Sunday, February 06, 2011
EKB Capsule News...Kentucky...2-7-'11
- The Pikeville City Commission voted unanimously to take over operation of the East Kentucky Expo Center on Friday. This action also included $600,000 in Center debt. The next step in the process is the Commission's presentation to the Expo Center's Board on February 14. The details of the proposal will be reviewed by the City Manager and City Attorney.
- Police in Greenup County are continuing to investigate after three dogs had been skinned and left dead on the side of the road. Investigators say the game warden had recently searched the area for illegal hunters and poachers. He didn't make any arrests, but he left his business card in plain sight on the trail as a warning. The dead dogs were found the next day.
- A car crashed into a power pole Saturday afternoon on Highway 132 in Morgan County, breaking the pole in half and causing it to fall onto the car. Elizabeth Reed, a passenger in the car, was rushed to the hospital with unknown injuries.
- A fire started Friday night in a camper trailer off Highway 378 in the Middlefork Community of Magoffin County left one man dead. Neighbors say 32 year old Chris Roark died in the fire. Neighbors say Roark was living in the camper but also working as a night watchman for a nearby gas station that was under construction.
- Six Kentucky counties have either banned certain types of pain clinics or are considering doing so in hopes of sending a message of "Keep Out" to pain clinics that hand out prescriptions with little examination. Knott, Carter, Morgan and Greenup, have approved ordinances banning pain clinics, while Johnson and Owsley counties are looking at putting more limits on such clinics. State Senator Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, plans to push a measure in this year's legislature that would bring greater regulation of pain-management clinics. Dr. Gordon Tobin, president of the Kentucky Medical Association, says, though there is concern about prescription-drug abuse, thousands of Kentuckians suffer from chronic pain. He says laws aimed at drug abuse should take that into consideration along with the fact that those abusing prescription drugs need help for their addiction.
- A community care clinic in La Grange has closed because it ran out of funds. The Community Care Clinic in Oldham County had been open since 2005 and was run by the local nonprofit organization HDB. The agency's director, Cynthia Stafford, says the clinic probably served close to 800 people who didn't have health insurance. It depended on volunteer doctors and saw people by appointment only. Stafford said the economic downturn swelled the number of patients and made it harder to find funds.
- Police say 9-year-old Amy R. Dye, who was found dead in western Kentucky a few hours after she was reported missing, was killed by multiple blows. An autopsy ruled the cause of death was blunt force trauma and the investigation is continuing. Todd County investigators and Kentucky State Police found her body under brush about 100 yards from her home early Saturday morning along a road between Trenton and Guthrie after she was reported missing late Friday night. As of Saturday night, no arrests had been made.
- Authorities in Jamaica say a car has hit and killed a tourist from Lexington, Ky., and injured his girlfriend as they were walking in the resort area of Negril. Police said that 57-year-old Roy Anthony Stout was pronounced dead at a hospital Friday night. Cheryl Gillenwater was flown to University of Lexington Hospital Sunday morning. Later Sunday, she was being prepped for surgery. Stout was co-owner and designer for a well-known Lexington business, Stout Printing. His brother, Jerry Stout, said Stout and his girlfriend had arrived in Jamaica on Wednesday.
- Smokeless tobacco is making a comeback, and Tennessee farmers, factory workers and consumers are playing a part. Two manufacturers with a large presence in Tennessee -- R.J. Reynolds and Altria Group through its subsidiary Philip Morris USA -- are battling for market dominance. Together they already control 90 percent of the American smokeless tobacco sector with brands such as Skoal and Kodiak. According to The Tennessean, state farmers have eliminated 40 percent of acreage devoted to burley tobacco for cigarettes, but are expanding by 22 percent their tobacco fields that are used for chewing. Altria Group owns the 100-year-old U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. factory near the state Capitol in Nashville. R.J. Reynolds runs its smokeless operations out of a Memphis plant.
- Western Kentucky University is working toward offering a bachelor's degree in nursing at its Owensboro campus. Gene Tice, head of WKU's Owensboro campus, says the move was recommended by an advisory council. He said he hopes to have the program up and running by next spring. It will be operated in conjunction with the nursing program at Owensboro Community & Technical College, which offers an associate's degree. OCTC President Jim Klauber says he hopes the program will make it easier to keep educated nurses in the area. He says many students who received an associate's degree were going out of state to continue their education.
- A drunken driving suspect trying to flee a traffic stop has been charged with assault after a Frankfort officer was hurt. Frankfort police say 49-year-old Russell Wheat was in jail Saturday and could face more charges. Gas station surveillance cameras recorded what happened when officer Byron Redmon stopped Wheat's truck Friday evening on suspicion of drunken driving. The truck tried to back away but Redmon kept pace until it changed gears and sped forward. The officer was injured when the truck crashed into a parked car and nearly hit gas station customers. Redmond made it to his cruiser to call for help. He was treated at a hospital and released.
- Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park is partnering with the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources to host a Hunting & Fishing Expo March 4-5. Outdoorsman will enjoy attending the expo to browse vendor booths, attend educational seminars, try some archery and visit the beautiful park and lake. The event will be held in the convention center, adjacent to the park lodge and dining facilities. Booth space is only $25, which includes a table and two chairs. There is also room to set up outdoor booths for the same price. For more information or to reserve a booth, please contact
J amie Avery
Letter To The Editor....
Office of Pike County Judge/Executive
Wayne T. Rutherford Pike County Courthouse
146 Main St.
Pikeville, Ky. 41501 Office: (606) 432-6247
Fax: (606) 432-6242
God’s most valuable people are the working class and those on fixed incomes. No one living in America today should be forced to make the difficult decision of whether to eat, buy their medication or keep from freezing to death. How sad it is to look at the people in Kentucky who can’t afford to pay their power bills.
I predicted this would happen when the Kentucky Public Service Commission granted AEP/Kentucky Power a 17 percent rate increase. The cause of that is simple: greed, poor management and political control. Kentuckians need to make this the main issue in the 2011 governor’s race. Our rate payers must have relief NOW. The Kentucky General Assembly is in session, they must take up this issue NOW. Pike County borders some counties in Virginia and their legislature made it possible for their rate payers to get a 20 percent discount. West Virginia also borders Pike County and its public service commission gave residential customers a 2.5 percent reduction. I realize our legislators know what I know; they are getting the same calls and complaints and even their bills have doubled. The solution: utility restructuring. Kentucky must go to an electric bill assistance program. A tier-based system based on gross income. This program can create a rate reduction anywhere from 5 percent to 70 percent. Many states have this “lifeline” system in place. I understand the cost is offset in most states by an average of $1.50 per month assessed on all rate payers.
There are also other options our legislature can consider while in session. One is to ELECT the Kentucky Public Service Commission. The Kentucky Government belongs to the people. The legislature can give our public service commission back to us: “Vote ‘em in” and “Vote ‘em out.” I called for an investigation by the Kentucky General Assembly when AEP/Kentucky Power installed digital or “smart” meters. Every customer’s power bill went up and every rate payer’s bill spiked. Many states have investigations under way such as Texas, California, Connecticut and Maryland to name a few. Kentucky’s working class and those on set incomes must have relief NOW! We all need to pray. I ask for prayers for these people who are the salt of the earth. Pray that our legislators will have the wisdom to understand this hardship and take action.
Please. Please.
Wayne T. Rutherford
Pike County Judge-Executive
- Authorities have recovered the body of the driver of a tractor-trailer that crashed into an eastern Kentucky creek this week. Bath County Coroner Robert Powell identified the man as 56-year-old Michael Dean Hall of Staunton, Va. Powell says Hall's body was found Thursday evening in the creek about 100 yards from where the truck went into the water. Police say Hall was on his way to Detroit with a load of automotive parts. The wreck happened Wednesday morning on Interstate 64, and the truck landed in Slate Creek 50 feet below. An autopsy was being performed in Frankfort.
- A Kentucky businessman has been sentenced to prison for claiming lavish vacations, home renovations, massages and rent for his girlfriend's residence as deductions on his federal taxes. John Lee VanArsdale was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Lexington to 27 months in prison for his conviction in October for filing false income tax returns. Prosecutors said the 46-year-old VanArsdale wrongfully deducted more than $270,000 of personal expenses from his tax returns from 2002 through 2005. Prosecutors said he treated those expenses as legitimate business expenses for his company, which serviced machinery at auto assembly plants, including the Toyota factory at Georgetown.
- Irene and David Morris decided to take out a $1.3 million loan last summer and buy the Atlantic India Rubber Co. in Johnson County. The Morrises spent a decade as manager and executive of the factory that produces rubber parts used on Harley Davidson motorcycles, Arctic Cat snowmobiles and Boeing jets. They said they wanted to make sure those parts continued to be made in the United States. Kentucky Economic Development Commissioner Erik Dunnigan says the Morrises are part of a trend. He says that 84% of job growth and investment growth in 2010 came from existing local businesses.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 9:17 PM 
