Nicholasville

The Nicholasville Police Department is investigating a Lexington man it says stole $274,000 in campaign-contribution checks intended for the Democratic Governors Association. Michael Parker, 22, of 403 Hart Road, in Lexington was arrested Monday on a warrant by Jessamine County sheriff's deputy Gerald Wheeler and booked into the Jessamine County Detention Center, where he later bonded out that same day on an unsecured $10,000 bond, according to court records. He has been charged with theft by unlawful taking, more than $10,000, which is a Class C felony.

Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul made a stop in Nicholasville on Friday. He met with a group of about 50 supporters at the Jessamine County Republican Headquarters around 3 p.m.

Jack Conway, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and current Kentucky attorney general, will be visiting the Jessamine County Democratic Headquarters Thursday from 1:30-2:15 p.m., according to an e-mail from Conway's campaign sent Wednesday. The headquarters is located at 219 N. Main St. in Nicholasville.

Nicholasville police are investigating an overnight burglary that occurred in the Keene Crossing subdivision on Brome Drive. According to a news release, someone entered the home through an overhead garage door that had accidently been left open overnight. The person entered the downstairs area of the house while the family slept upstairs. A video game console, two iPad Touches, two wallet and a purse that were in close proximity to the interior garage door were taken. The wallets were later recovered by Lexington police officers on Henderson Drive.

A Nicholasville car dealership faces fines after Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway said his office obtained a consent judgment against the company for violating the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act. The judgment came from Franklin Circuit Court Friday, March 30. According to a news release from the attorney general's office, the count found MAC Auto, operating as Chrysler on Nicholasville, guilty of violating the act. According to...

Tire Discounters, the newest tire store in Nicholasville, has a bit more to offer than all-season radials. “We're in the tire business, but what people don't know a lot of times is that we are automotive repair, as well. We do brakes, shocks, struts, alignments, oil changes, and one really key feature for us is that we're all inclusive,” vice president of sales James Ward said. “Some people would pay for the tire and be surprised that they would have to pay extra for the valve stems or installation or balancing.

The Nicholasville Fire Department battled a mobile home fire just before noon on Saturday. Accoridng to the NFD report, a fire broke out at 3181 Catnip Hill Road. When firefighters arrived, they discovered smoke coming from the home and found fire conditions in a wall of the back bedroom. Firefighters were on scene for just over an hour. Members of the Jessamine County Fire District were also called to the scene for mutual aid. “Out in that area, we do not have any fire hydrants, so we had to use the mutual aid from the county,” deputy chief Kevin Baker said.

Wesley Pike said in order for Nicholasville to continue to progress, it has to shed its image of being a bedroom community to Lexington. “We've got to figure out a way to draw in more business, and that can be done - it's just going to take a lot of effort,” Pike said. “I don't like the ideal of a bedroom community. I feel like we have our own identity, and we need to grow it.” Addressing ways to generate revenue for the city, Pike, 32, said the city may have to get creative.

The restaurant chain known for its ButterBurgers and frozen custard will soon delight the palates of Jessamine Countians as Culver's is set to open in March 2013, owner and county resident Mary Struckhoff said. Culver's mantra is “Welcome to delicious,” and Struckhoff said it's for good reason. “We actually cook to order,” she said. “As soon as a guest comes in and orders, we make their food at that point in time. You can order anything you want and any way you want it, and that's how we will cook it.” Another thing that sets Culver's apart from other quick-service restaurants is its customer service, Struckhoff said.

A scheduled second reading of an ordinance that would open hotel and motel guest registries to inspection by public-safety officials was tabled by the Nicholasville City Commission during a special-called meeting Monday afternoon. During the meeting, city leaders heard from representatives from three Nicholasville lodging facilities who expressed concern over how the ordinance was written. Prior to the discussion, Mayor Russ Meyer had already told the managers that the issue would be tabled until a future date.

While pondering a trip to the Bluegrass state to visit a variety of wineries, something caught the eye of Cincinnati's Nadia Laabs. That something was an advertisement for the 2013 Kentucky Wine and Vine Fest in Nicholasville. So instead of going all over to visit the many different wineries, Laabs and Peter Stark decided to go to the one place where many of the wineries could come to them. “We were going to tour all the wineries in the area, but we found this, so it was very convenient,” Laabs said, as she and Stark sat on grass near the wine tents on the warm and muggy Saturday afternoon.

There is a heavier police presence than normal at East Jessamine High School on Friday morning as officers were responding to a possible threat that was written on one of the girls' bathroom walls. “Yesterday afternoon the SRO (school resource officer Billy King) was told that there was something written on the bathroom stall door,” Nicholasville police Sgt. Scott Harvey said. “So he went in there and it said, 'May 17, school shoot-up day.' That was obviously something that we wanted to look into.

Mr. and Mrs. James L. Watts of Nicholasville are thrilled to announce the engagement of their daughter, Andrea Lynn Watts, to Jeffrey B. Fristoe, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Fristoe, also of Nicholasville. The bride-to-be is a 2012 graduate of the University of Kentucky. The future groom is a 2010 graduate of the University of Northwestern Ohio. The couple plan to marry Sept. 28, 2013, at Mt. Eden Christian Church in Spears. Ecclesiastes 4:12: “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

The Nicholasville City Commission approved a zone change request for approximately 6.03 acres of property located at the corner of East Brannon Road and Lauderdale Drive. The change moves the property from P-1 (professional district) to R-3 (multi-family residential district). The commission approved zone changes for .30 acres of land in the same area from R-1T (townhouse residential) to R-3. The commission also approved an annexation request for the Delores M. Singleton Trust Property, 18.245 acres adjoining the Central Industrial Park.

• Tommy L. Morgan, 42, 1654 Old Stanford Road, Danville, was arrested May 12 at Walmart, 1024 N. Main St., and charged with theft by unlawful taking - shoplifting. • Lena L. Thompson, 41, 1654 Old Stanford Road, Danville, was arrested May 12 at Walmart, 1024 N. Main St., and charged with theft by unlawful taking - shoplifting. • Heather N. James, 24, 631 Beaumont Ave., Harrodsburg, was arrested May 11 at Kohl's, 150 Kohls Drive, and charged with theft by unlawful taking - shoplifting.

Michael Halcomb enters the classroom all by himself. All his students are at home, but none are absent; class is ready to begin. He begins the period by turning to his laptop and speaking ancient Greek - the language his students are learning from afar in the online classroom. Halcomb, a Ph.D. student at Asbury Theological Seminary, teaches students across the globe via his own personal venture, the Conversational Koine Institute. Koine is the Greek that was spoken in New Testament times.

The Nicholasville City Commission passed the first reading of an ordinance that would require hotels and motels operating inside the city limits to turn over their customers' information at the request of the Nicholasville public safety officials. The commission voted 5-0 on Monday evening's first reading. “A lot of cities have this, and it's (become) a burden to us at times when we need to know when we're looking for somebody, and we go to the hotels and (look at) their registers to see if they're there,” police chief Barry Waldrop said.

A garbarge truck driver's quick reaction saved a bad situation from becoming worse Tuesday morning. Around 9:15 a.m., the driver of the Rumpke truck noticed smoke billowing from the back of his truck and elected to dump a portion of his load at the intersection of Bellechase Lane and Pinewood Drive, near Edgewood Drive. “He did the smart thing by dumping the part that was smoking,” Nicholasville deputy fire chief Kevin Baker said. “It would have been tough fighting it if it had still be in the truck.” Rumpke spokeswoman Molly Yeager said the driver acted in accordance with the company's regulations.

These are my thoughts on the I-75 connector To the editor, I have come up with the idea of creating a sort of simulation of what the proposed I-75 connector may be intended to accomplish. This simulation should make it possible for the average citizen to understand an aspect of what connectors are likely meant to accomplish. There is what I see as an already existing, somewhat comparable situation to the I-75 connector that is proposed for Jessamine County. Right now for the Jessamine area project, there is a point, we will call it Point “A,” the place where the proposed connector is to begin on I-75 in Madison County.