Kentucky Law

Rabies is a deadly disease that is almost always fatal if not prevented. In fact, every year in the United States, measures are taken to prevent approximately 40,000 potential exposures to rabies. Rabies is considered a disease of nature and can affect our unvaccinated pets (dogs, cats and ferrets). The animals that most commonly have rabies are wild animals, such as raccoons, skunks, foxes and bats. Rabies is always present in Kentucky. Most cases of rabies in Kentucky are caused by bats, followed by skunks.

Nicholasville police officer Colby Warren was among law-enforcement officers from 20 agencies across the state graduated Friday from basic training at the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training. The 25 officers of Class 439 completed 18 weeks of training, which consisted of nearly 770 hours of recruit-level-officer academy instruction. Major training areas included homeland security, law offenses and procedures, vehicle operations, firearms, investigations, first aid/CPR, patrol procedures, orientation for new law enforcement families and mechanics of arrest, restraint and control.

The timber theft rampage in Kentucky is increasing in intensity and boldness. Three additional incidents were reported in Letcher County alone this past week. Kentucky law is so weak and so slanted in favor of those taking the timber, victims have little chance in either criminal or civil cases, and law enforcement and prosecutors are equally limited. HB 489, the law which would provide relief, is stalled in the Natural Resources and Environment committee. Please contact your representative and those on the committee and ask that this vital legislation be moved.

HARRODSBURG - If teenager Lee Anderson is convicted of murder at his trial next month, a jury could sentence him to spend the rest of his life in prison. That's the ruling Mercer Circuit Court Judge Darren Peckler made Friday after lawyers argued over the maximum sentence Kentucky law allows for a juvenile convicted of a capital crime. Anderson is now 18, but he was 17 when he was charged in the January 2006 stabbing death and robbery of Louise Pulliam, a retired teacher who once lived across the street from Anderson.

MERCER COUNTY HARRODSBURG - Tuesday night, the Mercer County Board of Education approved $165,325.87 in supplemental funding for the ongoing construction of the new high school. The funds will be allocated to form a new, more convenient exit for students, allowing access from the rear of the new facility to Industrial Road and assuaging traffic congestion. Despite the new plans, the tentative date of completion remains Sept. 15, with hope that students will start classes in the new building in October.

STANFORD - One of the suspects in the 2002 double murder of Ryan Shangraw and Bo Upton, hooded and protected by body armor, was transferred Tuesday from the Lincoln County Regional Jail to the Lincoln County Judicial Center, where he was scheduled to appear before a juvenile judge. Although he's an adult now, the suspect was 16 when the crimes occurred and is currently considered a juvenile under Kentucky law and protected by the juvenile justice code. Authorities haven't identified the suspect, and the hearing was closed to the public and the media.

One of the suspects in the 2002 double murder of Ryan Shangraw and Bo Upton, hooded and protected by body armor, was transferred today from the Lincoln County Regional Jail to the Lincoln County Judicial Center, where he was scheduled to appear before a juvenile judge. Although he's an adult now, the suspect was 16 when the crimes occurred and is, at present, considered a juvenile under Kentucky law and protected by the juvenile justice code. Authorities haven't identified the suspect, and the hearing was closed to the public and the media.

Tuesday, Teresa Robbins, speaking on behalf of a group of library patrons, asked the Lincoln County Fiscal Court to fire the five members of the Library Board citing the court's power under Kentucky law to do so in cases of inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance or conflict of interest. County Attorney Daryl Day advised the court not to immediately vote on the issue saying that members of the board, like all citizens, have a right to due process which would include a public hearing which could be a lengthy process.

A candidate who ran for office in the May primary and was defeated has now filed as a write-in for the Danville City Commission, but according to Kentucky law, he is ineligible. William Weyman Jr., 41, of 105 McClure Drive, Apt. 21, was eliminated from the November race after he received the least number of votes out of nine candidates in the May primary. However, on Monday, the Boyle County clerk's office said Weyman has filed to run in November for a City Commission seat as a write-in candidate.

Cox sentenced to five years A former youth softball assistant coach was sentenced to five years in prison for sex-related crimes involving a minor. Linville Cox received his sentencing Sept. 12 before Circuit Judge Hunter Daugherty. In July, Cox pleaded guilty to one count of sodomy, a Class B felony, and one count of sexual abuse, a Class B misdemeanor. Cox was arrested Nov. 16, 2007, after a Nicholasville police officer noticed a suspicious car parked near the softball fields at City-County Park.

Rabies is a deadly disease that is almost always fatal if not prevented. In fact, every year in the United States, measures are taken to prevent approximately 40,000 potential exposures to rabies. Rabies is considered a disease of nature and can affect our unvaccinated pets (dogs, cats and ferrets). The animals that most commonly have rabies are wild animals, such as raccoons, skunks, foxes and bats. Rabies is always present in Kentucky. Most cases of rabies in Kentucky are caused by bats, followed by skunks.

You may be aware that Kentucky law requires cities to operate in the black. We must have a budget, and we must balance that budget year in and year out. It's a challenging but good law. In fact, most people I talk with say they wish all levels of governments had to operate the same way as cities. The balancing act has become significantly harder in the last four or so years, though. For decades, the city of Nicholasville was blessed with significant growth every year. This kept our revenues strong so we could cover increased costs.

By the time you read this, House Bill 310 may already be law in Kentucky. The bill, which is being opposed by a consortium of supermarkets including Kroger and Meijer, is labeled "an ACT relating to underage access to alcoholic beverages. " It is no such thing. It is a poorly disguised attempt to assuage a group composed of independent liquor stores who fear the loss of business to supermarkets.  Oddly, supermarkets can even now sell wine and liquor as long as the sales take place in a location outside the confines of the supermarket itself.  The local Kroger is a perfect example of how the current law operates and HB 310 would codify and continue this separation and - apparently - address the U.S. District Judge ruling that the separation requirement is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.  Although keeping things as they are - even under Kentucky law - does not seem to address a Constitutional issue.

Jessamine County Sheriff's deputies Mark Mitchell and Ryan Rohrback were among law-enforcement officers from different agencies across the state who graduated from basic training at the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training in recent months. Law-enforcement officers complete 18 weeks of training, which consisted of nearly 770 hours of recruit-level-officer academy instruction. Major training areas included homeland security, law offenses and procedures, vehicle operations, firearms, investigations, first aid/CPR, patrol procedures, orientation for new law enforcement families, and mechanics of arrest, restraint and control.

Two men who have been in the headlines recently for allegedly making threats were both indicted Wednesday by a Boyle County grand jury. The man who allegedly threatened to shoot five people including a judge was indicted on misdemeanor terroristic threatening charges while the man accused of threatening to blow up a school was indicted on a felony charge. Bobby L. Wilson, 56, of 7919 Forkland Road, was indicted on five misdemeanor counts of third-degree terroristic threatening and a felony count of intimidating a witness.

On the day when the Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission voted to support Senate Bill 50, another Kentucky law enforcement group announced its opposition to the measure. Senate Bill 50, sponsored by state Sen. Paul Hornback, would legalize hemp production for industrial purposes within Kentucky. Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer has been promoting the legislation and cause heavily for many months as a new revenue source for Kentucky. A similar bill is also pending in the state House of Representatives.

Nicholasville police officer Colby Warren was among law-enforcement officers from 20 agencies across the state graduated Friday from basic training at the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training. The 25 officers of Class 439 completed 18 weeks of training, which consisted of nearly 770 hours of recruit-level-officer academy instruction. Major training areas included homeland security, law offenses and procedures, vehicle operations, firearms, investigations, first aid/CPR, patrol procedures, orientation for new law enforcement families and mechanics of arrest, restraint and control.

After being hired as the president of the University of Kentucky in 2011, Dr. Eli Capilouto said his first objective was just to listen. “I¿listened for 90 days. ... I feel like I¿uncovered the soul of Kentucky,” Capilouto said at Thursday's dinner for the Clark County chapter of the University of Kentucky Alumni Association. Capilouto was the keynote speaker for the evening, which also served as a fundraiser for the club's scholarship fund. He thanked the club for supporting the university and local students.

Generally speaking, a call for the coroner is initiated by emergency medical personnel, who have determined medically that the patient is deceased. The EMS personnel notify the Jessamine County dispatch center that a coroner is needed at the scene, and Dispatch in turn notifies the coroner of a death scene call. A death scene can be anywhere an individual may be found unresponsive, including the home, at work, at the hospital or in a vehicular or other type of accident. The coroner's role is to determine three vital facts: the manner (natural, accidental, homicide, suicide)

JUNCTION CITY - A Junction City man was arrested Friday for allegedly using the Internet to solicit sex from a 14-year-old girl, police said. William Edward Kashow, 52, of 236 Timberland Lane, is charged with one felony count of prohibited use of electronic equipment to procure a minor for sex.  Kashow's arrest stemmed from an allegation that he was trying to have sex with a 14-year-old girl from the Covington area, said Boyle County Sheriff...