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Kentucky Chamber’s Ashli Watts to emcee annual Fancy Farm Picnic

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kentuckylantern.com – McKenna Horsley – 2025-05-06 12:02:00

by McKenna Horsley, Kentucky Lantern
May 6, 2025

Ashli Watts, the president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, will be the emcee for the next Fancy Farm Picnic this August. 

Ashli Watts (Provided by St. Jerome Picnic)

Held as a fundraiser for the St. Jerome Catholic Church in the far west Kentucky town of Fancy Farm, the picnic annually brings together Kentucky politicians for fiery stump speeches in front of a boisterous crowd. Picnic organizers announced that Watts would be the emcee for this year’s picnic in a Tuesday press release. 

Watts became the president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber in 2019. The organization represents more than 3,800 member businesses across the state and often brings together its members and Kentucky lawmakers for conversations about economic issues. The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce spent the most out of any group to lobby the Kentucky General Assembly in 2024 and 2025.  

The picnic’s press release said that as leader of the Kentucky Chamber, Watts “played a key role in the passage of landmark legislation including felony expungement, right-to-work, and tax reform measures.” 

“Ashli’s experience and poise make her the ideal choice to guide this year’s political speaking,” said Steven Elder, the political chairman of the picnic. “Her leadership and deep understanding of Kentucky’s political landscape will bring energy, fairness, and insight to this year’s event.”

The Fancy Farm Picnic is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 2. 

Emcees in recent years have included Lexington’s Father Jim Sichko and David Beck, president of Kentucky Venues.

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.

The post Kentucky Chamber’s Ashli Watts to emcee annual Fancy Farm Picnic appeared first on kentuckylantern.com



Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Right

This content presents a generally neutral tone with a slight lean toward pro-business and conservative-leaning economic policies, as reflected in the positive framing of Ashli Watts’ leadership at the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and her role in promoting right-to-work laws and tax reform. The article focuses on the Fancy Farm Picnic, a well-known political event that features a variety of political speakers. The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s involvement and emphasis on economic issues indicate a center-right tilt, given the organization’s alignment with business interests and conservative economic policies. However, the piece maintains a largely factual and balanced approach without strong partisan rhetoric.

News from the South - Kentucky News Feed

Man arrested after alleged strangulation of adult and juvenile

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www.wnky.com – WNKY Staff – 2025-07-02 16:48:00

SUMMARY: In Bowling Green, Ky., Glennis Ligon, 32, was arrested following an alleged assault involving an adult and a juvenile victim. Police responded to a residence where the adult claimed Ligon assaulted both her and the juvenile amid an argument that escalated physically. The adult was choked and had her glasses knocked off, while the juvenile was also choked upstairs. During the altercation, the juvenile stabbed Ligon in the shoulder with a kitchen knife, after which Ligon was found outside with a stab wound. He was treated at TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital before being jailed and charged with strangulation, assault, and resisting arrest.

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News from the South - Kentucky News Feed

Trial of Brooks Houck, Joseph Lawson enters Day 7

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www.wnky.com – WNKY Staff – 2025-07-02 11:23:00

SUMMARY: The seventh day of the Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson trial is underway in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The defense called Rhonda McIlvoy, Houck’s sister, who testified about being accused and threatened following Crystal Rogers’ 2015 disappearance. Rogers’ body remains unfound. McIlvoy denied any involvement or knowledge of a family conspiracy related to Rogers’ disappearance. Prosecutors questioned her about illegally recording her grand jury testimony, suggesting it was part of a family effort to align stories. Three recording devices were found in the family home. News 40 continues to provide updates as the trial progresses.

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News from the South - Kentucky News Feed

In small-town Kentucky, finding ‘all the more reason to resist’

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kentuckylantern.com – Guest columnist – 2025-07-02 04:45:00


Edmund and Anne Shelby joined a June 27 anti-Trump rally in Manchester, packing lawn chairs and signs. About two dozen protesters gathered, chanting slogans like “Donald Trump has got to go” and holding signs opposing Medicaid cuts and inequality. Across the street, an opposing group of similar size displayed flags and trucks with Trump symbols, repeatedly driving past loudly and shouting insults. Two truck drivers were arrested for releasing black smoke on protesters, and a Proud Boy member was escorted away by police. Local law enforcement maintained order, ensuring safety for both sides. Another KY Resist rally is planned for July 5 in London.

by Guest columnist, Kentucky Lantern
July 2, 2025

At first I wasn’t sure we ought to go. It was easy to imagine several ways this thing could go off the rails. But pretty soon we got clear. If there was going to be an anti-Trump rally in Manchester, we were going to be there.

We’d watched the massive protests in cities and towns around the country, none of them close to our home in Clay County. This was our chance to participate. Edmund threw two folding lawn chairs in the trunk of the car. I brought the signs.

In a downtown parking lot, we found a small group of young people unpacking boxes of snacks and bottled water. We set up in a small grassy area right in the middle of town. Gradually, one at a time, others joined us, adults of varying ages, men and women, some from around here, others from nearby towns. I counted about two dozen on our side.  

Meanwhile another group about the same size was gathering across the street. Much of the event turned out to be these two groups yelling at one another from across the road.  

From our side we chanted:

No hate, no fear

Everyone is welcome here

Hey Hey Ho Ho

Donald Trump has got to go

We sang “This Land is Your Land ” and “Which Side Are You On?”

We held up signs: 

Medicaid Cuts = Closed Hospitals 

Hillbillies Need Health Care, Too

Trump Gives to the Rich, Takes from the Poor

Anne Shelby writes she counted about two dozen protesters at the anti-Trump demonstration in Manchester on June 27. (KY Resist, Facebook)

We had chants, songs and signs. They had flags and trucks.  They were gathered around a bright red pickup, parked as if aimed in our direction. There were other trucks, too, not parked, but in constant motion, driving past us up and down Main Street, Trump flags flying, going one way then turning around and coming back the other. It took us a few minutes to figure out that there weren’t as many trucks as there seemed to be, that we were seeing the same ones again and again. And again. 

The trucks, already loud, revved up even louder as they passed us. Some of the people in the trucks got loud, too. Some yelled, GO HOME! To which some of us replied, “We ARE home.” Other truckers shouted something else, which sounded like “other truckers,” but which started with M as in mother and F as in father. I have heard this expression many times in my life, but never so much as last Friday night. It was appropriate, I guess, since earlier in the week the president himself had dropped the F-bomb in a public statement about dropping bombs in Iran. One woman in our group, when they yelled obscenities at us, answered, “We love you.”

Two drivers with diesel engines released clouds of black smoke on our group as they passed. They were promptly pursued and arrested by the police, along with a gentleman in Proud Boy gear who started across the street towards our group and was escorted away by a policeman.

The Manchester police did an amazing, effective and important job. They made it possible for all of us on both sides of the street to exercise our right to protest, and they kept us safe.

There’s another KY Resist protest rally July 5 in London. I plan on being there. It’s a risky business, because Donald Trump has purposefully turned up the dial on anger, hate, fear, and the possibility of violence.   

Which  is — Hey Hey Ho Ho — all the more reason to resist.

About the author

Writer and storyteller Anne Shelby lives near Oneida in Clay County. Her books include the collection of newspaper columns “Can a Democrat Get into Heaven?” and the award-winning “Adventures of Molly Whuppie and Other Appalachian Folktales.”   

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Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.

The post In small-town Kentucky, finding ‘all the more reason to resist’ appeared first on kentuckylantern.com



Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Left-Leaning

This content highlights participation in an anti-Trump rally, featuring chants and signs critical of Donald Trump and his policies, such as Medicaid cuts and economic inequality. The tone is sympathetic to the protesters and emphasizes resistance against Trump’s rhetoric and actions. While it presents aspects of the opposing group, the language and framing clearly support left-wing activism and criticize right-wing elements, indicating a left-leaning perspective.

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