(About this story: Author Austin Rutland conducted some interviews for this story in American Sign Language. Please note that Deaf with a capital “D” is commonly used to refer to people and communities that use American Sign Language as their primary language, while...
Bird Dog: A Local Leged in Hopkinsville
Story and Photos by Jodi Camp Walking down Main Street in Hopkinsville, an average looking man on the sidewalk has people honking and waving at him from their cars or stopping to get out of their cars to talk to him. The man seems normal, but when he opens his mouth...
Remembering Hopkinsville’s Peter Postell Building
Story and Photos by Jodi Camp Flames reached 40 to 50 feet in the air as firefighters spent 12 hours trying to get the fire under control. Their worry was to keep the blaze from spreading to the rest of the businesses on the block. On June 6, 2016, Hopkinsville’s...
Big Red Going Green: Cultivating Sustainability at WKU
By Sally Jean Wegert Tucked away on the outskirts of Western Kentucky University’s campus is a community that does things differently. There, the right decision is not always what is easiest, or even necessarily what is most cost-effective, but what is “best...
A Bow in the clouds
By Emma Austin I sat in the backseat of my aunt’s car, sweating uncomfortably in a hand-me-down dress next to my cousin as we circled the lake on the road leading to Grandma’s driveway. It had been raining all morning, but at that moment the sun was shining brightly,...
Flawed system for Kentucky’s mentally ill
By James Line An unusually large snowfall had blanketed the small Kentucky town of Scottsville. On the night of Feb. 25, any patients at Scottsville Manor, a personal care home, were likely indoors, their right to walk the streets whenever they wanted to...
Between two schools: High school life on a college campus
By Jamie Williams Florence Schneider Hall’s limestone exterior sets it apart from the numerous red brick buildings on Western Kentucky University’s campus. Inside, a student is playing classical music on the grand piano in the lobby, and groups of students mill about,...
Demand for IUDs increases as women fear losing healthcare
By Emily DeLetter Sarah Dolen has tried other forms of birth control before, but none are as effective as her IUD. The device’s convenience was a no-brainer. “There’s no user error because once it’s inserted properly, you can’t mess up,” Dolen said. “When I was first...
A Home for Judy
By Allison J. Call In the middle of a cold Kentucky winter while most were trying to stay warm, Judy Cardwell stole a bag of ice from a Kroger in Bowling Green. Police officers apprehended Judy and charged her with petty theft, but she never served any time. Judy, 55,...
National and local perspectives: the rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes
By Katie Zdunek Rafey Wahlah, a Pakistani international student at Western Kentucky University, said he and his roommates found a note on the door of their apartment calling them a racial slur and telling them to go home. This was days after the presidential election....
Finding Family
By Katie Roberts Kendra, 15, of Bowling Green, Kentucky dialed 911 on New Year’s Eve of 2014. She said her parents were drinking more than usual and a fight arose between her mother and father. That night, Kendra and her younger sister, Caitlin, 10, were taken out of...
Welcome to Eclipseville
Story and photos by Helen Gibson In 2007, Hopkinsville resident Cheryl Cook received an email that she’ll never forget. She’s the director of the Hopkinsville-Christian County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, so it’s not uncommon for people to reach out to her via...