Berea musician wins Colorado competition

Lu-Ann Farrar - Online Content Manager

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An annual competition, part of a bluegrass music festival in Telluride, Colo., was won by Berea musician Mitch Barrett, according to the Richmond Register. The competition drew more than 500 individual artists from across the county who write and perform original music but are not signed to a major recording and publishing contract. Barrett is scheduled to sing at the Berea Crafts Fair, July 10-12, according to Mitchbarrettmusic.com

The Miami Herald continues coverage of prescription pill abuse and cash-only pain clinics. Florida's medical examiners released a report Tuesday
that said nearly 1,000 Florida deaths were caused in 2008 by the painkiller oxycodone — a 33 percent increase from 2007. Conversely, Florida deaths from cocaine overdoses declined by 23 percent, to 648 in 2008. Overall, prescription drugs accounted for 75 percent of the drugs found in overdose victims last year, the report says. The Herald-Leader has also reported extensively on prescription pill abuse.

Country music star and Eastern Kentucky native Ricky Skaggs tells the Tennessean about his new creative outlet: photography. "It's another thing I use to keep my mind in a creative mode without it being so much about music all the time," Skaggs told the Tennessean about his passion for photography. "I think that's part of what will continue to make me better as a musician — staying creative in some other areas." Skaggs and his band Kentucky Thunder headline the second installment of this year's Bluegrass Nights At The Ryman series on July 2 in Nashville.

Mickey Dolenz is performing Friday in Ashland as part of Summer Motion 2009, according to the Ashland Daily Independent. Dolenz was in the Monkees, a pop band that consisted of Dolenz (my favorite Monkee), Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith (my sister's favorite or was it Peter?). The band starred in their own television show which ran from 1966 to 1968 and produced nine albums.

Kentucky is leading the way in getting junk food out of the public school diet, reports the Washington Post. The story states that "Kentucky is the seventh-fattest state in the nation, but it has been a pioneer in improving school food. In 2005 ... Kentucky became one of the first states to impose strict standards for foods sold in cafeteria a la carte lines, school stores and vending machines. The new regulations banned soda and sugary drinks, such as Hawaiian Punch, with more than 10 grams of sugar per serving. Twinkies and packaged cinnamon rolls were removed in favor of foods with limited fat, sugar and sodium." Kenton and Hardin counties are now profitable after offering more nutritious meals to students. The Agriculture Department official charged with writing new rules is Undersecretary for Food and Nutrition Services Janey Thornton, who served as nutrition director for Hardin County schools. The Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation issues a new report ranking obesity among adults. Kentucky is seventh in the U.S. in the number of obsese adults and fourth in the nation for the number of obese youth.