EKB News

Government testing shows the brand of emergency air pack said to have failed at mine accidents in Kentucky and West Virginia can expose users to high levels of carbon dioxide and are prone to have damaged air hoses and other problems, according to a federal report obtained by The Associated Press. The most recent testing also found air packs made by Monroeville, Pa.-based CSE Corp. produces high breathing pressure. In combination with high carbon-dioxide levels, high breathing pressure can make the air packs far more difficult to use. The report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health also indicated that problems with damaged hoses and failed starter oxygen canisters got worse in the most recent tests. A spokesman for the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the chief federal mine regulator, said the agency aggressively inspects air packs and removes them from service if they are not in working order.

An Elkhorn man has been apprehended after threatening an officer. According to the arrest citation Trooper Derek Sturgill of the Kentucky State Police received a DUI complaint in the Jackson’s Branch area of Ashcamp. When Trooper Sturgill arrived the subject was found stuck in a ditch behind the wheel of the vehicle. The citation states that the subject, 62 year old Tommy Hylton had slurred speech and became disorderly while the Trooper was questioning him. The citation goes on to state that Hylton then allegedly pulled a knife on the officer and threatened to kill him allegedly saying he was going to “get him back”. Hylton was lodged at the Pike County detention center on charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, menacing and driving under the influence among other traffic violations. He remains lodged on a $10,000 full cash bond and is scheduled to appear again in court on December 18.

The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure has opened an investigation into whether a Magoffin County man who promoted online and foreign medical schools has broken any state laws, C. Lloyd Vest, an attorney for the board, said yesterday. Stephen J. Arnett, a former tombstone salesman and Free Will Baptist minister, promoted the St. Luke School of Medicine, an online school based in Liberia, from an address in Falcon, a small Magoffin County community, until 2003. There is no agency in Kentucky that oversees online degrees, nor does the state have an office that investigates people accused of practicing medicine without a license.

State officials are pushing to ban a device that vaporizes liquor and allows people to inhale the intoxicating fumes for a quick high without the burn of hard liquor. Teresa Barton, head of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, said banning alcohol vaporizers is a matter of public safety, not preserving the state's sipping whiskey industry. She said such devices could become "a real deadly trap" because they have "no purpose other than to get you drunk." So far, 17 states have banned them, including California, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and several others are considering doing so, said Sherry Green, executive director of the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws. Tennessee, the home of Jack Daniels, already prohibits the vaporizers.

The Kentucky Democratic Party is working on taking out a half-million-dollar bank loan to boost its finances before the November election. But many members of the party's state central committee -- the governing body that must approve any such transaction -- have been hesitant to give their blessing until they know exactly how that money would be used. Committee members were being polled by phone yesterday. An infusion of $500,000 could help the party back its candidates as the Nov. 7 election nears. Much or all of that money could be paid back with proceeds from an Oct. 24 fund-raiser in Louisville, featuring former President Bill Clinton. Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Lundergan wouldn't comment on the loan proposal.

The federal agency charged with keeping U.S. coal mines safe sometimes took two or more days to respond to complaints of hazardous conditions, but it has refused to accept two of 13 recommended improvements from the Office of Inspector General. The U.S. Department of Labor report examined the Mine Safety and Health Administration's hot-line responses over three months. It recommends MSHA set specific time limits for evaluating complaints and responding to the scene, rather than adhering to the current standard of "immediately" or "as soon as possible." But the 77-page report says MSHA balked, insisting that a focus on timeliness could lead to an incomplete evaluation of the complaint, an insufficient response and "a premature and uninformed decision." The OIG remained undeterred in its report.

Today high school students from around the region were invited to the Prestonsburg campus of Big Sandy Community and Technical College for their annual College Career Day. The students were able to tour the campus and receive information on college registration, classes and tuition.

“What this day is all about is to share with our students in the five county area the opportunities on all four of our campuses Pikeville Prestonsburg Hager Hill and Mayo”
Said Billie Jean Cole associate Dean of Student Affairs for BSCTCS who went into detail about what she hoped students came away with. “We have a new slogan and its high education begins here and we want the students in the five county area to know their higher education can begin right in their backyard.”

According to Cole over 650 students some of which are on fall break attended the College Career day which featured over 27 colleges and Universities there to answer questions and provide young minds with valuable information. For more information about BSCTCS or any of their affiliate campuses you can call 1-888-641-4132 or visit the states community and technical college website at http://www.kctcs.edu/