Authorities are investigating the death of a Bell County magistrate, who had been jailed after police said he tried to arrange to have another person killed. Kentucky State Police said 51-year-old Ricky Goodin died Saturday morning at Pineville Community Hospital. A preliminary investigation shows Goodin began having a seizure inside his cell at Bell County Detention Center. Police said he had another seizure at the hospital. Police said no foul play is suspected. An autopsy will be performed by a medical examiner in Frankfort. Goodin, of Pineville, was arrested earlier this month on a charge of solicitation to commit murder. In March, Goodin was arrested on multiple charges after authorities say he sold prescription drugs and methamphetamine out of his pawn shop. … [Read more...]
Bell County Magistrate Dies After Seizures
Funtown Mountain Owner Arrested
Will Russell, owner of Funtown Mountain, was arrested again, this time for wanton endangerment 1st degree. According to Louisville police, Russell intentionally set a fire inside of his home. The fire caused minimal damage to the home, but it placed the residents inside in danger, according to police. Police said one of Russell's neighbors uses medical oxygen. Police said firefighters responded to the home on an emergency basis, placing them in danger of serious physical injury. … [Read more...]
Man Charged In Night Club Shooting
A Louisville man has been charged in connection to the July shooting at a west Louisville night club that injured eight people, including a pregnant woman and her unborn baby. Kevon Taylor, 26, is charged with eight counts of complicity assault. Online jail records show Taylor was booked into Louisville Metro Corrections on July 27 on a charge of engaging in organized crime and 112 charges of criminal possession of forged instruments. According to the arrest slip, Taylor was in possession of counterfeit bills that he and others used to purchase a TV at Walmart. Taylor's arraignment for the assault charges is scheduled for September 21. … [Read more...]
Several Injured In Wrecks
A couple of accidents sent four people to the hospital Friday afternoon in Meade County. The first accident happened around 3:40 pm Friday in the 1600 block of Payneville Road near New Highland Church involving two vehicles resulting in two juveniles, a four year-old male and a thirteen year-old female, were treated at the scene by Meade County EMS and the airlifted to Kosair Hospital by Air Methods Air Ambulance. One of drivers were taken to University of Louisville by Meade County EMS. The Meade County Fire Department also responded to the scene. A second accident happened around 4:43 pm Friday in the 6300 block of Midway Road when a vehicle ran off of the roadway and overturned. The driver was taken to University of Louisville Hospital by Meade County EMS for their injuries. The Payneville Fire Department assisted the Meade County Sheriff’s Department at the scene. … [Read more...]
Custody Battle Continues For “Off-grid” Family
A custody case highlighting the controversy over "off-grid" families continues to work its way through the courts. Attorney Rick Hardin, who represents Joe and Nicole Naugler, said a hearing on Thursday in Breckinridge County did not resolve the case. He said a disposition hearing was set for early November. Child protection workers removed the couple's 10 children from the family's tumbledown shack in May after an anonymous complaint. The state returned the children in July but retains legal custody. The Nauglers say they haven't neglected their children, but are loving parents who choose to raise them in an "off-grid" lifestyle without public electricity, running water or a flushable toilet. Meanwhile, Hardin said a menacing charge against Joe Naugler has been resolved with an Alford plea, which means he maintains his innocence while conceding there is sufficient evidence for a conviction. … [Read more...]
Federal Funds To Enhance High-speed Internet
A fund created by the Federal Communications Commission will pay AT&T $30 million a year for the next six years to make high-speed Internet available to more than 84,000 rural Kentucky homes and businesses. The Connect America Fund was created in 2011 to expand broadband to rural areas where expansion isn't supported economically. AT&T says it will deliver broadband at speeds of at least 10 megabits per second for downloads and 1 megabit per second for uploads. The FCC said last month that nearly one-third of rural Americans lack access to such service. … [Read more...]
Woman Enters Plea In Trooper Shooting
A woman has pleaded not guilty after police say she was uncooperative during their investigation into the shooting death of a Kentucky state trooper. Ambrea Shanks 18 of Florissant, Missouri pleaded not guilty Thursday in Caldwell District Court in Princeton. Shanks is charged with first-degree hindering prosecution or apprehension. Thirty one year-old Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder was shot to death late Sunday in western Kentucky after a high-speed chase that reportedly started with the trooper pulling over Joseph Johnson-Shanks for speeding. Police say Shanks was in the car with Johnson-Shanks, also of Florissant, Missouri, during the police pursuit. She was arrested on Monday. Authorities say 25 year-old Johnson-Shanks was shot to death by other Kentucky troopers after he refused to surrender. … [Read more...]
State Get Funds To Fight Drug Overdose
The federal government is giving Kentucky $3.7 million over the next four years to fight prescription drug overdoses. The funding will go to the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, a partnership between the Kentucky Department for Public Health and the University of Kentucky College of Public Health. Governor Steve Beshear said in a news release legislation that took effect in 2012 has brought a decline in so-called "doctor shopping" and prescriptions for heavily abused medications. He said the funding will help the state continue educating the public about the dangers of drug use and abuse. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office said earlier the money will also will be used to target interventions in counties with some of the highest rates of drug overdoses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the $20 million program. It is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Opioid Initiative. … [Read more...]
Mine Rescue Station Opens In Madisonville
he U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration opened a mine rescue station in western Kentucky. The facility opened at Noon Friday is to serve mines in the Midwest in case of emergency. Similar stations are located in Beckley, West Virginia; Pittsburgh; and Price, Utah. The station at 150 School Avenue in Madisonville includes a fully equipped mine emergency unit team truck, surface communication system, first response underground communication system, infrared gas monitoring and a mobile gas chromatograph laboratory. A tour of the facility will followed remarks by Assistant Labor Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Joseph A. Main, other MSHA officials and representatives of Alliance Coal, Alpha Natural Resources and the Kentucky Division of Mine Safety. … [Read more...]
Fiscal Court Holds Special Meeting
Meade County Fiscal Court set trick-or-treat hours during a special called meeting Thursday morning. The trick-or-treat hours for the county will be Saturday, October 31, from 5 until 8 p.m. The court approved an amendment to the lease agreement between Meade County Fiscal Court and the Meade County Board of Education concerning the use of Meade Olin Park. The court accepted a single payment of $16,000 for the year instead of multiple smaller payments. Judge-Executive Gerry Lynn advised the court three candidates had been interviewed for the EMS Director position and all were very well qualified. After much consideration of all the candidates, Judge-Executive Lynn recommended to hire Mike Wise as the EMS Director. The court unanimously approved the recommendation. … [Read more...]