July 24, 2008

Plans being made for Superstart Saturday
By Rhonda Smyth, News Editor

Although most children don’t want to think about it right now, summer vacation is nearly over and its time to start gathering up school supplies for the start of school on Aug. 11. And that is where Super Start Saturday comes in.
Estill County Community Education Director Teresa Dawes is collecting donations for the fourth annual event to be held at Estill Middle School on July 26 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“We have some of the same things going on during the event that we have had in the past and we have some new things this year,” Dawes said.
One of the exciting new activities this year is the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s mobile science unit.
“They will be teaching kids how to make lip balm and other instructional classes throughout,” Dawes said.
The Kentucky State Police will have a booth at which they will give out information on cyber bullying. The Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority will bring their brand new recreational vehicle equipped with computers.
“High school kids will be able to use the computers to find out about financial aid post-secondary education,” she said.
Drive Smart Kentucky, Foothills Community Action Partnership, Parents Against Drug Dealing, Estill Fiscal Court, Boone’s Creek Baptist Association, Children’s Clinic, Marcum & Wallace Memorial Hospital and the Estill County Health Department along with several other organizations will return again this year with information booths.
Dawes said most of the people who signed up in the beginning are still helping and some donors have given even more this year.
“All the letters I sent out came back immediately and most of them gave more this year than last. I think about how far we have come since the first year,” she said.
Dawes said donations of money and school supplies are still needed and can be dropped off at any downstairs office in the courthouse, at the Estill Development Alliance offices on Main Street or at Citizens Guaranty Bank.
Every school age child in the county is eligible.
“I feel like we will have more children this year with the way the economy is right now,” she said.

Library goes buggy at summer reading program
By Savannah Campbell, CV&T Summer Intern

There were many different types of insects seen at the Estill County Public Library on July 8. Luckily, they were all in glass display boxes and photographs as part of an exhibit brought in for the Summer Reading Program.
Charles Wright collected and photographed the insects and his wife Mary Hamilton told stories about insects to the kids and adults in the crowd.
Wright has been collecting the insects from all over Kentucky since 1991. He also takes enlarged photos of each insect in the collection and puts the photos on display so that even the tiniest insects in the glass cases can still be seen.
“There are 10,000 different species of insects in Kentucky and I’ve brought examples of some with me,” Wright began.
The couple first told the children and parents how insects thrive by using disguises. Wright showed the crowd at the event photos of a fly that looked more like a bumble bee.
They involved the children by having them imagine what a walking stick bug’s life is like. The children were told to jump around and then freeze for 15 seconds.
“Feel free to practice at home,” Wright joked.
The couple then explained the three body parts that make up all insects. Every insect has a head, a thorax (legs and wings), and an abdomen. To help the kids remember the parts’ names, Hamilton taught the group the chorus of “Head, Thorax, Abdomen,” a song to the tune of “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.”
Following the chorus and head verse, Wright explained that some insects are social, meaning they work together to form colonies that are used for laying eggs such as hornets. Wright and Hamilton then showed an abandoned hornets’ nest they found in the winter, a time when hornets aren’t around.
Another activity in which the children participated was a skit that helped them to learn how ants store food for the winter.
Hamilton led the group in a game of “Buggy Says,” which she said had the same rules as “Simon Says.” It demonstrated the types of legs insects have.
When the program concluded each child was given a bookmark.