Kentucky News Now

GOP 2016-PAUL-NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTTO

Paul mixes up New Hampshire history in invoking state motto

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Sen. Rand Paul opened his first New Hampshire speech as a declared Republican presidential candidate with a misstep about the state's history.

In Milford on Wednesday, Paul said "when the founders of New Hampshire came up with the motto 'Live Free or Die', they didn't leave a lot of wiggle room."

But the phrase didn't become the state motto until 1945, and it wasn't a state founder who came up with it.

Gen. John Stark included the phrase in a toast he sent to fellow Revolutionary War veterans who had invited him to a reunion in 1809 — 130 years after New Hampshire became a separate colony.

Paul campaigned in New Hampshire a day after declaring his candidacy in his home state of Kentucky.

GOP GOVERNOR

Fallout from attack ads surfaces at GOP gubernatorial debate

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky's Republican primary for governor has turned negative with the airing of attack ads by an outside group supporting Hal Heiner's campaign.

Heiner rivals James Comer and Matt Bevin confronted Heiner about the ads at a debate featuring all four GOP candidates Wednesday in Louisville.

Bevin asked Heiner to repudiate the ad claiming a Bevin-owned company fell behind in paying its taxes. Bevin says the ad rehashes "old lies."

The ad against Comer takes aim at him for taking farm subsidies. Comer says Heiner received more farm subsidies on a per-acre basis for his small farm.

Heiner said the ads aren't his and said he wants to be judged by what his campaign does.

The fourth candidate, Will T. Scott, drew laughs from the crowd by saying he's staying out of that fight.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Judge seals Overly testimony in harassment suit, for now

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A state judge has temporarily sealed the testimony of a Democratic lieutenant governor candidate in a sexual harassment lawsuit.

State Rep. Sannie Overly is scheduled to give a deposition on Monday in a lawsuit brought by a pair of state workers who say they were sexually harassed by former Democratic state Rep. John Arnold. But Overly, through her attorney, has asked that her deposition be sealed because she is not a party in the case and is concerned that others would take her testimony out of context and use it for political reasons.

Overly is the running mate of likely Democratic nominee for governor Jack Conway.

The judge also decided to temporarily seal the deposition of Bobby Sherman, the former director of the Legislative Research Commission.

DRIFTING BARGES

Barge carrying 100-foot crane drifts 4 miles down river

(Information in the following story is from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com)

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Two barges, one carrying a 100-foot tall crane, drifted about four miles down the Kentucky River during last weekend's flooding without causing any significant damage.

Jerry Graves is the executive director of the Kentucky River Authority. He told the Lexington Herald-Leader the unmanned barges stopped when they ran against the abandoned U.S. 27 bridge in Jessamine County near Nicholasville.

They passed under at least one other bridge and there were rumors of damage, but officials said those proved to be false.

The barges were being used for work on a new dam. They broke loose Friday night, probably from high water and swift currents caused by thunderstorms.

If they had continued drifting, they could have hit the Brooklyn Bridge, which carries U.S. 68 between Fayette and Mercer counties.

SCHOOL TEST SCORES

Jefferson County schools want waiver for English learners

(Information in the following story is from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Jefferson County Public Schools is asking for a waiver to keep the test scores of some immigrant students who are not proficient in English from being counted against their schools.

The Courier-Journal reports English-language learners in Kentucky are granted one year of English instruction before their scores start counting toward schools' and districts' accountability scores. Under the waiver, those students' test scores would not count toward their school's overall performance until the students were proficient in English.

David Jones Jr. is chairman of the Jefferson County Board of Education. He said the scores would still go to the district so that the district can look at how English-language learners are being educated as a whole.

The Kentucky Board of Education is expected to consider the waiver in June.

ESCAPED INMATES

Police searching for inmates who walked away from prison

(Information in the following story is from: WLEX-TV, http://www.wlextv.com)

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police are looking for two inmates who escaped from the Blackburn Correctional Complex in Lexington.

WLEX-TV reports the inmates walked away from the minimum security facility on Tuesday night at about 9:40 p.m.

The inmates are 46-year-old Kelly Craig Conway, of Des Moines, Iowa, and 32-year-old Daniel Dennis, of Henderson.

Conway was serving a 17 year sentence for a robbery conviction in McCracken County and would've been eligible for parole in January 2018.

Dennis was serving 13 years for convictions in Daviess and Union Counties, including manufacturing methamphetamine. He would have been eligible for parole in November.

BENGALS-LAMUR

Bengals linebacker Lamur signs one-year tender offer

CINCINNATI (AP) — Linebacker Emmanuel Lamur signed the Cincinnati Bengals' one-year tender offer for $2,356,000 on Wednesday, solidifying their depth at the position.

The fourth-year player appeared in 14 games last season, when starters Rey Maualuga and Vontaze Burfict missed significant time because of injuries. He finished third on the team in tackles and had two interceptions. Lamur was a restricted free agent.

The linebacker position was one of Cincinnati's biggest concerns heading into the offseason. Burfict missed most of last season and is recovering from his second knee operation. Maualuga could have become an unrestricted free agent, but agreed to a three-year deal. Linebacker A.J. Hawk signed a two-year deal as a free agent from Green Bay.