Testimony

Dear Editor, The Advocate-Messenger, in its "Thumbs Up" column on Aug. 8 says that with the Ethics Board meeting on schedule for Aug. 25, "There will be the usual suspects in attendance, those who make inappropriate comments or laugh " Could The Advocate-Messenger explain what it means by "usual suspects?" I'm surprised at this award-winning newspaper's choice of words. It's true that sworn testimony on an ethics charge against Mayor Coomer seemed to negate the charge itself.

Three of the ethics charges filed against Mayor Hugh Coomer by three city commissioners are still unheard, and testimony is planned to resume during the last week of August. The remaining charges allege that Coomer: threatened the city manager's position during a private meeting; made an unauthorized appointment to the beautification committee after rejecting the Heart of Danville's recommendation; and submitted an intentional misrepresentation of the approved beautification committee plan for the use of $20,000 in grant money available through the Transportation Equity Act. The hearing will resume at 9 a.m. on Aug. 25 in city hall.

An administrative hearing for a Winchester Public Works foreman, who is accused of padding work hours and was charged in connection with former director John Haddix, has been continued until next week. After more than three hours of closed session testimony and deliberation Tuesday night, the Winchester Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to continue the hearing for Doug Hopper until 6 p.m. Dec. 12. Hopper was placed on administrative leave Oct. 29 after he was charged by City Manager Ken Kerns with falsely reporting his work hours, according to a document obtained by the Sun. Haddix was also charged in connection with Hopper; however, the specific charges against Haddix have remained closed to the public.

"I don't have a good testimony," Sato said. We had just met. I asked him to tell me his testimony as a way of getting acquainted. My short silence and question-marked facial expression caused Sato to ask, "What is a testimony?" I instantly understood. Sato, a new Christian from Japan, wasn't able to hurdle the language barriers - "Christianese" and English. In the let's-share context I was talking about, I meant the story of how he became a Christian. Sato smiled; now he knew what I meant.

LIBERTY - A three-member panel heard testimony this week for a former Casey County teacher who was fired last year, and is expected to reach a decision later today. Tonia Gosser, former middle school teacher, chose to have a closed hearing for testimony concerning her termination by Superintendent Linda Hatter. She had been teaching in the local system for the past four years. Gosser's attorney, Theodore Lavit, of Lebanon, said today the testimony that began Tuesday concluded Thursday evening.

Tammy Denham Norris, a Lincoln County native, will present a concert at Grace Fellowship Church in Stanford on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 6:30 p.m. The church is located on Fairgrounds Road just off Hwy. 27 south of Stanford. Pure Southern Gospel is the sound of Tammy Norris. She is a lady committed to spreading the good news of Jesus Christ as she travels across the U.S. proclaiming His glory in song. Her music ministry includes classic gospel hymns in addition to her new projects on Morning Star Records.

The ethics charges filed against Danville Mayor Hugh Coomer added to the already tense atmosphere at City Hall, but finally resuming the hearing at the end of the month is a good move for everyone involved. After hours of testimony last month, the hearing was cut short because commissioners were due at the regularly scheduled City Commission meeting. Then two key players in the proceedings announced scheduling conflicts, delaying a resumption for an undetermined time.

Pleas for early release for a Winchester woman convicted of shooting her neighbor's dog fell on deaf ears Tuesday afternoon. Two months ago, Sarah Fralix was convicted by a jury and sentenced to 270 days in the county jail for cruelty to animals and second-degree criminal mischief. On Tuesday afternoon, Fralix asked District Judge Brandy Oliver Brown to be released on shock probation due to her health issues including arthritis. "I've had a lot of time to think, and I'm sorry for what happened," Fralix said.

STANFORD - When Ryan Shangraw and Bo Upton were gunned down nearly seven years ago in a trailer near Hubble, it was Jamarkos Campbell who did most of the shooting, a prosecutor said Friday. Commonwealth's Attorney Eddy Montgomery identified Campbell as the "main shooter" for the first time publicly during a pretrial conference in Lincoln Circuit Court. Campbell, 23, will be the first of five Richmond men to go on trial for the 2002 murders of Upton and Shangraw. The date is set for April 6, and Montgomery expects the trial to begin as scheduled.

Tradition is normally part of many family gatherings and it is also true of nations. Habits and stories are passed down from one generation to the next and the expected responses are generated by what is fact and sometimes lore, but meaningful evaluations of past history are kept as valid evidence of what transpired in the past. There is a tradition of early Christian history that can be applied to the tomb of Jesus. After His crucifixion, He was laid in a tomb that belonged to another and with Roman instructions clearly outlined a large and heavy stone was rolled in front of the opening.

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It's a pain that won't go away for Siran Stacy. He knows that will never change. "You hear people say it will get better with time. Nothing while I am on this earth will erase those memories or ease that pain. My wife was part of me. My children were part of me. I have to carry that with me the rest of my life," said Stacy. "I have that pain of being without them. It's daily. Things come to your mind every day about them. That is the walk I have to endure. " Stacy, a two-time all-Southeastern Conference running back at Alabama, will be here Sunday at Centenary United Methodist Church to share his testimony.

By Michael Broihier After only two hours of deliberation, a Lincoln Circuit Court jury returned guilty verdicts Monday afternoon in the Jamarkos Campbell trial. Campbell was found guilty of the intentional murder of Ryan Shangraw and the wanton murder of Harold "Bo" Upton III in 2002. The jury also returned guilty verdicts for charges of the first degree wanton endangerment of Tabitha Wilder and Tara Strunk, first degree robbery and first degree burglary. After receiving sentencing guidance, the jury retired.

Steven C. Hall walked into the Boyle County District courtroom, dressed in a yellow uniform and handcuffs Thursday evening. One hour and one witness later, District Court Judge Jeff Dotson handed down his decision: Hall's case will go before a grand jury for review. See video interview with Hall's lawyer in video player below. The decision came less than a week after Hall's wife, Isabel Lynn Hall, was killed when Hall ran over her in a pontoon boat on Herrington Lake.

STANFORD - When Ryan Shangraw and Bo Upton were gunned down nearly seven years ago in a trailer near Hubble, it was Jamarkos Campbell who did most of the shooting, a prosecutor said Friday. Commonwealth's Attorney Eddy Montgomery identified Campbell as the "main shooter" for the first time publicly during a pretrial conference in Lincoln Circuit Court. Campbell, 23, will be the first of five Richmond men to go on trial for the 2002 murders of Upton and Shangraw. The date is set for April 6, and Montgomery expects the trial to begin as scheduled.

District Court Judge Bill Oliver found that the state had presented enough evidence Monday afternoon at a preliminary hearing to establish probable cause and referred the cases of Kelvin Alcorn of Stanford and Alando Chappell of Richmond to the grand jury. Alcorn and Chappell were arrested with six others on Sep. 21 after Sheriff Curt Folger and four deputies attempted to serve a bench warrant on Alcorn at 3 a.m. Folger was on vacation and not in court Monday, but three deputies testified to the events that transpired when they tried to serve a warrant for failing to appear in court.

Evidence presented to a Lincoln grand jury Friday has led to murder indictments against two more men in the 2002 shooting deaths of Bo Upton and Ryan Shangraw. On Friday morning, Matthew Tolson, 24, of Sevierville, Tenn., pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal facilitation to commit murder and two counts of criminal facilitation to commit robbery and burglary. A sentence of five years was recommended on each count for a total of 20 years in prison. The plea was accepted in exchange for truthful testimony in all other proceedings.