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(Whitesburg) Mountain Eagle - 4.2.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
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from Whitesburg. Your reader today is Bill and Arsenal. We
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will begin with the addition dated April first, twenty twenty six,
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which the publishers have donated to RADIOI 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. In the first headline, Vocational Students lead
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the way in lectter schools. Vocational school students in Leccher
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County are working at more than ten agencies and businesses
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across the county, and ninety five percent of them are
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expected to graduate posts secondary ready. Area Technology Center Principal
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Casey Breeding said addressing the Letcher County Board of Education
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at its regular monthly meeting. Said the state set a
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goal of seventy five percent of students being ready for college,
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further technical education, or work. Last year, however, ninety four
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point eight percent of Leccher County ATC students met that benchmark.
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Most earned industry certifications required for jobs, and many graduated
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with dual credit, meaning their classes counted toward both high
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school and college requirements. We had one hundred forty five seniors,
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and one hundred eleven of them got industry certifications. Breeding said,
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we have ninety students this year with dual credit. We
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had ninety five all of last year, so we'll exceed
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that number. I'm expecting to exceed the ninety four point
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eight percent from last year. The board invites a different
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school principal to each meeting to report on progress. Breeding
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was scheduled for the March meeting, and you all got
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our kids twenty percent ahead of the state goal. Board
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chairman Robert Kaiser said, that's just amazing. As part of
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post secondary readiness, seventeen students are participating in the vocational
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co op program this year, earning both pay and school
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credit while working in their chosen fields. Breeding said students
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are working at least ten locations, including West Weisburg Elementary School,
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Callan Elementary School, and the school bus garage. One carpentry
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student is helping build houses for flood victims in neighboring
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Nott County through Homes Incorporated, while another handles social media
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for the organization from its Whitesburg office. Other placements include
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Parkway Pharmacy, Superior Drug, Wichburg City Hall, William's Mountain Vision
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Children's Oil Breeding, Plumbing and Electtion and Precision Incorporated, a
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metal fabrication shop in Kona. Two students have already been
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offered jobs by their co op employers after graduation, though
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one plans to pursue additional training. The main thing is
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it gets them work experience. Breeding said, that's something that's
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really hard to replicate in the classroom. It teaches them
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to show up on time, how to dress, how to speak,
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things that are hard to teach in a classroom. We're
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really happy with that. Students are also nearing completion of
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a tiny house, which will be displayed at an innovation
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fair this spring before being offered for sale locally. A
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second trailer is already in place for the next build.
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The next headline is Neon rebidding sewer project as government
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delays continue. A long delayed project to replace hundreds of
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sewage grinder pumps in Fleming Neon will be rebid after
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officials determined unnecessary federal requirements were included in the original
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bid documents. The project involves replacing more than three hundred
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fifty grinder pumps damaged in the July twenty twenty two flood.
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The pumps are used to move sewage from homes and
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businesses into the city's sewer system, particularly in areas where
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gravity flow alone is impossible. The work is funded through
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a FEMA Public Assistance grant of about two point million
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dollars approved in twenty twenty four. City officials have set
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roughly three hundred seventy grinder pumps were damaged when flood
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waters filled with mud, silt, and debris swept through the system.
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The project, however, has been slowed by a federal government
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shutdown that has halted approvals needed to move forward. Officials
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said that even if bids had been accepted, the project
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could not proceed until FEMA resumes normal operations and grants
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an extension. We recommend rejecting all bids and rebidding the project,
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the city's project engineer told the council. It protects the
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city from protest and could result in better prices. Four
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bids were received, ranging from one point seven million dollars
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to four point three million dollars. The rebid will remove
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requirements tied to the Build America by American Act and
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Davis Bacon wage rules, which officials said were mistakenly included
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and are not required for the project. Officials said the
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work could be rebid quickly and be ready for a
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war once federal approvals resume. Despite that, the project remains
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stalled for more than three years after flooding damaged the
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city's sewer system. Mayor Rick Burke said the delays continued
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to affect residents. We've still got people with sewage running
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in their yards. Burke said, who knows when they might
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resolve this. I've been waiting on a grinder since I've
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been in office. I ain't seen them. I don't know
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if we'll ever see them while I'm in here. Burke said.
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Female rules have also limited flexibility in replacing damaged equipment,
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requiring the city to match existing system components rather than
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upgrade them. Meanwhile, other sewer related projects, including waste water
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treatment plant repairs, lift station replacements, and gravity sewer improvements,
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are expected to move forward soon as approvals are finalized.
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Outside of infrastructure work, the city reported progress on its
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new city Hall building and ongoing sidewalk construction, and continues
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to demolish unsafe or abandoned structures under local ordinances. If
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you own property in town and don't keep it cleaned up,
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you may be next on the list, Burke said. Next
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is the caption of a photo thirty people turned out
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for No King's event. Pictured are some of the thirty
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people turned out for the No King's Three protests in
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Whitesburg on Saturday. The event drew an estimated eight million
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people in towns and cities across the country. The protest
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is intended to voice displeasure with President Donald Trump and
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the billionaire class. According to estimates, at least eight million
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attended one of the No King's Three rallies that were
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held across the United States. And the next story McGrath
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Rising costs top concerns for voters in the eastern Kentucky area.
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Democratic US Senate candidate Amy McGrath said rising costs for
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health care, energy, and everyday goods are the top concerns
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she is hearing from voters across eastern Kentucky. During a
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campaign stop in Whitsburg last week, McGrath said affordability, particularly
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insurance premiums, is driving frustration among residents. I'm hearing the
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same thing everywhere, prices, she said, How are we going
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to bring them down? McGrath pointed to rising insurance costs
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and said she supports a public option that would allow
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people to buy into a government backed plan similar to
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the Tricare coverage she receives as a retired Marine Corps officer.
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He said she was surprised to learn that Appalachian Regional
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Health Care does not provide insurance for retirees. When someone
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retires from there, they have no health insurance, she said.
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Mc grath also criticized tariffs and federal spending priorities, arguing
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they are contributing to higher costs for consumers. Tariffs are
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driving up the price of everything, she said, calling them
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a slush fund for the president. She tied economic concerns
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to foreign policy, warning that military conflict abroad could further
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strain domestic resources. If we've ever needed leadership focused on
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both national defense and the needs at home, it's now,
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she said. McGrath, who has run unsuccessfully for Senate twice,
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is seeking the Democratic nomination in a crowded primary. The
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race is for an open seat following the retirement of
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Senator Mitch McConnell after more than forty years in office.
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She said her campaign is focused on kitchen table issues,
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similar to those emphasized by Governor Andy Basher. That's what
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matters what people are dealing with every day, she said.
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McGrath also criticized aspects of current immigration enforcement and federal
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drug policy, saying Congress must act as a check on
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presidential power. The next story is Leccher educator warns of
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next step in losing local control. The head of the
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Leccher County Teachers Organization said she believes a bill making
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its way through the General Assembly could lead to school
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board members being appointed by a state official based on
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political party, rather than being elected by the public. While
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the bill currently targets large districts, defined as those with
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more than three hundred thousand residents, LCTO president Regina Brown
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said she worries the method could eventually extend to the
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rest of the state. She told the Letcher County Board
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of Education that Senate bill for would remove elected board
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members in Fayette and Jefferson Counties, the two largest in
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the state, and replace them with members appointed by the
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state Treasurer, an office currently held by Republican Mark Metcalf.
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It's just that next step toward taking away the public's
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right to choose their board members, brown said. Brown, who
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directs Letcher County School's special education programs, said if the
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bill becomes law, it would be easier for the legislature
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to expand it to other counties, possibly including leccher. I
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can't imagine that the people who vote and pay taxes
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in that county or in this county would like to
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have their elected board members removed, she said. Say a
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state official appoints two of your board members or three
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to make it a majority, They could vote to raise
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taxes and the people who pay those taxes would have
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no representation. Senate Bill fort was originally written to establish
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a five year professional development program for new school principles
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and passed the Republican controlled Senate with unanimous support. It
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was sponsored by a Senator, Stephen West, who represents Bourbon Fayette, Fleming, Harrison, Mason, Nicholas, Robertson,
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and Rowan counties. However, when the bill reached the House
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of Representatives, Representative Scott Lewis, who represents Davis, Hancock, and
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Ohio counties in western Kentucky, sponsored a substitute in committee.
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The substitute reduces the professional development program from five years
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to three and requires districts with more than four schools
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identified as needing comprehensive support and improvement to appoint a
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seven member advisory committee made up of a parent, a
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local government official, a teacher preparation faculty member, a district administrator,
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a district teacher, a business owner, and an at large
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community member. Most notably, it reduces the number of elected
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board members in large districts from seven to five and
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requires that two additional members with finance backgrounds be appointed
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by the state Treasurer. Employees of boards of education who
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work more than one hundred days per year would be
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disqualified from serving on the board, a provision that would
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remove Fayette County Board Chairman Tyler Murphy, who teaches in
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Boyle County, at the end of his current term and
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prevent him from running again. The five elected members in
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each county would be chosen from news truly drawn districts,
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but teachers would be ineligible to run. While the legislation
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does not specify how districts would be drawn in Fayette County,
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it does outline district boundaries for Jefferson County. Critics have
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called the proposed map a racial jerrymander designed to concentrate
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black voters into a single district and dilute their influence elsewhere.
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Jefferson County Board chair Corey Schule told Louisville Public Media
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the bill is anti democratic. The Kentucky Center for Investigative
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Reporting said the districts outlined in the bill do not
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match current precinct boundaries, making it difficult to determine their populations.
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While the bill would place appointment power with a Republican
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officeholder for now, that office could be held by a
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Democrat in the future. Brown said the issue is not partisan,
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but about they're micromanaging school districts and they're not trusting
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the Commissioner of Education. She said the Senate has so
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far refused to accept the House approved changes, and the
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bill is now in conference committee. The next story is
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courthouse closing Friday. The Electric County Courthouse will be closed Friday,
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April third, in observance of Good Friday. The offices will
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reopen for regular business on Monday, April sixth. And the
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next story is golf Scramble April twenty second. The Center
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for Rural Development will host its third annual Rogers Scholars
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Golf Scramble on April twenty second at Woodson Bend Resort.
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This is a fundraising event to support the Rogers Scholars program.
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And high school students who will be attending our twenty
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twenty six summer program. To sponsor a four member team.
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The cost is three hundred dollars. And In the next story,
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buy America rules slowing projects in Eastern Kentucky, a federal
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law requiring US made materials is delaying affordable housing projects
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and raising costs for developers in Eastern Kentucky and across
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the country. The Build America, Buy America Act requires materials
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in federally funded projects to be produced in the United States,
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but many items commonly used in construction are difficult to
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source domestically. Developers must apply for waivers, a process that
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can take months. Some builders say the delays are forcing
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them to scale back projects or avoid federal funding altogether.
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One Kentucky developer said he plans to build fewer units
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to sidestep the requirements. With housing shortages already affecting rural communities,
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delays could further limit options for residents across the region.
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In the next story, dumping fees dropped for the month
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of April, as spring cleaning starts with spring comes spring cleaning,
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and April is the month Letter County has set aside
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spring clean up month. For the entire month, residents can
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bring things they need to dispose of to the county
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transfer station without paying the normal dumping fee. The transfer
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station will be closed April third and fourth for Easter,
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but it will be open from nine am to two
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pm Monday through Sanity through April thirtieth. It's an annual
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event for the County. Judge Executive Terry Adams said it
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gives people an opportunity when they're cleaning around their homes.
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They can get stuff to the transfer station and it's free.
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The tire amnesty held last month is over, but residents
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can still bring tires for a fee of three dollars
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each or eight dollars for truck tires. Large amounts of
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building materials will be charged the regular rate. Adams said.
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Local organizations that want a fundraise can arrange with the
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County Garage for their group to pick up garbage on
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roadsides for one hundred dollars a mile. That program operates
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throughout the year until the money is exhausted. The next
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headline is new filings. Regulators watchdogs press Kentucky Power for answers.
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New filings in the Mitchell power plant case show that
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state regulators and outside groups are closely scrutinizing Kentucky powers
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proposal to spend nearly two hundred million dollars on an
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new cooling tower. The Kentucky Attorney General's Office and a
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group representing large industrial customers have filed detailed questions asking
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the company to explain how the project will be paid
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for and whether customers could face higher costs over time.
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Among other things, the groups are seeking information about when
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structural problems in the existing cooling tower were first discovered,
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and whether earlier inspections might have identified the issues sooner.
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The filings also question how long the new cooling tower
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is expected to last, and whether the company's cost estimates
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accurately reflect the full expense of the project. Environmental group
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Sierra Club has raised additional questions about whether Kentucky Power
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fully considered alternatives, including buying power from other utilities or
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converting the plant to use natural guess. Meanwhile, staff at
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the Kentucky Public Service Commission are asking their own questions
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about the project's cost, construction timeline, and potential impact on
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electricity supply during the work. The filings mark the beginning
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of a detailed review process that could shape, whether the
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project is approved, and how much customers may ultimately pay.
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The next story is turkey numbers up statewide, but what
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about here? Turkey populations may be improving statewide, but harvest
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numbers in Electric County tell a different story. With Kentucky's
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twenty twenty six spring turkey hunting season arriving, state officials
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say recent data shows turkey populations have rebounded in recent years,
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offering encouraging signs for the twenty twenty six six spring season. However,
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harvest numbers in Letter County have declined over the past
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several years, reflecting concerns many local hunters have voiced about
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turkey populations in the mountains. According to the Kentucky Department
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of Fish and Wildlife Resources, hunters harvested one hundred seventy
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one turkeys in Letter County in twenty nineteen. That number
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fell to one hundred fifty nine in twenty twenty, one
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hundred thirty seven in twenty twenty one, one hundred thirty
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eight in twenty twenty two, and one hundred forty three
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in twenty twenty three, before dropping more sharply to one
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hundred seventeen in twenty twenty four. And ninety three in
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twenty twenty five. Despite those local trends, statewide data suggests
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improving conditions. Higher than usual brood survey results summertime accounts
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of young turkeys hatched each year indicate strong reproduction and
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a healthy number of gobblers available for hunters this spring.
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All evidence suggests turkey numbers have improved over the past
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five years, said Zach Danks, turkey grouse program coordinator for
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the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. We share
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many hunters concerns about the turkey population, but the more
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we learn about our flock, the more excited we can
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be about the future. The spring season begins with a
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youth only weekend April fourth through fifth, followed by the
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general season from April eighteenth through May tenth. Hunters with
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proper permits may harvest two birds during the season, but
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only one per day. Legal birds must be male or
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have a visible beard. Hunters telechecked thirty thousand, six hundred
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and sixty one birds statewide during the twenty twenty five season,
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fewer than in twenty twenty three and twenty twenty four,
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but higher than totals recorded in twenty twenty one and
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twenty two. Biologists say this year's season could produce another
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strong harvest, based largely on reproductive success two years ago.
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Brooge surveys conducted in twenty twenty four showed seventy percent
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of hens had poults, up from sixty two percent in
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twenty twenty three. Male poults hatched in twenty twenty four
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will be vocal two year old gobblers this spring, typically
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the age most sought by hunters. The average number of
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poults for hen also increased statewide, rising from two point
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three in twenty twenty three to two point seven in
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twenty twenty four. Ganes were recorded across all regions, with
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some of the strongest increases in Eastern Kentucky. Last summer's
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survey showed an average of three point five polts per
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hen statewide, with particularly strong production in eastern and central Kentucky.
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Hunters are expected to see more jakes or juvenile males
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this season. Danks said. Those findings are supported by a
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three year study in western Kentucky that tracked more than
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two hundred thirty turkeys using small transmitter devices. The study
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examined nesting success, habitat use, and survival rates. Preliminary results
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showed adult hen survival rates between seventy and seventy four percent,
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with juvenile hens exceeding seventy five percent, higher than biologists
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had expected. Researchers also found that the emergence of thirteen
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year cicadas in twenty twenty four contributed to higher nesting
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success and pulse survival in parts of western Kentucky. A
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separate four year study involving nearly thirteen hundred banded male
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turkeys found that annual harvest rates were twenty nine percent
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for adult gobblers and six percent for jakes. Year to
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year survival averaged fifty six percent for gobblers and seventy
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eight percent for jakes. Harvest rates did not exceed the
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thirty to thirty five percent threshold that past research indicated
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could be unsustainable, so we're right where we want to be,
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Dank said. We're providing opportunities to hunters while protecting the
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flock long term. Officials encouraged hunters to review regulations before
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heading afield. Key rules include youth season April fourth to
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fifth and general season April eighteenth through May tenth. Hunters
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may take two birds per season, but only one per day,
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and must record and TeleCheck their harvest by midnight of
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the day it is taken. Hunting turkeys over bait is prohibited.
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The next story is jenkins man facing new charges after
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alleged threats in jail. A Jenkins Man accused of having
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his girlfriend smuggle contraband to a now former jail guard,
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has been indicted again, this time for allegedly threatening the
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girlfriend over a monitored jail telephone line. Gavin Polly, twenty seven,
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of seventy seven to fifty nine Highway one, nineteen North
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Jenkins is charged with two counts of intimidating a participant
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in the legal process, third degree terroristic threatening, and second
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degree terroristic threatening. Polly allegedly made threats to Samantha Mullins,
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his co defendant in the earlier case, as well as
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to individuals at her work place. The calls were made
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from jail on a telephone line monitored by jail's staff.
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Wachburg Police officer Justin Hunsucker testified before the grand jury.
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He was named in an indictment returned by the Letter
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County Grand Jury and handed up to Circuit Judge James W.
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Craft the second This concludes the reading of the Mountain Eagle.
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Your reader has been billed and arsenal. Now please stay
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tuned for continued programming on behalf of everyone here at
27:48
Radio I thank you for listening, and have a good day.