End The Week With Kentucky News

BASKETBALL STAR'S DOWNFALL

Farmer scheduled in court Friday for plea deal

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Former University of Kentucky basketball star turned politician Richie Farmer is scheduled to appear in court to finalize a plea deal that could send him to prison for about two years.

Farmer, who served two terms as state agriculture commissioner, is expected to enter guilty pleas in federal and state court on government corruption charges on Friday.

Farmer, whose jersey hangs as a monument in the rafters of Rupp Area, was accused of using Department of Agriculture employees to work on his Frankfort home, including building a basketball court in his backyard.

Officials said Farmer also hired friends, including his girlfriend, as special assistants who did little or no work for the agency. And, they accused Farmer of using government employees to do personal errands, including babysitting his children.

POLICE CARS

Older state police cruisers costly to maintain

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — More than half of the cruisers now being used by state police troopers in Kentucky have logged over 100,000 miles and are becoming costly to repair.

State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer said financial woes are preventing the department from replacing older cruisers as quickly as he'd like. The result, he told lawmakers Thursday, has been high maintenance costs that have reached about $180,000 a month.

Previously, Brewer had announced the layoffs of 20 troopers to help balance this year's $191 million budget.

He said his agency is spending $7 million a year on fuel for cruisers, which travel some 30 million miles a year.

POLICE SALARIES

Vehicle enforcement officers want pay raises

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The commander of the Division of Vehicle Enforcement has asked lawmakers to provide pay raises to his officers.

Lt. Col. Keith Peercy said KVE officers' starting pay is some $9,000 a year less than that of state police troopers. He said that needs to be changed to prevent turnover within the agency that's charged with enforcing laws regarding commercial vehicles traveling Kentucky highways.

Beginning troopers make just less than $40,000 a year. KVE officers make just over $30,000 a year.

Peercy said the agency, because of the lower salaries, is losing officers to other police departments.

Republican state Sen. Tom Buford of Nicholasville said he wants the Legislature to consider an appropriation to increase the salaries when lawmakers convene in January.

BOONESBOROUGH RE-ENACTMENT

Fort Boonesborough hosts battle re-enactment

RICHMOND, Ky. (AP) — Fort Boonesborough State Park is hosting a re-enactment of a Revolutionary War battle at the fort.

The annual "1778 Siege of Boonesborough" weekend is scheduled for Sept. 21-22.

The event commemorates the September 1778 attack on the fort by Native Americans and French Canadians. Settlers in the fort refused to surrender and the attackers gave up and left.

Events include staged battles on both days of the event. There will also be a night re-enactment at dusk Sept. 21.

Visitors also can see militia and settlers' camps and a Native American village.

The event is free with regular fort admission of $8 for adults and $5 for children.

GUN SHIPPING-CHARGES

Ky man charged with shipping guns internationally

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky man has been charged with using an online black market to ship firearms and parts to foreign buyers by tucking the weapons away in Xbox consoles and DVD players.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says 33-year-old Adam Joseph Bunger of Bowling Green pulled off the scheme from June through August. ATF Special Agent David S. Hayes wrote in a criminal complaint that Bunger sent an Uzi-style pistol to the United Kingdom and a 9mm pistol to Australia.

Hayes says Bunger used a website called Black Market Reloaded to sell the weapons while using at least two aliases to disguise his identity.

There was no attorney listed for Bunger in court records. A message left for his business in Bowling Green was not immediately returned Thursday.

ALUMINUM SMELTER-RATES

Industries to appeal Big Rivers ruling

(Information in the following story is from: The Gleaner, http://www.thegleaner.com/ )

HENDERSON, Ky. (AP) — Three industries have filed notice that they intend to appeal a recent decision allowing Big Rivers Electric Corp. to increase rates.

Last month, the Kentucky Public Service Commission approved agreements allowing Century Aluminum — the utility's biggest customer — to leave the Big Rivers system and purchase power on the open market. That led Big Rivers to request a rate increase for its remaining 112,000 customers in western Kentucky.

The PSC hasn't approved the increase, but it did allow the utility to begin charging higher rates subject to refunding customers money if a smaller hike is approved.

The Gleaner reports that Kentucky Industrial Utility Customers filed the notice of appeal with Franklin Circuit Court on behalf of Kimberly Clark paper mill, Domtar paper mill and Aleris aluminum rolling mill.