Friday’s Kentucky News – November 22nd, 2013

FIRE DEATHS

Youth charged in fire that killed Ky. grandparents

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky man grieving the deaths of his parents in a house fire says the victims' teenage granddaughter has been charged in the fire that killed them.

Authorities say the blaze Wednesday night killed 64-year-old Everett Garland and his 60-year-old wife, Linda Garland, at their central Kentucky home, about 60 miles south of Lexington in Lincoln County.

State police said only that a juvenile, whom they didn't identify, has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of first-degree arson and is being held. But the couple's son, Rusty Garland, said Thursday that it was his 16-year-old niece who had been charged.

Rusty Garland said his parents had custody of his niece. He called the deaths a "tragic loss."

HOLIDAY TRAVEL

Highway officials issue seat belt reminder

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock says the long Thanksgiving weekend is among the year's busiest times for travel.

Hancock says as the number of cars on the road goes up, the chance of being involved in a serious wreck does likewise. The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety is reminding travelers to wear a seat belt every time they're in a car.

The agency says during the Thanksgiving period in Kentucky last year, seven people were killed, including four who weren't wearing seat belts.

Highway Safety Director Bill Bell says there are too many deaths that could have been prevented with a seat belt. He says that seems to indicate people aren't taking the state's seat belt law seriously or aren't aware of the risk of traveling without a seat belt.

PEOPLE-JOHN PRINE

John Prine has operable form of lung cancer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country singer-songwriter John Prine says he's been diagnosed with an operable form of lung cancer.

A note on the 67-year-old Prine's website says he will undergo surgery next month, forcing the postponement of two dates in Louisville, Ky. Prine says in the note that doctors found the cancer early and "see no reason why I won't fully recover." The cancer is not related to the squamous cell cancer on his neck for which he was treated in the mid-1990s. Prine's management confirmed the details of the post.

The "Angel from Montgomery" singer postponed dates in Wisconsin earlier this month due to illness. Those concerts and two scheduled for next month in Louisville will be pushed to 2014. Prine will still play Dec. 6-7 dates in North Carolina.

TROOPER-FATAL CRASH

Man dies in wreck with trooper in southeastern Ky.

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. (AP) — A southeastern Kentucky man has died after colliding with a Kentucky State Police trooper who was responding to another wreck.

State police say Trooper Duane Foley was traveling north on U.S. 25W in Whitley County northwest of Williamsburg with emergency equipment activated in a marked car. Police say Foley came up on two vehicles in the northbound lane that were slowing, and he entered the southbound lane to pass.

Police said Foley collided with a car driven by 41-year-old James E. King of Williamsburg as King tried to turn left, pulling into Foley's path. King was pronounced dead at the scene.

Foley was treated at a hospital for injuries and released.

KENTUCKY SENATE-GRIMES

Grimes pledges support for jobs plan for veterans

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes has pledged her support for a move in the U.S. Senate to make tax credits permanent for businesses that hire military veterans.

It's an issue on which Grimes and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell agree.

Grimes said in a statement Thursday that the tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of the year, are beneficial to Kentucky's 350,000 veterans, some 12,000 of whom, she said, are dealing with unemployment.

Grimes, who is seeking her party's nomination to run against McConnell, said the VOW To Hire Heroes Act, which was initially approved by Congress in 2011, will "ease our heroes' transition to civilian life."

McConnell spokesman Robert Steurer said Thursday that McConnell wants to keep the tax credits in place, too.

SCHOOL TRIPS-FUNDING

State regulation hampers school trip

(Information in the following story is from: Georgetown News-Graphic, http://www.news-graphic.com )

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP) — A central Kentucky high school principal says a new interpretation of a state regulation on school-related trips is partly to blame for the cancellation of a trip to Washington, D.C.

The Scott County High School band had planned to take the trip in March to participate in the Dixie Classic.

The Georgetown News-Graphic reports Principal Frank Howatt and district administrator Matt Thompson announced this month that the trip would be cancelled.

They said a new interpretation of Kentucky regulations places more restrictions on the use of school money for student trips. In addition, they said fundraisers to help pay for the trip had fallen short of expectations.

Thompson said donations would be returned and most of the money from fundraisers will remain in a bank account to support the band.