By Dennis Brown

More than 30 Lewis County residents have been charged following a four-month-long investigation aimed at cracking down on drug trafficking in the county. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Department conducted a county-wide roundup of the suspects early Saturday.

Sheriff Bill Lewis said the covert criminal investigation was conducted by the Sheriff’s Office following legal advice and direction from Lewis County Attorney Clayton Lykins Jr., Commonwealth’s Attorney Clifford Duvall and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Thomas Bertram.

Lewis said Circuit Judge Robert Conley, Family Court Judge Jeffrey Preston and District Judge Brian McCloud were readily available to review and sign legal processes based on probable cause at the request of the sheriff’s office.

Lewis said Deputies Dwayne Stone, Gary Sparks and Jason Hill conducted the case investigations with the assistance of Chief Deputy Johnny Bivens and Deputy Tom Polley.

The investigation resulted in 48 charges being filed against 32 individuals. The roundup began at 5:00 a.m. Saturday with deputies and sheriff’s office personnel gathering at the Lewis County Courthouse to start the task of gathering up those named in warrants and indictments.

Lewis said evidence of the investigation indicates many of those charged were obtaining strong pain killer prescriptions from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He said many Lewis County drug traffickers travel to Florida, fronting money for drug users to obtain prescription painkillers so the drug traffickers can sell them when they return to Lewis County.

“I am extremely proud of the hard work of these deputies who volunteered the majority of their time in this investigation,” he said.

Among those arrested and charged were:

*Jeffrey Ginn, 58, two counts of first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Vickie Highfield, 46, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance and first degree tampering with physical evidence.

*Barbara Jordan, 65, three counts of second degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Thomas Jordan, 24, second degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*William Jordan Jr., 62, three counts of second degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Lori Polley, 27, second degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Zachary Stevenson, 31, second degree trafficking in a controlled substance and second degree persistent felony offender.

*Lisa Wallace, 32, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance and first degree possession of a controlled substance.

*Steve W. Clark Jr., 25, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Bobby Clark, 23, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Sid Witten, 41, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Ron Claxon, 42, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Deborah Edington, 44, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Michael “Floyd” Hobbs, 30, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*William “Big Bill” Bloomfield, 48, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Pamela Hobbs, 25, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Randall Frazee, 46, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*David Boggs, 42, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Brian “Red” Bonner, 38, first degree complicity trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Melissa Stone, 36, first degree complicity trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Michael Gibson, 54, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance and third degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Danny Patton, 64, two counts of first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Eric Taylor, 32, two counts of first degree trafficking in a controlled substance and trafficking marijuana within 1,000 yards of a school.

*Kennedale Hedge, 24, two counts of first degree trafficking in a controlled substance, third degree trafficking in a controlled substance and trafficking in a controlled substance within 1,000 yards of a school.

*Randy Lykins, 25, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Gary Taylor, 56, second degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Timothy W. Evans, 33, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Billy J. Fraley, 30, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Earnest K. Howard, 35, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

*Julie Reis, 28, first degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

Also arrested incidental to the investigation was Steven Clark Sr. of Garrison. He was charged with third degree terroristic threatening and resisting arrest, according to Lewis.

Then individuals were lodged in the Lewis County Detention Center.

Lewis said he vows to continue aggressive enforcement action against illegal trafficking in Lewis County.

Less than 36 hours after a small tornado and nearly two inches of rain pounded the Katelyn Corner Subdivision west of Tollesboro, 30 volunteers joined 20 employees of People’s Self-Help Housing at the site to celebrate June as National Homeownership Month and to work on new homes. 

Volunteers from across the Commonwealth representing USDA Rural Development , The Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises and others brought their hammers and nail aprons to spend a day working on three new homes currently under construction in the subdivision.

They were joined locally by volunteers from Citizens Deposit Bank, Fleming-Mason Energy and PSHH board members. Lunch, featuring pulled pork BBQ sandwiches from The Smokehouse in Tollesboro, provided a delicious break for the workers.

PSHH Executive Director Dave Kreher said as part of an ongoing effort to make homeownership affordable and reduce energy usage for its homeowners, all three of the homes under construction will be Energy Star certified homes. 

Energy Star certified homes are 15% more energy efficient than standard homes as verified by a certified third party Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Rater.  Two of the new homes will feature solar water heaters, solar panels to generate electricity, LED lighting, high efficiency heating and cooling, Energy Star rated windows and doors, plus super insulation and sealing in an effort to achieve zero net energy usage from the electric grid, Kreher said.

He explained that during the long daylight hours of summer, solar panels will produce enough electric to meet the needs of the home plus excess electric will feed back into the

 electrical grid where it will be purchased by Fleming-Mason Energy at the same price per kilowatt charged to customers.

While the solar panels may not meet all of the electrical demand for the home during extended cloudy winter weather, a credit will have been established during the summer months to balance the winter months with the goal of zero net energy usage annually, Kreher said.

Two of the new homes under construction will also be the first “Green Build Kentucky” certified homes in Lewis County. This certification, developed by the Home Builders Association of Kentucky, signifies that every aspect of the home design and construction is environmentally friendly. 

“Energy efficiency is a cornerstone of the program,” Kreher said. “It reduces the need for limited nonrenewable resources.” Providing healthy homes with excellent indoor air quality is another goal of the program, he added.

Using recycled building materials and greatly reducing building waste through smart and efficient building plans are other environmentally friendly aspects of the program. The two new homes will far exceed the minimum requirements for certification as “Green Build Kentucky” homes. The homes will be placed for sale upon completion.

Kreher said he would like to thank everyone who supported the “Home Building Day” through their donations to the event, including Fleming-Mason Energy, Grover Evans Insurance, Brewer Lawn Service, A.W. Graham Lumber, Lewis County Foodland, Ginn Hardware and Ron’s IGA.