Levi Price, 6, (right) and Asher Preston, 5, (left) stand for a portrait after playing in mud Monday, June 19, 2023, in Berry, KY. Levi Price, 6, Dawson Price, 3, Asher Preston, 5, Ryleigh Preston, 2, and Axton Moore, 1, who played in the backyard while Ernie fed the chickens, were all watched by Brenna Price, who runs a babysitting business out of her home. Brenna’s husband, Ernie Price, works at the Kentucky Department of Transportation.
Thousands of people from across Kentucky, including many police departments and first responders, attended the funeral and graveside burial service for fallen Scott County Sheriff’s Deputy Caleb Conley on June 1, 2023, in Georgetown and Cynthiana, Kentucky. The funeral, which was held at the Scott County High School gymnasium in Georgetown, preceded a procession to the Battle Grove cemetery in Cynthiana where a burial service was held. Conley was killed while conducting a routine traffic stop May 22, 2023, on I-75 outside Georgetown.
Tara Gray plays pool at Hillbillies Restaurant Friday, June 2, 2023, on Highway 27 in Kelat, KY. Hillbillies opened in the same building as a prior bar, named Drunken Monkey, once operated. Manager Diane Christenson brought the restaurant to life to follow her passion as a chef, but the restaurant also serves as a bar, with late hours of operation and pool tables. "I don't drink alcohol," Christenson said. "I guess that is kind of funny to open a bar when you don't like alcohol. I understand I need the alcohol to bring people to my food."
Elizabeth Aud works the ticket booth on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at the Harrison County Fair in Cynthiana, KY. Aud is from Owensboro, KY, and she has worked and traveled with Casey’s Rides, which is based in Utica, KY, for 21 years. While she works in the ticket booth, she cares for her boss’s dog, Marley.
Brothers Levi and Dawson Price jump on the trampoline outside their family's rural home in Berry, KY. The Price family moved from Falmouth, KY, with young parents Brenna and Ernie purchasing a home for $10,000 by the Berry Cemetery. "I wouldn't mind moving into a town," Brenna said. "The boys could have more friends. But Ernie would die before being in town. He likes the space, and it really brings the boys closer. We do love it here, even if its not the typical path."
Freddy Riickert tends to his apple trees and next to his and his wife Velma's home on Salem Pike outside Cynthiana, KY, on Monday, May 29, 2023. Freddy and Velma planted the first apple tree in the field in 1978 after moving to the property in 1976.
Chris Cooper works Friday, June 16, 2023, at Riverview Meat Company in Cynthiana, KY. The Riverview Meat Company processes meat for private customers, as well as for a retail storefront. On Fridays, the company hosts a cookout, where customers can buy freshly-cooked hamburgers, hot dogs, and other food. "This job comes with moral challenges, you know," Chris Cooper said, standing in the break room. "I run a side business processing deer meat privately." A Muslim family asked Cooper to process meat, and Cooper consulted his preacher. "He asked me whether I was doing it to put food on my table or to glorify their God." Cooper decided not to, just to be safe.
Levi Price (right) and Dawson Price (left) are given by bath by their mother Brenna Price on Thursday, July 6, 2023, in Berry, KY.
Employees and high school bowling teammates Michael Dampier (right) and Mark Richardson (left) watch the news behind the concessions counter before the Senior Bowling League on Monday, July 24, 2023, at Galactic Alley in Cynthiana, KY.
Mark Shelton sits for a portrait in the office of Randy’s Odd Jobs Recycling Center in Cynthiana, KY, on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Shelton worked at the center for years before retiring, and he still comes during the day to stay active and “in the know.” The center was founded after the floods of 1997, when owner Randy Northcutt saw an opportunity with the property to help with the massive cleanup efforts by amassing and transferring scrap metal and other recyclable goods.
Juan Martinez works to house tobacco on Thursday, July 27, 2023, at the Yazel farm in Berry, KY. Antonio Martinez, Pedro Gonzales, and Juan Martinez are migrant farm workers, and they travel from Mexico to live and work on the Yazel farm for the majority of the year. They arrive in May and leave in December.
Flies swarm cows Wednesday, August 2, 2023, at Northcutt Farms in Berry, KY. Zack Turner believes this is the worst year for flies on his cattle in recent memory. He plans to dart the cows and inject a medicine which should protect them better from the flies, which most often irritate the eyes of the cattle.
Wilson Barnes, 15, shears a sheep Thursday, June 22, 2023, at the closed Sunrise Community School in Sunrise, KY. Wilson's family owns the old school building, and they have repurposed it as a place to raise their animals to keep it alive. Wilson was preparing to show sheep at the Pendleton County Fair later Thursday evening.
Johnnie Pulliam, 6, lays in the grass after being tackled by Collin Pulliam, 8, on Friday, June 23, 2023, in Sunrise, KY.
“The first thing I am going to do when she gets out is buy a new bed suit.” Larry Nickerson said Tuesday, July 4, 2023, in his apartment on Elm Street in Cynthiana, KY. Currently, he is waiting for his girlfriend of five years to be released from prison. He plans to provide her a drug-free and safe home.
Railroad tracks at sunset in Boyd, KY. Boyd was once a bustling railroad town, with several churches, a post office, and convenience stores. Now, only one church remains.
Employee Josh Warren sorts and crushes cardboard May 30, 2023, at Randy’s Odd Jobs Recycling Center in Cynthiana, Kentucky. Owner Randy Northcutt opened Randy’s Odd Jobs Recycling Center after the floods of 1997 after he saw potential in both the property and need for cleanup in the area.
From left to right: Juan Martinez, Antonio Martinez, and Pedro Gonzales eat tacos for lunch Thursday, July 27, 2023, at the Yazel Farm in Berry, KY. The men take turns cooking, with the other two using the time to call their families back home.
A horse-drawn carriage carries the coffin of fallen Scott County Sheriff’s Deputy Caleb Conley on June 1, 2023, at his burial service at Battle Grove Cemetery in Cynthiana, KY. Thousands of people from across Kentucky, including many police departments and first responders, attended the funeral and graveside burial service for fallen Scott County Sheriff’s Deputy Caleb Conley on June 1, 2023, in Georgetown and Cynthiana, KY. The funeral, which was held at the Scott County High School gymnasium in Georgetown, preceded a procession to the Battle Grove cemetery in Cynthiana where a burial service was held. Conley was killed while conducting a routine traffic stop May 22, 2023, on I-75 outside Georgetown.
Freddy Riickert tends to apple trees and farm in the field next to his and his wife Velma's home on Salem Pike outside Cynthiana, Kentucky on Monday, May 29, 2023. They planted the first apple tree in the field in 1978 after moving to the property in 1976. Currently, the field has multiple apple and pear trees, as well as a vegetable garden with rotating crops. Additionally, the Riickerts collect farm tractors which they refurbish to new condition.
Contestants rush a greased pig Friday, July 21, 2023, at the greased pig contests at the Harrison County Fair in Cynthiana, KY. A local pig is lathered in a mixture of grease and various other viscous liquids to make it slippery, and contestants attempt to tackle and hold the pig. The winner will have held the pig anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds. In the upper age groups, the contestants must take the pig back to the trailer.
Jerry Northcutt smokes a cigar at Hillbillies Restaurant Friday, June 2, 2023, on Highway 27 in Kelat, Kentucky. Hillbillies opened on Monday, May 29, 2023, in the building of the closed bar, Drunken Monkey. Manager Diane Christenson brought the restaurant to life to follow her passion as a chef, but the restaurant also serves as a bar, with late hours of operation and pool tables.
Roberto Trinidad sorts tobacco Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at Clifford Farms in Sunrise, KY. Trinidad is a seasonal farm worker, living in the United States for the majority of the year working on tobacco farms in Kentucky.
Customers drink and socialize at Hillbillies Restaurant Friday, June 2, 2023, on Highway 27 in Kelat, Kentucky. Hillbillies opened on Monday, May 29, 2023, in the building of the closed bar, Drunken Monkey. Manager Diane Christenson brought the restaurant to life to follow her passion as a chef, but the restaurant also serves as a bar, with late hours of operation and pool tables.
Madelyn Fryman pulls her bull back into its pen at the Harrison Veterinary Clinic. The Fryman family, including mother, Kassie, father, Donnie, and daughters Madelyn, 13, and Lilly, 7, of Harrison County brought in two cows to be seen Thursday, June 8, 2023, at the Harrison Veterinary Clinic in Cynthiana, KY. One cow needed a nose ring, and the other only needed a health certificate, requirements for the animals to be shown in competition.
Cash Smith (center) watches the competition Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Houdini Diesel Horsepower Showdown at the Harrison County Fairgrounds in Cynthiana, KY. The event brought competitors from across Kentucky to compete in both tractor and truck pulling contests. The trucks and tractors pull the sled for as far as they can, with the winner carrying it the furthest distance.
Calvin Neal (center) runs in an agility drill Monday, June 12, 2023, in Cynthiana, KY. The Harrison County High School Thoroughbreds football team practices at the Harrison County High School football facility on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with a dead period between June 21st and July 10th. The practices, which are voluntary, begin at 6 P.M. and conclude at 8 P.M. The first 30 minutes of practice are dedicated to weight training in the weight room, and the next 30 minutes is dedicated to various agility and strength drills. The practice concludes with offensive drives down the field against a live defense.
Allen Bryant works on a truck Tuesday, June 27, 2023, in Cynthiana, KY. The truck, which did not run, was purchased for a case of beer and $100.
Dawson Price, 3, (front) gets undressed while Asher Preston, 5, (left) and Levi Price, 6, (right) are cleaned off by hose after playing in the mud Monday, June 19, 2023, in Berry, KY. Levi Price, 6, Dawson Price, 3, Asher Preston, 5, Ryleigh Preston, 2, and Axton Moore, 1, who played in the backyard while Ernie fed the chickens, were all watched by Brenna Price, who runs a babysitting business out of her home. Brenna’s husband, Ernie Price, works at the Kentucky Department of Transportation.
Tony Gaunce (left) and Jesse Partin (right) approach a customers truck Tuesday, June 20, 2023, at Northfield Oil Company in Cynthiana, KY. The staff at the believe they are one of the last gas stations in Kentucky to still pump gas for customers.
Barry Collins works to remove any weed growths in the garden next to his son’s home Thursday, June 22, 2023, in Kelat, KY. Collins works in the garden early to avoid the extreme heat, as he struggles from COPD.
Sally, a sheep, walks around a former auditorium-like room Thursday, June 22, 2023, in the closed Sunrise school in Sunrise, KY. Greg Barnes’ mother purchased the school after its closing in the 1950s, and Barnes uses the building as storage and a farm-work area, working constantly to maintain it for history’s sake.
Robert Jones plays his guitar Friday, June 23, 2023, in Cynthiana, KY. Jones, who lives in an assisted living community, walks through town daily playing his guitar and greeting other people on the sidewalks.
Phillip Kincaid (left) and Sharon Boyd (right) take a break Monday, June 26, 2023, at the Kentucky’s Best cigarette production factory in Cynthiana, KY.
—Isidro Rueda works to pull weeds from a tobacco field Tuesday, June 27, 2023, at Clifford Farms in Sunrise, KY.
Amber Cummings helps Tailyn Caudill, 7, try on an altered pageant dress Friday, June 30, 2023, at AK Custom Alterations in Cynthiana, KY. Cummings is an Alaska native, who followed her then-husband home to Kentucky when his military station ended in Alaska.
Megan Muth shops for groceries with her daughter Annalee Muth on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, at the Save-A-Lot grocery store in Cynthiana, KY.
Journalist Kendall Staton covers the first day of school at the Harrison County Middle School on Thursday, August 10, 2023, for the Cynthiana Democrat in Cynthiana, KY. Staton is the 20-year-old Editor-in-Chief of the Cynthiana Democrat, originally from Russell, KY. She is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, and she wrote her first piece of journalism in February of 2022. Staton began her position at the Cynthiana Democrat in May of 2023 following the retirement of long-time editor Becky Barnes. On the first day of school, Kendall had to introduce herself to all of the principals as well as figure out her way around the hallways as she had never been in them before.
Raelynne Beamon, 1, stands in the front yard of Tiffany Wynn’s home on Delta Court while Lola Beth Cole rides her bicycle in the street on Friday, July 7, 2023, in Cynthiana, KY.
Velma and Freddie Riickert prepare for a visit from family members Thursday, July 13, 2023, in Cynthiana, KY. The Riickerts, who live on Salem Pike, maintain their own apple tree farm, as well as a garden with various fruits and vegetables. Velma is a notable cook in the community, and she shares handwritten recipes often, including recipes originally created and recorded by her mother almost 100 years ago.
Trent Evans holds his 3-week-old son, Charlie Evans, on Monday, July 17, 2023, at the tractor and truck pull during the Harrison County Fair in Cynthiana, KY.
Steve Ewalt works at Ewalt Jewelers on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Cynthiana, KY. Ewalt purchased the business which was formerly known as Whalen Jewelers. The building recently suffered water damage and partial flood. Ewalt is using the reorganization phase as a time to remodel the store, which he hopes to use as a display for the various antique and collectible items he has amassed over the years.
Antonio Martinez tops tobacco, which is the stage of the process where the flower is removed from the plant, on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at the Yazel Farm in Berry, KY. Martinez is a migrant farm worker, splitting his time between the Berry farm and home in Mexico.
Kali Baldidge plays with her cat Dusty while Chrissy Kiskaden packs up her things and moves out Friday, August 4, 2023, on Elm Street in Cynthiana, KY. Kiskaden split a Northcutt apartment with her two sisters. Kiskaden lost her kids back to their father after a home check several months ago, and she says her living situation has not improved. She got into an argument with one of her sisters over activities occurring in the home, and it ended with Kiskaden agreeing to move out. She plans to first go to Carlisle, KY, where she will sleep on the couch of a friend. The apartments on Elm Street are primarily owned by Randy Northcutt. Kiskaden and her sisters pay $600 monthly for their unit, which has three rooms, with curtains in the entryway instead of doors, and one bathroom. A kitchen and dining area serves as the center of the unit. Their rent is due on the first of every month, and, if rent is not paid by the fifth, a seven-day eviction notice is posted on the door. Kiskaden and her sisters pay their rent in cash at Randy’s Odd Jobs Recycling Center. Kali Baldidge lives next door to Kiskaden, and she sees Kiskaden as one of her best friends. While Kiskaden packed, Baldidge roamed through the apartment and played outside. Kiskaden only told Baldidge that she was going for a while.
Chrissy Kiskaden packs up her things and moves out Friday, August 4, 2023, on Elm Street in Cynthiana, KY. Kiskaden split a Northcutt apartment with her two sisters. Kiskaden lost her kids back to their father after a home check several months ago, and she says her living situation has not improved. She got into an argument with one of her sisters over activities occurring in the home, and it ended with Kiskaden agreeing to move out. She plans to first go to Carlisle, KY, where she will sleep on the couch of a friend. The apartments on Elm Street are primarily owned by Randy Northcutt. Kiskaden and her sisters pay $600 monthly for their unit, which has three rooms, with curtains in the entryway instead of doors, and one bathroom. A kitchen and dining area serves as the center of the unit. Their rent is due on the first of every month, and, if rent is not paid by the fifth, a seven-day eviction notice is posted on the door. Kiskaden and her sisters pay their rent in cash at Randy’s Odd Jobs Recycling Center.
“Somebody else got those cans,” Fryman said. “They’re always stealing everything.” Fryman was told cans were left in bags for him outside his storage unit next to a dumpster, but they were nowhere to be found.
