Grand jury meeting on Ky. school shooting

BENTON, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky grand jury is meeting to consider charging a teenager as an adult in a shooting that killed two classmates and wounded many more at Marshall County High School.

In closed proceedings, the grand jury will decide Tuesday whether to indict the 15-year-old boy on charges that would move the case out of juvenile court.

Kentucky State police say that if the teen is indicted, no information will be made public until he’s arraigned in Circuit Court, on a date set by a judge.

For now, the teenager faces preliminary counts of murder and 12 counts of assault, and has not been identified because of his age. Bailey Nicole Holt and Preston Ryan Cope, both 15, were killed and another 18 people were injured on Jan. 23.

County puts less information in public criminal court files

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Local prosecutors and defense attorneys in a Kentucky county are ending a longtime policy of including police reports, interviews and other evidence in a public criminal court file.

For decades, Jefferson County has been among few jurisdictions in Kentucky to go beyond the state law’s requirements by having a local policy instructing prosecutors and defense attorneys to file evidence not only with each other but also in the public case file, the Courier Journal reported . The policy change would not make evidence public unless a case goes to trial or otherwise ends, which could be years after the case is filed.

According to the amended rule approved by Kentucky Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. on Feb. 9, prosecutors and defense attorneys “shall not file discovery documents or exhibits with the court” unless either side requests it or if the judge in the case needs it.

County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Wine said Monday the change is over issues of witnesses’ safety, victims’ privacy and a defendant’s right to a fair trial and impartial jury.

The public will be able to get access to evidence with an open records request to the law enforcement agency that handled the case after prosecution has ended, Wine also said

School hopes to set Lincoln record on Valentine’s Day

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky school is hoping it has enough love for Abraham Lincoln on Valentine’s Day to break a world record.

A statement from Jefferson County Public Schools says students and teachers at Lincoln Elementary Performing Arts School plan to dress as the 16th president Wednesday in an attempt at breaking the record for the number of people dressed as Lincoln in one location. The number to beat, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is 250. The school is hoping to get all 567 students and staff members to participate.

Officials say all Lincolns will report to the school’s gym Wednesday morning to be counted, and administrators will submit the information to Guinness.

Woman tells police she’s ‘Mother Mary’ after chase

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (AP) — A woman who led police on a chase told arresting officers that she was Mother Mary en route to pick up Baby Jesus and had permission from God to speed.

WDRB-TV cites an arrest report saying a Kentucky trooper attempted to pull over 52-year-old Connie Allen, of Tennessee, on Saturday, but she ignored him. A high-speed chase ensued.

Another trooper was eventually able to pull in front of Allen, forcing her to stop. He approached her car with his weapon drawn, but she refused to get out and show her hands. The report says she became compliant when he hit her window with a police baton.

She also told police she had died five years ago.

She is charged with several offenses. It’s unclear whether she has a lawyer.

Boat ramp temporarily closed for maintenance

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky officials have announced the temporary closing of a boat ramp.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources says Snake Creek Boat Ramp on Green River Lake in Adair County will be closed through March 1 for extension and maintenance work.

The agency said in a news release that Green River Lake has nine other ramps available to launch boats. A list of public boat ramps is available online .