Coffee and Christmas Eve – Latest Kentucky News from AP

WOMAN'S BODY FOUND

Remains found in Ky identified as missing woman

MURRAY, Ky. (AP) — Investigators in Calloway County say the remains found in a field near Murray were those of a woman last seen alive on Thursday.

The sheriff's office told the Murray Ledger & Times that a deputy found 56-year-old Victoria Swygart while on patrol Friday.

The sheriff's office contacted surrounding law enforcement agencies in an attempt to locate Swygart on Thursday when she was reported missing.

A medical examiner conducted an autopsy on Saturday. The cause of death has not been released.

OPEN RECORDS-FINE

Judge fines Ky cabinet $756K in records dispute

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A state judge has fined the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services $756,000 because it "willfully circumvented" open-records law by not fully releasing records of child abuse fatalities and near deaths.

Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled on Monday that the cabinet made a "mockery" of the Open Records Act by maintaining that documents remain confidential.

Shepherd ordered the cabinet to pay the plaintiff's attorney fees and costs to be decided.

The Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader have been battling to obtain the cabinet records of cases in which children died or nearly died from abuse or neglect.

The cabinet turned over more than 20,000 documents, but cut such things as the names of perpetrators, even if they were convicted in open court or identified in police news releases.

KENTUCKY EARTHQUAKE

Eastern Ky county feels small quake

OWINGSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An eastern Kentucky county felt the rumblings of a small earthquake, but officials say the trembler produced no damage to the rural area.

Bath County Emergency Management Director Stephanie Stewart told the Lexington Herald-Leader most residents heard a rumble Monday morning and thought it was thunder.

The Kentucky Geological Survey estimated the quake at about 6 a.m. Monday as a magnitude 2.7.

About 17 quakes have been identified in the area over the years. Scientists aren't sure why earthquakes occur in the area in the eastern coal fields section of the state.

HEALTH OVERHAUL-KENTUCKY

Ky. sees insurance rush ahead of Monday deadline

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky has seen a surge in people signing up for Medicaid and medical insurance as a Monday deadline approached for those who want coverage to begin next week.

Gwenda Bond, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange, said about 100,000 people have signed up, most of them on the state's Medicaid program.

Bond said enrollment has gone from about 1,000 people a day to 3,000 people in the past week.

More than 500,000 people have conducted pre-screenings to determine their eligibility for discounts, government subsidies or Medicaid coverage through Kentucky's online insurance marketplace.

Bond said totals will be updated Monday afternoon. At last count, 72,285 people have enrolled in Medicaid and 24,683 have enrolled in health insurance coverage.

All but about 8,000 of those will receive assistance with premiums.

HIV INCREASE

Complacency, heroin use could increase HIV cases

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Experts who watch HIV and AIDS cases in Kentucky say the rate of infection may see a rise thanks to complacency and the rise of heroin abuse in the state.

In spite of ongoing education and prevention efforts, the rate of infection in the state has remained constant over the past decade in Kentucky.

Mark Royse, executive director of AVOL, told the Lexington Herald-leader that the infection rate may be on the rise. AVOL serves HIV and AIDS patients in 72 Kentucky counties.

Royse says people believe the disease is a problem in poorer countries, but not the U.S.

He says as heroin use increases in the state, so too do infection problems that arise from sharing needles.

TRAVEL-TRIP-KENTUCKY-MINE ATV PARK

ATV park breathes life into old Appalachian mine

LEBURN, Ky. (AP) — Knott County in eastern Kentucky has been hit hard in recent years by the region's dwindling coal industry. But now a tourist attraction has opened on the remains of an old Appalachian mine.

All-terrain vehicles and motorbikes now zoom along the hilly terrain in Knott County that was left behind when mine operators shut down operations. When the mining companies left, they took good-paying jobs with them.

Now the mining site has been renamed the Mine Made Adventure Park. And it is buzzing with the sound of two-stroke engines as all-terrain vehicle, dirt bike and horseback riders dot the wide-open landscape. Knott tourism director Shawn Owens says the riders and activity bring with them the potential for a tourism boost to the economy.