TVA report backs Trump-opposed closure of coal-fired unit

PARADISE, Ky. (AP) — A report by the Tennessee Valley Authority says it no longer makes sense to keep burning coal at its Paradise, Kentucky, power plant, despite calls by state and federal officials to keep it open.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that the TVA environmental assessment released Monday also recommends closing the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Oak Ridge by 2023.

It says both have high projected maintenance and environmental compliance costs and are a poor fit for TVA’s future power demands, which are better met by natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy. The TVA board will discuss the future of the plants on Thursday.

President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted in support of coal, and Gov. Matt Bevin says the closure would devastate Kentucky’s economy.

Ambulance service owner sentenced for health care fraud

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The owner of an eastern Kentucky ambulance service has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for submitting false bills for Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports U.S. District Judge Joseph M. Hood handed down the sentence on Monday for 44-year-old Hershel Jay Arrowood, who operated Arrow-Med Ambulance service out of Jackson.

Arrowood’s wife, Lesa Arrowood, helped with billing and was sentenced to 12 months of probation.

The Arrowoods and the company’s manager, Terry Herald, pleaded guilty last year to lying about patients’ medical conditions so they could transport them to treatments and have Medicaid or Medicare pay for it. Medicaid and Medicare will pay for ambulance runs, but only if they are medically necessary.

Terry Herald will be sentenced at a later date.

2 dead after police chase ends in gunfire

CRESTWOOD, Ky. (AP) — Authorities say a man and a woman are dead after a police chase in Kentucky ended in gunfire.

Kentucky State Police Trooper Steven Dykes told news outlets police were responding Monday to a call about a person in distress in a vehicle in Gallatin County. Dykes says officers spotted the vehicle on Interstate 71 in Henry County and tried to pull it over, but the driver fled into Oldham County. He said shots were fired as the vehicle left the interstate.

Dykes said he couldn’t go into detail about what happened immediately before shots were fired, but he confirmed “an officer was involved in this and gunfire was exchanged.”

It’s not clear who fired shots, but police say the man died at the scene and the woman died later at a hospital.

State park taking public input ahead of potential upgrades

CARLISLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky state parks officials are holding a public hearing to take input on possible upgrades at Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park.

The Feb. 25 public hearing is for a grant for campground improvements at the park in Nicholas County.

If funded, the selected upgraded campsites will include sewer, water and electric improvements.

The hearing will be at 6 p.m. EST at the park. The hearing is a step in the Kentucky Department of Parks Land and Water Conservation Fund grant process.

The hearing is open to anyone interested in making a comment on the proposed project. It will be held in the Arlington Room inside the lodge.