STEAM LOCOMOTIVE-RESTORATION

Kentucky nonprofit group wants to restore steam locomotive

NEW HAVEN, Ky. (AP) — A nonprofit group hopes to restore a steam locomotive for passenger excursions.

The Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. wants to bring the locomotive from Nelson County to Lexington and is launching a fundraising campaign for its restoration.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the group's fundraising goal is $1.3 million.

Group president Chris Campbell of Lexington says an inspection in November found the locomotive was in excellent condition, although some repair work needs to be done. The group hopes to have the engine moved to Lexington by 2017 and have it operating by 2020.

The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway locomotive built in 1943 is owned by the Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven. The last time the engine ran on its own power was in 1996.

MSU SATELLITE-MOON

Powerful, moon-bound rocket to carry MSU satellite in 2018

MOREHEAD, Ky. (AP) — NASA says a satellite from Morehead State University will be on the most powerful rocket ever built when it blasts off to the moon in 2018.

The Independent reports the announcement was made Thursday. NASA says the rocket, called the Space Launch System, will carry 13 small satellites, called CubeSats, along with an unnamed Orion crew capsule.

Benjamin Malphrus, Morehead's space science department chair and director of the Space Science Center at MSU, says the university's satellite will orbit the moon and its instruments will search for and map water ice on the moon's surface.

The Orion launch will mark the university's first mission beyond Earth orbit.

Work is just beginning at MSU on building the satellite. Malphrus says they have two years to build and test it.

CIGAR-MAKER

Up in smoke: Lawrenceburg cigar-maker returns to his roots

LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. (AP) — Allen Mobley remembers his grandmother killing two chickens as payment to their pastor for helping with the family's tobacco harvest. After working on one farm, the minister and other members of the congregation would move to the next the following day and help with their harvest. The work was long and hard, but growing and harvesting tobacco was a part of Kentucky's culture. Such was the way of life throughout much of Kentucky back when tobacco money was the lifeblood of the state. A good crop could mean Christmas presents for the kids and a bad crop could mean financial ruin.

SALMONELLA-ESTILL COUNTY

19 confirmed cases of salmonella in Estill County

IRVINE, Ky. (AP) — Estill County Emergency Management says there are 19 confirmed salmonella cases and 41 people with gastrointestinal illnesses in the county. In a Facebook post, Estill County Emergency Management says the health department is investigating the salmonella outbreak, which began at the beginning of the year, and is still trying to find the cause. The post says salmonella infections are relatively common. The symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, and can last from four to seven days. Six people have been hospitalized with the infection. All of them are expected to make a full recovery.

GUN LAWS-DOMESTIC ABUSE-KENTUCKY

Some Kentucky judges limit domestic offenders access to guns

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky lawmakers have resisted trends to restrict domestic violence offenders' access to guns. In the past two years, more than a dozen states have passed similar laws to empower their local law enforcement agencies to enforce it. The bills have passed with support from both political parties in an era of heightened partisanship surrounding gun issues. In Kentucky, similar efforts have failed in a state legislature where most members proudly display their ratings from the National Rifle Association. But a handful of state judges have been including gun bans as part of the emergency protective orders they issue in domestic violence situations.

SOAR

Bevin wants to downsize scope of KentuckyWired project

PINEVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Republican Gov. Matt Bevin wants to downsize a proposed 3,400-mile fiber optic network meant to make high-speed Internet possible throughout the state. Bevin told the Saving Our Appalachian Region meeting Friday the project is off track. He said he still supports installing the network in eastern Kentucky. A group of private businesses borrowed $289 million last year to begin constructing the network. Kentucky government officials promised to pay the companies about $28 million a year for Internet service, which the companies would then use to pay off the loan. But a key piece of how Kentucky planned to pay back the loan has fallen apart.

 

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.

 

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