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...]
Several Injured In Wrecks
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...]
Bomb Squads Train At Ft. Knox
Louisville Metro Police Department, Kentucky State Police and the U.S. Army bomb squads joined together at Fort Knox with other cities' squads in a week-long training session. Their goal is to enhance techniques and tactics to dismantle explosive devices and rescue hostages in various scenarios. These things many city and state bomb squads can't train on because they may not have the resources or the capabilities like mock villages that are set up at Fort Knox. Sgt. Robert Kaelin, commander of the LMPD Bomb Squad, said it's a unique opportunity for the bomb squads to get together with the military and to learn things they’ve done overseas, the techniques, as well as, the things they've encountered. In turn, state and city squads can show how they operate because while the situations will be the same for both responding squads sometimes the equipment isn’t. A learning curve one can't afford when seconds count. … [Read more...]
Three Arrested For Arson
Three men are facing arson charges after investigators say they intentionally set fire to a storage shed. William "Trey" Conley, 18; Isaac Clark, 18, and Derek Emerson, 18, were arrested by the Louisville Metro Arson Bureau on September 16. Arson investigators say the three set fire to the shed in the 4200 block of Narcissus Drive on the morning of September 14. The arrest report states the shed belonged to Emerson's mother. … [Read more...]
Officials Considering Roadside Drug Tests
State officials are evaluating a roadside drug test that could help police counter the growing number of drivers who are high behind the wheel. State Office of Highway Safety is partnering with authorities in Louisville, Paducah and Madison County to test portable kits that police officers could eventually carry into the field to test drivers for controlled substances. If the tests prove reliable, lawmakers say they will consider legislation next year to expand their use. Louisville defense attorney Larry Forman says the tests could lead to invasive searches or give officers false pretense for arrests. According to Kentucky State Police, authorities suspected that drugs were a factor in nearly 1,600 traffic collisions across the state last year, resulting in 939 injuries and 214 deaths. … [Read more...]