LEO Weekly March 15, 2023

LOUISVILLE ECCENTRIC OBSERVER

Volume 32 | Number 24

974 BRECKENRIDGE

895-9770

KDF POSTER ART

By Liesl Long Chaintreuil

FOUNDER

Giselle Rhoden, Gracie Vanover CONTRIBUTORS

Robin Garr, Kevin Gibson, Dan Savage, Zamirah Hussain, Scott Recker, Christina Estrada, T. E. Lyons, Fran Quigley, Cameron Deeb, Tracy Heightchew, Audience Magazine EUCLID

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Andrew Zelman CHIEF OPERATING

jtriplettart@yahoo.com

OFFICE MANAGER

Elizabeth Knapp, eknapp@leoweekly.com

DIRECTOR OF SALES

Marsha Blacker, mblacker@leoweekly.com

Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP OF DIGITAL SERVICES

Stacy Volhein

www.euclidmediagroup.com

LOUISVILLE, AT THE VERY LEAST

By Erica Rucker | erucker@leoweekly.com

WHAT a wild couple of weeks in Louisville. The Department of Justice’s report delivered a scathing assessment of the Louisville Metro Police Department. Now we await the consent decree to be negotiated.

Activists, like LEO’s occasional columnist Hannah Drake, have taken to social media to reiterate the fact that Black people in Louisville have been saying for many years that Louisville’s police are corrupt and abusive, as you’ll reaad in the DOJ news story in this issue from our news writer Josh Wood.

The DOJ report only codified these truths into an investigation document. The issues with LMPD are long-standing and for sure, have many of their roots in the fact that Louisville has a long history of officers in the KKK.

Nearly every Black person from Louisville can tell you a story about a less than savory interaction with a Louisville police officer.

When I was a young woman, in the midnineties — my very early 20s — I was leaving the home of my best friend and driving along Frankfort Ave. toward my east end apartment. I had an expired tag that I’d already made arrangements to address. I knew this, so when a police officer pulled me over at 1:30 a.m., I expected it to be a simple interaction, maybe a citation that suggested that I get the plate renewal.

Instead, a white male cop probably in his 40s, ran hand along the edge of my buick. Because my car was old, I had to open the door slightly because the window no longer rolled down. The officer seemed out of sorts, not because my door opened but genuinely not right. He was very aggressive and jumpy.

He asked where I was going this late at night and I told him, “home.” Then he asked, “Where did you come from?”

He slid himself between the door and my open car.

“A friend’s house.”

That didn’t seem to satisfy him and he continued to press for information, while looking in my car with a flashlight. It felt intrusive. I was alone, very late at night and the way the cop was acting made me nervous.

After the officer requested my license and other information, he walked away to his car. I called my friend. It was in the early years of cell phones so I was incredibly lucky to have one and be able to call my friend who also had a phone.

I told him to stay on the line with me because a cop had pulled me over and was being weird and aggressive. So we made small talk just enough so that he could hear the conversation with the officer.

As I watched the officer walk back to my car, I felt that he was about to escalate the situation. He gave my license and papers back with a citation but continued to press for information while again putting his physical body between my door and my open car. When he noticed the phone, he jumped back. Physically jumped back. When I saw this, I knew that he hadn’t expected the potential for there to be a witness to whatever he was planning.

I immediately asked, in not such a nice way, if he needed anything else or if I was free to go. His voice stammered, he suddenly had little to say. When he finally settled on “no.”

I reached around his body and grabbed the handle of my door, and began to shut it. He was still within the edge of the door and I almost hit him. He hopped back. I continued to talk with my friend on the phone for a while as I pulled away, watching the cop standing in the street, stunned.

I don’t know if or what the cops intentions were that night, but my instinct and the aggressiveness of his demeanor and questioning made me think that being a small woman out at 1:30 a.m. with not a lot of traffic around had put me in a dangerous situation with this officer, and his intentions were not going to be kind and maybe not even legal.

So I got away, but many many Black people did not and do not.

The DOJ report just affirms what we already knew, and hopefully lets white Louisvillians know that these officers are not playing on an equal field and that Black citizens are bearing the brunt of local police aggression and adverse behaviors. Whether white Louisville believes it or not, the facts are documented and some remedy is due.

Going forward, the best thing that the city could do, in light of this “new” knowledge, is open any and all negotiations with the FOP police union, and move swiftly on investigations into misconduct when they arise with an empowered Civilian Review and Accountability Board and Inspector General’s office.

It’s not a big ask but it is the least Louisville could do. The actual very least. •

SOAPBOX

WHERE WE KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING

WE LIKE IT WHEN YOU TALK TO US, EVEN IF YOU’RE UPSET. THIS SPACE IS FOR YOU. SOMETIMES, WE TALK BACK. MAKE

LOUISVILLE RAINBOW

pion Derby as a colorful, fabulous, queer-embracing celebration.

We may not be able to turn the tide of the whole state. But we can try our damnedest to safeguard our community from hate and bigotry, and welcome those who have been pushed away from their own communities.—Shannon

Ruhl

KUDOS TO THE WRITER

Image: Anish Kapoor

Indian, active England, born 1954

Detail of Untitled, 1999

Stainless steel and yellow paint

The Mary Norton Shands and Alfred R. Shands III Art Collection

Bequest P2022.2.69

BUY TICKETS

bit.ly/rtc-speed

The Speed Art Museum presents Rounding the Circle: The Mary and Alfred Shands Collection, a major exhibition celebrating the extensive and significant collection of contemporary artworks assembled by the late Alfred R. Shands III (1928-2021) and Mary Norton Shands (1930-2009). This presentation also commemorates the transformative gift of art made to the Speed Art Museum, numbering over 150 artworks. speedmuseum.org

It is with great concern for the future of our city that I appeal to you and your readers to uphold Louisville as a bastion of progress and compassion. Make Louisville a Rainbow City! A place where citizens, regardless of who they love or how they identify, are welcomed and protected - ensuring equal access to city services. I’ve written this sentiment to the mayor’s o ce with no reply and am hoping the LEO editorial board will join me in asking Mayor Greenberg to ght this GOP nonsense. Declaring Louisville a Rainbow City could be as simple as codifying inclusive bathrooms in the city’s local amendments to plumbing, building and land development codes and providing inclusive bathrooms in public spaces like parks. Creating an environment de ned by respect for diversity and inclusion. Designating someone in the mayor’s o ce in charge of queer issues and advocacy and actively participating in a variety of departments’ decision-making. Placing a moratorium on criminal charges based on these seriously harmful “trans health care bans” and ensuring a family’s right to privacy! Prohibiting harmful policies in law enforcement and the public school system by rejecting the egregious proposed limitations on freedom of speech and expression if the state Republicans have their way. And - if this city respects only one thing - cham-

I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the article on the murder of Elizabeth Gri th. She was my beloved grandpa’s dear sister, and I grew up hearing stories of her life and its tragic ending.

The family (according to Papaw) always held Dr. Schott responsible. My mother (Jody Gri th-Cumberworth) and I were very excited to see that it got some current press to keep Elizabeth’s memory alive even after more than a century has passed. My youngest daughter was named in her honor.

Wonderful job and excellent writing. Thank you so very much. —Mitzi Thompson

IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY

By Christina Estrada | leo@leoweekly.com

SOCIAL workers are often called to the job by experiencing trauma in their own life history; I was born from trauma, so it’s my natural state.

My mother was born a matriarch and was skilled in protecting those she loved, not out of choice, but necessity. I feel that this is why she slipped so comfortably into the job of mother and homemaker while my father would be off to field training or war. Parenting came naturally as it was expected of her with every younger sibling that followed. As the siblings came one after the other, she found herself dropping out of school by the seventh grade to work with her older sister at a steam laundry. At home, she took on the task of babysitting her siblings and vigilantly protecting them from the drunken brawls and parental rage that cut verbally and physically on any given occasion. When she moved away with my father, her younger siblings were left to live through continued deterioration of the family and increasing abuse which led to the divorce of my grandparents. This was her only framework for parenting and the beginning of prolonged guilt in leaving them behind to start her own family.

My father was clear about being married to the military from the start, and he was not lying. He went to Vietnam twice:

1962, when my sister was born, and 1969, when I arrived.

He got to welcome both of us into the world but was not present for either birth due to military training and left for war right after saying hello. He missed the first years of both of our lives to fight, and my mother was left alone to tend to the family.

My birth story is filled with trauma and joy.

On a hot summer day in Fort Rucker, Alabama, my very pregnant mother was spending time under the carport of her military housing while my five-year-old sister played in the neighbor’s plastic wading pool with their son. Another mother came up the street and brought her twin boys to join them. It was the summer of 1969, and life was intense and volatile with all the societal changes of the times.

The mother of the twins shared her fatigue and struggles with parenting alone as a military wife. She had twins and one of them, Ernie, was very difficult and would scream and act out daily. The resources and interventions of today were not created or implemented at the time and how to parent a difficult child alone was a daily struggle to his mother. As the ladies visited and vented about parenting with military husbands, my sister ran up to my mother in a panic. She nervously shared that Ernie was doing tricks and floating on the water. Mom looked up and saw the sweat on my sister’s upper lip that appears every time she gets anxious to this day. She knew something was wrong. Ernie’s mother, who was at the end of her parenting rope, exclaimed, “Thank God, maybe he’s dead.” At that moment, the reality of the situation hit. Unfortunately, Ernie’s twin got tired of his yelling and screaming and sat on him in the water to shut him up. As the mothers went to check on the situation, the panic ensued. Ernie had been drowned by his brother and was unresponsive. It just so happened to be lunchtime and my father always came home to check in and eat. He arrived on this day to screaming

women and chaos. His first responder reaction kicked in immediately and he grabbed the boy to start CPR. Just as Ernie puked up the water from his lungs, the ambulance arrived.

Needless to say, my traumatized mother went into labor three hours later. My father drove her to the hospital and left her at the emergency entrance there as someone had to watch my sister. My mother delivered me alone at 4:55 pm. My father arrived later and the nurses and doctors all celebrated two lives that came into the world that day, both gifts from my father. I came into the world two weeks early and Ernie got a second chance at life.

A social worker was born. •

CHRISTINA ESTRADA

Christina Estrada is a lifelong seeker of light in the darkness wearing a variety of hats, including, but not limited to: student/teacher, survivor/healer, mother/child, therapist/client, introverted extrovert. At present, a disabled wife and mother with stories and thoughts from five decades of life and 30 years of social work, inpatient and outpatient.

BLACK

ORDINANCE AIMS TO STOP GOVERNMENT-FUNDED GENTRIFICATION

By Fran Quigley | leo@leoweekly.com

THORNS & ROSES

THORN: THE LOUISVILLE METRO POLICE DEPARTMENT

After LMPD tried to gaslight the city for years by saying that everything had changed and that cases of misconduct were isolated, the Department of Justice’s 90-page report on the police force released this month was absolutely damning. Patterns of unconstitutional policing. Excessive uses of force. Unlawful arrests. Racially disparate policing. Half-assed investigations into police misconduct (that often see punishments reduced by the chief anyways). This isn’t recent history; o cers involved in civil rights abuses and other serious misconduct are still on the force. And the union representing o cers (which will soon be negotiating a new contract with the city behind closed doors again) has attacked the report as “unfair.” As the DOJ said: the reforms that have happened so far aren’t enough.

THORN: CITY DODGED QUESTIONS FROM LEO AFTER DOJ REPORT

AS a young child, Jessica Bellamy lived on Lampton Street in Smoketown, where her family has deep roots. Her grandmother Shirley Mae Beard founded the iconic Shirley Mae’s Café, a soul food restaurant on the corner of Clay and Lampton streets that is now owned by Bellamy’s mother. During the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras, formerly enslaved Black people moved to areas like Smoketown and Russell. Their descendants like Jessica Bellamy and her family have been living there ever since, looking after each other and supporting their neighbors. “I grew up seeing what is possible when people come together in community,” Bellamy said.

But the neighborhoods have been changing. In recent decades, thousands of Black residents have been displaced by evictions, demolition of public and affordable housing, lease non-renewals, foreclosures, and an inability to afford spiking housing costs. In their place have come mostly white, higher-income residents. In a word: gentrification.

Gentrification, Bellamy points out, is not some inevitable phenomenon that is driven by free market forces. She and other members of the Historically Black Neighborhood (HBN) Assembly say

that the Louisville Metro Government has subsidized the displacement of these Black residents by giving taxpayer dollars and discounted public land to private developers that destroy affordable housing and replace it with housing that the current residents cannot afford. And, with the help of Councilman Jecorey Arthur, they aim to use a proposed Historically Black Neighborhood Ordinance to put a stop to the giveaways.

“Neighborhoods like Smoketown need protection from exploitation and a way out of this extractive economy,” Bellamy said. “The city needs to stop giving away our land, money, and staff time to support development projects that will directly or indirectly displace us.”

She and other HBN Assembly members point to corporations receiving millions of dollars in funding both from Louisville Metro Government and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to develop market-rate or nearly market-rate housing in Russell, on the same sites where deeply-affordable housing once stood. They tracked the spending of the Louisville Affordable Housing Fund over the course of two years, 2016 to 2018, and found that it

spent millions more dollars on housing for families with incomes near the area median income as it did for very low-income families—even though the Trust Fund’s own assessment is that the city needs 31,000 more units for those lowest-income households.

That lowest-income group, usually referenced as 30% of Area Median Income and below, includes families of three trying to get by with incomes below $23,000 per year, a common demographic in the Russell neighborhood. The bottom line, the HBN Assembly says: the neighborhood’s long-time residents can’t afford the housing the city is paying to develop in their community. “In Louisville, they like our Black smiling faces,” Bellamy said. “They will paint pictures of us on murals but take no steps to prevent our displacement.”

So the HBN Assembly, formed by the Smoketown Neighborhood Association in partnership with Books & Breakfast Louisville, teamed up with Councilman Jecorey Arthur to research possible legislative responses to the displacement. The result of that process is the proposed Historically Black Neighborhood Ordinance, which would create a new chapter of the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro

At a press conference announcing the ndings of the DOJ’s investigation on March 8, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg called on numerous Louisville news outlets for questions. But he left out LEO, despite the fact that LEO has been asking him about the DOJ investigation and how he would handle it since he was a candidate. Later, a Greenberg spokesperson told LEO that the DOJ determined who would be called on. But, given that they didn’t o er access to city o cials or respond to further inquiries, it sure as hell looks like a dodge. Several incidents that LEO rst reported were included in the report, so it’s understandable why the city might not be eager to talk.

ROSE: OUR NEW JAPANESE FRIENDS

Shout out to the fans of Japanese singer Fujii Kaze for nding our Tuesday Tracklist and making it go global. For local music that was included, new ears have heard Louisville artists and we love that the “Kazetarians” were so generous in sharing our work.

ROSE: DENNY CRUM (OFFICIALLY) A HOMETOWN HERO

One of LEO’s founders got his own Hometown Heroes heroes banner. Former UofL Coach Denny Crum got his own sparkly new banner on Whiskey Row facing the KFC Yum! Center. Coach Crum means a lot to us at LEO and for the city of Louisville, he is the forever coach (in our hearts) of our beloved UofL men’s basketball team.

THE WORST, BEST & MOST ABSURD

Jessica Bellamy with megaphone at HBN Ordinance rally. |

PHOTO BY EMMETT VALENTIN, ANATHEIUM PHOTOGRAPHY.

NEWS & ANALYSIS

Government Code of Ordinances. The intent of the ordinance set to be formally submitted later this month is straightforward: government money should be regulated to both prevent further displacement and support the current Black residents of these communities.

The ordinance would designate several Louisville neighborhoods as Historically Black Neighborhoods: Smoketown, Russell, Berrytown, California, Limerick, Little Africa aka Homestead, and Petersburg aka Newburg. That designation would trigger a process of analyzing any proposed development projects in those areas, denying any Louisville Metro Government assistance, in particular land grants or financing, to projects with a potential to cause displacement.

A key factor in that analysis will be if the proposed development will be creating housing that is affordable given the average incomes and existing housing costs in the neighborhood. Since the ordinance would come on line after a long history of displacement, it also would attempt to remedy that legacy. It would create a process for Black residents to file claims for land and properties illegally taken from them by the government, along with home repair, downpayment, and business investment assistance for those who establish claims for prior displacement.

Beyond subsidizing housing that cannot be afforded by the neighborhood’s current residents, millions of dollars for market-rate developers have harmful ripple effects. Other developers rush to buy up the relatively low-cost housing around the city-funded projects, counting on the infusion of government investment to spike property values. A report by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting showed that one Texas-based developer has purchased 1300 properties in Louisville, including over 400 in 2022 alone, much of it in Black neighborhoods.

All of that activity causes housing costs to increase, and may motivate private landlords in the area who now accept tenants with

government housing vouchers to switch to market-rate tenants only, further depleting the affordable housing supply. The displacement is already occurring, HBN Assembly members say. They point to Census data showing that the Russell neighborhood alone lost almost 2,500 Black residents from 2010 to 2020, with an accompanying spike in white residents.

Linda Taylor, a healthcare worker who raised her two daughters in Smoketown and lived in the area for 30 years, has lived that displacement experience. In early 2021, her local landlord announced she had sold the Jackson Street house Taylor and her daughters were living in. Almost immediately, her new out-ofstate corporate landlord gave Taylor 30 days to move, even though she was always current on her rent.

Taylor and her daughters were forced to separate, and it upset them to see that the new owners launched substantial renovations.

“When I moved in there, I had to clean up the place myself,” Taylor said. Like other area residents, she questions why the local government is supporting this kind of displacement. “I guess they think they are making things better,” she said. “But they are just ripping people from their homes and neighborhood. It is no wonder there are so many homeless.” •

FRAN QUIGLEY

Fran Quigley is the director of the Health and Human Rights Clinic at Indiana University McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis. He and his students represent tenants facing eviction and also research and promote policies to increase access to housing as a human right. He has published five books and articles in outlets including the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, and The New Republic.

Adult & Baby Goat Races Presented by

County Farm Bureau start at 12:30pm & run until 6:00pm

Music Line Up!

12:00pm - Louisville School of Rock

1:15pm - Wicker Frog · 3:00pm - Luke Powers

4:30pm - Nick Dittmeier & the Saw Dusters

The KY Proud® Wurst Fest features local restaurants creating their own version of a cased sausage. Attendees will be able to purchase the sausages, and a panel of judges will taste them all to crown the Wurst Fest Champion!

The Rent is Too Damn High. | PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSICA BELLAMY.

POLICE ‘ROUTINELY’ ENGAGED IN

UNCONSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES, ‘HARMED’ BLACK COMMUNITY. CONSENT DECREE COMING.

By Josh Wood | jwood@leoweekly.com

Editor’s Note: This article was written in the hours after the Department of Justice report on the Louisville Metro Police Department was released on March 8. As such, it is based on a fast read of the 90-page document, what was said by officials in a press conference announcing the findings, and reactions from community members in the immediate aftermath of the report’s release. While we have tried to dive into the major themes of the report and highlight certain incidents, this is not an exhaustive list of the misconduct described within it and we still recommend reading the entire report, which is linked to at the end of the story.

IN a damning 90-page report released on March 8, the U.S. Department of Justice said it has “reasonable cause to believe” that the Louisville Metro Police Department engages in unconstitutional policing, including discrimination against members of the Black community, violating the rights of people engaging in free speech activities critical of the police and by “routinely” conducting unlawful searches and seizures.

“For years, LMPD has practiced an aggressive style of policing that it deploys selectively, especially against Black people, but also against vulnerable people throughout the city,” read part of the report’s executive summary. “LMPD cites people for minor offenses, like wide turns and broken taillights, while serious crimes like sexual assault and homicide go unsolved.”

The executive summary added that some officers “insulted people with disabilities; and called Black people ‘monkeys,’ ‘animal,’ and ‘boy.’”

Speaking at a press conference at downtown Louisville’s Metro Hall announcing the findings on March 8, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the DOJ and the city had signed an “agreement in principle” committing them to negotiate a legally-binding federal consent decree.

“This conduct is unacceptable. It is heartbreaking. It erodes community trust necessary for effective policing. And it is an affront to the vast majority of officers who put their lives on the line every day to serve Louisville with honor,” said Garland of the misconduct and unconstitutional police practices described in the report. “And it is an affront to the people of Louisville, who deserve better.”

Garland called recent reform efforts within LMPD ahead of the report “commendable” but

added that “more must be done.”

Speaking to LEO Weekly, Louisville Urban League President Kish Cumi Price said the report was “sickening, but also sobering to have the practices we’ve been calling out for so long to be validated, or affirmed, by the Justice Department.”

The DOJ announced its wide-ranging investigation into LMPD in April 2021, 13 months after the police killing of Breonna Taylor and following months of protests in Louisville. While the DOJ investigation was civil, not criminal, in nature, separately four former LMPD officers have been federally charged in connection to the raid that killed Taylor.

During the Metro Hall press conference, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, who said his office received the report the day before its release, said hearing the details of the report “brings back a lot of painful memories.” The mayor, who was sworn in in January, publicly apologized to those who had been harmed by LMPD’s actions.

“Too many people who deserve respect and dignity didn’t get it from officers of the law sworn to protect them. Instead, they received contempt and abuse,” he said. “To those people who have been harmed: On behalf of our city government, I’m sorry. You deserved better. We can and will do better.”

Among a long list of violations, the DOJ also found that LMPD officers often escalate encounters, which then leads to excessive force, as well as allow police dogs to bite people after they have already surrendered.

RACIAL BIAS IN POLICING

One subheading in the DOJ report is devastatingly blunt: “LMPD Engages in Racially Disparate Enforcement that Harms Black People.”

That section starts off by saying: “LMPD treats Black people differently than white people even when they engage in the same conduct.”

Illustrating that point, the report said Black people are 3.6 times more likely than white people to be cited for having a broken headlight, 4.7 times more likely to be cited for improper tags, more than four times more likely to be charged with loitering, 2.5 times more likely to be charged with disorderly conduct and 3 times more likely to be charged with littering.

“These disparities are so large that they are unlikely to result from race-neutral enforcement,”

the report concluded.

The DOJ took aim at LMPD’s use of “pretextual” traffic stops — that is, traffic stops based on a minor violation like a busted headlight or a wide turn, but actually aimed at trying to find a larger charge or outstanding warrant. This kind of policing disproportionately targets Black residents, the report said, whether they are in a majority Black neighborhood or not.

LMPD also fails to take allegations of explicit racial bias by individual officers seriously, the report said.

The report highlighted a 2015 incident in which a white sergeant called a group of Black men “fucking monkeys.” According to the DOJ, LMPD investigated the officer for “discourtesy and conduct unbecoming, but not bias or prejudice.”

In a 2017 incident, an officer said, “Gimme your arm, boy!” after chasing down a Black man who fled after officers approached him in the street. The officers struck him, leaving the man bloodied, and said, “This is what happens when you act like a fucking thug.” When the man denied having a gun, as officers accused, and asked why they chased him, the officer said: “That’s the problem with this community, nobody wants to take a stand for what they did.”

The officers were not disciplined.

Similarly, LMPD found no violations when a white officer during in-service training asserted that “minorities are the majority and they’re the ones that’s committing the…violent crime.”

“In sum, LMPD’s inadequate and dismissive response to racial bias signals that discrimination is tolerated,” the report said.

WEAK OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

The widespread misconduct within LMPD is aided by a lack of oversight and accountability, the DOJ found.

“LMPD supervisors regularly fail to identify, document and address problematic conduct by officers under their command,” reads part of the report. “A high-ranking LMPD official told us bluntly, ‘There is a lack of supervision here.’ That view is widely shared within LMPD.”

Additionally, the DOJ found LMPD’s internal investigation protocols “flawed,” saying the department “sets arbitrarily high thresholds for investigating allegations of misconduct” and that even when investigations do occur, they fail to be “thorough, impartial and timely.”

In its report, the DOJ said LMPD’s discipline investigations can take years to complete (which

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at a press conference announcing the ndings of the Department of Justice’s two-year investigation into the Louisville Metro Police Department at Louisville Metro Hall on March 8, 2023. | Photo by Carolyn Brown.

A TALE OF TWO JAILS

By Kevin Gibson | leo@leoweekly.com

AS LEO previously reported, in a 14-month period, 13 deaths occurred at an overcrowded Louisville Metro Department of Corrections, including one suicide by an inmate who had been left alone in a cramped “attorney booth” which, unlike a normal cell, does not have beds, running water or toilets.

Add this to a beleagured Metro police force, which has been beset in recent years by scandals such as the botched raid that ended up costing Breonna Taylor her life, and the need for reform seems imperative. The U.S. Justice Department announced March 8 that an investigation that took place following Taylor’s death showed a yearslong pattern of discriminatory policing in the department, and The New York Times Magazine, in a recent cover story, referred to Louisville Metro Police as “one of the country’s most hated police departments” in the U.S.

Meanwhile, there have been calls for the city to build a new jail in the wake of the ongoing cases of deaths inside the walls at Metro Corrections.

The situation isn’t unprecedented here. In the early 1900s, such conditions at the then-county jail, which had been built in 1844 on Jefferson Street between Sixth and Seventh and was expanded in 1866, became so dark that they also made headlines. And the conditions of the jailhouse in the 1800s led to the construction in 1905 of what is now a municipal office building, but once was lauded as one of the better jails in the country. Will history repeat? Perhaps. But history also shows that sometimes change is slow to happen.

Reporting from The Courier Journal dating back as far as the 1860s shows a grand jury committee found the county jail then as being too small and “badly arranged,” with conditions largely unsanitary. The facility had replaced a previ-

ous jail that had been described as being “a most miserable edifice, in a most fllthy and ruinous condition,” according to The Encyclopedia of Louisville, but it too quickly became outdated.

One story, published Sept. 10, 1866, reported that inspectors discovered cells designed for two inmates to be inhabited by four or five, with only two cots and bedding that “had the appearance of not having been clean.” One woman was found to have only a single blanket for her bedding and another sleeping “over a cartload of ashes.” Male and female prisoners were being housed together in a jail estimated to have been at double its intended capacity.

“In summing up our observations,” the committee wrote, “we regret to report that we consider the whole as a nuisance, and earnestly recommend a prompt improvement of the same.”

It was not for another 41 years that a new Jefferson County Jail would open.

Fourteen years after that grand jury assessment, another circuit court grand jury member, Thomas Shanks, would investigate complaints about the jail that involved females being held together in a single cell, apparently as a way to segregate them from males. However, the arrangement had led to non-violent inmates being housed together with “very vicious characters,” leading to violence. In addition, there were no tables or chairs in the cell.

In another part of the jail, male inmates complained about the quality of the food, particularly the odor and flavor of the meat being served – and while the inspection declared the food to be “wholesome,” it was discovered during the assessment that meat was being stored on a shelf over a urinal. A sub-headline over the story read, “A Queer Pantry in Which to Keep the Prisoners’ Beefsteaks.”

A Courier Journal probe in 1887, in response to further prisoner complaints about the food and conditions at the jail, found conditions to be favorable for the inmates, but two years later, a 21-year-old man named Nathan Schwartz was arrested for forging a check and managed to somehow sneak arsenic into his cell. He used it to commit suicide when he was left unguarded, and the jail was in the headlines again.

A plague at the former jail was one of alcohol-related delirium tremens – what were then referred to as “the jimjams” – causing hysteria, hallucinations and occasional

violence among inmates. The jail physician, Dr. Samuel Garvin, spoke to The Courier Journal at length in 1890, saying that in his years in service to the jail, he had seen some 1,500 cases of delirium tremens. Inmates would hallucinate having snakes crawling on them, small alligators attacking them, worms burrowing into their skin, and worse.

“Monkeys, rats and other animals are a constant annoyance to the victims of this horrid disease,” Garvin said. Two of the patients he saw during his time would commit suicide during their cases of delirium tremens, including one who managed to reach outside his cell to break a pane of glass and stab himself in the heart repeatedly, “cutting through the walls of the chest to the extent that the heart could be seen pulsating through the wounds,” Garvin said.

Heading into the early 1900s, a wave of concern grew in northern states about juveniles being jailed and tried in the same jails and courts as adults. While Louisville’s jailer at the time, John R. Pflanz, pledged the jail was far less likely to house juveniles as in other cities, it did happen. When interviewed in January of 1902, Pflanz noted there were currently 12 boys under 18 jailed here in Louisville alongside adults. It was a concern among many that led to the building of the new jail at 514 W. Liberty St. (then called Green Street) three years later.

As the old jail’s life wound down and a new jail was being built, the facility that had served the city for 61 years was remembered as a place with plaster falling from walls, floors and window frames “worm-eaten,” and walls full of vermin. Several inmates escaped over the years, with bricks being removed and iron bars being cut through

with smuggled-in tools. The prisoners would make their escape by climbing down from the roof using a water pipe. Nearly 220,000 prisoners were jailed there over the life of the jail, which was later torn down to make way for a courthouse annex.

On June 8, 1905, 180 prisoners, with 13 convicted murderers among them, were moved in police wagons from the old jail to the new, with deputy jailer Eugene Blandford locking the main door for the last time at the old facility around noon that day. Spectators lined the streets to watch as if it were a holiday parade, and when inmates were deposited into cells, many of them yelled through barred windows to the throng, begging for tobacco and cigars, according to a Courier Journal account. A feral black cat that had been named Bill Goebel by jail staff sat waiting for the changeover on the steps of the new county jail, ready to assume residence in his new home.

Jail physician Garvin was the last to move his offices from the old jail to the new that day. He told the newspaper, “I have seen this old jail empty twice in my life. I remember when the moved the prisoners from where the St. Nicholas Hotel now stands to the old jail in the rear of this one. It was considered a fine instituion then … (but) that was sixty-one years ago.”

Two years later, that old jail was rubble, making way for a new use. Time will tell when history will repeat yet again. •

JUMPING INTO SPRING AND THE KENTUCKY DERBY FESTIVAL WITH LOCAL ARTIST LIESL LONG CHAINTREUIL

By Zamirah Hussain | leo@leoweekly.com

With the start of spring, the Kentucky Derby Festival is gearing up to begin. LEO sat down with local artist Liesl Long Chaintreuil to discuss her experience creating the 2023 Kentucky Derby Festival poster.

After a few minutes talking with her, it doesn’t take very long to understand why the Festival reached out to Long Chaintreuil to commission their official 2023 poster art. If there is one takeaway from our conversation, it’s her sincere appreciation for the place many of us call home.

“I’ve always loved painting artwork around Kentucky, I’ve always been drawn to horses,” said Long Chaintreuil. “I love the beauty of Kentucky, and all the events they have to offer. I don’t know, I just love Kentucky!”

Long Chaintreuil was born and raised in Louisville, and has retained a deep attachment to the place. Growing up, she had a “wonderful neighborhood community,” one that took part

in Derby Festival celebrations, often meeting up to watch Thunder Over Louisville or the Pegasus Parade.

Discussing her formative years as an artist, Long Chaintreuil credits her experience attending the locally and nationally well-known visual arts magnet program at duPont Manual High School for helping her reach her professional goals over the years. In particular, Long Chaintreuil praises how the program helped her develop into her own as an artist, with a personalized style and confidence to later attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, California.

“It was a huge stepping stone,” she said, “I was just very thankful for all the support and encouraging me to embrace my style.”

Even now, Long Chaintreuil remembers the sheer motivation gained from being in community with peers who shared that motivation to create in their own subjects and unique ways. “I loved it because I was in classes with people that were

KDF Poster Artist Liesl Long Chaintreuil works on art in her studio. | PHOTOS

really driven,” and “we were together in the Annex building, just creating art.”

That sense of community from her high school years was shaped by an association between place and relationship, and extends to the present and Long Chaintreuil’s lifelong bond to Kentucky. “Family is huge to me,” she said, explaining how Kentucky as a place is synonymous with family, a sense that now includes her three young children and husband.

“I lived away for a little while. I went to California for school and I stayed out there for almost nine years, and I think people always say you’ll go away, but some people will come back.” Long Chaintreuil certainly considers herself to be the type of people that come back, too drawn in by the pull of a conceptual and physical “home.”

She returned to Louisville in 2013, appreciating the growth and experience of being away, but she “always had this feeling too of being excited to come back to Kentucky.” It was “the people here, growing up, my community.”

The theme of community is a noticeable constant in her work. In particular, the appeal that a sense of community can have as a wholesome source of joy, and of knowing that you relate to someone just because the proximity they hold to you has allowed a relationship to build and become something valued. Speaking with her, I understood how that joy is tantamount to her artwork, expressed through detailed layers of bright colors and patterns.

The artwork for the 2023 Derby Festival reflects this, featuring a small sea of people facing a skyline of the city, framed by a sky of pegasi, bright fireworks, and even brighter hot air balloons. Without seeing their faces, there is still an unmistakable sense of wonder coming from the crowd as they look up at some of the more iconic imagery of the Festival.

Despite the similarities in style and qualities to her other artwork, Long Chaintreuil did have a specific vision in mind, because she “was so excited when they asked me. There are so many wonderful events, I wanted to make them all blend together, I really decided to focus a lot on the events in the sky, so that’s kind of where I took it and bringing in the people and skyline to really show the excitement to be at the events.”

This vision was shaped by her lifelong experience with the Festival, of “rolling down the hill at Kingfish as a kid, getting ready to watch the steamboat race and eating hushpuppies with all my friends,” and riding bikes as a family to the waterfront to watch Thunder Over Louisville.

Long Chaintreuil wanted “to create this melody of events for the Derby Festival,” something that showcased the variety of events and evokes the same joy of nostalgic memories.

The work is titled the “Spirit of Kentucky,” and the poster captures how that sense of wonder bonds the crowd, turning them from neighbors and coworkers into something more, something Matt Gibson, Derby Festival President and CEO, considers “the spirit of the festival.”

In addition to this “spirit,” Long Chaintreuil also sought to demonstrate the joy of being in-person. “Especially with things happening again, and people are so excited to be able to go to these events again, I really wanted this piece to show that. And people are present, they are there, and they’re ready to celebrate.”

Despite the ways we’ve learned to build community

virtually over the last few years, for some there is still a marked difference regarding the value of inperson events. And since the Kentucky Derby Festival consists of so many events, it makes sense that for some, there is a deep anticipation for the feeling of community they build and have through attending and engaging in these events.

And with the poster artwork, Long Chaintreuil’s fresh take on the concept sought to capture the celebratory tone and camaraderie of the Festival. She provided more insight on some of the intentional elements, describing how “in my mind, I think of celebration when I think of balloons and pattern and color in the sky, and they bring the light in the sky as well so I was really excited to incorporate the balloons. It’s always fun seeing balloons in the sky!”

The positioning of the symbolically important pegasus in this year’s poster was also intentional, and by situating it in the sky near these elements of celebration, Long Chaintreuil wove the two together.

Jennifer Morgan, the Derby Festival merchandising manager, said “Liesl really re-imagined the Pegasus for this year’s poster and incorporated it in an entirely new way. Instead of it being the focal point and a literal depiction, it’s part of the texture in the background, while still being a key element of the piece.”

On the Derby Festival website, you can find every poster since German-American artist Peter Max’s first installment in the series in 1981. Some are out of stock, but most posters are still available to purchase now, with prices ranging from $25 to $30. Over the years, the details of the posters have varied but almost all contained some version of a horse, later shifting to feature the Festival’s iconic pegasus.

LEO asked if the forty-two previous posters in the series had any influence on her take, especially with the noticeable difference. She said, “Naturally I look at them and then I take my own vision and pull a little bit here and there but I had a vision.”

If you are interested in purchasing your own piece of

this “vision,” and other Festival merchandise, you can do so at the Festival Unveiled event, presented by Four Roses Bourbon, on Thursday, March 16, at the Mellwood Art Center. The Festival’s full merchandise line including the 2023 poster will be available, as well as the opportunity to have yours signed by the artist herself.

If you can’t make it to the Mellwood Art Center, there are a limited number of signed copies, as well as regular prints, available on the official Kentucky Derby Festival website, with shipping starting on March 17, after the official launch. You can see and purchase more of Long Chaintreuil’s work on her official website or Etsy shop; if you prefer in-person purchases, there is a list on her website of local boutiques and galleries currently offering some of Long Chaintreuil’s original work and prints. •

“There are so many wonderful events, I wanted to make them all blend together,” said KDF Poster Artist Liesl Long Chaintreuil

STAFF PICKS

THURSDAY, MARCH 16

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Trivia

SATURDAY, MARCH 18

Celebration of Life: A Tribute to Warran Ray

Headliners | 1386 Lexington Rd.| https://fb.me/e/R0nohRRY | Free | Doors at 6 p.m., Show at 7 p.m.

TRIBUTE

RUM HAM! RUM HAM!

Louisville Comedy Club | 110 West Main St | https://tinyurl.com/4pktfmnf | Free | 7 p.m. Get ready for ve rounds of trivia surrounding classic moments in the hit television show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” at the Louisville Comedy Club. Whether you’re a fan of memes like “I’m the trashman” featuring Danny Devito or the silly skit of “The Nightman Cometh” this game night is for you! Reservations are required for those who wish to participate.

—Gracie Vanover

THURSDAY, MARCH 16

The Louisville Vibe

Habana Blues | 6112 Preston Hwy. | eventbrite.com | Tickets Start at $5 | 8 p.m.

Local bands Uncle Wilson, Grandaddy Short Leg, Box Wine Prophets, Starvin’ Runaways will play this tribute to Warren Ray who dedicated his life to art, muisc and movies. There will also be a screening of “America’s Backyard Legend.” This show is free to all friends, family and fans.—Erica

Rucker

FEEL THE VIBE

Need a new spot for your thirsty Thursday? Habana Blues Restaurant and Lounge is hosting an event that truly is a vibe. The Louisville Vibe is bringing comedy, poetry and music open mic starting at 10 p.m. Louisville Vibe is also still accepting signups for the open mic for a spot or a headline spot. The After Vibe party starts at 1 a.m. with more drinks and more music til 4 a.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 17-18

LDB Fest

Triple Crown Pavilion | 1780 Plantside Dr. | ldbfestival.com | $73.95/day | Doors at 11:30 a.m.

SUNDAY, MARCH 19

Groove & Paint Louisville: Prince vs Michael Jackson

Dave & Buster’s Louisville | 5000 Shelbyville Rd. | https://tinyurl.com/2hdtyz8m | $75 | 2-5 p.m.

WHEN DOVES CRY

Get your groove and paint on at this 90’s throwback paint and sip party hosted by Paint with Colors Events. Enjoy appetizers and soft drinks alongside activities like a guided paint party. There is also a ‘90s costume contest and dance battle. So what are you waiting for?—Gracie

Vanover

LOUD

Meet me in the fucking pit. Oldham County’s own Knocked Loose will return for their rst Louisville show since December 2021 to headline Saturday, and Terror will headline on Friday. This two-day hardcore fest is gonna be loud and powerful as hell, like always. Are you ready?—

Carolyn Brown

SUNDAY, MARCH 19

Pro Bono Name Change Clinic

Pregame Co ee |1737 Frankfort Ave.| https://tinyurl.com/3f9c5knz | Free | 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 24

Carole King: Home Again: Live in Central Park

Speed Cinema |2035 S. 3rd St.| https://fb.me/e/2zTCMxhpk| $12/$8 for Speed Members | 6 p.m.

RAINBOW CITY

Louisville Attorneys Shannon Fauver and A. Holland Houston will host a pro bono rainbow name change clinic to help the LGBTQ community address any needs regarding name changes or ID changes in Kentucky. Attendees are responsible for ling fees, copies and mailing costs. Lawyers will donate their time and welcome all queens, kings and members of the queer community to attend. Please bring your current ID because there will be notaries on hand that will need to see them.—Erica

Rucker

SUNDAY, MARCH 19

91.9 WFPK - Rubblebucket with Lunar Vacation

Headliners | 1386 Lexington Rd. | bit.ly/Rubblebucket23 | $20 | Doors at 7 p.m., music at 8 p.m.

Rather than just describe Rubblebucket straightforwardly, lemme just list a few of the Spotify playlists they appear on: “Dinner Party for Hipsters and Nerds,” “Funky tunes to tickle my smooth brain,” “Indie Sunshine,” and one with the description “Songs that you will hear when you enter the front doors of The Cheesecake Factory.” Something about them reminds me of 2008/2009 indie.

In any case, their tunes are chill and breezy. — Carolyn

Brown

DOCUMENTARY

Legendary Singer Carole King shines in this concert documentary of her May 26, 1973, concert on The Great Lawn of New York City’s Central Park. The audience was estimated at 100,000 people. The lm was directed by George Scott and produced by Lou Adler and John Mc Dermott. It has remained unreleased until now.—Erica Rucker

THROUGH MARCH 26 ‘Remembrance’

PYRO Gallery | 1006 E. Washington St. | pyrogallery.com | Free

What a wonderful way to honor an in uential teacher. “Remembrance” is an exhibition dedicated to the late textile artist Lida Gordon, who died in 2021. She was the head of UofL’s ber arts program and helped to create LAFTA (Louisville Area Fiber and Textile Artists). A few of her former students (PYRO member Bette Levy with guests Elmer Lucille Allen, Denise Furnish and Melinda Snyder) are showing their work, all the result of her encouragement and guidance. “She was respected for her personal characteristics as well as her vast expertise and willingness to share and encourage other artists,” Levy told the Kentucky Foundation for Women (Gordon was a KFW grantee and member).

—Jo Anne Triplett

Rainbow Name Change Clinic happens Sunday, March 19. | PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK

Rubblebucket.

FUNKY

Live in Central Park will play Speed Cinema starting Friday, March 24.

ART

“Doubly Hooked” by Bette Levy. Wire knitting, double hook.

SUNDAY, MARCH 26

Reading with Pride

Old Lou Co ee Co-Op | 316 West Ormsby Ave. | Facebook.com | Free | 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. One thing about the Louisville drag is these queens can do it all. One of Louisville’s most popular queens, Miss Diana Rae, is coming to Old Lou Co ee Co-Op to read to kids and have co ee with the parents. You better stick around after for the mini-drag show for all ages hosted by Drag Queen Storytime-Kentucky!

PRIDE

THROUGH MARCH 30 ‘Barrels Of Heart’

Frazier History Museum | 829 W. Main St. | fraziermuseum.org | Prices vary

The Frazier History Museum’s permanent exhibition

COLORFUL

“The Spirit of Kentucky” has a new temporary installation. The Louisville nonpro t Bourbon with Heart is now showing 20 bourbon barrels painted by local artists. Bourbon with Heart founder Morgan Hancock said she started the project “with the goal of creating a space for local artists to showcase their work … Art is like a good glass of bourbon; it brings people together and encourages self-expression.” Visitors to the show can vote on their favorite and the winner receives a cash prize. The barrels are sponsored by local companies, such as Buzzard’s Roost Sipping Whiskeys, Heaven’s Door Whiskey and Old Louisville Whiskey Co. —Jo

Anne Triplett

THROUGH APRIL 9

‘The Lighthouse Is Dark Between Flashes’ By Liora Kaplan

KMAC Museum | 715 W. Main St. | kmacmuseum. org | Prices vary

Liora Kaplan’s work is an artistic example of creative recycling. The Israeli sculptor, in her rst solo exhibition in America, is showing how she combines found mid-20th century ceramic vessels with new pieces of other material, such as wood, glass or stone. The resulting tall sculptures “explores the relationship between contemporary pop culture, shamanism and primitivism, while simultaneously striving to bring forth new understanding to the notion of appropriation,” she said. —Jo

Anne Triplett

“Barrels of Heart” with founder Morgan Hancock. Wood and paint.

Photo by Dick Arnspiger.

“An Hour is not Merely an Hour” by Liora Kaplan. Mixed media. Photo by Tal Nissim.

SEARCHING FOR THE SOUND

REVISITING WHITE REAPER’S FIRST FIVE ALBUMS

By Scott Recker | leo@leoweekly.com

IT seems like just yesterday when kids were climbing into the rafters at local venues during those bonkers early White Reaper shows, but now, five albums and a decade into their career, the five-piece band are hard-touring veterans with a fairly deep and definitely eclectic discography.

From the breakneck garage punk of the early days to the thrash metal inspirations of their 2023 record, Asking For A Ride, Louisville’s White Reaper has incrementally shifted their sound to stay in front of redundancy.

Singer-guitarist Tony Esposito told LEO that the changes from record to record stem from the band not wanting to get bored — or, even worse, have stale live shows.

“I think we’re just trying to keep it interesting for ourselves, and, at least the way I look at it, add new things to our live set that maybe we don’t have, and searching for things in that way sort of leads us to new-ish grounds,” Esposito said.

Before White Reaper’s current U.S. tour hits home at Headliners Music Hall on Saturday, March 25, we thought it would be a good time to revisit the band’s first five (post-demo) albums to track how their sound has branched in different directions.

Below are short breakdowns of the albums, each featuring insight from a different member of the band.

WHITE REAPER (2014)

White Reaper’s self-titled EP is the band at their most visceral — a no-frills, 16-minute rollercoaster ride full of youthful angst, stories about the painfully cool kids and fears about society’s never-ending quest to sink its teeth into the young and the creative. The songs aren’t overly complicated, but they’re also not vapid, mundane or stagnant. They take an idea and develop it into a quick, clever and ambiguous DIY ball of fury. The EP’s six songs have the raw attack of a demo, but with so much more polish — maybe White Reaper’s greatest gift is the ability to constantly craft catchy, melodic flourishes. From the addictive wave of fuzzy garage punk that defines the opening moments of “Cool” to the swirling synth in “Half Bad” to the ragged charm of “Conspirator,” there’s always a very subtle undercurrent of scrappy pop prowess that

walks the line between aloof and inviting.

But, ultimately, the EP was an avenue to get music out as fast as possible, and maintain momentum, after they were signed to Polyvinyl Records. Recorded with two different local indie producers, and only two full-time band members — Esposito and drummer Nick Wilkerson — the project was a low-budget, patchwork affair, but that’s part of its lasting charm.

Wilkerson said the EP was, “definitely the foundation of the whole band.”

“It was definitely like a scrapbook of everything we had up until that point, which I feel like a lot of first EPs are the same way,” he continued.

WHITE REAPER DOES IT AGAIN (2015)

White Reaper’s sophomore release — and their first full-length album — showed the measured method of progression that the band would lean on for years to come: each new release takes a gradual step in a new direction, without sacrificing the core sound.

As I’ve written in a few past reviews and breakdowns, a White Reaper song is always

going to sound like a White Reaper song. The band just has a distinct style. So how did White Reaper’s second record contribute to that slowly rolling change? The explosive garage punk is still there, but the songs are bigger, more vibrant and more developed. They build, fall and twist more. The hooks and melodies are bright and burn into your brain, while the album’s 12 songs explore more territory, especially on the back half. The first three songs — “Make Me Wanna Die,” “I Don’t Think She Cares” and “Pills” — take the building blocks that they laid down in the first album and supercharge them, while tracks like “Friday the 13th” get a little more experimental and weird. White Reaper Does It Again feels like the second chapter to the first record, but it also showed the band wasn’t going to sink into redundancy and longevity was on the table.

It was also an album that added two new members: Nick’s twin brother Sam Wilkerson on bass and keyboardist Ryan Hater.

Hater said the magic of Does It Again was the experience.

“Nothing will ever compare to the feeling of working on the first full-length, and the

excitement behind getting it out,” Hater said. “You kind of figure out what art direction you want to do and how you figure out sounds and stuff from there. You take that experience, and you’re just so raw, and then every other time is different because you’ve just grown off that first time.”

THE WORLD’S BEST AMERICAN BAND (2017)

When White Reaper was recording The World’s Best American Band at La La Land Studios, I stopped in for an interview, and they played me the unfinished first minute of the album’s self-titled opening song. It was similar to the final product: the sound of an energetic live crowd, followed by steady drums and giant power chords that were given room to breathe. I remember thinking about how different it was, and how big of a risk it seemed like. But, that brief opening that I heard ended up setting the tone for a massive, ambitious (as made obvious by the album title) arena rock record that hits with flurries of riffs, a massive rhythm section, more involved keys and a sound that reached back to the gods of rock and

White Reaper nishes their tour in Louisville with a show on Saturday, March 25. |

PHOTO BY JIMMY FONTAINE.

MUSIC

roll. Thin Lizzy comps came rolling in, which weren’t exactly unwarranted, but also weren’t exactly a bullseye.

Esposito said the idea of The World’s Best American Band was to sonically move forward.

“The way I see it is the EP and Does It Again were the same ballpark so to speak, and that was kind of our germination period as a band, and I feel like we established that kind of sound and wanted to level up a little bit, so it was definitely a conscious goal of ours to add a little more detail and a little more technicality and kind of delete the formula that we had used prior.”

Lyrically, The World’s Best American Band is essentially a road album, and possibly incidentally about the benefits and cost of trying to become the greatest band in America — the songs are about being on the run, bouncing from place to place, going to cool parties along the way, but sometimes being stuck in the melancholy past, daydreaming about a person who was left behind.

Interestingly, White Reaper showed up to the studio with no lyrics ready, and struggled to write while there.

While scrambling to write, Esposito said he drew from “whatever immediate memories I had in terms of experiences of the last year,” as well as passages from random book scattered around the studio.

“It was a really intense time, but now I look back on it really fondly, but I don’t think I would ever go into a studio with nothing again,” he said, laughing.

YOU DESERVE LOVE (2019)

If you’ve heard one White Reaper song, it’s likely “Might Be Right,” the Billboard Alternative Songs chart-topping lead single off of 2019’s You Deserve Love, the band’s first album on Elektra Records, a major label owned by Warner Music Group. With an instantly recognizable doom-infused keys opening, a force of a bass line, tight drumming, layers of guitars, splashes of synth, a heavy dose of White Reaper magnetism and lyrics that carry weight, “Might Be Right” deserves its popularity. And it’s not surprising that the track comes from the band’s slickest, most heavily-produced album.

Working with a big-name producer in Nashville’s Jay Joyce — and more time and money connected to the label upgrade — White Reaper aimed to make a thicker and more intricate album with You Deserve Love. It replaces the mullets-and-Marlborosera lovable ruggedness of the previous album, and swaps it for early 21st Century college radio precision —strangely, the band

can bring the same principals, grit and building blocks to both.

It’s also White Reaper’s first record featuring the latest member: guitarist Hunter Thompson, who helps with the added richness.

Bassist Sam Wilkerson said that You Deserve Love was about committing to a dense, complex record.

“With You Deserve Love, we wanted the ornamentation, we wanted to add extra stuff to brighten it and make it sparkle,” Wilkerson said. “We wanted to see what it was like to do the extra work and really hone in and see what parts are good enough where they stand and what parts could use extra layering and effects.”

ASKING FOR A RIDE (2023)

With a pandemic raging, the original four members of the band home in Louisville and the new guitarist back in Texas, White Reaper started the process of their latest album, Asking For A Ride, via an all-handson-deck road trip to an Arkansas Airbnb.

The noticeable twists on the 2023 album are the thrash metal influences, something that Thompson said dates back to that Arkansas trip.

“Tony was on a pretty big Metallica kick and we were watching all of the different documentaries at the Airbnb together at night, and one day Tony and I started playing around with some thrash-y riffs for fun and I don’t think we had any expectation that we were going to use it necessarily, but it was fun and it came out quickly and that ended up being the title track, the first track of the album,” Thompson said. “I think it was just a consequence of what we were listening to. We were in a little bit of a thrash phase at the beginning of the writing process.”

But, in an overarching sense, Asking For A Ride feels like the amalgamation of all of the previous records — there’s the unhinged garage punk of the first two records, there’s the massive moments of World’s Best, there’s the carefully calculated layers of You Deserve Love.

And it seems there was a major learningcurve counter-correction implemented via the new record: A few members have said that the majority of the songs from 2019’s You Deserve Love have been hard to incorporate into the live sets because of the studio intricacies, but Thompson said that so far the songs on Asking For A Ride have translated perfectly to the stage.

“Because they’re so high energy, they’re hard for people not to just get down with them,” Thompson said. •

RECOMMENDED MEAT OR NO MEAT: THE SMOKERY HAS YOU COVERED

By Robin Garr | leo@leoweekly.com

A vegan walked into a barbecue joint. What’s the punchline?

Actually, there’s no punchline. I’m not a vegan myself. But I can see the ethos: The commercial agriculture that’s necessary to have everyone eating tasty animals is bad for the environment. It’s bad for our health. And it’s pretty obviously bad for the animals who have to be killed for our gustatory enjoyment.

For reasons such as these, growing numbers of people have gone vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian recently, and that’s why I always try to include at least one meat-free dish in each review.

This can be a challenge, though, when I visit a new barbecue joint. Lik this week, when I followed the delicious scent of hickory smoke to The Smokery, a new eatery in a small building on Frankfort Avenue in Clifton.

The building has seen a variety of uses over the years. A nice Asian eatery was there once, briefly a massage parlor, later Matt Anthony’s Record Shop, and most recently, a watering hole called Dark Horse

Tavern & Avenue Bar.

Dark Horse didn’t last long, but it appears to live on in The Smokery, as its chef, Giovanni Tenace, stays on with The Smokery, and even Dark Horse’s Facebook page and email address now serve as pointers to The Smokery.

Tenace’s experienced presence may account for some of the buzz arising around The Smokery. Born in Italy, his previous Louisville resume includes such top tables as ROC Restaurant and Le Moo.

The Smokery’s menu is brief and fits well with the BBQ genre. As sandwiches with choice of two sides, barbecue meats range in price from $14.99 (for pulled pork or chicken) to $26.99 (for a full rack of ribs); a half-rack or a brisket sandwich are each $16.99.

Brisket, pork, and chicken may also be ordered as sliders with fries ($17 each), in tacos ($4.75 to $5.50), as an add-on to salads ($6-$7) or added to smoked Gouda mac and cheese ($9.99) or pasta alfredo ($12.99). A fully dressed American wagyu beef burger with one side is

$19; add bacon for $3 more.

The bartender was taking lunch orders, and didn’t miss a beat when we told him that we were looking for a couple of meatless items to go with our smoked animal flesh. As you’d expect in a barbecue eatery, this isn’t a particularly easy task – especially if you prefer a fully vegan option. The salads would fill that bill, though, if you pull the Parmesan from the Caesar; corn fritters appeared plant-based, and smoked Gouda mac is a good choice if cheese isn’t an issue for you.

Caesar salad ($8) just might have been the best thing on the table. Fresh, green romaine was cold and crisp, neatly cut in squares with no sign of brown or limp edges. Paper-thin slices of Par-

The Smokery’s pulled pork is soft and juicy and deeply smoky, falling into thin shreds on a good brioche bun. It’s shown with sides of Gouda mac and long-simmered green beans. | PHOTOS BY ROBIN GARR.

An estimable caesar salad was carefully made, crisp and fresh, and a single serving was plenty for two to share.

mesan were scattered on top; croutons were fresh and browned, and a tart vinaigrette, though perhaps not traditionally caesar-style, was refreshing.

Corn fritters ($6.99) made a tasty treat. Who doesn’t like hot spicy fried things?

Seven two-bite orbs were carefully fried golden-brown and grease-free. A thick, crunchy coating cloaked what appeared to be white cornmeal studded with plenty of yellow corn niblets. They came with a tub of remoulade-style sauce, creamy and pink, cranked up with fiery spice.

We wavered among several of the meats, but decided against baby back ribs after learning that they are painted with a sweet glaze after being smoked with a dry rub. Call me finicky, but I’d just as soon save the sweet stuff for dessert. We ordered a pulled pork sandwich ($15) and found it satisfying but well short of life-altering.

A fairly abstemious amount – maybe 3 ounces, 4 at most – of finely shredded pork sat on a decent, grilled brioche bun. I could see some charred end bits mixed in with the rest, but didn’t get the textural variation that burnt ends usually provide. It was all quite juicy, almost as it if had been stewed. The smoke flavor was dominant, almost to the point of obscuring pork flavor. It’s served without additional sauce, which is a plus for me; squeeze bottles of good quality hot and mild bourbon sauces sat with paper towels in buckets on the table to use as you like.

A side dish of smoked Gouda mac and cheese was made in what appeared to be

stovetop style, with a tangy, creamy sauce coating cavatappi pasta. The short pasta was a nice touch, as was the addition of a crunchy bread-crumb topping.

The green beans were long-cooked and studded with bits of shredded pork that resembled the pulled pork.

We passed on the bar offerings and held the cost of our meal for two, with meat for one, down to a thrifty $31.79 plus $8 tip. •

THE SMOKERY

2354 Frankfort Ave. 709-5176

Facebook: https://bit.ly/SmokeryLou

Noise Level: Even when only partially full for a Saturday lunch, the small space, country music, and a happy crowd pushed sound up to 70.6dB, a bit loud but no barrier to conversation.

Accessibility: The restaurant is on two levels separated by stairs. Only the upper level is accessible to wheelchair users, via a long ramp leading to a separate side door that was locked at the time of our visit.

What’s not to like about sizzling corn fritters, cloaked in crunchy breading and fried golden-brown?

EDIBLES AND NEW CANNABINOIDS NAMES

By Mayor Wando | questions@mayorwando.com

If you think this is the old-school way of making run-of-the-mill edibles, this isn’t that. A small primer below.

I’ve gotten lots of questions about edibles. My edible experiences have usually hinged on the answer to the question, “Who has access to lots of shake?” ‘Shake’ is the bottom remnants from a larger bag of cannabis. In it are the droppings and trichomes, the smallest and largest of the leftovers and it’s what many people use for making green butter, RSO (Rick Simpson Oil) or THCA (non-psychoactive cannabanoid) butter.

Historically, edibles were used as clippings, shake & trimmings would become available. “Why waste parts of the plant,” someone thought. The main carrier of the decarbed, or decarboxylation of the THC was used in butter, which then found its way into brownies, cookies and all the things people love to bake. While this is a good start, the main issue that legalized states knew would be an issue with this homegrown solution, was that it was impossible to be able to make sure that the CORRECT dosage was going into each type of edible. Legal shops couldn’t sell edibles that were labeled as having 50 milligrams of active components if they only contained 5mg. Or worse, if the packaging said 50mg and there was 500mg, which is a whole hell of a lot to consume at one time, even for established tokers - in essence, taking 500mg of THC at one time would be a terrible experience. In contrast, micro-dosing is assuming 2-5mg at a time. To ingest even 100mg at a time is tough for even the most battle-hardened smokers. 100mg is either going to make someone freak out or fall asleep. The types of edibles, even in cannabis illegal states like Kentucky, can make anyone’s head spin. Some of this has to do with marketing. Making these scientific names appear more standard makes people more comfortable with the nomenclature of cannabis consumption.

In cannabis legal states, edibles come in a diverse range, from gummies, chocolate bars and sweet candies, cannabis infused drinks to other beverages. There’s also the newer branch of THC infused products that are absorbed sublingually or buccally (under the tongue or through the cheek). These sublingual edibles solve the issue that edibles are processed and filtered through your liver. That means, depending on any comorbidities, total time on edibles is 30-90 minutes. Also, if you have never consumed that specific product before, always consider the rule-of-thirds. Take a third, wait 90 minutes, if feeling well, take another third, etc. The worst case scenario is if you get impatient, and take a whole bunch before the first bunch has kicked in. Just remember, your shamanic experience was due to your impatience, hope that you have some CBD around and just take a nap. CBD can counter some of the sensations if

you over indulge, so it’s wise to have it handy if you have a history that isn’t conducive to a chill experience while consuming cannabis products.

When people consume cannabis flower, the buds of the cannabis plant, assuming it’s fairly fresh, are consuming Delta-9. Delta-9 THC isn’t super stable, so over time or through processing, it degrades to Delta-8. Delta-8 is a shelf stable THC product. There are roughly 110+ cannabinoids naturally occurring in cannabis and hemp plants. We are only going to hit a few right now, but more are being discovered and the technologies needed to narrow the extraction techniques are being refined quickly. In short, please realize that as an R&D sector, it’s a very fluid landscape. Sometimes, you will have extracts or edibles that are hemp derived, and then, in legal and recreational use cases, they would be derived from cannabis. All told, the detectable amount of THC must be below (less than 0.3% THC) to be considered hemp type products. A little background, H.R.2 - Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, was ratified and signed into law in December 2018. Cannabis containing less than 0.3% Delta 9-THC is legally classified as Hemp and thus legal under federal law.

The names and marketing materials, whether edibles or other consumables like drinks, use specific cannabinoids as primary selling pieces in their literature and posters.

The top 3 newer cannabinoids are: THC-H, THC-JD and THC-P. For more information, visit leafly.com.

These might not have made their way into edibles yet, but if past experiences have shown, it’s only time for it to transition from a vape only item to edibles.

THC-P: Discovered in 2019, THC-P is thought to be about a third stronger in psychoactive effects with the main feelings conveyed by users as euphoric, relaxed, heady with a mental and physical buzz. It also appears to be a good anti-nausea, anti-anxiety and appetite stimulating.

THC-H: Is according to hexyl homolog of Delta-9,

meaning the molecules are identical, but arranged differently, given different properties during consumption. THC-H was discovered by the same team that discovered THC-P, a year later in 2020. With it being so new, there’s not a lot of clinical data yet, but the initial review appears to show that it could be up to 25 times stronger than THC.

THC-JD: The main association with this is the relaxation and chronic pain and inflammation. THC-JD is still considered fairly rare, but as the extraction techniques get better, this is one that we will be seeing more of if the characteristics and inflammation control properties are found to be substantial. It also appears to be stronger than THC by up to 20%.

Throughout my tenure as Mayor of Freetown, I have fielded many questions from curious consumers. The insand-outs of cannabis consumption differ from person to person, can change over time and for the casual consumer, need to be stair-stepped into for the best experience. As always, cannabis use is a person-by-person experience, so not everyone’s experience is the same. Take your time, enjoy the ride.

Canna-curious and have some questions? Email and Ask the Mayor!

Email: questions@mayorwando.com

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: GRASSROOTS COMEDY

EAST TEXAS NATIVE RODNEY CARRINGTON BRINGS HIS UNIQUE HUMOR AND MILDLY OFFENSIVE SONGWRITING TO WHITNEY HALL

By G. Douglas Dreisbach | leo@leoweekly.com

This story comes to LEO through our partnership with Audience Magazine: Your Performing Arts Connection.

WHEN it comes to the great comedians over the years, names like Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Robin Williams, Rodney Dangerfield, and Eddie Murphy come to mind. More modern names might include Chris Rock, Jim Gaffigan, Ron White, Jeff Foxworthy, Dave Chappelle, and several others.

Live comedy has a longstanding history and a bright future. Watching a comedian perform is different than a concert or a play — it is more of a personal experience with you and the person on the stage, and how you interpret what they are trying to convey. Whatever the content might be, the personality of the person delivering the jokes shines through. And they have one goal in mind, to make their audiences laugh.

We recently caught up with one of the top comedians on tour today, Rodney Carrington, who combines humor with cleverly written songs on topics that, well, might just make you feel awkward depending on who you’re watching it with.

Nevertheless, his fans love him and we can’t wait to see him at Whitney Hall on March 24. (Do your research before you go, as the content might not be appropriate for younger audiences.)

Audience Publisher, G. Douglas Dreisbach, caught up with Rodney to find out more about his career and what fans can expect when he hits the stage.

G. DOUGLAS DREISBACH: YOUR STANDUP IS UNIQUE IN THAT YOU NOT ONLY HAVE A HILARIOUS SETUP AND DELIVERY OF JOKES AND CONTENT, BUT THEN YOU GO FOR THE KNOCKOUT PUNCH WITH YOUR SONGS THAT ARE HILARIOUS AS WELL. WHEN YOU WERE GETTING YOUR START, WHAT CAME FIRST, THE GUITAR OR THE COMEDY? AND, WHEN DID YOU REALIZE THAT TRADITIONAL

STANDUP COMEDY MIXED WITH MUSIC WAS GOING TO BE YOUR NICHE AND PASSION TO IGNITE YOUR CAREER?

Rodney Carrington: The guitar came later out of boredom. When I was in my 20s, I was on the road and bought a guitar at a pawn shop, learned a few chords, and then just started writing little pieces of songs. Over time, the songs developed into longer ones, and it was simple as that. Early on, all I wanted to do was try to figure out how to entertain people and would have utilized just about anything. I didn’t have any sort of agenda outside of that.

WHEN YOU REALIZED THE SINGING AND GUITAR PLAYING WAS WELL-RECEIVED BY YOUR FANS, DID YOU EVER THINK ABOUT A MAINSTREAM SINGING CAREER?

OR DID YOU ALWAYS WANT TO STAY

IN THE COMEDY GENRE?

I never really considered singing for a living, because I felt like there were millions of people that already did that and only a few people were doing what I did that were successful. I really exceeded my own expectations, but my whole life is also a product of lack of planning. I didn’t plan comedy. I didn’t plan anything. It just kind of came along. It was something I tried when I was 20 years old, and people laughed, and I saw it as a freedom. I saw it as a way to get out of East Texas and go do something that I was enjoying.

When I was sleeping in my truck when I was in my 20s, you couldn’t have convinced me that I wasn’t living the greatest life. I guess I could look back and say it was a struggle, but it really wasn’t. It was a lot of fun, and I still feel like that. I think the

world’s a different place today than it was when I started, and I don’t know how I’d start if I had to start today.

WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP — GRADE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL AND EARLY CAREER — WERE YOU ALWAYS A FUNNY GUY AND FRIENDS TOLD YOU, “YOU SHOULD BE A COMEDIAN WHEN YOU GROW UP”? WHAT WAS THE “AHA” MOMENT WHEN YOU REALIZED YOU WANTED TO HAVE A CAREER IN COMEDY?

I took acting classes and theater in college and realized that people laughed at this play I was in. I asked the director, “Hey, why can’t we take this on the road?” He laughed. He said, “Son, you’re in college.” After that, the wheels just started turning, and I thought, “Well, what else is there?”

Rodney Carrington poses with his audience after a show. | PHOTO PROVIDED BY AUDIENCE MAGAZINE.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

There was an open mic night in East Texas where I lived and grew up, and I decided to give it a try and everyone laughed the first night I was there. I spent the next couple of years trying to figure out what I did that first night.

It wasn’t easy, I just hung in there and kept trying to figure it out. From then, I went anywhere and everywhere because back then, you could afford to go anywhere with gas at about 70 cents a gallon. Over the course of four to five years, I developed enough material and was performing at most of the bigger comedy clubs around the country. Soon after that came syndicated radio, then a record deal with Mercury, and eventually moved to Capitol, and then from that came TV and everything else.

All the success that I had came from my success on the road, and a lot of guys would put together 15, 20, 30 minutes and move to California and hinge their whole career on whether or not they got a TV deal. I just thought that was like panning for gold. At that time there were four networks with four guys who ran them. I thought, “I’m not going to let my whole life be determined by whether or not four people think I’m funny or not.”

I wanted to build job security and longevity, so I set out to build an audience for myself. My thought was that there were 330 million people in the country. If I could just get a million people who really like what I do to give me $10 a year, every year, for the rest of their life, in the form of buying a tape, T-shirt, or a bumper sticker, I might be able to make a living at this. It was a simple plan, and I treated it like I was running a business. I was just going on my own little path.

HOW DID THE GROWTH OF THE INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA CONTRIBUTE TO GROWING YOUR BRAND AND EXPOSING YOUR CONTENT TO SO MANY PEOPLE?

NOW YOU WERE APPEALING TO 300 MILLION PEOPLE, VERSUS FOUR PEOPLE TRYING TO DETERMINE IF YOU’RE FUNNY OR NOT. IT HAD TO BE A BIG BREAK.

Well, I think everything played a role. I don’t know to what degree the internet had and I was never much of a social media person. They still have to drag me to get me to do anything on social media because I can’t stand it, to be honest with you. I started during a time when cassette tapes were coming out. My first comedy album was on a cassette tape. So, I never really looked at there being any sort of transition into the

Internet stage. There’s a lot of people out there that become known on YouTube and this and that, that have done it that way, I guess. I don’t know anything about it, and I don’t know to what degree it played any role.

For me, there wasn’t really one thing that made it happen. Any success I had came from the success that I was having on the road, and the success that I was having on the road was coming out of my own efforts of selling. I’d go to some place and sell 10 cassettes, and then they’d go share it and those 10 people would share it with 10 of their friends, and it grew like that. It grew almost like network marketing. It was from a real grassroots place. And people that come to see me now are the people that were seeing me then, that discovered me in their 20s. Well, now they’re all older. We’re all in our 50s now and the people that I am seeing in the audiences have grown up with me, and I’ve grown up with them, and I have shared my life with them along the way.

HOW DO YOU KEEP THINGS FRESH AND FIND NEW CONTENT FOR YOUR FANS? AND ARE YOU USUALLY CONFIDENT WHEN YOU GO ONSTAGE TO TRY IT FOR THE FIRST TIME?

I haven’t been confident since I started. When I think of a story, or something that I’m going to tell, if it doesn’t seem funny within the first couple of lines, something is wrong. I’ve always felt that if you describe the story in a few lines, it’s probably not worth telling. But in the very beginning, when I was doing standup, I discovered that if I wrote something in letter form, like I was trying to make just one buddy of mine laugh, that there was something to it. If I was literally just saying, “Hey, Dear Doug, I’m on the road, blah, blah, blah,” and I just was writing you a letter, and my whole intent was to make you laugh, well, I discovered that that was the reality of what I was doing. I was writing letters to my friends, my buddies back home, and I’d send them to them, and they’d laugh at them. So, those were really the kind of stories I started telling.

As time went on, my life evolved. I was married. I had kids. My comedy has always been a reflection of what was going on in my life at that particular time, and you could see that in my comedy.

But it is a different place to exist in the comedy world today. I don’t even know how a young guy would start out today. There are things I don’t recognize that are being proposed in this world now, but what I have

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

going for me is that my fans have followed me all these years, they come from where I come from and they get me.

WHEN YOU GO ON STAGE, DO YOU HAVE A SCRIPT? HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR ONSTAGE CONTENT FLOW? AND IS IT THE SAME THROUGHOUT THE TOUR?

I always ask myself, and others, “How am I going to start tonight?” But it doesn’t matter who I ask, my sound guy, Jay, or anybody else. I never really listen. I just kind of go out and work off of what I’m given. I have a plan in place when I get out there. As far as the tour goes, it is funny when people talk about there being a tour. I started in 1989, and I have never quit. So, I don’t just tour and stop, and then wait a long time, and then tour again. I just keep going, and the show just evolves over time. It evolves at my convenience, in my timeframe. That’s how I’ve always operated. It gets to the point where I go, “OK, I’ve ran this particular story long enough,” and then I think I’ll feel like I’ll get somewhere else, and I start talking about something else, and then it just slowly evolves that way, slowly changes in that way. That’s how I’ve always worked.

DID YOU HAVE ANY EARLY MENTORS, SUPPORTERS, OR INFLUENCERS, BACK IN YOUR EARLY DAYS AND EVEN TODAY?

No, I don’t watch comedy at all, because I do it for a living, and it doesn’t really define me or my life, either. I do it for a living, and I have, and I’m very grateful to have had this opportunity all these years, but my life is pretty simple. I come home and go to the grocery store and mow the yard, you know, figure out what else I’m going to do.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT AND LOOK FORWARD TO ABOUT YOUR SHOW HERE IN LOUISVILLE ON MARCH 24?

I would say that if you don’t know what I do, then you probably ought to go on the internet and look around. It’s kind of like buying a car. You want to do your homework. Or just come! I don’t care. I don’t want to be the source of anybody’s misery. Some people will come and go, “Well, I just didn’t know what I was getting into.” Well, you should do your homework. What dumbass doesn’t read about where they’re going or doing or what car they’re buying before they take it off the line? I have no agenda except to make people laugh, and I’m content with just that. So, I don’t know what to tell anybody

what to expect. If they’ve never been to a standup show or anything, or a comedy show, or — if you come with expectations that you’re going to learn something, you’re going to be highly disappointed. If you just come with an open mind, and you want to have fun and laugh, then come on.

QUICK HITS WITH RODNEY CARRINGTON

Hobbies / things to kill time:

I think I am a 75-year-old man in my spirit. I get up just about every day and go for about an hour-and-a-half, two-hour walk. Then I go down to the gym, where there’s a bunch of old fellows, and we piddle around down there. Then sometimes I play golf or mow the yard. I do like to cook. It’s really quite boring. I mean, you’d think I lived at Whispering Pines Assisted Living Facility, to be honest.

Sports teams:

I travel too much to really keep up with sports so no, I don’t have any sports teams. You know, when sports went to being all politicized, I quit watching. I don’t watch football for that reason. I don’t watch basketball. I don’t watch any of it. When all of the politics entered sports, I just quit altogether. I don’t care. I watch golf every now and then. I like golf.

Podcasts / shows / books:

If you come in my house and the TV is on, then I’ve died, and somebody turned it on. Sometimes, I will listen to quiet music that probably has no words.

Vacation destination:

I travel so much that when I get home, home is a vacation. I think any time I’m in a hotel, it’s just like jail. So, the idea of coming home and planning some trip and going somewhere and getting in a hotel again would be like prison. So, I really do just enjoy being home. As far as traveling, I’ve been to every single state. I’ve been all over Canada. And then I went all over Australia. They said, “Hey, we can’t wait for you to come back.” I said, “You better take a picture of me. I ain’t never coming back. It’s too far over here.” And it is. It’s halfway around the world. •

RODNEY CARRINGTON

March 24, 7PM

The Kentucky Center Tickets: kentuckyperformingarts.org

HOW THE ISSUES OF “HORSE” SPEAK TO PERSISTENT SOCIAL ISSUES

By T.E. Lyons | leo@leoweekly.com

“Horse” by Geraldine Brooks (Viking; 404 pgs., $28)

HOW might we mark time in Louisville this March of 2023? Derby Season is fast approaching—soon the beginning of the pinnacle celebration for the sporting institution that has brought the region its greatest fame and much of its fortune and culture going back to the mid-19th century. Human and equine, teamed together to bring about a uniquely exciting spectacle.

Another view, not unrelated: it’s been just about three years since the death of Breonna Taylor, and it’s difficult accounting for the true changes in recognition and respect and treatment, from that mid-19th century to today, for those who did so much for that culture and those institutions. And the Black population, whether or not legally enslaved, made these contributions under yokes of oppression that often stood stubborn.

Historical fiction can enrich readers’ minds to consider questions of how things were, how they’ve come to be, and how change might come about. This type of writing can avail itself to many devices of character development, choices of well-researched detail, and arcs of plot—but few weave them all as well as Geraldine Brooks. With her latest novel “Horse,” the Pulitzer winner (for 2005’s “March”) has created a tapestry with multiple points of view across multiple time frames—all refractions of a singular figure with four hooves: the great true-life stallion, Lexington.

This book retains remarkably clear focus despite being a kaleidoscope of time, locations, and situations. Though Lexington passed on before the 20th century, Brooks incorporates vocations, passions, and curiosities of scientists, journalists, artists, and art collectors of today (plus revealingly reinforcing sidelights from the 1950s). Of course there is much about the preCivil War trainers and jockeys, along with plantation- and racetrack-holding families—with the latter often owning or otherwise holding power over the former.

The delicate stewardship of raising each foal

to its potential, the considerations of horse-breeding and racing as business, the thrill of seeing a record-breaker on the way to becoming the best of all time (at the track, and again later at stud)— that’s all in here. Alongside the exceptional stallion throughout its life is a fictional composite figure holding much of this book together. Many chapters here amount to a dynamic biography of groom/trainer Jarrett Lewis. Brooks carefully developed this character by first exhausting records from old journals, paintings, and a single photograph, which were then (as pointed out in her afterword) “bolstered by details of other skilled Black horsemen involved in the stallion’s welfare.”

Considering the author’s journalistic experience, it’s not surprising her dramatic suppositions for this character and his time are complemented through carefully crafted interactions of modern characters. There are scientists who study how Lexington’s skeleton had been preserved for tourists—imperfectly, and clearly in need of revisitation. Meanwhile, a graduate student of the arts is interested in the Black horsemen posed around horses by traveling painters of the antebellum, while his own background and circumstances lend friction to the whole of the narrative (and perspective for the reader).

Eventually there’ll be reason to reflect on how, as these sophisticated professionals bring light to matters hidden by age and perhaps by intention, there’s so much work remaining, and ground continues to be lost in many regards. Reasons to draw anger and frustration here are many, as is the author’s intent. The title figure remains a champion, connecting a rich cast of real-life and imagined characters while informing and energizing fascinating history that is seen in the shape of our America today. •

(Geraldine Brooks will appear as part of the Kentucky Author Forum, speaking with renowned interviewer and podcaster Diane Rehm, on Monday, Mar. 27. Reception/booksale begins at 5 p.m. at the Bomhard Theater; post-discussion there’s optional dinner at the Muhammad Ali Center. 502-584-7777 for information/tickets.)

KENTUCKY DERBY FESTIVAL EVENTS

By LEO Weekly

With Derby right around the corner, many fan-favorite events make their annual return. From classics like the Pegasus Parade to athletic events like marathons and balloon races, and a one-day winefest, there’s something for everyone and every taste. For information regarding the schedule of events leading up to the 149th Kentucky Derby, check out our small calendar of events. For more information about KDF events, check their website at kdf.org.

THURSDAY, APRIL 13 - SUNDAY, APRIL 23

Stock Yards Bank $1 Million Dollar Holein-One Golf Contest

Seneca Golf Course Driving Range | 2300

Pee Wee Reese Rd. | $1 Per Ball | Times Vary by Day

SATURDAY, APRIL 15

Block Party Presented by Churchill Downs and Humana

Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center | 3029 W Muhammad Ali Blvd. | Free | 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

SUNDAY, APRIL 16

Tour de Lou

302 East Witherspoon St and the Corner of Floyd St. | $10-75 | Times Vary by Event

FRIDAY, APRIL 21

They’re Off! Luncheon

The Galt House Hotel | 140 N 4th St. | $100 | 11:30 a.m.

SATURDAY, APRIL 22

Thunder Over Louisville Presented by Caesars Southern Indiana, Humana, LG&E, Meijer, and UPS

The Riverfront| 231 E. Witherspoon St. | Free | 3 p.m.

THURSDAY, APRIL 27 - FRIDAY, MAY 5

Kroger’s Fest-a-Ville

Waterfront Park | 129 River Rd. | Entry by Pegasus Pin | Hours Vary by Day

THURSDAY, APRIL 27 AND FRIDAY, APRIL 28

Dick’s Sporting Goods Race Expo and Packet Pick-Up

Freedom Hall | 2801 Crittenden Dr., Gate 4 | Times Vary by Day

SATURDAY, APRIL 29

GE Appliances Kentucky Derby Festival Mini & Marathon Louisville Slugger Field | 401 E Main St. | $50-325 | Times Vary by Race

SUNDAY, APRIL 30

Zoeller Pump Company Pegasus Parade West Broadway | Campbell to 9th St. | $1035 | 3 p.m.

MONDAY, MAY 1

Steamboat Race Trial Presented by Trilogy Health Services Belle of Louisville | 401 East River Rd.| $45 | 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

MONDAY, MAY 1

Great Bed Races Kentucky Exposition Center | 937 Phillips Ln. | $150 Per Team of 5 | 6 p.m.

TUESDAY, MAY 2

Kentucky Proud WineFest Mellwood Art Center | 1860 Mellwood Ave. | $55-90 | 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 3

Liberty Financial Great Steamboat Race The Riverfront | 231 E. Witherspoon St. | $165 | 6 p.m.

THURSDAY, MAY 4

Festival Day at the Downs Presented by Kentuckiana Honda Dealers Churchill Downs | 700 Central Ave. | $2502000 | 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“Horse” by Geraldine Brooks.

AND AN ICELANDIC

FRONTIER TALE AT THE THE SPEED

By Tracy Heightchew | leo@leoweekly.com

DIRECTOR Hlynur Pálmason has created a striking Icelandic travelogue disguised as a 19th century missionary drama. A beautiful, slow, and steady film, Godland is set against a rough and remote backdrop, and examines the struggle between colonizer and colonized, between humans and nature, between spiritual goals and hubris.

It is late summer in Iceland, a time when the sun never sets, and a young and arrogant Lutheran priest, Lucas, has left his comfortable position in Denmark to trek across colonized Iceland. His mission is to reach a backwater, where he is to establish a church. He arrives at the shore saddled with heavy photography equipment, books, a large cross, and no interest in learning the native tongue or customs of his new home. Instead he relies on a translator who he esteems, and a a rough Icelandic guide, Ragnar, who he does not. Ragnar, and his deep distrust of Danes, is a bane to Lucas, a thorn in his side that will not loose. As the two struggle to understand each other’s words, they are certainly reading each other’s thoughts, and each finds disdain there.

“Godland” is a story told in two parts. The first takes us across vast vistas and volcano effected rivers where Lucas faces choices that his arrogance hinders. The second act takes place once Lucas arrives at his appointed home, where he is taken in by a wise father and his two young daughters. Once again, Lucas’s lack of humility, his inability to see himself as something other than superior to the non-Danes, will be the trait that determines his fate in this small community.

Pálmason is an established director in Europe, having made the acclaimed film “A White, White Day” (available on the Kanopy app with a Bullitt County digital library card). He is a native of Iceland, but spend a good part of his adult life in Denmark, and set out to a make a film that dealt with the the relationship between Denmark and Iceland. Inspired by the poet Matthías Jochumsson’s “hate poem” to Iceland, “Godland” was filmed chronologically over two years, and the film crew found itself mirroring the character’s trek across unwieldy terrain in the lands around Pálmason’s home, often hiking equipment

into areas that cannot be reached by car.

Like in “Lamb,” “The Northman,” and Kentucky filmmaker Martha Stephens’

“Land Ho,” three recent films also set and filmed in Iceland, the landscapes here photograph like a postcards from a distant past. “Godland” is presented in Academy ratio, shrinking the screen size, and rounding out the corners of the square and giving the screen an early cinema feel. The director made this decision after learning about ‘wetplate photography,’ a process that the character Lucas recreates throughout the film. But do not be fooled by the film’s opening claim to have been inspired by a box of photos the director found. The opening text is a fiction. Those photos were only in his mind, and were created during filming, but that fact does not detract from the overall feel of this period specific film.

“Godland” is a must-see for all interested in Iceland, early photography, missionary history, and slow cinema, and is a film specially made to see in a theatre.

GODLAND

March 17, 18, & 19

Speed Art Museum / www.speedmuseum.org/cinema / $12 | $8

Speed members

HARLAN JACOBSON’S TALK CINEMA

Every month, the Speed Cinema hosts a sneak preview of an arthouse film that is sure to be the talk of the town when it hits wide, or at least the talk of film Twitter. These films are curated by film critic Harlan Jacobson and his team, with each screening followed by an audience discussion. Talk Cinema is where I first saw “Moonlight,” “Shoplifters,” “20th Century Women,” and “The Farewell,” all great experiences had spoiler-free, and before any critic influenced my opinion.

This month, Talk Cinema will herald the

return of Stephen Frears (“Dangerous Liaisons,” “The Grifters,” “The Queen”) to the big screen to solve an historical mystery that reaches back 500 years. Sally Hawkins plays the real life Philippa Langley, an amateur historian whose obsessive research is key to recovering the lost body of King Richard III from beneath a carpark in Leicester. Comedian Steve Coogan co-wrote the screenplay and co-stars in this British comedy-drama. To say more would spoil the fun of Talk Cinema, a place for Louisville film lovers to get a head start!

HARLAN JACOBSON’S TALK CINEMA

“The Lost King”

Saturday, March 18, 11 am

Speed Art Museum / www.speedmuseum.org/cinema / $15 / $12

Speed members

The Film “Godland”.

is something LEO Weekly has regularly encountered in its reporting).

Instead of recommending investigations into misconduct, the DOJ found, LMPD supervisors often “verbally counsel” the officer.

Additionally, the DOJ found officers discourage civilians from filing complaints by adding “unnecessary burdens,” including making members of the public sign statements that if they make a false statement in their complaint, they “shall be guilty of Perjury in the Second Degree” and that they can be sued by the officer their complaint is against.

The DOJ found that LMPD threatened and retaliated against civilian complainants. The report described how in one instance, a woman who’d been hit in a shooting was trying to file a complaint about how she felt the LMPD investigation was deficient. According to the DOJ, she then received a voicemail from a detective who said he was dropping the case because “you’re trying to file a formal complaint on me.”

REPORT SHEDS LIGHT ON SPECIFIC INSTANCES OF MISCONDUCT, UNCONSTITUTIONAL POLICING

While the investigation looked at patterns and practices within LMPD, it also highlighted a number of specific instances of officer misconduct and unconstitutional policing to illustrate the broader problems.

In one unlawful search and arrest incident the DOJ spotlighted, which was first reported by LEO Weekly, LMPD officers responding to the scene of a stabbing stormed into an apartment to arrest an uninvolved woman because she had a similar physical description to a potential perpetrator.

In another incident, an LMPD officer searching for a suspect in a home invasion came across a Black 14-year-old boy lying face down in the grass. Without warning — and even though the child was not resisting — the officer sicced a dog on the boy and “ordered the dog to bite the boy at least seven times.”

In 2019, the DOJ said, an LMPD officer slammed a Black man’s head into the ground, “causing profuse bleeding” after the man called the officer “too little.”

“Nobody’s too little bro, this is what happens right here…. Who’s too little, huh?” the officer said. The DOJ added more force was used on the man, even though he was handcuffed and of no risk to the officers, or of fleeing.

As part of its investigation, the DOJ said investigators read “many thousands of documents” and reviewed “thousands” of hours of LMPD officer body camera footage.

The DOJ also found that LMPD violates the Americans with Disabilities Act with its treat-

ment of people with behavioral health disabilities.

To highlight that point, the DOJ shed additional light on the case of Keith Smith, a homeless 66-year-old Black man who died in Louisville’s jail in January of last year. As LEO first reported several weeks after his death, despite a recommendation from Pretrial Services that he be released from custody, Smith was held in jail on a $1,500 bond after being arrested for refusing to leave a downtown restaurant on a cold night.

According to the DOJ, Smith had “an apparent behavioral health disability” and had more than 25 run-ins with LMPD in the two years that preceded his death — and in some of these instances, the DOJ said LMPD officers mocked him or escalated the situation. In one instance in October 2021, the DOJ wrote, officers were called to the scene of a “disorderly person panhandling” and found Smith with his shirt off. He spoke to officers and was “not making any sense,” but officers said he “always” acted that way. Despite that assertion, officers started talking about what to charge him with and wrote him up on a drug paraphernalia charge after bringing him to the hospital.

In body cam footage of Smith’s last arrest in January 2022, obtained by LEO Weekly, a seemingly distressed Smith can be seen asking LMPD to call EMS for him.

“We’re not calling EMS,” said an officer to Smith, who was largely unintelligible in the body cam footage. “Because you don’t need EMS.”

Smith died several days later at Louisville’s jail.

“These encounters — including the October 2021 and January 2022 incidents — could have been handled by a behavioral health-focused response concurrently with law enforcement, and some did not need police involvement at all,” the DOJ wrote about Smith.

Several months after Smith’s death, Louisville launched a pilot program that sees non-police responders showing up to some 911 calls for behavioral health issues — occasionally by themselves, sometimes with police. However, according to the DOJ, as of January, that program is only operating for eight hours per day and only in one part of Louisville.

DOJ LAYS OUT RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to reform LMPD and ensure policing that complies with the Constitution and federal law, the DOJ has laid out 36 specific recommendations for the department.

Chief among them are reforms surrounding force, how and when it is used, and how to ensure accountability when force is used.

The DOJ is also calling on LMPD not only to adopt different warrant policies, but to make sure officers are aware of proper criteria and procedures for warrants and searches.

Other recommendations call for LMPD to

create a “true crisis intervention team” to respond to behavioral health calls and for the city’s nonpolice response pilot program for certain 911 calls be expanded.

However, both the DOJ and city officials portray a long path ahead to reform.

“Whether here in Louisville or around the country, police reform won’t happen overnight or by chance. It will take time, along with focused effort and sustained commitment,” said Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta.

“Improvement will not occur, as you’ve heard before, overnight,” said Interim LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel.

In brief remarks, the interim chief, who took over the department in January, invoked Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., saying: “The ultimate measure of a man is not when he stands in the moments of comfort or convenience, but when he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

REACTIONS FROM COMMUNITY, POLITICIANS

In a statement, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called the DOJ findings “concerning,” adding: “My hope is that everyone in Louisville will come together and see the findings of this report as an urgent opportunity to take intentional steps for positive, lasting change.”

On Twitter, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who is also the Republican frontrunner in the crowded race to take on Beshear in this fall’s gubernatorial election, wrote: “The vast majority of Kentucky’s law enforcement community practices & serves the Commonwealth with dignity & honor, & I am thankful to these brave men & women who put their lives on the line day in & day out to keep our communities safe. We hope that the U.S. Department of Justice’s work with Louisville Metro and city officials will help address lingering concerns & better allow law enforcement to keep people safe.”

In a statement, The 490 Project, an activist group focused on police reform, said the DOJ “confirmed what the people of Louisville already knew — the Louisville Metro Police Department has long engaged in unconstitutional practices and policies that violate constitutional rights.”

The group called for “systemic changes” as well as for transparency in the city’s upcoming contract negotiations with the police union, which the city has said would be closed-door meetings.

For LMPD and the city, building trust will remain difficult.

Anti-violence activist Christopher 2X told LEO Weekly he was not surprised by the DOJ’s findings.

“For many years we’ve always heard these complaints. With regards to patrols and specialized units, you would always hear these things. And now the Justice Department is saying based

on their findings, these things are reality,” said 2X. “Now, the long-term challenge is how these relationships — especially with the African American community and LMPD particularly — is going to evolve into a trust relationship. Because you can believe, coming out of this, most likely there’s still going to be that hesitancy of trust based on what Attorney General Garland talked about today.”

Price, the Louisville Urban League president, was also hesitant about the prospects for bridge building.

“So much has been done to create a culture of mistrust, that in order to even begin to try to build trust, it really starts with listening to the community and then responding to what the community is sharing,” she said.

She added one of those potential building blocks for trust would be allowing the public into upcoming contract negotiations between the city and the police union — something the Greenberg administration has said it will not do.

“So instead of that being a block of trust, there’s mistrust there,” she said. •

To read the DOJ report in its entirety, go to: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/ file/1573011/download

KEY FINDINGS OF THE DOJ REPORT

(IN THE DOJ’S OWN WORDS)

• LMPD uses excessive force, including unjusti ed neck restraints and the unreasonable use of police dogs and tasers.

• LMPD conducts searches based on invalid warrants.

• LMPD unlawfully executes search warrants without knocking and announcing.

• LMPD unlawfully stops, searches, detains, and arrests people during street enforcement activities, including tra c and pedestrian stops.

• LMPD unlawfully discriminates against Black people in its enforcement activities.

• LMPD violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech critical of policing.

• Louisville Metro and LMPD discriminate against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to them in crisis.

The New York Times Magazine Crossword

LET’S GET LITERATURE

BY CHRISTINA IVERSON AND KATIE HALE | EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ No. 0619

95 ‘‘Chat another time!’’ in an I.M.

97 Bolt in a sprint

99 Director Guillermo _____ Toro

100 Reads ‘‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’’ so many times its spine splits?

105 Cryptids on snowy mountains

107 Mars bar with shortbread and chocolate

108 [sigh]

109 Pilot green-lighter, in brief

111 ‘‘Ask away!’’

113 Iconic scarecrow topper

117 Donates some copies of ‘‘King Lear’’ to the Renaissance Festival?

120 Still

121 Curling locale

122 Musical with the song ‘‘Another Suitcase in Another Hall’’

123 _____ Rachel Wood of ‘‘Westworld’’

124 Castles, essentially

125 Chances

126 Not let lapse

127 It can be outstanding

DOWN

1 ‘‘Octopuses can use tools,’’ e.g.

Reads ‘‘Catch-22,’’ ‘‘Closing Time’’ and ‘‘Something Happened’’

2 ‘‘This is not good!’’

3 Words said while shaking one’s head in disgust

4 One might be found next to a neck pillow in an airport shop

5 Suave

6 Decant

7 Painting and filmmaking

8 Person in a head set?

9 Keebler cookie with shortbread and chocolate

10 Send away

11 Biblical analogue of Aron in ‘‘East of Eden’’

12 High-_____ (kind of jeans or apartment building)

13 South Korean ‘‘Princes of Pop’’

14 Jimmies and corkscrews

15 Debbie of ‘‘Fame’’ and ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy’’

16 Things often next to napkins in place settings

17 Spanish Agnes

41 1989 film for which Denzel Washington won best supporting actor 46 Follower of ‘‘So’’ or ‘‘lo’’ 49

SAVAGE LOVE

By Dan Savage | mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage

COMING AROUND

Q: I’m a straight cis woman who could never orgasm from vaginal penetration alone. But suddenly I am able to come just from vaginal penetration now that I’m reached middle-aged! This was never the case for me before — I could never come from PIV all by itself — and I’ve never heard another cis woman talk about suddenly being able to come during PIV after hitting her late 30s. Is this common?

Suddenly Having Intensely Felt Tremors

A: “We too often think about orgasms as stable or unchanging,” said Dr. Debby Herbenick, a professor at the Indiana University of Public Health, a prolific and widely published-and-cited sex researcher, pundit, and author, and director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion. “In fact, orgasms sometimes shift over time or in response to certain life stages or body experiences — experiences such as pregnancy, the postpartum period, or menopause.”

While Dr. Herbenick couldn’t say for sure why you’re so suddenly able to come from just PIV alone — something most women can’t do — she did share some possible explanations.

“First, it may just be learning over time, especially if SHIFT has a new partner, is exploring in new ways with a long-term partner, or is paying attention to vaginal sensation in ways SHIFT perhaps didn’t before,” said Dr. Herbenick. “Or maybe SHIFT’s just open to the experience now in ways she wasn’t earlier.”

Basically, SHIFT, if you ran out of fucks to give — something most women eventually do — and consequently became more vocal and assertive about your pleasure and the positions, speeds, depths of penetration, etc., that work best for you, you could be experiencing PIV very differently now.

“Another option is anatomical change,”

said Dr. Herbenick. “While the changes are slow-moving, cisgender women do experience anatomical shifts — the angle of vagina in the body can change over time. I’ve always found this fascinating, and this may be contributing to how intercourse feels for SHIFT. Because along with changes in vaginal angle come changes in how the vagina and cervix may be stimulated during intercourse.”

If the angle of your vagina has shifted even slightly, SHIFT, the angle or angles of penetration that work best for you now — new angles that hit you just right — could be stimulating your clit, internally or externally or both, in ways PIV didn’t use to.

“Another possibility could be shifts related to hormones and the brain,” said Dr. Herbenick. “If SHIFT is around perimenopause or menopause, no doubt she’s noticed a range of ways that hormonal changes are affecting ways that her body feels. Orgasm is not just about the clitoris or vagina; these are stimulating points but they’re only one part of what contributes to orgasm. How we sense and perceive those sensations are influenced by our brain, which is also influenced by hormones.”

Finally, SHIFT, assuming you can still come from oral, manual, and vibrational stimulation, I think we can safely file your question — suddenly being able to come from another kind of stimulation — in the “good problem to have” drawer. Enjoy!

Follow Dr. Herbenick on Twitter @ DebbyHerbenick and on Instagram @ DrDebbyHerbenick.

Send your burning questions to mailbox@savage.love

Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love!

LEGAL

NOTICE OF INTENT TO APPLY FOR A MECHANICS LIEN. We will be applying for a mechanics lien for unpaid services or repairs performed on the following vehicles:

2009 Toyota Camry, Vin # 4T1BE46K89U298504 Owner Desmond Petsono Tenfung. Lienholder One Main Financial Amount Owed $3577.21

2015 Chevrolet Equinox, VIN # 2GNALCEK2F6274427 Owner Tonya Douglas Lienholder First Investors Amount Owed $9678.84

2016 Kia Soul, VIN KNDJP3A54G7386841

Owner Melanie Krystynak or Joseph Go , Lienholder Exeter Finance, LLC Amount Owed $8110.59

2009 Lexus RX400h, VIN # JTJHW31U060016290 Owner Bakary Sonko

Amount Owed $1588.98

Vehicles are located at Bemudo Automotive, LLC 5804 Fern Valley Rd, Louisville, KY 40229. Please contact Danielle at 502-7082475 for more information.

2016 Nissan Altima Vin# 1N4AL3AP6GC139931

Owner: Ronesha McClain

Lein Holder: American Financial/American Car Center

Rick’s Collision and Paint 5210 Cane Run Rd Louisville, KY 40216 502-494-2262

EMPLOYMENT

Access Adult Health Day Care Center, LLC dba Access Care Plus in Louisville, Kentucky, seeks an Activity Coordinator to develop and implement a therapeutic activity program (in a speci ed group) that is age or level appropriate for individual client interests and the company’s needs, provide day-to-day oversight of the therapeutic activity program, supervise sta within the speci ed group, train sta in compliance with regulations and company policies, and market the company’s programs, among other things. Must have strong communication and interpersonal skills, satisfactory references, and pass criminal background check and drug and alcohol screen. Must have at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. Flexible, full time, competitive wage. Resume to Access Adult Health Day Care Center, LLC, Attn: Tori H., 908 DuPont Rd, Suite 101, Louisville, KY 40207.

Aircraft Accessory Overhaul shop located in Bluegrass Industrial Park looking for someone with mechanical ability that wants a career rebuilding aircraft accessories. Depending on quali cations can start 15-18 an hour with bene ts. Call Mike for more details at 502 387-6970.

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