Ky’s Senators with mixed Covid Message
Kentucky’s two U.S. senators are at odds over how to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic as the Delta variant fuels a surge in cases. Senator Rand Paul is temporarily cut off from YouTube after posting a video claiming masks are ineffective against coronavirus. Senator Mitch McConnell is continuing to air ads in an attempt to encourage Americans to roll up their sleeves and get a COVID shot. The conflict is brewing while rising case counts in the senators’ home state have Governor Andy Beshear saying that Kentuckians need to be concerned.
Middle Tennessee Church Vandalized
Vandalism of a Middle Tennessee church run by a controversial pastor is being investigated. Pastor Greg Locke says Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet was vandalized on Saturday night. “Your Lies Cost Lives” was spray-painted on church property. Pastor Locke has been critical of COVID-19 safety precautions, including claiming Governor Bill Lee has authorized quarantine camps and saying worshipers who wear masks to service could be kicked out.
KAFC Gives Local Loans
The Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation (KAFC) approved $2,700,000 in 11 agricultural loans for projects across the commonwealth at its monthly board meeting including Calloway Co..
An Agricultural Infrastructure loan totaling $100,000 was approved for a recipient in Calloway County. KAFC participates with lenders to provide financing to producers making capital expenditures for agricultural projects through the AILP. Eligible projects include permanent farm structures with attached equipment that improves the profitability of farming operations. Producers may be eligible for up to $150,000 not to exceed 50 percent of the project.
Graves, and Hickman County also received loans of 250 thousand each.
Kentucky State News
Boil Order
A boil water advisory is being issued for part of Trimble County. The advisory was issued yesterday for Milton Water and Sewer Department customers. The advisory was issued due to a water-main break. It’s recommended that customers bring water to a rolling boil, let it boil for a few minutes and let it cool before using.
Hydroplane Races To Be Held In Owensboro This Weekend
Hydroplane racing is returning to Owensboro for the first time in 40 years. About 60 teams are expected to compete along the riverfront in Owensboro this weekend. The Owensboro HydroFair will serve as the North American Championships for the American Powerboat Association. Testing will be done on Friday, qualifying races are scheduled for Saturday and the championship races are expected to be held on Sunday.
GRDHD Updates Coronavirus Numbers
The Green River District Health Department is reporting a rise in coronavirus cases. On Friday, the GRDHD reported over 600 additional confirmed cases with 266 in Daviess County, 117 in Henderson County, 87 in Union County, 55 in Ohio County, 48 in Webster County, 25 in McLean County and 18 in Hancock County. There have been nearly 26-thousand cases in the seven-county District since the outbreak began. Over one-thousand have required hospitalization.
Club Pivoting Toward Afghanistan Vets With Counseling As Kabul Falls
Resources through the Veteran’s Club in Lexington are being pivoted toward those who fought in Afghanistan after Kabul fell to the Taliban over the weekend. Founder and CEO Jeremy Harrell says his group works with about six-thousand veterans total in the region, and members have been reaching out to those who served in Afghanistan who may be hurting. Harrell says the veterans of Afghanistan “sacrificed time with family, sometimes their own limbs,” and that many are struggling with PTSD and other mental health conditions. The Club offers a variety of services for veterans and their families, including counseling.
Owensboro Air Show Attracts Thousands, Features Blue Angels
The Owensboro Air Show is an event that always brings in crowds. Almost 60-thousand people from across the United States attended this year’s event over the weekend. The F-22 Raptor Demo Team known as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels was a featured attraction at the show, where those attending were urged to follow social distancing guidelines and wear masks. Reserved seating was limited mostly to immediate family, leading others to line the river walk, streets, parking lots, roofs, and lawns to see the planes and helicopters taking to the Owensboro skies.
Centerpoint Church Lead Pastor Hospitalized With COVID-19
The Lead Pastor of Lexington’s Centerpoint Church is hospitalized with COVID-19. Church leaders say Pastor Tim Parsons has been intubated. Associate pastor Graham Withers released a statement saying that the leadership of the church is working to care for Parsons and the entire congregation. In-person services yesterday were moved online as a precaution.
Investigation Continuing Into Apparent Morehead Murder-Suicide
(Morehead, KY) — The investigation continues into an apparent murder-suicide in Morehead. A couple was found dead in their home Friday in the eleven-hundred-block of Rodburn Hollow Road. Police say they believe 81-year-old Cobern Sergeant shot and killed 75-year-old Vada Sargent before turning the gun on himself. Chief of Police Derrick Blevins says Morehead hasn’t had a murder within city limits in at least eight years. Blevins says authorities have responded to the home several times, but did not say if any of those incidents involved violence.
Lexington Police Investigating Shooting
Lexington Police are investigating a shooting that sent one person to the hospital. The shooting happened very early yesterday morning on Charles Avenue, where police say a male suspect shot a man. The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police say charges are pending.
Tennessee State News
Tennessee’s U.S. Senators React To Taliban Taking Control Of Afghanistan
Tennessee’s senior U.S. senator is calling President Biden’s strategy for pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan “an utter disaster.” Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn says 20 years of progress made by American servicemembers has been unraveled in just weeks. Republican Senator Bill Hagerty says the Biden Administration was more focused on a press release than a plan. The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan Sunday, entering Kabul as President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
Prayer Circle Held For Missing East Tennessee Girl
Believers are praying for an East Tennessee girl who disappeared two months ago. Yesterday marked two months since five-year-old Summer Wells disappeared from her Hawkins County home. A prayer vigil was held for Summer in Kingsport on Saturday. Another prayer circle is scheduled for this Saturday and organizers say they’ll continue to hold them on Saturdays as often as possible.
East Tennessee School District Requiring Masks
An East Tennessee school district is requiring masks as a response to COVID-19. The Johnson City Board of Education voted Friday to require students to wear masks until September 10th. However, parents will have the choice to opt their child out of the requirement. The policy goes into effect tomorrow.
Tennessee Charity To Provide Clean Water To Haitian Earthquake Victims
A nonprofit organization based in East Tennessee is working to get clean water to victims of Haiti’s powerful earthquake. About 13-hundred people are dead and 28-hundred others injured following Saturday’s quake. A pilot working with Sneedville-based Air Mobile Ministries is expected to leave for the Caribbean country this morning. The plane will take ten water purifiers capable of providing ten-thousand people with clean water every day.
