Kentucky News – Weekly Kickoff
House explosion kills 1, injures 4 others
PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) — Authorities are investigating an explosion inside a home in Calloway County that killed one person and injured four others.
According to The Paducah Sun, the explosion was reported at 7:11 p.m. on Saturday near the Coldwater community.
Investigators say a recently installed gas heater may have been the cause of the blast.
The name of the person killed, as well as the names of those injured, has not been released.
Officials believe the people injured were related.
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Information from: The Paducah Sun, http://www.paducahsun.com
BRIDGE SAFETY-KENTUCKY
100-plus Ky. bridges deteriorating, could collapse
UNDATED (AP) — Federal records show that more than 100 bridges in Kentucky have advanced deterioration and are at risk of collapsing. The head of the state's transportation agency blames the situation largely on more and heavier traffic than existed when the bridges were built.
The Associated Press analyzed data involving 607,380 U.S. bridges in the National Bridge Inventory. They are subject to National Bridge Inspection Standards.
According to the most recently available federal government data, on a national basis, 65,605 bridges fall into the category of "structurally deficient." More than 20,800 are considered "fracture critical."
Some 7,795 fall into both categories. Experts call that combination particularly problematic.
In Kentucky, the latest federal inventory shows 145 bridges in that red-flag situation. But state officials say 16 of those spans are no longer in both categories.
VIDEO VOTE
Boone County commissioner to vote from Kuwait
BURLINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A recently passed resolution will allow a Boone County commissioner to vote on agenda items from Kuwait.
According to The Kentucky Enquirer, the resolution passed by the Boone County Fiscal Court last week amends the meeting calendar to include three special video teleconference meeting dates.
That means commissioner Charlie Kenner will be able to vote and count toward a quorum at fiscal court meetings while deployed in Kuwait. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.
Kenner, a dentist and a member of the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps, began a 90-day deployment in August.
The resolution identifies the Boone County Administration Building as the primary video teleconference site and Kenner's base, the 48th CSH-Camp Arifjan, 810 Dental Co, APO Kuwait, as the secondary location.
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Information from: The Kentucky Enquirer, http://www.nky.com
DRIVEN MUSICIAN
Young bluegrass musician is self-driven
OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — According to best-selling business author Bernard Marr, a common trait of successful people is a "ferocious drive and hunger for success."
Eleven-year-old Annabelle Watts seems to have that quality.
When she was 7 years old, she found her mother's violin in the basement of their home and told her parents she wanted to learn to play it.
Shortly after, Annabelle began taking fiddle lessons from Randy Lanham, the educational director for the International Bluegrass Music Museum and a founding member of the Lanham Brothers Jamboree at Diamond Lake Resort.
The College View Middle School student recently won first place in the fiddle competition in her age group at the Indiana State Fair.
Annabelle also plays the banjo, guitar and mandolin, and clogs and sings.
CHILD PROTECTION
Report finds increasing effort to protect children
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A new report that found increasing efforts to protect Kentucky children from abuse is drawing cautious praise from child advocates.
According to the report released this month by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, child welfare workers confirmed almost 15 percent more cases of neglect and abuse last year than in the previous one.
Kentucky Youth Advocates Direct Terry Brooks told The Court-Journal that the report shows child welfare officials are "serious" about trying to make improvements in the system.
Preliminary figures show nine children died and 27 nearly died in the fiscal year that ended June 30, which is a decrease from the previous year.
Federal statistics show that in recent years, Kentucky has ranked among the worst in the nation for deaths associated with child abuse.
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Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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