EKB News

David Crace was arrested on theft charges Thursday at a motel in Floyd County. Police believe he could be responsible for more than one hundred vehicle break-ins in several counties, including Floyd, Johnson and Pike. Crace is only charged with one count, but police in several counties are working to connect him to other thefts. Police say they believe Crace would either sell the items or trade them for drugs, and anyone caught with items taken from the cars will face receiving stolen property charges, Crace is a locksmith.


Ironton Police have arrested Dale Mayo, 50, of Flatwoods, Kentucky, on charges of improper handling of a firearm, inducing panic and aggrevated menacing after officers observed him pointing a gun and leaning over the cab of a truck in the parking lot of Frogtown Bar. Mayo led police in a chase which continued for several blocks at 20 mph. Officers recovered several rounds of ammunition, along with a 9mm handgun police say appeared to have malfunctioned.

• 'Save the American Dream' rallies could be heard across the nation Saturday. Hundreds of teachers, steel workers and AFL-CIO members rallied outside the Charleston Capitol to protest Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's budget bill that would increase benefit costs for public employees and curb their collective bargaining rights. The protestors say unions have brought on the 40 hour work week and are important to the labor rights of our country. Similar protests are scheduled in the future. Around a hundred people gathered at the state Capitol  to show support for the embattled citizens of Libya. While holding signs and chanting “ free Libya” and “1-2-3-4 show Qaddafi to the door” protesters expressed both their concern for the people and their hope for a future without Qaddafi.

• Friday, Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin announced $1.1 million in grants to help West Virginia flooding victims relocate through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program which consists of state and federal funds. The West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is working with the federal government in hopes of securing an additional $7 million for the program. More than $785,000 will go to Wyoming County for seven projects. The grants also cover two projects in Marion County and one in Kanawha County.

• West Virginia's spring forest fire season begins on March 1st and runs through May 31st. In 2011, 127 fires have burned 951 acres across the state. During the season, all outdoor burning is prohibited between 7:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. Division of Forestry officials say, after 4:00 P.M., residents can burn brush, leaves and limbs, but fires must be supervised until they are completely out. If a fire escapes and causes a forest fire, the person who set it may face charges and fines and may be liable for the costs of the damage and fighting the fire.

• Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, says the department will have to reduce services and raise fees to make up for a funding cut under the proposed 2011-12 Charleston budget. The health department gets $200,000, about 5 percent of its $3.6 million budget, from the city every year, but city officials are considering cutting that to $100,000.  At a recent city council meeting, Mayor Danny Jones said Charleston funds the health department through its direct contribution, now $200,000 a year, and through the county's contribution, also $200,000, which is funded through taxes. The state funds 35 percent of the health department's budget, while remaining budget contributions come from a variety of grants, federal programs and agencies.

• Denise Bradley, 48, pled guilty in Knott Circuit Court Thursday to second-degree manslaughter in connection with the 2009 death of her father, 79 year old John Adams. An investigation revealed Bradley assaulted her father at his Pinetop home on September 22, 2009 following an argument. The father and daughter had been at odds over a house deeded to her but was still under the control of Adams. Family members told investigators Adams had obtained a domestic violence order against his daughter in 2008. Adams was treated for head injuries at University of Kentucky Medical Center but died three weeks later at the Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center from complications due to blunt impact head injuries. As part of a plea agreement, the Commonwealth is recommending a 10-year prison sentence for Bradley, who is scheduled to be sentenced on March 10th in Knott Circuit Court.

• Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee Chairman Bob Leeper said Friday he plans for members of his panel to vote Monday to adjust the Medicaid budget and to send the proposal to the full Senate for consideration. The measure, as proposed by Governor Steve Beshear and approved by the House earlier this month, calls for shifting $166.5 million that would have been used next fiscal year to cover this year's costs. It also calls for carving out additional savings next year by contracting with more private firms to provide Medicaid services. Leeper says the Senate version will likely bring less money forward.

• Authorities say an Amish family in Dublin, in southwestern Kentucky, was traveling in a downpour in the dark Thursday night when their horse-drawn buggy flipped, knocking them into a creek that is normally a trickle but that often floods during heavy rains. Four children were swept away in the water. Two adults and three other children escaped. Rescuers found three bodies early Friday, then recovered the fourth later in the morning. Hickman County Coroner Paula Boaz says the dead include 8 year old Samuel Wagler, 5 year old Sarahmae Wagler, 5 month old Rosemary Wagler and their cousin, 11 year old Elizabeth Wagler. The coroner says all four children drowned. The rural area is about 25 miles south of Paducah.

• A joint effort between Northern Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky has received a $2.2 million grant to develop a support system for students with developmental disabilities. The program, known as Supported Higher Education Project, intends to support 150 students with disabilities in higher education settings. Also planned is training for 2,000 professionals in secondary and higher education and in disability services. Northern Kentucky University says the project's eventual goal is to include people with intellectual disabilities in all aspects of college life.

• After three days of trial and more than 4 hours of deliberation, Friday, a jury found 51 year old Clayton "Gino" Rogers guilty of first-degree murder charges in the August 2010 stabbing death of his ex-girlfriend, 25 year old Laura Amos who was found dead in an abandoned house in St. Albans. The jury granted him life with no mercy. A formal sentencing will be set within the next ten days.

• Donald Good, the man accused of the 1987 Huntington Mall rapes was in court Friday when his attorney, John Laishley, filed several motions aimed at suppressing DNA and other evidence. Laishley says his client is still very skeptical of the evidence saying too many things have been lost, mishandled and misplaced in this case creating significant doubt about it's integrity and credibility. If the defense is successful in getting the evidence suppressed, the case would be tossed out. Ahearing on the motions has been scheduled for March 11th.

• Michael Curtis was arrested Thursday and charged with  failing to register as a sex offender after he went to the South Charleston detachment saying he needed to register his address, but investigators found he hadn't kept his records up to date. Curtis was convicted in July 1990 of raping a 7 year old family member in Ohio. Curtis is also charged with malicious wounding after police say he stabbed Bobby Simmons in the stomach several times after a fight over money on the west side of Charleston. Curtis pleaded not guilty and is expected to go to trial in May.

• Nearly 400 Frontier Communications customers along Route 10, along Fish Pond Road near the intersection of Route 10, and Route 37 were without telephone service Friday morning because of the theft of about 600 feet of telephone cable in Lincoln County. Dennis Bloss, area general manager for Frontier Communications, says he hopes service will be restored by Saturday afternoon.

• Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia announced Friday its Buffalo plant soon will expand its production capacity of six-speed automatic trasmission from 270,000 to 390,000 units. The $64 million investment will mean 40 more well-paying jobs. When the new production line starts operations, the Putnam County plant will employ more than 1,100 people. The company says it expects to start production by late next year.

• Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin's plan to reduce the state food tax  three cents to two cents appears dead for this legislative session. A pair of bills in the House of Delegates and state Senate didn't make it out of committee by Friday and would now need rules suspensions to pass. The proposal would cost the state about $25 million in revenue. House Minority Leader Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, says House Republicans were ready to offer amendments to eliminate the entire tax, $75 million, but the measure didn't make it out of the Finance Committee Friday, even though it was on the agenda. Armstead says a gradual reduction the House leadership was interested in makes less sense with the decision Thursday by the Finance Committee to approve a $70 million state worker pay raise bill.

• White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske wrapped up a four-day visit to Kentucky with a visit in Pikeville Thursday. Kerlikowske says, during his tour, he found a significant problem with prescription pill abuse. He says he will continue to push for a crackdown on Florida "pill mills" that are supplying painkillers to Kentucky addicts and to press Florida Governor Rick Scott to reconsider his decision to end a prescription-monitoring program. Wednesday, federal agents and local police swept across South Florida, arresting at least 20 people, including five doctors.

• A mistrial has delayed the attempted murder trial for Darren Moore, a Jackson County man who was shot by Kentucky State Police on March 6, 2010 after they were called to his Sand Gap home for an alleged domestic dispute with his wife who had contacted 911 earlier, telling dispatchers that her husband made threats to kill her and any responding law enforcement officers. She advised that her husband was under the influence of alcohol, and he possessed several weapons in the home. Trooper Jesse Armstrong and Jackson County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Berry approached the residence on foot. They say he had a gun on the porch and would not drop it. Moore then threatened the officers by pointing the weapon in their direction. Trooper Armstrong and Deputy Berry both fired their duty weapons at Moore. Moore was struck once in the left arm and left leg. Moore is scheduled to be in court again on March 1st when a new trial date could be set.

• Senate Bill 151, a bill to require the election of members of the Public Service Commission, came before the House Committee on Tourism Development and Energy Thursday, where its House sponsor, Representative Keith Hall, D-Phelps, offered a substitute bill requiring the issue be studied. Because Hall's substitute wasn't ready for consideration, he asked it be passed over. Committee chairwoman, Representative Leslie Combs, D-Pikeville, said she would likely call a meeting Monday. Hall said his substitute “would be a study that would be continued to discuss this issue ... during the interim” before the 2012 legislative session. The committee took an hour of testimony on the pros and cons of electing utility regulators. House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, says he favors significant changes at the PSC because, as attorney general from 2003-07, he investigated the commission and found problems, but because the issue is complicated and involves a major policy change, he thinks it needs to be studied. Senator Ray Jones, D-Pikeville, sponsored SB 151.

• Police are investigating the death of a person whose body was found inside a burned mobile home in Jackson County. Authorities say Rostie Robinson died Thursday in an early morning fire on Asa Flatts Road. An investigation continues into what started the fire.

• A southern Kentucky teenager has pleaded not guilty to charges that he beat his adopted sister to death and tried to hide her body. Garrett Thomas Dye, who is 17, was charged as an adult in the slaying of 9 year old Amy Dye. The girl was found dead February 4th in a field in Todd County hours after being reported missing. Dye entered the plea during his arraignment Wednesday. He is charged with murder and tampering with evidence and resisting arrest. Dye's attorney, Dennis Ritchie, requested a pretrial hearing on March 23rd. Dye remains at the juvenile detention center in Bowling Green.

• Independent Gatewood Galbraith has differentiated himself from all other Kentucky gubernatorial candidates by taking a strong stand against mountaintop removal mining. Galbraith, who is making his fifth run for governor, said Thursday the practice has caused "unsurpassed environmental damage" in the Appalachian region and should not be allowed. He is the only candidate who has voiced opposition to mountaintop removal. All others have called for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ease regulations that are hampering the procedure. Galbraith won an early endorsement from the United Mine Workers of America, a sign that he says shows Kentucky's working class is unhappy with the state's political leadership. He said his opposition to mountaintop removal isn't a condemnation of the coal industry or of coal miners.

• Public defender David Barron, an attorney for several Kentucky death row inmates, wants to stop the state from ever using the recently acquired stock of sodium thiopental, a key lethal injection drug. Barron is asking a judge to rule that the state violated an order halting implementation of any part of Kentucky's execution protocol. Barron said the purchase violated an injunction put into place in September that stopped all executions in the state and prevented Kentucky from taking any steps toward executing an inmate. Despite a national shortage of sodium thiopental, Kentucky bought enough to carry out three lethal injections.

• Kentucky State Police in London say Pulaski County deputies were asked to assist with an emergency call involving a domestic dispute in Wayne County around 4:00 A.M. Thursday morning. When two deputies arrived, they were confronted by 38 year old James M. Lane of Jabez, who was armed with a handgun. Police say four people had barricaded themselves into a room in an attempt to stay away from Lane. After repeated verbal commands to drop the weapon, police say Lane refused to comply and was shot in the torso. Wayne County Coroner Forest Hicks pronounced him dead at the scene.

• The University of Kentucky is planning a May 15th ceremony to mark the opening of the first two patient-care floors and some of the common areas in the new Albert B. Chandler Hospital. The university says the facility will be ready for patients on May 22nd. Areas opening in May include 48 intensive-care beds, 80 acute-care beds, lobby, chapel, surgical waiting room and a 305-seat auditorium. The university says the auditorium will host the Lucille Caudill Little Performing Arts in HealthCare Program. UK executive vice president for health affairs Michael Karpf says the university wants the hospital to be technologically advanced while making people feel at home with Kentucky landscape, art and music. Native Kentucky trees, flowers and other plants will be incorporated in the landscape, and Kentucky art will be showcased in several areas.

• A bill that would require doctors to perform ultrasounds showing pregnant women the images of their fetuses before having abortions was defeated Thursday when it couldn't muster enough support to clear the House Health and Welfare Committee. The legislation easily passed the Senate last month, and such bills have won Senate support in recent years but have stalled in the House.

• Governor Steve Beshear has signed a bill into law that will allow optometrists to perform some uncomplicated medical procedures now reserved for ophthalmologists. Beshear says the measure will give Kentuckians greater access to necessary eye care. The measure allows optometrists to perform simple procedures like removing non-cancerous skin tags from eyelids or clearing lenses implanted by ophthalmologists in cataract surgeries. Beshear intends to meet with the Board of Optometric Examiners to make sure that optometrists undergo extensive training before conducting any surgical procedures.

• Kentucky has one of the nation's fastest-growing prison populations, and, as a result, taxpayer spending on corrections has soared by more than 300 percent since 1989. Legislation aimed at reducing prison costs drew strong support Thursday from a Senate panel that endorsed proposals to strengthen drug treatment and alternative sentencing for some nonviolent criminals to keep them from being locked up. The Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to send the measure to the full Senate, which is expected to vote Monday on some of the biggest changes to Kentucky's penal code in decades. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Tilley, D-Hopkinsville, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Tom Jensen, R-London, says the measure preserves tough penalties for violent offenders and hard-core drug traffickers.

• The Louisville Metro Ethics Commission is holding a closed hearing on complaints against Judy Green,a local councilwoman accused of using her position to enrich her family through a $35,000 she got for a youth summer jobs program, which she ran, in 2009. An investigation found she hired 12 of her relatives whose earnings accounted for about 10 percent of the grant. More than $28,000 was unaccounted for. Green says she did nothing. Ethics Commission Chairman Jonathan Ricketts says the complaint will be reviewed in a closed session, as required by a local ordinance. But Courier-Journal attorney Jon Fleischaker said state law allows the commission to deliberate privately but requires the hearing of evidence to happen in a public meeting.

• A former employee is suing the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, claiming she was fired for complaining about nepotism in hiring. Lana Reinhart, who worked as a human resources manager at the airport for nearly eight years, says she was fired suddenly. Reinhart claims she was let go after complaining about the authority's hiring practices to her director. She claims managers would hire people they knew for open positions without properly reviewing other job applicants. Reinhart also claims airport executive director Charles "Skip" Miller made comments about her age, which is 62. Airport Board Chairman Phil Lynch denied the allegations and said the airport looks forward to contesting them in court.

• Neighbors say several attempts were made to save two young children from a burning home in Maysville Wednesday afternoon,  but none were successful. Lonnie Alexander, who lives across the street from the home that burned, says Ray Bauer tried at least six times to get to the children "but it was just too hot, too black smoke." Maysville Fire Chief Eric Bach says both children were found dead in the kitchen. The children were being cared for by Sabrina Skaggs, who lived at the house with Bauer.

• A committee looking for the next University of Kentucky president has started narrowing the number of potential candidates to lead the state's flagship university. Search committee chairman Jim Stuckert won't give a specific number of candidates who are receiving attention. The search committee met for more than three hours Wednesday in Lexington. Stuckert said the panel has asked for more information on some candidates who drew particular interest. Once that information is back, he said the committee will decide its next steps. Stuckert said he's excited about the quality of the pool of candidates. Lee T. Todd Jr., UK's president for a decade, announced in September he'll step down when his contract expires in June.

• A LaRue County grand jury has indicted three former jailers on allegations of bringing contraband into the jail. Two of the three are accused of exchanging the contraband with female inmates for sex. The indictment comes after a two-year investigation by Kentucky State Police. It accuses 39 year old Travis Strader of bringing prescription painkillers, cell phones, marijuana, alcohol and tobacco into the jail. It also says he gave the items to female inmates in exchange for sexual favors. Sixty-six year old Harold Marcum is accused of giving tobacco to female inmates in exchange for sex. Thirty-one year old Josh Robinson is accused of bringing a cell phone, marijuana, alcohol and tobacco into the jail. All three men will be arraigned March 7th in LaRue Circuit Court.

• Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, is set to visit West Virginia on Friday as part of a multi-city tour focusing on Appalachia's prescription drug abuse problem. Kerlikowske will join U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin and others for discussions in Charleston and Huntington. Kerlikowske and Rockefeller are both scheduled to speak at the West Virginia Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Summit, hosted by Goodwin's office at the University of Charleston. Later, they will hold a roundtable discussion with community members at Marshall University. West Virginia has the nation's highest rate of overdose deaths, with most involving prescription drugs. Between 2001 and 2008, the number of West Virginians who died from accidental overdoses involving prescription drugs increased from 91 to 390.

• State Police say 21 year old Brittany Cantrell was driving an SUV on Beech Creek Road in Mingo County Wednesday afternoon when she hit the rear end of a school bus carrying only the driver. Cantrell, who was not wearing a seatbelt, died from her injuries.

• Stacey Nichole Farmer, of Squire, in McDowell County, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday on charges of child pornography. Farmer pleaded guilty to the charges in June 2010. She admitted that, from February through May 2009, she produced images of an underage girl, who was under her care at the time, engaging in sexually explicit conduct. An investigation of Farmer began when an agent in Alaska came upon an individual involved with child pornography postings of somebody possibly being abused in West Virginia. Authorities determined Farmer was sending the photos to 34 year old Charles Neyhart, of Chugiak, Alaska.  In November 2010, Neyhart was sentenced to 30 years in prison on child porn charges. Richard Schweich, 40, of San Jose, California, also was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for his participation in the conspiracy and for producing child porn. Farmer was also sentenced to life on supervised release and ordered to pay $982.53 in restitution to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.

• Massey Energy Co. said Thursday it will create a medical monitoring fund to provide health screenings for hundreds of southern West Virginia residents of Rawl, Lick Creek, Sprigg and Merrimac who claim Massey and its subsidiary Rawl Sales & Processing contaminated their water supplies by pumping 1.4 billion gallons of toxic coal slurry into worked-out underground mines between 1978 and 1987.

• Sam Littleton, 37, of Bellefontaine, Ohio is fighting extradition as he faces multiple charges in Ohio, including first-degree murder and kidnapping. Littleton is charged with the murder of 26 year old Tiffany Brown and is suspected in the disappearance of Richard and Gladis Russell, who are both in their 80s. The Russell's car was found abandoned at the Princeton Wal-Mart on Tuesday. Littleton was arrested Wednesday morning after he was spotted near a cave in a wooded area behind the Wal-Mart store. Blood residue was found in the passenger compartment and the trunk of the vehicle. Mercer County Circuit Court Judge William Sadler ordered Littleton held without bond pending resolution of the extradition. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 21st. Littleton will be held in the Southern Regional Jail until that time. Littleton could remain in West Virginia for up to 90 days.

• As the trial for Clayton "Gino" Rogers continued Wednesday, jurors watched as the state played a video recording of Rogers admitting to slashing the throat of his ex-girlfriend, 35 year old Laura Amos, who was found dead in a pool of blood inside a vacant St. Albans home last summer. In the taped confession, Rogers says he was drinking heavily the day of the murder and snapped, used two knives to slash Amos' throat, then took off and threw the weapons into the woods before hiding from police for two days. The jury started deliberating late Thursday after Clayton "Gino" Rogers admitted to police he killed Laura Amos. If convicted, Rogers could spend life in prison with or without the possibility of parole.

• Kenneth E. Pertillo, also known as "Kid," the last man sentenced in a Georgia-to-Huntington drug ring, has received a three-year, 10-month prison sentence. Pertillo, then 27, pleaded guilty in November 2010 to possessing crack cocaine with an intent to distribute. He signed a stipulation of facts admitting responsibility for trafficking between 22 and 28 grams of crack cocaine. Pertillo admitted that, during his June 12, 2009, arrest, officers found him carrying 5.02 grams of crack cocaine and $1,507 cash. 

• Edward Delane Miller, 31, of Beckley, entered a guilty plea to felony bank robbery Wednesday. Police say, on June 7th, Miller entered the First Peoples Bank in Mullens and passed a note to the teller, which stated "Yes this is a robbery & if you do not give me all of your money, you will get your head blown off."  The teller handed over $2,607 cash.

• An additional 720 uninsured West Virginia children could receive health-care benefits by 2014 under action endorsed Thursday by the state's Children's Health Insurance board. If the unanimous decision is approved by the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, a family of four would be able to earn $67,050 a year and still qualify for benefits. They also must be able to pay $35 a month premium, or co-pay, per child, or a maximum of $71 a month for two children or more. Currently, a family of three earning $46,000 or less qualifies for the program. State lawmakers authorized CHIP in 2006 to expand income eligibility to up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. 

• Budget cuts are on the way for the Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Thursday, Kanawha County Prosecutor Mark Plants announced cuts to the budget of $223, 875. Plants says he has cut as much as possible from the 2011-2012 budget, and while 27 employees in his office will receive pay cuts, no employees will receive a pay raise. The cuts represent a reduction of 5.8% of the budget. Plants had previously brought a budget before the Kanawha County Commission with $82,000 worth of cuts, but the commission said those cuts were not deep enough.

• Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee shot down House Bill 3265 which would have made it a felony to possess heroine without a valid prescription and called for a 1-15 year prison sentence with up to a $25,000 fine. Kanawha County Delegate Mark Hunt, who was in favor of taking the crime from a misdemeanor to a felony, says he understands the jails are overcrowded, but either we're going to get tough on drugs or we're not. Cabell County Delegate Carol Miller, who voted against it, says, while she's not soft on crime, she didn't think this was the right vehicle to deal with the problem. There are four bills in the system now that are dealing with day reporting and making these people go through various forms of rehab and reporting back.

• Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed gambling legislation the West Virginia Lottery and casino operators say is needed to remain competitive with neighboring states, such as Pennsylvania, which has slots and table games, while Maryland is opening casinos and Ohio will have slot casinos later this year. Revenue has fallen from a high of $972 million in 2007 to $747 million last year, and are forecast to fall even farther. The bill would make it easier for players to gamble higher amounts at the state's four race tracks and the Greenbrier Resort. It also allocates a percentage of the track revenue for casino capital improvements. Additionally, it would permit off-track simulcast betting on horse races at the Greenbrier. The most controversial part of the bill takes 2.5 percent, about $19 million, from the casinos' annual gross revenue and puts the money in a special fund, which can be matched by the casinos, to pay for improvements, such as new slot machines. Some lawmakers oppose the idea because it would take money away from a number of other funds and programs that get a share of the casino profits.

• Pikeville Police said Wednesday they have received several complaints about flyers that have popped up in several locations in Pikeville which appear to be photocopies of a membership application asking people to join the Ku Klux Klan. Police say they are investigating the flyers and are asking anyone with information to call them at 606-437-6236.

• Elkhorn City Council members have chosen Johnny Mack Potter to serve as interim Elkhorn City Mayor after a circuit judge removed newly elected mayor Mike Taylor from office and voided 2010 election results. Potter will be mayor until a winner is declared in another election, which has not been set because the Pike County Board of Elections and the elected mayor Mike Taylor are appealing the judge's decision for a new election. Potter was elected to city council in November after serving on the council from 2002 to 2006.

• Kentucky State Police Trooper Bruce Reeves says, around 3:25 A.M. Wednesday morning, a Fed-Ex tractor-trailer and a SUV, with Illinois plates, collided on northbound Interstate 65 near Elizabethtown, killing three and injuring four others. Reeves says the collision caused the SUV to overturn, but neither vehicle crossed the median. Killed were 26 year old Victor Chacon, 10 year old Brianna Chacon and 11 year old Tatyana Alvarez. Hardin County Chief Deputy Coroner Kenneth Spangenberger said all died from multiple trauma.

• A man killed in a mobile home fire on Blackhawk Road in Jackson County Tuesday night has been identified as 56 year old Burton Mays. Mays' mother says her son was disabled and kept mostly to himself. Police say they don't suspect any foul play in the blaze and suspect the fire was started accidentally.

• Several governors and lawmakers from states, including Kentucky, have spent many hours and sent letters urging Florida Governor Rick Scott to develop and maintain a prescription drug database in order to help prevent the tremendous flow of prescription drugs coming from the state, which has no monitoring system in place. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and local police swept across South Florida on Wednesday making arrests as part of a lengthy undercover operation into illegal pill mills that dispense huge amounts of powerful prescription drugs across the nation. The raids appear to be the largest effort yet by law enforcement to curb the sale of Oxycodone and other drugs at hundreds of pain clinics in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach. Mark R. Trouville, chief of the Miami DEA field office, said more arrests are coming, noting that undercover agents made at least 340 purchases of Oxycodone and other painkillers at 40 clinics over the past year.

• The Kentucky House voted 89-0 Wednesday to approve a symbolic resolution urging Governor Steve Beshear to halt further furloughs of state employees. Beshear furloughed 36,000 state workers for six days this fiscal year to help balance the budget. There have been three furlough days so far. Democratic Representative Rick Nelson of Middlesboro says state government has hired more people even while furloughing workers. He also said state tax collections are up. Beshear says furloughs are meant to minimize disruptions in services, and reducing furlough days will be among the first options looked at if tax receipts are strong enough to ensure a balanced budget.

• A coalition of business leaders is urging Kentucky lawmakers to shelve a bill that would require members of the Public Service Commission be elected instead of appointed. Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President Dave Adkisson said Wednesday the legislation would politicize the process for setting electricity rates, hurting businesses. The bill, which passed the Senate last week and is awaiting action in the House, would expand the commission from three members to seven and require they be elected to staggered four-year terms. Democratic Senator Ray Jones of Pikeville introduced the measure on behalf of eastern Kentucky residents who were hit with a 17 percent electric rate increase last year.

• Governor Steve Beshear visited the newly created Highlands Center for Autism in Prestonsburg, in Floyd County, Tuesday afternoon. The center, which was made possible by a $360,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission, operates as a year-round private day school and accepts students from earliest diagnosis through school age. The school currently accommodates seven students with plans for further expansion to accommodate 50 students and provide 50 jobs. Governor Beshear says the facility provides services to help children with autism without them having to travel to other states.

• The House Education Committee on Tuesday passed House Bill 370 by a vote of 21-1. The bill would extend anti-bullying protections to children in Kentucky schools who are the subject of harassment because of their sexual orientation. The General Assembly approved an anti-bullying law in 2008, but that bill did not include language that said students cannot be discriminated against or bullied based on sexual orientation, race, religion or mental or physical disability.

• Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of 25 year old William Freeman of Louisville to determine whether his sentence is fair. Freeman, who was arrested seven years ago for possession of a loaded firearm and crack cocaine, faced a maximum penalty of life in prison, so he accepted a plea bargain requiring him to serve 106 months in prison, including 46 months on the crack cocaine charge. In 2007, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reduced the sentencing guideline range for crack. As a result, thousands of offenders have gotten their sentences reduced by an average of 26 months. Freeman was denied that break because he entered a fixed plea bargain.

• Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobbie Holsclaw is asking for an investigation into passage of legislation that would allow optometrists to perform some uncomplicated medical procedures now reserved for ophthalmologists. Holsclaw says she isn't alleging wrongdoing, but the measure raised concern by sailing through the legislature so quickly. The measure would allow optometrists, who made some $250,000 in campaign contributions to state lawmakers over the past year, to perform a variety of simple surgical procedures. American Optometric Association President Joe Ellis said previously that Kentucky lawmakers passed the bill because they recognized the need to modernize state law.

• Two fired McCracken County Schools employees are accused of stealing property valued at more than $10,000 from the schools. An indictment in the case claims 51 year old Thomas Clement and 43 year old Christopher Stamper purchased thousands of dollars worth of automotive items and other tools with school transportation funds. Many of the items were purchased for personal use, but invoices had been altered to indicate they were legitimate purchases. Stamper was senior mechanic at the district's bus garage. Clement was his supervisor. Both surrendered to police on Tuesday, and they were out on $2,500 bond each by evening. Each faces a charge of theft by unlawful taking over $10,000 and receiving stolen property over $10,000. They face arraignment March 17th.

• A couple is accused of stealing between $20,000 and $40,000 worth of catalytic converters from the Georgetown Toyota plant. Georgetown Police say 29 year old Darren Baker was contracted to work at the plant. He was arrested Saturday morning after an employee saw him and realized he shouldn't be at the plant. Baker's girlfriend, 25 year old Callie Ballard, is also under arrest after police say she dumped two duffel bags full of catalytic converters behind a business. The street value of the converters is between $400 and $500 each, but police said the couple often sold them for as little as $35. Police believe the thefts began in September.

• Kentucky State Park resorts will resume seven-days-a-week operations on March 1, 2011. This change in schedule includes lodges and restaurants at the 17 resort parks across the state. Most resort parks also have cottages available. These parks have been on a reduced schedule during the winter months.

• Federal investigators have cited CONSOL Energy in the July 2010 death of Jesse Adkins, a 39 year old roof bolter operator from Belington. Investigators say CONSOL did not take adequate steps to support the mine wall at the company's Loveridge in Marion County. Adkins was crushed under a piece of mine wall, or rib, that measured 16 feet long by 55 inches high and 16 inches thick. Federal investigators also found that existing equipment at the mine was not able to install needed mine wall supports.

• Wednesday morning, West Virginia State Police in Princeton, in Mercer County, arrested a male fugitive wanted in the murder of an Ohio woman and possibly connected to the disappearance of an elderly couple. Thirty-seven year old Sam Littleton was wanted for murder in the stabbing death of 26 year old Tiffany Brown in Bellefontaine, Ohio. Brown was the daughter of Littleton's girlfriend. He's also suspected in the disappearance of 84 year old Richard Russell and his wife, 85 year old Gladis Russell. Sr. West Virginia Trooper S.R. Moore says a passerby saw Littleton at the Marathon gas station in Princeton shortly before noon Tuesday. However, by the time officers arrived Littleton was gone. Littleton is charged with murder, felonious assault, gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence for Brown's death. Police say he has a history of violent tendencies.

• Troopers say, around 8:00 A.M. Tuesday morning, 29 year old Jennifer Kessler was sleeping in her bed at her home on Sunday Road in Fayette County when a gun being cleaned by her 8 year old son discharged, sending a bullet into the back of her head. Kessler was killed instantly.

• West Virginia Delegate Mike Manypenny has introduced the "Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act," proposed legislation that would allow any person suffering from a debilitating medical condition to use medical marijuana. Patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, seizures or severe nausea would qualify under the program. Persons 18 years old or older, who have never been convicted of a felony drug conviction, would qualify to own six marijuana plants and one ounce of usable marijuana. The bill also requires the use of identification cards and that sales tax be collected and deposited into a special fund for drug prevention programs and abuse.  

• Riverside High School was on lockdown for about two hours, beginning at 8:00 A.M. Wednesday morning, as a safety precaution because a student brought fireworks to the school. The Kanawha County bomb squad was called out to do a sweep. Investigators say a 16 year old brought a firecracker to school and threatened to blow up a bathroom. The 16 year old was taken into custody and is facing juvenile charges.

• A Lincoln County couple will be sentenced May 31st after pleading guilty to federal drug charges. Ashley Brumfield, 25, and her husband, Randy Brumfield Jr., 26, pleaded guilty to distribution of Oxycodone charges Tuesday. The couple admitted Randy Brumfield, Jr. sold one 80-milligram Oxycodone pill to a confidential informant in October 2009. Randy also admitted he is responsible for distributing 5000 80-milligram Oxycodone pills, while Ashley admitted she is responsible for distributing 33 80-milligram Oxycodone pills. Each face up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

• Opening arguments got underway Tuesday afternoon in the Kanawha County murder trial of Clayton "Geno" Rogers. He's accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend Laura Amos last summer in a vacant house in western Kanawha County. His trial is expected to take about a week.

• Forty-nine year old Luke W. Pugh of Jane Lew and 39 year old Chad J. Ferrell of Nettie, two West Virginia coal miners indicted on federal charges that they lied about their credentials, have agreed to plead guilty to unspecified charges when they appear March 8th in Elkins federal court. Pugh was indicted on 37 federal charges in December, while Ferrell faces a 30-count indictment. The men are accused of falsely claiming to be certified to conduct safety inspections and work as foremen when they signed off on examinations in record books. Pugh also is accused of lying to a federal Mine Safety and Health Administration inspector.

• Thirty-three year old Gabriel Hargus entered a guilty plea in a Kanawha County courtroom Tuesday after  prosecution and defense lawyers agreed the 44-count indictment against him for solicitation, sexual abuse of a minor, child pornography and forgery would be cut down to two counts. One each for third degree sexual abuse and child porn. Hargus admitted to touching the breast of a 13 year old girl. Hargus is facing up to two years in prison when sentenced March 25th. As part of the deal, Hargus will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

• Former West Virginia Lottery inspector, 55 year old Carolyn Ann Kitchen of Chapmanville, has been sentenced to five years probation after admitting in November that she lied to investigators with the FBI and IRS in February 2008 when asked about accepting money and other gifts from longtime Logan County delegate Joseph C. Ferrell, who owned Southern Amusements Inc. Kitchen accepted money and gifts in exchange for being available after hours and on weekends to open the sealed parts of video lottery machines if they needed repairs.

• Charleston Mayor Danny Jones announced at a city council meeting that city workers will no longer receive sick leave as they now know it. Jones says this is an effort to save money to help pay for pension liability and post employment benefits. Under the new plan, city employees will not accumulate any additional sick time, but they will be able to use time they have already accumulated until the end of this year. Mayor Jones says the sick leave will be replaced with something like personal days. If workers need to take time off, they will have a curtain number of days each year, unlike the system now in place.

• Chief U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin has extended for a month his temporary restraining order blocking Bayer CropScience from restarting the methyl isocyanate unit at its Institute plant. Goodwin had scheduled a hearing to consider a longer-term court order for this Friday, but extended his temporary restraining order to allow time for M. Sam Mannan, a chemical engineer from Texas A&M University, to inspect the unit and advise the court. The hearing has been rescheduled for March 21st.

• Due to an $8 million Medicare computer glitch, Charleston Area Medical Center's cash flow is down about $11 million. The $8 million accounts for about 60 days in a backlog of payments. As of February, $3 million of the $8 million has come in. The billing error also affected CAMC Teays Valley. Tony Gregory, vice president of legislative affairs for the West Virginia Hospital Association, says a programming error in the claims processing software early this year caused a delay in Medicare reimbursements to all West Virginia hospitals.

White House Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske is visiting the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Louisville for the start of a swing through Kentucky to look at anti-drug initiatives. During his stop Tuesday, Kerlikowske will meet with staff members, doctors and veterans involved in a substance abuse residential treatment program at the VA center. Rep. John Yarmuth's office says the program has treated more than 560 area veterans. Kerlikowske is scheduled to be in Lexington on Wednesday for a round-table discussion. He has stops planned in London and Pikeville on Thursday.


The Supreme Court has passed up a chance to take another look at a six-year-old ruling that struck down the display of the Ten Commandments in two Kentucky courthouses. McCreary and Pulaski counties had appealed recent lower court rulings barring them from posting the commandments, despite changes to the displays to include multiple religious and government documents. The counties were hoping that those differences, as well as critical changes in the composition of the high court, would lead the justices to take up their appeal. But the court declined to do so Tuesday, without comment.


Six students and a bus driver have been taken to the hospital after a dump truck hit a Jefferson County school bus at an interstate interchange. Jefferson County Public Schools spokeswoman Lauren Roberts said the bus was headed to Wheatley Elementary in west Louisville on Tuesday morning when the dump truck struck the bus where Interstate 65 meets I-264. Louisville Metro Police Officer Carey Klain said the students were taken to Kosair Children's Hospital and two adults were taken to Norton Healthcare with "very minor injuries."


Kentucky environmental regulators have issued a violation notice to a water treatment plant after problems surfaced during a diesel spill into the North Fork of the Kentucky River. The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection gave the notice on Friday to Whitesburg's water treatment plant. Division of Water spokeswoman Allison Fleck told The Lexington Herald-Leader that the notice says actions that could have stopped the fuel from passing through the plant were not taken and that there were problems with the proper operation of the facility. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet says the source of the Feb. 15 leak was identified as Childers Oil Bulk Facility, where a remote underground pipeline associated with an above-ground storage tank leaked due to equipment malfunction.


Officials say a new economic development partnership in northwest Tennessee and southwest Kentucky is very timely.
The Ken-Tenn Regional Alliance has been formed as the shutdown of the Goodyear plant in Union City late in 2011 has been announced, affecting 1,900 workers. Dr. Allison Davis of the University of Kentucky, a grant writer who put together details of the partnership, described the alliance as a "sustainable community project." The alliance represents Obion, Weakley and Lake counties in Tennessee and Fulton and Hickman counties in Kentucky. All the counties have made funding commitments to the group. According to the Union City Daily Messenger, the goal of the alliance is to attract, keep and grow small businesses in the region.


 “Many states have been successful in raising funds for the arts with specialty license plates. This statewide effort by the Kentucky Foundation for the Arts, in partnership with the Kentucky Arts Council, is an excellent way for Kentuckians to support local arts organizations as they do the important work of providing opportunities for people of all ages to become engaged in the arts. This newly designed plate also is a unique way for drivers to publicly display their support for the arts.”


QK4, an engineering firm based in Louisville, has been selected to design safety improvements to Goff Curve at Millard in Pike County.
"This moves us one step closer to increased safety at this site," said John Michael Johnson, Project Manager for Highway District 12. "Now we have to finalize a contract with QK4, which should be done by April 1 of this year. Design alternatives should be ready for a public meeting in December."

• West Virginia State troopers responded to a shooting which happened early Tuesday morning near Iaeger in McDowell County. Michael "Chad" Franklin, 24, of Iager was pronounced dead at Welch Community Hospital after being involved in a struggle for a pistol with another individual on Sandy Huff Branch Road near Iager. State Police say the pistol accidentally discharged and struck Franklin.

• Police have made a third arrest in connection with the January 30th murder of Jason Horne which occurred  in Godby Heights in Logan County. Horne was fatally shot in the head. Ronald Wade Bentley, 39, of Chapmanville, has been arrested for being an accessory to murder after the fact. Chad Williams was arrested earlier this month and charged with first-degree murder. Darren Midkiff is accused of withholding information from troopers about where Williams was hiding.

• Edward "EB" Crawford, a Huntington man charged with the September 2009 shooting death of Toney Johnson, has been on home confinement while awaiting trial on charges of murder, possessing a controlled substance with intent to deliver and wanton endangerment. During a hearing in Cabell County Circuit Court Tuesday, Judge Paul Farrell ordered Crawford stay in jail as the result of a home conferment violation in January that returned him to jail. It was the third such violation in the past six months. Crawford’s trial could start in July.

• Randall Noble, 37, of St. Albans, was under evaluation at Charleston Area Medical Center General Hospital on Tuesday after police say he blew off part of a finger while trying to check a .40-caliber Sig Sauer pistol to see if it was loaded. Lt. Sean Crosier of the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department says, "Treat all firearms as if they are loaded. Always keep them pointed in a safe direction, with your finger off the trigger. Don't put your finger over the barrel."

• Michael Joseph Smith, 28, and Robbyn Ashley Smith, 27, of Milton, were pulled over Sunday night because of window tint. During a search of the vehicle, several boxes of pseudoephedrine, a drug used in many cold medicines and a common ingredient for cooking methamphetamine were uncovered. A search of the couple's residence revealed more methamphetamine-related items and ingredients, along with 20 marijuana seeds. Both were charged with felony operation of a clandestine drug lab.

• State Police say, on Saturday, 29 year old Edward Robinson of South Charleston was walking along Jefferson Road in South Charleston when he was hit by a car. Robinson was taken initially to Thomas Memorial Hospital, but due to the severity of his injuries, he was transferred to Charleston Area Medical Center General Hospital where he died.

• Huntington Police, 28 year old Eric Bias, also known as "China," around 1:00 A.M. Tuesday morning and charged him with felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, fleeing and obstruction. Bias also had an outstanding warrant for 1st degree robbery. Officers has attempted to approach Bias on 16th Street and Doulton Avenue, but he led them on a short foot chase before they caught up with him and found he possessed 19.3 grams of marijuana wrapped in individual baggies.

• The House Health and Human Resources Committee voted 13-10 Tuesday to pass a bill that would raise state cigarette taxes from 55 cents per pack to $1.55 per pack. It also would raise taxes on smokeless tobacco from 7 percent to 50 percent of wholesale price. During the committee meeting, lawmakers got sidetracked on the issue of whether to test welfare recipients for illegal drugs. The amendment offered by Delegate Patrick Lane, R-Kanawha, had little chance of passing the Democrat-controlled committee. The amendment failed 9-14.

• Senator Joe Manchin's office announced Tuesday his staff is planning a one-week blitz of constituent meetings across West Virginia. The staff will travel to more than 80 places around the state to meet with West Virginians to allow people to discuss their ideas, priorities and concerns. Manchin is currently on a Senate fact-finding trip to the Middle East and says he won't be attending the meetings.

• Dozens of parents and teachers showed their support for West Hamlin Elementary School teacher Tawanna Holten Monday night at a Lincoln County Board of Education meeting. She was suspended for 20 days for duct-taping a 2nd grader to his locker, something some students and parents say was done as a joke. Holten is expected to return to teaching at the school the second week of March.

• Officials with the West Virginia Racing Commission say they're deeply concerned about the number of injuries over the past six years at Mardi Gras racetrack in Nitro. From the beginning of 2005 to the end of 2010, more than 3,200 injuries were reported. At least 152 dogs suffered injuries that were so severe they had to be euthanized, while at least seven died as a result of illnesses contracted in the kennels. Injuries have dropped over the past two years, and Dan Adkins, who serves as the president of Hartman Tyner, the company that owns the track, has said repeatedly that the health and safety of the dogs at Mardi Gras is his No. 1 concern. Michael Markarian, chief operating officer with the Humane Society, says  greyhound racing is declining in popularity across the nation and should be brought to an end.

• Bidders have claimed all 1,500 limited video lottery licenses available in the West Virginia Lottery Commission’s second round of bid openings, while up to 995 10-year licenses will be available for the final round of bid openings on June 10th. Winning bids during last week’s second round ranged from $15,003 to $8,717 per license. Existing video lottery licenses will expire June 30th, and the new licenses go into effect July 1st. The Legislature authorized the machines in 2001 at the urging of then-Governor Bob Wise, who said it would eliminate thousands of illegal gambling machines across the state.

• Under a measure passed Tuesday, electronic raffle machines could make a limited return to West Virginia. The House Judiciary Committee has endorsed a measure allowing up to five devices at a given location. But any machine must be registered with the state tax commissioner, who oversees raffle and bingo games. A law enacted last year outlawed the sort of video-enhanced raffle devices seized in a Harrison County raid after tax officials said they were too much like casino-style poker machines. Fraternal and veterans groups that offer raffle games for charity allege the law has been unfairly applied. The pending bill would allow machines that aren't played but instead dispense predetermined tickets.

• Most West Virginia fire departments are volunteer, and up to $3 million a year would help them pay workers’ compensation premium increases. West Virginia’s volunteer fire departments are turning to state lawmakers for help with insurance and recruitment. A House bill introduced this week would tap liquor revenues to provide $5 million a year for the departments. If available funds can’t cover all the increases, departments would get money based on hardship. Remaining money would help departments find and keep firefighters. These incentives could include academic scholarships and length of service awards. Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has proposed a total $5 million for volunteer departments this year and next.

• The state Senate Transportation Committee originated a bill Tuesday that would raise various fees for things like annual vehicle registration, five-year driver's licenses and title transfers, some of which have been the same since the early 1950s. Officials with the state Division of Motor Vehicles say the stagnant state Road Fund would get an additional $40 million a year for road repairs. Those who own cars and trucks weighing up to 4,000 pounds would pay $40 per year while those owning vehicles weighing more than 4,000 pounds would pay $60 per year for registration. State Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox says the $40 million boost would help the Road Fund which now is about $113 million. He says the money would be used to repair secondary roads and small bridges.

• Kentucky State Police say Curley Chapman, 66 of Kimper, in Pike County, was pronounce dead at Pikeville Medical Center Friday afternoon after a car driven by 28 year old Tabitha Akers, he was riding in, crossed the center line on Kentucky Highway 194, hitting a pickup truck driven by 34 year old Leslie Todd. Both Akers and Todd were treated and released from PMC.

•  Pikeville Mayor Frank Justice II and the chairman of the Expo Center Board signed a lease agreement at a special commission meeting, putting the city of Pikeville one step closer to taking over the East Kentucky Expo Center. Officials say the next move will be to sign a contract with a management company

• About 20 people held a protest outside the American Electric Power offices in Pikeville Monday as protesters voiced concerns over higher electric bills this winter, some as high as one thousand dollars. Protesters were hoping to get the attention of lawmakers. Officials, including Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford, met with the protesters.

• Kentucky State Police are searching for a man they believe was involved in an eastern Kentucky homicide. Trooper Walt Meachum says a UPS employee found 67 year old Katherine Mills of Dewitt in Knox County dead. Evidence at the scene indicates Mills was robbed and killed on December 20, 2010. Witnesses described a white man with long hair and facial hair, wearing jeans and a hunting coat with a Mossy Oak camo pattern with a hood walking around the corner of the home where Mills was found. The man got in a blue car, which was later seen in the Stinking Creek community. Meachum says the man may have changed appearances or disposed of the car. The state police post in Harlan is handling the investigation.

• Ricky Allen Shepherd, 23, of Montgomery Creek, in Knott County was killed Monday after he was thrown off his motorcycle after colliding with a car on Kentucky Highway 1102, right off Highway 80.

• In President Obama's budget proposal, 50 percent of the Community Service Block grant that provides C.A.A. services would be cut, meaning Community Action Agencies could be forced to cut heating assistance, work release, and head start programs. Lawmakers are expected to make a decision on the budget by March 4th.

• Forty-five year old Sylvester Lee Groves was found dead in Hinkston Creek within the city limits of Mount Sterling Sunday afternoon after being missing since Friday. Police would not say how they believe Groves died. His body was sent to the medical examiner's office in Frankfort for an autopsy on Monday. 

• Police say they've arrested a man they believe robbed Thompson Drug off U.S. 25 in London Saturday at knifepoint, stealing more than 5,000 pills. Thirty-three year old Bradley Hale has been charged with the robbery. 

• Police in Knott County are searching for 51 year old Richard Strong who has not talked to his wife, Darlene Strong,  since 3:00 Friday afternoon, when he was dropping off a neighbor at his house. Police say, later that night, Richard Strong was with a group of people on top of a strip mine site above Highway 899 in Raven. Officer Ken Amburgey with the Knott County Police Department says the last time witnesses saw Strong he was wandering away from the campsite following an alleged altercation with another person. Police found Strong's car a couple of miles away.

• Monday morning, the Kentucky Parole Board denied a parole request for 44 year old Elizabeth Turpin, who was convicted of planning the murder of her husband, 22 year old Michael Turpin, which was carried out by her girlfriend, Karen Brown, and Keith Bouchard. Police say the women hoped to get $60,000 from life insurance. Michael Turpin was stabbed 19 time, and his body dumped in a pond at Jacboson Park in 1986. Turpin was sentenced to life in prison. She will not be eligible to seek parole again for 10 years.

• The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet has appealed Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd's decision to allow four environmental groups to intervene in a settlement of water pollution violations by the state's two largest producers of surface-mined coal. Shepherd ruled February 11th that Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Kentucky Riverkeeper, New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance and North Carolina-based Appalachian Voices, which triggered the state's investigation of Frasure Creek Mining and ICG of Hazard and Knott County by filing a notice of intent to sue under the federal Clean Water Act, have a right to be heard. The state's appeal calls Shepherd's order "unprecedented" and "novel" and says the state court has no jurisdiction over the environmental groups' federal Clean Water Act claims.

• An audit has found the Kentucky Workers' Compensation Funding Commission paid about $510,000 to a private financial adviser when the law requires it to use state-employed advisers. Auditor Crit Luallen says the commission has paid Morgan Stanley Smith Barney $40,000 to $50,000 a year since 1999. State law requires the commission to use the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet's Office of Fiscal Management. The commission, which manages more than $350 million in assets, has agreed to begin using the Office of Fiscal Management as its financial adviser.

• Jonathan Steiner, who became the new executive director of the Kentucky League of Cities in November, says he's considering closing the organization's office near the state Capitol in Frankfort. Steiner says the office is primarily used by lobbyists for KLC legislative issues and is most heavily used during legislative sessions, and nothing would happen with the office, a two-story Victorian house, until after the General Assembly adjourns in early March. Property records list the site's value at $250,000. The Lexington-based League of Cities represents more than 300 cities.

• The Governor's Task Force on Transforming Education in Kentucky presented Governor Steve Beshear with its final report  Monday. Thirty-five recommendations for changes to Kentucky's education system include raising the dropout age to 18, funding to expand programs to recruit better teachers and the idea of establishing a steering committee to develop a new model of secondary and technical education, with a focus on career technology programs and having it ready for consideration in the 2012 General Assembly. Beshear tapped parents, teachers, superintendents and lawmakers for the committee, which was co-chaired by Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holiday.

• A Frenchburg woman hired to pay bills for the disabled and elderly has been indicted on claims that she stole more than $16,000 from them. Commonwealth's Attorney Larry Cleveland says 35 year old Melanie Hill, who  worked at Community Alternatives, wrote herself checks between July 15th and December 10th with money that was supposed to be used to pay bills for clients. Adult Protective Services contacted state police after noticing irregularities. Hill faces a charge of theft by unlawful taking of $10,000 or more.

• A central Kentucky farmer has had triple the calf pleasure twice in a decade. A cow owned by Mark Rogers of Paint Lick had triplets on Valentine's Day, the second time in the last 10 years one of his cows gave birth to a trio of calves. Madison County Extension Agent Brandon Sears says about one birth in every 125,000 produces triplets. Rogers says the triplets born on April 1, 2001 needed to be bottle fed for about two weeks, but the newest additions haven't needed any assistance. The mother weighs about 1,300 pounds, and the calves weigh roughly 40 to 50 pounds, which is about half the weight of a normal calf their age. The calves most likely will be sold at market when they reach one year of age.

• Judges Alan Moats and Derek Swope have summoned lead attorneys to a two-day mediation Tuesday and Wednesday at the Charleston Town Center Marriott in an effort to settle a coal slurry lawsuit involving Massey Energy Co. More than 700 current and former residents of Rawl, Lick Creek, Sprigg and Merrimac claim their water supply was contaminated after Massey and subsidiary Rawl Sales and Processing pumped 1.4 billion gallons of toxic coal slurry into worked-out underground mines between 1978 and 1987. Residents believe the slurry then leaked into their wells and poisoned their water.

• Nearly 100 Public Workers Union employees gathered at the fifth annual rally at the state Capitol on Monday to show the Legislature they mean business about better wages and benefits and to show support for employees in Wisconsin, where the governor has plans to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees. The House Finance Committee says it hasn't ruled out permanent pay raises for public employees, but members are considering back-to-back wage increases instead of proposed one-time payments. Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has requested at least $500 each for state employees, which would cost around $66.5 million.

• Mayor Kim Wolfe announced Monday afternoon that around 30 new jobs are coming to Huntington, a $3.5 million move. Wolfe says Level One Fasteners, which makes nuts and bolts for the U.S. Department of Defense, bought the Huntington Industrial Center for $3.5 million. The facility is located on West Tenth Avenue.

• Monday, the House Judiciary Committee eliminated a permanent ban on disposing of coal slurry by pumping it underground from legislation aimed at curbing the practice. The decision is a win for coal mine operators, who want to continue slurry injections, but it's a defeat to residents and environmental groups who say the practice pollutes groundwater and is linked to cancer, lead poisoning, kidney failure and other health problems. The state Department of Environmental Protection put a moratorium on new slurry injection permits two years ago, but 13 operations are allowed to continue the practice. DEP Secretary Randy Huffman says the moratorium will remain until he's convinced the agency can regulate the practice and keep the public safe.

• To help build the final 14.6-mile stretch of four-lane highway of U.S. 35 in Mason and Putnam counties, Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin is proposing a loan from the state Public Employee Retirement System. The original plan called for the state Parkways Authority to issue about $83.5 million in bonds, to be paid back over 30 years using revenues generated by tolls. The $187 million construction project has been on hold after Treasury Secretary Paul Mattox told lawmakers earlier this month the project would come up about $40 million short if the authority decided to move forward with a bond sale under current conditions. Tomblin's new plan lists options to pay back the money, including tolls.

• Senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., Bill Nelson, D-Fla. and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. have sent a letter asking Florida Governor Rick Scott to abandon efforts to cut funding to the state's prescription drug monitoring program. Some experts believe southern Florida alone may be responsible for almost half of the illicit distribution of prescription painkillers in the United States. In 2006, clinics in the southern portion of Florida handed out 85 percent of all the Oxycodone distributed by doctors nationally.

• Senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Chris Coons, D-Del., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn. visited Afghanistan and Pakistan over the weekend, meeting with officials from both countries. Manchin said Monday, in a conference call from Kandahar, Afghanistan, that we have been in this war longer than any other land conflict, and we've got to make sure what we're doing there is right. Manchin said the budget calls for committing a tremendous amount of money to the country through 2014, while there are cuts to programs for West Virginia children back home. Manchin said the U.S. needs to get to a support role in Afghanistan as quickly as possible, but it's dealing with a country with no economy.

• Under a proposal submitted to the Legislature Monday by Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, West Virginia would elect a lieutenant governor. If approved, the measure would ask voters in the 2012 general election to amend the state constitution to create the new executive branch post. The resolution would borrow from the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which oversees succession upon death, resignation or removal of a president, to update the state constitution's succession process. Candidates for lieutenant governor and governor would run together both in primary and general elections. The elected lieutenant governor would serve as secretary of an existing cabinet department until needed to fill in, either temporarily or for the remainder of a term, as the state's governor.

• The state Senate voted 26-6 Monday to update West Virginia law to reflect several provisions of the federal health care overhaul. One of the federal provisions extends coverage to the adult children of policy holders, while another bars insurers from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. Other provisions prevent insurers from capping lifetime benefits, or charging extra for certain preventive care.

• A funding gap for public retiree health care is prompting West Virginia lawmakers to consider raising tobacco taxes and capping retiree subsidies. A Senate bill introduced Monday aims to ease concerns that prompted county school boards to sue unsuccessfully over retiree costs last year, while focusing on other post-employment benefits, or OPEB. West Virginia estimates it lacks nearly $7 billion of what it's promised in these benefits, mostly health coverage, leading the state to end coverage subsidies for employees hired after June 2010. The bill keeps that and caps existing subsidies at $150 million annually.

• Authorities reached out to the public for help Saturday night as "America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back" took a second glance at the cold case murder of Vicki Heath, a Hardin County mother who lived in Radcliff. The story of Vicki Heath's death aired just two days shy of the 24th anniversary of her death. Heath’s body was found February 21, 1987, near a trash bin behind a Super 8 Motel on North Mulberry Street where she worked as a desk clerk. She had been sexually assaulted and shot twice in the head with a .38 caliber handgun. Investigators think her killer may be a serial rapist-killer police have linked to three similar assaults at motels along I-65.

• Kentucky State Police say James B. Combs was pronounced dead at the scene Friday afternoon after he lost control of his vehicle on Kentucky Highway 1087 in the Softshell community of Knott County hitting a vehicle head on. Four people were taken to a local hospital for minor injuries.

• After about 3 weeks of searching, 26 year old Jerry Rowe Jr. of Magoffin County is still missing. On Saturday, investigators, along with dogs and additional manpower searched the area where Rowe was supposedly last seen. Crews also used sonar on a pond to see if he was in it, but they found nothing.

• Dr. Lee Boyd, the pastor at Destination Community Church in Prestonsburg, says a poster at the church announcing "pure sex"  is meant to draw interest to his four-part sermon series on "what God says about sex." However, it  is raising some eyebrows. The series includes a bed in the middle of the church and a website with a video, leaving some calling the series both inspiring and scary, but saying the church has been called to bring the message. Church leaders hope the attention will bring more people in. The second installment in the series was this Sunday. Pastor Boyd says, so far, the reaction he's heard from his congregation is positive.

• A $2,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of an armed robber who entered Thompson's Drug on US 25 South in London Saturday afternoon with a knife and stole a large amount of controlled medicine before fleeing with more than 5,000 pills. The robber is described as a white man, around 5'9" or 5'10", between 130 and 150 pounds. He also has a bruised left eye and was wearing a dark-colored shirt and dark green hat.

• The owners of Lying Lee's Used Cars near Morehead say, when employees showed up for work Saturday morning, they immediately noticed  thieves had stolen a maroon 2008 Toyota Scion, but they believe the thieves' original getaway car was a white truck from the lot. That's where they found a guitar from the office and the keys to just about every car on the lot.

• Governor Steve Beshear has directed that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff Monday in honor of 58 year old Donald R. Lam, a state forestry ranger who passed away Thursday. Lam, who served the Caldwell County community, the state and volunteered for wildfire assignments across the nation for nearly 12 years, was injured September 7, 2010 while working the Scotts Chapel Road Fire, a 12-acre wildfire in Livingston County. Lam was clearing a fire break at the base of a bluff when a burning snag broke loose and struck him from behind. The impact left Lam unconscious with second degree burns and he remained in critical condition until his passing.

• According to the state director of MUFON (Mutual UFO Network), an organization that investigates UFO sightings, Kentucky is considered a "hotbed" for UFO sightings. David MacDonald, a commercial pilot and the state director of the Mutual UFO network, a group of about 1,000 trained investigators who look into reported UFO sightings, says they cover hundreds of cases in Kentucky every year, and, while ninety percent of the sightings are easily explained as an aircraft, a satellite, a little alcohol, 10 percent will "knock your socks off." There were ten UFO sightings reported to MUFON in Lexington alone last year, though a bulk of the reports his organization investigates originate in eastern parts of the sate.

• For the sixth year in a row, nearly 700 students from more than 100 different student organizations participated in the 2011 DanceBlue marathon at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington to raise money for children's cancer research. University of Kentucky students danced for 24 hours at the no-sit, no-sleep dance marathon which started at 8:00 P.M. Friday and wrapped up at 8:00 P.M. Saturday, raising $673,976.60 for the UK Pediatric Oncology Clinic.

• A Todd County grand jury indicted 17 year old Garrett Thomas Dye late Friday morning in the beating death of his adopted sister, 9 year old Amy Dye, who was found February 4th, in a field near Trenton just hours after being reported missing. Dye, who will turn 18 in October and has been charged as an adult, admitted to beating Amy with a jack handle and told police where to find the weapon after being arrested February 6th. He remains at the Warren County Juvenile Detention Center in Bowling Green, without bond.

• Twenty year old Joseph E. Snyder, a Fort Knox soldier charged with first-degree rape pleaded not guilty Friday in Hardin District Court. Police say a woman, older than 18, reported on November 17, 2009, that  Snyder forced her to have sexual intercourse against her will, but detectives waited for DNA testing on evidence before making an arrest. Snyder's bond is set at $50,000 while he awaits a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Hardin District Court.

Former coal miner Sam Hall sued a Massey Energy subsidiary in December, alleging he had faced harassment at work because he is gay. Hall, a 28 year old who worked five years in southern West Virginia coal mines, is pushing for state legislation to protect West Virginians from discrimination based on their sexual orientation. He's set to appear Monday at a Capitol news conference with the group Fairness West Virginia to endorse two bills (SB226 and HB2045) that would add sexual orientation to the state's existing civil-rights laws, which already cover race, gender, religion and other characteristics. The legislation is meant to prevent discrimination in the workplace, housing and public accommodations such as hotels and restaurants.


Mingo County Prosecutor Michael Sparks is calling on southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky businesses to stop selling synthetic marijuana and cocaine. Synthetic marijuana products such as K2 are marketed as herbal incense, while synthetic cocaine is sold as "bath salts." Emergency responders in Kanawha County say abuse of K2 is rising, with 911 officials getting one or two calls per week from people who have smoked K2.   


Kanawha County sheriff's deputies are looking for Jim Matatall, 41, of Pratt, who has been missing from his family since the week of February 6th. Matatall was last seen on the parking lot of the Mardi Gras Casino in Nitro on February 11th, and his credit card was used at a gas station in Winfield on the same day. Matatall drives a 2005 Ford Windstar van with a Texas license plate reading CH4N172, with an Intech Communications decal on the door. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective J.A. Ratliff at 304-357-0169.


A vehicle accident Friday night in the area of Elk River Road South in Big Chimney, in Kanawha County, left  Brandon Bradshaw dead and sent two others to CAMC General Hospital.


West Virginia lawmakers are gearing up this week to review wide-ranging rules for Marcellus shale natural gas drilling. Legislation up for review covers everything from buffer zones around gas wells to the process for appealing regulator actions. The bill also sets $10,000 permit fees, proposes annual charges for water storage ponds, and would increase existing fines for environmental violations. The trickiest part of the proposal may be provisions that would compel unwilling mineral owners to sign off on drilling operations.