Measures of achievements

ISSUE: Fair, family and music
OUR VIEW: Worthy of praise

Considering today’s temperatures, summer seems a long way off. But the Hardin County Community Fair has been stealing headlines lately.

It recently was honored as Kentucky’s most aggressive fair from the Kentucky Association of Fairs and Horse Shows and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. The award recognizes a significant increase over the previous year in entries and exhibits.

That’s a tribute to all the exhibitors but, in particular, to the directors and volunteers who schedule and stage the fair.

The recognition also will serve as the capstone of a luncheon today celebrating the fair’s 50th anniversary.

The fair also will be celebrating Jenna Walters, the University of Louisville freshman who represented Hardin County in the Miss Kentucky County Fair contest. The daughter of Dawn Walters and Bill Walters, both of Elizabethtown, she was selected over 90 other entrants as queen.

The fair is six months off but today it stands in the spotlight.

FAMILY HONORS. National honors also were bestowed upon a LaRue County family.

Ryan and Misty Bivens of Hodgenville, who are first-generation farmers, won the Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award presented by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The Bivens family, which includes 4-year-old Cyrus and 1-year-old Avery, are leaders on the farm and off. They raise commercial beef cattle, corn, soybeans, wheat, grass hay and alfalfa on 5,753 acres and are active community volunteers, including Farm Bureau service.

The family will receive a new vehicle and free registration to this year’s national farm leadership conference. They also receive the respect and admiration of their neighbors and friends who share in this time of pride.

TALENT ON DISPLAY. At age 11, Matthew Pinkham has found an opportunity where his talents, gifts and interests converge. It’s something many people spend a lifetime pursuing.

Now a student at Morningside Elementary School, he was named the 2013 Nicholas Green Distinguished Student by the Kentucky Association for Gifted Education. Each school district in the state nominates someone and Matthew stood out in the field of standouts.

It’s extraordinary to succeed at a high level so early in life but it’s equally significant to rise above a physical ailment. While it’s easy to be bitter, Matthew choose to be better.

It’s just another special story from this community.

This editorial represents a consensus of The News-Enterprise's editorial board.