Local News Thursday Feb 16, 2012

A murder trial is underway in Letcher County for a Jenkins man accused of killing his neighbor.

Samuel Todd Collier is facing murder charges after he allegedly shot his neighbor Mark Sturgill in October of 2010.

Wednesday was the second day of of the trial.

No one actually witnessed the incident, but Sturgill's wife Melissa says he was walking his dog the night that he was killed, and that it was not unusual for her husband to be armed.

Wednesday, the prosecution played the 911 call to police in which Collier admits to shooting Sturgill.

The prosecution also played Collier's interview with police from the night of the murder.

Collier said Sturgill's dog nipped at his leg. As Collier shooed the dog away, he says Sturgill was trying to pull a gun on him. That's when Collier reacted and fired 2 shots.

The trial will continue today.

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Four men are named in eight felony indictments returned recently by the Letcher County Grand Jury.

An 18- year- old Eolia man, Caleb Ronald Sexton, is charged with rape, three counts of unlawful transaction with a minor (second degree), and three counts of unlawful transaction with a minor (third degree).

Others indicted are:

• Christopher Shawn Raleigh of Cumberland, Steve Wayne Williams II of Cumberland and Vernon Sparkman of Pinetop.

For full charges and details see this week's edition of the Mountain Eagle.

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The Letcher County School System will fill fewer art, music, library and counselor positions next school year. Other teacher layoffs are expected too, all due to state funding cuts.

The Feb. 10 meeting of the Letcher County School Board was called to approve the system’s 2012-13 staffing plan.  For full details on the meeting see this week's Mountain Eagle.

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A mistrial has been declared in the rape trial of a former Lawrence County 911 director.

49-year-old Jeffrey Pack, of Louisa, was on trial on three counts of third-degree rape.

The judge declared the mistrial Tuesday afternoon after the jury said they could not reach a verdict following about two hours of deliberations.

The Ashland newspaper reports the jury was deadlocked at 10-2 in favor of a not guilty verdict.

At the time of his arrest in March 2011, investigators said Pack had engaged in illegal sexual activity with an underage female, who was an acquaintance.

No word if prosecutors plan to retry the case.

A status conference has been scheduled for March 9.

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A Clay County man is sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug conspiracy.

51-year old Johnny Dale Marcum of Manchester will spend 150 months in prison.

Marcum admitted that he and others cooked meth in eastern Kentucky from March, 2009 through June 2010.

Another person, Oba Champlain, was sentenced to 180 months in prison last year for his role in the conspiracy.

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Due to so many students missing school due to sickness, officials in the Perry County School District have cancelled classes the rest of the week.

Classes are expected to resume in in Perry County on Monday, Feb. 20.

Health officials say a four day weekend should help stop illnesses they have seen like strep throat, stomach viruses and the flu from spreading in the schools because the contagious period generally does not extend beyond 72 hours.