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Stephen Foster Drama Association to stage Annie this summer

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The Stephen Foster Drama Association is set to present the 67th season of The Stephen Foster Story this summer, and joining the Kentucky classic at the J. Dan Talbott Amphitheatre will be the Broadway classic Annie.

SFDA Executive Artistic Director Johnny Warren says this will be the second time the association has staged a production of the musical that features classics such as “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard Knock Life”.

“It’s a show that we kind of have in our pocket that we knew we wanted to produce again, and it turned out that this year was the year to do it,” Warren said.

Warren says staging a show meant to be seen inside a Broadway theatre at an outdoor amphitheater requires a creative endeavor, but the association has a talented team that is up to the task.

“We’re excited for our audiences to see a version of the show unlike anything they’ve seen before, primarily because we are outside, and that brings a lot of opportunity,” Warren said.

Local auditions for Annie and The Stephen Foster Story will be held Saturday, February 21, at Nelson County High School.

“Not every adult that we hire in the summer performs in both shows, but most do, and then the youth audition is for the production of Annie where we intend to cast 18 children,” Warren said.

The Stephen Foster Story begins its season June 13. Annie will run Wednesdays and Fridays beginning July 8. Tickets are on sale now. 

Ticket information, and audition information, is available at www.stephenfoster.com.

EIS elementary schools receive reading education grants

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Reading education efforts at Elizabethtown Independent Schools are receiving some additional support.

Panther Academy, Helmwood Heights Elementary School, and Morningside Elementary School have each been selected as recipients of the state’s Read to Achieve Grant.

According to a release from EIS, the Read to Achieve Grant is “a competitive state award that recognizes schools doing transformative work in early literacy.” The grants are awarded by the Kentucky Department of Education to schools that have demonstrated “a commitment to evidence-based reading instruction and meaningful intervention for students.”

Each school will receive $70,000 each of the next two years. EIS says the grants will elevate schoolwide multi-tiered systems of support to help ensure students from kindergarten through third grade receive timely, data-informed reading instruction. Each school has also committed matching funds and long-term sustainability beyond the grant period as an investment in long-term change over short-term success.

About 150 schools across the commonwealth are selected each Read to Achieve grant cycle. Visit the Kentucky Department of Education’s website for more information.

Winter storm means pothole season starts early this year

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Much of the snow and ice from the January winter storms has melted off, but in its wake the winter weather left an additional hazard.

“Potholes, of course, are a year-round thing, but it becomes even more evident after a winter storm, especially one with the extreme amount of cold temperatures we’ve had and the amount of moisture that fell,” said Hardin County Government Communications Officer Brian Walker. “Snow removal efforts and ice being removed from the road with the heavy machinery and those plows can and does create more damage to the roads and potholes start showing up. We’re actually starting to see those a little earlier this year than we normally would.”

Walker says the county repairs potholes found on county roads every Monday and Tuesday, with work broken down into five zones. If you find a pothole, you can report it to the county’s road department.

“There’s a phone number, and you can easily reach out to us 24 hours a day, even on a holiday, at 270-951-0951,” Walker said. “It’ll be a text exchange where it will help you to specify where it is and what you’re reporting. You can also go to our website, www.hardincountyky.gov, and there’s a button there called ‘Report an Issue.’”

Issues with state roads should be reported to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, and issues with city roads should be directed to the respective municipality.