Madison Doyle, story and photos:
Preserving Edmonson Pride presented Mis Amigos with a beautification award, following the remodel of the restaurant. Owner Antonio Gonzalez-Vargas said he was very thankful for this, and they have worked very hard on the remodel.

"Preserving Edmonson Pride was organized by local Edmonson County citizens to promote economic development and beautification within our community. Antonio and his family at Mis Amigos have proven after 15 years of warm, welcoming service that they are invested in our county. Their recent renovations are exquisite and they are certainly deserving of the Preserving Edmonson Pride Beautification Award," said Andrea Brantley, Preserving Edmonson Pride Member said.

Brantley stated that Josh Casey, Vice President of Edmonson County Chamber of Commerce reached out to Preserving Edmonson Pride to nominate Mis Amigos for this award.

"Anyone with a pair of eyes can see that Antonio and his crew have put a lot of work into this restaurant. Nominating them was just common sense. On behalf of the Chamber I just want to say we appreciate your hard work in the community," said Casey.

A Plus Family HealthCare and A Plus KidCare will be providing the 1st Annual Back to School Readiness Day on Friday, August 2nd at their Brownsville location.

If your child needs a physical, immunizations, or a kindergarten dental screening, call to schedule an appointment at 270-975-4050. There will be school supplies, crafts, goodies and giveaways that day.

"Special shout out to The EC Public Library and The Barren River District Health Department for joining us to provide a fun-filled day," A Plus said in a statement.

Edmonson Voice Report:
VFW National Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri notified Edmonson County’s own VFW Post 6937 Commander Edwin Vincent on Tuesday that his Post had been selected for their highest honor – designation as an All-American Post.  Last month, the VFW Department of Kentucky designated the Post as All-State, an honor shared by only a few other Kentucky Posts.  Post Commander Vincent will receive the honor in Louisville later this month.  This is the fifth time the Brownsville Post has been awarded All American, with 2024 being the third consecutive year.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars was established after veterans of the 1898 War with Spain returned to the United States bearing wounds and illnesses (primarily Yellow Fever), as well as the burden of taking care of the widows and orphans of their wartime comrades for which the nation at that time had absolutely no safety net.  They initially organized locally but by 1915 they became a nationwide organization which helped establish a fledgling VA by the time the Doughboys returned from WWI.  Before WWII was concluded, they helped establish the GI Bill and they have been in the forefront of national legislative, as well as practical local efforts to help veterans ever since.
 
"Here in Edmonson County, VFW Post 6937 is most visible to the community in conducting burial honors for veterans, conducting flag training, patriotic speaking and writing contests in the schools, as well as providing honors at significant community events, such as the Memorial Day ceremony in the Courthouse square, and they will participate in the 2018 Edmonson County Fair Parade later this September," said local VFW Spokesperson Lt. Col. Floyd Houston (ret). "Our Post meets on the third Monday of each month at 6:30 pm at the Edmonson County Library.  If you are an Honorably discharged veteran with a campaign medal from any overseas conflict, please join us."

Click the flyer to find out more:

submitted flyer:

Madison Doyle, story and photos:
The Edmonson County Chamber of Commerce hosted the ribbon cutting ceremony for "The Local Lemon" today in Brownsville, July 17, 2024. Owner, Logan Billhartz, said she is thrilled for this opportunity that she is "so passionate about."

Chamber President Darren Doyle said "On behalf of the Chamber I want to thank everybody for coming out. This is a unique idea in our community that is not only popular in our area, but many other places. We are thrilled to welcome them to our local business community."

Owner Logan Billhartz discussed her business.

"We landed on the name Local Lemon because we want to stay true to our hometown, and our local customers. That is single-handedly the most important thing to us, and we strive every single day to make sure that we are creating a lemonade that our customers love. Secondly, our ingredients are fresh, always. Even our syrups, we use Monin syrups which are expensive but they are the best. Lastly, we can be booked for everything. It doesn't matter to us if it's a small birthday party, or a big wedding. We are here for whatever event you may need and would be thrilled to serve you."

Logan said the best way to contact her is by phone number, 270-246-1119. She also said she wanted to thank everyone for coming out to support her business today, and she is so grateful for anyone who has ever supported the Local Lemon.

Edmonson Voice Report:
The state level 4-H Speech and Demonstration competition was held July 13, 2024  in Lexington, Kentucky. 

To earn a spot in the state competition, 4-Hers compete locally in Edmonson County, where winners advance to the Mammoth Cave Area Competition. Winning at the regional level allows competitors to advance to the state level.

Jesse Denham won first place overall in the Visual Arts Demonstration. 

Khloe Poteet and Julian Denham received a blue ribbon in the team demonstration.

Hadley Garmon received a blue ribbon in digital demonstration. 

(July 10, 2024) - United Way of Southern Kentucky announced today that it is investing a total of $12,015 in Education, Health, Income and Safety Net programs and services in Edmonson County. Five local programs provided through two service providers will receive the allocated campaign dollars and donor designations.

These investments started July 1, 2024 and will continue through June 30, 2025. In total, $1,013,484 will be invested across the 10-county Barren River Area Development District (BRADD), supporting 50 programs.

In September of 2023, organizations with programs impacting UWSK’s strategic imperatives in each of the defined Community Impact issue areas (Education, Income, Health, and Safety Net) were asked to submit a Letter of Intent indicating their desire to complete a full application request for funding. Across the 10-county BRADD, 76 total Letters of Intent were submitted.

Allocation dollars were determined based on the work of 95 volunteers working specifically in their home counties of Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe, Simpson, and Warren. In total, these volunteers invested 1,145 hours in the process which began with training sessions for all volunteers. This time generated an impact of $42,800 in service to our community (based on National Rate of Volunteer Time: $33.49 per hour). Volunteers reviewed programs, finances, governance, and outcomes to develop the recommendations for program investments.

In Edmonson County, $12,015 was allocated by volunteers led by Edmonson County Chair, Craig Browning, as follows:
EDUCATION: $5,000
Kindergarten Readiness:
Edmonson County FRC, Camp Kindergarten: $5,000

HEALTH: $3,000
Access to Affordable Health Care:
Kentucky Legal Aid, Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman: $1,500
Kentucky Legal Aid, Benefits Counseling: $500
Safe Home & Community:
Kentucky Legal Aid, Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower (ESCAPE): $1,000

SAFETY NET: $750
Access to Basic Needs:
Kentucky Legal Aid, Emergency Legal Assistance: $750
Remaining Investment to be made: $3,265

“As our region continues to grow at a steady pace, so also do the needs in our community. We are grateful for all the of local business, organizations, and individuals that continue to give, advocate, and volunteer in an effort to meet the growing needs. This year, we are especially thankful to be able to allocate more funding to local profits than we did last year. Our we hope that every year the generosity of others will allow the upward trend of giving and impact to continue,” said Debbie Hills, President & CEO of United Way of Southern Kentucky.

To receive funding from United Way of Southern Kentucky (UWSK), programs had to align with the four areas deemed most important by a community research project conducted by United Way that began in 2012 and included nearly 5,000 surveys, 55 Community Conversations, and large amounts of secondary data.

The four broad areas of most concern were defined by the community as: Education, Income, Health, and Safety Net. Programs were also evaluated on the following IMPACT criteria: Innovative, Measured, Partnered/Collaborative, Accountable, Community-centered, and Transformative.

This includes an emphasis on programs that provide services within a best practices framework, that are collaborative and integrated into the fabric of other community education, income, health, and safety net efforts, that consider the goals, needs and aspirations of the communities they serve, and that are innovative.

LtCol Floyd Houston USMC ret, story:
Last week, the Brazilian Military conducted an international durability and accuracy test on Edmonson County’s Nemesis Arms, a maker of premier sniper rifles. 

The Nemesis Arms LMR model, in .308 prevailed, overcoming sniper rifle submissions offered by Sig Arms of New Hampshire, Daniel Defense of Georgia, and CZ of the Czech Republic.  The evaluation will help Brazil select their next sniper rifle and might influence other nations seeking to update their own sniper rifle inventories. 

Nemesis rifles are unique throughout the world because they feature rapid no tools takedown with rifle caliber replacement and ambidextrous bolts, with return to zero following takedown and reassembly.

The test began by taking two Nemesis rifles, swapping barrels to test interoperability, followed by testing accuracy with a ten shot grouping measuring no more than .59 inches at a range of 100 meters.  Then the rifles were each dropped 16 times with primed cartridges from a height of 1.5 meters onto concrete to test ruggedness and safety.  The drop tests were followed by endurance testing which started with 200 rounds fired rapidly (3 seconds between shots) to measure heat buildup (the rifle temp measured slightly over 300 degrees) at which time a live round was loaded and left for ten minutes to ensure it did not discharge spontaneously. 

The rifle was then cleaned and fired rapidly again, this time for another 300 rounds, cleaned then tested again for accuracy with a must shoot ten shot grouping measuring less than 1 Minute Of Angle (approximately 1.2 inches at 100 meters).  The Nemesis rifle’s group measured .6 inches (1/2 Minute Of Angle).  No other arms company’s rifle passed.

Manufactured in the Edmonson County Industrial Park, Nemesis is a member of the Edmonson Chamber of Commerce; their products are used the world over and have appeared in Hollywood movies like the Bourne Legacy, as well as in numerous TV thrillers.

Edmonson Voice Report:
Abby Logsdon of Edmonson County recently returned home from Kentucky Farm Bureau’s (KFB) Institute for Future Agricultural Leaders (IFAL). A total of 90 high school students from around the state attended the five-day summer leadership conference.

Two identical IFAL conferences were held this summer at Murray State University (MSU) from June 9-13 and at University of Kentucky (UK) from June 23-27, respectively. Forty-seven students attended the conference at MSU while 43 students, including Logsdon, attended the conference at UK.
 
IFAL is designed to expose high school students to college life while helping them explore the different fields of study for careers in agriculture. During the week, attendees participated in learning and leadership opportunities that allowed them to gain a better understanding of the agriculture industry, including needs and challenges, how basic and applied science is utilized in agriculture and farming, and how the political process is leveraged to develop agricultural policy.

A special benefit will be held on behalf of the Jason and Caroline (Moody) Vaught family this Saturday at the Edmonson County Community Center.

According to Mark Moody, father of Caroline, Jason Vaught was a correctional officer who died unexpectedly at age 32, due to an enlarged heart. He left behind his wife, who was a stay-at-home-mother, and three small children.

All proceeds will help with their unexpected medical and daily expenses.

The Edmonson County Fair has released all the info and forms for the upcoming baby shows and pageants that will held at Edmonson County High School on Saturday, July 13, 2024.