Features

Between 1783 and 1786, Joseph Hornsby, prosperous and prominent resident of Williamsburg, Virginia, had acquired five land grants in present-day Shelby County (which was then Jefferson County, Va.), including 2,400 acres on Plum Run and 400 on Fox Run.

In 1797 or early 1798, Hornsby, then a widower, brought his family to Kentucky, making his home on his 2,400-acre tract near Simpsonville, now in Shelby County, which he called “Grasslands.”

One thing that people like about the Kentucky Derby, aside from horses, of course, is the glamour surrounding the event.

Everyone is excited about maybe getting a chance to glimpse of a celebrity or two, or to dress up in fancy hats or just enjoy a tasty mint julep.

Receiving a Distinguished Citizen Award, having several people speak about him and getting a standing ovation all added up to an emotional night for Ray Leathers on Thursday.

“I am overwhelmingly humbled to receive this award,” said Leathers to a crowd of about 150 people at the Cardinal Club in Simpsonville.

Leathers, who lives in Shelbyville with his wife, Rosalie, was the first recipient of the award, established this year by the Boy Scouts of America to recognize a person who has made significant contributions to the community.

It’s difficult to catch Mary Spinks and Mae Bates in a stationary mode.

These two best friends have been exercising together ever since meeting in an exercise class in 2005.

“We met right here, at Body Recall,” Spinks said in a recent interview after a Shelby Shape Up class at the Shelby County Extension Office.

“We were Morning Glories then, the group, I mean,” Bates said, breaking into laughter at the look on her friend’s face.

After that introduction, the two decided to get serious about exercise.

You likely have seen signs along Interstate 64 in Kentucky bearing the inscription Purple Heart Trail, but do you know why they are there?

In December 2002, I-64 from Ashland to Louisville was designated The Purple Heart Trail in recognition of the sacrifices of the service men and women wounded in action.

Introduced into legislation by then state Sen. Elizabeth Tori of Radcliff, the bill was signed into law by Gov. Paul Patton, who attended a ceremony at the welcome center in Shelby County announce it.

As you head out to work today, will you avoid black cats, ladders and looking in your rearview mirror for fear of cracking it? Or will you scoff at those who fear Friday 13th?

After all, it's just another day.

Or is it?

Triskaidekaphobia, the fear of Friday the 13th, whether you take it seriously or not, has had a real impact on American society.

State officials are worried about the effect of a mosquito outbreak on Kentucky’s equine population, so much so that the commissioner of agriculture has issued a warning to horse owners to vaccinate their animals against the West Nile virus.

“While we do not wish to cause unnecessary alarm, we are concerned about the equine population’s vulnerability to this potentially deadly disease,” Commission James Comer said in a press statement released last week.

In 1797 or early 1798, a prominent Virginian departed Williamsburg and settled his family in Shelby County. He was Joseph Hornsby, who, in his few years in Kentucky, was to make a significant contribution to his new home.

When he arrived in Shelby County, Kentucky had been a state only five years. According to the 1800 census, Shelbyville, with a population of 262, was the seventh-largest town, and Louisville had only 359 residents.

A local family doctor has retired after 40 years of practice.

Dr. William Powers’ last day at his office was Thursday, but he will officially retire Sunday, when a reception is scheduled in his honor.

Powers and his wife, Sondra, and their daughter, Sacha, moved to Shelbyville in November 1972, when he joined the medical practice of Dr. Ron Waldridge, who retired in July 2010.

During his years of practice, Powers was an active member of the medical staff of Jewish Hospital Shelbyville, serving as a past president and on various committees.