Kentucky News Now – December 1st 2015

OHIO RIVER BRIDGE

New Kentucky-Indiana bridge being named for Abraham Lincoln

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A new Ohio River bridge in downtown Louisville will be named the Abraham Lincoln Bridge, in honor of the 16th U.S. president who was born in Kentucky and grew up in Indiana.

Gov. Steve Beshear announced the name Monday for the Interstate 65 bridge.

The bridge is part of a $2.3 billion joint project between Kentucky and Indiana. Another bridge is under construction eight miles upriver.

Beshear said in a news release that he settled on Lincoln because of the 16th president's historical significance to Kentucky and Indiana.

The new bridge is expected to open to traffic before Christmas and will eventually carry all northbound I-65 traffic between Louisville and Jeffersonville, Indiana. The current I-65 bridge, named for John F. Kennedy, is next to the new bridge and will carry southbound traffic only.

BRIDGE REPAIRS

2 central Kentucky bridges to get emergency repairs

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says it has awarded contracts so that emergency repairs can be done on two central Kentucky bridges.

A statement from the agency says Intech Contracting LLC will fix both the Kennedy Mill Bridge over Herrington Lake between Mercer and Garrard counties and the historic Singing Bridge in downtown Frankfort, which spans the Kentucky River.

The bridge over Herrington Lake was closed to traffic on Sept. 3 due to deteriorated steel. The Singing Bridge was reduced to one lane for the same reason.

Repairs for both bridges will cost $208,285, which is less than the cabinet's estimate.

Repairs to the Kennedy Mill Bridge are expected to be complete by April 1, and repairs to the Singing Bridge are expected to be complete by May 30.

FORD-LOUISVILLE

Ford adding 2,000 jobs to make 2017 aluminum-body Super Duty trucks

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Ford Motor Co. says it's adding 2,000 jobs and investing $1.3 billion at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville to build the new aluminum-body Super Duty truck.

Company officials were joining Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer for an announcement at the plant Tuesday.

The company said in a news release ahead of the announcement that it will add a new body shop, facility upgrades and retooling to build the 2017 models.

Ford invested $80 million at the plant in 2014 to meet demand for Super Duty trucks and $129 million to support production of the Lincoln MKC SUV at the Louisville Assembly Plant.

The Kentucky Truck Plant produces F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 Super Duty pickups and chassis cabs, and Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator.

BIG RIVERS-SEBREE

Big Rivers Sebree power station records 2 million hours without accident

SEBREE, Ky. (AP) — A western Kentucky power plant is being honored with working more than 2 million hours without a lost-time accident.

The employees of the Big Rivers Sebree station recently received the Governor's Safety and Health Award for the feat.

Kentucky Labor Secretary Larry Robert says it shows "an extreme dedication to safety."

The Sebree station has 225 employees and has three generating stations on its campus, with the capacity to produce 896 megawatts of electricity.

The facility also earned the award in August, when it recorded 1.5 million hours without an incident.

The workers at the Sebree station are represented by The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1701.

CAREGIVER MISCONDUCT REGISTRY

Registry names adult caregivers with proven abuse claims

OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — A registry that names adult caregivers with substantiated abuse claims has been quietly building since it was created last year.

The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reports that 51 people with proven histories of abuse and neglect of adults in professional care have been placed on the caregiver misconduct registry since it was created after Gov. Steve Beshear signed Senate Bill 98 in April 2014.

The registry includes the names of paid employees and volunteers at adult care facilities such as nursing homes who have had complaints of abuse or neglect substantiated against them by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

The caregiver misconduct registry isn't open to the public and can only be reviewed by agencies such as nursing homes who want to check on prospective or current employees.

BOAT RAMPS

Reconstruction projects will close 2 boat ramps

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Fish and Wildlife says two boat ramps are closed starting this week to undergo reconstruction projects.

The agency says Monday's closures at Lake Beshear and at Kentucky Dam Marina on Kentucky Lake are temporary.

The Kentucky Dam Marina project at Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park will replace the existing ramp with a five-lane ramp and is expected to be completed by the end of January.

The project at Lake Beshear will replace a single-lane asphalt ramp in Caldwell County with a 14-foot concrete ramp that extends farther and deeper into the water. It is expected to be complete by Jan. 1.

MINE EXPLOSION TRIAL

Jurors still without verdict in ex-coal CEO's federal trial

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Jurors have deliberated another day without reaching a verdict in ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship's trial.

The jury ended its sixth full day of deliberations without a decision Monday. They had not met since Tuesday because of Thanksgiving.

Blankenship is charged with conspiring to break safety laws and defrauding mine regulators at West Virginia's Upper Big Branch Mine, and lying to financial regulators and investors about safety. The mine exploded in 2010, killing 29 men.

Prosecutors contended that Blankenship was a micromanager who meddled in the smallest details at the mine and cared more about money than safety.

Blankenship's defense team said the government offered no evidence he was involved in a conspiracy.

Blankenship's trial began Oct. 1. Deliberations began the evening of Nov. 17 and will continue Tuesday.