Transcript

3.6.25 · The Mountain Eagle

0:01
Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
0:05
from Whitesburg. Your reader today is Bills and Arsdal. We
0:10
will begin with the addition dated March fifth, twenty twenty five,
0:14
which the publishers have donated to RADIOI as a reminder.
0:19
RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
0:22
blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
0:25
read printed material. The first item is the caption of
0:29
a photograph Cavaliers win first title in thirty years. A
0:35
happy group of Jenkins High School Cavaliers and coaches have
0:39
fun in the locker room after defeating the Knot County
0:42
Patriots to win the team's first fifty third district basketball
0:46
tournament championship in thirty years. The Calves advanced to the
0:51
opening round of the fourteenth Region tournament at Knot County
0:54
Central High School in Hindman. A later story has more information.
1:01
The next headline is Stein's laggers to use insanity as
1:07
his defense. Criminal defense Attorneys for former Electri County Sheriff
1:13
Mickey Steins have filed notice that, as expected, they plan
1:17
a defense of extreme emotional disturbance, but the motion says
1:21
they also plan to pursue an insanity defense. Section one,
1:27
Defendant intends to present expert evidence relating to a mental
1:30
disease or defect or mental condition bearing on the issue
1:34
of guilt and punishment Criminal Rules eight point seven to two.
1:39
The motion says section two, defendant intends to present a
1:44
defense of insanity as well as a defense of extreme
1:47
emotional disturbance Criminal Rules eight point seven one. The attorney,
1:54
Jeremy Bartley of Somerset said he is not arguing that
1:58
Stein's is not competent to say stand trial. The motion
2:03
file Tuesday also asks for a defense expert to be
2:06
present during a psychiatric examination if the prosecution asks for
2:11
an evaluation by a forensic psychiatrist for the court. Stein's
2:16
is charged with murder in the September nineteenth, twenty twenty
2:19
four shooting death of Leicher District Judge Kevin R. Mullins
2:24
inside the judge's chambers in the Letcher County Courthouse. The
2:29
prosecution will have twenty one days from Tuesday to file
2:33
a motion requesting a psychiatric examination. The next story is
2:40
county re hires Arkansas firm to help with latest floodwork.
2:46
The Lectri Fiscal Court agreed to rehire er Assist to
2:51
help with grants for relief from the February flood after
2:54
two meetings when half the court balked at renewing the contract.
3:00
Our Assist is a Bentonville, Arkansas company that the county
3:04
hired under a state price contract after the twenty twenty
3:07
two flood. The company writes grant applications, helps the county
3:12
with procuring contractors, and keeps up with finances related to
3:16
the flood projects. But Magistrates Kenny Anderson, deb Parker Collier
3:22
and Benny McCall complained that the work isn't being done
3:26
fast enough and they don't know enough about who the
3:29
contractors are or how far along they are. Collier wanted
3:33
the county to talk to a Kentucky man working on
3:35
Federal Emergency Management Agency projects in Flaming Neon instead. She
3:41
said constituents would think magistrates aren't doing their jobs if
3:45
they don't know about the projects. Er Assist employees are
3:49
up here rattling off numbers, and we don't know what
3:51
they are, so therefore we cannot relay those numbers to
3:55
anyone else, she said. McCall also complained about information that
4:00
she's been given. How can we get better information for
4:04
our people about the projects, so when we're asked, we
4:08
can tell them what would be wrong with us knowing
4:11
who the contractor is to me the communication part of
4:15
the whole setup. That is one of my biggest concerns,
4:18
McCall said. Laurel Matthewlo, chief executive officer and founder of
4:24
er Assist, said the names of the contractors are on
4:27
each project when they're submitted to the court for a vote,
4:30
and the projects are mapped on her computer. She said
4:34
it will be no problem to add the names to
4:36
the project numbers on the website. Anderson wanted local contractors
4:42
and wanted er Assist to stop putting out bids on
4:45
projects that weren't ready for a contractor to start work.
4:49
It makes the contractors look bad, he said. McCall and
4:54
Anderson wanted contractors in every magisterial district working at the
4:58
same time. Judge Executive Terry Adams, however, said the county
5:03
is working on the worst problems first, where people are
5:06
unable to get in and out of their homes, and
5:09
is hiring the lowest bidder on projects. Adams opened a
5:14
special meeting. The second meeting at which the er Assist
5:18
contract was discussed by defending the company and the work
5:21
it has done here. He was joined by Magistrates Cheddy
5:25
Smith and Jack Banks, and Treasurer D. J. Fraser, all
5:30
of whom said the county would be far behind if
5:32
not for that company. Adams said, er Assist has been
5:36
working with the county since two thousand twenty two under
5:39
a master contract with the State of Kentucky and taking
5:43
care of everything money wise pertaining to the flood. They
5:46
have done a remarkable job, he said. They have brought
5:50
back millions of dollars back to Letcher County in reimbursements
5:53
for what we spent early in the flood, getting roads
5:56
fixed and getting people back in their homes. He said
6:00
er Assist has worked with the buyout program, which included
6:04
nearly three hundred homes at the beginning, and that the
6:07
slowness of that project was because the Natural Resources Conservation
6:11
Service had not done a buyout program before. The FEMA
6:15
portion of the buyout, he said, has gone well. If
6:20
it had not been for this company, er Assist coming
6:22
to the table helping us, there is no way we
6:25
here locally could do one fifth of what we have
6:28
gotten done. Adam said. There is no way that local
6:32
government in any capacity anywhere in the state of Kentucky
6:35
could do what this company has done for us. The
6:39
usually quiet judge slammed rumors by some in the county
6:43
that money was being misappropriated or stuck in somebody's pocket,
6:48
as bs every dollar has been accounted for. He said.
6:55
The er Assist contract was the only item on the agenda,
6:58
and the court voted for two to approve it. Smith, Adams, Banks,
7:03
and McCall voted in favor of the contract, though McCall
7:07
said his vote was contingent on getting answers to his questions.
7:11
Collier and Anderson voted against. The rest of the meeting
7:16
saw multiple residents come forward to request that the creeks
7:20
be dredged. Matula said she's working with the county now
7:24
on a nine million dollar stream mitigation project that is
7:28
currently an environmental review by FEMA. She said to do
7:32
the entire county could cost one hundred million dollars. In
7:39
the next headline, FAA has paused airport funding. The Federal
7:46
Aviation Administration said in December that it will provide the
7:50
money to build an airport in Letcher County, but money
7:53
from the FAA is currently frozen in Washington, d C.
7:59
Jeffrey Justine, executive director of Pine Mountain Partnership, told the
8:03
Electrifiscal Court at its regular February meeting that the FAA
8:07
has promised explicitly to pay for the airport, and we
8:10
have it in writing. The airport is kind of pending
8:15
the federal pause and all that that's going on. A
8:19
lot of funding is paused for different reasons, but the
8:22
FAA did finally give us the green light thumbs up,
8:25
we are going to build the airport. Justice said. The
8:29
site selected is at Eisen and will likely be reached
8:33
by a road built at Stampers Branch. Currently, the site
8:37
can be reached by a steep, rutted access road off
8:40
Kentucky seven North near Daniels Branch. The Leccher County Airport
8:46
Board has been working on the project for about twenty years.
8:50
In April twenty twenty four, Congress included a line item
8:54
for the airport and the federal budget, and the FAA
8:57
informed the airport Board in early December that it would
9:00
pay for the project. The budget had slated it for
9:04
this fiscal year, which ends September thirtieth. Justice, who also
9:10
serves as the county Economic Development director said an airport
9:14
won't immediately have a lot of economic impact, but there
9:17
are more immediate problems it will help solve. Currently, the
9:22
hospital helipad is often fogged in making air transport of
9:26
critical patients impossible. There is an airport at Wise where
9:31
patients requiring fixed wing transport can be taken, but there
9:35
is sometimes only one ambulance operating in the county and
9:38
it can't take a patient to Virginia or take them
9:41
by ground to Lexington or Kingsport. If we have an
9:45
airport that can do fixed wing evacuation, that one ambulance
9:49
that's operating in the county can make that transport to
9:52
that location to get that person the help they need.
9:55
Justice said, I didn't know, honestly, when I started working
9:59
the airport project that that was even a thing. I
10:02
didn't know fixed wing transport was a thing. That'll probably
10:06
be the most important aspect of that project. The proposed
10:11
airport is now the top priority in the Kentucky statewide
10:15
Aviation Plan. Much of that land has already been surface mind.
10:21
While Justice said some people have been concerned that the
10:24
airport would take their homes, he said there is no
10:26
need for that because the board has already purchased about
10:29
seven hundred acres which will be used for the runway, hangars,
10:34
a terminal, and space for businesses and possibly housing. A
10:39
consultant working with the Airport Board said last year that
10:43
excavation for the facility will take about two years once
10:46
funding is available, and paving will take about a year
10:49
after that. The board wants to build a five thousand
10:53
foot runway, but the FAA will likely fund only four
10:57
thousand feet of paving during the initial instruction phase, with
11:01
the additional length added later. Also at the court meeting,
11:06
Justice informed the court that two Federal Environmental Protection Agency
11:10
grants for which the county had applied have been denied. One,
11:16
written in partnership with Callan Community Center, would have used
11:20
natural methods to reduce flooding. The other would have paid
11:24
for completion of a garbage digestion at Millstone that would
11:28
be similar to one that has been used for years
11:30
in Severe County, Tennessee. The next story is flood damage
11:38
is main topic for Jenkins Council. Mayor Todd de Priest
11:44
praised the role of recently installed stream gages in helping
11:48
city officials monitor immediate flood risk while also collecting data
11:52
for long term planning. During a regular March meeting of
11:56
the Jenkins City Council, I was in lectioning on the
12:00
Wednesday before the flood and just watching our stream gauge.
12:04
It would go up and come back down. Then it
12:07
shot off the charts. De Priest said. Last May, Jenkins
12:12
worked with the US Geological Survey USGS to install four
12:17
stream gauges to provide real time data to track water
12:21
levels and watch for patterns that could help with future
12:24
flood preparation. The gauges, which resemble metal box television antennas,
12:30
were installed at Elkhorn Creek, at Freedom Lane, Barnhill Road,
12:34
and Berdein Elementary, and one is located at Elkhorn Lake.
12:40
The ninety five thousand dollars project was funded with assistance
12:43
from Kentucky's Department for Local Government DLG. De Priest noted
12:48
that data from the gauges show how in recent years,
12:52
smaller amounts of rainfall have been causing more severe flooding
12:56
in eastern Kentucky. He said that the documentation will help
13:00
the city advocate for future flood mitigation funding and planning.
13:05
The mayor reported that the city has been fielding calls
13:08
from other municipalities interested in installing stream gauges, and that
13:13
Jenkins is working with government officials to keep the USGS
13:17
program alive. Another flood mitigation program discussed at the meeting
13:23
is the city's five point two million dollar Stormwater Engineering Project,
13:28
which aims to study water runoff from the mountains and
13:32
create strategies to redirect storm waters. The project is funded
13:37
by federal grants being distributed by the Kentucky Department for
13:41
Local Government's Disaster Recovery program. De Priest said that the
13:46
project will help to develop solutions such as weirs, which
13:50
help redirect and control storm waters, and green sinks, which
13:55
are areas of vegetation designed to slow and soak up
13:59
runoff from heavyer rains while filtering out sediment. The combination
14:04
of stream gage data and the study will help the
14:07
city stay ahead of the game in addressing future flooding.
14:10
To Priests, it now, that doesn't mean we'll be prepared
14:14
for every storm, he added, but it does mean that
14:17
smaller rain events that would have affected in the past
14:20
won't hit us as hard. The priest gave updates on
14:25
flood recovery, reporting that two crews have been deployed to
14:29
assess and repair damaged roads in Burdeen and other areas
14:33
close to town. One of the biggest challenges has been
14:37
dealing with washed out sediment, rock, dirt and sand obstructing roads.
14:43
How do we put the gravel back and fix it
14:45
in a way that it's not going to wash off
14:47
and roll back to the mouth of a hollow? Because
14:50
if you've seen the bottom of church House hollow in
14:53
different places, I mean it's unreal. He also noted that
14:58
state legislators are considering forming a task force to address
15:02
the long term problem of river and stream debris worsening
15:06
flood damage. To insure Jenkins's twenty twenty five Federal Emergency
15:12
Management Agency funded flood projects meet federal requirements, de Priest
15:18
proposed recontracting with er Assist to handle FEMA funded project management.
15:25
De Priest explained that er Assist would help the city
15:28
comply with the strict guidelines that accompany federal grants. City
15:33
attorney Randall Tackett confirmed that er Assist is paid through
15:37
FEMA and that a contract revision is being requested to
15:41
ensure Jenkins is not financially responsible for any work FEMA
15:45
does not cover. The council unanimously approved the contract with
15:50
er assists in other business. Courtney Rhodes of the Appalachian
15:56
Citizens Law Center ACLC asked the council to officially support
16:01
a resolution advocating for an increase in federal Blacklong benefits. Rhodes,
16:07
a local resident, explained that ACLC has been working for
16:12
several years to gain higher compensation for recipients whose benefits
16:16
are currently tied to a federal pay scale rather than inflation.
16:22
She noted that eighty one people in Jenkins receive federal
16:25
Blacklong benefits, contributing over one million dollars annually to the
16:29
community through medical and monthly payments. The city Council unanimously
16:35
approved the resolution, which urges Kentucky's U S Senators and
16:39
US Congressman Hall Rogers to support and vote for legislation
16:44
to assist disabled miners, including legislation to increase the monthly
16:49
Blacklong benefit rates. A more celebratory resolution passed on Monday night,
16:56
honored the Jenkins High School boys basketball team for us
17:00
its record breaking twenty twenty four to twenty five season.
17:05
The Jenkins Cavaliers won twenty four regular season games, the
17:09
most in school history, and captured the fifty third district championship,
17:14
a title the school had not held since nineteen ninety five.
17:19
The resolution congratulated coach Winston Lee, his staff, and the
17:23
players for their hard work and dedication, thanking them for
17:28
resurrecting a winning spirit at Jenkins High School. The city
17:32
joins the team in raising swords up in celebration of
17:36
a season that will live forever in the memories of
17:38
Cavalier Faithful. The resolution read in other business, Police Chief
17:45
Jim Stevens's report to the city council notes both the
17:48
police and fire department's work during the flood, including the
17:52
rescue of a person who was trapped in their vehicle
17:55
by deep water. Additionally, City service responded to fouris teen calls,
18:01
including two houses kneeding water pumped out, and trees were
18:05
moved to unblocked roadways. The department also assisted fleming Neon
18:10
during the major landslide that occurred following the flood. Both
18:15
Chief Stephens and Mayor de Priest expressed gratitude to the
18:19
city workers and volunteers who worked tirelessly during and since
18:23
the flood to help residents recover. The next headline is
18:30
Supplies and Help Offered. Supplies for the victims of the
18:35
recent floods are now offered at the Hemphill Church of Christ.
18:39
Distribution takes place Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from
18:44
eleven am to five thirty pm, and Wednesdays from eleven
18:47
am to three pm. Applications are also available for those
18:52
who are in need of additional help. For more information,
18:55
calls six six four three four five four eight five.
19:03
The next story is three hundred thousand people visited lecture
19:07
multiple times in twenty four. Over three hundred thousand people
19:13
visited Letcher County nearly three million times in twenty twenty four,
19:17
according to a study commissioned by the County Tourism and
19:20
Convention Commission. Jeffrey Justice, executive director of the Pine Mountain Partnership,
19:27
gave a copy of the study report to the Lecture
19:29
Fiscal Court at its regular February meeting. Justice said the
19:35
report by placer dot Ai, a software suite by Place
19:39
Labs Incorporated, was produced by Analysis anonymous of cellular phone locations.
19:46
The application sorts out phones that are in the area
19:49
daily and eliminates them under the assumption of which belonged
19:53
to individuals who live and or work in the county.
19:57
After those removals, the study showed three one hundred and
20:00
seventeen thousand unique visitors came to Letcher County, but that
20:04
they visited two point eight million times. The program uses
20:10
a system called geo fencing, the same feature that allows
20:14
phones to tell users where they are or alert them
20:17
if a contact passes nearby. The information is anonymous, but
20:23
it can tell local governments or commercial users about visitor trends,
20:27
where the majority of visitors come from and where they
20:30
go when they leave. According to the report, most people
20:35
visiting Letcher County come from Wise County, Virginia and go
20:39
back there when they leave, stay around four and a
20:42
half hours before going home. The typical visitor will come
20:46
to lettri County about eight to nine times a year.
20:50
The number of visitors was down slightly last year from
20:53
twenty twenty two to twenty twenty three, but about five
20:57
percent higher than in twenty twenty one. Justice speculated that
21:02
the numbers were higher in two thousand, twenty two and
21:04
twenty three because of contractors, volunteers, and government employees who
21:09
came to the county as a result of the July
21:12
two thousand, twenty two flood. The next headline is Calves
21:18
rebound to win first title in thirty years. What a
21:23
week of basketball it was for the Jenkins Cavaliers, one
21:28
that ended with coach Winston Lee's team bringing Jenkins High
21:31
School its first fifty third district championship in thirty years.
21:37
In the first game of the district tournament against rival
21:39
Electric County Central, with the Cavaliers trailing by four points
21:43
midway through the fourth quarter, seniors Gavin Gibson, Aden Hayes,
21:48
and Braden Sexton made numerous clutch plays to pull away
21:52
for a sixty eight to fifty four victory. All three
21:56
players scored twenty one points apiece to lead the Cavaliers
22:00
to the district title and their first berth in the
22:03
fourteenth regional tournament in twenty years. Then, in the district
22:08
final against a Not County Central team that had defeated
22:12
the Cavaliers by convincing fashion in both regular season games,
22:16
Jenkins showed great grit and heart in coming back to
22:20
win a game it was in great danger of losing.
22:24
With the Cavaliers trailing by seventeen points in the third quarter,
22:28
sophomore Cameron Hayes took the game over to score seventeen
22:33
of his twenty one points in the second half to
22:35
leave the Jenkins comeback. Junior Cale Owens drilled a three
22:40
pointer from the right corner with just six seconds left
22:43
in the game to give the Cavs a fifty six
22:46
to fifty four lead. Not County then called a time out,
22:51
but a desperation three point attempt was just off the mark,
22:54
causing pandemonium to ensue as Jenkins fans rushed the court
22:59
to so I'm so blessed and grateful in having the
23:04
opportunity to serve this special group of players, Coach Lee said.
23:09
They wear that Cavalier uniform with so much pride. The
23:13
message in the locker room before the game was to
23:15
keep in mind who it is we are playing for,
23:18
our community, our school, our family, our team. They bought
23:23
into the idea of making history, the first team in
23:26
thirty years to win district, the most wins in school history.
23:31
What a special night, continued Lee. These guys have pursued
23:36
the dream of a banner relentlessly, some for four years,
23:40
putting in effort, time and commitment. I've been coaching for
23:43
a long time and I've never seen a parade following
23:46
a game like the one on Friday night. Jenkins is
23:49
alive and well, Lee said. The celebration continued after the
23:54
team and its fans returned to Jenkins. We burned a
23:58
couch in the school parking lot. These guys deserve all
24:02
the praise and good things that come their way. From
24:05
Cam's third quarter performance to bring us back to Kale's
24:09
shot heard round the fifty third, Gavin Gibson saved us
24:14
with his shooting ability in the first round Preston Hammond's
24:18
and won ice that game. Lee also praised the season
24:23
long good play of Sexton and Hayes. I do not
24:27
care what any coaching poll or list that's released may suggest.
24:31
Braden Sexton is the best point guard in the fourteenth Region.
24:35
Aiden Hayes is the heart and soul of Jenkins High School,
24:38
and he plays that way on the court night in
24:40
and night out. Lee was also happy to announce that
24:45
Dakota Johnson will be able to resume play in the
24:48
fourteenth Region. Attorney, He's such a spark of physicality and
24:53
great decision maker for us a ten point difference. Lee said.
24:57
He's been a leader despite all adversity. A lot of
25:01
these guys felt rejected at one time. I've felt rejected
25:04
at one time. I'm so thankful that somehow we came
25:08
together to accomplish something historic. What great kids they deserve it. Lee,
25:16
who took over as head coach at Jenkins after being
25:18
let go by Elector County Central. He is rightfully proud
25:22
of all that his players have accomplished since he took
25:25
over the Cavalier's program. Many of them helped in the
25:29
flood of twenty two. He said. They make great grades,
25:33
come to school with positive attitudes, They work, they pray.
25:37
They are amazing young men, and they should be remembered forever.
25:42
I love them with all my heart and I owe
25:44
them so much. I also want to say thank you
25:47
to all of Cave Nation. How amazing to see so
25:51
much green in the stands. That's a testament to this
25:54
team and their efforts. I appreciate our administration, our staff,
25:59
our entire village that invests so much in our student athletes.
26:03
We are blessed to bring this trophy home. The next
26:08
headline is measles cases reported in Kentucky. Measles is not
26:15
often seen in the United States, but Americans are growing
26:18
more concerned about the preventable virus as cases continued to
26:23
rise in rural West Texas. Last week, an unvaccinated child
26:28
died in the outbreak, which involves more than one hundred
26:31
fifty cases. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
26:36
said the last confirmed measle's death in the United States
26:40
was in twenty fifteen. The agency on Tuesday posted a
26:44
message on x saying that CDC is on the ground
26:47
in Texas, indicating that the state had requested federal assistance
26:52
in investigating and controlling the outbreak. Where have measles cases
26:57
been reported in the US? Besides Texas, which has had
27:01
the most measles cases of any US state this year,
27:05
there are also nine cases in New Mexico. The state
27:09
Health Department there has said there is no direct connection
27:12
to the outbreak in Texas. Measles cases have also been
27:16
reported in Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
27:24
and Rhode Island. Measles is a respiratory disease caused by
27:30
one of the world's most contagious viruses. The virus is
27:34
airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes,
27:39
or coughs. It most commonly affects kids. Measles first infects
27:45
the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a
27:48
high fever, runny nose, cough, red watery eyes, and a rash.
27:55
The rash generally appears three to five days after the
27:58
first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face
28:02
and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs,
28:06
and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike
28:10
over one hundred four degrees fahrenheit. According to the c
28:13
d C, there's no specific treatment for measles, so doctors
28:18
generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications, and keep patience comfortable.
28:26
This concludes the reading of the Mountain Eagle. Your reader
28:29
has been build in Arsdale. Now please stay tuned for
28:33
continued programming on behalf of everyone here at Radio I.
28:38
Thank you for listening, and have a good day.