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Hazard Herald - 3.8.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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Speaker 1: Now we turn to the reading of the Hazard Herald
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for news of Hazard and Perry County Humbley Townshend. We
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begin with the online edition dated March fifth, twenty twenty six.
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As a reminder Radioizer reading service intended for people who
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are blind to have other disabilities that make it difficult
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to read primed material. One year after twenty twenty five flood,
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Perry County officials reports steady recovery with works still ahead.
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By Justin Begley. One year after the February twenty twenty
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five flooding event in Perry County, and Hazard official say
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recovery has been steady, with many businesses reopening, though long
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term rebuilding continues as the community also remains on the
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heels of the devastating twenty twenty two flood. Perry County
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Judge Executive Scott Alexander said the most recent disaster added
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significant strain to ongoing recovery air efforts. I'm going to
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say the twenty twenty five flood was probably another fifty
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million dollars or more disaster event, said Alexander. I think
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we're probably seventy to seventy five percent recovered in the
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city and out in the county, but we're still recovering
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some some of the bigger projects in twenty twenty two
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as well, so I would say for the next few
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years we'll still be spending money to prepare bridges and
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infrastructure that was damaged in both twenty twenty two and
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twenty twenty five. Alexander noted key differences between the two
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major flood events, explaining that while the twenty twenty two
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flood caused widespread structural damage, the twenty twenty five flooding
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impacted more homes and businesses through rising water. The twenty
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twenty two flood was like a tsunami that came through
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and it hit several areas. He said. The twenty twenty
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five flooding was along the North Fork Corridor and probably
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ended up flooding more homes and businesses combined than the
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twenty twenty two flood, but it was from the rising
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water and backwater versus the torrential downpour that came in
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twenty twenty five. We didn't have as many bridges washed
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out in twenty twenty five, but we had more businesses
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flooded due to the rising water. Despite the challenges, Alexander
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pointed to the resilience of the local business community, particularly
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downtown Hazard. We've seen a lot of quick turnarounds with
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our businesses downtown since last year, Alexander said. All of
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these people are so good the whole community. Everyone chipped
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in and really helped people get back on their feet.
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The Apple Market, if you've not seen it lately, I
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encourage everyone to drive by and check it out. It's
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an amazing facility and we weren't sure at first that
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they would come back, but they invested in that facility
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and totally renovated it. Emergency preparedness has also improved, Alexander added,
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notting disaster deployment of temporary housing following the twenty twenty
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five flood in twenty twenty two, it took us a
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while to get the campers and stuff set up in
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the park. In twenty twenty five, once we saw where
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the water levels were going to get to, we had
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the campers set up and probably record time, he said,
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noting their emergency preparedness has improved ex potentially, that's one
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of the main areas that our teams have become equipped
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in handling. We've had fourteen federally declared disasters in the
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last eleven years and that many disasters has really made
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our team prepped in what to do and how to
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help people as quickly as possible. Alexandra also emphasized the
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importantudents of state and federal assistance and helping Perry County
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navigate back to back disasters. The support we got out
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on the state level was so impressive, Alexander said. The
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governor and our representatives and senator immediately reached out and
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we're finding out what our needs were, developing plans for
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the short term as well as long term needs. It's
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hard when you're dealing with a disaster because you have
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to take care of everything in that moment, but you
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also behind the scenes are planning for the long term
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recovery as well. The immediate needs get your attention, but
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you have to start planning for the long term immediately
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as well. Our state and federal partners played a crucial
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role in that in securing the funding that it takes
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to recover. I've said this many times, the disasters are
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getting bigger than us. The last two disasters have been
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bigger than something Prairie County can handle. It took the
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state and federal partners to get through it. While progress continues,
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Alexander said the work is far from finished. We continue
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to work on all our plans, he said. The rebuilding
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growing and it's been difficult at times, and with outside
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help we couldn't have done it. But we're continuing to
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grow and we're continuing to recover. Downtown coordinator Joey Jones
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echoed the theme of community resilience, pointing to the role
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of local support in the recovery process. The flooding was
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a really hard time for our community, but people showed
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up for each other, Jones said. Every time a business reopened,
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it was a reminder that downtown still matters. Jones said
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recovery remains ongoing, but momentum is building as businesses return
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and new interest emerges. We're thankful to live in a
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place where neighbors help neighbors, he said. We saw people
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come together in real ways making sure no one was
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left behind. Recovery takes time. We're still working to get
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some businesses back open, while also seeing new ones open
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or show interest in coming to downtown. Little by little,
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we're moving forward together. Red Spotted Newt celebrates six years
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local bookstore Red Spotted Newt owned and operated by Mandy Hugitt.
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Scheffel celebrated being opened for six years Saturday, February twenty eight.
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The six year anniversary was celebrated by off and rolling
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discounts throughout the day, covering a variety of items, while
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also including giveaways ranging from twenty five dollars to one
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hundred dollars along with complimentary snacks and drinks. Investigation ongoing
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further charges pending in alcohol involved fatal ATV crash. Perry
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County Sheriff Joe Ingle said in an online statement on
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March first that a juvenile was killed in an ATV
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crash in Perry County on February twenty eight, and alcohol
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is believed to have been involved. According to Ingle, at
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approximately nine pm on February twenty eight, the Sheriff's office
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received a call reporting an ATV crash at Oakwood Avenue
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in Baco. Ingle said the investigation found there were four
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people on the ATV at the time of the crash,
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two juvenile females, one of whom was operating the vehicle,
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and two adult males. The operator. Ingles said a sixteen
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year old female lost control of the vehicle, which went
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over an embankment resulting in the death of the juvenile
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female passenger. One of the male passengers, Ingle said was
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transported from the scene and was being treated for serious injuries.
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We do suspect that alcohol was involved in this from
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our preliminary investigation, in d said. We charged the driver
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we're driving under the influence, and also obtained the search
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warrant for a blood sample. Further, Ingle said the department's
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investigating where the alcohol involved in the incident was obtained.
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The investigation remains ongoing. Ingle said the Sheriff's office will
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be consulting with prosecutors to decide on any charges that
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will be filed in connection with the incident. We ask
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everyone to refrain from my accusations, Ingle said in the statement.
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The facts will come out as a press time. Ingles
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said they're still actively investigating the case, awaiting blood evidence,
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which has been sent to the Kentucky State Police Lab.
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The blood sample has been sent to the KSP lab,
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and we're waiting to verify that alcohol played a role
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or contributed to the incident. We have to make one
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hundred percent sure and pending the results of that, the
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adults will be charged accordingly. Ingall said he wants to
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assure the community this case will be worked thoroughly. We
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understand a lot of people are worked up over this
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right now, he said. Some people think that nothing is happening,
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but I assure you they are facing criminal charges for
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being with minors with alcohol. Waiting on those TUSS results
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will identify how serious the charges are. Ingall also said
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they've asked for an expotited testing process to get the
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results back as soon as possible. Due to the nature
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of the case. We're still collecting evidence. Ingall said, it's
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not over. These guys are not off the hook. One
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of them is seriously injured and currently in the hospital,
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and we have to wait on that as well. We've
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asked that the blood sample be expedited in testing so
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we can get the results back as soon as possible.
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We're hoping for a pretty quick result due to the
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nature of the case. We're actively working on this and
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it's not over yet. PSC issues final order in Kentucky
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Power rate case. The Kentucky Public Service Commission issued a
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final order in Kentucky Power's requests for a rate increase,
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which the PSC said will increase the average customer's bill
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by six point sixty three percent over a two year period.
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In the order, according to a statement from the PSC,
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the average residential customer using one thousand, two hundred eight
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kilowa hours per month will see their bill increase from
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an average of one hundred eighty three dollars and thirty
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seven cents to one hundred and ninety four dollars and
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thirteen cents. The statement said this represents an increase of
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approximately five point eight seven percent in the first year,
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and there will be an additional zero point seven six
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percent increase after the first year. The staggering of the
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increase over two years, the Commission said, is that Commission
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is allowing Kentucky Power to use certain deferred tax liabilities
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to reduce rates. In the company's original application, the statement said,
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residential customers would have seen an energy monthly increase in
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the bill of twenty seven dollars and thirty cents, resulting
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in an average bill of two hundred and ten dollars
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and sixty seven cents, representing a fourteen point sixty three
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percent increase. The statement said. The PSC also approved a
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new two tiered rate design for residential customers. It's designed
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to levelize bills and alleviate some of the high costs
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paid by customers with the highest usage. The statement said.
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The higher usage customers will pay a higher basic customer
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charge thirty eight rather than twenty four dollars, but all
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customers pay a lower volumetric rate for every kilowade hour
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beyond the first six hundred used. The statement said. The
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PSC is also acquiring Kentucky Power to undergo an independent
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management audit to review the company's operations, decision making processes,
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and its relationship with the parent company, American Electric Power,
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with the goal of identifying potential efficiencies that will benefit customers.
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As utility costs in this country continue to outpace inflation.
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Electricity rates have become an issue for every utility in
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every state in the past few years, but perhaps none
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more intense than for this particular company, due in large
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part through a loss of population about twelve thousand fewer
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customers over the past fourteen years and a thirty eight
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percent decrease in industrial power consumption in Kentucky's power service territory,
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said PSC chief and Jhattan in the statement. This has
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caused the company's costs to be spread over fewer customers.
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We heard emotional pleas that our public comment hearings from
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rate payers hadn't continued. They're angry and scared of the
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additional financial hardship caused by any potential increase. The PSC
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must balance the interests of fair rates for all customers
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with the realities of the costs of providing reliable electric
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service and issue a decision based on the evidence presented
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within the laws that govern rates. The Commission's approved rate
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included a modified generation rider that was included in the
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settlement because the writer may facilitate future savings for customers
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through potential securitization of costs at a later date. Hollers
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and Heroes Cohn hopes to offer an experience by rus
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cass Day. Appalachian Wireless Arena will host it an on
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April tenth and eleven that will bring together a pop
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culture convention, live wrestling, and music. According to Earle Mallett,
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owner of Tom Warp and Ashland, the Hollers and Heroes
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cons intended to be an opportunity to enjoy a diversity
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of offerings. We want an experience, he said, as with
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a traditional convention. Mallette said there will be vendors and
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guests available from eating greets and photo opportunities. Guests also
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on the line up include actors such as Tony Moran,
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who played the unmasked Michael Myers in the First Halloween movie,
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Harry Litt Leckman, who played Jason Voies in the first
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Friday the Thirteenth movie, Rtt Wagner, who was one of
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the actors portraying Leatherface in the two thousand and three
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Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Robert Mukes, who played Rufus Firefly
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and House of a Thousand Corpses. Wrestlers such as Tommy
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w wild Fire, Rich Shane Douglas, grey Wolf, and Sandman
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will also be appearing, as will performers who provided the
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motion capture for characters in the Mortal Kombat games. The
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wrestlers will not just be available from eating greets, as
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a show by Appalachian Wrestling will get underway at seven
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pm on April tenth at the Arena in conjunction with
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Hallers and Heroes con Also, Lehman's band First Jason, will
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perform at nine pm in the Arena. First Jason, Mallett said,
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is a band that performs heavy music with a focus
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on Lehman's past Lehman loves music, so he created a
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band and ninety percent of their songs are about Jason Boies.
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He said, We've tried to put this together for years
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and finally had the avenue to do it, so we
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got it set up. Mallett said the Hallers and Heroes
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con is reflective of his tastes as well as the
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taste of fans in the region, and he hopes it
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will provide an experience beyond the normal convention. I don't
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like traditional cons You go in, you buy stuff, you
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get your autographs from leave. Mollette said. That's why we're
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doing this live wrestling and the concert with first Jason.
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Mallett said he expects more announcements of guests before the
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event and that he hopes that the event will be
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successful and growth. After forty years of service, extension Agent
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Charles May prepares to retire After four decades of service
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in the agriculture and Community education longtime University of Kentucky
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Cooperative Extension Services, Agricultural Extension Agent Charles May is preparing
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to retire. He's closing the chapter on a career dedicated
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to supporting farmers and strengthening rural life. Originally from Wolf County,
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May said Perry County has long since become home. Now
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sixty five, he reflects on a career shortly after college
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and expand generations of agricultural change. I was an agent
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for thirty nine years and I worked a year at
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the College of Agriculture. May said. It was a corn
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testing program and made what they were doing when I
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got out of college. I got hired as an agent
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in nineteen eighty six. Though his roots traced back to
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Wolfe County, May said his years of service in Perry
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County have firmly planted in here. I'm from Wolf County originally,
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but I've been here longer than I was there, so
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I consider this my home now for sure. He said.
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I started my career in Knight County and covered this
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county a couple of times, and the position came open
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and I applied for it and transferred here in nineteen ninety.
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I think throughout his career, May has balanced professional dedication
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with family life, something he speaks off about with pride.
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I have a wife of thirty years and two boys,
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May said proudly. I've also got two granddaughters now, and
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that makes you feel old. But they're a pure joy.
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As an extension agent, May said, the work has always
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been rooted in education and service. He described the role
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as one that bridges university research with practical, everyday application
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for farmers and homeowners alike. There's so much in the
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details of this job, he said, You're basically taking the
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college to the people. You're disseminating research and information out
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to try and improve the lives of farmers. We try
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to educate them on everything from pesticides to long care,
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you name it. There's not really much we don't do.
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We make a difference through education and outreach. The direct
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connection with the community, May said has been part of
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the most rewarding part of the profession. I definitely enjoyed
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the work. May said, it's been a great job. The
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best part of the job has been the people. I
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always wanted to farm, and this has sort of been
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the next best thing. I grew up on a farm
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and I love these people. Farman has always been a
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part of my life. As retirement approaches, May acknowledge the
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transition will not be without emotion. While the confident the
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time is right, he admits stepping away will also bring change.
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I'm very anxious about retiring. I'd be lying if I
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said I didn't. It's going to be a big change,
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she said, But I know I'm ready to go, and
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it's time to let someone new come in here with
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new ideas and younger youth that has energy to work it,
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because it takes a lot of energy to do this job.
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No big retirement plans outside of spending time with my family,
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my wife, grand babies, and possibly traveling some. Wesley promoted
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to EVP Chief Internal Audit and Risk Officer at Community
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Trust Bank. Mark A. Goots, Chairman, President and CEO of
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Community Trust Bank Corp Co Operated announced in the statement
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in March second that Tracy A. Wesley has been promoted
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to the position of EVP Chief Internal Audit and Risk
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Officer of Community Trust Bank Corp Incorporated. Wesley's responsibilities include
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oversight and management of the enterprise wide risk management program,
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internal audit, loan review, and compliance functions. She also serves
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as the key liaison for various internal and board committees
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involving insurance risks and management, external audit services, and regulatory authorities.
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According to the statement, her office is located at the
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main office of Community Trust Bank at three forty six
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North Mayo Trail in Pipewell. Rogers Leeds Summer Leadership Program
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accepting applications. The Center for Real Development issue to public
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statement announcing they'll be accept in applications from high schools
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students in southern and Eastern Kentucky for a new summer
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leadership program designed to build the next generation of business
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leaders and entrepreneurs. According to the statement, Rogers Leeds Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Achievement,
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Development and Service is an intensive, week long day camp
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focused on developing framework businesses and entrepreneurial skills, providing an
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outlet to explore career pathways, and participating in hands on
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college level activities. We're excited to announce we're reshaping our
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youth summer leadership programs to give high school students the
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tools they need to become our region's future business leaders
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and entrepreneurs, said Lani Lawson, president and CEO of the
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Center for Rural Development. Kentucky welcomes eighty three new National
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Board certified teachers. Kentucky celebrated eighty three teachers newly certified
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by the National Board of Professional Training Standards during a
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ceremony at Kentucky State University on February twenty third. This year,
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one hundred and four educators also opted to renew their certification.
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The National Board Certified Teacher designation is the highest certification
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that K through twelve educators can obtain. The statement said, now,
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with four thousand, five hundred eighty four certified teachers, Kentucky's
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ninth in the nation for total certified teachers and twelfth
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in the nation for newly certified teachers this year. From
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the opinion page Too Far Gone by Russ Cassiday. In
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the wake of September eleventh, two thousand and one, the
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citizenry of the United States, understandably unsure about the future
22:48
and afreight following the terrorists attacks in New York City
22:51
and Washington, d C. Were willing to give up a
22:54
certain amount of liberty and privacy. The assumption was that
22:58
more attacks would be coming, and that many things that
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would have been unacceptable on September tenth, two thousand and
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one were now not only acceptable but necessary. We accepted
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the relaxation of rules regarding surveillance by law enforcement, and
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even accepted that some rules of war which are once
23:18
considered unbreakable, such as allowing torture to obtain information were
23:23
quite a bit more flexible. The vending of rules and
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breaking of laws began in the administration of George W.
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Bush and continued in the subsequent administrations. However, I have
23:35
to say that we're either reaching a new peak or
23:38
plateau under the second administration of President Donald Trump. I've
23:43
always said Trump is the ultimate pragmatists. It's all about
23:47
whatever works, no matter the costs. Coupled with the advent
23:51
of hyper intelligent AI, the Trump administration's penchant for ignoring
23:56
the basic tenets of democracy in the name of expediency
24:00
is potentially putting us in a great deal of peril.
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Don't believe me. You may not have heard about the
24:07
administration's war with the tech company Anthropic. According to CBS News,
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Anthropic pushed for guardy rails that explicitly prevent the military
24:19
from using its powerful clawed AI model to conduct mass
24:24
surveillance on Americans or the power eponymous weapons. The Pentagon,
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CBS reported, wants the ability to use claud for all
24:35
lawful purposes and said it isn't interested in either the
24:39
uses that Anthropic was concerned about. Anthropic refused to comply
24:45
with the removal of guard rails, and on Friday, Trump
24:48
ordered federal agencies to immediately stop using anthropics technology, followed
24:54
by an order from Defense Secretary of Peter Hegsett declaring
24:58
anthropical supply chain risk. The government has since struck a
25:03
deal with open AI, and both open AI officials and
25:07
government officials have said that the primary concerns about military
25:11
use AI, mass surveillance, and the potential to use AI
25:16
to power autonomous weapons systems that are authorized to act
25:20
without human interaction are not in the Pentagon's planning. However,
25:25
mass surveillance is a reality already. I already assume that
25:30
every piece of information about me is available to both
25:33
commercial enterprises and military actors. If you believe you've been
25:38
able to escape without being tracked, you're feeling yourself. But
25:42
the use of AI, which is no sense of morality
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deeper that it gathers from programmers and its experiences in
25:49
the wild, is frightening. Apply that to the potential for
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AI to be armed and authorized to deploy weaponry with
25:57
impunity against anyone in the world old and it gets
26:01
really frightening. Maybe the government has other reasons for pulling
26:06
away from anthropy. Maybe they really don't want to cross
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those lines. Here are the obituaries Deborah Reisner Barn sixty
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eight of Hazard by Thursday, February twenty sixth, Nancy Lee
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Johnson sixty sixth of Hazard by Saturday, February twenty first.
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James Glenn seismo Or sixty nine of Hyden died Monday
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February twenty third, Linda Feldner seventy eight of Hazard died
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Monday February twenty third, Charles Chuck Coddles Junior fifty eight
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of Combs died Tuesday February twenty fourth, and James Elmer
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Madden sixty seven of Busy died Wednesday, February twenty fifth.
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The American Heart Association and the University of Pikewell announced
26:56
a partnership on February twenty fifth, through which official She'll say,
27:00
the university will be made more ready to respond to
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cardiac emergencies. Andrea Odin, executive director of the American Heart
27:09
Association in Central and Eastern Kentucky, announced that the AHA
27:14
will provide financial support for purchase of automatic external defibrillators,
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CPR kits and CPR trainings to be used on campuses
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and throughout the community. This concludes the reading of the
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Hazard Herald. Please stay tuned for continued programming. Thank you
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for joining me and on behalf of everyone here at RADIOI.
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This is Lee Townshend, wishing you a good day.