Edmonson Voice Staff Report:
The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky has selected 96 Kentucky sophomores for the Class of 2021, one of which includes Edmonson County sophomore, Ava Kate Lich.
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“We are very excited to welcome such a remarkable group of students to the Gatton Class of 2021. These students are coming from all across the Commonwealth to pursue their wide-ranging interests and engage in rigorous scholarship,” said Director of The Gatton Academy, Dr. Lynette Breedlove. 

“Each year admissions decisions are difficult, as there are more exceptional students interested in STEM topics and advanced learning opportunities than we can serve," she said. "We appreciate the hard work in which public schools are engaging to find innovative ways to meet the needs of their students.”

Applicants were evaluated based on ACT/SAT scores, high school grades, awards, extracurricular activities, responses to essay and short answer questions, and letters of recommendation. In addition to these criteria, earlier this month, 189 candidates were invited to interview with WKU faculty members, community leaders from across the Commonwealth, and Gatton Academy alumni.

The selected students scored an average composite of 31.66 on the ACT and 31.18 on the mathematics portion of the exam. The highest possible score is a 36.  Both of these scores represent the highest for an incoming class in the school’s history.

Students from 54 counties represent the Class of 2021.  

The goal of The Gatton Academy is to enable Kentucky’s exceptional young scientists and mathematicians to learn in an environment that offers advanced educational opportunities, preparing them for leadership roles in Kentucky. Moreover, The Gatton Academy assists in preparing Kentucky to compete in a knowledge-based economy by increasing the number of scientists and engineers who live and work in the state.

Students will complete their junior and senior years of high school living in Florence Schneider Hall.  At the end of their two-year course of study, students will graduate from high school with a minimum of 60 college credit hours.

The Gatton Academy is Kentucky’s first state-supported, two-year residential program for high school students with interests in advanced science and math careers and is one of only 15 such programs in the nation. The Gatton Academy has been named to The Washington Post’s list of top-performing schools with elite students for nine consecutive years.

Ava is the daughter of Stuart and Amanda Lich from the Windyville community.

Mackenzie Daniels, 2017 valedictorian of ECHS, was also a recent Gatton Academy student.

Edmonson Voice Staff Report:
The Kentucky State Police have reported that a Lewisburg resident has been indicted by a Logan County Grand Jury for falsely claiming a terminal illness in order to receive monetary gain.

KSP said that Sierra Bennett (25) received a criminal summons earlier today.  The indictment was a result from an investigation involving a complaint of her falsely claiming to have received a diagnosis of terminal cancer in order to receive monetary gain.  Sierra Bennett was charged with Theft by Deception under $10,000.

Strong thunderstorms passed through the area on Saturday evening that brought heavy rains and high winds to the entire region. While there were few reports of significant damage in the county--if any , one specific area in the southern region of EC saw plenty. 

A barn belonging to Dennis Priddy, located in the 15000 block of Louisville Road (31W), had exactly half its roof removed and displaced on his property.

Priddy said he received a call from his daughter next door, who said that she thought the barn had been knocked down. He said he could tell it was damaged, but it was hard to see due to the torrential rains that were falling at the time. 

"We lost shingles on the opposite side of our house," he said. "The roof of the barn was blown in a different direction and that's why we wanted to contact the National Weather Service," Priddy said.

Edmonson Voice meteorologist Landon Hampton of WxornotBG.com requested NWS data from the time and area of the incident to determine whether or not the damage would be classified as being due to straight winds or tornadic activity.  

Priddy also lost some trees, fence posts, and saw other damage; and a utility pole with a transformer supplying power to another structure on his property was snapped in half. Three main posts of the barn appeared to be broken as well. 

Severe thunderstorm warnings were plentiful across the region Saturday evening; however, no tornado warnings were issued. The strong winds were followed by plummeting temperatures that actually had the area under freeze warnings. Temps dropped to the upper 20s Sunday night into the early morning hours of Monday. 

Temps are forecasted to rise back into the 70s by the end of this week, which is Spring Break for Edmonson County schools.