Appalachian Regional Commission in Ashland

Kathy Clayton

The Ashland Beacon

                A contingent of influential leaders from around the 13-state Appalachian region gathered in Ashland September 11-12 for the Appalachian Regional Commission’s 2023 Annual Conference, drawing hundreds of participants to the city. Monday’s events were held at the Paramount Arts Center, with the event concluding Tuesday at the Delta Mariott Hotel.

                Included in the many highlights of the conference were a sit-down talk between University of Kentucky basketball Coach John Calipari and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, the awarding of $14 million in grants to organizations fighting Substance Abuse Disorder, and a surprise concert by nationally acclaimed, Grammy-nominated and a favorite with many Appalachians, Tyler Childers.

                “There is a new dawn rising in Appalachia,” Marshall University President Brad Smith told the crowd. “We are dreamers and doers,” he said, noting that Appalachians have “blazed trails instead of following paths,” citing such notable Appalachians as Mohammed Ali, Susan B. Anthony, and Mr. Rogers.

                The theme of this year’s conference is Appalachia Rises: Strength, Reformation, and Transformation, with an emphasis on Substance Abuse Disorder. The co-chairs for the event were Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, state co-chair, and Gayle Manchin, federal co-chair.

                “We want to bring generational change to Appalachia,” Governor Beshear said, “with infrastructure funding, high speed internet, and combatting opioid addiction,” which he said, “arose in our lifetime and it’s our obligation to end it.” He said focusing on ending the opioid crisis would provide healthy workers and reunite families, part of ARC’s Ready Appalachia program.

                Gov. Beshear also told the group, “It is a privilege to serve as state co-chair. ARC has been a great partner to Kentucky over the years,” listing several state projects that have received ARC funding. “Being in Ashland solidifies how we feel about ARC.” He added that groups that are involved in substance abuse recovery are “doing God’s work.”

                One of the afternoon’s speakers was Rep. Hal Rogers, the longest-serving member of the US House of Representatives, who explained that the Inspire awards that were announced during the conference would spur economic development. He said the $1.6 million in grants will benefit Eastern Kentucky by transforming the area “from an epicenter of addiction to an epicenter of recover and hope.”

                “Ingenuity and determination is in our blood,” Rogers declared. “Look at the bigger picture and see how you fit into the tapestry of Appalachia.”

                Later in the afternoon, Gov. Beshear and Coach Cal, seated in comfy chairs on the stage of the Paramount Arts Center, discussed the importance of public service. Beshear noted that Calipari has Appalachian roots – his grandfather was a coal miner, and his father was a steelworker.

                “It’s an honor to be sitting here with you,” the coach told Beshear. “I’m blessed to have grown up the way I did.”

                The governor acknowledged that Calipari and his teams have pitched in to raise money for Kentucky’s natural disasters.

                “When you coach at Kentucky, it gives you the opportunity to do good,” Coach Cal said. “We’ve raised about $14 million. I coach young people and I teach them to give back.” He said that in traveling the state and meeting the victims of disasters, he’s learned that “People just want you to listen. They want to tell their story.”

                He touched on the viral story of a coal miner who attended the UK Blue-White game in Eastern Kentucky. The game was held to raise money for flood victims and a working father came straight to the game from the mines, covered in coal dust, to share that moment with his young son. The image went viral, and Coach Calipari arranged for the family to attend a UK basketball game in Lexington. “I got too much credit for that,” he said. “I just saw the video and said we should bring them to a game. My staff heard me say that, and made it happen. I think as parents we all can identify with wanting so much to share an experience with our child that we would come straight from work.”

                During the day Monday, murmurs could be heard from the attendees about the evening’s entertainment. “Is it true that Tyler Childers is here?” one woman wondered. And she was right – Childers’ appearance was a not-very well-kept secret in the area.

                The popular singer, whose style is a hybrid of bluegrass, folk and more traditional country music, surprised the crowd with a rousing performance to a packed house. In between songs, Childers talked about his background in Louisa, KY, and recalled attending events at the Paramount with school groups as a child – “came to see the Christmas trees,” he said.

                He said he was humbled to be back at the Paramount performing for the people of Appalachia and helping raise money for charities.

                Ashland itself was the topic of conversation, as well. Many conference goers were heard discussing the Paramount, and the town itself. Once head of an agency from eastern West Virginia said she had lived near the Kentucky-West Virginia border at one point, and knew of Ashland, but said she had no idea how much the town has to offer.

                Several of the noted speakers mentioned how welcoming and beautiful the city is, and said they were in awe of the Paramount, with Rep. Rogers calling it “this astounding, beautiful theater.”

Ben Fritz Lighting the Path to Success

Sasha Bush

The Ashland Beacon

                        With summertime coming to an end and school back in session, everyone is beginning to adjust to new schedules and waking up in the early hours of the morning. With every new school year comes changes to teachers, classes and leadership. Boyd County High School was excited to get the 2023/2024 school year going as they welcomed their new principal, Ben Fritz to the Lions’ administrative lineup. Fritz will be replacing former principal Tom Holbrook as BCHS's newest principal. Fritz is very excited about this opportunity and can’t wait to build off the foundations that former principal Holbrook had put into motion.

Fritz is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and has a BBA in marketing. Serving the needs of our youth and being a positive influence on our educational system is something that Fritz has been very passionate about for quite some time. Before coming to Boyd County High School, Fritz taught business classes and served as East Carter High School’s Assistant Principal for several years. Fritz’s resume also includes working closely with the Department of Education as an Educational Recovery Leader for several regions within the state of Kentucky.

Fritz’s background also includes several years of coaching. Anyone who knows Fritz, whether it be from his days of coaching or from one of his previous jobs within our educational system, agrees that Fritz is someone who will fight for the needs of our children and do everything within his power to ensure that success follows them.

            Living in Carter County with his family, Fritz spends much of his free time on the ball fields at Grayson’s sports park. Robert Donta, a close family friend, both on and off the field, was elated to hear his buddy had been given the opportunity to be Boyd County High School’s new principal. Donta shared on Facebook, “I have teased this guy (Ben Fritz) for the last four years that we would turn him into a Boyd County Lion. Now that has become a reality. Boyd County made a great hire for principal. Ben Fritz will not only care for each of those children like his own, but he won’t put up with no nonsense. Welcome to the Lions family!”

            The students at Boyd County High School are certainly in for a great school year ahead of them. With Fritz at the helm and his positive attitude, the success of Boyd County High School, students and staff is inevitable. Fritz hopes to instill a desire to work as team and make Boyd County High School the best place it can be through the team effort. Fritz shared on Friend of Boyd County High School’s Facebook page, "As the new principal at BCHS, I am looking forward to getting to know all of you and working together to make this a great school year. I feel extremely fortunate to be starting my 18th year in education, having served in many roles and locations. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I feel at home here at BCHS.”

Greenup County Teen Snags World Championship Title 

Sasha Bush

The Ashland Beacon

            One Greenup County teen has taken the world of cornhole by storm. Josie Clare, a Senior at Greenup County High School, has recently earned herself quite an elite title… ACO (American Cornhole Organization) Women’s World Champion. Going up against the world’s most talented cornhole players, seventeen-year-old Josie Clare blew her competition out of the water.  In her final match against opponent Amber Fretwell, Clare outscored her opponent 21-10 to become a world champion. To be a champion, it takes practice, patience and discipline… all of which Clare possesses. She has only been playing the game of cornhole for three years. 

            Clare was first introduced to the world of cornhole by her parents. “My parents started playing competitively about a year before I did. They pretty much spent all their free time playing in cornhole tournaments and practicing in the yard. Eventually, I felt left out, and after a lot of convincing from my parents, I began practicing with them,” shared Clare. She went on the add, “Once I started playing in tournaments, I met a lot of great people that were really supportive of me improving in the game.”

            The hardest part of any sport is trying to keep a positive mentality even when losing. Clare believes that if you let your nerves control you, it will ultimately lead to your own demise. “I’ve learned firsthand that nerves are your greatest opponent when playing cornhole competitively,” shared Clare. To help calm her nerves, Clare will sometimes wear her earbuds and listen to music while she plays. “I try not to think about the shots I’m making too much and mostly rely on my instincts. Listening to music helps me do just that,” explained Clare.

            While the origins of the game of cornhole are still quite a mystery to us, many believe the game is over 400 years old. It wasn’t until sometime in the 1980s that it began to gain popularity. Currently, the American Corn Holl League hosts over 25,000 tournaments per year and has an active player base of over 100,000 players. Despite its rise in popularity, many people still don’t know just how the game is played.

            According to the American Cornhole Association, every match is broken down into innings of play. During an inning of play, each player must pitch all four of his/her bags. An inning is never completed until all players pitch all four of his/her bags. The approved method of scoring for the game of cornhole is called “cancellation” scoring. In cancellation scoring, the points of one player cancel out the points of his/her opponent. Using this method, only one player/team can score in each inning. The game is played until a player reaches the predetermined number of 21 points. The first player to reach or exceed that amount at the conclusion of an inning is deemed the winner.

            Upon graduation, Clare plans on pursuing a degree in interior design.  She has no plans of giving up cornhole anytime soon. “I plan to continue playing after I graduate, but there aren’t many opportunities involved with any schools themselves. Cornhole is a really fun experience that I wish more people knew about!” shared Clare.

Building Bridges To A Better Tomorrow

Sasha Bush

The Ashland Beacon

                Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “We cannot build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” What better way to prepare our youth for the future than to have them play a role in how it is shaped? United Way has brought a new initiative to the table called Bridge Builders, which will not only provide local youth with the tools they need for success but also the knowledge, connections, and desire to create real change within their community. Marshall Tyson, CEO of United Way, shared, “We just wanted to build a program for kids and people in our community to be able to kind of take it back in control from all the negativity, drugs, and other various things that have just plagued this community. We want to try and build this program for our kids in the hopes that we can snatch some of them away from making bad choices that can impact their lives in negative ways for years to come. Our goal is to simply not allow them to even head down such a path.”

                Today’s youth seem to be faced with so much more negativity than previous generations, and it is because of that negativity coming at them from all directions that many of our children turn to drugs, vaping, and making other bad decisions just to feel like they fit in. A great deal of our youth share one common belief—their opinions and how they would go about changing things simply don’t matter as much as the opinions of adults. This couldn’t be further from the truth. It is time we stop and listen to the ideas our kids have because we might just learn a thing or two and make things better along the way. The United Way and some local community partners understand this! They are working together with this new program to show our youth that we not only believe in them and the changes that they can make, but we are here to support them along the way.

“Working together with all our different community support systems is vital. That’s why we are so thankful to have had so many show up to support these kids, support this program, and support a future that includes change for the better. We want to grow a program that fills in the gaps that far too many of our children seem to slip through. We realized that we needed to start looking at things from a kid’s perspective and really listen to what they thought needed to change,” explained Tyson.

On Monday, August 14, 2023, sixty-four students in grades 9-12 from Boyd, Ashland, Greenup, and Fairview attended the first meeting of the Bridge Builders program. It wasn’t until students attended Monday’s meeting that they really began to see that this program was truly made for them. Mason Furst, a senior at Greenup County High School, shared his thoughts on the Bridge Builders program, “I think honestly in the beginning a lot of us just weren’t sure what this program would be. But being here and being able to fully understand what it is all about, you really start to see that we are going to be able to make an actual change because people are listening to our ideas, and the community that this program is already building is so important. I think that the use of all these different organizations creates an environment that you can’t help but be successful in because it creates a very powerful system for producing community change. Change which is needed everywhere.” In addition to his excitement for the program, Furst also voiced his opinion on what the biggest hurdle the program would face, “I think one of the biggest issues is that many people just have such a strong sense of unwillingness to change or to adapt to changes that are made. I feel like innovation scares a lot of people away, and this program is going to be a valuable tool in helping to educate those who fear change. They can see that not all changes are bad, and some are very much needed.”

                Tyson expressed his gratitude to everyone who was involved in making this program a reality, “I am just so blessed to be in this position, and I just want to thank my board for allowing me to be here. All our community partners that showed up today to make this day a success and to all of the countless volunteers, donations, and our staff that have poured their hearts and souls into this program. I am just amazed that with your help we were able to pull this all together in just the last couple of weeks. Thank you, and thank you to the many youths that will go out and make this world a better place.”