Shopping Small Makes a Big Difference

Sasha Bush

The Ashland Beacon

With Christmas right around the corner, we are scrambling to find the perfect gifts for all our loved ones. One of the best places to find the most unique gifts is by shopping the small locally owned businesses within our community. Choosing to shop small and support local businesses helps to boost the local economy, create jobs, and foster a sense of community. Shopping small is also a great way to help support the livelihoods of our friends, family, and neighbors. Check out these up-and-coming events for your chance to shop small and find that perfect gift:

Hometown Christmas

Alona Gilliam and Revitalize Russell is once again wowing us with the perfect event to get you in holiday spirit. On Dec. 7, you can experience all the wonder of Christmas in downtown Russell with train rides, special appearances by Santa and Mrs. Claus, food trucks and even a special Christmas parade. The fun starts at 5 p.m. and continues until 9 p.m.

Christmas in the Country

It’s time to shop local this Christmas with the Greenup County Farmers Market, third annual Christmas in the Country vendor event. This fundraising event is providing the perfect opportunity to not only support the Greenup County Farmers Market but also to support over 50+ local artisans, farmers, and food trucks. Word on the street has it that Santa Claus will also be making a special appearance as well. This event will take place at Imel’s, and you have two chances to come and see what it is all about. Friday, Dec. 8 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

West End Jeweler’s Gold Party

On Saturday, Dec. 9 from 5 -10 p.m., West End Jeweler will be hosting a super fun gold event. What exactly is a Gold Event? With the holidays approaching, the fine folks out at West End Jeweler wanted to offer you a fun way of trading in your old gold pieces for something new and shiny. All you have to do is bring your unwanted gold items to the store and have those items turned into store credit, which can be used toward the purchase of new items within the store. West End Jeweler offers the most unique pieces of jewelry around and currently have a huge selection of gold-filled, 14 kt, and 10 kt gold pieces within the store. The best thing about this unique jewelry store is they offer something for everyone at all price points ranging from $60 and up. You will definitely have a lot of affordable new and shiny pieces to choose from. So, mark those calendars because this is an event that you will not want to miss.

Christmas on Ferry Street

You won’t want to miss out on this exciting and magical event happening right on Ferry Street, which is located in downtown Russell. There will be live music as you walk down Ferry Street that is sure to put everyone in that holiday spirit. Eridanus Brewing will be offering specialty drinks, and all your favorite local shops will be having special offers and/or guests throughout the day. Special guests include the oh-so-popular and hip, Local Mercantile and their PINK bus, Sadie James Lemonade offering their specialty lemonades throughout the day, and a sneak peek of the up-and-coming West End Floral and Gifts with their flower bar. Don’t miss out on the perfect event to not only shop small but finish up all those last-minute Christmas gifts.

Boyd County Convention & Arts Center 5^th Annual Craft Show

What better way to support your small locally owned businesses than by visiting the Boyd County Convention & Arts Center’s 5^th Annual Craft Show. This event is one of the biggest vendor events of the year featuring over 70 vendors. You are bound to find something for that “difficult to buy for person” with so many great things to choose from. This show will have handmade crafts, woodworking, women’s and children’s boutiques, baked goods, jewelry, beauty products, and so much more. Santa Claus will also be making his appearance throughout the day. There will also be a special door prize given out to one lucky winner valued at $500.00. Several vendors donated raffles will also be taking place throughout the day. All proceeds from the raffle tickets will be donated to the Wildwood Church of God’s 2024 Guatemala mission trip for supplies to build a very special family a much-needed home. The magic of Christmas is all about giving, and what better way to give than to play a small part in something so big? This event will take place on Dec. 16 from 10 a.m. to 4.p.m. at the Boyd County Convention Center.

Local Teacher Fighting Time in Kidney Disease Battle

Lisa Patrick

Ashland Beacon

        Up until this past May, BJ Fraley was just living life like everyone else. He was teaching full-time at Oakview Elementary, volunteering at the Dressing Room whenever he could, taking regular everyday care of his children as well as helping to coach some of their sporting events, and also being their taxi wherever they needed to go. Then, in April, he got sick and his life as he knew it changed forever. Although it changed for the worse for his health, Fraley will be the first to say that it also changed his perspective on “what is important.”

        When Fraley was admitted into the hospital on April 28, his GFR was down to 13% which meant that he was in Stage 5 kidney failure. Two days later, he was going to be discharged because he had not gotten better, but he had also not gotten worse. He was going to be treated with small changes to his diet (“I had to give up my Redbulls.”) and having his blood work monitored every two to four weeks with no plans to do dialysis at first, but he was still being referred to for an evaluation for a kidney transplant.

        However, he was not discharged on April 30th. He decided to go through with a kidney biopsy which meant staying in the hospital for a few more days. On May 5, not only was he still admitted, he was starting dialysis. Dialysis “cleans” the blood similar to how a person’s kidneys should and keeps the organs from shutting down.

His oldest daughter, Sarah Fraley, graduated from ACTC on May 6th. He was unable to attend the ceremony, but she proudly came into his hospital room wearing her cap and gown to show off her diploma. By May 8, he was being discharged and his girlfriend, Brandi Dunn, was glad that he was back to looking and sounding like himself even if it included “his puns and dad jokes.” She said that she had “panicked” when he “stopped making terrible jokes.”

        Fraley began doing dialysis four days a week for five hours a day. By July, he was back on the YMCA basketball court helping coach his daughter, Ayralynn’s youth summer league team. He was also well enough to attend some 4th of July celebrations and watch the fireworks with his family at Summer Motion. Dunn began to learn all of the ins and outs of the dialysis system so that Fraley could start doing his treatments at home.

        At the end of July, Fraley and Dunn went to the UK Transplant Center in Lexington to start the evaluation process for a deceased kidney donor but both of them stated that a “living donor is a MUCH better option.” The waitlist for a deceased donor is five to seven years long. He would have to stay on dialysis the entire time, and the chances for a successful transplant decrease the longer a person is on dialysis. They cannot travel more than five hours away from the transplant center because, whenever the call comes, they have to be there within five hours or the kidney goes to another donor. Living donor kidneys “tend to work better and last longer” and, with a living donor, they would be able to plan ahead of time for all of the details that will need to be taken care of while Fraley is hospitalized.

        At the beginning of August, all of the supplies arrived for Fraley to begin doing dialysis at home. Dunn decided to name the dialysis machine “Howard.” The couple said, “We’re doing our best to keep living, laughing, and loving no matter what. So that means machines get names.” On top of both of them working full-time jobs-Dunn works as the school-based Pathways therapist at Cannonsburg Elementary-they are now committed to twenty hours a week with Fraley lying in a hospital recliner in their bedroom hooked up to a machine. Also, while they set up the machine, no one is allowed in the room, so the children are locked out during setup time.

        The process of getting a kidney transplant is very expensive. The travel to and from doctor’s appointments, the hotel stays, and the time off work all take a toll on the family’s finances. Also, the cost of the transplant itself along with the time off work that it will mean for both of them will be something that has to be considered. Both of them being off work all summer and their oldest daughter also needing medical care has already put a big hit to their finances. They have started a GoFundMe account to help with all of the expenses that they expect to face in the future. Donations can be sent to https://gofund.me/ef02c365.

        While Fraley has had plenty of time to “contemplate life or possibly the lack thereof,” he has also managed to make many memories since that terrible time in May. These memories help Fraley to remember to “stay healthy, get this kidney, and enjoy life’s moments” because “it’s not the destination, it’s the ride.” He wants to thank all of the people for the support he has received from his school faculty, his family and Dunn’s family, and the people who have prayed, donated, and provided meals and snacks for his family when he has had to be in the hospital and for the times that he and Dunn were not able to work.

        Fraley is blood type O+ and information on becoming a living donor can be found at https://uchealth.donorscreen.org/register/now or at ukhealthcare.uky.edu/transplant. 

Saving Money with Wesley’s Deals

Now Moving Online Deals to the Store

Lisa Patrick

The Ashland Beacon

        Wesley Davis has been saving people money with codes and deals for major online stores for several years. Now, he has brought that concept to his own retail store where he hopes to continue to help people get great deals on items that he is selling himself. Although he runs his online affiliate marketing company completely separate from his brick-and-mortar store, his goal remains the same—"helping people save money on items they are already buying.”

        Wesley’s Red Hot Deals & Steals is a semi-weekend outlet located at 301 52nd Street in the building that formerly housed Lee’s Jewelry. Davis “specializes in closeouts on everyday items and everyday brands.” He uses his knowledge of how to find great bargains and then passes his own savings along to his customers.

        Wesley’s Deals has three large rooms plus several little side areas to poke through for bargains. There are separate sections for health and beauty, toys, men’s, clothing, shoes, home and office supplies, home decor, bedding, groceries, snacks, seasonal items, pet supplies, and more. There is almost always something new as Davis finds new stock for the store every week.

Davis recently acquired all of the merchandise available from a local gas station that was changing ownership. He has “so many snacks and drinks in stock now that the front room looks like a grocery store.” The food items sold in store may be “in or out of the best buy date,” so Davis offers a “freshness guarantee” on the food and snacks that he sells well below market value. If any customer purchases a grocery or snack item and they “are not satisfied with the freshness, they can bring it back within 7 days for an exchange.” The food from the gas station buyout is currently all within their freshness date.

Davis likes to “keep shopping fun” with a “variety of weekly featured deals.” Remembering the old Kmart “blue-light special,” Davis has started his own version of that kind of deal that he refers to as a “disco light special” that is located in the main part of his store.

        Davis prides himself on offering great customer service. He takes “pride in getting to know each and every customer who comes through the doors.” He also learns what his customers want and need because he feels that it is “important for any small business to cater to the trends of the time to survive in this industry.” Davis remarked that “knowing what is trendy” helps him to keep “customers happy and the shelves stocked with the products they want.”

        Another fun item that can be found in Wesley’s Deals is the Pac-Man machine that is free for all customers to play when they come in the store. Davis even offers a Pac-Man Challenge. If you beat the current high score on your very first try, you win $20 and get to put your name on the leaderboard. Each customer is welcome to try at winning each day that the store is open, but the “first try” only counts for the first visit of the day.

        Wesley’s Deals is currently open Thursday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday from 1:00-5:00 p.m. These hours may change during the holiday season. If you come in and show Davis that you follow the store on Facebook, you can get 5% off of your purchase. The Facebook page for the store is Wesley’s Deals 301 52nd St. Ashland, KY.

Small Scout Troop Makes Big Effort to Help the Hungry

Lisa Patrick

Ashland Beacon

“Scouting for Food” is a Boy Scout tradition that has been taking place every November since 1985. Scout troops across the nation participate in a food drive to help local food pantries get through the holidays. One small local troop has been gathering food donations the past few years to help fill the Thanksgiving boxes at the Hillcrest-Bruce Mission and, as their numbers get smaller, their efforts get bigger.

Boy Scout Troop 1100 out of South Ashland only has four members, but that doesn't stop them from doing their best to help out their community. Last Monday evening, in lieu of their normal Boy Scout meeting, the four boys walked up and down several of the streets in South Ashland leaving "Scouting for Food" bags on all of the front porches. The bags themselves have an explanation of what they are asking for and when they will be back around to pick up the donations. Then, this past Saturday morning, two of the boys (the other two had prior obligations with school and family) revisited the homes where they had left the bags to pick up the filled bags.

The small scout troop has been very blessed by the support they have received from their South Ashland neighbors on Holt, Hackworth, Hampton, and Ashland Avenue, and this year proved no different. They could tell that the neighborhood had stepped up again to help them out as Boy Scouts. Nick Osborne and Blake Patrick gathered bag after bag of donations.

After collecting all of the food, they met up with Mike Maynard at the Hillcrest-Bruce Mission on Eloise Street. The scouts turn in an estimate of how much they have collected to the local council office, so they counted the items as they unloaded them. This proved to be their best year ever as they filled two entire shopping carts full with more than 270 cans and more than 60 boxes/packages of donated food items.

The Boy Scouts' sister troop, Girl Scout Troop 1100, also turned their own donated goods in. The girls were the hosts of a "birthday party" for Juliette Gordon Lowe (the founder of Girl Scouts) a couple weeks ago. More than 30 girls from several different local troops attended for fun and crafts but also to bring in donated birthday party items such as cake mix, frosting, and candles. Girl Scout Troop 1100 was able to create 30 birthday cake kits out of the donations. Girl Scout Lily Dillon presented the kits to Hillcrest-Bruce Mission as the representative for the girls. The kits filled up an additional two buggies.

Mike Maynard said the birthday kits will be “going to our neighbors having a birthday in the next month,” and the food that the Boy Scouts bring in always comes “at just the right time.” Maynard also wanted to give “thanks for the hard work that our Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts do every year to make sure that no one in the community goes hungry. And, thanks to the parents and sponsors who work so hard with these troops and all the neighbors in the community who contributed.”

The Boy Scouts of Troop 1100 would like to thank the neighborhoods of South Ashland for always being willing to support them for the Scouting for Food event. They would like to give particular thanks to Josh Ravencraft of Ashland Avenue for taking to Facebook every year to ask for donations for the event. The boys are always excited to see how much food is covering his porch to help feed the hungry.