Opuntia humifusa sensu stricto (Cactaceae): New to Kentucky (U.S.A.) and confirmed in the Unglaciated Appalachian Plateaus

A new population of Opuntia humifusa (Raf.) Raf. was found in Pike County, Kentucky. Consequent examination of other misidentified populations in Kentucky (Harlan and Pike counties) and West Virginia (Jackson County) provides the first known occurrences of Opuntia humifusa (sensu stricto) in Kentucky and a confirmed range extension into the Unglaciated Appalachian Plateaus Province.

Effie Waller Smith

Much of the biographical information about poet Effie Waller Smith comes from oral history. Smith’s parents were born into slavery. After their marriage, they settled in Pike County, Kentucky, in a racially mixed community. Effie’s family became financially secure, and she and her two siblings attended local segregated schools before progressing to the Kentucky Normal School for Colored Persons in Frankfort. All three became teachers....

The Survant Coal Member of the Linton Formation (Pennsylvanian) in Indiana

This study attempts to advance the understanding of the geometry of the Survant Coal Member of the Linton Formation (Pennsylvanian) in Indiana. We documented variability in the thickness and lateral extent of the coal beds present between the Mecca Quarry Shale Member of the Linton Formation and the Excello Shale Member of the Petersburg Formation—two transgressive traceable marine horizons. Our study was based on the detailed examination of 1,240 petroleum geophysical logs and coal test borehole logs throughout Indiana, and on previously collected data. The presence of multiple coal beds in the Survant Coal Member and variable thickness of the clastic partings create mapping challenges and difficulties in reliably evaluating coal resources, as well as stratigraphic uncertainties and confusion related to the nomenclature used for this coal. Because one to four coal beds occur between the Mecca Quarry Shale Member and the Excello Shale Member (namely, between the Colchester and Houchin Creek Coal Members of the Linton and Petersburg Formations), it is unclear which seams should be included in the Survant Coal Member. To better depict the complexity of the Survant Coal Member, we suggest that two additional locations be considered as reference sections. The first auxiliary reference section is Indiana Geological and Water Survey (formerly, Indiana Geological Survey) drill core SDH-366 (Petroleum Database Management System [PDMS] #150359) from Vanderburgh County (PDMS, 2018). This reference section represents the more southern part of Indiana where two coal benches are separated by a thick clastic interval. The second auxiliary reference section is drill core SDH-235 (PDMS #157302) in Greene County, representative of the central part Indiana where two distinct coal benches are separated by a relatively thin clastic parting. These two additional sections together with the current reference section (SDH-306 [PDMS #115871] located in Pike County in southern Indiana) capture the complexity of the Survant Coal Member more comprehensively than the current reference section alone. This study provides new data on the geometry of the coal beds within the Survant Coal Member that will allow more reliable future resource and reserve evaluation of this coal. In addition, we have also compiled information about mining, resources, and properties of this coal to provide a comprehensive reference for the Survant Coal Member in Indiana.

NEW EVIDENCE OF THE EARLIEST DOMESTIC DOGS IN THE AMERICAS

The domestication of dogs likely occurred in Eurasia by 16,000 years ago, and the initial peopling of the Americas potentially happened around the same time. Dogs were long thought to have accompanied the first migrations into the Americas, but conclusive evidence for Paleoindian dogs is lacking. In this study, the direct dating of two dogs from the Koster site (Greene County, Illinois) and a newly described dog from the Stilwell II site (Pike County, Illinois) to between 10,190 and 9,630 cal BP represents the earliest confirmed evidence of domestic dogs in the Americas and individual dog burials anywhere in the world. Analysis of these animals shows Early Archaic dogs were medium sized, lived active lifestyles, and exhibited significant morphological variation. Stable isotope analyses suggest diets dominated by terrestrial C3resources and substantial consumption of riverine fish.

Meeting the Learning Needs of Students

The Principals Excellence Program (PEP), a cohort-based professional development project for administrator certified practitioners, is one of 24 projects a cross the United States supported by federal funds from the No Child Left Behind legislation. The three-year program is conducted through a partnership between Pike County School District, a high-need rural system in Central Appalachia, and the University of Kentucky, located 150 miles away. A major goal for PEP is improved school leadership focused on enhanced student learning. Findings in this paper include inprogress evaluations of program impact toward (a) preparing school leaders to promote learning success for all, (b) engaging cohort members in authentic practice with mentor principals, (c) addressing high-stakes accountability issues, and (d) delivering effective leadership preparation. Perspectives from all stakeholder groups (i.e., cohort participants, mentor principals, district leaders, program instructors) are integrated to provide holistic assessment of PEP.

Overcoming Enslavement with Toil, Gunpowder, and Land

The town of New Philadelphia was situated on the western edge of Illinois, in Hadley Township and Pike County. The community was just 25 miles east of the Mississippi River and Hannibal, Missouri. New Philadelphia was the first town planned in advance, platted, and legally registered by an African American in the United States. Frank McWorter founded the town in 1836. He was born into slavery in South Carolina in 1777, purchased his freedom in 1819, and established New Philadelphia decades later. The town grew from the 1840s through the late 1800s as a multiracial community. New Philadelphia was located in a region riven by racial ideologies and strife. Competing factions of proslavery elements and abolitionists clashed in western Illinois and the neighboring slave state of Missouri in the antebellum decades. No incidents of racial violence were reported to have occurred within the town. African-American residents of the community worked to obtain land and produce agricultural commodities. Others provided services as blacksmiths and carpenters. Through these enterprises they worked to defy the structural racism of the region that was meant to channel resources and economic value away from them.