Murray State’s campus might seem a little more crowded than usual in the coming weeks. What could be the largest freshman class in MSU’s 90 year history is moving into dorms and getting ready for the fall semester. We’ll find out what got them here and what university officials are doing to keep them here, today on Front Page Sunday from WKMS News.
Also, we’ll look into the role a Kentucky state representative played in landing a seven billion dollar contract to ship Kentucky coal to India. Then, we go inside a study addressing the problem of childhood obesity in the Commonwealth, and hear a story about an old bus given a new lease on life in order to save lives. Those stories, along with what’s playing this week at Paducah’s Maiden Alley Cinema, are coming up in the next hour.
(1.) KEITH HALL COAL DEAL -- The involvement of a state representative in a major coal deal in Kentucky is raising some eyebrows. Under the terms of a new $7 billion contract, Kentucky coal producers will ship nine million tons of coal a year to India for the next twenty-five years. Representative Keith Hall was instrumental in brokering the deal, and as Kentucky Public Radio’s Erica Peterson reports, Hall represents both the people of Kentucky, and his own private coal interests.
(2.) MSU ENROLLMENT -- Murray State’s new crop of freshmen are arriving on campus and they may just be the largest incoming class MSU’s ever seen. To find out why they came, Drew Adams sat down with Murray State’s Executive Director of Enrollment Management Fred Dietz to talk about what goes into getting a student to register at MSU and then keeping them there.
(3.) GREEN DORMS -- The legions of MSU freshmen won’t be the only ones moving to campus this week. Students in much of Kentucky move into their dorms as well, and many will be greeted by the sounds of construction. Residence halls are being built at the University of Kentucky, Berea College and Eastern Kentucky University. And as Kentucky Public Radio’s Stu Johnson reports, these new buildings will be some of “greenest” ever built in the Commonwealth.
(4.) OBESITY RATES STUDY -- Not all that long ago, when a child went to a dietician, it was because he or she was too thin. Now, dieticians say they are seeing more overweight, or even obese, children. In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control found that 1 in 7 preschool age children is obese. With that extra weight comes increased health risks. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so the Purchase Area Health Education Center is working with several counties in the region to find those children at risk for cardiovascular problems. Murray State nursing professor Dr. Dana Manley helps to measure children as part of the CARDIAC program. She’s also completed research into the 2008 and 2009 data to get a better picture of cardiovascular risk in the region.
(5.) AMBU-BUS -- Earlier this year, Marshall County Emergency Medical Services converted a retired school bus into a piece of emergency response equipment called an “AmbuBus”. Made with conversion kits from First Line Technology, LLC, these automotive Frankensteins have been popping up around the country. Casey Northcutt got a look at this “hybrid,” and brings us this story on the new life of an old bus.
(6.) THE IMPOSTER @ MAIDEN ALLEY -- The Imposter plays this weekend at Paducah’s Maiden Alley Cinema. It tells the story of a Texas family whose 13-year-old son goes missing only to be found three years later, thousands of miles away in Spain. Or so it would seem. Critics have praised the film, calling it “noir-ish” and a “gothic” thriller. It’s also a true story. The documentary blends reality and re-creation as those involved related what happened, and how it happened. Maiden Alley’s Larry Thomas and I take a look at The Imposter.
(7.) PADUCAH IMPROV AT PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK -- Paducah Improv is coming to Murray’s Playhouse in the Park Saturday, August 25th to perform and give a workshop. The group was founded last February and their show “No Baggage” will be their third performance. Rose Krzton-Presson spoke with co-founder Chuck Tate about the improv troupe and how it got started.
(8.) GOOD READS KIDS CINDER: Our Good Reads for Kids series continues with this young adult sci-fi Cinderella tale, Cinder by Marissa Meyer. This recommended read comes to us from Katherine Farmer, Coordinator of Racers Children's Preview Collection at Murray State University.
(9.) NADINE TURNER -- From time to time on this program, we introduce you to influential people new to our region on our occasional series “Meet and Greet.” This time, the person we’d like you to meet isn’t new to the area. Madisonville native Nadine Turner has lived here for years. In fact, Mrs. Turner is preparing to celebrate her 95th birthday at the end of August. And she’s certainly been influential. During World War Two, she served her country as an Army nurse. Mrs. Turner was posted stateside first, then to England, when she cared for soldiers wounded in Europe. After returning to western Kentucky, she headed Murray-Calloway County Hospital’s nursing department and played a role in the establishment of Murray State’s School of Nursing. I recently called on Mrs. Turner at her home in Murray where she reflected on a remarkable life in the middle of its ninth decade.
