No Title 2192
Dazzling lights from Ashland to Hazel
Get away with Kentucky Wide II
After more than 18 months of hard work, the University of Kentucky S*KY BLUE project team’s solar house placed an impressive ninth in a competition with entries from around the world.
Only 20 teams were chosen to compete in the Solar Decathlon, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Teams created 800-square-foot, student-built, solar-powered houses. More than 150 UK students and faculty developed the S*KY BLUE house for the October competition.
Entries were evaluated in 10 areas–architecture, engineering, lighting, net metering, comfort, communications, market viability, appliances, home entertainment, and hot water. The S*KY BLUE house placed fifth in the important net metering category, which measures the amount of electricity produced compared to how much is used. The winning entry from Team Germany was estimated to produce 200 percent of the energy it needed.
Among S*KY BLUE’s features are rainwater harvesting systems, electronically tintable glass in non-shaded areas, super high-efficient appliances, demand-controlled ventilation for indoor air quality control, and a system that optimizes energy flow in the house based on zip code-specific weather forecasts. To learn more about the S*KY BLUE house, visit www.uky.edu/solarhouse.
The S*KY BLUE project team was led by Donald Colliver, professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering at the UK College of Agriculture, and Gregory Luhan, associate dean for research at the UK College of Design. The house will return to Kentucky and serve as the City of Lexington’s welcome center for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
Coal accounts for 25 percent of the world’s energy supply and 40 percent of carbon emissions, and is likely to be a major and growing source of electricity generation for the foreseeable future.
Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy, from an October 12 letter to a meeting on controlling carbon dioxide emissions.
A mannequin takes the place of an injured line worker as part of the hurt-man rescue, one of the activities in the 5th annual Kentucky Lineman’s Rodeo this fall. Seventy-six line workers from 11 electric co-ops in Kentucky took part in the friendly competition in which the scoring emphasizes safety in all aspects of each activity. Other events on the grounds of East Kentucky Power Co-op in Winchester were skill climbs, transformer repair, and hot-line insulator replacement.
Dazzling lights from Ashland to Hazel
The 21st annual Winter Wonderland of Lights Festival is ablaze in Ashland through January 1. Sponsored by the Ashland Alliance Chamber of Commerce, the holiday show sparkles throughout Ashland’s Central Park and spills into the surrounding downtown area. The displays include many moving light displays, which include a diverse assortment of themes–biblical and patriotic scenes, the Eiffel Tower, Santa, a village, dinosaurs, penguins, and pigs. The show consists of nearly 1 million lights. All recently purchased displays use more efficient LED lights, and as older displays are refurbished, LED lights are used. The festival also includes train rides, a parade, a beauty pageant, and, of course, visits with Santa.
At the opposite end of the Commonwealth, John and Barbara Paschall of Hazel in Calloway County entertain the community with their annual Magical Christmas light show. With computer software and a low-power FM transmitter, 65,000 lights, including LEDs, are sequenced in perfect timing to a selection of holiday music. Visitors can park nearby, tune in the FM station, and watch as the lights perform to music. Magical Christmas has become nearly a year-round project for the Paschalls. In March, they settle on a design and choose music. The next step is programming the music and lights to synchronize–each one minute of show requires eight hours of programming. In September, they start constructing new displays. In November, their kids and grandkids help with the setup, testing, and repairs. The show runs in the evenings November 27-December 30. During the shows, the Paschalls greet visitors and take donations for Need Line of Murray and the Leukemia Foundation. For photos and video of their show, go to www.paschallsmagicalchristmas.com/5301.html.
Only 20 percent of homes built before 1980 are properly insulated. You can increase the comfort of your home while reducing heating and cooling needs up to 10 percent by investing in proper insulation and sealing air leaks.
–U.S.Department of Energy
Star-light savings
Here’s a simple money-saving holiday idea–use decorative lights that are ENERGY STAR-qualified. Light strings with the ENERGY STAR logo consume 75 percent less energy than conventional incandescent twinklers. They can last up to 10 times longer than traditional lights, and are cooler to the touch, thus reducing your fire risk. For more information about ENERGY STAR-qualified lights and other products, check out www.energystar.gov.
When Ron Sheets rose to address an October meeting of electric co-op leaders in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he spoke from the heart of Kentucky.
Proposed legislation to control global warming, he told the delegates representing 170 electric co-ops in seven southern states, could mean huge cost increases for people already struggling to pay their electric bill.
He said: “There are many in Kentucky, there are many in every state in this room, that literally cannot pay the electric bills that they are given today. And when you look at where this legislation will take us, and I think that is roughly a doubling of rates over the next 10 years, where are (those people) going to be tomorrow? I would encourage us all to remember their circumstances.”
The thing about those words is they sound different if you know the guy. Although he’s president of the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, that speech wasn’t a utility executive opposing higher prices. It came from Kentucky-born, farm-raised, Commonwealth-educated feeling and passion for the people he’s grown up with.
The Chattanooga remarks are among the last he’ll make at a major electric co-op gathering. After 31 years leading Kentucky’s electric co-ops, three as KAEC vice president of government affairs and 28 as president, Sheets will retire at the end of this year.
During those decades, he’s spoken at hundreds of local co-op annual meetings, from Nancy to Prestonsburg to Brandenburg to Hickman. Among decision-makers in Frankfort, his serious-minded integrity keeps electric co-ops at the highest levels of respect. And his achingly sincere concern for the affairs of each of Kentucky’s 26 electric co-ops keeps all of them continuing to pay dues as full members of KAEC. Around the country, that’s a rarity in a program of consumer-owned utilities that prize their independence and local uniqueness.
The clearest demonstration I saw of the power of his deep Kentucky roots paying off came in the late 1990s. Deregulation fever, led by the high-flying Enron Corp., swept the electric utility industry. It didn’t smell right to Ron Sheets, who fought off charges of being a dinosaur and not getting with the program. He helped persuade the Kentucky Legislature to wait and watch whether the promised rate reductions materialized in other states.
Kentucky did wait–long enough to see Enron burn in an unprecedented bankruptcy, deregulation leader California impose brownouts on electric customers, and rates double and triple in other states. Kentucky emerged with the lowest electric rates in the nation.
Near the end of his speech Ron summed up the values that led three decades of success for Kentucky electric co-ops: “We are different, and I am glad that we are different in the cooperative. We have something of a heart, and I am glad that we do have a heart.”
–Paul Wesslund
Get away with Kentucky Wide II
When it’s too cold to travel this winter, snuggle up and experience the Commonwealth through Kentucky WIDE II. Lexington photographer Jeff Rogers has created a gorgeous Kentucky travelogue with 84 panoramic photographs like “Ice storm and lone tree in Garrard County”. Winding creeks and covered bridges, city skylines and farm fields, cathedrals and country churches, distilleries and wineries, and cafes and caves are just a few of the sites that illustrate Kentucky’s beauty in every season. Order the $39.95 book, published by RatDog Publishing, at www.jeffrogers.com.
A Mercer County couple has given new life and purpose to a 212-year-old log cabin in Salvisa. With a shared love for old homes, Stephen and Joann Robinson spent two years restoring the Samuel McAfee House, built in 1797, by an early Kentucky settler for his family of 13. Today it’s The Robin’s Nest, a gift shop selling antiques, primitives, candles, and other home decor. The shop will be featured on Mercer County’s Annual Holiday Home Tour on December 5. The Robin’s Nest is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Two new limited-edition Ray Harm prints signed by the nationally loved wildlife artist are available through Cardinal Hill Healthcare System. “Cardinal and Sunflower” is 18″x 13″ and sells for $100; “Whitetail” measures 20″x 16″ and is $150. To reserve your print, call Cardinal Hill at (859) 254-5701, ext. 5602, or visit www.cardinalhill.org. Part of the proceeds goes to Cardinal Hill to support its system of rehabilitation facilities. Since 2001, Harm has helped Cardinal Hill raise thousands of dollars. Harm was a long-time resident of Kentucky and now lives in Arizona. Find more information on the artist at www.rayharm.com.
Kentucky Living‘s Paula Sparrow has always had a soft spot for animals, so her coverage of Kentucky’s various shelters and animal rescue operations for the magazine’s Web site was a natural fit. As she uncovered more and more stories of people going the extra mile for animals whose chances are slim, people working to make the public more aware of the benefits of shelter adoption, or making a difference in shelter environments, her goal expanded to seeing their stories in print. Her first book, Creature Comforts (Kentucky Living, $18), is a collection of her favorites of these stories, recognizing those who devote their lives to animal welfare. An exhaustive list of animal welfare organizations around the state is included in the book.
Sparrow still writes her Web column and hopes to see a second volume of Creature Comforts so that word will continue to spread about the many needs of animals. Sparrow parents 11 furry creatures herself, including cats, dogs, and horses. All of her cats and dogs are rescues, none of which she can imagine life without. She says, “I spend most of my free time with animals: walking the dogs, taking care of my horses. Those are my favorite times of the day. I’ve learned over the years that animals have lots to say, and I enjoy listening to them. Animals are more expressive than people realize.”
In the book, Sparrow details her experience traveling to Lampang, Thailand’s Thai Elephant Conservation Center to train with a mahout during a three-day Homestay program. After learning to mount an elephant, bathing it in the river, communicating through commands, and being part of a show for tourists, Sparrow formed a deep affinity for her elephant, Prathida. When asked what drew her to elephants, enough to travel to Thailand, she responded, “Horses are in my blood, but elephants are my totem. The first time an elephant looked me directly in the eye, I felt I was in the presence of a great wisdom. I’ve been hooked ever since. Going to Thailand was a life-changing experience, and I would love to return and be with the elephants again.”
Penny Woods for Joseph-Beth booksellers, pennymouse1@yahoo.com,(800) 248-6849, www.josephbeth.com.
