About Madison County, KY

This year I am the chair of the Madison County Relay for Life and would appreciate your support. If your not familiar with the relay this is whats its all about.

Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society's signature event and is the largest community fund-raiser in the world. Because Relay for Life is about "a community that takes up the fight" it is not about being an athletic event...anyone and everyone can participate. Businesses, clubs, churches, families, friends, hospitals, schools and service organizations come together to support the Relay for Life. Some are Corporate sponsors, some form teams, others offer support in various ways to fight this vicious disease called cancer. Over 1500 came together at our 2007 Madison County Relay for Life with one purpose: to eliminate cancer.

The American Cancer Society's Madison County Relay For Life will be held June 20-21 starting at 6 p.m. on Friday night and ending at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning. It will be held in the back field and parking lot of Church on the Rock, located on U.S. 25 between Richmond and Berea. If you are interested in being a part of the fight against cancer please call me at 859-200-5235. The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life represents the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those battling cancer will be supported and that some day no one will have to hear those dreaded words "You have cancer."

What I plan to do is post the previous weeks market activity in Madison County. The snapshot will be of the numbers of single family residential homes on the market by area and sales activity.Now, Madison County is divided into 6 seperate areas. Berea & Richmond cities, and the county is in south east, south west, north east & north west. Draw a line across the county at Duncannon Lane, this divides north and south Madison County. Then I 75 divides the county east and west, thats not to complicated is it. So when you see SW you will know the area is west of the interstate and south of Duncannon Lane. Or if you see Berea you will know its in the city limits of Berea. The data comes from our Madison County MLS system. If there is anything you think I should include let me know and I will try to work it in.

Homes on the Market

• Berea 140
• Richmond 250
• NE 141
• NW 91
• SE 165
• 81

Sold

• Berea 0
• Richmond 3
• NE 3
• NW 1
• SE 5
• SW 1

Kentucky really did have some crazy twister hit the other night. A rare tornado and squall of storms that marched right across the whole state in the wee hours of the morning. In Richmond KY, I was aware of the storms but I didn't start to get alarmed till about 1:30 AM. I was still up and watching the radar. The last twister I was involved with was in 1974.

I made a few calls to alarm some other sleeping folks to go run for their lives! Believe me when you get a call after midnight you know it's trouble or someone has died. I could tell in their voices that I had scared the devil out of them and now they had to decide what to do, where to go and what to save.

What is really funny to me is that when I know it's going to hit I have to figure out just what to take with me to the basement. National news article

What would I think was valuable?

Here's what I took with me:

Chanel(my dog), both sets of car keys, checkbooks and credit cards, my client file & notes, laptop with the Sprint

air-card(so I could stay up on the weather radar, a few extra clothes, coat and shoes(I once went through a

tornado and all I had were the clothes on my back, believe me I want some clothes this time), bottle of water

(later went back up to get a banana in case I got hungry), flashlight and the last thing I picked up was a video

of my Dad(the only one I have). Funny, out of everything I have this video and Chanel was what I thought I could not replace.

The house popped, cracked and groaned. I could hear the wind slamming rain against the French doors. I knew it would be scary to listen to all this upstairs. The basement is usually fairly soundproof. Chanel had already vanished to a spot somewhere under the bed.

Well...we waited the storm out and finally after about 3 AM, I went up to see if the upstairs was still there. About all the wind had done was knock over a chair on the deck and move my grill sideways 10 feet. Nothing happened this time.

I found out today that others were not so lucky. Over 50 people died as a result of these storms.

Please be sure to always take these tornado warnings seriously and have plenty of home insurance!!

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Lizette Fitzpatrick - Baby Boomer Real Estate Relocation Specialist with Prudential Don Foster in Richmond, Kentucky.

Rated number #1 featured Kentucky Realtor® on Activerain.com and Localism.com. Publisher/Author for the only Central Kentucky email newsletter on local real estate listings and sold properties, Kentucky relocation, local events, homeowner information and fun! For more information on Lizette, Kentucky Horse Farms, Prudential Don Foster, Madison County, Fayette County, Richmond or Lexington, Kentucky click on Lizette.us.

See for yourself what Lizette's extraordinary clients have to say about their Kentucky real estate experience.

The Bennett House Bed & Breakfast

Richmond KY's Little Biltmore

I grew up on the streets in Richmond Kentucky. We lived on the west end and I used to ride my bicycle to town. My Dad owned a Greyhound Station on Water Street that was totally interesting to hang out in. As I would leisurely ride my bike in the 1960's along Main Street, I would pass by some truly beautiful old historic homes. I would wonder what their lives were like and just who had lived there in the past.

One house that I truly loved to gaze upon was right across the First Christian Church on 419 West Main Street. Back then it was named Westover Terrace Antiques and owned by Mrs. Coy.

When it was built in 1891, it was known as the "Bennett Place" by Mrs. Elizabeth Chenault Bennett. The Cincinnati architect Samuel E. des Jardins built this one and several other historic homes in Richmond. The Queen Anne style one and a half story brick has Romanesque detailing, a high hipped slate roof complete with a domed turret, a balcony coved grand double door stained glass entrance. Open those doors to a sweeping cherry wrap around staircase that leads to the second story. Gleaming hardwood floors and eight fireplaces enhance the house that has original hand carved mantles and tiles.

Later, it was home many other members of the Bennett family until 1957 then sold to Nay and Farry Coy. Mrs. Coy owned the house till her death and Pam Jones Price inherited the house and sold it to Pat Vencill and Sharron Oxendine that established the Bennett House Bed & Breakfast.

Since 2000 the fabulous Bennett House Bed & Breakfast has been owned and operated by Richard and Rita Smart.

Fast forward to 2008 and out of town guests, locals friends and neighbors all enjoy a plethora of wonderful experiences in this historic Bed & Breakfast. Drawing upon skills as a professional home economist, Rita Smart has offered up a heaping helping of southern charm and hospitality. Her exquisite tastes in Southern décor and attention to detail complement the aroma of baking coming from the kitchen. Hungry guests wait patiently amid the fine antiques to sample the tasty food whether they are there for Saturday tea, private dinner or attending a little girl's tea party. Many are overnight guests that have enjoyed a good night's sleep in one of the bedrooms or suites and are now ready for breakfast.

The best compliment a good cook gets is when someone wants their recipe. I'm sure Rita has been asked many times for her culinary secrets gathered over the years. So much in fact, she finally put them all together in one place. Rita can now add "famous author" to her resume as she spends time at book signings promoting the Bennett House Cookbook: Kentucky Delights.

Come step back in time and take a moment to enjoy this historic "experience" we have in Richmond, Kentucky. Bennett House Bed & Breakfast, Share it with a good friend or two!

"Life is an experience, where you want to stay, it should be an experience. When you fix food for people...it's the experience." Rita Smart says with a smile.

Lizette Fitzpatrick - Broker of Lizette Realty in Richmond, Kentucky.

Rated number #1 featured Kentucky Realtor on Activerain.com and Localism.com. Publisher/Author for the only Central Kentucky email newsletter on local real estate listings and sold properties, Kentucky relocation, local events, homeowner information and fun! For more information on Lizette, Kentucky Horse Farms, Madison County, Fayette County, Richmond or Lexington, Kentucky click on Lizette.us.

See for yourself what Lizette's extraordinary clients have to say about their Kentucky real estate experience.