MURRAY MAN CHARGED WITH BURGLARY
At approximately 4 pm Saturday, Murray Police responded to a residence on North 4th Street in reference to a possible burglary. Upon arrival, officers spoke with the victim that stated a man was inside his apartment, possibly with a rifle. After a brief investigation, officers found 55-year old David Aldridge of Murray exiting the victims apartment. He was charged with Burglary and was lodged in Calloway County Jail.
CCHD REPORTS COUNTY’S 58TH COVID-RELATED DEATH
The Calloway County Health Department reported 49 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday through Monday with only 4 of those cases over 60 years of age and most of the new cases unvaccinated. The county currently has 137 cases isolated at home and 10 are hospitalized. The Health Department also announced the county’s 58th Covid-19 related death. Calloway County’s latest reported positivity rate is 9.56% which is lower than the state rate of 12.18%. Monday, the state reported 1,450 confirmed new cases and 16 confirmed new deaths. There were 2,254 hospitalized as of Monday, which is 192 less than last Monday, including 654 in ICU, which is 8 more than a week ago.
GOVERNOR GIVES MONOCLONAL TREATMENT UPDATE
Yesterday, Governor Andy Beshear said Kentucky administered more than 5,000 monoclonal antibody treatment courses last week, but the state will only receive 4,960 courses this week due to a national shortage. They will be allocated to 79 sites around Kentucky based on backorder requests, current inventory and previous week utilization. There will be at least one monoclonal antibody treatment provider in each of the state’s Area Development Districts, but there’s not going to be enough anywhere according to the Governor.
STACK: REMEMBER YOUR FLU SHOT
The State Health Commissioner is urging Kentucky residents to get their flu shot. With all the emphasis on COVID-19 it’s easy to forget the importance of being vaccinated against influenza. Doctor Steven Stack says getting immunized against the flu will help reduce demand for hospital beds when flu season picks up this winter.
GAS PRICES SOAR
Gas prices in West Central Kentucky are nine cents higher this week at $2.94 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. The national gas price average rose two cents on the week to $3.19 per gallon, matching a seven-year-high last seen in early August. While the post-Labor Day period usually sees less demand and lower gas prices, this year, the impact of Hurricane Ida, followed two weeks later by Hurricane Nicholas, has slowed oil production and refinery recovery along the Gulf Coast. Approximately 23% of offshore Gulf of Mexico oil production remains offline. If the price of oil remains at this level or goes higher, it will likely result in higher prices at the pump.
IN AND AROUND KENTUCKY
LOUISVILLE—The state’s largest school district is trying to take advantage of a new law to bring retired Kentucky teachers back to classrooms. Senate Bill One allows the state’s retired teachers to return to teaching full time, earning full pay while retaining all of their pensions. Jefferson County Public Schools says it has nearly 200 teacher vacancies. JCPS also says some retired teachers have already applied for jobs since the bill was passed nearly two weeks ago.
LOUISVILLE—Kentucky healthcare officials say COVID patients are filling ICU beds as fast as they become available. Over the weekend, Kentucky became the state with the highest COVID-19 hospitalization rate in the country. Some of the state’s largest healthcare systems critical care beds are dwindling. In Louisville, Norton Healthcare reports over 50 patients, taking up about a quarter of the system’s critical care beds, while Baptist Health has nearly 120 ICU patients.
OWENSBORO—School districts in the Owensboro area want to keep kids in classrooms. Officials with Owensboro Catholic Schools, as well as Owensboro and Daviess County public schools announced more details about the Test to Stay program yesterday. Starting Monday, October 11th the three school systems will start the program in partnership with a lab in Newport. It will allow students and staff who would have previously been quarantined over contact tracing to be tested for COVID-19 while remaining in school, provided they don’t test positive. The program is free for students and staff.
LEE COUNTY—A third Lee County Schools staff member is being mourned after she died from COVID-19. Superintendent Sarah Wasson says Lee County Elementary School counselor Rhonda Estes died yesterday from the virus. Custodian Bill Bailey died from COVID-19 complications last week, and Lee County Elementary fifth-grade instructional aide Heather Antie died in August after contracting the virus. Wasson says staff members are “like family,” and that the losses have been “extremely difficult.”
WASHINGTON DC—Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is hammering the agenda of Democrats, calling it a “reckless taxing and spending spree.” During opening speeches on the Senate floor yesterday, the Kentucky Republican called it a Trojan Horse of socialism. McConnell again vowed to withhold GOP support of a hike in the federal debt ceiling without an agreement from Democrats to cut spending. The Treasury Department is warning about a possible government default next month without a boost in the debt limit.
FRANKLIN COUNTY—A woman is facing charges after being accused of trying to kill two people during a road rage incident. Authorities say 22-year-old Serena Jasso was arrested Friday in connection with the road rage shooting incident on Thursday on I-64. Jasso is accused of firing three shots at the driver’s side of a pickup occupied by the driver and a small child, who weren’t hurt. She is charged with two counts of attempted murder.
TENNESSEE—There are over 15-hundred new coronavirus cases in Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Health reported the new cases yesterday, bringing the total since the outbreak began to nearly one-million-190-thousand-700. Nearly 40 additional COVID-19-related deaths were also reported, with the total number standing at 14-thousand-450. There are over 32-hundred COVID-19 hospitalizations in Tennessee.
TENNESSEE—A Confederate general and his wife are in their final resting place. The Sons of Confederate Veterans says the remains of Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife were buried in Columbia, Tennessee on Saturday. Last spring, the early leader of the Ku Klux Klan and his wife were dug up and removed from a monument in a Memphis park before being transported across the state. It was the second time Forrest’s remains were exhumed and moved since his death in 1877.
TENNESSEE—One of the state’s largest employers is raising its shipping rates. Memphis-based FedEx said yesterday the increase will take effect on January 3rd, 2022. The change will apply to all U.S. domestic, export and import services. FedEx Ground and FedEx home delivery will increase by an average of nearly six percent, while FedEx Freight customers could see an increase up to nearly eight percent.
