FLEMINGSBURG — Fleming County elementary school students with perfect attendance can better enjoy their Summer with their new bicycles given by Fleming County Masonic Lodges.
The Fleming County organizations gave elementary students new bicycles for achieving perfect attendance at the end of the school year. In order to encourage students to stay in school, more than 80 bikes were given out, all of which were funded by the community.
Brian Bowling, Flemingsburg police chief and a member of the lodge, said the effort was brought on around two years ago by former Grand Master of the Kentucky Masons Cloyd Bumgardner. According to Bowling, each year the elected Grand Master performs a project that will benefit communities, usually projects that coincide with their own interests.
Cloyd, having an extensive background in the Pulaski County school system, wanted to reward kids for staying in school, believing it would mold children into better adults. For the past two years, Masons in Fleming County have given away bikes to students. Bowling said the program was made possible due to the collaborative effort of the Flemingsburg Lodge 112 and the Favorite Lodge 581 in Ewing.
Students received their bikes during their schools’ awards ceremonies which took place earlier in the month. Community outlook on the project is very positive, Bowling said, and the lodges plan to do the same project next year. On top of the bike give-away, the Flemingsburg Lodge also presented seven $500 scholarships for graduating seniors.
