The Bullitt County History Museum

It Happened in 2004

Over the years, Charles Hartley has shared glimpses of what was being printed in The Pioneer News in different months and years. This page includes what was taken from the August through December issues of 2004.


August 2004

Sanders Sisters

Tim Peveler spent a week hunting for his snow leopard before it was located a few hundred yards from his home in a driveway on Highway 44E.

Remember when the Carroll house stood where the parking lot is today? Fiscal Court was discussing when it would be demolished in their August meeting.

Nathan Willoughby, Kristen Yeager and Matthew Hodge of Bullitt East were excited about joining the Campbellsville University Tiger Marching Band in the fall.

Larry Dattilo and Ronnie Miller were the overall winners in the Salt River Canoe Race. Also, Natalie Hettinger placed first in the kayak race.

Sarah Anderson and Sheridan Hamilton were competing in the World Series for 12 and under girls in Illinois as part of the Prairie Valley fast-pitch softball team.

Mt. Washington resident Dan Baker purchased a South American Macaw at the Exotic Bird Fair at Paroquet Springs Conference Center.

Fred Noe of Beams Distillery was interviewed by the History Channel for a piece on the bourbon industry.

Lanse, Lynsey, Reese, and Trase Milburn; Brett, Brooke, and Tate Hatfield; and Amber Sewell were all pictured in the paper as medal winners in the Bluegrass State Games.

Bullitt Central senior Stacey Harvey, who played the tenor saxophone, was twice honored; first as a member of the all state band, and second to participate in the Governor's School for the Arts.

Amanda Decker, a Hillview resident and Bullitt Central graduate, received a scholarship from the Bullitt County 4-H to help pay for her books as she enrolled at University of Louisville.

Brent Dennison, a Bullitt Central alumni, was selected as BC's new basketball coach.

Kim Jacobs received the James W. Hardaway Memorial Scholarship. She planned to attend Elizabethtown Community College and then Spalding University to major in nursing.

Dub and Alice Armstrong celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this month; as did Robert and Mary Richardson.

Walter Thomas Knapp, a longtime member of Masonic Lodge 180 in Mt. Washington, was honored by having a new scholarship named in his honor. Knapp, who was approaching his 90th birthday, also received his 50-year pin as a member of the fraternal group.

And Judy Antle caught nearly 17 lbs of Bass including three big ones to take first place in the WFBA tournament. Way to go, Judy!

September 2004

Bill Thixton of Mt. Washington turned a hobby into a rewarding experience when the mandolin he made for his son earned him a first place ribbon at the State Fair.

Dr. Mohanna Arla, who began practicing medicine in Lebanon Junction in 1980, was proud to have his daughter, Dr. Latha Arla Polavarapu join him here in Bullitt County.

The Bullitt County Genealogical Society elected officers. They were Barbara Bailey, president; Sam Hardy, vice-president; Edith Blissett, recording secretary; Lynn Eddington, corresponding secretary; Mary C. Brewer, treasurer; Edna Hardin, programs and publicity; and Directors David Strange, Mary Lee Thorp, and Ken Bailey. Betty Darnell continued as the editor of the society quarterly.


Doris Cornell was pictured mugging for the camera at her birthday luncheon held for her by the staff of the Circuit Clerk's office.

Bullitt Central's girls' soccer team defeated Bullitt East 3-1 with goalie Kandice Ratliff stopping shot after shot for the Cougars.

The Bernheim Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation presented Nick Simon with a special recognition award for his service to the group. The group's active original members included Todd Buckingham, Darnell Hatfield, Billy Mudd, Bobby Mudd, Jerry Raley, John Raley, and Mike Shepherd.

Buddy Gaddle led a volunteer crew from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in an effort to clean up the Ridgway Cemetery located not far from his home.

Leigh Anne Florence announced the release of her second book in the Woody the Wiener Dog series.

North Bullitt defeated Bullitt Central 33-21, scoring the last 21 points of the game. Were you there? Did you see Chris Westfall kick those extra points?

Sara Edison, daughter of Janet and Perry Robison of Shepherdsville, completed her doctoral program in chemistry. She accepted a position with Borden Chemicals in Cincinnati.

Tom Jeffries, a long-time educator who served as Bullitt County School Superintendant, died on 12 Sep 2004. He was also Professor Emeritus at the University of Louisville School of Education.

The Jim Beam plant at Boston was renamed the Booker Noe Distillery in honor of Master Distiller Booker Noe who died in February.


After fumbling three times and trailing 6-0, the Bullitt Central Cougars turned things around enroute to a 74-12 thumping of Trimble County, with Preston Cissell scoring their first of many touchdowns.

The Bullitt County 4-H Rabbit Club cleaned house at the State Fair. Tiffany Rash took Best of Breed in Open Youth, Lauren Gifford won Best of Breed in the 4-H Show, and Tabitha Rash won Reserved Grand Champion in the show.

Bullitt East junior Corey Rakes was part of a powerful Charger rushing attack in their 55-7 victory over Jeffersontown.

And David Strange wrote an interesting article about how the Bivens brothers repeatedly broke out of the old stone jail in Shepherdsville.

October 2004

Amy Parker, the new Bullitt Central choir director, earned three gold medals as part of the University of Louisville Cardinal Singers when they traveled to an international competition in Germany.

With all three county high schools' cross country teams competing at the Hillbilly Run in Bardstown, the local schools called it their Bullitt County Cross-Country Championships. Individually, Lance Biddle of Bullitt East narrowly beat Jared Aubrey of North Bullitt in boys' competition. Betsy Hines of North Bullitt beat Bullitt Central's Allison Sanders for the girls' crown.

The 1954 S.H.S. graduates held a 50 year reunion at Paroquet Springs. Attending were Baker Beam, Darrell Bridwell, James Burden, Carolyn Carpenter Hardy, Roy Carpenter, W. T. Coy, Richard Crigler, Nora Mae Dever Shepherd, Eugene Elder, Rose French Shumate, Sam Hardy, Selvie Hodge, Neva Kalwat Milam, Rose Koch Stallings, C. L. Lane, Lloyd Maraman, Bob Milam, Arthur Miller, Wanda Dean Myers Whitworth, Darrell Parrish, Sarah Price Scott, Anna Belle Rarden Croan, Ruth Ann Riley Younger, Ina Charles Roby Carpenter, Alice Ryan Armstrong, Mildred Shepherd Pressley, Clifford "Buddy" Shepherd, Beverly Simpson Claunch, Berniece Smith Greenwell, Shirley Jo Stansbury Hall, and Margaret Summers Foster.



They were joined by former classmates: Roma Graham Houchin, Mildren Howlett Bishop, Loretta Jones Stansbury, Shirley Lee Troutman, Louise Pugh Armstrong, Joyce Shepherd Mann, Paul Thomas Shepherd and Pete Wise.

A tribute was given to deceased class members: Norman Troutman, Inez Shepherd Huff, Yvonne Huffman Troutman, Ed Wigginton, Ronald Hatfield, Vernon Goodwin, Norma Lee Williams Stansbury, Lois Norris Krebs, John McGill, and Betty Moore Sallings.

Lydia Benedict of Zoneton was a big winner at the Kentucky State Fair. Altogether, she collected four blue ribbons, and one each of red, white, pink, and green ribbons. She also received the Junior Textile Sweepstakes Rosette, a special blue ribbon for overall achievement.

Bullitt East football defeated Fairdale 38-7 with Jacob Porter scoring three touchdowns in their homecoming game. Seniors Mollie Bolin and Jonathan Sapp were crowned Queen and King in ceremonies before the game.

Boy Scout Troop 848 of Shepherdsville honored their most recent Eagle Scout, Florencio Athualpa Olives, at a special Court of Honor.

Pioneer News staff writer Robert White wrote about a local legend, told by Charlie Long, about a group of ghostlike Indians, a bend in the river, and some local gossip. Guess you might ask Charlie what that's all about.

And David Strange wrote about a man named Thurston who found himself locked up in the old stone jail in the mid 1940's. Somehow, Mr. Thurston managed to get drunk despite being in jail for several days. Ask David to tell you the rest of the story.

November 2004



Ten years ago, the football field at Bullitt Central was named in honor of George Valentine, long-time principal of the school. Karen Hayden was shown presenting a plaque to Mr. Valentine's family.

Stephen Thomas, Pioneer News staff writer, wrote a nice piece on the opening of the Bullitt County History Museum in the front of the courthouse in Shepherdsville.

The newest panel of Teen Court members were sworn in by Judge Bailey Taylor. They include Tyler Bratcher, Holly Brewer, Jessica Carnes, Steven Carr, Keith Crecelius, Brittany Forshee, Samantha Frake, Courtney Fried, Brandon Goss, Alelis Guzman, Josh Heffley, Katie Hendricks, Austin Johnston, Nicole Kennedy, Heather Mercer, Amy Mitchell, Shana Peyton, Brad Smith, Danielle Tarter, Chasity Tooley, Chris Westfall, Craig Wheeler, Alisha Roeder, and Toni Wheeler.

Six generations were pictured together with Edna Lane, the great-great-great grandmother, holding the infant Isabelle Lane Jones. Others present were Gen Amerine, great-great grandmother, Verna Atherton, great-grandmother, Terri Lynn Branch, grandmother, and Bethany Jones, mother.

Roland and Venetia Foster celebrated 70 years of marriage, and the newspaper shared it with us. Of their many children were Marilyn Lou of Hillview, and Janie Gail Beam of Lebanon Junction. Roland and Venetia moved to Bullitt County in 1970 and built the Preston Parkway Mobile Home Park.

David Bates, Bob Harned, Ted Korfhage, Joe Raley, Jeff Robards, Kyle Skidmore, and Lewis Skidmore were elected as board members of the Farm Bureau.

The Farm Bureau meeting entertainment was provided by Tori Boles, Audra Hargis, Laura Terry, Kayla Wiedemer, Lacy Arnold, and Jessica Carnes.

Steve Cissell closed out his two decades of coaching with back-to-back titles in the Greater Bullitt County Youth Football League. His Overdale Chiefs won the A division for the second straight year.

And Jailer Martha Knox joined other local celebrities in jail to raise money for "Jerry's Kids."

December 2004


Old friends from the little one-room Zoneton grade school had a reunion. Those attending included Ina Fay (Mobley) Raymond, Mary Ruth (Mobley) Smith, Robert L. Farmer, Nell (Ball) Porter, Clyde A. Raymond, Sara (Ball) Crumbacker, Betty Nell (Crumbacker) Dever, Walter Crumbacker, Kathleen (Mobley) Owen, Mary Bell (Gentry) Farmer, Bebe (Bell) Hamilton, and Mildred (Crumbacker) Tennill.

The North Bullitt High School Athletic Hall of Fame inducted 8 new members: Kevin Crisp, Kim Dial, Shelly Dial, Garry Jervis, Carl Owens, Jim Perdue, Dr. Bob Wagoner, and Kyle Wise.

The following Bullitt Countians competed in a 4-H Shooting Sports program. Hayes Cullin placed third in the 22 sport rifle competition. Kala Gifford was fourth in the Archery Recurve Bow event. Giselle Warren was fifth in that event. Kelci Johnston was 7th in that event, and 9th in both Archery Bowhunter and Archery Target events. Lauren Gifford took 8th place in Archery Recurve, and Austin Hodge was 15th. Ethan Thompson took 4th in that event, 10th in Bowhunter, and 13th in Target. Jake Whitener was 10th in Recurve Bow and 15th in Target. Matt Clark placed 6th in Bowhunter, and Ian Thompson was 17th in Archery Target.

North Bullitt inducted five new members into the National Honor Society. They included senior Liz Cunningham, and juniors Miranda Curl, Sara Gleason, Sarah James, and Chris Kmiec.

Mt. Washington Middle School's sixth grade academic team placed first in the competition at Bardstown. Devin Mueller took first place in math, and Alex Hutchins was first in science. The school also won the quick recall competition.

And, John Zehnder placed first in the Roby Elementary Science Fair with his "Mixed Up Colors Unmixed" project. Way to go, John!


Copyright 2018 by Charles Hartley, Shepherdsville KY. All rights are reserved. No part of the content of this page may be included in any format in any place without the written permission of the copyright holder.


The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments are available by calling 502-921-0161 during our regular weekday hours. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code. Page last modified: 13 Jan 2024 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/happened/2004.html