VOTER REGISTRATION

Record number of voters registered for May primaries

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — More Kentuckians are registered to vote than ever before ahead of the May 19 primaries as Republicans continue to close the registration gap with Democrats across the state.

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes released new voter registration totals on Monday showing 3,175,905 people are registered. Republicans added 24,483 new voters since the 2014 primary elections while Democrats added 8,664. Since 2008, Republicans have registered 183,635 new voters while Democrats have registered an extra 23,957.

Democrats still enjoy a sizable majority among registered voters. They outnumber Republicans by more than 448,000. But Republicans say their registration gains in recent years show their party is on the rise.

Four Republicans are seeking the GOP nomination for governor. Democrat Jack Conway is the likely Democratic nominee, facing minimal opposition in the primary.

KENTUCKY DERBY-TOURIST SLAIN

Police: 3 killed Canadian tourist after Kentucky Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Police say a Canadian tourist in Louisville for the Kentucky Derby was shot to death near his hotel during a robbery.

Three people have been arrested in connection with the killing, and police said Monday that the three were responsible for a string of Derby night robberies.

Louisville authorities identify the victim as 49-year-old Scott Hunter of Toronto.

Louisville Metro Police Lt. Todd Kessinger says Hunter and a friend were walking back to their hotel hours after the Derby late Saturday when the suspects apparently randomly picked them to rob. Kessinger says Hunter fought back and was shot during the struggle.

The area has several hotels not far from the Churchill Downs racetrack.

GUNS AT SCHOOL

School bus driver accused of ignoring gun pleads not guilty

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky bus driver accused of not alerting school officials that two boys had guns in their backpacks has entered a not guilty plea.

WKYT-TV reports Charles Honce appeared before a judge Monday on the charge of facilitation to unlawfully possess a weapon on school property after posting a $5,000 bond.

The boys — a first-grader and his brother in kindergarten — took two handguns, one of them loaded, on a bus last week to Dewitt Elementary School in Flat Lick. Authorities said the boys apparently thought they were toys. No one was hurt, and the firearms were seized when the boys reached school after another student told a teacher.

Each boy was charged with possession of a firearm on school property, and their parents were charged with endangering the welfare of a minor.

FATAL POLICE SHOOTING

Kentucky State Police fatally shoot man in confrontation

CHAVIES, Ky. (AP) — Police have fatally shot a man in eastern Kentucky after a confrontation.

Kentucky State Police said in a statement that troopers were called to the Chavies community in Perry County on Sunday evening in response to a complaint of shots fired from a camper.

When troopers arrived, they tried to make contact with 53-year-old Michael Asher, who was inside the camper, but the statement says he initially refused to come out and began ranting.

Police said a short time later he opened the door of the camper and began raising a firearm toward troopers, who opened fire killing him. Police didn't say how many troopers were involved in the shooting.

Perry County Deputy Coroner Johnny Collett pronounced Asher dead at the scene.

An autopsy is scheduled in Frankfort.

ROGERS-DRUG CZAR

National drug czar attending Kentucky drug court graduation

SOMERSET, Ky. (AP) — National drug czar Michael Botticelli is speaking this week in south-central Kentucky as 13 people graduate from drug court.

Botticelli, the National Drug Control Policy director, and U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers will be guest speakers at the ceremony Wednesday in Somerset.

The 28th Judicial Circuit Adult Drug Court program covers Lincoln, Pulaski and Rockcastle counties. The National Association of Drug Court Professionals says it is presenting the program with its Community Transformation Award, something only 15 of the nation's 2,900 drug courts have received.

Kentucky Drug Court is administered through the Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort. There are 55 adult programs serving 115 counties.

Botticelli is participating in several grassroots drug-prevention events while in Kentucky on Tuesday and Wednesday, including stops in Manchester, Hazard, London and Rockcastle County.

BRIGADE INACTIVATION

159th Combat Aviation Brigade being inactivated Thursday

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — A Fort Campbell brigade formed from several units that date back to the Vietnam era is being inactivated during a ceremony this week.

The post along the Kentucky-Tennessee line says about 1,500 soldiers, families and veterans of the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, are expected for the ceremony Thursday morning.

The post says the event is the last official ceremony in the brigade's history and is part of a five-year Army Aviation restructuring initiative, which is projected to inactivate three combat aviation brigades.

The 159th was originally formed in 1997. Between 1997 and 2001, the brigade deployed units to Bosnia, Kosovo, Trinidad, Tobago and Central America.

Parts of the brigade deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11, followed by several additional deployments of the 159th to Afghanistan and Iraq.

TEEN DRIVING

Safe driving course offered for Kentucky teenagers

MURRAY, Ky. (AP) — Schools throughout Kentucky may participate in a safe driving course for teenagers, put on by Kentucky State Police, the National Safety Council and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Inc.

State police say the state-certified course is free and can be taken instead of the state's graduated drivers licensing program.

Included are interactive media segments, workbook exercises, role playing and more. Participants are encouraged to join discussions, exploring how changing driving behavior makes good sense.

Two classes are scheduled for May 16 at the Murray Calloway Transit Authority. The first class begins at 8 a.m. CDT, with the second class at 1 p.m.

To register or for more information, contact Trooper First Class Jay Thomas at (270) 356-6264 or dennis.thomas@ky.gov.

WWII MONUMENT

Teen surpasses goal; raises $12,000 to restore war monuments

ALEXANDRIA, Ky. (AP) — A teenager has raised more than $12,000 in donations to restore aging World War II monuments in Campbell County.

The Kentucky Enquirer reports 16-year-old Noah Sell exceeded his $6,000 fundraising goal.

Sell came up with the idea to clean and restore the plaques located at the entrance to Bob Miller Stadium at Campbell County Middle School in Alexandria. The plaques contain the names of Campbell County High School graduates who died in the war.

Sell, the grandson of two WWII veterans, says he has received donations from as far as Colorado, Connecticut, and South Carolina.

He says extra funds will be used to restore other war monuments across the county.

Sell hopes to enter the military in the future.

ALI CHILDHOOD HOME

Philly lawyer joins effort to restore Ali's childhood home

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A real estate investor wanting to restore Muhammad Ali's boyhood home in Kentucky has a new partner in his corner.

Philadelphia lawyer George Bochetto said Monday he has acquired a half interest in the one-story, wood-frame house in a Louisville neighborhood.

Bochetto becomes a partner with real estate investor Jared Weiss of Las Vegas in the project to restore the modest home to how it looked when Ali — known then as Cassius Clay — grew up there. Bochetto says the home is a "remarkable piece of history."

Ali won the world heavyweight championship three times.

Bochetto says the project to restore the house to how it looked on the outside and inside could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Courier-Journal first reported Bochetto's involvement in the venture.

 

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.

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