EKB News

News from East Kentucky Broadcasting.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

EKB Capsule News...Kentucky...2-13-'11

• Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd has ruled to allow four environmental groups to intervene in a court settlement between the Energy and Environment Cabinet and Kentucky's two largest surface-mine coal producers. Frasure Creek Mining and International Coal Group agreed in December to pay $660,000 for numerous violations of the Clean Water Act.  Shepherd wrote in his Friday opinion that the Cabinet had admitted ignoring the violations for years, and the citizens who discovered the violations had a right to be heard. The violations were brought to light by an investigation the environmental groups made, and officials from those groups were not satisfied with the settlement, saying the companies could have been fined $103 million. Shepherd ordered attorneys for the coal companies, the state and the environmentalists to conduct a three-month mediation period and set a hearing date for June 14th.

• One-fourth of Kentucky's nearly 21,000 prison inmates are serving time for drug offenses. The state is spending $460 million this year on its Corrections Department. Lawmakers on Friday filed a bill to cut the state's prison and jail populations and save an estimated $42 million a year, although much of that would be reinvested in addiction treatment and community supervision. The bill would, among other things, reduce penalties on some drug crimes. Governor Steve Beshear and House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, issued statements praising the bill's supporters for their hard work but stopped short of a full endorsement. House Judiciary Chairman John Tilley, D-Hopkinsville, its sponsor, says the legislation is perhaps the most far-reaching proposal the General Assembly has considered for the criminal justice system in at least a generation, if not two.

• Kentucky State Police say nearly $44,000 worth of possibly stolen property from  a jobsite in Henderson County, Tennessee was recovered Thursday at a construction site along Kentucky Route 7 in Elliott County. Among the recovered property is a 2007 Ford F-550 truck and two Ditch Witches. The property is owned by Saunders Cable Inc. of Cheney, Washington.

• Kentucky may start funding colleges differently. The Council on Postsecondary Education has approved a plan that could change the way the state’s public colleges receive funding. The panel recently approved a five-year strategic plan that would subsidize colleges based not only on how many students enroll, but on how many graduate. If the change materializes, it could benefit colleges that are underfunded by the state. The five-year plan also calls for funding to reward colleges that enroll more low-income and minority students. A CPE report says only half of the students who enroll in a public four-year college in Kentucky graduate within six years, and fewer than one-quarter who enroll at community colleges receive an associate's degree within three years. The council will write specific number targets for each of the commonwealth's colleges this spring.

• Friday, the state Senate voted 24-13 to pass a controversial bill that would end guaranteed pensions for new state and local government employees, in hopes of resolving the public pension funds' growing liability. SB 2 would close the current Kentucky Retirement Systems to new state and local government employees on June 30, 2012. The Republican-controlled Senate sent the bill to the Democratic-led House, where leaders said they don't expect to address the pension issue this legislative session, which is scheduled to end on March 22nd. Lawmakers passed some pension reforms in 2008 requiring new state employees to work longer and contribute more to their pensions. Senate President David Williams said the 2008 reforms fell short, while last year alone, the state government retirement plans added more than $1 billion in unfunded liability, and the local government plans added $796 million.

• Through Feb. 6, preliminary statistics indicate that forty-nine people have lost their lives on Kentucky roadways during 2011.  This is eighteen less fatalities than reported for the same time period in 2010. There were forty-three motor vehicle fatalities and twenty-seven of those victims were not wearing seat belts.  Six of those crashes involved a commercial motor vehicle.  Six crashes involved pedestrians. A total of eight fatalities have resulted from crashes involving the suspected use of alcohol.

• Governor Steve Beshear announced a legislative package aimed to better protect adults and seniors from abuse and exploitation. Gov. Beshear and legislative leaders spoke about the “Safeguarding our Seniors” initiative  at the capitol.“Last year, my administration took essential steps in improving protection for seniors facing neglect and abuse”, said Gov. Beshear.  “This legislation further strengthens safety standards and will make a significant difference in the lives of Kentucky’s elderly citizens and the people who care for them.”  In September 2010, Gov. Beshear directed the immediate implementation of recommendations from a Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) report investigating nursing home neglect and abuse.  Recommendations included improving the state’s investigative response, enhancing agency coordination, and promoting safety, quality and transparency.

# posted by Homer Owens @ 7:18 PM

EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...2-13-'11

• To make up for lost instructional time because of the recent snow, the Raleigh County Board of Education is implementing "Super Saturdays." Each school in the county will be open on certain Saturdays for voluntary educational time. Elementary students will be studying reading and math, while secondary schools focus on science, social studies, language arts and math. The "Super Saturdays" are expected to begin March 5th.

• Plans are in the works to create a transitional home for veterans on the top floor of the building on 229 Capitol Street in downtown Charleston, which would serve as an extension of the Roark Sullivan Lifeway Center, a transitional home, on Smith Avenue. Officials with Roark Sullivan say the home would provide ten additional veterans with support and would be supervised at all times.

• Senator Joe Manchin is co-sponsoring the Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2011, which would give the president authority to remove any single provision he considers to be wasteful spending from any bill passed by Congress. It would not affect programs like Medicare and Social Security. Currently, when Congress passes a law and sends it to the White House, the president can sign or veto the entire piece of legislation, but he cannot question individual items. President Bill Clinton began promoting the bill in 1993, shortly after becoming president. It passed Congress in 1996, with major support from the Republican Party, but in 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court held, in a 6-3 vote, that the line-item veto law violated a constitutional provision that states all legislation must be passed by both houses of Congress, and then sent to the White House in its entirety to be signed into law or vetoed.

• U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin says about 350 people died as a result of prescription drug-related overdoses in West Virginia in 2009. Federal and state officials are planning a one-day summit to discuss prescription-drug abuse in West Virginia. The summit is scheduled for February 25th at the University of Charleston.

• President Obama and House Republicans want to make significant cuts in federal funding that, through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, helps low-income families pay their heating bills, but Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller wants them to reverse their plans. Friday, Rockefeller signed a letter sent to Jacob Lew, director of the U.S. Office of Budget and Management, asking the Obama administration to reconsider those cuts. Last winter, 92,628 West Virginians received LIHEAP home-heating assistance. This winter, 77,125 West Virginians have received assistance, and that number is increasing. House Republicans also want to cut at least $400 million from the program's emergency funds.

# posted by Homer Owens @ 7:00 PM

Friday, February 11, 2011

EKB Capsule News...Kentucky...2-12-'11

• Senator Ray Jones’ bill that would give local officials more control of the East Kentucky Expo Center in Pikeville was passed Friday by the Kentucky State Senate. The Expo Center is governed by a seven-member board of directors, all appointed by the Governor. Board member terms are staggered. Jones, D-Pikeville, said his legislation, Senate Bill 66, would give Pikeville and Pike County officials more input into the operation of the facility by allowing them to make appointments to the board of directors, reducing the Governor’s appointments to three members, while giving Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne Rutherford and Pikeville Mayor Frank Justice II two appointments each. Although it is a state-owned facility, local officials have the responsibility of funding and maintaining the center. The multi-purpose arena, which opened in October 2005, can seat 7,000 for concerts and 5,700 for sporting events. In writing the 2009-2010 budget, the Senate appropriated $400,000 in coal severance money to be used in $200,000 increments over two years for the operation and maintenance of the Expo Center. The City of Pikeville also contributes $100,000 a year to the facility. During the 2009 special session, Senator Jones and Representative Leslie Combs, D-Pikeville, passed legislation that allowed a governmental entity to receive a rebate of the sales tax generated by the sale of admissions to a public facility and the sale of tangible personal property at the public facility. Despite these funds and funding avenues, the Expo Center still faces financial woes. Speaking at the request of the board, Senator Jones had asked that the county release the 2010 coal severance money to the center earlier than planned. Jones says there's an obligation to make sure that this $20 million plus facility is successful. Senate Bill 66 now moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

• Roughly 600 service and maintenance workers of SEIU Local 1199 Union at Kings Daughter's Medical Center in Ashland have overwhelmingly rejected the final contract offer from the hospital. The union’s contract with Kings Daughter's ran out at the end of November. At the end of December, workers also voted down an offer from the hospital. The union says it will now issue a 10 day informational picket notice. A union spokesperson says, despite rejecting this offer, a strike is not inevitable, but no new negotiations have been scheduled.

• Upset with Governor Steve Beshear's statements in support of the coal industry, about 20 members of the environmental group Kentuckians for the Commonwealth staged a weekend sit-in at the Capitol office Friday, demanding to speak to the Governor. They say Beshear needs to speak out against strip mining and to stop his suit against the EPA. Beshear met with them in the lobby of his office, and, after 15 to 20 minutes, the group said they were not satisfied and were willing to stay until forced to leave or be arrested. The group was expected to stay until a rally Monday by the Kentuckians for the Commonwealth group.

# posted by Homer Owens @ 11:20 PM

EKB...Capsule News...West Virginia...2-12-'11

• Alpha Natural Resources says MSHA issued a citation for an imminent danger at its Brooks Run Mining Co.'s Saylor Mine on February 4th. Alpha says MSHA inspectors alleged that crumbling roof, wall and floor conditions prevented a complete examination of the Webster County mine. Alpha says no one was injured and all safety examinations were completed as required. The order was lifted Wednesday. Alpha agreed to buy Massey Energy last month for $7 billion.

• A Charleston federal jury has convicted Roger L. Atkinson, 36, of Spencer, in Roane County, after a trial showed he passed a fake $50 bill at Spencer Livestock Market. The jury returned guilty verdicts on two counts of the indictment finding that Atkinson conspired with Lawrence E. Holbrook to manufacture and pass counterfeit money. Holbrook had already pleaded guilty to his role, and both are scheduled to be sentenced May 4th.

• After more than 30-years, Denzil McCormick, 54, of Boone County, was in Boone County Circuit Court Friday morning charged with assaults that allegedly took taken place between 1974 and 1976. McCormick was arrested on December 6, 2010 on charges that include two counts of crimes against nature, two counts of first-degree sexual assault, two counts of third-degree sexual assault and four counts of incest after he allegedly sexually assaulted a female relative. His pre-trial date has been set for March 8th, and his trial date is April 6th.

• West Virginia House of Delegate members have questioned why Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin awarded $1 million of state money to Jim Justice’s Old White Charities. The appropriated money was budgeted by the former Governor Joe Manchin's administration for Justice’s non profit organization. House Republicans said the legislature had spoken on the issue, and was unaware the money had been “buried deep in the budget” and unknowingly presented this legislative session after delegates voted down the proposed measure during the last special session. Delegate Kelli Sobonya says to just give out money to private business owners sets a bad precedence, and a million dollars could go a long way elsewhere in the state.

• Friday, Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin ordered flags across West Virginia to be lowered to half-staff on Saturday in remembrance of the late former state Senator Ralph Williams who died Monday at the age of 82. Williams served in the Senate from 1971 until 1986, representing the 11th District. He also served as chairman of several committees, including Finance, Education and Banking and Insurance.

• Wives of police officers in West Virginia say they want tougher penalties for criminals who assault officers on duty. The current law calls for sentences of three to five years for criminals who assault officers, but a group known as Kanawha Law Enforcement Officers' Wives says that isn't enough. The group supports HB 2129 which would mandate a 15 year sentence for people who maliciously assault officers.  That includes stabbings and gun wounds.  For lesser assaults, criminals would be required to serve a 10-year sentence. KLEOW started in 2009 after Charleston Patrolman Jerry Jones was killed in the line of duty.

• Grady Whitlock, 83, of Raleigh County, faces 28 charges after authorities discovered 28 dead horses on his farm in Greenbrier County. A veterinarian determined that the horses died of starvation.

• West Virginia could join 17 other states and allow drug felons to draw such federal benefits as food stamps after the Senate voted 27-6 to opt West Virginia out of the federal law. Supporters say it's meant to help the children of these felons, but opponents called the bill a hug-a-thug measure.

• The West Virginia state Board of Dental Examiners has gained access to more than 6,000 abandoned patient files several weeks after the national chain Allcare Dental & Denture abruptly closed its doors over the New Year's weekend. Marc Harman, the state dental board's executive secretary, says, when Allcare offices closed, they left active files and patients with unfinished work they had already paid for. Patients have the choice to complete treatment with about 16 dentists statewide who have volunteered to complete unfinished dental work, or to have their records forwarded to a dentist of their choice.

# posted by Homer Owens @ 10:27 PM

Thursday, February 10, 2011

EKB Capsule News...Kentucky...2-11-'11

• Legislation championed by Kentucky first lady Jane Beshear that would gradually raise the school dropout age won overwhelming approval Thursday as the measure sailed through the House on a 91-8 vote. The legislation would increase the minimum age for quitting school to 17 in 2015 and 18 in 2016 in a state where about 6,000 students dropped out in 2009. Currently, Kentucky students can drop out of school at age 16.

• At a public hearing held at the Jenny Wiley State Park in Floyd County, MSHA officials listened to what eastern Kentuckians think of a proposed coal dust rule change designed to end black lung disease. MSHA says black lung has killed more than 10-thousand miners over the past decade, and now young miners are getting the disease. MSHA is proposing lowering the respirable coal mine dust limit from two milligrams per cubic meter of air to one milligram. The proposed rule would also require personal dust monitors and expanded medical surveillance. MSHA is taking written comments through May 2nd and is holding another public meeting on Tuesday in Arlington, Virginia.

• Kentucky State Police found 42 year old Lisa Rogers of Mount Sterling dead in the back seat of a car a trooper stopped for weaving Tuesday on Interstate 75 after traveling north through Richmond. Several drivers called about a car being driven erratically. Trooper Chris Lanham says the three people in the car had gone to Florida and obtained prescription medication from pain management clinics. Police believe Rogers died of a drug overdose. A toxicology report is pending. The driver of the car faces drug and weapon charges. A male passenger was charged with not reporting a death.

• Volunteers joined the family of 26 year old Jerry Rowe Jr., a missing Magoffin County man, in their search Thursday. Rowe was last seen on January 28th in Royalton. Over the weekend, the Magoffin County rescue squad searched a pond there. They used a camera, but visibility was so poor they dragged the pond instead. They did not find anything. The family organized a search Thursday at the Old Salyer Elementary building parking lot off Route 7.

• Kentucky State Police have arrested eight people as the result of a six month investigation into alleged drug trafficking in Knox County. Seized during the arrests was over 20 pounds of processed marijuana at a street value of $39,000 as well as $28,163 in cash and two vehicles. Police say the suspects involved in the alleged drug ring targeted area high schools for their illegal drug sales.

       Arrested were:
Albert D. Davis, age 53 of Corbin, charged with Engaging in Organized Criminal Syndicate,   Trafficking   Marijuana Over 5 pounds.
Mark C. Martin, age 46 of Gray, charged with Engaging in Organized Criminal Syndicate, 2 counts Trafficking Marijuana Over 8 ounces, Trafficking in Marijuana less than 8 ounces, Trafficking in Controlled Substance.
Tim Wayne Brock, age 54 of Pineville, charged with Engaging in Organized Criminal Syndicate, Trafficking Marijuana Over 8 ounces.
Damon D. Williams, age 46 of Gray, charged with Engaging in Organized Criminal Syndicate, Trafficking Marijuana Over 5 pounds.
Jonathan Martin, age 19 of Corbin, charged with Engaging in Organized Criminal Syndicate, Trafficking Marijuana less than 8 ounces.
Brandon Smith, age 18 of Corbin, charged with Trafficking Marijuana less than 8 ounces.
Michael Woody, age 20 of Corbin, charged with Trafficking Marijuana less than 8 ounces.
Tonya Honeycutt, age 25 of Corbin, charged with Trafficking Marijuana less than 8 ounces.

• Some schools in southeastern Kentucky were closed Thursday and will remain closed Friday because of illness. Whitley County Schools have about 1,200 kids out sick with the flu, and Williamsburg Independent Schools had about 200 out of 800 students out sick. Doctors agree that canceling classe can help stop germs from spreading. The state has widespread flu activity and had about 94 new cases last week.

• A Kentucky lawmaker has offered a compromise in the debate over whether to require people to obtain prescriptions to purchase cold medications that can be used to make crystal meth. Representative David Floyd of Bardstown said Thursday the legislation he filed would allow pharmacists to determine when medications containing pseudoephedrine should be dispensed without a prescription. Floyd says they're seeking a medical solution to a legal problem, not a medical problem. U.S. Representative Hal Rogers says requiring prescriptions for such medications would save lives in Kentucky, a state dealing with an epidemic of illegal drugs. Some say the pending measures would put a hardship on law-abiding Kentuckians, forcing them to pay for doctors' visits to get medications that are currently sold over the counter.

• With Senator Rand Paul and other tea party Republicans bashing his plan to cut federal spending as inadequate, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers said Thursday that he will look for more significant reductions. Rogers, R-5th District, who unveiled $35 billion in cuts from current spending levels on Wednesday, responded to the criticism saying he would aim to cut Obama’s request by $100 million, as promised during last year’s campaign. Paul says Rogers' plan would add $3 trillion to the debt over five years.

• A new engineering report released Thursday by the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Kentucky section, assigned the state a “fair,” or “C,” rating, up slightly from “C-” in 2003. The report says, while school buildings and systems carrying drinking water and disposing of waste are in better shape,  Kentucky’s roads and bridges are in “poor” condition and have shown little or no improvement since 2003. Researchers determined that replacing the deficient bridges in Kentucky would cost more than $1.2 billion and bringing those spans up to the national average would require $283 million.

• U.S. District Judge Karl Forester on Thursday ordered the survivors of Bryan Keith Woodward of Louisiana, a victim of the 2006 Comair crash, to divide about $7 million in damages. Dozens of other lawsuits from the crash Blue Grass Airport in Lexington that killed 49 people have already been settled. Flight 5191 crashed after trying to take off from a runway too short for commercial jets.

• The Senate has passed legislation that would allow registered independents to vote in Democratic and Republican primaries. The proposal, championed by Senator Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, was approved 23-13 on Thursday. Higdon says the legislation, if approved by the House and signed into law by the governor, would allow some 200,000 independent voters to take part in Kentucky’s primary elections. They could only vote for candidates of one party, not switch between the two.

• Governor Steve Beshear's plan to balance the Medicaid budget cleared the House on Thursday by a vote of  80-19. The measure calls for shifting $166.5 million that would have been used next fiscal year to cover this year's costs and to carve out additional savings by contracting with more private firms to provide Medicaid services. Beshear recommended the plan in November, warning that failing to adopt his plan could force $600 million in cuts to Medicaid services.

• Legislation calling for a state constitutional amendment to provide automatic restoration of voting rights for felons who have served their sentences has received a thumbs-up from the Kentucky House, which voted 77-21 on Thursday to pass the legislation. Felons now can have their right to vote restored in Kentucky only by petitioning the governor and getting his approval. Democratic state Representative Jesse Crenshaw of Lexington has been pushing the measure for years in the General Assembly without success.

• A bill to create an outside panel to review child abuse deaths and serious injuries was filed Thursday by Representative Tom Burch, chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee. He said he filed House Bill 441 to bring more “transparency” to how the Cabinet of Health and Family Services does its job of attempting to protect children from neglect and abuse. But in addition to creating an 11-member, outside panel to be overseen by the state Attorney General’s office, the bill contains language that would shield the cabinet from provisions of current state law that permit it to release information in the event of a child’s death or serious injury from abuse, which is in conformance with federal law.

# posted by Homer Owens @ 10:47 PM

EKB...Capsule News...West Virginia...2-11-'11

• Kenneth Scott Samples, 30, of Elkview, has been charged with attempted sexual assault and also assault during the commission of a felony. An employee of Patty's Hot Spot #2 in Jefferson told Kanawha County Sheriff's deputies that Samples entered the business at about closing time, at 2:00 A.M. Thursday morning, and she asked him to leave, but when she turned her back, he grabbed her in a choke hold from behind and used a cattle prod on her neck, then demanded she perform a sexual act on him. The victim told police she fought with him until he fled the business. Police trackrd his footprints to the Jefferson Motel. Samples is a registered sex offender because of a 1999 conviction for attempted first-degree sexual assault. He served 13 months in a correctional facility and five years of probation.

• A jury has convicted Joshawa Clark on two counts of conspiracy and two counts of armed robbery in connection with the two robberies at the Marquee Cinemas at Pullman Square in Huntington in 2009. Clark was an employee there. Dustin Shaver testified against Clark, saying they planned the robberies together and split the money. Clark took the stand Thursday morning. The incidents occurred July 13, 2009, and October 19, 2009.

• The Kanawha County Ambulance Authority has treated its first patient with a synthetic marijuana overdose. Mike Jarrett, head of the Ambulance Authority, hosted a news conference Friday morning with the medic who took the call. There are no state emergency protocols for dealing with synthetic marijuana, but the medic contacted a poison control center to get help for the person who was suffering from an overdose of K2.

• Thirty-one year old Brad Nieman of Wellsburg, a former science teacher at Follansbee Middle School, has been sentenced to 10 to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty in Brooke County Circuit Court on Wednesday to 10 counts of third-degree sexual assault. He admitted having sex with a 15 year old girl in March, April and May 2010. Nieman could be eligible for supervised release after three years but must register as a sex offender for life.

• Kanawha Sheriff's Sgt. C.J. Savilla went to an apartment on Riverview Drive in St. Albans Thursday to check on the well being of the woman and child who lived there. After knocking and receiving no answer, he forced his way into the home and found Shannon Leanna Cox, 32, passed out in her bed. Her 2 year old child was found sleeping in a crib in the next bedroom. Cox was arrested and charged with child neglect creating the risk of injury.

• Timothy Chapman, 34, of Scott Depot, who threatened to bomb the St. Albans Kroger last year, will be monitored by the court as he undergoes treatment for mental health issues. Two psychologists found Chapman not criminally responsible for his actions. He could have been sentenced to one to three years in jail, and has already spent two months in jail. Just two days before walking up to the service desk at the grocery store and demanding cash, Chapman had been released from Thomas Memorial Hospital's mental health unit. Employees told police he demanded money, threatened to kill them and said he would blow the place up.  

• Kanawha Circuit Judge Tod Kaufman has revoked home confinement for Richard Walker, 30, after learning that he was drinking alcohol a month after being sentenced. Walker was convicted of shooting Joshua Dearien, 21, at the Impulse Club in November 2008 after his wife was kicked out for being drunk and disorderly. Kaufman imposed the sentence recommended in November by Assistant Prosecutor Tera Salango of two to 10 years in prison.

• Under a bill state lawmakers are considering, West Virginia smokers would pay $1 more per pack in taxes, while nearly tripling the state tax on cigarettes from 55 cents to $1.55 to raise funds for programs that fight substance abuse. It would also raise the tax on smokeless tobacco from the current 7 percent of the wholesale price to 50 percent. Members of the House of Delegates' Health and Human Resources Committee were set to take up the legislation Wednesday, but committee Chairman Don Perdue, who sponsored the bill, pulled it from the agenda because the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free West Virginia and a lobbyist representing behavioral health providers requested a public hearing.

• West Virginia currently is one of several states that do not require insurers to cover treatment of children of autism. Legislation mandating that insurance companies provide coverage for treatment of children with autism easily cleared the state House of Delegates Thursday with a vote of 96-1. House Bill 2693 requires insurers to pick up the cost of treatment up to $30,000 per year or no more than $2,000 a month. Insurance providers warn a mandate will mean rate hikes for all policyholders. One industry group estimated mandates raise rates at least 1 percent. They also argue that autism is best addressed through the public school system rather than through medical providers.

• Putnam County Delegate Brian Savilla wants lawmakers to reconsider the state's ban on corporal punishment. The state outlawed the practice of physically reprimanding students in 1994, ending paddling in schools. Savilla introduced House Bill 3081, which would allow for reasonable corporal punishment in schools. The bill calls for the teacher administering the punishment to be of the same gender as the student being punished. The punishment would have to be supervised by a teacher or administrator of the opposite gender. Savilla says current methods of detention, suspension and expulsion have been shown to be ineffective.

• The West Virginia Parkways Authority has again rescheduled a meeting on the Route 35 expansion project that was scheduled for Thursday, moving it to Friday, February 18th. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mike Hall, R-Putnam County, and Senator Karen Facemyer, R-Jackson County, have introduced a bill to use the state's rainy day fund as collateral for a loan to finish Route 35. Senator Hall believes tolls are not needed and that the state has the money to finish the project. Hall estimates it would take $77 million to finish the construction.

• Karen Bowling, the former CEO of Raleigh General Hospital, is being named Mountain State University's new Dean of Health Sciences. Bowling served as the Chief Executive Officer of Raleigh General from 2002 through December 15, 2010. She worked for RGH for 15 years.

• U.S. Representative Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., the leading Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced Thursday that the committee is coming to West Virginia as the first stop on a 10-state tour focused on long-term surface transportation needs as it crafts a bill in Washington, D.C. that includes new long-term reauthorization of highway, highway safety, transit, and rail programs. The first stop is Beckley where a meeting is set for Monday, February 14th. It will begin at 8:00 A.M. inside the theater at Tamarack.

• Judge Joseph Goodwin has issued a 14-day temporary restraining order preventing Bayer CropScience from resuming production of MIC at the Institute Industrial Park. Sixteen West Virginia residents filed a lawsuit in federal court in Charleston on Tuesday asking a judge to prohibit Bayer CropScience from restarting the production. Bayer says it's disappointed with the decision and believes such an action is not warranted and could have an immediate and adverse impact to its site and to the farmers who depend on their products to help produce crops. Bayer says it will review its options in response to the court's ruling.

• West Virginia Board of Education members Thursday unanimously appointed 62 year old Jorea Marple the next state superintendent of schools, making her the first female state superintendent in West Virginia history. After an hour and 15-minute executive session, member Lowell Johnson made the motion to hire Marple. Board vice president Jenny Phillips seconded it. Marple is currently deputy state superintendent and a former Kanawha County teacher, administrator, principal and superintendent. She is entering her 34th year of marriage with state Attorney General Darrell McGraw.

• West Virginia hunters bagged 1,126 turkeys last fall, but the Division of Natural Resources says that reflects a drop of about 7 percent from the previous year. Assistant chief for game management Paul Johansen says the total for fall 2009 was 1,208 birds. Top counties for 2010 were Greenbrier, with a take of 92, Preston with 80, Monroe with 59, Randolph with 58 and Pocahontas with 47.

# posted by Homer Owens @ 10:06 PM

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

EKB Capsule News...Kentucky...2-10-'11

• Interstate 75 in Whitley County was shut down for most of the afternoon Wednesday due to a multi-car crash related to snow. The National Weather Service says, Wednesday, 1 to 3 inches of snow fell along and south of the Western Kentucky Parkway and the Bluegrass Parkway, with some areas of southwestern Kentucky getting as much as 5 inches. More snow fell than had been expected, and dropping temperatures made salt treatments less effective, prompting the Transportation Cabinet to urge motorists to limit travel in many counties because of hazardous conditions. Weather service forecasters in Jackson predicted areas of eastern Kentucky could see 1 to 3 inches, with more in the higher elevations near the Kentucky-Virginia border. 

• In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rhino Resource Partners has reported that its subsidiary CAM Mining Mine 28  in Pike County was cited Friday for an imminent danger. MSHA says two carpenters employed by another company were working 10 feet above ground without tie-off lines. The filing says the carpenters were immediately told to safely return to the ground and were given safety training and that the actions terminated the order.

• Fifty year old Marion Kilburn of Floyd County, who has a 30 year criminal history and was released from prison on December 29th for a 2007 drug trafficking conviction, is now facing new charges. Police say he was DUI when he wrecked Friday, sending a five year old girl to the U-K hospital. Floyd County Jail records show he was arrested 27 times since 1995 on alcohol related charges, the latest on January 29th, but he was released on the 30th. He was paroled in 2008, but then went back to prison in 2009 after a DUI conviction violated his parole.

• The American Heart Association held a rally at the state Capitol Wednesday urging Kentucky lawmakers to pass legislation that would outlaw smoking in all indoor public places in Kentucky. Many at the rally support the ban even though Representative Susan Westrom, a Democrat from Lexington, the bill's chief sponsor, admits it's going to be tough to get it passed this year. The Knox County Health Department plans to meet with Barbourville's City Council in a push to see more smoke free businesses across the county.

• Curtis Moore and Jessica Vaughn of Corbin and Lawrence Collinsworth of Knox County were all charged with engaging in organized crime after a string of thefts of televisions and other electronic items from the Corbin Walmart.

• Less than five months before his time as University of Kentucky president ends, Lee T. Todd Jr. announced Wednesday that he had given Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart a contract extension and six-figure salary increase. Todd denied that the new contract, which added three years and boosted Barnhart's annual pay from $475,000 to $600,000, would hinder the new president from enjoying the same privilege. Todd described Barnhart's extension through June 30, 2019, as a gift to the new president.

• U.S. District Judge Charles R. Simpson III wrote Wednesday that claims by Karen Cunagin Sypher of "newly discovered" evidence are merely compilations of items her former attorney, James Earhart, had during her trial. Since being convicted in August of extortion, lying to the FBI and retaliation against a witness, Sypher has hired a new attorney and claimed a broad conspiracy involving Pitino, Earhart, Simpson and others to ensure she would be found guilty. Judge Simpson says Sypher has not produced any new evidence and a claim against Earhart was ineffective. She will not get a new trial, but, instead, is scheduled for sentencing February 18th.

• The state Department of Charitable Gaming announced Wednesday that Jesse James Hall Sr., 64, and his wife Juanita Hall, 54, of Bell County, were arrested after a two-month investigation showed money was missing from games held at a bingo parlor in Middlesboro. The Halls are listed as officers of the Bell County Fair and Exposition Board Inc., which owns the bingo hall. Jesse J. Hall was charged with five felony counts of diverting charitable-gaming funds and with one count of failing to make required disposition of funds, while Juanita Hall is charged with four felony counts of diverting charitable-gaming funds.

• As part of a GOP package to slow spending, Congressman Hal Rogers, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, recommended cuts Wednesday morning in a food program for pregnant women and their children. Rogers is also proposing a sweeping 17 percent cut for the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as eliminating subsidies for public broadcasting. The bill is expected to reach the House floor next week.

• A House committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would add some mentally ill Kentuckians to a national list of people who can't buy guns. House Bill 308 would require Kentucky to notify the FBI when a court commits people to a mental institution or otherwise finds them mentally incompetent. The FBI would add the names to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, used by federally licensed gun dealers to screen customers. Federal law prohibits such sales. The House Judiciary Committee also approved bills to reduce incarceration for juvenile offenders and create a venue for citizens to allege fraud on behalf of the state.

• Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Janie Miller told a House budget subcommittee Wednesday the state's Medicaid health program for the poor and disabled is on track to save $86.5 million this fiscal year. To balance the state's Medicaid budget, Governor Steve Beshear is asking that $166 million from the next fiscal year be moved to the current fiscal year. The administration says it can generate savings in the next fiscal year to cover the $166 million. Senator Bob Leeper, chairman of the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee, said Wednesday that before the Senate agrees to move the $166 million, the administration needs to show that the $6 billion health care program has generated previously promised savings.

• The Senate voted 34-1 Wednesday, passing a bill under which Bible classes could be taught in Kentucky public schools. Republican Senator Joe Bowen of Owensboro, the bill's sponsor, says the intention is to acquaint students with a book that has had tremendous impact on American society and western culture, but Democratic Senator Kathy Stein of Lexington says the measure is unnecessary because nothing currently prohibits Kentucky public schools from teaching about the Bible. Under the Kentucky proposal, Bible courses would be offered as electives, meaning students could decide whether to take them.

• The Senate Health and Welfare Committee approved a measure  Wednesday under which people who abuse the elderly would be placed on a registry to prevent them from getting jobs caring for senior citizens. Republican Senator Julie Denton of Louisville says elder abusers often can go from job to job without anyone knowing about previous instances of mistreatment.

• Debbie Moskwa and Carolyn Scharf, who both lost children to drunk drivers, hit the halls of the Kentucky Legislature Wednesday morning talking to anyone who would listen about changing the state's shock probation law when it comes to offenders who kill while driving drunk. They eay the present law is unjust, and they're determined to change shock probation laws. Currently, shock probation can't be appealed. Moskwa says she believes shock probation should be up to the victim's family, not a judge.

• A Louisville high school student has died after being struck by a car as she walked to school. Sixteen-year-old Adrienne White died at a hospital Tuesday night. Police said White was struck at about 7 a.m. Tuesday on her way to Western High School, walking with some other students. Louisville Metro Police spokesperson Carey Klain said the driver of the car was not speeding and the student was not using a crosswalk. No charges are expected.

• Four grants totaling $1 million have been awarded to recipients in Kentucky to address health service access, health risks and health equity in different communities. The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky says the projects are expected to reach nearly 9,000 people around Kentucky in the next year. The recipients are Home of the Innocents in Louisville, St. Joseph Health System in Lexington, Cumberland Family Medical Center in Burkesville and Montgomery County Health Department in Mount Sterling. Each organization will receive $250,000, half of which is from the foundation. The grants are a result of the federal government's Social Innovation Fund.

• Thunder over Louisville returns on April 16. The fireworks and air show kicks off the Derby Festival, and this will be the 22nd annual staging of the event. New this year is a prime spot at Waterfront park that's being reserved for those with Pegasus Pins, which are sold to the public and help fund Derby Festival events. Festival President Mike Berry says this year's event will be what he termed a "roof-rattling experience." The theme of this year's event is "Thunder Power." The air show begins at 3 p.m. and will feature about 80 aircraft. More than 500,000 people gather along both sides of the Ohio River for the show.

• Police in northern Kentucky say an Edgewood couple who were found dead in their home apparently had been having an argument before the wife suffered a fatal cardiac event.Edgewood Police Chief Tony Kramer says the husband took his own life after his wife died. The couple were identified as 46-year-old Asenath Mastin and 48-year-old Thomas Mastin. Police believe she died before 11 p.m. EST Sunday and he died early Monday.

• Hundreds of protesters have shown their displeasure with a proposal intended to prod Kentucky police to crack down on illegal immigrants. The legislation would give local and state police broad authority to check the immigration status of people they suspect to be in the country illegally. It sailed through the Republican-controlled Senate last month, but faces strong opposition in the Democratic-controlled House. Democratic state Sen. Perry Clark of Louisville, one of the leading opponents of the measure, said it is both unnecessary and costly. The Legislative Research Commission estimated the cost at $89 million a year, primarily from putting more people in jail. Some 300 people took part in the demonstration Tuesday on the front steps of the Capitol.

# posted by Homer Owens @ 11:20 PM

EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...2-10-'11

• Federal EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson came under fire Wednesday as she testified before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Energy and Power on Capitol Hill. West Virginia First District Congressman David McKinley and Jackson exchanged heated comments when she voiced her opinion on global warming. McKinley asked, "Isn't global warming an issue that the scientists are still debating and you know it! I know it!" Jackson vehemently disagreed saying. "No I do not agree with that! I absolutely do not agree with that!" At stake is the elimination of portions of the Clean Air Act. A draft bill is up for consideration that would bar the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. Jackson voiced her displeasure at the proposal, saying it's just not conceivable that we wouldn't require our industries not to pollute our air, not to make our air dirtier and our families less healthy in order to increase business profit margins.

• Gary Wayne Withrow, 50, and Robert Stephen Foster, 41, both of Kanawha City, have been charged with grand larceny after police say they stole 24 feet of copper gutter from a home on Kanawha Avenue. Officers estimated the cost of replacing the gutters at $2,136.

• Police have arrested Chad "Pock" Williams, 35 in connection with the death of Jason Horne who was shot in the head on January 30th at a home in Godbey Heights in Logan County. Darren Keith Midkiff, 21, of Chapmanville, was arrested February 6th on charges of obstructing an officer and being an accessory to murder after the fact. State Police say Midkiff withheld information about where Williams was hiding.

• Ian Kessinger, 30, of Nitro, has been arrested and charged with child abuse resulting in injury. Kessinger admitted being angry, losing his temper and shaking his 6-week old son. Deputies went to Women's and Children's Hospital Tuesday where a doctor told them the infant had a skull fracture, broken collar bone and broken bones in his left wrist, injuries not associated with a medical disorder or accidental injury.

• Tolsia High School students and faculty sensed the loss and devastation as they walked the halls Tuesday without 17 year old Breanna "Breezy" Brewer, who was killed Monday in a Wayne County crash. Brewer was thrown from a truck and then pinned under it when her 16 year old cousin, a sophomore at Tolsia, lost control on Centerville Road in Prichard while the two were coming home from school. In November 2007, Breezy's parents, Kent and Bethana Brewer, were hit and killed while walking down Interstate 64 near Cross Lanes. Bethana Brewer was a teacher at Tolsia.

• Timothy Ramey, 25, has been charged with second-degree robbery, fleeing on foot, and obstruction after Huntington Police say he snatched a woman's purse Wednesday morning outside Generations Bar. He led police on a short foot chase before being arrested. Ramey is also charged with destruction of property for trying to kick out the back window of the police cruiser.

• Wednesday, Dustin Shaver testified against Joshawa Clark, who is on trial for robbing the Marquee Cinemas at Pullman Square in Huntington in July 2009. while Clark was an employee there. Shaver says they planned the robbery together. Shaver testified the first robbery yielded about $30,000, which was split, but the second robbery in October of 2009 was much less. Joshawa Clark is expected to testify in his own defense Thursday.

• U.S. Senator Joe Manchin is among a group of 73 additional colleagues in the House and Senate who sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates expressing concern that service members returning home are unable to receive therapies that treat traumatic brain injury unless they have a specific waiver. Manchin says America has a "sacred responsibility'' to ensure the best care for military veterans.

• Sarah Isner, a 15 year old girl, has been reunited with her family after Ritchie County Sheriff 's deputies found her unharmed in an abandoned house near the town of Burnthouse Tuesday night. State Police say 20 year old Joshua Duff of Nitro has been arraigned on several misdemeanors, including two counts of obstructing, two counts of fleeing an officer, trespassing and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Isner went missing January 30th.

• A group of Kanawha County residents filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday asking a judge to prohibit Bayer CropScience from restarting the production of methyl isocyanate, or MIC, at its Institute plant until the company can show it is complying with safety recommendations. In response, Bayer CropScience officials say the company has invested more than $25 million in new production, safety and communications equipment and has completed plans to reduce methyl isocyanate storage by 80 percent and has eliminated all above-ground storage. Employees responsible for the operation have undergone extensive process and safety training associated with the operations, and Bayer has established several new safety and communications processes.

• Aeronautics Commission Director Susan Chernenko told the House Finance Committee Wednesday that four of West Virginia's seven airports could lose complete air service if Congress ends federal air service subsidies. The program provides around $7.9 million annually to maintain routes for airports in Beckley, Bridgeport, Morgantown and Parkersburg.

• The Boy Scouts of America moved forward with plans to develop their newest scouting base in Fayette County Wednesday morning when they appointed entertainment destination veteran Mike Patrick to Chief Operating Officer of The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve. They also launched an official website.

# posted by Homer Owens @ 8:24 PM

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

EKB Capsule News...Kentucky...2-9-'11

• Pikeville city officials have declared the Chris Ratliff Law Office Building on Main Street unsafe. The building, located next to the construction site for the new hall of justice, is leaning, and no one is being allowed inside. A structural engineer ruled the building should be evacuated.

 

• Former Prestonsburg High School basketball player, 18 year old Warren Blackburn, has been indicted on charges he sold marijuana to students in a parking lot near Prestonsburg High School, some as young as 13 years of age. Blackburn has bonded out of jail and has been ordered not to be within 500 feet of any school. An arraignment is scheduled for February 25th.

 

• Coal miners Chad Alex Green and William Donnie Smith, both of Cawood, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Harlan Circuit Court against D&C Mining Corp., of Fries, Virginia, seeking unspecified damages. Both men were reinstated to their jobs in January by an administrative law judge after winning a discrimination case. Attorney Tony Oppegard of Lexington, who represents the miners, says the suit is the second using a Kentucky law prohibiting mining companies from laying off employees who notify inspectors of potential safety violations.

 

• Michael Amburgey of Vicco and Jason Amburgey of Mallie have been indicted on charges of theft by unlawful taking after allegedly stealing a cash register from the Handy Dan’s Store in Vicco.

 

• Tommy Justice, Jr. has been charged with assault and lodged in the Whitley County Jail after allegedly beating his wife. Officers located the victim at the Super 8 Motel in Williamsburg after being called by her. Police say she had numerous facial injuries and bruising to her abdomen.  

• Confusion. That is the main reason the Pike County Government approved the name of the Pike County Social Services Department be changed to the Pike County Community Services Department. The name change will restrict and limit confusion with Kentucky’s Social Services Department and provide the public with an understanding as to which department is affiliated with the county and which one is affiliated with the state. According to Pike County Community Services Director Carol Napier, confusion was an ongoing problem. All other information remains unchanged. To contact Napier or anyone in the community services department, call 606-432-6246.

• The bridge at the mouth of Church House Hollow in Belfry has served residents for nearly 40 years. The Pike County Fiscal Court was recently awarded $70,000 in emergency funds to construct a new, bigger, stronger and safer bridge. The bid to build the bridge came in at $89,000, leaving the county $19,000 short of getting all the money needed. Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford recently secured a commitment from Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Mike Hancock for the extra $19,000. The construction is expected to last between 45 and 60 days and begin sometime this week, and an access road has already been created so residents can safely enter and exit the road. Early on, Belfry Fire Department Chief Nee Jackson was worried the temporary access road would not accommodate emergency vehicles, but after driving it in its entirety, those worries have disappeared. The new bridge will be built to state specifications and, more importantly, is a single-span bridge. By eliminating the middle pillar water can flow more freely under the bridge in the event of a flood.  

•  A federal agency that monitors substance abuse and prevention will conduct a survey in Kentucky and other states over the course of 2011 to gather information on the prevalence of drug use in American society. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has contracted with the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) to conduct the national survey and will be contacting an estimated 200,000 households in 50 states. Participants will receive a $30 cash incentive to participate. The survey contains questions on physical and mental health and other topics associated with substance use and treatment. The results of the survey will help us to be more effective in formulating policy and allocating resources to better the lives of everyone in Kentucky.”

•  Don’t let out-of-state investment corporations that purchase counties’ delinquent tax bills sell your property. Take advantage of the Pike County Government’s 60-day amnesty period for delinquent solid waste bills. Those who owe money to Pike County Solid Waste will be given 60 days from the date of publication to pay delinquent bills. Assistant county attorney Roland Case sees a great advantage for people who participate. “If the court must pursue payment of these delinquent bills, a lawsuit will be filed for the total amount of the bill,” Case said. “The benefit to amnesty is late fees and penalties are waived if the bill is paid, but once the lawsuit is filed, the court must pursue the total bill. People need to take advantage of this amnesty program because lawsuits must follow if a bill is not paid or a payment plan put in place.” People or businesses with delinquent bills will be notified by mail. The letter will outline the terms of the amnesty program and will give instructions on how to proceed.

• The House voted 90-6 on Tuesday to approve an immigration bill that would require all government contractors to verify the citizenship of workers. The Senate is considering a separate immigration bill that would allow local and state police agencies to check the citizenship status of people they stop and detain them if warranted. Hundreds of demonstrators who believe the Senate bill is unfair and unnecessary gathered at the Capitol on Tuesday.

• The Senate voted 31-5 late Tuesday afternoon to approve a measure in which a long-standing moratorium on nuclear power plants in Kentucky would be lifted. State law prohibits nuclear power plants from being built in Kentucky until the U.S. has a permanent storage facility to contain radioactive waste.

# posted by Homer Owens @ 11:26 PM

EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...2-9-'11

• Eighty year old John B. Marcum was pronounced dead at Logan Regional Medical Center after he lost control of his pickup truck near Lenore in Mingo County and went over a hill into Laurel Lake Monday evening.

• The parents of 15 year old Sara Isner are offering a $1,000 reward in the search of their hearing-impaired daughter who was reported missing January 30th and is believed to be with 20 year old Josh Duff, of Nitro, who also is hearing-impaired. Authorities say Duff is suspected of stealing a brown 2000 Saturn that was found abandoned last week near the Ritchie-Gilmer county line.

• Appalachian Power Company has sent out a letter with a forecast of what consumers can expect over the next 12 months. The state Public Service Commission is currently considering a 5.5 percent base rate hike, and a decision is due out in April. Spokesperson Jeri Matheney says general operating expenses have not raised since 1992, but, come March 1st, they'll be requesting an almost 8 percent increase for their operating costs. Matheney says the cost of coal spiked in 2008 and in 2009, and an 8 percent increase shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

• One person is dead after an accident on Centerville Road in Prichard, in Wayne County, Tuesday afternoon. The driver was going around a curve when he lost control of his car then rolled into the front yard of a home.

• Justin Roberts, 25, and Erika Ellis-Rudolph, 37, have been arrested after police say they robbed the BP gas station on Fifth Avenue in Huntington early Tuesday morning. Roberts has been charged with first-degree robbery, obstruction and battery on a government official, while Rudolph is charged with accessory.

• Jury selection began Tuesday morning as Joshawa Clark was in court accused of aiding Dustin Shaver in the October 2009 armed robberies at Marquee Cinemas in Pullman Square in Huntington. By afternoon, officers with the Huntington Police Department were testifying. Detective Cass McMillian showed jurors surveillance videos of the robberies as well as Clark's phone records showing multiple calls to Shaver. When Clark was originally brought in for questioning by police, he admitted he gave Shaver a ride home.

• Michael Andrew Blair, 28, of Beckley was taken into custody Monday afternoon after he allegedly mugged a woman in the parking lot of the Walgreens Pharmacy on Robert C. Byrd Drive. The pharmacy was robbed at knifepoint Sunday night.

• Travis Ray Wickline of Sissonville has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree robbery, and Travis Goodwin has been ordered  to undergo a 60-day evaluation at the Anthony Center, a facility for youthful offenders, after pleading guilty to malicious wounding. Prosecutors say they beat and robbed Benjamin Craig, who was traveling from Illinois, where he was a college student, to North Carolina for spring break on March 17, 2010.

• Criminal complaints have been filed against two Marshall University basketball players. Cody Bays of Kenova alleges Deandre Kane and Shaquille Johnson physically assaulted him during an altercation outside the Thirsty Whale in Huntington on January 30th, causing him to suffer a swollen left eye and lacerations to the left side of his face. Kane and Johnson are facing battery charges.

• A trial is set for April 4th after Frederick Butts, of Charleston, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 274 counts of incest and sexual assault in both the first and second degrees. Prosecutors say Butts abused a family member for nine years. His bond is set at $274,000 in property or cash.

• Tuesday morning, an April 18th trial date was set for former Huntington police captain, 80 year old Foster "Pete" Bowen, who was arrested in August charged with sexually abusing young boys. Paul Farrell will be sworn-in as a Cabell County Circuit Court Judge Monday, replacing Dan O'Hanlon who retired last year. Farrell will preside over the trial.

• Senators voted unanimously Monday to mandate a bittering additive for antifreeze beginning in 2012. The bill would also limit lawsuits that may result from the addition of the required bittering agent.

• There is currently a total of $664 million in West Virginia's Rainy Day funds. A bill, approved by the Senate Transportation Committee Tuesday would require the transfer of some of the annual surpluses from the state Rainy Day funds to the state Road Fund. Senator Bob Williams, D-Taylor County, one of the bill's sponsors, says surplus funds are rarely moved into the Road Fund. The state DOH says it needs about $800 million to make all of the repairs on the state's highways and bridges that are necessary. The bill says the money could only be used on secondary roads and bridges. Under the measure passed, the bill would have to be reconsidered in 2015.

• House of Delegates Speaker Rick Thompson has officially entered the race for the Democratic nomination for governor. Thompson, who is from Wayne County in southern West Virginia,currently has approximately $660,000 in his campaign treasury. As of Tuesday afternoon, the list of those who had taken at least some steps with filings with the Secretary of State's Office included the following:

         Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin
     
         Randolph County State Senator Clark Barnes, a Republican

         Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, a Democrat

         Former Secretary of State Betty Ireland, a Republican

         House Speaker Rick Thompson, a Democrat

         Putnam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Sorsaia, a Republican

         Mountain Party Candidate Jesse Johnson

         Kanawha County Delegate Patrick Lane

# posted by Homer Owens @ 10:05 PM

Monday, February 07, 2011

EKB Capsule News...Kentucky...2-8-'11

• There are three certified rescue squads in Pike County and all have received their order of affiliation with the Pike County Government and the Pike County Office of Emergency Management. In all declared states of emergency, the squads will fall under the direction and control of the Pike County Office of Emergency Management and/or the Pike County Judge-Executive. Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford says affiliation also qualifies rescue squads for assistance from the state, and only in the event of a declared emergency do the standard operating procedures of the squads change. “By being affiliated with the county, members of the squads are covered by Kentucky Emergency Management insurance,” says Doug Tackett, Director of the Pike County Office of Emergency Services.

• Kentucky State Police say 47 year old Anthony D. Sayers of Belcher, in Pike County, died in an accident Sunday when he lost control of his vehicle, crossed the centerline and hit a guardrail, before overturning and going down an embankment on Ferrel's Creek Road on U.S. 460. Sayers was pronounced dead at the scene by Pike County Deputy Coroner Denver Bailey.

• Kentucky State Police Post 9 in Pikeville say Larry Ratliff, 62, of Banner, was traveling north on US 23 in front of the Harold Double Kwik gas station in Floyd County about 5:30 P.M. Sunday afternoon, and, while attempting to turn left into the gas station, his vehicle was struck by a car driven by Douglas Williamson, 45, of Kimper. A passenger in Ratliff’s SUV, Tabatha Bentley, 42, of Dwale, was pronounced dead at the scene. Both Williamson and Ratliff were transported to Pikeville Medical Center. At 1:30 A.M. Monday morning, Ratliff died at Holston Valley Hospital in Kingsport, Tennessee.

• The Boyd County Sheriff's Department has identified the man killed in a head-on crash Monday morning on Route 60 West near Manning Furniture as 30 year old Christopher Cumpston of Catlettsburg. Investigators say Cumpston was trying to pass five vehicles at a high rate of speed when he crashed into an oncoming dump truck. The driver of the dump truck received minor injuries.

• Attorney General Jack Conway's office has concluded that the Knott County Fiscal Court violated the state's Open Meetings Act by holding a meeting via telephone. An opinion released publicly Monday says Judge-Executive Randy Thompson and magistrates also violated the law by failing to response to a complaint about a December 22, 2010, meeting within three days. Knott County resident Emma Lois Pigman complained that the telephonic meeting excluded the public. In response, Knott County officials said they "will no long continue the practice if possible."

• First Lady Jane Beshear said Monday that the "Shop and Share Day" held Saturday at Kroger stores across the state netted $341,000 in goods and monetary gifts. The initiative, which has generated nearly $750,000 since it began three years ago, benefits domestic violence shelters across the state.

• U.S. District Judge Charles R. Simpson has ruled that Karen Cunagin Sypher’s attorneys have had enough time to prepare for the February 18th sentencing and Sypher will not get a hearing on a motion for a new trial. Sypher was convicted in August of attempting to extort Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino, lying to the FBI and retaliation against a witness. Her attorney, David Nolan, filed a motion in January, asking that the sentencing be delayed. In January, Simpson delayed Sypher’s sentencing 30 days to accommodate Nolan’s entrance into the case.

• Operation UNITE confiscated more than $10,000 in cash, 14 guns and approximately 50 assorted pills, including Roxycodone, Xanax and Opana, in an unmarked bottle during the search of the home on Bill Stepp Bottom in Inez, in Martin County, Saturday, February 5th. No arrests were made at the time of the search, but the case will be presented to a grand jury next month. Stacy was home with his wife and 13 year old granddaughter when detectives, Martin County Sheriff Garmon Preece and three deputies executed the search warrant.

• The old Jenkins High School was built in 1912, and, while three of the back rooms are used as a senior citizens center, the rest of the building has gone unused for decades. Judge-Executive Jim Ward and many others are hoping to transform it into an assisted living center for seniors. Ward says since the county took over the building, officials have invested about $1.5 million. The county has talked to a firm in Lexington about renovating the building.

• Consumer groups are hoping to add Kentucky to the growing list of states that have set caps on the interest rates that can be charged on payday loans. State Representative Darryl Owens, D-Louisville, said Monday that the House Banking and Insurance Committee has agreed to vote on legislation next week that would cap interest rates at 36 percent. Owens says lawmakers can no longer ignore mounting evidence that "predatory lenders" are preying on Kentucky's poor, including the elderly. If the legislation passes this year, Kentucky would join at least 17 other states and the District of Columbia that have already established caps.

• Kentucky law requires that kids be in school 177 days or 1,062 hours and that teachers work 185 days. Leslie County students have already missed 22 days, while Knox County has missed 20 and Estill County has missed 17. Most agree that kids shouldn’t be going to school past June 21st. Education Commissioner Terry Holliday says education commissioner would like to see some changes in the ways districts plan their calendars.

• The Kentucky Parole Board opted Monday to keep 46 year old Karen Brown in prison for at least five more years on her conviction in a murder case that included lesbian lovers and a hit man. Brown, her lover Elizabeth Turpin and Keith Bouchard were convicted in the killing of 22 year old Michael Turpin on February 3, 1986. Police say the women hoped to get $60,000 from insurance. Turpin's body was pulled from a pond near the entrance to Lakeside Golf Course in Lexington after he had been stabbed 19 times with two paring knives. Elizabeth Turpin, 44, who was married to Michael Turpin, faces the parole board February 16th at Western Kentucky Correctional Complex in Fredonia, where she is being held. Six members of the board cited the seriousness of the crime and the fact that a life was taken.

• Last week President Obama created a task force to look for cleaner coal alternatives and said he wants to pass an energy and climate bill. Congressman Hal Rogers says President Obama's latest proposal to protect streams from coal mining would hurt Appalachia and could eliminate more than seven thousand coal jobs, but he will use his position to make sure coal jobs stay in Kentucky. Rogers says EPA's rigid stance against mountaintop removal is something that is unwarranted.

• Only about 34 percent of students graduating from Kentucky public high schools last year were ready for college or careers. State Education Commissioner Terry Holliday sent emails to the superintendents and board chairs on Friday, asking them to sign a new pledge, called the "Commonwealth Commitment to College and Career Readiness." Holliday wants every public school superintendent and school board chair to pledge to raise college and career readiness in their high schools by 50 percent over the next four years. He wants signatures by April 1st.

# posted by Homer Owens @ 10:56 PM

EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...2-8-'11

• Emergency crews and a dive team began searching Larel Lake after a truck crashed into the water near Lenore, in Mingo County, just after 3:00 P.M. Monday. Dive teams from the Kermit Volunteer Fire Department, the Mingo County Sheriff's Department and Logan County Sheriff's Department recovered a Ford Crew Cab pickup truck in about 25 feet of water, and the driver was taken to Logan Regional Medical Center.

• Baltimore law firm Brower Piven is suing over Alpha Natural Resources' proposed $7.1 billion takeover of Massey Energy, making it the the third challenging the deal filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Brower Piven, which is seeking class-action status for Massey shareholders, claims the proposed price of 1.025 shares of Alpha stock and $10 cash for each Massey share is unfair. The price works out to $69.33, which the lawsuit complains is a "mere" 16 percent over Massey's price January 12th. The offer represents a 21 percent premium over Massey's closing share price the day before the deal was announced.

• Logan City Council member, 57 year old Jim Guy, who most recently served as Transportation Director and Assistant Superintendent of schools in Logan County and was best recognized for being the principal at Omar Grade school for several years, died Monday morning.

• Saturday afternoon, a Kanawha County Sheriff's deputy went to a residence on Raven Drive in Rand, where he found 21 year old Lora Mae Haynes of Charleston, and a two-year-old child sitting, in 36-degree weather, on the front porch of a home that was not theirs, while Haynes looked disoriented and intoxicated. Haynes told the deputy she road the Kanawha Regional Transportation bus to Rand to visit her mother but had been wandering around for a few hours looking for her mother's house. Child Protective Services  took the child to the grandmother who lived eight blocks away. Haynes was charged with child neglect.

• At a news conference Monday, the Charleston Police Department announced that two officers discharged their weapons a total of four times while nine officers were conducting a controlled drug buy on Charleston's West Side Friday. Brandon Taguyan, a St. Albans officer was injured, but an officer from the Kanawha County Sheriff's department fired the shot that killed Steiney Richards, 38, of Detroit, who sold them a large amount of cocaine and was in his car fleeing from police. The deputy has been place on administrative leave until the investigation is complete, which is protocol anytime someone is killed. Richards used his vehicle as a weapon but was not armed.  

• Logan County Sheriff's deputies say a white man in his teens or early 20s with short blonde hair, wearing jeans and a black hooded "Tapout" sweatshirt entered the Rite Aid on Holden Road Sunday evening, walked around the store for a few minutes then pointed a small, black revolver at the clerk and demanded she give him the money from her cash register. A witness then saw him run to the Dairy Delight parking lot, get in the driver's seat of a grey or blue Pontiac Grand Am and drive toward the Cora/Holden area.

• During a preliminary hearing Monday, Huntington Detective Cass McMillian said 19 year old Anthony Cole  confessed, during a taped interview after his arrest, that he fatally shot Dashawn Gilbert on January 26th. McMillian said Cole told him he was originally planning to kill himself but decided against it, and a short time later, Gilbert made a comment to Cole at which point he turned around, said "May God rest your soul" and fired one shot into Gilbert's head. Cole, who, faces charges of murder will have his case heard by a grand jury. He also faces first degree robbery after allegedly hitting a Marshall student in the back of the head and stealing her debit/credit card in December.

• Allison Williams, Miss West Virginia 2003, won a $7.2 million verdict in 2009 against nine Internet companies and individuals who promoted a sex video they falsely claimed featured Williams. U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley dismissed 28 other defendants who did not respond to the complaint, ruling she lacked jurisdiction. The judge refused to reconsider, and Williams appealed. Last week, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled in Williams' favor and ordered Keeley to enter a default judgment against the 28 defendants, saying the companies and individuals ignored the lawsuit at their own peril.

• The state Senate unanimously passed a bill Monday that targets anyone who secretly puts spying software on someone else's mobile phone or device, allowing the spy to eavesdrop on phone calls, monitor text and e-mail, and track the victim's location. The bill exempts parents, service and global positioning system providers, and employers when they supplied the mobile device. Those guilty would face up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $500 or both.

• West Virginians will go to the polls May 14th and October 4th to vote for a new governor after Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed into law Monday a bill setting the dates for a primary and general election to replace former Governor Joe Manchin, who left office last November to become a U.S. Senator. The winner will serve the remainder of Manchin’s term, which expires at the start of 2013.

• Almost Home Daycare Center on Teays Valley Road in Scott Depot was closed Monday for violations that include mouse droppings in cabinets, cats in a food storage area and a large amount of dog waste in an outside play area. The Putnam County Health Department issued a letter to the owners, Frank and Mary Sacco, February 4th, saying the center's written plan covering child care and food procedures was unacceptable, and the center had until until February 7th to meet several requirements to keep its permit.

• The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, and the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club has filed a required 60-day notice of intent to sue Allegheny Energy for Clean Water Act violations. They say Allegheny must clean up arsenic releases into the Cheat River watershed from Allegheny's Albright power plant in Preston County.

# posted by Homer Owens @ 10:18 PM

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 Jamie Avery at 1-800-325-2282 or jamie.avery@ky.gov. Rooms are available at the park.

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

EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...2-7-'11

• The president of the West Virginia Education Association says state Board of Education member Gayle Manchin should recuse herself from voting to hire the next state superintendent of schools because her husband, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, is the cousin of Mark Anthony Manchin. Board members will meet February 9th and 10th and are expected to choose state School Building Authority executive director Mark Manchin, WVU Board of Governors Chairwoman Carolyn Long or deputy state superintendent Jorea Marple as superintendent. State Department of Education spokesoman Liza Cordeiro says Manchin plans to participate.

• Police have arrested two Gilmer County women, Mary Ann Starcher and Yarica Jackson, on child abuse charges related to allegations they used electrical shocks to punish four children.Starcher told police she used a homemade device to shock four kids ranging from 4 to 12 years old, and Jackson admitted she allowed the punishment. 

• As part of his “Coffee and Common Sense” tour, Senator Joe Manchin made a stop in Beckley Saturday morning, spending roughly two hours fielding questions and discussing the biggest issues on people’s minds, including the national debt, health care and overseas war. Manchin said the government isn’t spending like it should, while he compared it to a family spending on extravagant items when they can’t afford the mortgage. From  Beckley, Manchin continued his tour to Fayetteville for a similar meeting at the Cathedral Café.

• Charleston Police arrested Larry Quickle Jr. Sunday afternoon after he allegedly stole two purses from customers at the Gabriel Brothers at the Kanawha Mall and K-Mart, both located on MacCorkle Avenue, and then led police on a high speed chase that ended when he crashed his van into a guard rail near the Patrick Street Bridge. 

• Saturday afternoon, Egyptian West Virginians gathered on the Kanawha Boulevard steps to rally in support of the people of Egypt, while voicing their overwhelming call for the current Egyptian administration to step down. Hosni Mubarak has been president of Egypt for thirty years after being appointed vice president in 1975 and becoming president following the assassination of Anwar El Sadat in 1981. Protesters in Egypt are calling for him to step down so they can elect a new government. Egypt ruling party leaders stepped down Saturday.

# posted by Homer Owens @ 6:34 PM

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