Tuesday’s Kentucky News – October 29

FLU CASES

2 cases of influenza reported in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — State officials say two cases of influenza have turned up in Kentucky.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health will report the results to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state agency says that's considered "sporadic," or the lowest level of flu activity.

The cases were from Henderson and Jefferson counties.

Flu vaccinations take a couple of weeks before a person develops immunity to the disease, so officials are encouraging people to get vaccinated as soon as their health provider has vaccine available. They recommend vaccinations for anyone older than 6 months.

Officials also advise washing your hands frequently, covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing, and staying home when you're sick.

TON OF DRUGS

Ton of unwanted drugs collected in eastern Ky.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — An anti-drug organization has collected a ton of unwanted prescription drugs using drop boxes.

Operation UNITE collected the medications in 34 counties last weekend as part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. The initiative provides people a way to dispose of prescription drugs in a safe and responsible way.

Operation UNITE President Dan Smoot said getting the medications out of medicine cabinets reduces the potential for abuse.

Kentucky has been dealing with widespread prescription abuse. The state has one of the highest prescription drug overdose rates in the nation.

Health officials discourage flushing medications down the toilet. Collecting pills helps to guard against potentially harmful effects from antibiotics, hormones, painkillers and other drugs getting into the water supply.

SMART PHONES-THEFT

Arrest made in massive smart phone heist

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky authorities have made an arrest in the theft of a trailer loaded with more than $12 million worth of smart phones.

The trailer filled with boxes of LG smart phones was found in Louisville after police say it was stolen in Gary, Ind.

Kentucky State Police said Monday that Juan Perez Gonzalez of Louisville was arrested on charges of receiving stolen property over $10,000, theft by unlawful taking over $1 million and leaving the scene of an accident. Online court records did not indicate whether he had a lawyer.

KSP spokesman Sgt. Rick Saint-Blancard says authorities are trying to determine if others were involved.

He says investigators also are trying to determine what the thieves planned to do with the phones.

The FBI is assisting local and state officials in the case.

JAILER INDICTED

Ky. jailer, employee indicted over skillet

(Information in the following story is from: The Ledger Independent, http://www.maysville-online.com )

MAYSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A grand jury has indicted a Kentucky jailer and a maintenance employee on charges of abuse of public trust and official misconduct.

The Ledger Independent reports the indictments handed down Friday against Mason County Jailer Gerald Curtis and employee Richard Lathem II charged the two with improperly disposing of an industrial skillet.

Sheriff Patrick Boggs said Judge-Executive James L. "Buddy" Gallenstein asked for the investigation after becoming aware that the skillet was missing from the jail and then learning that it had been scrapped.

Gallenstein said the skillet was purchased by the county and subject to certain surplus procedures.

Curtis, however, said the skillet was purchased with jail commissary funds and not subject to surplus procedures.

He told the newspaper the indictments were "political."

APPALACHIAN INITIATIVE

Beshear, Rogers announce Appalachian initiative

HAZARD, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky political leaders have rolled out another initiative intended to find ways to bolster the economy in Appalachia.

Gov. Steve Beshear and U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers held a joint press conference in Hazard on Monday to unveil the latest effort, which they dubbed SOAR, Shaping Our Appalachian Region.

Beshear said the economic woes of recent years have hurt Appalachia and intensified the hardships of families in the mountain region. He and Rogers have scheduled a summit of public and private sector leaders to find solutions to problems the region faces.

Beshear and Rogers cited the loss of thousands of coal jobs in eastern Kentucky as one of the reasons for calling the summit, which will be held on Dec. 9 at the Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center in Pikeville.