Edmonson Voice Staff Report:
Mammoth Cave National Park will present ranger led talks, guided walks, and special videos clips focusing on the legacy of African American history at Mammoth Cave in honor of Black History Month.
 
African Americans have greatly contributed to the tourism, exploration, mapping and development of Mammoth Cave throughout its over 200 year history. As some of the first cave guides and explorers who led visitors through the mysterious cave passages in the early 1800s, the enslaved cave guides played a major role in shaping Mammoth Cave National Park into a renowned tourist destination.
 
The ranger led talks will take place on Saturday, February 9, 16, and 23 staring at 9:30 am at the park’s visitor center.  Rangers will share stories of enslaved African American guides and their contributions to Mammoth Cave. 

The ranger led Heritage Trail Walks will depart from the visitor center at 2:00 pm on Saturday, February 16 and Sunday, February 17. The 1 hour accessible walk will follow the Heritage Trail, overlooking Mammoth Cave’s Historic Entrance, and will terminate at the Old Guide’s Cemetery. Sunday’s walk will be presented by a ranger in Civil War period costume. Each walk will discuss the significant contributions African Americans have made throughout Mammoth Cave’s guiding history.

​In addition to the scheduled walks and talks, two video clips featuring stories of the enslaved Mammoth Cave guides will be playing all month long in the visitor center exhibit area. The video clips are provided courtesy of Western Kentucky University’s Public Broadcasting Service and Kentucky Educational Television (KET).
 
All events are free and open to the public with no reservations needed.  For more information about the park or park events, please visit our website at www.nps.gov/maca.

Edmonson Voice Staff Report:
Superintendent Patrick Waddell presented KSBA Certificates to Lorri Keith, Mickey Johnson, Alex Ulm, Keith LaMastus and Paul Forester in recognition of January’s School Board Recognition Month.

Kentucky will again observe January as School Board Recognition Month.

“Our board members are responsible for our community’s most precious resource and the key to its future, our children and their educational opportunities," said Patrick Waddell.

The superintendent also said each member serves to improve opportunities for our students, they serve to ensure our community is poised to meet the future with a highly educated workforce able to improve the local economy, and they serve because they believe in the role public education plays in creating a better Commonwealth for all citizens.

Waddell stated, “whatever the reason, each board member serves with minimal compensation and maximum effort. Board members spend time reading materials and reports to prepare for these meetings. State law requires members to obtain training on finance, charter schools, ethics, leadership and other non-required topics.” 

​"Most importantly, school board members are members of the community; they must be prepared to answer questions about district operations at the grocery store or at the board table. 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.”

Edmonson Voice Staff Report:
The 2019 Edmonson County district spelling bee was held today at ECHS. ​Lillie Webb from South Edmonson Elementary and Jasper Young from Kyrock took home elementary school honors. Fifth grader Carriann Williams and 6th grader Olivia Madison were the 5/6 Center winners. Seventh grader Preslee Hyman and 8th grader Brody Johnson were the ECMS winners.

Brody Johnson was also awarded first place and will be competing at the state spelling bee in Louisville, March 16, 2019. For his achievement he received a trophy, $100 cash prize and $100 to pay for expenses to the state competition.

Second place winner, Olivia Madison received a trophy and $50 cash prize.  The cash prizes and the $100 toward travel is paid by the Farm Bureau Women's Committee.

Edmonson County Schools would like to thank the Edmonson County Women's Committee for their continued support of students.  

 Re-elected Board member Keith LaMastus was unable to attend the board meeting but was administered The Constitutional Oath and the Oath of Office on 01/07/2019.  ​

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Edmonson Voice Staff Report:
​The Edmonson County Middle School academic team won the KAAC Governor’s Cup Region 5 overall championship on February 2, 2019, hosted by Edmonson County.  More than 20 schools from Barren, Logan, Simpson, and Warren Counties participated in the event. 

Points were awarded for placement in future problem solving, quick recall, and written assessment.  ECMS and South Warren ended the contest with 35 points each, but tie breaking rules for the event state the team with the most first place finishes be declared the winner, which resulted in the ECMS victory.  Glasgow Middle finished third overall, and Bowling Green Junior High School finished fourth. 
 
ECMS made a strong showing the regional testing competition.  The following five ECMS players earned the opportunity to compete in seven testing events at the KAAC State Governor’s Cup Finals.

• Brody Johnson            1st arts and humanities, 1st language arts
• Jonas   Miller               1st social studies, 2nd arts and humanities
• Evy Bolton                   2nd language arts
• Emma Sackett             5th language arts
• Brycen Daniels            score of 41/50 on science test  

​Due to the difficulty of the tests, any student scoring 40 or more on a regional test automatically advances to the state competition.
 
ECMS dominated the quick recall competition and took first place in the event. 

ECMS won its round one game over Adairville 37 to 17.  In round 2, ECMS defeated Glasgow 36 to 15.  After sitting out round 3, ECMS won its round 4 match over Bowling Green 38 to 19.  ECMS then defeated Bowling Green by a score of 39 to 26 in the quick recall championship game.
 
The ECMS future problem solving team placed third in the regional competition and earned 3 points for the team in the overall competition.  The regional topic concerned the global issue of food waste. 
 
“Our regional victory shows the true importance of team effort," said Head Coach Greg Grey.  "It took every point earned by every player in every event to achieve our overall victory.  I want to be the first to commend our players for their extra effort in moving from district to region.   Their work is now being rewarded with a trip to the state finals.   We play in one of the most competitive regions in the state, and that makes our victory even sweeter.  Our focus from now to mid-March will be on winning a state championship.  We look forward to the challenge and as always want to represent Edmonson County in the best possible manner.“