Transcript

10.2.25 · The Mountain Eagle

0:01
Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
0:04
from Whitesburg. Your reader today is billed an Arsenal. We
0:09
will begin with the addition dated October one, twenty twenty five,
0:14
which the publishers have donated to RADIOI as a reminder.
0:19
RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
0:22
blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
0:25
read printed material. The first story is highly decorated World
0:31
War II pilot is honored with a new sign. The
0:36
sign honoring Narse Whittaker is the blue of as you write,
0:41
the blue of a clear sky at dusk, just before
0:44
it slips into the black of night, fitting for Whitaker,
0:48
a mountain boy from Mill Branch who dreamed of flying,
0:52
joined the Army Air Corps and became the most decorated
0:56
Kentucky soldier in the South Pacific during World War II
0:59
II two. The West Lecher Oral History Society and the
1:04
Whittaker family raised two three hundred dollars for the sign
1:09
honoring his legacy at the Letcher County Veterans Museum in Whitsburg,
1:14
and the Oral History Society installed it. The History Society
1:19
unveiled the sign at a ceremony September eighteenth, and the
1:23
Whittaker family, including his only surviving sister, will hold their
1:27
own remembrance at ten am October eleventh during a family reunion.
1:33
Richard Smith, president of the West Letcher Oral History Society,
1:38
read a short biography of Whittaker at the unveiling of
1:41
the sign. Whittaker was a nineteen thirty eight graduate of
1:45
Stuart Robinson High School at Letcher and enlisted after graduation.
1:51
He went to the Army Air Corps and was a
1:53
pretty accomplished pilot by the time Pearl Harbor happened. Smith
1:57
said Whittaker was great great great grandson of James Caudle Junior,
2:04
a Revolutionary War soldier buried in the Twin Bridges area
2:08
along Kentucky seven, and as such was related to a
2:11
large percentage of the people in Letcher County. Smith, who
2:16
is in his seventies and grew up in that area,
2:18
recalled playing outside when a military plane flew over and
2:22
he stopped to watch it. I was watching that plane
2:25
and just as it crossed the Mill branch ridge, I
2:29
saw it tip first one wing and then the other,
2:31
he said. Unaccustomed to airplanes at the time, he ran
2:36
in the house yelling that there was a plane crashing.
2:39
His grandmother, however, had seen the plane pass over before
2:43
and tip it's wings. That plane is not crashing. That's
2:47
that Whittaker boy waving at his Mommy. Smith quoted his
2:51
grandmother as saying Letcher County Judge Executive Terry Adams spoke
2:56
as well, reading a list of Whittaker's service medals, a
3:00
Silver Star, a Distinguished Flying Medal with an oak leaf cluster,
3:05
the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and the
3:08
Legion of Merit. Adams called Whittaker a true hero of
3:12
the United States and of this county. Circuit Clerk Mike Watts,
3:17
also from Mill Branch, said what really surprised him was
3:21
that Whittaker became the most decorated soldier in the South
3:24
Pacific in just one year February third, nineteen forty two
3:29
to February fifth, nineteen forty three. Elwood Cornett, an old
3:34
regular Baptist preacher, joked that he was not the oldest
3:38
person at the ceremony, but was the only one old
3:41
enough to remember Whittaker, who he said was best friends
3:44
with his older brother. He said he has letters from
3:47
Whittaker that were given to him and He plans to
3:50
copy those and give them to the Letcher County Public Libraries.
3:55
I'm proud of this area, and I'm proud of Narse Whittaker,
3:57
he said. Whittaker's only surviving sister, now eighty eight, is
4:03
coming to Whitesburg from Washington State to see the sign
4:07
when the family gathers October eleventh. His only daughter, eighty
4:12
and living in Colorado, is physically unable to travel, but
4:16
donated to help buy the sign. The next story is
4:23
thirty percent of MCHC patients could lose telehealth access this
4:29
week as the federal government barreled toward a shutdown. Medicare
4:33
recipients could lose access to telehealth services as early as Wednesday.
4:39
About thirty percent of patients of Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation
4:43
will be effected, said Chris Bates, corporate Compliance Officer for MCCHC,
4:49
which is a Federally Qualified Health Center FQHC with clinics
4:54
across eastern Kentucky. MCHC was expected to shut down telehealth
5:00
for Medicare patients beginning today. Just for us, you're talking
5:04
about around sixteen thousand people out of our patient base
5:08
that won't be able to use telehealth, Bates said, under
5:13
the rules beginning today, Medicare patients will only be able
5:16
to use telehealth for behavioral health and mental health services,
5:21
or if they call telehealth from another federally qualified health center.
5:26
Bates said, as an example, if a patient's regular doctor
5:30
is in Whitesburg but they can only get to the
5:32
ISOM clinic, Medicare would pay for them to call telehealth
5:36
from the ISOM clinic. It would not pay for them
5:39
to call from home. The fate of the services depended
5:43
on passage of a continuing resolution in the Senate. Negotiations
5:47
had failed on a resolution that would keep the government
5:50
open for seven more weeks. Democrats in the Senate are
5:54
demanding an extension of subsidies for healthcare insurance while negotiations
5:58
on an annual budget continued and Republicans are refusing adopting
6:03
an all or nothing position. If the Republicans sponsored bill passed,
6:08
the resolution would expire again November twenty first, leaving the
6:12
country in the same position less than a week before
6:15
Thanksgiving and two days before senators are scheduled to leave
6:19
Washington for the holiday break. Telehealth for Medicare patients is
6:24
operating under a waiver from the COVID emergency that has
6:28
been extended ever since the pandemic ended in twenty twenty three.
6:34
Bobby Mukamala, MD, President of the American Medical Association, has
6:38
said the AMA supports making the waivers permanent that allowed
6:43
flexibility in the telehealth program. He said in an endorsement
6:47
of a permanent law posted on the AMA website that
6:51
the waivers allow elderly patients to receive care in their homes,
6:55
saving them the time, money, and the risk of contracting
6:59
infection from traveling to clinics. Although telehealth is not as
7:03
widespread now as it was during the pandemic, its usage
7:07
rate remains substantially higher than it was prior to twenty twenty,
7:12
partly because of the temporary removal of the antiquated restrictions
7:16
that had been in place. Mukamala wrote, extensions of the
7:20
flexibilities have been approved over the previous five years, but
7:24
no permanent change has been made. The AMA calls on
7:28
Congress to eliminate these barriers permanently and recognize telehealth as
7:33
a critical element of our nation's ability to care for
7:36
those in rural and underserved communities. He wrote in the
7:40
next headline ex Jenkins coach facing felony count of assaulting cops.
7:49
A former Jenkins High School volleyball coach has been charged
7:53
with assaulting a police officer and indecent exposure after his
7:57
arrest at his home on Number three Hill. Leonard Dale Anderson,
8:02
sixty two, is charged with assault third degree on a
8:06
police officer, two counts of terroristic threatening, third degree disorderly conduct,
8:11
first degree indecent exposure, second degree alcohol intoxication in a
8:17
public place, resisting arrest, failure to notify Transportation Department of
8:22
a change of address, and menacing. The incident occurred September nineteenth,
8:28
but garnered public attention after a friend of Anderson posted
8:32
pictures of his bruised face online and commenters began blaming
8:37
the Letcher County Jail for his injuries. Jailer Brian Sloane
8:42
said Anderson did not receive his injuries at the jail,
8:45
and Anderson's daughter posted in support of the jail, including
8:49
his booking photo showing he was already injured when he
8:53
was brought to the jail. According to citations issued by
8:57
Jenkins and Neon Police, Jenkins off officers were called to
9:01
a domestic dispute. At one thirty five, number three Hill
9:05
and Anderson, known as Lenny, stepped out of his house
9:08
extremely intoxicated. According to the citations, Anderson began yelling at
9:14
police and threatening them, and then dropped his shorts, revealing
9:17
his genitals. Jenkins's patrolman Josh Richardson wrote that officers told
9:22
Anderson to be quiet and cover himself, and he refused.
9:27
Police then told him he was under arrest, and Anderson
9:30
allegedly sat down on the ground and refused to move.
9:34
Police then assisted him up, handcuffed him, and called Jenkins's
9:39
fire department to check him out medically. Neon Police Chief
9:43
Dustin Jackson said Anderson tried to pull away and would
9:46
not go in the handcuffs. Police called the fire department
9:50
to examine a minor injury to his knee. Jackson said.
9:54
When the fire department was finished, Anderson asked for his
9:57
hands to be moved from behind him to in front,
10:01
and when Jackson unfastened the cuff, Anderson punched him in
10:04
the jaw. Anderson was recuffed and taken to the Electric
10:08
County Jail. He has since been released on bond. The
10:13
next story is man faces multiple accounts after arrest at school.
10:20
A Jeremiah Man is facing several drug charges after he
10:24
and a female passenger allegedly passed out in his car
10:28
while they were waiting in the student pickup line at
10:30
Letcher County Central High School. The passenger was treated for
10:34
a possible drug overdose at the scene and taken to
10:38
Whitesburg arh Hospital, where she was admitted. She was not
10:42
charged for the crime. The driver of the car, Andrew
10:46
James Smith, forty one of one one one O Dody Creek,
10:51
was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence
10:54
of alcohol point eight or greater, first offense, first degree
10:59
possession of a troll substance methanphetamin first defense, possession of
11:03
synthetic drugs, first defense possession of marijuana prescription control substance
11:09
not in a proper container, first offense, and third degree
11:13
possession of a controlled substance drug unspecified. Weisburg City Police
11:18
say they were dispatched by nine one one to the
11:21
High School Hill at Ermine as school was releasing for
11:24
the day after a witness leaving the hill spotted two
11:28
people passed out in a car in the opposite lane.
11:32
Police say when they arrived, they found a nurse and
11:35
other individuals tending to the female until an ambulance could arrive.
11:40
According to a citation written by patrolman Seth Whittaker Smith,
11:44
the driver showed signs of impairment. His eyes were pinpoint,
11:49
he was slurring, balanced problems and used the vehicle for balance,
11:53
and he had residue inside of his nostril that was
11:56
white in color. The citation says that Smith failed a
12:00
field sobriety test and refused other tests. He was arrested
12:06
and police searched his vehicle. According to the citation, they
12:09
found a white substance believed to be methamphetamine, another substance
12:13
believed to be liquid THHC dads, a green substance believed
12:18
to be marijuana, various pills in improper containers or no container,
12:24
more pill bottles with other persons names on them, and
12:27
two pistols. Police also said the vehicle had a soft
12:31
drink bottle inside that had some type of suspicious residue
12:35
on it. Even though Smith was charged with operating under
12:39
the influence of alcohol, the citation says a breath test
12:42
showed no alcohol at all. The citation says that during
12:46
the test. Smith told Whitaker he had taken Lyrica, a
12:51
drug used to treat nerve pain, seizures, and fibromyalgia. According
12:56
to information on a website operated by the Cleveland Clinic,
13:00
Lyrica may affect coordination, reaction time, or judgment. Patients taking
13:06
it are advised not to drive or operate machinery. Smith
13:10
is being held in the Leiser County Jail in lieu
13:13
of a ten thousand dollars cash bond. The next story
13:17
is Representative Whittaker picked to participate in forum on US
13:22
crime solutions. State Representative Mitch Whittaker Fleming Neon was appointed
13:29
by House Speaker David Osborne to represent the Kentucky House
13:33
in the Crime Solutions Policy Forum hosted by the National
13:37
Conference of State Legislatures and CSL in San Antonio, Texas,
13:42
this November. Representative Whittaker will join legislators from across the
13:46
nation to tackle one of the most pressing issues facing
13:50
communities today, crime. The forum will focus on proven strategies
13:55
that reduce criminal activity, strengthen law enforcement partnerships, and builds
14:00
safer neighborhoods. Participants will exchange ideas on crime prevention, public safety,
14:06
workforce development, and policies that deliver measurable results. I'm not
14:12
going just to listen. I'm going to bring back solutions,
14:16
said Representative Whittaker. Kentucky deserves practical, effective crime policy, and
14:22
I plan to learn firsthand what's working in other states,
14:25
especially in rural areas facing challenges similar to ours. My
14:30
goal is to turn those lessons into legislation that protects
14:34
Kentucky families. Osburn said Whittaker's appointment reflects his leadership on
14:39
public safety issues. Mitch Tackle's problems head on and brings
14:43
a clear, no nonsense approach to policy. Osborn said, I
14:48
know he will represent Kentucky well and help drive meaningful
14:51
conversations that result in action. The next headline is Cougar's
14:57
fall in shootout with new rival Letcher County Central lost
15:02
fifty seven to forty seven in what was a shootout
15:05
to new district foe Lawrence County. Elsie C quarterback Gunner
15:10
Holbrook threw for three hundred fifty yards and four touchdowns,
15:14
but the defense couldn't stop the Bulldog's rushing attack, giving
15:18
up over one hundred yards to three different players. Lawrence
15:22
County is really good offensively, said Cougar's coach, Junior Matthews.
15:27
They have several good athletes. We missed too many tackles
15:31
which led to some big plays. We executed well on offense,
15:36
but left some points on the field. We just needed
15:38
one more stop, but unfortunately couldn't get it. Elsie C
15:43
received the opening kickoff and went three and out. Lawrence
15:47
County countered using their vaunted rushing attack on an eleven
15:51
play scoring drive, capped off by an eight yard touchdown
15:55
run by Caden Johnson. The extra point gave the Bulldogs
15:59
an early seven to nothing lead. Lawrence County recovered an
16:03
onside kick to give the ball right back to its offense. However,
16:08
LCC defensive back Cody Sturgel intercepted a tipped ball and
16:13
raced down the right sideline for a thirty five yard
16:16
return to give the Cougar offense great field position. On
16:21
third and fifteen, Holbrook completed a pass to running back
16:25
Brett Sturgel on a wheel route for an eighteen yard game.
16:30
On the next play, Holbrook threw a dart to Theadan
16:33
Brown for a twenty five yard touchdown. Emma Adams made
16:37
the extra point to tie the game seven to seven.
16:40
With two forty nine left in the first quarter. On
16:44
Lawrence County's next possession, Caden Johnson had a thirty four
16:47
yard run up the middle that set up a short
16:50
touchdown run by quarterback Luke Featheroff. The extra points split
16:56
the uprights to make the score fourteen to seven in
16:58
favor of Lawrence County. The Cougars recovered another on side
17:03
kick attempt and quickly capitalized with a thirty seven yard
17:06
touchdown pass from Holbrook to receiver Mason Stevens on the
17:10
first play of the second quarter. The Emma Adams extra
17:14
point nootted the game at fourteen to fourteen. Lawrence County
17:19
answered with a forty five yard touchdown pass to receiver
17:22
Gray Derryfield on a post pattern to retake the lead
17:26
twenty one to fourteen. After the point after Holbrook threw
17:31
a wide receiver screen to Jet Outlaw for a thirteen
17:34
yard gain to get the next LCC drive started. Outlaw
17:39
then made a contested grab on a deep ball for
17:41
a gain of thirty seven yards, which led to a
17:44
touchdown on a quarterback sneak by Holbrook to even the
17:48
score twenty one to twenty one. Lawrence County answered when
17:53
Derrifield caught another touchdown pass, this time from twenty two
17:56
yards out, to give the Bulldogs the lead once again,
18:00
twenty eight to twenty one, with four seventeen left in
18:03
the second quarter. After LCC turned the ball over on
18:07
downs on its next possession, Caden Johnson took a pitch
18:11
around the right side for a fifty nine yard touchdown
18:14
to increase the lead to thirty five to twenty one.
18:19
Letcher Central ran the two minute offense to perfection and
18:22
moved the ball deep into Lawrence County territory. Strogel had
18:26
a two yard touchdown run on the last play of
18:29
the first half to cut the deficit two thirty five
18:32
to twenty eight. Lawrence County received the ball to start
18:36
the second half, quickly moved the ball downfield and scored
18:40
on a two yard touchdown run by Carlo Chicok. The
18:44
extra point gave the Bulldogs a forty two to twenty
18:47
eight lead with ten fifty six left in the third quarter.
18:51
Lawrence County then recovered a perfectly executed on side kick,
18:55
the second of the game. Feather offf fumbled a snap
19:00
and elc C defender Preston Combs pounced on it to
19:03
give the ball back to the Cougar's offense. Stargell had
19:07
a twenty two yard run into Lawrence County territory, but
19:11
on third and five, a pass was intercepted by Deerfield
19:15
to stop the Cougar's scoring threat. Elsie C's defense then
19:19
stepped up with back Coldham Stidham dropping into coverage and
19:23
making an interception, from which the Cougar's offense took advantage.
19:28
Holbrook stepped up in the pocket and threw a deep
19:31
pass that was tipped in the air and caught by
19:33
Stevens for a fifty two yard touchdown. The Emma Adams
19:38
extra point split the uprights to cut the Bulldog's lead
19:41
to forty two to thirty five with five O nine
19:45
left in the third quarter. Lawrence County followed by moving
19:48
the ball deep into Elzec territory, but a fourth down
19:53
run was stopped by jet Outlaw to force a turnover.
19:56
On downs at the ELCC five yuard line, facing third
20:01
and two, Garrett Howard took a hand off up the
20:03
middle for a seventeen yard game. Two plays later, Howard
20:08
broke four tackles on his way to a fifty yard touchdown. Run.
20:13
The exchange on the extra point wasn't clean, forcing a
20:17
missed extra point that would end up proving costly for
20:20
the Cougars. On its next possession, Lawrence County scored another
20:25
touchdown and got the two point conversion to make it
20:28
a two score game fifty to forty one. With six
20:32
fifty eight left in the fourth quarter. Elsie C answered
20:36
with a thirty yard touchdown pass from Holbrook Stevens. The
20:40
Cougars botched the extra point snap once again to keep
20:44
the score fifty to forty seven. Lawrence County's Cavin Williams
20:49
had a long touchdown run to make the final score
20:52
fifty seven to forty seven in favor of the Bulldogs.
20:56
Lecher Central fought hard in its opening district game, but
20:59
the defense couldn't get the stops needed to pull the
21:02
game out. The Cougar's offense gained an impressive five hundred
21:06
twenty seven yards, but couldn't overcome the six hundred one
21:10
yards Lawrence County gained. Gunnard Holbrook continued his impressive season,
21:16
completing twenty seven passes on thirty eight attempts for three
21:19
hundred fifty yards and four touchdowns. Holbrook also had a
21:24
rushing touchdown. Mason Stevens led els C's receiving corps with
21:29
one hundred fifty three yards, seven receptions and three touchdowns.
21:35
Jet Outlaw, who was discovered to have suffered a serious
21:38
injury in the game a day later, had eight catches
21:42
for eighty eight yards. Unfortunately, the Cougars are expected to
21:46
be without Outlaw for some time as he recovers from
21:50
an internal injury discovered after he started feeling bad after
21:53
the game. At press time, he was being treated at
21:57
the University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington. Colton Stidham had
22:01
seven catches for forty four yards and Theaden Brown had
22:05
two catches for thirty six yards and a touchdown. Brett
22:09
Sturgell and Garrett Howard each had good games at running back.
22:14
Stergell carried the ball fourteen times for ninety one yards
22:17
and a touchdown. Howard had seven rushing attempts for eighty
22:22
six yards and a touchdown. Garrett Howard led elsie Ce's
22:26
defense again with sixteen tackles as he closes in on
22:30
becoming the all time leader in tackles at elsie C.
22:34
Mason Stevens and Canaan's sergeant had nine tackles each. Colton
22:39
Stidham and Cody Sturgel both had interceptions for the Cougar's defense.
22:44
Elsie See will look to bounce back when they travel
22:47
to Estell County this Friday, with kickoff set for seven
22:51
thirty p m. The next headline is Yes, you can
22:56
turn off the news by Matilda Charles. Several months ago,
23:02
I took a short break from watching the daily news.
23:05
Except that break wasn't so short after all, when I
23:08
extended it to over a month. Then, wanting to continue
23:12
with the piece that came from not being hooked into
23:14
the daily news cycles and media hysteria, I set my
23:19
phone to send me alerts with short blurbs about important news.
23:23
I could quickly scan the few lines of the alert,
23:26
catch up and be done with it. That's worked well
23:30
these past months, except it doesn't keep people from calling
23:34
me to ask if I've seen a certain piece of news,
23:37
or telling me to quickly turn on the television. The
23:39
bigger the news, the more people who call. I've advised
23:43
more than one upset person to turn the television off
23:47
and not turn it on again for an hour or two.
23:50
After a serious event, news stations will continue to hash
23:54
over the same initial information even if they don't know
23:57
anything new. Nothing good can come from hearing the same
24:01
bad news over and over. There's more to it than
24:05
just keeping up with what's going on. If you're having
24:08
trouble sleeping, if you're stressed all the time, if you're
24:11
afraid or angry, all these things can be a result
24:15
of watching too much of the news. If you have
24:18
high blood pressure and a home monitor, keep track of
24:21
it as a way to spot whether any spikes in
24:23
your blood pressure coincide with events you've watched on the news.
24:28
If you have a cell phone, there are several free
24:31
news apps that you can use that will alert you
24:33
to events. And in case no one has ever told you,
24:38
it really is okay to just turn off the news.
24:43
The next article is Gabby's Fishing Fiever by Greg Gabby Caudle,
24:49
shell crackers move up the top spot. As far back
24:53
as I can remember as a young child, fishing panfish
24:57
like bluegill or some of my favorite fish to catch.
25:00
Fast forward many years later and I still love to
25:03
fish for pan fish, but my new favorite is the
25:07
red ear sunfish, or as I call it, the shell cracker.
25:12
I have known about these large pan fish for years,
25:15
but had not really been exposed to them until the
25:17
past few years. I've tried to learn as much about
25:21
them as I can, and was very happy to learn
25:24
our home lake, Carr Creek Lake in neighboring not County,
25:28
has a very healthy population in its waters, many of
25:32
them big ones. I've been beyond blessed in recent fishing
25:36
trips this year to catch a bunch of these fish,
25:39
many weighing over a pound to a pound and a half.
25:43
That is a huge sunfish anywhere. Just a few weeks
25:47
ago I caught my biggest one ever two pounds and
25:50
twelve inches long. That is one most fishermen would mount,
25:55
but I got good pictures of it and released it
25:57
to grow even more huge shell crackers. The things I
26:01
have learned about these giant blue gills are they prefer
26:04
to feed on the bottom in a little deeper water
26:07
than regular bluegills. So if you're catching a blue gill
26:11
close to the bank in two to four feet of water,
26:14
you will want to drop out a little deeper into
26:16
six to eight feet of water and fish more around
26:19
the bottom to find active shell crackers. These fish are
26:23
much larger and pull much harder than regular sunfish do.
26:28
Just the extra hard fight and hard pull of the
26:30
shell cracker and the huge size of these fish are
26:34
enough to make them a favorite fish to try to catch.
26:37
They are my very favorite at this time. You can
26:40
rig your poles in different ways to best catch these fish.
26:44
One is to use a small hook and sinker on
26:47
light line and fish on the bottom. My favorite way
26:51
using a slip floater and adjusting the depth to match
26:54
the water depth. Also, a small jig head works well
26:59
as far as the best bates. A half piece of
27:01
nightcrawler or a fat red worm works the best. Look
27:06
for areas in front of large rocks and wood cover
27:09
for active fish. Also, they love to hold around the
27:12
front edges of weed beds. Give this great fish a
27:16
try and it will become your favorite. Also, this concludes
27:22
the reading of the Mountain Eagle. Your reader has been
27:26
billed an arsenal. Now please stay tuned for continued programming
27:30
on behalf of everyone here at Radio I. Thank you
27:33
for listening, and have a good day.