Leslie County is a small, rural community in Southeastern Kentucky. It is located two hours southeast of Lexington, Kentucky in the Appalachian Mountains. Its population is just under 12,000. Coal and lumber companies are major employers in the county as well as the local school board, county government, and the Frontier Nursing Service, a local health care provider that has been in Leslie County over 80 years.
Leslie County is rich in culture, history, and beauty. The beauty of the mountains, trails, and river is unsurpassed and the raw talent is evident in many Leslie County families that either play or sing Bluegrass music. A new school, the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music, opened in the Fall of 2007 to help students enhance their musical abilities and to be able to make a living from their talents.
Founder of the Frontier Nursing Service and renowned nurse-midwife Mary Breckinridge, Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Sergeant Willie Sandlin, and legendary Bluegrass musicians The Osborne Brothers all called Leslie County home at one time.
The Daniel Boone Trails, a new ATV trail system, located on Rockhouse Creek of Leslie County invite ATVs, horses, bikes, and hikers to enjoy the beautiful scenery and to view one of the largest elk herds in Kentucky.
Among this beauty and culture though needs are many and resources are relatively few. The Appalachian Regional Commission has labeled Leslie County a distressed county based on its unemployment rates, per capita income, and poverty rate. A distressed county is in the worst 10% of counties economically in the nation. Approximately 37% of Leslie County children live in poverty, which is more than double the national average. 75% of children participate in a free or reduced cost meal program. The median household income in 2003 was $21,163. 12% of our children have urgent dental needs, while the statewide average is only 3.9%. Additionally, levels of obesity in Leslie County children are double the national average. COLLY continues to work diligently to provide improved opportunities for the children of Leslie County.
February 12
