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(Whitesburg) Mountain Eagle - 6.4.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
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from Wisburg. Your reader today is build an Arsenale. We
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will begin with the addition dated June third, twenty twenty six,
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which the publishers have donated to RADIOIE as a reminder.
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RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
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blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
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read printed material. The first headline is around the campfire
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at Fish Pond. The hooting of owls, the hanking of geese,
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the splash of bass in the lake, and the growl
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of side by sides winding through the hills all blend
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into the atmosphere at the Spring meet Up in the
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Mountains at Fish Pond Lake. The annual gathering, held this
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weekend for the eighth year, draws outdoor enthusiasts from across
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the country to learn primitive skills such as bow drill firemen,
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traditional herbal remedies including tea made from the common wildflower
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daisy fleabane, and wilderness survival techniques, while also offering instruction
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in modern skills such as wilderness first aid. Now in
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its eighth year in Letcher County, the event has evolved
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into something more like a family reunion than a trade show.
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Many participants return year after year, gathering around campfires and
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sharing a potluck meal every Saturday night. It was well
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in excess of one hundred that passed through this year,
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but as far as camping out, it was somewhere around
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thirty or forty, said Chris Riffey of Thornton, who hosted
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the first meet up at Fish Pond Lake. The gathering
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began at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area
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in Tennessee. When the event's founder decided to step away,
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he asked Riffee if he would be willing to host it.
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Rify agreed, and only if it could be held in
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his home county. Since then, the meetup has become a
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destination for outdoor enthusiasts, YouTube content creators, and their followers.
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It started out just a group of YouTubers getting together,
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but it's more than that, Riffy said. There's still a
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lot of YouTubers, but there are a lot of other
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people too. Over the years, participants have traveled to Letcher
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County from states including California, Iowa, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, and Georgia,
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as well as neighboring Kentucky Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and
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the Carolinas. This year. Riffy pointed to a pair of
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brothers who first attended several years ago after working in
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Bowling Green. They were so impressed by the area that
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they eventually purchased property in neighboring Leslie County. The first
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time they showed up was probably four years ago, and
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they just fell in love with these mountains, he said.
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The event has also become an unexpected tourism draw. Many
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attendees first learn about Fish Pond Lake and eastern Kentucky
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through YouTube videos posted by participants and decide to see
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the area for themselves. Another avenue of promotion has come
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through amateur radio. The Lescher County Amateur Radio Club has
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operated a special events station from the center of the
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campground for the past three years. According to Rowland Brown
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of lecture, this year, club members made contact with approximately
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twenty five amateur radio operators in locations ranging from Spain
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to the Middle East. When videos from this year's event
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are posted online, each contact will receive a commemorative QSL
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card featuring artwork inspired by the meet up and a
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QR code linking to a website containing video highlights from
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attendee's YouTube channels. A card is for any confirmed contact
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and it will say basically, hey, you have us on
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a special events call sign W four B or whiskey
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four Bravo. Brown said many amateur radio operators collect QSL
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cards from around the world, displaying them in albums or
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on the walls of their radio shacks, much like travelers
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once displayed postcards from distant places. For organizers, the cards
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offer another way to introduce people around the world to
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Lectra County, Fish Pond Lake, and the mountains that keep
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drawing visitors back year after year. The next story is
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man faces long term in prison after conviction. A u
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Z man convicted of killing his nephew in twenty twenty
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four will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
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Elector Circuit Court jury last week found Rodney Webb, fifty eight,
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guilty of first degree manslaughter in the death of his nephew,
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Nicholas Webb. According to testimony, Rodney Webb shot Nicholas Webb,
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forty four, in the leg during a family altercation on
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April fifth, twenty twenty four. The bullet severed the femoral
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artery and Nicholas Webb bled to death before emergency medical
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personnel could arrive. Witnesses estimated that he died within three
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to four minutes of being shot. Witnesses testified that the
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altercation began when Rodney Webb's brother, Roger Webb, became angry
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about a loud pickup truck that awakened him. After arriving
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at Rodney webb nearby trailer, the two men became involved
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in a fistfight. Roger Webb testified that he pinned Rodney
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Webb to the ground for several minutes while striking him
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in the face. After the fight ended, Nicholas Webb attempted
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to intervene, and Rodney Webb then fired the fatal shot,
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according to testimony. Rodney Webb was originally charged with murder
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and persistent Felony Offender PFO, second degree charges that carried
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the possibility of a life sentence. The jury instead convicted
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him of first degree manslaughter, which ordinarily carries a sentence
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of ten to twenty years in prison. The trial then
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moved into a second phase to determine whether Webb qualified
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as a persistent felony offender. Defense attorney Jonas Stevens argued
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that Kentucky's PFO statute was never intended to target non
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violent offenders and noted that Webb's previous convictions were not
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for violent crimes. Stephens also asked jurors to consider Webb's
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age and health. PFO would be inhumane. Stephens said, mister
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Webb would probably die in prison. Letcher, Commonwealth's attorney Matt Butler,
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urged jurors to focus solely on whether Webb met the
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legal requirements for a persistent felony offender enhancement. The jury agreed,
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finding Webb guilty of being a persistent felony offender in
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the second degree. The enhancement elevated the manslaughter conviction to
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a Class A felony, carrying a possible sentence of twenty
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years to life in prison. During the sentencing phase, Butler
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called Kentucky State Police detective Brandon Thomas as his only witness.
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Thomas testified that if jurors had seen Rodney Webb's feet
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in a photograph taken on the day of the shooting,
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they would have seen an ankle monitor. Webb was on
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home incarceration at the time of the offense. Butler then
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asked Letcher Circuit Judge James W. Craft the second to
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read Webb's prior criminal record into evidence. The record included
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convictions for trafficking and control substances, driving under the influence,
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non support, possession of drug payer fernilia, possession of controlled substances,
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and other offenses. Stephens submitted Webb's medical records as evidence,
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but called no witnesses. During closing arguments, Stevens again argued
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that Kentucky's persistent felony offender law was modeled after statutes
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enacted in states with higher violent crime rates and now
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often affects defendants whose prior offenses were non violent. I think,
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deep down you know he does not have a violent nature,
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Stevens said of his clan. Butler countered that Webb's criminal
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record demonstrated a pattern of unlawful behavior. In the next headline,
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school board narrows superintendent choices, the Lectri County Board of
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Education will interview two candidates for superintendent in the coming days.
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A committee appointed to conduct the superintendent search turned over
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two names to the board on Thursday night during a
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closed session. The board has not released the names, but
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will interview both candidates. It's not clear where those candidates
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are from but the board has said in the past
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that it will interview all local candidates. The board has
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not yet sent dates for interviews and has not identified
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the two candidates. The search began after the board accepted
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the retirement of Superintendent Denise Jance, who will step down
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from her position June thirtieth. The next story is Parkway
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Pharmacy to celebrate opening of new store in Jenkins. Parkway
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Pharmacy will celebrate its grand opening Friday, June fifth with
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a day of special promotions, giveaway and free food at
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its location on Highway eight oh five in Jenkins. The
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locally operated pharmacy, located at ninety five hundred Highway eighth five,
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will host the event from nine am to six pm.
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Customers can register for prize drawings throughout the week leading
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up to the grand opening and on the day of
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the event. Prizes include a fifty inch smart television, a case,
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golfer's knife and round of golf at Raven Rock Golf Course,
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a one hundred dollars ace hardware, gift card, ladies perfume,
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a tart burner and wax tarts and gift cards from
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area businesses. Free hot dogs will be available from eleven
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am to one pm during the celebration. The pharmacy is
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also offering special discounts, including twenty percent off case knives, fragrances,
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and candles, as well as a buy one, get one
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half off promotion on Nature Truth and Foster and Thrive vitamins.
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Parkway Pharmacy provides prescription services, a drive through window and
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accepts most area insurance plans. The pharmacy also offers flavored
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liquid medications for children. The business is open from nine
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am to six pm Monday through Friday, and from nine
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am to three pm on Saturdays. For more information, calls
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six six eight three two six oh nine seven. The
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next headline is PSC Okay's Kentucky Power storm cost deferral.
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Kentucky Power Company's request to defer more than one point
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four million dollars in storm restoration expenses for possible future
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recovery from customers has been approved by the State Public
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Service Commission PSC. At the same time, the PSC warned
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that the utility's repeated use of such accounting treatment could
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ultimately cost rate payers more money. In an order issued
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May nineteenth, the PSC authorized Kentucky Power to establish a
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regulatory asset for approximately one point four to three million
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dollars in incremental operating and maintenance expenses stemming from severe
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thunderstorms that struck the company's service territory on December eighteenth
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and nineteen, twenty twenty five. The approval does not immediately
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increase electric bills. Instead, it allows Kentucky Power to record
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the costs as a regulatory asset and seek recovery in
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a future rate case. A regulatory asset is essentially an
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accounting mechanism that allows a utility to postpone recovery of
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certain expenses and ask regulators for permission to collect those
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costs from customers at a later date. According to the
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PSC order, the storms caused widespread damage across Kentucky Power's
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Eastern Kentucky service territory, damaging poles, transformers, conductors, and other
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equipment while causing more than sixteen thousand customer outages. Kentucky
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Power reported spending approximately two point three seven million dollars
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restoring service after the storms swept through its service territory.
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That amount, about one point four to three million dollars
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was identified as incremental operating expenses not already included in
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the company's base rates. The PSC agreed that the December
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eighteenth and nineteenth storm damage represented an extraordinary and non
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recurring event that justified special accounting treatment. However, the Commission
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also repeated concerns it raised in Kentucky Power's most recent
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rate case, Noting that Kentucky Power has sought approval to
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defer storm related expenses in each of the past four years.
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The PSC warned that Kentucky Power already receives money in
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its rates to cover ordinary storm damage. Regulators said they
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are concerned that repeatedly allowing the company to defer additional
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storm expenses for future recovery could create a situation in
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which customers are routinely asked to pay extra whenever actual
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storm costs succeed the amount already built into rates. The
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Commission said such a practice could reduce pressure on utilities
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to control storm restoration costs because customers would ultimately be
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responsible for making up the difference through future rate increases
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or special charges. The PSC further noted that repeated recovery
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of such expenses could increase customer costs through carrying charges
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and other financing expenses associated with regulatory assets. Similar concerns
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were raised by three Kentucky Power customers who submitted comments
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opposing Kentucky Power's request. One of them, Keisha Mullins of Pikeville,
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questioned whether customers should be responsible for paying storm repair
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costs at all, arguing that utilities should maintain adequate reserves
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and insurance to cover such expenses. Mullins also called for
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additional scrutiny of the company's use of contract labor and
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the costs associated with outside contractors. The PSC ultimately proved
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Kentucky Power's request. However, regulators echoed some of the broader
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concerns raised by commanders, warning that routinely allowing utilities to
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defer storm expenses for future recovery could eventually shift too
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much financial risk from the company to its customers. Despite
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those concerns, the PSC found that Kentucky Power had provided
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sufficient documentation showing that the December storm expenses were extraordinary
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and could not reasonably have been anticipated or incorporated into
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normal budgeting. The order emphasizes that approval of the regulatory
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asset is for accounting purposes only. Whether customers ultimately pay
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those costs will be decided in a future rate case
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where Kentucky Power must justify the expenses as prudent and
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necessary before they can be included in rates. Kentucky Power
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said the cost of the two day December storm brought
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its total costs of repairing storm damage in twenty twenty
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five to approximately twenty one point eight million dollars. And
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the next headline is remains found in Knot County are
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believed to be those of missing man. Human remains discovered
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at Amberge in Knot County this week are believed to
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be those of a twenty five year old man missing
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for two months. Family members said searchers discovered human remains
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off Big Branch Road between Carcreek Lake and Hindman in
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Knot County, near where Sean Reisner was last seen. Speculation
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and circumstantial evidence suggests that was probably him, we just
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can't confirm an identity. Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart said,
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KSP troopers, search and rescue volunteers and cadaver dog handlers
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from Indiana Canine United, searching a wooded area off the
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two thousand block of Big Branch Road, discovered the badly
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decomposed remains shortly before ten a m June first, the
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Knot County Coroner's office pronounced the person dead and the
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remains were taken to the Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office in
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Frankfort for autopsy and positive identification. Family members have posted
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online that they believed the body is Sean Reisner, who
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disappeared on the night of March twenty sixth. He was
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reported missing after callers told nine one one dispatchers and
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Hazard that a van was abandoned in a ditch on
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Big Branch on the night of March twenty sixth. The vehicle,
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a silver Chevrolet with a blue front bumper, did not
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appear to be damaged, and there was a loaded gun inside.
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Police called a tow truck and impounded the vehicle. According
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to Reisner's sister, the van was near a wide spot
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where family members had been given permission to park. A
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witness saw Reisner walk toward Kentucky fifteen, but he has
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not been seen since. He is described as a twenty
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five year old white man, six feet one inch tall
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with light brown hair. He was last seen wearing a
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gray Nike sweatshirt and camouflage crocs. Details of exactly where
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and in what condition the body was found have not
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been released. The investigation remains ongoing and is being led
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by Kentucky State Police Detective Nathan Rourke. The next article
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is Vaught's Views by Larry Vaunt. Stein wants players coaches
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to expect to win. Relationships are an important part of
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recruiting for Kentucky football coach Will Stein and his staff. However,
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those relationships also matter after players get to Kentucky. Connection
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is such an important part of a program. Player to
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player connection, where our players actually are brought in and
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love each other, is important, said Stein during an appearance
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at the Louisville Quarterback Club. You can do it in
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a whole different multitude of ways. He's having meetings each
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Wednesday where players tell each other's stories about where they
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are from, who in their life is important to them,
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and more. That player to player connection is huge. The
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coach player connection is huge. These players are bought into
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what we are selling them, and it's authentic, it's transparent.
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It's not just a transactional relationship where we bring these
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kids in and spit them out. We're invested in them
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and their future, Stein said. He said coach to coach
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relationships are also important. He said his coaches are guys
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that all of us would want to go have beers
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with after work because of who they are. They are
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the people whose wives come on our campus to bring
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their kids up to work and enjoy coming there, So
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the coach relationship is huge, Stein said. He also noted
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that groups like the Louisville Quarterback Club are important. We
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talk about a program and building a program, it takes everybody,
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a whole state, a whole group of men and women
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in one room talking about one thing, Kentucky football. Stein said,
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so I cannot be more excited to be here in
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front of you guys. We're doing some really cool stuff
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right now. We're obviously undefeated. We have not won a
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game or lost a game, so the buzz is real.
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But it's really exciting where this program is going. And
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we have great men, great women in our organization. The
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players are working their ass off this spring, they really did,
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and their body in recruiting is obviously the buzz right
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now because there's nothing else going on in football. Everybody's
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really excited. Kentucky's final two seasons under coach Mark Stoops
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left many UK fans disillusioned about the future of the program.
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Stein wants to reignite the pride and passion of UK
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fans and said there is no slowness to how we
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operate as a program. He has been part of sixty
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nine wins over the last six seasons and been part
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of two trips to the college football Playoffs as well
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as two trips to New York City for the Heisman
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Trophy presentation where Oregon quarterbacks were finalists for the award. However,
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the wins started long before that. My days at Trinity
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with assistant coach Oscar Brohm, my days at Louisville as
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a football player won a lot. My days at Holy
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Spirit grades one through eight. That's just what I've been
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a part of. And I don't really know any other way.
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Stein said. And people ask me about, oh, what are
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the goals for the season. What the goal is is
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to win? If you're not showing up to win every
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single Saturday, this is what I say. Now, you're a loser.
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I don't want anybody near me that has a mentality
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or near my near my coaches. You play to win
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the game. It's what you do. You prepare to win,
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you recruit to win every single second of every single day.
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So you want to ignite a fan base, you want
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to get a team going, get great players, get great coaches,
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get people that are invested and that are fearless. That's
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what it's all about. Even Stein admits he doesn't know
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how that will translate to his first season at Kentucky.
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If I had a crystal ball, I'd be a really
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rich man. I would know every result of every game.
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All I know is that if we prepare the right way,
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I think we have really good players, that is going
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to give us the most the best possibility to win
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on Saturday. So I'm fired up. Some Kentucky fans are
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already pointing to a UK's home game with Alabama on
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September twelfth as a potential signature win to start the
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Stein era. Stein has another idea. I could honestly give
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a damn about Alabama. I'm worried about Youngstown State on
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September fifth. And that's not some cliche coach talk. That
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is true. The first game is going to be electric,
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and I want our players to play really well, play
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really clean, and have a great Saturday on September fifth,
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the UK coach said. Veteran Sporting News columnist Mike de
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Courci believes that returning players Malachai Moreno and Cam Williams,
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along with transfer point guard Zoom Diallo, give Kentucky a
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pretty good starting point for next season. However, he's also
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realistic about the roster that coach Mark Pope has assembled
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so far. I don't think it's a perfect roster. Justin McBride,
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Richmond and Alex Wilkins Furman have to make really successful
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transitions to the SEC from mid major teams. That might
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be a lot. We have seen lots of players do it,
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but it is not a given, said Decroy. He watched
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Diallo play several times last year and considers him a
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capable point guard. He knows how to handle the ball
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and get it to the right places, and that's important.
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The Sporting News columnist said. The pieces are there, but
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they've got to have Wilkins and or McBride transfer their
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mid major level of success to a high major level,
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and I understand why some worry about that. However, De
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Coursey also urged UK fans to think back to a
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year ago. How many were critical of this roster. A
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year ago, most were doing somersaults over the construction of
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the roster. It didn't work. Kentucky lost fourteen games. De
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Coursey said, so you just never know exactly how any
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roster is going to turn out, and Kentucky fans need
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to remember that. Kenny Rice, sixty nine is probably best
24:53
known for his horse race reporting, including the Kentucky Derby
24:57
with NBC and MMA coverage for HD. The Eastern Kentucky
25:02
native also has been sports director for WTVQTV in Lexington
25:07
and was a national stringer for ESPN from nineteen eighty
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two to nineteen ninety. He started work for NBC in
25:14
nineteen ninety nine and worked two Summer Olympics. He's also
25:20
a nineteen eighty University of Kentucky graduate who still follows
25:24
the Wildcats closely, but also has a national perspective on
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what UK men's basketball and football are doing. I think
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this is such a big season coming up for Mark Pope.
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I am not an advocate of looking for new coaches,
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but fans want instant results and want to win At
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a program like Kentucky. Getting to the NC DOUBLEA is
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not a big deal. You're supposed to do that, Rice said.
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I thought it was a big ask for Mark to
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come in here, not having any proven success in NCAA
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tournament play Pope is smart, he's likable, but that is
25:59
not trend to the court. I think Kentucky certainly has
26:03
to do better this year. I'm not saying this is
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his last year, but he has to make a run.
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The Sweet sixteen is the least he should be happy with.
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Riich said he knows fans still love Pope, but it
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has not been a two year love fest. After UK
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lost fourteen games last year. Reich can remember when John Ray,
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a hot shot Notre Dame assistant coach, came to Kentucky
26:28
in nineteen sixty nine. He went ten and thirty three
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in four years, including four and twenty four in SEC play.
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We've seen a lot of coaches come and go, Rice said.
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Mark Stoops is a friend of mine. I thought he
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did a good job, relatively speaking, and did things that
26:46
had never happened at UK. Will Stein is another unproven guy.
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I hope no one tells me how tough the SEC is.
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You're in the SEC and you know the schedule is
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tough every year. It's hard to make that claim. Considering
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what Vanderbilt and Missouri have done. It looks like he's
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bringing in good talent. He didn't re sign quarterback cutter
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Bully and this new guy, Kenny Minschei, may be better
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than Bully. Rich knows UK needs both men's basketball and
27:16
football to be competitive in the SEC for fans to
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be happy and worries if Pope does not have a
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better season that UK could be headed for irrelevance like
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some former national powers Syracuse and Indiana have experienced recently.
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The good thing for UK fans is that women's basketball
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coach Kenny Brooks is building a first class program. So
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if you're looking for somebody to cheer for next March,
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I think the women's team will be a safe bit.
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He said. This concludes the reading of The Mountain Eagle.
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Your reader has been built in Arsenal. Now please stay
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tuned for continued programming on behalf of everyone here at
27:58
Radio I. Thank you for listening, and have a good day.