EKB News

• Under an initiative called Operation Black Cat, the Two Rivers Drug Task Force and Kentucky State Police started Friday rounding up suspected drug dealers with a meth lab bust in Knox County. Police split up into six teams and drove across Knox County, resulting in 25 arrests from the 35 police were searching for. State Police Trooper Shane Jacobs says they arrested several people who have been buying Sudafed from pharmacies and taking it to the people that are manufacturing meth. The Barbourville Police Department, Knox County Sheriff's Office, Whitley County Sheriff's Office, and US Marshalls also helped in the investigation.

Those arrested:

Charles Gray, Gray
Shannon Smith, Artemus
Rebecca Smith, Corbin
Deniece Gatewood, Corbin
Shaunna Parks, Corbin
Christopher Patton, Corbin
Lucky Abrams, Corbin
James Donaldson, Artemus
Matt Messer Jr., Gray
Rickie Ledford, Barbourville
Kayla Grubb, Barbourville
Tonya Broughton, Barbourville
Elvis Hall, Barbourville
Kimberly Griffith, Gray
Shannon Buchanon, Artemus
Brenda Allsup, Barbourville
Heather Herren, Corbin
Sabrina Mahan, Corbin
Jason Carnes, Barbourville
Richard Brosky, Trosper
Kevin Engle, Barbourville
Thomas Raymond Engle, Barbourville
Kayla Engle, Barbourville
Charles Skaggs II, Gray
Michael Woody, Corbin

• Coal producer Alpha Natural Resources says it's going to sell $1.5 billion worth of notes to help pay for its pending purchase of Massey Energy Co. Alpha agreed to buy Massey for $7.1 billion in cash and stock in January. The deal is scheduled to close after a shareholder vote June 1st. Alpha says in a regulatory filing Friday the proceeds will help finance the deal and repay outstanding debts. The merger would create a global power built on exporting U.S. coal for steelmakers. Combined, the pair should produce 27 million tons a year of higher-priced metallurgical coal by 2013.

• Friday, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway filed a motion for a temporary injunction in Franklin Circuit Court alleging Marathon Oil illegally raised the wholesale price of gasoline and other motor fuels in markets across Kentucky during a time of emergency. The motion alleges Marathon violated Kentucky’s price-gouging statute that was triggered when Governor Steve Beshear declared a state of emergency on April 26th. The motion alleges Marathon’s wholesale price for regular 87 octane gasoline at its Louisville terminals on April 25th was $3.25 per gallon, and it raised its wholesale price to $3.48 on April 29th and up to $3.46 on May 9th. Thursday’s rack price was $3.32. Wholesale prices for reformulated gasoline were raised from $3.45 to $3.65 and $3.61 on those dates. The wholesale prices vary depending on the location in Kentucky and the amount of fuel purchased. A hearing on the motion is set for Monday. 

• Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc. said Friday it is formally offering to buy most of the remaining shares of Chinese hot pot chain Little Sheep. Yum, the operator of the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC chains is offering 6.50 Hong Kong dollars (83 cents) per share to boost its stake in Little Sheep Group Ltd. That is a 32 percent premium to Thursday's closing price of 4.93 Hong Kong dollars on the Hong Kong exchange. The offer values all of Little Sheep at about 6.7 billion Hong Kong dollars ($863.5 million). The deal would increase Yum's ownership of Little Sheep to 93.2 percent from 27.2 percent with company founders owning the remaining 6.8 percent stake. Yum officials say restaurant growth overseas, particularly in China, has been a key driver for Yum's profit growth. Sum Su, chairman and CEO of Yum's China division, said the deal could allow the company to expand Little Sheep's hot pot concept internationally.

• A Mercer County grand jury has indicted 31 year old Jason Elder, a Harrodsburg DARE officer who conducts Drug Abuse Resistance Education with a local school district, on 148 counts of charges of rape, sodomy and sexual abuse for having sexual relations with a person under 18. Kentucky State Police investigated Elder. The indictment says the events occurred from November 2007 to November 2009. All 148 counts are Class D felonies, punishable by one to five years in prison. Elder is scheduled to be arraigned June 21st.

• Jefferson County Circuit Judge Mary Shaw has ruled Gail Coontz, a Louisville mom accused of fatally shooting her two children, is competent to stand trial. Shaw made the ruling after a competency hearing in which a psychiatrist testified that Coontz could comprehend the proceedings and participate in her defense. Coontz is facing murder charges in the March 2008 deaths of her 14 year old son and 10 year old daughter. Her trial is set to begin September 12th.