VERSAILLES, Ky. (LEX 18) — “You know we have Woodford Reserve, we have Castle & Key, we have a castle, and now we are going to have another world class distillery in Versailles,” said Woodford County Judge Executive James Kay of the recent announcement made by Saga Spirits Group.

The group just recently announced plans to develop a project centered around bourbon and tourism. The 92.5 million dollar project includes a distillery, visitor center, an on-site retail and event space, as well as improvements to the Kentucky Castle.

“The Kentucky Castle has been fully transformed,” said Kay. “It is an amazing hotel, but it also has a working farm on the property. And another big deal for us is that Woodford county farmers are going to be supplying the grain and products to make this new bourbon.”

Kay said adding a world class bourbon maker in the heart of the bourbon capital of the world is a game changer.

“It’s going to bring 90 great paying jobs, it’s going to bring people from all over the world,” he said. “It’s going to add another stop on the bourbon trail and it’s a really big deal for us.”

The project is expected to break ground in Versailles this fall, just down the road from the Kentucky Castle. The distillery will sit on the 150-acre Edgewood property, behind Kroger on Lexington Rd.

“They’re going to try and be one of the first bourbon crafters and creators that try’s to keep down all of the other things that happen, the bi-products, things that cause the black mold…they are going to work in ways using technology and innovation to make sure it doesn’t create situations that we have dealt with, with other distilleries,” Kay said.

This project will also cater to visitors exploring the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and Keeneland.

“They are coming into our community, they want to be apart of who we are, they want to showcase us to the world and they also want to respect Woodford county, our land, and our citizens,” said Kay.

The Kentucky Board of Pharmacy is investigating Med Save in “several areas of non-compliance” after the hospitalization of three children in Henry County.

An investigation into the pharmacy’s practices began Monday, with cooperation, after the board received notification of an alleged compounded medication error.

According to a news release from the board, violations of state and federal law were found, including the lack of documented training for employees, lack of appropriate pharmacy oversight and lack of verification or sufficient documents for compounding preparations, procedures, records and storage.

The Board of Pharmacy follows United States Pharmacopeia standards for pharmaceutical compounding, the FDA standard, and an emergency meeting was called by the case review panel Wednesday. Med Save then signed an order to stop the compounding and dispensing of medications like clonidine.

According to the FDA website, pharmaceutical compounding is done when “a patient who cannot be treated with an FDA-approved medication, such as a patient who has an allergy to a certain dye and needs a medication to be made without it, or an elderly patient or a child who cannot swallow a tablet or capsule and needs a medicine in a liquid dosage form.” 

The ongoing investigation follows the hospitalization of three children who were prescribed compounded clonidine oral suspension at the Eminence, Kentucky, pharmacy. The board believes the incident is isolated to the Med Save location and only the three patients were impacted.

“The Kentucky Board of Pharmacy assures the public that we hold the pharmacy accountable for practicing outside the standard of practice for a compounding pharmacy,” the board stated.

The board asks anyone similarly impacted to report it immediately.

Med Save was not available for immediate comment.

Kentucky Kentucky authorities investigate incident hospitalizing 3 children

Southern Miss at Kentucky, Saturday, 7:45 p.m. ET (SEC)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Kentucky by 28.

Series record: Kentucky leads 3-1.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Southern Miss looks to bounce back from its second 3-9 finish in three seasons. The Golden Eagles also aim to break an eight-game skid against SEC teams, with its most recent win coming at Kentucky in 2016. The host Wildcats seek a strong start before a two-game conference stretch that includes No. 1 Georgia on Sept. 14.

KEY MATCHUP

Kentucky ranked 98th in FBS offense last season (339.5 yards per game) and looks to move up in many categories under new coordinator Bush Hamdan, who led a top-30 unit at Boise State in 2023. The Wildcats also break in a new quarterback in Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff, who backed up Stetson Bennett and Carson Beck the past three seasons. Southern Miss’ defense looks to improve after yielding nearly 421 yards per game in 2023 (109th of 130 FBS teams). Third-down defense was the Golden Eagles’ upside as opponents converted just 38% of opportunities.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Southern Miss linebacker Dylan Lawrence made a team-high 78 tackles last season and will again be counted on to set the tone for a defense seeking overall improvement. He had just one of the Golden Eagles’ 25 sacks but was key to their third-down defense and 17 takeaways. Lawrence is among 25 graduates on the roster.

Kentucky junior defensive lineman Deone Walker and linebacker J.J. Weaver each had at least seven sacks last season and anchor one of the Wildcats’ deepest units under Mark Stoops. Walker has been projected as a possible first-round NFL draft pick; Weaver is back for a fifth season after passing on the draft last spring.

FACTS & FIGURES

The Golden Eagles were picked to finish sixth in the Sun Belt Conference West Division in a preseason poll of league coaches. … They are 4-16 against the SEC in season openers, earning their last win over Kentucky in 2016. … Wildcats receiver/returner Barion Brown has returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the past two openers. … Stoops begins his 12th season as the SEC’s longest-tenured coach following the January retirement of Nick Saban at Alabama. … The Wildcats received three votes in the preseason AP Top 25.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll