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Whitesburg Mountain Eagle - 10.8.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

• 0:01
  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 VanArsdel. We will
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: begin with the edition dated October 7th, 2026, which the
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  Speaker 1: publishers have donated to Radio Eye. As a reminder, Radio
• 0:19
  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 item is the caption of
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  Speaker 1: a photograph, County Parks Get New Playground Equipment. Installers with
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Tennessee-based J. Rigney LLC install new playground equipment at Thornton
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  Speaker 1: Park in Letcher County. The Letcher Fiscal Court voted earlier
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  Speaker 1: this year to replace aging, damaged, or defective playground equipment
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  Speaker 1: at Thornton and three other county parks. using the last
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  Speaker 1: of the county's American Rescue Plan Act funds. The court
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  Speaker 1: authorized spending up to $ 40, 000 at each of the four locations.
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  Speaker 1: The other parks receiving new equipment are at Aeolia, Blackie,
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  Speaker 1: and Colson. The next headline is, Jenkins Council Calls for
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  Speaker 1: Two-Year Moratorium on Data Centers. The Jenkins City Council unanimously
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  Speaker 1: approved a resolution Monday night calling for a two-year moratorium
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  Speaker 1: on hyperscale data center development, though the city's ability to
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  Speaker 1: enforce it remains uncertain. Councilmember Rick Damron proposed the resolution
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  Speaker 1: after receiving calls from constituents concerned about possible data center
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  Speaker 1: development at Gateway Business Park. a company has purchased an
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  Speaker 1: option on 100 acres at the park for a power
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  Speaker 1: plant that could be used to attract data centers. The
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  Speaker 1: Letcher County Fiscal Court's recent vote to study packaged nuclear
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  Speaker 1: power plants as a way to reduce electric costs and
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  Speaker 1: possibly supply data centers has brought additional attention to the issue.
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  Speaker 1: Hyperscale data centers, are large facilities that house extensive computing equipment,
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  Speaker 1: including equipment used for artificial intelligence. The Council's resolution raises
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  Speaker 1: concerns about their effects on electricity, water supplies, and nearby residents. Damron,
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  Speaker 1: an engineer, said he attends meetings of the Appalachian Industrial Authority,
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  Speaker 1: which owns Gateway Business Park. He said data centers have
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  Speaker 1: not been discussed at those meetings, but he has researched
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  Speaker 1: them independently. I've done a lot of research, talked to
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  Speaker 1: a lot of people, and I've found there really is
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  Speaker 1: something to be concerned about with these hyperscale data centers,
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  Speaker 1: and I don't think we want them in the city,
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  Speaker 1: Dameron said. He proposed a two-year moratorium on any hyperscale
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  Speaker 1: data center development within Jenkins. That's to try and address
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: concerns people have called me about, and kind of I'm
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  Speaker 1: hoping to ease people's minds, he said. The resolution cites
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  Speaker 1: concerns that high electricity demand could strain the grid and
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  Speaker 1: raise residential rates, cooling could strain local water supplies, equipment
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  Speaker 1: emissions could affect air quality, and noise and light could
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  Speaker 1: disturb nearby residents. It also raises concerns about AI runaway
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  Speaker 1: and calls for a kill switch and other safeguards to
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  Speaker 1: prevent a loss of control over artificial intelligence. Those provisions
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  Speaker 1: state the Council's concerns rather than establish that such a
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  Speaker 1: risk exists at a proposed local facility. The resolution also
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  Speaker 1: calls for public meetings and a public referendum before any
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  Speaker 1: data center is built. Mayor Todd DePriest expressed support for
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  Speaker 1: the resolution before the Council approved it, saying he agreed
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  Speaker 1: with it despite popular rumors. The City's action follows a
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  Speaker 1: similar vote by the Fiscal Court. County Attorney Jamie Hatton
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  Speaker 1: has said the county cannot enforce a moratorium because it
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  Speaker 1: has no planning and zoning ordinance. DePriest told the Mountain
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  Speaker 1: Eagle on Tuesday that Jenkins does not have a zoning
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  Speaker 1: ordinance either and that he would ask about the issue.
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  Speaker 1: He said the council acted Monday night without being prompted
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  Speaker 1: by a crowd of residents. There wasn't anybody who showed up,
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  Speaker 1: DePriest said. I thought that's what we ought to do.
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  Speaker 1: I supported it and went ahead and did it, he said.
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  Speaker 1: The next headline is Stolen County Truck Two-State Pursuit Leads
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  Speaker 1: to Indictment A Virginia man has been indicted following a
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  Speaker 1: pursuit involving police in two states, two vehicles police say
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  Speaker 1: were stolen, and two crashes. A Letcher County grand jury
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  Speaker 1: has indicted John Wesley Harding, 38, on two counts of
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  Speaker 1: first-degree criminal mischief and one count each of second-degree robbery,
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  Speaker 1: first-degree fleeing or evading police in a motor vehicle, second-degree
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  Speaker 1: fleeing or evading police on foot, first-degree wanton endangerment of
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  Speaker 1: a police officer, and leaving the scene of an accident
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  Speaker 1: or failure to render aid or assistance. The incident began
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  Speaker 1: about 6.42 p.m., September 24th. when the Letcher County Sheriff's
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  Speaker 1: Department was dispatched to a single-vehicle crash on U.S. 23
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  Speaker 1: in Jenkins. Jenkins told Deputy Mike Dingus that the vehicle
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  Speaker 1: had been stolen from Wise County, Virginia, and was being
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  Speaker 1: driven by Harding. Dingus said he later learned that Virginia
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  Speaker 1: officers had stopped Harding and were holding him at gunpoint
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  Speaker 1: when he fled. They didn't shoot at him. They were
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  Speaker 1: trying to do a felony stop, and he took off,
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  Speaker 1: Dingus said. Dingus said Harding was driving the stolen 2010
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  Speaker 1: Nissan Xterra at high speed when he lost control on
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  Speaker 1: a curve at the foot of the mountain, about two
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  Speaker 1: miles from the state line, and rolled the vehicle. Before
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  Speaker 1: Dingus arrived, Harding forced his way into a vehicle that
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  Speaker 1: had stopped to help and made the driver take him
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  Speaker 1: to the entrance to Fish Pond Lake, where he got out,
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  Speaker 1: Dingus said. At 9.36 p.m., the lake's caretaker called police
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  Speaker 1: to report that an unknown man was near the RV
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  Speaker 1: camping area, attempting to get clothes from a camper and
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  Speaker 1: appearing to hide behind the restrooms. As deputies approached, the
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  Speaker 1: man went over the hill toward the area known as
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  Speaker 1: Boy Scout Camp. The caretaker and another bystander drove to
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  Speaker 1: that area and while Dingus headed down the hill on foot.
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  Speaker 1: Dingus said that as maintenance personnel checked a bathroom at
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  Speaker 1: the camp, Harding shoved the caretaker against a wall, stole
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  Speaker 1: the county-owned pickup truck the caretaker had been driving, and
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  Speaker 1: tried to flee again. As he drove out of the
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  Speaker 1: camp area, Harding headed at high speed toward a sheriff's
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  Speaker 1: vehicle driven by Deputy Jackson Day, Dingus said. Just before
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  Speaker 1: he hit head-on, he swerved over the hill and crashed out,
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  Speaker 1: Dingus said. Once he wrecked that vehicle, he fled on
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  Speaker 1: foot and was arrested about ten minutes later down by
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  Speaker 1: the lakeside. Deputies arrested Harding without further incident and took
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  Speaker 1: him to Whitesburg ARH Hospital, then to the Letcher County Jail.
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  Speaker 1: He is being held in lieu of a $ 50, 000 cash bond.
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  Speaker 1: An indictment is an accusation not a finding of guilt.
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  Speaker 1: The next story is, County Library Taxes Rise, Jenkins School
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  Speaker 1: Rates Fall. The Letcher County Fiscal Court has approved tax
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  Speaker 1: rates submitted by the library district and Jenkins Independent Schools
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  Speaker 1: for inclusion on tax bills. The court approved the rates
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  Speaker 1: last week. The library district's increases drew discussion and one
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  Speaker 1: dissenting vote, while the Jenkins School District's rates all decreased.
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  Speaker 1: The library district's real property rate will be $ 12. 3 per
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  Speaker 1: $ 100 of assessed value, up from $ 11. 8 last year. Its
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  Speaker 1: personal property rate will rise from $ 15. 23 to $ 17. 09 per $ 100.
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  Speaker 1: the motor vehicle rate will remain at 5.32 cents per $ 100.
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  Speaker 1: For property with a taxable assessed value of $ 100, 000, the
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  Speaker 1: real property rate would produce a library tax bill of $ 123,
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  Speaker 1: up from $ 118 under last year's rate. Taxable tangible personal
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  Speaker 1: property includes business furnishings, equipment and inventories, as well as
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  Speaker 1: certain other items such such as aircraft and Coast Guard-documented watercraft.
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  Speaker 1: Ordinary household goods used in the home are exempt. The
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  Speaker 1: Jenkins School District's rates will be 84 cents per $ 100
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  Speaker 1: of assessed value for both real and personal property, and
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  Speaker 1: 69 cents per $ 100 for motor vehicles. Judge Executive Terry
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  Speaker 1: Adams said the fiscal court has no control over the
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  Speaker 1: rates set by the taxing districts and votes only to
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  Speaker 1: place them on the tax bills. Most of our other
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  Speaker 1: special districts have taken into consideration the struggles of the
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  Speaker 1: people in eastern Kentucky and Letcher County. he said. District
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: 3 Magistrate Deb Collier questioned why the library rates had increased.
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  Speaker 1: Adams said the libraries suffered flood damage like everyone did.
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  Speaker 1: Magistrate Kenny Anderson voted against the library rates, while the
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  Speaker 1: remainder of the court voted in favor. Magistrate Chetty Smith
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  Speaker 1: said he supported them only because the rates were a
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  Speaker 1: pass-through that the fiscal court could not change. In the
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  Speaker 1: next story, PSC seeks detailed data on utility affordability. Kentucky Power,
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: Cumberland Valley must report bills, delinquencies, and shutoffs. The Kentucky
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: Public Service Commission is demanding detailed information from Kentucky Power,
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  Speaker 1: Cumberland Valley Electric, and other utilities about how much their
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  Speaker 1: customers pay, how many fall behind on their bills, and
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  Speaker 1: how often service is disconnected for non-payment. The information request
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: issued October 1st is the latest step in a statewide
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  Speaker 1: PSC investigation into the affordability of electric and natural gas service.
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  Speaker 1: Kentucky Power and Cumberland Valley, the two electric utilities serving
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  Speaker 1: Letcher County, are among the utilities required to respond. The
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  Speaker 1: information is due December 3rd. The PSC opened the investigation
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  Speaker 1: in August to examine affordability and access to utility service.
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  Speaker 1: The Commission has now moved from identifying issues to requesting
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  Speaker 1: detailed financial and customer information from utilities. The PSC docket
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  Speaker 1: also shows an informal conference scheduled for October 26th. Among
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  Speaker 1: other things, the Commission wants residential rate and customer information
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  Speaker 1: dating as far back as 2000. Utilities are being asked
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  Speaker 1: to provide their fixed monthly customer charges, charges based on
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  Speaker 1: electricity usage, and each rider, surcharge, adjustment, fee, credit, or
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  Speaker 1: discount appearing on residential bills. The PSC also wants actual mean,
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  Speaker 1: or average, and median monthly residential bills. A median is
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  Speaker 1: the midpoint. Half of the bills would be higher and
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  Speaker 1: half lower. The Commission also requested information on median household
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  Speaker 1: income in each utilities service territory. For 2025, utilities must
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  Speaker 1: break residential bills into their components, including basic rates, fuel
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  Speaker 1: or purchased power adjustments, energy efficiency charges, other surcharges, and
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  Speaker 1: government fees. They must also calculate what a residential electric
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  Speaker 1: bill would have been under rates in effect at the
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  Speaker 1: end of 2025, for customers using 750, 1,250, and 1,750
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  Speaker 1: kilowatt hours per month. A kilowatt hour is the unit
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  Speaker 1: utilities use to measure the electricity consumed by a customer.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: PSC looking at customers who can't pay. The investigation goes
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  Speaker 1: considerably beyond electric rates. Utilities must provide information about customers
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  Speaker 1: with past due balances, including how many residential customers are
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  Speaker 1: behind on their bills and how much they owe. The
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  Speaker 1: PSC wants past due accounts divided into categories of 1
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  Speaker 1: to 30 days, 31 to 60 days, 61 to 90 days,
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  Speaker 1: and more than 90 days. Utilities also must report the
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  Speaker 1: number of customers entering payment arrangements, how many successfully completed them,
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  Speaker 1: and how many arrangements ended in default or cancellation. The
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  Speaker 1: Commission is also asking utilities what factors they believe most
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  Speaker 1: affect a customer's ability to pay an electric or natural
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  Speaker 1: gas bill, based both on what customers seeking assistance have
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  Speaker 1: told them and on information the utilities themselves have collected.
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  Speaker 1: the PSC is seeking extensive information about disconnections for non-payment
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  Speaker 1: as well. Utilities have been directed to provide annual residential
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  Speaker 1: disconnection and reconnection figures dating as far back as 2000
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  Speaker 1: and monthly figures for 2025. The information includes the number
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  Speaker 1: of final notices issued, the number of customers actually disconnected
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  Speaker 1: for non-payment, and how many were reconnected within 24 hours,
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  Speaker 1: 48 hours, and 7 days. The Commission also wants to
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  Speaker 1: know the average and median amounts customers owed when their
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  Speaker 1: service was disconnected and when it was restored. Utilities must
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  Speaker 1: explain how they notify customers facing disconnection and what assistance
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  Speaker 1: they make available, including budget billing, payment arrangements, energy or
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: crisis assistance, and referral or counseling programs. The PSC is
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  Speaker 1: also seeking information about late payment charges, reconnection fees, and deposits,
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: including how many customers paid those charges during 2025. The
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  Speaker 1: information is being collected in PSC case number 2026-00185. Kentucky
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  Speaker 1: Power and Cumberland Valley are specifically identified among the utilities
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  Speaker 1: subject to the probe. In the next story, housing project
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: eviction leads to felony indictments. A Letcher County grand jury
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  Speaker 1: has indicted three people in connection with a cache of
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  Speaker 1: methamphetamines Whitesburg police say they found during an eviction. Assistant
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  Speaker 1: Police Chief Justin Hunsucker said the Whitesburg Housing Authority asked
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  Speaker 1: the WPD on September 18th to remove Michael Mays, 29,
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  Speaker 1: and Shauna Brooke Mays, 25, from an apartment there. They
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: found out that Michael and Shauna were staying in the
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  Speaker 1: Housing Authority and they weren't supposed to, so they asked
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  Speaker 1: us to serve them with a trespass notice, Hunsucker said.
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  Speaker 1: Hunsucker said officers arrived at the apartment rented by Amanda Nichols, 29,
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  Speaker 1: who was already being evicted, and walked through the apartment
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  Speaker 1: to make sure there were no other persons inside. I
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  Speaker 1: could see a handgun sticking out of the couch, and
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: when I pulled the handgun out of the couch, some
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  Speaker 1: of the illegal substance came out with it, Hunsucker said.
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  Speaker 1: He said while running a background check on the mazes,
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  Speaker 1: he found that both had felony records. The two fled
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  Speaker 1: the scene while police were walking through the apartment. Hunsucker
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  Speaker 1: said officers searched the rest of the apartment and found
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: more of a substance believed to be methamphetamine in the
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: bedroom where the two were thought to be staying. In all,
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  Speaker 1: officers recovered 3.7 ounces of the crystalline substance. Hunsucker said
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  Speaker 1: he was not sure if the people were being ordered
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  Speaker 1: out because of their criminal history. I don't know if
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  Speaker 1: it was that or if they had just taken up residence.
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: Amanda was already in the eviction process. The housing authority
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: had already served her, he said. Michael Mays, Shauna Brooke Mays,
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  Speaker 1: and Amanda L. Nichols were each charged with complicity to
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: trafficking in a controlled substance, first offense, two or more
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: grams of methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Hunsucker noted
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: that the methamphetamine fines are usually listed in grams, but
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  Speaker 1: this case involved 3.7 ounces. Possession of two grams or
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: more is a felony. There are 28.35 grams to an ounce.
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  Speaker 1: Amanda Nichols was arrested the day of her indictment. The
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  Speaker 1: Mays couple have not been arrested at press time. The
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: grand jury charged others. including a Berea man formerly of
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: Letcher County, was arrested Monday on an indictment warrant accusing
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: him of purposefully ramming his vehicle into another car in
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: which his estranged wife and two other females were riding.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: Wendell Ray McClain III, 36, of 1120 Sweetwater Road, Berea,
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  Speaker 1: is charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, violation
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: of an emergency protective order, domestic violence order, first-degree criminal mischief,
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: and leaving the scene of an accident failure to render aid.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: McLean is accused of intentionally using his vehicle to hit
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: a vehicle occupied by Victoria McLean of Isom, Dorothy Miller,
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  Speaker 1: and Virginia Vickrey, Falmouth on or about August 28th. Rosie
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: Marie Baldwin, 160-330 Highway 160, Cumberland who is charged with
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: second-degree fleeing or evading police on foot, criminal complicity in
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: receiving stolen property, $ 10, 000 or more, telephone cable belonging to
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: AT & T, possession of marijuana, and criminal complicity to
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: theft of services when she and Christopher Dixon obtained services
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: by deception, threat, false token, or other means when she
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: illegally tapped into the AEP electric line. Christopher Dixon, 99
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: Marble Drive, Whitesburg, who is charged with second-degree fleeing or
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: evading police on foot, criminal complicity in receiving stolen property, $ 10, 000
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: or more, telephone cable belonging to AT & T, possession
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: of marijuana, and criminal complicity to theft of services when
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: he and Rosie Baldwin obtained services by deception, threat, false token,
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: or other means when he illegally tapped into the AEP
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: electric line. Chad H. Cupps, 1257 Highway 7S, Isom. who
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: is charged with cultivating in marijuana five plants or more,
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: first offense, possession of marijuana, and being a first-degree persistent
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: felony offender. Larry Adam Caudill, 840 Doty Creek Road, Jeremiah,
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: who is charged with operating a motor vehicle on suspended
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: or revoked operator's license and operating a motor vehicle under
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: the influence of a controlled substance. The next story is
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: LCC gets a new state flag. This past Friday, the
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: Letcher County Central High School football team faced off against
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: Estill County at their fourth home game of the season.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: Before the game, the Letcher County Central JROTC held its
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: road guard services, assisting with parking for the game. At
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: the opening of the game, the JROTC Color Guard presented
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: the colors, led by carrying the Sabre Lieutenant Colonel Tony Lewis,
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  Speaker 1: with Private First Class Tegan Brimmer and Staff Sergeant Hayden
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: Gent on rifles, Second Lieutenant Ford Sturgill carrying the U.S. flag,
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: and Captain Jessica Nichols carrying the state flag. Earlier that day,
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: Lieutenant Colonel Tony Lewis, Master Sergeant John Lewis, and Major
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: Shade Ambergi noticed the school's state flag was in need
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: of replacement and volunteered to do it themselves. Moments like
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: this show how the program gets cadets comfortable with their
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: peers and integrated into their community. The next story is
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: Cougars Fall to Lawrence County Without Record-Setting Quarterback Letcher County
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: Central High School fell to 3-3 on the season last
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: Friday night with a 42-13 loss at Lawrence County, playing
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: without senior quarterback Gunnar Holbrook, who is sidelined with a
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: broken foot. Through six games, Letcher Central has scored 135
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: points while allowing 184. The Cougars have produced 1,303 passing
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: yards and 489 rushing yards this season. And the next
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: story is Lady Cougars end regular season with a record
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: of 11-2. The Letcher County Central High School girls soccer
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: team continued its strong season last week, defeating Belfry 3-2
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  Speaker 1: on Thursday, September 24th at Cougar Stadium. The victory improved
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: the Lady Cougars to 11-1 on the season, and avenged
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: their only loss, a 3-1 defeat at Belfry on August 20th. However,
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: the Lady Cougars lost their final regular season game to Prestonsburg,
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: bringing their regular season record to 11-2. The Belfry victory
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: extended a long winning streak for the Lady Cougars. Since
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: their August 20th loss, Letcher Central has defeated Hazard 3-0,
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: Perry County Central 5-1, Knott County Central 6-0, Perry Central
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: again 9-1, Pikeville 3-1, Hazard 3-0, Pike County Central 11-0,
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: and Belfry 3-2. And in the next story, Jenkins' Spikers
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: sweep Harlan, fall to Hazard, Prestonsburg. The Jenkins High School
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: girls volleyball team picked up its 14th victory of the
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: season last week with a straight-set win over Harlan, before
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: dropping matches to Hazard and Prestonsburg. The Lady Cavaliers defeated
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: Harlan 3-0 on Monday, September 21st at Harlan, improving their
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: record to 14-4. The Lady Cavaliers traveled to Hazard the
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: following night and lost 3-1 to the Lady Bulldogs, who
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: improved to 9-8, while Jenkins fell to 14-5. And in
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: the next story, Sexton scores four goals in two games
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: for Cougars. The Letcher County Central High School boys' soccer
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: team split a pair of games last week, defeating Paintsville
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: 3-1 before falling to Belfry 5-4 in a high-scoring match.
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: The loss dropped Letcher Central's season record to 9-6-1. The
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: Cougars had an up-and-down September. They defeated Knott County Central
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: 3-2 and Buckhorn 12-0, tied Perry County Central 2-2, beat
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: Paintsville twice, 3-1 at home and 3-1 on the road,
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: and defeated Pike County Central 10-2. Their losses during that
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: month came against Jackson City, Pikeville, Hazard, and Belfry. In
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: the next story, data center deal could bring winter electric
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: bill credits. Kentucky Power customers could receive credits beginning in 2029.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: PSC approval required. Kentucky Power residential customers in Letcher County
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: could receive winter electric bill credits beginning in 2029, under
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: an expanded agreement with a company developing a large data
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: center in northeastern Kentucky. Kentucky Power announced this week that
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: Tara Wolf Incorporated would fund $ 100 million in residential bill
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: credits over the first 10 years of the contract if
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: the Kentucky Public Service Commission approves the amended agreement. The
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: utility estimates the credits could amount to approximately $ 25 a
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: month for a typical residential customer during the winter heating season.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: An accompanying fact sheet says the credits would appear on
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: January through March bills beginning in 2029. At that estimate,
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: the benefit would total about $ 75 each winter. The credits
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: would apply to Kentucky Power residential customers across its service territory,
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: which includes Letcher County. They would not extend to customers
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: of other electric utilities. The companies have signed the amended agreement,
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: but regulatory approval is still required. Kentucky Power said it
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: plans to file the contract and seek related approvals later
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: this year. Terrawolf is a publicly traded company based in Easton, Maryland,
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: that develops, owns, and operates data centers for artificial intelligence
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: and other computing-intensive work. It entered the public market as
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: a Bitcoin mining company in 2021 and still operates some
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: Bitcoin mining equipment while expanding into artificial intelligence infrastructure. Data
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: centers house large numbers of computers along with electrical and
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: cooling equipment needed to keep them operating. Tara Wolf says
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: its planned Muskie Data Campus is intended for artificial intelligence
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: and high-performance computing. The expanded agreement would double the campus's
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: contracted electric demand from 500 megawatts to 1,000 megawatts, or
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: 1 gigawatt. It also would move planned delivery of the
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: second 500 megawatt phase from 2030 to 2029, subject to
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: PSC approval and Kentucky Power's construction schedule. Tara Wolf acquired
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: the Muskie site in May. The company says the first
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: phase remains targeted to begin receiving power in 2028. This
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: concludes the reading of The Mountain Eagle. Your reader has
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: been Bill VanArsdel. Now, please stay tuned for continued programming.
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: On behalf of everyone here at Radio Eye, thank you
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: for listening, and have a good day.