HUMAN REMAINS FOUND IN LAKE BARKLEY
Detectives with Kentucky State Police, Post 1 are investigating the discovery of human remains that were located early Sunday morning in Trigg County. At around 3:40 a.m., Post 1 dispatch received a call from Stewart County, Tennessee requesting assistance regarding the possible discovery of human remains. Initial investigation shows the remains were located in the waters of Lake Barkley north of the US 68/80 Barkley Lake Bridge. Anybody who has details should contact Kentucky State Police at 270-856-3721.
CITY OF MURRAY GETS RECYCLING GRANT
The City of Murray has received $16,000 in recycling grant funding. Paducah as well as Marshall, Ballard and Trigg counties also received grants. The grants for Murray and Paducah will be used for household hazardous waste grants. The awards are part of nearly $4.8 million in grants for 75 projects to expand recycling, reduce the amount of solid waste going into landfills, and improve the environmental management of household hazardous waste. Funding for the grants comes from the Kentucky Pride Fund, which is generated by a $1.75 fee for each ton of municipal solid waste disposed of in Kentucky landfills.
CALLOWAY UNEMPLOYMENT IS 4%
Unemployment rates fell in all 120 Kentucky counties between May 2020 and May 2021, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics. Oldham County recorded the lowest jobless rate in the commonwealth at 2.8%. Magoffin County recorded the state’s highest unemployment rate at 10.2%. The Purchase Area jobless rate is 4% with Carlisle County’s 3.3% rate the lowest and Fulton County’s 4.9% rate the highest. Calloway County’s May rate was 4%.
CALLOWAY/KENTUCKY COVID UPDATE
The Calloway County Health Department reported 1 new case of COVID-19 Friday. Currently, 7 cases are isolated at home, and none are hospitalized. The county positivity rate as of Sunday was 0% which was down from Thursday’s 2.2% rate. At yesterday’s COVID-19 update for Kentucky, 218 new cases and 4 new deaths were reported. The state’s current positivity rate is 1.79%, which is lower than last Sunday’s rate of 2.01%. There are 196 Kentuckians hospitalized which is 6 less than last Sunday, including 54 in ICU, which is 7 less than one week ago.
ONE KILLED IN I-24 ACCIDENT
A four-year-old girl was killed and eleven people were taken to local hospitals after a multi-vehicle pileup on I-24 in Sunday morning. Paducah Police said eight passenger vehicles and a tractor-trailer truck were involved in the crash near Exit 3 in McCracken County in the area where traffic is forced to merge to a single lane to get on the Ohio River bridge to Illinois. The crash site was closed for almost 8 hours until late Sunday afternoon.
SEARCH UNDERWAY FOR CARJACKERS
At approximately 9:30 Saturday night, a man driving on US Hwy 45 South near Wingo was flagged down by two white males walking on the roadway. As the victim stopped, one of the suspects threatened the driver with a handgun and stole the victims car. The two suspects fled in the victim’s vehicle southbound on US 45 towards the area of Wingo. One suspect has a thin build, mid 20s with a red t-shirt and wearing a skull mask. The other suspect was mid 30’s, medium build and wearing camo shorts with a white t-shirt. The victim was forced at gunpoint to lay in the ditch but was not injured. The vehicle was recovered, but the suspects remain at large.
MPD CAUTIONS ON PRIVATE FIREWORKS
With the 4th of July approaching, the Murray Police Department reminds everyone of the state laws and city ordinances regarding fireworks. No aerial fireworks can be ignited by any individual under the age of 18 and cannot be set off within 200 feet of any structure, vehicle, or person. When using any type of ground or hand-held sparklers, any person under 18 must be supervised by an adult and not ignited within 50 feet of any structure or vehicle. Also, the use of fireworks or other explosives that are unreasonably loud, raucous, jarring, disturbing, or a nuisance to someone of reasonable sensitivities within the area of audibility, is unlawful. Police remind you the reason for these laws is for your safety and the safety of those around you.
MSU OFFERING RACER NATION ORIENTATION
Murray State University is offering two dates, July 8 and August 5, for its Racer Nation Orientation program. Formerly known as Summer Orientation, Racer Nation Orientation is the required new student program for incoming freshmen and transfer students, and is available both in-person and in a virtual format if desired. Murray State recently concluded several successful orientation dates throughout the month of June. Incoming students and their families should visit murraystate.edu/orientation to register.
KDA EXTENDS SPECIALTY CROP GRANT DEADLINE
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is extending the deadline for new concept proposals for the second round of the specialty crop block grant program. The new deadline for preliminary proposals is July 9. The second round of the specialty crop block grant program is made possible through new COVID-19 funding provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program is a federal grant program aimed at supporting specialty crops in agriculture. Qualifying applicants will be notified and invited to complete a full grant application.
IN AND AROUND KENTUCKY
FRANKFORT—Several new laws are going into effect in Kentucky tomorrow. A Senate bill gives the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council at EKU greater leeway when making decisions about officers’ licenses. A House bill that expands early voting and offers ballot drop boxes will make some changes made to Kentucky elections during the pandemic permanent. Another House bill expands school choice options and provides help with education expenses. That bill is facing a challenge in court.
ROWAN COUNTY—One person is dead after a boat crash on Cave Run Lake. Officials say 43-year-old Joseph Reed was operating a jet ski that collided with a boat Saturday night in the Shallow Flats area off the Zilpo shoreline. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. One person on the boat was injured, but their condition hasn’t been released. The Kentucky Division of Fish and Wildlife is investigating the crash.
HENDERSON—Racing is underway at Ellis Park for the season. Eight big races were run on yesterday’s opening day. Fans have returned to the grandstands for the first time in two years, with all COVID-19 restrictions lifted. Racing resumes Thursday and will continue through Labor Day.
HENDERSON COUNTY—The search is back underway for an Owensboro man who went missing in the Ohio River. Officials say 24-year-old Kue Gay was fishing near the Newburgh Locks early Saturday morning when he lost control of a net and went into the river. A witness was not able to save Gay. The search was called off Saturday after hazardous water conditions caused equipment failure, but the search resumed yesterday.
LEXINGTON—Lexington’s Police Activities League is working to stop an increase in violence in the city. Officers and volunteers are working with children between the ages of seven and 17, teaching swimming lessons, coaching sports, and mentoring them. The organization is hosting a sports camp starting next Tuesday with Calvary Baptist Church in Douglass Park that will include activities, devotions, conversations, and lessons for children.
UNDATED—A new study is naming Kentucky as the country’s kindest state. The first-of-its-kind research was commissioned by Verizon in conjunction with Kindness-dot-org, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching and inspiring people to choose kindness. Research director Dr. Oliver Scott Curry says the study revealed that America has a “surprisingly high capacity for kindness.” Rounding out the top five were New Mexico, Oklahoma, Georgia, and North Dakota.
FORT CAMPBELL—Fort Campbell is upgrading its security. The army post is installing a new access system at its gates. The bar-code system technology will increase background check capabilities and better detect fake identification cards. It’s expected to go live today.
TENNESSEE—The search for a missing East Tennessee girl is being scaled back. The Incident Commander leading the search for five-year-old Summer Wells says more specialized teams will be used. Wells was first reported missing on Tuesday evening, June 15th. Since then, over 120 agencies from six states and over eleven-hundred searches have spent nearly 14-thousand hours looking for Wells in the area near her Rogersville home.
TENNESSEE—The TBI is looking for a potential witness in the case of a missing East Tennessee girl. The TBI says a Toyota pickup truck was seen near the Rogersville home of Summer Wells on either Monday, June 14th or Tuesday, June 15th, the day the five-year-old disappeared. The pickup is described as possibly a 1998-to-2000 maroon or red Toyota Tacoma with a full bed ladder rack along with white buckets in the truck bed. The driver has not been identified.
TENNESSEE—The TBI is investigating an officer-involved shooting in Clarksville. Clarksville police were responding to a loud disturbance early yesterday morning when they heard shots fired with one person being wounded. Clarksville police confronted someone with a gun and shots were fired. The first victim, as well as the person shot by police were taken to the hospital. No officers were injured.
ILLINOIS—State health officials are watching the emerging COVID-19 Delta variant, even as over 70-percent of those eligible in Illinois have received at least one dose of the vaccine. State officials say they are monitoring all variants and still encourage everyone eligible to be vaccinated. The Delta variant is considered to be two to three times more contagious than other variants.
