Features

Helicopters, tanks and barracks dot the property of a 1970s-era Army fort. Not far away, Victorian-style homes with porches that sport hanging flower baskets line the streets of a small town where a park and gas station lend an air of simplicity to life there.

These scenes are dwarfed by members of the Radcliff Model Railroad Association as they move around the layouts constructed for their trains.

Approach Steve Mueller’s Elizabethtown home, and you might hear motion-activated sinister voices addressing you as skeleton figures, hanging bats and a knife-wielding clown greet you.

Add to the mix giant spiders, a skulking vampire, creepy creatures, a wicked witch, scattered bones, a ghoulish graveyard and a variety of eerie items, and Mueller’s property goes beyond typical decorations.

“Each year I put more and more,” Mueller said.

Among the inspirations for the subject matter for Elizabethtown artist Sherry Pearl are her childhood and a children’s story.

But Pearl did not arrive at her style of whimsical art through any particular course of study.

In fact, she got there despite her studies in art.

“I got so hung up on the rules, so one day I said, ‘Forget the rules,’” Pearl said.

Using bright acrylic paints, the artist creates scenes focused primarily on people.

As a business owner, mom and philanthropist, Kelly Emerine stays pretty busy and busy is how she likes it.

“I’m happy when I’m busy,” she said.

The 32-year-old grew up in Elizabethtown and graduated from Elizabethtown High School. She went to the University of Kentucky and earned a degree in English education. When she was a child, she was constantly changing what she wanted to do when she grew up. The president, a teacher, a professor — it was all on the list.

Bruce and Yoshiko Fonda of Radcliff will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary June 1, 2011.

They were married June 1, 1961, in Okinawa.

Mr. Fonda is a retired Sgt. Maj. from the U.S. Army and retired from service as a loan officer at Fort Knox Federal Credit Union.

Mrs. Fonda is very active in a bowling league and Soka Gakai International.

They have two children, 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

When Older Americans Month was established in May 1963, only 17 million living Americans had reached their 65th birthdays. At that time, about a third of older Americans lived in poverty and there were only a few programs to meet their needs. However, national interest in senior citizens and their needs began to circulate through the efforts and wisdom of President John F. Kennedy.

A visit to a green roof atop a Louisville building and a contest held by a floor covering company allowed Elizabethtown resident Nathan Bush an opportunity to do what he loves — create and design.

Bush, who graduated from the University of Louisville with a degree in interior architecture, entered Mannington Commercial’s tx:style Design Challenge 2011 with a carpet design called “Squiggle.”

“I always had an interest in art and design,” Bush said.

On Mondays after school, students from Woodland Elementary School can be found making a lot of noise without getting into trouble.

Members of The Woodland Drums, a group of auditioned students led by music teacher Aaron Dale, are putting sticks and hands to a variety of drums, gaining a deeper understanding of music, performance and teamwork.

Kyu Reisch may stand just under five feet tall, but the long list of ways she’s served her community makes her one of the tallest women in town.

She's logged more than 17,000 hours of volunteer service with the American Red Cross, donated another 5,000 volunteer hours to Army Community Service, provided her bilingual skills as a volunteer translator and has somehow found time along the way to run a restaurant and stand out athletically.