Monday, May 16, 2011
EKB Capsule News...Kentucky...5-17-'11
- Kentucky State Police say a school bus crash in western Kentucky killed a 6 year old boy and injured several other students and adults on board when the bus overturned into a ditch in Carlisle County on Monday afternoon near the community of Cunningham. The 29 children on board were returning from a field trip to Paducah.
- During last year's primary election, the election fraud hotline received 116 calls from 43 counties. Investigators from the office of Attorney General Jack Conway will be out Tuesday patrolling precincts and polling places to keep the primary election free of voter fraud. But Attorney General Jack Conway and Secretary of State Elaine Walker say citizens are also expected to watch for any irregularities and report them to the election fraud hotline at (800) 328-8683.
- Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed the state's new prescription-monitoring program into law Friday. Lawmakers in Georgia approved a system to track prescription drugs dispensed there, which they say could help put a dent in interstate pill trafficking that has fed drug abuse and overdose deaths in Kentucky. Georgia officials hope to have the monitoring system in place by the start of 2013.
- Kentucky State Police are investigating after 37 year old Shannon Stidham claims she was run off the road Monday afternoon on U.S. 421 in the Tyner community of Jackson County by a driver who was in her lane. Stidham was flown to U.K. Hospital with head, neck and back injuries.
- Police in Perry County are investigating after shots were fired on Green Briar Court, just outside of Hazard. Joshua Neace claims his pregnant sister and her boyfriend, Eddie Boyd, pulled in front of his house and started banging on the front door. He says he watched outside his window as Boyd rammed his white van into his SUV. Neace told police, as the two were pulling away, they stopped in front of his house, one of them got out of the vehicle, brandished a firearm and fired some shots in the air. Neace says, when the van pulled away, he fired a shot at the back tire to try to slow it down to give police time to catch them. Police found buckshot in the back bumper, drug paraphernalia and syringes, but didn't find a weapon.
- Sixty-seven year old Jim Potts, who has served as judge-executive of Powell County since January, was found dead Monday morning by his wife, Judy. Potts, a former teacher, principal and Powell County School Superintendent was elected in November, defeating Republican Randy Bowen and write-in candidate Darren Farmer, had suffered kidney problems for years and had been on home dialysis treatments since last fall.
- The attempted murder trial of Fayette County Detention Center inmate 31 year old Bass Webb got underway Monday. In 2009, surveillance cameras caught Webb as he attempted to run down Josh Mason and Ryan Barkley, two Bourbon County sheriff's deputies, outside the Bourbon County Detention Center. Webb is also accused of killing two of his ex-girlfriends, Bryia Runiewucz and Sabrina Vaughn. He's also made headlines for spitting in the face of a judge and being involved in an uprising at the Fayette County Detention Center.
- A review of Governor Steve Beshear's flight expenses shows he has not charged the state for political and non-governmental use of a state airplane. Records show the Democratic Party and Beshear's re-election campaign have reimbursed the state about $85,000 and Beshear's re-election campaign paid $5,645. The Democratic Party reimbursed the state by check on May 2nd. Questions arose in March about the governor's use of a state plane he used to attend a political event in Louisa while making stops around the state related to the legislative session. Beshear's staff initially said the trip wasn't campaign related, but later acknowledged the event in Louisa was political and said Beshear would reimburse the state.
- By an 8-1 vote Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a Kentucky man who was arrested after police burst into his apartment without a search warrant because they smelled marijuana. A Kentucky Supreme Court threw out the evidence gathered when officers entered Hollis King's apartment in Lexington. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled there was no violation of King's constitutional rights because the police acted reasonably. Only Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented.
- Police are looking for a man accused of robbing the Dollar General in the Baxter community of Harlan County, just outside of Harlan, at knifepoint Sunday morning. No one was injured, but police say the suspect stole about $95 from the cash register. Police described the suspect as a white man, about 5’10″ with a thin build. He was wearing a dark hoodie and dark pants that had two white stripes down the side and the number “8″ on one leg. They say he shielded his face with a Boston Red Sox hat with the letter “B” on it.
- David Richart, the founding director of Kentucky Youth Advocates which was created in 1976, has died at his home in suburban Louisville at age 63. Richart served as the Advocates' first executive director and remained there for 20 years. Richart, one of the state's best-known voices on child abuse and juvenile justice issues, helped draft what became Kentucky's uniform juvenile law, the first attempt to standardize state law dealing with children charged with offenses. His friend and colleague, Helen Deines, says he was recently diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.
- Glenn Doneghy faces several charges including murder in the April 2010 death of Lexington Police Officer Bryan Durman, who was struck by a sport utility vehicle as he answered a complaint about loud music. He died a short time later at a hospital. Defense attorneys Kate Dunn, Gayle Slaughter and Sally Wasielewski have petitioned Fayette Circuit Court asking for a change of venue for Doneghy. The attorneys claim their client has been portrayed as a mentally ill drug addict who holds a grudge against police. They want Doneghy's trial moved to Louisville. During a competency hearing for Doneghy Monday, psychiatrists testified he is competent to stand trial but has a personality disorder. Kentucky State Police lab results showed cocaine and marijuana in Doneghy's system, but a toxicology expert earlier testified the amounts and time gap make it impossible to determine when Doneghy was under the influence. A hearing on the motion for a change of venue was scheduled for May 24th. His trial is set to begin June 13th.
- An individual believed to be suicidal and possibly armed caused EKU’s campus to be placed on temporary lock-down Monday morning. No weapon was found, but, as standard procedure, Model Laboratory School was placed in lock-down until the situation was resolved. The suspect was taken into custody and both EKU and Model Lab resumed normal operations.
- Preliminary statistics indicate that six people died in six separate crashes on Kentucky roadways from Monday, May 9, through Sunday, May 15, 2011. All of the fatalities involved motor vehicles and four of the victims were not wearing seat belts. Single-fatality crashes occurred in Carlisle, Estill, Jefferson, Oldham, Perry, and Spencer counties. Alcohol was a factor in the Estill and Spencer county crashes. Through May 15, preliminary statistics indicate that 218 people have lost their lives on Kentucky roadways during 2011. This is eighteen less fatalities than reported for the same time period in 2010.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 11:31 PM 
