EKB News

• One person is dead after a single vehicle accident Friday in Pike County. Kentucky State Police say it happened on state Route 1056 in McCarr, just across the river from Matewan, West Virginia. The accident is still under investigation.

• Ninety-two years after the death of Saginaw, Michigan lumber baron Wellington R. Burt, 19 year old  Christina Cameron of Lexington, Kentucky is the youngest of the 12 in line to receive $2.6 million to $2.9 million from his estate later this month. Burt was once among the eighth wealthiest Americans. The estate, now valued at $100 million to $110 million, was withheld from his descendants until 21 years after the death of his last grandchild. Cameron says one thing is pretty clear: Her great-great-great grandfather didn't have much use for his family back then.

• Retiring University of Kentucky President Lee Todd gave three speeches, shook more than 1,500 hands and reflected on his 10 years as UK President as he spoke during three commencement ceremonies Sunday at Rupp Arena. University of Kentucky's 144th commencement drew thousands of spectators, and the university conferred more than 4,100 degrees. Todd described Sunday as bittersweet. The university's new president, Eli Capilouto, will take over July 1st.

• Analysts say drivers can expect gas prices to drop nearly 50 cents a gallon as early as June. After rocketing up 91 cents since January, including 44 straight days of increases, the national average this past week stopped just shy of $4 a gallon and has retreated to under $3.98. A steady decline is expected to follow. People recall gas stations charging less than $3 a gallon last year, but the drop might help lift consumer spending, which powers about 70 percent of the economy. A 50-cent drop in prices would save U.S. drivers about $189 million a day. Typically, gas prices peak each spring, then fall into a summertime swoon that can last several weeks. This year's decline should be gradual but steady. When average gas prices fluctuate nationally, some areas are affected more than others. As prices soared this year, surveys showed that motorists started to drive less. MasterCard SpendingPulse said this past week that it had recorded its sixth straight week of declining gasoline consumption.

• The Kentucky Historical Society will dedicate a historical marker to honor John May and his family on Saturday, May 14th, on Highway 22 in Pikeville, Kentucky. Born in 1760 in Lancaster, Pennsylvannia, John May served in the Virginia Infantry and saw George Washington’s retreat across the Hudson River in November 1776.  After marrying Sarah Phillips in 1780, he and his family settled in the Shelby Valley. Three of his sons went on to become prominent members of the eastern Kentucky community.  Samuel May, of Prestonsburg, served in the Kentucky House and Senate in the 1830s.  Thomas May built a state road from Pikeville into the Shelby Valley and was sheriff of Pike County. Reuben May’s farm on Beaver Creek became Maytown. This marker is sponsored by the Shelby Valley Historical Society and Friends of the Samuel May House, Inc.

• The public will have a chance to comment on the controversial question of where to put Louisville’s new Veterans Affairs medical center at two meetings scheduled for Wednesday. The meetings — which will run from 1-3 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at the Clifton Center at 2117 Payne St. — will focus on site options under consideration for the new Robley Rex VA Medical Center. Those include:

* Land adjacent to the existing VA hospital off Zorn Avenue, which many veterans prefer

* A five-block area north of Broadway and near University Hospital, for which city and University of Louisville officials have expressed support

* 4906 Brownsboro Road, a site near Holiday Manor, adjacent to the Dairy Queen along the Watterson Expressway

* 5905 Fegenbush Lane, a site near the intersection of Fegenbush and South Hurstbourne Parkway

* 13600 block of Factory Lane, a site along the Gene Snyder Freeway near Chamberlain Lane and across from the Ford Truck Plant.

At Wednesday’s meetings, people may comment in person or in writing. A summary of comments will be provided to Secretary of Veterans Affairs.