Kentucky News Now – May 9th 2016

DERBY-ROMANS ACCIDENT

Kentucky Derby trainer Romans hurt in Louisville accident

(Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Derby trainer Dale Romans says he's resting at home after being involved in a car accident following the race.

Romans tells the Louisville Courier-Journal that he was driving his friends to a Veterans of Foreign Wars post after Saturday's race when his vehicle was involved in a collision with a sport-utility vehicle at an intersection.

Louisville police said no report on the accident was immediately available. Romans says he and four passengers in his vehicle went to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

A Louisville native, Romans says he has bruised ribs and plans to take a few days off.

Romans says "we're all lucky, because the car's crushed."

Romans is the trainer of Brody's Cause, which finished seventh in the Derby.

KENTUCKY LAKE BRIDGE

Demolition of old western Kentucky bridge may be delayed

AURORA, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says the demolition of a western Kentucky bridge could be delayed due to osprey eggs.

District 1 Chief Engineer Mike McGregor says despite efforts to keep the federally protected birds from building nests on the old bridge, officials have found osprey eggs on the steel structure. He says it could take weeks to determine if the eggs are viable.

Last month, a new bridge replaced the outdated Eggners Ferry span carrying U.S. 68/Kentucky 80 traffic over the Kentucky Lake-Tennessee River navigation channel and connects Aurora, Kentucky, to Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.

The statement says the U.S. Coast Guard has requested the older structure be removed as quickly as possible.

McGregor said the cabinet is working with agencies to determine "the best path forward."

FORT KNOX-CEREMONY

Ceremony signals start of Fort Knox construction project

FORT KNOX, Ky. (AP) — Fort Knox is planning a wall-breaking ceremony at the future headquarters building of the 1st Sustainment Command (Theater).

The ceremony represents the start of a construction project to renovate the building before the unit arrives at the central Kentucky Army post in July 2017.

Fort Knox officials say the project, costing an estimated $20 million, will renovate and equip a 1940s-era building.

The unit currently is stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The unit consists of about 520 active-duty soldiers and 60 Department of Defense civilian workers.

The unit's mission is to ensure that soldiers have the supplies and transportation capabilities they need to accomplish their missions. The unit supplies food, fuel, water, transportation, ammunition, building materials and repair parts.

The ceremony at Fort Knox is set for Monday morning.

FAYETTE SCHOOLS-HOMELESS COORDINATOR

Fayette Co. Schools hires full-time homeless coordinator

(Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com)

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Fayette County Schools will hire a full-time staffer to assist the district's nearly 800 homeless students.

Fayette schools spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall tells the Lexington Herald-Leader the homeless coordinator will be in place by the start of the 2016-2017 school year.

The number of homeless students in the district has doubled in four years. For the 2014-15 school year, Fayette County reported 795 homeless students. In 2011-12, 393 kids were identified as homeless.

A federal statute requires that all school districts designate a staff person as a coordinator for homeless education. However, many of those staffers have other job titles and other duties.

Charlie Lanter, director of Lexington's office of homeless prevention and intervention, says having a full-time staffer dedicated to improving education outcomes for homeless students could have a dramatic impact on those students' test scores and lives.

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HILLARY CLINTON VISIT

Hillary Clinton schedules campaign stop in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Democratic president candidate Hillary Clinton will make a campaign stop in Louisville this week.

According to her campaign website, the former secretary of state will be in Louisville on Tuesday ahead of the state's May 17 Democratic presidential primary.

The event is free and open to the public, although registration is encouraged. Doors to the event open at 4 p.m.

Clinton spoke at a campaign event in Ashland last week. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, visited Lexington, Louisville and Morehead last Tuesday.

RICHIE FARMER-BANKRUPTCY

Ex-Kentucky basketball star Farmer files for bankruptcy

(Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com)

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Former state agriculture commissioner and University of Kentucky basketball star Richie Farmer, who went to prison for violating state ethics and campaign finance laws, has filed for bankruptcy.

Farmer filed a Chapter 7 petition May 4 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports Farmer indicated he is unemployed and living on $194 in monthly food stamps. The petition also noted that his parents give him an estimated $400 each month.

The petition listed assets of about $24,000, most of it in his state pension, and liabilities of about $386,000.

Farmer left a federal prison in West Virginia in December after serving a 27-month sentence for misappropriating government resources while in office, including having state workers build a basketball court at his house.

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