LOCAL NEWS
05-02-2008
103.9 The Bulldog Local News provided by WYMT TV, The Mountain Eagle, Associated Press and Local News Sources of 103.9 WXKQ.
Updated Monday May 12th, 2008
Severe Storms-Tornado
High winds, heavy rain and even two confirmed tornadoes, all part of severe weather blowing through the mountains. Perhaps the hardest hit area was at the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in Whitley County where trees are down all over the park. The National Weather Service has confirmed an EF-1 tornado with winds just over 100mph touched down causing the damage.
It was about ten Sunday morning when more than 100 people staying in the Cumberland Falls State Park got a rude awakening and an adventure they'll never forget.
The heavy wind was blowing several huge trees in these park cottages down to the ground.
But at least most of the more than 100 park visitors had sturdy structures to ride out the destructive winds, but some were camping out in tents.
Power and phone lines are down all over and crews are having to clear trees from roads and off many cars. Officials say considering the heavy damage, it could have been worse.
Officials say the park is honoring guests who had reservations for Sunday night, but they're not allowing people on trails until they can clean up the mess.
Another part of Eastern Kentucky was hit by EF-1 tornado with winds near 100mph.
The tornado hit between 10:30 and 11 in Leslie County, uprooting trees and knocking down power lines. The storm moved rapidly across the county. Most of the damage was isolated to a small area along Highway 1807.
Around 2 o'clock, National Weather Service made a stop in Wooton to determine if it was an actual tornado that caused the damage.
Because of the storm, AEP officials were on the scene all afternoon working to restore power at least 300 hundred people.
Fire At Coalfields Industrial Park
WYMT is reporting of a fire just after 2:30am at the Trus Joist Plant in the Coalfields Industrial Park just off Highway 15. Several fire departments were called out to fight the flames. It's not known if there are any injuries or damage. No other information is being released at this time.
Laurel Lake Death Ruled Health Related
Officials say a Perry County man that fell near the Laurel Lake Spillway Wednesday died of health conditions.
Officials say 70 year old Herman Feltner was fishing with friends when he fell about eight feet onto some rocks. The Laurel County coroner says the Perry County man died of cardiac arrest.
Feltner's visitation is Friday night from 6pm until 9pm at the Engle Walker Funeral Home in Hazard. The funeral is Saturday at noon.
Man Indicted In Neighbors Murders
A Floyd County man accused of the sniper-style murders of his next door neighbors is indicted.
Police say Berry Hall shot Alan and Lisa Tackett in March. Family members say it was over a property dispute. The couple's four children were also in the home during the shooting.
The grand jury indicted him on two counts of murder and four counts of wanton endangerment.
During a hearing last month, police said Hall admitted to the killings.
Tuition Hikes Discussed
State officials want to limit a tuition increase in the Kentucky Community and Technical College system. School officials say they need a higher increase, because they invest far more in equipment and infrastructure than other state schools.
And school officials say they can't afford to offer the same quality education without a 13 percent increase, but the Council on Postsecondary Education recommended to limit the increase at just more than five percent.
Dr. Bruce Ayers SKCTC Presidents says it means cuts to several specialized training programs, holding off on new projects, leaving up to 20 positions unfilled, and offering fewer scholarships. Machine tool technology educators say it means less equipment like a $50,000 dollar machine that trains students to be well-paid manufacturers in high demand.
Some students say they could handle a 13 percent increase on one hundred fifteen dollars per credit hour.
Others say a smaller increase is necessary to keep college affordable.
KSP Trooper of The Year
The Kentucky State Police named Pikeville, Ky. resident Edward R. Crum "2007 Trooper of the Year" at a ceremony held yesterday at the University Club in Louisville. Thirty-nine other troopers and four private citizens were also recognized for acts of meritorious service and achievement, valor, bravery, life-saving acts, professionalism and dedication to duty.
An 18-year veteran of the Kentucky State Police, Detective Crum is assigned to KSP Post 9 in Pikeville, which covers Floyd, Johnson, Magoffin, Martin and Pike counties.
Capt. Jeff Caudill, commander of Post 9, described Crum as "an aggressive investigator and one of the most highly skilled accident reconstructionists in the state."
Crum was also the lead investigator in a series of armed robberies in his post area and his persistence resulted in arrests that are now awaiting prosecution.
A native of Elkhorn City, Ky., Crum is a 1983 graduate of Elkhorn City High School and a 1985 graduate of Mayo State Community College in Paintsville. He is the son of Jim and Brenda Crum of Pike County.
Twenty-one troopers were named Trooper of the Year at the post or branch level. They include:
Detective Edward R. Crum--Post 9-Pikeville
Trooper Walter S. Szczepan--Post 10-Harlan
Detective Michael Bowling Jr.--Post 11-London
Trooper Charles J. King--Post 13-Hazard
Trooper First Class Ricky Underwood--Special Operations
Detective Marcus W. Hopkins--East Drug Enforcement
Detective Timothy N. Simpson--West Drug Enforcement
Trooper First Class Mack Rayburn--Administrative Division
Detective Christopher L. Frazier--Technical Services Division.
Former Funeral Home Director Pleads Guilty
A former Pike County funeral home director pleads guilty to more than 20 charges of fraud and theft.
Richard Justice was accused of taking more than $80,000 in pre-paid funeral arrangements and pocketing them for himself and allegedly operating a funeral home without a license.
Court officials say he is ordered to pay restitution to the families before sentencing in July, or he will face two and a half years in prison.
Federal Jury Indicts 3 at Insurance Firm
County insurance agency are among five persons indicted on mail fraud charges by a federal grand jury.
John Pennington, 49, and his wife, Tena Lynn Pennington, 43, both of Stanton; Thomas J. Childers, 59, of Hazard; and Karen Lynetta Fox-Burns, 55, and her daughter, Shannon Ranee Hogg, 32, both of Whitesburg, were indicted last week.
The indictment alleges that John Pennington aided by Tena Pennington, Childers, Fox-Burns, and Hogg, devised a mail fraud scheme from 2003 to 2005 to defraud Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance (KEMI) in Lexington, of workers' compensation insurance premiums by misrepresenting to KEMI the number of employees and the amount of payroll of John Pennington's company, ZAG Re sources Inc. Childers is the owner of CS&W Insurance Services Inc. in Whitesburg. Fox- Burns is a licensed insurance agent for CS&W, and Hogg works for CS&W as a customer service representative.
The indictment also alleges that John Pennington failed to pay federal taxes to the Internal Revenue Service that he withheld from his employees' wages from 2003 to 2007.
The federal grand jury in Lexington returned the indictment May 1.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division; and the Kentucky Office of Insurance, Fraud Division.
The defendants' appearance before the U.S. District Court has not yet been set by the court in Lexington. If convicted, they face maximum prison sentences of 20 years.
Jenkins Expected to Raise Rates
Residents of Jenkins could be faced with an increase in garbage bills as well as changes in the billing structure of their water bills when the new fiscal year begins in July. The Jenkins City Council was presented with a restructured billing system for water customers and a request for a raise in garbage rates by the Utilities Commission at the May council meeting.
Utilities Chair Ked Sanders told the council the water company has been losing money for several years and lost over $100,000 last year, mainly from leaks in old water lines. The city has embarked on an ambitious program to repair and replace old water lines to eliminate the leaks. Mayor Charles Dixon told the council that his goal was no leaks, although he admitted that is unlikely. Dixon said the work is for the present and the future of Jenkins as well.
Sanders also told the council the sewer plant will require several upgrades to improve efficiency and stay in compliance with state laws. He said a violation of state or federal laws could cost the city a good deal more than the upgrade.
Sanders also presented the Utilities Commission's recommendation to increase sanitation bills. The Utilities Commission proposed to increase garbage collection fees to $13 a month for residential users. Sanders told the council that commercial rates are very confusing and are still being worked out. Sanders replied that primarily due to the large increases in fuel prices, everything associated with hauling garbage has gone up. He said the sanitation department loses approximately $20,000 per year.
The council will take the proposals for rate increases home for further study and will make a decision at the June meeting.
Some Letcher Countians Have Already Voted In Primary
Although the primary election in Kentucky isn't until May 20, a few voters have already cast their ballot in Letcher County and elsewhere in the state.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, 10 Letcher County residents had voted on an in-house voting machine in the office of Letcher County Clerk Winston Meade.
The in-house voting machine, which is identical to those that will be used here on Election Day, was put in place for those who can't make it to the polls on May 20.
Under state law, Kentucky's county clerks must allow inhouse absentee voting at least twelve working days before Election Day.
Voters might also be eligible to apply for a mail-in absentee ballot. Those applications are available from Meade's office and must be received during office hours by May 13. After receiving an approved application, county clerks will mail a ballot to the respective voters, and voters will have until 6 p.m. local time on Election Day to return their ballots to the county clerk.
Meade's office said 120 applications for absentee ballots have been sent out, and that 62 of those were returned by Tuesday.
There are a variety of reasons why a voter might request to cast an absentee ballot, including:
• Advanced age, disability, or illness
• Military personnel, their dependents, and overseas citizens
• Students who temporarily reside outside the county
• Other voters who temporarily reside outside of Kentucky, such as a vacationer
• Voters incarcerated but not yet convicted
• Voters whose employment takes them out of the county all hours the polling place is open
• Voters who will be out of the county on Election Day
• Military personnel confined to base who learn of it within seven days or less of an election
• Voters who have surgery scheduled that will require hospitalization on Election Day, and the voter's spouse
• Pregnant women in third trimester
• Election officials
Voters are restricted as to whether they can use in-house absentee voting or mail-in ballots according to their reason for casting an absentee ballot.
Voter Registration Falls Here
While record numbers of citizens have signed up to vote in Kentucky and much of the rest of the U.S. this spring, that isn't the case in Letcher County.
According to figures released this week by Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, the number of registered voters in Letcher County fell slightly from 16,515 in November 2007 to 16,508 for the May 20 primary election.
Letcher County now has 12,739 Democrats and 3,472 Republicans. Two-hundred ninety-seven Letcher County voters are registered as independent or as members of other political parties. The number of Republicans registered here has grown by 21 since November, while the number of Democrats has fallen by 39.
Grayson says more Kentuckians are registered to vote this year in Kentucky than ever before. In total, 2,857,231 citizens will appear on Kentucky's voter rolls for the primary election.
Man Dies After Falling Off Cliff Into Water
Police say a 70-year-old man fell into a spillway near Laurel Lake, not far from the Laurel-Whitley County line.
He fell from a cliff and into the water, but investigators think something else may have caused the man's death
Herman Feltner of Hazard was fishing with friends on Wednesday afternoon when he fell.
Investigators say he fell about 8 feet, onto some rocks below. Feltner's body ended up in the spillway, but it was only about 5 feet deep at that point.
Investigators think Feltner may have had some sort of medical condition that led to that fall.
Stabbing In Pike County
One woman is in the hospital and another is in jail after a stabbing in Pike County.
Kentucky State Police say it happened around one Wednesday afternoon at Anderson Fork on Indian Creek in the Virgie community of Pike County.
Police say 33 year old Rosetta Kendrick attacked 43 year old Veronica Little with a knife. Police say Little was taken to the hospital with several laceration and puncture wounds.
Kendrick faces assault and burglary charges.
More Details On Stabbing
The man accused of stabbing a friend in his driveway in Johnson County says it was self-defense. We visited 29 year old Jeffrey Hunter at the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center to hear his side of the story.
Robert Delong's family and Jeffrey Hunter tell us Delong was angry because he believed Hunter stole from him.
Hunter says he wants to apologize to Delong's family.
Delong is listed in fair condition at a West Virginia hospital.
Jeffrey Hunter is charged with assault. Police say a grand jury will meet to decide whether to indict him on additional charges later this month.
New Water Plant For Wheelwright
A new water plant and water lines are on the way to one Floyd County community thanks to nearly one and a half million dollars in coal severance funds.
The current Wheelwright water treatment plant was built almost 70 years ago with no upgrades through the years. Last year, the Division of Water said it didn't meet regulations and they had to build a new one.
Engineers are coming Thursday to start the design plans. Construction should start in July.
Officials hope to have the new water treatment plant and water lines finished by the end of the year.
Inmate Recovering After Shooting
An inmate at the Big Sandy Federal Prison in Martin County is recovering after a shooting.
Officials say last Thursday, two inmates were assaulting another inmate and wouldn't stop when officers tried to separate them. Investigators say an officer fired a warning shot, and it hit one of them. Officials say the inmate is being treated at a local hospital.
The prison is on lockdown while they continue their investigation
Man Recovering After School Bus Accident
A motorcycle driver is still recovering at a Tennessee hospital after colliding with a Middlesboro city school bus Monday.
Virgil Brown is stable at the UT Medical Center in Knoxville after police say he was injured in the accident on a narrow road in the Polly Hollow community. Police say eight elementary school students and their bus driver, John Partin, were not injured.
Police say they likely won't be able to determine who was at fault in the accident.
State Park System Losing Money
The state auditor says Kentucky's park system is losing millions of dollars despite improvements and renovations totaling more than 300 million dollars since 1994.
Crit Luallen says the state needs to spend more money promoting the parks.
Crit Luallen says a few years ago she started seeing that too many Kentucky parks were losing money so her office began to research why so many dollars were being lost.
In a report released Wednesday in Frankfort, State Auditor Crit Luallen says there are fewer people playing, camping, and firing up grills at parks across the commonwealth.
The report showed many Kentucky parks operating costs are taking a financial hit.
This after hundreds of millions of dollars was spent to improve them.
Luallen says the state will now focus on ways to tell more people about what the parks have to offer.
Park regulars say they believe more promotion could be the answer.
Luallen hopes that changes as people become more aware of the benefits of Kentucky's state parks.
There are 52 state parks including 17 that have resorts.
Luallen says, as you might expect, she believes the number of people visiting the parks will go up during the summer months.
Between 1994 to 2008 the state spent nearly 55 million dollars on golf related projects.
The number of golf rounds played at Kentucky's public courses has dropped steadily..
Stabbing in Floyd County
An eastern Kentucky man is accused of stealing a purse and a knife at a gas station in Floyd County then going to Johnson County and stabbing someone.
The stabbing victim is still in the hospital and the suspect is behind bars.
Police believe 29 year old Jeffery Hunter used a stolen knife to stab 35 year old Robert Delong in his driveway.
Police say it was the end of a night full of arguments.
The trouble started at the Meade BP in Floyd County early Tuesday morning.
Delong was flown to St. Mary's hospital in Huntington with two major stab wounds.
Family members say they didn't know if he was going to make it but doctors say he will make a full recovery.
Both the Delong family and the BP store employees say they've had trouble with Hunter in the past.
Hunter was arrested in Van Lear.
Family members say Delong will remain in the hospital for at least a week.
Trooper Hopkins says Hunter will likely be charged with the theft at the convenience store in the next few days.
Hunter is lodged in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center.
Illegal Immigrants Arrested in Somerset
A case involving illegal immigrants was unveiled on Tuesday. Police say the problem involved illegal immigrants taking someone else's private information...yet treating it like it was their own...just to get a job at Somerset Hardwood.
Police say their investigation started when an officer pulled over a hispanic man who flashed a fake ID. That person then told on his co-workers at Somerset Hardwood. Police say dozens...perhaps more than 100 illegals got jobs there..just by showing fake credentials.
Company officials say they had no idea their workers presented fake ID's. In fact, police say the copies they confiscated were high quality are hard to tell from the originals.
City Purchases New Vehicles For Police Department
The City of Evarts purchased 3 vehicles for the Police Department. These vehicles will replace the old and aging existing fleet and provide adequate public safety for the 1,101 citizens in rural Harlan County.
USDA Rural Development provided $60,435 in Economic Impact Initiative funding, along with $20,145 from the City.
Mayor Burl Fee states these are the first new vehicles for the City of Evarts, since he became Mayor in 1987.
Woman Admits Placing Staple in Meatloaf
A Knox County woman pleads guilty to federal charges that she tampered with food.
27-year old Joreen Crawford admitted to placing a staple inside a batch of meatloaf before it was shipped to a national restaurant chain.
Crawford said she did it to try and get a co-worker fired.
She faces ten years in prison for tampering with a consumer product.
The tainted meatloaf was found before it reached customers.
Man Dies in Car Crash
A Pike County man is dead after an early morning crash.
It happened just after seven Tuesday morning on Kentucky 319 in the Hardy community of Pike County.
State police say 34-year-old Jack Stacy crossed the center line and hit another vehicle.
Stacy died at the scene.
The other driver was treated and released.
Adventure Tourism
Tourism is the third largest industry in the bluegrass.
Tuesday Governor and First Lady Beshear along with Lieutenant Governor Daniel Mongiardo hit the trails in Knott County to help kick off the state's adventure tourism initiative.
Governor Beshear, the first lady, and Lieutenant Governor Mongiardo were celebrating adventure tourism by visiting the mountains.
Officials and residents from across the bluegrass were at the ATV Safety Training Center in Hindman to promote the beauty of the mountains.
Beshear says the plan opens up more areas of the state as tourist destinations.
Governor Beshear says he wants the rest of the nation to know about the natural beauty and visit Kentucky.
Magoffin County Receives Grant for New Health Dept.
A new health department building in one eastern Kentucky county is one step closer to reality.
Magoffin County Health Department employees say their 50 year old building is run down and too small.
It also isn't handicap accessible.
They've tried to get a new building for six years but couldn't afford it.
Governor Steve Beshear announced a 500-thousand dollar ARC grant to get the project started.
Employees say it will make a difference.
Employees say they're working on getting the rest of the funding.
2006 Candidate for Knott Judge Exec Faces Prison
A candidate for Knott County Judge Executive in 2006 is sentenced to nearly six years in prison.
60-year-old James "Tonto" Combs pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to sell 85 thousand Hydrocodone and more than one hundred OxyCodone pills over nearly a decade.
When he was arrested by state police in 2006, police say Combs had more than 20 thousand dollars in cash in his pocket.
Local Emergency Responders Meet With Homland Security
Police, firefighters, and other emergency responders from four counties met with Kentucky's Homeland Security Director Tuesday morning at a security summit.
State Homeland Security Chief Adam Edelen met with emergency workers from Floyd, Letcher, Knott, and Breathitt Counties to find out what they need, and to get ideas on how to improve public safety.
Police, firefighters, and rescue squad workers all told him they need better equipment, but they can't afford it.
Edelen says he will do what he can to help them.
Edelen says they are building a strategic plan to use across the commonwealth.
Two Killed in Separate ATV Accidents
Two separate ATV accidents kill a man and a teenager just hours apart, and leave another young person fighting for his life.
51-year-old David Stephens died Sunday night after his ATV flipped over in Magoffin County.
In Knott County, two ATVs hit each other head-on.
The Knott County teen killed was 16-year-old Brandon Slone who attended Knott County Central High School. Brandon had been taking classes at home while recovering from a car accident in March.
Police say he tried a dangerous stunt that sent his ATV crashing head-on into the one driven by his 17-year-old friend.
Brandon was just two weeks from his 17th birthday.
School officials tell us the other ATV driver, 17-year-old Chris Gibson, is in critical condition.
Funeral arrangements for Brandon Slone are not yet set.
School Bus and Motorcycle Closed
A school bus and motorcycle collide sending one man to the hospital.
Police say the accident happened on a narrow road in the Polly Hollow community of Bell County, just outside of Middlesboro on Monday.
The Superintendent of Middlesboro Independent Schools said this accident happened about just before three-thirty Monday afternoon when he says a motorcycle hit a school bus carrying what police say were eight elementary school kids.
School officials say none of those eight kids or the bus driver were injured.
Police say the motorcyle rider was flown to the UT Medical Center with serious injuries.
He’s looking at a possible a broken leg.
FDA Debates New Version Of Oxycontin
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The government is evaluating a new version of OxyContin - the potent painkiller sometimes called "hillbilly heroin" - designed to be harder to abuse. A plastic-like coating fuses to the tablet, making it harder tocrush - and turning into a gooey mess if abusers try to inject it, maker Purdue Pharma LP said in documents released by the Food and Drug Administration Thursday.
The FDA will ask its scientific advisers if the reformulated drug seems tamper-resistant enough to allow on themarket, before the required long-term studies are done to see if the changes thwart at least some abuse.
OxyContin was hailed as a breakthrough in the treatment ofsevere chronic pain when it was introduced in 1996. A time-releaseversion of the old narcotic oxycodone, it was designed to beswallowed whole and digested over 12 hours to keep a steady stateof the painkiller in the bodies of seriously ill patients.
But abusers rapidly discovered the tablets can produce aheroin-like high if crushed and snorted or injected, thus dumpingthe dose all at once instead of letting it seep in slowly.The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration found the number ofoxycodone-related deaths nationwide had quintupled by 2001, asOxyContin prescriptions soared. The DEA cracked down, but OxyContinabuse steadily spread across the country. And a year ago, PurduePharma and some of its executives pleaded guilty to misleading thepublic about OxyContin's risk of addiction earlier in the decade,and agreed to millions in fines to settle state complaints that itencouraged over-prescribing of the drug.
Purdue Pharma said its laboratory studies show the new OxyContinis equivalent to the original in how well the painkiller dissolvesif used correctly.
Two other companies, Pain Therapeutics Inc. and KingPharmaceuticals, also are developing an abuse-resistant form of thedrug. Called Remoxy, it would provide a thick gelatin-like version of oxycodone.
New Weigh Station on US 23
It's a busy eastern Kentucky roadway filled with hundreds of loaded trucks making their daily haul.
Construction is underway on a permanent weigh station for U.S. 23.
While everyone agrees it will make the road safer, some say it will also be a headache.
In just a few months, all trucks travelling north on U.S.23 will have to stop at the new station and get weighed to make sure they're at a legal limit.
Police say it is long overdue on the road, but some truckers say it will slow down their travel time.
Officers estimate 500 trucks drive on US-23 a day, but soon, all of the trucks will have to make a pit stop.
Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement and state transportation officials are building a permanent weigh station at the Floyd-Johnson County line.
Sergeant Jamie Collins says all trucks travelling north will be required to get weighed. He says the station will allow them to take all overweight trucks off the road, and it may even prevent truckers from overloading their trucks to begin with.
Crews hope to finish construction and open the new weigh station by late summer or early fall.
Drivers should note the highway will be one lane by the construction site the next few months.
Drug Arrest Made
A Floyd County man is arrested on drug charges.
Operation UNITE officials say they found more than 750 pills at the home of 56-year old Jimmy Adams of McDowell.
Police also recovered more than three thousand dollars in cash and a handgun.
Adams was already wanted on drug trafficking charges.
City Officials Will Vote on Mine Location
Elkhorn City officials will vote next week on whether they will allow a coal mine to be located in the city limits.
Clintwood Elkhorn Mining is asking the council for a permit to open a mine near the Russell Fork River.
A public forum will not be held but one council member is asking for public input at Tuesday’s work session.
The meeting is at seven tonight at city hall.
Teacher Continues to Recover
An Eastern Kentucky teacher continues to recover in a Lexington hospital after a car accident last week.
Officials with the University of Kentucky Medical Center say Jennifer Lockhart is still in fair condition. Lockhart and fellow teacher Chad Sayler were injured after their car was hit by a train Wednesday night in Pikeville.
Sayler was released from the hospital late last week.
Two Men Charged in Murder now Know Their Fate
Two men charged in connection with the death of former Harlan County Sheriff Paul Browning Junior learn their fate.
A judge sentenced Raymond Harris to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.
Harris was convicted of the 2002 murder earlier this year.
Raymond's nephew, Dwayne Harris, was also charged in connection with the crime.
He took a plea deal and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
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Phone Service, Internet Restored
A cut fiber optic line created a major inconvenience for thousands of phone and internet users in Perry County.
The problem came from a failed attempt to steal copper. The outage affected thousands of Windstream customers in Perry County late Wednesday into Thursday.
Windstream officials say a would-be copper thief cut the wrong cable on Highway 421 along the Leslie-Clay County line and instead cut off thousands in Perry County from internet and long-distance phone services. It took Windstream officials all night to find the spot, and all morning to splice the fiber back together.
Widespread copper thefts have cost Windstream $700,000 dollars, just in the last two years.
It hasn't happened yet, but police say if someone dies because they can't dial 911, attempted copper thieves could face more serious charges than they realize.
If you have any information about the attempted copper theft, you should call police.
Two In Hospital After Train Hits Car
Two Eastern Kentucky teachers are recovering tonight after their car collided with a train.
It happened Thursday night at the Vera Drive railroad crossing in Pikeville. Now folks at Pikeville High School and the community are hoping for a speedy recovery.
Investigators say it appears driver Chad Salyer tried to beat the train at the crossing, but didn't make it, and the train hit his SUV. Police say 32 year old Salyer and his passenger, Jennifer Lockhart, were seriously injured and taken to Pikeville Medical Center and later airlifted to the University of Kentucky Medical Center Lexington. The two are teachers at Pikeville High School.
State police are still investigating the accident.
The driver of the train wasn't injured.
Miner Shortage Hits Coal Companies
Mine operator Alpha Natural Resources says it's giving gas money, free health insurance and other
incentives to attract and keep coal miners.
Chief Executive Mike Quillen says his Abingdon, Virginia-based company wants to avoid labor shortages it experienced during the last coal price spike in 2005 and 2006. Alpha along with Richmond, Virginia-based Massey Energy and other nonunion companies had a tough time then keeping rivals from poaching experienced miners.
At $95 a ton for steam coal and more than double that for metallurgical coal, mines are trying to up production again -- and trying to retain and attract miners.
Alpha's also giving 25 shares of stock to each of its 3,600 employees in Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. But Quillen says putting the equivalent of an extra $3 an hour in their pockets through steps such as $30 a month for gas and cash bonuses for not jumping ship should help the most.
Memorial To Honor Coal Miners
Pike County officials and local coal companies are planning a monument to honor coal miner's who died on the job.
A statue of a coal miner will be built and placed in front of the courthouse. Local coal companies and other citizens are paying for the monument. Officials made the announcement during a coal miner's appreciation ceremony Thursday morning. In addition to a memorial to miners who lost their lives, the statue will also say thanks to the men and women who dedicated their lives to coal mining.
Judge Rutherford also declared May 1st as Coal Miner's Appreciation Day in Pike County.
Baker Released From Prison
A woman charged in connection with the brutal murder of a 10 year old boy is free.
Susanne Baker checked Scotty Baker out of his Clay County school back in 1992 and took him to his stepmother, Stephanie Spitser.
Spitser was convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence.
Baker was sentenced to 25 years behind bars but after getting credit for time served and good behavior, she was let out of prison Thursday.
Hit and Run
Police in Jackson County are looking for a truck involved in a hit-and-run accident Wednesday night.
It happened on Highway 577 in Annville.
We're told five people in another vehicle were taken to the hospital.
Police don't know if the driver of the gold Chevy truck was injured, or if they had any passengers. The truck should have damage to the driver's side.
Primary Voter Registration
More Kentuckians are registered to vote than ever before in Kentucky, according to figures released by Secretary of State Trey Grayson and the Kentucky State Board of Elections. In total, 2,857,231 citizens will appear on Kentucky’s voter rolls for the May 20th primary election. That compares to the previous record, set in the 2007 general election, which totaled 2,840,898.
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