The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page B5

Time: 01-13-2009 23:02 User: mjohnson PubDate: 01-14-2009 Zone: IN Edition: 1 Page Name: B5 Color: INDIANA I THE COURIER-JOURNAL I WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2009 I B5 History takes root at waterfront site of Lincoln sculpture Memorial will honor president By Sheldon S. Shafer The Courier-Journal Abraham Lincoln liked to read under a copper beech tree at his Illinois home. So the staff of the Waterfront Development which manages Waterfront Park in Louisville, has Photos by Arza Barnett, The Courier-Journal Mary Briscoe, from left, Cindy Black, and Mary Mollerus rehearsed for the Holy Family Theatre Group's 25th anniversary season. Money raised from the shows goes toward a variety of causes, from hymnals to helping the needy with health care expenses. MOSS Theater group sets the stage for fellowship Continued from Bl chair toss of former Indiana University men's basketball coach Bob Knight.

Briscoe has played a man, and her husband, Barrett Briscoe, has played a woman. And yes, roles include food. "I've still got the costume if anyone needs to borrow it," said Lowe, a four-year member and proud graduate from the concession stand. Several members are disabled, and there is a job for everyone. "If you don't want to be on stage, you won't be put on stage," Bartley said.

Besides, why not get more use out of all those props and outfits? Hundreds may attend and, as Barrett Briscoe notices, returnees are routine. But as Mary Briscoe said, "Now we'd probably do it without an audience." The show has gone on the road, a performance in Louisville's Brown Theatre in 2000 a highlight. The group's home is Marchino Hall at Holy Family, its regular run three weekends per year. Only donations are asked $5 for adults, $3 for children of high school age or younger with proceeds spent on everything from hymnals to needy people's health-care expenses. "It's our ministry," said Chris Schoenfelder, left, and Teresa Lowe were put through their paces.

planted a copper beech in the 2.5-acre riverside tract where a memorial to the coun-try's 16th president will be dedicated June LINCOLN CELEBRATING HIS LIFE 4. Artist Ed Hamilton has depicted Lincoln seated on a large sculpted stone, with a book in one hand and the other hand extended in a beckoning motion. The figure will face the copper beech tree planted in the center of the memorial site, which overlooks the Ohio River and is situated between the Big Four and Kennedy bridges. David Karem, executive director of the development agency, said he believes the memorial "will be one of the most significant Lincoln sites in the country a place people will want to visit, because its message is so powerful." Just before Christmas 39 trees were planted at the site. Gary Pepper, the waterfront agency's facilities manager, said the agency's staff spent considerable time online, researching Lincoln's likes and dislikes.

He said they discovered that Lincoln was especially fond of locust, magnolia, persimmon and copper beech trees. So the plantings include three magnolias, two persimmons, three locusts and one copper beech. Most of the rest are a mix of oaks, maples and elms. Most of the young trees are 5 to 10 inches in diameter near the base and are about 20 feet tall. Pepper said the trees were selected for their durability and longevity, but can be replaced as needed.

Most will grow to 70 feet to 90 feet in height over the next 30 to 40 years. Pepper said the trees should have a nice spread by the June 4 dedication. The San Francisco design firm of Hargreaves Associates, the Waterfront Park master planner, designed the layout and landscaping at the Lincoln Memorial site. It recom- By Pam Spaulding, The Courier-Journal This copper beech tree was planted at the site of the planned Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park in Louisville. SEE THE SITE View a photo gallery of the Lincoln Memorial site at www.courier-journal.com mended the general locations for the trees.

Most of the trees were provided by River Farm Nursery in Goshen, Valley Hill Nursery in Springfield and Carl Ray Nursery in Eastwood. Carl Ray Nursery secured the copper beech from Schneider Nursery in Seymour, Pepper said. Pepper said the nurseries gave the waterfront agency special deals and that most of the trees cost $100 to $150. The copper beech, however, cost about $3,500. Labor and transportation costs brought the total tree budget to around $10,000, Pepper said.

He said copper beach trees are relatively rare, found mainly in arbore-tums and on older estates. "They have a hard wood and are usually slow-growing," Pepper said. From the Lincoln site, people can see upriver past Towhead Island and downriver to the Falls of the Ohio. The site offers "some of the best river views in the entire park," Pepper said. The amphitheater is completed; it has three tiers of granite seating for about 250 people.

The Lincoln Memorial project costs about $2.25 million, with funding of $2 million from the state and most of the rest from the family of the late Louisville businessman Harry Frazier. The Lincoln statue is now being cast in bronze in Baltimore. It depicts Lincoln before he was president, perhaps at around 40 years old and without a beard or stovepipe hat. Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at (502) 582-7089.

TEST Greater Clark ISTEP scores 'fairly cause beer is sold). Other performances will be Feb. 20-21. Holy Family is at 129 W. Daisy Lane.

More group information is at Dale Moss' column appears on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Reach him at (812) 949-4026 or Comment on this column, and read his blog and previous columns, at www.cou-rier-journal.commoss. stagnant' ever. For all Greater Clark's African-American students in the 10th grade, 47 percent passed the language section of the exam this year, compared with 31 percent last year. Thirty-nine percent passed the math section of the exam, compared with 35 percent last year.

"We are nowhere near where we need to be," Morris said, "but the gap is narrowing." Reporter Ben Zion Hershberg can be reached at (812) 949-4032. Continued from Bl what they are doing to improve them. The test results were released in December. Among the test scores Schellenberg showed to illustrate her report were lOth-grade language and math scores at Jeffersonville High. This fall, 56 percent of the students passed the language section of the exam, down from 60 percent last year, and only 49 percent passed the math section, down from 55 percent last year.

Barrett Briscoe's stage appearances have included one role as a woman. group revives an original "Hee Haw" segment, along with twists on other blasts from the past. The next shows are at 730 p.m. Friday (family night) and Saturday (for ages 21 and over, be exam to discuss school work and other issues the student might have, Morris said. "At a school our size," he said, "kids do fall through the cracks." The mentoring program will give the at-risk students some individual attention, Morris said.

The school also provides extra tutoring for students who need it, he said. Morris said there was some good news in the ISTEP results: African-American sophomores achieved the highest passing rate to crimes eryone know that." Hayes said Youth Alive hopes to complete its investigation within 30 days. Community activist Christopher 2X, speaking for the Claybrooks and Shields families, said they were pleased at Henderson's and Youth Alive's conclusions. "They feel that they knew, even on that night in December, their sons were never connected to a stolen-car issue or a carjacking issue," 2X said. He said the families believe the findings "definitely validated their initial thought by coming forth and clearing the boys." The crash occurred after Louisville police stopped the Honda at First and St.

Catherine streets. The vehicle then sped off and crashed into a tree about a mile away on First Street just south of Hill Street. Reporter Harold J. Adams can be reached at (812) 949-4028. Nobby Bostock, in his 23rd year.

The group depends on new members to reach new milestones. Black is among those who wonders how best to assure the future. The group tries to ask less of members, to be ever-more welcoming. As Lowe said, though: "I don't think everybody realizes the blessings that come with it. They only see the commitment." For the 25th season, the Jeffersonville High Principal Steve Morris told the board, "Our sophomore class has many academic challenges." He compared how he felt about the test scores to losses his sports teams experienced when he was a coach.

"When we lose a game, I feel physically sick," he said. The school is making great efforts to help its students improve, including a new mentoring program in which a teacher or administrator meets 10 minutes each week with a sophomore who didn't pass the derson said. "They were not involved in the theft of the Honda Accord." The four boys died after the Honda crashed on South First Street near the Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville. They had attended a Youth Alive event at the Presbyterian Community Center in Smoketown. Rita Hayes, chairwoman of Youth Alive, said the group reached the same conclusion about the boys' innocence during its ongoing investigation.

"It's just become crystal clear that they had nothing to do with the stealing of the Honda," she said. The Youth Alive board of directors is investigating why the boys, who were driven to the event in a Youth Alive van, left in the Honda. While the investigation is not complete, Hayes said, the fact that the victims were not involved with stealing the car "became so obvious to us that we felt we owed it to the community to let ev TEENS I 4 killed not linked Continued from Bl But he said the youth is cooperating with the investigation and "at this time he's not going to be charged" in Indiana. "What he's facing in Kentucky is going to carry much more than anything we do here." The youth is charged in Kentucky with four counts of murder and one count each of fleeing and evading police and receiving stolen property. Henderson said he has not decided whether to charge a third juvenile who is still being questioned.

He said the investigations of the crimes cleared the boys who were killed in the crash: 16-year-old twins Je-mar and Demar Claybrooks, their 14-year-old brother, Marc Claybrooks, and 15-year-old friend Aaron Shields. "Those four individuals were not involved in any way, shape or form with the carjacking in Indiana," Hen leave tfoM grooming Find local pet groomers and more at kentuckianapets.com Kentuckianapets.com a place for local pet owners to share EVENTS PHOTOS FRIENDS FORUMS 00002 3 6331.