Former Kentucky basketball star pleads guilty to DUI charge

LONDON, Ky. (AP) — A former University of Kentucky basketball player and state agriculture commissioner has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence.

News outlets reported Tuesday that Richie Farmer has been sentenced to 30 days in jail. WKYT-TV reports the sentence was discharged pending Farmer doesn’t receive any charges or violations for two years.

Farmer was pulled over in March for driving erratically. Court records say Farmer had slurred speech and glassy, bloodshot eyes at the time. Farmer’s license was suspended on the day of his arrest when he posted bail. It was suspended until his guilty plea May 2. Farmer was also sentenced to pay fines and court costs.

Farmer was previously convicted of misappropriating public resources as commissioner. He was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison.

State police lay wreath at fallen trooper’s grave

LONDON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police have honored a trooper who was fatally shot more than 42 years ago.

State police said in a news release Wednesday that personnel in Wayne County have placed a wreath at the grave of Trooper John Wayne Hutchinson at Elk Springs Cemetery.

Hutchinson was 29 when he was killed on June 4, 1975, while making an arrest of a drunk driver in McCreary County.

Hutchinson was assigned to Post 11 in London and had served with the Kentucky State Police for two years. Kentucky Route 90 in Wayne County has been designated as the Trooper John W. Hutchinson Memorial Highway.

Wildlife officials looking for large feline in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Fish and Wildlife officials are on the lookout for a large feline spotted in an odd place — the suburbs of Louisville.

They are telling residents to be vigilant after receiving two credible but unconfirmed sightings of a mountain lion or large feline in the Anchorage area.

A release from the state says two Louisville Metro animal control officers reported seeing what they thought to be a mountain lion or an unusually large cat.

A resident standing took a distant photo of the animal, and biologists concluded that the animal pictured in the photo is significantly smaller than a mountain lion but larger than a typical housecat.

State officials are continuing to monitor the area and have set up trail cameras to identify the animal.

6th food worker with hepatitis A in Ky. county

ASHLAND, Ky. (AP) — Health officials say a sixth food worker in a northern Kentucky county has been diagnosed with hepatitis A.

Media outlets report that the Ashland-Boyd County Health Department said an employee who handled food at RJ Kahuna’s restaurant on U.S. Highway 60 in Ashland was diagnosed with the disease Tuesday.

Officials say the restaurant’s employees will be required to get a vaccine before returning to work. The restaurant will remain voluntarily closed to allow for workers to develop immunity.

The Kentucky Department of Public Health is recommending vaccinations for residents of Jefferson, Bullitt, Hardin, Greenup, Carter, and Boyd counties.

Officials say six food workers have been diagnosed with hepatitis A in Boyd County.

Army identifies soldier who died in Kentucky Lake accident

LAKE CITY, Ky. (AP) — The Army has identified a soldier who died in a Kentucky boating accident.

Pfc. Juwan Richardson of Gordon, Alabama, went missing Friday at Kentucky Lake in Golden Pond. His body was found Monday.

Richardson was with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, at Fort Campbell. He was a petroleum supply specialist.

He joined the Army in 2016 and arrived at Fort Campbell last year.

Richardson’s battalion commander, Lt. Col. Matthew Adamczyk, said Richardson’s positive attitude and work ethic will be missed.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.