SOMERSET, KY – KET will showcase the people and environment of southern and eastern Kentucky during a special episode of “Kentucky Life,” which will be broadcast this Saturday, March 28, 8 pm ET, 7 pm CT.
The 30-minute show will explore the work of Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, an initiative started in 1997 by U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers and the late Brig. General James Bickford, former Secretary of the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet. Their vision was to encourage citizens to take personal responsibility for protecting the environment and to provide the education and resources they need to do so.
Host Dave Shuffett will meet some of the many partners that make the organization a success and get hands-on along the way. The program follows action during several PRIDE initiatives and captures the fun as school children discover environmental education in nature’s classroom – the great big outdoors.
Shooting locations include:
- Cumberland County’s 2013 Dale Hollow Spring Cleanup.
- Pulaski County’s 2014 PRIDE Clean Sweep of U.S. 27, where Shuffett joined hundreds of volunteers as they worked to collect roadside litter and trash.
- London Regional Recycling Center and Laurel Ridge Landfill, where KET followed students from McCreary County Middle School on tours that emphasized proper solid waste management and the importance of recycling.
- Russell County Middle School, where students studied and repaired their outdoor wetland classroom, with guidance from Tom Biebighauser and RCMS teacher Jean Clement.
- McCreary County and Wolfe County, where PRIDE was facilitating a sewer system expansion and septic system replacement, as part of its mission to improve the region’s water quality.
The episode includes interviews with (among others):
- U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, 5th Congressional District
- Tammie Wilson, Eastern Kentucky PRIDE President/CEO
- Jack Keeney, PRIDE Board of Directors, Vice-Chairman
- Mark Davis, Former PRIDE Field Representative
- Calvin Saum, Breathitt County Solid Waste Coordinator
- Ashley Bowman, Wolfe County Solid Waste Coordinator
- John Phelps, Cumberland County Judge/Executive
- Dennis Brooks, Wolfe County Judge/Executive
- Tom Biebighauser, Wetland Ecologist
- Jean Clement, Russell County Middle School Teacher
- Tiffany Bourne, Community Development Director Pulaski County Government
“Kentucky Life” is a KET production. Series producer is Brandon Wickey. This episode was produced by Matt Grimm.