Special to the Sun Kentucky Administrative Office of Courts April marks National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time to recognize the critical role communities play in protecting children and supporting families. In Kentucky, that mission takes on urgency as the Citizen Foster Care Review Board seeks volunteers in 54 counties, including Woodford, to review foster care cases and advocate for vulnerable children. Each year, thousands of children in Kentucky are removed from th

STATE SEN. AMANDA MAYS BLEDSOE (Legislative Research Commission photo) Kentucky State Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, R-Lexington, whose district encompasses all of Woodford County, was named the recipient of the inaugural Outstanding Young Woman Award, presented by 100 Women Lexington. “I am honored to receive this award and grateful to 100 Women Lexington for this recognition,” Mays Bledsoe said in a Senate Majority Caucus news release. “It is a privilege to serve my community,

The Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) selected Woodford County, along with 19 other counties, to participate in its new initiative, KACo Opioid Solutions Network (KOSN). The program seeks to help counties invest opioid settlement funds in innovative, evidence-based and locally driven ways. KACo expects other Kentucky counties to join the network in the future after this initial group pilots a best practices collaborative approach to opioid abatement dollars. “Each of th

By Dr. Jennifer A. Jackson President, League of Women Voters of Kentucky Kentuckians have a right to expect the state budget is designed and changed in ways the public can participate in. This year, that did not happen. The processes behind two main budget bills, House Bills 500 and 900 appropriating billions of dollars, were compressed and passed with little to no public input. HB 500, the critically important state budget bill, is the clearest example. The bill was introduc

RACHEL BLACKBURN AND ELLIE BULLEN are pictured in their completely renovated and redesigned Up The Creek country store in Mortonsville. The shelving behind them, displaying a variety of Kentucky Proud food items, was designed and built by Rachel. (Photo by Scott White) UP THE CREEK, a new country store that opened on Monday, April 20, in Mortonsville, will offer a gathering place for that area of the county. Ellie Bullen and Rachel Blackburn, co-owners and partners, will offe

During its Tuesday night meeting, the Versailles City Council received remarkable news – its credit rating by Moody’s Investor Services has jumped from A to AA on its general fund and to A1 on its sewer and water operations. Stan Kramer, a Versailles resident with First Kentucky Securities Corporation and the city’s consultant on bond issues, explained he learned this while doing the due diligence on the bonds being issued by the city regarding its purchase of the Yokohama pl

THE KENTUCKY WOMEN’S CONFERENCE, a signature event of the Woodford County Chamber of Commerce, welcomed over 200 participants from all over Kentucky to its 2026 annual, sell-out event on April 14, held at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System headquarters. (Photo by Scott White) By Scott White Woodford Sun Staff The Woodford County Chamber of Commerce welcomed a sold-out crowd of more than 200 women to the Kentucky Women’s Conference on Tuesday, April 14, held a

WOODFORD COUNTY MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS in Family, Career and Community Leaders of America participated in the State Leadership Conference, with top two finishes in each category moving on to the national competition in Washington, D.C., later this summer. Pictured are: front row, Marcy Herbst, Dori Hudson, Harmony Gampper and Addie Farmer; back row, Resse Willis, Leah Turpin, Natalie Basanta, Hadley Hird, Whitney Wellman, Kash Gould and Aiden Gould. (Photo by Olivia Wright) B

KYLE ALBERT, who is legally blind, talked to Simmons Elementary fourth grader Brendan Wood about how he helps other people with disabilities overcome barriers in his career as a vocational rehabilitation program specialist. (Photo by Bob Vlach) WCFD ASSISTANT CHIEF Terry Agee showed Simmons Elementary fourth grader Violet Brickler how a thermal imaging camera helps firefighters find people in a structure fire during Career Day on April 16. (Photo by Bob Vlach) STAFF SGT. Core

LILY DEVERS talked to Midway City Councilmember Logan Nance during Saddle Up Day at Northside Elementary on April 17. Nance and other local leaders listened to ideas that Lily and other fifth graders pitched to them to improve the Midway community. (Photo by Bob Vlach) Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, Councilmember Logan Nance and other local leaders came to Northside Elementary School on April 17 to listen to fifth grade students give their proposals for making their communi

PLAYING ON AN OLD SWING are Mia White and Walt and Lewis Clayton on a visit to their grandparents in Woodford County. (Photo by Scott White) A wonderful Woodford week By Scott White Wooodford Sun Staff Is there anything better than a staycation? While a good portion of the county was lolling on beaches in Florida, or spending their children’s inheritance at Disney World or camping in the Smoky Mountains, I, along with many other Woodford Countians, stayed put last week. We ch

LEAH AND LILLY McFARLANE, a mother and daughter team, are ready to help folks with two weeks’ worth of diapers from the Versailles United Methodist Church’s diaper ministry. (Photo by Scott White) THE DIAPER MINISTRY is a team effort at Versailles United Methodist Church. Preparing the diapers for pick-up are, from left, Katie Slone, Jenelle Smart, Jenny Cocanougher and Martha Thompson. (Photo by Scott White) About a year ago, Leah McFarlane, a member of Versailles United Met