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Chili fundraiser helps combat drug problem

Junction City enjoyed a chili cook-off contest Saturday afternoon that raised about $300 to help send people who want help with a drug addiction to treatment. $300 may not seem like a lot, but it could be enough to pay the up-front costs to get one person the help they need.

If you can hold a fun event with plenty of delicious food and socializing — and it helps change someone’s life for the better, that’s the definition of a “win-win” in our book.

Kudos to the organizers for making the event happen and the Boyle County Agency for Substance Abuse Policy for acting as the conduit to channel community support directly to those who need it.

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Centre polling data used in national reporting

Centre College and Boyle County High School students helped contribute to national reporting on the presidential election in October by completing the “2016 Colonel’s Canvass Poll,” a randomized, nationally representative, scientific poll of 710 people.

The students conducted the poll, with the help of Centre professor Benjamin Knoll, from Oct. 18 to 23.

The results they got were used by the well-known statistical reporting website fivethirtyeight.com in its monitoring of polling trends concerning the presidential election. You can actually go on fivethirtyeight.com and see in the log of polls used when Centre’s poll was added to the data and what effect it had on the overall prediction.

There probably aren’t many college students — and even fewer high-schoolers — who can say they were part of national reporting on the election, but we have quite a few of those who can say just that right here in Boyle County.

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Fireworks show at Danville Commission is finally over

After another short delay, the Danville City Commission finally finished its business with fireworks Thursday night, passing an ordinance into law that restricts the use of fireworks to specific days of the year for individuals. While organizations can apply for permits to hold display fireworks shows on other days of the year, all fireworks, whether personal or at an event, should cease by 11 p.m.

It was a lengthy process with a lot of back-and-forth, but now it’s in the books. This Christmas and New Year’s will provide our first real look at how well it works in practice.