State News
Kentuckians fight back against alarming rise in suicides
Elfrida Johnson sat on the stairs of her porch crying.
One trembling hand held a lit cigarette; the other absently stroked an orange cat.
This is what a broken woman looks like, she said.
"I don't know when I will be able to get over it," said Johnson, 52.
Johnson's sister, Aletha King, took her own life. She died Aug. 17 after she lay on the railroad tracks behind her home at Ponderosa Mobile Home Park off Lisle Road at the Fayette-Scott County line. She died of multisystem trauma after being struck by a train, according to coroner's reports.
Date: Mon, 06 Sep 2010 06:26 EDT
Horse culture is at its heart
Kathy Hopkins attended the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, and enjoyed the top-level competition and the top-drawer shopping.
But something was missing, thought Hopkins, the director of equine education at the Kentucky Horse Park. And for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games the first time the event has been held in the United States she wanted to see something more American.
"We've got a very, very unique and diverse equestrian community in the United States," Hopkins said. "We didn't want this to be just about the competition, we wanted to include the entire equine community and celebrate the uniqueness of our horse culture."
And so was born the Equine Village, a horseapalooza of different breeds, clinicians, performers and hands-on experiences, all of it free with a general admission ticket to the Games. (For suggesting the idea, Hopkins got the privilege of running the whole thing, set around the Horse Park's visitors' center and museum.)
From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 25 through Oct. 10, there will be equine activities in five rings at once, featuring at least 350 horses a day. People could spend all day watching clinicians like Pat Parelli, the dean of "natural horsemanship," or performers such as Tommie Turvey, the "Equine Extremist," who performs any number of acrobatics and tricks with his horses.
Date: Mon, 06 Sep 2010 06:20 EDT
UPS plane had smoke in cockpit
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Pilots aboard a UPS cargo plane faced radio problems and smoke in the cockpit as they struggled to maintain altitude before crashing into the desert outside Dubai last week, investigators said Sunday.
What exactly caused Friday's crash remains under investigation. The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority said in a preliminary report that the Boeing 747-400's two-man crew was trying to return to Dubai's main airport the Mideast's busiest when the plane went down. Both crew members, including the pilot from Louisville, were killed.
UPS, the Atlanta-based company formally known as United Parcel Service Inc., has identified the crew members as Capt. Doug Lampe, 48, of Louisville, and First Officer Matthew Bell, 38, of Sanford, Fla. Lampe had been with UPS since 1995. Bell had been with the company since 2006. Both flew out of UPS's Anchorage, Alaska, pilot base.
A little more than 20 minutes into the flight, air traffic controllers in Dubai received word from officials in the nearby Gulf nation of Bahrain that the plane was on its way back after reporting smoke in the cockpit. The jet was "unable to maintain altitude," the report said.
Crew members were unable to speak directly with air traffic controllers in Dubai as they tried to land, however, because the pilot had switched his radio to a different frequency and for some reason couldn't switch it back, said Saif al-Suwaidi, director-general of UAE's aviation authority
Date: Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:49 EDT
Driver in critical condition after car collides with police cruiser
A car ran a red light and collided with a Lexington police cruiser Sunday afternoon at Manchester Street and the newly opened Oliver Lewis Way, police said.
John C. Chew, 70, was driving a 1989 Mercury Sable east on Manchester when he ran the red light at Oliver Lewis, the renamed Newtown Pike extension road that opened last week, police said.
Officer Kevin G. Jones, 43, driving a 2007 Crown Victoria cruiser, hit the Sable's passenger side.
Both men were injured, and neither was wearing a seat belt, according to a police collision reconstruction unit press release.
Chew was taken to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital where he was listed in critical condition Sunday night. Jones was treated for neck injuries and discharged.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:43 EDT
Seniors being honored at center on aging dinner
Lexington artist Adalin Wichman is turning 88 in a few days, but she isn't even thinking about slowing down.
Wichman is too busy, anyway, putting the final touches on the bronze trophies for the Eclipse Awards that will be presented early next year to major figures in Thoroughbred racing. Wichman sculpted the original design for the annual awards in 1971, but she gets the trophies ready for presentation each year, adding a patina and assembling each piece.
"I'm fretting about it, but you just keep plugging along," she said. "So much of this is just plugging along, isn't it?"
Wichman's long success at "just plugging along" will be honored Tuesday night, when she will be named a "Senior Star" at the 24th annual dinner of the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Foundation.
The Bourbon County native began as a fashion illustrator in the 1950s. Now, Queen Elizabeth II owns some of her work. Wichman has contributed to calendars commissioned by the White House Historical Association, designed the Foucault pendulum in the Lexington Public Library downtown, and she has an entry in this year's Horse Mania exhibit. All this from a woman who didn't plan an art career.
Date: Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:48 EDT
Woman's body found in container; Anderson man charged with murder
The body of a woman was found Saturday afternoon in a container in a mobile home in western Anderson County.
Gary M. Bancroft, 33, of Lawrenceburg, was charged with her murder, Kentucky State Police said Sunday night.
The woman's remains have not been identified, but her death is being investigated as a homicide, Coroner Brian Ritchie said.
"It's a domestic violence situation," said state police spokesman Trooper Ronald Turley, though police would not release the victim's identity.
Ritchie said the woman's body was found at Bancroft's home at Fairview Road and Bardstown Road. He said family members of Bancroft's girlfriend, Renee Mobley, said the two had a violent history.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:58 EDT
WEG ticket sales heat up
Ticket sales are heating up in these final weeks before the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Organizers announced that tickets to the reining individual final have sold out, as have general admission tickets for Oct. 1.
In addition, hospitality on the cross-country course for three-day eventing Oct. 2 has sold out. Only a few hospitality passes to the Maker's Mark Bourbon Village remain for Oct. 1. Champions Club tables, which are set up in the stadiums for the opening ceremonies and driving and dressage competitions, are nearly sold out.
Fewer than 500 tickets remain for the male and female individual vaulting finals Oct. 9 and for the driving obstacle/cones competition Oct. 10. Grounds passes, the general admission tickets of the Games, are available for 12 of the 16 days for $25. Children 12 and younger are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult, except on Sept. 26, Oct. 2 and Oct. 9. Tickets on those days cost $45 because visitors will be able to see events such as the cross-country phase of eventing from many vantage points in the park.
Overall ticket sales have reached the 325,000 mark.
Actress Ashley Judd is known as a fan of University of Kentucky basketball, but now she's cheering on the Games. In a recent radio ad, Judd told listeners the Games would be even bigger than the annual UK- University of Louisville football game. The spot was put together by Louisville's Red7e, a marketing partner of the Games.
Date: Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:48 EDT
Dozens of cars vandalized at U of L
LOUISVILLE University of Louisville police were investigating damage to dozens of cars parked on campus, with most of the incidents taking place in the student parking lots.
The first reports of damage came in at about 3:55 a.m. Sunday. WHAS-TV said at least 39 cars were vandalized, with the bulk of damage being scratches and cut tires.
No arrests were made as of Sunday afternoon.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 18:08 EDT
UK medical school to open extension campus at Murray State
MURRAY The University of Kentucky College of Medicine plans to open a western campus in Murray with the goal of having students enrolled there in 2014.
College of Medicine Dean Emery Wilson says the extension campus at Murray State University will start up in 2012. Wilson told The Murray Ledger & Times that students in the program will attend school at the university's Lexington campus for their first two years of medical school and then transition to the campus in Murray for their third and fourth years.
The program is the result of a formal agreement with Murray State. UK has a similar arrangement at Morehead State University, where students are entering their second year of having students on campus.
Wilson says Kentucky is 2,300 physicians below the national average and that the deficit is especially high in rural areas.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:03 EDT
For boutiques, making customers feel special is a key to survival
As the recession dominated the economy the past two years, Lexington s boutique clothing stores felt the effect. Some inevitably closed, but business owners who survived said that even in a tough economy, local shoppers want one-of-a-kind clothing and are willing to pay for it.
Fashion boutiques in town created their niches by carrying only two or three of each clothing item sold. With designers and brands ranging from classics like Kate Spade to up-and-comers like Kirribilla, customers want to know that they won t see the same dress on every mannequin around town.
This summer s business has been better than last, said Melanie Williams, owner of The Black Market at 516 East High Street. She thinks that in uncertain times, listening to the buzz from customers is key to a boutique s success. When she noticed that many customers were asking about shoes to wear with their new outfits, Williams expanded her store to sell more shoes. She also started carrying some men s T-shirts in response to what she heard from clients.
It s a very difficult business, and you have to take some hits, Williams said. You want clothes that are not too unique that you would have to be super-edgy or crazy to wear them, but you want customers to feel they are getting something different.
By having so many options, it helps the business, she said.
Allison Herrington, manager of Bella Rose at 126 West Maxwell Street, said customers value individuality, even in difficult financial times.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 08:24 EDT
Couch-and-coffee table car travels down Victory Avenue
Inspired by the art cars in Nevada's Burning Man Festival, Tim Francis built a couch-and-coffee table car over the winter by stripping a three-wheeled golf cart.
It will go about 10 mph, "just enough for a nice evening breeze," said Francis.
Francis steers the car by a toggle switch he built into a "magic pillow" he holds.
The couch-and-coffee table car went for a spin Saturday night on Victory Avenue in Lexington.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 12:44 EDT
Coal a 'driving factor' in U.S. Senate race
The landscapes of Eastern and Western Kentucky have little in common, but the areas share at least two things: an abundance of coal and a pivotal role in the U.S. Senate race.
That means coal policies, such as the controversial "cap and trade" approach to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, are a key issue in the contest between Republican Rand Paul and Democrat Jack Conway.
In Western Kentucky, one concern is that cap and trade would cause higher rates for electricity produced by burning coal, hurting two large aluminum smelters that employ 1,500 people and support thousands more jobs.
In Eastern Kentucky, where coal is an economic linchpin, companies and many miners fear tougher environmental regulation will cripple surface mining.
Coal will be the "driving factor" in who carries the eastern counties that rely on it, Bell County Judge-Executive Albey Brock predicted.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:28 EDT
Security will be tight for WEG
For the 16 days of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, the Kentucky Horse Park should be the safest place in the state outside of Fort Knox.
Lexington and Kentucky State police will work with Kentucky National Guard troops and 1,000 paid and volunteer security guards to patrol the Horse Park, guide traffic, screen visitors and protect the yet-to-be-named Very Important Persons in the audience, some of whom are bringing their own security details.
"People will notice us. We want them to notice us and be comfortable, knowing that we've put real effort into the operation here," said Kevin Tyo, president of Event Security Consulting and Operations Inc., a Georgetown firm that won the primary security contract for WEG.
Security will be tight because the Games, like any large gathering of international visitors and VIPs, is a possible target for terrorism although officials say they're unaware of any specific threats and more routine kinds of crime, such as theft.
WEG's high profile is keeping law enforcement on its toes. As many as 60,000 visitors are expected to crowd the park on the busiest days, such as when the popular cross-country competition is held. The Games will be televised to scores of nations by hundreds of journalists from around the globe.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:59 EDT
Merlene Davis: Blacks need to spread out their giving
Melody "Mimi" Booker, 43, died June 6, 2007, after a brief battle with gastric cancer.
But that is not the end of her story. Jessica Ann Clark, Booker's mother, wanted to do something in her daughter's name to honor her memory as well as help conquer the disease that took her life.
She asked some friends to help raise money for cancer research and found those friends more than willing.
"My spirit told me it was time for me to carry the torch," Clark said of her volunteer and fund-raising efforts for the American Cancer Society.
As I listened to Clark, I reflected back to a Sunday afternoon a few years ago when a girlfriend and I decided to go to an Alzheimer's Walk at Keeneland Race Course. Former University of Kentucky basketball Coach Tubby Smith was there signing T-shirts and welcoming folks who were donating money for that worthy cause.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 07:01 EDT
U.S. vehicles destroy Afghan bombs by rolling over them
Spc. Joshua Joe drives a "Husky," a giant vehicle built to find and withstand the blast of a roadside bomb, putting him in the front line of the U.S.-led coalition's battle against the Taliban's most effective weapon in Afghanistan.
Seventeen U.S. troops fell to improvised explosive devices in a five-day period that began Aug. 27, and the weapons accounted for about 60 percent of the 485 International Security Assistance Force deaths this year through August, according to iCasualties.org, which tracks casualties in the Afghan and Iraqi conflicts. IED's also are a prime cause of casualties among Afghan civilians.
The threat requires specialist IED hunters and specially designed vehicles. The Husky is the lead vehicle in an IED clearance convoy of hulking, bizarre-looking vehicles - with such names as the Buffalo - that seem like creations for a sci-fi movie.
The Husky carries just one person, who's the driver and operator, perched on top of the vehicle in a tiny cab, basically just waiting to drive over any bomb the equipment doesn't detect, and hoping that the machine is strong enough to avert serious injury.
At the 174 Mobility Augmentation Company, a counter-IED unit stationed at Kandahar Airfield in the insurgency hot spot of southern Afghanistan, Joe, a broad-built 22-year-old from Sumter, S.C., with the Lord's Prayer tattooed on his bulging forearm, is one of the Husky drivers.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:11 EDT
Las Vegas casino evacuated after bomb threat
A man claiming to have a bomb around his chest prompted an evacuation of a Las Vegas casino for several hours.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun report that the threat Saturday turned out to be a hoax and the man was arrested after the incident at Arizona Charlie's Hotel and Casino.
Police say the man apparently wanted to commit "suicide by cop." His name wasn't immediately released.
Police say the man walked up to the security desk inside the casino and showed a security guard what he said was an explosive device.
Guards persuaded him to go outside and evacuated the resort. The incident also prompted the temporary closure of the Boulder Highway outside the casino.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:35 EDT
Aunt arrested after 2-year-old found in Ky. street
Kentucky State Police have charged a woman after a 2-year-old boy that she was supposed to be watching was found wandering in the street in Union County.
According to a police news release, the toddler was spotted walking alone by a passer-by on Saturday morning.
Police said the child was supposed to be in the care of his aunt, Susan Shepherd, who lived about mile away from where the child was found. Police said she was unaware the child had been missing and was arrested for wanton endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.
The child was examined by a medical technician and later returned to his grandparents' custody.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 17:35 EDT
Appalshop hopes to debunk Appalachia's stereotypes
Appalachia the place, its people, their cultures defies easy summation.
Not surprisingly, so does the media center that's devoted more than 40 years to documenting the region's unique resonance: Appalshop.
Tucked away in the eastern Kentucky town of Whitesburg, Appalshop is at once a creature of the mountains and a representative of the world at large.
Through films and video, radio, live music and theater, still images and the written word, the center exists to tell stories. Some encompass huge scope. Others are intimate
Indeed, through the power of narrative and clear example, Appalshop wants to shatter complacency and debilitating stereotype.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 00:10 EDT
Pilot from Louisville died in UPS crash
Crew members from Kentucky and Florida were identified Saturday as the two people killed when a UPS cargo plane crashed shortly after takeoff outside Dubai.
The crash on Friday killed Captain Doug Lampe of Louisville, Ky., 48, and First Officer Matthew Bell, 38, of Sanford, Fla., the Atlanta-based package delivery company said in a news release.
Lampe has been with UPS since 1995. Bell has been with UPS since 2006. Both crew members flew out of UPS's Anchorage, Alaska, pilot base.
"This is a terrible tragedy, and all of us at UPS extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of both of these crewmembers," said UPS CEO Scott Davis in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with them during this difficult time."
Family members for the pilots could not immediately be reached on Saturday.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 07:33 EDT
Richmond woman dies after Saturday wreck
A Madison County woman died in Lexington after a Saturday collision in Richmond, the Fayette County coroner's office said.
Nettie Casey, 83, of Richmond was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. Saturday at the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, according to a news release from the coroner's office.
Casey was the driver of a vehicle struck in the driver's side door by another vehicle. The collision happened at 8:33 a.m. Saturday as Casey attempted to turn left from Boggs Lane onto the Eastern Bypass, Richmond police said.
Casey was initially taken to Pattie A. Clay Hospital in Richmond and was later transferred to the Lexington hospital. Upon examination at UK, she was found to have a head injury that led to her death Saturday night.
Richmond police said no charges are anticipated in this collision.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:43 EDT
Wedding celebration becomes community event
When you see a voter-registration table at a wedding reception, you know it's no ordinary post-wedding shindig.
Likewise, there were inflatable "bounce houses" and games for children, and volunteers handing out donated clothing, canned goods and toiletries to those in need.
And there were people of all races and ages and backgrounds dancing to Cupid Shuffle .
It was the kind of wedding that Tanya Ferguson and Christian Torp wanted: a community event they could share with the neighborhood around Lexington's Duncan Park.
"We just wanted everybody to come, have an awesome time and get to know each other," Tanya Torp said Saturday, minutes after the wedding at Greater Soul Deliverance Apostolic Tabernacle across the street from the park.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:53 EDT
Pike County man dies of gunshot wounds
The fatal shooting Friday night of a man in Pike County is under investigation by Kentucky State Police.
Sonny Charles, 38, address not listed, was found with several gunshot wounds near the Phelps Laundromat on Ky. 632, state police said.
Harold Scott, 52, of Phelps was arrested and charged with murder. He remained in the Pike County Detention Center without bond on Saturday.
A preliminary investigation revealed that Charles "had been in an altercation" with Scott in the parking lot of the laundromat, a new release from state police said.
After he was shot, Charles attempted to flee the scene by driving away in a Ford F350 pickup truck, but the truck went across Ky. 632 and into the Right Fork of Peter Creek, said Pike County Deputy Coroner Ernest Casebolt.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 17:23 EDT
Teen sitting in road dies after being struck by car
A 14-year-old boy sitting in a roadway was struck by a vehicle and died Saturday in Breathitt County, Kentucky State Police said.
Joseph James Earl Crank of Canoe, a Breathitt County community south of Jackson, was sitting "on the traveled portion" of Ky. 1812 in the Quicksand community, a police news release said.
Crank was struck by a vehicle driven by Edith Robinson, no address listed, state police said.
The accident was reported to the state police post in Hazard shortly before 5 a.m. Saturday. No other details were immediately available.
Crank was pronounced dead at the scene, and state police continue to investigate.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:58 EDT
Elderly woman dies in house fire
The remains of an elderly Knott County woman were found after a Friday night house fire, Kentucky State Police said.
Sallie G. Williams, 88, was found in the bedroom of her home in the Sassafras community of southern Knott County, police said.
The house was engulfed in flames when emergency personnel arrived on the scene.
The state medical examiner's office was to do an autopsy in Frankfort. No foul play is suspected but state police continue to investigate.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:33 EDT
Ky. diocese to conduct first census in 7 decades
Roman Catholics in the northern Kentucky diocese will be counted for the first time in 17 years when the Diocese of Covington conducts a census later this year.
The Kentucky Enquirer reports that Boone County has been selected as the first county to be counted.
Volunteers from the county's six Roman Catholic parishes will conduct the count on two consecutive Sundays - Oct. 17 and Oct. 24 - to gather information about all residents.
The head count will include Catholics and non-Catholics and be done by visiting residences.
Bishop Roger Foys said the county is the diocese's fastest growing one in terms of membership in the church. It has 14 counties.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:05 EDT
Keynote speaker of women writers conference discusses her craft
Diane Ackerman, author of A Natural History of the Senses and The Zookeeper's Wife , will be the keynote speaker at the Kentucky Women Writers Conference.
In a telephone interview from her home in Ithaca, N.Y., she discussed her new audience in the wake of The Zookeeper's Wife , the best-selling true story of a woman who sheltered Jews at the Warsaw Zoo throughout the Holocaust, and her new collection of essays, Dawn Light: Dancing With Cranes and Other Ways to Start the Day .
Question: Obviously, you've been a successful writer for a long time. But it seems that The Zookeeper's Wife , as long-form narrative, was a departure for you as a writer, and it introduced you to a huge new audience. How has that experience changed your writing life?
A: First of all, I hear from an awful lot of book groups. With A Natural History of the Senses , people would send me their smell memories. I loved being the repository of people's memories; they felt people couldn't understand that but I would.
When Zookeeper's Wife came out, I was surprised at how people of all ages were interested. Young people were interested they were surprised by the environmental element of the book and by the different forms of heroism it offers in contrast to the Rambo shoot-'em-up heroism we're presented with most often.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:53 EDT
Officials won't say why administrator no longer works at Fayette jail
For more than a week, officials have declined to explain why the Fayette County Detention Center's medical administrator is no longer employed at the facility.
Jail spokeswoman Jennifer Taylor said she could not say whether health service administrator Jonathan Bowen resigned or was fired. His employment ended the week of Aug. 16, Taylor said.
The jail contracts with a private company, St. Louis-based Correctional Medical Services Inc., for inmate medical care, she said. Taylor said any further comment would come from that company.
Susan Straub, spokeswoman for Mayor Jim Newberry, said CMS has not given city officials a reason for Bowen's resignation or dismissal. Bowen worked for CMS, not the city.
Open records requests sent to the detention center for a jail-maintained personnel file for Bowen and any internal memos regarding his termination of employment were declined because no documents matched that description, according to a letter from James Kammer, assistant jail director.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:48 EDT
Ky.'s contradictions to be highlighted at Games
As a state, Kentucky embodies multiple personalities a place that's Southern, Midwestern and Appalachian; where wealth and poverty co-exist; well-known for its coal, its race horses and its bourbon; a land of deep caves, green mountains and plenty of blue grass.
All of this makes it an interesting place to live, and, tourism officials hope, a great place to visit. So when the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games start at the Kentucky Horse Park on Sept. 25, representations of those cultures, cuisines and contradictions will be gathered under several large tents.
The Kentucky Experience 25,000 square feet of pavilions set up in the Horse Park parking lot will show visitors exactly what's out there and Kentuckians what they might have been missing. It's also one of the activities at the Games that's free with a general admission ticket.
"It's going to pull every corner of this state together," said Mike Cooper, commissioner of tourism and travel for the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet. "I think people will be surprised at how much people will enjoy this. And anyone who comes here will learn something they didn't know."
One of the pavilions will showcase all nine of Kentucky's tourism regions, including places like Mammoth Cave and Eastern Kentucky. Fourteen museums have donated items to show off Kentucky's cultural heritage, including work by folk artists Minnie Adkins and Calvin Cooper, one of Rosemary Clooney's costumes from the Rosemary Clooney House Museum in Augusta, and a saddle and saber used by Gen. George S. Patton from the Patton Museum at Fort Knox.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:59 EDT
Gray launches TV ad
Vice Mayor Jim Gray kicked off the Lexington mayoral television ad wars Friday with a positive 60-second spot that will air for 10 days.
Mayor Jim Newberry, meanwhile, released a 16-page document that amplifies a charge he made in the primary election that Gray repeatedly missed public meetings and important votes.
The Gray ad, titled Home , is largely biographical, telling the story of Gray Construction, his family business.
According to the public ad file at WKYT-TV, Gray's campaign is spending nearly $63,000 to show his new ad on four Lexington stations through Sept. 13. The Gray campaign said it also is running on cable outlets.
The ad is quite different from Gray's lone primary campaign ad, which talked about the long-stalled CentrePointe development and other events Gray called "scandals" of Newberry's administration.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 10:45 EDT
Blackwater covertly won U.S. contracts
WASHINGTON Blackwater Worldwide created a web of more than 30 shell companies or subsidiaries in part to obtain millions of dollars in U.S. government contracts after the security company came under intense criticism for reckless conduct in Iraq, according to congressional investigators and former Blackwater officials.
While it is not clear how many of those businesses won contracts, at least three had deals with the U.S. military or the Central Intelligence Agency, according to former government and company officials. Since 2001, the intelligence agency has awarded up to $600 million in classified contracts to Blackwater and its affiliates, according to a U.S. government official.
The Senate Armed Services Committee this week released a chart that identified 31 affiliates of Blackwater, now known as Xe Services. The network was disclosed as part of a committee's investigation into government contracting. The investigation revealed the lengths to which Blackwater went to continue winning contracts after Blackwater guards killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in September 2007. That episode and other reports of abuses led to criminal and congressional investigations, and they cost the company its lucrative security contract with the State Department in Iraq.
The network of companies which include several businesses in offshore tax havens allowed Blackwater to obscure its involvement in government work from contracting officials or the public, and to assure a low profile for any of its classified activities, said the former Blackwater officials, who, like the government officials, spoke only on condition of anonymity.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that "it was worth looking into why Blackwater would need to create the dozens of other names" and said he had requested that the Justice Department investigate whether Blackwater officers misled the government when using subsidiaries to solicit contracts.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:30 EDT
Rocky Hill man pleads not guilty to 120 sex charges
Brownsville: A Western Kentucky man faces a January trial after pleading not guilty to 120 sexual offenses.
The trial of Anthony Scott Peak, 43, of Rocky Hill is set for Jan. 31 on 40 counts of incest, 40 counts of unlawful transaction with a minor, 20 counts of first-degree rape and 20 counts of first-degree sodomy.
The Daily News of Bowling Green reported that an Edmonson County grand jury indicted Peak on the charges in March, but authorities were unable to capture him until last month in South Carolina.
He entered the not guilty plea at a court appearance Wednesday.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:05 EDT
For collectors, miniature books are a big draw
There are those who treasure teeny, tiny tomes like, for instance, an edition of the short story Chameleon by Anton Chekhov that's roughly the size of a grain of salt.
"It's very personal," said Mark Palkovic, the owner of the Chekhov book, certified by Guinness World Records as the world's littlest literary achievement. "You have to handle them in order to appreciate them, and you can't share. It is just for you."
Palkovic and about 60 other small-book collectors from around the world are in Lexington this weekend as part of the Grand Conclave of the Miniature Book Society. On Sunday, the group will offer its wee wares to the public for sale.
Miniature books have been around since the first chisel met clay, Palkovic said, and they stayed around as Gutenberg started his printing press. There is even a museum dedicated to them in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Typically, the books were considered toys or something for children. But, he said, they often contained text that people didn't want to be found forbidden prayers or banned literature, for instance. In miniature form they could be kept in a pocket or a garment to ensure they were easily accessible and out of sight.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:47 EDT
Nelson County woman dies 8 days after crash
Nelson County: A Nelson County woman died Thursday from injuries she suffered in a wreck last week, Kentucky State Police said.
Nancy Saunders, 50, of Coxs Creek was pronounced dead about 6:50 p.m. Thursday at University of Louisville Hospital.
Saunders had been at the hospital since Aug. 25, when she was involved in a crash on Ky. 245.
Investigators said Saunders was traveling south on Ky. 245 near the Jim Beam Distillery in Bullitt County about 3:45 p.m. when a northbound van driven by Rena Sallengs, 55, of Bardstown veered into the southbound lane for unknown reasons.
The vehicles collided, and both drivers were trapped in their vehicles.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:07 EDT
Earl's biggest damage in Northeast: business
In the end, Earl's worst damage in New England was to seasonal businesses hoping to end their summer on a high note.
The tropical storm, far less intense than feared, brushed past the Northeast and dumped heavy, wind-driven rain on Cape Cod cottages and fishing villages but caused little damage.
It left clear, blue skies in its wake. It was the perfect start to a Labor Day weekend that Cape Cod's restaurants and hotels hoped to salvage after business was decimated ahead of the storm.
"This traditionally for us is a sellout weekend," said Voula Nikolakopoulos, one of the owners of Tidewater Inn in West Yarmouth, where business was down 80 percent. "I understand that we have to be careful, but I think all this hype was premature."
Massachusetts suffered a few hundred power outages, a handful of downed power lines and isolated flooding. Maine saw rain and churning surf but no gusts strong enough to produce damage.
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 02:25 EDT
UPS cargo plane crashes near Dubai airport
A UPS cargo plane with two crew members on board crashed shortly after takeoff Friday outside Dubai, officials said.
The state news agency WAM, quoting the General Civil Aviation Authority, reported that the "bodies of two pilots" had been found at the scene, but UPS did not confirm that.
The plane went down inside an Emirati air base near a busy highway intersection about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of Dubai's international airport. WAM said the crash occurred in an unpopulated desert area, suggesting there may not have been casualties on the ground.
Smoke rose from the crash site, which was shielded from the highway by walls. Migrant laborers from a nearby camp gathered along the roadside to watch.
UPS spokeswoman Kristen Petrella said the Boeing 747-400 - which has a wingspan of 212 feet (64.6 meters) and length of 232 feet (70.7 meters) - went down at about 8 p.m. in Dubai (12 p.m. EST). Flight 6 was en route to the UPS hub in Cologne, Germany, she said. Petrella said the plane had two crew members but the company has not confirmed any casualties.
Date: Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:20 EDT
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