EKB News

• The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the Wagering Integrity Committee will meet Wednesday May 18, 2011 in Lexington. The locations, times and agendas follow.

I. Call to order, roll call
II. Approve Minutes of Oct. 4, 2010, Oct. 11, 2010,  Nov. 19, 2010, Nov. 30, 2010, and Jan. 31, 2011
III. Proposed regulation re: Licensing Totalizator Companies 
IV. Proposed ADW Licensing Regulation
V. Comments regarding proposed ADW Licensing Regulation
VI. Other Business
VII. Adjournment

AGENDA
I. Call to order and roll call
II. Vote to approve the minutes of April 6,  2011 
III. New Business

a. Request from The Red Mile to amend 2011 Race Dates
b. Approve Players Bluegrass Downs Roster of Officials for 2011
c. Request from Churchill Downs to run Arabian race June 18,  2011
d. Request from Churchill Downs  to approve reimbursement for Backside Improvement Projects 
e. Amendment to Riding Crop Rule 
f. Amendments to Jockey Weights Regulation 
g. Approve Payment to KY Colt Association
h. Recommendations from the KBIF Advisory Committee

IV. Other Business

a.    Report from Chief Steward  - John Veitch  
b.    Reports from Veterinarian Division       
c.    Report from Supervisor of Pari-Mutuel Wagering – Greg Lamb  
d.   Updated Administrative Regulations Promulgation Schedule 

V. Executive Session
VI. Adjournment    

• Now that the site prep work is complete, construction on EQT’s regional headquarters at Scott Fork has begun. “People need jobs, and we are ‘America’s Energy Capital,’” Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford said. “Our signature industries are coal and natural gas, which we depend on to keep our county going and with the opening of EQT’s regional headquarters we will be on the forefront of leading the country in both the coal and natural gas industries. Pike County produces more natural gas – 53 percent – than all other counties in Kentucky combined.” Construction is well under way at Scott Fork on U.S. 119 and EQT will be the first corporation to establish an office in the future energy park. Rutherford feels EQT’s locating in Pike County will attract other independent firms with whom they contract to locate at the energy park in the near future.

• The economic impact of tourism in Kentucky amounted to $11.3 billion in 2010, Governor Steve Beshear and Tourism, Arts and Heritage Secretary Marcheta Sparrow announced today.  The economic impact figure is a 4.8 percent increase from 2009. “Thanks to events like the World Equestrian Games and the many other excellent tourism attractions we have in Kentucky, our state is benefitting with jobs, wages and tax revenue,” Gov. Beshear said. “This study is encouraging and shows how important the tourism industry is to our communities and the entire state.” The release of the figures coincides with National Travel and Tourism Month, celebrated May 7-14 this year. “Kentucky’s central location and the variety of attractions continue to help us weather the economic downturn,” said Sparrow, who made the announcement at the Kentucky Tourism Industry Association Tourism Development Symposium in Cave City today. Tourism provides jobs for Kentuckians and supports a variety of businesses across the state.

• A former Fort Campbell, Ky., soldier has been sentenced to a year in prison after an undercover agent caught him selling machine guns and distributing explosive materials without a license. Eric D. Waldman, a former soldier assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, had pleaded guilty to selling two machine guns and distributing a Claymore mine. The U.S. attorney's office in Paducah said in a release Waldman was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell. Prosecutors say in January 2010 Waldman sold a machine gun to an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for $5,500 in Christian County. Later in June 2010, he sold another machine gun and a mine to an ATF agent for $10,000.

• An assistant baseball coach in northern Kentucky is being hailed as a hero after bringing a school bus to a stop after the driver suffered a heart attack while transporting the varsity team to a game. Nicholas County Schools district administrator Doug Bechanan says the bus was traveling on Kentucky 9 in Mason County on Wednesday when driver Jerry Edwards slumped over the wheel. Bechanan says assistant coach Josh Earlywine was able to stop the bus before it hit a rock wall. Driver Jerry Edwards of Carlisle later died, but no one else on the bus was injured. Mason County Coroner Robert Brothers told The Ledger Independent that it a "miracle" and said things could have turned out much worse.

• Police and state highway officials are investigating after barriers were removed from a flooded highway in western Kentucky. Kentucky Department of Highways spokesman Keith Todd says a gravel berm and barricades that kept traffic off a flooded section of U.S. 60 at the Crittenden-Union County line were removed Thursday night. Todd says several vehicles unsuccessfully attempted to cross after the barriers were removed until police officers were stationed at each end of the flooded road. Todd says flood waters from the Tradewater River are still about 3 feet over the road, which is too deep to cross. Anyone with information about the removal of the barriers is asked to contact Crittenden County Central Dispatch at 270-965-3500 or Kentucky State Police at 1-800-222-5555.

• Ballots were cast from 6:30 A.M.- 7:30 P.M. Saturday in the special gubernatorial primary after those still standing in line were given the opportunity to vote. Voters chose from a field of 14 candidates, including six Democrats and eight Republicans. With just about 50 percent of the precincts in, Senator Manchin released a statement shortly after 9:00 P.M. congratulating Acting Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin on a win. The Democratic Party issued a statement just before 9:00 P.M. House Speaker Rick Tompson, (D-Wayne), stayed close behind Tomblin for most of the night. Former Secretary of State Betty Ireland delivered a concession speech congratulating Morgantown businessman Bill Maloney for winning the Republic nomination. Tomblin, Maloney and Mountain Party candidate Bob Henry Baber will face off in a special election on October 4th to see who will serve the remaining term of former Governor Joe Manchin who won the special Senate race last year to fill the unexpired term of the late Senator Robert C. Byrd.  

• Joseph Gibson, 19, of Charleston is set to testify against his friend, 18 year old Shane Peck, when Peck's trial begins Monday. Gibson has pleaded guilty to breaking into a home in Big Chimney and tying her up, but he claims Peck was responsible for severely beating 79 year old Geraldine Gibson. Gibson says he acted as a lookout while Peck wrestled with Geraldine Gibson. Joseph Gibson says he and Peck went to the victim's home after they heard she had morphine. After tying the victim up, Gibson said Peck demanded to know where her safe was, but Geraldine Gibson said the safe belonged to someone else, and she didn't know where to find the key. Gibson faces up to 17 years in prison when sentenced July 7th.  Joseph Gibson and Geraldine Gibson are not related.

• Randy Allen Estep, a man accused of stealing more than 400 pounds of cables from Frontier Communications and causing a phone outage  in Coalburg last September, has been indicted on felony charges of transferring stolen property and damage or destruction of public utility property.

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

Those arrested:

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Logan County Sheriff's Deputies say they responded to a call of a domestic dispute Monday at the home of Katrina and Jim Goldie in Omar where Jim Goldie allegedly had set his home and Katrina on fire as a result of a dispute. Katrina Goldie was transported to a Pittsburgh burn center where she died Thursday. Jim Goldie is currently in critical condition at Cabell Huntington Hospital after receiving severe burns. Authorities are still investigating the incident.  

• Michael Fannin, a man accused of shaking four-month-old Emma Beatty to death in Huntington, appeared in court Friday morning. Fannin, who was babysitting, says he didn't shake baby Emma, but he accidentally dropped her on the floor. Three doctors who treated Emma say the only explanation for her traumatic head injuries would be being violently shaken. Magistrate Dan Goheen found enough probable cause to send the case to grand jury. Fannin is being held in the Western Regional Jail on a $1 million cash-only bond.

• An April 2010 Sierra Club lawsuit, filed in conjunction with the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and Coal River Mountain Watch against five Massey owned mines has been settled. The suit alleged Elk Run Coal Co., Inc., Independence Coal Co., Inc., Marfork Coal Co., Inc., Peerless Eagle Coal Co. and Power Mountain Coal Co. all discharged pollutants greater than West Virginia permit limits, violating the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. Massey has agreed to spend $400,000 in the next four years for the West Virginia Land Trust to work under West Virginia University’s College of Law Land Use and Sustainable Development Clinic. The funds will go toward developing a preservation project to protect the land around streams.

• Joshua Thomas Rose, 21, of Scott Depot, was arrested Thursday evening and charged with first-degree robbery in connection with the robberies of a 7-Eleven on Teays Valley Road in Scott Depot and an Exxon station in Eleanor. Police say Rose made off with about $450 in cash and cigarettes from the 7-Eleven and about $1,230 in money and cigarettes from the Exxon station.

• Kelly Chapman was arrested in November 2008 after he shot Nastasha Folden, who was five months pregnant, in the stomach. Folden survived, but her unborn baby died. Chapman, who was 16 years old at the time, was charged with murder and sentenced to life without mercy in July 2009. Judge Duke Bloom said he would re-visit the sentence when Chapman turned 18. Friday, Judge Bloom ruled that Chapman's sentence will stand. Chapman will be transferred from a youth detention center to the Mount Olive Correctional Complex.

• Vicki Mae Hawks, 34, of Hardy County, has been arrested and charged with murder after allegedly killing her newborn baby and trying to hide the body. State Police troopers went to a house on Jenkins Run Road near Moorefield Thursday after a family member called authorities and told them there was a dead baby at the house. Trooper First Class C.T. Kessell says the baby's body was found hidden in a trash bag outside. Police believe the body had been in the bag about 10 days.

• Sabrina Smith, a woman accused of trying to kill her 6-year-old daughter in Beckley, appeared in Raleigh Circuit Court Friday and waived her right to challenge extradition to Tennessee. She is charged in Union County, Tennessee with two counts of child neglect and one count of child abuse. Smith's 6 year old daughter, who weighed less than 20 pounds, was unresponsive when her mother took her to Raleigh General Hospital in early September. Smith and her roommate, Amanda Wills, were arrested in October. The Tennessee charges stem from when Smith lived in Tennessee prior to moving to West Virginia. Smith is still facing charges of child neglect and attempted murder for the treatment of her daughter while they lived in Beckley. Sabrina's husband, Hugh Smith is also facing charges in Tennessee. He is currently jailed there under $200,000 bond.

Phillip Brandon Falgiani, 22, of the War area of McDowell County, was arrested Tuesday and charged with child abuse and neglect resulting in serious bodily injury, unlawful wounding, domestic assault and domestic battery. West Virginia State Police troopers in Welch say Falgiani's 6-week-old son was brought to Welch Community Hospital Sunday with a fractured skull, two fractured legs and a healing rib fracture.
The infant was then flown to Charleston Area Medical Center Women and Children's Hospital, where he continues to be treated for multiple seizures caused by head trauma. Falgiani was taken to the Welch Holding Facility and placed on a $20,000 bond.


Twenty years after being hired under a court-ordered affirmative action program, Chuck Overstreet has become Charleston's first black fire chief. One of two senior assistant chiefs vying for the top job, Overstreet scored highest on a written exam two weeks ago and needed only to get medical clearance to get the job. Overstreet had a heart attack about five weeks ago, but, Tuesday, doctors gave him the go-ahead.


Ernest Vance, Sr., 62, and his son, Ernest Vance, Jr., 35, both from Logan County, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal drug charges, admitting to aiding and abetting the distribution of Oxycodone. Prosecutors say they were responsible for the distribution of more than 5,000 and up to 18,000 Oxycontin 80 milligram pills in and around Verdunville. Each faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine when sentenced in August.


Scott Depot-based International Coal Group announced Wednesday it's postponing its annual shareholder meeting indefinitely because of its proposed $3.4 billion takeover by St. Louis-based Arch Coal Inc. as agreed to on May 2nd. The annual shareholder meeting had been set for May 18th. ICG runs mines in Appalachia and Illinois. Arch operates primarily in Appalachia and Wyoming. The merger is designed to exploit growing demand for high-priced coal used to manufacture steel. Arch says the combined companies would be the nation's second largest supplier of metallurgical coal.


Kanawha County prosecutor Mark Plants has hired former U.S. Attorney Charles T. Miller to replace assistant prosecutor Scott Reynolds, whom Plants fired on Monday after Reynolds was arrested early Sunday for driving under the influence of alcohol. Miller, a federal prosecutor for 26 years, served as the lead U.S. attorney for West Virginia's Southern District from 2005 to 2009. He became an assistant U.S. attorney after current U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin was appointed. Miller said he is retiring from the U.S. attorney's office, but didn't want to quit working.


West Virginia State Police were called to a home on Kelly Hollow in the Blair community of Logan County Tuesday night, where they found the home had been broken into and an elderly man stabbed. The victim was taken to Logan Regional Medical Center and then flown to Charleston Area Medical Center General for treatment.


Clendenin Police Chief David Brinkman says hundreds of lottery tickets were stolen from a Clendenin retailer and cashed in at two Charleston stores. Brinkman says four tickets were cashed at the Kroger on Delaware Avenue for $239. Another 20 tickets were cashed at the One Stop on Lee Street for a total of $44. Police are looking for two people connected to the theft.


The Law Enforcement Division of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is investigating after a hunter was shot in the back by another hunter in the Nellis area of Boone County around 8:00 A.M. Wednesday morning. The injured hunter was transported to Charleston Area Medical Center.


Wednesday, police officers, sheriff's deputies, State Police and deputy U.S. Marshals gathered at the state Capitol in Charleston for Law Enforcement Appreciation Day to pay tribute to Deputy U.S. Marshal Derek Hotsinpiller and 136 other law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty in West Virginia. Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, the guest speaker, offered words of condolence to the families of Hotsinpiller, who was killed on February 16, 2011, Charleston Police Officer Jerry Jones, who was killed by friendly fire in August of 2009 and others, along with praising the dozens of law enforcement officers on hand for the memorial service for the jobs they do every day. After the service, an honor guard followed by the Hotsinpillers and the Jones families laid a wreath at the foot of the state Police Officer Memorial at the Culture Center.


During a hearing Wednesday, West Virginia Chamber of Commerce president Steve Roberts told members of Congress the EPA's decision to revoke the permit issued to Spruce No. 1 Mine, owned by Mingo-Logan Coal, could result in the loss of thousands of jobs. Testifying before the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment at the "EPA Mining Policies: Assault on Appalachian Jobs Part II" hearing, Roberts, along with Ohio Coal Association president Mike Carey, professor of natural resources at University of California-Berkley David Sunding and Reed Hopper of the Pacific Legal Foundation, warned the committee of the dangers the EPA's actions could have on jobs and the economy. Roberts said more than 6,000 coal mining jobs could be lost in West Virginia if the EPA continued its "war on coal." Carey argued that a study by Penn State University showed that for every coal mining job lost another 11 spin-off jobs also are lost. Nancy Stoner, deputy administrator in the EPA's Office of Water, said the agency's goal was not to end coal mining, but to make communities healthier by decreasing pollution. President Barack Obama has inherited about 140 mining permits to be approved or vetoed, but Representative Nick Rahall said those permits might not mean much if the EPA can revoke them at will.


The Dow Corp. told members of the South Charleston Economic Development Committee Tuesday that it plans to invest a total of $40 million at its South Charleston location in the next four years. South Charleston Mayor Frank Mullens said he’s not sure of the company’s schedule, but he knows several $2 million and $3 million projects are planned for the plant through 2014, and he considers it’s a great sign which indicates they’re going to be there for a while.

REWARD OFFERED IN COPPER THEFTS...
AT&T has announced a $2,500 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the vandalism of  the company's aerial copper telephone cables which have occurred recently in Williamsburg and Pineville. Company officials is working with law enforcement agencies and scrap metal dealers in Pineville and Williamsburg to catch those responsible for several thefts that have occurred in the past several weeks along HWY 190 in Bell County and HWY 904 in Whitley County. The offer expires May 31, 2011. AT&;T urges shop owners, employees and anyone with information on the recent copper thefts to call AT&T Asset Protection at 1-800-807-4205. You can also call the Kentucky State Police (Harlan Post) at (606) 573-3131 or London Post at (606) 878-6622.

FLORIDA "PILL MILL" ARRESTS...
Seven Bath County Kentucky men are in a Florida jail after being arrested last Friday. Police say the group went to a pain clinic in Miami to obtain prescriptions for Oxycodone, Xanax and Hydrocodone and had them filled in Brevard County, Florida. They believe the men were bringing the pills back to Kentucky to sell. After undercover agents received a tip about the men, they immediately placed them under surveillance. Police pulled their two cars over just south of Daytona Beach. During the traffic stop police found 3,000 pills hidden in a cooler and about $10,000 in cash. Arrested were Jeffrey Blankenship, Larry McCarty, Steven Thompson, Mark Butcher, Terry Wills, Barry Pergram and Pierce Gibbs.

ATTORNEY FIGHST DISBARRMENT...
Cincinnati attorney Stan Chesley has asked Kentucky Bar Association officials to delay any disciplinary action against him in connection with his involvement in a case dealing with the diet drug fen-phen. Chesley is fighting a trial commissioner's recommendation that he be disbarred in Kentucky and ordered to return $7.5 million of the $20 million he was paid in fees. He has filed a request that no action be taken until civil litigation in the case is settled. Most recently, the Kentucky Court of Appeals vacated a $42 million judgment against three other lawyers accused of swindling clients in the case and sent the case back to a lower court in Boone County for further proceedings. The three other attorneys have already been disbarred.

PRESERVATION OF AMERICAN STORIES...
StoryCorps' MobileBooth, an organization that works to preserve the stories of Americans, will be parked at the Lexington History Museum for six weeks, starting next week, with a mobile recording studio. The organization has joined with WUKY, the University of Kentucky's NPR station, to collect 180 interviews some of which WUKY plans to air nationally on NPR's "Morning Edition," and all of the interviews, with participant permission, will be archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The opening ceremony is May 19th, with the first interviews of Mayor Jim Gray and a family member and the second interview with Keeneland CEO Nick Nicholson and his brother, Kentucky Horse Park Director John Nicholson.

RECORD SETTING VOTER REGISTRATION...
Kentucky Secretary of State Elaine Walker announced record-setting voter registration  at a press conference held in the State Reception Room at the Capitol Building.  Previous voter-registration records, set during the General Election in 2008, were surpassed this spring with an increase of 11,028 voters, bringing the Commonwealth’s registration numbers to 2,917,837 voters. At the press conference, Secretary Walker predicted that only approximately 10% of the state’s registered voters would participate in the upcoming primary election.  Additionally, Secretary Walker announced improvements to the online election tally system, noting that this year, the number of precincts reporting will be viewable.  Finally, Secretary Walker reminded members of the media that they are welcome and encouraged to cover the election process, but that they cannot interrupt the voting process, record the identity of a voter or conduct interviews inside the polling location.

FIRE DEPARTMENT TO CHARGE FEE...
A suburban fire department in Louisville will begin charging a fee to battle most blazes later this summer. Lyndon will charge a homeowner's or business' insurance company as part of a new "cost-recovery" program approved on Monday
POLICE SHOOTER IDENTIFIED...


SENIOR CENTER WOMAN SHOT...
An elderly woman is recovering after being shot in the back at a senior center in Nicholas County during a Mother's Day party.
Eighty-one-year-old Lodema Foster was sitting in the recreation room at Shepherd Place when she was struck by a bullet that came through the wall of the building. Family members say they don't think Foster was targeted. After talking with police, Foster's great-niece Amy Mastin told WKYT-TV in Lexington that family members think it was a stray bullet, possibly from a hunter. Foster told the station that the incident scared her, but it takes more than that to keep her down. She was treated and released from a local hospital and says she expects to make a full recovery. Carlisle Police continue to investigate the shooting.

STORM DAMAGE IN EASTERN KENTUCKY...
Emergency management officials are inspecting storm damage in eastern Kentucky. Violent weather struck Pikeville on Tuesday, bringing torrential rain, hail, strong winds and vivid lightning. The heavy rain set off flash flooding in the area.  Some people had to be rescued from their cars in the Ashland area.  No deaths or injuries were reported and the water receded quickly Tuesday night after the storms moved through. There was an unconfirmed report of a tornado touchdown in the Cannonsburg area. The bridges linking Ashland to U.S. 52 in Ohio were closed for a time after a string of barges broke loose during the storm.

CENSUS DATA FOR KENTUCKY...
New census data shows that changes in the Kentucky population over the last decade mirror that of the nation, with residents becoming older, living in less traditional households, renting rather than owning and becoming more diverse. The numbers made public last week for 13 states were the first in-depth numbers on general population and housing released for the 2010 census. Total population for Kentucky rose to 4,339,357, a 7.4 percent increase. Women in Kentucky tend to be older than men, though the average ages for both sexes increased, with the average age of women at 39.3 and men at 36.7. The median age of Kentuckians increased from 35.9 in 2000 to 38.1 in 2010, according to the figures. Those living in traditional husband-wife households decreased 4.6 percent to less than half the population at 49.3 percent. The number of Kentuckians who rent rather than own slightly increased to 31.3 percent from 29.2 percent. The figures show 68.7 of Kentuckians own their homes, down from 70.8 percent in 2000. Meanwhile, those living in traditional husband-wife households went down 4.6 percent, from 53.9 percent of the population in 2000 to 49.3 percent of Kentuckians in 2010. Non-family households also increased, rising 2.5 percent from 30.6 percent in 2000 to 33.1 percent in 2010.


KSP SHOOTER IDENTIFIED...The Breathitt County man that fired shots at police on Monday was positively identified by fingerprints at the State Medical Examiner's Office yesterday. The individual has been identified as Jeffrey L. Southwood, age 45, of Clayhole in Breathitt County.
Preliminary autopsy results indicate that Southwood died of a gunshot wound to the leg. The investigation is continuing by the Kentucky State Police.
Lyndon Fire Chief Russell Rakestraw told The Courier-Journal the fire district had no choice but to impose the extra fee or reduce services. It becomes the first Jefferson County fire district to add an extra fee for structure fires, though several districts bill insurance companies for services at auto-accident cleanups and vehicle fires.
Officials hope to raise an additional $110,000 through the new charges. Lyndon responded to its budget problems last year by occasionally closing one of its fire stations for 12-hour shifts.

BANKRUPTCY HAUNTS CANDIDATE...
Lexington businessman John T. Kemper III is leading dual lives these days. He's trying to become the Republican nominee for Kentucky auditor while digging out of bankruptcy after a real estate development went bust. Kemper doesn't shy away from discussing the turmoil that may cost him his home and overshadows his campaign. The conservative said earlier this week he realizes his bankruptcy is "big baggage," and voters are being asked to take a chance on him. His campaign website calls for a "debt-free Kentucky." Kemper acknowledges Democrats will have a field day with his financial setbacks if he wins the Republican primary. But he says his bankruptcy has put all his business dealings out in the open. Kemper is running against state Rep. Addia Wuchner of Florence in the Tuesday's GOP primary.

• During a Pike County Fiscal Court work session Tuesday, Judge Executive Wayne T. Rutherford announced there were not enough magistrates that supported the his proposed occupation tax as a means to cut back on the more than $3 million budget shortfall. The magistrates are in favor of budget cuts, some of which will come in the form of layoffs, cutting county vehicles, reducing jail funds, closing swimming pools and cutting parking funds. They must come up with a balanced budget by June. The fiscal court could vote on the proposed cuts at a meeting on May 17th. 

• By January, it will take two days instead of one to send a letter from far eastern Kentucky to Lexington, Frankfort and other parts of the state. The U.S. Postal Service will be closing sorting centers in Pikeville and Ashland, routing mail instead through Charleston, West Virginia. More than 20 small Kentucky post offices are being closed as the postal service tries to save operating expenses. In Pikeville and Ashland, 13 jobs will be affected, two in Ashland and 11 in Pikeville, though no layoffs will be necessary. Closing the processing centers is expected to save a total of $3.1 million annually. All ZIP codes that start with 411, 412, 415 or 416 would be routed through Charleston and take two days to get to points west such as Frankfort or Lexington. Kevin Auton, Pike County's chief deputy property valuation administrator, says he thinks about 3,000 people signed a petition to keep the center from closing.

• Richmond, Va.-based James River Coal says it lost $7.6 million, or 28 cents per share, in the first quarter as costs rose and revenue declined. James River earned $23.2 million, or 84 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2010. Revenue fell 11 percent to $164.6 million, from $184.6 million in the first quarter of 2010. Costs per ton sold rose to $133.5 million, from $129.3 million a year earlier. James River also had $4.6 million in acquisition costs. The company acquired West Virginia's International Resource Partners and marketing subsidiary Logan and Kanawha Coal for $475 million in April. James River also operates mines in Kentucky and Indiana.

• Wheelwright City Commissioners have decided to tear down the old Clubhouse after declaring it a health and safety hazard. The Clubhouse, built in the 1920's, once housed a hotel, restaurant, bowling alley and even a barber shop. But for the last 30 years, the building has set empty and has become a target of vandals. City Commissioner Don Hall says the roof started to cave in, the back wall started to fall apart near the walking track and children were going in it, creating a lot of danger. When demolition is complete, city officials want to turn the land into retail space for things the community needs. City officials say the Veterans Memorial, currently located by the historic building, will be moved to a new site.

• Closing arguments were completed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in the trial of Gary Milby of Campbellsville and Bryan Coffman and his wife, Megan, of Lexington. The three have been on trial  in Lexington since April 19th. Prosecutors say they bilked investors out of some $33 million in an oil- and gas-drilling scam and spent the money on cars, jewelry, yachts, lavish birthday parties and retirement accounts. Defense lawyers denied the allegations. Steve Romines, attorney for Bryan Coffman, said most investors knew investing in oil and gas wells is risky and they used the losses as tax deductions.

• Back-to-back debates revealed differences among Kentucky's three Republican gubernatorial candidates on Monday over proposals to expand gambling, ban smoking in public places, and restrict sales of some cold and allergy medications to curb meth production. State Senate President David Williams, Louisville businessman Phil Moffett and Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw also lashed out at President Barack Obama who is considered anti-coal, an unpopular position in a state where mining is a major employer, and the candidates stood in sharp contrast, voicing support on the campaign trail even for mountaintop removal coal mining. Polls show Williams with a substantial lead in the three-way race, but with turnout predicted at a near record low, the Burkesville lawyer is leaving nothing to chance, having spent more than $1 million so far on the primary campaign. Only about 15 percent of Kentucky's registered voters are expected to cast ballots in the May 17th primary.

• State police are investigating the discovery of human remains found in the Licking River near the Lakeville Bridge in Magoffin County Monday evening. Investigators say the body appears to have been in the Licking River for some time.

• Preliminary statistics indicate that 13 people died in nine separate crashes on Kentucky's roadways from Monday, May 2 through Sunday, May 8, 2011.  Eleven of the victims were traveling in motor vehicles. Nine were not wearing seat belts. One of the fatalities was the result of a crash involving alcohol. Two of the fatalities were pedestrians. Through  May 8, preliminary statistics  indicate that 212 people have lost their lives on Kentucky roadways during 2011. This is 18 fewer than reported for this time period in 2010. A total of 30 fatalities have resulted from crashes involving the suspected use of alcohol.

• A former state lawmaker awaiting trial on a murder charge has been involved in a fight at the Lexington jail. Police say the altercation between former state Rep. Steve Nunn and the other inmate happened during a basketball game Monday night at the detention center. Nunn was roughed up but was not seriously hurt. Police say no charges were immediately filed. Nunn is charged with murder in the death of his ex-fiancDee, Amanda Ross, who was gunned down outside her Lexington apartment in September 2009.

• The Mississippi River crested in Memphis at nearly 48 feet Tuesday. It fell inches short of its all-time record but still soaked low-lying areas with enough water to require a massive cleanup.A National Weather Service meteorologist says the river reached 47.85 feet at 2 a.m. CDT Tuesday and is expected to stay very close to that level for the next 24 to 36 hours. Hitting the high point means things shouldn't get worse in the area, but it will take weeks for the water to recede and much longer for inundated areas to recover. In the words of meteorologist Bill Borghoff, "Pretty much the damage has been done." The crest is just shy of the record of 48.7 feet recorded during a devastating 1937 flood in Memphis.

• Secretary of State Elaine Walker, the chief elections officer of the Commonwealth, is encouraging all registered voters to cast their ballots on Primary Election Day, May 17, 2011 and is encouraging citizens to prepare before doing so.  The polls close at 6:00 p.m. local time, and any voter in line to vote by that time will be allowed to cast a ballot. Additionally, Walker reminded voters that no Kentuckian should be prevented from voting in the upcoming election due to their work schedule, voters can request leave prior to the day in which they will cast their vote.  The Kentucky Constitution provides “that all employers shall allow employees, under reasonable regulations, at least four hours on election days, in which to cast their votes.”  Employees need to request leave from their employer prior to the day in which they will cast their ballots to be eligible for this incentive.  Kentucky law provides the employer discretion as to whether the employee will be compensated for that time and at what time the employee may vote.  If an employee requests leave to vote and does not do so, state law deems that he or she may be subject to disciplinary action. When voters head to the polls on Election Day, they will also be governed by electioneering laws that prohibit electioneering within 300 feet of the polling location.  Bumper stickers on cars of voters at a polling location are an exception to the electioneering prohibition.  Cars may not be left near polling locations all day with the intent of advocating for a particular candidate.

• Voters will have the opportunity to nominate candidates for a number of offices including the following:

• Governor and Lt. Governor (Republican primary only)
• Secretary of State
• Auditor of Public Accounts (Republican Primary only)
• Treasurer (Democratic Primary only)
• Commissioner of Agriculture

Citizens with general questions about the election are encouraged to visit the Office of the Secretary of State and State Board of Elections’ Vote Kentucky! website at www.vote.ky.gov or contact their local county clerk.

• As part of the $4 million project to make safety improvements on the Hal Rogers Parkway at Exit 56, a major traffic pattern change and a road closure will be put into effect this week.  Traffic in both directions on the Hal Rogers Parkway will be diverted onto the exit and entrance ramps at the KY 451 exit as work begins to relocate the overpass at the interchange. The speed limit in this area has been lowered to 35 mph, and fines for speeding or other traffic violations will be doubled when workers are present. In addition, KY 451 will be closed at the interchange underpass. Detours have been posted.  Traffic heading north on KY 451 out of Hazard will be detoured onto KY 15 and the Hal Rogers Parkway at Exit 56. Drivers who cross Town Mountain and reach the interchange will be required to turn right onto the eastbound Hal Rogers Parkway.  Southbound traffic on KY 451 from the Busy and Yerkes area will be required to use KY 80 east to KY 15. However, access to the westbound Hal Rogers Parkway will still be available.

• Crystal Seigler Clark pleaded not guilty Tuesday to kidnapping and murder charges after being accused of fatally shooting her husband, David Clark, on April 26th in their home on Spice Branch Road in the Varney area of Mingo County. Police say she then  took her 13 month old daughter, Chloe Clark, and drove to Tennessee where she surrendered herself to US Marshals and was extradited back to West Virginia. Family members say Clark had been involved in a custody battle with her husband at the time of his murder.

• Heavy rain started shortly after 5:00 P.M. in Charleston Tuesday, bringing rush hour traffic to a near-halt as about a half-inch of rain fell over the city in a 15-minute period, along with pea-sized hail, lightning and wind. Power was out for 950 customers in the area of Patrick Street Plaza and a water rescue was underway at Florida Street and Madison Street. Over 1,000 customers in Kanawha County were without power as of 5:40 P.M.

• Charles Poore of Charleston was sentenced Tuesday to serve a definite term of 15 years, the maximum for voluntary manslaughter, after fatally shooting 22 year old Robert Veltri last June. Kanawha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey also sentenced him to between one and five years for unlawful wounding, the terms to run back-to-back.

• Philip Doran Taback of California had been scheduled to go to trial Tuesday, but he pleaded guilty last month in U.S. District Court in California to transmitting a threat across state lines. Taback admitted phoning the offices of then-U.S. Senator Carte Goodwin on July 22, 2010 from Orange County, California. Prosecutors say he threatened to blow up Goodwin, his wife and children. Goodwin had been sworn in just two days before, filling a vacancy left by Robert C. Byrd's death. Taback's sentencing is set for June 20th.

• International Coal Group General Counsel Roger Nicholson confirmed Tuesday that shareholder lawsuits challenging ICGs proposed $3.4 billion takeover by Arch Coal Inc. have been filed in Delaware and Putnam County. St. Louis-based Arch and ICG announced the deal May 2nd. Arch says the combined companies would be the nation's second largest supplier of metallurgical coal. Nicholson says ICG plans to defend itself against the cases, which the company believes have no merit.

• The Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation labor group says it should be allowed to be part of a contract and prevailing wage dispute against the state Department of Transportation. ACT has been fighting the state Division of Highways and a contractor since late 2004 on how a contract was awarded to build the Red Jacket section of the King Coal Highway in Mingo County. ACT maintains it was illegal for the DOH to enter into a contract without competitive bidding and without paying workers prevailing wage. The federal court and circuit court have ruled the organization has no real standing into the case because it's not the union that represents the workers in question. The Foundation took its argument to the state Supreme Court Tuesday where ACT attorney Vincent Trivelli argued ACT does represent the workers. He says it does because the individual unions are affiliated with ACT and the workers actually pay out of their paychecks to support ACT. Attorney Forrest Roles, who represents the contractor in the case, told the High Court that ACT is not a labor union, and the people who might have worked on the highway construction job are not its members. The Supreme Court will hand down a written opinion later this year.

• West Virginia consumers will share nearly $34,000 in refunds from settlements between Attorney General Darrell McGraw's office and debt relief companies Allied Corporate Connection and Premiere Debt Solutions. The settlements stem from consumer complaints that alleged consumers paid advance fees to guarantee reductions in credit card debt, but the debt relief wasn't provided.

• Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based PJM Interconnection, a group that controls the electrical grid for a 13-state region, says power should keep flowing during this year's peak summer months. PJM says this year's expected completion of the Trans Allegheny Line from southwestern Pennsylvania, through West Virginia and into Virginia, plus the upgrade of a Virginia substation will improve electrical supply to the greater Baltimore to Washington, D.C., area. PJM says it has 180,400 megawatts of generating capacity to meet demand. The all-time record for electricity use was in 2006 when 144,644 MW was used. PJM's region covers 54 million people.

• Putnam County School Treasurer Chris Campbell told school board members Monday night that the state was late appropriating federal educational jobs fund money this year, but  if any of the $1.8 million isn't spent by September 2012, it would have to be returned. The funds can only be used for compensation and benefits. Superintendent Chuck Hatfield said most of the money would be used to fund after-school programs and tutoring. In other business, the board approved a bid to BBL Carlton Inc. for $6.8 million to construct auxiliary gymnasiums at four county schools. The new gyms will be built at Hurricane, Poca and Winfield high schools and at Winfield Elementary School. Board members also approved a $1.1 million bid to W.G. Tomko & Sons Inc. for plumbing work at the new Winfield Middle School, currently under construction. They rejected a bid for the heating and air conditioning system at the new school, after the state School Building Authority recommended the move. The project will be rebid to include a third party to monitor installation.

• Officials with the Jackson Police Department in Breathitt County say Leslie Southwood ran into a nearby wooded area after allegedly firing at two Kentucky State Police troopers Monday afternoon in the Clayhole community near Jackson. Earlier in the afternoon, police had received a call of a individual that was possibly driving under the influence. When troopers, a Breathitt County Sheriff's Deputy, and a Commercial Vehicle Enforcement officer arrived at the house where the vehicle was, they were fired upon. A helicopter was flown in from Frankfort to assist in the search, as well as several tactical vehicles and a K-9 unit. Special Response Teams set up down the road from the scene at a church and State Police surrounded the mouth of Barge Creek Road. As the sun began to set, police were talking about resuming the search Tuesday morning when a call came down from officers looking around the site where the shots first rang out that a body had been found.

• The trial of John Combs, the man accused of gunning down Doctor Dennis Sandlin at the Leatherwood-Blackey Clinic in Perry County in December 2009 has been postponed. The defense has filed a petition to go to the court of appeals to see if they are entitled to funding for expert witnesses. A status hearing is set for August 11th in Perry Circuit Court.

• Fifty year old Ricky Turner was arrested Monday morning in connection with the death of Norman Adams whose body was found in October 2010 over a hillside in Leslie County. Police say Turner and four others tried to make it look like Adams had wrecked an ATV, but after further investigation, police say they determined it was a murder. Turner is charged with murder, tampering with evidence and abusing a corpse.

• A federal grand jury in East Tennessee has indicted nine people on charges of operating a brothel and interstate prostitution network in Tennessee and Kentucky that involved women who are illegal immigrants. The U.S. attorney's office says the network, which operated in Knoxville, Morristown, Johnson City, Nashville in Tennessee and in Louisville, Kentucky, catered to Hispanic men. The defendants are accused of transporting the women from one city to another on a weekly basis for more than four years. One of the defendants, Reyna Rodriquez Rios, was arraigned Friday. His attorney, Donald Spurrell of Johnson City, said Monday his client pleaded not guilty. Spurrell said he has not yet received details on the case. U.S. Attorney Bill Killian says "human trafficking is an ever-increasing problem."

• Volunteers participated in the PRIDE cleanup on Saturday, May 7th, on the left fork of Island Creek. The cleanup was a success, according to PRIDE coordinator Jimmy Dale Sanders. Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford attended the event and said he is very proud of the PRIDE program, and the cleanup on Island Creek is a prime example of why. “Pike County is beautiful,” Rutherford said. “These volunteers should be commended for their commitment to keeping Pike County beautiful.”

• Kentucky State Police have identified the body of a woman found in an eastern Kentucky pond. Police said in a statement Monday that the dead woman is 38 year old Tammy Faye Roberts of Fallrock, Kentucky. Her cause of death is still under investigation. Her body was found Friday in a rural area of Clay County near Manchester.

• A Kentucky lawmaker and schoolteacher who was critically injured nearly a month ago while trying to break up a student fight is showing signs of improvement at a rehabilitation center in Georgia. A spokesman for the Shepherd Center said on Monday that state Representative Dewayne Bunch is expected to move out of the intensive care unit into the rehabilitation unit. Spokesman Larry Bowie said Bunch was admitted April 28th at the Atlanta center that specializes in treating people with spinal cord and brain injuries. Bunch was punched in the head and fell to the floor after trying to break up a fight between two students at Whitley County High School. He was initially treated at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington. The two students were charged with assault.

• Officials are hoping to gather photographs of every Kentuckian whose name appears on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and they kicked off the effort Monday at a breakfast in Somerset, where a traveling half-size replica of the memorial wall will be on display all week. The exhibition includes a traveling museum and information center, which is equipped with a scanner so visitors can bring photos of their loved ones whose names are on the wall and have them scanned. The memorial will be in Somerset through Saturday. Local organizers have activities planned each day at noon starting Tuesday. Somerset is the only stop scheduled in Kentucky for the memorial this year.

• Democratic Governor Steve Beshear's re-election campaign said Monday it has raised $222,484 since mid-April. Beshear's campaign manager Bill Hyers said the large total for Beshear shows public support for the governors "efforts to bring jobs to Kentucky." Friday, Republican candidate for governor, Senate President David Williams and his running mate, Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer, filed their report that showed they raised $76,934 during the period, bringing the total for the entire campaign to $1,277,073. That includes a $100,000 loan to the campaign from Williams. The Beshear-Abramson total for the recent period  is about $5 million. The campaign says it has $3.2 million on hand.

• A wooden bridge at Long Branch on the Left Fork of Island Creek is replaced by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Work began Monday, April 25th, to replace a substandard one-lane bridge on County Road 1291. “This bridge is badly needed,” Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford said. “Our State Senator, Ray Jones, got this project off the ground, and it is very beneficial to the residents of that area. The $387,000 cost for the project was paid for by the federal highway fund and the residents on state Route 3416 may see heavy equipment and trucks carrying supplies, according to District 12 Highway Department Public Information Officer Sara George. There were brief delays, less than 15 minutes, as the equipment moved onto the sight. A detour was provided for travelers. Garrison Construction is building the bridge, and a temporary bridge is already in place. It is expected to be finished by May 25th.

• Kentucky is shutting down a minimum security prison in Frankfort to convert the complex into a state police training center. State officials said Monday that all 205 inmates are expected to be out of the Frankfort Career Development Center by July 1st. The governor announced the change at an afternoon news conference. The shutdown of the prison marks the first time state officials could recall a correctional facility closing in Kentucky. Justice Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown said in an interview that a drop in both the state's prison population and recidivism rate makes the closing possible. Department of Corrections Commissioner LaDonna Thompson said the state will see about a $575,000 savings in the new fiscal year. Inmates will be moved to other state prisons, county jails and halfway houses.

• Two men have died and two others were injured while trying to take down a CB tower attached to a home in western Kentucky. The Graves County coroner says 68-year-old Rayburn Sanderson Sr. and 60-year-old Willie J. Martin died Saturday of complications from electrocution. Two other men survived and were taken to a hospital. One was released Sunday, but the other remained hospitalized. The Mayfield Police Department and the Graves County Coroner are investigating.

• A large concrete panel fell from the faEcade of a downtown Lexington parking garage Sunday. Mayor Jim Gray said it appeared that years of deterioration caused the panel to fall. No one was hurt when the slab fell from the second level of the Phoenix garage which the manager says was last inspected four years ago. It has been closed until a structural engineer determines there is no futher danger. In May 2006, a woman was killed when a slab fell from another downtown parking garage onto her. In that case, a vehicle in the garage struck the panel, dislodging it. The victim was 22 years old and was eight months pregnant.

• Severe flooding in parts of Kentucky can pose risks as areas start to recover and residents begin cleanup. The Kentucky Department for Public Health advises against coming in contact with flood waters, which are unclean and can pose health risks.

• Getting the word out through TV and online isn't enough for Memphis, Tennessee officials who were going door-to-door warning a couple hundred people they should abandon their homes before they are swamped by waters from the rising Mississippi River. Memphis residents have been abandoning low-lying homes for days as the dangerously surging river threatens to crest at 48 feet today, just shy of the 48.7-foot record.

• Two Kentucky teachers are among 85 chosen to receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching later this year in Washington, D.C. The recipients named by President Barack Obama include math teacher Charles Rutledge of Grayson and science teacher Andrea Broyles of Corbin.

• Adam Victor, the owner and president of TransGas Development Systems, joined a large crowd, including U.S. Senator Joe Manchin and acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, in Gilbert Monday morning during  groundbreaking ceremonies for the Adams Fork Energy Plant, a coal to liquid gas plant to soon be constructed on a 300-acre post-mine site at Wharncliffe in Mingo County. Victor says, in about four years, the first gasoline should be coming from the facility. The plant will take local coal and convert it into 750,000 gallons of “ultra clean Premium 92 Octane synthetic gasoline a day. The project will turn 7,500 tons of coal per day into liquid which will run trucks, machinery and cars. Victor says the technology has been used in Germany and South Africa for years. The German company ThyssenKrupp will provide the conversion technology. The project will cost more than $3 billion to construct. The plant will create 3,000 construction jobs over the four years and once it is finished there will be 300 permanent jobs. Victor says the only roadblock he can see is if Washington enacts retroactive environmental regulations that would negate the permits. Jim Sconyers, the chair of the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, says developer Adam Victor has had two other projects...one was abandoned and the other went bankrupt. Sconyers wonders why the state Economic Development Authority has authorized up to $3 billion in revenue bonds to be sold for the project. Project manager Randy Harris said earlier this year TransGas plans to sell taxable bonds and use private insurance and didn't need state EDA approval, but getting it was a good sign the state is behind the project.

• The bodies of 24 year old Daniel Whitely and his 20 year old wife Debra Sue were found in their mobile home near Wright's Mountain in Mercer County in May 1982. Both had been fatally shot. As part of a renewed effort by the West Virginia State Police to resolve more than 30 cold cases in nine southern counties, Police are asking for the public's help in solving the murders. Sgt. D.W. Miller Jr. says he wants people to contact him if they have any information, even if they think it's irrelevant. Miller says one small piece of information could be the one he needs to solve the case. Anyone who believes they have information can call 304-425-2102.

• Monday, Raleigh County Circuit Judge John Hutchinson declared a mistrial in the murder case of 38 year old Christopher Bowling, a Raleigh County man facing murder in the shooting death of his wife, Tresa. The jury had already heard a week's worth of testimony. Bowling's attorney claims the shooting was accidental and that his client was unloading his gun when it discharged, striking his wife in the head. Last week, witnesses testified that Bowling physically and emotionally abused his wife, and the two were heard arguing just minutes before Tresa was killed at the couple's home in Daniels in January of 2010. The victim's ten year old daughter, who was just feet away when her mother was shot, has testified as a witness for the prosecution. The mistrial was called after an issue with one of the jurors left only eleven people on the panel. Judge Hutchinson has scheduled a new trial for Monday, June 20th.

• Michael Barker of Cross Lanes, a former salesman at Bert Wolfe Ford on Charleston's West Side, claims he was getting a vehicle identification number from a Chrysler SUV for a customer on June 23, 2009 when he was struck by a car on the dealership's lot. The driver was identified as James Workman, the sales manager of the dealership. Barker sustained severe and permanent injury to his left foot, knee and ankle in the crash and underwent surgery and hospitalization. In court documents filed in Kanawha Circuit Court on April 1st, Barker is demanding compensation for his injuries, punitive damages, attorney fees and court costs, saying Workman along with Bert Wolfe Ford is liable for his injuries.

• In recent months Alpha Natural Resources has announced plans to purchase Massey Energy, James River Coal of Richmond, Virginia has signed an agreement to purchase the coal business built by Buck Harless and then just last week, Arch Coal announced plans to purchase International Coal Group. West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney says he’s not concerned about several recent or pending transactions involving large coal companies. Raney says the activity shows the interest in West Virginia coal, but the situation would be even better if there was more predictability when it comes to getting coal permits approved from the federal EPA.

• The Mine Safety and Health Administration has released some new information into the Upper Big Branch Mine investigation on their website. The 25 transcripts include interviews from the mine rescue and recovery efforts following the April 5, 2010 explosion. The transcripts describe how the rescuers were called to the Upper Big Branch Mine following the explosion, as well as their activities underground while searching for the missing miners, establishing communications with the surface and ultimately recovering the 29 victims. More are expected to be released in the coming months.

• Monday Randolph County Judge Jamie Wilfong sentenced 54 year old Pamela Thoman to one to three years in prison on a conviction of delivery of a controlled substance. The defense asked Wilfong to suspend Thoman's sentence in favor of participating in a community corrections or home confinement program, but Wilfong denied the request.

• Stephen Trent Johnson, 41, of Charleston pleaded guilty Monday to possession with the intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base, admitting he sold a small amount of cocaine base and 40 grams of crack to a confidential informant with the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team in Charleston on June 14th. Officers found more than 37 grams of crack cocaine in his pocket while arresting him on an outstanding warrant. Johnson faces up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine when sentenced August 22nd.

• A Scott Depot man has pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and to distributing Oxycodone to an undercover agent. Forty-three year old Daniel Seth Fleshman admitted to selling a 9 mm, semi-automatic pistol to an undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent in Huntington. He also admitted to distributing morphine and Oxycodone to an undercover ATF agent in Huntington. Fleshman faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced September 6th.

• Tressie Hayes, 34, of Julian, who served as a therapist at Prestera in Danville, a mental health center in Boone County, was arrested Saturday on drug and sex abuse charges. Boone County Sheriff Rodney Miller says his office received complaints from two underage boys who say Hayes took them on drug runs and smoked marijuana and took pills with them. They say some of the drug activity happened inside Hayes' office. One of the boys claims Hayes had sex with him, even though she was aware of a sexual relationship he had with one of her family members, and she threatened to have him killed if he ever told anyone what she was doing. Hayes was being held Monday evening at the Southwestern Regional Jail on a $120,000 bond.

• Five West Virginia University students from four states have been charged with malicious burning after 29 fires kept Morgantown fire crews busy all weekend. Fire Capt. Ken Tennant says the fires were set randomly, both day and night, from Thursday night through Monday morning. All 18 street fires and 11 trash bin fires were in the downtown and Sunnyside areas. Those charged are: Eric T. Bailey of New Cumberland, Gage T. Swartz of Winchester, Virginia, Emily S. Foster of Berryville, Virginia, Michael J. Rutland of Overland Park, Kansas and Matthew P. Isakower of Hackettstown, New Jersey.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Kanawha County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Scott Reynolds was arrested Saturday night in Charleston and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Kanawha County Prosecutor Mark Plants says he's waiting for all the details before taking any action. Plants says a prosecutor from another county will be assigned to handle the case, and, if he is found guilty, he will be prosecuted just like anyone else. Reynolds was appointed to the position in 2007.

• Election officials may expect low turnout in West Virginia’s primary race for governor, but the candidates have collected more than 8,700 contributions totaling nearly $4.5 million. About half those came between March 26th and April 29th, the final reporting period. The $1.5 million contributed during that time increased overall fundraising in the race to $4.47 million. The Democratic field attracted 90 percent of the funds.

• Camden Park began its 108th season Saturday. Camden Park has a new arcade and gift shop and a remodeled haunted house this year, along with historic rides that include the Big Dipper wooden rollercoaster. Hours for May are Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 A.M. to 7:30 P.M. Admission is $21.99 for adults and $15.99 for children and seniors.