, wound, catch, kill, trap, snare, or capture wildlife or to lure, attract, or entice for these purposes. Devices also may not be used to harass wildlife.

The new regulations allow for the use of aircraft or unmanned aircraft by KFW employees and contractors when addressing human safety, law enforcement, research, management, or other department needs. Landowners may use the devices for lawful wildlife damage control activities, and commercial fishers may use them for locating and removing invasive carp.

Visit fw.ky.gov to see the full text of the regulation, and contact the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Information Center at 1-800-858-1549 or info.center@ky.gov for more information.

Norton Healthcare President and CEO Russell Cox says the company has 152 acres to develop in Jeffersontown, and this gives the company the opportunity to expand access to care with the construction of a second dedicated pediatric care campus.

“This is a growth opportunity for us to build a campus that is regional in its reach, but hopefully best in the country,” Cox said. “We’re very excited about the opportunity to redefine how pediatric care is delivered for future generations, especially.”

As Norton Healthcare looks at what’s the best way to expand access to care, they are asking for community input. The company will host a listening session on Thursday, November 6 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at G.C. Burkhead Elementary School in Elizabethtown.

Cox says Norton wants to hear from a wide range of community members, from current parents and grandparents to future generations that may be parents by the time the facility opens.

“We’re extending it a little bit further than most ever have, because we’re not just talking about the services clinically for the pediatric patient, but we’re also talking about those support services for mom, dad, for family, for other people who provide care in the home for these pediatric patients, because we know that they are a significant part of the support mechanism that helps the healing process,” Cox said.

The listening session will be an opportunity to learn more about the plans for the new campus as well as for Norton to collect survey data.

“Our main reason for coming there is to have that conversation and to look people in the eyes and say, ‘how can we do better with what we’re doing in E-Town right now?’, but also, ‘how should we be thinking about this new pediatric village, if you will, that’s going to be out in J-Town?’” Cox said.

Registration is requested but not required. Learn more, and fill out the survey if you are unable to attend the listening session, at www.nortonchildrens.com/new-campus.