Beattyville, Kentucky

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Coordinates: 37°34′38″N 83°42′35″W / 37.57722, -83.70972
Beattyville, Kentucky
Location of Beattyville, Kentucky
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
County	Lee
Area
- Total	2.0 sq mi (5.2 km²)
- Land	2.0 sq mi (5.2 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	669 ft (204 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	1,193
- Density	599.6/sq mi (231.5/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	41311
Area code(s)	606
FIPS code	21-04546
GNIS feature ID	0510486

Beattyville is a city in Lee County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,193 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lee County^[1].

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Education
4 Higher Education
5 Business and Industry
6 Healthcare
7 Utilities
8 Woolly Worm Festival
9 WLJC-TV/DT
10 References
11 External links

[edit] Geography

Beattyville is located at 37°34′38″N, 83°42′35″W (37.577299, -83.709776)^[2].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²), of which, 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²) of it is land and 0.50% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 1,193 people, 509 households, and 294 families residing in the city. The population density was 599.6 people per square mile (231.5/km²). There were 561 housing units at an average density of 282.0/sq mi (108.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.99% White, 0.42% African American, 0.42% Asian, and 0.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.25% of the population.

There were 509 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.8% were married couples living together, 23.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 39.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 24.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 69.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 63.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $12,336, and the median income for a family was $21,181. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,850. About 39.1% of families and 41.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.7% of those under age 18 and 33.0% of those age 65 or over.

Beattyville is located at the confluence of the North, Middle and South forks of the Kentucky River, which meets the Ohio River at Carrollton.

[edit] Education

Beattyville is served by the Lee County Public School System. There are 2 Elementary schools, Beattyville Elementary and Southside Elementary, 1 middle school, Lee County Middle School, 1 high school, Lee County High School, 1 alternative education school, Lee County Alternative Education School, and 1 career and technical education school, Lee County Area Technology Center. There are also 2 Board Of Education and Central Office Complex buildings. The website for the schools is http://wwww.lee.kyschools.us The schools have consistently ranked in the top half of all the schools in the state.

Two private schools serve the area as well. Beattyville Christian Academy and Grace Baptist Academy, although their student population is much lower than the public school system.

[edit] Higher Education

Although there are no higher education opportunities in Beattyville or Lee County, a number of the state and national leaders of education exist within a 60 mile drive.[1]

Hazard Community and Technical College, Lees College Campus, 18 Miles
Berea College, 32 Miles
Eastern Kentucky University, 34 Miles
National College, Richmond Branch, 34 Miles
Morehead State University, 44 Miles
Bluegrass Community and Technical College, 52 Miles
Transylvania University, 52 Miles
University of Kentucky, 52 Miles
Centre College, 59 Miles

[edit] Business and Industry

Major employers in Beattyville and Lee County include:

Lee Adjustment Center (a private medium security prison with 800 inmates from Kentucky and Vermont. Owned by Corrections Corporations of America.)
Three Forks Regional Jail (Multi-County Jail serving the central-east area of Kentucky including Powell County, Wolfe County, Owsley County, and Breathitt County.
Lion's Apparel, Inc (Factory that makes fire-fighting coats and trousers).
ACS, Affiliated Computer Systems (Data and transaction processing).
Lee County Public Schools, the largest employer in Beattyville.
Lee County Wood Products, (Sawmill)
Kentucky River Community Care (mental health facility serving the east Kentucky region.)
People's Exchange Bank, (Two bank locations in Beattyville).
Experience Works, Inc (non-profit organization and largest National grantee of Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) funds from the U.S. Department of Labor)

[edit] Healthcare

The area is seriously underserved in the areas of healthcare services. Beattyville has no hospital. Local facilities exist in Irvine (Marcum & Wallace Memorial Hospital), Jackson (Kentucky River Medical Center), Winchester (Clark Regional Hospital), Richmond (Pattie A Clay Hospital) and Lexington, where healthcare services are abound.

[edit] Utilities

Beattyville is served by Kentucky Utilities, while much of Lee County is served by Jackson Energy, based in McKee, Kentucky that serves south-central Kentucky. Licking Valley RECC serves Northern Lee County. Natural Gas is served by Columbia Gas of Kentucky and Delta Natural Gas Company. Two Water Services exist, Beattyville Water Works, serving the city and most of the county and Southside Water Association serving the southern and east parts of Lee County.

[edit] Woolly Worm Festival

Since 1987, during the third weekend of October, the Main Street of Beattyville is closed to traffic, as the annual Woolly Worm Festival begins setting up. For Three-Days, Friday-"Opening Day", Saturday-"Parade Day", and Sunday "Closing Day" (Which also has a large carshow) the 'Festival covers Main-Street.

The Festival is usually compared to a "Flea Market on Mainstreet", and that if you buy anything you can either "Eat it, or maim someone with it".

There is, however, a large amount of Musicians that perform almost constantly on one of two stages, some interesting food, and a Helicopter Tour of Lee County. There is also a few Award Ceremonies, and "Woolly Worm Races", which is won by coaxing one of these "Hairy Caterpillars" up a string, the first one to reach the top wins, with the only rule being "No Touching", there is usually a cash price for the winner.

Almost 20-years later, The Woolly Worm Festival still remains a popular event, attracting a pretty good amount of tourists, and plenty of locals. Beattyville is just a few minutes from Natural Bridge State Park (Kentucky), there is a "Small-Town atmosphere" in Beattyville, and the annual Carshow are a few reasons thought to be why it is such a popular event.

Because of the Festival, the Woolly Worm is usually associated with Beattyville, the "official" Woolly Worm Festival mascot is named "Woolly the Woolly Worm", he appears on some merchandise and flyers, and there is usually a round hay bale caricature of him beside a sign that says "Welcome To Beattyville", however, it is frequently the victim of arson.

The name "Woolly Worm" is actually the Woolly bear caterpillar

[edit] WLJC-TV/DT

WLJC-TV/DT, a television and radio station is headquartered in Beattyville. The channel is a Christian programming channel and is an affiliate of TBN, the Trinity Broadcasting Network. The station is carried through numerous local cable stations and DISH Network. The station however is not carried on DirecTV. Coverage is carried as far north as Georgetown and Cynthiana, Bardstown to the west, Whitley City to the south, and Pikeville to the east. The station is owned by Hour of Harvest, Inc.[2]