News

By Dennis Brown

Several Lewis County Farmers gathered last week at the Tollesboro Lions Club to hear updates and reviews of a number of programs created by the 2008 Farm Bill. Filing deadlines for some of those programs are coming up within the next few weeks.

Carolyn Blevins and Kathy Holder presented information and answered several questions concerning some of the programs with fast-approaching deadlines.

Holder reviewed the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) Program which provides benefits for farm revenue losses due to natural disaster.

The program replaces prior Ad Hoc Crop Disaster Programs which were known as CDP or Crop Disaster Programs. SURE is legislated through 2011.

Holder reviewed which farms are eligible for the programs, which producers are eligible and went over payment calculations and examples for those attending the meeting. Lewis County farms are eligible because of a USDA Secretarial Declaration of a natural disaster.

Blevins reviewed the Livestock Forage Disaster Program and noted that eligibility for farmers is dependent on drought levels as determined by the US Drought Monitor, which is posted

each week. She said Lewis County showed up on the monitor for the first time in September, 2008.

She noted that many of the details of the Farm Bill Program had not yet been finalized and that handbooks were not yet available which would further explain eligibility, filing deadlines and methods for calculating losses.

She said livestock owners who were affected by natural disasters such as blizzards, flooding, lightning, wind storms and the like have 30 days to file their loss and said that record keeping by the farmer is very important, as well as keeping track of reporting deadlines.

Blevins said farmers have until April 13 to file under the Emergency Conservation Program for debris removal and permanent fence restoration.

Blevins said other programs available to farmers through the FSA office include Livestock Indemnity Payments, Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-Raised Fish, Tree Assistance Program, Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program and Emergency Loans.

More information is available to farmers at the local Farm Service Agency Office and online at www.fsa.usda.gov/ky.

County officials present monthly reports

By Dennis Brown

Lewis County officials presented their monthly activity reports during the February meeting of Lewis County Fiscal Court.

Sheriff Bill Lewis filed his department’s report for activities from January 12, 2009, through February 9, 2009:

* Subpoenas Served 66

* Domestic Related Calls 94

* Civil Summons Served 36

* Felony Arrests 11

* Misdemeanor Arrests 20

* Accident Investigations 12

* Juvenile Investigations 10

* Criminal Summons 13

* Prisoners Transp. to Secure Facility 341 miles

* Juveniles Transported 81 miles

* DVOs and EPOs 8

* Court Bailiff Hours 391

* Prescription Deliveries 18

* Auto Inspections 76

* Funeral Escorts 7

* Property Taxes Collected $114,206.05

* Franchise Taxes Collected 38,249.81

Total $152,455.86

Lewis County Emergency Management Director Carl Chaney reported the following activities:

* Performed all routine administrative/office tasks as required by KyEM.

* Turned in all monthly reports for KyEM.

* Responded to Ice/Snow Storm.

* Attended a Transportation Meeting at BTADD with Judge Applegate.

* Working at Morehead KyEM Office for State Response to Current Disaster.

* Attended a KyEM Quarterly Meeting at Morehead.

* Working on 911 issues.

* Working of Flood Plain issues.

* Provided dispatch coverage.

The Lewis County E-911 Dispatch Center received a total of 348 calls for service for the following agencies:

* Sheriff’s Department 126

* Vanceburg Police Department 82

* Traffic Stops 17

* Injury Accidents 9

* Non-injury Accidents 20

* Complaints 48

Fire Department and other calls:

* Lewis Co. FD 1

* Camp Dix FD 4

* Garrison FD 17

* Vanceburg FD 6

* Firebrick FD 2

* Black Oak FD 3

* Kinniconick FD 1

* Tollesboro FD 17

* Med Corp Ambulance 85

* Coroner 3

Road Supervisor Dane Howard reported that the road department was presently limited to what it could do for gravel roadways in the county following the storm due to funding. Howard also heard of several compliments on road workers following the storm because of their efforts in clearing roadways and making repairs.

Howard said a Preliminary Disaster Assessment Team from FEMA was scheduled to visit Lewis County to survey damages in the county. He said the road department would be working toward some cost recovery associated with expenses during and following the storm. He noted that the department had e*pended about $50,000 over the two week period for snow removal and damages associated with the storm.

He reported that nearly 1,200 tons of gravel had been hauled over the previous month and said pothole repairs had been made on Scaffold Lick and at Quincy. Fuller Branch, Buckner Lane and May Hollow roadways had been graded.

Howard’s report also listed repairs and projects for Happy Hollow, Fingerboard and River Road.

Lewis County Jailer Tim Underwood filed the following activity report for January 1 – 31, 2009:

Inmate Population:

* State Inmates CC/CD/CI 45

* Traded 2

* Paroled 0

* County Inmates 34

* Inmates Booked In 70

* Average Daily Jail Population 72

Fees/Payments Collected:

* Booking, Housing, Medical, Damaged Property $1,892.10

* Telephone Commission $770.81

* Class D/CC/CI Pay for January $40,616.64

Food

* Somerset Food in January (5 Weeks) $7,855.62

Traveled 722 Miles

* Casey County Detention Center

* Little Sandy Correctional Complex

Underwood reported that 40 Class D inmates participated in the work program totaling 3,736 man hours. The agencies they assisted included The Lewis County Courthouse, Justice Center, Sheriff’s Department, City of Vanceburg, Solid Waste Program, Clean Highways Program, Garrison Little League, Garrison Boat Docks, Tollesboro Little League, Lewis County Historical Society, Lewis County Board of Education, Corps of Engineers, Helen Rayburn Library, and the Black Oak, Tollesboro and Camp Dix Fire Departments.

Areas covered by the Clean Highways Program included Ky. Rt. 10, Garrison Lane, Old Trace Creek, Rock Run, Warrens Cemetery Lane, Hickle Drive, Briary Road, Martin Lane, Ky. Rt. 8 and Murphy Lane. A total of 625 bags of waste were picked up.

Underwood reported the commissary account at the jail totaled $5,437.91 and the inmate account had a balance of $6,635.91.

The next regular meeting of Lewis County Fiscal Court will be at 9:30 a.m. March 9, 2009, in the third floor courtroom of the Lewis County Courthouse.

LCHS seniors eligible for medical program

By Dennis Brown

Lewis County High School seniors and college students interested in pursuing careers as physicians or dentists are eligible to participate in summer programs at the University of Kentucky offered through its Professional Education Preparation Program.

The PEPP Scholars Summer Program, designed for students from medically underserved areas such as Lewis County, is open to current high school seniors. The PEPP II Medical and Dental School Preparation Program is open to students who have completed at least two years of college.

Selected participants will stay on the UK campus for four weeks, interacting with UK physicians and dentists, and participating in weekly hospital rotations, health seminars and other educational experiences.

PEPP Scholars will take enrichment classes and learn about surgery and labor and delivery. PEPP II students prepare for the admissions process to medical or dental school and learn about surgery, labor and delivery, emergency medicine and pediatrics. Students interested in careers in dentistry have rotations in the UK dental clinics, including oral/maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, and the dental emergency clinic.

Seminar topics in both programs include medical admissions, dental admissions, cancer, organ transplants, rural medicine, autopsy/pathology, trauma surgery, medical mission trips, gross anatomy lecture and lab, ethics, and compassion.

Visits to area hospitals, camps for special-needs children, a psychiatric hospital, and a children's hospital are included in the weekly activities. Recreational activities include sports, music, and dining out at restaurants. Eligible students who are selected to participate receive dormitory housing and a stipend to assist with paying for meals.

Both the PEPP Scholars and PEPP II programs begin on June17 and conclude on July 14. The deadline to apply for the PEPP Scholars is March 3. The PEPP II deadline is March 11.

Students do not have to attend the University of Kentucky to be eligible to participate in either summer program. However, to be eligible, an applicant must be a resident of one of the following Kentucky counties: Adair, Allen, Anderson, Ballard, Barren, Bath, Bell, Boyd, Bracken, Breathitt, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Butler, Campbell, Carlisle, Carroll, Carter, Casey, Clark, Clay, Crittenden, Cumberland, Edmonson, Elliott, Estill, Fleming, Floyd, Gallatin, Garrard, Grant, Grayson, Green, Greenup, Hancock, Harlan, Hart, Henry, Hickman, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, LaRue, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lincoln, Livingston, Lewis, Logan, Lyon, Madison, Magoffin, Marion, Martin, McLean, McCreary, Meade, Menifee, Metcalfe, Monroe, Morgan, Muhlenberg, Nicholas, Ohio, Owen, Owsley, Pendleton, Perry, Pike, Powell, Robertson, Rockcastle, Shelby, Simpson, Spencer, Todd, Trigg, Trimble, Union, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Whitley and Wolfe.

For more information regarding the programs or to request an application, e-mail Carol Leslie at ctsnyd0@email.uky.edu or call the University of Kentucky PEPP Office at 859-257-1968.

Concord man charged in tobacco knife assault

By Dennis Brown

Deputies from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Department arrested and charged a Concord man following an incident involving a tobacco knife, according to a Sheriff’s Department spokesman.

The spokesman said the incident happened last Tuesday evening when Michael Stanton, Chris Stanton and Misty Thurman traveled to the residence of Ricky Smith on Ky. Rt. 8 about a mile west of Concord.

The spokesman said that following a heated argument, Smith, 44, allegedly assaulted Chris Stanton and Thurman with a tobacco knife as Michael Stanton pulled away in a vehicle.

Michael Stanton then lost control of the vehicle went over a hillside and collided with a tree.

According to the spokesman, Michael Stanton fled the scene while Chris Stanton and Thurman sustained knife wounds to their backs. They were taken to Meadowview Regional Medical Center in Maysville for treatment.

The spokesman said Smith was arrested and charged with second degree assault and lodged in the Lewis County Detention Center. Further charges are pending. The incident remains under investigation by Chief Deputy Johnny Bivens and Deputy Dwayne Stone.

Bill targets drunken drivers

By Joe Biesk

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - People caught driving drunk just once could be forced to install breath-alcohol monitoring devices in their cars, as Kentucky lawmakers consider toughening the state's DUI laws.

House lawmakers are considering proposals aimed at increasing the use of ignition locks, which require people to prove they're not drunk by blowing into a device before starting their vehicles. Another plan would also decrease the current blood-alcohol level that triggers an aggravating factor in DUI sentencing.

``The problem is we've got people that are driving 100 times before they even get caught drinking and driving,'' state Rep. Dennis Keene, a Democrat from Wilder, said. ``A lot of these people re-offend and this would curtail them from using their car while they're out drinking and driving. There's a tremendous call for this.''

Advocates have been pushing for tougher DUI laws across the country. Recently, that push has included widening the use of ignition locks for people with one conviction for driving drunk.

Nationally, states have different levels of use for the breath-monitoring devices. They're imposed on motorists ranging from people getting driving drunk their first time to hard-core multiple offenders.

This year six states _ Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska and Washington _ began requiring first-time drunken drivers to install the gadgets on their cars. Repeat offenders in South Carolina, meanwhile, were also required to use the devices if they want to keep driving.

Arizona, Louisiana and New Mexico have similar laws on the books.

Kentucky is one of 11 states currently considering such legislation, according to the Washington-based American Beverage Institute, which represents restaurants and retailers.

Kentucky judges have already had the authority to impose the devices _ which also require periodic tests while the vehicle is in use _ on people who get caught driving drunk more than once.

Keene's proposal would require it. And for more people.State Rep. Dennis Horlander, a Democrat from Shively, has proposed requiring motorists caught driving with a blood-alcohol level of .15 _ less than twice the legal limit _ or who refuse a breathalyzer test to have an ignition lock installed on their

vehicles. Horlander is also one of 21 co-sponsors on Keene's plan.

``I think the guys that are going out here constantly having problems, the repeat offenders, I think this will help a lot with them,'' Horlander said.

Keene said his proposal is modeled after the plan Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been pushing nationally.

Angela Criswell, executive director of Kentucky's chapter of MADD, said requiring the devices would lower the number of people who repeatedly drive drunk. The move would also reduce alcohol related traffic fatalities in the state, Criswell said.

Criswell said that New Mexico _ which made ignition interlocks mandatory for repeat offenders in 2003 and all drunk drivers in 2005 _ has seen fatal crashes involving alcohol drop 38 percent. Overall, Criswell said, that since 2003 alcohol-involved crashes in New Mexico are down 31 percent.

``We want to see its maximum usage on all convicted drunk drivers,'' Criswell said.

But not everyone supports the idea.

Sarah Longwell, managing director of American Beverage Institute, said the legislation does not take into account a motorist's level of intoxication.

The legal blood alcohol concentration in Kentucky is 0.08 or higher. Someone who has just barely exceeded the limit should not punished as severely as someone who's far more drunk, Longwell said.

Instead, the ABI supports giving judges discretion when dealing with first-time offenders, she said. Mandatory interlocks should also be required on people with blood alcohol concentrations above .15 and repeat offenders, Longwell said.

``For people who repeatedly flout the law, these interlocks are an excellent way to make sure that those people don't put us at risk on the highway,'' Longwell said. ``But expanding them to a low BAC, first-time offender goes too far.''

Nevertheless, Keene said doesn't believe there should be any mercy for people who drive while intoxicated and risk hurting others. Keene said his daughter suffered a serious foot injury in a crash nearly six years ago that involved a drunk driver.

``It's not asking a lot,'' Keene said. ``They've made a mistake and the public needs to be protected.''

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