Transcript

9.25.25 · The Mountain Eagle

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Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
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from Whitesburg. Your reader today is Bill van Arsdale. We
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will begin with the edition dated September twenty fourth, twenty
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twenty five, which the publishers have donated to RADIOI as
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a reminder. RADIOI is a reading service intended for people
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who are blind or have other disabilities that make it
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difficult to read printed material. The first story is Owen W.
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Wright is proud of his heritage and shows it in
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his store. Like most people who call Letcher County home
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and many who've left for better job opportunities elsewhere, Owen W.
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Wright is proud of his Mountain heritage. Walk into his
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Western Auto store in downtown Wisburg and you'll see his
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affinity for the county and its history. Lining the wall
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of the Long and Narrow Store building, believed to have
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been built in nineteen nineteen, is an impressive number of
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photographs that offer a visual history of the county. Most
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were taken during the period between the arrival of the
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railroad and the coal industry around nineteen twelve and the
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burning of the old Witsburg Elementary School in the early
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nineteen eighties. If you don't believe the town of Neon
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was once the county's center of activity. Wright has photos
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of crowded streets and people waiting in line to get
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into the town's shops that will change your mind if
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you wonder what types of businesses were in the county
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seat of Whitesburg when its main street was packed with shoppers.
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Wright's collection of photographs will show you what life was
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like back in the day. Right eighty two discovered many
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of the photos now on display from a collection belonging
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to his parents, the late Owen and Myrtle Wright, who
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in nineteen forty seven opened what was then the third
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Western Auto franchise in Lester County, with the first two
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being in Neon and Jenkins. Mother and dad had a
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lot of those, and I've had people give them to
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me over the years. Wright said of the collection, it
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just mushroomed out over the years. While many of the
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photographs are museum worthy in terms of the history of
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Letcher County, Wright's favorite collection is a poster board that
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holds the pictures of eighty seven of his nearly one
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hundred and seventy five senior classmates who have died since
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graduating Witchburg High School. In nineteen sixty one. Being that
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we're all in our eighties, I think that's pretty dagone good,
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Wright said of the number of classmates still living. Wright
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was born in Cicco in February nineteen forty three and
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lived the first three years of his life in Neon,
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where his father then operated the restaurant Owen's Cafe and
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his mother taught elementary school. When Owen W. Wright was two,
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his father began suffering health problems and sold the cafe
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at the suggestion of his uncle, doctor B. F. Wright. Restless,
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after a year of not working, the elder Owen Wright
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decided he would like to open a Western auto store.
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Dad wanted to do something, so he thought about a
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Western auto store, remembers Owen W. Wright. At the time,
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World War II had recently ended and Western auto franchises
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were hard to get. But as luck would have it,
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the elder Wright knew a company official from Cincinnati who
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would eat at Owen's Cafe when he visited Neon to
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work on the Western Auto store there, and through his influence,
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was chosen to open the Whitesburg franchise. Owen W. Wright
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remembers that after his family moved to the upper bottom
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section of Whitsburg. He and his father visited Neon every
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day for one year. My dad loved Neon right remembers today.
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It never closed at night like Whitesburg did. After his
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nineteen sixty one graduation from Whitesburg High, Owen W. Wright
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spent some time at the University of Kentucky in Lexington
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before deciding to attend embalming school at the Kentucky School
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of Mortuary Sciences in Louisville. I was going to come
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back to Whitesburg to work in the funeral business for
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my cousin, Archie Kraft, Wright said, But instead of taking
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the test required to obtain his embalming license, Wright led
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an instructor at the School of Mortuary Sciences hang around
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there for three more years to teach younger students. Having
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had enough of the embalming business, Wright then decided he
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wanted to become a dentist. While reading about dentistry, Wright
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noticed a passage that said some of the best dentals
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school students had studied industrial arts while they were undergraduates.
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It was then he decided to attend Eastern Kentucky University
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and major in Industrial arts and science. After earning his
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degree from EKU. Wright then decided he enjoyed industrial arts
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and decided to make a career of it, eventually getting
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a job teaching in a Lexington Middle school. There he
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would remain until nineteen eighty two. With his father having
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recently died and his mother, Myrtle, trying to operate the
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Western Auto on her own, A tearful telephone call from
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her led him to return to Whitesburg to take over
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operation of the store that spring. Incidentally, that was the
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year the county government, largely through the effort of then
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magistrate and now County Court Clerk Winston Meade, held a
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pig roast at May King to start what in nineteen
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eighty three would become the Mountain Heritage Festival forty two
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years later. Wright is one of only three storekeepers in
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the United States who still use the name Western Auto,
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which began pulling franchises in the early two thousands after
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Sears acquired the company and sold it to Advance Auto.
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Wright and his wife Barbara now live in an apartment
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in the store building. They have a son, Owen Junior,
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and a grandson, Owen the Third, who live in Prestonsburg. Today.
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The Witsburg. Western Auto sells tires only and will mount
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and balance them. The store also welcomes visitors who want
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to see some of Letcher County's history. The next headline
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is two point four million dollar grant to fund design
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of new airport at Eisen. After twenty one years of
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work and two years of waiting for an approved grant
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to come through, the Letcher County Airport Board has signed
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an agreement for more than two point four million dollars
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in funding to design a new airport. The new airfield
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will be at Isom and will have access to Kentucky fifteen.
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The grant only covers the design of the facility. The
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Federal Aviation Administration awards money in stages, and a consultant
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working for the Airport Board said the process usually takes
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about three years from the time the design grant is awarded.
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Jeffrey Justice, executive director of Pine Mountain Partnership and chairman
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of the Airport Board, said the grant agreement was signed Mondy.
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Justice called the airport a transformative step for Leccher County.
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While not a silver bullet, the design of this airfield
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will lay the foundation for a modern facility that can
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strengthen transportation access, boost economic development, and a track new investment.
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Justice said a group of citizens began the project in
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two thousand and four, about twenty years after the old
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Witchburg Municipal Airport near Colson fell into disrepair and closed.
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Several of the original board members, including Randall Caudle, Don Schilders,
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and Joe DePriest, have died since the work began. The
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airport project will include more than just a runway. The
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board purchased more than six hundred acres surrounding the airport
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to be used for business development. According to Justice, the
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airport is expected to support a variety of uses, ranging
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from improved access for local businesses and industry to expanded
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options for tourism and recreation. The investment will also position
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Lecture County to better connect with regional and national markets,
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a key factor in business recruitment and long term growth.
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Justice the design work will be done by aviation engineering
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company Goodwin Mills Kwood, which has been involved in the
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project for years, the Kentucky Department of Aviation, and the FAA.
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The board would like to send a special word of
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appreciation to Congressman Hal Rodgers, his staff, and the Kentucky
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Department of Aviation Commissioner Mark Carter and his staff for
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their years long support and dedication to seeing this project
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become a reality for the people of Leccher County. Justice
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said the initial runway will be four thousand feet long,
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but will be designed for expansion to at least four thousand,
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five hundred feet. A four thousand foot runway is enough
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for light business jets like the Cessna Citation M two
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and the embere Finom, turbo props such as the Piladas
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PC twelve, and even some small and medium sized commercial
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JITs such as the Airbus A three eighteen. While those
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smaller planes are typically known as executive jets, they are
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also used as air ambulances for flying patients to hospitals
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outside the range of a helicopter. Patients from Letcher County
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who require that kind of service are normally taken by
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ground ambulance to Lonesome Pine Airport at Wyse or to
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Windleford Regional Airport just north of Hazard. The next headline
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is women featured in national reports about Stein's case faces
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drug charges. A former deputy jailer who has been featured
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prominently in national interviews about the shooting death of Judge
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Kevin R. Mullins is in jail in Tennessee on felony,
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drug and weapon charges. Sarah Elizabeth Grace Davis, twenty seven,
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of Whitsburg, claim aimed in interviews on News Nation and
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on local YouTube channels that her former co workers participated
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in sex parties and often took inmates upstairs into the
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courthouse at night to have sex. She also claimed co
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workers invited her to Mullins's get togethers, but said she
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did not participate. I was raised better than that, she
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told News Nation reporter Brian Inton on the Ashley Banfield Show.
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But records show Davis worked at the jail for two
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months and was fired for inappropriate phone calls with an inmate.
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She later lived with the inmate. Now, she has been
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arrested in Knoxville, Tennessee, on charges related to fentanyl and
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multiple other drugs, as well as a weapons charge. Davis
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was arrested September fourteenth after police in Knoxville answered a
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call to a domestic dispute in the parking lot of
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a Dollar General store on man or Ville Parkway in
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Knox County. She is charged with Schedule two drugs manufactured delivery, sale, possession, facilitation,
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Schedule four drugs, manufactured delivery sale, possession facilitation, simple possession,
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casual exchange, possession of a weapon with intent to go armed,
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and Schedule two drugs FENTONNYL zero point five grams or greater.
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She is currently being held in lieu of a ten
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thousand dollars bond and has a preliminary hearing scheduled next month.
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According to affidavits filed to obtain a warrant, the arrests
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occurred about six oh five pm Sunday, when two officers
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responded to a parking lot at seventy eight three Mainardville
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Parkway and located a white two thousand and eight Nissan
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Pathfinder with Kentucky plates that was reported as being the
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vehicle the two people involved in the complaint had been
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in Justin Cooper, whose age and address were not available,
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was walking back toward the vehicle, and Davis was sitting
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in the driver's seat of the suv. The affidavit says,
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according to police, both admitted to a verbal argument while driving,
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and that Davis had removed most of Cooper's belongings and
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discarded them in the parking lot while one officer was
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speaking with Davis. He reported seeing a plastic container containing
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a crystal like residue on the center console and clear
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plastic bags associated with drug use. When the officer asked
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her to get out of the car, he said, Davis
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reached for her right hip with her left hand, and
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Davis was safely removed from the vehicle. Both she and
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Cooper were detained and police searched the car. According to
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the affidavit, Davis admitted to having a marijuana roach in
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the car, and Cooper told officers he had prescriptions for
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subox and gabapentin. Officers said in searching the car, they
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found a Taurus G two S handgun with no ammunition
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in the center console and a Smith and Wesson M
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and P handgun with twenty one rounds under the passenger seat,
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a black magnetic box under the driver's seat containing point
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four to six grams of suspected metha fittamine, fifty four
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suboxone strips, thirty three point five benzodiazepines, and point five
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to eight grams of suspective fentanyl. Police say they also
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found a small baggie containing two point seventy three grams
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of marijuana in the center console, a clear jar containing
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one hundred and seventy one point seven grams of marijuana
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in Davis's backpack, three point five to one grams of
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fentandyl six hydro codone pills and thirty one methyl fenidate
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hydro chloride pills, a generic form of ridlin all in
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s separate unmarked prescription bottles, and a clear bag containing
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eight point five grams of suspected meth amphetamine in the
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driver's door compartment. Fentanyl is an extremely powerful synthetic opioid,
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about one hundred times more potent than morphine. While the
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purity of the drug varies greatly, as little as two
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milligrams can be fatal. Davis is accused of having more
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than three thousand milligrams in her possession. Hydrocodone is a
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less powerful opioid, and Gabapentan is an anticonvulsant used medically
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to treat seizures, but often used on the street to
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enhance the effects of other drugs. Both Davis and Cooper
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were arrested and taken to the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility.
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Police obtained the warrant and formally charged them. The following day,
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Tennessee officials could not provide information about Cooper's charges without
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his birth date, and he was not listed among the
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jail inmates on Tuesday. The next headline is judge part
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of house arrest case can proceed. A federal judge will
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allow part of the sexual assault lawsuit to proceed against
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former Deputy Sheriff Ben Fields, but Lecher County Sheriff's Office,
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and East Kentucky Correctional Services Incorporated, but dismissed the parts
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filed by the estate of Jennifer Hill and some other claims.
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In an order filed in federal court on Friday, U
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S District Judge Robert Weir allowed plaintiff Sabrina Atkinson's claim
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against Fields, the Sheriff's Department, and e KCN under the
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Fourteenth Amendment to proceed to trial. The judge dismissed claims
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of negligence, gross negligence, assault, and battery Atkins filed against
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the Sheriff's Department, and dismissed all other parts of the lawsuit.
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The claims made by Jennifer Hill's estate were dismissed with prejudice,
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meaning they cannot be filed again. The defense had asked
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that a statement made by an attorney for former sheriff
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Mickey Steins during an internet interview be taken into consideration,
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and that the court stay a summary judgment motion by
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the defendants and allow for another eighty days of depositions
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and discovery. We're declined to do so, but also overruled
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the motion for summary judgment, saying the case has already
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gone on too long. The court is unwilling to shift course,
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reopen discovery, and stay the summary judgment motions based on
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what amouse to unsworn hearsay statements reproduced as online fodder
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were wrote. Moreover, contrary to plaintiff's characterization, the lawyer never
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actually stated that Steins was untruthful in his deposition. Hill
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was formerly on home incarceration and accused Fields of coercing
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her into having sex with him in exchange for him
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not activating her ankle monitor or charging for the monitor.
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The judge ruled that the statute of limitations on the
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crime had passed and it could not continue. Hill died
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after filing the case and had not filed affidavits at
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the time of her death. She joined the suit after
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Atkins had already filed it. Atkinson's claims are much the
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same as Hill's. She claimed that she had sex with
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Fields in the chambers of the late Judge Kevin R.
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Mullins in twenty twenty one, in his police car and
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at her home in exchange for not activating her monitor.
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Atkins said he would lock the monitor onto her ankle
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just before court appearances and remove it afterward. She also
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accused Fields of falsely charging her with a crime to
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keep from being caught up in the scheme Kentucky law
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while barrs a person in a position of authority of
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having sex with someone they supervise. Fields pleaded guilty to
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one count of third degree rape, one count of third
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degree sodomy, two counts of tampering with a witness, and
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one count of perjury. He spent six months in the
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Electra County Jail as a trustee and was given supervised
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probation of five years and unsupervised probation for two He
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was also registered as a sex offender and he will
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have protective orders banning him from contacting the victim for
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ten years. Though Fields pleaded guilty, Judge Weir said there
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is more to the case. The court finds that there
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is a genuine, if dubious, dispute of material fact as
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to whether Atkins consented to the sexual contact with Fields,
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thus her claim against Fields can proceed. Weir wrote other
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evidence suggests Atkins initiated the arrangement. She stated that she
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heard from the fellow inmates that women would give Fields
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sexual favors to get out of paying their home incarceration fees.
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Joe Childers, lead attorney for the plaintiff, said he can't
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comment on rumors about other misconduct at the courthouse. He
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said he does support an investigation of other allegations, but
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that he is not in a position to make a
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judgment on those allegations. The next story is Judge's widow
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files lawsuit against Stein's employees. The widow of the late
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district judge Kevin R. Mullins has filed a wrongful death
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lawsuit against former sheriff Shaan Mickey Steins, who was captured
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on security video shooting and killing her husband in his
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chambers on September nineteenth, twenty twenty four. Kimberly Mullins filed
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the suit as an individual and as administrators of the
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estate of Kevin Roda Mullins and as parent and next
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friend of their daughters. She is also suing several employees
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of the Sheriff's Department, claiming they knew or should have
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known Stein's was dangerous, should have warned her husband, and
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had a duty to control Stein's, who was their boss
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at the time of the shooting. She is suing them
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as individuals and in their official capacities at the Sheriff's Department.
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Court records in the murder case show at least two
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of the three employees named convinced Stein's to see his
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doctor the day before the shooting. Stein's and Judge Mullins
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had lunched together at a local restaurant a few hours
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before the shooting. Stein's intentionally and without privilege or justification,
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placed Judge Mullins in imminent apprehension of harmful contact, and
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made harmful contact by shooting and killing Judge Kevin Mullins
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in his judicial chambers. The suit says defendant Stein's actions
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were undertaken willfully, wantonly, maliciously, and or with reckless disregard
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for the rights and safety of the plaintiffs. It also
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claims Stein's actions and those of employees were grossly negligent, reckless, wanton,
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and or wilful, thus making the defendants liable to the
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plaintiffs for punitive damages. The suit also seeks damages for
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loss of consortium of Mullins to his wife and two daughters.
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She is seeking compensatory damages and punitive damages against all
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of those named in the suit. The Mullins family is
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represented by Chris Meinhardt Alleuisville personal injury lawyer. And the
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next story is flood ravaged Blackie Community Center is torn down.
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Independent contractor b Brock Enterprises, LLC, located in Making, tears
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down a chunk of the final wall of the Blackie
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Community Center in Blackie. The community center was destroyed in
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the massive Eastern Kentucky flood of July twenty eighth, twenty
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twenty two. Letcher County Government, in cooperation with the Blackie
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Community Center Board of Directors and the Blackie Improvement Committee,
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are working to finalize plans to create a new community center.
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The funding for a news center has been allocated by FEMA.
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The next story is Cougars can't overcome loss of quarterback.
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Letcher County Central fell to three and two on the
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season after a tough forty seven to twenty eight road
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loss to Brethett County. Garrett Howard had a career best
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night with three rushing touchdowns on offense and a team
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high twenty tackles on defense. LCC led twenty eight to
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twenty seven going into the fourth quarter, but couldn't overcome
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an injury that sidelined gunner Holbrook and four offensive turnovers
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that proved too costly for the Cougars to overcome. We
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played really sloppy, LCC coach Junior Matthews said, too many
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penalties and turnovers. Give breadth It a lot of credit.
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They beat us up front most of the night. We
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have to regroup and get ready for district play to
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start next week. Breathtt County got the ball to start
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the game. After one first down and facing third and long,
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quarterback Miles Holland rolled out of the pocket and connected
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with Eli Thomas for a forty five yard touchdown. The
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extra point gave the Bobcats a quick seven to nothing lead.
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After punts by both teams, LCC's Holbrook completed a pass
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on a seam route to Faden Brown for a twenty
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one yard gain into Breathittt County territory. Two plays later,
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Holbrook found Mason Stephens on for an eleven yard gain.
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Holbrook had a a sixteen yard run on a quarterback
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keeper that led to a thirteen yard touchdown run by
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running back Brett Sturgel, and the Adams made the extra
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point to tie the game at seven points apiece. Brethett
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County answered with a methodical thirteen play fifty five yard drive,
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capped off by a one yard touchdown run up the
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middle by Thomas. The extra points split the uprights and
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Brethett retook the lead fourteen to seven. Early in the
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second quarter, with LCC back on offense and facing third
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down and thirteen yards to go for a first down,
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Holbrook completed a pass on an out route to Stephens,
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who spun out of a tackle and raced down the
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sideline for a nineteen yard gain. On the next play,
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Holbrook stepped up in the pocket and found Stevens on
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a crossing route for a twenty one yard gain. Two
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plays later, Jet Outlaw caught a pass for a twenty
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two yard gain. Great blocking on the right side of
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the offensive line led to an untouched thirteen yard touchdown
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run by Garrett Howard. The point after attempt failed but
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the Cougars cut the lead to fourteen to thirteen. With
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eight thirty one left in the second quarter. Brethtt County's
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offense quickly moved the ball into LCC territory, but a
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fourth down pass attempt by Holland was broken up by
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Mason Stephens to force a turnover. On downs, the LCC
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offense was forced to punt and the kick was returned
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to the LCC fifteen yard line after a personal foul
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penalty on the Couters. Brethett took advantage of the great
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field position with a Thomas Rushing touchdown, his third of
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the day. The extra point widened the lead to twenty
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one to thirteen. On the first play of LCC's next possession,
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Brethett intercepted a pass on fourth and five. The Bobcats
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threw a wide receiver screen that Cougar defender Colton Stidham
27:03
blew up to force a fumble and for the Brethet
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County to turn the ball over on downs. The Breathat
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County defense forced another turnover to give their offense one
27:13
more chance to score before halftime. However, Holland's hail mary
27:18
throw was intercepted by Stevens to keep the score at
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twenty one to thirteen at the break. LCC received the
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ball to start the second half and Strogel took a
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hand off and showed his speed on his way to
27:33
a fifty yard run down the right sideline. Three plays later,
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Howard scored on a one yard run. Howard also ran
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in the two point conversion to tie the score at
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twenty one. With eight forty five left in the third quarter,
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the Bobcats had another long drive, leading to a one
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yard touchdown run up the middle by Thomas Now. On defense,
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elcc's Garrett Howard stuffed the two point conversion attempt to
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keep the score at twenty seven to twenty one. This
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is the point of the game when Holbrook, the Cougar's
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star quarterback, had to exit with an injury and elsie
28:11
C was forced to punt. Several plays later, elsie C
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fumbled the ball and the Bobcats took control of the game.
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They had a two yard touchdown run to increase the
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lead to forty to twenty eight. Breathett County would score
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one more touchdown later in the game to make the
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final score forty seven to twenty eight. Letcher Central fought hard,
28:35
but couldn't overcome all their self inflicted wounds. Garrett Howard
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and Mason Stevens both had standout performances for the Cougars.
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Howard gained ninety five yards on the ground on eighteen
28:46
attempts and scored three touchdowns. This concludes the reading of
28:52
The Mountain Eagle. Your reader has been Bill den Arsdal.
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Now please stay tuned for continued programming on behalf of
29:01
everyone here at Radio I. Thank you for listening and
29:04
have a good day.