POOL’S OUT FOR SUMMER
According to the Murray Ledger and Times, the swimming pool at Central Park in Murray will not open for the summer. According to Park officials, they do not have the money required to bring the facilities up to modern standards. Parks Director Ryan Yates told the paper that he has received close to 20 voice messages from people asking about the pool or swim lessons, so he posted on the park system’s Facebook page last Friday that the pool would not be opening this year due to a lack of funding. An analysis of the pool in the summer of 2019 led to a park board vote to close the pool for the foreseeable future.
MSU PARTNERS WITH QA COMMONS
Murray State University has announced an expanded partnership with The Quality Assurance Commons for Higher and Postsecondary Education, the first of its kind to certify programs in every academic college and school within an institution. The new certification process will involve seven of the University’s academic programs to evaluate how well the University is preparing graduates to be ready for lifelong employability. The pandemic has further accelerated the shift to lifelong learning and the need for institutions to demonstrate relevance. Each academic program has a lead faculty member who works with QA Commons throughout the certification process. Best practices shown by these programs will be shared across the University to broaden impact.
WU PLACES 9TH IN THE STATE AT MATHCOUNTS EVENT
The Calloway County Middle School MathCOUNTS team had three students compete at the recent virtual state tournament. Amber Wu, Aubrey Naber, and Connor Pile qualified for the tournament after scoring high enough at both the chapter tournament and the chapter invitational tournament. At the conclusion of the state competition, Amber Wu finished in ninth place and narrowly missed an invitation to play on Team Kentucky at the national level. Wu finishes a successful MathCOUNTS season receiving a $3,000 annual scholarship to the University of Kentucky, a $1,000 annual scholarship to Western Kentucky University, and a $550 scholarship from the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers. The Laker MathCOUNTS team is coached by Dan Thompson and Scott Pile.
MHS HISTORY TEAMS WIN MURRAY STATE EVENTS
The Murray High American History team and the World History team claimed first place in the 2021 History Day Competition, hosted by the Murray State University History Department. Chase Renick placed second in individual competition for American History and Amanda Peiffer placed third. Garrett Herndon placed first in the World History individual competition and Mary Browder Howell placed third. The American History team is coached by Lisa Polivick and the World History team is coached by Wesley Bolin.
CCHD REPORTS 4 NEW CASES OVER 3-DAY STRETCH
The Calloway County Health Department reported 4 new cases of COVID-19 from Saturday through Monday, bringing the county case total during the pandemic to 3,435. Of that total, 3,371 have recovered, 15 are isolated at home, and none are hospitalized. There have been 49 covid-related deaths in the county. Murray State University announced 2 faculty and staff cases and 1 student case for the period of April 5-11. Calloway County’s COVID-19 Incidence Rate per 100,000 on Monday was 3.3%, which was the same as Sunday’s rate. There are only six red zone counties for COVID-19 cases in the state.
INCREASES REPORTED IN STATE POSITIVITY RATE, HOSPITALIZATIONS AND ICU
At Monday’s COVID-19 update for Kentucky, 270 new cases and 7 new deaths were reported, raising the total to 6,257 Kentuckians who are listed as covid deaths. As of Monday, there have been over 5.18 million coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky with a positivity rate of 3.16%, which is higher than last Monday’s rate of 2.9%. There are 380 Kentuckians hospitalized which is 27 more than last Monday, including 104 in ICU, which is 7 more than one week ago. At least 50,427 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.
WINGO MAN FACING DRUG CHARGES
Mayfield Police officers arrived Sunday at a business on West Broadway after a report of a possibly intoxicated driver. Police found 22-year-old Collin Nance of Wingo inside the store. During the investigation, Nance gave consent for officers to search his vehicle. Nance was charged with possession of opiates and possession of marijuana. He was lodged in the Graves County Jail.
VACCINE APPOINTMENT AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
The Murray Regional Vaccination Clinic is scheduling online appointments for administration of Moderna COVID-19 first doses at the Murray Regional Vaccination Site located at the CFSB Center. This week’s clinic will be held from 11:45 am to 6 pm on Thursday, and from 8 am until 2:15 pm on Friday. Appointments 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.
GAS PROCES LOWER
Gas prices in West Central Kentucky are four cents lower this week at $2.67 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. After a wild March, Americans are seeing some stability at the pump. This is thanks in part to a small decrease in demand, cheaper crude prices, and an increase in refinery utilization. Today’s national average of $2.86 per gallon is one cent cheaper on the week, but 3 cents more expensive on the month and a dollar higher a gallon than last year at this time. 40 states’ averages either increased or decreased by a penny or had no change at all this week.
IN AND AROUND KENTUCKY
FRANKFORT—On Monday, Governor Andy Beshear announced the Team Kentucky Vaccination Challenge: When 2.5 million Kentuckians have received at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the Governor said he will remove most capacity restrictions. The Governor said he will lift capacity restrictions and physical distancing requirements for nearly all venues, events, and businesses that cater to 1,000 or fewer patrons and will end the curfew for bars and restaurants. What the Governor will not do is end his mask mandate for the state. Even if the vaccination goal is met, the Governor said masking would remain in effect and mass gatherings would still be limited until COVID-19 variants are under control and more Kentucky children are able to be vaccinated. The Governor gave no timetable as to when he thought that may happen. Nearly one-point-six-million Kentuckians have been vaccinated so far.
UNDATED—Former state Representative Charles Booker says he’s considering another U.S. Senate run. Booker announced yesterday that he’s forming an exploratory committee for a campaign against Republican incumbent Rand Paul. Booker surged late in last year’s Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate against Lieutenant Colonel Amy McGrath. He lost by about 15-thousand votes, citing a lack of funds that led him to enter the race late. McGrath later lost to incumbent Mitch McConnell.
LEXINGTON—Appalachian Regional Healthcare is welcoming a new President and CEO. The ARH Board of Trustees announced yesterday that Hollie Harris Phillips will be the health system’s new leader. Phillips is currently the Vice President for Corporate Strategy and Chief Strategy Officer at ARH. She is the first woman in the health system’s history to become President and CEO. Phillips began at ARH 19 years ago as the director of planning.
HENDERSON—Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman is spreading the message about Governor Andy Beshear’s vaccination goal. Beshear announced yesterday that once two-point-five-million Kentuckians are vaccinated, he will begin to lift restrictions. Coleman was in western Kentucky yesterday touring vaccination clinics. She began her visit at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital before making a stop in Paducah and ending her tour at T and T Drugs in Henderson. Coleman says the main purpose of her trip was to thank healthcare workers for their hard work during the pandemic.
FRANKFORT—There are three COVID-19 variants in Kentucky. Governor Andy Beshear said yesterday there are 150 cases of the United Kingdom variant in Kentucky. Governor Beshear also said one case of the Brazilian variant has been detected in the state, as well as a variant that was first found in California. The variants are said to be more transmissible.
HARDIN COUNTY—Students in Oldham County Schools and Hardin County Schools are back to in-person learning five days a week. Hardin County Schools did away with its hybrid-learning model yesterday. High school and middle school students in Oldham County Schools also returned to full-time, in-person learning yesterday. The district’s elementary students have been in-person five days a week since the start of the school year.
TENNESSEE—A bishop in the Diocese of Knoxville is demanding “positive solutions” to gun violence. Bishop Richard Stika made the comment after a student was shot and killed by a police officer and an officer was wounded at a Knox County high school yesterday. Police responded to Austin-East Magnet High School on a report of an armed male. Bishop Stika said a series of tragic events involving the Austin-East community and throughout the country show that violence remains a serious problem.
TENNESSEE—Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville will be closed today and tomorrow following a deadly police-involved shooting. Knox County Schools also said classes won’t be held virtually today or tomorrow. Officers responding to a call about an armed male on campus found the student in the bathroom. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says the student shot an officer in the leg before he was shot and killed.
TENNESSEE—Governor Bill Lee is calling the deadly police-involved shooting of a high school student “very difficult and tragic.” Governor Lee made the comment yesterday afternoon ahead of a press conference on education funding and as the story broke. The Tennessee Department of Education later tweeted that it’s ready to support Knox County’s Austin-East Magnet High School. A student was killed and a police officer was wounded at the school.
TENNESSEE—State and federal officials are working to assess millions of dollars in damage caused by storms. Last month’s storms are believed to have caused nearly 24-million dollars in damage. As much as nine inches of rain fell over 24 hours on March 27th and 28th. TEMA and FEMA are verifying emergency response costs and losses in 16 counties.
TENNESSEE—Travel out of Nashville International Airport is returning to pre-COVID-19 levels. Over 20-thousand people traveled out of the airport on Sunday. BNA officials say that’s the busiest travel day since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. The number of people traveling through the airport is only expected to grow after BNA announced more than 30 new routes last year.
TENNESSEE–-There are 640 new coronavirus cases in Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Health reported the new cases yesterday, bringing the total since the outbreak began to over 824-thousand-900. A few additional COVID-19-related deaths were also reported, with the total number of coronavirus-attributed deaths statewide standing just over 12-thousand. More than 800 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized statewide.
ILLINOIS–-Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis is joining state Republicans in calling for the formation of an independent redistricting commission. Davis said yesterday that the process needs to be open and transparent. Both U.S. and Illinois constitutions require district maps to be redrawn every ten years using the newest census data. Illinois’ constitution says the process must be completed in the year following the latest census.
