Beacon Ladies Hoops: February 07, 2023

James Collier

The Ashland Beacon

GIRLS 64^th DISTRICT

ASHLAND 18-5

   Ashland went 2-0 this week with wins over Paintsville and Elliott County.

   Kenleigh Woods dropped 30 to lead the Kittens to a 66-53 win over Paintsville. Ella Sellars added 15. Aryanna Gulley netted 12.

   Woods paced the Kittens with 20 points in a 76-36 rout of Elliott County. Sellars had 17 in the win. Gabby Karle kicked in 12.

   Ashland visits Russell Monday, welcomes Raceland Thursday and Boyd County Friday.

BOYD COUNTY 17-6

Boyd County went 3-1 this week with wins over Russell, Greenup County and Fairview and a loss to Bethlehem.

Jasmine Jordan had 22 points in the Lions 70-57 win over Russell. Emilee Neese had 15 points and went 4 of 6 from downtown. Taylor Bartrum and Audrey Biggs added 10 each.

   Jordan had 19 points and 16 rebounds in a 58-48 win over Greenup County. Neese had 15 behind five 3s. Bartrum kicked in 10 points and 10 rebounds.

   Boyd County defeated Fairview 52-10. Jordan and Jada Ray each had nine in the win.

   Boyd County closed the week with a 79-64 loss at Bethlehem. Neese led the Lions with 19 points and five 3s. Jordan added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Biggs had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

   Boyd County visits Menifee County Monday and Ashland on Friday.

FAIRVIEW 8-17

   Fairview fell to East Carter, Boyd County, Bellevue and Dayton this week. No stats were reported.

   Fairview welcomes Glenwood, OH on Wednesday and Cordia Saturday.

GIRLS 63^rd DISTRICT

RUSSELL 16-9

   Russell went 1-1 this week with a win over Menifee County and a loss to Boyd County.

   Russell fell to Boyd County, 70-57. Shaelyn Steele led the way with 19 points. Bella Quinn had 15.

   Russell bounced back with a 60-31 win over Menifee County. Steele had 13. Quinn added 11.

   Russell welcomed Ashland Monday, visits Lawrence County Wednesday, East Carter Friday and Fairland on Saturday.

RACELAND 7-17

   Raceland fell in both contests this week.

   Raceland lost to Paintsville, 52-50. Nim Maynard had 16. Kennedy Taylor added 15 points and 12 rebounds.

   Raceland fell to Lewis County, 66-35. Maynard netted 13 for the Rams in the loss. Raceland heads to Cabell Midland Tuesday, Ashland Thursday and welcomes Greenup County Saturday.

GREENUP COUNTY 12-10

   Greenup County went 1-1 this week with a win over West Carter and a loss to Boyd County.

   Rachel Bush dropped 27 in the Musketeers 55-36 win over West Carter. Emily Maynard added 11.

   Greenup County fell short of the upset against Boyd County, 58-48. Bush had 22 points. Maynard added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

   Greenup County travels to Lewis County Monday and Raceland Saturday.

New Library Director in Greenup Keeps Library Soaring

Kathy Clayton

Ashland Beacon

              Libraries are magical places, full of adventure and information and fun, a place where the community can find all kinds of activities. “I want people to think of the library as a destination, a place people want to go and spend time,” said Tim Gampp, new director at the Greenup County Public Library.

               As director and librarian at the main branch, Gampp oversees three public libraries and two bookmobiles. Besides Greenup, there are branch libraries in South Shore (McKell) and Flatwoods.

               “Instead of people running to the movies or the mall or Lexington, I want people to see the library as a destination,” he said. “I want to see books flying off the shelves.”

               Of course, modern libraries offer much more than books, as he is quick to point out. There are DVDs to check out, magazines and newspapers to read, and activities for adults and children. The Greenup library will feature a dinner and movie event February 10, at 6 p.m. “I’m not sure what they’re serving for dinner, but the movie will be Black Panther – Wakanda Forever.”

               Gampp, who started January 1, stepped into big shoes when he took the GCPL job. Sharon Haines and, before her, Dorothy Griffith, spent many years in the GCPL system. “I’m still understanding the programs going on here. Sharon left it in good shape.”

               The library also offers Libby, which allows library card holders to borrow books to download their Kindle or other device. Hoopla is a streaming service that features audio and e-books, and Kanopy which streams some shows, documentaries, BBC, and children’s programming.

               Gampp graduated from Shawnee State University with a degree in fine arts and soon discovered there were not many fine arts opportunities in southern Ohio. He answered an advertisement for a library branch manager in Portsmouth in 1998. “I fell in love with libraries,” he said, and went on to get a master’s degree in library and information science from Kent State University.

               He has spent time as a librarian in Rowan County before coming to Greenup, and before that was a regional consultant for the State Library of Kentucky, overseeing 15 to 20 libraries in eastern Kentucky. “I learned a lot about eastern Kentucky from traveling around,” Gampp commented.

               Gampp is proud of the programs currently offered in the GCPL system. There are weekly story hours at each library, Wednesdays in Greenup, Tuesdays in Flatwoods, and Thursdays at McKell. “Vickie Hughes does a wonderful job with the kids,” he said. Dr. Seuss Day will be celebrated March 4 and 11 at the Greenup branch, featuring green eggs and ham, a scavenger hunt, crafts, games and prizes.

               A Get Crafty event is planned February 6 at the McKell branch. Participants will learn to create a stacked book décor item. The Flatwoods branch plans to offer an after school program, starting February 9, for kids age 7-12. Anyone interested should call the library for registration information for any of these events.

               Gampp stated, “We hope to appeal to the younger generation by offering some new gaming programs.” Plans for this are not finalized, but Gampp has an area in mind, with wall space for a TV. This area is near the Jesse Stuart section of the library, which features a glass case of first edition Stuart books, many autographed by Stuart, one of Greenup County’s most renowned citizens.

               Gampp pointed out that the library’s genealogy services are one of the more popular functions. An entire room is dedicated to historical and genealogy information. Many residents come in daily to browse through the family information collected over the years. There are also copies of newspaper from days gone by, including a few Ashland newspapers dating back to 1889, Russell Times editions from 1917, and the Greenup paper from 1935. “We are digitizing these, making it easier to find articles and obituaries,” he explained.

               He also pointed out that citizens can get tax help beginning February 1, extending through tax season. Go to the Greenup branch to put your name on the list; you will be given a packet of information to fill out, and a tax consultant will contact you to set up an appointment.

               For more information on GCPL programming, or to register for an upcoming event, check the library’s web site or call 473-6514.

Urgent Care Options that the Community Can Count On

Sasha Bush

The Ashland Beacon

It’s always comforting to know that whenever the weather has got you feeling down or you feel a cold coming on that you have options as far as health care goes. Most of us have a primary care physician who we visit regularly. But, for those times that we find ourselves needing care after hours we often turn to urgent cares or to the emergency room.  But what happens when our furry, waggy-tailed friends need help outside of the vets normal operating hours? Thanks to Riverside Urgent Pet Care, we no longer have to ask that question.  Riverside Urgent Pet Care is an alternative to the animal ER. They offer care and treatment for non-life-threatening conditions for all your fur babies’ needs.

Dr. Amy Bess, DVM, is one of three veterinarians who works at Riverside Urgent Pet Care. Dr. Bess stated, “Right now we are open for after-hours care on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings from 6pm-10pm. We would love to be open more, and maybe one day, we will be able to expand.” Currently, Riverside Urgent Pet Care is located at 1550 Kenwood Drive in Russell, Kentucky. Examples of conditions that can be treated include, but are not limited to, coughing, sneezing, diarrhea, minor wounds and lacerations, skin allergies, frequent urination, eye discharge/squinting, toenail injuries, anxiety, ear infections, and end of life care.

The inspiration to create an urgent care for pets was stemmed from Dr. Bess’ work with the Animal ER in Ceredo. Dr. Bess would often see frustrated owners bring their pets in to the Animal ER with non-emergent conditions, such as ear infections and congestion because they were unable to get into their regular vet. “I could see that there was a huge population of pets that fell into this category of urgent care but not quite an emergent care need,” shared Dr. Bess. Once Dr. Bess realized that there was a real need for an urgent care for pets, it wasn’t too long after that her vision became a reality. Today, Dr. Bess works alongside two other veterinarians, Dr. Mirissa Duncil and Dr. Kyle Franks. Together they work to make sure that animals across the Tri-State have access to the care that they need, and that pet owners can rest easy knowing they have options outside of regular office hours.

Dr. Bess truly loves everything about her work. “Being there to help a suffering pet and a worried pet owner get the help that they need when they need it is what Riverside Urgent Pet Care is all about. We love that our urgent care clients are genuinely grateful for us. It is so satisfying to be able to provide care for their furry loved ones and to offer advice on how to better care for their pets,” noted Bess. If you have a furry animal friend that needs urgent medical care, you can contact Riverside Urgent Pet Care at 606.266.8262. Their office hours are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Giving Street Cred to the Locals

Rick Potter with Award Nominations and New Album

By:  Brittany Hall

Ashland Beacon

“Do or do not; there is no try.” Yoda said these profound words in the Star Wars series and ironically, it has proven to be true. So, what does it mean exactly? It means to try, to try again even when you fail, try again, work hard, fail and succeed. Work hard long enough and your efforts will be rewarded. That is the case with local country/bluegrass musician Rick Potter who has been nominated for several Appalachian Arts and Entertainment Awards. “I feel it gives us a little street credit to the local area. Plus, it gets our name out to other cities and states that have never heard of us. It’s very important.” Potter adamantly spoke.

Potter humbly said that he was very surprised that he had been nominated at all. “There are so many talented local artists that should be on that list. I’m so glad that people thought enough about my songs to nominate me.” When asked what the future may hold if he wins, or even after the nominations, Potter said “I’m not looking for this to change anything for me. My only goal is to write songs and support other singer/songwriters. If it takes me to places to hear or play on stage with other great musicians, then I consider myself successful.”

No matter the career, passion, or hobby we may have, someone had to be an influence to ignite that fire within us. We all have a role model in our lives that we look to guide us and mentor us. This such person for Potter was his dad, Richard Potter who last played with the River Cities Band. “He played in every animal bar in the tri-state area. I’ve never considered myself as talented as him, but people have said I’m like him in the way I treat and support other musicians. My dad was always helpful to many local musicians back in the day. If I’m thought of in that way, instead of my music, then I’m good with that. My dad would be proud.” Family and music go hand in hand in many genres, especially with small town, local artists. There is a sense of pride that goes along with carrying on a family tradition that comes with a melody.

Potter, who was the host of Callihan’s Acoustic Jam Session for 10 years, always encouraged artists to write their own music. He gave this advice, “It’s one thing to perform covers really well, but it’s another to write an incredible song and capture someone’s attention when you play it. Be professional and be yourself.” Everyone can agree with those words, because we’ve all been in a situation where a song has captured our heart and we remember that artist because of it. Even Potter was given advice that stayed with him. “Don’t suck. In other words, don’t fake it. Be original, be professional, and show people you’re having a good time. Don’t suck.” A trail blazer, in any genre of music, must first be true to themselves, their craft, and their audience.

Want to hear music from Rick Potter? He has videos on Facebook, and most importantly a brand new album set to release on all streaming services on February 10. Excited about the new album, Potter invitingly stated “I’m having an album release party on February 11 at 8p.m. at Riverbend Pub and Grill in Vanceburg, KY. It’s very small, but a great place to listen to live music. The people there love this growing independent music scene.”