Latest / Eastern Kentucky Newspapers / Hazard Herald - 8.30.26

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Hazard Herald - 8.30.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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  Speaker 1: Now we turn to the reading of the Hazard Herald
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  Speaker 1: for news of hazard in Perry County. I'm Lee Townsend.
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  Speaker 1: We begin with the online edition dated August 26, 2026.
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  Speaker 1: As a reminder, Radio Eye is a reading service intended
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  Speaker 1: for people who are blind or have other disabilities that
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  Speaker 1: make it difficult to read printed material. ARH Foundation awards $ 5, 000
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  Speaker 1: grant to Hazard Fire Department. The Hazard Fire Department has
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  Speaker 1: received a $ 5, 000 community grant from the ARH Foundation for
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  Speaker 1: Healthier Communities. The funding, according to a statement from ARH,
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  Speaker 1: will support critical communications upgrades that will benefit residents of
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  Speaker 1: hazard and surrounding communities. The statement said the grant will
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  Speaker 1: help replace the department's aging radio antenna and tower cable,
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  Speaker 1: strengthening communications between first responders during fires, accidents, natural disasters,
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  Speaker 1: and other emergencies. The grant will help ensure first responders
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  Speaker 1: have the tools they need to do their job safely
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  Speaker 1: and effectively, said Leslie Hammer, Executive Director of ARH Foundation
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  Speaker 1: for Healthier Communities. Clear, dependable communication can make all the
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  Speaker 1: difference during an emergency. We are proud to support a
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  Speaker 1: project that will strengthen emergency response and benefit families for
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  Speaker 1: years to come. The statement said the ARH Foundation's community
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  Speaker 1: grant program supports nonprofit organizations and government agencies working to
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  Speaker 1: improve health, safety, and quality of life throughout eastern Kentucky
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  Speaker 1: and southern West Virginia. By investing in projects that address
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  Speaker 1: local needs, the program said, the foundation helps strengthen the
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  Speaker 1: communities served by Appalachian Regional Health Care. We're proud to
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  Speaker 1: invest in the safety of our community, said Brian Springate,
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  Speaker 1: CEO of Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center. ARH and the
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  Speaker 1: ARH Foundation are committed to improving the health and well-being
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  Speaker 1: of the people and communities that we serve. The ARH
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  Speaker 1: Foundation for Healthier Communities grant program, the statement said, is
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  Speaker 1: funded by donors and provides up to $ 5, 000 to nonprofit
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  Speaker 1: organizations and public agencies working to improve well-being across Appalachian
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  Speaker 1: Regional Health Care Service Region. Fiscal Court Reduces Property Tax Rate.
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  Speaker 1: The Perry County Fiscal Court voted in a special meeting
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  Speaker 1: on August 25th to reduce its property tax slightly. During
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  Speaker 1: the meeting, the court voted unanimously to reduce its rate
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  Speaker 1: from 10.7 cents per hundred dollars of assessed value to 10.5
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  Speaker 1: percent per hundred dollars of assessed value. Perry County Judge
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  Speaker 1: Executive Scott Alexander said that while he recognizes the reduction
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  Speaker 1: may not be large for taxpayers, it's reflective of positive
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  Speaker 1: movement within the county. It has to help a little,
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  Speaker 1: Alexander said. Maybe it's only a dollar or two, but
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  Speaker 1: we're headed in the right direction. As we continue to
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  Speaker 1: see new growth from our tax base, it will continue
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  Speaker 1: to grow, and it will help us to try to
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  Speaker 1: lower taxes for our citizens. The reduction, he said, will
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  Speaker 1: not affect community services. The biggest part of our services
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  Speaker 1: lately has been dealing with disasters, he said, adding those
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  Speaker 1: projects are funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and
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  Speaker 1: are first funded by the county, then reimbursed through FEMA.
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  Speaker 1: Alexander said the county does not set the others taxing
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  Speaker 1: bodies rates, such as those set by the school districts.
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  Speaker 1: but those will be sent to the county for acknowledgement
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  Speaker 1: at a future meeting. We do not set everyone else's rate,
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  Speaker 1: he said. We acknowledge their rate so that one tax
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  Speaker 1: bill can be sent out. Perry County Sheriff's Office donates
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  Speaker 1: equipment to Perry County Schools Police Agency. The Perry County
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  Speaker 1: Sheriff's Office has donated firearms, protective equipment, and patrol vehicles
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  Speaker 1: to the newly established Perry County Schools Police Department helping
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  Speaker 1: outfit the agency as it prepares to provide school security
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  Speaker 1: throughout the district. Sheriff Joe Engel said establishing a law
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  Speaker 1: enforcement presence in every county school was among his earliest
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  Speaker 1: priorities after taking office. One of the first goals I
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  Speaker 1: was able to achieve once elected sheriff was having a
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  Speaker 1: school resource officer placed in every school in Perry County's
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  Speaker 1: district beginning day one in 2019, said Engel. Engel said
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  Speaker 1: the Sheriff's Office continued investing in equipment for its deputies
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  Speaker 1: and the school resources officers during the years that followed,
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  Speaker 1: despite operating with limited resources. With very limited resources as
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  Speaker 1: a small eastern Kentucky Sheriff's Office, over the next seven
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  Speaker 1: years we were able to equip our deputies and resource
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  Speaker 1: officers with top-of-the-line equipment, he said. Following the Perry County
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  Speaker 1: School District's decision to establish its own police agency, Engel
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  Speaker 1: said the Sheriff's Office saw an opportunity to assist the
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  Speaker 1: department as it prepared to assume responsibility for school security.
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  Speaker 1: When Perry County Schools contacted us about starting their own
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  Speaker 1: police agency, I thought it was a great idea for
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  Speaker 1: them and wanted to help them get started, Engel said.
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  Speaker 1: PCSO was able to donate eight handguns, duty belts with
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  Speaker 1: all the equipment, eight rifles, ballistic vests, and four cruisers,
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  Speaker 1: to help the Perry County School District be ready on
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  Speaker 1: day one to protect our children. We also saw this
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  Speaker 1: as a way to save the taxpayers of Perry County
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  Speaker 1: from having to buy this equipment all over again. The
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  Speaker 1: donated equipment will allow resources previously used by the Sheriff's
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  Speaker 1: Office school resource officers to remain dedicated to protecting students
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  Speaker 1: while also reducing startup costs for the district's new police department,
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  Speaker 1: he said. Engel said cooperation between law enforcement agencies and
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  Speaker 1: other emergency responders remains an important part of providing public
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  Speaker 1: safety throughout Perry County. It's important to have great working
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  Speaker 1: relationships with all law enforcement agencies and our first responders
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  Speaker 1: in your county when you're sheriff, he said. I felt
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  Speaker 1: like we've been able to foster that kind of environment
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  Speaker 1: here over the last eight years. I look forward and
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  Speaker 1: hope the next sheriff will do the same. Hazard Independence
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  Speaker 1: Board of Education approves tax rate increase. The Hazard Independence
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  Speaker 1: Board of Education approved an increase to the district's property
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  Speaker 1: tax rate during a special call meeting August 20th. raising
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  Speaker 1: the rate from 67.2 cents to 70.5 cents per hundred
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  Speaker 1: dollars of assessed property value. The board initially met August
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  Speaker 1: 5th to propose the increase based on tax rate information
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  Speaker 1: provided by the Kentucky Department of Education before returning August
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  Speaker 1: 20th to give final approval. Superintendent Sondra Combs said board
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  Speaker 1: members consider several factors before improving the new rate including
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  Speaker 1: the district's financial needs and the economic impact on taxpayers.
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  Speaker 1: The Hazard Board of Education did not take its responsibility
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  Speaker 1: lightly to set the school tax rate, said Combs. Careful
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  Speaker 1: consideration of the needs of our students, staff, schools, and
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  Speaker 1: economic environment was taken into account. Among those considerations, Combs noted,
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  Speaker 1: were salary increases the board has approved for the teaching
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  Speaker 1: staff in consecutive years the district works to remain competitive
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  Speaker 1: in attracting and retaining educators. Unfortunately, with rising prices across
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  Speaker 1: the board, as well as a reduction in state monies,
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  Speaker 1: this rate is necessary to protect the district. The investment
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  Speaker 1: will allow us to continue to provide teacher salaries that
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  Speaker 1: help attract and retain quality educators, continue to provide high
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  Speaker 1: quality instruction, and ensure our students have the resources and
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  Speaker 1: facilities they need to succeed. In addition to supporting salaries
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  Speaker 1: and instructional resources, Combs said, the additional revenue generated by
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  Speaker 1: the tax rate will help address maintenance needs throughout the district.
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  Speaker 1: It will also provide additional funding for better maintenance and
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  Speaker 1: upkeep of our school building, Combs said. Maintaining safe, clean,
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  Speaker 1: and functional facilities is essential to providing students and staff
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  Speaker 1: with an environment where learning can thrive. Combs said district
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  Speaker 1: officials understand the financial impacts of the increase on taxpayers
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  Speaker 1: and intend to direct the additional revenue toward needs that
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  Speaker 1: benefit students, employees, and school facilities. We recognize every tax
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  Speaker 1: dollar matters, she said. We're committed to using these funds responsibly.
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  Speaker 1: and making decisions that directly benefit our students and schools.
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  Speaker 1: This is an investment for the future of our entire community.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for your support of our schools and most importantly,
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  Speaker 1: our students. Perry County and Hazard recognize Overdose Awareness Day.
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  Speaker 1: In separate events, Perry County Judge Executive Scott Alexander and
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  Speaker 1: Hazard Mayor Donald Happy Mogollini joined staff from Mountain Comprehensive
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  Speaker 1: Care Center to sign a proclamation recognizing August 31st as
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  Speaker 1: Overdose Awareness Day, highlighting ongoing efforts to reduce overdosed deaths,
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  Speaker 1: combat stigma, and connect those in recovery with community resources.
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  Speaker 1: Elizabeth Sword Targeted case manager with the Mountain Comprehensive Care
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  Speaker 1: Center said the proclamation was signed ahead of the observance
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  Speaker 1: to give residents time to learn about the event's plan
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  Speaker 1: throughout the community. August 31st will be Overdose Awareness Day,
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  Speaker 1: said Sword. We wanted to get this proclamation out ahead
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  Speaker 1: of time so people could be aware and may be
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  Speaker 1: able to attend the upcoming events. There are a lot
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  Speaker 1: of different events going on in the community. There's definitely
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  Speaker 1: an impact being made right now as overdose deaths are
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  Speaker 1: going down greatly. We want to educate people and continue
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  Speaker 1: to make people aware with as much information as we
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  Speaker 1: can to get rid of the stigma behind this. A
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  Speaker 1: lot of people are written off because of the stigma.
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  Speaker 1: In 2021, Kentucky was number four in overdoses, and now
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  Speaker 1: we're number 17, so we're making significant progress. As part
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  Speaker 1: of the local observance, Mountain Comprehensive Care Center will host
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  Speaker 1: an event August 31st to remember Perry County residents who
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  Speaker 1: have died from overdoses during the past five years. We're
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  Speaker 1: going to be doing a balloon release on the 31st
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  Speaker 1: at 12 p.m. at 1845 Kentucky Highway 15 South, said Sword.
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  Speaker 1: We're going to be putting out a pair of shoes
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  Speaker 1: for each person who has overdosed for each person that
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  Speaker 1: has overdosed in Perry County in the last five years.
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  Speaker 1: We invite the public to come out to this event.
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  Speaker 1: The Hazard Police Department congratulated Michael Ritchie on receiving his
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  Speaker 1: Governor's Award for Occupant Protection Enforcement from the Kentucky Department
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  Speaker 1: of Highway Safety. The department recognized Ritchie for his continued
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  Speaker 1: efforts in helping to keep the community safe. Perry man
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  Speaker 1: charged with propositioning minor for sex. A Perry County man
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  Speaker 1: is facing a felony charge for allegedly propositioning a minor
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  Speaker 1: for sex via text. According to an arrest citation on
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  Speaker 1: August 17th, the Perry County Sheriff's Office began investigating a
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  Speaker 1: complaint regarding Estill Deaton Jr. of Stalin's Mountain Drive hazard.
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  Speaker 1: During the course of the investigation, the citation said a
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  Speaker 1: deputy was able to obtain text messages from two phones
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  Speaker 1: in which Deaton allegedly attempted to entice a minor to
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  Speaker 1: engage in sexual activity. After containing and interviewing Deaton, the
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  Speaker 1: citation said, deputies learned he had two active warrants for
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  Speaker 1: his arrest. Deaton was lodged in the Kentucky River Regional
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  Speaker 1: Jail on charges of procuring or promoting the use of
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  Speaker 1: a minor by electronic means. 72nd Annual Civic Night set
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  Speaker 1: for September 3rd. The Hazard-Perry County Chamber of Commerce will
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  Speaker 1: host its 72nd annual Civic Night on September 3rd in
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  Speaker 1: the First Federal Center on the Hazard Community and Technical
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  Speaker 1: College campus, recognizing individuals and families whose service and contributions
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  Speaker 1: have made an impact throughout the community. This year's Civic
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  Speaker 1: Night will honor the Kraft family with the William D.
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  Speaker 1: Gorman Award, a humanitarian honor created in memory of the
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  Speaker 1: late Hazard Mayor William D. Gorman. Gorman is remembered for
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  Speaker 1: his commitment to education and improving the quality of life
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  Speaker 1: for residents of Eastern Kentucky. Among the individuals who will
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  Speaker 1: be recognized during the event is Roy Drinkard, who recently
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  Speaker 1: died after celebrating his 106th birthday. Born July 12, 1920,
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  Speaker 1: Drinkard had long been recognized as the oldest living Marine.
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  Speaker 1: Through Drinkard Development, his family and company have also invested
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  Speaker 1: in numerous projects throughout Hazard and Perry County. Hazard-Perry County
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  Speaker 1: Chamber of Commerce Executive Director and President Janet Smith said
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  Speaker 1: the annual event provides an opportunity to recognize residents who
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  Speaker 1: have worked to make a difference throughout the community. Civic
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  Speaker 1: Night will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are $ 30. hazard
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  Speaker 1: man charged with felony assault and stabbing incident. A hazard
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  Speaker 1: man has been arrested on a felony assault charge related
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  Speaker 1: to a stabbing incident that occurred on August 14th. According
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  Speaker 1: to a warrant written by hazard police officer Tyler Pigman,
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  Speaker 1: officers were dispatched to a residence as a report of
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  Speaker 1: a stabbing on Laurel Street. The victim in the case,
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  Speaker 1: the warrant said, told officers he was walking into a
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  Speaker 1: walk-in closet when he felt a poke on his right
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  Speaker 1: arm and felt blood. The warrant said the victim turned
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  Speaker 1: around and saw Ryan York, 44, who lives at the
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  Speaker 1: same residence, and the victim shut the door to get
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  Speaker 1: away from York. York, the warrant said, had been kicking
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  Speaker 1: at the door and cursing the victim before running off
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  Speaker 1: from the residence. The victim was transported by personal vehicle
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  Speaker 1: to Hazard ARH, where the wound, described as a large laceration,
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  Speaker 1: was stitched. York was arrested on August 20th and lodged
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  Speaker 1: in the Kentucky River Regional Jail on a charge of
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  Speaker 1: first-degree assault. From the opinion page, Church and State and
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  Speaker 1: Taxes by Jeff Vanderbeck. In this great country of America,
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  Speaker 1: there are two institutions that have perfected the art of
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  Speaker 1: asking for or taking your money while hiding behind reasons
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  Speaker 1: why they shouldn't have to give any of their money back,
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  Speaker 1: churches and governments. I'm not questioning anyone's faith, nor am
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: I ridiculing anyone for their gifts to the church. It's
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  Speaker 1: the business practice in which I'm referring. The church passes
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  Speaker 1: the plate while the government takes your pay. At least
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  Speaker 1: the church allows the plate to pass you by if
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  Speaker 1: you're having too much month and not enough money. The
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  Speaker 1: church understands and is forgiving. Government reaches into your paycheck
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  Speaker 1: before you even see it. When you clock in, they
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  Speaker 1: are already waiting for their fair share. The government takes
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  Speaker 1: a portion of your check weekly, and every April it's
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  Speaker 1: your responsibility to let them know if they took enough.
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  Speaker 1: If they didn't, you owe them more, and if they
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  Speaker 1: took too much, they'll send back with a celebrated refund
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  Speaker 1: without penalties or interest. It's the greatest marketing campaign scam
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  Speaker 1: known to man. Both institutions understand the value of good
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  Speaker 1: structures and appearances. Churches have beautiful sanctuaries, stained glass, and
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  Speaker 1: fellowship halls that the members fund. Government has courthouses with
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  Speaker 1: marble columns and wings that most people don't know exist.
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  Speaker 1: Those departments are usually staffed with people who direct you
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  Speaker 1: to other departments that you didn't know existed. Churches and
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: government are tax exempt and rely heavily on faith. Churches
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  Speaker 1: ask for you to have faith in God and the
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  Speaker 1: government asks you to have faith in man and that
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  Speaker 1: Politicians will always be honest. One requires more faith than
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  Speaker 1: the other. Government, like organized religion, has various denominations. Democrat, Republican, Independent, Libertarian. Hell,
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: there's even a Green Party, which we all hear very
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: little from. I'm not sure if it's because what they
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: smoke is green or if they're green with envy. Every
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  Speaker 1: denomination declares their interpretation is the best and most righteous
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  Speaker 1: for the people. They gather and listen to sermons, and
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: their leaders are driven to believe that only their road
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: is paved with gold, while the others believe are responsible
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  Speaker 1: for everything wrong in our country. The government collects income taxes,
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: property taxes, vehicle taxes, licensing fees, permit fees, miscellaneous charges
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: on everything imaginable. and yet there's never enough. Washington could
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: have a trillion-dollar surplus, and some genius in Congress would
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: lobby for a $ 1 trillion study to see why we're
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: always in debt. That's the most egregious part of the
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: government spending. Failure is not seen as evidence that we
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  Speaker 1: should spend less. Congress will prove we didn't spend enough.
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  Speaker 1: Case in point is the one-week war in Iran that's
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: lasted over six months. Secretary of Hate Pete Hegstead is
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: now asking Congress for billions more to support a war
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: that we declared over and victorious many months ago. But
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: it's not over and we didn't win a damn thing
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: except humiliation from every country in the world and higher prices.
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  Speaker 1: We did win an ally in North Korea. Kim Jong-Rodman
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  Speaker 1: is now goombas with Trump, which kills me and the
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  Speaker 1: rest of us. North Korea supports Iran and Russia, who
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  Speaker 1: hate us, and now we're chumming up to Kim Jong-un
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  Speaker 1: because they gave our president respect. It seems Kim Jong
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: has borrowed a page from the mafia. Friends close, enemies closer.
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  Speaker 1: Government calls the asking of Congress for more money and
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  Speaker 1: raising taxes fiscal policy. Unlike a church, government doesn't have
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: to convince you of salvation in order to contribute. I
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: tried telling the IRS that I prayed about it, and
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: after careful consideration, I decided not to pay taxes this
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: year or to offer them my annual tithe. They wrote
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: me and told me that no matter how much I repent,
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: I'm not able to escape my civic duty of paying taxes.
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: The irony is that government pays no taxes. We do.
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: We fund the buildings, salaries, vehicles, military, and crazy programs
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: that Nutty Congress thinks are important. Then we pay taxes
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  Speaker 1: on money we earn to provide money the government needs
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: to collect said taxes. When the church asks for 10%,
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: that's great and generous tithe. When the government takes 20
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: to 30 or even 40%, but the time is all added,
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: they call that civic responsibility. During election season, politicians promise
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: they will stand behind the taxpayers. Nothing makes me feel
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: safer than hearing people who are spending my money promise
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: to protect me from the people who are spending my money.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: If you will pass the plate, the government says they're
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: still a little short. Thanks for reading the Hazard Herald.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: Only Make Believe by Russ Cassaday. I'm not sure how
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: many younger folks read this column, but how about a
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: little history lesson? You see, way back in the closing
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: years of the 1900s, the Internet was not anywhere near
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: as ubiquitous as it is today. It was beginning its
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: ascendancy and it spurred investors to go for any possible innovation,
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: even ones that had very little connection to reality, virtual
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: or otherwise. Eventually, as it often is the case with
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: innovative eras, some companies and some individuals were winners, but
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: many more became losers when the dot-com bubble burst in
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: the early 2000s. A lot of investors threw their money
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: behind proposals that were ultimately proven to be little more
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: than hype. Only the strongest of the proposals survived and
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: the strength and the rest were relegated to the cyber
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: virtual junk pile. And you'd think we would have learned
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: our lessons. But I keep hearing chatter about a coming
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: AI bubble. Those who know much more than me have
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: been speaking of it in terms that lead me to
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: believe It's less a possibility and more of an inevitability. Why? Well,
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: a lot of that is for economists to break down.
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: I know my lane. However, I wouldn't be surprised, especially
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: after living through the aforementioned era. It's also easy for
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: us in Central Appalachia to understand this concept as well,
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: since we've seen a version of where rampant speculation leads repeatedly.
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: That's why I'm worried about the expansion of AI and
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: data centers, but not overly. Both AI and data centers
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: are a reality and will eventually become more ubiquitous in
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: our daily lives. But I can't shake the feeling that
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: there's a little bit of hype driving a current discussion.
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: There's a lot of fear surrounding AI with concerns it
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: will end jobs and take our lives. However, if you
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: dig into the worst-case scenario ideas, you find a through
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: line that indicates that the ones driving these fears are
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: the AI companies themselves. It would not shock me in
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: the slightest if we ultimately discovered that a lot of
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: those worst-case scenarios don't come about, but are an attempt
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: to overhype the capabilities of AI and therefore drive investor interest.
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: There are legitimate concerns about data centers, and I would
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: never encourage anyone to just put their opposition aside while
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: working under the assumption that projects aren't happening. All the same,
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: here in our region, we're used to seeing big projects
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: of all kinds announced, drawing potential investors to throw big
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: money behind big ideas that never materialized into reality. So
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: if many of these data center projects turn out to
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: be no more physical than the data they're built to handle,
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: I again wouldn't be surprised. We shouldn't work under the
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: assumption that it's all only make-believe, that there aren't real
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: concerns that need to be addressed and work that needs
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: to be done. However, I would encourage people not to
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: be especially afraid and especially not to be paralyzed by fear.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: After all, History shows us that bubbles burst, that the
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: next new thing isn't always it's cracked up to be.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: And perhaps most importantly, we've seen time and time again
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: that where big money's involved, certainty is often not quite
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: so certain. Here are the obituaries. Deborah Campbell, 61, of Jenkins,
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: died Tuesday, August 18th. Kathleen Fox, 86, of Happy, died Monday,
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: August 17th. Patty Lawson, 48, of Hazard, died Tuesday, August 18th.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: Charles C. Collins, 85, of Hazard, died Wednesday, August 19th.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: Lillian Schoen Stacey, 89, of Vico, died Saturday, August 15th.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: Rondell Gary Watts, 88, of Airport Gardens, died Wednesday, August 19th.
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: Carolyn Jean Hurley, 68, of Chavis, died Thursday, August 20th.
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: Tom Jones, 73, of Hazard, died Wednesday, August 19th, and
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: James Bo Sexton, 66, of Slimp, died Friday, August 21st.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: Hazard man charged with meth fentanyl trafficking. A hazard man
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: has been charged with trafficking in methamphetamine and fentanyl. According
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: to a citation written by Hazard Police Chief Zach Miller
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: on August 18th, Officers served a search warrant at the
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: Gurney's Bend residence of David Cofield, 37. While searching the residence,
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: the citation said, officers located two milligram vials of suspected
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: fentanyl along with three bags of suspected methamphetamine weighing more
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: than two grams. Cofield, the citation said, admitted to selling
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: the illegal substances. He was SOAR shares Eastern Kentucky's collaborative
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: economic development model at Government's Local Issues Conference. Shaping our
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: Appalachian region joined local leaders and economic and community development
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: professionals from across the Commonwealth this week at the 50th
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: Annual Governor's Local Issues Conference in Louisville, SOAR said in
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: a statement. The organization, according to the statement, shared how
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: Eastern Kentucky's collaborative approach is creating economic opportunity across the region,
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: and offered lessons that can be applied throughout Kentucky. Hazard
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: man charged with attempted murder. A hazard man has been
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting at another man.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: According to an arrest citation written by Perry County Sheriff's
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: Deputy Christian Stidham, in the early morning hours of August 21st,
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: he was dispatched to the area of Walton Mountain Lane
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: in Kentucky 15th in reference to a shots fired complaint.
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: Stidham wrote that the victim in the case told him
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: he had heard gunshots outside the residence, and when he
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: stepped out to see what was going on, he saw
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: a white Toyota Camaro driving on Walton Lakes Lane. At
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: that time, the citation said, the victim saw that it
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: was Brandon Fields, 32 of Memorial Drive. This concludes the
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: reading of the Hazard Herald. Please stay tuned for continued programming.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: Thank you for joining me, and on behalf of everyone
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: here at Radio I, this is Lee Townsend wishing you
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: a good day.