SOTOMAYOR CASE SENT TO GRAND JURY
The case of an Almo man accused in last month’s death of a Murray State University student from Farmville, Virginia has been sent to a grand jury. On Wednesday, District Judge Randall Hutchens found enough probable cause to send the case of 22-year old Julius Sotomayor to Circuit Court. Sotomayor is accused of murder, theft by unlawful taking, and tampering with physical evidence in the death of 21-year old Sarah Townsend who was a senior at Murray State University. An autopsy confirmed that Townsend died from multiple gunshot wounds but the murder weapon has not been located. Sotomayor allegedly said he discarded a gun into a river. He is lodged in the Calloway County Jail on a $1 million bond.
ONE INJURED IN TWO-CAR ACCIDENT
At approximately 9 Wednesday morning, Calloway County Sheriff’s Department Deputies responded to the intersection of Irvin Cobb Road and Rockwood Road for a report of a two vehicle injury collision. Upon arrival, they located two damaged vehicles in the roadway. According to deputies, 77-year old Barbara Sachse of Murray was northbound on Irvin Cobb Road and Tanner Rickard was eastbound on Rockwood Road attempting to cross Irvin Cobb. Rickard failed to yield the right of way causing Sachse to strike his van. Sachse was transported by ambulance to Murray-Calloway County Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
MURRAY CITY COUNCIL MEETS TONIGHT
The Murray City Council will meet tonight in regular session. On the agenda will be reports from Erin Carrico with the Convention and Visitors Bureau and Cemetery Committee Chair, Linda Cherry. The Council will also vote on a resolution authorizing the City of Murray to apply for the Community Development Block-CV Grant 2021 for utility assistance. The Council will also consider second reading of an ordinance amending the annual budget by restating certain revenues and expenditures for the City of Murray Operations Budget. This meeting will be via WebEx and will be streamed on the government access channels of Murray Electric Cable and Spectrum, a YouTube link at murrayky.gov, and a link on the City’s Facebook page.
APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE FOR NEXT REGIONAL VACCINE EVENT
The Murray Regional Vaccination Clinic is scheduling online appointments for administration of Moderna COVID-19 first doses at the CFSB Center from 11:45 am to 6 pm on April 15, and from 8 am until 2:15 pm on April 16. Appointments are currently available for those 18 years of age and older. Please visit MurrayKYvaccine.org to schedule an appointment and make sure you select April 15 or 16 to see available appointments. If you, or a loved one, are homebound or lack internet access, please contact the Calloway County Health Department at 270-753-3381.
CCHD REPORTS 4 NEW CASES
The Calloway County Health Department reported 4 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the county case total during the pandemic to 3,427. Of that total, 3,361 have recovered, 14 are isolated at home, and none are hospitalized. There have been 49 covid-related deaths in the county. Also yesterday, Murray Calloway County Hospital announced the positivity rate on tests performed at the hospital was 2.3%. The number may include those from other counties who tested at the hospital. Calloway County’s COVID-19 Incidence Rate per 100,000 on Wednesday was 3.6%, which was lower than Tuesday’s rate of 4.8%. There are only seven red zone counties for COVID-19 cases in the state.
STATE POSITIVITY RATE FALLS
At Wednesday’s COVID-19 update for Kentucky, 1,028 new cases and 10 new deaths were reported, raising the total to 6,198 Kentuckians who are listed as covid deaths. As of Wednesday, there have been over 5.1 million coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky with a positivity rate of 2.87%, which is lower than last Wednesday’s rate of 2.96%. There are 383 Kentuckians hospitalized which is 30 less than last Wednesday, including 112 in ICU, which is 2 more than one week ago. At least 50,122 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.
DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CONVENTIONS SET FOR SATURDAY
Calloway County Democratic Precinct Conventions will be held at 10 am Saturday. Virtual Conventions will take place at a Statewide Online Zoom Meeting. Nominations for precinct delegates continue through April 12. To nominate yourself or someone else in your specific precinct, please visit kydemocrats.org/2021-reorg or call 833-468-6835. Each Precinct will elect one male, one female, and one youth 35 years of age or younger to vote for members to the County Executive Committee and Congressional District Conventions. Any Democrat registered in your precinct by today can attend, nominate, and run for election to the Precinct Committee.
BESHEAR ASKS BIDEN FOR DISASTER DECLARATION
Gov. Andy Beshear submitted a request to President Joe Biden yesterday asking that a Major Disaster Declaration be issued for some of the worst flooding in Kentucky history, after unprecedented rainfall led to flash flooding, mudslides and landslides across the commonwealth. From February 26 to March 1, Kentucky experienced more than seven inches of rain in four Southcentral and Southeastern Kentucky counties. Flooding occurred on the Green, Kentucky, Licking, Ohio, Red, and Mississippi rivers. More than 44 counties, including Calloway, have reported more than 1,200 instances of damage to infrastructure, debris removal and emergency measures totaling over $49 million. Residents with questions or additional reports of flood damage should contact their local county emergency management agency.
IN AND AROUND KENTUCKY
FRANKFORT–-A Franklin Circuit Court judge say Governor Andy Beshear’s COVID-19 orders are still legal, despite the passage of a recent House bill. One of the orders deemed legal is the statewide mask mandate. Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled yesterday that the House measure falls under the same injunction as a trio of similar bills until final judgment is rendered. The judge noted that lawmakers can ask for specific orders to be lifted if they believe they are unsupported or unwarranted.
FRANKFORT—Governor Andy Beshear is requesting a Major Disaster Declaration from the federal government after recent flooding in Kentucky. Beshear says the flooding damaged about two-thousand homes and destroyed needed infrastructure. The declaration would provide individual and public assistance needed to help people and communities rebuild. FEMA has assessed and validated damage to more than two-thousand impacted homes in the counties of Breathitt, Clay, Estill, Floyd, Johnson, Lee, Magoffin, Martin, and Powell.
MADISONVILLE—Madisonville is the latest stop for Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell in a discussion tour of Kentucky vaccination sites. The Kentucky Republican was in Madisonville yesterday to discuss the commonwealth’s vaccine distribution efforts and recently passed COVID-19 relief bills. McConnell has visited over 30 healthcare facilities since last May to thank frontline healthcare workers and to discuss the impact of the CARES Act in Kentucky.
LEXINGTON—Renowned Kentucky horse farm owner Alice Headley Chandler has died. She owned Mill Ridge Farm, a leading breeding and sales operation. She is also a racing Hall of Famer. Keeneland released a statement mourning Chandler’s passing, calling her an exceptional horsewoman who was respected by horsemen internationally. Chandler leaves behind husband Dr. John Chandler, sons Headley Bell, Mike Bell, and Reynolds Bell and daughter Patricia “Tish” Bell.
OWENSBORO—Owensboro is set to receive 12-million dollars from the American Rescue Plan. Mayor Tom Watson announce the allotment yesterday. Watson says officials are waiting to hear how the money can be spent, and that leaders will take time to review spending plans. He believes the money will arrive in October before a vote is possibly taken by leaders on how the money gets spent.
LOUISVILLE—Volunteers for the state’s largest mass vaccination site at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville are being trained. Volunteers from AmeriCorp, as well as students from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, and National Guard members started training yesterday. Officials say it will take a minimum of 100 volunteers a day to keep the site’s 28 lanes moving. The site will be able to administer four-thousand vaccines a day when it officially opens on Monday.
LEXINGTON—High school seniors who recently received an acceptance letter to the University of Kentucky’s College of Health Sciences program should check with the school. UK sent 500-thousand acceptance emails to the selective program that usually accepts 35-to-40 students a year. The acceptance emails were sent to seniors on March 15th. Some of the students say they never even applied to the school.
LEXINGTON—Some people aren’t satisfied with an investigative report that says a law enforcement training video that included a Nazi symbol was lifted from YouTube. The Lexington Herald-Leader says the report from the inspector general found that the trainer didn’t intend to include the black sun symbol and didn’t know what it meant. The symbol was seen in a clip from a YouTube video that was part of a Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training class. Jewish community leaders say they want to know how the state is going to prevent something similar from happening again.
TENNESSEE—There are nearly 15-hundred new coronavirus cases in Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Health reported 1,497 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, bringing the total since the outbreak began to over 819,500. Nearly ten additional COVID-19-related deaths were reported, with the total number of coronavirus-attributed deaths statewide standing at close to 12-thousand. There are over 12,800 active cases across Tennessee.
TENNESSEE—Today’s the day Jeni’s Ice Cream is launching a new limited-time flavor made specially for Dolly Parton. Strawberry Pretzel Pie is expected to launch at noon Eastern Time on the company’s website and will benefit Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Under ten-thousand pints have been made for the launch and are expected to sell out quickly. The flavor will also be available by the scoop at Jeni’s Scoop Shops across the country.
TENNESSEE—Sevier County native Dolly Parton is receiving another honor. Movieguide’s Movies That Inspire awarded Parton its Grace Prize during its virtual broadcast on The REELZ Channel on Sunday. The award show is run by the organization that provides movie reviews for Christians. Parton won the Grace Prize for Most Inspiring Performance for her role in Dolly Parton’s Christmas On The Square.”
TENNESSEE—A former West Tennessee volunteer firefighter is being held in the Weakley County Jail without bond on accusations of arson. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says former Dresden firefighter Codie Austin Clark is charged with setting a fire at New Salem Presbyterian Church. The fire was started on Easter Sunday. Clark was arrested last night on a charge of arson of a place of worship.
TENNESSEE—FedEx is honoring a supervisor who got his overnight crew to safety during last year’s tornadoes. Jamie Raymond stopped dozens of employees who were sorting thousands of packages, guiding them to a small break room minutes before the tornado hit the FedEx Ground facility in Mt. Juliet. The tornado ripped a hole in the roof and damaged several trailers in the yard closing the facility for six months. Raymond will receive the FedEx Humanitarian Award tonight for going above and beyond the call of duty.
ILLINOIS—The Illinois Senate is moving forward with two managed care reform bills. The first bill would offer better access to health care for nursing home residents. The other bill could help lower prescription drug costs covered by medicaid MCOs. The proposal would require all medicaid MCOs to reimburse pharmacy providers for dispensing fees between eight and ten dollars. Both measures moved from the Managed Care Organizations Subcommittee to the Senate Health Committee for final approval.
