Published: July 25, 2008 10:27 am            

Big plans for Big Read

The community planning committee for the Big Read Program met last week to further plan for the events surrounding Whitley County’s involvement in this program. The Big Read will officially kick off in Williamsburg at Old Fashioned Days with a “Juggling Our Values” event in the Bill Woods Park and in Corbin at the Octoberfest event sponsored by Corbin Main Street. Community churches and businesses will be asked for a $100 donation toward the match required by the grant — money to purchase the 500 copies of “A Lesson Before Dying,” which we will distribute in the community.

To involve younger children in the program, the group selected the book “Rosa,” the story of Rosa Parks, for children in after-school programs to read. Representatives of the Whitley County School System will purchase “Rosa” books for their children. Representatives from the University of the Cumberlands and EKU will use the Big Read book, “A Lesson Before Dying,” in various college classes and with book groups of students and faculty. Area high schools will use the Big Read program with high school classes and junior high students.

Other community events will include

1. Showings of the film, “A Lesson Before Dying,” and the newer movie, “The Bucket List.”

2. Ecumenical church-sponsored pot luck with book discussion.

3. Multiple book groups throughout the county.

4. A panel discussion on the death penalty.

5. A book group at the Whitley County Detention Center and the Comprehensive Care Center sponsored by Whitley County Adult Education.

6. An author’s panel on racism and on stereotypes of the uneducated/ lower ability adults here in Whitley County.

7. Celebrity readings of passages in the book featuring Mayors Harrison and McBurney, Judge-Executive Pat White, plus other local elected officials and public figures.

8. A skit and dramatic presentation contest for local students with subsequent book discussion.

The group and our public library are also purchasing the book on tape for use by those with reading difficulties. Susan Weaver donated several copies of the book to begin a traveling reading group, “Read It and Pass It On,” within the area. Readers will sign their names on the front flyleaf, and the book with the most signatures by the end of the project in February will be awarded a prize.

Anyone interested in getting more involved with the project can contact Marian Colette with the Williamsburg Action Team, Susan Weaver at University of the Cumberlands or Sharae Myers, Corbin Main Street manager.

Marian Colette, Susan Weaver and Sharae Myers, Big Read Coordinating Team

        

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