Transcript

6.11.26 · The Mountain Eagle

0:01
Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
0:04
Speaker 1: from Weisberg. Your reader today is build an Arsdale. We
0:09
Speaker 1: will begin with the addition dated June tenth, twenty twenty six,
0:13
Speaker 1: which the publishers have donated to a RADIOI as a reminder.
0:18
Speaker 1: RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
0:21
Speaker 1: blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
0:23
Speaker 1: read printed material. The first item is a photograph and
0:30
Speaker 1: the caption is new bridge takes shape beside aging Red
0:34
Speaker 1: Star Crossing bridge workers install stay in place SIP metal
0:41
Speaker 1: deck forms on a new bridge under construction at Red
0:44
Speaker 1: Star while a pickup truck navigates a rough section of
0:48
Speaker 1: the existing span on Kentucky Highway seven. The bridges located
0:53
Speaker 1: between the Lectric County communities of Blackie and Ova, cross
0:56
Speaker 1: the north fork of the Kentucky River. Rogated steel forms
1:01
Speaker 1: are placed between bridge beams to create a permanent base
1:04
Speaker 1: for the concrete deck, improving construction efficiency and eliminating the
1:09
Speaker 1: need for traditional temporary form work. The next headline is
1:15
Speaker 1: judge leaning against bond in Stein's case. The special judge
1:21
Speaker 1: presiding over the murder case against former Lectri County Sheriff
1:25
Speaker 1: Mickey Steins indicated he is unlikely to grant the defendant's
1:29
Speaker 1: request for bond, and said that if bond is allowed,
1:33
Speaker 1: it would be far higher than the fifty thousand dollars
1:35
Speaker 1: casual property bond sought by the defense. The bond issue
1:41
Speaker 1: was one of several matters addressed during a status hearing
1:44
Speaker 1: June seventh in Leslie County. Also under consideration was whether
1:49
Speaker 1: the trials should be moved from Letcher County, where Stein's
1:53
Speaker 1: is accused of fatally shooting District Judge Kevin R. Mullins
1:57
Speaker 1: in his chambers on September nineteen to the day twenty four.
2:03
Speaker 2: In an unusual twist, the motion.
2:05
Speaker 1: For a change of venue was filed by the prosecution
2:08
Speaker 1: rather than the defense. Steins's attorneys want the trial held
2:12
Speaker 1: in Letter County, while prosecutors argue that extensive publicity and
2:16
Speaker 1: community divisions make a fair trial here unlikely. Special Prosecutor
2:23
Speaker 1: Jackie Steele cited extensive media coverage of the case, including
2:28
Speaker 1: more than one hundred articles published by The Mountain Eagle
2:31
Speaker 1: and dozens of television reports, as evidence that the case
2:35
Speaker 1: has saturated public discussion in the county.
2:39
Speaker 2: This was the top story in twenty.
2:40
Speaker 1: Twenty four on both the Mountain Eagle website and on
2:44
Speaker 1: the Mountain Eagle Facebook page.
2:45
Speaker 2: Steele said he also referenced.
2:48
Speaker 1: Coverage by WYMT and numerous online commentators and video bloggers.
2:55
Speaker 2: I didn't even get into the YouTube bloggers, which has.
2:58
Speaker 1: Been insanity to say the lead in regard to theories
3:01
Speaker 1: and things they're saying. Defense Council has even commented on
3:06
Speaker 1: some issues that has not been true, Steele said. Defense
3:10
Speaker 1: attorney James Cox argued that the case should remain in
3:14
Speaker 1: Electric County because local residents elected Stein's sheriff twice. He
3:19
Speaker 1: puts his trust in them, Cox said. Cox called several
3:24
Speaker 1: witnesses whose affidavits supported moving the trial, including Weisburg attorney
3:29
Speaker 1: Ashley Sturgell, Letcher County attorney Jamie Hadden, and Lecter Commonwealth's
3:34
Speaker 1: attorney Matt Butler. Stergill, who was in the courthouse when
3:38
Speaker 1: Mullins was shot, testified that she believed neither side could
3:42
Speaker 1: receive a fair trial in Electric County. I don't believe
3:47
Speaker 1: either party could get a fair trial in a community
3:49
Speaker 1: where you have a victim and a defendant who were
3:51
Speaker 1: both elected public officials in that community, which inherently brings
3:55
Speaker 1: with it a lot of love and a lot of hate,
3:57
Speaker 1: and strong opinions toward either. Surgil testified. When Cox suggested
4:03
Speaker 1: that position reflected a lack of trust in Electric County residents,
4:07
Speaker 1: Stergel responded that her concern was not dishonesty, but the
4:11
Speaker 1: possibility of unconscious bias.
4:15
Speaker 2: Cox was less.
4:16
Speaker 1: Confrontational with Hatton, who, like Sturgil, was subpoened to appear
4:20
Speaker 1: and expressed a similar view to Sturgel. I've got a
4:24
Speaker 1: great respect for the people of Electric County, but I
4:27
Speaker 1: just couldn't imagine you would almost have to have twenty
4:29
Speaker 1: thousand jurors in there to try to find fourteen, Hatton said.
4:34
Speaker 1: When Steele took over the questioning, he noted Hatton has
4:37
Speaker 1: been county attorney for more than fifteen years. When he
4:41
Speaker 1: asked how many years he had lived in the county,
4:43
Speaker 1: Hatton replied that, aside from college, all of them. When
4:48
Speaker 1: you're talking to people in Electric County at ballgames or
4:51
Speaker 1: cookouts or fire department raffles, whatever, how often does this
4:55
Speaker 1: still come up? Steele asked, Really, every time you're hearing
4:59
Speaker 1: or something like this comes before the court, it pops
5:02
Speaker 1: right back up to the conversation of the day, you know,
5:05
Speaker 1: and then it'll fade into the background and come back
5:08
Speaker 1: when the next article comes up.
5:09
Speaker 2: There it goes. That's it, Hatton said.
5:13
Speaker 1: Hatton agreed with questioning from Steele that based on his
5:16
Speaker 1: knowledge of the county and of the law, the case
5:19
Speaker 1: should be moved for the sake of judicial economy. You
5:23
Speaker 1: can bring the circus back to town and try to
5:25
Speaker 1: do this, and you'll never do it, Hatton said, You'll
5:28
Speaker 1: just end up having to go to another venue.
5:30
Speaker 2: Eventually.
5:32
Speaker 1: It just depends on how many times you want to
5:34
Speaker 1: try it. In Electric County. Hatton testified that discussion of
5:38
Speaker 1: the case resurfaces throughout the county whenever there is a
5:42
Speaker 1: court hearing, and the next headline is he asked for
5:49
Speaker 1: my mother twice. Former sheriff's aunt describes unusual behavior before
5:55
Speaker 1: courthouse shooting. Former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Mickey Steins called
6:02
Speaker 1: his aunt from District Judge Kevin R. Mullins's chambers shortly
6:06
Speaker 1: before the September nineteenth, twenty twenty four shooting and asked
6:10
Speaker 1: to speak to her dead mother. The aunt testified during
6:14
Speaker 1: a bond hearing last week. Sherry Stein's testified that while
6:19
Speaker 1: she is Mickey Steins's aunt by blood, her parents helped
6:22
Speaker 1: raise him well. Like I said, my mother and daddy
6:26
Speaker 1: raised him. So he had a name for my mother.
6:30
Speaker 1: He called her mommy Bones.
6:32
Speaker 2: She said.
6:34
Speaker 1: Sherry Steins said the former sheriff had gone to a
6:37
Speaker 1: doctor the day before the shooting because he had not
6:39
Speaker 1: slept in seven days and nights. He wasn't acting like himself.
6:44
Speaker 1: She said he spent that night at her house and
6:47
Speaker 1: stayed awake, taking melatonin, gummies and benadryl while watching security
6:53
Speaker 1: camera feeds from his home on his cell phone. She
6:57
Speaker 1: said that on the afternoon of the shooting, Stein called
7:00
Speaker 1: her on FaceTime from Malmes's chambers and asked to speak
7:04
Speaker 1: with Bones, who had been dead for more than two years.
7:09
Speaker 1: He asked for my mother twice.
7:10
Speaker 2: She said.
7:12
Speaker 1: He was with me when I had to unhook my
7:13
Speaker 1: mother from the ventilator, so he knew she was gone.
7:17
Speaker 1: It was me and him together that had unplugged. About
7:21
Speaker 1: a half hour later, she learned her nephew had killed
7:24
Speaker 1: the judge. Asked by defense attorney Carry Bartley, how she reacted,
7:30
Speaker 1: Stein said, I got kind of weak, My mouth fell
7:33
Speaker 1: open and I cried my eyes out. Never in a
7:37
Speaker 1: million years would I ever have thought Mickey would even
7:40
Speaker 1: discharge his gun, let alone do something like that, she said.
7:45
Speaker 1: Sherry Steins said the former sheriff appeared paranoid the night
7:49
Speaker 1: he stayed at her house. At one point, she said,
7:52
Speaker 1: he tried to persuade her to return to his home
7:55
Speaker 1: because he believed he saw someone walking along the public
7:58
Speaker 1: road behind the house on him security cameras. She refused
8:03
Speaker 1: because a six seventeen year old was staying at her
8:06
Speaker 1: home and she did not want to leave her alone.
8:10
Speaker 1: Steins was worried about his wife and seventeen year old daughter,
8:13
Speaker 1: she said, although she did not know why. Sherry Steins
8:19
Speaker 1: also testified that her nephew's health has declined while he
8:22
Speaker 1: has been in jail. She listed a number of chronic
8:26
Speaker 1: health issues, including what she described as a tick bike
8:30
Speaker 1: that caused a real bad infection in his head that
8:33
Speaker 1: later spread into his face. But now he does have
8:37
Speaker 1: really high blood pressure. He was born with a heart murmur,
8:41
Speaker 1: and he's just always had a lot of health problems,
8:43
Speaker 1: chest problems, you know, heart lungs. He had a hard
8:47
Speaker 1: time breathing and it seems to be his health going down,
8:50
Speaker 1: she said. Still, she said he appeared calmer during recent
8:55
Speaker 1: video visits. The former sheriff sat slumped and unshaven during
9:00
Speaker 1: the hearing, wearing gray jail scrubs and shower shoes while
9:05
Speaker 1: shackled at the hands and feet. If released on bond,
9:09
Speaker 1: he could stay with either her or with his wife
9:12
Speaker 1: and daughter. His aunt testified, answering questions from the defense,
9:17
Speaker 1: She said Stein's has never had a passport, has never
9:20
Speaker 1: traveled outside the country, and has never flown on an airplane.
9:25
Speaker 1: She said he would comply with any bond conditions and
9:28
Speaker 1: appear in court as required. Special prosecutor Jackie Steele asked
9:34
Speaker 1: why she had not contacted anyone about her nephew's behavior
9:37
Speaker 1: before the shooting, and she acknowledged that she had not.
9:42
Speaker 1: He also questioned why Steins would have left his wife
9:45
Speaker 1: and daughter alone if he was so worried about them.
9:48
Speaker 1: She replied that he left so they could get some rest.
9:53
Speaker 1: Bartley argued that Stein's would accept nearly any conditions if
9:57
Speaker 1: released on a fifty thousand dollars cash or property bond,
10:01
Speaker 1: a request opposed by prosecutors. Still argued that Kentucky law
10:06
Speaker 1: does not require bond in a capital case. The judge
10:11
Speaker 1: stopped short of denying bond outright, but said he would
10:14
Speaker 1: not consider a fifty thousand dollars bond. Any bond he
10:18
Speaker 1: might approve would be significantly more, he said. The next
10:25
Speaker 1: story is six months than a lifetime of loss. Family
10:31
Speaker 1: says prison sentence can't replace daughter. Six months can be
10:37
Speaker 1: a lifetime for Renata Dawn McKinney Bailey. Two six month
10:43
Speaker 1: periods would define the final chapter of her life. She
10:47
Speaker 1: had been married to Matt Bailey just five months when
10:51
Speaker 1: he was killed in a car wreck. She had been
10:54
Speaker 1: dating Vincent Fleming for six months when authorities say he
10:59
Speaker 1: beat her to death at his Cram Creek home. Now, Fleming,
11:04
Speaker 1: twenty five, is expected to spend the next nineteen years
11:07
Speaker 1: in state prison. Fleming, who pleaded guilty to first degree
11:11
Speaker 1: manslaughter in the November one, twenty twenty four beating death
11:15
Speaker 1: of Renatuta Bailey, was formerly sentenced last week in Letter
11:19
Speaker 1: Circuit court. As her family cried in the gallery, Fleming
11:25
Speaker 1: also sobbed as he was led out of the courtroom
11:27
Speaker 1: in chains. That didn't sit well with Renata's mother.
11:32
Speaker 2: The whole year and six months we've been going to court.
11:35
Speaker 1: He has never shed one tear till today when he
11:38
Speaker 1: shed his crocodile tears. Christy Smith said while family members
11:44
Speaker 1: say the sentencing brought some measure of comfort, they say
11:47
Speaker 1: nineteen years as nothing compared to the loss of their daughter.
11:51
Speaker 1: They agreed to the plea deal, but said Smith and
11:54
Speaker 1: her other daughter, Tamara McKinney, would have preferred Fleming be
11:58
Speaker 1: charged with murder or at at the very least publicly
12:01
Speaker 1: acknowledge what he had done. He should have had to
12:04
Speaker 1: say her name, Tamar McKinney said. She said she believes
12:09
Speaker 1: that if Fleming is ever released from prison, he'll do
12:12
Speaker 1: the same thing to someone else.
12:15
Speaker 2: Smith said she.
12:15
Speaker 1: Believes that while Fleming may not have intended to kill
12:18
Speaker 1: Renata at first, her injuries were too severe to have
12:22
Speaker 1: been accidental. She asked to see her daughter's body after
12:26
Speaker 1: the autopsy was completed and before she was prepared for
12:29
Speaker 1: her open casket funeral. She said she could barely recognize
12:34
Speaker 1: the little girl she had raised. He's a monster, she said.
12:40
Speaker 1: Riley McKinney, who is no longer married to Smith, said
12:44
Speaker 1: he didn't want to see his youngest daughter after she died.
12:47
Speaker 1: I don't want to see her that way. I prefer
12:50
Speaker 1: to remember her being happy and healthy. It's bad enough
12:53
Speaker 1: I have to go through this, he said. McKinney said
12:58
Speaker 1: he understands the risk of going to try where the
13:01
Speaker 1: outcome is never certain, but it was still difficult to
13:04
Speaker 1: see the charge reduced to manslaughter. He said he would
13:08
Speaker 1: have preferred Fleming receive a sentence of twenty five years
13:10
Speaker 1: to life. Under Kentucky law, manslaughter carries a maximum sentence
13:16
Speaker 1: of twenty years in prison unless the accused is also
13:19
Speaker 1: convicted of being a persistent felony offender or another aggravating
13:23
Speaker 1: factor applies. Considering what has happened and the way Kentucky
13:28
Speaker 1: statutes are laid out, I wish he had gotten a
13:30
Speaker 1: longer sentence, but this is what God has laid out.
13:34
Speaker 1: Riley mc kinney said, I love that baby immensely. I
13:38
Speaker 1: miss her so bad. I don't have words for it.
13:40
Speaker 2: Really, it's a hole in my soul that will never
13:43
Speaker 2: be filled.
13:46
Speaker 1: Both sides of the family described Ranada as a vivacious.
13:49
Speaker 2: Girl who grew into an equally.
13:51
Speaker 1: Energetic and playful woman. Her mother described her as a
13:56
Speaker 1: goofball who loved making people laugh, and wanted to help others.
14:00
Speaker 1: She wanted to be an obstetrics nurse. Smith said she
14:04
Speaker 1: got accepted to college. Av of Gray, who described herself
14:09
Speaker 1: as Ranada's best friend, said Renata would do anything for
14:13
Speaker 1: someone she cared about. She recalled one night when Ranada
14:17
Speaker 1: left her home at Blackie at two a m. And
14:20
Speaker 1: drove to Jenkins to help after Gray ran out of gas.
14:23
Speaker 1: On another occasion, Gray said Renata literally gave her the
14:27
Speaker 1: shirt off her back when her.
14:29
Speaker 2: Own shirt tore.
14:32
Speaker 1: Riley McKinney said his daughter never outgrew the rough housing
14:35
Speaker 1: and wrestling phase of childhood. She was constantly jumping on
14:39
Speaker 1: my back like she was nine years old. That's just
14:42
Speaker 1: the way she was.
14:43
Speaker 2: He said.
14:44
Speaker 1: All in the world that child ever wanted was someone
14:47
Speaker 1: to love her, someone to pay attention to her.
14:50
Speaker 2: He said he hopes.
14:51
Speaker 1: Other parents learn from his family's loss. Hug your children
14:55
Speaker 1: every chance she get, he said, Tell them you love them,
14:59
Speaker 1: don't ever let them forget you love them. The next
15:04
Speaker 1: story is Letcher native Emmy winning TV producer dies at
15:10
Speaker 1: sixty three. Benjamin Martin BJ Johnson, a Lecher County native
15:15
Speaker 1: who went on to become an Emmy Award winning television
15:18
Speaker 1: producer died suddenly over the weekend at his home in Atlanta, Georgia,
15:24
Speaker 1: according to a Facebook message posted by family members announcing
15:28
Speaker 1: his death. Johnson, sixty three, was born September thirtieth, nineteen
15:32
Speaker 1: sixty two to Benjamin and Audrey Cook Johnson, and was
15:37
Speaker 1: known affectionately by his family as Marty. He was always
15:41
Speaker 1: the life and light of the house. Family members said
15:45
Speaker 1: as a child, Marty showed an aptitude for music, which
15:47
Speaker 1: he carried with him all his life. He was a
15:50
Speaker 1: talented piano player and a gifted saxophonist. He also played
15:54
Speaker 1: baseball for many years with his older brother Mark. The
15:58
Speaker 1: brothers once combined on the double play that made their grandfather,
16:02
Speaker 1: John Cook, so proud he cried. But it was music
16:06
Speaker 1: that would take him out of Lecher County to the
16:08
Speaker 1: University of Kentucky, where he received a scholarship to play
16:12
Speaker 1: saxophone in the Wildcat Marching Band. After graduating from UK
16:17
Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty four with degrees in English and communications,
16:21
Speaker 1: Johnson began working in broadcast journalism, first in Lexington, then
16:26
Speaker 1: in Minneapolis, before moving to Atlanta in late nineteen eighty eight,
16:30
Speaker 1: where he worked as a news producer at WSBTV. After
16:35
Speaker 1: finding success in Atlanta, Johnson moved to the larger market
16:39
Speaker 1: of Los Angeles, where he served as a news producer
16:42
Speaker 1: for KCBSTV. The position took him around the world, including
16:48
Speaker 1: to the nineteen ninety eight Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
16:53
Speaker 1: While at KCBS, Johnson won two Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards,
16:58
Speaker 1: the first of which his mother proudly displayed atop her
17:01
Speaker 1: living room television.
17:02
Speaker 2: In rock House for many years.
17:05
Speaker 1: After winning his second Emmy award, he left Los Angeles
17:08
Speaker 1: and moved to Tampa, Florida, to be closer to family.
17:13
Speaker 1: In two thousand four, Johnson returned to television production work,
17:17
Speaker 1: this time in Dallas, Texas, where he remained for two
17:21
Speaker 1: more years before returning to Letter County to be near
17:24
Speaker 1: his parents as their health declined. While in Letter County,
17:28
Speaker 1: Johnson worked for a television channel operated by the Letter
17:31
Speaker 1: County School System and was a contributing writer for The
17:35
Speaker 1: Mountain Eagle. During that time, he returned to music, writing
17:39
Speaker 1: songs on the piano. He also mastered the art of
17:42
Speaker 1: baking cheesecakes, founding party Marty's Cheesecakes. In his mother's kitchen
17:48
Speaker 1: and sharing his creations with family and friends. After the
17:53
Speaker 1: deaths of his parents, Johnson returned to Atlanta, where he
17:56
Speaker 1: remained until his sudden passing. Family members said Johnson loved
18:02
Speaker 1: to travel and made extensive tours of Europe, Australia, New Zealand,
18:06
Speaker 1: parts of Asia, dozens of states across the continental United States,
18:11
Speaker 1: as well as Hawaii and Alaska. Because of his love
18:15
Speaker 1: for a knowledge of beauty pageants, he was selected to
18:18
Speaker 1: judge the Miss Kentucky pageant in two thousand twenty three
18:21
Speaker 1: and the Miss Puerto Rico pageant in two thousand twenty four,
18:24
Speaker 1: and had planned to judge a pageant in North Carolina
18:27
Speaker 1: this year. He also directed the Mountain Heritage Festival beauty
18:32
Speaker 1: pageant in Whitesburg during one of the years he.
18:34
Speaker 2: Lived in Dean.
18:37
Speaker 1: His loss is felt by many, the Facebook posting says,
18:41
Speaker 1: including his big brother Mark Johnson, his nieces Megan Johnson
18:45
Speaker 1: Wright and Brett Johnson Emes, his great nieces Sophie, Eleanor
18:50
Speaker 1: and Elsie, and a host of cousins and close friends.
18:55
Speaker 2: Johnson was preceded.
18:56
Speaker 1: In death by his parents, Audrey and Benny Johnson. His
19:00
Speaker 1: grandparents John and Ollie Hall Cook and Ben and Nanny
19:04
Speaker 1: Johnson and his infant sister, Michel And In the next story,
19:12
Speaker 1: Witchburg launches weekly pickleball program for players of every skill level.
19:20
Speaker 1: Letcher Countians looking for a fun way to stay active
19:23
Speaker 1: and connect with others will soon have a new opportunity
19:26
Speaker 1: as the City of Witchburg launches weekly pickleball play beginning Tuesday,
19:31
Speaker 1: June sixteenth. Pickleball, a fast growing sport that blend's aspects
19:36
Speaker 1: of tennis, badminton, and ping pong, has gained popularity among
19:40
Speaker 1: players of all ages and skill levels. According to city officials,
19:45
Speaker 1: pickleball sessions will be held every Tuesday at the new
19:49
Speaker 1: Whitchburg Pickleball Course located by Waitesburg Middle School. Players of
19:54
Speaker 1: all skill levels are welcome to participate. The program will
19:58
Speaker 1: offer beginner instructions starting at five pm, followed by open
20:03
Speaker 1: play from six pm to eight pm. The city is
20:07
Speaker 1: in working partnership with Partners for Rural Impact and The
20:13
Speaker 1: next story is unusual crash injures rider. An Iowa woman
20:21
Speaker 1: riding a three wheeled Harley Davidson motorcycle was seriously injured
20:25
Speaker 1: Saturday when a deer struck by a vehicle in front
20:28
Speaker 1: of her was thrown into her path. According to Kentucky
20:33
Speaker 1: State Police, the accident occurred about eleven forty four a
20:36
Speaker 1: m Saturday on Kentucky fifteen near Van. Trooper Matt Gayheart
20:42
Speaker 1: said a BMW X three was traveling north toward ism
20:46
Speaker 1: when a deer ran into the roadway. The vehicle struck
20:50
Speaker 1: the deer, launching it into the air and into the
20:53
Speaker 1: path of the motorcyclist traveling behind it. The impact knocked
20:58
Speaker 1: the woman from the motorcycle onto the Once that person
21:02
Speaker 1: had been knocked off, the vehicle continued to roll into
21:05
Speaker 1: the opposite lane and sideswipe to pickup truck. Gayheart said.
21:10
Speaker 1: First responders requested a medical helicopter, but Gayheart said the
21:14
Speaker 1: only available aircraft was about forty minutes away. The woman
21:19
Speaker 1: was transported by ground ambulance to a hospital with a
21:22
Speaker 1: hip injury. The names of those involved were not available
21:26
Speaker 1: at press time. Trooper Jarrett Fields is investigating. The next
21:32
Speaker 1: story is Bengals guitarist Beach Boys drummer Here Thursday, a
21:40
Speaker 1: member of the chart topping nineteen eighties band The Bengals,
21:44
Speaker 1: and a longtime drummer and vocalist with the Beach Boys
21:47
Speaker 1: will bring decades of rock and roll history to downtown
21:51
Speaker 1: Whisburg on Thursday night as part of the free levitt
21:55
Speaker 1: Amp music series. Vicki Peterson, lead guitarist and founding member
22:01
Speaker 1: of The Bengals, and John Cowcil, a former child star
22:05
Speaker 1: with The cow Sils who spent more than two decades
22:08
Speaker 1: performing with the Beach Boys, will perform on the Mountain
22:11
Speaker 1: Heritage Stage at seven thirty pm. Opening act Something Sandy
22:17
Speaker 1: will take the stage at six thirty pm. The husband
22:21
Speaker 1: and wife duo will perform songs from their critically acclaimed
22:25
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five album Long After the Fire, along with
22:29
Speaker 1: selections associated with their celebrated careers. Among them are the
22:34
Speaker 1: bengals breakthrough hit Manic Monday, written by Prince and Heir,
22:39
Speaker 1: the nineteen sixty nine hit that helped make The cow
22:41
Speaker 1: Sils one of the most popular family bands.
22:44
Speaker 2: Of the era.
22:46
Speaker 1: Founded in nineteen eighty one by Vicki Peterson, her sister
22:49
Speaker 1: Debbie Peterson, and Susannah Hoffs, the Bengals became one of
22:54
Speaker 1: the defining bands of the nineteen eighties, selling more than
22:57
Speaker 1: six million gold and platinum albums. Their music remains widely
23:02
Speaker 1: popular appearing in films and television series ranging from Austin
23:06
Speaker 1: Powers to Stranger Things. Peterson later formed The Psycho Sisters
23:12
Speaker 1: with Susan Cowcil and became a member of the acclaimed
23:16
Speaker 1: Americana group The Continental Drifters, where both musicians continued to
23:20
Speaker 1: perform today. Throughout her career, Peterson has recorded or performed
23:26
Speaker 1: with artists including Tom Petty, John Doe, Hoody and the Blowfish,
23:30
Speaker 1: and Belinda Carlisle. She also toured with The Go Gos
23:34
Speaker 1: during the band's nineteen ninety four to ninety five reunion tour.
23:39
Speaker 1: The Bengals reunited in the twenty first century and have
23:42
Speaker 1: since released four additional albums. John Calcil began performing professionally
23:49
Speaker 1: at age seven with his family band, The Cowciles, which
23:53
Speaker 1: became an international sensation during the late nineteen sixties. The
23:57
Speaker 1: group made multiple appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The
24:00
Speaker 1: Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and other national television programs,
24:05
Speaker 1: scoring major hits with Hair and the Rain, The Park
24:09
Speaker 1: and Other Things. In nineteen eighty one, Cas Hill contributed
24:14
Speaker 1: to Tommy Two Tones hit eight six, seven, five, three
24:18
Speaker 1: nine Jenny, before beginning a lengthy association with the Beach Boys.
24:23
Speaker 1: Over more than twenty years. With the legendary band, he
24:27
Speaker 1: played guitar, piano, and drums while performing an average of
24:31
Speaker 1: one hundred eighty concerts annually. His appearances with the Beach
24:35
Speaker 1: Boys included Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Grand
24:38
Speaker 1: Ole Opry, and the Grammy Awards. Over the course of
24:43
Speaker 1: his career, Casshill has performed and recorded with artists including
24:46
Speaker 1: Bob Dylan, The Mamas and the Papas, Harry Chapin, Maroon Five,
24:51
Speaker 1: Mickey Dolans of the Monkeys, and Chuck Berry. He currently
24:55
Speaker 1: serves as one of the lead singers of The Smithereens
24:59
Speaker 1: and his touring drummer for Peter Parrott of The Only Ones.
25:04
Speaker 1: As a duo, Peterson and Calcil have attracted national attention
25:08
Speaker 1: since debuting together in twenty twenty four, earning praise from
25:12
Speaker 1: La Weekly and a feature in People Magazine. They have
25:16
Speaker 1: also appeared at the thirty A Songwriters Festival and the
25:19
Speaker 1: Vadsu Arts Festival in Norway. Their debut album, Long After
25:24
Speaker 1: the Fire, features songs written by John Cowhill's late brothers,
25:29
Speaker 1: Barry and Bill Cowcil, including the acclaimed single fool Is
25:34
Speaker 1: the Last One?
25:34
Speaker 2: To Know.
25:37
Speaker 1: The levitt Amp Wisburg Music Series is presented by the
25:40
Speaker 1: Cowan Community Center in partnership with the City of Whitsburg,
25:44
Speaker 1: the Mountain Heritage Festival Committee, Lectter Tourism, the Wisburg Farmers Market,
25:50
Speaker 1: Apple Shop, and Caine Kitchen. The next story is Butler
25:57
Speaker 1: Stein's defense team trade barb over allegations Leiser Commonwealth's attorney
26:04
Speaker 1: Matt Butler has accused members of former Sheriff Sean Nicky
26:08
Speaker 1: Steins's defense team of attempting to influence the jury pool
26:12
Speaker 1: in the murder case, including allegations that a private investigator
26:16
Speaker 1: offered two thousand dollars for unspecified information. The investigator, Joel
26:22
Speaker 1: Newton Cotton of Anderson County, denied knowledge of such an offer. However,
26:27
Speaker 1: his telephone number appears at the top of a text
26:29
Speaker 1: message offering two K for information. The message does not
26:34
Speaker 1: specify what information was being sought. The Mountain Eagle was
26:39
Speaker 1: provided a screenshot of the message several months ago by
26:43
Speaker 1: an anonymous source, but had not independently verified its authenticity
26:47
Speaker 1: until Tuesday, shortly before Butler posted the same message on
26:51
Speaker 1: his Facebook page. A reference to the message appeared in
26:55
Speaker 1: an earlier story but the sender was not Identifiedations surfaced
27:01
Speaker 1: publicly after Butler testified during a change of venue hearing
27:05
Speaker 1: Friday in Leslie County. I live in Letcher County, and
27:09
Speaker 1: I've seen the concerted effort by you, your investigator, and
27:12
Speaker 1: others to taint the jury pool. And I feel that
27:15
Speaker 1: it is extremely unfair that you have taken great steps
27:17
Speaker 1: to imply that there's some sort of conspiracy that there's not,
27:21
Speaker 1: and the Letter County jury could not see this matter.
27:24
Speaker 1: Butler testified on Tuesday. A reporter called the number shown
27:29
Speaker 1: in the screenshot and reached a voicemail greeting for Joel.
27:33
Speaker 1: Cotton returned the call shortly afterward. The text message states,
27:39
Speaker 1: this is just between you and I. We'll keep it
27:41
Speaker 1: strictly confidential, but there is two K to be paid
27:45
Speaker 1: for some specific information. Call me when you get a chance.
27:50
Speaker 1: No recording, no bull I promise. Asked about the message,
27:54
Speaker 1: Cotton said, I don't know what that would be. All
27:58
Speaker 1: I do is talk to people, he said, I don't
28:00
Speaker 1: try to manipulate their information. Cotton said he had not
28:04
Speaker 1: spoken with many people about the case. Asked directly whether
28:08
Speaker 1: he sent the message, Cotton declined to give a yes
28:11
Speaker 1: or no answer. I talk to a lot of people,
28:13
Speaker 1: he said, I don't recall. This concludes the reading of
28:19
Speaker 1: the Mountain Eagle. Your reader has been Bill and Arsenal.
28:23
Speaker 1: Now please stay tuned for continued programming on behalf of
28:27
Speaker 1: every one here at radio. I thank you for listening,
28:31
Speaker 1: and have a good day.