>> I'm a gratifying feeling to know that we can actually really, really helps people.

>> Make the Ek you professor who went from shaping lives to saving them.

>> I've been in the district 27 there were and mile after by seen too much damage.

>> State road experts talk about the hit eastern Kentucky's infrastructure took from historic flooding.

Good news is on the way for thousands of Kentuckians who have trouble hearing.

>> You >> This >> singer, songwriter has a real way with words and he has his Kentucky hometown to thank.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions.

The owner Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION for this Tuesday.

August, the 16th, I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you for spending your Tuesday evening with us.

State Transportation Secretary Jim Gray says it's all hands on deck when it comes to rebuilding the infrastructure.

>> And eastern Kentucky following catastrophic flooding there.

Gray spoke to state lawmakers this afternoon about the damage to roads, bridges and other structures and that region and the progress being made to get the counties impacted back on the road to recovery.

>> The damage.

And the destruction to the infrastructure.

These counties is enormous.

And what we're doing is we're trying to examine that get an inventory of it.

And do our best to estimate what that cost.

Maybe 2.

To rebuild.

And 16 days we have inventoried.

1098.

Bridges.

In the disaster zone.

So far.

56 bridges have been identified for replacement.

And 52 others have been identified as needing repair.

We've already begun the process to replace an initial group.

Of 11 bridges in not letter Perry and Pike counties using existing and emergency contracts.

In 9 of the 11 cases, residents lost motor vehicle access to their homes when their bridges were knocked out.

Our crews cleared at least 153.

Landslides and mudslides and unclog dozens of Calvert and drying structures.

>> And it's about a 50 mile commute from a one way to Jack.

And I drove this road for 27 years to Dom tonight.

Never so in water on Kentucky, 15, my entire career.

But when I first got into brick and I KET it wasn't wrote, I've been in the district 27 years there were and mile after my saying so much damage us.

The lot of the personal property damage.

Terry Hartle.

If you drive up the road, look at it.

That makes it hard for me to sleep in that.

Or infrastructure damage, too.

And I just a picture and my mind what we and we work.

You know, we want to work in 6 or 7 days week census.

Starr and we'll get it, you know, or don't give up will get it.

But it's one of it's going take a while.

>> I think most of you probably know that I'm not counting.

Parents still live in a crew up about 5 minutes from that sports plex and my main event or park.

And I've been really emotional sitting here.

What looking at these pictures because Corbett's right?

These photos cannot prepare you for what you see.

And when you drive up a holler and you see.

Houses that are just gone through this column.

It's just it's so.

It's so hard and it's so hard not to be there every day.

I mean, they're just they don't make words for what we're seeing there right now are there are still people sitting in houses caked in mud.

There are people living in tents.

Our people need help.

Now, I regret to say that.

>> We have learned quite a bit about responding to disasters, especially weather disasters.

In the last couple of years.

But then when disasters piled on disaster.

You learned something else, too.

Something that goes way beyond just the nuts and bolts of disaster response to learn what your people are made up.

16 of our employees have had their own homes flooded with loss of their possessions and at least one had his home washed away completely.

And yet.

They all went right to work.

What I've seen is caring and selfless people.

And the collective determination to overcome what nature has thrown at us.

Together.

As you all know.

Well, we will grind our way through what promises to be still a long and tough and difficult recovery.

But recovery.

It will be.

>> When the floods hit people from all walks of life, stepped up.

One of them.

David Pfeiffer is a member of Red Star of Volunteer Wilderness EMS unit.

He's also an assistant professor of paramedicine at eastern Kentucky University.

The disaster forced him to put what he teaches and to practice.

>> I've responded to a lot of different disasters, my career.

It's that kind of a discreet area.

The economy in general that tends to get flooded, you know, pockets of low-lying cities, Eastern Kentucky, floods every reached out to fly over every hill.

You come kind of every bend you take.

>> There was more flooding and more flooding and more flooding and just seeing, you know, holler after holler after holler flooded and all you can really see is, you know, rooftops and maybe in some cases, you really can see anything at all about the flood water.

>> Was really pretty pretty horrifying.

The first emotion is really just sort shop at the devastation and the magnitude of that devastation.

And then it sort of switches to a sense of gratitude for lack of a better word that you're in a position to actually do something about it.

I think what's frustrating for a lot of people is watching these sorts of disasters play out on TV, not knowing how to help.

That's, you know, kind of gratifying, feeling to know that we can actually really, really helps people.

And then it's time to just get to work.

There's a lot to focus on a lot of policies and procedures and techniques.

And you need to check with Mitt.

So very quickly just becomes time to sort of focus on those things.

Get the job done.

We did a total of 8 or individuals rescued the one that really stuck out the most to me was we were flying over an basically just sort of doing aerial searches to sort of seeing, you know, if there's anybody trying we have us down.

>> And we came across a road that was trying to signal to us.

So we landed in kind of a dry little patch of grass.

And this was a boat crew that had rescued a couple other people from a house that they were stranded them.

And one of those started having what appeared to be struck.

That guy could have been having a stroke and it is a week and it just happened to that day when his house was also under water.

And, you know, the boat crew was really glad that we had a paramedic on board the aircraft to be able to provide this person, the care that they need.

Life goes on.

Even in the midst of disasters.

There's a lot of layers kind of to the onion of problems that occur when we have these natural disasters, people still have strokes and heart attacks and are still having babies and are still having all kinds of different medical emergencies just as they would any other day of the week.

And now they're in the middle of flood waters.

Well, unfortunately, natural disasters seem to be increasing a magnitude.

And a lot of that is attributable to climate change.

>> you know, there's widespread consensus researchers across all the different natural sciences that flooding is going to get worse and more frequent heat waves are going to get hotter and longer hurricane to be more powerful, you know, so on and so forth.

>> And so having the skill set to be able to, you know, help people.

>> As these emergencies, these kind of natural disasters.

>> Get that much more complicated.

And that much more is going to be a really important thing for spotters in the future to now.

>> Now on to other news, the University of Kentucky is welcoming what could be its largest freshman class ever.

The UK marching band cheerleaders.

The Wildcat mascot and UK President Eli Cap a little all helped greet students as they moved in this morning.

Doctor Capito says all the pomp and circumstances to help put students and their parents at ease.

♪ >> The big blue welcome.

there's a lot of heart on display here today.

It starts with or volunteers that here from all over campus, regardless of their title, they are here to welcome these families and students and give them a big hello and hug.

means a lot to me.

What we're trying to do is build a little bit of a community between Austin with hundreds of people who are working here, the university, they the A's too.

>> Make sure they are comfortable coming in.

And then the parents also home to send their kids are coming to an environment where they will be.

Thank you, Carol.

You're dropping your child off at.

A place that, you know, maybe a little strange and to immediately feel the warmth and the care compassion.

Makes them feel a little better and our students to have a little nervousness going on today.

>> I think I'm most nervous for find my classes and just getting to know everything is on campus.

This is perhaps the largest class we have coming in over 6,000 students coming into as freshman this year's it tells me that more and more we're first choice.

>> And then.

I know in a few years I get the stand at Rupp Arena will be overwhelmed by the number of graduates.

I'm sure will be a record number day organizational.

>> Background behind this activity.

It is huge.

But his whole soul.

>> A good way to feel connected with what our primary goal is, which is to graduate student.

>> It's a little bit stressful with all this move and stuff.

But I'm really excited.

I mean, people it's exciting to be back in an actual classroom.

So looking forward to that this year, all hope they carry with them confidence.

Confidence they have.

Been challenge that.

>> And that they grew through all of those challenges.

That they do faan what is truly within them.

They're they're meeting in person.

♪ >> Go big Blue.

Well, here's some news that affects hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians.

The FDA will soon allow hearing aids to be sold to people with mild to moderate hearing loss over the counter without a prescription.

This is after President Biden issued an executive order calling for rule change in order to promote more low cost, hearing aids.

The new rule takes effect in 60 days.

It's estimated 30 million Americans have some kind of hearing loss.

The Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and hard of hearing says in Kentucky, it's 700,000 or 16% of the state's population.

Kentucky's monkeypox numbers have gone from 11 to 15, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The number is still much lower than our neighbors in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee.

The Lexington, Fayette County Health Department will host a monkeypox vaccination clinic on Thursday at Central Baptist Church on Wilson Downing Road.

It's open to people outside Fayette County, but not everyone is eligible check the department's Facebook page to find out more.

♪ ♪ 300 Kentucky students held 10 meetings around the state to talk about the need for more state help to protect student mental health students and the head of the initiative.

Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman made their case today to the interim Joint Committee on Education in Frankfort.

>> Before the pandemic of this back in 2018, which seems like maybe a million years ago.

Now the CDC reported that there were about one in 5 students or children sees me that had a mental disorder.

But here's the here's the important part.

Only 20% of those students actually receive care from a specialized mental health provider now were during the pandemic in 2019, 2020.

This is going to come as no surprise to anyone in this room.

But there was a 21% increase in children diagnosed with behavioral or conduct KET that as students returned to in-person learning, there would be challenges academically.

Certainly but also a suspected it would be pretty hard for them socially and emotionally.

And so what I wanted was to hear directly from >> Our first recommendation is to include and elevate student voice Foundation.

Ali.

We think it is critical that student voices included at all levels of decision-making.

Our second recommendation is to provide comprehensive suicide prevention.

Our 3rd is to allow excuse mental health absences, our forces to expand access to mental health services and treatment 5th to increase mental health awareness and education and 6th to increase and improve mental health professional development.

We've just on another round of interviews 20 >> These have been very intimate conversations about what it looks like for and education for them.

And what we see is a lot of the issues that were there, May of 2020 at the height of the pandemic.

>> Are still very, very, very much present.

>> Do not have all the answers.

We have no playbook.

There's no right or wrong answer.

>> One of today's recommendations calls for building on House Bill.

44, which became law earlier this year.

It allows local school districts to include excused absences for students, mental health students involved in today's discussion are asking state lawmakers to make the new policy requirement instead of just an option.

>> At any point in their lifetime, about half of kids will experience an episode of of anxiety and depression.

And I don't think any given point in time about 20% of kids will be experiencing, you a significant episode or what we would think would be a clinical episode.

So that's really a good number of kids, right?

So when I walked into a building today and screened every single kid, about 20% of them to come up as having some sort of concerned that needed mental health treatment.

And, you know, I think COVID what we have seen is that the severity of the concerns have has increased as well as the number of kids experiencing anxiety and depression.

Are they younger and younger than previously?

>> I think, you know, I in terms of the kids who are presenting to the emergency department for for pediatric emergencies, we are seen it in some cases that trending younger that with what we have seen previously in, I don't know if that's because of awareness, right?

Because I think a lot of becoming aware of mental health concerns in youth or if it if it really is kind of affecting kids at a younger and younger age?

Well, that's an interesting point because it seems we're having more transparent and open and candid conversations about mental health that we've never had before.

We talk about physical home, we've often ignored.

>> What's happening from the neck up.

I'm thrilled that the conversations about armor open and I think that allows us to recognize more kids who are having difficulty and get them to treatment they need.

And then for the kids who are experiencing anxiety, depression, it reduces some of the stigma around that gives them permission to reach out for help.

So what would you say to those who love kids in or around kids, whether they're a parent or caregiver, an educator when they see something that's may be changing in a What should they ask and what should they do?

I think the first thing I would say is don't let your fear of saying the wrong thing.

Stop me from right.

So the important thing to do is is to ask and asking is not going to put any idea in their head.

And, you know, I think if you're concerned no, the mental health, I think, you know, just stay where you observe, right?

So I see spending more time alone in your room.

What's going on to dry?

>> I see you know that you're you're kind of talking back to me a little more than you usually do.

Like, are you feeling, OK, is everything.

All right.

Are you stressed?

>> So I think just kind of start with an observation of what right?

What you see is going on with the kid right in asking from their right.

And if you think that a child is having thoughts of suicide have a plan for that, should you just be point blank in asking you?

Yeah.

If they do, you have any thoughts about ending your life?

Absolutely.

And I think it's important to be point blank because sometimes kids.

Well only answer the point blank question, right?

If you say you're going to harm yourself or have you thought of harming yourself that may be interpreted differently, right?

Yeah, right.

And so or they may say, well, I didn't ask it this way.

So I don't have to give that answer right into it.

And I think the best thing to do is is if you're concerned about them having thoughts about any of their life, just asked that direct question.

You know, have you have you been so upset that you thought about ending your life?

Our thanks to doctor Alyssa Briggs, who is a pediatric psychologist at the University of Kentucky for speaking with us today.

>> Next month on KET, we're providing special programming about youth mental health during Kentucky Edition and our KET form series.

So look for those reports and discussions coming and September.

♪ >> It's been around 20 years and now it's home to more than 20 industries and credit twenty-twenty vision for the idea that's become a force and economic development for South Central Kentucky City officials call it a game changer and its newest addition breaking ground next week is the biggest investment yet.

>> With Trance Park is indeed 1, One of the biggest things very, very proud of and that's helped to change lives throughout this region.

Around 2004, 2005, we landed Bowling, Green metal forming, which was kind of our flagship employer up there for for many years.

>> With trance par, if you look over the past 20 plus years >> it was about 900 acres.

And over that time we've landed some of the leading projects in Kentucky.

Roughly 2008, 2009, we started getting more aggressive with job development incentives.

>> From the city where the city would give one percent of withholdings back to the companies that would locate here, that the state would match it with 3%.

Along with that.

We bonded the city issued GEO Bonds.

We partner gone with the county.

Our city and county had the vision to invest in the trans park all these years to create that foundation.

>> And then even though we're going to a worldwide pandemic and have a tornado, they invested another 46.5 million.

And then another 12 million on top of that.

>> During the pandemic, we realize that we're going to need more land.

And the at was able to buy a piece of property to the tune of 7 million dollars and the city and county also went together and bought another piece of property that was was a roughly 12 million dollars.

And those 2 pieces of property help land these other additional 5 or 6 companies, including the big one in vision as well as Tyson Ball Corporation.

that really help spur this last 12 months or 18 months worth of development.

>> We've been very blessed and that that we've had, you know, several of the number one new projects announced a Kentuckyian then, you know, past 12 months, we announced in vision, which is the second largest capital investment and all of Kentucky history, 7th highest job creation with the 2000 jobs in Kentucky history.

So it's obviously the largest project ballroom, one kind ever to be announced.

It's much easier for it.

Community like ours that has 85 different languages spoken in our school system.

>> To get the attention of international.

Businesses.

>> Scott CDC has another facility that we can do training and work with the companies to help train their employees.

>> That you can see leads the state annually and training for manufacturing.

So that talent strategy backed up by our school districts backed up by Sky.

CDC has proven to help us win project after process.

As far as the vision for creation of jobs and higher paying jobs.

>> It certainly paid off much better than we ever anticipated.

♪ >> Our final story tonight, Grayson Jenkins has been a full-time musician about 5 years.

He's from Mill and Burt County and says his Kentucky roots have helped shape him as a singer and songwriter.

He tells us how in tonight's look at Kentucky life.

>> Stollar and it happened on.

I was to do it and there's man and gone making them and that's it's fair to them.

But it still >> never thought I would become a full-time slowly but surely the music bug just kept getting hold of me and I want to in pursuit of full-time.

Starting in 2017.

So I'm from Uber County, Kentucky.

More specifically Greenville, Kentucky, grip on a small go and quarter horse farm was really fortunate to grow up.

Born in the woods, doing work on the farm.

Mount Town reflects quite a bit.

My music for a few different reasons.

One, the musical history, they're so rich as a kid.

Unfortunately, I super aware of were involved in.

But also I think this growing up in that county, there are so many stories and turns of phrases that have been around for, you know, hundreds of years that my family's past hour that you just hear people saying it's I think the way people talk and their storytelling have influenced my writing and my style of music.

>> Led by was a humble and.

>> You would bang be back to >> That's total sense.

And in a bar.

And so they're talking for 2 hours.

He said, yes, you know, you have songs to guess and you have a band.

Yes, you have an yes, he's just holding it.

Hit the road like get out there, play your music.

Just go do your own thing.

So that was just kind of a fateful meeting that could have come at a more crucial time.

You know, you're going through this transitional period, wondering if it's the right decision and you get to meet one of your heroes.

Top of musical hero of mine.

The big thing for me was just never wanting to look back and regret that I didn't try and put everything I have into it.

And just musically, it's changed some over the years.

But I definitely like to use my Kentucky influences, you know, Littles still guitars, kind of that country sounded a little bit of Appalachian grass music in there as well.

Some writing for me is started out as just therapy.

started out as a way for me to process things are going on in life often times if I were to just own songwriting.

From a bird's eye view, I would say it's taking a tough situation and finding the grain of hope in that.

I hope that people when I listen to music, feel some type of emotion, whether that spanking back on a good memory, you know, thinking about somebody that they guilty, right.

A lot of love songs make it makes him think of a family member that's passed away.

I lost my mother in 2015.

Songwriting has been my way to process those things.

And, you know, I know it's a good song if.

You know, I tear up a little bit when riding it or I get chill.

You want to think of a law on a distinctly.

Remember the first time the crowd was singing mounts on back to me and the first time ever felt that I was like, this is what I want to.

I want to connect with people in that way.

No one has this was a >> I said that is this world law and >> here's some news from Kentucky's neighbor to the North.

One of the Cincinnati zoo's new arrivals now has a name, a baby hippo born August 3rd is now named Fritz and Fritz took his first swim today alongside his mother, Bibi.

The public wasn't allowed to see France outdoors yet, but the zoo will let us know when that happens.

Power to the hippo.

We hope to see you tomorrow night.

Take good care.

♪