Daniel Cameron's education plan for Kentucky and reaction just ahead.

To meet prevention means there's hope.

It's hope for change.

How to University of Kentucky professors are helping in the fight against child sex trafficking.

You know, that's that's what we're here on Earth for, is to care for our fellow man.

And we'll stop by a restaurant giving the homeless a place to eat and farmers a place to sell.

Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions, the Leonard Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition on this Tuesday, August the 15th.

I'm Christie Dutton in for Renee Shaw.

Thank you for joining us.

The focus today in the governor's race, your schools.

Republican Daniel Cameron says Kentucky should develop state backed tutoring programs to help students recover from pandemic learning setbacks.

Cameron also proposed raising starting salaries for teachers and bolstering discipline in the classrooms.

Cameron says his plan is meant to overcome, quote, generational learning loss that was caused by school shutdowns during the COVID 19 pandemic.

As I've shared on numerous occasions, I believe that today, in this moment, what is needed is a plan that focuses on how we get our kids caught up in the lion's share.

The majority of our students are in our public school system.

And so we need to focus resources on making sure that our hard working teachers know that they are respected and appreciate it, to make sure that our families understand that there's going to be a governor that's going to fight daily to make sure that we catch our kids up and that our students know that there is a governor in charge is going to be looking out for them.

Obviously, I am grateful for the opportunity to be the Republican nominee, and I believe firmly in the responsibility that we have to our public education system and provide expanding opportunity and choice for our kids as well.

Beshear has made public education a key part of his agenda.

He proposed big increases in state support for schools, higher pay for teachers and state backed universal preschool.

Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman, herself a former teacher and coach, responded to the Cameron education plan.

She said in part, quote, Daniel Cameron has spent his time in office attacking our teachers and advocating to weaken our public schools with vouchers that would send public tax dollars to private schools.

The plan he rolled out doesn't even offer raises to teachers in the classroom today.

And it's not fooling anybody.

She went on to accuse Cameron of backing a plan by then Governor Matt Bevin to strip pensions from teachers.

She says Cameron's running mate, State Senator Rob Mills, voted for and led the effort to pass Bevin's plan.

And she says Mills voted to give legislators, including himself, a raise while not giving raises to teachers.

We will catch up with Governor Andy Beshear tomorrow as he announces his budget proposal for education.

Those details tomorrow night on Kentucky edition.

The Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police backs Daniel Cameron for governor.

The FOP announced its endorsement this morning.

Sheriff Burl Perdue of Clark County, who is president of the state FOP, said, quote, During his tenure as attorney general, Daniel has had our backs.

Our members know that he is available when needed, supports us and good and bad times, and ultimately offers the best platform for law enforcement to thrive in the Commonwealth.

In 2019, the FOP backed then candidate Andy Beshear.

Today, we asked FOP spokesperson Ryan Straw what the group is looking for in Kentucky's next governor.

He said the organization is really focused on retention and retirement.

He said he thinks that they think that Cameron is the best candidate going forward.

So he was definitely in favor of working with the legislature to take us back to a tier one.

We we had some concerns about about A.G. Cameron's pick for lieutenant governor represented mills in the mills.

I mean, the concern was based on his participation in the sewer bill, which obviously stripped our members and a lot of first responders of of benefits before it was overturned.

But we were comfortable with his answer.

He was asked about it several times and he told us the captain of the ship and should he become governor, it's his decision.

And his decision would be to work with the legislature to work on some type of defined benefit plan that would be better for retaining law enforcement in the Commonwealth.

Straw said Basheer gave a similar response, but the organization has some concerns.

So the governor has always been straightforward with us that he'd like to see the same thing.

I think our members are more concerned that with the supermajorities in both chambers, along with conversations that have been had with the Governor that he may not be able to get that job done for us.

And while we appreciated his enthusiasm about it and he has been enthusiastic his four years in office about helping get us back to that point, we just felt like there was no path forward for him to do that.

The Kentucky State FOP says it canvased its nearly 11,000 members and gave a final voice vote last night during an FOP conference in Las Vegas.

Cameron campaigned yesterday with Congressman Andy Barr of the Sixth District in central Kentucky.

They made stops in Brussels and Nicholas ville.

Congressman Barr encouraged voters in both cities to turn out in November.

And we need jessamine county in this and this race for the next governor.

You're going to make this man the next governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and set our course in a better, better and better way for this commonwealth of Kentucky.

What Daniel Cameron.

The general election is November 7th.

Kentucky is one of only three states electing a governor this year.

In education news, students in Jefferson County will miss more days as the district tries to correct a major transportation disaster.

Superintendent Marty Polio says the district will remain closed through Thursday.

On Friday, all elementary and middle school students can return to the classroom.

High school students can return on Monday.

Also, the school district plans to launch an app that will let parents and schools know the location of a child's bus.

JCP canceled school last Thursday and Friday after a massive bussing delays and the first day of school last Wednesday.

The debacle led to Republican state lawmakers calling for a special session and talks of breaking up the state's largest district.

Most students in the state's second largest district here in Fayette County will start a new school year tomorrow.

Renee Shaw recently asked Bridgett Blom with the Prichard Committee about what students need to be successful in the classroom.

So I think the biggest thing we would say to families and to school districts when it comes to back to school is a real commitment to family engagement.

Bringing families along with their students, engage ing them in the process, making sure they're fully aware of what's expected of their students, and for families that they're really supporting their students at home.

Sometimes that is just simple encouragement.

What homework do you have today?

What did you learn that was interesting today?

What excited you about today?

And then reminding them to, you know, get a good night's sleep and be ready for the next day and how important education is.

So there's really nothing that can take the place of that deep communication engagement between schools and families with students in the center.

So the other note there, Renee, is you ask about coming out of COVID.

Yes, we're still dealing with learning loss and with making sure students are caught up.

And I think it's important that we keep that on the front burner because the students who went through COVID are going to inherit the economy of the future, period.

And nobody is going to say those students are the COVID students.

And we need to give them a pass.

They're going to have to compete and they're going to have to contribute in the economy, and they're going to be the drivers of our future economy.

So we have to commit communities and schools and families to making sure they catch up.

Their learning is accelerated and they are on track to be successful.

High school graduates on a post-high school success Pathway.

Ten teachers have been named as semifinalists for the 2024 Kentucky Teacher of the Year award.

The Kentucky Department of Education will name an elementary, middle and high school teacher of the year, as well as one overall teacher of the year.

The semifinalists for elementary education are Katy Hale at Ponderosa Elementary and Boyd County.

Deana Landrum at Southgate Public School, Justin Morrissey at Klondike Lane Elementary in Louisville, and Donnie Wilkerson at Jamestown Elementary Middle School.

Semifinalists are Kevin Daly at Bailey Shannon Middle in Boone County, Doug Henry at Bullet Lick Middle and Kimberly Thompson at East Side Middle in Bulloch County High School Semifinalists are Ryan Davis at Wagner High in Louisville, Luke Glasser at Hazard High and Kumar Rashad at Breckinridge Metropolitan in Louisville.

Winners will be announced September 13th in Louisville.

There is criticism of Mayor Craig Greenburg for his choice to fill a vacancy on the Louisville Regional Airport Authority Board.

The mayor is recommending developer Mark Blyde in the Courier Journal reports.

Blind submitted nothing more than a $0.02 resumé, and he didn't even answer the optional questions on the application.

The newspaper says Blind's family donated $13,000 to Greenberg's campaign for mayor.

The Metro Council planned to vote on the blind nomination Thursday, but has sent it back to committee instead.

After years of planning, Town Branch Park officially broke ground today.

The park in downtown Lexington will serve as a trailhead that connects town branch trail and legacy trail.

It will include a permanent stage children's play areas.

Water features a dog park and art installations.

The ten acre park is being funded through nearly $40 million in private donations.

Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2025.

Why are there ambulances in different parts of Boyle County?

And the Breath at County Library gets a national praise?

Our Toby Gibbs has that and more in our Tuesday look at headlines around Kentucky, a Kentucky high school where two students were killed and 14 others injured in a 2018 mass shooting is getting an upgrade to its security system.

The Paducah Sun reports six Evolv technology weapons detection systems are being installed at Marshall County High School, along with two middle schools.

Marshall County schools Superintendent Steve Miracle tells the Paducah Sun that school safety is always at the forefront of the administration's mind due to the 2018 shooting, but also because of the uptick in school shootings across the country.

He also said it's always been the intention of the school district to continue to use the most current technology to ensure the safety of students and faculty members.

A major manufacturer in Bowling Green is shutting down the Bowling Green Daily News reports Tokyo Automotive parts will close at the end of October.

The newspaper said around 200 will lose their jobs as a result.

Franklin's Toyo plant has supplied anti vibration, rubber and other products to some automotive manufacturers in North America since its opening in 2001.

The company is quoted as saying the closure is due to rising material energy and labor costs.

Ambulances are running in Boyle County and going nowhere, But Boyle County officials tell the Advocate Messenger there is a reason for that.

The county's EMS director, Mike Rogers, said he has heard concerns from people about ambulances sitting around the city idling, but explains the ambulances are being tactically placed to improve response times to calls.

He said if ambulances are in a station, it takes time for a paramedic to drop what they're doing and get out the door.

And their goal is to get to the patient as fast as possible.

Rogers goes on to say that even though the method does increase fuel consumption, it's not by a lot and it saves the county money in the long run because it's cheaper than building a station and paying for utilities and maintenance.

The Breath The county public library is getting national recognition for helping flood survivors.

It's received the Library Journal and gave libraries Defying the Odds award, which recognizes a public library that steps up for its community when faced with adversity.

Stephen Boling, the director of the Breath at County Public Library, tells Moorhead State Public Radio.

Thousands of people were coming into the library every day after last year's flood looking for assistance from the federal, state and local agencies that were stationed there.

Balding tells Moorhead Public Radio that most of the $10,000 grant that came with the award will go toward repairing the damage caused by the increased foot traffic.

With headlines around Kentucky, I'm Toby Gibbs.

Kentucky's Department of Medicaid Services has expanded following the approval of an amendment to the state Medicaid plan.

More in tonight's look at medical news.

Services include mobile crisis intervention teams, 24 hour crisis observations, stabilization services and more.

The new services are funded via the American Rescue Plan Act.

We've all seen somebody on the street, right, who's maybe screaming or crying or or right in some sort of crisis.

And it's not that they're breaking the law, but it's that they're having some sort of behavioral health crisis.

Or then rather than have a law enforcement officer respond, you might then have a social worker who's going out with a law enforcement officer or going out with the ambulance crew, because that happens all the time.

Who would then be able to talk to the person, deescalate the crisis and get that person first into, say, one of the 23 hour crisis centers where a professional would work with that individual to these escalate what's happening and maybe work on getting him medications, maybe work on getting him to a longer term behavioral health support so that they can actually get services and start to get better.

According to Secretary Friedlander, these new services should begin to take effect in the spring.

The Kentucky State Fair is about to open and you can have more than just a good time.

For the third consecutive year, the Kentucky Association of Health Plans is hosting a vaccination clinic.

And when people get a vaccination, they will get a wristband while supplies last, allowing them unlimited rides.

You can get a vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, flu and more.

The president says a recent whooping cough outbreak in Lexington should concern everybody.

The fair runs from August 17th, which is this Thursday until August 27.

Two professors from the University of Kentucky presented their research at this year's National Human Trafficking Prevention Summit.

They hope in their two year research study to raise awareness of child sex trafficking.

Train people to recognize the signs and empower them to take steps to stop it from happening.

There is a kind of a conception in Kentucky that this is not really a Kentucky problem, although, as we have learned, as we started recruiting.

Almost every school can point to an incident of trafficking in their school.

Our program is about giving resources to the middle schools that we're working in in terms of how to see it and how to stop it.

We randomize 50 counties in Kentucky and then within that county.

Then there are all the middle schools within that county will receive the intervention and that both of both the intervention and the control are delivered through learning management systems.

So the training will look similar, but the difference is that at the intervention level we will really infuse we do really into the training with the bystander focus and then the attention control.

We see the information about how what are the what essentially what is Chelsea's sex trafficking look like and then how to report and what the resources are available.

The intervention itself is a series of modules that are taken through this learning management system.

Starts with a little bit of what actually is child sex trafficking and what it's not.

Dispelling myths, helping kind of ground people and the bystander theory.

And then we move on to some risk factors and we really go into that with what is consent mean and what is coercion mean and helping people understand some of the nuances of that.

Then we move into how to identify it.

How do you use this tool, which we call a sexy tool, which is the see it to stop it indicator tool.

And this is something the middle school staff, you know, fill out based on their observations, and we teach them how to do it and then what to do with the results, how to intervene.

And so we we tell them how to intervene.

Then we show them with a video role play.

It's so easy to deny or just say, it's not my problem, but it's also uncomfortable when we see something and don't know what to do.

We want to prevent child sex trafficking.

We want people using the tool and screening.

So if we see more screening, we know that the intervention is working because people are like applying the knowledge that they gain.

So increased screening, increased acts, bystander actions.

Ultimately, our goal is to see a reduction in familial child sex trafficking, but that won't happen until we have a sufficient number of individuals that are trained and then use the actions to eventually see then the awareness leading to reduction in child sex trafficking.

But that's not the immediate outcome we anticipate in the two years.

Phase one of the project was completed earlier this spring and involves putting up billboards across the state, sending bystanders to the website.

Organizers plan to launch phase two, which is the training of middle school staff members on September 12th.

To learn more, go to C stop Now dot com.

It was a lesson in giving back that started in the classroom and moved into a community a pay what you can cafe opened up in Woodford County almost three years ago and as you will see it is helping transform that community.

The idea that a person can come in and eat when they're hungry, you know, that's that's what we're here on earth for, is to care for our fellow man.

We just need we need more places like Spark.

Spark Community Cafe came out of a high school classroom at Watford County High School that I started called Community Activism.

One of the former students contacted me and said, Why don't we do this for real with a brick and mortar?

We fell in love with the concept of pay it forward, pay what you can.

People would come in and say, I can't.

I have $5 for you.

Take that and absolutely, we'll take whatever.

Or if you can't pay, depending on your age and your ability to work, we may give you the meal or we may ask you to come back at the end of the service and help us clean up, which most of our regulars do we have.

Believe or not, a sizable homeless population in our cells.

And most of those men come every day, so a few women and eat and help us clean up The community was slow to support us.

At first they couldn't grasp the concept that we would all eat under one roof together, and no one knew who was paying and who was not.

We had a very successful first year and then COVID came.

And of course, like every other restaurant, we shut down, if we are standing here today because of the community I started in February and I only work once a week volunteer, but they already feel like my family.

What really drew me to this cafe is their mission.

I love the mission that they don't turn away anyone, anybody who comes to the door hungry, they give food.

We have served 22,000 meals to the Food Insecure, mostly Woodford County, but also some in Fayette County and a small town in a more rural area.

It's harder to get the food insecure here and that's why we deliver it, which makes us unique among the pay it forward cafes in the country.

We're getting to know some of the food insecure in our community.

We're that's our basic number one mission.

It's more than just these meal deliveries, which are incredibly important, but it's also just establishing relationships with these families and being able to help them out in other other matters as well.

The feeling that you get from it, it just can't be matched.

The impact of Spark is not just helping the food insecure the kitchen staff as well.

Hey, so we have we have created jobs, but the farm to table element is one of the most important parts.

People coming to this great farm to table restaurant to get a fantastic meal.

We try to partner with local farmers, figure out what they have, and we try to get as much as possible as we can get from them.

Most of what is put on the table from the spring through the fall comes from local farms, much of it Woodford County, and that's a lot of mostly young farmers who have a way of making a living.

So we decided to push the catering aspect pretty hard and with those proceeds, what we're able to do is we're able to take a percentage of that money and we're able to put it toward the food insecure After covering the cost of food, our staff and all of the other expenses that go along with it, I hope to see it grow.

I hope the people come in and see what they're doing and take the idea home with them and start things in their community.

The Future of Spark.

I hope we are able to expand.

I would love to see it provide a great living wage to locals around here in the community, and I would love to see food trucks traveling to events, festivals, all these things.

So the sky's the limit for us.

You can learn more about Chef Isaiah Screech by watching his interview with Rene Shaw.

Just look for the episode on our website.

Katie Organ Connections.

Well, Rene is back tomorrow and she'll talk politics with Rylan Barton of Kentucky Public Radio.

Plus, Governor Bashir announces his budget plan for education.

So join us tomorrow at 630 Eastern, 530 Central for Kentucky Edition, where we inform, Connect and Inspire.

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Have a wonderful evening.