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Whitesburg Mountain Eagle - 9.10.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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  Speaker 1: Now we turn to The Mountain Eagle to read news
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  Speaker 1: from Whitesburg. Your reader today is Bill Denarsdal. We will
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  Speaker 1: begin with the edition dated September 9, 2026, which the
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  Speaker 1: publishers have donated to Radio Eye. As a reminder, Radio
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  Speaker 1: Eye is a reading service intended for people who are
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  Speaker 1: blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
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  Speaker 1: read printed material. The first story is... Couple arrested after
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  Speaker 1: visiting sheriff's office to complain about their names appearing in
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  Speaker 1: the paper. A millstone husband and wife were arrested when
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  Speaker 1: they went to the Letcher County Sheriff's Office to complain
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  Speaker 1: that publication of their names in the newspaper had led
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  Speaker 1: to harassment, Sheriff Billy Jones said. Darrell E. Heiston, 38,
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  Speaker 1: and Luella Heiston, 32, had been named in the Mountain
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  Speaker 1: Eagle after a Letcher County grand jury indicted them on
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  Speaker 1: charges involving the alleged sexual abuse of children under age 12.
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  Speaker 1: The indictment warrants had not been served before the couple
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  Speaker 1: arrived at the sheriff's office, Jones said. Both were arrested
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  Speaker 1: and are being held in lieu of $ 25, 000 cash bonds.
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  Speaker 1: An arraignment hearing for the couple is set for September
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  Speaker 1: 23rd at 8.59 a.m. in Letcher Circuit Court. The two
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  Speaker 1: were indicted August 27th on charges related to first-degree sexual abuse.
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  Speaker 1: Daryl Heiston is charged with subjecting a female child under
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  Speaker 1: 12 to sexual contact when she was incapable of consenting
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  Speaker 1: because of her age. The indictment alleges the abuse began
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  Speaker 1: at the child's birth and continued to the present. Luetta
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  Speaker 1: Heiston is charged with complicity to first-degree sexual abuse. she
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  Speaker 1: is accused of subjecting the same child to sexual contact
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  Speaker 1: while acting alone or in criminal complicity with Daryl Heiston.
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  Speaker 1: The alleged abuse occurred between June 2017 and March of
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  Speaker 1: this year, beginning when the child was an infant. Luella
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  Speaker 1: Heiston is also charged with first-degree sexual abuse involving a
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  Speaker 1: male child under age 12. The indictment alleges that she
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  Speaker 1: subjected the child to sexual contact when he was incapable
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  Speaker 1: of consenting because of his age. Those acts allegedly occurred
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  Speaker 1: from 2018 through 2020, when the child was between 4
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  Speaker 1: and 6 years old. At an arraignment, the charges against
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  Speaker 1: the defendant are formally presented in court, the defendant enters
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  Speaker 1: a plea, and the judge considers such matters as bond
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  Speaker 1: and future court dates. An arraignment is not a trial
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  Speaker 1: and does not determine whether a defendant is guilty. An
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  Speaker 1: indictment is an accusation and does not constitute evidence of guilt.
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  Speaker 1: The next headline is, Early voters are urged to avoid
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  Speaker 1: using post office. Voting rights advocates are encouraging people who
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  Speaker 1: vote by mail this year to bypass the U.S. Postal Service,
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  Speaker 1: and deliver their ballots directly to the ballot box at
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  Speaker 1: their county clerk's office. With 10 days left before Kentucky's
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  Speaker 1: absentee ballot portal opens up on the internet, the future
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  Speaker 1: of mail-in ballots is still up in the air, as
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  Speaker 1: the Trump administration asks the Supreme Court for the third
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  Speaker 1: time in six weeks to allow the executive branch to
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  Speaker 1: place restrictions on the delivery of mail-in ballots. Letcher County
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  Speaker 1: Clerk Winston Meade said he has received no instructions from
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  Speaker 1: Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams about how to proceed,
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  Speaker 1: or even the possibility that ballots might not be delivered.
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  Speaker 1: There were 47 mail-in ballots in the county in the
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  Speaker 1: last general election, but Meade expects more this November. This
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  Speaker 1: time it will be worse than ever because you've got
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  Speaker 1: it from federal down to city council, Meade said. It's
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  Speaker 1: going to be a mess. Secretary Adams, a Republican, won
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  Speaker 1: an earlier case in July after U.S. District Judge Clarion
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  Speaker 1: Horn Boom threw out a lawsuit filed against Adams by
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  Speaker 1: the Department of Justice because he refused to give the
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  Speaker 1: Department of Justice a complete, unredacted list of Kentucky voters.
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  Speaker 1: The administration has also appealed that ruling. Its briefing is
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  Speaker 1: due to be filed in two weeks, and Adams will
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  Speaker 1: have one month to answer. That case is unlikely to
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  Speaker 1: be concluded before the November 10th election. In the current appeal,
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  Speaker 1: the administration is asking the high court to uphold a
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  Speaker 1: new U.S. Postal Service rule that would require state election
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  Speaker 1: officials to redesign ballot envelopes to include a unique barcode
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  Speaker 1: for each voter who requests a ballot and give the
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  Speaker 1: Postal Service a list of all those barcodes. The post
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  Speaker 1: office would then compare the barcodes on the envelope to
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  Speaker 1: the barcodes on the list and would refuse to deliver
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  Speaker 1: any ballots that don't match. Like the demand for a
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  Speaker 1: complete list of voters, the U.S. Postal Service rule was
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  Speaker 1: written as the result of an executive order signed by
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  Speaker 1: President Donald J. Trump in March that set out multiple
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  Speaker 1: layers of control over elections. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani
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  Speaker 1: paused enforcement of the executive order after 23 states and
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  Speaker 1: the District of Columbia filed suit, arguing the Constitution gives
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  Speaker 1: the administration of elections solely to the states and that
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  Speaker 1: the president has no authority to issue election edicts. The
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  Speaker 1: Supreme Court declined to rule on the constitutional question. but
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  Speaker 1: still overturned the pause Talwani ordered, saying the states did
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  Speaker 1: not have standing to sue because while the Postal Service
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  Speaker 1: had proposed a rule changing how ballots were handled, it
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  Speaker 1: had not put it in place. The Postal Service rule
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  Speaker 1: went into effect the next day, and the states again
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  Speaker 1: asked Talwani to stop it. As the case works its
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  Speaker 1: way through the courts, the Trump administration has asked twice
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  Speaker 1: more for the Supreme Court to intervene. once after Talwani
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  Speaker 1: issued a temporary restraining order, and again after she replaced
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  Speaker 1: the temporary restraining order with a preliminary injunction. Meanwhile, a
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  Speaker 1: Postal Service whistleblower told Congress that the new system could
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  Speaker 1: reject an entire batch of mail-in ballots if just one
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  Speaker 1: barcode is bad. And the Postal Service has also changed
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  Speaker 1: its systems so postmarks are no longer placed on mail
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  Speaker 1: when it is dropped off. Instead, postmarks won't be placed
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  Speaker 1: on envelopes until they reach a regional processing facility. Here,
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  Speaker 1: that means a ballot mailed from all the or most
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  Speaker 1: other post offices in Letcher County won't be postmarked until
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  Speaker 1: it arrives in Knoxville, Tennessee, where it would be sorted
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  Speaker 1: and sent back to Whitesburg. If a ballot is mailed
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  Speaker 1: in Jenkins, it won't be postmarked until it arrives in Charleston,
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  Speaker 1: West Virginia, While Kentucky requires mail-in ballots to be received
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  Speaker 1: in the clerk's office by 6 p.m. local time on
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  Speaker 1: Election Day, some states allow ballots to be counted as
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: long as they are postmarked before Election Day. The new
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  Speaker 1: postmarked system means voters would have to mail in their
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  Speaker 1: ballots earlier than ever before in order for their votes
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  Speaker 1: to be counted. Solicitor General John Sauer, who is arguing
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  Speaker 1: the case for the Trump administration, has acknowledged in court
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  Speaker 1: that it might be impossible for states to get ballots
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  Speaker 1: out to voters and back into election offices in time
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  Speaker 1: to be counted, but he blamed the delay on the
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  Speaker 1: states and indicated the administration will push ahead in implementing
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  Speaker 1: the rule in spite of that. Sauer, in his request
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  Speaker 1: to the Supreme Court for a stay while the case
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  Speaker 1: continues through the Court of Appeals, said there is a
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  Speaker 1: grave risk that states may not have taken the necessary
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  Speaker 1: steps to comply due to the false sense of latitude
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  Speaker 1: created by the court's improper order, potentially depriving those states'
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  Speaker 1: citizens of the ability to vote by mail. Tuesday morning,
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  Speaker 1: 261 current and former members of Congress and the Senate
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  Speaker 1: from both Democrat and Republican parties filed a Friend of
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  Speaker 1: the Court brief asking the Supreme Court to halt the
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  Speaker 1: administration's attempts to to exert control over the election. And
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  Speaker 1: the next story is, both school districts are projecting gains
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  Speaker 1: from property taxes. Property tax revenue is expected to increase
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  Speaker 1: for both public school districts in Letcher County under rates
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  Speaker 1: proposed for the coming fiscal year, although the Jenkins Independent
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  Speaker 1: School District plans to lower its rates. The Letcher County
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  Speaker 1: Board of Education is proposing a general fund tax rate
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  Speaker 1: of 68.1 cents on each $ 100 of assessed value for
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  Speaker 1: both real estate and personal property. That would represent an
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  Speaker 1: increase of one-tenth of a cent from the 68 cent
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  Speaker 1: rates levied during the previous fiscal year. The Jenkins Independent
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  Speaker 1: Board of Education is proposing rates of 84 cents on
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  Speaker 1: each $ 100 of assessed value for both real estate and
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  Speaker 1: personal property. Jenkins levied 86 cents on real estate and
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  Speaker 1: 90 cents on personal property during the previous fiscal year.
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  Speaker 1: Its proposed rates would therefore reduce the real estate rate
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  Speaker 1: by 2 cents and the personal property rate by 6 cents.
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  Speaker 1: For the owner of real estate assessed at $ 100, 000 before
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  Speaker 1: any exemptions are applied, the proposed Letcher County School General
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  Speaker 1: Fund tax would be $ 680. would be $ 1 more than
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  Speaker 1: under the previous 68-cent rate. The proposed Jenkins school tax
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  Speaker 1: on real estate assessed at $ 100, 000 would be $ 840 or
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  Speaker 1: $ 20 less than the $ 860 imposed under the previous Despite
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  Speaker 1: the lower rates, the Jenkins District expects its general fund
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  Speaker 1: property tax revenue to increase by $ 110, 689. 51. The district collected $ 482, 713. 24
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  Speaker 1: from its general fund property taxes during fiscal year 2026.
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  Speaker 1: The proposed 84 cent rates are expected to produce $ 593, 402. 75
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  Speaker 1: during fiscal year 2027, according to a legal notice published
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  Speaker 1: by the district. Of the projected revenue, $ 129, 392. 48 is expected
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  Speaker 1: to come from new property and personal property. Jenkins listed
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  Speaker 1: a compensating tax rate of 82.9 cents on both real
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  Speaker 1: estate and personal property. That rate would be expected to
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  Speaker 1: produce $ 585, 632. The compensating rate generally is calculated to allow
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  Speaker 1: a taxing district to receive approximately the same revenue from
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  Speaker 1: property that was taxed the previous year, despite changes in assessments.
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  Speaker 1: Revenue from new property is treated separately in the calculation.
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  Speaker 1: Jenkins proposes to allocate its projected $ 110, 689. 51 increase in revenue
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  Speaker 1: among three areas. The district would use $ 4, 427 for tax
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  Speaker 1: collection costs, $ 84, 124 for instruction, and $ 22, 137 for maintenance of
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  Speaker 1: its buildings and other facilities. The Letcher County School District
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  Speaker 1: collected $ 3, 211, 511. 27 from its 68-cent general fund rates during fiscal
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  Speaker 1: year 2026. Its proposed rate of 68.1 cents on real
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  Speaker 1: estate and personal property is expected to produce $ 4, 128, 618. 57 during
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  Speaker 1: fiscal year 2027. Of that amount, $ 807, 660. 20 is projected to
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  Speaker 1: come from new property and personal property. The proposed $ 68. 1
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  Speaker 1: rate is also the compensating rate calculated for the Letcher
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  Speaker 1: County District. The District's legal notice says the proposed rate
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  Speaker 1: is expected to generate $ 60, 677. 50 more than the applicable 2026
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  Speaker 1: revenue calculation. That additional revenue would be divided equally among
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  Speaker 1: five areas. The district proposes to allocate $ 12, 135. 50 each to
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  Speaker 1: tax collection costs, its building fund, instruction, transportation, and maintenance
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  Speaker 1: of its buildings and other facilities. The notices do not
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  Speaker 1: mean that all property owners will experience the same change
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  Speaker 1: in their tax bills. The amount owed depends on the
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  Speaker 1: assessed value of each property. whether that assessment has changed,
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  Speaker 1: and whether the owner qualifies for an exemption. The notices
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  Speaker 1: concern only the school district's general fund property tax levies.
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  Speaker 1: They do not include property taxes imposed by other local
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  Speaker 1: taxing districts. Both school districts publish the information as required
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  Speaker 1: by the Kentucky General Assembly. The notices say neither proposed
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: rate is subject to recall under state law. The next
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  Speaker 1: story is, Food Giveaway Helps Pets Remain With Families. What
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  Speaker 1: began as one woman's plan to establish another animal shelter
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  Speaker 1: in Letcher County has become an effort to keep pets
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  Speaker 1: out of shelters and in the homes of people who
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  Speaker 1: already love them. Scarlet's Hope of Letcher County distributed free
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  Speaker 1: dog food, treats, and chew toys in Fleming Neon on
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  Speaker 1: August 31st. Founder Christy Robinson of Crafts Collie said similar
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  Speaker 1: distributions are planned in other parts of the county. We
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  Speaker 1: chose Neon first because they just went through the flood here,
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  Speaker 1: Robinson said. She arrived with 200 one-gallon bags of dog food,
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  Speaker 1: 200 chew toys, and 200 bags of dog treats to
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  Speaker 1: distribute on a first-come, first-served basis. Robinson has not been
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  Speaker 1: able to establish the animal shelter she originally envisioned. As
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  Speaker 1: she continued working with homeless animals, however, she decided that
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  Speaker 1: helping owners care for their pets might prevent some animals
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  Speaker 1: from being abandoned in the first place. It's not about
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  Speaker 1: putting them in a shelter. It's about helping them stay
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  Speaker 1: with the people who love them already, she said. Robinson
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  Speaker 1: plans to hold at least one pet food distribution each month,
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  Speaker 1: moving the event to different areas of the county. She
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  Speaker 1: said financial hardship is making it increasingly difficult for some
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  Speaker 1: families to feed their pets. Rescue volunteers are responding by
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  Speaker 1: providing food, helping arrange spaying and neutering, and finding homes
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  Speaker 1: for animals that have already been abandoned. Robinson has volunteered
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  Speaker 1: with the Kentucky River Regional Animal Shelter, transporting van loads
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  Speaker 1: of stray animals to out-of-state rescue organizations that have a
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  Speaker 1: better chance of finding homes for them. She started Scarlet's
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  Speaker 1: Hope after seeing the number of abandoned dogs increase beyond
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  Speaker 1: the regional shelter's available space. Robinson said she hopes distributing
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  Speaker 1: dog food near the end of each month will help
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  Speaker 1: pet owners, particularly those living on fixed incomes, get through
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  Speaker 1: the final days before their next check arrives. They can't
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  Speaker 1: afford to feed them, she said. Scarlett's Hope is named
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  Speaker 1: for Robinson's red-boned coonhound. A veterinarian in Washington, D.C. owns
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  Speaker 1: another female from the same litter and donated ten 30-pound
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  Speaker 1: bags of dog food to the effort. Robinson divided the
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  Speaker 1: large bags into one-gallon portions, enough to help an owner
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  Speaker 1: who might otherwise run out of food a few days
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  Speaker 1: before receiving a paycheck or monthly check. Dogs are not
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  Speaker 1: her only concern. Robinson said the problem involving homeless and
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  Speaker 1: feral cats may be even more difficult because less shelter
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  Speaker 1: and rescue space is available for them. Cats can produce
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  Speaker 1: several litters a year, she said, causing a small colony
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  Speaker 1: to grow rapidly if the animals are not spayed or neutered.
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  Speaker 1: Robinson believes trap-neuter-return programs can help control feral cat populations.
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  Speaker 1: Under those programs, cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered,
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  Speaker 1: and returned to the areas where they were found. She
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  Speaker 1: said grant-supported programs generally require participating cats to be returned
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  Speaker 1: to their original locations. Although that prevents additional kittens from
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  Speaker 1: being born, the cats may still lack dependable food and
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  Speaker 1: protection from the weather. Robinson said she knows someone with
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  Speaker 1: contacts at horse farms in central Kentucky. where some feral
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  Speaker 1: cats can live in barns and help control mice. She
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  Speaker 1: has used her own money to have cats spayed or neutered.
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  Speaker 1: She said she presently has about 70 telephone messages from
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  Speaker 1: people seeking help with the cost of having their animals sterilized.
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  Speaker 1: It's not that people don't want to spay and neuter
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  Speaker 1: their pets. It's that we need vets to participate, Robinson said.
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  Speaker 1: Scarlett's Hope also needs a heated and air-conditioned location where
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  Speaker 1: donated pet food can be stored, and large bags can
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: be divided into smaller portions. Robinson said a 34-pound bag
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: of dog food can be divided into nine one-gallon bags.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: She said a $ 50 donation would cover the vaccinations needed
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: for one animal. In the next headline... PSC reopens case
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: involving $ 2 million in Kentucky Power winter storm costs in region.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: The Kentucky Public Service Commission has reopened a case involving
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: as much as $ 2 million in Kentucky Power storm expenses
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: that could become the subject of a future request for
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: recovery from customers. The PSC granted Kentucky Power's request for
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: a partial rehearing of of a July 21 order concerning
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: costs the company incurred while restoring service after a major
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: winter storm in January. The August 27 order does not
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: decide whether Kentucky Power is entitled to defer the additional
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: expenses or recover them through customer rates. The commission said
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: it reopened the case to obtain more information before ruling
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: on the company's argument. At issue is whether $ 2 million
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: in annual storm expenses already included in Kentucky Power's base
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: rates applies to major storms as well as smaller, more
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: routine storms. Kentucky Power serves most of Letcher County and
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: portions of 19 other eastern Kentucky counties. The company reported
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: approximately $ 3. 69 million in total restoration costs from Winter Storm Fern,
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: which struck its service area beginning January 25th. Of that amount,
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: Kentucky Power identified approximately $ 2. 38 million as incremental operation and
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: maintenance expenses. In its July order, the PSC allowed Kentucky
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: Power to establish what is known as a regulatory asset
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: for qualifying storm expenses, but only to the extent that
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: the expenses exceeded the $ 2 million already included in the
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: company's base rates. Based on the company's estimated expenses, that
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: decision would apparently allow Kentucky Power to defer approximately $ 380, 000
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: rather than the full $ 2. 38 million it requested. Kentucky Power
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: filed a motion August 10th asking the PSC to reconsider
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: that portion of its decision. The company contends that the
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: $ 2 million already included in base rates was intended to
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: cover non-major storms and should not be used to offset
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: costs from a major event, such as the January storm.
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: The PSC reached a different conclusion in July, pointing to
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: language in a settlement agreement from Kentucky Power's most recent
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: base rate case. That agreement said, Kentucky Power would increase
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: the amount included in base rates for major and non-major
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: storm expense from $ 0 to $ 2 million. The Commission therefore
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: determined that the $ 2 million was not limited to expenses
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: associated with non-major storms. Kentucky Power argues that other language
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: and decisions in the rate case show that the allowance
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: was intended differently. The company says it should be permitted
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: to defer major storm expenses even when those costs do
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: not exceed the $ 2 million already included in rates. If
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: Kentucky Power ultimately prevails, the amount eligible for deferral could
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: increase by as much as $ 2 million, from approximately $ 380, 000
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: to approximately $ 2. 38 million, based on the company's current estimates.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: Establishing a regulatory asset does not immediately place the expense
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: on customer bills. It permits a utility to record an
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: expense on its books for possible recovery in a future
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: rate case, rather than recognizing the entire expense at once.
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: The PSC emphasized in its July order that the accounting
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: treatment did not constitute final approval of the individual expenses
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: for rate-making purposes. the Commission said Kentucky Power would have
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: to document that the expenses were prudent and necessary before
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: any amount could be included in rates. Any decision about
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: whether the regulatory assets should be spread over time and
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: recovered from customers would be made in Kentucky Power's next
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: base rate case. The January storm caused widespread damage across
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: Kentucky Power's service territories. At the height of the storm, 4,970
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: customers were without electricity. The company reported damage to 15 transformers,
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: 25 sets of cross arms, 22 utility poles, and 207
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: spans of electrical conductor. Approximately 925 Kentucky Power employees and
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: contract workers participated in the restoration effort. Hazardous road conditions
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: indicated and continuing bad weather hampered the work, according to
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: the company. Kentucky Power filed its application for a regulatory
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: asset treatment April 17th. No outside party sought to intervene
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: before the PSC issued its original decision. In granting the
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: partial rehearing, the commission cautioned that its action should not
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: be interpreted as a ruling in Kentucky Power's favor. The
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: commission established a new procedural schedule for the case. Initial
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: requests for information from PSC staff are due September 11th,
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: and Kentucky Power must respond by September 25th. By October 2nd,
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: the company must request either a hearing or ask the
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: PSC to decide the case on the written record. In
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: the next story, Speakeasy will raise funds for local projects.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: The Letcher County Community Foundation which got its start in
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: the aftermath of the 2022 flood, has given approximately $ 90, 000
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: to projects in Letcher County and is now looking to
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: raise more. The nonprofit is holding its first fundraising dinner
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: in the downtown Whitesburg Historic District this fall with a
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: 1920s-themed speakeasy. The event will be held in the old
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: Dahlhares Building, which was built in 1923 as Mullins Brothers
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: Department Store. The foundation is specific to Letcher County, but
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: it operates with administrative help from the Foundation for Appalachian
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: Kentucky in Hazard. Jeffrey Justice, who works with the Community Foundation,
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: EKY Heritage Foundation, and is chief executive officer of Pine
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: Mountain Partnership, said around half the money the Community Foundation
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: has spent was for flood relief efforts, but it's also
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: helped local nonprofits and other projects. It's all donated money,
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: Justice said. The big thing we've done is the education
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: award on behalf of James and Wanda Rentals. The family
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: endowed some money to allow us to make awards to
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: students in Letcher County. Not technically a scholarship, but $ 1, 000
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: per year gifts can be extended for a student's entire
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: four years of college. and the fund doesn't require a
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: specific area of study, only that the student live in
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: Letcher County and sit for an interview as part of
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: the application process. It's not for 4.0 students. It's for
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: those that fall between the cracks, Justice said. It's not
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: totally based on academic need, and it's not solely based
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: on need. So it's for those that fall somewhere in
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: the middle. The next story is Gordon Water Project, would
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: add nearly 23 miles of lines. The Letcher County Water
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: and Sewer District is moving forward with plans for a
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: major waterline extension along Kentucky Highway 510 in the Gordon community.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: The district is seeking qualifications from engineering firms to help
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: with planning, design, and construction oversight for the Highway 510
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: Gordon Waterline Extensions Project. According to a public notice issued
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: by the district, the proposed project would include 71,000 feet
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: of 6-inch water main, 28,000 feet of 4-inch main, and 22,000
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: feet of 3-inch main, a total of about 121,000 feet,
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: or nearly 23 miles, of water line. Plans also call
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: for a booster pump station capable of moving 150 gallons
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: per minute, a 100,000-gallon ground-level water storage tank, and a
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: regional interconnection with BMUD. This concludes the reading of The
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: Mountain Eagle. Your reader has been Bill VanArsdel. Now, please
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: stay tuned for continued programming. On behalf of everyone here
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: at Radio Eye, thank you for listening, and have a
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: good day. For young people ages 9 to 18. The
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: Homemaker Learning Service, no.