Kentucky News Now – May 27th 2014

POOL DEATH

Boy who was pulled from Louisville pool has died

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A 9-year-old boy who was pulled from the bottom of swimming pool in an upscale Louisville neighborhood has died.

The Courier Journal reports that Louisville Metro Police said the child died Sunday at Kosair Children's Hospital.

Police have identified the victim as Dominique Kemp Jr. of Louisville.

Rescue workers were called to the home in the Crescent Hill area about 3 p.m. on Saturday. The incident reportedly occurred at the home belonging to St. Xavier High School football coach Will Wolford, a former NFL player.

Wolford released an email statement through a representative that said his family is devastated by the tragedy and his thoughts and prayers are with the boy's family.

Wolford's family representative did not return phone calls seeking further comment.

BOURBON HISTORY TOUR

Bourbon history comes alive in Louisville cemetery

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A new bourbon history tour in Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery is giving whisky aficionados and historians some new ways to think about American's native spirit.

The Courier-Journal reports the new tour is the first of its kind, and it's designed to capitalize off the region's whisky history and the boom in bourbon sales.

Among a dozen stops on the tour is the grave of Julian Proctor Van Winkle, better known as Pappy. Pappy Van Winkle bourbon is so coveted that it is said that billionaires can't even get their hands on it.

The hayride tour weaved through some of the biggest name in bourbon lore and offered a combination of fact and folklore.

Prohibition was a common theme because it nearly destroyed Kentucky's legal whiskey trade.

FREE LUNCHES

All students in Lewis County to get free meals

VANCEBURG, Ky. (AP) — Beginning in August, all students in the Lewis County School District will be eligible for free breakfast and lunch.

Food Nutrition Director Mike Eddington told The Ledger-Independent that the program has been in talks for years, but could not be implemented until the upcoming school year. Eddington said that at least 40 percent of the students in each of the schools qualified for a free lunch.

He said the federal government will reimburse the district just as it always has, but the students will not have to pay. All adults will continue to pay for their meals. Students, however, will have to purchase extra items or a la cart offerings.

MEMORIAL DAY

Obama, just returned from Afghanistan, lays wreath at Tomb of Unknown Soldier to mark holiday

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama led the nation in commemorating Memorial Day, declaring the United States has reached "a pivotal moment" in Afghanistan with the end of war approaching.

Obama, after a surprise weekend visit with U.S. troops at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, paid tribute to those who died in past conflicts. He called them "patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice" for their country.

"Early this morning, I returned from Afghanistan," Obama told the audience of several thousand people. "Our troops are coming home. By the end of this year, our war in Afghanistan will finally come to end," the president said to applause.

The president made a fleeting reference to the widening scandal involving reports of poor performance by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is facing allegations of delayed treatments, and even deaths in Arizona.

The Arlington remembrance was duplicated in villages, towns, cities and counties across the country.

INDYCAR-IN THE PITS

Ryan Hunter-Reay hopes Indianapolis 500 victory helps him fill IndyCar's American void

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ryan Hunter-Reay was deeply disappointed when his 2012 championship was overshadowed by IndyCar politics. His breakthrough moment was largely ignored by the league as it fought with yet another CEO.

It was a lost opportunity for a series starving for an American star, a role Hunter-Reay has desperately wanted to fill. He would knock on doors, shake hands and kiss babies if IndyCar asked, but no one ever did.

Now he's an Indianapolis 500 winner, just the sixth American driver in 20 years to claim that title. When Tony George created IndyCar in 1996, he said it was a series that would give American drivers a chance to succeed. But Hunter-Reay is just the fourth American to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since George launched his league, and he's the first since 2006.

So maybe this win, the biggest by far of his career, will be the boost Hunter-Reay needs to raise his profile and that of the series he loves.

"I'm real. I'm genuine. There's not a whole lot theatrics about me," Hunter-Reay said Monday, a day after he nipped Helio Castroneves at the line to win Indy.

BELMONT-CALIFORNIA CHROME

New shooter in Belmont mix to take on Chrome

NEW YORK (AP) — California Chrome has galloped again in preparations for the Belmont Stakes, while a new contender trained by Todd Pletcher has emerged for the last leg of the Triple Crown.

The colt ran two miles Monday, with assistant trainer Alan Sherman saying the Triple Crown hopeful is training well for the one and a half mile race June 7. No horse has swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont since 1978.

California Chrome is to have his lone official workout next weekend.

Pletcher says Matterhorn could run the Belmont. The colt was fourth in the Peter Pan on May 10 and was recently sold to new ownership. Pletcher already has a Belmont starter in Commissioner, runner-up in the Peter Pan.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott says Matuszak is under consideration for the Belmont. The colt has just one win and is coming off a second-place finish in the Federico Tesio in Maryland.