Fourteen-Year-Old Mystery Writer Takes Area By Surprise

Pamela Hall

The Ashland Beacon

Every writer dreams of being the author of the Great American Novel. Some work for many years honing his/her craft and fine-tuning a manuscript in order to have an opportunity to publish the story. To some, it is a laborious task but to others, it seems easy. Most never get to experience the realization of being a published author.

That is not the case for Abigail Nickell. She has just published her first book at the age of 14!

Abigail is from Greenup County and loves to read as well as write. She is home-schooled, along with her four siblings, and has just finished ninth grade. She began writing her book, which is a teen mystery, at the age of 12. She got the idea after reading another mystery story.

“The inspiration came mostly from the book that got me into reading and writing, The Mysterious Benedict Society,” Abigail said. “I loved the mystery and the personalities of the characters.”

So, Abigail went to work writing her own mystery story.

“She came up to me during quarantine with a notepad,” Abigail’s mother, Amanda, explained. “She said, ‘I’m going to write a book.’ I told her to go for it.”

Of course, the story didn’t come together in just a short period of time. Abigail worked on her manuscript for about 18 months while also doing her schoolwork.

“I went through about six or seven drafts,” Abigail remarked.

The result is a 93-page paperback book called The Great Bilton Caper. It is available for purchase on Amazon, or at personal appearances and book signings at various local events where Abigail has a booth. It can also be checked out at the Greenup County Public Library.

The Great Bilton Caper is a story about a priceless trophy that is stolen under mysterious circumstances. Sophie Whitman, who is 13 years old, has always wanted to solve a mystery, so she and her friends decide to investigate. They have fun at first, gathering clues and following them to find the culprit who has stolen the trophy. However, the investigation soon becomes very dangerous and their safety and even their very lives are in jeopardy.

The Great Bilton Caper is a wonderful book that is age appropriate for pre-teen and teen-age readers who love a good mystery. It has a five-star rating on Amazon with great reviews. It is noted as being well written and clean and wholesome with distinct personalities of the characters, and a well-developed plot with intriguing twists and uplifting messages weaved in throughout the story.

“It’s really nice to have a book that the parent doesn’t have to read to make sure there’s nothing bad in it before giving it to the child to read,” Abigail’s mother, Amanda remarked.

Congratulations to Abigail Nickell on the publication of her first book, The Great Bilton Caper. It will be interesting to see how her writing develops as she matures. We are expecting great things, even a national bestseller in the future! And, it all started when she had an idea for a story when she was 12 years old!

Southern Hills Garden Club Welcomes New Members

Sasha Bush

The Ashland Beacon

            If there is one thing to be said about our beautiful city of Ashland, it would be that it is the city that never sleeps. What I mean by this is that the city of Ashland seems to always be growing … always adding something new and fun to do… always adding new businesses. If you look around, you will find there is literally something for everyone to do within our beautiful city. Speaking of the beauty of our city… how about our riverfront or Central Park? Have you ever noticed how the landscaping is always on par, the flowers near the statues are always well maintained, and how the flower boxes around Central Park’s entrance always look perfect? Well, many people would think it’s just city workers who maintain the beauty of this area, but that would only be partially true.

            You would be surprised to know that the city of Ashland actually has its own gardening club that dates back to 1954. The Southern Hills Garden Club is a long-standing club that many didn’t know even existed, yet it is also one that plays a very substantial role in the beautification of our city.  The Southern Hills Garden Club and its members are responsible for the beautiful flowers you see adorning what is nicknamed the “A” at our beautiful riverfront. They are also responsible for the flower boxes near our iconic Paramount Arts Center as well as several flower boxes around our mesmerizing Central Park.

The Southern Hills Garden Club is a non-profit club run by Co-Presidents Kathy Setterman and Karen Wells, as well as Co-Vice Presidents Susan Hunt and Teri Vanhoose. The club’s funding comes from a combination of dues and sales of plants that are grown by its members. These sales take place at the city’s first and last First Friday events.

The Southern Hills Garden Club meets on the second Thursday of the month from March through December. Meetings are typically held during the day and take place at various locations. The Southern Hills Garden Club's goal is to share knowledge within the club and the community. They promote all aspects of gardening, focus on the conservation of natural resources, education, civic beautification, horticulture, and floral design. They are a member of the National Garden Club, Inc., South Atlantic Region, Garden Club of Kentucky Inc., and Limestone District. The club is made up of people of all ages. You have probably seen many of its members wearing their green aprons out working on projects within our city and not even realized it.

            Just last week, the Southern Hills Garden Club had the pleasure of welcoming two new members into its ranks. Our esteemed Mayor, Matt Perkins and Jack Hogsten, who is a senior at Boyd County High School. Both Mayor Perkins and Mr. Hodgsten were made honorary members of the Southern Hills Garden Club because of the outstanding support they bring to the club. “They have both been so helpful throughout the years, and we just wanted to honor them and their willingness to help the club. Our Mayor, Matt Perkins, has always been so supportive of our club, and Jack Hodgsten is such a great young man. He has been helping for us a few years and is always eager to do any of the heavy lifting that is needed. Our club would not be what it is today without the support of these two selfless individuals. So, we wanted to make them both honorary members,” shared the club’s Co-Vice President, Teri Vanhoose.

            If you would like to find out more about the Southern Hills Garden Club and how you can become more involved in the beautification of our city, you should stop by Central Park on June 29^th at 7 p.m. John Johnson, Boyd County High School’s Band Director will be holding a special concert that evening and will also be honoring the Southern Hills Garden Club with a special piece of music that was written just for them. There will be numerous members present at this event ready and willing to answer any questions you might have about the club or gardening in general.

Boyd County Class President Megan Slater Has a Bright Future Ahead

Gary Newman

The Ashland Beacon

When Boyd County High School’s Megan Slater begins classes again in the fall, she will take on the Marshall University colors and begin a whole new adventure where she’ll compile all she’s learned and become to put it all to work in order to make her exactly what she was meant to be. 

“Freshman year, that’s obviously when COVID started, I was so shy because I’d just moved back from Holy Family after there were just eight kids in my class to 200 (at Boyd County),” Slater recalled, “I didn’t really talk to a lot of people.  I still had my group of people that I went to elementary school with, and then COVID hit. I didn’t talk to anybody and was just in my room for two years.  Junior year, we finally went back. It started to get more normal, but I was still really shy.” 

What’s a shy girl to do?  How about run for Class President?!  Disappointed there was only one name on the ballot, she knew she had to do something.  “Just before my senior year, I had decided I wanted to run for Senior President. I’ve got to get out of my shell more if I want to do that. That required a bunch of public speaking.  I had to give my speech in front of the whole class, and I’d never done anything like that,” Slater remembered, “I wanted to run to give people the opportunity to vote because nobody else was going to run.”  With only one person running, any election would have been a formality, and there would have been no process.  “Everybody was just going to get their position instead of having a speech and voting for it.  I was like, that’s boring!  OK, here’s your officers; deal with it.”

She won.  “I got to be Senior Class President.”  This led to running for office in smaller clubs and possibly opening doors to a future run for political office.  “I’ve already been told I’m going to be the governor of Kentucky.”

Her leadership skills have proven to be a force, but there are also all the emotions of closure to high school education and the future of all that’s to come on the horizon.  Leadership is just a part, though.  Slater has finished 3 pathways a Boyd County (Phlebotomy, Culinary, and Nurse Aid). 

She remembered fondly a few senior year highlights.  “In my nurse aid class, we had to go to a nursing home and do clinicals there for 16 hours.  Throughout it, it was really fun to be with all those people all day for a couple of days.” Slater also recalled, “Right before Christmas week is our spirit week. I love those spirit weeks—just having our hot chocolate, our movie, and all that with the class.” 

“I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” Slater considered, “I think it’s going to be a while before it hits me, but I’m ready. I know I’m not going to see most of these people again and obviously the teachers. I’ve gotten really close to some of the teachers, and I’ll miss them. There may be a couple of tears.”

Slater is headed off to Marshall University in a few short months to study computer engineering.  Her bill will be a little lighter as she’s the recipient of the elite John Marshall Scholarship.  She quickly pointed out, “I get to stay home that way!” That’s not all…at least three others from her class will be studying in Huntington in the fall, as well as her best friend from pre-school.

Staying home is a huge advantage for the recent graduate, who credits her parents for their consistent support.  “My parents are great.  For essays, if I need an editor or a thesaurus, I go to them always.  They always help make it way better, and it’s like that with everything,” Megan stated.

You can’t help but wonder what this young lady will do with her summer before beginning college with all the academic achievements piling up, political aspirations looming ahead, and a brilliant future as an engineer.  Slater responded, “Baseball.” “I gotta be somewhere. I don’t want to stay home all day. All three brothers play.  My brother has a travel team in Cincinnati, so I’ll be up there every week.”

Slater also plans to create art.  “I love to paint; it’s more so painting for people. Most of the time, if I see something that I like, like a sunset, I’ll take a picture of it, and go back and paint it later.”

With so much talent and so many skills, there’s no limit to the future Megan Slater can aspire. She still hopes her legacy isn’t noted for her success or achievements.  Slater commented, “I hope it’s just to be kind to everybody. I hope that’s what people think about me.  I would always talk to everybody; I would never just walk by somebody and not say anything.”  You certainly can’t go wrong with that!