Pearls are prized gemstones that have been crafted into jewelry for millennia. They can be found in the wild, but they’re also cultivated on farms. We hear a report from North America’s lone freshwater pearl farm located along Kentucky Lake in Tennessee.
Listen: A West Virginia Superintendent Sings to Announce Closings, Delays
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Winter weather has shut down government offices, shopping malls and, of course, public schools. School was in session for President’s Day in some schools systems in order to make up for snow days.
There’s no doubt that children look forward to the automated calls from school administrators canceling or delaying school days. But some working parents dread those calls since another snow day means another day to find child care or even miss work.
Fayette County Superintendent Keith Butcher is hoping to ease the tension by adding a melody to the message.
"This is the phone call kids love to hear, So gather around let me be clear. Ice and snow has come our way, And so I announce this two-hour delay. Please don't cry and please don't complain, You'll get a chance to wake up your brain. Two more hours of sleep and then it's back to the school again."
On Friday of last week, Butcher announced schools in Fayette County would be closed. Central office staff didn’t have to report to work but, custodians, maintenance, and transportation staff were called into work. At least he broke the news to everyone with an adaptation of “Let It Snow.”
0214FayetteCoClosing.mp3
Fayette County Superintendent of Schools Keith Butcher announces a Code B Closing on Friday, February 14 through an automated voice message.
"Oh, the snow outside is still falling. That's the reason that I'm calling. Since traveling is not cool, There's no school, there's no school, there's no school."
Pearls are prized gemstones that have been crafted into jewelry for millennia. They can be found in the wild, but they’re also cultivated on farms. We hear a report from North America’s lone freshwater pearl farm located along Kentucky Lake in Tennessee.
This week, we’re revisiting our episode “What Is Appalachia?” from December 2021. Appalachia connects mountainous parts of the South, the Midwest, the Rust Belt and even the Northeast. That leaves so much room for geographic and cultural variation, as well as many different views on what Appalachia really is.
If you feel under the weather, how do you know when it’s time to see a doctor? Also, a growing movement to make Appalachia the “truffle capital of the world,” is being led by a small-town farmer in southern Kentucky.