The following letter was submitted by the local little basketball board:

"On a daily basis, hundreds of volunteers ensure Chamber programs, events and initiatives are successful," said a statement from the Bowling Green Chamber. "Each year, the Chamber presents an award to the year's most outstanding volunteer as a thank you for his or her dedication and commitment. This year, the Chamber recognized Bryan Thompson of Henkel for his outstanding service. Bryan's participation in multiple aspects of the Chamber's SCK Launch talent initiative, including the Experience on November 16 which provided nearly 3,000 8th graders a hands-on career experience and Teacher Externships hosting educators on-site for curriculum-workplace relevance interaction." 

Bryan served as a community business representative on several committees and led SCKL activities for Henkel corporation, parent of company of Sun Products.  He was specifically involved in the student career shadowing and teacher externships. Through the program, Bryan also led activities for Henkel that brought 8th graders to local businesses and taught the process of understanding available jobs and careers in the local community.   ​

Darren Doyle, story: EC Schools, photo:
On Thursday, January 11th, the Edmonson County Board of Education and the Edmonson County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee sponsored the Annual District Spelling Bee where six students from grades 4 through 8 competed for the opportunity to represent Edmonson County at the Kentucky Derby Festival Ford Motor Company Spelling Bee in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Spelling Bee will be held at the Bomhard Theater, Kentucky Center for the Arts on Saturday, March 17, 2018.
Participants included: Grant Johnson from Kyrock Elementary (4th grade), Will Saling from South Edmonson Elementary (4th grade), Levi Cline (5th grade) and Shelby Hudson (6th grade) from the Edmonson 5th/6th Center, Brody Johnson (7th grade) and Taylor Dooley (8th grade) from the Edmonson County Middle School.

Each finalist from the school district received a trophy and the overall champion was Brody Johnson, who also received a cash prize of $50 and expenses paid to the state competition in Louisville. Runner up was Taylor Dooley, who received a cash prize of $25. She will be the alternate for the competition in Louisville in the event that Brody Johnson is unable to attend. 

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Edmonson Voice Staff Report:
Brody Johnson, a seventh grade student at ECMS, was named the winner of the recent Edmonson County District Spelling Bee, held on January 11, 2018.

Brody, who is captain of the ECMS Academic Team, will represent Edmonson County in the Kentucky Derby State Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 17th, in Louisville, for a chance to win a $10,000 savings bond. Brody also competed at the state level as a fourth grade student, where he finished 11th overall.

He is the son of Brad & Jodi Johnson, Bee Spring, and won on the word "tofu."

Second place winner was Taylor Dooley, an 8th grade member of the academic team.

Almost Never Films is returning to Edmonson County and they need a local farm for a couple of weeks. Check out the ad below if you or someone you know might be interested in this one-of-a-kind opportunity. Just click the ad to email your submission.

by Senator Steve Meredith (R), Leitchfield:​
When I was sent to Frankfort I promised to find and eliminate waste in Government services, be an advocate for rural communities, and champion common sense legislation that will improve the lives of citizens in the Commonwealth. It was with great pride, then, that I cast my vote to assist in the passage of two priority bills that are about as common sense as one could hope for. Two of these bills are constitutional amendments which means they need a supermajority vote from each chamber to pass. They do not, however, need to be signed by the Governor. If they pass both chambers they will be sent to the ballot this November to be approved or denied by Kentucky voters.
 
Senate Bill 4 is a constitutional amendment that will shift all elections to even number years. This will save money locally, increase voter turnout, and will reduce the sheer number of elections. I think most would agree that the election cycle in Kentucky seems endless and I, for one, would welcome a reprieve from it. Again, this a decision that is ultimately up to Kentucky voters but I think it makes good fiscal policy and good sense.
 
Senate Bill 3, named “Marsy’s Law,” is another constitutional amendment which firmly establishes crime victim’s rights. Opponents of this legislation believe that laws already exist to address these concerns but my colleague, Judiciary Chairman Whitney Westerfield, argued that current rights are not sufficient and don’t address the same issues that Marsy’s Law will. Furthermore, even if the rights were adequate, currently the victim has no standing to assert those rights. Simply put, Marsy’s Law is about fairness for victims.
 
I presented Senate Bill 71 before the Senate Education Committee on Thursday. Senate Bill 71 requires that any sex education program, approved by a local school board and principal, include abstinence education. The ACLU and others argue that Kentucky is already an abstinence-only state but no law can be found on the books that requires abstinence-only education. In fact, no statute in KRS addresses sex education at all. All Senate Bill 71 does is require that any comprehensive sex education program include information relating to the benefit of abstinence.
 
The threat of extreme winter weather conditions caused us to call off session in Frankfort on Friday to protect legislators driving from all across Kentucky. We did not have session Monday as we honored the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We reconvened Tuesday, January 16, as we continue taking up important pieces of legislation.
 
If you have any questions or comments about public policy issues, please call me toll-free at 1-800-372-7181 or email me at Stephen.Meredith@LRC.ky.gov.  You can also review the Legislature’s work online at www.lrc.ky.gov.

The Edmonson County Circuit Court Clerk's office has announced that there will be NO court on Wednesday, January 17, 2018.

Bank of Edmonson County will open on a one-hour delay on Wednesday.

​The Sheriff's Office and County Clerk's office will be OPEN on Wednesday. 

The Edmonson County Public Library will be closed Wednesday.

Mammoth Cave Parkway, Brownsville Road, Cave City Road, and Cedar Sink Road are all open. Visitor center opens at 8:30am, with tours on a modified schedule. Green River Ferry is closed.

Most local businesses that were closed on Tuesday plan to open at regular time on Wednesday. If you have any closings or delay info you'd like to pass along for publishing, please send to: community@edmonsonvoice.com.

Three Bedroom, two bath, one car garage home for sale, located at 132 Hawsell St., Smiths Grove KY, in the Horse Run Estates subdivision in Chalybeate. Built in 1999, features over 1500 square feet, underground utilities, central heat & air, cable ready, only 15 mins from Bowling Green. 

Located in South Edmonson school district. Also features blacktop drive and 24ft-above ground pool with new deck. Priced at $134,500. Please call 270-597-2773.

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​Mammoth Cave, Ky., January 11, 2018 -- Mammoth Cave National Park will be closed Friday, January 12, because the ice and snow forecast. If weather permits, Green River Ferry, Mammoth Cave Parkway and Brownsville Road will remain open until 7:30 a.m. Friday to accommodate commuters.
 
Thursday evening, staff will close Houchin Ferry Road-South, Flint Ridge Road, and Dennison Ferry Road.
 
On Friday, all park operations will be closed, including cave tours, the visitor center, the Lodge at Mammoth Cave, roads and all park offices.
 
Early morning Saturday park staff will reevaluate the safety and accessibility of park roads and facilities.
 
Persons seeking updated information on park conditions may check the park’s webpage at www.nps.gov/maca and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MammothCaveNPS, or call one of the park's information lines:
 
For updated information on ferry operations, please phone (270)758-2166.
 
For updated information on park roads, please phone (270)758-2165.
 
For general park information, please phone (270)758-2180.

Edmonson Voice Staff Report:
Kentucky will again observe January as School Board Recognition Month.

Across the Commonwealth, Kentucky's 173 public school systems will use January to recognize the work of the state's 867 local school board members.

The Edmonson County Board of Education is composed of Lorri Keith, Mickey Johnson, Alex Ulm, Tonya Jones, and Keith LaMastus.

"The voters of our community have created a special group of education leaders in this board," said Superintendent Patrick Waddell.  "They are true partners in the work to ensure every child in every classroom can experience high quality teaching and learning." 

"When you consider how state and federal funding is shrinking, our school board has faced tremendous challenges, and members haven't flinched from their responsibilities," Mr. Waddell said. " Our community can be very proud of this team of board members, and I am proud to be their partner working for education excellence for our children."

"I am very proud to work with each of these local school board members and appreciate the time and effort they do to improve the education of our students, here in Edmonson County, " he said.

MAMMOTH CAVE, Ky., January 10, 2018 – Mammoth Cave National Park will offer two free Mammoth Passage cave tours and one free Historic cave tour on Monday, January 15, 2018, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Space is limited to 120 tickets for the 10:30 Historic tour, and 70 ticket for each of the 9:30 and 12:30 Mammoth Passage tours.
 
Participants must pick up a free ticket in the visitor center on January 15 before going on these tours. The visitor center opens at 8:30 a.m. Both tours depart from the Mammoth Cave Lodge Rotunda Room and require a walk down and up the steep hill below the visitor center.
 
Mammoth Passage Tours will depart from the Mammoth Cave Lodge's Rotunda Room at 9:30 and 12:30 (Central Time) for those who have previously picked up a ticket at the visitor center.  Anyone without a ticket at the 9:30 and 12:30 departure times will not be allowed on the tour. The ¾-mile, 1¼-hour Mammoth Passage tour is limited to 70 people.  Visit the Rotunda, one of the largest rooms, explore a vast canyon passageway, and learn about 19th-century saltpeter mining operations and the geologic origins of Mammoth Cave on each of these tours.
 
Historic Tour will depart from the Mammoth Cave Lodge's Rotunda Room at 10:30 for those who have previously picked up a ticket at the visitor center.  Anyone without a ticket at the 10:30 departure time will not be allowed on the tour.  The 2-mile, 2 hour tour is limited to 120 people.  Participants see all of the Mammoth Passage route, plus Bottomless Pit, Fat Man’s Misery, and Mammoth Dome. There are a total of 540 steps on this tour.