Deputy Mark Snedegar said that Deputy Tom Polley responded to the Marathon station along with the owners when an alarm was set off at about 1:45 a.m. Tuesday, May 18.

He said they discovered that someone had gained entry through a window near the rear of the building and apparently went straight to the lottery tickets, taking them along with stands, ticket display cases and keys. He estimated the value at about $10,000.

Snedegar said the Kentucky State Lottery Commission was notified of the theft and in turn notified lottery retailers across the state with the stolen ticket numbers.

He said the department began to receive tips and descriptions of those who were cashing in the tickets. He said a video camera at one of the businesses provided deputies with a picture of one of the suspects.

Deputies Snedegar and Dwayne Stone were on their way to South Shore to investigate a report that someone was cashing in tickets there and stopped at the home of one of the suspects on Vance's Creek.

Snedegar said Steven Mashburn, 27, and a second suspect who was at Mashburn's home, Glen Tackett III, 24, of South Portsmouth, were placed under arrest.

Snedegar said Mashburn was charged with third degree burglary, possession of burglary tools, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, drug trafficking, first degree drug possession and marijuana trafficking.

Tackett was charged with third degree burglary, possession of burglary tools and giving a false name to a peace officer.

Both were lodged in the Lewis County Detention Center. Mashburn's bond was set at $30,000, and Tackett's bond at $15,000.

Meeting in regular session last week, the Lewis County Public Library Board heard an update on the new automation and entertained a guest from the State Department of Libraries.

The new computers and software for automation have been installed, and the library employees are in the process of bar coding all the materials. The bar coding is almost completed with most of the books finished. The bookmobile and the audios remain.

Treasurer Helen H. Rayburn reported that the grant had sufficient funds to pay for the necessary training to work the system and some money would probably be left over.

Michael Jones from the State Department of Libraries attended the meeting. He said that the department couldn't make any plans right now because the State Legislature has not yet established a budget.

Jones told the board that the expected budget does not call for filling any vacant positions because of the shortfall in state funds. He also stated that reliable sources in Frankfort say that a special session of the legislature would be called to hammer out the state budget.

He shared some good news with the board. State aid for the libraries should increase since those funds are based on population growth as recorded in the 2000 census.

The board confirmed that the bookmobile librarian Margie Moore is retiring in December. The board plans to advertise for a new librarian beginning in July and then train the new employee in October and November so the person will be ready for the job when Moore retires.

Rayburn reported that the new bookmobile has broken down twice and was at present in the repair shop at the dealership. It is still under warranty.

The board moved to rent the front room of the adjacent building to Chris McCane for an insurance office for $125 per month. McCane will be responsible for preparing the room for his business but the board will take care of the regular maintenance on the building.

Board president Carol Gilbert said that she attended an audit meeting, and the audit is coming up soon. She told the board that she had given the material to prepare for the audit to the Library Director. James Smith audits the library every four years at a cost of $1,200. Rayburn said she would like to see the audit done annually.

The board moved to name the library after Helen H. Rayburn. During George Plummer’s tenure as County Judge Executive the Fiscal Court moved to so name the library. The board moved to name the library the Helen H. Rayburn Public Library of Lewis County.

Gilbert informed the board that she has been appointed an alternate to the Kentucky Public Library State Board of Trustees for the Buffalo Trace Area Development District. The trustees meet three times each year.

Marilyn Conway's director's report revealed that the library had 616 patrons last month. Those patrons checked out 2,252 adult fiction books, 852 adult nonfiction, 889 juvenile fiction, and 554 juvenile nonfiction with a total of 4,547 books. In addition patrons used 528 magazines, 194 references, 256 videos, 62 audios, 295 used the Internet and 600 patrons used the computers.

The bookmobile record shows 943 adult fiction, 90 adult nonfiction, 312 juvenile fiction, and 32 juvenile nonfiction for a total of 1,389 books checked out through the bookmobile. The bookmobile patrons show 248 magazines read, 31 videos and 29 audios checked out.

Vanceburg Police Department is working harder than ever to prevent these tragedies as part of the national "Operation ABC Mobilization".