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Ashland Daily Independent - 2.18.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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Speaker 1: We now turn to the Ashland Independent to bring you
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news from in and around Ashland and Boyd County. Your
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reader today is Jane. We begin with the addition dated
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February seventeenth, twenty twenty six, as a reminder radioized reading
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service intended for people who are blind or have other
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disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material. Our
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first article Student highlights bridge Builder's work by Aaron Snyder
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of the Daily Independent. Caroline Yates, an Ashland Blazer student,
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gave a presentation on a youth community outreach program to
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the mayor and commissioners during a recent meeting in the
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city building. Bridge Builders, associated with United Way of Northeast Kentucky,
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has been busy. According to Yates, the program includes several
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Northeast Kentucky schools with a goal of expanding into seven
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counties Boyd, Carter, Elliot, Greenup, Lawrence Lewis and Rowan at
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all levels elementary, middle, and high. Yates said Ashland Blazer
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has thirty five active members. Bridge Builders requires at least
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fifteen hours of community service per year. That's over one
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hundred and twenty five hours to help those in need.
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Yates said, referring to Ashland's group volunteering and service initiatives
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are important parts of a well rounded education. Yates provided
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a few examples of bridge Builders projects over the past
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year plus, including collecting fifty seven bags of shoes, eighty
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seven new jackets for homeschool groups, seven thousand pounds of
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food for food drives, and orchestrating a five K race
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in Ashland. Yates was the race director. That was a
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good experience talking to business leaders. Yates said bridge Builders
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established a similar five k in Greenup. She said the
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program's elementary school students recently make thank you cards for
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senior citizens, construction workers, custodians and teachers. Yates said bridge
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Builders gave out four hundred and fifty turkeys for the
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holidays and they were involved with the Shop of the
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cop events. One of the highlights of the Ashland City
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Commission meeting this evening Thursday was hearing a report about
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the bridge Builders volunteer group at Blazer High School. Commissioner
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Marty Goop posted on social media this group is an
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outreach of United Way that partners with area schools and
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builds character by offering students opportunities to help the community. Yates,
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who is an outstanding young lady gave a great presentation
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and update on all the projects in the past months.
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He added. Moving on Boyd indictments include trafficking possession by
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Aaron Snyder of The Daily Independent. When a Boyd County
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grand jury handed up indictments last week, the stack contained
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several drug related charges. An indictment is not necessarily an
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indication of guilt. All individuals included in the round up
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remain innocent until proven guilty. The following were indicted recently.
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Rebecca F. Hayes fifty five of Katleitsburg was indicted on
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charges of trafficking in less than four grams of cocaine
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first offense, first degree, first degree trafficking in meth less
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than two grams, marijuana, possession, drug paraphernalia by possess, and
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rear license not illuminated. Zachary J. Lane fifty six of
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rock Castle, Colorado was indicted on a charge of failure
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to comply with sex offender registration first defense. Zachary R. Short,
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twenty nine of an unknown address was indicted on charges
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of first degree fentanyl, possession, drug paraphernalia by possess, and
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third degree fleeing evading Police. Sarah Row forty seven of
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Ironton was indicted on two counts of first degree promoting contraband.
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John Doe aka Darius Lloyd, twenty five of an unknown
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address was indicted on charges of first degree meth possession
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and marijuana possession. Robert S. Maynard thirty one of Ashland
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was indicted on charges of first degree meth possession, air
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and disregarding a stop sign. Angela m Locke aka Angie
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Lewis forty six of Ashland was indicted on a first
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degree second offense meth possession charge. Amy Davis, forty three
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of Rush was indicted on the following charges, first degree
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second offense, meth possession and tampering with physical evidence. In
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other news, Marshall to Present of Love Stories. The Marshall
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University School of Theater and Dance will present Acts of
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Love and Evening of Love Stories at seven thirty pm
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February twenty fifth through the twenty eighth in the Francis
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Booth Experimental Theater of the Jones Edwards Performing Arts Center.
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Acts of Love and Evening of Love Stories is a
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heartfelt and entertaining collection of monologues, songs and scenes that
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explore love in all its forms, romantic, awkward, messy, hilarious
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and true, said Sam Kincaid, project coordinator for the School
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of Theater and Dance. Tickets are twenty two dollars at
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the door, five dollars for Marshall students, fifteen dollars for
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seniors sixty plus and Marshall employees, and free to Marshall
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students on February twenty fifth only with a valid Marshal ID.
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For tickets or more information, called the box office at
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area code three zero four six nine six ARTS Spring
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Concert set for Saturday. The fourth annual Spring Concert will
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be at two pm Saturday at First Presbyterian Church, fifteen
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hundred Winchester Avenue. A reception will follow in the Narthiks.
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Performing will be Max Jackson, doctor, Daneen LeBlanc piano, Beth
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Davenport piano, Seth Skiles piano, doctor Joe mustrasi otto harp,
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Calvin Rigg piano, and Maya Sarver Obo. Our next article,
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Inskeep named Raceland Chief of Police by Aaron Snyder of
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The Daily Independent. Raceland Police will turn the page from
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Dawn to Donnie. Donnienskip has been named the city of
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Raceland's chief of police, replacing the retired Don Salmons. That's
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very big shoes to fill, Inskeep said, I hope I
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can do him good by doing this. Salmons had been
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Raceland's top cop since nineteen ninety nine until he retired
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at the end of January. He logged forty two years
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in law enforcement. Inskeep he has been a police officer
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in Greenhow County since nineteen ninety six. The fifty four
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year old spent the last twenty years with Russell Police,
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where he was a sergeant before retiring on December first.
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I always knew I was going to work again in
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Skeep said, This opportunity came up quicker than I thought.
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Once you get out of it, it's a feeling that
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just draws you back in law enforcement. Work in skeeep
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is back where he began his career. His first four
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years were in Raceland, where he went from corporal to sergeant.
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He was with Flatwood's Police for five years as a
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patrol officer. He's never moved away from Northeast Kentucky. It's
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my home, he said. I was born and raised in Flatwoods,
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a graduate of Russell High School. I love the community
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and loved the people. In Skeeep entered into law enforcement
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because he likes to help people. He said, I'm a
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problem solver. I love to help people solve problems. In
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Skeeep said, I love dealing with the public. Enskeep was
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sworn in on Tuesday evening. He said his first order
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of business is getting acclimated to the city. A lot
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has changed here, he said, but everything's going right, so
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I just want to keep it on track, especially with
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the growth coming through here. I believe Raceland is going
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in the right direction. Ennskeep and his wife Christy have
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two children, Nicholas Nskeep and wife Emily and Olivia Fields
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and husband Griffin. Nicholas works at the Federal Prison. Olivia
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Fields is a fourth grade teacher at Raceland. Donnie Eskeeep
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said he spent the last two months watching his one
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year old grandson, Henley Fields. That's what I'm going to
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miss most, he said. In Skeep said his door is
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always open if you need to come in and talk,
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come on in, he said. In other news, Peddling Forward
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MSU student Burns embraces pedal steel by Hallie Adams for
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The Daily Independent. A sophomore traditional music students is sliding
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his way to his dream career. When Peyton Burns enrolled
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at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Moorhead State University,
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his primary instrument was traditional acoustic guitar. After visiting Broadway
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in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, January twenty twenty five, his plans
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for traditional acoustic guitar changed. I was thinking about what
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I want to do for the rest of my life.
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I started thinking, you know, what is in demand, what
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is needed. Pedal still came to mind, but I never
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really thought of playing it, but I always thought it
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was cool, said Burne Barnes, a Lawrenceburg native. Then I
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counted on my hands how many fiddle players I know,
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and then how many pedal steel players do I know?
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The only one I knew happened to be my teacher,
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Thomas Albert, So I was like, you know what, this
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could be pretty cool. Burns began taking private lessons with
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Albert in the twenty twenty five spring semester. Albert, the
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studio program supervisor at KCTM, said he does not think
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he was the first person Burns saw playing pedal steel,
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but he got a lot of exposure about the instrument.
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From being around Albert. It is amazing that he has
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not even been playing a full year yet and has
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accomplished so much. Peyton is so enthusiastic about music and
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all styles. Albert said he took some lessons and he
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expressed interest in wanting to change his primary instrument to
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pedal steel guitar, which allows us to do some additional
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things like have three credit hour lessons and meet for
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an hour a week. When Burns changed his primary instrument
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from traditional acoustic guitar to pedal steel, he became the
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first student in KCTM history to have a track in
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pedal steel. Burns said he feels like he has found
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his instrument. I definitely feel more of a connection with
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it than other instruments, and I feel like I can
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kind of portray myself better through it. Burns said, I
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feel like whenever I play guitar, I am trying to
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sound like my heroes, but I feel like sometimes whenever
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I am playing pedal steel, I just sound like Peyton Burns.
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Another first that Burns accomplished while being a student at
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the KCTM was being the first recipient of the Steve
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Cooley Banjo and Bluegrass Scholarship. Burns said when he heard
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he was a recipient of the Steve Cooley Scholarship, he
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was honored and relieved. I have never had something big
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like that happened to me before, so I was really
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taken aback and I went home and was like, well,
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this has been the universe telling me something. You know
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that I need to stick with it, and I have
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been trying to do it justice ever since, said Burns.
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I was not sure if I was going to afford
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the next year, or if I was even going to
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be able to come back and study, but it has
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kind of alleviated all that stress and made it so
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that I can really focus. Burn said he hopes he
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can make not only everyone at the kct IM proud,
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but also past pedal steel players. I guess if I
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am the first, I have to be pretty good. So
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I am trying my hardest to you know, not be
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an example, but make it a cool instrument again, because
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there are not a lot of people my age that
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play it at all, he said. Director of the KCTM
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Jaxon Lewis said, having people like Burns in bluegrass and
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country music, he knows the future is bright. Peyton Burns
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is a humble, kind, driven, well read, and positive young man.
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He offers a helping hand to anybody that needs it,
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and oftentimes with little or no recognition in return. Lewis
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said he is just a good person and the world
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needs more Peyton Burns. For more information about Burns and
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the KCTM, visit the center's Facebook page. In other news,
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upcoming Gravy Bowl will mark seven years by Lee Ward
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of The Daily Independent, The gravy will flow and the
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biscuits will roll when the seventh annual Gravy Bolt takes
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place from ten am to two pm February twenty first
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at the Ashland Transportation Center. Visit Ashland, k WHY Tourism
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director Celeste Coons said this year's competition includes ten teams,
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including Ashland firefighters and bluegrass collectors. Sandy's Gaming will have
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a team that will offer food other than gravy for
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those who can eat gravy. Many teams are individuals, Coon said,
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and she noted that's a good thing. We welcome that.
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She said, Sometimes your grandma makes the best gravy. McDonald's
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will provide biscuits. Coon said the event usually draws about
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three hundred and she hopes to see that many or
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more this year. There are no divisions this year. Coons
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said competitors will just make the gravy they make. A
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people's choice award will be given, but judges also will
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select a winner. A cash brunch bar will be offered,
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and there will be unlimited samples of gravy. The center
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is at ninety nine fifteenth Street. Tickets are twenty dollars
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per person. Visit www dot ticketsource dot com, slash, Ashland,
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Dash Tourism, DASH and Dash Convention to purchase tickets. Next
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City considers moratorium on data center applications. By Aaron Snyder
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of the Daily Independent, Ashland City Commission moved toward a
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temporary moratorium on data center applications. They voted unanimously in
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favor on first reading during Thursday's commission meeting. City attorney
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Andrew Wheeler said a one hundred and eighty day moratorium
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would allow time for careful study and public discussion and
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regarding data centers, Lawrence County, Ohio experienced a groundbreaking for
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a data center in December, prompting plenty of backlash in
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the community. While there has been growing interest in data
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center development across the Tri State region. Our current zoning
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ordinance does not specifically address this type of use. Wheeler
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told The Daily Independent the moratorium would pause new applications
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while the Planning Commission thoroughly reviews the issue. The group
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would study best practices from other communities and develop recommendations
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for appropriate regulations. Wheeler said. Kentucky law requires any zoning
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regulation changes to be reviewed by the Planning Commission, including
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a public hearing in formal recommendation. According to Wheeler, once
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the Planning Commission completes its review, it would bring the
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recommendation into the City Commission, who would make a decision
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at that point, likely later this summer. The city attorney
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said second reading of the ordinance will take place later
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this month. The one hundred and eighty day moratorium would
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be effective immediately. Data centers can have significant impacts on utilities, infrastructure,
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land use compatibility, and long term planning, Wheeler said. Wheeler
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said this approach aligns with ordinances legal counsel has observed
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from other Kentucky communities. It allows the city to be
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proactive and deliberate while ensuring any future decisions are based
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on sound planning, public input, and compliance with state law,
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Wheeler said Moving on Wastewater treatment groundbreaking set A groundbreaking
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for Ashland's mandated water revas source recovery facility project is
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scheduled for Wednesday, February eighteenth, at nine am at the
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Ashland Transportation Center. Judy Construction Company will handle the wastewater
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treatment plant project, the largest in the city's history. The
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City Commission approved a ninety nine point seven million dollar
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contract between the city and Judy in October twenty twenty five.
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Strand Associates, Incorporated is the engineering consultant on the project.
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Judy is based in Cynthiana. It provided the lowest of
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five bids. Once it begins, the project will take about
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forty two months to complete. The Ashland Transportation is at
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ninety nine fifteenth Street. Moving on deadline for beekeeping class nears.
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The Greenop County Beekeepers Association and the Greenop County Future
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Farmers of America will present their tenth annual Beginner be
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Keeping School from nine am to two thirty pm February
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twenty first at Greenip County High School. Cost is fifteen
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dollars per person or family. A discount of five dollars
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is available with a military ID. A program for children
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twelve and younger will be available. Raffle items will include
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a hive setup, two Nucleus hives, tools and equipment. Lunch
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will be provided. RSVP is required by Monday. Call area
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code six o six eight three six zero two zero
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one or email Kerrie dot Davis at greenip dot Ky
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Schools dot us. The school is at one ninety six
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Musketeer Drive. Next fundraising pasta dinner set some at Church
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of the Nazarene Legacy Youth will have a fundraising dinner
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from five to seven pm February twenty first at the
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church at four oh one Kentucky seven sixteen. Costs fifteen
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dollars per single pasta plate and twenty five for a
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sampler plate which includes all three pastas. Meals also include
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garlic bread, homemade dessert and drink. Dine in to go
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and delivery will be available Dinners. Diners are asked to
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RSVP to Beth or Bow Barber at area code six
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oh six four six five four four four two or
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area code six oh six nine two two one one
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six zero news in brief. Donation sought for prom closet.
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Bridge Builder's prom closet will open March second at Russell
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Primary School and is accepting donations. The prom closet is
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meant to provide a welcoming space for students to find dresses, shoes,
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suits and accessories. Donations may be dropped off at Russell
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High School's Counseling Office. Winter Crops Subjective Meeting. The Flatwoods
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Branch of the Greenop County Public Libraries Garden Club will
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have a session on winter gardening from one thirty to
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three pm February twenty fourth. Sign up to reserve a
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spot or join a wait list by calling area code
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six O six eight three six three seven seven one.
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Family Story Time February twenty fourth, The main branch of
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the Greenop County Public Library will offer Family Store Time
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from four thirty to five pm February twenty fourth at
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the Library Branch. Families are invited to meet around the
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fireplace for a story followed by a scavenger hunt and
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make and take craft. Wildlife session will be offered. Woods
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and Wildlife for your Wallet will be from five thirty
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to eight thirty pm February twenty sixth at Greenop County
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High School. Topics will include forestream management, invasive species, foraging
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for Plants, Predator Management and Trapping, CEUs for Master Loggers
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and Pollinator Habitat and tics In Kentucky, RSVPs are due
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by Wednesday. Call area code six oh six four seven
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three three two two eight. In other news, one Rock
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the Country show canceled. Boyd County show still on. While
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Rock the Country will hit the Ashland area July tenth
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and eleventh at Boyd County Fairgrounds, at least one stop
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has been canceled. That stop is in Anderson County, South Carolina.
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It was scheduled for July twenty fifth and twenty sixth.
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The festival in Ashland will include performances by Jelly Roll, Lynyrd,
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Skinnard Brantley, Gilbert Riley Greene, Gavin Adcock, and Aaron Lewis,
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among others. In the weeks leading up to the announcement
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of the cancelation, several artists removed themselves from the bill.
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Shine Down announced its withdrawal, stating its goal as a
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band is to unite audiences and they did not feel
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participation aligned with that mission. Additional artists, including Creed Ludicrous,
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Morgan Wade, and Carter Faith also were reported to have
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exited the line. Up or were removed from promotional materials
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prior to the cancelation. Anderson County officials acknowledged disappointment over
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the loss of the event, noting that prior rocked the
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Country festivals brought significant tourism and revenue to the region.
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County administrators said they were informed of the cancelation by
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festival organizers and that the decision was not made by
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the county itself. In other news, attempted murder suspects bond
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stays at five hundred thousand dollars Commonwealth. We've never seen
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a defendant less entitled to a bond change, by Aaron
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Snyder of The Daily Independent. An attempted murder suspect in
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Carter County will remain in jail on a five hundred
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thousand dollars bond. At a bond revocation hearing in Carter
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County Circuit Court, Judge Rebecca Phillips ruled Kristen A. James,
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twenty three, is a danger to the community as she
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denied a change in bond. James is charged with attempted murder,
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wanton endangerment, third degree terroristic threatening, two counts, second degree assault,
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kidnapping with serious injury and kidnapping an adult. According to
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Kentucky State Police and the Carter County Sheriff's Department, based
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on evidence and witness statements, James assaulted his girlfriend's fourteen
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year old special needs brother on August third, twenty twenty five.
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Medical records show the juvenile suffered two brain bleeds, a
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fractured jaw, a broken nose, and lost consciousness as a
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result of the alleged beating. Carter County Sheriff's Deputy Bale Stevens,
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who the Commonwealth called on as a witness, said he
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responded to a residence on Country Drive in Grayson around
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five fifteen a m. August third. This concludes excerpts from
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recent editions of the Ashland Daily Independent. Your reader has
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beend Jane On behalf of everyone here at radio. I
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thank you for listening, Keep on listening and have a
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good day.