Latest / Eastern Kentucky Newspapers / Whitesburg Mountain Eagle - 9.24.26
Transcript
- 0:02Speaker 1: Now we turn to The Mountain Eagle to read news
- 0:05Speaker 1: from Whitesburg. Your reader today is Bill VanArstel. We will
- 0:10Speaker 1: begin with the edition dated September 23, 2026, which the
- 0:15Speaker 1: publishers have donated to Radio Eye. As a reminder, Radio
- 0:19Speaker 1: Eye is a reading service intended for people who are
- 0:22Speaker 1: blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
- 0:25Speaker 1: read printed material. The first story is... Musician Corey Smith
- 0:33Speaker 1: will headline Mountain Heritage Festival Saturday. Wednesday morning began four
- 0:40Speaker 1: days of music, food, crafts, carnival rides, and family activities
- 0:45Speaker 1: for the annual Mountain Heritage Festival in downtown Whitesburg. Singer-songwriter
- 0:52Speaker 1: Corey Smith is scheduled to headline the festival Saturday night.
- 0:57Speaker 1: Vendors are set up along Main Street beginning at 8 a.m.
- 1:01Speaker 2: Wednesday. The Harry M.
- 1:03Speaker 1: Caudill Memorial Library presents an original Jack Tale puppet show
- 1:07Speaker 1: at 10 a.m.
- 1:08Speaker 2: And noon.
- 1:09Speaker 1: Rock painting offered at the festival booth from noon to
- 1:12Speaker 1: 8 p.m. and food vendors at Festival Village on Depot
- 1:16Speaker 1: Street are scheduled to open at 3 p.m. Music on
- 1:21Speaker 1: the main stage began Wednesday at 5 p.m. with the
- 1:24Speaker 1: Mike Wright Blues Band. The Cross Country Bluegrass Band followed
- 1:29Speaker 1: at 6 p.m., the Waylon Nelson Band at 8 p.m.,
- 1:32Speaker 1: and the Hall Brothers Band at 9 p.m. Craft and
- 1:36Speaker 1: Food Vendors are scheduled to open at 10 a.m. Thursday, Friday,
- 1:39Speaker 1: and Saturday. Thursday's main stage music features Rock and Roll
- 1:44Speaker 1: Princess and the ADHD Band at 5 p.m., and Midlife
- 1:49Speaker 1: Crisis at 8 p.m. A free foam party is planned
- 1:53Speaker 1: from 6 to 8 p.m.
- 1:55Speaker 2: Downtown.
- 1:56Speaker 1: And a Deal or No Deal game scheduled for 7 p.m.
- 2:00Speaker 1: at Festival Village. Friday's lineup begins at 4 p.m. with
- 2:05Speaker 1: Something Sandy, followed by Johnny Pop Day at 5 p.m.,
- 2:10Speaker 1: Carly and the Kenmont Band at 7 p.m., and Already Gone,
- 2:15Speaker 1: an Eagles tribute band, at 8.30 p.m. A Magic Show
- 2:19Speaker 1: is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Festival Village. Saturday's parade
- 2:24Speaker 1: is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., following a pre-parade
- 2:27Speaker 1: program at 10.30 a.m. Other attractions include free train rides
- 2:33Speaker 1: and a Lego mobile tent with building and STEM activities
- 2:37Speaker 1: from noon to 6 p.m., a card trading show at noon,
- 2:42Speaker 1: and a character meet-and-greet at City Hall from 2 to
- 2:45Speaker 1: 4 p.m. Saturday's main stage lineup includes Donovan Blevins and
- 2:52Speaker 1: the Hillbilly Drive Band at 2 p.m., Appalachian Overdrive at
- 2:56Speaker 1: 3 p.m., The Drift Band at 4 p.m., Cold Camp
- 3:01Speaker 1: Revival at 5 p.m., and Dirt Famous at 6.30 p.m.
- 3:06Speaker 1: Smith closes the night. A former high school teacher, Smith
- 3:11Speaker 1: built a following through independent album releases and years of touring.
- 3:17Speaker 1: His songs include If I Could Do It Again.
- 3:19Speaker 2: 21, and Drinkin' Again.
- 3:24Speaker 1: Casey's Rides will operate the downtown carnival during the festival.
- 3:29Speaker 1: The festival's ride announcement lists $ 20 wristbands for Wednesday and Thursday,
- 3:34Speaker 1: and for Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. Individual tickets
- 3:38Speaker 1: will be sold Friday evening and throughout Saturday. The posted
- 3:42Speaker 1: prices are $ 1. 50 for one ticket, $ 10 for eight, and
- 3:46Speaker 1: $ 20 for 20. Cash will be accepted. This year's festival
- 3:51Speaker 1: theme is Rooted in Love, Raised in the Mountains. Decorations
- 3:57Speaker 1: made for the occasion are on display along Main Street.
- 4:03Speaker 1: The next headline is Blackie Projects Moving Closer to Construction.
- 4:10Speaker 1: More than four years after the flood of July 28, 2022,
- 4:15Speaker 1: construction of the Blackie Public Library and Blackie Community Center
- 4:19Speaker 1: is expected to begin in the coming weeks. Scott Knoll,
- 4:24Speaker 1: President and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Architects and Engineers,
- 4:28Speaker 1: told the Letcher Fiscal Court this week that he expects
- 4:31Speaker 1: the state to approve the Community Center construction permit within
- 4:35Speaker 1: two weeks. Work can begin after the permit is issued.
- 4:40Speaker 1: As soon as we get that permit released, they'll be
- 4:42Speaker 1: ready to get started on the work, Knowles said. The
- 4:46Speaker 1: contract has already been awarded. Trace Creek Construction of Vanceburg
- 4:51Speaker 1: will manage construction, and Nathan Bailey of Kona will serve
- 4:55Speaker 1: as general contractor. Construction alone is expected to cost $.
- 4:59Speaker 2: 1, 026, 000.
- 4:59Speaker 1: Meanwhile, meeting down the street, the Letcher County Library Board
- 5:07Speaker 1: of Trustees awarded a $ 422, 490 contract for construction of the
- 5:14Speaker 1: Blackie Library to Lewis Brothers Construction of Viper. Letcher County
- 5:20Speaker 1: Library's director, Alita Vogel, said the contractor and architect will
- 5:24Speaker 1: apply for permits. She expects work to begin before the
- 5:28Speaker 1: end of the year, but said the library board will
- 5:30Speaker 1: have to seek additional financing to meet the cost of
- 5:34Speaker 1: repairing the building. The Blackley Library did not have flood insurance,
- 5:38Speaker 1: which reduced the assistance available for its recovery, she said.
- 5:43Speaker 1: We did enough last year, repairs on buildings and maintenance
- 5:46Speaker 1: on buildings, that we have very little reserve, Vogel said.
- 5:51Speaker 1: We were expecting to get enough money this year, but
- 5:53Speaker 1: we don't have it right now. The library district reopened
- 5:57Speaker 1: the Fleming Neon Public Library earlier this year, after it
- 6:01Speaker 1: had been closed since the 2022 flood. It also made
- 6:06Speaker 1: extensive roof repairs and other improvements at the Jenkins Public
- 6:10Speaker 1: Library and replaced windows and plumbing.
- 6:14Speaker 2: At the Harry M.
- 6:14Speaker 1: Caudill Memorial Library in Whitesburg. The Fleming Neon Library carried
- 6:20Speaker 1: flood insurance because of the town's history of flooding. The
- 6:23Speaker 1: work in Jenkins and Whitesburg was not flood-related. Honestly, I
- 6:29Speaker 1: think Blackie Library is a big enough priority that we
- 6:32Speaker 1: need to get financing, Vogel said. Work at the Blackie
- 6:36Speaker 1: Library will include raising the bottoms of the windows above
- 6:40Speaker 1: the floodplain level, removing wood siding from the lower walls,
- 6:45Speaker 1: and replacing it with a waterproof membrane and manufactured stone.
- 6:51Speaker 1: We also learned a lot from Fleming Neon, like flood
- 6:53Speaker 1: mitigation measures, Vogel said. A lot of what we learned
- 6:57Speaker 1: there is going to carry over to Blackie. The library
- 7:02Speaker 1: contract does not include furnishings, which will be bid separately.
- 7:09Speaker 1: The library stands beside the vacant lot where the former
- 7:12Speaker 1: community center was demolished. In the next story, Jenkins asks
- 7:20Speaker 1: court to order houses sold for unpaid tax bills. The
- 7:25Speaker 1: city of Jenkins has filed an unusual court action seeking
- 7:29Speaker 1: enforcement of tax liens and the possible sale of seven
- 7:33Speaker 1: pieces of real estate over delinquent city tax bills, totaling $ 1, 969.
- 7:37Speaker 2: 85.
- 7:38Speaker 1: The amount does not include interest, penalties, attorney fees, and
- 7:45Speaker 1: court costs that have accumulated against the properties. The largest
- 7:50Speaker 1: principal tax debt listed in the case is $ 529.
- 7:53Speaker 2: 62. The smallest is $ 186. 92.
- 7:54Speaker 1: The city filed the action August 12th in Electric Circuit Court.
- 7:56Speaker 1: The case is numbered 26-CI-00223. Rather than seeking personal judgments
- 8:15Speaker 1: against the people listed as owners, Jenkins filed what is
- 8:18Speaker 1: known as an in-rim action, one brought against the real
- 8:22Speaker 1: estate itself. The city is asking the Circuit Court to
- 8:26Speaker 1: enforce its tax and other liens, and unless the debts
- 8:30Speaker 1: are paid or successfully challenged, order the properties sold by
- 8:34Speaker 1: the Letcher County Master Commissioner. The seven properties are identified
- 8:39Speaker 1: as lots 1 through 7 in Block 9, Subdivision 4
- 8:44Speaker 1: in Jenkins. The legal notice lists the following owners and
- 8:49Speaker 1: principal tax amounts.
- 8:51Speaker 2: Kelly Johnson, $ 186. 92. Billy Wells, $ 405.
- 8:52Speaker 1: 04. Bryson Bentley and Mary Ellen Bentley, $ 198. 29.
- 9:05Speaker 2: Bonnie Hale, $ 264. 77, Willard Johnson, $ 529.
- 9:07Speaker 1: 62, Willard Johnson and Kelly Johnson, $ 186.
- 9:08Speaker 2: 92, and Bryson Bentley and Mary Ellen Bentley, $ 198. 29.
- 9:10Speaker 1: The names of those appearing in the city's published notice
- 9:12Speaker 1: and court filing. The notice does not say whether the
- 9:15Speaker 1: properties are occupied or vacant or abandoned, and it does
- 9:37Speaker 1: not identify the tax years covered by the amounts. Under
- 9:42Speaker 1: Kentucky law, a city may file an action in circuit
- 9:45Speaker 1: court to enforce its lien after property taxes have remained
- 9:49Speaker 1: unpaid for at least six months. The Jenkins action does
- 9:53Speaker 1: not seek to collect money directly from the listed property owners.
- 9:57Speaker 1: If the city prevails, however, the properties could be sold
- 10:00Speaker 1: to satisfy the tax lien's accrued interest, penalties, and costs.
- 10:06Speaker 1: Anyone claiming an ownership interest, lien, or other legal interest
- 10:10Speaker 1: in one of the properties may file an answer stating
- 10:14Speaker 1: the nature of that interest and any defense or objection
- 10:17Speaker 1: to enforcement of the city's liens. a property may be
- 10:21Speaker 1: removed from the case before an enforcement sale by paying
- 10:25Speaker 1: the city all principal, interest, penalties, and costs then due,
- 10:29Speaker 1: according to the notice. The notice also says redemption may
- 10:34Speaker 1: be allowed for 60 days after a master commissioner's sale
- 10:38Speaker 1: if the sale price is less than the property's current
- 10:41Speaker 1: assessed value. A person who fails to answer, pay, or
- 10:45Speaker 1: redeem could lose any ownership or lien interest in the property.
- 10:51Speaker 1: City Attorney Calvin R. Tackett is representing Jenkins in the action.
- 10:57Speaker 1: In the next story, Judge Bars Jenkins' Schools from Enforcing
- 11:03Speaker 1: Bans A federal judge has permanently barred the Jenkins Independent
- 11:09Speaker 1: School District Board of Education from enforcing two no-trespass orders
- 11:14Speaker 1: it issued against Letcher County social media personality Elizabeth Jones,
- 11:19Speaker 1: bringing her federal lawsuit against the school district to a close.
- 11:25Speaker 2: U.S. District Judge Karen K.
- 11:27Speaker 1: Caldwell entered an agreed permanent injunction and final judgment Monday,
- 11:32Speaker 1: September 21, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District
- 11:36Speaker 1: of Kentucky. The judgment was entered in Jones' favor and
- 11:40Speaker 1: against the school board on the first two counts of
- 11:43Speaker 1: her amended complaint, both alleging First Amendment retaliation. The order
- 11:49Speaker 1: adopts the reasoning of a July ruling that found Jones
- 11:53Speaker 1: was likely to prevail on those claims. The American Civil
- 11:57Speaker 1: Liberties Union of Kentucky, which represents Jones, said the board
- 12:02Speaker 1: agreed to pay $ 70, 000 for damages and attorney fees. The
- 12:07Speaker 1: amount does not appear in the final judgment, which refers
- 12:10Speaker 1: to a separate settlement agreement between the parties.
- 12:14Speaker 2: Caldwell ordered the board.
- 12:16Speaker 1: including its members, successors, employees, and agents, to permanently stop
- 12:21Speaker 1: enforcing both the original No Trespass Order, issued December 15, 2025,
- 12:28Speaker 1: and a modified order, issued February 5, 2026. The final
- 12:34Speaker 1: judgment dismisses with prejudice Jones' remaining claims against the school board.
- 12:39Speaker 1: It also dismisses with prejudice her individual capacity claims against
- 12:44Speaker 1: Superintendent Damian Johnson and and board members Chris Bentley, Paulette Sexton,
- 12:49Speaker 1: Sarah Brown, Charlotte Mullins, and Patrick Sturgill. A dismissal with
- 12:54Speaker 1: prejudice means those claims cannot be filed again. The parties
- 12:59Speaker 1: will be responsible for their own court costs and attorney's fees,
- 13:03Speaker 1: except as provided in a separate settlement agreement. The judgment
- 13:07Speaker 1: does not disclose any payment or other financial terms that
- 13:11Speaker 1: may be contained in that agreement. The court retained jurisdiction
- 13:16Speaker 1: to enforce the permanent injunction. The judgment disposes of all
- 13:21Speaker 1: parties and claims in the lawsuit. How the dispute began.
- 13:28Speaker 1: Jones filed the case January 5th after the school district
- 13:32Speaker 1: barred her from all district property and school-sponsored activities because
- 13:36Speaker 1: of social media posts involving student-athletes. The district's first order
- 13:43Speaker 1: said Jones's posts appeared to constitute harassment and had disrupted
- 13:47Speaker 1: the educational process. It warned that she would be removed
- 13:51Speaker 1: by law enforcement and that the district would seek criminal
- 13:55Speaker 1: trespass charges if she appeared on school property or at
- 13:59Speaker 1: a district-sponsored activity. The modified order allowed Jones to drop
- 14:05Speaker 1: off and pick up her children, deliver items to them,
- 14:08Speaker 1: attend scheduled parent-teacher conferences and other meetings concerning her children,
- 14:13Speaker 1: and attend school board meetings. It otherwise continued the ban. Jones,
- 14:19Speaker 1: whose children attend Jenkins' schools, argued that the district had
- 14:24Speaker 1: retaliated against her for speech protected by the First Amendment
- 14:27Speaker 1: and and had excluded her without adequate notice or an
- 14:31Speaker 1: opportunity to challenge the action. In granting a preliminary injunction
- 14:37Speaker 1: July 16th, then U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove
- 14:42Speaker 1: described some of Jones's posts as mean and demeaning and tasteless,
- 14:48Speaker 1: but said offensive speech is still protected by the First Amendment.
- 14:53Speaker 1: Van Tatenhove found that an indefinite ban preventing a parent
- 14:56Speaker 1: from attending school activities would likely discourage a person of
- 15:00Speaker 1: ordinary firmness from continuing to speak. He also found it
- 15:05Speaker 1: undisputed that the district issued the bans in response to
- 15:08Speaker 1: Jones' social media activity. The July order prohibited the district
- 15:14Speaker 1: from enforcing either ban while the lawsuit continued. Monday's agreed
- 15:19Speaker 1: judgment made that prohibition permanent. The case was later reassigned
- 15:25Speaker 1: to Caldwell after Van Tatenhove left the federal bench. He
- 15:29Speaker 1: became dean of the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg
- 15:33Speaker 1: College of Law on July 20th, after serving more than
- 15:37Speaker 1: 20 years as a federal judge. Jones was represented by
- 15:42Speaker 1: attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky. The
- 15:46Speaker 1: school district and other defendants were represented by attorneys from English, Lucas, Priest,
- 15:51Speaker 1: and Owsley of Bowling Green. The next story is Injuries
- 15:58Speaker 1: Fatal to Fire Victim. A 79-year-old UZ man injured in
- 16:04Speaker 1: a house fire died September 16th in hospice care. Obituary
- 16:10Speaker 1: information for Daniel Klar was not available. Klar was severely
- 16:15Speaker 1: burned September 13th when the home he and his wife,
- 16:19Speaker 1: Melissa Klar, shared caught fire. He was flown to the
- 16:24Speaker 1: Burns Center at Cabell Huntington Medical Center in West Virginia
- 16:28Speaker 1: with burns over a quarter of his body, and doctors
- 16:31Speaker 1: said he was not strong enough for surgery. Instead, he
- 16:35Speaker 1: was placed in hospice care, where he died last Wednesday.
- 16:39Speaker 1: Letcher Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. The fire
- 16:44Speaker 1: began between 1.30 p.m.
- 16:45Speaker 2: And 1.45 p.m. on Sunday, September 13th.
- 16:50Speaker 1: The 911 dispatch center at the Kentucky State Police Post
- 16:53Speaker 1: in Hazard dispatched Kings Creek Volunteer Fire Department to the
- 16:58Speaker 1: home at 2211 Highway 588 in the UZ community at 1.47 p.m.
- 17:05Speaker 1: An ambulance dispatched a couple minutes later from Neon Fire
- 17:09Speaker 1: Rescue arrived first and transported Clark to a helicopter for
- 17:13Speaker 1: the flight to Huntington. Kings Creek requested mutual aid from
- 17:18Speaker 1: the Sand Lake Volunteer Fire Department and requested an all-call
- 17:23Speaker 1: for county fire departments, but that call was not sent. Eventually,
- 17:28Speaker 1: tanker trucks, fire engines, and personnel from Kings Creek, Whitesburg,
- 17:33Speaker 1: May King, Sand Lake, and Jenkins fire departments all were
- 17:37Speaker 1: called to the scene to assist, while Letcher and Gordon
- 17:41Speaker 1: stayed at their stations in case there was another fire.
- 17:45Speaker 1: firefighters remained at the Klar home until 4.30 p.m. Kings
- 17:50Speaker 1: Creek Fire Chief David Bentley said medical oxygen, propane tanks,
- 17:55Speaker 1: and a lack of usable hydrants nearby exacerbated the severity
- 17:59Speaker 1: of the fire, but the lack of water would not
- 18:02Speaker 1: have saved Klar, who was out of the house when
- 18:05Speaker 1: firefighters arrived. The next story is KRADD explains delays in
- 18:14Speaker 1: Cumberland Water Project.
- 18:17Speaker 2: Bids for construction.
- 18:18Speaker 1: Of a water treatment plant intended to serve the Cumberland
- 18:22Speaker 1: River area of Letcher County could be sought within two
- 18:25Speaker 1: to three months if no additional problems arise. That was
- 18:30Speaker 1: the message the Kentucky River Area Development District brought to
- 18:33Speaker 1: the Letcher Fiscal Court on Monday while explaining why the
- 18:37Speaker 1: project has taken so long. Projects can take three to
- 18:41Speaker 1: five years to reach construction after a local government receives
- 18:45Speaker 1: one of the large ceremonial checks announcing a grant, said
- 18:49Speaker 1: Jennifer McIntosh, KRADD's Associate Director of Community and Economic Development.
- 18:56Speaker 1: Property acquisition, environmental reviews, design, engineering, and construction bidding all
- 19:02Speaker 1: take time, McIntosh said. The Cumberland Project has encountered all
- 19:07Speaker 1: of those issues, but property problems caused the longest delays.
- 19:12Speaker 2: Judge, you can correct me.
- 19:14Speaker 1: I think we're on our fourth or fifth piece of
- 19:16Speaker 1: property now, she said. The first site, selected for a
- 19:20Speaker 1: water tank, was not high enough to provide adequate water
- 19:23Speaker 1: pressure throughout the service area, forcing officials to redesign the project,
- 19:28Speaker 1: McIntosh said. An archaeological site was then discovered on the
- 19:33Speaker 1: property where the treatment plant was to be built. Federal
- 19:37Speaker 1: funds cannot be used for a project that disturbs such
- 19:40Speaker 1: a site. A later landowner decided not to sell, requiring
- 19:45Speaker 1: officials to look elsewhere again.
- 19:49Speaker 2: By the time suitable property.
- 19:50Speaker 1: Was located, the estimated cost of the plant had increased
- 19:54Speaker 1: from the original $ 14 million budget to $ 17 million. So
- 19:59Speaker 1: now we're going to be held up again because we're
- 20:02Speaker 1: $ 3 million short, McIntosh said. So this has become another
- 20:06Speaker 1: issue for us in the battle of getting a water
- 20:08Speaker 1: treatment plant here in Letcher County that can service the
- 20:11Speaker 1: areas that we can't service. She called the proposed Cumberland
- 20:17Speaker 1: River plant the longest standing project in history. I feel
- 20:21Speaker 1: like it's necessary to explain why some of these holdups
- 20:24Speaker 1: are happening for you, McIntosh said. Again, there are a
- 20:28Speaker 1: lot of moving parts that are happening. You're just not
- 20:31Speaker 1: seeing them. Your public's not seeing them. And I know
- 20:35Speaker 1: that it's hard for you to explain this because you're
- 20:37Speaker 1: not getting this explanation. McIntosh said work can begin on
- 20:42Speaker 1: the Cumberland side of the project after money from the U.S.
- 20:46Speaker 1: Department of Housing and Urban Development is released. The completed
- 20:50Speaker 1: project is expected to serve about 200 households. McIntosh also
- 20:56Speaker 1: updated the court on several other water and sewer projects.
- 21:00Speaker 1: The millstone septic system replacement was delayed. after the Letcher
- 21:05Speaker 1: County Water and Sewer District's attorney resigned and the board
- 21:09Speaker 1: had difficulty finding a replacement. A new attorney has been hired,
- 21:13Speaker 1: McIntosh said, and work can begin after federal paperwork is completed.
- 21:19Speaker 1: The project will replace an experimental system installed in the
- 21:22Speaker 1: early 2000s that used peat to treat sewage effluent from
- 21:27Speaker 1: several former coal camp houses near the mouth of Millstone.
- 21:31Speaker 1: That system has failed. A water project in Loggie Hollow
- 21:36Speaker 1: at Dry Fork is awaiting a grant agreement from the state.
- 21:41Speaker 1: McIntosh said the project is expected to be ready for
- 21:44Speaker 1: bids in October. A water system at Turkey Creek on
- 21:49Speaker 1: Line Fork is being designed. The Abandoned Mine Lands program
- 21:54Speaker 1: will begin an environmental assessment after the design is complete,
- 21:57Speaker 1: McIntosh said. The review is expected to take three to
- 22:01Speaker 1: six months. Water lines in the Roxana area, paid for
- 22:07Speaker 1: by the federal government in connection with a proposed federal prison,
- 22:10Speaker 1: have been completed. McIntosh said the federal government has promised
- 22:15Speaker 1: additional money next year. KRADD also is working to develop
- 22:20Speaker 1: a sewage treatment plant and sewer lines in the area.
- 22:25Speaker 1: Judge Executive Terry Adams thanked McIntosh for explaining the big
- 22:29Speaker 1: checks we can't take.
- 22:30Speaker 2: To the bank.
- 22:32Speaker 1: The general public thinks that this is money in the bank,
- 22:35Speaker 1: but it's not, Adams said. It's just an approval of
- 22:38Speaker 1: that funding, and that starts the process that is drawn
- 22:42Speaker 1: out a lot more than what we want it to be.
- 22:44Speaker 1: But that's just part of it. The next story is
- 22:49Speaker 1: Breath It Rolls Past Cougars Playing without starting quarterback Gunnar Holbrook,
- 22:56Speaker 1: Letcher County Central fell behind Breathitt County and could not
- 22:59Speaker 1: recover as the Bobcats defeated the Cougars 61-25 Friday night
- 23:04Speaker 1: at Cougar Stadium. The loss dropped Letcher Central to 3-2
- 23:09Speaker 1: for the season. Breathitt County improved to 4-1. The next
- 23:14Speaker 1: story is Lady Cougars sweep three matches in three nights.
- 23:20Speaker 1: The Letcher County Central Lady Cougars volleyball team won three
- 23:24Speaker 1: road matches on three consecutive nights last week, sweeping all
- 23:28Speaker 1: three opponents without.
- 23:29Speaker 2: Losing a set.
- 23:31Speaker 1: LCC defeated county rival Jenkins 3-0 on Tuesday, September 15,
- 23:36Speaker 1: then traveled to Leslie County and won 3-0 the following night.
- 23:41Speaker 1: The Lady Cougars completed the three-night run Thursday with another
- 23:45Speaker 1: 3-0 victory at June Buchanan. The victories extended Letcher Central's
- 23:51Speaker 1: winning streak to four matches and improved its record to 13-5-1,
- 23:56Speaker 1: according to the latest available schedule listing.
- 24:01Speaker 2: The next item is a.
- 24:02Speaker 1: Photograph captioned, First Freshman to Reach 1,000 Digs. Piper Adams,
- 24:09Speaker 1: Letcher County Central's libero, poses after recording her 1,000th career
- 24:14Speaker 1: dig during the Ashland Invitational on August 29th. The milestone
- 24:20Speaker 1: came against Rowland County and made the 15-year-old the first
- 24:23Speaker 1: freshman in KHSAA volleyball history to reach 1,000 career digs.
- 24:30Speaker 1: The libero is a back row defensive specialist who ordinarily
- 24:33Speaker 1: wears a different colored jersey from her teammates. A dig
- 24:37Speaker 1: is recorded when a player prevents an opponent's attack, usually
- 24:40Speaker 1: a spike, from hitting the floor and keeps the ball
- 24:43Speaker 1: in play. Adams is the daughter of Lacey and Larry
- 24:47Speaker 1: Adams of Isom, the granddaughter of Maureen and Dennis Church
- 24:51Speaker 1: of Eolia, and Estella Adams of Perk Creek, and the
- 24:55Speaker 1: niece of Jenna Schaefer of Isom.
- 24:59Speaker 2: The next headline is.
- 25:00Speaker 1: Balanced attack helps carry Lady Cavs to a 12-4 record.
- 25:06Speaker 1: The Jenkins Lady Cavaliers have entered the second half of
- 25:09Speaker 1: the volleyball season with a 12-4 record after winning three
- 25:13Speaker 1: of their last five matches. Jenkins' latest victory came Thursday,
- 25:18Speaker 1: September 17th, when the Lady Cavaliers defeated visiting Phelps in
- 25:22Speaker 1: four sets. And next, LCC girls continue dominant soccer season.
- 25:31Speaker 1: The Letcher County Central Lady Cougars continued their dominant season
- 25:35Speaker 1: with three consecutive victories, improving their record to 10-1, while
- 25:40Speaker 1: outscoring Pikeville, Hazard, and Pike County Central by a combined 17-1.
- 25:46Speaker 1: Letcher Central defeated Pikeville 3-1 on September 15th, shut out
- 25:51Speaker 1: Hazard 3-0 on September 17th, and overwhelmed Pike County Central
- 25:56Speaker 1: 11-0 on September 19th. Through 11 matches, the Lady Cougars
- 26:02Speaker 1: have outscored their opponents 62-6 and recorded seven shutouts. The
- 26:09Speaker 1: next story is Young Scorers Power Boys to 8-5-1 record.
- 26:16Speaker 1: scoring combination has helped carry the Letcher County Central Boys
- 26:20Speaker 1: soccer team to an 8-5-1 record, entering the final weeks
- 26:24Speaker 1: of the regular season. Freshman Isaiah Kaiser and sophomore Zyler
- 26:29Speaker 1: Sexton have combined for 31 goals through the Cougars' first
- 26:34Speaker 1: 14 matches. The Cougars have scored 45 goals while allowing 34,
- 26:40Speaker 1: an average of slightly more than three goals scored and 2.4
- 26:43Speaker 1: allowed per match. The next headline is, Cumberland Valley bills
- 26:51Speaker 1: to rise $ 2. 40 for six months. PSC adjustment recovers earlier
- 26:58Speaker 1: environmental surcharge shortfall. Cumberland Valley electric customers, including those in
- 27:05Speaker 1: Letcher County, will see an estimated $ 2. 40 added to their
- 27:09Speaker 1: monthly electric bills for six months under an environmental surcharge
- 27:14Speaker 1: adjustment approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission. The temporary
- 27:19Speaker 1: increase is not a new general rate increase. Instead, it
- 27:23Speaker 1: is intended to recover $ 411, 000 that Cumberland Valley previously collected
- 27:28Speaker 1: less of than ultimately was determined to be recoverable through
- 27:32Speaker 1: an environmental surcharge passed along from its wholesale power supplier,
- 27:36Speaker 1: East Kentucky Power Cooperative. The PSC approved spreading Cumberland Valley's $ 411, 000
- 27:42Speaker 1: shortfall over six months to or approximately $ 68, 000 per month.
- 27:49Speaker 1: The Commission estimates the resulting monthly bill impact at $ 2.
- 27:53Speaker 2: 40.
- 27:54Speaker 1: That would amount to about $ 14. 40 over the six-month period
- 28:00Speaker 1: for a customer experiencing the PSC's estimated monthly impact. And
- 28:07Speaker 1: this concludes the reading of The Mountain Eagle. Your reader
- 28:10Speaker 1: has been Bill VanArsdell. Now, please stay tuned for continued programming.
- 28:16Speaker 1: On behalf of everyone here at Radio Eye, thank you
- 28:19Speaker 1: for listening, and have a good day.