Weapons

At its Monday night meeting, the Wilmore City Council heard a proposal from the police department about the possibility of buying TASERs for its officers. Wilmore police officer Don Alwes, an expert on firearms and non-lethal weapons, made the presentation to the council. "We're proposing that our officers be equipped with them because, quite frankly, having been the recipient of that myself, it was the longest five seconds I've ever lived," he said. "But I would tell you right now that if I had the choice between being shot with a firearm or tased, I'll take the TASER.

Police hope a blue arc and a pulse of electricity from a Taser will be enough of a deterrent to reduce the need for other uses of force. During the last four months, both the Winchester Police and the Clark County Sheriff's Department have slowly been adding Tasers to the arsenal at a cost of approximately $600 each. A Taser emits a pulse of 50,000 volts at low amperage for at least five seconds, which is designed to immobilize a person, Winchester Police Capt. Kevin Palmer said.

State police were in Clark County Monday morning searching the Mountain Parkway for a gun that was involved in a fatal Estill County shooting. Bruce Hartley, 48, of Irvine, has been charged with the murder of Angela Riddle, 25, also of Irvine. Hartley told police he discarded the weapon near the seven-mile marker on the Mountain Parkway, but officers did not find it, Trooper Chris Lanham said this morning. Kentucky State Police say Riddle was shot Saturday evening on Patsy Road in Estill County.

HARRODSBURG - A local student has been charged after he allegedly brought a weapon on school property and was in possession of marijuana, police said. David Wayne Smith of 899 Bohon Road was arrested Friday for unlawful possession of a weapon on school property, and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He was being held in Boyle County Detention Center on Friday, according to a report by Patrolmen Scott Elder and Brian Allen. Smith, a student at Mercer County High School, was charged after officers were called to the school to check a student who was allegedly in possession of marijuana.

It's 9:18 a.m. on a normal Wednesday when the alarm comes in to local emergency officials. A nerve agent leak at the Blue Grass Army Depot has been upgraded to a community emergency. Thousands are at risk for exposure to the deadly chemical.But no one is likely to be hurt in this disaster - it's only a test. Local government heads and emergency officials gathered at the Winchester Police station on Maple Street Wednesday to participate in the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP)

LIBERTY - Two weapons and a bow and case of arrows were taken Sunday from a residence while a Mennonite family was attending church services. David Oberholtzer told Deputy Sheriff Bob Weddle that someone broke into his house at 358 Sloans Fork Road and took a Winchester 12-gauge shotgun Model 120, a Weatherby .22-caliber rifle with scope, bow with case of arrows, and binoculars. Weddle is continuing the investigation. Lincoln officers destroy marijuana HUSTONVILLE - Authorities found four large marijuana plants growing in an open field off Holtzclaw Lane, two miles north of Hustonville, police said.

A Boyle County Middle School student was arrested Monday after police found what they described as a "hit list" threatening about a dozen students and a teacher. The student, a female juvenile, was taken into custody just after 3 p.m. at Bruce Hall Day Treatment Center on the Kentucky School for the Deaf campus, which serves as an alternative school for the Boyle County and Danville school systems. The girl was charged with second-degree terroristic threatening, a felony. She was later released to her parents' custody, police said.

Some 50 miles away at Richmond's Blue Grass Army Depot sits an untold amount of chemical agents and weapons. Though the likelihood of an accident is remote, that doesn't stop the public safety organizations in Jessamine County from preparing for the worst. Last Thursday the parking lot of Riney B. Park was transformed into a staging area for a Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program exercise. "I thought it went awful well," said John Carpenter, director of Jessamine County Emergency Management.

Boyle County Community Education Program is offering the following classes. For more information and to register, call (859) 239-8986. Computer classes are $70 and $60 for seniors. Classes are held at 202 S. Second St., (P.O. Box 655) Danville, KY 40423-0655. Advanced Excel: 8-11 a.m. Sept. 10 and 12. Intermediate Access: 1:30-4-:30 p.m. Sept. 10 and 12. Intermediate Excel 5:30-8:30 p.m. Sept. 10 and 12. Introduction to Word 8-11 a.m. Sept. 11 and 13. Introduction to the Internet 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sept.

Shoplifting is an enormous problem for retailers. If you don't believe it, look at the extent and expense to which store owners go to prohibit the practice and catch the thieves. Shoplifting happens in stores as big as a Wal-Mart Supercenter and as small as a convenience store. It may be taking an object as small as a roll of mints or as big as a television, but it adds up to $13 billion worth of goods that are stolen from retailers each year. That's more than $25 million per day, according to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, a nonprofit organization with a Web site at www.shopliftingprevention.