For more information:
• Downton Abbey

Producer: Paul Smith
Videographer: David Dampier
Audio: Roger Tremaine
Interviewer: Erin Milburn Lowry

From Kentucky to Downton Abbey

What's it like to land a role on a pop-culture sensation like Masterpiece's "Downton Abbey?" Lexington native Lucille Sharp made her debut on the Season Three opener as Miss Reed, the young maid to the American aristocrat Martha Levinson, played by guest star Shirley MacLaine. Kentucky Life caught up with Sharp while she was home for the holidays.

Sharp got her start in acting as a child in Lexington's own School for the Creative and Performing Arts. From fourth through tenth grade, she learned the fundamentals at SCAPA. Her talents took her to a fine-arts boarding high school in Interlochen, Michigan, and then overseas to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow.

As a student in Scotland she had plum roles in classic American stories. She played Abigail, the villain in the witch trial classic The Crucible at the York Theatre Royal. She played the doomed, tubercular wife of Edgar Allan Poe in the 2010 BBC documentary, Edgar Allan Poe: Love, Death, and Women.

The third season of "Downton Abbey" airs on Sundays, Jan. 8–Feb. 19, at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET, and on Thursdays, Jan. 12–Feb. 23, at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET2.

Producer: John Schroering

Our Town—Crittenden

Among the Kentucky communities struck during the tornado outbreak of March 2, 2012, was the Grant County town of Crittenden. Four people died in Crittenden as the tornado swept away homes and overturned cars and trucks.

The Harvesters subdivision was particularly hard hit, as was the McCardle horse farm, where two of the four fatalities occurred. Dozens were forced to seek shelter at Grant County High School.

In the aftermath, neighbors turned out to clear away debris and help for the survivors. We visit Crittenden to see how the rebuilding process is going.

Producer: Tom Bickel
Videographers: David Dampier, Frank Simkonis
Audio: Noel Depp

Northern Kentucky Forts

Cincinnati was never invaded by Confederate troops during the Civil War, but there was a time when the fear of invasion was real.

Volunteers and Union soldiers constructed rifle pits and earthwork fortifications along eight miles of hilltops in Northern Kentucky. Harper's Weekly wrote: "At the time we write Kirby Smith and the rebels he leads are reported to have fallen back to a place called Florence; whether with a view to 'skedaddle' back to rebeldom or to entice our troops out of their fortications remains to be seen."

Fort Mitchell, named for General Ormsby M. Mitchel (one "l" is correct), an astronomy professor at Cincinnati College, was built to protect the road from Lexington to Covington from Confederate invaders.

The Rebels made their move on Sept. 10, 1862, on Fort Mitchell. The Union soldiers had the upper hand, capturing 16 and killing two while losing four men themselves. The Confederates withdrew.

Fort Wright was named for General Horatio Wright, who led the building of earthworks that helped repel the Confederate attack.

For more information:
• Trent Altman's website

Producer: Valerie Trimble
Videographers: Angelic Phelps, Warren Mace, John Schroering, Prentice Walker
Audio: Brent Abshear, Noel Depp
Audio Post: Roger Tremaine
Editor: Jim Piston

Trent Altman

His words are few, but his vibrantly colored paintings speak volumes. Trent Altman, 35, of Louisville has made a name for himself in the world of art. Diagnosed with autism as a child, he began painting in his 20s. His work is known not only in the autism community, but in the fine art world as well.

He has sold his paintings and collages in fine art shows throughout the Eastern United States. He was also chosen in 2012 as one of eight international artists whose work is featured on a United Nations stamp promoting autism awareness.

Altman paints abstract pieces in acrylics and creates mixed media collages on canvas. "An Ocean Shore Sunset" shimmers with red, gold, and pink. "An Abstract Garden II," the artwork selected for the U.N.'s World Autism Awareness Day, glows with ruby red, green, and white.

Altman's mother, Jackie Marquette, an autism transition specialist, serves as his manager. His artist statement says: "His work displays an emphasis and commitment to the PROCESS of art making over and above the PRODUCT. Experiencing his work makes that abundantly clear. You can sense a freedom of expression, movement, energy and drive through the multiple methods of applying paint and collage materials."