Edmonson Voice Report:
Local DAV Auxiliary members are seeking the identities of three veterans whose photos are hanging in the Edmonson County Courthouse unlabeled.

There are several veterans photos that have missing identities," said DAV Auxiliary Adjutant Penny Saltsman. "The names have fallen off or faded over the years."

A flyer submitted by Mrs. Saltsman is published below:  

Darren Doyle, story, photos, and video:
Most everyone that knows Jamie Carnes knows him from his years of service at Edmonson County Schools: 29 so far, to be exact. Many others know him from his play-by-play basketball broadcasting with Edmonson County basketball as he's become a familiar voice on WildcatsLive on the Edmonson Voice. Fewer know him for his passion about fast, old cars, and virtually no one knows about his newest joy--flying. 

That's right. After several months of flying lessons that were (ahem) kept under the radar, Jamie officially received his pilot's license in January of this year. The newfound hobby is another item that can be added to his list of engaging activities, about which few people know. By day, he's a mild-mannered school district administrator (yawn), who's served as Director of Federal and State Programs for Edmonson County Schools since 2014. In the afternoons and on weekends, he becomes Carnes. James Carnes, pilot and hot rod renaissance man--a multi-county man of mystery. Well, not really, but he does some really cool things.

​Carnes, or Mr. Carnes, as many former ECHS students know him, said he'd always thought about being a pilot, thanks to his father, Jimmy Carnes. The senior Carnes was also somewhat of a dynamic character; he was a WW11 war hero, former professional boxer, and he never hesitated to brag on his little boy, Jamie, who was reading at a very young age.

"Daddy bragged on me everywhere we went," Jamie said with a half-grin. "He'd carry around books just to have me read to people. I'm sure people got tired of it but he just lit up about that stuff." 

The senior Carnes was a much older father than most; 48 years old when Jamie was born. His mother, Agnes Carnes, a long-time educator in Edmonson County, was 42 when she gave birth to Jamie. 

"It was definitely a generation gap," said Jamie. 

But that gap wasn't a disadvantage--other than getting parents from the Greatest Generation to let a Generation X teen to do teen things--it was an opportunity for Jamie to start a love for history and an all-around appreciation for people, places, and things from generations past. That appreciation led to him starting his career in education as an English and History teacher for nine years. Afterwards, he became Assistant Principal at ECHS for eight more years.

Jamie said his father would often mention that Jamie should become a pilot someday. Jimmy Carnes was also a parachute jumper in the war and started the process of learning to fly but never finished the training. Jamie said it was always a passing thought but it was one of those situations where it was, "well maybe someday I'll do that."

Things changed in 2016 when he met one of his estranged half-brothers, James Alfred Carnes, (known as Alfred) who lives in Rome, Georgia. The story of estrangement is another one all to itself, but the fact is, Jamie's half-niece (who is a few years younger than he) contacted him in the late 90s and wanted to know more about him and his family in Kentucky. Through much correspondence over the years, that niece bridged a gap between Jamie and Alfred, and a new bond was formed. 

Alfred is 20 years Jamie's senior, but they soon discovered that although they'd never even met until Jamie was almost 50 and Alfred 70, they shared many hobbies and interests. Alfred was a connoisseur of old cars, the military, (a Vietnam vet) and was a very experienced pilot with his own plane. Not only a plane, but also his own hangar, where he currently hangs out with his buddies doing very important things since Alfred's retirement from both the army and a Georgia power company. Things like smoking cigarettes, talking about cars, the army, shooting pool, or listening to the jukebox in the corner. Oh, and yes, they do a lot of flying, too.

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​Alfred spoke to us about their relationship and his effort to convince Jamie that the time to fly was now.

"I hate it that we got together so late in life," he said. "But that's the way things are. I've been flying since '68 or '69, sometime through there. I was in the First Air Cavalry in Vietnam in helicopters. I got hit and stayed in Walter Reed (hospital) for nearly a year and when I came out I said I wanted to fly, so that's what I did. I bought me a plane in '74 and several other planes since then. I'm not sure who even got in touch with Jamie, but we got together not long ago. I'm already up in age (72), and my grandson didn't really want to fly, so I sold a couple of planes and I really started trying to get Jamie to do this. There's just not a lot of us. I sent him a bunch of stuff on flying and just told him to learn how to fly. He came down here and I showed him what it was about, took him up in my plane. I just kept telling him, "hey, learn how to fly," and he did!"

Jamie said the connection to Alfred is much more than flying, as he's a constant reminder of his father, who died 25 years ago. 

"He's literally my long, lost brother," Jamie said. "Thankfully, Heather, my niece, decided to reach out to me all those years ago. Without her, I'd have never met Alfred."

Jamie said Alfred's convincing was enough to let him see that the time to fly was now.

"I knew I wasn't getting any younger," Jamie said. "I just decided that if I was ever going to do it, I was going to go ahead now."

That's when he started the long process of learning how to become a pilot. That started with a very tedious medical certification, hours upon hours of studying for written exams, processes, all the ins-and-outs of flying, home exams, practice tests, and more. He bought books, watched videos, and took a home course before he actually started his flying lessons in July of 2020, which were sometimes 2-3 times per week. He did a great job of keeping all this under his hat as only his family was aware of his new hobby.

In January of 2021, he officially received his pilot's license after his final test, administered by an FAA examiner, which Jamie said was a nerve-racking experience.

"I was as nervous as I'd ever been about anything. Just think of it as a super-advanced driving test, except you're up in the air. You don't just get to pull over if something goes awry. I had to come up with a flight plan, map it out, the stops and checkpoints, all of it. It's extremely detailed."

He showed me a piece of an official cut shirttail that he had framed. It commemorated his first solo flight, which is a tradition among pilots that originated in the era of old tandem bi-planes, with the student up front and the pilot directly behind.

"Back then, the pilots didn't have headsets, so the instructor would reach up and yank the shirttail of the student to get his attention. The student would turn around and then they'd yell their communication at each other. Once the student learned to fly solo, well, he didn't need that shirttail anymore, so it was symbolically cut off."

Jamie says he plans to stay in the school system for a couple more years, at least as for now, then possibly look into getting his own plane after retirement. Currently, he has to rent a plane when going up, which is done by reserving one at the regional airport. He was gracious enough take us up for ride that started in Bowling Green, went north to Nolin Lake, then circled back to the airport. For someone that's only had a license for a few months, his flying skills were more than satisfactory (I lived to tell the tale, right?). But again, for those of us that know Jamie and how dedicated and thorough he his in everything he does, I expected no less.

​When he's not working, broadcasting, spending time with his grown kids (Justin and Paige), or flying, you'll likely find the very detailed-oriented Carnes in his garage, (which is spotless) going over one of his restored 1970 Buick Gran Sports. Both are long term labors of love. He purchased the gold one in 1996, which was not much more than a heap of metal left for dead, but a complete restoration with the help of his friend "Big" Earl Talley, brought her back to life. It has a factory, matching numbers 455ci engine.

"I don't know where I'd be with out Earl," he said. "He's a master mechanic, an unbelievable fabricator, and so much more. If it weren't for him, these cars wouldn't even be here. There's no telling how many hours we've put in on these cars as well as others. If Earl's not racing on the weekends, he's usually here with me a lot, working on something. I can't get him to fly, though..."

The black Buick has an even more intriguing story. It was purchased in the mid-200s by Talley for the purpose of racing, but it didn't exactly get where Talley first intended. After sitting in a yard for several more years in its ongoing rusted state, Talley traded it to Carnes. Together, along with some help from Jamie's son, Justin, they've spent the last ten years getting it to its current condition. The car features a modified 455 engine that will make you hold on to your hat when the gas pedal is stomped. It's also been known to leave rubber deposits on paved surfaces--or at least that's the rumor--we neither confirm nor deny. Improper starts are against the law in Kentucky.

​His wife, Penny, has flown with Jamie multiple times as he has to keep up certain requirements and a number of landings every 90 days in order to fulfill some license requirements.

"I try to go every couple of weeks, if for no other reason that I don't get rusty. You have to stay with it, that's for sure."

The humble Carnes was very hesitant about letting the Voice publish the piece because he didn't want to seem boastful about anything at all. That's also the main reason he kept the entire flight-learning process under wraps; however, he marked a legitimate item off a bucket list that very few people have. In fact, lots of folks talk about a bucket list, but most never actually make such a list. 

Becoming a pilot is certainly not for everyone, but there are many feats that go unaccomplished because we simply don't assert the effort to accomplish them.

As he stood with his hands in his pockets looking down at the ground as he tried to talk himself out of talking about himself, I said, "hey, it's just like Alfred said--he said you should learn how to fly... and you did."

After a pause and another half-grin, Jamie's reply was, "Well...yes."

Want more human interest stories like this one? Send us some ideas of folks you know that have unique hobbies, abilities, or stories. Email your ideas and info to editor@edmonsonvoice.com.

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Darren Doyle, story and photos:
Edmonson County's newest retail location celebrated it's grand opening and official ribbon cutting with the Edmonson County Chamber of Commerce today; South Bound Boutique and Stacy's On Main, on Chalybeate Road.

The retail store, located at 3340 Chalybeate Road in the Byrd Center, is a collaboration from local college students Alex-Shae Horn and Lauren Ballance, who run South Bound, and retired educator Stacy Raymer, owner of Stacy's on Main. Mrs. Raymer is also known as "The Sweatshirt Lady."

Horn and Ballance, who graduated ECHS together in 2020, wanted to do something together after school, and each saw a need for local affordable women's apparel, especially what's known locally as "church-length" dresses.

"We got together, pitched in some money, and just wanted to get things started," said Horn. "We were online-only for a little while and then we started opening up a couple times a month. It was phenomenal how people responded to that. But then Stacy came to us and asked if we'd be interested in opening up a store and we were like, why not?"

The store offers offers a little bit of everything for young, middle-aged, and older women, in a variety of designs and sizes. 

​"We're hoping that Chalybeate embraces us," said Raymer. "So far, we've had a great week with a soft opening and hopefully even more will come out today."

Mrs. Raymer said that the store is planning several events throughout the year, which include "Food Truck Fridays."

"Every Friday we're shooting for having a different food truck here, so people can come out and eat and shop at the same time. We also plan on having multiple vendor events. We've got a great parking lot and space for that. We're excited and we'll have some community events, just to help build more community spirit."

The store offers shirts, tops, jeans, and dresses, but the team is hoping to add shoes, home decor, and other items. 

"We really want to offer affordable prices," said Ballance. "So many places you go into now are like, oh gosh, look at the price on that, and that's something we want to change for our community."

Both Horn and Ballance juggle college, the boutique, and other responsibilities, but so far, so good.

"The first month we opened back in September, we had three items," said Horn. "Now we have all this inventory and it's such a blessed feeling. We love Edmonson County and feel blessed to bring something here." 

Edmonson Chamber Director Greg Hudson said despite the rain, the crowd was good and folks were enthused about today's event.

"We were a bit worried when we saw the forecast but it's obvious that people were excited about our ribbon cutting today," he said. "We're grateful to see another business open in Edmonson County and we wish South Bound and Stacy's all the best. The Chamber continues to work hard to promote local business in Edmonson County."

The store is open Tuesday- Friday from 10AM- 6PM & Saturday from 10AM- 4PM. They can be contacted through Facebook and Instagram, and by phone, 270-935-9100, or 270-792-0534.

Edmonson Voice Staff: photos courtesy of Edmonson County Parks and Rec:
Edmonson County Parks and Rec hosted the annual Community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 3rd. The popular local event was cancelled last year due to the COVID pandemic so local organizers were happy to be able to bring back the event for 2021.

"Our local Parks and Rec work hard to bring events like this to our local community," said Program Director of Parks and Rec John Kiernan. "Having to cancel last year was unfortunate for our kids but since cases are down and we can provide these types of events safely, we were excited to be back this year."

Kiernan said over 600 kids attended the event, which was held at the HWY 70 Ballpark. Local Beta, FFA, and Drama Clubs, as well as Peer Math helped stuff the eggs with prizes and candy. The event was co-sponsored by Brownsville Missionary Baptist Church and Hodges Five-Point Farms.

"As always, we thank our sponsors," Kiernan added. "We are grateful for our local organizations and businesses that support our local programs."

Edmonson Voice Report: photos, Edmonson County Board of Education:
​Edmonson County High School Principal and Assistant Principal Chad Johnston recognized various staff members at the March 8th Board Meeting for outstanding work as well as retirement.

The following members were recognized: Nikki Culbreth, Brad Johnson, Denise Stice, Hilda Spradlin, and Danielle Lindsey. Not pictured: Kevan Alford and Mike McClintic.

ECHS Principal Jonathan Williams also recognized student Brody Johnson for his achievements and scorning a 36 on the ACT.  Brody is a sophomore at Edmonson County High School.

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Edmonson Voice Report:
Two Edmonson County High School sophomores will attend the prestigious Gatton Academy at Western Kentucky University next year, according the ECHS.​

The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky is Kentucky’s first residential 2-year STEM program for gifted and talented juniors and seniors.  Established in 2007, students at The Gatton Academy enroll as juniors and are full-time WKU students pursuing their interests in advanced science, technology, engineering and mathematical careers.

Students are selected based on SAT or ACT scores; academic grades from ninth and tenth grades; interest in advanced careers in science, technology, engineering, and math; student responses to application essay questions; interviews by Academy staff members; and recommendations from teachers and other individuals who can attest to a student's need and preparedness for the program.

Each year, The Gatton Academy selects approximately 95 students (half male and half female due to housing availability in our building).  For the Class of 2021, 250 students completed the online application and supplemental materials.

Gatton is ranked by some sources as the #1 STEM school in the state of Kentucky.

Brody Johnson is the son of Brad and Jodi Johnson of the Bee Spring community and is a sophomore at Edmonson County High School.

Amber Williams is the daughter of Kevin and Deborah Williams of the Mammoth Cave community and is also a sophomore at Edmonson County High School.

From the office of Edmonson County Judge Executive Wil Cannon:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) today announced applications are open for the annual Second District Congressional Art Competition.

“The Second District Congressional Art Competition is officially underway, and I encourage high school students to show off their talent in this fun competition,” said Guthrie. “Each spring, I enjoy holding this district-wide event to see the extraordinary artwork students create. This competition is judged by an independent panel, and there’s also a ‘Facebook Favorite’ competition judged by the public. I’m proud to feature several of the winning artworks in my district office and display the overall winner’s artwork in the U.S. Capitol among other art competition winners from across the country.”

The Congressional Art Competition is an art contest for high school students across the country and sponsored by Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in their respective congressional districts.
High school students in the Second District are welcome to turn in artwork for this competition. Please submit the artwork digitally in .jpg or .pdf with the application in an email to guthrieassistance@mail.house.gov by April 26, 2021. Please put “2021 Art Competition” in the subject line of the email.

Art professors from colleges and universities in Kentucky’s Second District make up the independent panel that determines first place overall as well as other winners and honorable mentions. The first-place overall winner’s artwork will be placed in the U.S. Capitol for the remainder of the year, and the artwork from the second and third place overall winners will be displayed in Congressman Guthrie’s district office.

The Second District Congressional Art Competition also features a “Facebook Favorite” competition. Members of the public can vote for their favorite artwork from all the competition’s participants on Congressman Guthrie’s official Facebook page from April 28-30, 2021. The winner’s artwork will also be displayed in Congressman Guthrie’s district office.

Congressional Art Competition winners will be announced on Congressman Guthrie’s official website on May 7, 2021.
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The 2021 Art Competition flyer as well as the rules and guidelines and can found by clicking HERE and HERE, respectively. If school faculty or students have questions, please call Congressman Guthrie’s Bowling Green District Office at 270-842-9896.

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