MSU TO HOST FOUR COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES
Murray State University will host in-person Commencement ceremonies for both 2020 as well as May and August 2021 graduates tonight and tomorrow. Tonight at 7, the ceremony for Masters, Specialist, and Doctoral graduates will take place while three ceremonies will be held tomorrow at 8 am, 11 am, and 2 pm for undergraduates. Each Commencement ceremony will take place inside the CFSB Center and is in accordance with all health guidelines. Registration was required in order to participate. Graduates received four digital tickets for their guests, and all guests are required to have a ticket in order to enter the CFSB Center. Each ceremony will also be streamed live at murraystate.edu/streaming. Additional details are available at murraystate.edu/commencement.
NELSON PLEADS NOT GUILTY
A Wisconsin man who is charged with making threats against Murray High School was in Calloway County Circuit Court yesterday. Appearing virtually, 19-year old Kya Nelson waived arraignment and entered a not guilty plea. Nelson was arrested January 29 by the Racine County Sheriff’s Department after the execution of a search warrant at his home. The investigation began four days earlier, after police got a call about shots fired at Murray High School and then a bomb threat was received the next morning. The school was locked down but no threat was located. Nelson faces three counts of terroristic threatening. A status hearing was set for June 17.
FEMA ADDS CALLOWAY AND GRAVES COUNTIES TO ASSISTANCE LIST
Calloway County is among 16 additional Kentucky counties the Federal Emergency Management Agency has made eligible for public assistance after severe storms and flooding February 27 through March 14. The counties reached the qualifying threshold after the initial submission of the request for a Major Disaster Declaration and before the declaration was granted. Graves County was also one of the 16 counties made eligible for public assistance.
BESHEAR ANNOUNCES CAPACITY CHANGES
Yesterday, Governor Andy Beshear announced that on May 28, all events and businesses with 1,000 or fewer people present can increase to 75% capacity. In addition, indoor and outdoor events with more than 1,000 people can be held at 60% capacity. The Governor also clarified that small groups of individuals are no longer mandated to wear facial coverings indoors in private businesses or homes if all individuals present have received the final dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior. Restaurant owners are concerned about continuing capacity restrictions limiting business and leading to staffing shortages.
QUARLES WANTS MORE BESHEAR RESTRICTIONS LIFTED
In a statement after the Governor’s announcement, Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Dr. Ryan Quarles said that Governor Beshear continues to ignore the bipartisan consensus emerging across the nation where Governors from both parties have either set reopening dates for their states or have already fully reopened them. Quarles said that Governor Beshear should have already lifted restrictions, or should have set a full reopening date at the very least and that nothing less than a 100 percent, full reopening is acceptable.
CALLOWAY COVID UPDATE
The Calloway County Health Department reported 2 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the county case total during the pandemic to 3,483. Of that total, 3,422 have recovered, 12 are isolated at home, and none are hospitalized. There have been 49 COVID-19 related deaths in the county. As of yesterday, 26 percent of Calloway County residents have been fully vaccinated including 63% of those 65 and older. Calloway County’s COVID-19 positivity rate as of Thursday was 1.79%, which is higher than Wednesday’s rate of 1.58%. No school cases have been reported this week.
KENTUCKY COVID UPDATE
At Thursday’s COVID-19 update for Kentucky, 655 new cases and 5 new deaths were reported, raising the total to 6,548 Kentuckians who are listed as Covid deaths. As of Thursday, there have been over 6.3 million coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky with a positivity rate of 3.51%, which is higher than last Thursday’s rate of 3.12%. There are 408 Kentuckians hospitalized which is 14 less than last Thursday, including 113 in ICU, which is 16 more than one week ago. At least 51,741 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.
KENTUCKY VACCINATION UPDATE
The total number of Kentuckians vaccinated as of Thursday is 1,842,521 which is up over 5,000 from yesterday’s total. Approximately 658,000 additional Kentuckians need to get at least their first dose to meet the Team Kentucky Vaccination Challenge which Governor Andy Beshear said will trigger him to lift more restrictions. At the current weekly rate, that will not happen until sometime in mid-September. Additionally, the Governor has given no timetable or benchmark that will trigger lifting of his mask mandate.
BYRD RECEIVES WEBER AWARD
Murray State University’s Dr. Traci Byrd has received the 2021 Neil Weber Award for Excellence in the Jones College of Science, Engineering and Technology. Dr. Byrd is a professor in the department of Occupational Safety & Health. The Weber Award was established as a special tribute to former college dean Neil Weber after his retirement from Murray State. Recipients receive a $2,500 stipend for the next academic year to be used for research, conferences, travel, or other projects.
REPORT: NO CUTS FOR LBL
In an interview with WKDZ’s News Edge, Congressman James Comer said that no budget cuts are planned for programs at Land Between the Lakes and news of cuts was a miscommunication between the U.S. Forest Service and local government leaders. According to Comer, the federal employee didn’t realize that the Biden administration is reconstructing the budget and changing where salary information is placed. Comer said he was surprised when he saw news of budget cuts for Land Between the Lakes and immediately began investigating. Comer reiterated that there would not be any cuts and said he thinks it’s likely that LBL may see an increase instead.
NWS ADDS FOURTH TORNADO FROM TUESDAY EVENT
The National Weather Service office in Paducah determined that a fourth tornado occurred early Tuesday morning in western Kentucky. Meteorologists said that just before 4 am, an EF-1 tornado formed in a wooded area just off KY 58 near the Mayfield-Graves County Airport. The brief twister traveled just about a half mile, but generated 95-mile per hour winds and a damage path 100 yards wide. Other tornadoes were previously confirmed in Calloway, Fulton, and Hickman counties.
MSU STUDENTS SELECTED AS FULBRIGHT FINALISTS
A pair of Murray State University students have been selected as Fulbright program finalists, receiving the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award. The first finalist for the Fulbright program for this academic school year is Elena Hammann, who will complete her ETA service in Colombia. A senior from St. Louis, Hammann is majoring in engineering physics and Spanish with a minor in mathematics. The second finalist for the Fulbright program for this academic school year is Dylan Glunt who is a December 2020 graduate from Paducah. During his time at Paducah Tilghman, he took interest in foreign languages and went on to pursue a degree in Spanish along with a teaching certification while studying Portuguese as well. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the United States government. This program provides Murray State students with grants to study, teach and conduct research in more than 160 countries.
IN AND AROUND KENTUCKY
FRANKFORT—Kentucky has received a $21.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to boost efforts to help newly injured and ill employees remain at or return to work. The federal funding will enable RETAIN Kentucky to expand implementation statewide to serve over 3,000 employees, address enduring implications that COVID-19 will have on the physical and mental health of our workforce, expand a multisystems leadership team across health care, public health and employers that will advise on policies and practices that promote an inclusive, healthy Kentucky workforce, and develop pre-professional and continuing education training in Return-to-Work/Stay-at-Work strategies.
LEXINGTON—Lexington is banning conversion therapy. The Urban City Council voted unanimously yesterday to ban the practice for minors. One council member said it was a step in the right direction to protect LGBTQ youth. Louisville and Covington have also banned conversion therapy.
FRANKFORT—Kentucky’s Council on Postsecondary Education is giving one-point-five-million dollars to help high school and college students with their education. The funds will be distributed among 21 programs in amounts up to 100-thousand dollars. The money will benefit over 18-hundred students as they prepare for a successful college experience.
SCOTT COUNTY—A man who died in a Scott County kayaking accident is being identified. Officials say a couple was kayaking in the North Elkhorn Creek near the dam Wednesday night near Great Crossing Park when their kayaks tipped into the water. A woman was rescued, but 26-year-old Edwardo Ponce was submerged for several minutes before being pulled from the water. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Officials say the engaged couple was set to marry in July.
FRANKFORT—Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is creating a search warrant task force. Cameron said yesterday the task force will review how search warrants are executed and if any improvements should be made. An executive order filed by Cameron’s office cited both the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution and Section Ten of the Kentucky Constitution protecting citizens from unreasonable and unjustified search and seizures. It also says the death of Breonna Taylor in a Louisville police raid brought up questions over the way search warrants are secured.
TENNESSEE—There are 12-hundred new coronavirus cases in Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Health reported the new cases yesterday, bringing the total since the outbreak began to over 852-thousand. Nearly 20 additional COVID-19-related deaths were also reported, with the total number of coronavirus-attributed deaths standing at close to 12-thousand-250. About 800 coronavirus patients are hospitalized statewide.
TENNESSEE—Some of Tennessee’s religious leaders are criticizing the concluded 2021 legislative session. They’re calling some of the bills advanced following yesterday’s conclusion of the session “heartless.” They’ve specifically criticized bills banning transgender youths from girls sports, prohibiting teaching critical race theory in public schools, and cutting unemployment benefits. Republican Governor Bill Lee and conservative lawmakers are touting bills on education, infrastructure, public safety and criminal justice reform.
KNOXVILLE—Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs is reacting to Knoxville Mayor Indya [[ India ]] Kincannon’s decision to pull police out of Knox County Schools. Mayor Jacobs said yesterday that he believes a law enforcement presence inside schools “is an absolute necessity.” On Wednesday, Mayor Kincannon announced officers with the Knoxville Police Department will be removed from KCS next month. Jacobs thanked Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler after he said his deputies will remain in schools.
KNOX COUNTY—An East Tennessee sheriff is criticizing the decision to pull Knoxville Police Department officers out of Knox County Schools. In a statement yesterday, Anderson County Sheriff Russell Barker called the decision to remove law enforcement from any school “beyond comprehension.” Sheriff Barker said the safety of educators and students “should never be the scapegoat for the political posturing” that happened earlier this week. On Wednesday, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon and KPD Chief Eve Thomas announced Knoxville police will be pulled out of Knox County Schools next month.
ILLINOIS—lllinois is set to move to the bridge phase of the state’s COVID-19 reopening plan. Governor J.B. Pritzker says the state will enter the bridge phase on Friday. The move puts the state one step closer to the removal of all COVID-19 mitigations. Pritzker says the state could reach the Phase 5 full reopening of the state as soon as June 11th.
