Soldiers return to Fort Campbell following deployment

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Fort Campbell says more than 200 soldiers are returning to the Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee line over the next two weeks.

A statement from the post says the soldiers are returning from a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan. Two ceremonies are planned to welcome them back, one on Thursday and one next week.

The soldiers are assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). During their deployment, they helped in several areas including support of the Afghan National Defense Security Forces and synchronizing U.S. counterterrorism operations.

Judge: Bevin must disclose screenshots of blocked accounts

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Kentucky’s governor to turn over screenshots of social media accounts he has blocked.

Two Kentucky residents with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union have sued Bevin, arguing he violated their First Amendment rights by blocking them on social media.

Monday, Federal Magistrate Edward B. Atkins granted the ACLU’s request for Bevin to turn over screenshots of blocked users’ comments. He also ordered Bevin to disclose text and email messages about his social media policy and a list of keywords he uses to hide comments on Facebook. He denied the ACLU’s request to have Bevin testify.

Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove denied the ACLU’s request for a preliminary injunction, ruling they were not likely to win the case.

NTSB: Pilot error caused crash that killed Troy Gentry

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pilot error following engine maintenance problems caused the helicopter crash that killed Montgomery Gentry singer Troy Gentry and the pilot at a small airport where he was to perform that night, federal investigators said.

The pilot cut the engine too soon as he tried an emergency landing, leading to an uncontrolled descent, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a final report. Instead of reaching the runway at the Flying W Airport in Medford, New Jersey, the helicopter crashed in woods nearby.

Gentry, 50, who was half of the award-winning country music duo Montgomery Gentry, was taking a pleasure and orientation flight before the concert at the airport’s resort. The other half of the duo, Eddie Montgomery, and other band members were at the airport at the time.

Several minutes after takeoff, pilot James Evan Robinson told experts on the ground that he couldn’t control the engine. They suggested a shallow, run-on landing, but he instead said he planned to cut the engine and try to glide in, a maneuver he said he had done before, the report said.

The experts stressed the need to wait until he was over the runway to turn off the engine, but investigators found he instead did so a quarter- to half-mile out. The NTSB said the maintenance crew’s failure to rig the throttle control assembly before the flight contributed to the crash.

Gentry was born in Lexington, Kentucky, where he met Montgomery.

Montgomery Gentry had success on the country charts and country radio in the 2000s, scoring No. 1 hits that included “Roll With Me” and “Back When I Knew It All.” Some of their songs even cracked the Top 40 pop charts.

The band mixed country music with Southern rock. It was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2009. It released its debut album, “Tattoos & Scars,” in 1999.

Police: 8-year-old boy dies in house fire

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police say an 8-year-old boy has died in a house fire near Prestonsburg.

WYMT-TV reports police say Payton Hylton died in the Monday fire that left his father with minor burns. Floyd County Schools Superintendent Danny Adkins says the boy was a second-grader at an area school. He says grief counselors will be made available for teachers and students.

The burned home is near Highway 80 and U.S. Route 23, which was shut down for several hours that night. It’s unclear what caused the fire. State police are investigating.

Light bulb plant that employs 260 workers to close

VERSAILLES, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky plant that manufactures light bulbs will close next year.

News outlets report Ledvance said in a statement that its Versailles Glass & Lamp manufacturing facility, which employs 260 workers, will close by September 2019. The company’s statement says the move is due to decreasing demands for traditional light bulbs that are made at the facility.

The company says it will work with affected employees during the closing process.

Ledvance says its Midwest Distribution Center and its Research & Development Lab, which are both in Versailles, won’t be impacted.

Federal officer faces charges after being shot by trooper

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana State Police say a federal law enforcement officer shot by a state trooper over the weekend faces an aggravated assault charge when he gets out of the hospital.

Meanwhile, a lawyer for the officer tells New Orleans news outlets that he pulled his gun because he was being followed by a group of juveniles early Sunday.

Elizabeth Carpenter says her client, 44-year-old Ronald Martin of Fort Knox, Kentucky, never heard a warning before being shot, and didn’t realize he was shot by a trooper until investigators came to the hospital.

A state police news release says the uniformed trooper repeatedly identified himself as a law officer and fired only after Martin, a civilian agent with the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command, pointed the gun at him.