Capito continues as counsel to GOP Senate leader McConnell
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s Republican U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito says she will continue to be counsel to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the new Congress.
Capito will be one of four counsels to the majority leader from Kentucky and member of the Republican majority’s leadership team.
A member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, responsible for spending, Capito will also chair the Financial Services and General Government subcommittee.
She is also on five subcommittees: Commerce, Justice, and Science; Interior and Environment; Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.
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Amish lawsuit may move to federal court
AUBURN (AP) — A lawsuit accusing the city of Auburn of illegally targeting the Amish may move to federal court.
Media outlets report Auburn Mayor Mike Hughes and Auburn Police Chief Larry Jones are being sued by Dan Mast and Emanuel Miller, members of Auburn’s Amish Community. The plaintiffs assert that a city ordinance requiring horses to be fitted with devices to catch their droppings violates their constitutional rights by discriminating against the Amish and infringing upon their religious beliefs.
Mast is among several Amish who have been cited by police for violating the ordinance.
Auburn City Attorney Currie Milliken on Monday filed notice in U.S. District Court on Monday to remove the lawsuit from Logan Circuit Court.
Milliken says the city ordinance applies equally to everyone within the city limits.
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Skeletal remains identified as missing Fort Campbell soldier
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say skeletal remains found in Tennessee are those of a missing Fort Campbell soldier.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Susan Niland sent a statement to news media Wednesday confirming that the remains found at Exit 19 on Interstate 24 in Robertson County have been identified as belonging to Pfc. Shadow McClaine, who was a member of the 101st Airborne Division at the Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee line. She was reported missing in September and her abandoned car was found in Nashville.
Two Fort Campbell soldiers were charged in November with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy in the case. The Army post said Thursday that Sgt. Jamal Williams-McCray and Spc. Charles Robinson remain in pre-trial confinement awaiting court-martial on the charges.
According to media reports, Williams-McCray is McClaine’s ex-husband.
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Judge holds police chief in contempt
CARROLLTON (AP) — A judge has ordered a northern Kentucky police chief to help the mentally ill after holding him in contempt over his actions in a case in which a mentally disabled inmate was sent to Florida instead of being taken to a mental hospital for evaluation.
Carrollton Police Chief Michael Willhoite and officer Ronald W. Dickow were charged with contempt for violating an order to transport jail inmate Adam Horine to Eastern State Hospital in 2015. Instead, police put Horine on a bus to Florida.
Police argued during a criminal trial last year in which they were acquitted that their actions stemmed from a misunderstanding.
WFPL-FM reports District Judge Karen Thomas said in Monday’s order that Willhoite did nothing to remedy the situation after learning of the judge’s order, constituting contempt. She ordered him to “create a collaborative” to “address the care and treatment of the mentally ill” in Carroll County.
Thomas said in the order that she will dismiss the case if Willhoite creates a “meaningful and productive collaborative” or even if he makes a good faith effort. Otherwise, he will face 179 days in jail.
Willhoite declined to comment on the order.
Thomas dismissed the charge against Dickow, who the station could not reach for comment.
The judge said his actions reflected a “horrendous mistake at best and negligence and a serious lack of judgment at the very least” but did not amount to contempt.
She scheduled a hearing on June 14 to review Willhoite’s progress.
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Actors to portray Ky. history characters at park event
RICHMOND (AP) — Actors portraying famous characters from Kentucky history will appear at a series of “Fireside Chats” at Fort Boonesborough State Park next month.
The first event will be Feb. 4 about Kentucky explorer and pioneer Daniel Boone; followed by frontier scout Mad Anne Bailey on Feb. 11; and on Feb. 18, the Harpe Brothers, considered by some to be America’s first serial killers. The final program will be Feb. 25 on indentured servant Maggie Delaney.
Tickets are $15 for adults or $5 for children under 12. Reservations are required. The programs begin at 6:45 p.m. at the 18th Century Tavern blockhouse. A “Taste of Frontier Fare” will begin at 5:30 p.m.
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Allen County voters say no to alcohol sales
SCOTTSVILLE (AP) — Voters in Allen County have voted down legal alcohol sales.
Media outlets report that in a countywide vote Tuesday, 2,908 voters chose to keep Allen County dry, compared to 2,296 who wanted it wet.
Of the 14 electoral precincts in Allen County, the dry vote carried 12.
The election was the culmination of a petition drive that began in the summer of 2015 to hold a vote over alcohol sales. Supporters of legalized sales, led by Citizens for Economic Growth in Allen County, said going wet would usher in opportunities for increased local revenue through the regulation of sales.
Opponents, like those belonging to Concerned Citizens of Allen County-Scottsville, expressed worries that legal sales would lead to an increase in alcohol-related crimes and domestic problems.
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Jazz festival at U of L in its 25th year
LOUISVILLE (AP) — Jazz artist Wycliffe Gordon is headlining the University of Louisville School of Music’s annual Jazz Fest in February.
The festival has been ongoing since 1992, bringing celebrated jazz artists to Louisville for concerts, workshops and instruction.
The festival starts Feb. 22 in Bird Recital Hall with an International Night of Jazz featuring musicians from Colombia, Brazil, Republic of Georgia and other countries.
Festival director Mike Tracy met several of the musicians during travels last year as a Fulbright Senior Specialist to Tbilisi, Georgia.
Gordon, a trombone player, will perform on Feb. 25 in Comstock Concert Hall.
Jazz Fest is part of the university’s observance of Black History Month.
Other artists that have played at the festival include Dave Brubeck, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner and Wynton Marsalis.
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Faculty meet with WKU president candidate for first time
BOWLING GREEN (AP) — Faculty at Western Kentucky University recently got their first chance to converse with and ask questions of university presidential candidate Timothy Caboni.
The Bowling Green Daily News reports that Wednesday, candidate Timothy Caboni met with members of the University Senate. Caboni answered questions about a range of issues from enrollment decline, to budget challenges and respecting diversity.
The board has already announced that Caboni, the University of Kansas Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs, is its “preferred candidate” for the job.
Caboni said he’d make himself available to anyone through office hours.
He also said WKU will have to “change with the times” to address financial issues, and that diversity should be a real priority.
The WKU Board of Regents could appoint Caboni as president during its Friday meeting.