Your News & Notes - July 2010

Metro Animal Services (MAS) has announced that the adoption fee for all cats one year or older has been lowered to $50. The price reduction is a permanent effort to encourage more adult cat adoptions. The previous fee was $85. During kitten season (June 1 – August 31), the adoption fee for all kittens is being lowered to $100. The previous fee was $125. 

 

“Sadly, many people overlook the adult cats and opt for the younger kittens, so we are trying to make the older cats more appealing by lowering the adoption fee,” says Jackie Gulbe, assistant director for community relations. “We receive so many wonderful adult cats that are here through no fault of their own. In many cases, their owners are moving, have financial issues, or have other circumstances that prevent them for keeping their cat.”   

 

Cats and kittens receive the FVRCP/Feline Leukemia test if they are six months or older, and a combo test and flea prevention. All animals are spayed or neutered and receive a microchip, rabies vaccination, deworming and a license. Plus, the new pet owner receives $100 worth of coupons from Feeders Supply. 

 

Anyone interested in adopting can visit Metro Animal Services at 3705 Manslick Road, call (502) 361-1318 or visit www.Louisvilleky.gov/AnimalServices. 

 

Kentucky residents can now show their support for Kosair Children’s Hospital by purchasing a special Kentucky license plate. A minimum of 900 donors giving $25 each must be received prior to the plates being made. Leading the efforts to get the donations is Debbie Irwin, a Kosair Children’s Hospital volunteer and supporter. 

 

For Irwin, a counselor for Jefferson County Public Schools, nothing is more important than helping the kids in this community. When she purchased a new car recently from Sam Swope Honda World, Irwin wanted a new license plate. She asked for a Kosair Children’s Hospital plate and was surprised to learn there wasn’t one. This is when she decided to take action to help get a special license plate created.

 

“I had already committed myself to helping the hospital three years ago when I decided to include the Children’s Hospital Foundation in my will,” Irwin says. “I thought there must be hundreds of people who have been touched by the loving hands at Kosair Children’s Hospital, and those are the very people who would want a special license plate.” 

 

The new plate, adorned with the Kosair Children’s Hospital signature balloon, is a simple way of allowing Kentucky residents to show their support of the hospital on a daily basis.

 

Interested donors can visit HelpKosairChildrensHospital.com, call (502) 629-5437, or mail a check, payable to the Children’s Hospital Foundation, to 234 E. Gray St., Suite 450, Louisville, KY 40202. 

 

Kosair Children’s Hospital is Kentucky’s only full-service, free-standing pediatric hospital, serving more than 116,000 children annually from Kentucky and Southern Indiana. As a regional facility that treats all children regardless of their families’ ability to pay, the hospital relies on support from the community. 

 

The Children’s Hospital Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Kosair Children’s Hospital and raises millions of dollars each year to support programs, research, advocacy and education, and to maintain equipment and facilities. The Children’s Hospital Foundation funded $11.7 million in capital needs and special projects in 2009. For more information, call (502) 629-8060. 

 

Bruce Cohen, owner of BC Plumbing Company, recently received the Ida Lee Willis Preservation Award for the renovation of the Pearce Wheeler Farm, an antebellum farmstead in Hart County, Kentucky. Presented by the Kentucky Heritage Council on May 26 in Frankfort, Cohen received one of three awards given for the preservation of buildings statewide. The other award recipients are the Bishop Flaget Log House, located in Nelson County, and The Grand Theatre, in Frankfort.

 

The Preservation Project Awards recognize outstanding examples of restoration or rehabilitation of historic buildings, or other types of projects that have had a positive impact on Kentucky’s built environment. 

 

Cohen bought the pre-Civil War farmstead from the Nature Conservancy through its land acquisition program, and worked for over four years to restore the historic house, barn and other buildings on the property. The farmstead, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, borders the Green River. 

 

According to its website, The Nature Conservancy works with private, conservation-minded individuals, or “conservation buyers,” interested in acquiring and protecting ecologically valuable lands. Through this program, the Conservancy identifies and purchases target properties within priority conservation areas – or in zones that buffer and surround core natural areas. They then widely and publicly market the property, seeking a buyer committed to protecting the property’s important natural values and willing to ensure the land’s long-term conservation by placing a conservation easement on it. The value of the land before and after the conservation easement restrictions is established by professional, independent appraisals. The Conservancy prohibits sales of conservation lands to any related parties.

 

Cohen says he uses the property as a retreat and also makes it available to individuals and small groups for contemplative study or “in case someone wants to write the great American novel.”

 

Mayor Jerry Abramson and Health Department Director Adewale Troutman recently presented  the 5th Annual Healthy Hometown Worksite Wellness Awards at the Healthy Hometown Worksite Wellness Conference, “Review, Refresh, Revive: The Business Case for Wellness” held at Baptist Hospital East. Awards were presented in three categories.

 

The Start Up Award, for a successful program under two years old, was presented to ValuMarket food stores. The award states, “ValuMarket has moved full speed ahead in adopting health policies for employees that add an element of fun to engage all.”

 

The Veteran Award, for a successful program that is two years or older, was presented to the University of Louisville Get Healthy Now program. U of L was cited for “proven sustainability and top level support as well as integrating the program into their benefit design and having a positive return on their investment in their employees.”

 

The Fleur de Lis Award, for the most impressive program overall, was presented to the Al J. Schneider Companies for their programs at both Galt House Hotel and Crowne Plaza Hotel. They met all the objectives outlined, including integrating the program from the top down with 90 percent employee participation.

 

Winners were each presented with an original glass sculpture from Flame Run Art Glass Studios.

 

Previous winners include Trover Solutions, E.ON U.S., Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and Linak, U.S.A, Inc.

 

The Conference also included presentations by U of L Football Coach Charlie Strong, Wellness Council of Indiana’s Mike Campbell, and Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Worksite Wellness Coordinator Theresa Lovely.

 

Mayor Abramson launched the Healthy Hometown Movement in 2004 as a community-wide effort to create a new culture in Louisville where physical activity and optimal nutrition are the norm. The movement seeks to motivate citizens to increase their level of physical activity and to adopt healthier lifestyles. 

 

The Healthy Hometown Movement, which also hosts the Healthy Hometown Hike & Bike events on Memorial Day and Labor Day, was recognized as the primary reason for this community winning the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ “Livable City” Award for 2008.

 

Information and listings of health- and fitness-oriented events are available at www.louisvilleky.gov/mhhm, or by calling MetroCall at 311 or (502) 574-5000.