10:12 a.m. EDT, April 26, 2012

Wildflower walk on Saturday

Central Kentucky Wildlife Refuge will host the second of two spring wildflower walks 10 a.m. Saturday. The walk will be on the Martha B. Clay Wildflower Trail, which begins near the North Rolling Fork, just past the bridge on Carpenters Creek Road off Ky. 37. 

The easy, half-mile trail includes both cliffside and riverside segments. The walk will be led by Rob Pendygraft, caretaker of the refuge. Participants should wear sturdy, comfortable shoes and long socks that can be stretched over pants to protect from ticks and should dress for the weather. Much of the walk is in the shadow of a hillside, so it tends to be cooler there than in more open spaces. There is a field just past the trail on the left where visitors can park.

At the first of this year’s wildflower walks on April 14, observers saw 26 species of plants, including Jack-in-the-pulpit, wild ginger, mayapples, two varieties of trillium and four varieties of violet. What is in bloom changes quickly this time of year, so the varieties could be rather different this week.

Also on Saturday, the Mary Ashby Cheek Nature Center will be open from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The center contains displays and information about plants and animals that may be seen at the refuge, including examples of bird feathers and nests, rocks, insects, educational materials for teachers, posters, and maps. 

Jane and J.P. Brantley, education directors, will be on hand to answer questions about the refuge. 

More information about the refuge, including driving directions, is available at www.ckwr.org.

 

Mercer Drug Take Back Day Saturday 

HARRODSBURG — The next Mercer County Drug Take Back Day will be held 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at Lions Park Community Center on East Factory Street. The event is co-sponsored by Hometown Radio WHBN, Harrodsburg Police Department, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, James B. Haggin Memorial Hospital and Mercer County Crime Stoppers.

Residents are strongly encouraged to bring all their unwanted, unknown, unused and/or expired prescriptions (non-narcotic and narcotic) and/or over-the-counter medicines for safe disposal. The medicines should be kept in their original containers if possible and not combined. It is OK to scrape off patient names on containers if desired. No refunds or exchanges will be permitted, and needle sharps, needles, IV bags, lancets, medical waste and thermometers cannot be accepted.

 

Wine-tasting event to benefit lung cancer organization

Markey Cancer Center’s “Pop the Cork!” Wine Tasting Event, a fundraiser to support lung cancer research and education, will be 6:30 p.m. May 12 at the Combs Center Warehouse on Centre College’s campus.

Tickets to the event are $20, with all proceeds to benefit Big Daddy’s Race for Time Inc., a lung cancer foundation started after the death of local businessman Paul Feistritzer.

Only six weeks passed between a lung cancer diagnosis and the death of Feistritzer in May 2008, prompting his family to start the non-profit which supports early detection of the disease and also helps local lung cancer patients defray transportation and treatment costs on an as-needed basis via available grants.

Along with a silent auction, raffles and hors d’oeuvres, the event will be an “individually competitive wine tasting” in which participants try to match the wines they taste to a list of wines provided. The winner receives a private wine tasting for their friends from a local vineyard.

Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door.

More info is available at www.bigdaddysrace.org.