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Hazard Herald - 4.12.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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Speaker 1: Now, he turned to the reading of the Hazard Herald
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for news of Hazzard in Perry County. I'm Lee Townsend.
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We begin with the online edition dated April eighth, twenty
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twenty six. As a reminder, radioized 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. Perry man charged
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an ATV crash now facing federal charge. A Perry County
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man who's facing a charge of murder related to an
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ATV crash that killed the sixteen year old girl, is
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now facing a federal charge related to an alleged sexual
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relationship with a different juvenile, according to court documents. On
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March thirty, first, Noah By twenty six, of Ico, was
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charged in US District Court with transportation of a minor
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with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. According
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to an affidavit filed in the case by a special
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agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in March, an
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interview was conducted with a girl who told investigators that
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back had initially contacted her when she was a junior
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high via a message on a social media The girl,
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the affidavit said, attended a school where Back's mother was
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the principal, and she told investigators she knew Bick was
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older and thought he was about twenty years old. The
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girl disclosed that when she was fourteen, she and Back
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began dating and engaged in sexual intercourse on multiple occasions. Back,
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the Affidavid said, eventually started filming the sexual intercourse. During
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the course of the relationship, the affidavit said, Bick transported
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the girl to Lexington and to Atlanta, Georgia, on different dates.
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A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for April ninth.
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In Frankfurt, Bike is facing a charge of murder in
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connection with the death of sixteen year old Emmelin Clark,
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who investigators have said was the passenger in a February
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twenty eighth ATV crash Byke. According to the court documents,
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provided alcohol two to sixteen year old girl who was
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driving the ATV Clark. According to Perry County Sheriff Joe Ingle,
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was found to not have been under the influence of
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alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash. The
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girl who was allegedly driving Ingle told the Hazard Herald
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has been charged with DUI in connection with the crash.
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Investigator Lieutenant Steve Everidge with the Sheriff's Office testified in
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a preliminary hearing on March thirty first that the alleged
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driver of the ATV had a blood alcohol level of
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zero point five two. Following the March thirty first preliminary hearing,
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Byke was returned to the Kentucky River Regional Jail, where
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he was ordered held by Period District Judge Cody Gearing
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on a two hundred thousand dollars cash or property bond.
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Perry County Extension Office recognizes Paul Hall with new expansion.
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Local officials and community leaders gathered on March thirty first
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at the Perry County Cooperative Extension Service Office to celebrate
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the announcement of the Paul E. Hall Multipurpose Center, a
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project aimed at expanding resources and services for residents while
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honoring a longtime leader in the region. The announcement, officials said,
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highlighted both the legacy of the Extension Service in Perry
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County and the contributions of Paul E. Hall, who has
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played a significant role in community and regional development. Paul
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Hall is our honorable chairman for our Extension Board, said
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Tom Cravens, a member of the Perry County Extension Board.
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Everyone here is aware of the good work our Extension
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Office does. They take the knowledge and research and bring
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it to the local level that we can use in
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our gardens, farms, and homes. I grew up in an
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extension family, was in four h from third grade and
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became an extension agent myself in Allesley County. I know
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these agents are always held in high esteem. Not only
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do they do the work they do at the Extension Office,
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but they're also our community leaders. They serve on other boards,
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and they serve in all kinds of community leadership capacities.
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Cravens also reflected on the long history of the Extension
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Service in Perry County and its continued impact on the community.
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In two years, in twenty twenty eight, the Extension Office
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will celebrate one hundred years since its first extension agent
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in Perry County, said Cravens. Robert Robbins, our very first
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agent came on ninety eight years ago. The property we're
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own was deeded to the Extension Service in nineteen ninety six,
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and the current office building here was built later that year.
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Perry County Joe's executive Scott Alexander, emphasized the local collaboration
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among leadership and the forward progress being made. We all
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work great together here in Perry County, said Alexander. I
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want to thank the board. It's been a great board
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to serve on, and we've really pushed the issues and
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it's been great for the community. It's been a great
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pleasure to serve on this board. I knew we were
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going into a great direction and we're starting to see
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the result of that now. Paul has a great story
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going back to my grandfather is when I got to
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know him. I'm excited about this. I appreciate the value
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and effort that Paul has put into making Perry County,
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Appalachia and eastern Kentucky a great place to live. Hazard
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Mayor Donald happy Mobilelini also praised halls decades of service
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and leadership across the region. Congratulations to Paul, said Bobolini.
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Paul is a dedicated servant and a visionary leader. He
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spent twenty four years in the mining industry. In nineteen
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ninety three, he began his seventeen year term tenure with
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the Kentucky River Area Development District. During his leadership at
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karadd He had many accomplishments, including the car Creek Water Plant.
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Mobilini says Hall's work was left a lasting legacy on
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Eastern Kentucky. His work has always reflected the long term
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growth and commitment to the community and as well being,
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he said. Throughout his career he's been forward thinking, having
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a vision of leaving a lasting legacy of progress, collaboration,
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and service to the people of Eastern Kentucky. Today we
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honor that legacy with the Paulley Hall Complex, reflecting his
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long term dedication to the region, showing the lasting impact
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one individual can have on a regent. Congratulations to Paul.
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Save a Lot holds thirty first Race Day. Save a
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Lot of Hazard hosted its thirty first annual Race Day
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event on April fourth at Perry County Central High School,
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drawing strong community support for two local beneficiaries. The annual event,
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which featured a car show and auction race, funds for
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Actual Combs and Kenny Williams and was held in memory
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of Zane Lewis. Race Day went great this year, said
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Save a Lot division manager Steve Stalin's. We were blessed
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with beautiful weather this weekend and that always helps. The
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auction was truly amazing with all of the vendor support
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that stepped in with different items, and all the local
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businesses and then just people out of the community making
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special gift baskets. It was amazing. They just kept bringing
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more stuff. Stalin said this year's proceeds will benefit two
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individuals with significant medical challenges. This year, the recipients are
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Actual Combs, a three year old young man who's battling leukemia.
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The other recipient is Kenny Williams, who's actually an employee
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of ours and has been part of Race Day since
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it transitioned to save a lot, and he's been out
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of work since last July after having the replacement. He
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got MSRA after being in the hospital and has been
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battling a lot of health issues ever since. In addition
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to the auction and car show, the event featured participation
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from local elected officials. This year, being an election year,
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we had politician Row where all the local officials were
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set up in their tents. He said, a lot of
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them donated items to the auction and also purchased items
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at the auction. Among the auction items was a basketball
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donated by Kentucky State Police Post thirteen autographed by Kentucky
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Wildcats men's basketball coach Mark Pope. Stalin said the outpouring
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of support highlights the strength of the local community. I
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think people seeing this level of support is important, said
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Stalin's It's a long day, a long weekend with a
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lot of support from so many people, and all that
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hard work turns into helping those recipients who take that
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money home with them at the end of the day.
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It shows that no matter what we're dealing with, no
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matter what the issues, we show up for each other
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and support each other. It's hard to fathom having so
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much support and it's very very special. Kentucky Auditor of
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Public Accounts announces the result of Perry County Clerk audit.
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Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts Allison's Ball's office has announced
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the result of its audit of the twenty twenty four
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financial statement of Perry County Clerk Wayne Napier's office, with
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two findings reported. According to statement from the APA, auditing
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standards require that the auditor's letter communicate whether the financial
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statement presents fairly the receipts, disbursements, and excess fees of
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the Perry County Clerk in accordance with the generally accepted
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accounting principles. The clerk's financial statement did not follow this format.
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The statement said, However, the clerk's financial statement is fairly
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represented in conformity with the regulatory basis of accounting, which
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is an acceptable reporting methodology. This reporting methodology is followed
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for all one hundred twenty clerk audits in Kentucky. According
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to the statement, the Clerk's office fourth quarter financial statement
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reports submitted to the Kentucky Department for Local Government was
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materially inaccurate. Receipts were overstated by one hundred thirty three
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nine hundred and fifteen dollars, disbursements were underestimated by two
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one hundred eighty three thousand, four hundred ninety eight dollars,
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and excess fees reported were overstated by three hundred thirty thousand,
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eighty six dollars. According to the statement, while receipts and
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disbursement ledgers were accurate and properly maintained, the bookkeeper did
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not include two disbursements on the fourth quarter report, tangible
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personal property tax payments of two hundred twenty three thousand,
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four hundred ninety seven dollars and state advancement repayment of
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sixty thousand dollars. Also, the statement said, the bookkeeper overstated
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the receipts on the fourth quarter report by including one
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hundred thirty four thousand, five hundred and twenty one of
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state grants and receipts. These are not part of the
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excess fees collected by the office. Ball's office recommended the
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clerk's office implement stronger internal controls in the review of
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the financial reporting process and ensure that underlying accounting records
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such as receipts as disbursement ledgers, reconcile with financial reports.
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According to the statement, Napier's office responded that personnel have
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received additional training to ensure the fourth quarter is accurately
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reflected on the report. In addition, the statement said, the
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audit found that Napier's office lacks adequate segregation of duties
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over receipts, disbursements, and bank reconciliations. During our review of
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internal controls, we noted the bookkeeper receives cash, posts, revenue
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and disbursements to the ledger and completes the monthly bank
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reconciliations with the county clerk providing oversight of those duties.
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The statement said the lack of segregation of duties occurred
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because the county clerk failed to segregate incompatible duties. The
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county clerk states that he cannot hire additional employees to
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allow segregation of duties due to budget limitations. Lack of
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segregation of duties resulted in in accurate financial reporting to
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state and local taxing districts. The statement said, Ball's office
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recommended a greater segregation of duties over the receipts, disbursements
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and reconciliations. If segregation of duties is not feasible due
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to lack of staff, we recommend the county clerk implement
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and document strong oversight over incompatible functions. The statement said.
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The person providing this oversight should document this or her
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review by initially all source documentation. Napier's office responded with
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additional training being conducted with staff. Save a Lot Gives
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Back to Hospice. Save a Lot of Hazard donated over
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seven thousand dollars worth of food to the Greg and
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Noreen Hospice Center on March sixth. The food was collected
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from customers who prochased food bags. Part of a Save
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a Lot race against Hunger food Drive. Levitt Amp Whitesburg
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Music Series announces twenty twenty six lineup. The levit Amp
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Whitesburg Music Series returns to the Mountain Heritage Stage in
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downtown Whitesburg this summer. These family friendly, free outdoor concert
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events are ten Thursdays from June fourth to August sixth.
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The music starts at six thirty pm, with headliners at
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seven thirty pm. The Whitesburg Farmers Market opens at six pm. Headliners,
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according to statements, include Grammy, Emmy and Blues Music Award winners,
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a member of the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame Class
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of twenty twenty six, and a couple whose legendary bands
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sold well over ten million records. The ten headliners are
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Nicholas Jamerson in the Morning Jays June fourth. The Floyd
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County Navy co founded the band's Sunday Best and has
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released a dozen regular records between them and solo over
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the past thirteen years. Ben Soley June eleventh, Emmy winning composer,
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cellist and experience experiential designer Alexing the Native has been
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blurring boundaries with his music, style and careers for nearly
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two decades. Vicki Peterson and John Caltil June eighteenth. Vicky
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Peterson of The Bangles, whose work includes the number one
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hit walk Like an Egyptian and several other top ten songs,
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such as Eternal Flame, which is the biggest single by
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an all female band in history, teams up with John
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calcil drummer vocalists for The Beach Boys for over twenty
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three years, an original member of the platinum selling family
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band The Calciles, to lovingly present their debut Americana album,
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comprised of songs written by John's late brothers, Barry and
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Bill Caltil, titled Long After the Fire Calling Creek Mountain
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Music School Faculty June twenty fifth. For twenty five years,
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CCMMS has matched master Mountain musicians with learners young and
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old from across the country and internationally. The results are generational,
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as several former students now perform on some of the
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country's biggest stages. Mister Ship July second, twenty twenty four.
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Grammy recipient in twenty twenty five Blues Music bb King
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Award for Entertainer of the Year. Castro Coleman established himself
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as an Award winning gospel performer and producer before entering
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the blues scene, where he's made an immediate mark. Amelia
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Day July ninth, Rising Young Artists with millions of streams
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and over two hundred and fifty thousand monthly Spotify listeners.
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Amelia Day as a musicianal jack of all trades, standing
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at the end of folk, rock and pop. Dave Blend's
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heartfelt storytelling raw delivery and unforgettable melodies into music that
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feels both fresh and familiar. Derek Dove and the Peacekeepers
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July sixteenth International Blues Challenge Band champions in Memphis, with
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Derek also earning Best Guitarist honors. The band is topped
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iTunes blues charts with multiple number one albums and singles,
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including their ACCLAIM releases rough Time with When Did I
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Get Old? Fabiola Mendez July twenty third, winner of the
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Quincy Jones Award, Thomas Fellowship, and ASCAP Foundation Yellow Award,
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and Latin Artist of the Year. She's a Puerto Rican curista, singer, educator,
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and Emmy nominee composer. Secret Agent twenty three. Skadoo July thirtieth,
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a Grammy winning kid hop artist and producer specialized in
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family entertainment and education. Holy Rover August sixth, Holy Roller
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more like Holy. That's the review from Nashville's multi Grammy
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Award winning songwriter John Lauderdale. The Richmond, Virginia based group
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is quickly proving they intend to be the new face
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of Southern rock. AARH highlighted nationally as model for food
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is medicine innovation. Apalachian Regional Healthcare is gaining national attention
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for showing food can play a powerful role in improving health,
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according to a statement from AARH. ARH. The statement said
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was highlighted as a national best practice model for food
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is medicine during the recent launch of the Florida Food
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is Health Institute Procurement Initiative in Miami. The event was
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part of the US Department of Health and Human Services
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nationwide take Back Your Health campaign focused on stringthening hospital
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food systems and expanding patient access to nutritious, locally sourced
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foods that can help prevent and manage chronic disease. National
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Child Abuse Prevention Months was acknowledged April third at Triangle
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Park with a culmination of community resources gathered to highlight
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the ongoing fight against child abuse and to share information
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as well as resources with community members to educate them
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on how to recognize the signs of child abuse, where
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to go, and what to do to intervene. From the
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opinion page, Doge good or bad? Jeff Vanderback during Easter weekend.
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I really try it hard to be nice and not
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let the evils of politics infiltrate my mind. But something
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came up and I just can't seem to get the
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voices out of my head. Not that the current administration
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makes it easy. I'm not talking local or state politics.
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That's a whole other issue. I'm talking about national politics
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and current administration in the White House. If you're a
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hardcore maga, I suggest seeing what's going on in the
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sports section. However, if you're a level headed, moderate conservative,
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you may, thank God forbid. I have a point. While
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it's not all bad, the bad is not good. In fact,
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the bad makes average logical thinking Americans think they have
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lost their minds. The current administration initiated tax cuts for corporations,
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making it easier to do business in the US. This
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administration has cut down on regulations to boost domestic industry,
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particularly in the energy sector. We now have more secure
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sources of domestic energy due to the expansion of oil
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and gas production, and we have stricter border controls where
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the screening process is more in favor of only allowing
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you in vetted individuals who want to be part of
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our American culture. We want immigrants from all over, but
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they must enter legally, and that is a key for
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the Trump administration. All that is good now on the
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less attractive policies and appointees. Doche Hegseth and Kennedy. I
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can just stop here and let you enjoy your call
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for your beer, but that would be too easy. Kennedy
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is a mess as head of Health and Human Services.
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He's clueless about the plight of the American people, and
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he's no more qualified for that position than I am.
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Kennedy claims that vaccines and taking talanol during pregnancy will
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cause autism, and adhd wi FI causes cancer, and chemicals
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in water calls sexual dysphoria in children. He staged a
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dead bear that look to be run over by a
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bicycle in Central Park. He wants us to eat liver
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because it's the most affordable meat with a high protein amount.
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You can't really blame him because of the parasite that
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ate half his brain. At least he has an excuse
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of those. When Trump took office, he appointed billionaire Elon
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Musk to run DOZE, the Department of Government Efficiency. The
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mission of those was to identify a government waste, fraud,
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and abuse and cut that out of the budget. Musk
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claimed he would reduce spending by one trillion dollars. That's
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a lot of zeros. Moderate conservatives had a glimmer of hope,
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as we all want to cut fraudulent government spending, but
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that is not what happened. DOZE was supposed to restructure
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government agencies and cut out wasteful government workforce. We know
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that some government jobs can be a free ride and
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that some people in positions are useless. Musk eliminated government programs,
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canceled over four thousand government contracts, and laid off over
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three hundred thousand employees. I'm not convinced the right employees
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were terminated. Snap benefits were cut, hurting food insecure Americans.
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Healthcare benefits were cut, keeping the poor sick, adding the
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financial burden on health care facilities which are being forced
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to close. Medical research funding was halted don't tell me
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the pharmaceutical companies are not jumping for joy. Keep them
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sick and they all are forced to buy our drugs.
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And personal data was compromised because Musk had teenagers who
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may be tech savvy but are lazy and unable to
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understand personal data breaches heading up the financial research. Musk
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left in May after he and Trump had a tiff
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over the Big Beautiful Bill. Musk thought it undermined oja's mission.
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Good riddance. Remember waste, fraud, and abuse. Well, that's where
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warmonger and former weekend anchor Hegseth comes in. Since September,
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Hagseth has gone on a spending spree of taxpayers money.
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He spent fifteen million dollars on REUBEI states no liver
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for him. He spent seven million dollars on lobster tales
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and two million dollars on crab legs. He spent over
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two hundred and twenty five million on fancy furniture, three
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point five billion on cable TV and tech support, and
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five point nine billion on it that can't be fully
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accounted for. He kicked journalists out of the Pentagon because
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they would not sign a release stating that they would
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only report what they were told, and is now salivating
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over killing people in Iran. If we obliterated Iran's nuclear
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capabilities last year, why are we bobbing them now? Hegseth
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defended his spending spree by touting that he had money
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in his budget and if he didn't spend it this year,
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he would lose that money for next year. Isn't that
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frivolous spending the fit to me of waste, fraud, and abuse.
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Why is Congress allowing that spending spree to continue? You
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decide if dose is good or bad. Congress needs to go.
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And as the entire DC swamp, I thought after Obama
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Biden this country couldn't be more of a disaster. I
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was wrong. Thanks for reading The Hazard Herald Against column
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Week thirteen of the twenty twenty sixth Legislative Session by
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Brandon Smith, State Senator thirtieth District. As the twenty twenty
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sixth Legislative session enters its final days, we're wrapping up
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our work, sending legislation to the governor, and preparing to
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return to consider any details. Here are the obituaries Lloyd Brewer,
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eighty six of Hazard died Monday, March thirtieth. Josephine god
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See Jones ninety two died Saturday March thirtieth, Charles Glenn
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Fugut sixty six died Wednesday, April first, and Kensel Feldner
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seventy eight died Saturday, April fourth. From the Sports section,
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Lady Commodores nd alf Floyd Central. Perry County Central held
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on to defeat Floyd Central eleven to nine during the
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two to A Section eight softball tournament at Stonecrest on Monday,
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April sixth. Following the win, Perry County Central improved to
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seven and six. Perry County Central scored first and never trailed.
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The Lady Commodores owned various leads. The girls All Mountain
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Basketball team is comprised of athletes from the fifteenth Region.
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The All Mountain Players of the Year nominees are Kylie
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Alvin Pikeville, Kaylee McCoy Phelps, Maddie Frotenapole, Hazard, Kylie Kinner Paintsvill,
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and Carla Stanley. Johnson Central All Mountain of the Year
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nominees were Don Kenner, Painsful, Todd Howard Hazzard, Jim Hicks,
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Johnson Central, Denise Campbell, Pipeville, Bobby Spears Pike Central, and
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Corey Thicker Betsy Lane. 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. Kate
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through twelve Education. We took steps in this budget to
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increase oversight and control costs while protecting services for those
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who rely on the program. At the same time, we
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limited spending growth in other areas of government to keep
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the budget sustainable long term.