Kentucky
Woodford County junior starts role as student representative on the Kentucky Board of Education
FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18 — While most students at Woodford County High School started their first day of school, junior Preston Graham had an excused absence – for good reason. Graham traded the classroom for a meeting room as he joined the Kentucky Board of Education’s first planning session of the school year.
“My job is to represent all of the students, be the student voice that is so crucial to making the best policy decisions possible,” Graham said.
Throughout this school year, Graham will offer insight to the board with his unique, student-minded perspective.
Board member Holly Bloodworth said, “It really gives us an opportunity to hear firsthand information from a student, ‘how might this impact you in your placement? What are other students saying about this?’”
Graham is just the fourth student to take this representative role, and he’s the first from central Kentucky to do so.
“I’m pretty much a board member in every way except voting on policy,” Graham said of his duties. “They don’t necessarily let a 16-year-old vote on decisions that could affect the entirety of the state.”
When Graham speaks, however, the board listens.
“One big surprise was just how much the board is looking to me for advice,” he shared. “They truly care about this position and they’re truly trying to get the most out of this position just like I am.”
Bloodworth added, “When our student representative talks, we all stop, we listen, because we want that to inform what we are doing.”
Sure, Graham skipped his first day of school to be here today, missing classes like AP Calculus and Literature. However, he hopes his position on the board can ultimately lead to positive change for his current classmates and future students.
“I want to help as many people I can in any way that I can,” Graham said, “whether that be through creating new policy, changing old policy, amending it, or just providing my insight.”
“I look at him and I know why I’m on this board of education,” said Bloodworth. “It’s because I want to make education better for students like him.”
Graham goes back to class on Friday, but he will serve out his term on the board through June 30, 2025.
Kentucky
June unemployment rate shows slight increase in Kentucky Center for Statistics latest report
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Recent heavy rainfall has left soil across the state completely soaked, contributing to localized flooding in some areas.
When rain falls, some water soaks into the ground through a process called percolation.
Soil can only hold a limited amount of water. Once the small air spaces within the soil fill with water, the ground becomes saturated and additional rainfall has nowhere to go.
Soil type plays a role in how quickly water drains.
Much of Kentucky has clay-heavy soil, which is made up of very small, flat particles packed tightly together.
That composition makes it harder for water to move through. In clay soil, water may drain at a rate of only 0.02 to 0.17 inches per hour.
When rainfall comes down faster than the ground can absorb it and water cannot drain into a stream or storm drain quickly enough, it begins to build up.
That buildup is what leads to localized flooding.
Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – Cyclosporiasis is a microscopic parasite that can contaminate food and water — is making people sick across several states, including Kentucky.
Dr. Patricia Tellez-Watson said, the illness is caused by Cyclospora cayetanensis and spreads when someone ingests contaminated food or water. “It is an intestinal infection caused by this water-borne, food-borne microscopic parasite,” she said.
Symptoms can include diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
Tellez-Watson said, cases are often sporadic, but outbreaks can happen — especially during hot, wet months, when the parasite can survive in the environment long enough to become infectious.
Health experts recommend taking extra precautions with food and water. Washing hands and thoroughly rinsing produce before eating or cooking can reduce risk.
Watson also urged people to be cautious with fresh produce, particularly pre-packaged items, and to consider using bottled water.
Officials have confirmed cases in Bowling Green, though it’s unclear how many.
Copyright 2026 WBKO. All rights reserved.
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