>> It's cruel to punish children for things that are happening in their life that are outside of their control.

>> Not showing up to school can land a kid in juvie.

Now, Louisville has one of the first programs in the nation to prevent that.

>> Juvenile justice is going to be a crossroads issue this session.

>> Hear what youth advocates and legislators want to see during the 2026 legislative session.

And we'll help you make a big splash in Pike County.

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

>> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition for this Friday, December the 5th, I'm Renee Shaw, and we thank you for kicking off your weekend with us.

When kids don't show up at school, they can wind up in trouble with the law.

Truancy is a problem in Kentucky, with one out of every four students considered chronically absent.

What can be done about it before juvenile justice reforms of the last decade in Kentucky?

Judges and school staff in Louisville created one of the first truancy diversion programs in the nation.

Our June Leffler has this look back for our series Beyond the Bench.

>> Like 30 Days of School 19.

I missed 20 days.

15.

>> These middle school students participated in a court diversion program in the early 2000.

These were the kinds of kids that might wind up on a family court docket.

>> I was having kids come into my courtroom, and some of them missed 20, 30, 40 days of school.

And the question was, what were my tools at hand to help these kids reengage in the school process?

>> From the bench, Joan Bayer felt she couldn't do much.

Simply ordering a kid to show up to school did not get them to school.

>> Does wearing a black robe and sort of this judicial process really mean anything if I don't sort of carry through with my word?

You know, I'm a parent, right?

I told you three times to do that, or I'm going to fill in the blank.

>> Bayer spoke publicly about this, saying truancy alone was no reason to bring students before a judge, especially in light of what some kids were going through at home.

>> Just telling a kid that's homeless to go to school where they haven't eaten or been had anywhere to sleep the night before is unrealistic and unkind.

It's cruel to punish children for things that are happening in their life that are outside of their control.

>> The alternative was truancy.

Court diversion.

Bayer made visits to Massie Middle School, where she met then student Lavelle White.

>> I just sometimes I just wasn't wanting to be engaged in school to because of my life and like, and it was challenging and hard.

>> White would find his way.

Today he's a community coordinator for Metro Parks.

Getting folks of all ages out in nature.

Before that, in his late teens, he became a documentarian.

>> Things can be unfair sometimes.

The way your family conditions the way you was raised.

>> White featured the historically black communities he grew up in, like the neighborhood around Mazique Middle School.

>> And there were some days I didn't really make it to school, and I lived right next door to school.

>> He had his reasons.

>> Whether it be my mother and my brother arguing and fighting, me and my brother fighting, our lack of resources of cooking clean clothing or food, or me being not comfortable and wanting to get to school, going to school because I was getting picked on.

>> White and countless others over the course of nearly a decade, made their way through one of the nation's first truancy court diversion programs.

>> The motto was whatever it takes.

>> Judge Bayer will wear her judge's robe.

She had her gavel.

>> And we all just got together and said, we can do this and make it happen.

>> Court was in session every Thursday.

>> So those kids would stay and then the parents would come.

The parents couldn't get there because they didn't have the transportation.

Then we'd go pick them up and bring them to school and then take them back home.

>> They had the serious moments where a you missed these days you've been tardy this amount of time.

What can we do to help you to get to school?

And then they kind of give incentive based.

Sometimes they will have like dinners for families and lunches.

>> Positive reinforcement, affirmative responses and clapping and encouragement.

And we encourage the students to encourage each other.

It's it sounds a little bit hokey, but it worked.

>> Stefan Gilkey lived by the whatever it takes motto.

>> If a parent couldn't go and get little Johnny glasses.

So.

Okay, give me the medical card.

We'll go down there, we'll get the glasses.

>> And if he knew where student lived.

>> Mr.

Gilkey would have to come and get me out of bed.

>> We had, like, a five minute route.

Brush your teeth.

Wash your face.

Let's go.

>> But the program could not solve everything.

>> Some kids did end up in foster care, to be honest with you.

As part in as part of the court process in this.

>> White didn't wind up in court, but his mom did.

And by the time white was done with eighth grade, he still wasn't going that often.

>> No, I was not.

>> But the adults that ran truancy court weren't going anywhere.

>> Saying that we had in Massie you never too old to come back to see us?

>> Gilkey stayed in touch and opened his home to white, who was a frequent guest at Christmas.

>> Just one of the family members, and everybody treated him like that, you know, and everybody gave him gifts, you know, everybody just loved Lavelle.

>> He would go to college, and Gilkey took him to campus.

>> He was the de facto Mr.

White because my mother or my father couldn't go.

>> Yeah, I sat through that all with him to make sure his financial aid was right, to make sure that everything was right where he was going to stay.

Sometimes when you build a real relationship, it usually never changes.

>> It turned out that the whatever it takes motto also meant as long as it takes for Kentucky Edition, I'm June Leffler.

>> Thank you June for that piece.

What are children's advocates in Kentucky hoping to achieve in the upcoming legislative session?

Over 100 nonprofits met yesterday at the blueprint for Kentucky's Children event to discuss just that.

Our Mackenzie Spink was there and tells us what children's issues are top of mind for advocates and some state lawmakers for 2026.

>> The Kentucky Youth Advocates policy agenda has more than a dozen policy changes and budget investments outlined in its 2026 blueprint, covering subjects like mental health, housing stability and access to better legal representation for families.

Executive Director Terry Brooks shares what he thinks will be the headlining children's issues on the table for discussion in Frankfort next year.

>> Juvenile justice is going to be a crossroads issue this session.

You can already feel that early childhood is going to be an up in the air issue to be fussed about, debated, and acted on.

>> Although the policy blueprint from Kentucky Youth Advocates is extensive, Brooks says he has seen successes in this arena in the last few years.

>> For instance, while far from perfect.

We have a much more cohesive child welfare system than we did a few years ago.

The other area that I would highlight is over the last ten years or so, there's been significant progress mitigating the tragedy of abuse and neglect.

Now, if there's a single kid in Kentucky who is abused, that's one too many.

But we need to give our lawmakers props.

They have taken decisive and deliberate steps over the last decade to improve that sector.

>> Three legislators came to the blueprint for children event to share insights on how to connect effectively in Frankfort and to share the legislation they're excited about for the next session.

Representative James Tipton will be filing an educator misconduct bill again.

The bill addresses the issue of teachers who are accused of sexual misconduct, resigning from that school and then being hired in another district.

>> My legislation would ensure that when they buy a class or teaching position, that the school district is required to look at those references from previous school districts.

They are required at those previous school districts are required to provide that information.

>> Republican Representative Jennifer Decker will be introducing a bill implementing education and trade school into Kentucky jails to better improve inmate outcomes upon release.

>> We have one of the highest rates of incarceration in the nation, and what studies have shown is that the children of in a family that has a parent incarcerated are up to 6 or 7 times more likely to be incarcerated.

Emselves.

>> Louisville Democrat Joshua Watkins says he looks forward to yet another push for universal pre-K in the state.

>> There's an old proverb that says it is easier to build strong children than to repair broken dogs.

I totally believe in restorative justice.

I would prefer that we improve the literacy rates, the rates, and the access that every Kentucky family has to affordable pre-K.

>> The 2026 legislative session is a 60 day session that requires the General Assembly to create a state budget for the next two years.

The session begins on January 6th.

For Kentucky edition, I'm Mackenzie Spink.

>> Thank you.

Mackenzie.

Next week, Kentucky Youth Advocates will be releasing its Kids Count report examining data on the well-being of children in Kentucky and will provide a report on that later.

It's a first in Kentucky state government.

A woman has been elected to Senate Democratic leadership.

The Herald-Leader reports the Kentucky Senate Democratic Caucus elected Senator Cassie Chambers Armstrong to be the new minority whip.

The lawmaker from Louisville has served since 2023.

She replaces David Yates as whip.

Yates resigned from the Kentucky General Assembly earlier this year after being named interim Jefferson County Clerk.

A special election to fill his seat in Senate District 37 is set for December the 16th.

Yesterday was the one month anniversary of the UPS plane crash in Louisville that left 14 people dead.

A reporter asked Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear if he was satisfied with the UPS response to the crash.

His answer in this UPS crash update.

>> I think that remains to be seen.

UPS was there early.

They've created a large fund.

What we've got to see is ultimately, what are the final steps that are taken to try to make families as whole as they can be, especially if they've lost loved ones.

And so I think people should should watch and there should be high expectations for a company that has been in the past.

Really good to Kentucky and Kentuckians that employs a ton of people, that has a ton of commerce coming through, but this is their plane, and they need to take responsibility and do everything they can to make it right.

I am seeing a lot of positive steps.

I know some lawsuits have been filed, but I'm a lawyer.

That's part of the way this process ends up working.

What's important at the end of the day is that they do everything they can to try to make those families as whole as they can be.

>> Governor Beshear was also critical of President Donald Trump's words denouncing Somali immigrants.

The governor said the president's words were, quote, hateful and not presidential.

From mountains to repurposed underground coal mines that age, bourbon to music and adventure, Eastern Kentucky has its sights set on becoming a major tourism destination.

There's more to the region than the storied Hatfield and McCoy family feud.

Elected officials, entrepreneurs and outdoor enthusiasts say that for those looking to swap big city tours for quaint, small town charm with adventure options galore, Pikeville and Pike County is just the getaway for them.

I visited the area a couple of weeks ago to learn more with State Senator Philip Wheeler, who hails from Pikeville.

As our tour guide.

>> Well, you know, when I first got elected in 2019, we had been through some struggles, obviously, with the decline in the coal industry, which, you know, carried this region for many generations.

So coming up with a new not necessarily replacement, but at least a concurrent industry to diversify our economy was was really something that, you know, was a goal of mine.

I mean, you're sitting in the perfect example of that right now.

I mean, you know, Cannon and Shannon and Kendall Wright took a facility that, you know, had been through some tough times, and they're now investing their their dedication and their resources here at Eastern Kentucky to make sure that it flourishes here in our community and serves as another attraction to get people into this area.

>> Kendall Wright is one half of the Brothers Wright Distilling.

>> So we're sitting in the entryway to the Dueling Barrels Distillery, which is now the Brothers Wright Distilling Company.

My brother and I took over the facility about eight weeks ago.

We are local, local boys.

We built our brands and our companies right here locally, 350 gallon moonshine still.

And then we have a spirit.

We've been in business nearly 30 years.

And we started going down this, this avenue of about five years ago and just had a passion for bourbon and the bourbon industry.

We also have production capabilities from being able to run all the equipment from the basement as well.

>> The Brothers Wright Distilling Company is known for aging its Kentucky Straight bourbon whiskey in an over 100 year old repurposed underground coal mine.

The former dueling barrels, which the brothers Kendall and Shannon acquired, was the vision of late Alltech founder Pierce Lyons, who, with his wife Deirdre, created a visitor experience reminiscent of their native Ireland.

It was Eastern Kentucky's first combined beer, bourbon and moonshine operation.

>> The Lyons family built such an amazing facility here.

And really, it really opened before Covid, but kind of Covid kind of slowed it down quite a bit.

And and they reached out to us about six months ago and asked us if we'd be interested, and we figured out how to make it happen.

>> So when when you look at, you know, the old Dueling Barrels brochure, you know, it talks about bourbon country, moonshine belt and Appalachian craft beer corridor.

And Pikeville is the intersection of all three of those things.

Is that still what's happening here?

>> It is.

And it's kind of our vision as well.

Although we're mainly a our plans were mainly for bourbon, but this this facility was set up beautifully to do craft beers and single malt liquors.

And at some point we're going to jump into all those.

We're really kind of focusing in the latter part of 25 here is to produce some quality bourbon and get it in barrels.

So a few years down the road that we can sit in here and have a sip of it, but we will we will jump into all of those avenues at some point.

We're just right now we're wading into the waters, trying not to get in over our head.

>> The 30,000 square foot facility in downtown Pikeville has a street side peek at the three Vendome copper pot stills, a 350 gallon moonshine still 19 stainless steel fermenters, two traditional cypress fermenters, and beer brewing equipment capable of producing 40,000 barrels annually, plus a gift shop and event space.

What's the five year vision or plan?

>> Well, this was like the ten year vision.

I'm already standing in the middle of it.

>> You're an overachiever.

>> Well, you know, I didn't.

You know, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

You either figure out how to make it happen or you get out of the way.

And we were fortunate enough to try to make this thing happen now.

So I'm afraid to say what a five year vision is, because the next few steps of this is obviously, I've got to build another distillery at the location in belfry, Kentucky, which is where the mine is located at.

I've I've got a 1200 acre property there that's set up for this.

And so I'm I'll have a distillery here in downtown Pikeville and I'll have a distillery in belfry, Kentucky.

And, and we're going to try to get tours and tastings in an old coal mine that was opened in 1913.

>> Even though the Bourbon Trail doesn't make its way yet to eastern Kentucky.

There are many hoping the brothers Wright earns Pikeville a star on that map.

Now, if you're looking for a trail of a different sort, here's an idea.

When we talk about adventure tourism, for somebody who's like, exactly what is that?

How would you define it?

>> Well, I think the definition is a little bit different for everyone.

I mean, for me, you know, I do like enjoy getting out on some of the side by sides and ATVs and going out for a day.

>> Sounds like a plan.

Now, this isn't your granddad's all terrain vehicle.

This is the Cadillac version.

>> Okay, so what we got right here is a cfmoto Eu4 Highlander, and it's the U-10 XL.

And it's a really neat machine because it's cabin closed, power windows, power flip windshield.

You've got heat and AC, so we're about to be in comfort if you get cold or if you get hot, we can fix that and adjust it.

>> These 20 to $40,000 machines, as they're called, take us on phase one of the Hillbilly Trail system 20 miles south of Pikeville on US 23.

Jerry Atkins is the director of the trail system.

He says visitors come from all over the U.S.

to dig their wheels in, as do visitors from Canada and Mexico.

>> It's their phase one.

It's called Flatwoods Trailhead.

We have over 100 miles of trail here on nearly 6000 acres of land.

>> Wow.

And how long has this been around?

>> We're just starting the third year now.

>> Yeah.

What's the big vision?

>> Well, the we're going to start phase two on the northern end of the county.

This is the southern tip of the county where we're at now, Pike County, Kentucky.

And land mass is one of the largest, if not if not the largest county in land mass east of the Mississippi River.

We're going to go to the other side of the county, start a second phase all the way across the county.

>> The thrill of the ride might get your blood pumping, but the sights you see when you put it in park certainly will soothe your soul.

>> Are you going to be real surprised?

We got beautiful views, overlooks, but great trails, rock formations, just a great variety of things that you'll be seeing.

>> If you need to stretch your legs on the way to these picturesque overlooks, jump out into these swings made by volunteers to kick up your heels for a while.

You're certainly going to feel like a kid again.

>> All right.

Take you back to your childhood.

All right.

>> That's awesome.

>> It's a lot of fun.

>> So, Jerry, what does.

>> This mean in terms of, like, the tourism economy here to have this trail?

>> Well, it's bringing in a great amount of tourism dollars and more.

So it's a lot of county citizens are becoming entrepreneurs.

We've since as I said, the trails been open over two years now and we've got nearly 20 places of lodging.

People have made Airbnbs out of rental units.

One campground was completed solely because of this trail system.

Hillbilly trails got two more campgrounds under construction over on the south trailhead side of the trail system.

ATV park stores, repair shops going in.

Just a lot of entrepreneurs now that have never had been.

So it's helping the citizens of the county.

Also.

>> You know, my long term vision is, you know, maybe we could become the Switzerland of Eastern Kentucky, maybe not a large development, but, you know, Switzerland is a place that is scenically beautiful, but also a great manufacturing place with a lot of small manufactories that that, you know, provide one of the highest standards of living in the world.

Right.

You know, I don't know that we'll get there overnight, but as long as I'm in office, my my dedication is going to be to, to this area that I grew up in.

>> We had an hour long discussion about Eastern Kentucky and the tourism adventures there on a recent and special edition of Kentucky Tonight, we also visited Bell and Boyd counties and talked with tourism leaders about the tourism boom in Appalachia.

You can watch that program online on demand at KET.

Ket.org Johnny Nash KY tonight.

We're less than three weeks from Christmas.

Hope you get your shopping in, but get in the holiday spirit now with some great activities all over Kentucky in between that shopping hour.

Toby Gibbs has a long list as he looks at what's happening around the Commonwealth.

>> The holidays are taking off in Madisonville as the city hosts the flight before Christmas at the Madisonville Regional Airport, take a ride in a helicopter or stay on the ground and enjoy several family friendly activities, including ornament making, face painting, inflatables, a petting zoo, a s'mores pit, and a free book giveaway for kids.

They're shining a light on local creativity at the Noel Night Market, happening Saturday in downtown Mount Vernon.

Shop handmade and handcrafted goods made by local artisans, live music, food trucks and even ice skating are also part of the festivities.

Also making the holiday brighter.

Light up Shepherdsville taking place Saturday.

The event features a parade, live music, food trucks and more.

Families can also visit with Santa and take in plenty of twinkling lights throughout the evening.

There will be plenty of homegrown talent on display in Corbin this weekend at the third annual Evergreen Artisan Market.

Local artists and makers will be offering everything from ornaments and jewelry to leather goods, rugs and artwork.

Santa will be stopping by for photos and later catch the Christmas parade.

Get a glimpse at how early settlers marked the holiday season with Fort Boonesborough State Park's 18th century Christmas.

At the fort.

Explore the fort's display cabins lit by candlelight.

Sample pioneer foods, learn about Christmas guns, make a craft, and play a few games at the fort's 18th century tavern.

Santa and Mrs.

Claus will be stopping by as well.

The City of Murray is unwrapping fun at its annual Christmas celebration with a full lineup of family friendly activities, from ice skating and cookie decorating to ornament making and all kinds of seasonal crafts.

Kids can write letters to Santa, mix up some reindeer food, and enjoy a hot chocolate station.

Families can also wander through Frosty's maze, visit the petting zoo, and take a carriage ride through downtown.

The evening gets underway with the community tree lighting.

Derby season may be months away, but fans can saddle up a little early at the third annual Derby in December.

It's a day of live entertainment and derby inspired activities.

See a special presentation from Hall of Fame jockey Pat day, followed by a meet and greet.

Take a picture with the Kentucky Derby 152 Trophy and witness the unveiling of the 2026 Pegasus Pen.

The City of Providence is marching into the holiday season, with its community Christmas parade taking place downtown on Saturday.

This year's theme, Hometown Providence, puts the spotlight on local pride, with floats decorated to celebrate the town's own story.

There will also be free rides and other family friendly activities.

They're celebrating the nature of Christmas at the Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve in Goshen this weekend.

The annual holiday event features an appearance by Santa and Mrs.

Claus, who will be greeting families and handing out goodie bags to the first 200 children in the nature center.

Face painting, s'mores by the fire, live music and complimentary food and drinks are a few of the other treats being offered at the event, now in its 20th year.

And that's what's happening around the Commonwealth.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

>> Thank you so much, Toby.

Join us in about an hour for comment on Kentucky, where Bill Bryant and his panel are working.

Kentucky journalists will talk about Kentucky's U.S.

Senate race next year.

That's getting larger and larger, and that includes Charles Booker's decision to enter the race and a change in leadership for the UK football team.

Learn all about those stories and more tonight at eight eastern, seven central right here on KET.

Thanks very much for being with us this week for Kentucky Edition.

Have a great, safe, happy weekend and we'll see you right back here Monday night.

So long.