Double Murder in Stamping Ground, Kentucky

One hundred and fourteen years ago, my Great-Grandfather and the Sheriff of Stamping Ground, Kentucky were both killed.   The known facts are that my Great-Grandfather, Thomas Southworth, had been drinking after celebrating the birth of his eighth child, there was a verbal altercation between the Sheriff (Charley Duke) and Thomas, shots were fired and two men were dead.  What is believed to happen is during the altercation the sheriff shot and killed Thomas.  What is not known is how the sheriff was killed.

I first learned about the nature of my Great-Grandfather's death about 20 years ago.  I found newspaper accounts from both the Lexington Herald and Lexington Leader.  I also found an article about the incident in the New York Times (click to read article).  I learned that Thomas's son, Luther, was present at the shooting and could have played a role in the shooting.

Thomas Southworth's Grave 

About ten years ago, my father, my two sons and I went to find Thomas Southworth's grave site in the community of Beechwood in southern Owen County. You can click on the the next link to find the Beechwood Cemetery (Directions to Beechwood Cemetery).

 I thought the story was over until about a month ago when a teacher friend, Jean Hardy,  showed me an article about the incident and new information about the "Double Murder in Stamping Ground, Kentucky".

This has inspired me to find out more about what happened that September night in 1899.  As I investigate the new evidence over the coming months, I am going to use this blog site to share my findings.  This could be the ultimate "Cold Case".

Scott County Athletics Hall of Fame

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In today's blog I would like highlight the Scott County Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Thomas and King Leadership Conference Center on the Georgetown College Campus.  Inductions will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Friday August 30th and inductees will also be recognized at the end of the first quarter of the Scott County High School football game on the same evening.

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This is a great way to recognize great effort and service to the school system along with giving future athletes and coaches a goal to obtain during his or her career.

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This year's inductees include:

Coach Carl Mullins

SCHS Baseball

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15 Years

1998 SCHS Boys Baseball Team
24-4

Section 2

Final 8

Dale Polley

1996 MLB World Series Champion

1990 Caribbean World Series Champ (Venezuela)

1990 AAA All-Star MVP

1995 AAA All-Star

Six Motivational Ideas

Today's blog highlights six additional ideas shared by Michelle Cassady.  Michelle is the Director of Instruction for Woodford County Schools and this is her second addition to the blog.  Her original blog ideas was one of the most viewed and I really appreciate these additional ideas.

If you have ideas you would like to share, feel free to send ideas to csworth@windstream.net.


1.       Give colored certificates for years of service at faculty meeting; Platinum Level—Above 30 years; Gold Level—Above 25 years; Silver—20 years; Bronze—15 years; Pink & Blue Baby Award—completed first year

2.       Jeans All Week to celebrate our “Genius” Teachers on Staff

3.       Put up a bulletin board of jokes (clean ones), cartoons, faculty members making silly faces photos

4.       Pass out party favor blowouts for “Blowout” All Your Stress Time—play an upbeat song such as “Celebrate” to play along with with your blowers.

5.       Have an after-school walkthrough by faculty members—Put a blank sheet of paper by each teacher’s door.  Require every teacher to walk through every teachers room.  After they walk through, they write a positive remark about what they have seen on the paper by the door.

6.       Decorate your front foyer with live trees and shrubs borrowed from a local nursery—have prices available in case teachers want to purchase them from the nursery

Three Truths and One Lie

Three Truths and One Lie

As we start a new school year and we introduce new staff, one of the best team competitions is Three Truths and One Lie. This game can be played both as an ice breaker or a full team competition. Read below for a full description.

 In Three Truths and One Lie, each competitor writes three truths and one lie about himself or herself.  The other competitors have to decide which statement is the lie.  An example of  what a competitor’s question may look like in Three Truths and One Lie is listed below.

John Doe

A. Was on Romper Room as a child

B. Rode a mule through a Mexican city

C. Loves to scrapbook

D. Attended 7 different schools as a child

 

The easiest way to set up this game is to have each team create a multiple choice test for their own team based on three truths and one lie.  To make the competition fair, each team must have the same number of “test” items on their test.  Have the teams make three copies of their test and bring the test to the competition.  

The day of the competition, each team takes the three tests created by the opposing teams.  Teams receive points for each correct answer on their test.   After the competition take time for each team to share the correct answers with the other teams.  

Three Truths and One Lie is also a great activity to use with a group of new employees.  Schools, for example, often hire a number of new teachers at the start of the school year.  Have each new teacher create a three truths and one lie test and give that test to the other new employees.  This is not only a team competition, but also it can be an opportunity for the teachers to get to know each other.

Sunshine Club Bulletin Board

As we start back to school as educators, it may be important to remember what it was like when we attended school. The blog below helps us remember the styles of clothes and hair that we believed so important years ago.   Eastern Elementary's Sunshine Club starts us out with another entry for the 2013-2014 school year.  I want to thank Rachel Wilhoite for sharing the Sunshine Club's newest idea and for her description below of their childhood picture bulletin board.

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Instead of going the traditional ‘guess who the baby is route’, we took childhood pictures in a whole new direction. In congruence with being back at school, I collected school portraits of our staff from all ages. Our ‘Back to School’ bulletin board has provided lunch and break time with lots of laughs about the questionable hairstyles, fashions, and expressions we all had as kids. It was a great way to start the year and reminisce about our  experiences as students.

Run for a Cause

One of the best ways to increase staff morale is to join forces for a great cause and get fit in the process.  Two great opportunities are coming up in the next month and benefit our children in different ways.

Finley 5K 


The first annual Finley 5K Run/Walk event will take place on September 7, 2013 at 6:00pm in downtown Georgetown, KY. This Run/Walk is being held to raise money for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness to support a local family who recently lost a child suddenly to SIDS. Finley's parents, Crissy and Dwayne Ellison, are very active in our school system in Scott County and Georgetown College Athletics.

More than 4,500 infants die each year due to SIDS, making it the leading cause of death in infants 1-12 months of age. Many of us have been searching for a way to help the Ellison's cope with this tragedy. Although it is unimaginable the pain that they are enduring, we are trying to turn this tragedy into something they can focus on, and be excited about, in honor of their son Finley.

For more information and to register for the Finley 5K click on the link below:
http://www.active.com/page/event_details?event_id=2100922&force_a2=y

Cardinal Hustle Against Hunger

Join us for our 2nd Annual 5k Run/Walk to raise funds for the Backpack program at Scott County High School, Ninth Grade School, and Cardinal Academy!  The event will take place on September 21, 2013 at 8:00 in downtown Georgetown, Ky.  

Many of the students on the Scott County High School, Ninth Grade School, and Cardinal Academy campus have little to eat and often depend on school meals as their main source of nourishment. In efforts to ensure these students have a steady diet outside of school, the schools began a “backpack” food program that allows for a number of students to receive nutritious food donations weekly. Each Friday we provide a backpack to take home stocked with food for each student

For more information and to register for the Cardinal Hustle Against Hunger click on the link below:
https://cardshustle.eventbrite.com/

Welcome Back

Welcome back to another school year.

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Tonight's blog highlights a great idea for a welcome back gift box for teachers as they start a new school year. Northside Christian Church in Georgetown, Ky. delivered a welcome back gift to our teachers in Chinese takeout boxes.  What a creative way to show support to our teachers and staff from a community partner.

As I walked through the schools, I watched as teachers  looked through the box and found the goodies inside.  The smiles on their faces showed appreciation for  both the gift and the fact members of our community were thinking of us as we enter one of the toughest parts of the school year.

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I want to thank Northside Christian Church and all of our community partners with our school system.  Education works best when we realize that we all play a role in a student's growth and achievement.

You can learn about other ministries of Northside Christian Church, by clicking on the hyperlink.  Thanks again and welcome back to another school year.

It's Time - Elkhorn Crossing School Opening Day Video

It's Time

After a summer hiatus from the blog, It's Time to start again.

Today's blog is from Elkhorn Crossing School.  It shows the creativity, enthusiasm and the passion of our teachers as we start another school year.  Almost all teachers have certain amount of nervousness as a new year begins.  Taking time to create a video not only helps mentally prepare teachers for a new school year but it also is a wonderful motivational tool for your students.

I watched today as students at Elkhorn Crossing viewed the video.   The students cheered for each teacher  was highlighted on the video.  As the students cheered,

I watched as teachers lose the apprehension for a new school year.

I invite you to watch It's Time by clicking on the link.  Special thanks to students Sarah Baker and Corey Phelps for creating a great opening day video.

As we start a new year, I invite you to share ideas that motivate, compliment and inspire your students and staff.

Have a great school year.