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Ky. Power makes first step to diversify power
HAZARD — Kentucky Power announced last week its filing of a Renewable Energy Purchase Agreement (REPA) with the Kentucky Public Service Commission for approval to purchase energy from a biomass energy producer planning to build a plant in Perry County. According to a press release from Kentucky Power, the REPA would be for a 20-year period to purchase approximately 58 megawatts of electricity from an ecoPower biomass power generating facili...
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<p>The March of Dimes March for Babies Committee continues work this week on their annual walk, scheduled this year for Sunday, April 21 at Hazard&#8217;s Daniel Field.</p>
March of Dimes walk set for Sunday
The March of Dimes March for Babies Committee is actively making plans for the upcoming walk to be held on Sunday, April 21 at the Hazard Daniel Field. The March of Dimes will celebrate its 75th Anniversary this year and its ongoing work to help all babies get a healthy start in life. About 4 million babies are born in the United States each year, and the March of Dimes has helped each and every one through research, education, vaccines, an...
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Stephon Slone
UPDATE: Defense calls first witness in rape trial
Editor’s note: Although the identity of the alleged victim in this case was revealed during the trial, the Herald does not report the names of juveniles who are alleged to have been the victims of sexual assault. HAZARD — Testimony was brief Friday in the trial against 31-year-old Stephon Slone, accused of forcing a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual intercourse in 2011. Friday’s testimony began as defense attorney David Johnson c...
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Board members deny interfering with school recovery
HAZARD – Three members of the Perry County Board of Education are vehemently denying allegations of interference with the academic recovery of Perry Central High School. Perry Central was listed as a persistently low-achieving school in 2011, resulting in the implementation of an educational recovery plan and the presence of a support team to aid local educators in the school’s academic turn around. According to a letter from Kentucky Educa...
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Police find suspected meth lab in Lothair
HAZARD – Authorities charged a Hazard man with manufacturing meth this week after a one-step meth lab was allegedly found inside his residence in Lothair. The Hazard Police Department received a tip Tuesday evening that a man identified as Christopher A. Minks was in possession of a one-step lab inside his bedroom on 516 Mulberry Street, where he lived with his parents, according to a press release from the Hazard Police Department. Offic...
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<p>Amelia Holliday</p><p>The forest fire behind Fugate&#8217;s Entertainment burned through Wednesday night, but had moved on Thursday morning.</p>
Forest fire season hits Perry with full force
Spring is here and along with it has come not only the new green leaves on trees and the sounds of peepers filling the evening, but also the intense smell of wood smoke as forest fire season has hit the region — and hit it hard. Kristy Ritchie, a chief forester with the Kentucky Division of Forestry’s Kentucky River District, said since the beginning of the spring forest fire season the division has seen 36 fires in Perry County; 15 of thos...
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Elizabeth Duncan
Elizabeth Duncan dies at 86
Editor’s note : Some information for this story was provided by WSGS radio in Hazard. HAZARD – Elizabeth Duncan , the first woman elected to public office in the city of Hazard, passed away early Thursday morning at the age of 86. Duncan was a 1944 graduate of Hazard High School, and went on to play a significant role in the history of her native Hazard. Along with her husband Joe and his partner Howard Smith, she owned and operated Ha...
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Local youth initiative offers grant opportunity
CHAVIES — Organizations, businesses, and anyone struggling to find funding for a project geared toward the advancement of youth in the county may be able to stop struggling soon. The Youth Leadership and Philanthropy Initiative (YLPI) of Perry County, the first such initiative to be started in the state, has begun taking applications this week for what they’re calling a mini-grant opportunity. Adam Abbott, president of Perry County’s YLPI...
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Ky. Power files for purchase agreement for biomass plant in Perry
Kentucky Power Company, an operating unit of American Electric Power, filed an application with the Kentucky Public Service Commission for approvals related to a Renewable Energy Purchase Agreement (REPA) for biomass energy resources between Kentucky Power and ecoPower Generation-Hazard LLC. According to Kentucky Power, the REPA would be for a 20-year period to purchase approximately 58 megawatts of electricity from an ecoPower biomass powe...
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Perry residents charged in mobile meth lab case
HAZARD — Two cases involving a mobile meth lab allegedly discovered in Hazard are to be sent to the grand jury this month. Last week, Terry A. Hendrix, 23, of Wooton, and 30-year-old Ashley L. McDaniel of Avawam, were arraigned on one count each of manufacturing methamphetamine and unlawful possession of meth precursor, both first offenses. According to arrest citations, Trooper Derrick Combs stopped a silver 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier, driv...
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Beshear vetoes Medicaid bill, issues plan to address managed care
FRANKFORT — veto might not mean failure for a bill meant to speed up the recovery and payment for patients and providers in the Medicaid system. Kentucky House Bill 5, supported by many in the House and Senate including House Speaker Greg Stumbo and Senate President Robert Stivers, passed both the House and Senate unanimously last month but was vetoed by Gov. Beshear last week. “I understand and appreciate what legislators were working to...
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<p>Christopher Colwell</p>
Police still on the lookout for escaped inmate
HAZARD —An inmate who allegedly escaped from a jail work detail in February remains on the loose this week, according to jail officials. Authorities said 37-year-old Christopher Colwell, of Lower Second Creek, was working with a detail from the Kentucky River Regional Jail in the Pigeon Roost community when he escaped on Feb. 25. Police launched a search of the area but were unable to locate Colwell, and he remains at large this week. Col...
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Burglars make off with jewelry, firearms in break-in
BULAN – The Perry County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the burglary of a residence along Ky. 476 in the Bulan community in which several thousand dollars worth of items were taken. The break-in took place some time between Sunday evening and 9 a.m. Monday morning, said Deputy Elmer Fugate. That’s when the homeowner returned and discovered that several items, including a television, jewelry, a computer, and three firearms, had been stole...
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Conference to address economic transition in E. Ky.
The economy of Eastern Kentucky is undergoing change. There needs to begin a discussion on how this change will affect the people of this region, and how the future can be shaped to provide a diverse economy. That’s the premise of an upcoming conference scheduled in Harlan County this month that will include a “focus on the challenges and opportunities facing Eastern Kentucky.” The community action organization Kentuckians for the Commonwea...
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Eleven die on Kentucky roadways last week
Preliminary statistics indicate that 11 people died in nine separate crashes on Kentucky’s roadways from Monday, Apr. 1 through Sunday, Apr. 7, 2013. Two double-fatality, motor vehicle crashes occurred: one in Breckinridge County and one in Estill County. One of the Breckinridge Co. victims was not wearing a seat belt. One single-fatality, motor vehicle crash occurred in each of the following counties: Adair, Calloway, Madison and Todd. T...
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County school board votes on new facilities plan
HAZARD – The Perry County Board of Education approved a revised district facilities plan on Friday that could result in the simultaneous construction of two new elementary schools. With the construction of East Perry Elementary nearly complete, the school board is beginning to address the needs of other facilities in the district. Their latest effort, a slight revision of a plan approved by the district’s local planning committee earlier th...
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<p>photos by Cris Ritchie | Hazard Herald</p><p>Viper native Eugene Woods sat inside his house on Maces Creek this week after a sign was placed naming a bridge near his home the &#8220;Eugene Woods Bridge&#8221; on Thursday.</p>
Bridge named for WWII veteran and Perry native
VIPER — Our world is full of untold stories or stories that are just not told enough. Some may be passed down generationally in a family line, while others may not pop up until notoriety is given to a character in that story. The Middle Fork of Maces Creek in Perry County is the starting point of one story such as this. In 2012, the Herald reported that the Perry County Fiscal Court approved a bridge in the Middle Fork of Maces Creek to b...
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EGY0_Busy_Fire.jpg
Fire in Busy destroys mobile home
A fire at a residence in the Busy community of Perry County destroyed a mobile home Wednesday afternoon. The Avawam fire department responded to a call at 8044 KY Hwy 451 just after 1 p.m. Officials were able to control the fire and keep it from spreading to neighboring residences. No injuries have been reported as a result of the fire. The Herald will have more on this story as more information becomes available.
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<p>Williamson City Police officers and Mingo County sheriff&#8217;s deputies were on the scene around 12 noon where Sheriff Eugene Crum was murdered near the underpass near Harvey Street and Third Avenue in downtown Williamson. (photos by Kyle Lovern | Williamson Daily News/Civitas Media)</p>
West Virginia sheriff gunned down
WILLIAMSON, W. Va. — Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum was shot at point blank range while sitting in his official vehicle Wednesday afternoon. Eyewitnesses told the Williamson Daily News that a man who has been identified as Tennis Maynard, of Ragland, walked up to the sheriff’s SUV and at point blank range, shot Crum in the forehead and temple region, killing him instantly. In a matter of moments, police from all agencies swarmed to th...
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Pictured above is a load of coal at a Perry County Coal site in Hazard.
State data show 4,000 coal jobs lost in 2012
HAZARD – More than 4,000 coal industry jobs were lost in Eastern Kentucky last year, according to new state data, leaving one organization to call for new ideas for regional development. Numbers from the Kentucky Department of Energy Development and Independence show Eastern Kentucky coal production in 2012 dropping 27.9 percent to its lowest level since 1965, translating to a loss of 4,068 jobs in the region. These figures should make it...
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<p>Virginia State Police confirmed three fatalities after a 95-vehicle pileup Easter Sunday on Interstate 77 in Fancy Gap. Virginia State Police Spokesman Mike Conroy said dense fog was a major factor. He said it appeared as if the initial wreck led to many chain reaction accidents in the pileup.</p>
E. Ky. man killed in 95-car Virginia pileup
FANCY GAP, Va. — An Eastern Kentucky man was one of three people killed in a 95-car pileup on Interstate 77 on Easter. According to the Virginia State Police, William M. Sosebee, 33, of Allen in Floyd County, was a passenger in a vehicle that collided with a tractor-trailer in the southbound lanes of I-77. Sosebee died at the scene. Police say dense fog was the cause of a 95-vehicle pileup on Interstate 77 in Fancy Gap on Easter Sunday th...
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<p>photo courtesy of Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife</p><p>The emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle from Asia, is now in 21 Kentucky counties and causing the loss of thousands of ash trees. The emerald ash borer attacks all species of ash trees including the blue ash, white ash and green ash. The larvae of this beetle damage ash trees, impacting the flow of sugars and nutrients within the tree.</p>
Invasive beetle reported in 21 counties
One of Kentucky’s most familiar trees may be in for the fight of its life with a recently discovered pest. These half-inch long, dark metallic green beetles are responsible for the loss of countless trees across the 17 states they have inhabited since their discovery in Michigan in 2002. It is thought that the emerald ash borers (EABs) were brought to the U.S. in wood shipping crates by cargo ships from Asia, which is the native continent f...
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<p>Dalton Stidham</p>
Prosecutors seeking death penalty for triple murder
HAZARD – A Perry County man charged in a triple murder case could face execution after prosecutors filed their intention to seek the death penalty. Commonwealth’s Attorney John Hansen filed a notice on March 27 that he will be seeking the death penalty against 21-year-old Dalton Stidham, who is accused of shooting and killing three people outside of Hazard Community and Technical College on Jan. 15. Two of the victims, Caitlin Cornett and h...
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United Steelworkers union ratifies contract with ARH
HAZARD — Workers at Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) can breathe a sigh of relief after those represented by the United Steelworkers (USW) union voted to accept a new three-year collective bargaining agreement instead of striking. USW and ARH came to a tentative agreement early last week after both parties had set down to work through negotiations. Julius Pearson, ARH system director of employee and labor relations, said USW employees ...
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Group begins effort to show positives of E. Ky.
Eastern Kentucky is and has always been in some sort of fiscal, nutritional, or cultural bind — at least according to the news in the last few decades. And while it is true the region is coming up short in many fields as compared to the rest of the country, one group in the state is determined to make sure the people of the mountains don’t forget that progress is still happening. According to the latest figures from the Office of Unemployme...
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<p>Cris Ritchie | Herald file photo</p><p>The Housing Development Alliance is planning its annual Repair Affair for May 11, during which volunteers will help make repairs to local residents&#8217; homes in Perry County. The above photo was taken during the Repair Affair in 2007 as a crew worked on a roof at a home in Allais.</p>
HDA’s Repair Affair set for May 11
HAZARD – It was 13 years ago when the Housing Development Alliance hosted its first Repair Affair, and since then dozens of local families have benefited through free home repairs and safety upgrades. The organization is now gearing up for another Repair Affair while taking a slightly different approach in how it will be funded. The Housing Development Alliance (HDA) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Perry County, and with the h...
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Kentucky Power's Big Sandy plant near Louisa. (photo by Cris Ritchie | Herald file photo)
Ky. Power seeks Big Sandy replacement
LOUISA, Ky. — A plan announced Thursday would spell the end of coal being burned for electricity in the Big Sandy region. Kentucky Power is seeking proposals to replace the electric generation capabilities of its Unit 1 generator at the Big Sandy Power Plant, which is scheduled for retirement in June 2015. The utility has long planned to shutter its older and smaller Unit 1 generator, which produces 278 megawatts of power. In its request ...
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