Oh, Kentucky

Maybe if I'd studied at No. 517 Northern Kentucky University instead of No. 551 Western I would understand why Morehead State is not in Forbes' college rankings. "The 610 institutions of higher education in this ranking are schools that award undergraduate degrees or certificates requiring 'four or more years' of study, according to the U.S. Department of Education." For some reason, that doesn't include Morehead, as the only Kentucky schools among the 610, in additon to NKU and WKU, are Centre (ranked 24th), Berea (210), Transylvania (255), Bellarmine (271), Asbury (335), Georgetown (380), Murray State (481), Louisville (504), UK (507) and Eastern (556). Factors in the Forbes rankings are student evaluations from RateMyProfessor.com (17.5 percent), freshman-to-sophomore retention rates (5 percent), student evaluations from MyPlan.com (5 percent), salary of alumni from Payscale.com (15 percent), listings of alumni in Who's Who in America (10 percent), alumni in Forbes/CCAP Corporate Officers List (5 percent), four-year debt load for typical student borrower (12.5 percent), student loan default rates (5 percent), actual four-year graduation rate (8.75 percent), predicted vs. actual four-year graduation rate (8.75 percent) and student nationally competitive awards (7.5 percent).

Heath and Madisonville-North Hopkins were both part of a five-way tie for 46th among 227 Kentucky's public high schools in the statewide ACT rankings.

Kentucky's 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade numbers nearly 1,400 National Guard citizen soldiers who are amid the first of three scheduled trainings for possible deployment. Armories in Barbourville, Benton, Bowling Green, Harlan, Hopkinsville, Middlesboro, Ravenna, Somerset and Williamsburg have sent units to Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Greenville. The training rotation would leave the Kentucky National Guard poised for its largest deployment since World War II.

The Kentucky Native American Indian Council gathers this weekend at Leitchfield's Ag Park for the Honor The Buffalo Native American Gathering. "Native American Arts, Crafts, Food, Drumming, Dancing and Flute Playing," says KNAIC, but "No Politics ~ No Alcohol ~ No Guns."