MHS SPEECH TEAM MEMBERS PLACE IN NSDA DISTRICT EVENT
Four Murray High Speech Team students placed in the final round of the Kentucky National Speech and Debate Association District Tournament held online last week. In US Extemp, Kyra Shutt finished first; In Dramatic Interpretation, Ella Brown-Terry placed fourth; In Informative Speaking, Katelynn Stanczyk finished second; In International Extemp, Kyra Shutt placed second; and in Oratory, Raegan Settle finished fifth. The NSDA national competition will be held online June 13-19. The Murray High Speech Team is coached by Michael Robinson, Drew Thompson, Doris Cella, and Randy Patterson. Last week for a third time, Robinson was named the 2021 Kentucky High School Speech League Coach of the Year. The Tigers placed fifth at the state speech tournament, won by Rowan County. (PHOTO VIA SHERRY PURDOM, MISD PR OFFICER: Pictured from top left to right: Kyra Shutt, Katelyn Shutt, Reagan Settle, and Ella Brown-Terry)
CALLOWAY UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 5.2%
Unemployment rates fell in 66 Kentucky counties between January 2020 and January 2021, rose in 48, and stayed the same in six counties, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics. Todd County recorded the lowest jobless rate in the Commonwealth at 3.6%. Magoffin County recorded the state’s highest at 14.3%. The Purchase area jobless rate was 5.5%, which is slightly higher than last January’s rate of 5.2%. Carlisle County’s 4.4% rate was the lowest in the Purchase Area while McCracken County’s 6.1% rate was the highest. Calloway County’s January rate was 5.2%. Unemployment statistics are based on estimates and are compiled to measure trends rather than actually to count people working
GOVERNOR RECOGNIZES TROOPER PROMOTIONS
Last week, Governor Andy Beshear joined the Kentucky State Police to recognize the promotion of 30 officers at a ceremony held at the KSP Training Academy. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 promotional ceremony was postponed. With ‘Healthy at Work’ guidelines in place, the agency honored the troopers and officers who were promoted in 2020 with a private in-person ceremony. Among the honorees, Senior Troopers Jonathan Murphy and Cory Hamby were each promoted to Sergeant. Both are assigned to Post 1 Mayfield.
CCHD REPORTS 4 NEW COVID 19 CASES
The Calloway County Health Department reported 4 new cases of COVID-19 from Friday through Sunday. That brings the total number of county cases during the pandemic to 3,399. Of that total, 3,334 have recovered, 16 are isolated at home, none are hospitalized, and there have been 49 deaths.
REGIONAL VACCINE CLINIC SET FOR WEDNESDAY
A reminder that the Murray Regional Vaccination Clinic is administering vaccines to the community by scheduling appointments online. There will be 1,100 available appointments for the upcoming vaccine clinic on Wednesday from 8 am to 5 pm. If you are in Phases 1A-1C, you may book an appointment for the Murray Regional Vaccination Clinic. If you have previously called, or filled in the online form to be placed on the Calloway County Health Department call list, please use this online system to book your appointment at this time. If you have questions about the new scheduling process or do not have internet access, please call 270-762-1197.
CALLOWAY INCIDENCE RATE UP SLIGHTLY
Calloway County’s COVID-19 Incidence Rate per 100,000 on Sunday was 4.4%, which was up from Saturday’s rate of 4%. Lyon County’s state leading rate fell to 147.9%. The rate is mostly due to a peak of over 500 active cases at Kentucky State Penitentiary. Lyon County’s rate is almost two times higher than second place Simpson County’s rate of 74.6%. Only 8 counties in the state are red zone counties for covid cases.
STATE COVID-19 POSITIVITY RATE UNDER 3%
At Sunday’s COVID-19 update for Kentucky, 316 new cases and 16 new deaths were reported, raising the total to 5,738 Kentuckians who are listed as covid deaths. As of Sunday, there have been over 4.76 million coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky with a positivity rate of 2.97%, which is lower than last Sunday’s rate of 3.99%. There are 463 Kentuckians hospitalized which is 25 less than last Sunday, including 111 in ICU, which is 7 less than one week ago. At least 48,105 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.
TWO CHARGED AFTER TRAFFIC STOP
The Graves County Sheriff’s Department arrested two people after a Friday night traffic stop on I-69. 27-year-old Brady Howe of Mayfield was the driver, and was found to have a revoked operator’s license. During a search of the vehicle, deputies allegedly found cocaine and scales. Deputies also found that one of the passengers had an active warrant out of McCracken County for theft by unlawful taking. Both Howe and 22-year old Heather Wilson of Paducah were taken into custody. Howe was charged with possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia, driving on a suspended or revoked operator’s license, and careless driving. Wilson was charged on the outstanding McCracken County warrant.
FLETCHER JOINS MURRAY ORTHOPAEDICS
Murray-Calloway County Hospital announced last week that Katelyn Fletcher has joined Murray Orthopaedics. Fletcher completed her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Pensacola Christian College and her Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from Bethel University. She has completed over 700 hours during her practicum experience in family medicine, women’s health, internal medicine, emergency medicine, general surgery, orthopaedics, dermatology and interventional radiology. Fletcher will join the practice of Murray Orthopaedics alongside Dr. Richard Blalock II.
IN AND AROUND KENTUCKY
FRANKFORT—Governor Andy Beshear on Friday submitted a request to President Biden asking that a Major Disaster Declaration be issued for the severe winter storm system that impacted Kentucky from February 8 through February 19 when 59 counties and 38 cities issued local states of emergency orders. The system produced heavy rain, hail, sleet, freezing rain, ice, and bitter arctic air which caused impassable roadways, massive power outages, water system failures, landslides, mudslides and disruption of critical government services. The ice storm produced from the weather system left 154,500 Kentucky homes without power and there were four confirmed casualties attributed to the event.
FRANKFORT—Cases of the coronavirus continue to decline in Kentucky. Governor Andy Beshear said yesterday that last week was the tenth consecutive week of declining COVID-19 cases in the Commonwealth. The positivity rate is just under three-percent, the lowest since July 3rd of last year. About 34-percent of Kentuckians 18 and over have been at least partially vaccinated.
LOUISVILLE—The Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Bowling Championships get underway today in Louisville. The competition will be held at Executive Strike and Spare. The boys’ team and singles competition will take place today. The girls’ competitions will be held tomorrow.
FRANKFORT—Kentuckians 50-years and older are eligible to sign up for the COVID vaccine today. Governor Andy Beshear also said on Thursday that everyone 16-years-old and older can sign up starting April 12th. Beshear says the state needs to start fighting against rapidly spreading variants of the virus by getting more vaccines out.
LOUISVILLE—A Kentucky state legislator says she’ll file a resolution in response to the deadly shootings at Atlanta-area massage parlors. During a vigil in Louisville yesterday, Democratic Representative Nima Kulkarni said she’ll file a resolution in Frankfort to denounce what she called the hate crimes in Georgia. The man accused of killing eight people told police he attacked the massage parlors to remove temptation and sin from his life. Among those killed were six Asian women.
HARDIN COUNTY—Students in Hardin County Schools are returning to five-day in-person learning. The district’s elementary and middle school students begin their first full week of in-person learning today. High school students will follow on Monday, April 12th. Parents who don’t want to send their kids back to school can leave them in the district’s Online Learning Academy through the end of the school year.
TENNESSEE—Tennessee’s senior U.S. senator is getting a first-hand look at what she says is a crisis on America’s southern border. Senator Marsha Blackburn met with authorities in Arizona yesterday. Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said it’s estimated that nearly half of all the illegal drugs in the U.S. come through Arizona’s borders. Senator Blackburn said President Biden’s open-border policy is allowing cartels to use human smugglers as mules, taking drugs across the border and pushing them into American neighborhoods.
TENNESSEE—A mass vaccination event at Nissan Stadium is considered a success. Most of the ten-thousand one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccines drawn on Saturday were administered to those who were eligible. About 100 doses were left over when the event’s end time arrived on Saturday evening. Those doses were given out on a first-come-first served basis within an hour.
TENNESSEE—Davidson County is moving into a new phase of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan. Phase 2A and 2B start today. Anyone in Davidson County who works in critical infrastructure industries and those 55 and older are eligible. Critical infrastructure industries include social services, transportation, commercial agriculture, the utility and energy industry and several other fields.
TENNESSEE—A man who body-slammed a woman in the parking lot of a Popeyes is going to prison. Deriance Hughes was sentenced to four years in prison late last week for his conviction on aggravated assault charges. Hughes was an employee at a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in Columbia in 2019 when he slammed Deborah Staggs to the ground breaking her ribs, left arm and a knee cap. Her lawyer says Staggs was trying to get a refund after being double-charged for food when she was attacked, which was caught on video.
TENNESSEE—Several animals are dead following a barn fire in Bethpage. The Southeast Community Fire Department says the deadly fire happened around 9 o’clock Saturday night on Old Highway 31, near Highway 31 East. Peacocks, emus, sheep and cats were among the animals that died in the fire. The owner of the barn ran a petting zoo nearby.
ILLINOIS—An Illinois Senator says bringing back the talking filibuster could allow more bills to see Senate votes. On CNN’s State of the Union yesterday, Democrat Dick Durbin says senators should have to show their commitment to an issue by standing at their desk when filibustering a bill, not “phoning it in.” Durbin noted that only leadership needs to agree to enforce the talking filibuster to reinstate the procedure. A filibuster is a legislative procedure that allows a lawmaker to stop a bill from being voted on.
