For our history.

It's not just very cut and dry.

It's very important morally.

A new effort to preserve and honor historic black communities in Fayette County.

It's brought us all together in a in a good way.

Our festival is helping an eastern Kentucky community heal after last year's devastating flood.

It was able to have President Carter here because he just gets so into it.

It's like it's his job and he's going to do it and he's going to help us do it.

Plus, I'll look back at the project that had a former president, Jimmy Carter, hammering in the hills of eastern Kentucky.

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 Monday, June 19th, June 10th.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you for winding down your Monday with us.

Many Americans are celebrating Juneteenth.

It marks the day June 19th and 1865, when the last enslaved people in the U.S. learned they were free.

For generations, black Americans have recognized the day in the form of parades, musical performances, or even cookouts.

There is a push today for people to see beyond the revelry and learn about Juneteenth history.

It was the day when a union officer reached Galveston, Texas, and announced the liberation of enslaved African-Americans.

Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.

About half of the 50 states recognize Juneteenth as a paid state holiday.

Kentucky is not one of them.

And 2022, a bill that would have done just that was introduced in the Kentucky General Assembly, but it never advanced.

Today, Republican House Speaker David Osborne and Democrat House Minority Floor Leader Derrick Graham issued a joint statement honoring Juneteenth.

Quote, Let us celebrate the progress we've made towards equality and freedom.

Acknowledge the challenges that lie ahead and renew our commitment to the timeless values that have shaped our nation for the better.

Let this day serve as a constant reminder that we must continue to work towards a more perfect union, end quote.

Today, Governor Andy Beshear signed a proclamation marking today as Juneteenth National Freedom Day in Kentucky.

He said the impacts of slavery still linger to this day.

While we often look at this day as a celebration of progress, I believe it also serves as a strong reminder of our responsibility as Americans and the significant amount of work that remains to be done.

It is our responsibility to look back on one of the ugliest chapters of our history and never to hide it.

We must look at it straight on without turning away.

We must declare that we will not bury our history.

Even the parts that are painful.

Instead, we will strive to learn from it, to work, to repair the lasting damage our nation's wounds, and to make progress for a better tomorrow.

Governor Bashir also encouraged the Kentucky General Assembly to make Juneteenth a state holiday.

They were celebrating Juneteenth and role black communities at what event in Lexington Today At the event, an announcement about a new campaign focused on preserving the history of more than 20 black hamlets in Fayette County.

The campaign, called A Sense of Place, is an effort to gather information and educate people about Lexington's historic black Hamlets.

The campaign organizers say it was only fitting that they launched the campaign on Juneteenth.

Many of us know that on Juneteenth, that's when the last slaves were made aware of their freedom, which was two years after emancipation.

One of those things that communities of color did when they were freed, what's the purchase property was the purchase land and all that land.

They built their families.

They raised their children, they built their communities, and they made a significant impact on our and on our county as well.

So that's the significance of having this important launching on Juneteenth.

Brown says it was also fitting that one of the first hamlets they highlight is Caden Town, where the Caden town Rosenwald schoolhouse still stands.

It is the only Rosenwald school remaining in Fayette County today.

A lot of the hamlets had Rosenwald schools.

We we look at philanthropy and those big retail magnet Julius Rosenwald as if he had put up, you know, a lot of the money but really was the community that came together, those black and brown people who who lived in the community, who were educating their children, they raised their funds, the money that they made from farming and agriculture, the money that they made working in other it in the hospitality industry is what we would call it now.

They pulled those funds together to build a school to educate their children.

So that's one of the things that I don't think many people are aware of is the not just the resistance, but the resilience of the black community.

The project organizers say they'll be holding public input sessions at hamlets around Fayette County in the coming months.

Now turning now to politics.

There is a new ad in Kentucky's race for governor, this time by a group who says Governor Andy Beshear is more liberal than you think.

Children changing genders.

Criminals released early.

Some of Washington's craziest ideas are coming to Kentucky.

The 32nd spot is from the Kentucky Values PAC, which is supported by the Republican Governors Association.

This is the group's first ad in Kentucky's gubernatorial general election.

Governor Andy Beshear, as well as outside groups backing his reelection, have released their own ads following last month's primary.

Both Beshear and his Republican opponent, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, have also been active on the campaign trail.

The general election is still 19 weeks away.

While the function of a two lettered conjunction is causing quite a stir as Republican lawmakers blast revised guidance on a major piece of legislation affecting LGBTQ plus students by the Kentucky Department of Education.

Senate Bill 150 is a wide ranging measure that covers whether teachers can use student preferred pronouns and has prohibitions on gender transitioning medications and puts conditions on sex education in schools.

The Kentucky Department of Ed revised guidance earlier this month about parts of the new law and claims the use of the word or and the measure concerning policies around teaching gender identity or maturation can allow school districts to exclude it for fifth graders and younger or excluded for all grades.

Last week, I asked State Education Commissioner Jason Glass if the interpretation was really a move to skirt the law.

You all have used the word or to allow for school districts to decide about teaching sexual orientation and gender identity.

Is that the case?

Well, that's the language that's in the bill.

So it wasn't our determination to use the word or that's the de facto language that is in the statute now.

So we've issued two sets of guidance related to this.

The first set of guidance didn't point out that difference.

And then we started hearing from attorneys that represent school districts and associations, that represent school districts.

And they really pointed out that error in the law.

We now know it's an error just based on the reaction that we're seeing from the from the Senate GOP and the Kentucky GOP.

But it's it's been brought to us by those attorneys and pointing out that that's an error.

Well, Senator Max Wise, who was the sponsor of Senate Bill 150, says that it's a warped interpretation to wiggle yourself out of the law.

And he called it, quote, an absurd, absurd effort to skirt state law.

So that seems to run counter to what you were just saying about their reaction.

What do you mean by that?

Well, I think I would disagree with Senator Wise.

It's what the law says.

I mean, they're the ones that wrote or into the statute.

So it would be a warped interpretation to call or and and instead, it's clear that the the legislators made an error here and the right thing for them to do.

When I make an error, I accept responsibility for it and I go about straightening it out.

They have the opportunity to do that in the next session.

I'm sure they'll correct this error.

But the point of the Department of Education and me and say you caused this, that's completely false.

We weren't involved in the drafting or the process of the bill at all.

And it was rushed through at the last minute.

So it's almost surprising there are more errors with the speed and under cover of darkness that just move through.

What should happen?

I mean, if it's an error and it's so much interpretation or possible litigation that many could fear, should they even comply at all, and would there be penalties for that?

What we've provided is non regulatory guidance, so it doesn't have the force of law and doesn't direct districts to do anything, merely advises them.

Here's the landscape in which this policy is going to have to be implemented and some things for districts to think about.

So ultimately it's going to be up to them to consult with their own attorneys, think about their own risks, or what's in the best interests of their students, what's the right context in their community, and then make a determination about what's best for them.

Now, you'll hear more from Commissioner Glass on Kentucky tonight, this evening, when we discuss this issue at length.

Also joining us, the bill's sponsor, State Senator Max Wise, and other conservative and LGBTQ plus advocates.

That's tonight at eight Eastern, seven Central right here on KCET.

Kentucky Power is looking to increase its revenue.

And a statement, Kentucky Power says it's requesting approval of changes that would increase its revenue by more than 13%.

The statement does not outline those changes, nor does it explicitly say the company is requesting a rate increase.

The filing goes to the Kentucky Public Service Commission for review.

Kentucky Power is headquartered in Ashland.

It serves about 165,000 customers and 20 counties in eastern Kentucky.

Kentucky State Police is celebrating 75 years of service.

KSP was formed in 1948.

Today, it employs nearly 19,000 people, including both civilians and sworn officers.

The agency has 16 posts across the state, serving all 120 counties.

Nearly 2 million Kentuckians are on Medicaid.

As of last week, more than 34,000 of them have been removed from the government health care program for low income residents.

That's according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent source for health policy research.

More removals are expected.

That's because Kentucky, like every other state, recently started reenforcing Medicaid eligible rules, which was federally prohibited during the COVID 19 pandemic.

And that time, Medicaid enrollment in Kentucky grew by nearly 30%, according to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.

The same group estimates nearly 250,000 Kentuckians are at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage.

June is CPR and Aid Awareness Month.

The American Heart Association wants you to know that saving a life can be easier than you think.

Our Kristie Dutton continues our health news with more about hands only CPR.

A survey shows that about half of Americans don't feel comfortable giving a bystander CPR when they're having a cardiac event.

Well, here to change that is Traci monks from the American Heart Association.

Thank you for being here.

Thank you for having me.

Now, you're saying that we don't need to be intimidated about this, right?

No.

It's such an easy.

There's only two steps to this.

It's really basic m CPR.

And if you call 911 and put your hands in the middle of the chest and push hard and fast.

Those are the two steps.

There's two steps.

Okay.

So call 911.

We got that.

Okay, the second step, can you walk us through that?

Yeah.

So the second step is pretty easy.

If you see that there's two different types of cardiac arrest.

One is a witnessed and an unwitnessed.

So when you first come into a scene, if you see the person going down, you know it's safe to go in there.

So you want to make sure the scene is safe for you.

So if an unwitnessed one, you want to make sure that you're looking around and there is nothing there that's going to harm you as well.

So then then the next step, when you see that you have somebody call 911 and go get the aid.

Because if you have one available, it will, along with CPR, double or triple the chance of survival.

So it is really critical.

So the steps, once we get the first responders on the way, you're going to put your hands in the middle of the chest.

And we have a little cheat sheet right here where this oval is.

But we like to say it's right between the nipple line so that we're not trying to measure things out because really, you want to get the hands on within those first 5 minutes are critical to keep that oxygenated blood flowing through their body.

Because we have about 10 minutes of oxygenated blood going through us.

So if we can just keep that, be that pump for the heart for those 10 minutes until the first responders can arrive, they have a better chance of survival.

Okay.

And this is just hands pumping.

This isn't blowing no oxygen or air into the person.

It's okay.

So show us how to do that.

So what we're going to do is we're going to put our palm in the middle of the chest.

You're going to have to have them on the floor because you really want to make sure that when they're down there, you can get a great compression on push down heart.

So you're going to get your elbows above them, which we're going to have a little difficulty.

This is a little hard and we're going to push hard and fast and we're going to do 100 to 120 beats per minute or to the song, you know this to Stayin Alive.

That's it.

Yep.

Yep.

Okay.

So you're going to do this and continue these compressions until the first responders get to you so that when they're at your front door, but when they actually get over and take over for you at that time.

Okay.

So no breaks in between.

No break between exiting until the first responders get there.

Right.

If you get tired, you might have that 911 operator on there you're talking to and the operator might say, okay, take a ten second break and then they're going to say, are you okay?

Get back on the chest.

Let's go.

Because we want to we don't want to interrupt that flow of blood to the brain.

So every time you take your hands off of it, it kind of decreases that oxygen going into them to the brain.

Okay.

Wonderful hands only CPR.

This is wonderful.

Thank you for letting us know about this.

Yeah.

Monks from the American Heart Association.

Thank you.

Back to you.

Thank you, Christine.

A great demonstration there to learn more about hands only CPR or to find a CPR certified course near you, go to the American Heart Association website at Heart Dot o RG.

Tomorrow, we'll discuss when to use an automated external defibrillator or IED as you saw there.

And while you'll be seeing more of them in schools, public buildings and workplaces are Whitesburg, Kentucky Staple the seed time on the Cumberland Festival returned over the weekend.

Apple Shop has hosted the event celebrating Eastern Kentucky arts and culture for decades.

This was the first festival after flooding devastated the region and heavily damaged Apple Shop last July.

Those who attended say the festival's return is another sign the area is beginning to heal.

Today is the first day of the, I believe, 37th annual sea time on the Cumberland Festival down here in Whitesburg, Kentucky, hosted down here on the grounds an apple shop.

And people just coming down here to Whitesburg like they have every year for 37 years to celebrate traditional art and music and craft and to get together.

It's just sort of it's evolved from there.

But it started as just a way to really highlight the old time traditions, the mountain traditions of this beautiful place here.

This has been my sort of lifeline for the past year or so, just traveling around and spreading this kind of stuff to people.

And I mean, I've I've described it as spreading sort of equal love to people because I sort of put all my love and passion in this stuff.

And that's what I hope people can get out of it.

This year is is special.

We had a really, you know, terrible thing happen last year with the flood that hit us.

And we're here by this building that we're usually having screenings and we're usually, you know, having workshops in there.

And it's not to be.

Not to be walked through now, but yeah, it's been it's it's brought us all together in a in a good way that we have this thing that a lot of new staff and new people here can come together to create this thing that's been going on for 37 years and you know, come around and pull it off.

So it was definitely it was a hard time.

Definitely when it first happened.

But I think it's brought everyone here and in this community and region, it's really bringing them together and it's inspired me a lot.

It's feeling like that element of of art as as, you know, medicine or as healing.

We're finally getting to the point of the wound where we can we can use that.

But now that we're, you know, trying to get back to some some sense that togetherness and the art is just essential.

We need it.

We need it to live here.

According to Apple Shop, the festival isn't just a way to highlight the arts and culture of the region.

It also helps challenge stereotypes, supports grassroots efforts to achieve justice and equity, and celebrate cultural diversity.

It was 26 years ago this week.

The Jimmy Carter Work Project, known as Hammering in the Hills, was completed.

The former president, along with his wife Roslyn and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, built 50 homes in eastern Kentucky.

And just one week in 1997.

We talked to people who worked closely with Carter on the project, including one who captured the historic event on video.

There's Hammering in the Hills project this year.

We've got about 3100 volunteers.

I guarantee you that all of them will go back home and say that was a glorious experience.

It's one of the nicest things that ever happened to me.

We knew President Carter did a project somewhere.

Every year he'd spend a week building houses and we thought, Wow, I wonder if we could get into Kentucky.

We knew that President Carter started the Appalachian Regional Commission when he was president and he cared about the area.

He understood the challenges they face.

So we thought if we could build there, it's a place of the biggest need in the state anyway.

What a great idea.

We were talking about building 50 houses in a week, which he had never done.

That was that would be a first.

We did 15 houses in a week in 92, so we knew it could be done.

I'd volunteer the company to support some habitat projects.

We do a little PR, we do some documentation, and I just like working with Habitat.

I felt like this was going to be a historic event just because Jimmy Carter was going to be there.

I knew that Habitat in Kentucky had gotten good at this, and we had documented a number of occasions in Habitat where Kentucky's Habitat had built in multiple houses in a short period of time.

And so I knew that Kentucky's Habitat organization knew how to do it.

There were a lot of people involved with the Hammer in the Hills project, probably way more than we needed to build those houses because people wanted to be a part of it.

All kinds of people show up to work.

Some of them are professionals.

Some of them are just volunteers.

In this case, because President Carter and Rosalynn Carter were going to be there, it was just an opportunity to get to know them.

We captured a lot of video during the Jimmy Carter project.

And so these are some shots of people working on President Carter's house and he is right there.

Look at that.

There he is with the red handkerchief on.

President Carter really worked on his house and Rosalyn worked on the first lady's house.

He didn't do anything without her.

This is the first time to the first lady's house.

My wife has gotten very involved in Habitat, and she said, why don't we do a first lady's house next door to President Carter's house so he doesn't get all the attention?

I want you to look at that second half right up there, this side, because that house is being built by all women and I think it's just an example of what women can do.

And the reason I want it pointed out is because I think that groups of women all across this country, they don't really believe they could get out and build a house, but they can.

And I want them to do it.

And that would just add a whole new dimension to habitat because Roslyn is pretty darn important.

So we actually invited first ladies from around the nation, and one of them, the president's wife, that would be Hillary Clinton, came.

We had Newt Gingrich and Jimmy Carter working on the same house.

That's pretty cool.

It was a ball to have President Carter here because he just gets so into it.

It's like it's his job and he's going to do it and he's going to help us do it.

He was so wonderful to work with.

Jimmy Carter was a very personable kind of guy, and so was Rosalyn.

And they were willing to talk to anybody, but they were busy and they weren't fooling around.

They wanted to get to work.

They wanted to build a house.

They had a strict schedule.

They wanted to get from A to B every day.

And if you didn't quite finish at suppertime, you need to have your supper brought in because it was time to finish that part of the bill.

So no nonsense, but very personable and very humble and very interested in what was going on with the local community.

One thing that happened on this particular Habitat project was there were seven sites throughout Appalachia and they were fairly remote.

It's going to be impossible for President Carter to visit each one every day, and yet he wanted he and his staff to be part of the debrief every day.

So they could kind of, you know, support everybody emotionally and spiritually to a degree because it was hard.

So instead of having to try to drive to the mountains where we thought we could, because Katie had been doing interactive video conferencing, the individual locations would create a little video snippet, maybe 2 minutes long, edit it in whatever, you know, whatever way they could, and then be ready to play it.

And our guest would come in like President Carter or Governor Patton or whomever, and then they'd be able to talk to the sites and give them some words of support.

And I've never seen such wonderful cooperation and planning and enthusiasm among all of the volunteers.

It worked out and everybody felt great about it because they were able to see and hear each other's progress each day to do 50 houses in these communities and made a huge impact.

He didn't take any special credit for it or, you know, but he knows that it makes a bigger impact.

He put Habitat on the map.

Once he got involved, he really made a huge difference for Habitat.

It means we can do thousands and thousands of homes a year now because of the foundation we built with his help, you know, years ago, Carter, who was 98, entered hospice care in February, according to his family.

Carter remains in good spirits and receives updates on the Carter Center's humanitarian work.

We have some interesting facts about Mother Teresa, Daniel Boone and a baseball pitcher turned U.S. senator.

Here's Toby Gibbs with This Week in Kentucky History.

On June 21st, 1781, Daniel Boone presented a petition to the Virginia General Assembly asking for Lexington to be recognized as an established town.

Kentucky was a Virginia territory at the time.

It took a year, but Virginia eventually recognized the Lexington.

Fred Vinson, former judge, congressman and secretary of the Treasury, became chief Justice of the United States on June 24th, 1946, after his appointment by President Harry Truman.

Benson was a native of Louisa, Kentucky.

Mother Teresa visited Jenkins, Kentucky, on June 19th, 1982.

She was there for the opening of an Appalachian mission operated by her order, the Missionaries of Charity.

On June 1925.

Governor Ernie Fletcher proclaimed Juneteenth Freedom Day, a day acknowledging the end of slavery in the United States in 1865.

Governor Fletcher urged all Kentuckians to honor and reflect on black contributions to America's history.

The first black students enrolled at the University of Kentucky on June 21st, 1949, when Augustus Mack and our Netta Neal entered the UK graduate school for Master's degrees in Education.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jim Bunning threw a perfect game against the New York Mets on June 21st, 1964.

He would later serve as a two term U.S. senator from Kentucky.

You might think bourbon or the mint julep or ALA.

It is Kentucky's official drink, but it's milk.

That designation came June 20th, 25.

And that's a look back at this week in Kentucky history.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

You always learn with Toby Gibbs, don't you?

Well, that'll do it for us tonight.

We hope to see you right back here again tomorrow at 630 Eastern, 530 Central for Kentucky Edition.

I'm Renay Shaw.

Thank you for being with us.

And I will see you tomorrow night.