Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony Set

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Finance Cabinet spokeswoman Cindy Landham said Monday that Governor Steve Beshear's administration has opted not to follow the traditional route of issuing a public request for a donated official Christmas tree that state workers typically load aboard a truck and haul to Frankfort where it has, in years past, typically stood at the end of the lengthy walkway leading to the Capitol's front doors. Beshear chose to decorate an evergreen growing on the Capitol's front lawn. He is scheduled to lead the annual tree lighting ceremony on the front lawn of the Capitol on Thursday evening, when a crowd will gather around the spruce that already is sporting ornaments, including a huge star on top. The move is drawing kudos from environmentalists, including leaders of the forest protection group Heartwood.