Today's News

One of golf's signature events - and certainly the biggest in Kentucky's history -- will tee off next week just across the Metro Louisville Line, 13 miles from downtown Shelbyville.

The Ryder Cup, which pits the elite professionals from the United States against a team from Europe, will be held Sept. 16-21 at Valhalla Golf Club in Eastwood.

And it's generating a lot of excitement in Shelby County.

Walt Reichert has left his post here as the editor of The Sentinel-News to sit on a bucket and feed chickens.

Some may call it retirement, but Walt would say it's a promotion - a reward for his many years as a teacher, writer and journalist.

Enjoy it, sir. You've earned it.

When I came to work here at the paper over four years ago, Walt was already dreaming of the day that he could forsake the daily grind and spend more time tending to the chickens, ducks, cows, and vegetables on his hobby farm near Simpsonville.

On Thursday morning a team of five rescue workers from Shelbyville arrived in Louisiana to help victims of Hurricane Gustav.

EMS Director Steve Wortham said Shelbyville's Medical Special Response Team journeyed to Alexandria, La., by ambulance along with six other ambulances from around Kentucky.

The five volunteers -- Jeff Ivers, John Trzcinski, Mike Swigert, Shawn Doty and Bobby Cravenz -- loaded the ambulance with medical supplies, food and tents in which to house themselves.

At the Shelby County Recycling Center, there are seven large metal bins that are used to collect and store various recyclable items: one for aluminum, one for cardboard, one for plastic and so on.

But the item that has the biggest bin and takes up the most space at the center is also the one that is the easiest to reduce - paper.

Val Shirley, who manages the center, spends the majority of his day making sure that the materials donated go in the right bins.