Transcript

10.9.25 · The Mountain Eagle

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Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
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from Weisberg. Your reader today is Bill ven Arsenal. We
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will begin with the addition dated October eighth, twenty twenty five,
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which the publishers have donated to RADIOI as a reminder.
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RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
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blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
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read printed material. The first item is the caption of
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a photograph off road action draws jeep owners. Jason Leet
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of the Letcher Perry County Jeep Club the Appalachian Hoodboogers
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takes the high road during a trail ride in western
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Leccher County Saturday, while Daniel Melton of Perry County watches
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his assent. The club, founded by Norah Hall and her
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daughter Jamie in twenty twenty three, goes on monthly mountain
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trail rides. Some are arranged for seasoned trail riders, while
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others are rides for those just getting their feet wet
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traversing mountain jeep trails. The club also hosts fundraising events
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for non profits and needy individuals in the region. The
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next headline is customers say they can't pay Kentucky Power
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Company's rate hike plan. Whether they're on a fixed income
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or own a business, Eastern Kentuckians are united in one thing.
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They can't afford another rate increase by Kentucky Power Company
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and continue to meet their families basic needs of food, water,
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and shelter. Hundreds of people have filed comments with the
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state Public Service Commission opposing an application by Kentucky Power
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to increase its rates by another fourteen point nine percent,
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three months after raising rates six point three seven percent
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to pay off bonds. If the new rate is approved,
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increases this year alone will amount to more than twenty percent.
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This comes after a five point sixty six percent rate
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increase in twenty twenty four and an eleven percent increase
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in twenty twenty three. While there was no rate increase
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in twenty twenty two, the company admitted to overcharging its
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one hundred sixty thousand customers by three million dollars in
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January of that year. Now, business, industrial, and residential customers
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alike are fed up, and they flooded the comment's email
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inbox at the Kentucky Public Service Commission, begging for relief
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and demanding answers. One commentator raised the specter of families
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having to live without electricity. Another said Kentucky power is
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forcing people to leave eastern Kentucky. Another couple said another
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electric rate increase will force them to choose whether to
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keep the electricity on or buy food and medicine. One
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couple from Raceland wrote to the PSC that they advocate
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for a review of corporate profits as an alternative to
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further consumer price increases. The escalating costs of essential medications, groceries,
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and utilities are placing an unbearable strain on senior citizens
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living on fixed incomes. They wrote. It is unconscionable to
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force us into difficult choices between vital service such as electricity, food,
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or life saving prescriptions. Sharon Jurrell, who did not give
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her hometown, said the increase will cause hardships for her family.
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It's hard enough to pay it currently and increase will
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cut into the food budget for my family, she wrote,
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Please reconsider. Pamela Mitchell of Shelbianna said she makes only
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twelve hundred dollars a month and has never missed a bill,
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but she said she had to sell her home and
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land because of search charges increasing on her Kentucky power bill,
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so I will do what I have to do to
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never use this thieving, corrupt company again, she wrote to
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the p SC Stella R. Pollard said she was writing
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on behalf of friends in eastern Kentucky, where she said
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rates are already among the highest in Kentucky and incomes
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are lower. While I understand that utilities face rising costs
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for storm response, plant maintenance, and keeping the lights on,
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Kentucky Power's parent company, aep American Electric Power reports strong profits,
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Pollard wrote, it is unfair for families to shoulder these
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costs while corporate profits continue to grow, and we must
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consider how much of the aep P profits are a
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direct impact from our Eastern Kentucky coal miners. Jennifer Caudle
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of Hazard called the increased request ridiculous. Kentucky Power states
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that one justification is due to the declining population. She wrote,
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current utility rates and the cost of living versus income
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is the main reason people leaving East Kentucky do better
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Kentucky before the entire area is a ghost town. Residents
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can still file responses to the rate application on the
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internet at PSC dot Ky dot gov. The chair of
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the commission is Angie Hatton, formerly the state representative for
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the ninety fourth district, which includes Lectra County. The PSC
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last week approved a rate increase for Duke Energy Kentucky,
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albeit less than the company asked for. Duke had asked
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for an increase of fifteen point four to one per
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cent to its base revenue, but the PSC approved rates
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were nine point sixty sixty one percent of base revenue,
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or about ten point four percent for residential customers. The
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next story is Lecter board votes to hire police chief,
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create its own force. The Electric County Board of Education
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will no longer use a deputy from the Electric County
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Sheriff's Department as a school resource officer, instead opting to
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create its own school district police department and hire its
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own officers. The board voted last week to advertise for
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a chief of police. The district has long paid the
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salary and benefits of the deputy employed by the Electric
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County Sheriff's Office, but state law requires a school resource
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center at every school. Superintendent Denise Jance said the district
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has had trouble finding people to sign on as deputies
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because of additional US duties that might entail. Yonce said
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it had nothing to do with the Letter County Sheriff's
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office in particular, though the office has gained nationwide notoriety
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after former sheriff Mickey Steins was charged with murder in
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the videotaped shooting death of district Judge Kevin R. Mullins.
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Most retired officers did not want to go back to
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work for a sheriff's office or a regular police department
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because they didn't want to go back on the road.
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Yance said the district is seeking officers who already are
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Academy certified, so it doesn't have to send those people
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away for months to attend academy. All will still have
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to go to school resource officer training. After talking to
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some of the districts around us, they had more luck
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hiring people who didn't work through the sheriff, she said.
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Yance said insurance premiums will decrease if it has its
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own police department, and the per officer costs will remain
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about the same. There will be additional startup costs as
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the school's district buys equipment and cars. Johns said the
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district will look for used police cruisers. She said earlier
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this week that the district had already received four applications
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for the position as chief. The next shed line is
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school board member resigns is replaced. Letcher County School Board
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member Sean Gilly has resigned his position citing health problems.
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Gilly was the Division five board member, which includes the Blackie, Halley, Dalnus,
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Sugar Grove, Kings Creek, and Doty voting precincts. The board
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voted last week to replace Gilly with Ray Collins of Holley,
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an employee of the Veterans Administration in Hazard and an
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avid supporter of the lecher L Elementary and Middle School
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Eagles and the AAU Letcher Lightning basketball teams. Gilly, who
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was originally appointed to his position and has been on
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the board for eight years, has been absent from many
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board meetings or attended the board meetings by internet. He
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said in his resignation that he is moving away because
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of illness. Unfortunately, major health issues have hindered my ability
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to perform my duties as a board member. I am
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forced to relocate outside of Kentucky for further health care
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treatment and will no longer be able to fill my
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seat on this board, Gilly wrote in an emailed resignation
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to Superintendent Denise Jance. If my time on earth is short,
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I pray that the wonderful staff and amazing students can
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say I helped make the Lecher County Public School System
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the best. Please continue to pray for my family and
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I as we navigate the ship. Gilly leased Letcher Ems
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several years ago, but the company collapsed last year amid
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allegations of financial mismanagement. The fire department also stopped operating
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for a time while the county attempted to sort out
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the agency's finances. But the fire department has restored two
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of its fire trucks to service, it will not restart
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the ambulance service, leaving the western end of the county
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to rely on ambulances from Neon Volunteer Fire and Rescue.
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Neon has a substation in Wisburg, and Chief Carter Bevins
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has said an ambulance will be kept at the Letcher
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station when more people are hired to staff it. In
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the next story, appeals court judge WARN's sex offender may
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get an even longer prison sentence. The Kentucky Court of
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Appeals has remanded the case of a jenkins Man man
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who pleaded guilty to one hundred eighty five sex offenses
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against a minor to Letcher Circuit Court. Gary Dean Adams Junior,
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forty six, of Smokey Row in Jenkins, pleaded guilty in
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twenty twenty four and agreed to a total of ten
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years in prison and five years of conditional release, but
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changed his mind before final sentencing. Under Kentucky law, persons
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convicted of the multiple related crimes at the same time
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served the longest sentence, with the remainder of sentences running concurrently.
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But before his sentencing could be held, Adams asked to
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withdraw his guilty plea, citing ineffective assistance by his attorney,
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Gerald de Rossit. Letcher Circuit Judge James W. Craft the
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Second refused to allow Adams to withdraw the plea and
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gave him the same sentence specified in the plea. The
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Court of Appeals, however, said Craft should have put Adams
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under oath and questioned why he wanted to withdraw the
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plea rather than summarily rejecting the request. The decision vacates
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the plea and orders Craft to hold further proceedings to
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determine why Adams wants to overturn the plea. Adams was
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indicted in April twenty twenty two after an investigation by
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Kentucky State Police detective Anthony Trotter. Adams was originally charged
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with more than two hundred counts. The crimes originally charged
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allegedly took place beginning in July twenty thirteen until December
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twenty twenty. Adams pleaded guilty to eighty three counts of
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first degree sexual abuse, forty two counts of sodomy, forty
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two counts of unlawful use of an electronic device to
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induce a minor to engage in sexual or prohibited conduct,
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and eighteen counts of first degree rape in exchange for
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a ten year sentence. In addition, Adams was required to
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serve five years conditional probation after his release, and was
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ordered to pay the cost of therapy for his victim.
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His court costs were waived. In a separate concurring opinion
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remanding the case, Appeals Court judge Kelly Mark Easton wrote
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that the appeal may be an example of being careful
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what you wish for. He noted that the ten year
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sentence Adams received was the minimum possible for the crimes
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accused and did not take into account that there were
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two victims. Easton questioned which victim did not justify a
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separate sentence for Adams to serve for his crimes against
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that child. He wrote that while there may be good
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reason for the leniency, he said that the court might
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also re examine whether it was too The Circuit Court may,
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in its discretion, reject the plea and proceed with trials
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of these many cases and charges. Should the circumstances presented
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about the plea support such an exercise of discretion, Eaton wrote,
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after such proceedings, Adams may receive a total sentence of
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seventy years if convicted. Adams is asking for precisely that
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potential result by withdrawing his guilty Please. The next story
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is lawsuit says Roadblocks fails to protect children online. Kentucky's
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Attorney general claimed Tuesday that the online gaming platform roll
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Blocks has become a playground for predators, as he announced
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a lawsuit accusing the company of lack's child safety measures.
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The Kentucky suit, filed by his office Monday in a
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state court, is the latest action alleging that the wildly
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popular site isn't doing enough to protect children on its
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gaming services. To bolster safeguards for children and teenagers flocking
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to the site. The company needs to install effective age
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verifications and content filters, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said,
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added parental notifications also are needed, he said. Courtney Norris,
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a Kentucky mother of three, who joined Coleman at a
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news conference, said she mistakenly viewed roeblocks as a safe
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online gaming choice for her children. I came to realize
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later than I would like to admit that it is
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actually the wild West of the Internet targeted at children,
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She said. The company is facing a growing backlash. The
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Kentucky suit comes after Louisiana sued the company. In August.
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A suit was filed in Iowa after a thirteen year
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old girl was allegedly introduced to an adult predator on
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the platform, then kidnapped and trafficked across multiple states and
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raped roadblocks. On Tuesday, pushed back against the allegations. We
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have rigorous safety measures in place, from advanced AI models
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to an expertly trained team of thousands moderating our platform
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twenty four to seven for inappropriate content, the company said
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in a statement. No system is perfect, and our work
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on safety is never done. We are constantly innovating our
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safety systems, including adding one hundred new safeguards such as
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facial age estimation this year alone. Roadblocks says it has
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one hundred eleven million daily active users. The company said
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in an email Tuesday that it implements strict safety defaults
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for its youngest users. It said the platform's users under
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thirteen cannot do not directly message others on roadblocks outside
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of games or experiences, and cannot directly message others during
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games or experiences unless the default setting is changed using
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parental controls. The company said it has rigorous text chat
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filters to block inappropriate words or phrases, attempts to direct
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under thirteen users off the platform, and the sharing of
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personal information such as phone number or address. It does
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not allow user to user image sharing and prohibits sexual conversations.
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It said. The Kentucky lawsuit gives a starkly different portrayal
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of the platform. Despite assurances its site is safe, the
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company has failed to install basic safety controls. The suit
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said Roadblocks also fails to inform its users and their
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parents about dangers inherent on the platform. It's said Coleman,
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a Republican said the sites cartoonish figures and experiences appeals
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to children, but he warned that underneath this cartoonish, innocent
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veneer is something sinister. The platform has become a playground
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for predators who seek to harm our children. The Kentucky
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suit alleges that children are exposed to violent or sexual
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situations within the Roeblocks universe, with parents reporting children contacted
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by strangers using third party chat apps that function as
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if they are part of the game. Norris said that
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like many parents, she considered it a safe choice for
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her children. I describe it as a fenced in back
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yard for kids gaming, she said Tuesday. And that is
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the genius and the danger I found of Roeblocks, the
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illusion of safety it gives parents like me. The reality
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is Roeblocks makes it nearly impossible to police as a parent,
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she added. The suit claims that Roadblocks's lacks protections violate
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Kentucky's Consumer Protection Act and asks the judge to order
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the company into compliance. The suit seeks penalties of up
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to two thousand dollars for each violation of the consumer
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protection law. Coleman said his office is open to negotiating
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a settlement with Roadblocks Our goal is not to shut
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a platform down, Coleman said. Our goal is for roadblocks
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to be safe. Roadblocks said it shares the goal of
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keeping kids safe online and said it would welcome discussions
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with Coleman's office to ensure they have a clear understanding
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of all Roadblocks is doing to keep users safe. The
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next story is Cougar's romp over District foe Estel County.
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Letcher County Central improved to four and three on the
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season with a forty eight to thirty two victory against
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new district foe Estel County. The Cougars amassed four hundred
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ninety five yards of total offense, led by quarterback Gunnar
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Holdbrooks two hundred thirty seven yards passing and Garrett Howard
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rushing for one hundred ninety five yards and three touchdowns.
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More importantly, LCC is now one and one in district play,
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with two district games remaining on the schedule. It was
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a good district road win, said Cougar's coach Junior Matthews.
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We played really well in the first half on both
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sides of the ball. The second half, we ran the
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ball well, but our defense gave up too many scores.
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It was still a good win and we're glad to
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get it. The Cougars received the ball to start the game,
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and on their first offensive play, Holbrook rolled to the
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right and connected with receiver Mason Stevens for a twenty
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nine nine yard game. Colton Stidham then caught a wide
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receiver screen for a fifteen yard game. Two plays later,
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Stevens had a sixteen yard touchdown reception from Holbrook. Emma
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Adams made the extra point to give ELSIEC a quick
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seven to nothing lead. Estell County had a long, sustained
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thirteen play drive, but the Cougar's defense stiffened up in
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the red zone and held the Engineers to a twenty
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six yard field goal that cut the lead to seven
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to three. After the Cougars went three and out, elsc's
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Theaden Brown intercepted a pass on the first Estell County
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play to give the ball right back to the offense.
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Garrett Howard had a twenty yard run to the Estel
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County eight yard line, but the drive stalled there and
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the Cougars turned the ball over on downs. In the
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second quarter, the Cougars forced the Engineers to punt, followed
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by Holbrook throwing a pass to Brett Sturgel out of
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the backfield for a twenty yard game. Two plays later,
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Stidham caught a pass on a screenplay and got great
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blocking on his way to a thirty six yard touchdown.
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The Emma Adams extra points split the uprights to increase
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LCC's lead to fourteen to three. The Cougars forced Estell
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County to punt once again, and lineman Gavin Adams burst
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through the line to block the kick, which was recovered
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by the Cougars at the Estel County sixteen yard line.
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With LCC back on offense, Howard scored his second rushing touchdown,
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this time from eight yards out, to take a commanding
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twenty one to three lead. After the point after, with
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the engineers facing a third down, ELCC defender Braxton Banks
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blitzed and sacked the quarterback to force yet another Estel
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County punt. After that defense stop, elsiec drove all the
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way down the field and scored on a seven yard
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touchdown pass from Holbrook to Sturgel right before halftime to
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take a twenty eight to three lead into the break.
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Estell County got the ball to start the second half
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and swiftly drove down the field and scored on a
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twelve yard quarterback keeper by Brody Manius. The extra point
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cut the lead to twenty eight to ten. The Cougars
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answered on a drive that started with Thadan Brown's thirty
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yard kickoff return. On third and two, Howard took a
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hand off and raced around the left side of the
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line for a fifty one yard touchdown. Adams again kicked
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the extra point, making the score thirty five to ten
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with seven twenty six left in the third quarter. Estell
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answered with a forty yard touchdown pass on fourth down
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from Manius to Hunter Bingham. The score was thirty five
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to seven after the extra point was successful. Elcc's offense
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once again answered a score by Estell County, with Holbrook
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completing a thirty two yard pass to Stevens on a
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deep post to start the drive, which ended with a
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ten yard rushing touchdown by Holbrook to give ELSC a
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forty two to seventeen lead. The Engineers returned the kickoff
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to the LCC thirty one yard line and scored on
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another touchdown pass to Bingham to cut the Cougar's lead
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to forty two to twenty four with ten twenty four
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left in the fourth quarter. After an LCC punt, Bingham
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caught another long pass for a fifty nine yard score.
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Estell County ran in the two point conversion to make
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the score forty two to thirty two. The Cougars followed
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with a nine play fifty four yard scoring drive where
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the offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage. Lsc ran
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the ball every play of the drive and not only
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chewed up precious time off the clock, but scored on
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a one yard touchdown run by Howard to increase their
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lead to forty eight to thirty two. With two thirty
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four left in the game, Jackson Meade booted the kickoff
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off an Estel County upback and the Cougars recovered the
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onside kick. The Cougars then ran out the clock to
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secure their first district win of the season. Lester Central
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was unstoppable most of the game on offense, rushing for
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two hundred and fifty eight yards and passing for two
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hundred thirty seven yards. Gunner Holbrook completed sixteen passes on
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thirty one attempts for two hundred thirty seven yards and
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three touchdowns and no interceptions. Garrett Howard gained one hundred
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ninety five yards rushing on nineteen attempts and scored three touchdowns.
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Colton Stidham led the receiving corps with seven catches for
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one hundred eight yards and a score. Mason Stephens had
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three receptions for seventy seven yards and a touchdown. Brett
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Sturgell had thirty yards rushing, thirty seven yards receiving and
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a touchdown. The LCC defense was once again led by
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Garrett Howard, who had twelve tackles. Canaan's sergeant had seven tackles,
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Colton Stidham and Brody Griffith had six tackles. Apiece. Braxton
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Banks had the loan sack for the Cougars that forced
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a punt, and Theyden Brown had an interception as well.
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LCC travels to another new district, Foe Magoffin County on Friday,
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with kickoff set for seven thirty pm. The next article
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is Gabby's Fishing Fever by Greg Gabby Caudle, finding croppie
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as weather cools. While it appears fall weather is finally
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due to replace the eighty plus degree temperatures we've been
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having during the days with the weather finally starting to
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cool down, some fish, like the crappie, will begin to
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move into their early fall patterns. As the days get cooled,
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the croppie will move around to a more main lake
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cover than backwater cover. The main reason for this is
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because they know that very soon the lake will be
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dropped to winter pool, which is several feet below normal.
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The fish have a built in memory as to when
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the water is falling and will move to deeper main
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lake water. When this happens, it moves the croppy into
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their early fall pattern. These changes can be the result
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of many things food location, water depth, type of cover,
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fishing pressure, water temperatures, amount of sunlight penetration, and water clarity.
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All these factors and others will affect the feeding and
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activity level of the crappy at any time of the day.
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Crappie can be found and caught most of the time,
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but the bite can shut down, and when it does,
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you will need to do something different like change lwer
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color or size, fish deeper or shallower, move the bait
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faster or slower, or switch to live minnows until it
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changes again. Crappie can be very color picky at times.
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To me A live minnow fished under a slip floater
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is hard to beat as a bait. As the fall
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temperatures fall, the fishing will get much better, So get
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out all you can this fall for some great crappy action.
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This concludes the reading of the Mountain Eagle. Your reader
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has been built and arsenal Now please stay tuned for
28:45
continued programming on behalf of everyone here at Radio I
28:50
thank you for listening, and have a good day.