DROWNING DEATH PROBED
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources officers are investigating Friday afternoon’s drowning of a Calloway County woman. According to authorities, 27-year old Ciera Gobert of Murray and 34-year old Andrew Taylor of Almo, were on private property adjacent to the Clarks River near the Almo community when Gobert lost her footing and slipped into the river, dying at the scene. Gobert’s body was taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Madisonville for an autopsy that is scheduled for today. Conservation officers arrested Taylor and charged him with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, and public intoxication. He was lodged in the Calloway County Jail as the investigation continues.
ONE INJURED IN WEDNESDAY ACCIDENT
At approximately 4:21 Wednesday afternoon, the Murray Police Department responded to an injury collision at South 12th Street and Poplar Street. 28-year old Sarah White of Murray told police she was traveling north on 12th Street and proceeded through the intersection with Poplar Street. White said as she went through the intersection, another vehicle entered the intersection from Poplar Street and they collided. 52-year old Deborah Batteiger of Murray told police she was traveling west on Poplar Street and proceeded through the intersection as she had a green light. Batteiger said a vehicle that was traveling on 12th Street entered the intersection, and the two vehicles collided. She was transported by EMS to the emergency room for treatment of possible injuries.
DRUG PROBE NETS FIVE ARRESTS
Five people have been arrested following a multi-agency drug investigation in Graves County. The Graves County Sheriff’s Department reported that the probe uncovered about five ounces of methamphetamine, naloxone, and items associated with drug use while carrying out a search warrant Thursday at a home in the Boaz community. 22-year-old Heather Wilson of Pahokee, Florida, was arrested on charges of meth trafficking, tampering with physical evidence, and possession of drug paraphernalia. 21-year-old Dustin Boyd, 56-year-old Michael Sullivan, 30-year-old Shannon McFarland, and 33-year-old Autumn Hunter, all of Graves County, were charged with possession of meth and drug paraphernalia. The Hickman County Sheriff’s Department and Kentucky State Police assisted in the probe.
MAYFIELD WOMAN CHARGED WITH PASSING FAKE MONEY
Mayfield Police officers were called Friday to Pocket’s on Paris Road to a report of a woman trying to use counterfeit money. 44-year-old Beverly Kaler told police that she had attempted to use the counterfeit bill. Kaler was charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument. She was lodged in the Graves County Jail.
CCHD REPORTS 1 NEW COVID CASE
The Calloway County Health Department reported 1 new case of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the county case total during the pandemic to 3,431. Of that total, 3,364 have recovered, 18 are isolated at home, and none are hospitalized. There have been 49 covid-related deaths in the county. Calloway County’s COVID-19 Incidence Rate per 100,000 on Sunday was 3.3%, which was lower than Saturday’s rate of 4%. There are only six red zone counties for COVID-19 cases in the state.
STATE POSITIVITY RATE RISES
At Sunday’s COVID-19 update for Kentucky, 366 new cases and 8 new deaths were reported, raising the total to 6,250 Kentuckians who are listed as Covid deaths. As of Sunday, there have been over 5.17 million coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky with a positivity rate of 3.08%, which is higher than last Sunday’s rate of 2.89%. There are 379 Kentuckians hospitalized which is 24 more than last Sunday, including 92 in ICU, which is 3 less than one week ago. At least 50,410 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.
VACCINATION APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE AT CFSB CENTER
The Murray Regional Vaccination Clinic is scheduling online appointments for administration of Moderna COVID-19 first doses at the Murray Regional Vaccination Site located at the CFSB Center from 11:45 am to 6 pm on Thursday, and from 8 am until 2:15 pm on Friday. Appointments are currently available for those 18 years of age and older. Please visit MurrayKYvaccine.org to schedule an appointment and make sure you select April 15 or 16 to see available appointments. If you, or a loved one, are homebound or lack internet access, please contact the Calloway County Health Department at 270-753-3381.
21 INMATES TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID
Officials in McCracken County say 21 female inmates at the jail have tested positive for coronavirus. This is the second outbreak at the jail in the last several months. In December, 47 men tested positive. Despite the outbreak there have been only about 70 total cases at the facility since the start of the COVID crisis.
IN AND AROUND KENTUCKY
LOUISVILLE—Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says packing the Supreme Court with more justices would delegitimize those already sitting on the Bench. In a statement, the Kentucky Republican said President Biden creating a commission to study the impact of doing so “is a direct assault on our nation’s independent judiciary.” He quoted the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who said, “nine seems to be a good number.” McConnell accused Democratic lawmakers of wanting to change the rules every time something doesn’t go their way. He said Biden remained neutral on the topic during his campaign and wants to appoint more liberal justices to the Bench now that he is in the Oval Office.
ROBARDS—No injuries or structural damage have been reported after a fire at Tyson Foods in Henderson County. Officials say the blaze broke out yesterday afternoon on the front part of the building and cooker. Fire officials have turned the investigation over to Tyson Foods. The cause of the fire hasn’t been released.
OWENSBORO—Kentucky Wesleyan College professor emeritus William Kolok will be leading a public gallery talk of the Owensboro Art Guild’s juried exhibition. The talk will take place next Sunday at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art. Kolok is a practicing artist and educator know for his stone and wood sculptures. His work is featured at OMFA, Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, Settle Memorial Methodist Church, and in public and private collections throughout the country. Masks must be worn, and social distancing will be observed.
LEXINGTON—University of Kentucky’s DanceBlue is celebrating after raising over a million dollars for charity. The DanceBlue dance marathon was held virtually this weekend, continuing one of the school’s largest traditions. Morale leaders led over three-hundred students in breakout groups through challenges and choreography for eight hours. Participants helped raise more than a million dollars for the Golden Matrix Fund and cancer research. Overall chair Allie Holt said “Just because the world might stop, cancer never does and neither does DanceBlue.”
LOUISVILLE—The largest COVID-19 vaccination site in the state is opening in Louisville today. The site at Cardinal Stadium will be staffed by the University of Louisville School of Medicine, the National Guard, and volunteers from AmeriCorp. It will take at least 100 volunteers a day to keep the site’s more than 20 lanes moving. It’s hoped the site will administer 24-thousand vaccines a week for seven consecutive weeks.
LOUISVILLE—The Louisville Ford Assembly Plant is starting a two-week shutdown. The shutdown was announced at the end of march. The Plant will be closed this week and the week of April 19th. It’s one of several Ford sites across the country shutting down or cancelling shifts because of a global shortage of semiconductors.
OWENSBORO—Kentucky Fried Pickin’ is returning to downtown Owensboro this spring. It will be held April 29th through May 1st at the Holiday Inn Owensboro Riverfront. The annual indoor jam festival wasn’t held last year due to coronavirus concerns. Over a dozen states and the Netherlands were represented in 2019.
TENNESSEE—Tomorrow will mark ten years since the kidnapping and killing of Holly Bobo. Bobo was taken from her Darden home on April 13th of 2011. Her partial remains were found in northern Decatur County more than four years later. Eventually, three people were convicted of her murder.
TENNESSEE—A Tennessee county may still be drying out from last month. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says Cannon County was the wettest in the contiguous U.S. last month. NOAA reports Cannon County received more than 13 inches of precipitation in March. Cannon County is part of the Nashville metro area.
TENNESSEE—Cumberland County Schools are reopening today. They were closed late last week after a tornado touched down in the Pleasant Hill area. The district credited “swift assistance” by school departments and agencies for being able to operate on a regular schedule today.
TENNESSEE—The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency wants to know who illegally dumped two turkeys in West Tennessee. The turkeys were dropped in a dumpster at a grocery store in Hardeman County. One bird was dumped on the weekend of April 3rd and 4th while the other was dumped over the past weekend. A one-thousand-dollar reward is being offered for information about the illegal dumping.
TENNESSEE–-A Knoxville native is a professional wrestling champion. Bianca Belair won the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Wrestlemania 37 over the weekend in Tampa. Belair beat Sasha Banks to win the title on Saturday night. Knox County Mayor Glen Jacobs congratulated the former UT track athlete on social media. Jacobs is a recent World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame inductee.
ILLINOIS—A GOP Congressman is calling on fellow Republican Matt Gaetz to resign. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois is the first Republican to call for the resignation of the Florida lawmaker, who’s being investigated by the Justice Department over sex-trafficking allegations. Kinzinger made his feelings known in a tweet Thursday that had a link to a news story connecting Gaetz to an alleged sex trafficker. The tweet said simply, Matt Gaetz needs to resign.
