Thursday 28th March 2024

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

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Kandi Dawson (Photo courtesy of Sherry Purdom, MISD)

DAWSON CLAIMS TEACHER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Kandi Dawson has been named one of 24 recipients of the 2022 Valvoline Teacher Achievement Awards. Dawson is a third grade teacher at Murray Elementary School and a 29-year veteran educator with the Murray Independent School District. All 24 teachers will be honored during a virtual event on September 9 when the Kentucky Elementary, Middle, and High School Teachers of the Year will be announced. From this group of three finalists, the Kentucky Teacher of the Year will be named, and represent the Commonwealth in the National Teacher of the Year competition.

THREE INJURED IN TWO CAR ACCIDENT
Calloway County Sheriff’s Deputies responded Sunday afternoon to the intersection of Highway 641 and Radio Road. Deputies arrived to find two vehicles with severe damage. Preliminary investigation has indicated that 27-year old Tiffany Martin of Almo was driving northbound on Highway 641 and a 17 year old male from Murray was attempting to turn onto the highway from Radio Road. For reasons related to driver inattention, the juvenile failed to yield right of way to Martin’s vehicle, resulting in the collision. Both drivers, as well as a juvenile in Martin’s vehicle, were transported by ambulance to Murray-Calloway County Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

CRUISE SHIP REMAINS STRANDED
Salvage plans are underway as more than 30 crew members remain on board a cruise ship stuck near Cadiz on Lake Barkley. Some of those are new crew members who have been brought in since the American Jazz got stuck on a sandbar in Lake Barkley last Wednesday. American Cruise Lines says the crew is needed to take the ship to its next destination once it’s freed from the sandbar. Some members of the crew that was originally headed to Nashville from Memphis left the ship on Sunday.

THE MURRAY BANK EARNS 5-STAR RATING
The Murray Bank has again earned a coveted 5-star Superior rating from Bauer Financial, an independent bank research and rating firm. This is the 73rd consecutive quarter that they have received the highest ranking, which signifies that The Murray Bank is one of the strongest banks in the nation. Bauer Financial reviews banks on a quarterly basis using the raw data that banks file with financial regulators.

GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES GRANT FOR RECOVERY CENTER
Governor Andy Beshear announced Friday a $200,000 award to help the CenterPoint Recovery Center for Men address the continuing need for substance use disorder residential treatment in McCracken County. The funding comes from the Community Development Block Grant CARES Act program. CenterPoint is managed by Four Rivers Behavioral Health, which provides services to clients in Calloway, Marshall, Graves, and six other west Kentucky counties.

GAS PRICES LOWER THIS WEEK
Gas prices in West Central Kentucky are one cent lower this week at $2.88 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. Peak summer driving season is in full swing as Americans hit the road to explore and gas prices are not backing down. Motorists are paying, on average, nearly a dollar more a gallon than last summer to fill up and close to 40 cents more than in 2019.

MSU NAMES KEIFFER AS NEW NLS PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Murray State University’s Nonprofit Leadership Studies program has announced the appointment of Dr. Elise Kieffer as the new program director. In addition to her role as program director, Kieffer will serve as assistant professor in the Department of Organizational Communication and Leadership.

IN AND AROUND KENTUCKY
LOUISVILLE—U.S. Senator Rand Paul is asking the NSA to do an internal investigation into alleged spying on Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Paul sent a letter Friday to General Paul Nakasone urging the investigation after Carlson claimed on his show that the NSA read his private emails and leaked them to other journalists. Paul said in his letter that Carlson should be afforded the freedom of the press he is entitled to under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The NSA denied Carlson’s allegations last month.

RICHMOND—The destruction of rockets containing a nerve agent is underway in Richmond. Workers destroyed the first M55 rockets containing VX nerve agent Friday at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant. Trained operators are observing as automated equipment disassembles nearly 18-thousand rockets and drains the chemical agent. The plant is located at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond.

FRANKFORT—Families of COVID-19 victims in Kentucky are being urged to pick up a flag from the memorial at the Kentucky State Capitol. The temporary memorial containing an American flag for each Kentucky COVID-19 victim is being taken down Thursday. Those wanting to claim a flag are encouraged to call constituent services at the Capitol.

POWELL COUNTY—Police in Powell County are search for a suspect in a hit-and-run crash. Stanton Police say the crash happened Friday morning when two cars collided on East College Avenue in front of the S and J Food Mart. Witnesses say the driver of what might be a Hyundai Sonata took off from the scene without waiting for police. Police say the vehicle may be silver or light gold and would have heavy front-end damage. Witness believe the driver was a woman.

CORBIN—Corbin city officials are giving the greenlight to funding for a musical about the life of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Harland Sanders. Officials approved a 50-thousand-dollar budget for the production of the KFC Finger Lickin’ Musical. Playwright Bo List approached the city with the idea 15 years ago and has only now gotten funding to move forward. Tourism officials say the musical will be a big hit for the city and will create job opportunities in the theater community.

OWENSBORO—U.S. Senate hopeful Charles Booker is hitting the campaign trail. The former state Rep. campaigned in Owensboro yesterday, stopping at the Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn. Booker announced earlier this month that he’s running for the Democratic Party’s nomination. He hopes to unseat Republican Rand Paul who’s seeking a third term in the Senate.

OWENSBORO—The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum will host the 14th Annual Lanham Brothers Jamboree next month. The event is scheduled for Saturday, August 7th. The event will feature musicians, dancers and comedians. Tickets run from 15-to-20-dollars and can be bought at BlueGrassHall.org.

TENNESSEE—Tennessee’s top COVID vaccine official is out of a job. Dr. Michelle Fiscus was fired yesterday. Dr. Fiscus was the medical director for vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization programs for the Tennessee Department of Health. Fiscus says she believes she was fired due to political pressure over efforts to vaccinate Tennessee’s kids.

TENNESSEE—There are over 230 new coronavirus cases in Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Health reported the new cases yesterday, bringing the total since the outbreak began to over 870-thousand-970. An additional eight COVID-19-related deaths were also reported, with the total number of coronavirus-attributed deaths standing at over 12-thousand-600. There are over 250 people with COVID-19 hospitalized in Tennessee.

TENNESSEE—It’s been a month since an East Tennessee girl was reported missing. Summer Wells was reported missing from outside her Hawkins County home on Tuesday, June 15th with an AMBER Alert issued the next day. Yesterday, the Hawkins County sheriff asked property owners in the area to search for signs of the five-year-old, asking them to pay attention to areas she could be hiding and to check trail cameras. Sheriff Ronnie Lawson also said authorities are still looking for a red Toyota truck that was spotted in the area around the time Summer disappeared.

TENNESSEE—The Tennessee Department of Transportation says 16 plate locations must be repaired before the I-40 Bridge can reopen. TDOT said prep work is underway and the first shipment of plates is expected this week. The bridge over the Mississippi River is expected to reopen to traffic at the end of this month. It’s been closed since May 11th after a crack was discovered.

ILLINOIS—All planned Land of Lincoln Honor Flights are being postponed until 2022. Organizers announced the cancellation yesterday. The flights take over 180 veterans and their guardians on a one-day trip to the Capitol to visit war memorials. There are more than 700 veterans on the waiting list for the flights that leave from Springfield, Bloomington-Normal, and Lincoln.

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