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(Whitesburg) Mountain Eagle - 3.26.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
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from Witzburg. Your reader today is Bill an Arsenale. We
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will begin with the addition dated March twenty fifth, twenty
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twenty six, which the publishers have donated to Radio Eye
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as a reminder. Radio Eye is a reading service intended
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for people who are blind or have other disabilities that
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make it difficult to read printed material. The first article
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is a new kind of golf takes flight in Jenkins.
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In golf there are links courses, parkland courses, and desert courses,
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and of course put putt, but down a muddy trail
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scattered with fallen limestone and sandstone from an old railroad cut.
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A completely different kind of course is taking shape in Jenkins.
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When finished, the Boulder Run disc golf course will wind
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through the woods and climb the side of Pine Mountain
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behind the Little Shepherd Amphitheater at Jenkins. Disc golf is
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similar to traditional golf with one key difference. Instead of
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hitting a ball into a cup, players throw hard plastic
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discs into chain baskets. The discs are like frisbees, but
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they're shaped a little differently, said Addison Williams, who is
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building the Boulder Run Course. While disc golf may sound
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like a modern trend, its roots go back decades. Frisbee
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golf began gaining popularity in the nineteen sixties, evolving from
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a game called tin lid golf played by Canadian school
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children in the nineteen twenties. That pastime grew after Whamo
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introduced the frisbee, turning a simple toy into a nationwide phenomenon.
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The sport took another step forward in nineteen seventy five
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with the opening of the first official disc golf course
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in Oak Grove Park, California. A year later, the Professional
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Disc Golf Association PDGA was formed. Today, the sport includes
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a national tour, with players competing using specialized discs such
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as drivers, mid range discs, and putters. This course probably
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won't be on the national tour, but there are some
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pro players out of Tennessee who are going to come
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and play it and we'll get some publicity. Williams sid
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Unlike traditional golf courses, which require carefully manicured landscapes, disc
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golf can be played anywhere there's enough space for a
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disk to fly. At Jenkins, the terrain will provide a
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natural challenge. The first hole is relatively open, but the
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course quickly climbs into the woods and up the mountain.
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It's through the woods, but there are walking paths through there.
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Williams sid discs fly straight though. Williams expects the main
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eighteen hole course to play to a par of fifty,
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meaning a skilled player would need fifty nine throws to
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complete the round. That's a mix, he said. Some holes
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are pretty long. Additional layouts will also be available for beginners.
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Like traditional golf, disc golf uses a scoring system where
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lower scores are better and players can compete using handicaps. Williams,
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a Jenkins native, operates an online business, Variety Disc Golf,
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selling discs, baskets, and equipment. He also runs a YouTube
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channel of the same name, where he reviews gear and
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demonstrates throws on local courses and fields. Boulder Run will
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sit across the valley from Raven Rock Golf Course, one
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of Kentucky's top rated public courses, offering a new kind
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of challenge for outdoor enthusiasts in Letcher County. The next
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story is superintendent stepping down after eight years. Lecher County
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Schools will have a new superintendent this fall. Denise Jans,
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who has served in the position for the past eight years,
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announced this week that she will retire at the end
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of June after thirty three years in the district. The
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Lecher County Board of Education worked with the Kentucky School
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Boards Association to conduct a search for her replacement. Jance
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is a nineteen eighty nine graduate of Whitesburg High School
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and attended Moorhead State University. She began her career as
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an instructional assistant at West Whitesburg Elementary School in nineteen
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ninety three and landed her first teaching position at Whitesburg
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High School in nineteen ninety four. She later served as
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an English teacher, assistant principal, and eventually principal, becoming the
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last principal at Whitesburg High School before it closed during
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consolidation with Lecher High School and Fleming Neon High School.
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Following consult Nation, Yance became an assistant principal at Leisure
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County Central High School. She was hired as superintendent eight
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years ago after the retirement of Tony Sargent, who has
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since returned to the district and now works in the
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finance department. Yance said she does not have firm plans
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after retirement. I'm going to try to retire, she said.
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I don't know if I'll like retirement or not. I've
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worked since I was fourteen. As superintendent, Yance led the
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district through two major crises, the COVID nineteen pandemic in
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twenty twenty and the devastating flood of twenty twenty two.
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Schools were closed for extended periods during the pandemic, with
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instructions shifting online using hundreds of laptops purchased by the district.
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In twenty twenty two, floodwaters damaged multiple school facilities, displaced
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students and staff, and claimed the lives of two high
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school custodians who were attempting to reach Letter County Central
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High School. During the disaster response, the high school served
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as a relief center and command post, its parking lot
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filled with donated supplies, while the cafeteria housed emergency management
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and FEMA personnel. Teachers, staff and volunteers distributed water and
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other necessities to the community for months. The district continues
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working to recover enrollment losses caused by both events. A
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field of wild flowers planted across from the high school
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honors Clarence and Jewel Sturgel, whose truck was swept from
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a bridge during the flood. Despite those challenges, schools had
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been rebuilt, Attendance is improving, and some students who had
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been home schooled are returning to class rooms. Yaunce said
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she is most proud of the district's students. Our kids
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live up to our expectations, and when we give them
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high expectations, they meet and exceed them, she said. Our
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kids are as bright as any anywhere in the world.
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Although her contract ends in June, Yahnce said she plans
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to remain through September first to help ease the transition
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to a new superintendent. After that, she hopes to spend
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more time traveling and with family. The next headline is
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work on coal plant may cost Kentucky Power customers extra dollars.
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As residents across eastern Kentucky struggle with rising electric bills
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and worry about the next increase, Kentucky Power has asked
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state regulators to approve a nearly two hundred million dollar
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project at a coal fired power plant that helps supply
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electricity to the region. The utility filed an application with
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the Kentucky Public Service Commission PSC earlier this year, seeking
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permission to build a new cooling at the Mitchell Generating
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Station along the Ohio River near Mountsville, West Virginia. The
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plant is one of the largest sources of electricity serving
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Kentucky Power's customers. The project is expected to cost about
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one hundred and ninety one million dollars, with Kentucky Power
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responsible for a roughly half about ninety five point five
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million dollars because it owns a fifty percent share of
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the plant. The other half is owned by Wheeling Power Company,
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another American Electric Power AEP subsidiary. The filing, officially known
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as Case number twenty twenty six one, was in place
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before the Public Service Commission approved a nearly six percent
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rate increase for Kentucky Power's customers in eastern Kentucky, and
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just weeks after the PSC ruled in early January that
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Kentucky Power could continue taking electricity from the Mitchell plant
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beyond twenty twenty eight. In that decision, which resulted in
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an average household rate increase of about two dollars and
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thirty three cents per month, the PSC's three commissioners said
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the aging coal plant remained the least costly option available
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in the near term, but warned that any additional investments
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at the facility would require separate review. The cooling tower proposal,
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now before the PSC represents the first major request for
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new spending at the plant since that ruling. The proposed
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project has already drawn scrutiny from consumer advocates, environmental groups,
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and large industrial power users, who say regulators should closely
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examine whether investing tens of millions of dollars in the
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fifty five year old coal plant is the most economical
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option for ratepayers. The Sierra Club has asked the Commission
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to allow it to intervene in the case, saying it
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wants to ensure the project represents the least cost way
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for Kentucky Power to provide electricity to its customers. In
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its motion, the group said the project would require rate
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payers to fund a major capital investment in a coal
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plant that began operating in nineteen seventy one. The organization
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argued regulators should carefully examine whether cheaper alternatives could meet
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the region's electricity needs. Industrial customers have also asked to
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participate in the case. Kentucky Industrial Utility Customers, a group
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representing some of the state's largest electricity users, including Marathon
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Petroleums Refinery in Catletsburg, has filed a motion to intervene,
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saying the decision could directly affect electric rates from major
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power consumers. At the center of the case is the
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Mitchell Generating Station, a two unit coal plant that has
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long been a key part of Kentucky Power's electricity supply.
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Kentucky Power owns half of the plant, while the other
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half is owned by Wheeling Power. Together, the two units
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have a generating capacity of about one thousand, five hundred
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sixty megawatts, according to Kentucky Power's filing, structural problems have
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developed in the cooling tower that serves Mitchell's unit. Two.
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Engineers discovered cracks and other deterioration in the tower's concrete shell,
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raising concerns that the structure could eventually become unsafe to operate.
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The company began a project to reinforce the tower in
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twenty twenty four, but construction was halted in twenty twenty
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five after workers discovered additional damage that required a broader
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evaluation of possible solutions. Kentucky Power says it examined four options,
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including retiring the generating unit altogether. They ultimately concluded that
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building a new mechanical draft cooling tower and partially demolishing
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the existing one would be the least expensive way to
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keep the plant operating. The utility asks the PSC to
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grant it a Certificate of Public Necessity CSPN to start
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work on building the new cooling tower, saying the project
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is necessary to preserve a significant source of electricity for
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its customers. Kentucky Power relies on its share of Mitchell
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Unit two for about three hundred eight megawatts of generation capacity.
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Without that capacity, the company told regulators it could be
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forced to buy replacement electricity in regional wholesale markets operated
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by PJM Interconnection, the organization that manages the electric grid
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across much of the eastern United States, including Kentucky. Those
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markets have become increasingly volatile in recent years as older
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power plants retire and demand for electricity grows. Without addressing
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the structural issues, the company wrote in its application, continued
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operation of Mitchell Unit two will be at risk. Critics
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of the project say regulators should consider whether additional investments
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may be needed if the plant continues operating for decades.
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In its filing, the Sierra Club noted that aging coal
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plants often require a series of major repairs as they
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grow older. The group argued regulators should examine whether other
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costly upgrades could be needed in the future if the
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Mitchell plant remains in service. Across Appalachia and the broader
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Pjam Electricity region, utilities are grappling with similar decisions about
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aging coal plants that still supply large amounts of electricity
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but increasingly require expensive repairs. Residents in the region, however,
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the central question remains how such investments will affect their
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monthly power bills. Electricity costs already represent a significant burden
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for many households in Electric County and elsewhere in eastern Kentucky,
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where incomes are lower than the national average and many
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homes rely on electric heating during the winter months. While
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the cooling tower project itself is relatively straightforward, the bigger
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fight is about a generation rider referenced in the filing.
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Generation riders allow utilities to recover costs between rate cases,
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reduce regulatory lag, and pass capital investment costs to customers faster.
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Consumer advocates often oppose them because they can increase bills
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incrementally reduce PSC oversight and shift risk to customers. Opposition
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groups may argue that approving the cooling tower while the
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rider is under resolved pre commits customers to paying for
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it later. Kentucky Power is asking the PSC to allow
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it to create a regulatory asset to track the costs,
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or to defer recovery of the costs until later. Those
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costs would then be recovered through a proposed generation rider
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or a future base rate case if that rider is
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not approved. This accounting treatment lets the company begin spending
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money before the PSC decides exactly how customers will pay
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for it. The case could also signal how Kentucky regulators
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approach future investments in aging coal plants. Across the PJAM
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regional power market, utilities are weighing whether to retire decades
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old facilities or spend millions of dollars to keep them operating.
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Decisions in the Michial case may indicate whether the Kentucky
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Public Service Commission is willing to support continued investment in
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older coal plants as a way to maintain reliable power supplies,
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even as those investments placed additional pressure on electric rates
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for many Eastern Kentucky residents. The Mitchell case revives memories
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of Kentucky Power's decision a decade ago to retire coal
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generation at the Big Sandy plant in Louisa and shift
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much of its power supply to the Mitchell plant in
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West Virginia. While regulators agreed at the time that Mitchell
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was the cheaper option, the change eliminated coal jobs and
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tax revenue in the region. Now, as the company asks
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regulators to approve another major investment tied to that same plant,
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customers across the mountains are left to wonder how much
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more they may ultimately be asked to pay to keep
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it running. According to an analysis by Energy Innovation, Policy
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and Technology, the cost of burning coal at the Mitchell
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plant increased by fifty five percent between twenty twenty one
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in twenty twenty four and continues to rise today. The
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next story is Kentucky Power challenges PSC ruling on rate increase.
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Kentucky Power Company is asking state regulators to reconsider parts
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of a recent decision on its proposed rate increase, arguing
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that cuts ordered by the Kentucky Public Service Commission could
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harm the company's financial stability and electric service reliability. In
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a motion for rehearing filed with the PSC. The utility
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challenges several elements of the commission's February order in its
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rate case, which approved a smaller increase than the company
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originally sought. The PSC's ruling resulted in a net increase
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of about fifty two million dollars annually, less than the
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company's initial request, but Kentucky Power says regulators reached that
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figure by disallowing certain costs rather than using other tools
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to reduce customer impacts. The company is asking the Commission
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to revisit five major issues, including tree trimming programs, employee compensation,
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transmission costs, rate case expenses, and how it can recover
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future investments in its power plants. The most significant dispute
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involves vegetation management, the trimming and removal of trees near
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power lines, which the company says is critical to preventing outages.
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In its order, the PSC changed how some of those
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costs are treated, shifting them from long term investments to
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annual operating expenses. Kentucky Power argues that change will force
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it to scale back work and could lead to increased outages.
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The company also warned the decision could result in the
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loss of contractor jobs in Eastern Kentucky tied to that work,
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and leave it unable to recover millions of dollars already
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spent on vegetation management. Kentucky Power is also challenging the
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Commission's decision to disallow certain employee compensation costs, including incentive pay,
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and to deny recovery of some transmission related expenses tied
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to the regional Pjam power grid. The company argues that
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some of these transmission costs are set by federal regulators
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and cannot be reduced by the state Commission. In addition,
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Kentucky Power is seeking clarification on whether it can recover
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future capital investments at the Big Sandy and Mitchell Power
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plants through a new rate mechanism known as a generation rider.
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That issue could be significant as the company continues to
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pursue upgrades and repairs at the Mitchell plant, including a
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proposed cooling power replacement now under review by the PSC.
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In its filing, Kentucky Power said the Commission's order could
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reduce its ability to earn them return on investment regulators
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themselves determined was reasonable and could negatively affect its financial condition.
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The company warned that without changes, it may need to
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file another rate case in the near future. Kentucky Power
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emphasized that it remains aware of the financial challenges facing
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its customers and set it is willing to use accounting
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tools such as deferred tax credits to help offset any
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additional impact on electric bills. If the Commission grants rehearing,
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the PSC will decide in the coming weeks whether to
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grant the request and revisit portions of its earlier decision.
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At stake for Eastern Kentucky customers is whether future electric
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bills rise further, or whether regulators hold the line on
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costs tied to maintaining and upgrading the region's power system.
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The next headline is fiscal court withholds opioid funds over
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US reports. The Leccher Fiscal Court has declined to provide
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additional funding from the National Opioid Settlement to a company
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using electrical stimulation to treat withdrawal symptoms, citing the company's
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failure to file required reports with the state. The court
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last year approved fifty thousand dollars for any tea recovery,
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but the company submitted bills totally about fifty seven thousand
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dollars from the county's share of the settlement fund. According
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to County Treasurer D. J. Fraser, the initial funding was
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approved after Ted Adams of Leccher and merle Caudle of
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Blackie asked the court to help cover treatment costs for
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patients using the net device while the company conducted a
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study seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.
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The company has said treatment costs about five five hundred
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dollars per patient. The fiscal court had indicated it might
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provide an additional fifty thouand thousand dollars if the company
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could demonstrate the device's effectiveness. However, Fraser said the company
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has not filed reports required by the Kentucky Opioid Abatement
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Advisory Commission KOAAC, which oversees use of the funds. This
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opioid money turned out to be more difficult than what
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I originally thought. Fraser said the group from anyt recovery
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was supposed to get online and do their paperwork, and
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they never did. Fraser said the state initially would not
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allow the county to submit its own report until any
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t recovery filed its required documentation. She later learned the
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county is now in compliance, but the company's report still
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has not been received. A recent report by KFF Health
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News also raised questions about any t Recovery's use of
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opioid settlement funds, noting that the company has secured contracts
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totally about one point two million dollars with more than
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a dozen Kentucky counties and cities. Critics say those funds
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could otherwise be used for services such as mental health treatment, housing,
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and transportation. The FDA has cleared the device only for
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treating withdrawal symptoms, not opioid addiction. A company's study found
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that while some users who wore the device for extended
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periods reduced drug use, overall results showed no significant difference
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compared to those receiving a placebo treatment. Magistrates said the
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situation reflects increased scrutiny of opioid settlement spending. It makes
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it really hard for us when people that we've helped
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come back to ask for more money if they've not complied,
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said District five Magistrate Benny McCallum. Caudle and Adams returned
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to the court to request additional funding, saying another treatment
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group is scheduled for April. CALLDL said the group may
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need to cancel if reporting issues are not resolved. Judge
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Executive Terry Adams said the court cannot consider additional funding
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until required reports are filed. It's imperative that they get
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their documents in. Adam said the court did approve other
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opioid settlement expenditures. Magistrates voted five to one to allocate
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fifty thousand dollars to the Hemphill Community Center, pending approval
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from the State Opioid Settlement Coordinator. District three Magistrate deb
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Collier had initially requested one hundred twenty two thousand dollars
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for programs including summer and after school camps and wages
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for people in recovery working at the center's Black Sheet bakery.
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Fraser said most of the proposed uses would likely qualify
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under allowable spending guidelines, though she was unsure whether funds
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could be used for clothing and shoes. Some magistrates raise
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concerns about how the center is being used. I have
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a little bit of concern about it not being used
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as a community center for the community, said District for
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Magistrate Cheddy Smith. Collier said the center operates under a
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non profit designation and provides community based services. The court
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also unanimously approved twenty thousand dollars from the Opioid Fund
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to cover the first month's rent for twenty seven residents
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at Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporations Transitional living apartments on the
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former Wisburg High School campus. The program is intended to
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help individuals leaving rehabilitation transition back to independent living. Magistrates
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said recovery is an ongoing process that requires continued support.
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The next story is Parkway Pharmacy expands into Jenkins, adds
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second pharmacist. Parkway Pharmacy of Whitsburg has expanded into Jenkins
25:54
with a new location downtown and the addition of a
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second pharmacist, strengthening its present in eastern Kentucky's retail pharmacy market.
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The new business, Parkway Pharmacy at Jenkins, is located in
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the former Bogs Pharmacy building at ninety five hundred Highway
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eight oh five and is now open to serve customers
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in Jenkins and surrounding communities. Pharmacist Cassie Rose has joined
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the new location after previously working at Walgreens, giving the
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store two pharmacists on staff. James Eric Hicks also serves
26:29
as pharmacist in Jenkins. The opening marks a direct expansion
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into a market currently served by the national chain Walgreens,
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offering customers a locally owned alternative. According to the company,
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the Jenkins Pharmacy will offer a drive through window, prescription
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transfers by phone, and a range of over the counter
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medications and retail items. In addition to pharmacy services, the
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store carries gift items including candles, cologns, perfumes, and seasonal merchantis.
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Store hours are nine a m. To six p m.
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Monday through Friday, and nine a m. To three p m.
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On Saturdays. The pharmacy is closed Sundays. Parkway Pharmacy operates
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other locations in Whitesburg, Iism and Cumberland, and describes the
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Jenkins store as part of its effort to provide fast,
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friendly service close to home. This concludes the reading of
27:24
The Mountain Eagle. Your reader has been built in Arsenal.
27:28
Now please stay tuned for continued programming on behalf of
27:32
everyone here at Radio I thank you for listening, and
27:35
have a good day.