Monday, April 11, 2011
EKB Capsule News...Kentucky...4-12-'11
A University of Kentucky search committee has approved a list of finalists who are in the running to replace outgoing UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. who is retiring in June after a decade of leading the university. The search committee met in private for about 5 1/2 hours Monday on the Lexington campus before emerging to send the list of finalists to UK trustees, who will make the ultimate decision. UK board of trustees Chairman Britt Brockman won't say how many people are finalists. He calls it a small diverse group that includes people with and without Kentucky ties. The board is scheduled to meet April 30th in northern Kentucky to review information on the candidates and to begin interviews. The board will complete its interviews the next day and is expected to select a preferred candidate that evening. Brockman has laid out a tentative timetable for a preferred candidate to visit campus on May 2nd for a series of public forums. The board is then scheduled to vote May 3rd whether to make a formal offer to the candidate.
- A teenager is in the hospital with a serious head injury after falling from the hood of a moving car in Laurel County. The identity of the 17-year-old has not been released. Laurel County authorities are investigating the incident. The car was disabled and being pushed by another vehicle. The driver of the van being used to push the car has been charged with DUI, suspended license and no insurance.
- Investigators with the NTSB have released a preliminary report on the March 30 plane crash at the Pikeville/Pike County Airport. The crash killed David Brent Miller, the pilot, and passenger David Carlton Cowherd of Ohio. At this point heavy fog and unfamiliarity with the terrain are indicated as causing the crash. The investigation continues.
- Prosecutors want murder defendant Steve Nunn's two daughters to testify on behalf of the state at his trial, scheduled to begin August 1st. Prosecutors have issued subpoenas for Mary Elizabeth Nunn and Katharine Courtney Nunn, the daughters of former lawmaker Steve Nunn, in a case in which he is charged with murdering his former fiancée, 29 year old Amanda Ross. Ross was found shot to death outside her Lexington home on Sept. 11, 2009. Mary Elizabeth Nunn, of Bowling Green, was served on April 6th. Court records show that Warren County authorities also tried to serve her sister on the same day but found she had moved from Bowling Green to Louisville.
- As part of National Public Safety Telecommunicators week, the Kentucky State Police is recognizing the four dispatchers who helped direct police to the scene of a deadly shooting rampage which occurred in he Mount Carmel community of Breathitt County on September 11, 2010. Police say Stanley Neace walked from trailer to trailer, killing five innocent victims before turning the gun and fatally shooting himself. KSP Commissioner Rodney Brewer says without the composure and diligence of dispatchers Deanna Whitaker, Brenda Standafer, JJ Farler and Greta Huff, more people could have died that day.
- The state Corrections Department says William Dewayne Richardson of Somerset and Timothy Hogue of Cincinnati were reported missing Sunday night from the Frankfort Career Development Center, a minimum-security prison. On Monday, the men were spotted by sheriff's deputies in Casey County, who stopped their cruisers and ordered the men to stop. The men refused and tried to run over the officers, the deputies fired at the truck and the inmates stopped and were apprehended. The men were charged with first-degree wanton endangerment, theft and escape.
- Preliminary statistics indicate that twelve people died in twelve separate crashes on Kentucky roadways from Monday, April 4th, through Sunday, April 10, 2011. Eight fatalities involved motor vehicles and four of the victims were not wearing a seat belt. Single-fatality crashes occurred in Adair, Ballard, Barren, Calloway, Floyd, Lewis, Rowan, and Taylor counties, with the crash in Rowan County involving the suspected use of alcohol. One ATV fatality occurred in Greenup County and one motorcycle fatality occurred in Logan County, neither victim was wearing a helmet. Two pedestrian involved crashes occurred in Jefferson County. Through April 10th, preliminary statistics indicate 157 people have lost their lives on Kentucky roadways during 2011...thirty-five fewer fatalities than reported for the same time period in 2010.
- Governor Steve Beshear is on a second trade mission to India, hoping to ink a deal that could result in more jobs for Kentucky. The governor and Economic Development Secretary Larry Hays left Saturday and are planning to return by mid-week. Beshear spokeswoman Jill Midkiff said Monday the governor is expecting to announce "an exciting economic development" later this week. Beshear led a delegation to India last fall, visiting New Delhi and Mumbai at the invitation of NASSCOM, a nonprofit organization that facilitates business and trade in software and services. India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and is a leading trade and economic partner for the United States. Kentucky's exports to India have grown more than 252 percent to $96.5 million since 2004.
- A board that regulates Kentucky's for-profit colleges has incomplete records of complaints filed by students who were dissatisfied with their experience at the schools. There have been 31 formal complaints filed by students to the Kentucky Board for Proprietary Education since 2005. The board could not produce case files showing what happened to 11 complaints. Shannon L. Tivett, the state's director of the Occupations and Professions office, says officials are working to improve the board's operations, and so far, they have found some inefficiencies. State Auditor Crit Luallen announced in January that her office would review the board's operations.
- Kentucky has been awarded $8.7 million to help improve the state's persistently lowest-achieving schools. School districts will compete for the funds. They are required to implement an intervention model as part of the funding. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the funding Friday through the School Improvement Grant program. Duncan says dramatic action is required when a school performs in the bottom 5 percent of the state and shows no sign of progress or has graduation rates below 60 percent over a period of years.
A sterling silver julep cup designed by Tiffany & Co., rare chocolate mint grown in San Diego, ice made of rainwater captured on the pristine island of Tasmania, bourbon-smoked sugar and the master distiller's personal selection of Woodford Reserve super-premium bourbon.Those are the ingredients for a $1,000 mint julep going on sale Monday and available only at the Kentucky Derby on May 7th. The sale will be limited to 103 traditional cups and three cups that are up for auction, beginning at $2,000 each. Those three include a design around the cup's base in 24 karat gold vermeil originally used by Tiffany on an 1876 horse racing cup. Proceeds from the cup sales will benefit The Heart of a Horse Foundation, a rescue organization.
- Kentucky's Floral Clock is turning 50 and first lady Jane Beshear is hosting a party to celebrate. The clock, which is located on the west end of the Capitol grounds, has become a Kentucky landmark. It is one of six clocks in the world that keeps time while suspended above a pool of water. Beshear says the party on May 4th will begin with a ceremony at the clock but will also showcase changes to the rose garden at the east end of the Capitol grounds. The clock, which got a facelift from landscape artist Jon Carloftis, will get its hands painted gold in preparation for the celebration.
- Former whiskey industry executive Peggy Noe Stevens counts herself as a fan of Kentucky bourbon. She's finding out she has plenty of company. Stevens is founder and chairwoman of a new group called Bourbon Women. Members share an affinity for Kentucky's signature whiskey. The bourbon industry is appealing to broader audiences with a growing lineup of premium, small-batch products. The group will offer chances for bourbon tastings, distillery visits and girls' nights out. Members will get tips on new bourbon-laced recipes and how to liven up parties. But there's a serious side to the gatherings. Stevens says the members include business executives, and their mingling will offer a chance for business networking. Stevens runs her own branding and marketing company in Louisville.
- In support of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety (KOHS) is taking its Distracted Driving (D2) Simulator to several schools around the state during the month of April. The D2 gives real-life exposure to the dangers of distracted driving, without putting drivers at risk, by mimicking and displaying the handling characteristics of a vehicle. Drivers can receive and send phone calls and text messages while attempting to obey the rules of the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 80 percent of all crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involve sometype of distraction.
Kentuckians who wish to vote in the upcoming May 17, 2011 primary election only have a few more days to register to vote. The deadline to register for the upcoming May primary is Monday, April 18, 2011. County Clerks’ offices throughout Kentucky will accept voter registration cards until the close of business that day. A postmark of April 18th is also required for all mail-in voter registration applications. Registration cards can be obtained online at www.vote.ky.gov/register. Minors who are 17 years old but will be 18 years old on or before the general election (November 8, 2011) are eligible to register and entitled to vote in the upcoming primary but are not eligible to vote in special elections unless they are 18 years old.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 10:28 PM 
