Latest / Eastern Kentucky Newspapers / Hazard Herald - 10.4.26

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Hazard Herald - 10.4.26 · 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 September 30th, 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. Perry County Community
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  Speaker 1: Foundation donates to HFD. The Perry County Community Foundation presented
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  Speaker 1: a check to the Hazard Fire Department for $ 1, 500 to
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  Speaker 1: help sponsor some of the department's initiatives, such as school
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  Speaker 1: safety supplies, according to Chief Robert Keith. On behalf of
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  Speaker 1: the Perry County Foundation, we appreciate everybody and everything their
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  Speaker 1: team does for this community. They are a part of
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  Speaker 1: our mission statement, which is community safety. That's one of
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  Speaker 1: our keystones that we want to support, said Bill Bettinazzi,
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  Speaker 1: chairman of the foundation. Campbell highlights falling crime rates, economic
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  Speaker 1: growth at the chamber. Perry County Attorney Derek Campbell recently
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  Speaker 1: addressed the Hazard Perry County Chamber of Commerce, highlighting reported
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  Speaker 1: declines in crime and discussing the relationship between public safety,
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  Speaker 1: economic development, and quality of life in Perry County, according
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  Speaker 1: to a statement from Campbell. According to the statement, Campbell
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  Speaker 1: pointed to recent crime figures showing property crime declining from
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  Speaker 1: pandemic-era highs of 53.6 under FBI metrics to a reported
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  Speaker 1: level of 7.8. The current figure is less than half
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  Speaker 1: the national average and represents nearly 60 percent in decline
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  Speaker 1: from numbers reported two years ago. Violent crimes has fallen
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  Speaker 1: to a reported score of 0.9, which the statement described
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  Speaker 1: as a historic low for the area. Campbell said the
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  Speaker 1: reductions have implications beyond public safety and argued that the
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  Speaker 1: safer community can strengthen Perry County's appeal to employers, workers,
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  Speaker 1: and businesses. When employers search for places to expand their operations,
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  Speaker 1: they want to know that they have a local government
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  Speaker 1: who will make their safety a priority and, more than anything,
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  Speaker 1: a good place for their employees to call home, Campbell said.
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  Speaker 1: Lower crime rates display a real key role in making
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  Speaker 1: that case, and the fact that Perry County saw a
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  Speaker 1: 5% rise in employment over the last year and boasts
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  Speaker 1: the lowest unemployment numbers in the region is a testament
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  Speaker 1: to that. According to the statement, Campbell said, continued economic
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  Speaker 1: development will require the community to demonstrate the quality of
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  Speaker 1: life and public safety remain priorities. Attracting the kind of
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  Speaker 1: Careers to our community that really let people envision building
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  Speaker 1: a future here requires us to show skilled labor that
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  Speaker 1: their quality of life is a priority, Campbell said, and
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  Speaker 1: to attract the retail businesses that enhance our day-to-day lives,
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  Speaker 1: shopkeepers have to know that their investments will be protected.
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  Speaker 1: Numbers like these show employers and the businesses we'd like
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  Speaker 1: to have them here and the mountains are the safest
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  Speaker 1: place to do business, and our recent growth, including the
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  Speaker 1: best T.J. Maxwell find anywhere, shows it. Campbell was joined
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  Speaker 1: at the meeting by Perry County Sheriff Joseph Engel, who
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  Speaker 1: Campbell recognized for his service and cooperation with local officials
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  Speaker 1: and law enforcement, according to the statement. Sheriff Engel has
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  Speaker 1: been a resource from the day we got started, Campbell said.
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  Speaker 1: As any problem arose, he was right there, and we
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  Speaker 1: gave it our all to make things work. We couldn't
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  Speaker 1: always deliver everything we wanted, but we always tried and
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  Speaker 1: we did all the law enforcement officers I've had the
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  Speaker 1: privilege to work with. According to the statement, Engel also
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  Speaker 1: spoke about his experience working with Campbell during his tenure
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  Speaker 1: as sheriff, citing their cooperation on issues affecting Perry County.
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  Speaker 1: Derek has always been there, for whatever we've needed from
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  Speaker 1: efforts to beat back the drug problem to coordinating the
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  Speaker 1: federal agencies to protect kids down to parking disputes between neighbors,
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  Speaker 1: Ingalls said. If I've called on him, he's been there
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  Speaker 1: and didn't hesitate to jump in the car with me
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  Speaker 1: if that made things easier. Campbell said collaboration between local
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  Speaker 1: governments and law enforcement has been essential to addressing the
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  Speaker 1: challenges facing the community and credited the local law enforcement
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  Speaker 1: officers for their work, according to the statement. Local health
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  Speaker 1: care facilities celebrate, raise awareness of Suicide Prevention Month. Throughout
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  Speaker 1: the month of September, celebrated the National Suicide Prevention Month,
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  Speaker 1: several local health care providers and facilities took the time
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  Speaker 1: to promote awareness of local resources, remind anyone struggling that
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  Speaker 1: they're not alone, and remember these individuals lost to suicide
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  Speaker 1: as well as those affected by suicide. Healthcare providers across
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  Speaker 1: the area said there are several factors that can lead
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  Speaker 1: to individuals contemplating suicide, especially in these trying times. It's
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  Speaker 1: really more common than we think that people think about
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  Speaker 1: hurting themselves, especially now that they have a time where
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  Speaker 1: finances are tight for individuals and just life challenges, said
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  Speaker 1: Scott Lockhart, public health director of the Kentucky River District
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  Speaker 1: Health Department. Many people, said Lockhart, may have health risks
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  Speaker 1: or other issues that can lead them to consider suicide
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  Speaker 1: as their only solution. Our youth, it's a tough time
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  Speaker 1: to be a young person with the social pressures and
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  Speaker 1: media and TikTok and all of these cyberbullying incidents, Lockhart said.
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  Speaker 1: Sherry Kelly, a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner at Community Care
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  Speaker 1: of Eastern Kentucky, said that their facility also sees behavioral
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  Speaker 1: and mental health issues in many of the same areas. Additionally,
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  Speaker 1: she said, veterans and people in rural areas in general
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  Speaker 1: also typically have higher rates of suicide. The most prevalent
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  Speaker 1: groups in our area are the elderly and the teen population,
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  Speaker 1: said Kelly. It seems like the older population, they've outlived everybody.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe their spouse passed away. Maybe they don't have any
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  Speaker 1: support system around them. Maybe they have a lot of
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  Speaker 1: medical issues and illnesses, especially the male population, the elderly
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  Speaker 1: white male. Then the teen population, there could be bullying.
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  Speaker 1: There could be family crisis. There could be divorce. There
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  Speaker 1: could be all kinds of different things in the family unit.
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  Speaker 1: that could cause teens to socially isolate, she said. This data,
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  Speaker 1: she said, is not only in Perry County, but in
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  Speaker 1: other service areas. If you look at the national data,
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  Speaker 1: those are the groups that we really try to assess,
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  Speaker 1: said Kelly. Kelly, who has served in the behavioral health
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  Speaker 1: field for approximately 10 years, said during this time she
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  Speaker 1: has seen a lot of changes in the number of
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  Speaker 1: people seeking mental health help. Since COVID-19 has seen developments
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  Speaker 1: in treatment and isolation is no longer necessary, said Kelly,
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  Speaker 1: depression levels have decreased somewhat. But during this height of
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  Speaker 1: the pandemic, there was a large increase in people facing
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  Speaker 1: mental health challenges. Since COVID-19, we've seen a lot of
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  Speaker 1: depression and anxiety, said Kelly. Everybody was locked up during
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  Speaker 1: COVID and that was really caused a lot of strain
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  Speaker 1: for family units. It caused a lot of young people
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  Speaker 1: to lose a lot of educational time in the classroom
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  Speaker 1: and among their peers. It caused people to be depressed, down, sad,
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  Speaker 1: anxious because they were home alone and kind of shut in. Depression,
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  Speaker 1: Kelly said, is one of the main things providers will
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  Speaker 1: look at during the initial visit to behavioral health facilities.
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  Speaker 1: PPCEK she said, along with other facilities offers a PHQ-9
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  Speaker 1: screen which evaluates depression. Depression is one of the first
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  Speaker 1: things that people see if there are issues with suicide
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  Speaker 1: attempts or talking about it, said Kelly. That's what we
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  Speaker 1: want people to recognize, she said, adding that there are
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  Speaker 1: several warning factors to look for. Among the signs, she said,
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  Speaker 1: are when people are not enjoying the things they usually enjoy,
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  Speaker 1: when they're socially isolating, displaying mood alterations, and experiencing sleep
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  Speaker 1: issues and or eating disorders and problems that they haven't
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  Speaker 1: shown before. Knowing these signs, she said, can save a life.
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  Speaker 1: Tush recognized the signs of depression, Kelly said. If it's
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  Speaker 1: not treated, it can lead to thoughts of self-harm. In
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  Speaker 1: addition to knowing the signs of depression helps, Lockhart said,
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  Speaker 1: if anyone were to encounter an individual who's experiencing suicidal thoughts,
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  Speaker 1: it's vital to talk to them, find out if they
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  Speaker 1: have the means to follow through with the act, if
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  Speaker 1: they have a plan, if they have available means of
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  Speaker 1: carrying out that plan, and if they have any future
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  Speaker 1: planning of other things. Having future planning, he said, is
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  Speaker 1: a good indicator that there is hope they probably won't
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  Speaker 1: carry out the self-harm acts as they have something to
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  Speaker 1: look forward to. If an individual has a plan to
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  Speaker 1: commit suicide, they have that means easily available, and there
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  Speaker 1: is no future planning, that is really a red flag
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  Speaker 1: that you should have to get that person to help immediately,
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  Speaker 1: said Lockhart. Often, he said, just reaching out and showing
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  Speaker 1: generosity or basic kindness can have one of the most
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  Speaker 1: powerful tools in preventing suicides. You can't just tell by
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  Speaker 1: looking at someone who's got it together or who is
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  Speaker 1: literally without help and about to fall apart. There are
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  Speaker 1: so many stressors in our lives today. So be kind,
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  Speaker 1: said Lockhart. I feel like we live in a society
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  Speaker 1: now where kindness is not near as prevalent as it
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  Speaker 1: used to be. Have grace for others and be kind.
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  Speaker 1: If you recognize someone who's really struggling, talk to them,
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  Speaker 1: reach out to them. And sometimes it's just one person
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  Speaker 1: saying something that can make a difference. Lockhart said the
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  Speaker 1: district is working together in an attempt to combat the
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  Speaker 1: growing amount of depression and suicide resulting from mental illness issues.
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  Speaker 1: CHFS Secretary Stack says, one big beautiful bill impacts already
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  Speaker 1: being felt in Kentucky, more on the way. The full
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  Speaker 1: impacts of 2025's HR1, also known as the One Big
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  Speaker 1: Beautiful Bill Act, are months away, but Kentucky has already
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  Speaker 1: begun feeling effects, according to the Chief of Kentucky's Cabinet
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  Speaker 1: for Health and Family Services. Secretary Dr. Stephen Stike, MD,
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  Speaker 1: told Appalachian newspapers that the cabinet has been preparing for
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  Speaker 1: new Medicaid guidelines to go into effect January 1, but
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  Speaker 1: it's already dealing with the ramifications for some programs. Key
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  Speaker 1: programs under the cabinet's purview that will be affected include
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  Speaker 1: Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, and Stike said
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  Speaker 1: that the cabinet is moving forward with a single focus.
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  Speaker 1: We all do better when all of us do better,
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  Speaker 1: he said. The best way to have a thriving, healthy
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  Speaker 1: Kentucky home is to ensure that everybody is able to
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  Speaker 1: get sufficient food and nutrition, everybody can get access to
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  Speaker 1: a decent, good-paying job, and everybody can have access to
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  Speaker 1: health insurance so when they get ill or sick, they
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  Speaker 1: can get help and they can get the medicines and
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  Speaker 1: treatments they need to stay well. Stock said the changes
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  Speaker 1: being made by H.R. 1 have far-reaching consequences, which is
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  Speaker 1: something on which the cabinet is focused. We know that
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  Speaker 1: people without health insurance live sicker and die younger, which
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  Speaker 1: is a tragedy, he said. And we also know that
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  Speaker 1: when people go hungry, strain in the household goes up,
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  Speaker 1: the risks of abuse and violence in the household can increase,
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  Speaker 1: the risks of worse health outcomes definitely increases, and our
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  Speaker 1: kids can't go to school prepared to learn if they're
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  Speaker 1: hungry and their belly's growling all day long. Supplemental Nutritional
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  Speaker 1: Assistance Program, HR1, made several changes to the SNAP program,
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  Speaker 1: including adding work requirements and tightening eligibility guidelines, said Stock,
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  Speaker 1: The Commonwealth has already seen thousands of households lose eligibility
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  Speaker 1: because of the changes. Changes to the SNAP program, Stocks said,
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  Speaker 1: have already been seen. Stocks said some eliminated or changed
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  Speaker 1: exemptions include one that counted children under 18 in a
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  Speaker 1: household as part of the eligibility. Now, he said, the
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  Speaker 1: exemption only applies to children ages 14 and under. Further,
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  Speaker 1: he said, the changes have eliminated exemptions for disabled veterans
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  Speaker 1: and homeless individuals. The net effect of these changes to
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  Speaker 1: SNAP is that January of this year until the end
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  Speaker 1: of August, we've had about a 10% reduction in the
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  Speaker 1: number of people on the Kentucky SNAP program already, he said.
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  Speaker 1: There are about 29,000 fewer households on SNAP through the
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  Speaker 1: first eight months of 2006, he said. According to data
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  Speaker 1: maintained by the Cabinet in the Appalachian Newspapers coverage area
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  Speaker 1: of Floyd, Johnson, Perry, and Pike counties, between October 25th
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  Speaker 1: and September 26th, there are 2,385 fewer households receiving SNAP benefits,
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  Speaker 1: representing a 13% reduction, with the largest reduction being in
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  Speaker 1: Pike County, which has 941 fewer households receiving the benefits.
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  Speaker 1: Stack said the SNAP reduction is particularly concerning because of
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  Speaker 1: who's being affected. Those are real concerns because these are
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  Speaker 1: some of the most vulnerable folks in society who now
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  Speaker 1: go hungry because they can't afford their food, Stack said.
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  Speaker 1: These are real impacts on real Kentuckians that are going
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  Speaker 1: to really make their lives more difficult. Medicaid. According to Stack,
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  Speaker 1: the group that is expected to see the biggest impact
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  Speaker 1: from H.R. 1's medical provisions is the expansion population. Kentucky
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  Speaker 1: is one of several states that expanded Medicaid to serve
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  Speaker 1: non-disabled adults up to 138 percent of the poverty line.
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  Speaker 1: Those individuals, officials said, are most at risk of losing
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  Speaker 1: their benefits. That, Stacks said, is likely to going to
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  Speaker 1: impact the Appalachian region of Kentucky most significantly. A lot
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  Speaker 1: of those people are in the Medicaid expansion population, so
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  Speaker 1: eastern Kentucky will get hurt more perhaps than any other region,
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  Speaker 1: not only in Kentucky, but more than just about any
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  Speaker 1: other region in the United States because of H.R. 1,
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  Speaker 1: Stack said. It's really unfortunate that the Appalachian region is
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  Speaker 1: going to get hurt particularly significantly. Work requirements and more
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  Speaker 1: frequent renewal processes are among the changes HR1 has made
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  Speaker 1: to Medicaid, and Stikes said the impact will ultimately be
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  Speaker 1: people losing their insurance. There's a risk of tens of
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  Speaker 1: thousands or hundreds of thousands of people who could potentially
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  Speaker 1: lose their health insurance coverage, both on the health insurance
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  Speaker 1: exchange and through Medicaid, Stikes said. Stikes said the cabinet
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  Speaker 1: is working to help individuals retain their but also adapting
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  Speaker 1: similar procedures before the 2028 required implementation to help people
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  Speaker 1: keep their benefits. For one year, individuals are allowed to
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  Speaker 1: attest that they have, in fact, fulfilled the work requirements
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  Speaker 1: and not be subjected to intense scrutiny about whether they,
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  Speaker 1: in fact, are doing it, Skak said. but we're going
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  Speaker 1: to ask people to submit information and start participating in
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  Speaker 1: that process and demonstrating it because if they can't show
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  Speaker 1: it by next year, then in 2028, they're going to
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  Speaker 1: be removed from the program. That's what the law requires
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  Speaker 1: us to do. There may be some work requirement exemptions,
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  Speaker 1: and Stack said the cabinet will do everything it can
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  Speaker 1: to help identify those individuals and help them to demonstrate
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  Speaker 1: that they meet the exemptions. However, he said, there's a catch,
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  Speaker 1: but the federal government health and human services at the
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  Speaker 1: federal level has made it much harder, Stack said. They
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  Speaker 1: have put in additional requirements that go above and beyond
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  Speaker 1: what H.R. 1 required and have made it even harder,
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  Speaker 1: so almost certainly there will be more people who are
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  Speaker 1: thrust off of Medicaid because of the way the federal
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  Speaker 1: government has chosen to implement that. The cabinet, Stack said.
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  Speaker 1: is also preparing to launch a single-source website people can
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: visit for eligibility requirements, exemptions, and other information. That website,
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  Speaker 1: he says, is expected to be launched soon. Information on
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: Medicaid can be obtained by calling 855-459-6328. 855-459-6328. 855-459-6328, available
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  Speaker 1: from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. For
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: questions on either Medicaid or SNAP, he said, people can
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: call the Department for Community-Based Services at 855-306-8959, 855-306-8959, available
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Perry
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: man indicted on charge of propositioning minor for sex. A
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: hazard man originally arrested in August has been indicted by
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  Speaker 1: a Perry County grand jury on a felony charge of
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: promoting and procuring the use of a minor by electronic means.
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: According to the court documents, on September 25th, the Grand
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: Jury indicted Estelle Deaton, Jr., 52, of Stallins Mountain Drive,
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: related to a case investigated by the Perry County Sheriff's Office.
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: From the opinion page, Mr. Massey Takes on Washington by
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: Russ Cassaday. If you've never seen the 1939 movie Mr.
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: Smith Goes to Washington, currently available for free on the
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: 2B app, I highly recommend you carve out some time
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: to watch it. For those unfamiliar, the movie stars Jimmy
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: Stewart as Jefferson Smith, a Boy Scout leader who's appointed
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: to the U.S. Senate. Stewart plays Jeff Smith to absolute perfection,
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: portraying him as an idealistic young man who finds himself
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: in way over his head and becomes a victim of
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: a corrupt political machine. Now, I'm not going to say
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: that U.S. Representative Thomas Massey is a real-life Jefferson Smith.
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: Smith is a fictional character subject to flaws, but he's
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: not real. Massey is a real person, warts and all,
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: but I can't help but see some parallels. Let me
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: make this clear. I do not live in nor do
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: our newspapers serve the 4th Congressional District of Kentucky, so
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: I feel comfortable discussing this matter. Despite my disagreements with
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: Massey on some policy issues, I have to respect the
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: outgoing congressman and the similarities between the real political career
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: he has had and that of Smith's character are hard
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: to ignore. In the movie, Jefferson Smith takes on the Senate,
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: full of vim and vigor, ready to serve his country,
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: but finds mainly false friends and political assassination. Massey went
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: to Washington full of ideals, and God love him, I
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: don't think the battle has beaten him out of him yet,
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: because he's still out there swinging for the fences. Massey, too,
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  Speaker 1: was politically assassinated. While There has been some discussion of
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: business leaders in Northern Kentucky having an issue with the
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: congressman's actions and words, chiefly a failure to support them.
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  Speaker 1: It's undeniable that his primary loss came after he was
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  Speaker 1: targeted by President Donald Trump for not going along with
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: the president's agenda. Massey has championed in recent years such
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: insane ideas as transparency and accountability in the Epstein investigations.
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: an end to America's foreign misadventures, elimination of military aid
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: to Israel and instead of focusing and funding on domestic
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: issues and others. That's what raised the president's ire and
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  Speaker 1: inspired him and the AIPAC to throw a massive amount
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: of support behind Massey's primary challenger. But Representative Massey isn't
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: going gently into that good night. In a recent floor speech,
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: Massey laid bare, although it's not the first time he's
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: done this, the way the machine works and the way
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: that those we send to Washington to represent us are
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: converted into tools of the Uniparty. For an hour on
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: September 16th, the congressman assailed the powers that be after
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: a decision was made to cut the session in progress short,
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: which meant the House wouldn't be back until after the
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: midterm elections. The move came after Massey introduced another discharge
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: petition related to the long overdue release of the Epstein files.
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: I'm here to get justice for the Epstein victims, the survivors,
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: Massey said. I'm here to get the price of food
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: and fuel down for our constituents. We've got solutions, we
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: just refuse to pass them. Key in Massey's salvo against
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: the state of politics was his assertion that the two
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: parties are much more in lockstep on things than the
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: theater they perform would lead you to believe, and the
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: machine doesn't tolerate opposition. I highly recommend that if you're
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: interested in politics at all, you should be, you dedicate
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: some time to watching the congressman's speech, which is available
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: on C-SPAN's YouTube channel. It's not political for me to
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: say that Massey's lack of presence in the House will
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: be noted in the coming months and years, though I
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: doubt he'll stay quiet. Whatever you feel about his policies
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: and votes, it's difficult to say that a person so
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: willing to lay it all on the line for what
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: he believes is right doesn't belong in public service. In Mr.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Smith Goes to Washington, the end is that Jeff Smith's
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: persistence wins the day. exposes the crooks, and leaves the
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: impression that the nation and its system of governments will
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: be better for his time there. Massey has not yet
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: won the day, though his fight is going on, and
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: we'd be a lot better off if we followed the
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: lead of the fictional Jefferson Smith and real Thomas Massey
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: and spoke up for what's right, even when it costs us,
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: and unfortunately that cost could be high. Kentucky is planning
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: to Before the Data Center Power Surge by Eric King,
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: Executive Director of Energy Planning and Inventory Commission. Kentucky's competitive
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: industrial electricity rates, ample land and water, expanding fiber networks,
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: and support for major development positions in the Commonwealth will
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: attract data center investment, jobs, and long-term tax revenues. Kentucky
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: also has an opportunity many states missed, the chance to
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: write the rules before the costs are locked in. Major
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: data center provisions are already testing every part of our
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: electric system from generation and transmission to local land use decisions.
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: Choices will determine whether this development strengthens Kentucky or leaves
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: existing customers paying for infrastructure built for someone else. Here
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: are the obituaries. Linda C. Combs, 77, of Jeff, died Wednesday,
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: September 23rd. Hope Renee McDaniel, 48, of Hazard, died Wednesday,
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: September 23rd. Patricia Rice, 80, of Viper, died Tuesday, September 22nd.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: Gary David Lewis, 55, of Hazard, died Thursday, September 24th.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: Ira Mullins, Jr., 83, died September 23rd. Sandra K. Hayes, 56,
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: of Hazard, died Friday, September 18th. Frank Moore, Jr., 73,
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: of Bonnyman, died Monday, September 21st. And Nanny Faye Melton-Smith, 85,
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: of Hazard, died Wednesday, September 23rd. The Kentucky Mountain Health
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: Alliance with the Little Flower Clinic held a ribbon-cutting ceremony
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: with the Hazard-Perry County Chamber of Commerce and local officials
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: on September 23rd for the new Little Flower Clinic with
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: Doctor of Optometry Dr. Emily Shelton. The office is located
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: at 279 East Main Street on the fourth floor. This
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: concludes the reading of the Hazard Herald. Please stay tuned
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: for continued programming. Thank you for joining me, and on
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: behalf of everyone here at Radio Eye, this is Lee
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: Townsend wishing you a good day.