It is six so five here Kentucky and it's morning news on news radio eight forty w h as Coffee and Company. That's uh snit coffee, that's me the company mana John ald and alongside. And I know that there are now at least two different school districts that are that are back in school on the southern Indiana side, and I don't think we have any that have gone back just yet here in in In on the Kentucky side as far as just the region here, but I could be wrong, and that of course has been a
local story here. In fact, as I look in front of me on the TV wk why their newscast, they're mentioning that it is the first day back for Greater Clark County schools. And again I still get that, uh that that just that anxiousness about all the dread, that that really would start to grow as you get closer to going back to school when you're a kid. For some reason, it still sticks with me today despite kids
being in school now that I'm a parent. It's I mean, the fact that both my kids are going to be in school in the same school, at the same place every day on the same schedule. That that's actually a benefit and I don't have to pay for dake anymore. But anyways, when it comes to the first day of school, I was thinking back on the first day in the many years I was in I mean, I was in
school as much as anybody would be in school. But there's a lot of first days of school, and there are some that are memorable to me and some that I don't really remember.
But I'm just curious, with society.
Being just so much different now than it was what thirty years ago whenever I was going back to school, I mean, things that stand out to me, I'm curious if they're if they're if this is still a thing at all anymore. I mean, let's let's look at just I mean, let's start with this. I remember the first impression of my teacher usually stuck, meaning what I got day first day of it was usually what I got
the rest of the year. And you don't really know what you're going to especially when you're younger, like whenever you're in high school, and I guess even middle school, like you change classes to where you have multiple teachers.
But when you're young, you have you have your your teacher that you're with really all day for the for the majority of the day, and at that time, there was no like it wasn't like we were I mean I wasn't talking to kids that were older than me like hey, I had this teacher, here's.
What you should expect.
So I was always nervous just not knowing what you were going to get, because like every teacher has different styles, and you could you could be a great teacher and be somebody that is a little bit more I guess likable with the students and somebody that maybe isn't quite as as as likable. Also, I remember there was always there was always a a new kid that you didn't recognize that moved in or maybe they just transferred schools, and the returning students would always be so intrigued.
About, Hey, who's that guy? Who's this kid?
Or like if there was a new girl that maybe you thought was cute, like there'd be that would be a big talking point with the fellas, right like, wow, who's this I mean, we got to get to know who this is. She seems awesome. And I remember not knowing who to expect. When I ended up in lunch, I remember thinking like, well, I hope I hope that there's at least somebody that I know that whenever I walk out of the line with my tray of food, I just look and see somebody that I know and recognize.
And I don't know why that was the thing, and maybe it still is, But like finding somewhere to fit in and sit with somebody in the lunch room was I think a real worry for me on the first day of school. And then you eventually know who's at lunch with you at the same time, and you know, you probably have a routine when it comes to that. But yeah, first day of school easily, of the many days that you have each school year, it's certainly one
of the more memorable ones. And sometimes it's for good reasons, sometimes it's for bad. Anything stand out to you, John about your first day back to school in any of your years. One thing in the phenomenal Bullet County Public school system that we both came up.
In, you'd mentioned the new kid. So I was the new kid a couple different times. I was in the Catholic school system from sixth through eighth grade, and so I was the new kid going into sixth grade, which is middle school for.
A lot of people.
That was a very awkward and interesting transition. And then going into the Bullet County Public school system into high school. I remember going into my very first class and you mentioned how people just kind of look at you when you know you're the new person.
They don't recognize you, and it's so very They're the racking their brain about, like who the hell is this guy?
Yeah, and people made fun of me because they thought I was faking my deep voice because I was always clearing my throat like I did just there, and so people would people just thought that I was faking my.
They were jealous of those broadcast pipes that you've got. See that's a good.
Radio story for you as someone who now works in broadcasting, and that is one of the reasons I'm used to it by now. But that is one of the reasons among many that. And I don't know, you could take this however you want. I mean it as a compliment, and I hope you take it that way. People don't believe that you're as young as you are, because one you sound older, but also just your wisby on your years. But no, I look it sounds like you dealt with that, okay, But knowing how I was as a kid. I was
really shy. I'm very much and still am, which surprises people. I'm an introvert, but I would be scared to debt to go to a new school. And you did it and you survived.
It was definitely weird times in my life, for sure, But you know, I always enjoyed my school experience.
Yeah, i'd tell you what. That's one of the things that i'd never really I don't know many people. Well, I said one of my closest friends as a really young young kid, I think it might have been like third or fourth grade. He moved in and we struck up a conversation when I asked him if I could borrow a pencil because he was playing drums with his pencils and I needed one, and he shared it with me,
and we became best friends for life. Really, I mean, I don't speak to him as much anymore, but yeah, I guess in a way I helped him transition because he you know, he was the new kid, but he was comfortable was playing drums first day of school. Also, there was always a kid that grew a lot, right, Like, what the hell happened? You know, somebody will just shoot
up in the summer break. So yeah, happy first day back for those in southern Indiana in the Greater Clark County school system, and I hope you have a good first day everybody. All right, let's get to an update
of Travick in weather. Also we will get to another sports update coming up coming up at about fifteen minutes right here our news radio Waight forty whas So, it was earlier this week when we found out that they are seizing all of Brooks Howke's assets as he's trying to offload those assets due to the fact that he's got a potential lawsuit. In fact, the lawsuit is currently I mean, it's active, and he may end up having to in a civil suit give up a lot of his.
Estate.
I guess you could say, I mean, maybe that's not the right way toward it. But anyhow, there's another story here that involves this Crystal Rogers murder and of course brook Howks being convicted of that earlier this month.
But right now this is one that I feel like is probably a bigger deal than people realize to Crystal Rogers's family because brooks Hawk's sister, Rada mcilvoy maybe it's Ronda.
Maybe there's a typo here in the story I'm referencing from WKY. But she's now asking a judge for permanent custody of the son that Howck and the deceased Crystal
Rogers had together. And as you know, Hawck was convicted of murder and tampering with evidence in connection to her disappearance and the sister she has had temporary custody of the ten year old boy for the last I guess two years, and before that it was a I guess, an ongoing battle between Sherry Ballard, Cristel's mother, and Rosemary how Brooks How's mother of who would have custody of
this child. In a new filing as of I guess earlier this month, roughly a week or so after the conviction, she claims permanent custody is in the child's best interest, and she cites that it's for for the it's because of permanency and stability. That's why she claims that permanent custody should go to her. Again, this is Brooks Hawk's sister.
Now there's not been any courtinate said just yet, and there's separately a temporary injunction that was issued this week to prevent again, as I mentioned, him selling off his assets because of those of illegal proceedings that are going on.
So I mean this what, it's not crazy. I don't think to think of someone from the someone from the Hawk side of things that may be a little younger, maybe they have other children, maybe young children, that would make a little more sense as far as just some stability rather than going to Cristel's mother, who you know is older. Like, that's not a crazy scenario that somebody
within brooks House's family could be a good fit. But the sister, I mean she was, she was she was involved according to testimony and according to what we learned in the trial.
I mean.
The child living with somebody and that person having permanent custody, knowing that there's there's good evidence and certainly good testimony that suggests that she was well aware and maybe even involved to an extent, potentially of the murder of Crystal Rogers, I mean that that's that to me, that's a knife in the in the heart of of the Rogers family once again, unless unless there's something we don't know, meaning that they are supportive of this, which clearly doesn't look like they are.
So I just just the the optics.
Of this, knowing that not only I mean again, she's an unindicted co conspirator, just like Brooks House's mother and brother, and yet the thought of her getting permanent custody, while who knows, maybe eventually she is indicted, I just I have a hard time seeing that happen.
But I could be wrong.
All right, let's get to an update on traving the weather, and then we'll get another update on sports from Scott right here on news radio waight forty whas. We are up and running here on a Thursday morning. It is Kentucky Anda's Morning News with Nick Coffee, Coffee and Company. The whole cruise here eight forty whas. Take us with you wherever you go. Listen live at whas dot com
and also on the iHeartRadio app. So when it comes to the when it comes to the well, this is one of those I had, I realized what Tom it was. And this is me still trying to get comfortable John in knowing that instead of having really as much time as I want, sometimes like twenty minutes in a segment, that is not what this is. So I'm gonna I'm gonna shelf where I was going and save that for a little bit later on and maybe just try to
find a way to condense it. But anyhow, and by the way, I'll give you a tease here because I think this will be something that most people would be interested in. Maybe I'm wrong, but red flags as far as restaurants, little things that people who've worked in restaurants before, they could give you an indicator of sort of how the restaurant has run.
So we'll get to that later.
And it's not anything that's going to like gross you out as far as just stories of how food's prepared that you wouldn't want to know. I mean, you could find that on the internet if you want. But anyways, we'll get to that later. But right now, I have a question for everybody out there. If right now you were required to write somebody a letter or maybe just write, you know, a paragraph, and you had to use cursive, how easy would it be for you? Would it be
easy because you're writing cursive every day. I find that to be hard to believe, but maybe I'm wrong. Would it be something that it's like riding a bike. Once you start doing it, it comes back to you I've not tried. I think I'd be able to do it, but I also don't think i'd be totally stunned if I was questioning everything I was doing as I was writing incursive. So there is a there's this school year Kentucky, students are once again going to be required to learn
cursive handwriting. So there's a cursive comeback in Kentucky. It's a new law that's ensuring that it's more than just an optional skill, but it's now going to be a mandated part of the curriculum. And this is part of Senate Bill one sixty seven that was passed in twenty twenty four and it goes into effect this upcoming school year, So it mandates all elementary schools teach cursive and that
students reach proficiency by the end of fifth grade. It was removed as a requirement with the adoption of common Core back in twenty ten, So that's clearly one of the factors in cursive just seemingly not being not being as common anymore. But maybe it was already very less common before we got to twenty ten. I remember learning how to write in cursive, but I don't remember I
could be totally wrong. Here have been a long time since I've been in the school system, But if I was writing papers or just doing school work, I mean, I don't remember cursive being used really that often at all. Maybe I completely you know, I wasn't the best student. Therefore, when I think of high school and even any other year of class, the curriculum isn't something that really stands out to me because I wasn't paying enough atention and I was just you know, I mean, I wasn't the
worst student, but I wasn't. I mean, I could have done a lot better. John, You clearly learned how to write in cursive, right.
I couldn't tell you the last time I wrote anything other than my name in cursive, but.
You remember it being part of school, right because it was my mom.
She writes everything incursive. Still props to her, because I don't know how she does.
And I think it's probably just because it was more of a of a common thing I guess to that generation. But my thought is, how much much longer are we really gonna This is gonna sound really dumb, because you need to be able to write. I mean, that's something you're gonna always I think need to learn when you are in school, whether it be writing in cursive or not. But I don't write anything. I can tell this is not an exaggeration. And I don't know how any way
of proving this. It's just really a guess. But I feel confident in telling you that in the calendar year, I pick up a pen or a pencil to write something other than a receipt I'm signing at a restaurant maybe five times a year. And it's and it's because I just write everything down on my phone. I take notes on my phone. I do everything digitally. I always have, and clearly there are others that don't do that. They just their instincts are just to jot stuff down. I
mean that my handwriting has always been not great. But when I go to the doctor's office and I got to fill out an updated I mean, I feel like the dumbest human. I mean, I question did I go to school that I actually learn anything because I can't read any of it.
I mean, it's terrible.
So cursive is making a comeback, and yeah, I mean, I just I'm not against it. I just have a hard time thinking that anybody. I mean, maybe the emphasis is that people need to know how to sign their signature, because I think those are always going to be a way in which we identify people, you know, matching your signature and whatnot. So anyways, there's a cursive comeback coming. All right, let's get to a quick update on the roadways.
Bobby Ellis will getus caught up on traffic this Thursday morning, and we'll get a look at the forecast from Matt Melosa.
It's right here on News Radio eight forty whas.
Another one of Louisville's biggest employers is offering voluntary early retirement packages for some eligible workers, which anytime that happens it raised concerns about what this really signals for the future of this company and of course the future of people who have depended upon said company to make probably a good living.
And the offer here.
If you are fifty years or older and have worked at Humana for at least three years, you received an email Monday offering you early retirement. It's part of a broader transformation agenda to reduce costs and modernize operations. And this I think everybody's situation is different. Therefore, this news
really could hitch you in a variety of ways. It could certainly be panic if you really aren't in a position to retire early move on, and maybe you just i mean, let's be honest, finding a job like the one you have there probably isn't going to be easy. So yeah, it may be intriguing to take whatever incentive to throw in your way and then you know, look
for some different work. But then if you're somebody who has financially been smart with money, maybe you have a second income in your home with your significant other, maybe you can use this to maybe kind of start a new career and maybe not be as dependent upon the future salary. But there have been many companies here in the area that that have offered this over the years. I mean, you've got just recently ups they they offered full time drivers across the country voluntary buyouts, and that
that had never happened before. You know, the Brown Foreman that wasn't necessarily that was more so just layoffs, and there was severance included, but that was really I think I think it was just over tw hundred jobs affected by that. And then here recently you've got the Office of Federal Student Aid in Kentucky. That's not Louisville, but more so just the state that offered buyouts in early retirement. Two hundred people I believe were affected by that.
Ford.
I mean, they've done it multiple times. I remember because I had a lot of friends. In fact, growing up in Bullet County, there were many people who moved to the area because their family members, their dad or maybe even mom got jobs at Ford, and you know, they didn't live in the Kentucky and area. And of course, you know, Bullet County was really growing at that time.
So I remember back in two thousand and six, they unveiled a massive restructuring plan and it was called the Way Forward, and it was a big time downsizing.
Of of their workforce.
I mean, I think it was thirty thousand hourly and salary jobs that were affected by this. Then they were offering one hundred thousand dollars severance buyouts for workers and they you know, you were relinquishing your future benefits, but I believe you kept your pension at that time. So that was a big deal at that time. Of course, and then not that long ago, the Kentucky plants here for Ford, and this.
Was yeah, this was I believe the end of twenty twenty three.
Early twenty twenty four, they offered a fifty thousand dollars lump some retirement buyout program for those that met the certain requirements there. So it's not totally uncommon, and I think it's never a great sign that a company is doing this, But it also I think can be met this news can be met differently depending upon your situation. So I'm sure it's not good news for many, and I get it. All right, We've got another update of Travck and weather coming your way. Also, we'll get a
sports update from Scott Fitzgerald. It's Kentucky. It's morning News, Coffee and Company Nick Coffee with you right here on News Radio eight forty whas