Kentucky News Now – December 8th 2015

BURGLARY-BOY KILLED

Kentucky boy killed during attack in his bedroom

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Authorities in Kentucky say an Indiana man was arrested in the death of a boy killed in a knife attack in his bedroom during a pre-dawn burglary.

An arrest citation by police in Versailles, Kentucky, says the suspect, Ronald Exantus of Indianapolis, entered the home early Monday and went to an upstairs bedroom where the victim was asleep.

Woodford County Deputy Coroner T.A. Rankin identified the boy as 6-year-old Logan Tipton.

Police say Exantus allegedly stabbed the boy multiple times in the head area with a large kitchen knife he found in the home.

The alleged attacker was detained by the boy's father until police arrived.

The citation said the 32-year-old Exantus is charged with murder and first-degree burglary. An arraignment was scheduled Monday.

KENTUCKY GOVERNOR-WIFE APPOINTMENT

Beshear appoints wife to unpaid post on Horse Park board

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has appointed his wife to an unpaid position on the Kentucky Horse Park Commission in one of his final acts as governor.

Beshear issued an executive order on Friday appointing Jane Beshear to the commission for a term that will expire on Jan. 1, 2019. Beshear finishes his second term as governor on Monday. Republican Gov.-elect Matt Bevin will be sworn-in on Tuesday.

Bevin spokeswoman Jessica Ditto called the appointment "self-serving " and an "embarrassment." Beshear spokesman Terry Sebastian noted Jane Beshear has served on the Horse Park Commission in the past, having been appointed by former Gov. Martha Layne Collins. Steve Beshear served as Collins' lieutenant governor.

Sebastian said Jane Beshear has been a champion of the horse park and the state's horse tourism industry.

OHIO RIVER BRIDGE

First cars begin crossing new Abraham Lincoln bridge

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A new bridge across the Ohio River between downtown Louisville and southern Indiana has opened to vehicles.

A news release from the Ohio River Bridges Project says the Abraham Lincoln Bridge opened to traffic Sunday evening, one day after pedestrians were allowed to walk along the span.

The bridge carries northbound Interstate 65 traffic across the Ohio River, while the adjacent Kennedy Bridge will eventually carry only southbound traffic. Two lanes of I-65 South traffic will move to the Lincoln bridge later this month while the Kennedy Bridge undergoes improvements.

A news release says substantial completion of the downtown project is scheduled for December 2016. Another bridge between the two states is under construction in eastern Jefferson County.

ENERGY EFFICIENT SCHOOLS

Kentucky has 300 school buildings with energy savings rating

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet says 300 school buildings in the state have achieved an energy efficiency rating.

The cabinet says Kentucky ranks second nationally in the percentage of schools with the Energy Star label.

A release from the cabinet says that has translated to about $68 million in energy savings statewide since 2010. The 300th school was Southside Elementary in Shelbyville.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star performance scale helps organizations assess how efficiently their buildings use energy relative to similar buildings nationwide. Southside Elementary School earned a score of 98 out of 100.

James Neihof, superintendent of Shelby County schools, says the district has an energy manager who implements daily energy efficiency measures.

WORKFORCE TRAINING GRANT

Kentucky gets $4.4 millin federal workforce training grant

The Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet says the state has received a $4.4 million federal grant to give education and workforce training to people with disabilities.

A statement said the grant, which will be paid over five years, will go to help people in the Louisville area and in eastern Kentucky get trained in the areas of information technology, manufacturing and health care.

Kentucky Office for the Blind Director Allison Flanagan says the grant will help those with disabilities to find a career and independence.

The statement says the grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and will be administered through the Kentucky Office for the Blind. Officials say they expect to educate and train about 1,900 people for in-demand jobs.

SAME SEX-ADOPTION

Same-sex adoption case challenges what it means to be parent

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky's Supreme Court is being asked to decide what it means to be a parent in today's ever-changing definition of family.

Two women — former same-sex partners identified in court only by their initials — are fighting over custody of a 9-year-old girl.

One woman had a baby with the help of a sperm donor in 2006, but the women's relationship ended in 2011. Now, the biological mother has cut off contact with the other woman and married a man. That man is trying to adopt the girl. The other woman wants to block the adoption, and she won a favorable family court ruling.

An appeals court reversed that ruling. The Kentucky Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case Thursday.

It's one of several such disputes across the country.

ELK RESTORATION

West Virginia elk restoration could begin in 2016

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Elk could begin returning to West Virginia next spring.

A new elk management plan released by the Division of Natural Resources calls for the agency to acquire and stock 150 elk in seven southwestern counties by 2019. The plan assumes that some elk will be available by the spring of 2016.

Natural Resources wildlife chief Paul Johansen told The Charleston Gazette-Mail that the agency hopes to obtain elk from Kentucky but no agreement has been reached.

Johansen says Kentucky's elk have adapted well to the Appalachian landscape. But he wouldn't rule out pursuing commitments from other states.

Under the plan, the elk would be contained in a management zone in Boone, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

West Virginia's last native elk was killed around 1875.

DAYMAR SETTLEMENT

Deadline for former Daymar students to file claim is Dec. 10

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Former Daymar College students who qualify for payments as part of a recent settlement have until Thursday to file a claim.

Attorney General Jack Conway's office said in a statement on Monday that only about 2,500 claims had been filed by Dec. 1 out of a pool of about 8,000 former students. He encouraged others to apply.

Conway's office reached a $12.4 million settlement with the career college stemming from a lawsuit accusing Daymar of violating Kentucky's Consumer Protection Act.

Daymar agreed to provide $1.2 million to be distributed among students who completed at least one term of study at a campus between July 2006 and July 2011.

In addition to providing the cash distributions, Daymar has agreed to forgo collection of $11 million that qualifying students owe to the college.