Kentucky News Now

BODY FOUND-MURDER

Man charged with murder after body found in creek

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

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Authorities have charged a man with murder in connection to a body found in a Madison County creek.

According to WKYT-TV, 35-year-old Billy J. Chadwell was arrested just before 2 a.m. Sunday. He's charged in connection with the murder of Francisco J. Martinez-Castillo.

Martinez-Castillo's body was found Wednesday evening by people who were canoeing in Silver Creek below Wilgreen Lake in Madison County.

The State Medical Examiner's Office determined his death was a homicide.

An investigation is ongoing.

CHILD ABUSED

Daycare owner in Corbin, Ky., accused of abusing 2-year-old

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

CORBIN, Ky. (AP) — The owner of a daycare in Corbin, Kentucky, has been accused of abusing a 2-year-old.

According to WKYT-TV, 33-year-old Tracy Fore of Woodbine was arrested Friday following an investigation at the daycare.

She was charged with first-degree criminal abuse of a child under the age of 12.

Authorities have not released details about the case, which remains under investigation.

Fore was being held Sunday in the Knox County Detention Center on $25,000 bond. Records do not show if she has an attorney.

FATAL SHOOTING

Authorities search for suspect who shot Hopkinsville man

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Authorities are searching for a suspect in the death of a Hopkinsville, Kentucky man.

Hopkinsville detectives have secured a murder warrant for 23-year-old Anthony Leverne Brown who is accused of shooting Damario Bennett, also 23.

The shooting took place on Thursday outside of some apartments. Officials say Bennett died Saturday at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, as a result of the gunshot wound.

Authorities say Brown, also of Hopkinsville, is considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information about the shooting or Brown is asked to call the Hopkinsville Police Department at 270-890-1500, or the Hopkinsville-Christian County Crime Stoppers at 270-887-TIPS.

LOGGING CONTROVERSY

Land Between the Lakes to temporarily halt new timber sales

(Information in the following story is from: Murray Ledger & Times, http://www.murrayledger.com)

GOLDEN POND, Ky. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service is halting new timber sales at Land?Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.

The Murray Ledger & Times reports local leaders have lobbied the forest service for months to stop logging and burning hundreds of acres to return it to oak grasslands. They want the service to focus instead on preserving the area's old-growth hardwood forests.

In response to the complaints, Land Between the Lakes Area Supervisor Tina Tilley said recreation area officials will honor standing logging contracts, but no new cutting operations will begin until the forest service holds a series of public meetings.

Land Between The Lakes manages more than 170,000 acres in western Kentucky and Tennessee as part of the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture's public lands program.

OHIO RIVER BRIDGE

For bridge workers, the office is 230 feet in the air

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

LOUSIVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Drivers who've crossed the Kennedy Memorial Bridge in recent months likely have noted the progress of the growing towers for the cable-stayed bridge just east of it, but the unique workspace — 230 feet in the air — has been somewhat of a mystery.

The first of three towers on the Ohio River for the new Interstate 65 bridge between downtown Louisville and Jeffersonville, Indiana, is now complete near the Indiana shoreline, part of the $2.3 billion bridges project that also includes an East End crossing being built 8 miles upstream.

While the towers' height would make many people nervous, it's all in a day's work for tethered Walsh Construction contractors who've ascended the towers since foundation work began in July 2013, often working six days a week.

NATIVE PLANTS

Volunteers fight invading plants at Kentucky River Palisades

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

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Spring is one of the best times for hikers along the Kentucky River Palisades to see wildflowers and colorful native plants found in few other places in the region.

But the Lexington Herald-Leader reports that a group of invaders — shrubs, vines, groundcovers and other types of plants that are not native to the area —threaten to choke out the delicate local species that make for scenic hikes.

The Palisades have suffered widespread damage from the unchecked growth of the invaders. Those who tend to the natural areas say Asian bush honeysuckle is the biggest threat.

Volunteers work months around the year clearing honeysuckle. Those who want to help can donate $10 to regional conservation organizations or help cut and spray the honeysuckle. For more information, email campmeet@gmail.com.