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GRAVES 2013 DISTRICT 2 GOVERNOR’S CUP – The Graves County High School Academic Team won the 2013 District 2 Governor’s Cup competition the final Saturday of January at Mayfield High School.

Pictured here are members of the Quick Recall Team, with their individual achievements listed as well. They are, from left, Grayson Dietz, third place, science; Ty Wilson, second, arts and humanities, and third social studies; Jonathan Goatley, first, mathematics, and first, social studies; Mitul Ahmed; Chris Woods, first, language arts, and second social studies; and Cheyenne McMullen, fourth, arts and humanities. The academic team’s coaches are teachers Jeremy Krug and Lynda Hiles.

The Paducah Tilghman High School academic team won the District Governor's Cup competition held at Lone Oak High School on January 26. Tilghman scored 65 points to finish first. Heath, Lone Oak, and Reidland also participated in the competition. 

Row 1, l to r: Erin Burba, Catherine Miller, Marissa Davis, Coach Christine Wynne, Megan Cantwell Row 2: Alicia Humphrey, Avery Harriman, Lilly Burba, Meg Hancock Row 3: Reese Butler, Justin Holt, Andrew Zaninovich, Jacob Holtgrewe, Will Hancock, Trae Hampton Row 4: Parker Loyd, Miles Butler

I love the study of geo-politics and geography of central place theory. One deals with the give and take of political power. The other one deals with the give and take of consumer markets. Together this makes up my world. However, over the past three years I began adding one additional area of study and research: the give and take of climate change and extreme weather.

Two reports out this past week made me stop and look at the place I call home against the three areas of my research loves. The first report said we will now refer to ourselves and where we live as Frontier and Remote. The second report showed the growth of mega regions and mega cities for 2050. St Louis and Louisville were identified as the southernmost points for the expanded Great Lakes Urban Mega Region.

So, in my way of thinking this would be an excellent time to take a look at the (Star Trek reference here) Borg of Retail, Wal-Mart, and what it is doing to our little part of the universe...

Enjoy. 

As long as Sam Walton controlled the company, “Made in America” was his base slogan and format for securing goods. However, by the 1990s, a new strategy was put into place, “Falling Prices” as seen on TV commercials where the prices were changed as you walked down the isle looking for bargains. Cheap prices became the weapon for securing market share.

Of course this meant having to locate distributors from Asia who worked their employees for some of the cheapest wages on the planet. US domestic factories started closing or moving their base of operations into China in order to stay a part of the new Wal-Mart family.

In 1883, Bernard Kroger plowed his life savings of $372 into a new grocery store. His company now has 3600 stores, over 300,000 employees - a majority of them union members.

After 129 years, Kroger continues to follow Bernard's motto - "Never sell anything you would not want yourself."

Commonwealth of Kentucky teams up with HumanaVitality and

Wal-Mart to lower the cost of healthier foods

(Friday, February 1, 2013) - On this date in 1863, Kentucky slave owners were scrambling to tell their slaves that President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to the Bluegrass State.

At the same time, opposition to the president’s order was continuing to build in some Kentucky Union regiments, even among high-ranking officers. Col. Sidney M. Barnes, commander of the Eighth Kentucky Infantry, was typical of Kentuckians who denounced the proclamation.