Holiday music in the library Dec. 13

ASHLAND, Ky. — Boyd County Public Library will celebrate the holiday season by hosting a series of free musical performances by area residents and groups.

The holiday concert series starts Monday and runs through Wednesday, Dec. 22, on weekdays. All performances are at the Main Branch, 1740 Central Ave., and start at either noon or 6 p.m. Each lasts 30-45 minutes. Cookies and drinks will be served. The dates and times are:

• Monday, Dec. 13, noon: Jackie Howard, 6 p.m.: Kelcie Wilburn

• Tuesday, Dec. 14, noon: South Ashland United Methodist Church Bell Choir, 6 p.m.: Paramount Arts Center Youth Chorus & Amber Ferguson Private Lesson Students

• Wednesday, Dec. 15, noon: Kelley’s Bridge

• Thursday, Dec. 16, noon: Ben Robinette, 6 p.m.: Ironton Jazz Ensemble

• Monday, Dec. 20, noon: All-Stars for Jesus, 6 p.m.: Carl Crooks

• Tuesday, Dec. 21, 6 p.m.: Velvet Spasm

There are still a few time slots remaining. To schedule, please contact Amanda Clark at (606) 329-0518, ext. 1140, or email: aclark@thebookplace.org.

Learn how to make a photo calendar

CATLETTSBURG, Ky. — A free class to teach people how to make a 2011 photo calendar on a computer will be held Wednesday, Dec. 15, at the Catlettsburg Branch of Boyd County Public Library.

There are two sessions from which to choose: 10:30 a.m. or 2 p.m. Each session will last about an hour and a half. Seating is limited to six at each session.

Participants can register online, at www.thebookplace.org, or by calling Amanda Clark at (606) 329-0518, ext. 1140.

The Catlettsburg Branch is located at 2704 Louisa St.

Participants must bring the photos they want to use on either a flash drive or memory card. Library staff will not be able to scan in photographs.

It is a good idea to bring more photos than you will actually need, in case some of them are not useable.

To learn more about this or other library programs, visit www.thebookplace.org

Portsmouth mayor out after vote

PORTSMOUTH (AP) — Officials say Portsmouth voters have decided to recall Mayor Jane Murray.

The Scioto County Board of Elections released the voting numbers Tuesday night. There were 1,978 votes cast to recall Murray, and 1,145 against the recall. The turnout was 26 percent.

Portsmouth City Council President David Malone is next in line for the post after the vote is certified.

BCPL hosting Twilight parties

ASHLAND, Ky. — Boyd County Public Library has two Twilight parties planned for teens this month.

The Dec. 14 Teen Tuesdays program includes a showing of “Eclipse,” the third film in the popular saga.

The monthly teen program starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Main Branch, 1740 Central Ave. The starting time is a half hour earlier than usual, due to the length of the movie. There will be movie-style refreshments. All area teens are welcome.

Saturday, Dec. 18, at 2 p.m. at the Summit Branch, there will a Twilight party, including Twilight trivia, games and refreshments. The Summit Branch is at 1016 Summit Road, across from Boyd County Middle School.

The Twilight movies are based on the popular book series by Stephenie Meyer in which a human, Bella, falls in love with Edward, a vampire.

Teen Tuesdays takes place the second Tuesday of each month during the school year. Most programs are planned by the Teen Library Council.

TLC is open to any teen interested in planning library programs and selecting materials for young adults. For more information on teen programs, contact Kellie Nunley at (606) 329-0518, ext. 1810, or knunley@thebookplace.org.

To learn more about library programs and services, visit the online branch at www.thebookplace.org

AK Steel chief calls for changes

COLUMBUS — Calling manufacturing “the engine of our economy,’’ AK Steel CEO James L. Wainscott called for changes designed to nearly double the percentage of manufacturing that accounts for America’s Gross Domestic Product.

Today, manufacturing represents about 12 percent of America’s GDP, said Wainscott, Chairman, President and CEO of AK Steel. He called for changes to boost the percentage to 20 percent by 2020.

“Twenty percent by 2020,’’ Wainscott said. “Not only does it have a nice ring to it but it would do wonders for our jobs, for Ohio and our country. It would be our industrial renaissance.’’

Wainscott made his comments during a Tuesday speech at the Ohio Statehouse to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association.

He noted that America is home to the greatest workforce and greatest innovators and said the key to Ohio’s future prosperity is continued growth in manufacturing.

Gov. Ted Strickland, who also addressed the group, echoed the sentiment.

“America and Ohio must be places where we make things and produce things,’’ Strickland said, ‘’and nobody does that better than Ohioans and Ohio’s great companies.’’

To continue to grow manufacturing, Wainscott said, “We cannot and should not have to compete with foreign governments, which is what we are doing today.’’

To level the playing field, Wainscott called on American regulators to adopt a reasonable regulatory approach, “not one that strangles our global competitiveness,” and he urged enforcement of existing trade laws.

AK Steel is has been making steel in Ohio for 111 years. As a testament to Ohio’s innovation, Wainscott noted that the company broke ground earlier this year on its Middletown Works, the first dedicated research department in steel.

Continued research and innovation, like those employed by AK Steel, are helping Ohio’s manufacturers continue to adapt to global competition and are helping Ohio’s economy rebound, said OMA President Eric Burkland.

To understand the significance of Ohio’s manufacturers, it is important to see how they have adapted to changing markets and new technologies, Burkland said.

“Ohio’s innovators have provided the world with light and flight, tires with air, vacuum cleaners, premixed paints, rolled sheet steel, disposable diapers and  aluminum,’’ he said.  “Today, our innovators are making gears for windmills, state-of-the art medical equipment and coatings used by the military to better protect the underside of Humvees.’’

While Ohio has seen a decline in overall manufacturing jobs, manufacturing continues to be a major economic driver in Ohio, accounting for more than 600,000 Ohio jobs and making the  sector the state’s No. 1 supplier of non-government jobs. A recent study by Deloitte Consulting shows that Ohio remains a national leader in manufacturing.

The OMA was formed in 1910 in Parlor B of the Chittenden Hotel in Columbus, where 17 prominent Ohio manufacturers, responding to a letter of invitation from Colonel J. G. Battelle, gathered to form “an association of manufacturers.” The group adopted a Constitution “to promote the general welfare of productive industries in the State of Ohio” and “to keep prominently before the public the importance of such industries for the general prosperity of the State.”