Latest / The Mountain Eagle / 7.30.26
Transcript
- 0:01Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
- 0:04Speaker 1: from Witzburg. Your reader today is Bill den Arsdale. We
- 0:09Speaker 1: will begin with the addition dated July twenty ninth, twenty
- 0:13Speaker 1: twenty six, which the publishers have donated to RADIOI as
- 0:18Speaker 1: a reminder. RADIOI is a reading service intended for people
- 0:22Speaker 1: who are blind or have other disabilities that make it
- 0:24Speaker 1: difficult to read printed material. The first headline is security
- 0:31Speaker 1: video sheds new light on the shooting at laundromat. Law
- 0:37Speaker 1: enforcement sources say the son of a woman who was
- 0:40Speaker 1: shot during a July eighteenth domestic violence attack at a
- 0:44Speaker 1: Whisburg laundromat wrestled the gun away from his father after
- 0:48Speaker 1: his mother was wounded. While the investigation remains open, law
- 0:54Speaker 1: enforcement sources said Richard Wyatt Junior, twenty six, of Little
- 0:59Speaker 1: Dry Fork, he is not expected to face criminal charges
- 1:03Speaker 1: because security video indicates he was not involved in the
- 1:06Speaker 1: shooting and instead helped prevent further violence. After disarming his father,
- 1:13Speaker 1: Wyatt Junior ran inside the laundromat to check on his mother,
- 1:17Speaker 1: leaving the weapon behind. According to updates posted by family
- 1:22Speaker 1: members on social media. Sarah Wyatt, fifty four, of Whitesburg,
- 1:27Speaker 1: continues to improve, but remains hospitalized. A gofund me account
- 1:33Speaker 1: has also been established to help with medical expenses and
- 1:37Speaker 1: housing after her release. Law enforcement officials said security cameras
- 1:43Speaker 1: at the Washboard laundromat captured the shooting and the events
- 1:47Speaker 1: leading up to and immediately following it. According to a
- 1:51Speaker 1: law enforcement source, Richard Wyatt Junior and Richard Wyatt Senior,
- 1:56Speaker 1: both of Little Dry Fork, stood outside the bill business
- 2:00Speaker 1: talking with Sarah Pendleton Wyatt for several minutes before Richard
- 2:04Speaker 1: Wyatt Senior returned to his vehicle. The source said security
- 2:09Speaker 1: video shows him returning with a pistol and shooting Sarah
- 2:12Speaker 1: Wyatt three times in the abdomen. At least one bullet
- 2:17Speaker 1: shattered the glass entry door behind her before she made
- 2:20Speaker 1: it back inside the business and collapsed on the floor.
- 2:25Speaker 1: An employee of the launderman and Wyatt Junior wrestled began
- 2:29Speaker 1: away from the older man. The employee remained outside with
- 2:33Speaker 1: Richard Wyatt's senior while Wyatt Junior ran inside to check
- 2:37Speaker 1: on his mother. A witness said the magazine from the
- 2:41Speaker 1: semi automatic pistol and the pistol itself were lying on
- 2:45Speaker 1: the floor as bystanders rushed to assist Sarah Wyatt. Richard
- 2:51Speaker 1: Wyatt Senior then got back into his vehicle and drove
- 2:54Speaker 1: to nearby Tunnel Hill, where he stopped behind the home
- 2:58Speaker 1: of the late Lois Short, who died about a month earlier.
- 3:03Speaker 1: Authorities said he and his son struggled over a second
- 3:06Speaker 1: pistol before Richard Wyatt Senior fatally shot himself. The bullet
- 3:12Speaker 1: passed through his head and struck his son in the shoulder.
- 3:17Speaker 1: Richard Wyatt Junior then drove himself to Witsbourg Appalachian Regional Hospital.
- 3:22Speaker 1: His father was pronounced dead at the scene. Richard Wyatt
- 3:27Speaker 1: Junior and Sarah Wyatt were both flown to Pikeville Medical Center,
- 3:31Speaker 1: where he was treated and released. The following day. Sarah
- 3:35Speaker 1: Wyatt was transferred by medical helicopter to the University of
- 3:38Speaker 1: Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital in Lexington several days later.
- 3:44Speaker 1: Court records show Sarah Wyatt filed for divorce in March,
- 3:49Speaker 1: and the divorce was finalized in May. Records also show
- 3:54Speaker 1: she obtained two emergency protective orders against Richard Wyatt Senior,
- 3:59Speaker 1: including one issued just two days before the shooting that
- 4:02Speaker 1: had not yet been served. In affidavits supporting the petitions,
- 4:08Speaker 1: she wrote that she feared her ex husband and said
- 4:11Speaker 1: he had threatened to kill both her and himself. The
- 4:16Speaker 1: next item is the catch of a photograph morning visitors
- 4:20Speaker 1: at Thornton. The calm of midsummer is evident in this
- 4:25Speaker 1: trio of whitetailed deer photographed Tuesday morning at Thornton. The
- 4:31Speaker 1: two bucks, their antlers still covered in velvet, are typical
- 4:35Speaker 1: of the loose bachelor groups often seen in July before
- 4:38Speaker 1: the approach of autumn causes bucks to separate, shed their
- 4:42Speaker 1: velvet and prepare for the fall rut. The doe is
- 4:46Speaker 1: likely taking advantage of abundant summer forage while continuing to
- 4:51Speaker 1: care for one or more fawns hidden nearby. The next
- 4:57Speaker 1: story is line Fork woman among the three killed in
- 5:01Speaker 1: Leslie County crashes. A line Fork woman and two others
- 5:06Speaker 1: were killed in two separate crashes Saturday afternoon and evening
- 5:11Speaker 1: on the Hall Rogers Parkway in Leslie County. Penny Iisen,
- 5:16Speaker 1: sixty four, of Kentucky eleven three, near the Campbelltown community
- 5:20Speaker 1: at Linefork, was killed in the first crash. According to
- 5:25Speaker 1: Kentucky State Police trooper Matt Gayheart. The collision occurred about
- 5:29Speaker 1: two fifty four pm Saturday, July twenty fifth, near Big
- 5:33Speaker 1: Creek in Leslie County. A Kentucky State Police trooper was
- 5:37Speaker 1: patrolling the Hall Rogers Parkway when he came upon a
- 5:41Speaker 1: two vehicle collision near the thirty seven mile marker. The
- 5:46Speaker 1: preliminary investigation indicates that a red Nissan Juke operated by
- 5:51Speaker 1: Tagan Moseley, seventeen of Hyden, was traveling westbound toward Manchester when,
- 5:58Speaker 1: for reasons still under investigate, it crossed the center line
- 6:02Speaker 1: into the eastbound lane and collided head on with a
- 6:05Speaker 1: Ford Expedition. The driver of the Ford Expedition, Bobby Eisen,
- 6:11Speaker 1: sixty nine, who has a Cornetsville mailing address but lives
- 6:15Speaker 1: at Linefork, and a juvenile passenger sustained serious injuries and
- 6:20Speaker 1: were airlifted to the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler
- 6:23Speaker 1: Hospital in Lexington for treatment. Penny Eisen, a passenger in
- 6:28Speaker 1: the Ford Expedition, was taken by ambulance to Mary Breckinridge
- 6:32Speaker 1: Hospital in Haydn where she died of her injuries. She
- 6:37Speaker 1: was pronounced dead by the Leslie County Coroner's office. Moseley
- 6:42Speaker 1: was pronounced dead at the scene by the Leslie County
- 6:44Speaker 1: Coroner's Office. While emergency personnel and investigators were processing the
- 6:51Speaker 1: initial crash, A second fatal collision occurred in the same
- 6:55Speaker 1: area at approximately seven forty three pm. While the roadway
- 7:00Speaker 1: remained closed to traffic. A gray Chevrolet Traverse operated by
- 7:05Speaker 1: Tracy whitteymore forty two, of London, drove through the established
- 7:10Speaker 1: road closure and collided with the rear of a parked
- 7:13Speaker 1: commercial vehicle. Whittimore was pronounced dead at the scene by
- 7:18Speaker 1: the Leslie County Coroner's Office. Kentucky State Police said toxicology
- 7:24Speaker 1: testing is pending in both collisions. No autopsies will be conducted.
- 7:30Speaker 1: Both crashes remain under investigation. Collision reconstruction is being conducted
- 7:36Speaker 1: by Detective Scott Caudle. Funeral arrangements for missus Ysen will
- 7:41Speaker 1: not be announced until mister Ysen is released from the hospital,
- 7:45Speaker 1: according to Lecher Funeral Home in Whitesburg. The next story
- 7:51Speaker 1: is large Social media sites bring flood of criticism to Eagle,
- 7:59Speaker 1: a controversy that began with an anonymous reader comment in
- 8:03Speaker 1: The Mountain Eagle's long running speaker piece feature quickly grew
- 8:07Speaker 1: into a national social media firestorm July twenty third, generating
- 8:12Speaker 1: hundreds of angry phone calls, emails, and online messages directed
- 8:17Speaker 1: at the newspaper and its employees. The controversy centered on
- 8:22Speaker 1: a comment published in the newspaper's July twenty second edition
- 8:26Speaker 1: criticizing President Donald Trump that included violent rhetoric, which editor
- 8:32Speaker 1: Ben Gish said should have been edited more carefully before publication.
- 8:37Speaker 1: On the afternoon of July twenty third, the social media
- 8:41Speaker 1: account Libs of TikTok, a nationally known conservative account on
- 8:45Speaker 1: x with more than four million followers, posted images of
- 8:49Speaker 1: the comment and accused The Mountain Eagle of publishing and
- 8:53Speaker 1: promoting direct threats against President Trump, members of his administration,
- 8:57Speaker 1: and his supporters. The post tagged the FBI and the
- 9:02Speaker 1: U S Secret Service. A second post highlighted another anonymous
- 9:07Speaker 1: comment that had appeared on the newspaper's website and called
- 9:10Speaker 1: for the newspaper to be investigated. The controversy was later
- 9:15Speaker 1: amplified by the conservative news and opinion website town Hall.
- 9:21Speaker 1: Within hours, telephones at the Mountain Eagle's office in downtown
- 9:24Speaker 1: Whizburg began ringing almost continuously. The newspaper also received hundreds
- 9:30Speaker 1: of emails and online messages from around the country. Many
- 9:35Speaker 1: people criticized the newspaper's decision to publish the comment. Others
- 9:41Speaker 1: directed profanity and personal attacks at newspaper employees, accused staff
- 9:46Speaker 1: members of supporting political violence, and called for The Mountain
- 9:50Speaker 1: Eagle to be investigated or shut down. One employee who
- 9:55Speaker 1: became the target of online abuse had no role in
- 9:58Speaker 1: editing the speaker piece. Gish said the newspaper made an
- 10:04Speaker 1: editorial mistake in allowing the comment to appear unedited, but
- 10:08Speaker 1: rejected accusations that The Mountain Eagle advocates or promotes violence.
- 10:14Speaker 1: I made an editing mistake. Gish said that responsibility belongs
- 10:19Speaker 1: to me, but this newspaper does not endorse violence against anyone.
- 10:25Speaker 1: Gish also said neither libs of TikTok nor town Hall
- 10:29Speaker 1: contacted him before publishing accusations against the newspaper. No one
- 10:35Speaker 1: called to ask what Speak Your Piece is, how it works,
- 10:39Speaker 1: or whether the newspaper stood behind the comment. He said,
- 10:43Speaker 1: a simple phone call would have allowed us to explain
- 10:45Speaker 1: our editorial process and the history of the feature before
- 10:49Speaker 1: conclusions were reached. Speak Your Piece, which debuted in December
- 10:55Speaker 1: nineteen eighty two. Is an anonymous public forum that all
- 11:00Speaker 1: allows readers to express opinions on local, state, and national issues.
- 11:05Speaker 1: Over more than four decades, it has published thousands of
- 11:08Speaker 1: comments reflecting a wide range of political viewpoints. Editors routinely
- 11:14Speaker 1: edit or reject submissions containing profanity, libelist statements, personal identifying information,
- 11:21Speaker 1: or other material considered unsuitable for publication. Gish said the
- 11:27Speaker 1: controversy has prompted the newspaper to strengthen its editorial review
- 11:31Speaker 1: of anonymous political submissions. While spirited political debate will continue
- 11:38Speaker 1: to be welcomed and speak your piece, he said, anonymous
- 11:41Speaker 1: comments containing factual claims about candidates, elections, government actions, or
- 11:47Speaker 1: other matters of public concern will receive closer editorial scrutiny
- 11:51Speaker 1: before publication. Opinions are welcomed, Gish said, Knowingly false or
- 11:57Speaker 1: misleading factual claims are not. Gish said the new standard
- 12:03Speaker 1: will apply equally regardless of political viewpoint. The same editorial
- 12:08Speaker 1: standards will govern comments whether they praise or criticize President Trump,
- 12:12Speaker 1: Governor Andy Basheer, members of Congress, or local officials, he said.
- 12:20Speaker 1: In the next story. No arrests yet in May King shooting.
- 12:27Speaker 1: Nor rests had been made in the wounding of a
- 12:29Speaker 1: may King man last week. According to law enforcement, a
- 12:33Speaker 1: man took himself to the emergency room at Whitsburg Appalachian
- 12:37Speaker 1: Regional Hospital about eight thirty five pm on Sunday, July nineteenth,
- 12:42Speaker 1: complaining that he had been shot with a twelve gage
- 12:45Speaker 1: shotgun by a man whose name he gave only as Lonnie.
- 12:50Speaker 1: The man had multiple bird shot pellets from his legs
- 12:53Speaker 1: to his back, none of which were life threatening. Troopers
- 12:58Speaker 1: with the Kentucky State Police searched the area of around
- 13:01Speaker 1: the Mountain Road where the shooting was reported to have
- 13:04Speaker 1: occurred and Pine Creek, where the assailant was reported to live,
- 13:09Speaker 1: but found no one. The only description given was that
- 13:13Speaker 1: Lonnie had long blonde hair and was wearing blue jean shorts.
- 13:20Speaker 1: The next story is public is invited to free defense
- 13:24Speaker 1: course at library for people of all ages. A free
- 13:30Speaker 1: personal defense course will be offered to the public from
- 13:33Speaker 1: five point thirty to nine pm Friday, August seventh. The
- 13:38Speaker 1: class will be presented by Larry Adams Martial Arts and
- 13:41Speaker 1: sponsored by the Harry M. Caudle Memorial Library. It is
- 13:46Speaker 1: open free of charge to Library patrons and other members
- 13:49Speaker 1: of the community, with no limit on class size. Organizers
- 13:54Speaker 1: say the course will focus on practical skills that can
- 13:57Speaker 1: be learned in a few hours, including rec ignizing danger early,
- 14:01Speaker 1: de escalating threatening situations, managing fear, and physically defending oneself
- 14:07Speaker 1: when necessary. The class, which will be held at the Library,
- 14:13Speaker 1: is open to participants of all ages. Those younger than
- 14:16Speaker 1: eighteen must have a parent or guardian sign a waiver.
- 14:20Speaker 1: A parent must accompany and participate with anyone younger than sixteen.
- 14:25Speaker 1: The course is intended for anyone interested in improving personal safety,
- 14:30Speaker 1: including high school seniors preparing to leave for college. For
- 14:35Speaker 1: more information, called Jenna at six oh six six three
- 14:38Speaker 1: four seven, eight eight seven or the Library at six
- 14:42Speaker 1: oh six six three three seven five four seven. The
- 14:48Speaker 1: next story is new scholarship offered. Northern Kentucky University is
- 14:55Speaker 1: partnering with the Center for Rural Development to offer a
- 14:59Speaker 1: new scholarship for graduates of the Rogers scholars Program, expanding
- 15:04Speaker 1: educational opportunities for student leaders from southern and eastern Kentucky
- 15:09Speaker 1: Beginning with the spring of twenty twenty seven. Entering class
- 15:13Speaker 1: students who successfully complete the Rogers Scholars Program and enroll
- 15:18Speaker 1: at NKU will be eligible to receive the Rogers Scholars
- 15:22Speaker 1: Housing Scholarship of two thousand dollars. The award recognizes students
- 15:27Speaker 1: who have demonstrated exceptional leadership potential and a commitment to
- 15:31Speaker 1: serving their communities. The Rogers Scholars Program is the Center
- 15:36Speaker 1: for Rural Development's flagship youth leadership initiative. Each year, high
- 15:41Speaker 1: school sophomores from southern and eastern Kentucky compete for selection
- 15:45Speaker 1: into the program, which prepares students for future leadership through
- 15:50Speaker 1: an intensive, week long residential experience. The next headline is
- 15:58Speaker 1: student enrollment of some at schools across county. Enrollment and
- 16:04Speaker 1: Electric County Schools and Jenkins Independent Schools is up slightly
- 16:09Speaker 1: over the end of last year, but it is still
- 16:11Speaker 1: far below levels from previous years. Lectri County School Superintendent
- 16:17Speaker 1: Josh Jahnce told the Board of Education Monday that pre
- 16:21Speaker 1: enrollment at Electric County Central High School was up to
- 16:24Speaker 1: six hundred forty seven that morning and midday Tuesday, Director
- 16:28Speaker 1: of Pupil Personnel Karen Baker said the figure was six
- 16:31Speaker 1: hundred and fifty one. That's up from six hundred nine
- 16:35Speaker 1: at the end of last year. Total pre enrollment for
- 16:39Speaker 1: Electric County School is two thy two hundred, up from
- 16:42Speaker 1: twenty one hundred and ninety at the end of last
- 16:45Speaker 1: school year. School begins in about two weeks. On August thirteenth.
- 16:52Speaker 1: Reached by phone on Tuesday, Jenkins Independent School Superintendent Damian
- 16:56Speaker 1: Johnson said enrollment there is up twenty five over the
- 17:00Speaker 1: end of last year to four hundred and fifty five
- 17:03Speaker 1: students in the district. Figures from both districts are far
- 17:07Speaker 1: lower than in the past. In the two thousand six
- 17:10Speaker 1: two thousand seven school year, Letcher County enrollment was three thousand,
- 17:14Speaker 1: two hundred eighty one, nearly thirteen percent larger than now,
- 17:19Speaker 1: and Jenkins Independent School's enrollment was six hundred four the
- 17:22Speaker 1: same year. The district enrollment has been falling for each
- 17:27Speaker 1: year as the jobs have disappeared and the county population
- 17:31Speaker 1: has fallen. In the mid nineteen sixties, the enrollment in
- 17:34Speaker 1: Electric County schools was around six thousand. Also on Monday,
- 17:40Speaker 1: the Letcher County Board of Education voted to add an
- 17:43Speaker 1: assistant principal position at West Whitesburg Elementary School on the
- 17:47Speaker 1: request of principal Stacey Engel. Yachts said he was concerned
- 17:52Speaker 1: about the financial aspects of creating a new job with
- 17:55Speaker 1: an increase in pay, but said the district would be
- 17:58Speaker 1: able to handle a full time top level teachers pay
- 18:01Speaker 1: with a one hundred and ninety five day contract instead
- 18:04Speaker 1: of the normal one hundred and eighty five days that
- 18:07Speaker 1: classroom teachers work full time. Principles work under a two
- 18:10Speaker 1: hundred and twenty five day contract. Ynce left it to
- 18:15Speaker 1: the board to decide, but suggested it would be helpful
- 18:18Speaker 1: considering that that particular school also has the district's special
- 18:21Speaker 1: education unit. But he said, I think it's a tough position.
- 18:26Speaker 1: I've been a principal. Some board members were hesitant about
- 18:30Speaker 1: approving a new position now, and Yans said he could
- 18:34Speaker 1: go through the finances again and bring it back to
- 18:36Speaker 1: the board in August. He said the district has lost
- 18:39Speaker 1: about one point three million dollars in local tax revenue
- 18:43Speaker 1: from twenty twenty five to twenty six, but some of
- 18:46Speaker 1: that will be replaced by state money because of improved enrollment.
- 18:51Speaker 1: Longtime board member Will Smith, however, said he would prefer
- 18:55Speaker 1: that it start before the beginning of the school year.
- 18:58Speaker 1: I actually think if we do it, we should just
- 19:00Speaker 1: do it he said. Board chairman Robert Kaiser said he
- 19:04Speaker 1: was worried about it because it is over the school's
- 19:07Speaker 1: allocation for this year. When mister Tony Sturgel took over
- 19:12Speaker 1: the district a few years ago, that was one of
- 19:15Speaker 1: the problems we had, and he worked really hard to
- 19:17Speaker 1: get everything within the allocation, he said. Board members Ray
- 19:22Speaker 1: Collins and Angie Holbrook were hesitant, but agreed it would
- 19:25Speaker 1: be better to start the position before the school year.
- 19:29Speaker 1: If we're going to do it, we need to have
- 19:31Speaker 1: it in place, Holbrook said. In the end, the four
- 19:35Speaker 1: board members present voted unanimously to add the position at
- 19:38Speaker 1: one hundred and ninety five days at the top pay
- 19:41Speaker 1: for teachers. The next headline is PSC utility must pay
- 19:49Speaker 1: first two million dollars in storm costs. Kentucky Power customers
- 19:54Speaker 1: will not be asked to pay the full cost of
- 19:57Speaker 1: repairing damage from January's storm Fern under an order issued
- 20:02Speaker 1: by the Kentucky Public Service Commission, which ruled the utility
- 20:06Speaker 1: must first use two million dollars in storm related expenses
- 20:10Speaker 1: already built into customers electric rates before seeking to recover
- 20:14Speaker 1: any additional costs. The Commission agreed that the January twenty
- 20:20Speaker 1: fifth storm qualified as an extraordinary event and allowed Kentucky
- 20:24Speaker 1: Power to establish a special accounting category known as a
- 20:28Speaker 1: regulatory asset for certain storm repair expenses. However, the PSC
- 20:34Speaker 1: said the company cannot place all of its storm costs
- 20:37Speaker 1: into that account because customers are already paying for two
- 20:41Speaker 1: million dollars a year in storm expenses through rates approved
- 20:44Speaker 1: earlier this year. The order represents a partial victory for
- 20:49Speaker 1: both the utility and its customers. Kentucky Power had argued
- 20:54Speaker 1: that the two million dollars included in its base electric
- 20:57Speaker 1: rates was intended to cover only routine in storms and
- 21:01Speaker 1: should not apply to a major weather event such as
- 21:04Speaker 1: Winter Storm Fern. The PSC rejected that argument, ruling the
- 21:09Speaker 1: annual amount applies to both major and non major storm expenses.
- 21:15Speaker 1: According to the Commission, Kentucky Power reported that Winter Storm
- 21:18Speaker 1: Fern resulted in approximately three point sixty nine million dollars
- 21:23Speaker 1: in restoration costs, including about two point three eight million
- 21:27Speaker 1: dollars in operation and maintenance expenses above normal operating costs.
- 21:33Speaker 1: The company sought permission to defer those incremental expenses for
- 21:37Speaker 1: possible recovery in a future rate case. Instead, the PSC
- 21:43Speaker 1: ruled that Kentucky Power may defer only those qualifying storm
- 21:47Speaker 1: expenses that exceed the two million dollars already included in
- 21:50Speaker 1: current electric rates. The PSC emphasized that last week's order
- 21:56Speaker 1: does not authorize Kentucky Power to collect any storm call
- 22:00Speaker 1: costs from customers. Instead, the order deals only with how
- 22:03Speaker 1: the company accounts for those expenses. Whether any portion of
- 22:08Speaker 1: the deferred costs can eventually be recovered through electric rates
- 22:12Speaker 1: will not be decided until Kentucky Power files its next
- 22:16Speaker 1: general rate case. At that time, the utility would have
- 22:20Speaker 1: to demonstrate that the expenses were prudent and necessary before
- 22:24Speaker 1: the Commission could approve any recovery. According to Kentucky Power,
- 22:30Speaker 1: winter storm Fern struck its twenty county Eastern Kentucky service
- 22:34Speaker 1: territory on January twenty fifth, bringing freezing rain and snow
- 22:39Speaker 1: that damaged fifteen transformers, twenty two utility polls, twenty five
- 22:44Speaker 1: sets of cross arms, and two hundred seven spans of
- 22:48Speaker 1: electric conductor. Nearly five thousand customers lost power at the
- 22:53Speaker 1: height of the storm, and approximately nine hundred twenty five
- 22:56Speaker 1: company and contract employees participated in restoration efforts. Electric service
- 23:02Speaker 1: was fully restored by the afternoon of January twenty eighth.
- 23:07Speaker 1: The PSC also reaffirmed procedures requiring Kentucky Power to notify
- 23:12Speaker 1: the Commission whenever it establishes a regulatory asset for future
- 23:16Speaker 1: major storms, and to file a formal application within ninety
- 23:21Speaker 1: days seeking approval of that accounting treatment. The case is
- 23:26Speaker 1: now closed. Why it matters this order does not increase
- 23:32Speaker 1: electric rates. The Public Service Commission's decision concerns accounting, not
- 23:37Speaker 1: customer bills. Kentucky Power must first use the two million
- 23:42Speaker 1: dollars already built into existing electric rates to pay for
- 23:46Speaker 1: storm restoration before setting aside any additional qualifying expenses for
- 23:51Speaker 1: possible future recovery. If the utility later wants customers to
- 23:56Speaker 1: pay any of those deferred costs, it must file another
- 23:59Speaker 1: general rate case and convinced the PSC that the expenses
- 24:03Speaker 1: were reasonable and necessary before any charges could be added
- 24:07Speaker 1: to electric bills. In the next headline, Kentucky Power pledges
- 24:14Speaker 1: to shield customers from data center costs, Kentucky Power has
- 24:20Speaker 1: joined utilities across the country in signing a White House
- 24:24Speaker 1: pledge stating that existing residential and business customers should not
- 24:29Speaker 1: bear the costs of providing electric service to new large
- 24:32Speaker 1: energy users, such as data centers. The company announced July
- 24:38Speaker 1: twenty three that it had signed the Voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge,
- 24:43Speaker 1: saying the commitment reflects its existing policy that growth should
- 24:47Speaker 1: pay for growth. The announcement comes as Kentucky Power has
- 24:52Speaker 1: acknowledged interest in attracting large industrial electric customers to eastern Kentucky,
- 24:57Speaker 1: including data centers. A proposed data center at the Gateway
- 25:02Speaker 1: Industrial Park near Jenkins has generated public discussion because of
- 25:06Speaker 1: questions about its potential effect on electric rates, the power grid,
- 25:11Speaker 1: and future economic development. Under the pledge, Kentucky Power says
- 25:16Speaker 1: large customers should pay for the electric infrastructure needed to
- 25:20Speaker 1: serve them, make long term financial commitments for the electricity
- 25:24Speaker 1: they use, and not shift those costs to existing residential
- 25:28Speaker 1: and business customers. Kentucky Power President and Chief operating Officer
- 25:34Speaker 1: Cindy Wiseman said the company remains committed to protecting existing
- 25:39Speaker 1: customers while supporting economic development in eastern Kentucky. The White
- 25:45Speaker 1: House announced July twenty second that at least fifty five
- 25:49Speaker 1: electric utilities, twenty seven data center developers, and more than
- 25:53Speaker 1: twenty governors have signed the voluntary pledge. Major utilities signing
- 25:59Speaker 1: include American Electric Power, Kentucky Power's parent company, along with
- 26:04Speaker 1: Duke Energy, Southern Company, Next Era Energy, and Pacific Gas
- 26:09Speaker 1: and Electric. Although President Donald Trump said the pledge would
- 26:15Speaker 1: help lower electric bills, it is voluntary and does not
- 26:18Speaker 1: itself change electric rates or require utilities to follow any
- 26:22Speaker 1: specific pricing formula. Consumer advocates have questioned whether the pledge
- 26:28Speaker 1: alone will prevent higher electric bills as electricity demand grows nationwide.
- 26:34Speaker 1: Kentucky already regulates utility rates through the Public Service Commission,
- 26:38Speaker 1: which must approve major rate changes proposed by investor owned
- 26:42Speaker 1: utilities such as Kentucky Power. Why it matters? Many Mountain
- 26:50Speaker 1: Eagle readers have asked whether a large data center proposed
- 26:53Speaker 1: for the Jenkins area could increase their electric bills. Kentucky
- 26:59Speaker 1: Power says it believes new industrial customers should pay the
- 27:02Speaker 1: costs of serving their own electric needs, rather than passing
- 27:05Speaker 1: those costs on to existing customers. The White House Pledge
- 27:10Speaker 1: is voluntary, however, and does not by itself change Kentucky
- 27:14Speaker 1: utility rates. Any future Kentucky Power request to recover costs
- 27:19Speaker 1: from customers would still require approval by the Kentucky Public
- 27:23Speaker 1: Service Commission. The next story is Letcher County native is
- 27:30Speaker 1: Kentucky's only woman now on death row, while Benny Lee
- 27:36Speaker 1: Hodge remains the only person under a death sentence for
- 27:39Speaker 1: a murder committed in Letcher County. Another person with close
- 27:42Speaker 1: ties to the county also remains on Kentucky's death row.
- 27:47Speaker 1: Virginia Susan Caudle, sixty five, a native of Whitco, is
- 27:52Speaker 1: the Commonwealth's only female death row inmate. She is housed
- 27:57Speaker 1: at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women in Ewee Valley.
- 28:02Speaker 1: Caudle and Jonathan Wayne Goforth were convicted in the March fifteenth,
- 28:06Speaker 1: nineteen ninety eight robbery and murder of seventy three year
- 28:09Speaker 1: old Lonetta White of Lexington. White was the mother of
- 28:14Speaker 1: Cardle's former boyfriend. According to court records, White was beaten
- 28:19Speaker 1: to death in her home after refusing to lend Caudle
- 28:22Speaker 1: money to buy cocaine. Caudle has lost numerous appeals, including
- 28:28Speaker 1: challenges in federal court, but remains on death row because
- 28:32Speaker 1: of the same statewide litigation that has prevented Kentucky from
- 28:36Speaker 1: carrying out an execution since two thousand and eight. This
- 28:43Speaker 1: concludes the reading of the Mountain Eagle, your reader has
- 28:46Speaker 1: been billed an Arsenal. Now please stay tuned for continued
- 28:50Speaker 1: programming on behalf of everyone here at Radio I thank
- 28:54Speaker 1: you for listening, and have a good day.