Transcript

4.10.25 · Springfield Sun

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Speaker 1: We now turn to the Springfield Sun to bring you
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news from in and around Washington County. Your reader today
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is Greta. We begin with the addition dated Wednesday, April ninth,
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twenty twenty five. As a reminder, RADIOI is a reading
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service intended for people who are blind or have other
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disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material. Our
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first article today, Washington County gets five hundred thirty eight
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thousand dollars for infrastructure by Jane Reid Klein. State Representative
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Kim King of Harrodsburg announced last week that Washington County
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will receive five hundred thirty eight thousand, one hundred twenty
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seven dollars in infrastructure funding under legislation approved by the
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Kentucky House and Senate. Projects funded in Washington County are
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first three hundred seventy three thousand, nine hundred seventeen dollars
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to the Washington County Fiscal Court for the resurfacing Tick
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Creek Road and second one hundred sixty four thousand, two
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hundred nine dollars to the Washington County Fiscal Court for
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the resurfacing of glenns Creek Road. Investing in road infrastructure
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is investing in safety, connectivity, and economic growth. King said
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HJR forty six ensures that the most critical road projects
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received funding needed to protect drivers and strengthen communities across
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the commonwealth. Washington County Judge Executive Tim Graves said Tick
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Creek Road has been a priority for several years and
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in serious need of resurfacing. Graves said he and the
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Fiscal Court are grateful the state is providing the funds
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for that project, along with repaving Glen's Creek Road. A
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press release from King explained h JR forty six, which
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outlines which local maintenance projects receive state fund in the
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next fiscal year. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet KYTC Department of
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Rural and Municipal Roads collected applications for city and county
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road resurfacing and other safety projects from local officials across
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the commonwealth. KYTC graded their requests and submitted their findings
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to the Legislative Research Commission and Interim Joint Committee on
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Appropriations and Revenue to review. Projects are ranked one to
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ten based on the severity, with ten being the most hazardous.
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HJR forty six only funds the road projects ranking ten
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on the scale. According to the release, one hundred forty
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five projects across the state are being funded, totaling over
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twenty three point eight million dollars. For more information on
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HJR forty six, visit Legislature dot Ky dot gov for
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our next article, Rain, Rain and more rain Floods County
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by Jane Reidcline. After more than five days of storms
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and rain, Washington and surrounding counties were saturated and low
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lying areas underwater. Roads, especially in flood prone areas, were
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not passable at times until a short break in the
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rainfall allowed the water to recede until the rain began again.
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Throughout the week, The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District for office
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in Elizabethtown issued regular updates of state roads in the
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district that were under water. As of Saturday, only four
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roads in Washington County remained on the list. More rain
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was expected on Sunday as the sun went to press
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but predicted to end by Monday morning. A freeze warning
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was issued by the National Weather Service for Sunday on
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one to ten a m Tuesday, as temperatures were expected
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to drop into the Twin pinesight Following the storms. The
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National Weather Service says we are not out of the
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woods yet, as more rain as in the forecast for
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Wednesday night, April sixth and Thursday April seven. As of Thursday,
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both the state and federal government had declared a state
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of emergency for all of Kentucky. Washington County was under
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various watches and warnings throughout the week, including a tornado
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warning along with ongoing flood and flash flood warnings. Despite
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repeated warnings to not drive through standing water on the roadways,
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several vehicles were swept off the road in the region,
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and rescue squads throughout the area were on high alert.
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Although the severe threat may be over, officials continued to
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issue the following advice. Do not move barricades or signs,
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and do not drive through standing or running water. Remember,
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with quickly rising and falling water levels, roads may be
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flooded not indicated by signs or barricades. Best practice is
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to drive slow and anticipate water covered roads being possible
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at points along your route. Two photos are included with
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this article. The first captioned floodwaters approach the road in
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Frederickstown as drivers near the Berg Hill on Highway one
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point fifty This photo was taken on Friday, April fourth,
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and it shows a large body of water creeping up
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towards a roadway. The other photo, the caption is this
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car is almost completely submerged in Nelson County last week.
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The photo was taken on Highway forty nine Loretto Road.
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The photo shows a road that descends into what would
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normally be a low spot, but is completely covered in water.
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You can just see the roof of the car above
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the water level. For our next article, Judge sets April
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fourteen for next hearing in Roger's murder case by Peter
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Zubadi for the Paxton Media Group. Stephen Lawson, an accused
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co conspirator in the twenty fifteen disappearance and presumed death
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of Crystal Rogers, appeared in Nelson's Circuit court Thursday. Tempers
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flared between the prosecution and Lawson's legal team over the
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testing of two hares lifted from Roger's car, as Lawson's
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attorneys sought to push back their client's May trial date.
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Stephen Lawson and his son Joseph Lawson are charged with
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conspiracy to murder and complicity to tampering with physical evidence
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in their role in moving Rogers car to the Bluegrass Parkway,
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where it was found abandoned July fourth weekend. In twenty fifteen,
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Brooks Huck, Roger's ex boyfriend, is charged with murder and
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tampering with physical evidence. On Thursday, in Nelson's Circuit, Judge
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Charles Simms court room, Special prosecutor Shane Young asked to
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remand his earlier motion to have the two hairs found
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in Crystal Rogers car tested. We had not realized that
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there had been two hairs that had not been tested,
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Young said, I got freaked out by it, to be
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honest with you. One of the two hairs was eight
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inches in length. The other was twelve inches, Young said,
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and after consulting with a lab chemist, at least one
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of the hairs appeared to be chemically treated. Young said
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the hairs did not belong to either Stephen or Joseph Lawson,
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and that the prosecution expected Huck's hair to be in
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the car because he used the car. However, Zach Buckler,
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who represents Stephen Lawson along with Darren Wolf, took issue
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with that and asked for the hairs to be analyzed.
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Buckler acknowledged that while the hairs may not belong to
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either of the Lawsons. He did suggest they may belong
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to someone else who may have assisted in Roger's murder.
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They were located in the alleged victims atole, which is
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a center point of the prosecution against our client, Butler said.
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He said that if the hares belonged to someone who
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could be named as a suspect in Roger's murder or
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someone else involved in the case, it would fundamentally alter
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our legal strategy to be sure. As a result, Buckler
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asked for the hairs to be tested by an analyst
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retained by their legal team. We'd like the opportunity to
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inspect the two samples. For our expert to inspect the
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two samples, Butler said. Young took exception to the request,
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noting that there was nobody to compare the hair sample too.
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He called it a delaying tactic by Buckler and Wolf
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and that they were hoping to have Stephen Lawson's trial date,
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which is scheduled for next month in Bowling, Green pushed
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back so that it would occur after the joint trial
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of Huck and Joseph Lawson. I think this is done
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in conjunction with Brook Brooks Huck's attorneys. Young said there's
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no reason, no reason at all, to delay a case
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that has been pending for ten years. Buckler objected to that,
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suggesting that the hairs should have been tested a decade
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ago at the same time when another hare was found
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in the trunk of Anna white Side's car. Whiteside's is
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Huck's grandmother. Buckler said that Stephen Lawson has a constitutional
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right to have the two hairs lifted from Roger's car tested.
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Wolf asked for their retained expert to inspect the hair
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and then possibly have it tested. He noted he was
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offended by the suggestion that the legal teams for Huck,
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Stephen Lawson, and Joseph Lawson had been conspiring to delay
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the trial. That was inflammatory, that was not appropriate, Wolf said.
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Then things got heated between Wolf, Buckler, and Young with
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a lot of loud cross talking. Shortly after that, Sims
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called attorneys to the bench to calm things down. After that,
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it was discussed that Stephen Lawson needed to have a
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laptop made available to him to help him and his
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attorneys go through discovery evidence. Sims issued an order allowing
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the defense expert for Stephen Lawson to arrange inspections of
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the two hares during the week of April seventh through
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eleventh to occur at the Kentucky State Police Laboratory. SIMS
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set an evidentiary hearing for nine a m. April fourteenth
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in Elson's Circuit Court. Next up are the obituaries. We
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read only the name, age, and location of the deceased.
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Today we have Wanda Schumacher Matherly ninety nine of Springfield,
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Elizabeth Roddy Mulligan Thomas seventy four of Lebanon, and Danny
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Freeman Maddingly seventy nine of Lexington, formerly of Springfield. For
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our next article. Auditor Ball releases volume two of statewide
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Audit from Frankfort, Kentucky. Auditor Alison Ball released the second
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volume of the annual statewide single Audit of the Commonwealth
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of Kentucky for fiscal year twenty twenty four. The audit
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identified several oversight and compliance failures within the Cabinet for
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Health and Family Services and one partially attributable to the
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Finance and Administration Cabinet. These failures cost Kentucky money and
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could put its federal funding at risk. The Cabinet for
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Health and Family Services and Finance and Administration cabinets. Combined
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failure affected about ninety federal programs, and hfs's additional failures
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affected Medicaid, adoption assistants and other programs. The state wide
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single audit of the Commonwealth caused attention to pour oversight
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in the Commonwealth's largest cabinet, auditor Alison Bae. This year's
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findings indicate areas where CCHFS and FAC must strengthen internal
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protocols to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure compliance with federal law.
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My office will continue working with these agencies to address
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these issues and is committed to safeguarding resources that support
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Kentucky's most vulnerable populations. The Auditor's office identified six findings
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within HFS and FAC. CHFS lacks several strong internal controls
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over federal programs that could result in its non compliance
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with federal requirements and potentially jeopardized federal funds awarded to
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the Commonwealth. Notable findings and recommendations include, First, CHFS improperly
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used federal funds to make adoption assistance payments. Adoption assistance
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maintenance payments are made on behalf of LA adopted children
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to adoptive parents. These findings indicate that the Commonwealth could
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have been non compliant with federal reporting standards and faced
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a projected area error of three million, three hundred twenty
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two thousand, eight hundred thirty dollars if auditors had not
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caught the mistakes. Second, HFS failed to timely conduct Medicaid
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required recertification surveys to ensure Medicaid recipients are receiving safe
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and quality care. Long term care facilities are required to
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undergo routine survey recertifications to ensure compliance with Medicaid requirements
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and to maintain a safe, high quality standard of care
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for vulnerable Kentuckians. This lack of oversight jeopardizes the safety program, performance, effectiveness,
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and overall quality of care for the vulnerable Kentuckians living
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at these facilities. Next, HFS failed to acquire documents vation
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and perform verification of immigration status for at least one
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Medicaid applicant. This potentially signals a larger issue regarding chfs's
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failure to ensure that ineligible non citizens do not receive
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Medicaid benefits. Next, CHFS failed to identify duplicate social Security
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numbers for Medicaid participants. The Cabinet's electronic system failed to
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detect and flag the duplication, indicating that there could be
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a larger issue of failing to detect duplicative social security
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numbers and increasing the risk of non compliance with federal regulations. Next,
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CCHFS lacked proper policies and procedures to sufficiently monitor drug
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rebate invoicing reports. There is no documentation of CCHFS reviewing
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PBM's quarterly invoice reports, and this complete lack of oversight
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could lead to many problems, including undetected non compliance with
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federal requirements. And finally, HFS failed to accurately allocate indirect
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costs among ninety federal programs and properly distributing federal funds
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across programs can put Kentucky's federal funding in jeopardy. This
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report reviews compliance with federal requirements for federal funds spent
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by the Commonwealth, providing assurance to both the federal government
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and Kentucky taxpayers regarding the management and use of federal funds,
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while also highlighting areas for improvement. The full audit is
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available on the Kentucky Auditor's website. For our next article
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Chamber of Commerce Awards Gala by Jane Reid Klein. A
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night of dining, awards, photos and memories is a stable
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part of the annual Chamber of Commerce Awards Gala. The
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twenty twenty five gala was no different in that regard,
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but a few notable changes were on tap for guests
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at the gala on Friday, April fourth at River of
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Life Church in Springfield. The most notable change was the
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honoring of two finalists in addition to the winner in
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each award category. Their Citizen of the Year award was
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presented to Rosalie Carrico. The program for the event stated,
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Rosalie embody's a sense of community and support for others.
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Everywhere she goes. She is a bright light that exoids
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joy and happiness. She participates in numerous community groups including Homemakers, Bunco,
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Red Hat Club, BPW, Boy Scout Leader, Band Moom, New
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Beginning's Community Church, where she serves on the Bereavement Committee,
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former four H Council member, City Ambassador, volunteer in the
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Central Kentucky Theater, attends rens, ribbon cuttings, open houses, festivals,
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attends meetings of all kinds, and has been a volunteer
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for the Chamber of Commerce. Rosalie interacts with as many
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people as she can and has a gift of making
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them feel better than they were before they saw her smile.
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She encourages those around her and backs it up with
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her actions. Her love for the people and businesses of
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Springfield is nothing short of spectacular. She is a gift
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and a true blessing. The two additional finalists for Citizen
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of the Year were Martha Ann Harden and Daniel Karney.
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Debbie Murphy was awarded Educator of the Year. Debbi is
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a beloved individual who has contributed immeasurably to the lives
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of hundreds, possibly thousands of children in Washington County. Her quiet,
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calm demeanor, combined with a hands on approach and a
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seemingly infinite supply of patients naturally draw eager young minds
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toward her. Debbie currently shares her faith and joy as
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a Sunday Sunday preschool teacher volunteer at Saint Dominic Church.
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Debbie has educated our youngest school aged minds before she
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retired from Washington County Schools. Following her retirement from Washington
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County schools. She became the pre through K four teacher
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at Saint Dominic, where she continued touching lives for several years.
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In twenty twenty four, Missus Debbie stepped out of the
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classroom and can now be found spreading her joy of
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life and learning with her grandchild. Finalists for Educator of
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the Year were Tracy Blandford and Holly Medley. Volunteer of
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the Year came as no surprise to anyone except recipient
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Anne Marie Floyd. Anne Marie Floyd has been an inspiring
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volunteer that shines in bringing people in with her to
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serve this community. Formerly the Chamber Board President, she worked
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closely with the director to ensure that her beloved list
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of volunteers were ready to act. Anne Marie serves on
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the Springfield Main Street Board, the Project Graduation Committee, the
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Lincoln Trail Area Development District Board, Community Action Board, serves
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as mentor for Washington County Schools and volunteers FORKCSL Conventions
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for conversations for the school. She is also a member
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of b PW and the Women's Republican Club. With the
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creation and development of the Chamber Ambassadors, she has brought
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volunteerism to a level where students want to be involved
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and have fun. Because of her leadership, she organized over
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thirteen volunteers to serve at the Chambers Sorghum Festival, assist
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with the Lincoln Family Christmas Experience, attend ribbon cuttings, and
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even help with the set up and tear down of
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this year's Chamber Gala. She strives to provide an organized
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group of young leaders who are informed and ready to work.
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Always on the run, There's no telling where you will
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see Anne Marie. Finalists for Volunteer of the Year were
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Sarah Parrott and Danita Simms. Manufacturing Leader of the Year
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was awarded not to a manufacturer, but to some one
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who provides an invaluable support service to the manufacturers. Jason
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Mattingly with Pat Mattingly Trucking was presented with the award.
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Jason Mattingly with Pat Mattingly Trucking is a second generation,
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family owned business that has served our community and beyond
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with great personable service that continues to thrive to day.
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Jason began working for the family business, learning the roles
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from driver to v P and Director of Operations. Jason
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coordinates over twenty trucks and drivers working in industries from
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automotive to live stock. Jason is very personable with all
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of Mattingly Trucking customers, always striving to fulfill their needs
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and any new business they may have. Aside from the
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family business that he runs with his sister, he can
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also be found at many sporting events throughout the county,
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supporting and volunteering time in his children's activities. Finalists for
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Manufacturing Leader of the Year were Toyotomi America and b
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K Designs in Blanks. The Small Business Leader of the
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Year went to G and G Productions, founded in twenty
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twenty one by hal B Goody and John Graves. G
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and G Productions emerged from a shared passion for Kentucky
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high school sports, offering innovative live streaming broadcasts, especially during
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the COVID nineteen pandemic. Their approach not only kept high
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school athletics alive, but also allowed local businesses to maintain
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connections with communities through ad revenues. With support from technical experts,
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they expanded their coverage to significant sporting events and disversified
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into community engagement activities like election coverage and festival broadcasts.
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The launch of G ANDNG on Demand in twenty twenty
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five further enhanced their community impact, achieving over a million
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views in its first month. Goody and Graves leadership has
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helped establish G and G Productions as a vital media presence,
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exemplifying entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to serving Central Kentucky, making
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them a strong supporter of our community. Finalists for Small
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Business Leader of the Year were The Craft Box and
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Aubrey's Pet Parlor and Bed and Biscuit Boarding. Rainey Dairy
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was honored as Agricultural Leader of the Year. Rhiney Dairy
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was founded on October twenty first, nineteen seventy eight, and
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the dairy has been expanding and progressing ever since. Rney
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Dairy is family owned and operated by Billy Reiney and
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his son John. There are sixty nine thousand, one hundre
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undred farms in Kentucky. That's five hundred seventy five farms
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per county. How many of those are dairy farms? Well,
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you would be shocked to find out that there are
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only three hundred forty dairy farms in the entire state
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of Kentucky. In nineteen seventy eight, when Rhiney Dairy was founded,
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there were two hundred seventy eight dairy farms just in
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Washington County, and it was not the largest dairy county
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by far. Shelby County alone had close to six hundred
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dairy farms at its peak. A lot of amazing farmers
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have come and gone over the years. One favorite activity
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of a Rhiney family member is riding around with Billy
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Rhiney Junior and hearing about how they had their farmyards
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set up. Rhiney Dairy wants to say thanks to all
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the farmers that get the job done every day. It
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takes all kinds to make the world go round. Like
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the old saying goes, once in your life, you may
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need a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, and a preacher,
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but every day, three times a day, you need a farmer.
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Billy Reinney Junior was the founder of Rhiney Dairy and
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his youngest son joined him. In twenty eighteen, finalists for
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Agricultural Leader were Bernie Borbeau and Denise and Bob Osborne.
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The final award of the Evening health Care Leader of
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the Year went to Chris Smith. Chris Smith is a
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beacon of hope and faith in healing for many. As
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a dedicated physical therapist with Kort Physical Therapy in Springfield,
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Chris has a wonderful personality that he shares with all
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his patients, bringing them a smile and uplifting support. When
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pain and frustrations are often filling part of their day.
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With children, Chris has the magic to leave them laughing
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and forgetting that they are there nursing an injury. Chris
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is an active supporter of Springfield and Washington County, but
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is first and foremost a family guy who leads with
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his faith and love. Know and admire him for his
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commitment to healing. He can also be found coaching ball teams,
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sponsoring events in the Sorghum Festival, and serving at his church.
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A former member of the Chamber of Commerce Board, Chris
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is a valued supporter and encourager. Finalists for Healthcare Leader
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were Ashley Spalding and Springfield Physical Therapy. Next is a
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piece from the Opinion page titled the Importance of Silence
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by Sister Joel Gobler. Last week I wrote on the
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importance of silence in our lives. This week, I'm quoting
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someone well known in that area. In eighteen forty five,
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a certain Henry David Thoreaux, longing for solitude, wrote of
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how he borrowed an axe, went down to the woods
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by Walden Pond, and built himself a ten by fifteen
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foot house at the cost of twenty eight dollars and
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thirteen cents. He said he went to the woods because
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he wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential
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facts of life, and see if he could learn what
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it had to teach, and not. When he came to die,
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discovered that he had not really lived, he wrote, every
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morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of
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equal simplicity with nature herself. We must learn to reawaken
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and keep ourselves awake by an infinite expectation of the dawn.
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He also wrote, sometimes I sat from sunrise till noon
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amid the pines, in undisturbed solitude and stillness, and in
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the midst of a gentle rain, I have been suddenly
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sensible of the sweet and beneficent society in nature, in
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the very pattering of the drops. Hopefully, in the midst
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of our daily obligations, we too will eventually realize our
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need for and have the opportunity for solitude and peace
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in order to discover our gifts and purposes. Again, that
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was an opinion column from Sister Joe Gubbler. This concludes
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our reading of the Wednesday, April ninth, twenty twenty five
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edition of the Springfield Sun. Your reader has been Greta
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on behalf of everyone here at radio. I thank you
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for listening, Keep on listening, and have a wonderful day.