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Giving to Those Who Gave
Veterans Cemetery proving ground for female caretaker
Submitted by Lisa Aug, Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs
 Bonnie Rose likes to work outside, and can’t stand being idle.
A lifelong farmer, she has experience doing grounds work at a golf course and maintaining the graves in her family graveyard. So working as a caretaker at Kentucky’s newest State Veterans Cemetery in Greenup County is a perfect fit.
“I think this place should look as well cared for as your yard,” Rose says. “Every time we bury somebody, I’ve got to make it look like it was one of my family.”
Rose is the only female caretaker among the 12 caretakers who work at Kentucky’s four State Veterans Cemeteries, and one of the few at state or federal cemeteries nationwide. But she shrugs at that distinction. She does every kind of work the men do.
“I really like it all,” she says. “As long as I’m outside, I’m satisfied.”
Caretaker work at the cemetery includes mowing, weeding, planting, building structures like the new Memorial Garden, leaf-blowing, and even kitchen cleaning in bad weather. They must straighten and re-adjust all headstones periodically to ensure they remain straight and true in perfect lines.
“People don’t realize the work that goes into the cemetery to keep it looking good,” Rose says.
But the priority work is, of course, interring veterans.
“Mowing is right up my alley,” Rose says, but the burials remind her of the recent death of her mother. A brick with Mrs. Rose’s name on it will be the first in the Memorial Walk Rose is helping build. “Somebody has to do it, but I don’t like to see people die. You take the bitter with the sweet.”
Nor do the burials wait on good weather. Boiling heat, freezing cold, thunderstorms – nothing stops burial work, which must be finished two hours after the funeral service, regardless of conditions.
“We had to bury someone during an electrical storm,” Rose remembers. “I was worried about picking up the (metal) tools. But no matter the weather, we have to be out here.”
Burial work begins early the day of the funeral service with digging the grave. This is precision work, as graves must line up closely in exact rows, according to the National Cemetery Administration’s perfectionist standards. Walls must be rod-straight and barely wider than the casket, the bottom un-tilted and deep enough for two caskets to accommodate a spouse.
After the service, Rose and her fellow caretakers, Derek Sizemore and Mark Terry, load the flower arrangements into a cart, and then transport them and the casket from the Committal Shelter to the gravesite. There, the caretakers lower the casket slowly by hand into the grave, making numerous adjustments to keep the casket level and equidistant from the walls. A front-end loader fills the grave with soil, which the caretakers rake even and smooth, then press down with a mechanical compressor in multiple stages. When the soil is level with the ground, they sow grass seed and cover it with straw then place the flower arrangements.
It’s hard work to take pride in, ensuring Kentucky’s veterans have a secure, dignified resting place. For Bonnie Rose, it’s also work to enjoy.
“I’ll always be the last to let them down,” she says with a smile.
Since Kentucky Veterans Cemetery North East opened in October 2010, Rose, Sizemore and Terry have interred 92 veterans and dependents, including one active-duty soldier killed in Afghanistan.
Read more about KDVA, including details about our veterans' cemeteries, at http://veterans.ky.gov.
Firefighters Return Home from Georgia
KDF firefighters at the Sweat Farm Again Fire located in southeastern Georgia
KDF firefighters at the Espanola Fire in northeastern Florida
A crew of 11 firefighters from the Kentucky Division of Forestry (KDF) returned home from Georgia over the July 16 weekend after much needed rainfall helped quell wildfires that had started in early June. The crew was assisting with the Sweat Farm Again Fire located in southeastern Georgia near the Okefenokee Swamp when wet weather finally arrived.
KDF firefighters from two separate crews spent nearly a month fighting the massive fire that burned more than 19,169 acres. Fire crews from more than 47 states assisted the Georgia Forestry Commission and the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in this fire suppression effort.
KDF provided the assistance to Georgia through the Southeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact. The compact includes 10 states and provides firefighting assistance to members in times of need. Member states agree to assist each other to the extent possible, dependent upon their own state’s fire status. Personnel who volunteer for compact detail are generally assigned to an area for 14 days and the state providing the assistance is reimbursed for all personnel and equipment costs.
For more information about wildland fire and prevention efforts, contact the Kentucky Division of Forestry at 502-564-4496 or visit forestry.ky.gov.
Kentucky Horse Park Welcomes Newest Employee, White Prince
Submitted by Cindy Rullman, Kentucky Horse Park
 White Prince is an extremely rare white Thoroughbred. In fact, as late as the 1960s, there were no white Thoroughbreds registered with the Jockey Club. Now, he is one of only a couple dozen registered white Thoroughbreds in the world. He is a 3-year-old who arrived at the Kentucky Horse Park on June 22 to take up duties in the Breeds Barn. The announcement of his arrival at the park has generated a lot of enthusiasm in the media and among the park’s visitors, and he has already received more than 1,000 hits on the park’s website as well as hundreds of “likes” on their facebook page. His job at the Breeds Barn will be to represent Thoroughbreds in the daily Parade of Breed Shows. White Prince was donated to the Kentucky Horse Park by his breeder, Warren Rosenthal, whose Patchen Wilkes Farm in Lexington is thought to have produced more white Thoroughbreds than any other farm in the world. White Prince is an affable fellow whose warm personality and engaging good looks have already made him popular among his co-workers and park visitors.
Opportunities to Grow
 The opportunity to continue to grow and develop through training is one of the most important factors in maintaining your self-motivation toward career progression that will benefit both you and your agency.
When you think about employee training and development, options do exist internally. Most employees appreciate the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills and many resources are available without ever having to leave the workplace. Choices range from online courses, podcasts and classroom offerings to quick resource guides.
In February 2008, the Governmental Services Center (GSC) implemented a Needs Assessment team. The team’s intent was to rediscover, define and validate our customers’ training needs across the executive branch of government. It was important to become more strategic in how we work on, and especially important, who we work with to clarify our direction.
The results of the assessment determined that five overarching themes existed: fundamental supervisory skills, workplace compliance issues, computer classes, leadership skills and employee development.
To date, GSC has developed multiple offerings to meet the needs identified in the assessment of our executive branch employees to include:
- Four modules to train supervisors and managers in merit system law.
- Leadership podcasts that may be accessed at anytime through GSC’s website.
- Eleven online classes in the areas of Anti-harassment, Workplace Violence, Executive Branch Ethics, Americans with Disabilities Act, Family & Medical Leave Act, Time & Attendance Basics, Effective Meetings, Fundamentals of Safety, and Spanish Basics.
In recent months, GSC has created several new opportunities. One of our most recent offerings addresses personal accountability. Being accountable is about figuring out how you can make things better. Other's actions and events aren't in your control, but your response to these situations and events is completely in your control. You can choose to be 100 percent accountable and responsible for your response. Topics covered are defining personal accountability, overcoming barriers of personal accountability, accountability assessment, and personal action plan. This is a half-day workshop.
Our newest online offering addresses the value of employee input. Your employees can be a valuable resource for improving and strengthening your organization. This module will cover the benefits of employee input, ways to encourage employees to share ideas and suggestions, methods to effectively solicit input, and how to provide positive feedback to employee input. The intended audience is supervisors, and the estimated time to complete this course is two hours. This online course is available through KYTrain.
Please contact your agency training liaison for additional information regarding enrollment for all of our offerings.
GSC is continuously working to provide additional resources for you. Take a few minutes and visit us to see available opportunities at the Personnel Cabinet's website - GSC homepage.
Parenting Resources and Tips
 We sometimes feel stressed on the job, but how about the pressure that comes from the BIG job – parenting? The rewards and challenges of parenting in today’s world is a topic that touches us all. Creating a happy and healthy environment takes effort, time and energy. The demands of parenting may also impact us at work, so it helps to have as many resources as possible. To get more information on resources for parents, click here (PDF - 131 KB) or speak directly to a KEAP staff member by calling 1-800-445-5327.
'Spare Time' Successes
Shipley Drives the Wheels of Success
Submitted by Jeff Barr, Personnel Cabinet
 Teresa Shipley is a quiet and hard-working employee who is full of spirit and adventure after 21 years in state government. She works smart and hard in the Enrollment Information Branch in the Personnel Cabinet’s Department of Employee Insurance. Shipley never leaves until her job is done. This devoted worker has won several service awards over the years.
She is also a devoted motorcycle rider. There are many motorcycle enthusiasts in the US today. According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, a trade group, it is estimated 43 percent of motorcycle riders are baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964. Shipley is one of them, riding a motorized trike, which is becoming more and more popular. This is a type of motorcycle that has a third wheel and is generally considered safer than traditional motorcycles. The trike provides more stability and is easier to stop at traffic lights.
Shipley began riding about three years ago for entertainment and relaxation. She stated, "It is an excellent stress reliever.” She has traveled to many states including New York, Ohio and Florida with her family, including her parents, who are still riding with her in their 70’s.
Shipley is hoping to help sponsor a fund-raiser and believes that this is the beginning of many charitable causes that she and her fellow riders hope to raise for various charities.
“It is nice working a great job and having a hobby to take to the road and enjoy the beautiful countryside,” she said.
Not only has she made a great difference in the efficiency of state government, but she has the desire to excel which has also allowed her to meet all kinds of adventurous challenges whether on a motorcycle trike or serving others in the Commonwealth.
Submit Your 'Spare Time' Success Story
State employees do amazing things at work and away from work. Please submit your "Spare Time" Success Story, along with a photo of yourself (if you wish), to Tina.Goodmann@ky.gov so that it may be shared with your fellow state employees in a future edition of the Kentucky Employee Connection.
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