KENTUCKY UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

Kentucky's unemployment rate falls to 5 percent in April

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky's unemployment rate fell to 5 percent in April, the lowest it has been in 14 years.

It is the ninth straight month Kentucky's unemployment rate has been lower than the national average, which was 5.4 percent in April.

Kentucky's labor force increased by more than 3,500 people in April while an extra 4,984 people found work. State government jobs jumped 1.7 percent, with one-third of those in administration jobs and the rest in state educational institutions and hospitals. Construction added an extra 1,900 jobs while manufacturing added an additional 1,100 jobs.

The unemployment rate is based on an estimate of the state's current population survey of households and is designed to measure trends and not say definitively how many people are working. The rate includes those who are self-employed and work in agriculture.

AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER-RECANVASS

Heath asks for review of results in GOP agriculture primary

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Richard Heath has asked for a review of Tuesday's election results in the Republican primary for state agriculture commissioner.

Heath, a state representative from Mayfield, lost to fellow state representative Ryan Quarles by 1,427 votes out of the more than 183,000 cast in the race. The two men are vying to succeed Republican James Comer, who did not seek re-election in order to run for governor.

Comer trails Republican Matt Bevin by 83 votes after Tuesday's primary. He has also requested a recanvass, or a review of the state's voting machines and absentee ballots. State law requires the recanvass for both races to begin at 9 a.m. May 28. The review includes every precinct in the state's 120 counties.

GM-CORVETTE PLANT

General Motors spending $439M for upgrades to Corvette plant

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — General Motors is spending $439 million to upgrade the Kentucky plant that makes the Chevrolet Corvette sports car.

The project includes a new 450,000-square-foot paint shop that is almost half the size of the current production facility in Bowling Green.

Construction is scheduled to begin this summer and take about two years to complete. The new facility will feature new tooling and robots, and environmental enhancements like dry scrubbing technology designed to eliminate sludge water and waste and high-efficiency baking ovens to lower energy use.

GM said Thursday's announcement will result in the retention of 150 jobs at the plant. The announcement follows a previous investment of $135 million in the plant over the last four years for the new Corvette Stingray and Performance Build Center.

MISSING FUNDS

Madison emergency official resigns after audit finds theft

RICHMOND, Ky. (AP) — The director of Madison County's emergency management agency has resigned after more than $340,000 went missing on his watch.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that Carl Richards resigned Thursday. He had been suspended Tuesday after an internal audit revealed theft from a federally funded emergency preparedness program dating back to 2006.

County Judge-Executive Reagan Taylor says the audit was spurred by the arrest of a former finance officer for the agency. Tamara Phelps has been accused of stealing nearly $34,000 in property and services from the agency. That figure was based on a single fiscal year; further investigation found the amount of money involved to be 10 times that.

Taylor says there is no evidence that Richards or any other employee was involved in the thefts.

STORMS ASSISTANCE

Disaster recovery center closing in Franklin County

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The disaster recovery center opened in Franklin County to help people after storms last month will close Saturday.

The center will close at 6 p.m. EDT. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says help for people who had losses in Bath, Bourbon, Carter, Elliott, Franklin, Jefferson, Lawrence, Madison, Rowan and Scott counties will still be available.

FEMA teams will work in storm-stricken areas and can help with mobile applications, updates and referrals to additional resources.

To register for assistance or get help with applications or appeals, visit http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov , call (800) 621-3362 or visit http://m.fema.gov on smartphones or tablets.

For questions about a Small Business Administration disaster loan application, call (800) 659-2955 or send an email to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov.

ARMY BASE-FUEL BRIBERY

Army sergeant sentenced in 2013 Afghan fuel bribery scheme

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Georgia say an Army sergeant has been sentenced in a bribery scheme that involved Afghan truckers reselling military fuel on the black market.

Prosecutors say 41-year-old James Edward Norris of Fort Irwin, California, was sentenced Thursday to 51 months in prison and ordered to pay $176,000 in restitution.

Prosecutors say Norris conspired with other soldiers at Forward Operating Base Gardez to solicit and accept $2,000 daily from Afghan truck drivers in early 2013 if the truckers were allowed to take thousands of gallons of fuel from the base. Norris said he was paid roughly $100,000 in the scheme.

Sgt. Seneca Hampton also pleaded guilty in the scheme and faces sentencing July 28.

Norris and Hampton were deployed from Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Another soldier was indicted in March.

TRAIN-PEDESTRIAN FATAL

Man dies after being hit by train engine in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Police are investigating the death in Louisville of a man who was hit by a train engine next to his workplace.

Patrolman Dennis McDonald of the St. Matthews Police Department says the man was on foot when he was hit around 1 p.m. EDT Thursday. McDonald says the man was taken to a hospital, where he died.

It's not clear what happened or who operated the engine, which wasn't hauling any cars. McDonald says it's not known why the man was on the tracks but that there's no indication that it was anything but an accident.

The man's name hasn't been released pending notification of family. McDonald said the man worked at a car wash next to the tracks.

The investigation is continuing.

WILDLIFE TOURISM

Eastern Kentucky park to become wildlife tourism attraction

PINEVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An empty Eastern Kentucky industrial park will be transformed into a wildlife center that officials hope will become a key tourism attraction.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the Pine Mountain Regional Industrial Development Authority has agreed to sell 750 acres in Bell County to the Appalachian Wildlife Foundation for $750,000.

Mike Bowling, a Middlesboro attorney who chairs the authority, says the land will be developed into a campus that would include a conservation center, a theater and an astronomy pavilion.

The authority purchased the land in 2001 from a mining company and spent years trying to attract an industrial factory to take root there.

The foundation hopes to open in 2018 and projects 600,000 visitors will come in 2021 to see the site's elk, black bears and other wildlife.

BAD EYESIGHT-COUNTIES

Study: Severe vision loss is most common in the South

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say bad eyesight in the U.S. is most common in the South.

A new report found the South was home to three-quarters of the U.S. counties with the highest prevalence of severe vision loss.

The South also has higher rates of poverty, diabetes and chronic disease. Health officials believe those problems are all related to the vision loss.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the report Thursday. Overall, about 3 percent of people had severe vision loss. The highest rate was from Owsley County, Kentucky, which surpassed 18 percent.

The study is the CDC's first county-level assessment of blindness and severe vision loss. It's based on millions of U.S. Census Bureau survey responses from 2009 through 2013.

 

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.

More From WOMI-AM