Transcript

6.5.25 · The Mountain Eagle

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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 of an Arsenal.
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We will begin with the edition dated June fourth, twenty
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twenty five, which the publishers have donated to Radio Eye
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as a reminder. Radio Eye is a reading service intended
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for people who are blind or have other disabilities that
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make it difficult to read printed material. The first story
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is the caption of a photo. First time fishing proved
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the charm for boy five. Gabriel cross Kencer's first fishing
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trip is one to remember. After graduating kindergarten, the five
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year old went to fish Pond Lake this past weekend
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to learn to bait a fishing hook, cast a line,
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and hopefully reel in a fish for his first time.
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After finding a honey hole, he quickly caught his first fish,
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the large bluegills seen in the photo, seven more of
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similar size, all of which made for a nice family meal.
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The son of Tailing and Robbie Kinser of Wichberg, he
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is the grandson of Jeanne and Debbie Combs of Isom
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and Mark and Connie Kincer of may King. The next
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story is Letcher fire Ems goes broke shuts down all services.
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Letcher Volunteer Fire Department and Letcher EMS are not operating
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after an apparent financial collapse of the organizations. Neon Fire
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and Rescue is covering emergency medical calls, and fire departments
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in the surrounding area are handling any calls for fire service.
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The financially troubled ambulance service sparked the crisis when it
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laid off all employees last week, and ambulances from American
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Medical Response, a for profit ambulance service based in Texas,
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started taking runs from Letcher's station. AMR operates locally under
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the name Lifeguard. Judge executive Terry Adams called the Kentucky
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State Police nine one one dispatch and told the agency
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to dispatch all e MS calls to Neon, which has
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stations in Fleming, Neon, and Whitsburg. Letcher Volunteer Fire Department
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had continued to operate until Monday, when board members learned
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that wasn't possible either. The fire department was left with
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no insurance and the ambulance service was left with no insurance,
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said board member Keith Adams. We can't roll a truck
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to rescue. You can't roll a fire truck to fight
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a fire. Shawn Gilly, a long time emergency medical technician,
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several years ago, leased the ambulance service from the non
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profit corporation that owns the state certificate of need and
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ran it under his Gilly Enterprises, Incorporated company, but he
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has since transferred the lease at least two times to
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different companies. A story in The Mountain Eagle a year
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ago outlined how Gilly had borrowed money from an Illinois
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loan company that was threatening to repossess the buildings, the
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fire trucks, and the ambulances and turn their couch upside
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down and shake out all the change. Gilly could not
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be reached for comment. A recording that answers his cell
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phone number says the number cannot be reached. Gilly, who
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is Electric County School Board member and fire chief Wallace
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Spanky Bowling, wrested control of the department from Gary Rogers
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in twenty nineteen because of what they said then was
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financial mismanagement and rumored planned to sell the service to AMR.
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Rogers has since been indicted on a charge of abuse
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of public trust in an amount greater than ten thousand
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dollars in less than one hundred thousand dollars. Bowling said
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Tuesday that he was only responsible for putting out fires
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and didn't know anything about the finances or paperwork. Sean
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handled everything, finding the insurance, taking care of the insurance,
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he said. Bowling and Keith Adams both confirmed that the
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insurance had not been paid, though Adams said he did
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not know who at the station was responsible for the lapse.
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Bowling said a resident of the area has donated five
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hundred dollars and he's trying to raise more to buy
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insurance again. Keith Adams said he is trying to schedule
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a meeting of the board to figure out exactly what
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is going on. The county loaned the service three hundred
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twenty four thousand dollars in twenty nineteen to pay off
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another loan Rogers had signed for with First Government Lease
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of Northfield, Illinois. The First Government Lease loan had an
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interest rate of thirty one percent. The ambulance Service paid
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that loan off with the county loan and then paid
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off the county loan, But in twenty twenty four Gilly
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acknowledged that he had also borrowed money from First Government,
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this time at thirty eight percent interest, and First government
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was again threatening to repossess the equipment and the building.
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Judge Adams said he requested County Attorney Jamie Hatton look
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into the laws on ambulance services after being told employees
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of the ambulance service weren't being paid. Three former employees,
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who spoke on the condition that they not be identified,
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said they quit the service months ago because they weren't
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being paid on time. Hadden said he's still looking to
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see what, if anything, the county can do about the situation.
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While Gilly's company is for profit, the ambulance service itself
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is an independent, nonprofit corporation that leases everything to him. Meanwhile,
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four people familiar with the situation have confirmed independently to
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The Mountain Eagle that the Kentucky State Police are investigating
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the ambulance service. The next headline is White House backs
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off plan to shut MSHA. The Trump administration is dropping
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plans to terminate leases for thirty four offices in the
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Mind Safety and Health Administration, the agency responsible for enforcing
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mind safety laws, the Department of Labour, said earlier this year,
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the Department of Government Efficiency DOGE, created by President Donald
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Trump and run by Elon Musk, had targeted federal agencies
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for spending cuts, including terminating leases for three dozen MSHA offices.
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Seven of those offices were in Kentucky alone. Ending the
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MSHA leases had been projected to save eighteen million dollars.
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Musk said last week that he's leaving his job as
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a senior adviser. A statement released by a Labor Department
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spokesperson said it has been working closely with the General
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Services Administration to ensure our MSHA inspectors have the resources
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they need to carry out their core mission to prevent death, illness,
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and injury from mining and promote safe and healthy workplaces
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for American miners. Some MSHA offices are still listed on
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the chopping block on the DOGE website, but the statement
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did not indicate whether those closings will move forward. Originally
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created by administrative action by the Department of the Interior
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in nineteen seventy three and known then as the Mine
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Enforcement and Safety Administration MESA, the agency became known as
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MSHA after Congress passed the Federal Mind Safety and Health
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Act of nineteen seventy seven. Following the twin mining disasters
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at the Scotia Mine at Oven Fork in Electric County,
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MSHA is required to inspect each underground mine quarterly and
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each surface mine twice a year. That's relief and good
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news for miners and the inspectors at MSHA, said Jack Spedero,
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a longtime mine safety investigator and environmental specialist who worked
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for the agency. Mining fatalities over the past four decades
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have dropped significantly, in large part because of the dramatic
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decline in coal production, but the proposed DOGE cuts would
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have required MSHA inspectors to travel farther to get to
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a mine. I don't know what they were thinking when
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they talked about closing offices, Spidero said, they obviously did
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not understand the nature of the frequency and depth of
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inspections that go on in mines. It's important for the
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inspectors to be near the mine operations that they're inspecting.
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A review in March of publicly available data by the
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Weichberg based Appalachian Citizens Law Center indicates that nearly seventeen
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thousand health and safety inspections were conducted from the beginning
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of twenty twenty four through February twenty twenty five by
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staff at MSHA offices in the facilities on the chopping Block. MSHA,
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which also oversees metal and non metal mines, already was
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under staff over the past decade. It is seen at
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twenty seven percent reduction and total staff, including thirty percent
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of enforcement staff in general and fifty percent of enforcement
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staff for coal mines. The Law Center said Coal industry
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advocates are also trying to save hundreds of jobs within
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the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Some estimates
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had about eight hundred fifty of the agency's roughly one
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thousand employees being cut by the Trump administration. Earlier this month,
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a federal judge ordered the restoration of a health monitoring
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program for coal miners and rescinded layoffs within NIOSH's Respiratory
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Health Division in Morgantown, West Virginia. The division is responsible
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for screening and reviewing medical exams to determine whether there
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is evidence that coal miners have developed a respiratory ailment
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commonly known as black lung disease. At a congressional hearing
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in May, u S Health Secretary of Robbery Fid Kennedy Junior,
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said he was reversing the firing of about three hundred
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and thirty INIOSH workers that same day, the United Mine
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Workers of America was among several groups that filed a
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lawsuit seeking to reinstate all INIOSH staff and functions. For months,
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coal communities have been raising the alarm about how cuts
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to MSHA and NIOSH would be disastrous for our miners,
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said Vonda Robinson, vice president of the National Black Lung Association.
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We're glad that the administration has listened and restored these offices,
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keeping mine inspectors in place. We're going to keep making
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progress and do whatever it takes to protect coal miners
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from black lung disease and accidents, she said. The next
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story is three car crash sends one to hospital. A
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head on collision on Kentucky twenty thirty four in front
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of the Witchburg Plaza ended up with one person with
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minor injuries and three vehicles damaged. Whitesburg police set a
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blue Ford F one point fifty pulled out of the
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entrance near Walmart into the path of a black full
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size Nissan pickup. After the two hit head on, the
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Nissan continued out of control and ran over the embankment
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at the opposite end of the parking lot and landed
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on a Dodge Durango parked in the parking lot at
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price less. No citations were issued and injuries were minor.
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Assistant Chief Justin Hunsucker of the Wisburg Police Department said
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in the next headline Farmer's Market to get permanent home.
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Construction is expected to begin this summer on a permanent
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home for the City of Whitesburg Lectric County Farmers Market.
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The market, sponsored by Grow Appalachia, has moved to the
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Apple Shop Pavilion on Indiana Avenue in Whitesburg for the
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summer so it doesn't delay construction and callan community center.
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Opened bids for construction on front. They're still examining the
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bids and will award a contract once the bids are examined.
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We're hopeful they will start in July, said Valerie Horn,
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who founded the market. That's probably the best case scenario.
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The agency received one point two million dollars in abandoned
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mine lands and Kentucky agg Development money to build the
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facility three years ago, but got tied up with the
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twenty twenty two flood and flood response. The project has
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been designed and will include thirty ten foot by ten
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foot stalls for sellers, a demonstration kitchen, an office, a
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small stage, running water, and public restrooms. There are three phases,
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so this is not going to happen all at once,
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but phase two is going to come right after phase one.
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Horn said. Phase one will be construction of the infrastructure
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required for the building, including utilities and the first ten
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stalls for sellers. Four sections with ten stalls each will
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be added in the second and third phases. The Farmer's
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Market will move to the other end of East Main
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Street while the pavilion is being built. The market was
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in the Apple Shop Solar Pavilion on Saturday and will
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move to the covered Bridge this week to make room
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for Apple Shops seed Time on the Cumberland Festival. It
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will move back to the Solar Pavilion the next week.
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The Next Story Is festival is back for its thirty
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ninth year in Whitesburg. Seed Time on the Cumberland returns
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for the thirty ninth year this weekend with food and
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craft booths and music ranging from old time to punk.
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The annual festival will be held beginning at six pm
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Friday at the Apple Shop Solar Pavilion behind ninety one
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Madison Street in Whitesburg. It will continue from eleven am
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to nine pm Saturday, June seventh. Parking is available beside
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the Lester County Recreation Center and in downtown, and the
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pavilion can be reached via the covered bridge and the
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ramp from the RIC Center. The annual seed Time Punk
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Show will be Friday evening under the pavilion. This year's
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lineup includes Pinhead, Poison, Ordinary Tuesday, Epistaxis, Dessiccated, Portrait of Betrayal,
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and Dice Jail. The music will shift gears on Saturday
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with performances from Grace Rogers, Sarah Kate Morgan, the Pick
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and Bow String Band, Mike Ellison, The Heavenly Voices, The
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Williams Chapel, African Methodist Biscopal Zion Church Choir, UK Balinese
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Gammealon Langton Kerti, Traditional Balanese group, John Heywood, Carrie Wells Carter,
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Matthew Carter, the Florencia and the Feeling Trio, and a
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special performance from the Knox Honkers and Bangers, an inclusive
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community driven DIY marching band. There will be more than
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twenty five craft vendors and organisations and a number of
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food and drink vendors. The New WMMTFM Studio at two
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fifty three a main street in Whitesburg will be opened
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with a series of interactive art exhibits, film screenings, and more.
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Special events include Patchwork Prayers from quilter Seth Gover, who
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will lead an interactive workshop on the anatomy of a quilt,
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including its parts and construction techniques. Hillbilly Renaissance by Blaine Sage,
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a collection of oil paintings focused on the human form
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and face, an American goldum, Eli Berman's installment and multimedia
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performance with parents Sue Powers and Jeff Berman. Film screening
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will include films from the Appalachian Media Institute, Buria College students,
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and Anna Richardson White's Appleheads, a short film honoring her parents,
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Bill and Josephine Richardson and their role in the founding
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of Apple Shop, directed by by Scott ferris Co, produced
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by Anna Richardson White and Meg Griffiths. All events are
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free and open to the public. For more information, visit
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Appleshop dot org slash seed Time. The next story is
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Sore donates laptops thanks to a gift from Shaping our
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Appalachian Region. Sore, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College will
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be able to relaunch its student Loaner laptop program, helping
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students continue their education during times of hardship. The Southeast
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Education Foundation played a key role in securing and co
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ordinating this gift, working closely with SORE and campus leadership
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to ensure the donation would directly benefit students in need.
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Originally created during the COVID nineteen pandemic, the loaner program
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provided access to technology for students navigating remote learning and
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personal challenges. With this new donation, Southeast can once again
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offer short term laptop access to students who may not
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otherwise be able to participate in classes. SORE leaders say
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the donation aligns with their mission to create opportunity and
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remove barriers for Eastern Kentucky residents. The next story is
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l c C girls play Friday in state turning Electric
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County Central Lady Cougar's softball team defeated favorites Hazard and
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Perry County Central on their way to winning the championship
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of the fourteenth Regional Tournament and advancing to Friday's portion
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of the opening round of the Kentucky State Softball Tournament
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on the campus of the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
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The Lady Cougars, twenty three and fourteen on the season
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and thirteen and two in regional play, will meet the
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fifth region champion Taylor County Lady Cardinals at five thirty
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p m. The fifteen hundred seat John Robber The Stadium,
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home of the UK Lady Cat's softball team, is located
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at five seventy Wildcat Court in Lexington. It marks the
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team's second straight appearance in the girls State tournament. Coach
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j Perkins's Lady Couter's advanced to the state tournament with
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fifty third district wins over Cordia sixteen to nothing, and
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then Not County Central won to nothing in the championship game.
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The district attorney was played at Jenkins High School. In
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the fourteenth regional tournament hosted by Estell County High School
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in Ermine. The Lady Cougar's opened play with a fifteen
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to nothing win over Powell County Regions favorite Hazard was
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l CC's next foe, and the Lady Cougar's handled them
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by a score of fourteen to eight, left standing in
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the way of l CC's regional championship. At another trip
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to the state tourney in Lexington was Perry County Central.
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Behind the pitching and hitting of Scarlett Stamper, the Lady
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Cougars held off the Lady Commodores for a four to
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two victory. Last thirty May twenty ninth. Stamper, a junior,
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pitched all seven innings in the win over Pirie Central,
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giving up two runs on four hits while collecting eight
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strikeouts and walking only one batter. Stamper also pitched the
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seven inning win over Hazard and a four inning went
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over Powell County in the Regional Attorney. In addition, she
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pitched the full seven innings in the district title game
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against Nott Central. LCC sophomore Kelsey Bentley was credited with
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the district tourney win over Cordia. Stamper was one of
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several LCC players who starred on offense during the Lady
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Cougar's tournament runs, including sophomores Kelsey Bentley and Kaylee Bentley,
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who hit a home run against Perry Central to tie
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that game at two to two. Also contributing at the
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plate were Addie Blevins, Addison Collier, Katie Combs, America Cook,
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Anna Hatton, Caro Holcombe, and Emma Paddock, Taylor County twenty
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seven and seven on the season and fifteen to four
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in district play, defeated North Hardin in the fifth region
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title game. The winner of the Lectra Central Taylor County
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game will meet either Marshall County or Lawrence County on
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Saturday night at eight thirty the next tighting. There is
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the caption of a photo trophy triple. Scarlett Stamper, a
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star pitcher and hitter for the Lecher County Central Lady
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Cougar's softball team, shows three trophies presented to her last
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week after her team defeated Perry County Central for the
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championship of the fourteenth Regional Softball Tournament. The win secured
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a berth for the Lady Cougars in this week's state
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softball tournament in Lexington. In addition to being chosen the
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region's most Valuable Player for twenty twenty five, Stamper was
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named MVP of the Regional Attorney and the fifty third
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District Attorney. The next story is Outwitting the Scammers by
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Matilda Charles. Number appears to have gotten on another list
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somewhere and the potential scammers are coming out of the
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woodwork again. I have my suspicions about where they could
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have found my number this time, but I can't prove it.
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Of course, all I can do is keep fending them
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off by not answering the phone if I don't recognize
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the number, or hanging up quickly if I've answered and
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realized it's a scam. After a period of time, it
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will wind down as they don't have the satisfaction of
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anyone answering or falling for their scheme. I try to
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stay off their radar by keeping to a minimum the
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number of places that have my information. But sometimes it's
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just required that you provide a phone number. We have
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to weigh the value of what we'll get. Perhaps it's
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the grocery store loyalty card that requires a phone number
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to sign up, or even for voter registration, versus the
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potential abuse of our phone number when the scammers get it.
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I keep a spare email address for the same reason.
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If forced to give one out and not really trusting
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what will be done with it, I give the trash
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address and once a month go through and delete what
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generally turns out to be ninety five percent spam email.
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Then there are the passwords for the things we need
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to do online. We're advised to have strong passwords, but
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what does that really mean. It means using all the
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types of keys on the keyboard, upper and lower case letters, symbols,
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and numbers. Don't go with something that's too easy for
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a thief to figure out, like the name of your
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former high school. We can outwit the thieves who want
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our money and peace of mind. It just takes a
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little work. The next story is Gabby's Fishing Thiever by
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Greg Gabby Caudel. Catching bass in heavy cover. If you're
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just getting into bass fishing or have fished for bass
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most of your life like I have, you will let
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sometime be faced with heavy cover. Most of this cover
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will be some form of wood cover, from huge trees
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completely in the water to just parts of the tree
23:08
in the water, or standing flooded timber, which is my
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favorite type where the bank has slid off and put
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several trees in the water. Also, there is man made
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cover and huge weed beds are favorite hangout for big
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bass as well. Bass will use all the types of
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cover I just mentioned during different times of the day
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and the year. Bass can be holding on the edge
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of the cover or buried deep in the cover, and
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there are reasons for the bass to be on the
23:37
outside or inside of the cover. When the bass are
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holding along the outside of the cover, they are in
23:43
a positive feeding mood and will be more aggressive. This
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is a good time to work the outside edges of
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the cover with baits like buzz baits or top water lores.
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Crank baits are a great choice as well. These type
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baits are good as search baits for active bass. If
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this does not seem to work, try bates like worms
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or jigs. Toss these baits back into open areas and
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let them fall and watch and fuel your line for
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a strike. Bass will move into deeper cover because of
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things like coal fronts, fishing pressure, and for safety. Your
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job is to learn when to fish each type of
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heavy cover and you will be a much better bass fisherman.
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The next story from a twenty eighth is attorneys seek
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a second deposition from Stein's. The plaintiffs in a federal
24:36
lawsuit against former Deputy Sheriff Ben Fields are seeking to
24:40
keep the discovery portion of the case open another six
24:43
months and ask the judge to order another deposition with
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former Sheriff Sean Mickey Steins. The request is based on
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a statement the defense attorney in Stein's murder case made
24:55
on a tabloid TV true crime show. The parties in
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the suit had a settle conference last month, but were
25:01
unable to reach an agreement. Instead, defendants Ben Fields and
25:05
Eastern Kentucky Correction Incorporated asked the court for a summary
25:09
judgment dismissing the case. Sabrina Adkins and Jennifer Hill, both
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of whom had been inmates in the Lesser County jail,
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filed the suit in twenty twenty two, claiming Fields coerced
25:21
them into having sex when they were put on home incarceration,
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and Fields was working a side gig supervising inmates. At
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least one of the encounters described in the suit allegedly
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took place in the restroom in District Judge Kevin Mullins's chambers.
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Hill has since died and her estate has taken her
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place as a plaintiff. Fields pleaded guilty to third degree
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rape and third degree sodomy in a criminal case in
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Letcher County and spent six months in jail. Lawyers representing
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the women in the civil suit responded to Fields's motion
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to dismiss the case by asking that Steins, who has
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been in the Leslie County jails since last September on
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charges of murdering Judge Mullins, be deposed again. In filing
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the motion, they quoted a statement made by criminal attorney
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Jeremy Bartley on a Fox News broadcast. Bartley, who has
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said he plans to pursue an insanity defense in the
26:16
murder case against Stein's, made the comments in a story
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titled Motive revealed in Kentucky Sheriff's alleged killing of judge
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as body language expert analyzes new video. The motion for
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additional discovery and a new deposition quotes the attorney as saying,
26:33
I think one of the big things is that my
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client felt there had been pressure placed on him not
26:38
to say too much during the deposition and not to
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talk about things that happened within the courthouse, particularly in
26:44
the judges chambers. On the day that this shooting happened,
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my client had attempted multiple times to contact his wife
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and daughter, and he firmly believed that they were in danger.
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He believed that they were in danger because of what
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he knew to have happened within the courthouse, and there
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was pressure and there were threats made to him to
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sort of keep him in line, to keep them from
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saying more than these folks wanted him to say. No
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evidence of threats has been made public. Bartley and the
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prosecution filed a joint motion for a psychiatric evaluation of
27:18
Stein's This concludes the reading of The Mountain Eagle. Your
27:23
reader has been billed and Arsdale. Now please stay tuned
27:26
for continued programming on behalf of everyone here at Radio
27:30
I thank you for listening and have a good day.