News Around the State
Published 3:47 pm Friday, January 4, 2019
Son of slain man accused of setting fire to suspect’s home
BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The son of a slain Kentucky man is accused of setting fire to the home of the man suspected of killing his father.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports 36-year-old Daniel Edwards was arrested Wednesday along with 32-year-old Travis Marcum. They were charged with arson. State police say the two broke into the home of 71-year-old Glenn Powell, stole two cars and other things and set the home ablaze.
Powell is jailed on a murder charge in the September shooting death of Glenn Edwards. Police say Powell shot Glenn Edwards in the back after his truck got stuck in a ditch trying to leave Powell’s driveway. It’s unclear why Glenn Edwards was on Powell’s driveway.
A psychiatric evaluation has been ordered for Powell. It’s unclear if the men have lawyers.
Proposed high-tech greenhouse relocating to Rowan farm
PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An official says a high-tech greenhouse that had been planned in Pikeville two years ago will instead be built on a farm near Morehead.
AppHarvest founder and CEO Jonathan Webb told the Lexington Herald-Leader this week that the greenhouse proposed in Rowan County would be 60 acres and employ 285 workers, more than double what had been planned in Pikeville. He says the company is in the process of acquiring a 350-acre parcel for the project.
Plans for the greenhouse were originally announced in February 2017, but the project never came to fruition and Pikeville officials eventually rescinded the company’s option to lease land in its industrial park.
AppHarvest has said its glass-and-steel greenhouse will grow fresh vegetables year-round for consumption in the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest.
State police raffling Corvette to support free summer camp
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police are raffling a Corvette to raise money for a free summer camp.
Trooper Island Camp offers a chance for boys and girls ages 10 to 12 to spend time at Dale Hollow Lake in Clinton County. The camp is operated by state police and is financed entirely by donations. The program benefits children whose families cannot afford to send them to other camps.
Each year, about 700 children attend the camp. It offers recreation, guidance and activities designed to build good citizenship and positive relationships with law enforcement officers.
Raffle tickets for a chance to win the 2019 Corvette Stingray Coupe can be purchased for $10 each at any state police post or online . The winning ticket will be drawn Aug. 25 at the Kentucky State Fair.
Soldier held in connection to woman who died at Army post
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — A U.S. Army soldier has been taken into custody in connection to the death of a woman at the Fort Campbell post on the Kentucky-Tennessee border.
Maj. Martin Meiners told The Leaf-Chronicle on Thursday that charges are pending against the soldier. Authorities didn’t immediately release the identities of those involved or describe the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death.
Meiners says the woman was a civilian and died Dec. 18 in an “incident” at the post. He says the death is under investigation by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and that more details will be released when and if charges are filed.
Ky. seeking conservation officers
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is seeking to fill dozens of conservation officer positions.
State officials say in a release that positions are available in 37 counties. The notice went out in December, but the deadline to send in an application for many of the jobs is Jan. 9.
Preferred applicants would be candidates with peace officer professional standards training and two years of law enforcement experience.
Selected applicants will undergo 12 weeks of training in the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Academy before being placed with a field-training officer for 16 weeks of hands-on training.
To apply, go online to personnel.ky.gov and click “Find a Job.” Applicants must be 21 years old and possess a valid driver’s license.
New executive editor named at Knoxville News Sentinel
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A new executive editor has been named at the Knoxville News Sentinel.
The newspaper reports Joel Christopher, who is currently executive editor of the Courier Journal in Louisville, Kentucky, will take the helm of the Knoxville News Sentinel in East Tennessee on Feb. 4.
He follows Jack McElroy, who is retiring on Feb. 1 after 17 years as top editor in Knoxville.
During the announcement Friday in Knoxville, Christopher described his role as a liaison between the newsroom and the community. He said he would be accessible to highlight what residents care about and how the newsroom can address the problems in communities.
During his two years at the Courier Journal, Christopher rebuilt a team to do investigative reporting and reemphasized breaking news on the digital front.