Kentucky News Now – May 20th 2014

KENTUCKY-PRIMARY ELECTION

Kentucky voters head to polls in primary election headlined by McConnell's Senate contest

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky voters are heading to the polls for a primary election headlined by a hotly contested U.S. Senate race.

But voters Tuesday will also choose nominees for state legislative races, with all 100 seats in the Kentucky House and half of the state Senate’s 38 seats on the ballot this year. Congressional and state appellate court seats are also in play, as well as races involving local judges, council members, clerks and others.

The secretary of state said last week about 30 percent of registered voters are expected to cast ballots.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time. Anyone in line by 6 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

Sunshine with highs in the lower to mid-80s was in the forecast for much of the state.

KENTUCKY-SENATE

GOP SEnate primary lacking Election Day drama

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Republicans will choose between Mitch McConnell and Matt Bevin on Tuesday in a Senate primary that recent polls indicate failed to live up to its pre-election buzz.

Bevin spent $3.3 million in his bid to oust McConnell and was aided by millions more from outside Tea Party groups that sought to topple the Senate Republican leader. But McConnell spent more than $9 million emphasizing his conservative credentials and high profile endorsements from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Rifle Association.

Recent polls show Bevin trailing McConnell by as much as 32 percentage points heading into election day.

The winner of Tuesday's GOP primary will face likely Democratic nominee Alison Lundergan Grimes. The Kentucky secretary of state has minimal opposition in her primary on Tuesday.

KENTUCKY-LEGISLATURE

Several incumbent lawmakers face challenges

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Voters heading to the polls in Tuesday's primary election will set the lineup of candidates who will determine in November which party controls the Kentucky House.

Democrats have seen their historic hold on the House dwindle to a 54-46 advantage, and Republicans are making a strong push to consolidate control of the Legislature. The GOP has a firm hold on the Senate. A handful of House incumbents from both parties are facing challengers in Tuesday's primary.

One Democrat facing a tough fight is Rep. Keith Hall, who heads the House Tourism Development and Energy Committee.

The Phelps lawmaker is being challenged by Chris Harris, an attorney and Pike County Fiscal Court member.

A hard-fought Senate race pits Republican incumbent Sara Beth Gregory against challenger Max Wise in a southern Kentucky district.

WILDLIFE INVESTIGATION

Ethics Commission settles 5 wildlife cases

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Executive Branch Ethics Commission has settled cases with five officials of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

The Courier-Journal says the five admitted to ethics violations Monday. In March, former Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Jonathan Gassett settled nine violations, including directing state workers to do personal chores for him on state time. He was reprimanded and fined $7,500.

In the cases settled Monday, four involved violations including having employees deliver fish from a state hatchery to private ponds. The four are Benjamin T. Kinman, former deputy commissioner; Mark Roberts, game management foreman; Gerald Buynak, assistant director of fisheries; and Steve Marple, manager of the Pfeiffer Fish Hatchery.

In the fifth case, Ronald C. Brooks, director of fisheries, was accused of directing an employee to acquire a a controlled chemical for Gassett's personal use.

IMMIGRANT TAX FRAUD

Guatemalan sentenced for illegal tax refund scheme

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a Guatemalan man who once lived in Kentucky has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for his role in a fraudulent tax refund conspiracy that stole almost $650,000.

U.S. Attorney David Rivera announced in Nashville on Monday that 37-year-old Juan Castro-Castro, who formerly lived in Shelbyville, Kentucky, received the prison sentence after pleading guilty to conspiring with others to bring fraudulently acquired tax refunds to that Tennessee city.

Authorities say testimony at the sentencing showed that Castro-Castro and others used false names to submit more than 100 fraudulent tax returns in Kentucky that claimed refunds were owed. The refund checks were mailed by the IRS to one of four Kentucky addresses.

Authorities say an accomplice in Nashville cashed the refund checks several times each week.

Prosecutors say Castro-Castro is in the country illegally.

FATAL HOME INVASION

4 arrested in fatal home invasion

SCALF, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police have arrested four people in a fatal home invasion in southeastern Kentucky and say more arrests are pending.

Police say Donald Mills was fatally shot on May 9 after two men falsely claiming to be police officers forced their way into his Knox County home. Police say Mills was shot when he began struggling with one of the men.

Media outlets report that two people, 30-year-old Elijah Messer and 39-year-old Angela Mills, were arrested Saturday and charged with murder. On Friday, officers charged 36-year-old Patrick B. Baker and 36-year-old Christopher Bradley Wagner with murder.

All of the suspects are being held at the Knox County Detention Center, where online records don't indicate whether they have attorneys.

Police say that they don't think Mills' home was randomly targeted.

TROOPER MEMORIAL

Memorial being held for trooper slain in 1988

COLUMBIA, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky State Police trooper slain nearly 26 years ago will be remembered at a service in Campbellsville this week.

Thirty-four-year-old Trooper Johnny M. Edrington was shot and killed Dec. 21, 1988, during a traffic stop near London in Laurel County. No arrest was ever made.

Edrington was assigned to Post 11 in London and had been with state police for three years. He was survived by his wife, who was expecting the couple's first child when he was killed.

The memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. EDT Friday at the Brookside Cemetery in Campbellsville, where Edrington was buried.

U.S. 68 in Taylor County was named the Trooper Johnny M. Edrington Memorial Highway.

LAW ENFORCEMENT GRANTS

Law enforcement grants awarded to 27 agencies

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — More than $120,000 in grants has been awarded to 27 law enforcement agencies in Kentucky to buy body armor vests and other equipment.

The Law Enforcement Protection Program grants are administered by the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security and announced by Gov. Steve Beshear.

The agency uses funds from sales of confiscated weapons, in conjunction with the Kentucky State Police, which conducts periodic auctions to federally licensed firearms dealers.

Homeland Security prioritizes need and provides available funds for the acquisition of body armor, duty weapons, ammunition and Tasers.

TARC SUMMER PASS

Louisville bus line offering pass for youths

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville's public bus line is offering a summer-long pass for young people.

TARC's summer youth pass is selling for $30 and allows for unlimited travel on the bus lines through the end of August.

Youths ages 6 to 19 are eligible for the pass.

TARC Executive Director J. Barry Barker says young people can gain self-confidence and become more self-reliant by using public transportation.

The pass will be on sale online at http://www.ridetarc.org and is also on sale at Louisville's Union Station, the Nai Center, Fifth Third banks and the downtown library.