CITY OF MURRAY BEGINS RESURFACING PROJECTS
Beginning today, Murray Paving will begin prep work for resurfacing on multiple streets. Those include North 18th Street Between Miller and College Farm Road, Lincoln Street, Monroe Street, North 20th Street, North 19th Street, Sherri Lane, Sha Wa Court, and North 17th between College Farm Road and Dodson Street. Please use extra caution when traveling on these streets.
MCCH AMBULANCE SERVICE RECOGNIZED
Murray-Calloway County Hospital’s Ambulance Service was recently recognized for receiving the 2021 KYEMSC Voluntary EMS Pediatric Recognition Program by the KY EMS for Children Advisory Committee and the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services. KYEMSC developed the Voluntary EMS Pediatric Recognition program to acknowledge EMS agencies who have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to meeting the additional program
requirements.
CCSD BEGINS TRAFFIC SAFETY CHECKPOINTS
The Calloway County Sheriff’s Office reminds the public they will be periodically conducting traffic safety checkpoints at several locations throughout the county. Roads included are 121 South, KY 80 East and West, 641 North and South, KY 94 East and West, KY 280, as well as multiple streets in and near Murray.
WILSON WINS HUMPHREY SCHOLARSHIP
Anna Wilson is the recipient of the The Clara Waldrop Humphrey Scholarship to attend the Young Author’s Camp at Murray State University June 11-15. Wilson is a fourth grade student at Murray Middle School. Wilson said she would like to be selected for the MSU Young Author’s Camp because she enjoys writing and it allows her to use her imagination when writing a fiction story. The Clara Waldrop Humphrey Scholarship provides yearly funding for recipients to attend the annual Young Author’s Camp where they will attend creative writing classes. Wilson is the daughter of John and Jamie Wilson of Murray.
CALLOWAY COUNTY COVID REPORT
The Calloway County Health Department reported 4 new cases of COVID-19 for Monday and Tuesday, bringing the county’s case total during the pandemic to 3,532. Of that total, 3,471 have recovered, 12 are isolated at home, none are hospitalized, and there have been 49 deaths, but none since April 15. As of Tuesday, 34.5% of Calloway County residents have been fully vaccinated including 69.3% of those 65 and older. Calloway County’s COVID-19 positivity rate as of Tuesday was 1.2%, which is down from Sunday’s rate of 1.55%.
KENTUCKY COVID REPORT
At Tuesday’s COVID-19 update for Kentucky, 614 new cases and 6 new deaths were reported, raising the total to 7,109 Kentuckians who are listed as Covid deaths. As of Tuesday, there have been over 6.7 million coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky with a positivity rate of 2.12%, which is lower than last Tuesday’s rate of 2.5%. There are 273 Kentuckians hospitalized which is 51 less than last Tuesday, including 80 in ICU, which is 31 less than one week ago. At least 53,128 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus. As of Tuesday, 2,091,572 Kentuckians have been vaccinated for a 47% total, including 82% of those 65 and older.
MASK MANDATE EXPIRES ON FRIDAY
Most Kentucky COVID restrictions end on Friday. On June 11th all capacity-related rules and the mask mandate will end. Kentucky will still require face coverings on public transportation, in schools, and long-term care facilities. Senior centers may also reopen at full capacity Friday as well. The Murray Calloway County Senior Citizens Center will reopen on Monday with activities expected to be added weekly.
IN AND AROUND KENTUCKY
LAWRENCE COUNTY—Lawrence County Attorney Michael Hogan and his wife are under federal indictment. The initially sealed charges against the couple were announced yesterday after being returned June 3rd. Michael Hogan faces a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as well as nine counts of wire fraud, and five counts of theft from a federally supported program. The charges are connected to an alleged scheme to funnel more than 365-thousand dollars in bonuses to his wife Joy, who worked as a legal secretary in his office. Joy is also charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
LEXINGTON—A Boone County judge is granting a permanent injunction against Governor Andy Beshear’s COVID-19 orders. Judge Richard Brueggermann issued the order yesterday that will go into effect tomorrow. The judge ruled that data showed that the restrictions weren’t effective when compared with other states and couldn’t be justified. Beshear has previously announced that all restrictions are being lifted Friday.
LOUISVILLE—A convicted killer pardoned by former Governor Matt Bevin will be on home confinement as he awaits trial on federal charges. Patrick Baker was indicted for murder last week by a federal grand jury. Prosecutors objected yesterday to a federal magistrate’s order placing Baker on home incarceration. The judge cited Baker’s history of home release without bond violations while facing state charges in the death of Donald Mills during a 2014 home invasion. The judge also considered that there has been no evidence of misconduct by Baker since he was pardoned and released in December 2019. The federal charge of murder during the course of drug trafficking relates to the same death.
LEXINGTON—Lexington’s Urban City Council is set to consider an ordinance banning no-knock warrants in the city. The measure passed a council work session yesterday on a nine to six vote. The ordinance will be addressed by the council as early as tomorrow’s meeting.
OWENSBORO—The Owensboro Board of Commissioners is working out how to spend over 13-million dollars in funding received through the American Rescue Plan Act. Commissioners held a work session last night to discuss which departments would be receiving money from the funding. The funding is likely to be invested in public health emergency and economic impacts, premium pay, revenue loss, and investments in infrastructure. The commission is also working to find solutions to traffic noise and speed issues.
HENDERSON—The Henderson City Commission is delaying a vote on a proposal by Big Rivers Electric Corporation to buy Henderson Municipal Power and Light. Mayor Steve Austin found a calculation error in a study completed by a company signed on to review the offer. The corrected study is set to be presented to the commission within a week. HMPL’s commission had already voted not to support the offer.
MADISON COUNTY—A Kentucky nonprofit is thanking its workers with a large pay increase. White House Clinics is set to raise its minimum wage from eleven-seventy-five to just over 15-dollars. The increase is set to affect 200 families and will cost the organization over one-and-a-half million dollars.
HENDERSON—Plans for a Henderson solar farm are moving forward. The Kentucky Electric Generation Transmission Siting Board and has approved the Unbridled Solar Project. The 160-megawatt facility covers 400 acres and is set to begin operating at the end of 2023.
TENNESSEE—Forecasters say flooding may be expected after yesterday’s heavy rains across the Mid-South. Flooding already occurred yesterday in Twelve Oaks subdivision in Memphis. Flooding is also reported across Mississippi. DeSoto County Emergency Services officials caution motorists to avoid high water and not to cross any streams. They say those streams may look passable — but they’re probably not.
TENNESSEE—Governor Bill Lee has announced an investment by Tennessee of more than 52-million dollars in a wastewater management project for the Memphis Regional Megasite. The state bought the land — comprised of more than 41-hundred acres in Haywood County — a decade ago in hopes of drawing interest from major businesses. The latest investment in the site is designed to the turn the land into a site that will attract a major business and generate hundreds of jobs. Lee says he hopes this latest investment will finally attract a major manufacturer to build on the site.
ILLINOIS—Governor J.B. Pritzker is considering a bill that would phase out the use of physical restraints and seclusion in most cases in Illinois schools. The State Board of Education reports 90-percent of the over 24-hundred incidents where physical restraint was used since July 2020 have involved a student with a disability. Educators say physical restraint and seclusion are a last resort, and that every attempt is made by staff to use different options.
