The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 44

PAGE 2 NEIGHBORHOODSMid-County, MARCH 15, 1995 Galloping success St. Matthews teen mixes art, love of horses to win award Soaring skills Juggling teaches Meyzeek students math, sends their confidence aloft By MARTHA ELSON Staff Writer Eighteen-year-old Lena Hild of St. Matthews thinks hanging out at the mall is a waste of time. Give her a horse stall to clean out, thanks. Every day, the Waggener High School senior and her mother, Joy Pryor, make a 30-minute drive to Ellis Arabians stables off Backstretch editor-in-chief Harriett Dalley, who chose the winning artwork, said Lena's drawing was "very well-executed.

The colors were well-chosen. It looks springy and vibrant. This is the third year Backstretch has published artwork from the show, which had about 300 entries from students. The magazine and racing association are eager to promote an early interest wriimmiMiiiw- i i i iinin i.ni.mr -in-mr i- Bardstown Road near Bullitt County to take care of their four horses. And when Lena isn't cleaning, exercising, feeding or entering the horses in 4-H club shows, she's likely to be drawing them.

Those artistic skills will soon be nationally exposed. Her colored-pencil drawing of four horses in thoroughbred racing, Dalley said. "Other than visiting the backside, students don't have much interaction." Lena entered the show for the fourth time this year, winning her second honorable mention. Other award winners received pr $50 savings bonds, trophies, ribbons PHOTO BY BRIAN BOHANNON Manley Berthold, 12, right, lighted one of the torches held by All Omar, 13, backstage at Cane Run Elementary, where members of the Meyzeek Juggling Team performed. Looking on was Tom Collier, 13, left.

"I burned very seldom," he said. i By CLARENCE MATTHEWS Writer t. The Cane Run Elementary School students inched forward eagerly as rjugglers carrying flaming batons and long, glistening knives ap--peared on stage. Choruses of "oohs" and "ahs" as two Meyzeek Middle students tossed the batons and knives between them, with a third student pretending to stand cowed before them. Meyzeek's troupe also juggled balls, rings, and plates on top of sticks; and demonstrated magic and acrobatic routines in a recent hour-Uong performance at Cane Run, 3951 Cane Run Road.

"I loved it," said Gerrod Noble, a fifth-grader at Cane Run. "I really 5 liked the fire." -)u Classmate Leonard Brummitt was -equally impressed. "It was fantastic," he said. "I really liked the fire the blades." The appearance was one of many performances scheduled throughout the year by the Meyzeek Juggling Team, a 60-member group of sixth- through eighth-graders at Meyzeek, 828 S. Jackson St.

in Smoketown. The team was created eight years to provide students with a fun extracurricular activity that would i math skills and personal confidence. r. "Juggling gives students a chance sr to learn how to stand in front of an and work as a team for a fnon-competitive end, and how to 'serve others by generously sharing their skills," said team director George Mims, a sixth-grade com- Lena Hild was honored for this colored-pencil drawing. and a jockey entered in the puter technology and math teacher.

Mims has won several teaching honors, including the WHAS-TV Excel Award and the Pride in Performance Award from Citizens Fidelity Bank Trust now PNC Bank. Meyzeek jugglers perform at schools, Kentucky Derby events, and other places. The program, which costs about $2,000 annually for equipment, transportation and clothing, is supported by donations. Team members share the excitement of their audiences, said 13-year-old Ali Omar, a seventh-grader who juggles torches and knives. "I joined because it looked interesting," said Ali, who lives on the border of the Russell and Portland neighborhoods.

Ali, who is in his second year, doesn't worry about being burned or cut during a performance. "I get catch the end that's not hot." Thirteen-year-old Tom Collier of St. Matthews, who juggles torches and knives with Ali, had a similar view. "We just do it automatically," said Tom, a seventh-grader and two-year team member. "It's like climbing a mountain.

You do it because it's there." Part of the fun is performing in front of an audience, said seventh-grader Brian Akin, a second-year juggler. "It also has helped me with my hand-and-eye coordination," said Brian, 13, of the Middletown area. And Brian hopes the juggling-team experience will prepare him for a career on the stage or in the movies. "This could be a start," he said. Michael Rainey, 11, in his first year, said juggling has long-term benefits.

"I think it helps raise your self-esteem," said Michael, a sixth-grader who lives in the Iroquois area. That's important, said Mims, who organized the team to inspire his math students. "For a rapidly growing teen, being thought of as coordinated is a real self-esteem promoter," he said. And juggling supports the academic program at Meyzeek, a math, science and technology magnet school. "We wanted something that would be challenging to kids," he said.

But what does juggling have to do with math? Jugglers learn complicated routines by breaking them down into smaller problems and coming up with solutions. They can use the same process in the classroom, Mims said. "I teach math by problem-solving more than computation," he said. "A good mathematician is a creative problem-solver. Creative activity promotes creative and other gifts, and Providian bought three entries to add to the museum's collection those of Tosha Calhoun of Rutherford Elementary, Alice Doyle of Holy Trinity Middle and Sarah Soward of Waggener High.

Other top student winners, in order of finish, are: Elementary Scott Skees, Rangeland Elementary; Christopher Horrell, Holy Trinity; Aimee Bolton, Summitt Academy. Middle Alice Doyle, Holy Trinity; Beth Helmueller, St. Stephen Martyr; Julie Hazelip, Holy Trinity. High Karen Wyssbrod, Ballard; Amanda Heywood, Ballard; Kevin Weber, Holy Cross. Kentucky Derby Museum ninth annual "Horsing Around With Art" student show was selected for next month's cover of Backstretch Magazine, the official publication of the United Thoroughbred Trainers of America in Southfield, Mich.

Lena's biography and picture will run inside, along with artwork from two other entrants Brianna Jackson of Rangeland Elementary and Ryan Scher-zinger of Ballard High School. The art show, sponsored by Providian, showcases art with a theme surrounding thoroughbreds, Churchill Downs or the Kentucky Derby. J-town focuses Jefferson County Police officers Shana Farmer and Larry Elery also spoke during the meeting. Farmer and Elery, who said later QIl QOWIltOWll iney were not acting as spoKespeo- Continued from Page One Noun: 411 nwl MlMr (Kliwiiwl in thb nivwT hjM Jo ih. Fftdwil Fair Uowdn A at VKiB nuihr il itlrml lulirrHrf "unj pn-Cminrr, ttiuibttiifi, riiniim-Uuii (mI un ran-, itit.

n-lwiun. m-i. eery. I could have cared less what tmtmem. mfatmm March Neighborhoods Home Showcase baiiuiml OrUn, irr an liriiiftm lt mulfi mn mk-Ii pn-frwnw.

bmittltan dm nmlimltmi." This newspaper wit unl kaowinly stropi any arfveiv tinnff for xai euurie which In violation or (toe law. Fraiixi arc brrriiv dud ail duxiliiw npfj'B'Rinil? bum. Newburg airs housing gripes Continued from Page One from you gentlemen," said board member Joel Whitehurst. "We're not jumping on your agencies. We're saying, 'Give us ideas on how we can control Others, including Shanklin, criticized Section 8 inspections.

Ralston responded that, although some homes are approved even if floors or walls are dirty, they won't pass if they are unsanitary. He said he had inspected the home Shanklin had referred to and found no roaches or unsanitary conditions. Shanklin maintained that inspection standards should be improved, noting that Ralston had described the standards as "minimal." "The amount of money you spend is not minimal," she said. ple for the Jefferson County Police Department, encouraged residents to push for more action in keeping drug dealers and other offenders from Section 8 homes. The most common violation of Section 8 rules is occupancy by unauthorized people, Heimann said, and he acknowledged that could be related to crime since unapproved residents often are involved in such things as selling drugs.

But catching people is difficult because it's easy to claim someone is just visiting. Whitehurst said the board plans to bring up the suggestions during a full Newburg Area Council membership meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Newburg Community Center, 4810 Exeter Ave. "We're not going to just let this slide." they charged. I needed it." Parrott said she doesn't like fighting traffic to get to Kroger, nor does she like fighting the crowds inside the large store.

"What are the plans for the people who live in this area?" Parrott also expressed concerns about traffic. "I'm raising children in this area" and don't want to "worry about traffic in the residential area." Jim Mims, who is coordinating the master plan, said the district's future will depend on how it serves Jeffersontown's neighborhoods. Mims envisions entertainment and specialty dining downtown, but "that's not to say that neighborhood goods don't belong here," he said. One resident, who refused to give her name, questioned how the city can have businesses that attract people from outside Jeffersontown while serving residents too. "If you're going to play both sides of the fence, you're going to get mediocrity," she said.

But Mims said "it's our belief that there may be room" for increased regional appeal and neighborhood services. His consulting firm is working with a 16-member task force of city officials, business owners, managers and residents. Another hearing, to present a draft of the plan, will be held in June or July. The City Council will have final say. at all HFH Communities! Saturday, March 18 Sunday, March 19 1 to 5 p.m.

Tour Beautiul New Homes! Bible group helps needy Continued from Page One about the spirit within me." She said the group's studies, and its charity work, have given her a deeper understanding of the spiritual connection between people. For example, she said she believes some people become alcoholics or develop other troubles "because we don't know who we are" as reflections of God. Another member, Nailah Jumoke, said joining the group was a kind of "resurrection" for her. Jumoke, of the Portland neighborhood, said the group's work has increased her awareness of herself as a product of a "loving Creator." "I now have an understanding of who I truly am in the image of God," she said. Members said helping others is a natural outgrowth of the weekly meetings.

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