Wednesday, February 02, 2011
EKB Capsule News...Kentucky...2-3-'11
- In response to a recently released audit by State Auditor Crit Luallen, the Pike County Fiscal Court voted 4-3 to seek further financial information from the Utility Management Group and its contract with the Mountain Water District.
- Late Wednesday afternoon, Kentucky State Police and Magoffin County Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene of a triple shooting at the J & J General Store located on Rt. 7 in the Gunlock community, which is about 10 miles southeast of Salyersville. KSP Trooper Shaun Little says three people suffered gunshot wounds and were taken for treatment. The suspect wasn't injured. Police arrested a suspect after arriving at the scene.
- Representative Leslie Combs, Democrat from Pikeville who serves as House Tourism Development and Energy Committee Chairwoman, has summoned members of the Kentucky Public Service Commission and representatives of utility companies to discuss reasons for higher electric bills. The meeting is scheduled for 10:00 A.M. Thursday in the Capitol Annex. Combs says she is holding the meeting in response to inquiries from constituents who are seeing higher power bills. The public is invited to attend.
- On February 15, 2011, the Kentucky Public Service Commission will hold a Home Energy Workshop in Letcher County in conjunction with Letcher County Fiscal Court from 6 to 8:00 P.M. The meeting will take place at the Letcher County Circuit Court room should residents prefer to attend a meeting closer to home.
- Hazard Police are investigating after two men used tools to cut away the side of the safe in the manager's office of Little Caesar's Pizza and stole more than $2.000 from a safe and attempted to break into two cash drawers at the front counter. James East with the Hazard Police Department says the thieves seemed to know the layout of the store.
- The Kentucky House Judiciary Committee has approved House Bill 121, without opposition. It's a bill that would ban the sale or possession of a new synthetic drug, often marketed as “bath salts” and sold under such brand names as “Ivory Wave” or “Purple Wave.” Committee Chairman John Tilley of Hopkinsville said Wednesday that his bill would put Kentucky “ahead of the game” in cracking down on the powdered substance growing in popularity among drug users in Kentucky. Committee members were told the substance can cause delusional behavior, confusion, agitation and paranoia.
- Facing $6 six million dollars in debt, officials have laid off more than 20 employees at the Knox County Hospital in Barbourville. A few workers were also reduced to part time. Managers say the hospital will now be able to collect more than $100 thousand each month to go towards the outstanding bills. Hospital leaders hope to rehire the workers in a few months.
- Kentucky State Police in Morehead say a tractor-trailer plunged into Slate Creek early Wednesday morning on Interstate 64 near the 122 mile marker at Owingsville in Bath County. A dive team from Morehead was called to the scene, but condtions made the search difficuly. Crews brought in retrieval equipment from Lexington to pull the cab of the truck from the water. As of Wednesday afternoon, police had not found the driver of the tractor-trailer.
- A manslaughter trial is underway for Gregory Scott Estes, a Bell County man who fatally shot his friend, 15 year old Jeremy Neal, while squirrel hunting in September 2007. Both sides in the trial say Estes did not intentionally kill Neal.
- Staffers in the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission say enlisting Kentucky police in a crackdown on illegal aliens could cost taxpayers $89 million a year. House Local Government Committee Chairman Steve Riggs warned in a meeting Wednesday that the legislation, if passed into law, could also be costly to already overcrowded local jails. The LRC staff estimated the additional costs to jails at $26 million a year.
- Louisville-based Yum Brands Inc., the owner of the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC fast-food brands, says its fourth-quarter net income rose 27 percent with robust growth overseas. Yum said Wednesday that its net income was $274 million for the quarter, or 56 cents per share. That compares with $216 million, or 45 cents per share, a year earlier. In China, profits rose 15 percent, while profits rose 18 percent in Yum's other international business.
- A Mayfield math teacher's winnings added up to $71,869 on the sydicated TV show "Wheel of Fortune." Jake Ray teaches seventh and eight grades at Carlisle County Middle School and the episode on which he won aired Tuesday.
- Four people were arrested after Kentucky State Police discovered a meth lab in a home on Ash Branch in the Hyden community of Leslie County occupied by three small children. The children were transported to Mary Breckenridge Hospital for treatment. Two were later transferred to Hazard ARH for additional treatment. Onzie and Susan Souder, along with David and Russell Dodson, all of Hyden, were arrested and charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, wanton endangerment, criminal abuse, and numerous other charges.
- A federal jury has awarded a serviceman $600,000 after finding the Oldham County Police Department withdrew it's offer of making him police chief after finding he could be deployed. The Courier-Journal reports the award was made to Bruce Gentry-- a member of the Kentucky National Guard who was hired as chief of police in 2008. Gentry was working a sergeant in the Shelbyville Police Department when he applied for the county chief's job. He was assigned a starting date and a salary. But Gentry's lawsuit claimed when the department learned he could be deployed with the Guard, the offer was withdrawn and the job went to someone else. Oldham County Judge-Executive David Voegele, who recently took office, says an attorney gave the county erroneous advice on the decision.
- One of the two women at the center of a murder case involving lesbian lovers and a hit man is up for parole. The Kentucky Parole Board heard the case of 46-year-old Karen Brown at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women on Wednesday, some 25 years after she and her lover, Elizabeth Turpin, conspired to kill Elizabeth Turpin's husband, Michael. The hit man, Keith Bouchard, is also in prison. Brown and Elizabeth Turpin were convicted by a jury and sentenced to life in prison. Bouchard pleaded guilty and testified against the women. Bouchard has been denied parole twice. His next parole hearing is set for 2018. Elizabeth Turpin's parole hearing is Feb. 16. The Parole Board will release its decision Monday.
- One of the youngest people to face a murder trial in adult court in Kentucky has pleaded guilty to lesser charges. A Covington police detective said Emily Ball was 14 when she lured a teenage boy into a fatal ambush at her home in February 2009. The Kentucky Enquirer reports Ball entered pleas Tuesday to first-degree conspiracy to commit assault, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and tampering with physical evidence. Prosecutors recommend a 15-year sentence. Seventeen-year-old Travis White was beaten and stabbed to death. Two adults with whom Ball was living were charged with the killing. When District Judge Douglas Grothaus transferred Ball's case to adult court in 2009, he described White's killing as particularly disturbing.
- The 17 Kentucky State Park restaurants will be offering a buffet lunch on Sunday, Feb. 13, to celebrate Valentine’s Day. If you’re looking for a quiet setting and excellent food to help celebrate this special day with a loved one, consider a Kentucky State Park. The buffet will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will include salad and desserts, along with plenty of vegetables and entrees. The cost is $12.99 plus tax. Kentucky State Parks offer great scenery and views as well as hiking trails, lodges and cottages. All 17 resort parks will also be offering special Valentine Weekend packages beginning Feb. 11. For more information about the parks, packages and reservations, visit www.parks.ky.gov.
- Legislation seeking to lift Kentucky's ban on the construction of nuclear power plants has cleared a Senate committee. Independent Sen. Bob Leeper of Paducah says the bill would put Kentucky on "equal footing" with other states if the federal government approves the construction and operation of new nuclear plants. State law prohibits nuclear power plants from being built in Kentucky until the U.S. has a permanent storage facility to contain radioactive waste. The bill seeking to overturn that prohibition won approval Wednesday from the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee.
- Police in Kentucky have charged a Pennsylvania man with drunken driving after he blew a .333 on a Breathalyzer test -- more than four times the level of presumed intoxication. 53-year-old Mark Comodor of South Park, Penn., also faces a charge of failing to carry insurance after being involved in a non-injury accident Tuesday evening in Louisville.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 11:45 PM 
