Lexington Herald-Leader du lieu suivant : Lexington, Kentucky • 10

FROM THE FRONT PAGE LEXINGTON HfRAUHEADFR WWWKNTUCMCOM OtCEMBOtaZOU A10 KET I always way ahead of us says deputy Etfo? nifty lH 'fcXLUX liaXXjftX'- National search in place for replacement year ahead This when many commercial TV stations including Lexington's were left struggling to meet the May 1 2002 deadline Since 1989 more than tripled the amount of money from $780000 to $225 million on local productions including things like In Performance at the Cover-mar's Mansion Kentucky Ibnight and Kentucky Life Become a force for independent filmmaking After California and New York Kentucky is In the tap few states that fond independent producers who have included Elizabeth Barret Stranger With a Camera) Walter Brock Jfl Can't Do It) and Eren McGinnis and Ari Palos (Beyond the Border) has expanded KETk reach and influence for beyond what it was when I Press said "and that is what KET should be doing And she has done it exceptionally weU "The curve has been going up all the he continued "It'll be a very tough act to follow But good I like to think that mine was a tough act to follow But be even tougher" VJSf- Andrew Jack Whittaker Jr left received sized check representing the contractork SOS BSD ASSOCIATED PRESS from West Virginia Gov Bob Wise an Powetball winnings yesterday P0WERBALL I is the first thing ever given me -M-1 Whereas there was no national search involved when it was time for someone to succeed Leonard Press there wil be to reoUce Virginia For KET through the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television will do a national search for Fax's replacement John Domaschko: chairman of the Kentucky Authority says the search committee will begin reviewing the list of candidates during the third week of January At that time determine the short list They expect to make a final decision by March 5l Domaschko says the search committee doesn't plan on disclosing the names of the candidates but there is at least one internal applicant Bid Wilson deputy executive director for education and outreach confirmed that he is a candidate Neither of the other deputies Donna Moore and Salty Hamilton are candidates Moore is deputy executive director for programming and production Hamilton deputy executive director for administration and support will be interim executive director until Fix's replacement is named HEATHER SVONOS tion was KETs mission well TV was just the way to deliver it Says Fin: "I saw in tills a level playing field for all kids in When she started at KET in 1968 her title was which meant she had to go into classrooms and convince educators that TV could be their friend "I had a very narrow focus when I first came Fox said goal waa to use a medium that had been used for entertainment to improve elementary and secondary Putting TVs in the classrooms via broadcast and satellite could offer options to young Kentuckians who might not otherwise have access to particular courses specifically in the humanities and physics (Flash forward: today those classes have 11675 enrollees in Kentucky there are at so about 400 out-of-state enrollees across 18 states) But then die got her "first expanding the mission to reach grown-ups through adult education and the GED (Flash forward: KET has since become the number one provider of adult education and launched a GED program through which 11400 Kentucky adults have earned high achool equivalency diplomas nationwide that number reaches over 1 million) Through the 70s and '80s Fox climbed KETk ranks to deputy executive director: But by 1980 die had another bug She left KET to be- come head of the Southern Educational Communications Association a national public broadcasting trade association But after nine years it was time to come home A few short years later in 1991 when Press retired as CEO there wasn't much question as to who would replace him When Fox stepped into the position she hired three deputies to back her up TVvo Bill Wilson and Donna Moore are still there Sally Hamilton who came aboard in 1993 will be interim executive director until Fox's replacement la named "I was Joe Hall to Adolph Fox said of her then-new challenge "It broke when I got it My god was to do no harm and to grow Tklk about an understatement Dnmatic growth KET signed on the air on Sept 23 1968 with a aingle broadcast signal 30 employees and a budget of $152 million Since then the network has: Grown in annual funding to $253 million and increased private support every year for the past five years despite uncertain economic times for the country the state and public broadcasting Purchased Channel 15 in Louisville allowing for broader ac- Gone fouMhannel and fully digital not only on schedule for the federally mandated deadline but a Wednesday night but figured he picked another batch of losers though coining close thought I only got four of them because the numbers came ujM wrong on the TV screen" he said But when Whittaker awoke just after 5 ajn yesterday he checked again after 1 he heard on the radio that the winning ticket had been purchased st the same'-' convenience store where he bought tickets see that he told' his wife Jewel looked at it and surr enough we had a winner:" Jewel Whittaker who has been mar- ried to her husband for 36 years and-t shares his devout faith in the Church of God said she wanted to use a portion of her husbandk winnings to tour Israel "because itk where Jesus Their daughter Ginger McMahan said she had been preparing to go back to From Paga One But with its four channels full digital capability and $253 million budget it's for more than a simple repository for Masterpiece Theatre and This OH House Beyond that itk a network in the truest sense of the word: a nationally recognized model for public service a forum for government affairs a champion of Kentucky arts and independent film-making but most significantly a virtual classroom that reaches every corner of Kentucky and across the country in no small part thanks to Fox Ahead of the curve People will tell you a lot about Fox: that passionate flexible whip-smart has the energy and stamina of the Energizer bunny That she plays the dots with ideas better than anyone they know and that she keeps a stash of dog treats in her desk drawer for Molly and Snickers two Cairn terriers that often scuttle about the KET building: Or rattle off milestones from her risumfc that she was the first female CEO of a national public broadcasting organization or that last month she was given the Corporation For Public Lifetime Achievement Award And all that is very important But itk also good to know about the Palm Pilot She was using the gadget before anyone which speaks not only to her love affair with technology but of her place in the cosmos: ahead of the curve always way ahead of says Donna Moore one of Fbxk three deputy executive directors I drat want to say impatient but sometimes shek looking at us like: what are you do-ingT Her other deputies Sally Hamilton and Bill Wilson chuckle knowingly Wilson says Fox gets so busy that sometimes forget the obvious have run into her on a couple of occasions where she has forgotten to put gas in the car because she was more concerned about what she was doing Shek always Hamilton recalls that when the staff and crew were in the heady process of trying to install 16 digital transmitters Fox was jumping ahead to something called datacast-ing "We all kind of shake our heads and say: we get Step A Hamilton said with a laugh that is a wonderful quality because when you juggle a lot of balls prone to see across Digital demonstration About three yean ago former Gov Ned Breathitt was in a meeting where Fox was waxing poetic about the potential of digital technology In essence it allows more information and programming to be aired using leu broadcast spectrum and can deliver data surround-sound audio high-definition pictures and several channels in the place of one didn't even know what she was talking about at the first meeting because Fm almost computer said Breathitt who was governor from 1963 to 1967 He recalled Fin taking him and the others into KETk lobby and demonstrating the technology "I was just he said "She made it very clear to us the possibilities of it When you get into technology way over my head but she convinced me with her enthusiasm that the way to When Breathitt and others praise Fox and when Fox discusses her own career they are quick to credit the staff as well as Press the mentor and predecessor whose vision Fox shared from the outset Curiously that vision wasn't about doing television If it had been Fox may never have come aboard With her teaching and library background education and equd access to education drove her Educa- IT -Vs- 7 of to more From Page One First he said he would tithe to his church just want to thank God for letting file machine pick the right numbers for Whittaker said Once three pastors take 10 percent of his winnings Whittaker aaid he would put some of the cash into his businesses and hoped to hire back 25 workers laid off before Christmas He owns three construction firms including an equipment dealership and what is now his main concern Diversified Enterprises which builds water and sewer lines and water treatment plants He talked of moving out of his 10-year-old brick home into a community And Indulging a businessmank fantasy Whittaker allowed that he might finally buy a helicopter he has been mooning over for years Tve worked for eveiy-- thing I Whittaker said this is tiie first thing ever given Whittaker who lives in the unincorporated town of Scott Depot 20 miles south of Charleston bought the ticket at Super Serve in the neighboring town of Hurricane He paid $100 for a Mock of tickets It is a luxury Whittaker permits himself only when the lottery take surpasses $100 million "I figured it would take that much before I could do anything good with my Whittaker said He watched the multi-ktate drawing Vi Why retie now? Among the many who were shocked by decision to step down was A1 Smith host of KETs Comment On Kentucky a public affairs show where journalists talk politics Smith has always been grateful that Fox and Press had the idea to broadcast the proceedings of the state legislature the end of an Smith said referring to other charter staffers Ronald Stewart who died in 2001 and Sid Webb who is retired and living in Lexington So why retirecow? Fox says she never intended to work past 65 Sure shek only 63 now but shek got to keep ahead of the curve is what itk going to be for the next jro to three Fox said of the FCC itk going to take a while for the public and the marketplace to dedde what digital service people need and will use "At that point I would be 66 or 67 1 feel as mentally capable as Fve ever felt in my life but the physical energy and the emotional reserve to Sout and raise what I think will be 0 to $50 million is a job for a younger person' "I would give anything to be here running those four channels and playing with the datacasting and defining that plan But I don't want to look up and say: had all the fun "bye you guysl I fed like the new person deserves a chance to get in and really experiment with this stuff with the staff and build a new Also her husband Vic Fox an at torney retired two years ago They had planned for a while on getting a motor home and driving cross-country to Tbcson where spend the winter "But after 911 I said: WeVe not gonna wait till I retire gonna get it right Over Thanksgiving weekend on Comment on Kentucky Fox talked about her hopes for KETk future hope is that the press and the General Assembly and political leadership continue to see the wisdom in an informed electorate and in giving people the she said most of all that Kentuckians and the leadership of the state continue to understand that the universal access to education and information that they have from the only medium that can reach every citizen in the state is crucial to the future of this state in every way" Though her staffers say Fox has prepared KET for a successor former Gov Breathitt is still having trouble accepting her departure just don't want her to leave Kentucky and go down to Tucson Shek not the kind that can vegetate be interesting to see what the next chapter of her life is Shek young enough to have another chapter and I just want it to be in Kentucky we need Reach Heather Svokos at (859) 231-3238 or 1-800-950-6397 Ext 3238 or hsvokosherald-leadercom 1 KOREA I Pyongyang insists it is taking a 3 work after several bouts with cancer but said: think I'm gonna retire Whittakerk take was the biggest Fowerball prize in history topping a $2957 jackpot in July 1998 The game is played in 23 states Washington D-d and the US Virgin Islands Whittakerk was also the largest single winning ticket in any American gune of chance more than the historic $363 4 million Big Game jackpot of May 2000 which waa split by two winners The Washington Post and New fork Times News Service contributed to this report not yet in working order and is expect- ed to need one to two months of repair before becoming operable The reactor which produces plutonium as a byproduct requires 8000 rods to oper- ate 2 Moving the fresh fuel rods is a far 2 leas dangerous step than if the North 2 Korean had begun work on a nuclear fuel-reprocessing lab at the same com- plex The lab can extract plutonium from spent fuel There ate 8000 spent fuel rods at the site US officials say they think the North Koreans could build new nuclear weapons by the sec- ond half of 2003 2 Also yesterday Sen Richard Lugar 2 R-IncL and Sen Joseph Biden D-DeL 2 urged the administration to intensify 2 its efforts to end the standoff 1 "Our strategy now has to be one of 2 multilateral engagement" Lugar In- coming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in an inter- view on NBCb Today He and Biden the current chairman of the committee urged the administra- tion to begin such an effort with South Korea Japan Russia and other Asian! powers Biden warned of the danger of let- 2 ting North Korea build nuclear bomba 2 "If they get six or eight mote mt-J clear weapons who knows what they will do with he said I From Pags One We will not be pushed he reportedly told the Cabinet meeting An aide to South Korean Presidentelect Roh Moo Hyun told reporters yesterday that he will send a special envoy to Pyongyang sometime next month to try to open a dialogue Even aa condemnations' of its actions continued North Korea moved 1000 fresh fuel rods into a 5-megawatt research reactor at its Yongbyon nuclear complex the IAEA reported The move was seen as another step toward resuming the nuclear program that the North irthdaUy halted in 1994 under an International agreement At the same time North Korea issued its most conciliatory statement yet about the nuclear maneuvers "Our measure has nothing to do with plana to develop nuclear said a commentary on Radio Pyongyang "Our republic constantly maintains an anti-nudear peace-loving position" North Korea has made several moves toward restarting its nuclear complex since last weekend when it began shutting down UJf surveillance cameras and unsealing locks that have been in place for the past eight years IAEA officials said the reactor is have run into her on a couple occasions where she has forgotten put gts in the car because she was concerned about wbat she was doing always Bifl Wilson one of Fork deputy executive directors.