Freedom Realty and Property Management partnered with The Winchester Sun to sponsor an essay contest asking students from every school “Why do you love living in Clark County?”

Josh Wood, associate broker with Freedom, said people looking to move to Clark County ask Freedom all the time about what’s available to do for kids.

“We thought it would be great to actually have kids’ perspectives from here in Clark County,” Wood said. “We learned a lot from all of the returned essays and look forward to sharing them with the future families we work with.”

The winners from each school were presented a cash prize and certificate.

George Rogers Clark

First place: Haley Snell

Second place: Carter Lowe

Third place: Jordan Merriman

Campbell Junior High

First place: Kaitlynn Brown

Second place: Allie Endricks

Baker Intermediate

First place: Heiraelle Osborne

Second place: Kilee Harrison

Third place: Jonah Doss

Third place: Avien Haddix

Strode Station

First place: Addie Zak

Second place: Olivia Stiles

Third place: Colton Duncan

Justice Elementary

First place: Brendan Howie

Shearer Elementary

First place: Wyatt Jackson

Second place: Eliana Davies

Third place: Charlie Craig

Third place: Scotty Mitchell

Read the essays below.

Have you every been to Clark County? You shod come. everybody is welcome.

I like the Beer cheese Festival. It is fun because there are games and good. You can try a bunch of NEW BEER CHEESE!!!

I also love Wesley Woods because it has canoe rides. You get to sleep OVER NIHGT!!! Sometimes you get to go fishing with your counselor ad CITS.

I also love the Pioneer Festival. It has a bunch of stuff for you to get. There is really good food!!!

You shod go to Wesley Woodss. The Beer chesse Festival, and the Pioneer Festival.

Addie Zak

Strode Station

Let me tell you the story of how I got to Winchester, Ky. Since I was a baby, I lived in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Last summer I moved to Richmond Ky. I had fun and Kentucky was great, but the best place to live is Winchester Ky. Clark County is very beautiful and people are friendly. Clark County is beautiful because it has so many colorful colored flowers. One of the best views is at the Red River Gorge Geological area. We have a beautiful home with a great school nearby. Even though I transferred to Justice elementary so close to the end of the school year, everyone was still very welcoming. I have only been in Winchester for about one month and I already know that I live in the best county ever.

Brendan Howie

Strode Station

Winchester, Kentucky. A place that has served as my home for eight years. In those eight years, I have ventured out from the Bypass and found some of the places that make living here interesting. I love to hike at Hall’s On The River, eat at JK’s Cafe, and shop at Dirty South Pottery. People who complain that Winchester is a boring place to live haven’t dove in and found the things that make Winchester unique.

Winchester tends to get overshadowed by its next door neighbor, Lexington, who happens to be the horse capital of the world. Lexington might have more chain restaurants and cooperate stores than Winchester, but that doesn’t change the fact that traffic in Lexington is horrible, and the price of living is high. Here in Winchester, you can drive to Walmart from almost any point in town in 10 minutes and you can also get better real estate value. Living in Winchester gives me the best of both worlds. I can enjoy the peace and beauty of the farm lands here, yet be close enough drive to the city luxuries that Lexington offers.

As much as I love shopping at Target, or eating at Chipotle, I love to dine and shop at local businesses even more here in Winchester. Shopping and eating in downtown Winchester, where many businesses are owned by residents here, is one of my hobbies. Not only is it exciting to try out new, local shops, it helps to build a stronger economy here in Winchester. Every dollar that is spent at local business goes right back into the community, something that large chain stores can not provide.

There is always a more personal feel to living in a smaller town like Winchester. When I take my dog for a walk on Saturday mornings, I know I’m going to get a “good morning!” from the elderly couple on their morning stroll, and a wave from the guy on the corner mowing his lawn. When I take yoga classes at the community recreation and fitness center, I know my former elementary school teacher will be there to greet me as the yoga instructor. Living in a small town, everybody knows everybody, and if you don’t know them, they probably know your grandma.

Keeping with the personal feel of a small town, here in Winchester, if one family or neighbor is hurting, the community is there to rally right behind them. Tragedies happen, and although they are heartbreaking, it can bring the community together. For example, just last year here in Clark County, a student at the middle school was diagnosed with Leukemia and had to undergo chemotherapy. People in Winchester were devastated, but sprang into action by selling t-shirts with the logo #fearless to help his family pay for medical expenses. Here in Winchester, you will find a community of close knit people always ready to have your back. A community so close together is often hard to find, so I’m pretty lucky to live in Winchester.“Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they are always glad you came. You want to be where you can see, the troubles are all the same. You want to be where everybody knows your name. This is from the theme song from the television show ‘Cheers’ and I thought it summed up what living in Winchester feels like. I love living in Winchester because everyone knows my name, and I know members of my community support me and I will support them. I feel safe and loved here, and I couldn’t imagine growing up in a town any different than Winchester, Kentucky.

Haley Snell

GRC

I love living in Clark County because of the factories, sports, parks, festivals, parades and a whole lot more.

Clark County feels welcoming. The parks are safe and clean. My favorite parks are Lykins Parks and College Park. Every year at Lykins, on the 4th of July, they set off fireworks. My favorite part about College Park is the pool! If you get a chance come to this pool, it’s AMAZING!

Clark County has festivals EVERYWHERE! They have the Beer Cheese Festival, Pioneer Festival and more! My favorite part is the hometown feeling when I go downtown. The festivals is what what makes Clark County, CLARK COUNTY. Come to the festivals, there is a lot to explore!

Sip! Sip! Gulp! This is the sound we make when we drink a refreshing, tasty, yummy … your probably thinking get to the point! Well this is the sound of an Ale-8.

Ale-8 is also know a Winchester Swamp water! The one and only Ale-8 company is located here in Clark County. How Amazing Right? Try it you’ll love it!

My Next FAVORITE thing about Clark County is the people. Everyone here is AMAZING or you might say humazing. Ha ha cringy, I know. Here in Clark County not many people are mean. We always have smiles on our face. For the most part, we are kind to each other. We are family.

These are reasons I LOVE Clark County. If you don’t live here, YOU NEED TO COME! It’s a nice place to stay and a WONDERFUL place to live. Clark County is AWSOME. Come visit us one day.

Heiraelle Osborne

Baker Intermediate School

Coming to a new city is harsh and nerve wrecking when you don’t know anyone. Four years ago my family decided to move to Winchester to start a new beginning. As a family, we didn’t think living in such a small town could impact us for the better the way it did. My life has changed for the better since we relocated. Winchester is the f1nest place to call home.

Everyone loves a good get together; that is my favorite thing about Winchester.

We have so many great parades including Beer Cheese Festival, Pioneer Festival, and street dances.

Each one has their own way of bringing everyone together as a community.

All have amazing music and enjoyable food.

I really like walking with my family to see all the painted murals on the walls everywhere around town, they give off a uplifting vibe to everyone around.

These times are the best; it is always a thrill to spend time with the people you love and appreciate.

The very f1rst thing I noticed when I moved here was the polite and thoughtful people.

Everyone was so welcoming and made me feel important, from my neighbors to the bank lady who I only saw once a week. This town really is an astounding place to be, and people here have taught me to always be kind and respect everyone you come across no matter the circumstances.

My desire in life is to stay positive and successful as an adult. Living in Winchester has given me more than enough opportunities to accomplish everything I have wanted.

As a teenager, I take an interest in many sports. Coming here not knowing if i would be able to do my favorite thing worried me, but I soon realized that there are ma ny different sport teams i can choose from. Playing sports for Winchester has had many benef1ts for me not only by being active but also sportsmanship. I always have a blast when playing. I really like to challenge myself when competing with other people my age.

Winchester is a small town but f1lled with joy and great ways to decide how you want to live your life. I am pleased my family decided to move here. It is unpredictable on how many opportunities I could have missed out on and how many spectacular individuals I would’ve never met. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I am so fortunate to call Winchester my home.

Kaitlynn Brown

RDC

Do you like to watch and be part of amazing sporting events, eat great food, and to experience fabulous festivals? Well if so…Winchester could be a perfect small town for you. Winchester has so many great community events and healthy active things to do. Let me tell you why I love growing up in Winchester!

As a kid, I love both playing sports and watching sports. Here in Winchester it is easy to do both. We have active soccer leagues like WSYL and FC Kentucky, and basketball leagues like Upwards and Civitan. The Upwards Basketball league has over 900 kids that participate each season. That is pretty amazing! But that’s not all. There are also active little league baseball and football programs that have huge followings. For kids, there are so many healthy lifestyle options to choose from. And, if sports are not your thing, there are other clubs to be part of such as 4H and Scouts.

My grandfather is a farmer, so I have always loved going to the farmer’s market and getting super fresh food. The Winchester Farmers Market is so cool because there are always interesting things there that you may not expect. Besides things like corn and tomatoes you can get candy, herbs, honey and other things too. We also have some awesome restaurants like Engine House Deli, Giovannis, Woody’s, and Sir Pizza. If you like Mexican food, there is Don Senor’s and Puetta Grande. If you like Chinese food, there is The Great Wall and Jade Garden. These are some of my personal favorites. I also need to mention that Winchester is the home of . Ale-8. Our own local soft drink that is world famous!

Now, Ale-8 doesn’t have its own festival yet, but beer cheese does. Winchester is known for Beer Cheese and everyone knows it because there is a Beer Cheese Festival. Winchester’s festivals are fabulous because so many people visit our town and get to enjoy our local specialties and history. The Beer Cheese Festival is in June and it’s a pretty “cheesy” event that even has a 5K race called “The Big Cheesy”. I think it is worth signing up for the race just to get the cool t shirt. The Daniel Boone Pioneer Festival is in September and it celebrates the interesting history that Winchester and Clark County share about famous pioneers like Daniel Boone. Winchester also has other great community events like parades and smaller local events too. The Christmas Parade is so much fun because main street is lined with lots of people and there is a great spirit in the air. But I also love the events like Rock the Block, the Scarecrow ‘”Festival, and the Homecoming Parade. It’s fun to be part of a small town that has fun together.

So, growing up in Winchester is pretty special. It is a smaller, more personal town than Lexington, but a bigger and cooler town than Mt. Sterling. (Just kidding) Small towns are amazing because almost anywhere you go, you see people you know. It means that going to the grocery can be fun because I will see a few friends from my soccer team. When I go to the Farmer’s market, I usually run into a teacher or a friend from church. And, as sign up for the Big Cheesy 5K, there will be people that I know running or walking beside me.

Winchester has it all packed into a small town- amazing sporting events, great food and soft drinks, and fabulous festivals throughout the year. These are a few reasons that I love Winchester!

Wyatt Jackson

Shearer