WOMI Daystarter – July 19, 2013: Kentucky News Update, Day in History

NORTH ELKHORN STREAM

Input sought on report about stream impairments

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky environmental officials are seeking public comment on a draft report dealing with stream impairments in three stream segments in the North Elkhorn Creek watershed in central Kentucky.

The draft report addresses bacteria impairments in the North Elkhorn Creek watershed at levels that no longer support a swimming designated use.

The Energy and Environment Cabinet is seeking public comment until Monday on the report, prepared by the Kentucky Division of Water.

Revisions to the report may be made following the public comment period and before it is sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The North Elkhorn Creek watershed is in the Kentucky River Basin in Fayette County.

The Clean Water Act requires each state to periodically identify waters where designated uses aren't being met and water quality impairments exist.

HEALTH INNOVATIONS

Foundation invests $3M to reduce chronic disease

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky has selected seven organizations across the state for a long-term initiative that aims to reduce chronic disease among children as they grow into adults.

The five-year, $3 million effort will test innovative ways to achieve that. The foundation's president, Susan Zepeda, said the goal is help communities make positive changes in policies and services to help children grow into healthy adults.

The organizations receiving funding include the Clinton County School District, Fitness for Life Around Grant County; Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky's Perry County Wellness Coalition; Green River Area Development District's Partnership for a Healthy McLean County; Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities program in Ashland; Kentucky River Community Care in Breathitt County; and the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness.

GRIMES FUNDRAISING

Grimes' fundraising email causing consternation

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Some county clerks have complained about a fundraising request they received this week from Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky's chief election official who is running for U.S. Senate against Republican Mitch McConnell.

The email went to people who had signed up to receive email notices from Grimes' Senate campaign — and apparently some who had not.

Oldham County Clerk Julie Barr, a Republican, said she was surprised to receive the solicitation. Barr, president of the Kentucky County Clerks Association, said she considered it inappropriate because Grimes has oversight of county clerks on elections.

Grimes political adviser Jonathan Hurst said the email was intended only for people who had requested campaign updates. He suggested that political opponents might have signed up people unaware.

AIRPORT POWER OUTAGE

Power outage doesn't halt flights in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Some folks at Lexington's Blue Grass Airport may have gotten a little hot under the collar — and hot generally.

A Kentucky Utilities spokeswoman told WKYT-TV in Lexington that a car struck a transformer on the airport grounds at about 10 a.m. EDT Thursday and knocked out the power.

The outage didn't disrupt flights, even though the main terminal went dark. Airport officials say a backup generator kicked in within minutes and kept power running to airline ticketing counters and TSA checkpoints.

Air conditioning was knocked out during the current heat wave, making the temperature inside warm.

Airport officials say us runway lighting and tower operations kept going as normal and there were no flight delays due to the outage.

The power was restored around 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

STOLEN VEHICLE-GIRL

Girl found safe

FORT WRIGHT, Ky. (AP) — A 4-year-old northern Kentucky girl went for an unexpected ride after her mother's sport utility vehicle was stolen with her in it from outside a convenience store.

The Kentucky Enquirer reported that the girl and the SUV were reporting missing for about a half hour from a Speedway in Fort Wright.

Both the girl and vehicle were found in the parking lot of a Kroger in Fort Mitchell at around 2 a.m. EDT Thursday. The girl was uninjured.

Police arrested two 17-year-olds from Covington and charged them with felony theft and kidnapping.

Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders says it is unlikely the girl's mother will be charged.

Fort Wright Police Sgt. Michael Knight said the girl slept through the ordeal and was reunited with her the parents.

CLINIC DOCTOR KILLED

Ky man pleads guilty to killing clinic doctor

HAZARD, Ky. (AP) — An eastern Kentucky man has pleaded guilty to killing a doctor in his office in 2009 because the physician refused to give him drugs.

WLEX-TV in Lexington reported that John Combs entered the plea Thursday in Perry Circuit Court.

Police say that in December 2009, John Combs walked into the Leatherwood-Blackey Medical Center with a revolver and shot and killed Dr. Dennis Sandlin. Police say Combs went to Sandlin's clinic and became belligerent and threatening when the doctor asked him to take a urine test before being prescribed pain killers.

Prosecutors are recommending that Combs receive 40 years in prison for the murder.

Combs told the judge Thursday that he had suffered a nervous breakdown and had high anxiety problems.

Sentencing is set for October 10.

KENTUCKY CONGRESS

Palumbo to run for Congress in 6th District

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Another Democrat has announced a run for Congress in Kentucky's 6th District.

Lexington businessman Joe Palumbo, head of a lumber and building supply company, released a statement Thursday saying he wants to fight partisan gridlock that is holding the country and central Kentucky back.

Already, Lexington businesswoman and education advocate Elisabeth Jensen has said she intends to run and has hired political consultants in preparation for a race. A third Democrat, Lexington attorney Michael Coblenz, also has said he intends to run.

The winner would likely face Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr who defeated former Democrat U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler last year to win the congressional seat representing Lexington and a large swath of central and eastern Kentucky.

Today in History

Today is Friday, July 19, the 200th day of 2013. There are 165 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 19, 1943, Allied air forces raided Rome during World War II, the same day Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met in Feltre in northern Italy.

On this date:

In 1553, King Henry VIII's daughter Mary was proclaimed Queen of England after pretender Lady Jane Grey was deposed.

In 1812, during the War of 1812, the First Battle of Sackets Harbor in Lake Ontario resulted in an American victory as U.S. naval forces repelled a British attack.

In 1848, a ground-breaking women's rights convention convened in Seneca Falls, N.Y.

In 1870, the Franco-Prussian war began.

In 1903, the first Tour de France was won by Maurice Garin.

In 1952, the Summer Olympics opened in Helsinki, Finland.

In 1961, TWA became the first airline to begin showing regularly scheduled in-flight movies as it presented "By Love Possessed" to first-class passengers on a flight from New York to Los Angeles.

In 1979, the Nicaraguan capital of Managua fell to Sandinista guerrillas, two days after President Anastasio Somoza fled the country.

In 1980, the Moscow Summer Olympics began, minus dozens of nations that were boycotting the games because of the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.

In 1989, 111 people were killed when a United Air Lines DC-10 crashed while making an emergency landing at Sioux City, Iowa; 185 other people survived.

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush joined former presidents Ronald Reagan, Gerald R. Ford and Richard M. Nixon at ceremonies dedicating the Nixon Library and Birthplace (since redesignated the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum) in Yorba Linda, Calif.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced a policy allowing homosexuals to serve in the military under a compromise dubbed "don't ask, don't tell." Clinton fired FBI Director William Sessions, citing "serious questions" about Sessions' conduct and leadership.

Ten years ago: A chartered aircraft carrying three families to a game reserve plowed into Mount Kenya, killing all 12 American tourists and the two South African pilots on board.

Five years ago: Democrat Barack Obama visited U.S. troops and met with officials in Afghanistan as part of a congressional fact-finding tour. The Indiana Fever defeated the New York Liberty 71-55 in the WNBA's first outdoor game, played at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

One year ago: A calm-looking Syrian President Bashar Assad made his first appearance on state TV a day after a bomb killed some of his top lieutenants. Russia and China again vetoed a Western-backed U.N. resolution aimed at pressuring Assad's government to end the escalating civil war in Syria. Omar Suleiman, 76, Egypt's former spy chief, deposed President Hosni Mubarak's top lieutenant and keeper of secrets who ran for president earlier in the year, died in Cleveland, Ohio. Sylvia Woods, 86, founder of the famed soul food restaurant in New York's Harlem neighborhood that carries her name, died in Mount Vernon, N.Y.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Helen Gallagher is 87. Country singer Sue Thompson is 87. Country singer George Hamilton IV is 76. Singer Vikki Carr is 73. Country singer-musician Commander Cody is 69. Actor George Dzundza is 68. Rock singer-musician Alan Gorrie (Average White Band) is 67. Tennis player Ilie Nastase is 67. Rock musician Brian May is 66. Rock musician Bernie Leadon is 66. Actress Beverly Archer is 65. Movie director Abel Ferrara is 62. Actor Peter Barton is 57. Rock musician Kevin Haskins (Love and Rockets; Bauhaus) is 53. Movie director Atom Egoyan is 53. Actor Campbell Scott is 52. Actor Anthony Edwards is 51. Country singer Kelly Shiver is 50. Actress Clea Lewis is 48. Percusssionist Evelyn Glennie is 48. Country musician Jeremy Patterson is 43. Classical singer Urs Buhler (Il Divo) is 42. Actor Andrew Kavovit is 42. Rock musician Jason McGerr (Death Cab for Cutie) is 39. Actor Benedict Cumberbatch is 37. Actor Jared Padalecki is 31. Actor Steven Anthony Lawrence is 23.

Thought for Today: "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious...the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science." — Albert Einstein (1879-1955).