Education

Cravens Elementary School teacher Ryan Williams was one of 40 people nationally to receive the 2012 Milken Award and the only recipient in Kentucky. The award comes with a $25,000 gift.

Williams is a native of Henderson and began teaching in Owensboro Public Schools in 1999 after graduating from WKU. He taught first grade for 11 years before moving to third grade. He's currently on temporary assignment as curriculum facilitator at Estes Elementary School. 

"I try to ebgage the students every day, find something that interests them, something they can relate to," Williams said. "I come to work every day with a smile on my face."

Advocates for raising the dropout age in Kentucky have a new hope heading into the next legislative session. Currently, Kentucky law allows 16-year-olds to dropout of school with parental permission. And education advocates have pushed to raise the minimum dropout age to 18.

Dropout bills have consistently failed in Frankfort, but advocates are emboldened this year now that former Senate President David Williams is no longer in the General Assembly.

But new Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer says that doesn't mean the bill is a sure thing.

“Because there are legitimate policy concerns we have had with raising the dropout age to 18," the Georgetown Republican says.

Police have arrested two eastern Kentucky high school students and charged them with making threats.

Police told WYMT-TV  both teens attended Prestonsburg High School, but the threats they allegedly made are not directly related.

Prestonsburg Police Chief Mike Ormerod says the first student was arrested Sunday night and charged with second-degree terroristic threatening after police say the student threatened to shoot students and teachers at the school.