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(Whitesburg) Mountain Eagle - 2.12.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
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from Whitesburg. Your reader today is Bill and Arsdale. We
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will begin with the addition dated February twelfth, twenty twenty six,
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which the publishers have donated to Radio Eye 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 headline is a relief from
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the cold and maybe from higher power bills. It's a
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safe bet to say few people were happier with Tuesday's
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sixty five degree temperatures than those of us living in
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the twenty counties in eastern Kentucky served by a Kentucky
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Power company, which is seeking permission to increase its already
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high monthly rates. While cooler weather was expected to return
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to Electric County Wednesday and Thursday, above freezing temperatures are
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forecast to be the norm from Friday through at least
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next Tuesday. Meanwhile, this week's edition of The Mountain Eagle
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has more Kentucky power related news. The next story is
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local law office helping fight Kentucky Power's rate hike. Several
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community and consumer organizations are urging state regulators to reject
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Kentucky Power Company's request for another electric rate increase, arguing
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the proposal would further burden households in eastern Kentucky and
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failed to address the utility's long term challenges. In a
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post hearing brief filed with the Kentucky Public Service Commission,
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the groups Appalachian Citizens Law Center of Whitesburg, Kentuckians for
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the Commonwealth, Kentucky's Solar Energy Society, and Mountain Association said
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the region is caught in a cycle of of rising
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rates and declining population that harms both customers and the company.
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When you raise rates in a region that's already losing
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people and jobs, you don't stabilize the system, You shrink it,
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said Byron L. Garry, an attorney with the Kentucky Resources Council,
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which represents the groups. That leaves fewer customers paying higher
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bills and sets the stage for the next increase. Kentucky
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Power is seeking its third base rate increase in about
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five years, in addition to fuel charges and other search
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charges already included on monthly bills.
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Speaker 2: High rates high usage.
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Speaker 1: According to the filing, Kentucky Power already has the highest
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average residential electric rates among investor owned utilities regulated by
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the Commission. Customers in the company's service territory also use
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more electricity than most households elsewhere in the state. The
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groups said that combination reflects structural conditions rather than excessive consumption.
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People aren't using more electricity because they're careless, said Tom
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fitz Fitzgerald, director of the Kentucky Resources Council. They're living
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in older homes, many with electric heat and poor insulation.
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Usage is high because efficiency is low. The brief states
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that many households struggle during winter months, sometimes limiting heating
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to reduce bills that consume a large share of household income.
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Repeated increases are questioned. Kentucky Power has told regulators that
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higher rates are needed to maintain reliable service. The interveners
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countered that repeated increases may worsen the company's long term
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outlook by accelerating customer loss.
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Speaker 2: Each increase makes it harder for.
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Speaker 1: People to stay and harder for the company to maintain
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a stable customer base, said Ashley Willis, a staff attorney
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with the Kentucky Resources Council. That's the cycle we're asking
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the Commission to break. The filing also notes that Kentucky
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Power's parent company, American Electric Power, has reported strong profits
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in recent years and announced large capital investment plans. It
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raises serious questions when customers here are told they must
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pay more to keep the system running while the parent
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company reports record earnings, Wilms said. Disputes over cost savings,
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rate design. Kentucky Power has said it has taken steps
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to control costs, but the group's dispute that claim, citing
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increases in operating, maintenance, and transmission expenses. They also note
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the company filed for the current increase before the previous
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rate change was fully implemented. If the cost controls were working,
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we wouldn't be back here so quick, Fitzgerald said. The
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interveners also criticized the company's proposed residential rate design, saying
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it would benefit high usage customers while increasing bills for
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average households more than advertised. This design rewards higher usage
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at a time when the Commission has said reducing winter
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demand should be a priority.
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Speaker 2: Gary said.
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Speaker 1: Prepayd plan liability language challenged. The filing also raises concerns
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about Kentucky powers proposed pre paid billing option known as flexpay,
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which would require customers to pay for electricity in advance.
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Pre pay shifts risk onto customers who are already struggling,
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said Roger Colton, an energy affordability expert who testified for
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the interveners. It removes the cushion people rely on when
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money is tight. The groups also object to proposed tariff
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language they say could limit customer's ability to seek compensation
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for injuries or property damage related to electric service. A
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utility tariff shouldn't be used to weaken customers legal rights, Grey,
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said Attorney General. Settlement still raises bills too much. The
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office of Kentucky Attorney General Russell also opposes the proposed
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rate increase and declined to join the settlement agreement, arguing
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it relies on short term credits while locking in higher
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rates long term. In filings with the Commission, the Attorney
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General said the settlement still produces rate increases that many
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households cannot afford, particularly in eastern Kentucky, where electric bills
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are already among the highest in the state. The Attorney
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General's office criticized the use of deferred tax credits to
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reduce bills in the first two years, noting that the
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credits expire while the higher bid rates remain in place.
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The office also raised concern about proposed changes to residential
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rate design and prepaid billing, warning both changes could shift
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risk onto customers without meaningfully reducing overall costs. Calls for alternatives.
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Rather than approving another rate increase, the interveners urged the
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Commission to require Kentucky Power to pursue long term affordability measures,
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including programs to help customers pay down pass due balances,
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and expanded energy efficiency and weatherization efforts. You can't rate
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design your way out of poverty, Colton said, lowering energy
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used through efficiency is the only sustainable way to lower bills.
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Decision pending. The Public Service Commission will review briefs and
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testimony from all parties before issuing a decision later this year.
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This case is about more than a single rate increase,
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Wilms said. It's about whether Eastern Kentucky continues down a
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path of rising bills or whether regulators insist on a
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different approach. The next headline is company defends rate request.
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Kentucky Power Company is urging state regulators to approve a
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proposed rate increase in settlement agreement, arguing the plan is
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necessary to maintain reliable electric service in eastern Kentucky while
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limiting bill impacts for customers. In a forty four page
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post heering brief filed with the Kentucky Public Service Commission,
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the utility said declining population, falling electricity sales, and rising
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infrastructure costs have weakened its financial position and made a
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rate adjustment unavoidable. Kentucky Power is seeking its third base
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rate increase in about five years. Company officials save the
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request reflects the actual cost of providing service in a rural,
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mountainous region with high poverty rates and aging infrastructure. Kentucky
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Powers service territory is unique in its terrain and customer
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socioeconomic status, the company wrote, noting that both customer counts
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and electricity usage continue to decline. Financial stability cited as
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key issue. Kentucky Power said the rate increase is needed
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to maintain financial stability and attract capital required to keep
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the electric system safe and reliable. It is vital that
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the company be allowed a reasonable rate increase that also
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includes the opportunity to earn a reasonable rate of return.
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Cynthia Wiseman, Kentucky Power's president and chief operating officer, said
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in testimony cited in the brief, that allows us to
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continue to attract affordable capital and provide the safe and
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reliable service customers deserve. The company sid its credit ratings
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are near the bottom of the investment grade range and
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warned that continued under earning could raise borrowing costs and
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limit future investment. Continued or sustained poor financial performance will
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adversely affect the capital available to the company and the
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cost of that capital, the brief states. Settlement, highlighted as
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customer protection, a central focus of Kentucky Powers filing, is
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a settlement agreement reached with Kentucky Industrial Utility Customers Incorporated
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and the Kentucky Solar Energy Industries Association. The company urged
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the Commission to approve the agreement without modification. Under the settlement,
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the total revenue increase would be reduced from about ninety
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five point six million dollars to seventy seven point four
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million dollars.
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Speaker 2: Kentucky Power sid.
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Speaker 1: The agreement also includes ties temporary bill credits funded through
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deferred tax liabilities, which the company said would reduce customer
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bills during the first two years. The settlement agreement provides
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the Commission with a middle ground, said Tanner Wolfram, Kentucky
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Power's director of regulatory Services. It balances the Kentucky's financial
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needs with customer's ability to pay. Kentucky Power estimated residential
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customers will see an average bill increase of about seven
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percent in the first year, rising gradually in later years
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as the temporary credits expire. These benefits are only available
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if the settlement agreement is approved in its.
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Speaker 2: Entirety, the company wrote.
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Speaker 1: Kentucky Power also asked the Commission to approve a pre
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paid billing option known as flexpay. The company said the
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program would give customers more control over energy use and
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payment timing. Flexpay benefits customers by providing flexible ability and
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greater insight into energy usage, the company wrote, adding that
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similar programs have been successfully implemented by other utilities. Reliability
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costs emphasized. The filing places significant emphasis on reliability, particularly
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vegetation management and storm related expenses. Kentucky Power said trees
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outside rights of way remain the leading cause of outages
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in its service territory. As part of the settlement, Kentucky
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Power agreed to defer some vegetation related capital spending while
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gaining the ability to defer future costs for later review.
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The company also supported including two million dollars in annual
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storm costs in base rates, citing recent Commission orders that
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limited its ability to recover non major storm expenses. The
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next story is new filing seeks to bull strict case
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for former sheriff's testimony in case against his ex deputy.
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Attorneys for Sabrina Atkins on Tuesday filed a detailed supplemental
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motion in federal court outlining what testimony they expect from
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former Electric County Sheriff Mickey Steins, after a magistrate judge
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denied an earlier request to have Steins transported to testify
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a trial.
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Speaker 2: The filing, submitted in U.
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Speaker 1: S District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, responds
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to an order by Magistrate Judge Edward B. Atkins, who
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ruled last week that the plaintiff had not adequately explained
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the necessity of Steins's testimony in a civil lawsuit against
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the Letcher County Sheriff's Department and former deputy Ben Fields. Steins,
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who is incarcerated on a murder charge in the shooting death.
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Speaker 2: Of District Judge Kevin R.
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Speaker 1: Mullens, is identified in the case as the final policymaker
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for the Sheriff's office during the period at issue. In
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the supplemental filing, Atkins's attorney, Joe Childers, listed seventeen specific
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areas of expected testimony, including allegations that the Sheriff's department
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failed to conduct required training on sexual misconduct, did not
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enforce secondary employment policies, handled complaints informally rather than through
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written procedures, and lacked an internal affairs function. Motion also
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claims Stein's would testify that he recommended Fields for employment
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with East Kentucky Correctional Services and was aware that Fields
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performed EKCS duties while wearing a Sheriff's deputy uniform. According
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to the filing, Steins is expected to acknowledge that Fields
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violated departmental sexual misconduct policies and that the department did
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not discipline employees for sexually explicit communications exchanged among deputies.
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Magistrate Judge Atkins, no relation to Sabrina Atkins, had denied
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the original motion without prejudice, allowing the planet to refile
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with greater detail. The court has not yet ruled on
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the renewed request. Sabrina Atkins alleges that Fields coerced her
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into having sex in exchange for reducing or waiving home
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incarceration monitoring fees while she was on bond. Fields has
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denied the allegations, but pleaded guilty in Lecture Circuit Court
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to third degree rape, third degree sodomy, tampering with a
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prisoner monitoring device, and second degree perjury. The civil trial
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is scheduled to begin March fourth in London. Fields moonlighted
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as a home incarceration supervisor for East Kentucky Correction Services Incorporated,
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which was one of the original defendants in the case,
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and provided electronic monitoring devices ankle bracelets to persons required
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to wear them as a condition of their bond. The
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case revolves around Atkins's claim that Fields coursed her into
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having sex in exchange for not paying her home monitoring
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fees when she was released on bond after being arrested
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on a drug charge. Fields claims in the civil suit
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that Atkins pursued him, including sending pictures of her chest
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to him on text messages. Whether or not Fields's claim
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that Atkins seduced him as found to be true in
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the civil case, Kentucky law makes it a crime for
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a person to have sex with someone over whom they
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have authority. Fields pleaded guilty and Lecter Circuit Court to
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third degree rape, third degree sodomy, two counts of tampering
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with a prisoner monitoring device, and second degree perjury. He
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was sentenced to seven years, with six months to be
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served in the Lectra County Jail where he worked before
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becoming a court security officer, and the other six and
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a half years probated. He is now serving that probationary time.
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Eastern Kentucky Correction Service Incorporated of South Shore settled with
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Atkins last month. While the order dismissing the case against
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e KCS says both parties will pay their own legal fees,
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other terms of the settlement have.
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Speaker 2: Not been disclosed.
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Speaker 1: Atkins is now intending to raise money online, starting a
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gofund me account asking for eight hundred dollars. So far,
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she has raised twenty dollars. Atkins has posted links to
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the account several times over the past few days, asking
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for money, saying she has suffered nightmares and panic attacks.
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The money, she said would be used to pay legal fees,
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motel costs, and travel expenses related to her lawsuit. The
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financial burden of legal fees, now exceeding one hundred fifty
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thousand dollars has been crippling Atkins. The next headline is
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ex inmate says money is behind most courthouse rumors.
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Speaker 2: Note.
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Speaker 1: The Mountain Eagle is publishing this story because unverified allegations
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circulating on social media have raised serious questions within our
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community about events connected to the Letter County Courthouse and
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the killing of District Judge Kevin R.
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Speaker 2: Mullins.
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Speaker 1: The judge at the center of these rumors is deceased
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and cannot respond. For that reason, we have taken care
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to clearly distinguish between documented facts, personal opinions, and unproven claims,
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and we have sought comment from those named. Readers are
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encouraged to approach all information, especially that encountered online, with
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caution and critical judgment. A former inmate of the Lectri
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County Jail says revenge, attention, and money are motivating the
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spread of rumors and unverified allegations of sexual abuse connected
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to the Letcher County Courthouse. She has also provided an
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audio recording to The Mountain Eagle that she says reflects
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the motivations of people spreading those allegations.
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Speaker 2: Letcher District judge Kevin R.
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Speaker 1: Mullens, who was shot to death in his chambers by
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then sheriff Sean Nicky Steins on September nineteen, twenty twenty four.
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The shooting occurred shortly after a deposition given by Steins
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in a lawsuit whose core allegation is that Mullins's bailiff
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entered the courthouse after hours and had sex for the
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woman who had been released on bond with electronic monitoring.
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While the lawsuit contains no allegation that Mullins was involved,
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the timing of Steins's deposition and the killing fueled online
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rumors and accusations against the judge. The salacious nature of
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the lawsuit, combined with the killing of a judge by
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the official charge with protecting him, triggered intense speculation across
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social media, true crime podcasts, video blogs, and tabloid television.
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No criminal charge, civil claim, or sworn testimony has accused
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Mullens of sexual misconduct. The fact that Mullins is dead
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and cannot defend himself does not sit well with Randy Holbrook.
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In and out of juvenile court, Holbrook transitioned to adult
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court when she came of age, and eventually spent fifty
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two months in prison for a felony conviction of promoting
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contraband after being found in position of metham famine while
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in jail. Now thirty one years old, married, sober, and
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living in Alabama, Holbrook said she still has deep roots
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in Letcher County. She has been defending the late judge
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on social media and agreed to speak with the newspaper
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about why she has taken a position opposite that of
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former inmates with whom she spent years in jail and prison. Holbrook,
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who was an honors student and athlete during her high
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school years, said she stepped forward because she knows what
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it is like to be falsely accused of a sex
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crime and believes such behavior would have been completely out
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of character for Mullins. I've been dealing with him since
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I was fifteen or sixteen years old in truancy court,
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and he was always good to me, Holbrook said. He
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was never out of the way with me, and I
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do have a little rough history with drugs and things.
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Because of her experience, she said she understands how Mullins's
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family and others connected to the courthouse may feel about
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the rumors now circulating online. Hilbrook said she also respected
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former sheriff sewn Mickey Steins, what was horrified by video
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showing him shooting Mullins in the judges chambers. Murder is murder,
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she said. She said she is particularly troubled by allegations
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being spread online by Tya Adams, with whom Hohl spent
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approximately five years in jail and state prison. Holbrook said
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Adams told her she never had sex with Mullins, but
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did have sex with another man whose first name Adams
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used in conversation. Holbrook said she believes the man was
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an attorney who represented Adams, but provided no documentation to
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support that belief. Holbrook said she believes Adams would have
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told her if she had ever been involved with Mullins,
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as Adams now claims she was, beginning at age sixteen.
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I don't know if Kevin was always moral in his career,
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but I know he.
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Speaker 2: Was a good judge. Holbrook said. He was fair.
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Speaker 1: He put a lot of kids back on the right track,
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and he put a lot of kids back with their families.
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Holbrook said she believes people spreading the allegations are motivated
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by the belief that sensational claims can generate attention and
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income online. She said she has heard former acquaintances say
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as much, and that some have attempted to recruit her
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to participate. She also said Adams attempted to persuade her
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to share stories about the judge and jail employees, but
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she refused. Holbrook supplied screenshots of text messages that appear
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to show exchanges between her and Adams. That's what Tia
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is doing, Holbrook said, She's trying to make it go
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viral and make money on YouTube. I believe in karma man,
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and it's going to come back on them. YouTube allows
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users to earn money by attracting viewers to their videos.
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When a channel becomes popular, YouTube places advertising on the
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videos and pays.
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Speaker 2: The creator a share of the revenue.
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Speaker 1: Additional income can come from donations or paid subscriptions. Videos
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that draw strong emotional reactions often get more views, which
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can create incentives to exaggerate or spread unverified information. When
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asked whether she could sup intentiate her claims about motivation,
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Holbrook provided a screen recording from her phone's messaging application.
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The recording shows a conversation with Taia. Identified at the
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top of the screen. The profanity laced recording, which has
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been heavily redacted, does not reference Judge Mullins by name
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and does not constitute proof of any specific allegation. In
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a portion of the recording, she says she is fed
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up with them and it is finally time for us
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to get paid for all that bs they put us through.
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Reached for comment Monday, Adams said she wasn't talking about
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real money when she said that she and other women
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who have served time in the county jail deserve to
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be paid. Adam said she was instead talking about the
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need for law enforcement officers, court officials, and state social
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workers to be held accountable for the wrongdoings she believes
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they have done to her and other women who were
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jailed for drug offenses. I don't want to get paid,
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Adam said, I just want my children and I want
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my freedom.
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Speaker 2: That's all I've ever wanted. Adams, who co hosts a YouTube.
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Speaker 1: Channel called Appalachian Dreams, is the mother of four children,
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three of whom she is not allowed to have contact with.
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She says she is on court ordered probation until two
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thousand ninety nine unless she pays off child support obligations
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before then. All I'm fighting for is my kids, she said,
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and some one is going to have to be held accountable.
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Holbrook recalled encountering Mullins at gas stations and grocery stores
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prior to his death. She said he spoke openly about
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his faith and consistently encouraged her to get off drugs.
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Mullins was also the judge who referred her case to
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the Lecture County Grand Jury, which later indicted her on
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a felony drug charge that resulted in a five year
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prison sentence. Even though he was a judge and had
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to send me upstairs to circuit court, he did what.
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Speaker 2: He had to do, she said.
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Speaker 1: He treated me like a huge when I saw him
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outside the court house. He always told me I could
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do better. I don't believe the stories about Judge Mullins,
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but I can't say they are impossible, she added, from
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my experience, there's no way. This concludes the reading of
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The Mountain Eagle. Your reader has been Bill and Arsenal.
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Now please stay tuned for continued programming on behalf of
26:23
everyone here at radio. I thank you for listening, and
26:27
have a good day.