♪ >> I think we should be going on the record.

We should be telling the people where we stand on these bills and we should be doing it by voting on >> Made one of the youngest and most conservative lawmakers joining the Kentucky General Assembly.

We want to take a holistic approach to wellness.

We want to address everything.

An officer and their family could be dealing with.

>> A special facility helps Louisville's first responders and mind body and spirit every child.

Kentucky has the ability.

We'll have a full veil in every zip code.

A new grad for Dolly Parton's Imagination.

Library means more free books for Kentucky.

Kids Ages 0 to 5.

>> And high school seniors back kind of emotion could win you $1000 scholarship.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good Evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION on this Tuesday, December.

The 3rd, I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you so much for joining us this evening.

The political makeup of Kentucky's state House remains the same after this year's election as the ratio of Republicans to Democrats is unchanged.

Still, there will be more than a dozen new legislators filling the House and Senate chambers.

Our June Leoffler spoke with one of the youngest incoming lawmakers who's already making a name for himself among national conservatives.

♪ >> In counties, rural and suburban voters elected TJ Roberts to the state house and he has more faith in the Bible and the Constitution than the government.

>> Governments not always the answer to our problems and I can particularly think of that.

I lost my father to a drug overdose when I was 6 years old, he had his own run-ins in the criminal justice system.

Whenever I was very, very young.

The government programs that were there and they did not help them.

They did not resolve his addiction issues.

They did not.

You can't incarcerate addiction away.

And it just showed me that frankly, faith, family and freedom is the way that society by and large should be organized.

>> Robert's promises to mandate and spend less when I vote yes on the bill to add more requirements.

That is a requirement that is going to be imposed on 4 and a half million people.

And that is a burden that I take very seriously.

You have to persuade me that this is the only way to do it.

>> Robert's got into politics early.

He joined anti-abortion and Second Amendment efforts in college that connected him to national conservative figures including Kyle Rittenhouse who fatally shot 2 people during turbulent protests in Wisconsin.

>> How do folks Kyle Rittenhouse here?

And I want to advise you guys out to an event for my good friend, T J Robert, who's running for state representative.

>> Before running for office, Roberts, one big when he took Kentucky's Democratic governor to court during the pandemic.

>> good Friday, governor.

This year.

Threatens prosecution notices for people who attend church on Easter Sunday.

I thought he was bluffing.

I went to church anyway.

And after my church service, I find the prosecution notice the Alameda either quarantine for 2 weeks or risk up to a year in jail.

If I don't follow this disorder.

So I contacted an attorney and file a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the order.

Fortunately, we win in the 6th Circuit and they published unanimous decision making clear that.

Secular institutions are still open.

Similar religious institutions are allowed to remain open.

>> Come January, Robert says he'll introduce legislation to put any new taxes before the voters.

He also wants to crack down on public dollars for political speech.

A line he says some public school staff crossed in the run-up to the school choice ballot measure.

Roberts is joining the friendly Republican Super majority.

But he says leadership needs to make way for new ideas from all members of the General Assembly.

I think every legislator should be able to have bill that is entitled to a hearing and a vote in a Jermaine Committee of their choosing.

>> And if it passes that committee, it should be in town to a vote on the floor of the House.

That's not a guarantee that that they pass those bills but it gives every legislator a fair shake.

It also gives the district a good idea who their legislator is.

I think we should be going on the record.

We should be telling the people where we stand on these bills and we should be doing it by voting on those bills.

>> Barely out of law school and holding a state elected office at just 26 years old.

This freshman lawmaker has a long runway left in his political career for Kentucky edition.

I'm Jen Leffler.

>> Thank you.

June Roberts fill the seat held by Republican Steve Rawlings Rollins left the House to campaign 4 seed in the state Senate which he won.

We'll have more freshman lawmaker profiles for you before and during the next legislative session.

A legislative panel is examining ways to overhaul Jefferson County Public School system and it wants more time to complete its work, the efficient and affective school governance Task force was created in March during the 2024 legislative session.

Since then, the group has held 10 meetings, including 2 in Louisville that we're open for public comment.

The task force had a deadline of December.

1st to present a draft report with recommendations for the Kentucky General Assembly.

Now Republican state Senator Michael Namus, a co-chair.

The task force says more work is needed in a letter to the Legislative Research Commission.

He's recommending the task force continued during the 2025 interim, quote, as reflected in the members recommendations.

There are critical actions the task force needs to address that couldn't be completed by December.

1st making recommendations for permanent structural and policy changes such as the district size curriculum, discipline or transportation would not be sensible without solid data and a clear action plan.

End quote.

Now turning to the federal government.

Congress returned to work this week after the Thanksgiving break us Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says there is plenty of important legislation that still hasn't been passed and he blames Democrats for continuing delays.

>> Well, the Senate doesn't 3 weeks in the complete some of the most important business the of the year.

And at this late hour, what Cuomo just lotion mountains.

The luxury absolutely clear.

The Sambadrome of these not the way to demonstrate where sure is about our most basic the governing responsibilities.

The the exception of urgent supplemental motions from the station.

Communities hit hard but not for the reason reason launch.

The central unpredictable an old blues song much what the NDA, the government funding, where now well overdue.

>> Now, the NDA refers to the National Defense Authorization Act.

Senator McConnell blamed Senate Democrats for failure to pass it, even though he says it was sent to the Senate months ago.

Senator McConnell's Kentucky colleague, the junior senator of Kentucky, Rand Paul paid a visit to Louisville Summit Wellness Center yesterday since opening last year.

The center is given Louisville's first responders supplies to go maintain their mental physical financial, social and even spiritual health.

More about that in tonight's look at meta.

Well, news.

>> The Summit Wellness Center came to be officially about a year ago.

It is a building for our first responders and in particular, our little Metro Police Department.

And it is for helping our helpers.

It is providing wellness resources for officers so they can be the best possible versions of themselves when they go out to the community.

We want to take a holistic approach to wellness.

We want to address everything.

An officer and their family could be dealing with.

So we have 5 pillars, a wellness here, physical mental spiritual financial and social.

The officers come here for one of those 5 things every single day.

Mostly people see the physical fitness part of it, the gym, the basketball court, the physical therapy that goes on upstairs to make sure they're healthy and able to respond to runs day-to-day.

We also host financial classes and financial education so they can stay on top of their budget and their financial education.

We host social events to maintain their social wellness.

We also have our spiritual wellness, which we have a chaplain that officers can come and see and hope to host them.

It's a big advance and then mental health, mental wellness, which we have a fully staffed psychologists in the building.

So officers and employees and their families, I can talk to them and and help deal with the day-to-day things.

They they see every single day out on the street.

>> A summit wellness center is is pivotal for us.

You'll see today that there are 16 recruit applicants and the testing process that are here today.

Right now that a plot for us and understanding what this means to have this type of facility that no one else in the country has keeping people safe is our primary duty and his leadership between the mayor's office and our partnerships with the community.

We are here to take care of the people that take care of people and we need officers who are healthy, physically spiritually, mentally, emotionally and financially to be able to go out there and feel comfortable doing their job, knowing that their city and their police department is behind them doing that tough work as far as health and wellness.

I think this is a great example.

You know, when you look at police Monday to put their people have to be able to right around is to have to be physically fit.

And so well, the rest of us probably could take some advice from that as well.

Just as a country.

I think you're going to hear more about that from the federal government now about all of them, all of us have better died, better fitness and now it helps our mental well-being as well as if we're in better shape.

So I'm hoping that not only here in Louisville, but that there's going to be more of a national trend of talking about wellness.

>> Every single day, there's someone that got hurt.

I mean, it's it's amazing to think that the job they do is dangerous.

But sometimes it's the simplest thing sometimes are stepping out of the car and rolling your ankle.

Sometimes it's just, you know, fast job to a situation.

That's a little amped up.

A new kind of twist journey.

So every single day there, someone who is injured, it's not always a significant career ending injury.

Sometimes it's just little tweak the path to get that with.

So just about every single day, it's important to come back and honor the people who >> gave up so much, you know, to try to KET safety in Louisville, the police officers that were injured and wounded still dealing with their injuries.

I think it's important that we as a community honor that.

>> During his visit to the wellness center, Senator Paul met with Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, deputy Attorney General Rod Duncan and others to discuss the state of the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Kentucky's children are getting more help when it comes to early literacy earlier this year.

Dolly Parton stopped in Lexington to celebrate a major milestone for her charity.

The Imagination Library provides free books to kids under the age of 5 since June.

The program has been servicing all 120 counties in Kentucky.

Now another group is stepping in to make sure the program remains a success.

More about that in tonight's Education Matters.

Report.

>> People think the Dolly Parton case for those that quite a foreign office, a case for a lot, but she doesn't quite pay for it all.

It costs $2.60 on average to print and mail a book to a child every month and it is because of local program partners and the state of Kentucky that every child in Kentucky has the ability to have a book mail to them in every zip code between the ages of 0.

>> We know.

Part 3 ding experiences.

Help make us.

More ready to learn.

It makes us more.

>> Serious.

It helps our brains to grow big and strong.

One of the most important things that was touched on is that the books are free you.

But sometimes we as grown ups need to make sure that there's money so that folks can get to you.

>> And the Kentucky Association of Health Plans is the trade organization.

>> That represents the health insurance communities.

So we represent commercial health insurance.

But really the Medicaid managed care organizations of the Commonwealth and has been CEO's.

We're always looking to better the health of Kentuckyian in various roles.

So the association representing all of that has been able to have the really unique opportunity to find grant opportunities to organizations who are bettering the health of Kentuckians.

And we were able to come across a magic that Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Kentucky where we were proud to grant them $100,000.

That will go to printing and sending books to children under 5.

So more children can have an opportunity to have their own at-home library to have books at home because we know how important literacy is.

We know that literacy directly impacts anxiety and depression.

And we know that anxiety, depression lead to other health.

Issues and concerns that we don't want to happen to Kentucky ends.

So it is our true honor to be able to provide these books to little kids, to be able to support the child, to be able to support the family and make sure that our children are ready for kindergarten and are ready for the world.

What is only 4?

We're also going to use some of this money for the Lexington and Louisville programs.

They are.

They get their money's local program partners get their money by fund raising.

And so they are going to use it for a matching grant >> Smiling faces there, according to the Imagination Library website.

43% of eligible kids in Kentucky are currently receiving books from this program.

Now to the older kids, Kentucky High School seniors.

You could be in the running for $1000 scholarship.

The Kentucky Council on post-secondary education and gear up Kentucky have launched the I'm in college acceptance video challenge high school seniors in the class of 2024.

Can submit videos of themselves reading their college acceptance notification.

The program is based on a campaign called acceptance sponsored by Target.

Here's a look at some video from that campaign.

♪ >> a >> lot to be excited about.

Some of the submitted videos will appear in a statewide TV commercial of the videos in that commercial.

One will be picked during a live virtual draw a line.

And that winner will get the $1000 scholarship.

Find out more about this at gear up.

K why DOT org slash video.

A member of the ban exile has died.

Wy empty reports that Bernie Faulkner died in Tennessee at the age of 77 Faulkner was a hazard native in a member of the band during its early years in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

He played the saxophone and Oregon.

The band posted this on social media, quote, Bernie was an integral part of exile in the late 1960's toured extensively with the ban and appeared on 2 early exile albums as well as various singles.

All of us have remained in contact with burning throughout the years.

He'll be missed.

Rest in peace, old friend, end quote, Exile was the subject of a documentary that aired here on KET earlier this year.

A federal report says Kentucky needs more local support for psychiatric patients and a land swap will mean a bigger wildlife area in part of western Kentucky.

Our Joe begins tells us more an hour Tuesday.

Look at headlines across Kentucky.

♪ >> Kentucky's failing to provide access to community-based mental health services and is relying too heavily on psychiatric hospitals.

That's according to a U.S. Justice Department investigation.

As reported by the Kentucky News Network and appearing in the center as an example, Psycologist Sheila Schuster says years of budget cuts have reduced or eliminated Louisville's crisis centers.

She says a center called the Living Room which had been helping 400 people a month closed in May of 2019, leaving the area without anything to take its place.

The Kentucky Lantern says Kentucky Fish and Wildlife is turning over 665 acres in McCracken County.

The global laser enrichment or gle that will use lasers to enrich uranium left over from hundreds of thousands of depleted uranium tails at location of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in return, Fish and Wildlife will get more than 1000 acres in Fulton County to expand its 4200 BN Creek Wildlife Management area.

Kentucky, nonprofits are worried about a bill before Congress that would let the executive branch punished nonprofits for supposedly supporting terrorism.

WKU says HR 9, 4, 9, 5, would let the Treasury Department denied nonprofits their tax exempt status.

The bill is in response to campus protests against Israel over its war with Hamas.

Opponents of the bill say it could be used to punish nonprofits for political reasons.

More than 4,000 cereal boxes fell like dominoes at TC Cherry Elementary School in Bowling Green last week.

The Daily News says students guided 4,422 boxes as part of the guarantee.

Pest control community serial drive, the serial will go to family resource centers and other pantries this week.

With headlines around Kentucky, I'm told begins.

♪ >> It's cold outside and an annual coat drive called believing in forever is underway at just the right time.

Organizers are hoping to reach their goal of 2500 new coats.

They are wrapping up in less than 2 weeks and still have a long way to go.

We caught up with one Lexington director, Divine Koroma who started the coat drive more than a decade ago.

>> Believing if ever started in 2014, I was kind of making the transition from hip-hop artists into more community work.

If you look at the foundation of kind of the old school hip-hop, it's rooted in community being a voice for the voiceless.

So for me, it was kind of a natural transition.

And so now I kind of use both intersection of art and activism to try to uplift community.

So that's kind of how my organization started.

But then one of our first initiatives was our youth code drive.

And so here we are.

11 years later, we're still doing it.

And so for me, it was being a single father living in poverty once upon a time and understand how a simple cold.

Or a bottle of detergent could make or break you for the week.

So was that lived.

Experience coupled with just want to do something as simple, seeing a gap in the community that I could feel.

And I just want to help kids.

We focus on the youth out away from newborn to high-school.

So really all sides is a do a youth.

They usually 7, 8 intent wells and the most requested size.

So we always tell people that's what we're short on every year.

So for a couple reasons, we switched a brand new coats.

I think one is especially coming out of the pandemic.

You know, just health reasons.

You know, some people smoke, some people do some people have allergies and used coats.

You get a little bit every day.

But I think the biggest thing is the brand new piece for that kid who may never had a brand-new coat before.

So it's not just making sure you get a coat for the winner, but happily inspire him and getting, you know, 10, a tag off of his first are her first brand.

New coat to me is a big deal.

I feel like to lose a great toy drives a great, you know, to lose a good for kids.

But every kid deserves a coach.

You know, it doesn't matter where they're from, who they are.

We think just the health implications keeping them warm so that they don't catch a cold, which could and return lead in the misses school, which means parents got to stay home.

And so the trickle down effect, something I've experienced as a parent.

I just think it's something so simple, but some so important at the same time.

>> Anyone interested in donating a Coke can drop them off at First Baptist Church brought town in Lexington.

♪ Bardstown at Barnes Town's annual Christmas parade will become a movie set this week.

A film crew from a Los Angeles will be at the parade December 5th.

>> As part of a production for a feature film about the dog known as Ethan, The Almighty even zone or Jeff Callaway talks about the production on an upcoming episode of Inside Louisville with our Kelsey Starks.

>> The Random Acts of Kindness and his story even came about.

some filmmakers in Los Angeles who reached out.

And said we think the stories incredible.

Have you thought about?

Have making a movie about this?

And I thought.

I know you don't think those kind of things that seems crazy.

And so tiny McClure with McClure films has written a screenplay.

And I would spend over a month's period time.

So I was center pages of different things that you provided.

And then about halfway through, she sent it to me.

Son never send the screenplays anybody until I'm done.

And it just so happened.

That screenplay showed up the same day that he received a tag from this lady in Canada that said, please do something kind for someone today and one act act of kindess on this topic.

And the movie is called he's an almighty.

How one Random act of Kindess change the World.

And she's so she's written scripts to play that.

I've lived through.

But I read it.

And that gets me emotional because, you know, takes you back through his whole story.

And she kind of leaves.

The stories of 2 or 3 different people.

How Easton?

A historic sort of change their life.

Yeah, but also we see the journey his night journey, but also the journey of getting this law passed after.

And so the combination of the movie with a spoiler alert.

I mean, people Have Inc is that this law passes.

And so she's coming to bring her film crew to Bardstown to film the Bar 10 Christmas parade, this December 5th.

So that's going to be a really cool experience.

♪ ♪ >> Ethan was rescued and nursed back to health after being left for dead outside a Louisville animal shelter in 2021.

Since then, he is our international fame as the hero dog of the year and multiple sponsorship deals.

Hizzoner has established a nonprofit and even passed legislation in Athens name.

You're all about all of that when Jeff Callaway joins our Kelsey Starks on inside Louisville and a couple of weeks Sunday, December, the 22nd here on KET.

In Sports News, a Kentucky athlete is once again being recognized on the world stage.

Former UK Wildcats Sydney McLaughlin Love Roni has just been named the 2024 female track Athlete of the year.

Earlier this year she broke her own world record for a 6th time and winning the women's 400 meter hurdle.

Final during the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The amazing accomplishment made her the first woman to ever win 2 gold medals in the 400 meter hurdle.

Congrats to her.

Well, tomorrow in Kentucky Edition we talked to the first artist behind the water color exhibit Gaia signals.

>> The sentinels, of course, are the guardians.

Are the watchers who, you know, stand guard to protect the land because the land can't speak for itself.

>> Saying more about that story tomorrow on Kentucky EDITION, which we hope you'll join us for at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central where we inform inspire and connect until then take really good care.

So long.

♪ ♪