CCHD REPORTS 57TH COVID DEATH
The Calloway County Health Department reported 58 new cases of COVID-19 from Tuesday through Thursday with only 6 of those cases over 60 years of age and 52 of the 58 cases unvaccinated. The Health Department also reported the county’s 57th death over the 19 months of the pandemic in Calloway County. The county currently has 212 cases isolated at home and 6 are hospitalized. Calloway County’s latest reported positivity rate is 11% which is lower than the state rate of 13%. Thursday, the state reported 3,134 confirmed new cases and 56 confirmed new deaths. There were 2,453 hospitalized as of Thursday, which is 26 less than last Thursday, including 667 in ICU, which is 2 less than a week ago.
CONSTITUTION DAY AT MSU
The Department of Political Science and Sociology at Murray State University will host its annual Constitution Day celebration today with a number of lectures, debates, and games about topics related to the Constitution of the United States. The sessions will be held in-person on Murray State’s campus inside the Curris Center theater, as well as via Zoom. This year’s Constitution Day will include presentations from faculty in both the Department of Political Science and Sociology and the Department of History. Sessions will be offered for elementary, middle, high school, and Murray State students.
LCS BRINGING 30 JOBS TO TRIGG COUNTY
A producer and distributor of tarp systems for commercial use is building a new plant in Trigg County. Load Covering Solutions announced plans to construct a two-million-dollar plant in the Interstate 24 Business Park. It is the first facility the company is building in Kentucky and will create about 30 full-time jobs. Company leaders anticipate beginning construction this fall and beginning operations by late summer 2022.
MURRAY HEAD START GETS WELLAIR SYSTEM
Murray Head Start classrooms in Calloway, Fulton, Graves, Hickman and McCracken counties are receiving WellAir’s air disinfection devices to help reduce harmful microorganisms in the air. The devices use patented NanoStrike™ technology, and the installation managed by MEDformance is being completed this week. Murray Head Start director, Cindy Graves said the decision to implement WellAir’s disinfection devices in Murray’s five Early Head Start sites was made to continue the healthiest environments for the program’s youngest children and staff.
BROOKS WINS CONKLIN SCHOLARSHIP
The Murray State University Department of Music has selected freshman Noah Brooks of Evansville, Indiana as the first recipient of the Raymond L. Conklin Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship was named in loving memory of Raymond Conklin who was an integral part of the Department of Music for over 45 years. Brooks was selected from a competitive pool of applicants and received the scholarship from a live audition process in spring 2021.
IN AND AROUND KENTUCKY
FRANKFORT—Governor Andy Beshear is urging people to get vaccinated as Kentucky hospitals are being nearly overrun by COVID-19 patients. Beshear said yesterday that there are just over 90 total adult ICU beds open in the commonwealth. The governor also reported that over 60 of the state’s nearly 100 hospitals are experiencing critical staffing shortages. Over 400 members of the Kentucky National Guard are assisting with staff shortages at 25 different hospitals to free up workers to provide direct care to patients.
FRANKFORT—A new survey indicates that progress is being made in the effort to get Kentuckians vaccinated against COVID-19. A newly released poll conducted by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky shows that only 20-percent of Kentuckians refuse to get vaccinated, down from 29-percent six months ago. Most Kentuckians surveyed said they don’t believe vaccines should be required in ordinary settings, such as grocery stores and restaurants. Vaccination and negative test requirements for big events were well accepted by those polled.
ROCKCASTLE COUNTY—A special event is raising awareness about food insecurity in Kentucky. Many cities in the commonwealth held hunger walks yesterday to bring focus to the issue. The walks help pull attention to the problems many Kentuckians experience on a daily basis, while raising food donations for local food banks. Nonprofits, corporate sponsors, and food banks attended the events to show support.
HENDERSON COUNTY—Congressman James Comer is meeting with Henderson County business and community leaders. Comer brought his staff to the county for a retreat over the weekend. The Kentucky Republican talked with area leaders about issues the county is facing. He and his staff also took a walking tour of small businesses.
OWENSBORO—Events happening in Owensboro this weekend are boosting the city’s economy. The ROMP Festival and several high school state championships are expected to bring in over one-and-a-half-million in revenue to the area. The schools attending the championships are all from out-of-town, and the ROMP Festival is attracting people from across the country. The large number of out-of-town visitors for the events is contributing to sales at local businesses, including hotels, restaurants, and stores.
TENNESSEE—There are over 44-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 one-million-171-thousand-700. Nearly 70 additional COVID-19-related deaths were also reported, with the total number standing at nearly 14-thousand-290. There are nearly 36-hundred COVID-19 hospitalizations in Tennessee.
TENNESSEE—The health director in Tennessee’s capital city won’t issue a mask mandate for Davidson County. The health director for Metro Nashville told the Metro Board of Health yesterday that the department supports CDC guidance that masks should be worn indoors in public settings. However, he pointed out that the CDC doesn’t require mask mandates and added Nashville is prioritizing COVID-19 vaccinations. Earlier this month, Nashville’s Metro Council passed a resolution urging the health department to require masks for indoor public spaces.
TENNESSEE—The police chief in Tennessee’s most dangerous city is blaming the state’s gun laws for the rising number of kids murdered in Memphis. MPD Chief CJ Davis said yesterday the state’s laws make it too easy for anyone to get a gun. She also said legal gun owners need to do a better job securing their guns, adding that 60 percent of guns taken off the streets by police are stolen from gun owners. Nearly two-dozen kids have been murdered in Memphis this year.
