Police: Man stabbed in head during fight at Walmart

BUECHEL, Ky. (AP) — Police in Kentucky say a man has been stabbed in the head during a fight outside a Buechel Walmart, and authorities are still searching for the suspect.

Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley tells The Courier Journal that a fight started between two men outside the store Sunday afternoon and led to the stabbing. It’s unclear what caused the fight. The suspect fled the scene, and authorities were still searching for him as of that night.

West Buechel Police Chief Jim Sherrard says the man was conscious when police arrived at the scene. He lost consciousness on his way to the hospital, where he was in critical condition as of Sunday evening.

Buechel police then reached out to Louisville police, whose homicide unit is now investigating the attack.

Trial date set for teen charged in school shooting

BENTON, Ky. (AP) — A judge has set a trial date for a teenager accused of killing two classmates during a shooting at a Kentucky school.

News outlets report Marshall Circuit Court Judge James Jameson on Friday set June 1, 2020, as the trial date for Gabriel Parker, who recently turned 17. Online court records show lawyers will have an opportunity at a May 17 hearing to file motions asking that the trial be moved from Marshall County.

Parker was a sophomore when police say he killed students Preston Cope and Bailey Holt and injured more than a dozen others at Marshall County High School on Jan. 23, 2018. Parker has pleaded not guilty to murder and assault charges.

A prosecutor has indicated he’ll seek a sentence of life in prison.

Ky. sheriff arrested following injury crash

HARDINSBURG, Ky. (AP) — Authorities say a Kentucky sheriff has been arrested following a crash that injured a woman.

Kentucky State Police say Breckinridge County Sheriff Todd Pate was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after the two-vehicle crash Friday evening in Breckinridge County. Pate was lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center.

State police say Pate was driving his pickup truck when he struck a car. Police say Pate’s vehicle then hit a utility pole and came to a stop in a barbed wire fence. The driver of the car, Jill Lanning of Leitchfield, was taken to a hospital and later released.

A woman who answered the phone at the Breckinridge County sheriff’s office on Saturday declined comment other than to say that state police are investigating. She declined to give her name.

Crews installing signs designating Natcher Parkway as I-165

OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — Crews have begun installing signs that say Interstate 165 along the Natcher Parkway in western Kentucky.

The Messenger-Inquirer reports that means 72 miles of the four-lane highway between Owensboro and Bowling Green is now an interstate, even though upgrades are continuing. Crews started posting signs last week and officials say it will take about two weeks to finish.

The Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce has been pushing for the designation since December 2004. Chamber President Candance Brake says the interstate will “create boundless economic opportunities and tourism opportunities” for the area.

The organization has argued that out-of-state business and industry doesn’t understand how similar parkways are to interstates.

Work continues to bring two interchanges up to federal guidelines.

Ky.-Ill. bridge closed by flooding may soon reopen

WICKLIFFE, Ky. (AP) — An Ohio River bridge linking Kentucky and Illinois that has been closed since Feb. 22 due to flooding could reopen this week.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says engineers are hopeful the bridge may be reopened during the day Monday.

The bridge connects Wickliffe, Kentucky, and Cairo, Illinois. A detour is almost 90 miles although it is shorter for truckers and cross-country traffic if the route is changed before reaching the bridge. Approximately 4,700 vehicles cross the bridge daily.

The U.S. 51 Ohio River “Cairo” Bridge carries north-south traffic connecting, Kentucky, Illinois and Tennessee along the U.S. 51 corridor. The bridge also carries east-west traffic for U.S. 60 and U.S. 62 that connects Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri.

The bridge opened to traffic on Nov. 11, 1936.