Ten Years Ago 

(Sept. 21 and 23, 1994)

 Floyd County's solid waste woes could be just beginning, despite what appeared to be the county's saving grace in July, when an Ohio Company took over waste disposal for the county. The Floyd County Solid Waste Commission entered into a five-year agreement with Rumpke of Kentucky, in June, which was touted as a pact to keep residential garbage rates at an affordable $10 per month for the term on the contract. Baretta R. Casey feels she has been penalized for opening a primary care practice in her hometown, Pikeville. Dr. Casey opened a family practice about two months ago, and the investment cost her $200,000. She paid $40,000 down with money she had earned doing extra work during her last two years of residency. She borrowed the rest. Casey wonders how she will keep her office open, if the proposed cuts in Medicaid reimbursement become effective. The Wheelwright City Commission held a meeting on Monday night with an air of mystery. The meeting came to order at 7 p.m., and at ten minutes after seven, the members of the commission went into closed session to talk on the telephone with a representative from Landrum and Shouse Law Offices for approximately 25 minutes. Mayor Marley Sammons later announced that no information about the telephone call would be given out until a later date. An incinerator used to burn medical waste became a hot topic at a meeting of the Floyd County Solid Waste Commission, Monday evening. Attorney Kevin Costetto, representing the company, Medisin, which owns the incinerator, asked the solid waste board to amend its solid waste plan to allow Medisin to take in 561 tons of waste per year. Costetto called the solid waste plans, 100 ton per ten year limit, a "clerical error" because an assistant for Floyd County Judge Executive John M. Stumbo told him "someone had called a facility and was given an amount for ash leaving that facility, not the amount coming in.". Floyd County's Fiscal Court were surprised and appeared upset, Friday, when the architect for the jail project submitted approximately $150,000 in change orders for site work. A trailer fire Saturday evening, at McDowell, killed a 27-year-old Floyd County man. Preliminary autopsy reports indicated that Larry Wayne Collins, of Ned's Fork, died of smoke inhalation. An ongoing undercover investigation by Kentucky State Police culminated in 15 arrests, early Tuesday morning, in three counties, which snagged seven Floyd Countians. State police began rounding up suspected drug dealers on Tuesday morning, and more arrests were expected throughout the week. Floyd County School Board members held firm on their decision that teachers be evaluated each year, but agreed to a proposal that would elimnate a second semester review if teachers make passing grades in the first. The largest Sears Authorized Retail Dealer Store in the eastern district of the United States will open in Prestonsburg, as soon as renovations are completed on the former Sundry Store building. State education officials have rejected the purchase of a site for a Betsy Layne middle school, because the cost and development of the property is projected to exceed 10 percent of the total project cost. State Police have determined that a Floyd County man and two Magoffin County brothers, who were killed in a marijuana field in Breathitt County, September 1, were trying to disarm booby traps, that at least two of the men had placed in the pot patch. In just four days, close to $30,000 in delinquent taxes have been collected by the Floyd County Sheriff's Office, and taxpayers have until today (Friday), to settle up or face stern action. Collection efforts began Monday and most offenders have been cooperative and paid their bills. A Prestonsburg woman was killed Tuesday afternoon, in a two-car accident at the intersection of KY 1428 and U.S. 23, near Prestonsburg. Jean Wallen Dotson, 60, was pronounced dead at the accident scene by Floyd County Coroner Roger Nelson. For the last 28 years Constance Lackey, 93, of Tram, has devoted her time, attention and compassion, to the workings of the Big Sandy Area Community Action Program Inc. (BSACAP). Now, in the same year that community action programs commemorate 30 years of helping people, Constance has received two major awards for her volunteer service with the Big Sandy Area CAP program. The Jenny Wiley Festival will celebrate its 13th year, beginning October 3, with competition, gospel singing, and a concert by the Gibson/Miller Band. There died: Palmer Shepherd, 51, of Columbia City, Indiana, Saturday, September 17, at Whitley County Hospital; Olga Wright Martin, 63, of Lexington, formerly of Eastern, Wednesday, September 14, at St. Joseph Hospital, Lexington; William Harold Litton, 64, of Martin, Friday, September 16, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; Larry Wayne Collins, 27, of McDowell, Saturday, September 17, in a house fire at his residence; Joe Branham, 89, of Melvin, Monday, September 19, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Rhoda Francis "Tody" Blankenship, 71, of Stanville, Saturday, September 17, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Mary Margaret Rose, 68, of Knox, Indiana, Sunday, September 18, in her home; Inez Spears Shaefer Hall, 71, of Prestonsburg, Thursday, September 15, at U.K. Medical Center, Lexington; Rhoda Francis "Tody" Blankenship, 71, of Stanville, Saturday, September 17, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Mary Margaret Rose, 68, of Knox, Indiana, Sunday, September 18, in her home; Inez Spears Shaefer Hall, 71, of Prestonsburg, Thursday, September 15, at U.K. Medical Center, Lexington; Frank Mullins, 69, of Bevinsville, Friday, September 16, at his residence; Verdie Newsome, 50, of Craynor, Saturday, September 17, at her residence; Belvia Newsome Slone, 86, of Versailles, formerly of Garrett and Prestonsburg, Wednesday, September 14, at St. Joseph Hospital, Lexington; William Hatcher, 90, of Salyersville, formerly of Stanville, Thursday, September 15, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Walter Marshall Hall, 72, of Tennessee Ridge, Tennessee, Monday, September 12, at his residence; Alabama "Allie" Fugate, 85, of Hesperia, California, formerly of Dwarf, Thursday, September 8, at Barstow Community Hospital, Barstow, California; Burns Jarrell, 78, of Martin, Thursday, September 15, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Ruby S. Martin, 74, of Garden City, Michigan, formerly of Ivel, Wednesday, September 21, at Pine Meadows Health Care Center in Lexington; John Sanford Rodebaugh, 73, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday, September 20, at his residence; Bill May Derossett, 79, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday, September 20, at Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Lizzie Shelton, 88, of Lagro, Indiana, formerly of Floyd County, Wednesday, September 21, at Wabash County Hospital; Sammie Hackworth, 67, of Blue River, Tuesday, September 20, at his residence.

(August 24 and August 26, 1994)

 A civil suit arising from the May 1993, Democrataic primary election in Floyd County took two unusual turns last week. The first twist came, Thursday, August 18, when the suit's accuser, radio station owner Dale McKinney indicated that he would ask that his complaint against Floyd County Judge-Executive John M. Stumbo be dismissed. Floyd County School Board members are asking for a full report on a hazing incident that happened at Prestonsburg High School's football camp earlier this month, which resulted in three players being suspended for two games and one player being kicked off the team. .A motorcycle-car collision,, at Harold, on Saturday night, claimed the life of a Pikeville woman and serously injured her husband. According to a state police report, Ronnita Adams, 41, of North Mayo Trail, was killed, when the 1993 Harley Davidson motorcycle she was riding was struck by a 1983 Ford Fairmount driven by Delmar E. Hamilton, 24, of Teaberry. The victim's husband, Robert, 40, who was operating the motorcycle, suffered neck injuries and a broken leg. Floyd County School Board members voted, Monday, to pay $409,400, for a site for a Betsy Layne Middle School, which includes other undisclosed expenses. Robert Tackett, 44, of Burdine, is facing nine felony charges in connection with an assault of ambulance personnel and the theft of an ambulance, responding to the scene of a car accident. Allen Taylor, Wheelwright City Commissioner, who has been accused by fellow board members of allegedly selling a city lawnmower, apparently turned over the proceeds of that sale to the city in February. A Floyd County Grand Jury returned a murder indictment Monday, against Jackie Ray, 45, for allegedly shooting his brother, Allan Tommy Ray, 41, of Lexington, during an argument at Jackie Ray's home last month. Paul Joseph, who operates ambulance services in Floyd, Johnson, Magoffin, Wolfe and Knott counties, has been named in a 299-count federal indictment alleging a scheme to defraud Medicaid of thousands of dollars, and mail fraud. Floyd County students went back to school, Monday. School officials reported that the opening day of classes was relatively calm and no major problems were reported. John Calhoun Wells, formerly of Auxier, has been appointed by President Bill Clinton as Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and as such, will sit at the head of a bargaining table and help major league baseball players and owners try to reach an agreement that would put the players back on the field and fans back in the stands. Jurors are expected to render a verdict today, (Friday), in the murder trial of Larry Robinson, who is accused of killing William Bucky Rose on Memorial Day, 1993. Police say a Daniels Creek man said he thought he was shooting at a dog, Saturday evening, when he fired two blasts from a shotgun, hitting a man riding a four-wheeler past his home. Kentucky State Police forced their way into the home of Malcolm Lewis, 74, Saturday night, and arrested him, after he allegedly shot Charles Jervis, also of Daniels Creek. A family reunion at Archer Park, Saturday, turned into an adventure that one Lexington family won't soon forget after their three-year-old toddler tumbled into a creek. The toddler fell into the creek when he attempted to climb into the back of his grandfather's truck, which was parked close to a creek bank at the park..Fifth District Congressman Hal Rogers will dig in during groundbreaking ceremonies in Prestonsburg for the Mountain Arts Center on Monday, August 29. Rogers will join local officials Jerry Fannin, Prestonsburg mayor; John M. Stumbo, Floyd County judge-executive; and Paul Hughes, chairman of the Kentucky Opry Board for the ceremony. Jenny Wiley Summer Music Theatre and the Prestonsburg Tourism Commission has received funds disbursed by the state Depatment of Travel Development to the Eastern Highlands-North Tourism Region through a matching grant program. The doors to the D.W. Howard Fieldhouse were locked, Wednesday, pending an inspection by state officials for asbestos in broken wall panels. There died: Ova Johnson, 73, of Bevinsville, Thursday, August 18, at his residence; Liza Hall, 88, of Bevinsville, formerly of Dana, Saturday, August 20, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Alice Mosley Kendrick, 92, of Huntington, West Virginia, Saturday, August 20, at St. Mary's Hospital; Terry Mullins, 44, of Norwalk, Ohio, Saturday, August 20, at his home; James A. Cole, 80, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, formerly of Printer, Thursday, August 18; Girdell Dingus Salyers Breeding, 90, of Martin, Tuesday, August 23, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Nancy Moore, 81, of Lackey, Sunday, August 21, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Bradie Shepherd, 83, of Prestonsburg, Sunday, August 21, at Johnson City Medical Center in Johnson City, Tennessee; George Edison Rickman, 66, of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, August 24, at his residence; Albert Hubbard, 78, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday, August 23, at his residence; Wilford B. Boyd, 65, of Dana, Tuesday, August 23, at his residence; Bert Hall, 86, of Hunter, Monday, August 22, at Highlands Regional Medical Center.

(August 17 and August 19, 1994) 

Kevin Wade Parsons, 21-year-old native of Harold, died August 15, ending a six-year battle with Laforda Body Disease, an affliction so rare, that fewer than a dozen cases have been diagnosed worldwide. Three Wheelwright City Commissioners want to oust a fellow board member for selling a piece of city property, allegedly without the approval of the board. At Monday's commission meeting, Commissioner Allen Taylor was accused by Commissioners Luther Johnson Jr., Charles Harmon and David Hall, of selling a city lawnmower to an individual for $35. While the Pike County Fiscal Court was authorizing its county attorney, Monday night, to take any action necessary to collect a $216,000 delinquent account owed by the Floyd County Solid Waste system, Floyd County Solid Waste Commissioners at their meeting were disputing the bill. A ruling earlier this year by the state Supreme Court resulted in an order from the state Public Service Commission which will require municipal utility companies that provide services, mainly water, to seek commission approval for proposed rate increases. The commission's order includes the Prestonsburg City Utilities, but it will have no immediate impact on the utility company. The state Supreme Court will be asked to decide if a hearing to determine if accused murderer, Clawvern Jacobs, is competent to aide in his defense should exclude the prosecution and the public. A Pike County man was arrested in Floyd County, August 11, during an investigation into an alleged truck tire theft operation. Christopher Hodges, 22, was lodged in the Floyd County Jail and charged with third-degree burglary and theft by unlawful taking. Next Monday, August 22, they'll ring in the start of a new school yer for nearly 8,300 Floyd County students, and they'll signal the final countdown on a critical phase of education reform in Kentucky. One of the final pieces of the funding puzzle for the development, in Prestonsburg, of a Mountain Arts Center was put in place, Thursday, by Congressman Hal Rogers. Rogers said, Thursday, that a second $1 million grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has been approved by the House of Representatives, with concurrence expected soon from the Senate. McDowell senior cittizens will host dedication and open house ceremonies at their new senior citizens center, located in the Viola Bailey Memorial Community Building, Sunday, August 21, from 2-6 p.m. U.S. Senator Wendell Ford announced, Thursday, that the Appalachian Regional Commission has approved $98,000 in Section 207 funds to assist in the construction of 15 multi-family housing units for low-income families in Floyd County. A leading education enrichment organization has targeted Floyd County as a place to establish one of its affiliates. Forward in the Fifth Inc., was awarded a $50,000 Appalachian Regional Commission grant to organize three local affiliates, and the agency hopes that one of those offices can be established in this county. The search is underway for a new executive director for the Floyd County Development Authority, and for a candidate to fill a vacancy on the board. A missing persons report was filed this week with the KSP for George Dee Howell, 61, more than two months after Howell told his sister Nancy Slone, that he was "going to Paintsville." Family members offered no explanation for the long delay in reporting Howell's disappearance, but indicated he may have been seen as recently as three weeks ago in the Pikeville area. The situation has been likened to martial law, but security guards hired to keep an eye on things at Left Beaver Townhouses are a temporary measure designed to thwart suspected drug activity in the housing project. State police are investigating the cause of a fire at Wheelwright, Wednesday evening, that claimed the life of Glen Randall Johnson. Johnson's home on the Left Fork of Otter Creek caught fire at approximately 7:30 p.m. and members of the Southeast Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene. A survey will be conducted during the next several months that will assess the literacy level of Kentucky's adults. There died: Shirlene Branham Slone, 73, of Pinellas Park, Florida, formerly of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, August 10, at the Sunshine Village Nursing Home, in Pinellas Park; Margarett Slone, 92, of Dema, Thursday, August 11, at the home of her daughter, Clotine Hicks in Payne, Ohio; Judy Hall, 73, of Lackey, Friday, August 12, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Marcus D. Slone, 66, of Garner, Monday, August 15, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Hospital; Mars Robinson, 69, of Canal Winchester, Ohio, formerly of Martin, Sunday, August 14, at Mount Carmel East Hospital in Columbus, Ohio; Martha Harvey, 71, of Dema, Thursday, August 11, at Kentucky River Medical Center in Jackson; Romain Shepherd, 76, of Blue River, Sunday, August 14, at his residence; Shelby Slone, 60, of Lackey, Saturday, August 13, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital in Martin; Kevin Wade Parsons, 21, of Harold, Monday, August 15, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington; Adrian Lee Shepherd, 56, of West Prestonsburg, Monday, August 15, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Mary L. Blankenship Nelson, 62, of Auxier, Thursday, August 11, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Randall Johnson, 48, of Melvin, Wednesday, August 17, at his residence; Brozie Whitaker, 100, of Warsaw, Indiana, a native of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, August 17, at Miller's Merry Manor in Warsaw; Daniel Goldberg, 41, of Columbia, Monday, August 15, at his home; Imogene Smith Hall, 70, of North Carolina, a native of Ivel, Saturday, July 23, in Franklin, North Carolina.

(August 10 and August 12, 1994) 

A special judge has given the attorney for a Floyd County man until Friday to complete the taking of evidence in a civil suit that accuses Judge-Executive John M. Stumbo of election fraud during the May 1993 primary election campaign. But attorney C.K. Belhasen, who represents radio station owner Dale McKinney in the suit against Stumbo, said he had not been officially served with the judge's order on Monday. A former Adams Middle School principal's suit against the Floyd County Board of Education will go to trial Thursday, more than two years after the orginal complaint was filed. About 25 craftspeople from Floyd County, and other counties in the region, gathered at the lodge at Jenny Wiley State Park, last Wednesday, to learn the ends and outs of marketing their crafts. The day-long workshop was sponsored by the Kentucky Arts and Crafts Foundation in Louisville. Allen City Hall became a verbal battleground Monday night, during the city's council meeting, but that didn't stop the council from giving themselves raises, or naming a city manager. Discussion became heated about halfway through the meeting when city councilwoman Anne Bentley began casting aspersions on the ability of police chief Virgil Conn, to carry out his duties. The Prestonsburg City Council's personnel committee will be going back to the drawing board to find the best way to comparing "apples to apples." The council is trying to finalize the pay rates, work schedules and raises for city employees for the current fiscal year, with dispatch, fire and police departments still to be worked out. Several coal trucks lined up at Garth, last week, as Rumpke of Kentucky cleaned out the temporary land fill. The waste was transported to Cooksey Brothers Land Fill in Greenup County. Martin City Council is continuing its efforts to clear up the city's water problems, and is considering assistance from the Water Resources Assistance Corporation (WRAC), a division of the Big Sandy Area Development District. It is also considering raising the city's water rates. Prestonsburg Mayor Jerry Fannin handed acting Police Chief Darrell Conley the keys, Wednesday, to one of the six new police cars the city purchased for the police department. A countywide crusade to raise donations for Terri LaShae Jarvis, of Allen, a Floyd County infant, in need of two life-saving transplants will get underway today. Crusade volunteers were manning roadblocks at strategic locations in Prestonsburg, Martin, Allen, Mud Creek and Garrett, and asking for donations for expenses needed for transporting the infant and mother to a Pittsburgh hospital for a donor match and to cover other expenses. Members of the Jenny Wiley Festival Committee, the Prestonsburg tourism director, and the press, waited for almost an hour wednesday morning, for a meeting of the Prestonsburg Tourism Commission to get underway. Preliminary hearings were held in Floyd District Court, Wednesday afternoon, and included a hearing for a Floyd man who escaped from custody earlier this month. Rodney Blackburn had been brought downstairs from the Floyd County jail to District Court for arraignment on August 2, along with 12 other prisoners and fled when the group was filing into the courtroom. Testimony concluded Thursday afternoon in a day-long civil trial involving a dispute between a former Adams Middle School principal and the Floyd County Board of Education. It could take a month, though, before a verdict is issued in the case. At issue is a complaint filed by former AMS principal Thomas Tackett, who was demoted in 1992 by interim, state-appointed superintendent Eldon Smith to the job of housebound instructor. The Army Corps of Engineers will soon be looking at the ups and downs of flood control along the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. Funding for a study of the Levisa Fork Basin in Floyd, Pike and Johnson counties was included in the 1995 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, passed by the House of Representatives this week. There died: Tina Lafferty Crum, 84, of Prestonsburg, Thursday, August 4, at Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Oma Whittaker, 84, of Prestonsburg, Monday, August 8, at Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Opal Spears May, 84, of Prestonsburg, Saturday, April 6, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Frank Patton, 65, of Ashtabula, Ohio, Wednesday, July 27, at his home; Nora Belle Martin, 87, of Martin, Friday, August 5, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Emogene Moore, 56, of Bainbridge, Indiana, formerly of McDowell, Sunday, August 7, at Putnam County Hospital in Greencastle, Indiana; Lucille Greene Bingham, 87, of Hurricane, West Virginia, formerly of Prestonsburg, Thursday, August 4, at Chateau Grove Nursing Home, Hurricane, West Virginia; Bobby D. Wallen, 37, of Martin, Friday, August 5, at his residence; Everett Slone, 75, of Martin, Saturday, August 6, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Alice Gearheart, 75, of Hi Hat, Monday, August 8, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Alexander Boone Fletcher, 84, of Knoxville, Tennessee, Monday, August 1, at St. Marys Hospital in Knoxville; and Rebecca Hall, 20, of Delaware, Ohio, Monday, August 8, at the Grady Memorial Hospital, following injuries suffered in an automobile accident.

(July 27 and July 29, 1994) 

Timothy R. Prater, 32, of Middle Creek, died at about 5:20 p.m., Monday, when the mine car he was riding collided with another car at Pontiki Coal Corporation No. 1-A mine at Lovely. With less than a week to go, no one has filed with the county court clerk's office for three seats on Floyd County's school board, which will be on the ballot in November. The state budget, recently passed by a special session of the legislature, included new funding for the Rural Secondary Road program, and that means blacktop patching for eight Floyd county roadways. The Prestonsburg City Council took a step toward future annexation, Monday night, with the first reading of an ordinance that could allow the city to incorporate areas without any objection. The results of a four-month evaluation of Floyd County Superintendent Steve Towler are expected to be made public at the August 1 school board meeting. School board members met Monday night at May Lodge for more than two hours in closed session, to complete their assessment of Towler's job performance. An on-again, off-again debate has been renewed concerning leased property adjacent to the old Floyd County landfill site at Garth, where county officials aren't sure if an extended lease agreement is valid. The Prestonsburg City Council voted, Monday, to allow Mayor Jerry Fannin to appoint a board to look at building an 18-hole golf course and athletic complex at Mayo Hollow. Fannin said that having a board would allow Prestonsburg to work with the state in efforts to build the "world class" course. U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers announced, Tuesday, that the Appalachian Region Commission (ARC) has approved a $50,000 grant for Forward in the Fifth, the education improvement project started by Rogers and community leaders seven years ago. Forward in the Fifth serves more than 40 counties in southern and eastern Kentucky. For the second time in eight years, the Floyd County Clerk's office has received a local records grant to help with the restoration of records. Floyd County Clerk Carla R. Boyd was awarded the grant recently from the Department for Libraries and Archives, an agency of the Education, Arts and Humanities Cabinet. A joint effort is underway between the Floyd County Development Authority and Kentucky Power Company to construct a 21,000 square foot building at Cliff. The building will be used to entice new business into the county. The site is owned by the Prestonsburg Industrial Development Corporation. Jimmy Branham raced in the Open Wheel Modified, last Saturday night, at Thunder Ridge. He is the youngest driver to take part in a race at Thunder Ridge at the age of 14 years. Martin City Council has been trying for the past several months to figure on a way to get a handle on the finances of the city water department and, also, to hire a city attorney. U.S. Representative Hal Rogers has recently urged federal transportation officials to support the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's $975,000 request for preliminary work for the Kentucky segment of I-66. The case of a Toler Creek man charged with murder in the July 17 shooting death of his brother has been waived to the Floyd County Grand Jury. At a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Floyd District Court, Judge Danny Caudill ruled that enough evidence was presented to establish probable cause that Jackie M. Ray, 45, was responsible for the death of his brother, Allan Tommy Ray, 41, of Lexington. .With four days to go until the filing deadline, two current school board members and a Wayland City Councilman have filed to retain their seats in November. A special meeting of the Prestonsburg-Floyd County Public Properties Corporation has been called for Tuesday, August 2, at 3 p.m. On the agenda for the meeting is an update on design of the Mountain Arts Center with discussion on the design of the facility..The folks at Riverview Manor Nursing Home know Tommy Franklin is a hero. On August 13, the folks living in the tri-state area of Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio will also know that Franklin is a hero when WSAZ airs its Hometown Hero segment. Franklin's volunteer work at the nursing home was filmed by WSAZ's Randy Yohe, and he was awarded a certificate proclaiming him a "Hometown Hero.". There died: Timothy Randle Prater, 32, of Middle Creek Road, Prestonsburg, July 25, in Martin County, from injuries sustained in a mining accident; Lillia Mae Price, 82, of Prestonsburg, Sunday, July 23, at the residence of her daughter; Stella Catherine Hall Akers, 88, of Grethel, Thursday, July 21, at her residence; William "Bill" Allen, 82, of Dwale, Sunday, July 24, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia; Garnette Stanley Crisp, 46, of Pikeville, July 24, at Central Baptist Hospital, Lexington; Darcus W. Lafferty, 89, of Martin, Monday, July 25, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; Foster Mitchell, 56, of Sandusky, Ohio, Wednesday, July 20, at Providence Hospital; Rhoda Shepherd, 94, of Mansfield, Ohio, formerly of Floyd County, Thursday, at Mansfield General Hospital; Effie Blanche Strunk, 80, of Prestonsburg, Monday, July 25, at Mountain View Health Care Center, Elkhorn City; Marvel Johns Perkins, 76, of Indianapolis, Indiana, Sunday, June 10, in Bloomington, Indiana; Archa B. Hix Jr., 63, of Harold, Friday, July 22, at his residence; Ivelee Hamilton, 102, of Bellevue, Ohio, Tuesday, July 26, at Bellevue Care Center; Amos A. Flannery, 85, of Jackson, June 11; Sylvia Hall Newman, 81, of Hi Hat, Friday, July 22, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Lillia Mae Price, 82, of Prestonsburg, July 23; Nelva Boyd Cochran, 75, of Danville, Virginia, Thursday, July 21, at Danville Regional Medical Center; Helen Dials, 60, of Prestonsburg, Monday, July 25, at her residence; Allie Combs Miller, 91, of Ary, Thursday, July 21, at Hazard Appalachia Regional Medical Center; Darrell Wayne Little, 27, of Bypro, Thursday, July 21, at Wheelwright; Harold Crum, 50, at Wheelwright; Harold Crum, 50, at Martin, Sunday, July 24, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Michelle Michalski Martin, 46, of Crestline, Ohio, formerly of Dema, Wednesday, July 20, at her residence; Martha Osborne Nelson, 89, of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, July 27, at Highlands Regional Medical Center.

(June 8 and June 10, 1994)

(April 20 and April 22, 1994)

(Feb. 23 and Feb. 25, 1994)

(Feb. 16 and Feb. 18, 1994)

(Jan. 12 and Jan.14, 1994)

(Oct. 27 and Oct. 29, 1993)

(Sept.29, and Oct. 1, 1993)

(Aug. 4, 1993 and Aug. 6, 1993)

(July 21 and July 23, 1993)

(June 9, and June 11, 1993)

(May 26 and May 28, 1993)

(May 19 and May 21, 1993)

(May 12 and May 14, 1993)

(May 5 and May 7, 1993)

(April 28 and April 30, 1993)

(April 14 and April 16, 1992)

(April 7 and April 9, 1993)

(March 10 and March 12, 1993)

(Feb. 24 and Feb. 26, 1993)

(Feb. 17 and Feb. 19, 1993)

(Feb. 3, and Feb. 5, 1993)

(Jan. 27 and Jan. 29, 1993)

(Jan. 20 and Jan. 22, 1993)

(Jan. 13, and Jan. 15, 1993)

(Dec. 16, and Dec. 18, 1992)

(Dec. 9 and Dec. 11, 1992)

(Nov. 11, 1992, and Nov. 13, 1992)

(Oct. 28 and Oct. 30, 1992)

(Oct. 21, 1992, and Oct. 23, 1992)

(Oct. 14, 1992 and Oct. 16, 1992)

(September 30-October 2, 1992)

(Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, 1992)

(Sept. 2 and Sept. 4, 1992)

(August 12 and August 14, 1992)

(Aug. 5 and Aug. 7, 1992)

(July 29 and July 31, 1992)

(July 22-24, 1992)

(July 15-17, 1992)

(June 24 and June 26, 1992)

(June 17 and June 19, 1992)

(June 10 and June 12, 1992)

Federal and state officials joined Civil War enthusiasts on a tour of the Middle Creek Battlefield on Monday, as part of The Kentucky Heritage Council’s Civil War Battlefield Conference. During the tour, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Frank A. Bracken, and David Morgan, state historic preservation officer, officially presented Frank Fitzpatrick a certificate proclaiming the site as a National Historic Site, and noting its listing to the National Register of Historic Places...A vacancy on the Prestonsburg City Council was filled, Monday, with all the elements of a real election, including allegations that a council member tried to influence the vote. After two candidates for the post were nominated from the floor, David Hereford and Lida Margaret Howard—councilman George Archer told of the threats and harassment he and his family had received concerning which candidate to choose. The council chose Howard. Mud Creek Clinic founder Eula Hall, was named Floyd Countian of the Year by members of the Floyd County Chamber of Commerce during the Chamber’s annual banquet on June 4. Hall, who has been recognized nationally for her work with the medically indigent, was one of several countians lauded by the Chamber for their contributions during the 1991-92 year...The United States House of Representative’s Appropriations Com-mittee has appropriated $29,995,000 for flood control and related projects in eastern Kentucky during the 1992-1993 fiscal year. Foremost among these is an appropriation of $7,890,000 to operate and maintain eight eastern Kentucky lakes. Dewey Lake, alone, will receive $1,789,000 this year, and $771,000 has been budgeted for Paintsville Lake....The Floyd County Sheriff’s Department is warning residents to be on the lookout for three men posing as county workers who stole $194 from a residence in Corn Fork, Thursday. Chief Deputy Linzie Hunt said the men went to the residence of Charlie Harris, Thursday, and said that the county was offering a pest control spraying program for elderly residents in the county...There died: Frankie Stephens Best, 75, of Prestonsburg, Monday, at Phelps Community Medical Center; Howard Nelson Prince, 55, of Richmond, formerly of Lackey, Wednesday, in Lexington; Frank Howell Sr., 73, of Roanoke, Virginia, formerly of Dana, Friday, at the Community Hospital, Roanoke; Hazel Spencer Music, 77, of East Point, Thursday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; Beckham Combs, 88, of Hindman, Thursday, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Carl Edward “Banger” Robinson, 50, of Langley, Thursday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Theodore (Ted) Carroll, 45, of Lenoir, North Carolina, Wednesday, in Lenoir; John Jobie Calhoun Sr., 40, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, June 1, at St. Joseph Medical Center; Naomi Shepherd, 74, of Garrett, Thursday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Jack Wells, 76, of Paintsville, Monday, at Cabell-Huntington Hospital, Huntington, West Virginia; Cal King, 95, of Auxier, Friday, in Our Lady of the Way Hospital, at Martin; Bobby Gene Burchett, 51, of Allen, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center. 

(June 3 and June 5, 1992)

A family reunion, Sunday, almost ended in tragedy, when a 14-foot boat was swamped and its five occupants, including a two-year-old child, suddenly found themselves in the waters of Dewey Lake. Charles Webb, who was making his third trip across the lake around 6 p.m., to ferry family members to shore after a picnic, brought the boat he was steering to a standstill near the old Terry Boat dock to allow a houseboat to pass. The nose of his boat dipped and it was swamped by waves created by the houseboat....The town of Wayland and its surrounding area may have a new solid waste system, soon, if the mayor and city council members’ efforts are rewarded with public support. At Monday’s Wayland City Council meeting, newly-elected Mayor, Gene Mullins, and councilmen, Curtis Tufts, Tommy Robinson and Larry Puckett, agreed to circulate a petition for Wayland residents to sign, requesting that the Big Sandy Area Development District donate $7,000 to help the city finance a new sewage system...Floyd Countians will see the results of a state Revenue Cabinet property reassessment on their 1993 tax bills. State Revenue Cabinet workers should finish the first leg of an extensive reassessment of property values in Floyd County this month. A “double checking” of the new assessments should be complete by January, Lovell Hall, Floyd County Property Valuation Administrator, said, Tuesday...Floyd County officials are scrambling for a way around tighter state landfill regulations to prevent the Floyd County landfill from closing on July 1. Floyd County Judge-Executive John M. Stumbo and judge-executives from surrounding counties went to Hazard, Tuesday, to plead their case before the Cabinet for Natural Resources Commissioner Phillip Shepherd...Lt. Governor Paul Patton is the keynote speaker for the annual banquet of the Floyd County Chamber of Commerce, set for this Thursday, June 4, at the Jenny Wiley Convention Center. The banquet begins with a reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner, an awards presentation, Patton’s address and the installation of chamber officers for the 1992-93 year...Floyd County Democrats will hold a county caucus Saturday, June 6, at the Allen Park Convention Center. The county caucus is being held to elect a permanent chairman and to elect a group of persons to represent the county at the Congressional District Convention...It will be several days before Floyd County officials decide what action to take if the Floyd County landfill is closed. Judge-Executive John M. Stumbo said Thursday that he is waiting for a response to a letter he sent to Governor Brereton Jones, Tuesday, that hinted the governor needed to intervene to keep the landfill open. Stumbo’s letter did not specify what action he was asking the governor to take...There died: John E. ‘Pete’ Conley, 57, a popular local musician and president of the Lexington Musicians Association, Sunday, at Central Baptist Hospital; William Everette Wohlford, 19, of Martin, Sunday, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident; Joe Hale, 77, of Allen, Sunday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Nancy Davis Johnson, 88, of Pantsville, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Thomas W. “Tom” Hill, 82, of Mt. Sterling, formerly of Prestonsburg, Monday, at Humana Hospital in Lexington; Bertha Bradley Allen, 79, of Risner, Saturday, at Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Carl Edward Newsome, 27, of Beaver, Sunday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Kennard “Stubby” Meadows, 81, of Tutor Key, Friday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; Foster Jones, 70, of Grethel, Monday, at his residence; Dollie (Baisden) Marshall, 77, of Munith, Michigan, Saturday, at Foote Hospital in Jackson, Michigan; Elizabeth Mayo Bailey, 82, of Allen, Friday, at Mountain Manor Nursing Home, Pikeville; Joseph Bentley, 63, of Tram, Tuesday, at South Ohio Medical Center, Portsmouth, Ohio; Lora Hale, 75, of Greenwich, Ohio, Sunday, at Fisher-Titus Medical Center, Norwalk, Ohio; John J. Calhoun Sr., 40, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, at St. Joseph Medical Center, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

(May 27 and May 29, 1992)

Eastern Kentucky’s economic development office, in Prestonsburg, will be headed by Robert L. Murphy of Menifee County, who was named to fill that post by Governor Brereton Jones, last week. Murphy, a former deputy director for the Kentucky Housing Authority, began his duties on Monday, and is currently looking for office space in Prestonsburg....Mountain Comprehensive Care Center’s board of directors will investigate allegations made against its executive director, Thursday, of disregarding board member candidates for Martin County. John Burgess, a MCCC caseworker in Martin County, accused director Steve Schenck of ignoring applications from Martin County citizens who are seeking a seat on the board. Burgess also called for the board to ask for Schenck’s resignation for violating the board’s mission statement...Adam Patton, 75, of Dody Creek, near McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital, was killed, Monday evening, when the home he was living in burned to the ground. Patton, an invalid, was living in the home of his sister, Jo Ann Patton, who was visiting neighbors at the time of the fire...Voters stayed away from the polls in droves in Tuesday’s primary election, as only 12,472 of Floyd County’s 28,505 registered voters cast their ballots. Non-partisan candidate Danny Caudill, who Governor Brereton Jones appointed in February to complete Harold Stumbo’s unexpired term as District Judge, was the standout winner in the 31st Judicial District race with 5,778 votes...The Floyd County Housing Authority voted, last week, to approve the second-lowest construction bid for the low-income housing unit at Minnie. The action followed a recent housing authority vote to turn down Ashland-based Debcon Construction Company’s bid of $2,819,300, nearly $60,000 less than the $2,877,796 bid that the board voted to accept. That bid was submitted by the Fidelity Construction Co., a Louisville-based firm...A Floyd County mine owner has been accused of the imroper disposal of radioactive waste in July of 1988, while he was a resident of Pennsylvania. Travis E. Miller, 49, president of J & K Mining Inc., at Emma, has been accused of the illegal sale and burial of mine scales, laced with Cesium 137, a nuclear by-product material, during his tenure as president of the Stanford Mining Company in Indiana County, Pa....There died: Bradis “Brad” Lafferty, 57, of Harold, Ohio, formerly of Eastern, Monday, at Lima Memorial Hospital; Newton “Newt” May, 88, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Ouida Conley Campbell, 65, of Mousie, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Maude Osborne Smith, 88, of Martin, Saturday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Earl Baldridge, 76, of East Point, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Blaine Waddell, 78, of Larkslane, Wednesday, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Candace Danee Hughes, infant daughter of Edgar and Paulena Kidd Hughes of Dana, Saturday, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington; Billie Gene Williams, 62, of Prestonsburg, Friday, at his residence; Irene Boling, 73, of Oscola, Indiana, Thursday, in Countryside Place, Mishawaka, Indiana; Clifford H. Woody, 84, of Weeksbury, Tuesday, at Mountain Manor Nursing Home; Eulah Mae Butcher, 66, of Columbus, Ohio, formerly of Floyd County, Tuesday, at her residence; Adam Ernest “Bal” Patton, 72, of McDowell, Monday, at his residence; Wayne Damron, 79, of Tram, Tuesday, at Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Grace Preston Burke, 98, of East Point, Thursday, at Riverview Manor Nursing Home.

(April 29 and May 1, 1992)

The man accused of trying to shoot Floyd County Sheriff Paul Hunt Thompson in January, pleaded not guilty, Friday, and was ordered to undergo a state psychiatric examination. Greg Little, 35, of Water Gap will be examined at the Kentucky Corrections Psychiatric Center (KCPC) in La Grange. Little’s attorney, David Williams, from the Pikeville Public Defender’s office, asked for psychiatric testing “based on information regarding (Little’s) mental state.”...Residents of Prestonsburg’s Richmond No. 4 voting precinct will soon be able to buy alcoholic beverages in their own district, thanks to last week’s special-option wet/dry election. Mother Nature displayed her poetic side as heavy rain descended intermittently on those who entered and exited the polls at L & H Used Cars on South Lake Drive, on Saturday, April 25. The formerly dry precinct was voted wet by a small but deciding margin. There were 82 “yes” votes, and 74 “no” votes, as only 156 of the precinct’s 398 registered voters turned out for the wet/dry election. The polls were open from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m...The Floyd County Board of Education approved payments for a major renovation of the Betsy Layne High School gym, Tuesday, even though that project was rejected for funding by the state Department of Education. The payments approved to the project’s architect, Paul Hoffman, however, have been put on hold until the project is approved by the state Department of Facilities Management...April is National Math Month. To celebrate, students from Maytown, Osborne, Duff, and Martin elementary schools won prizes, played games, and competed against each other in written examinations and quick-recall events at Allen Central High School’s 8th Math Day gala, yesterday. Joyce Watson, who has taught at Allen Central for the last 17 years, founded the event in 1985, before any other school in the region even had an academic team. Watson said yesterday that she began the program, both because she felt that it was important for schools to put more emphasis on mathematics, and because she felt that the students who excel at academics didn’t receive nearly the amount of recognition that they deserved...There died: Cindy Beth Blackburn, 33, of Waynesfield, Ohio, formerly of McDowell, Monday, at St. Rita’s Medical Center; Addie Adkins Hunt, 98, of Hunter, Tuesday, at Parkview Manor Nursing Home; Fred Gessling Robinson, 83, of Martin, Thursday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; John M. Stamper, 84, of Brinkley, Monday, at his home; John Kelly Tolson, 59, of Fords Branch, Thursday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Bonnie Owens, 84, of Brinkley, Tuesday, at Kettering Memorial Hospital; Minnie Green Cantrell, 79, of Hellier, Wednesday, at her residence; Connie Howell Dale, 42, of Grethel, Sunday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Verda Amburgey Franklin, 73, of Mallie, Friday, at St. Joseph Hospital; Betty Amburgey, 51, of Mallie, Friday, at Redfox; Delora Dotson, 48, of Sassafras, Wednesday, at the Whitesburg Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Gypsey Johnson, 84, of Pikeville, Sunday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Quentin Jacobs, 72, of Dema, Wednesday, at his home; Ellen Rosaline Music, 65, of David, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Willie Moore, 71, of Bowling Fork, Tuesday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Sola Boyd Roberts, 80, of Harold, Monday, at her residence; Emily Jane “Mudie” Salyers, 92, of Prestonsburg, Friday, in the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Carl Vernon Frasure, 46, of Hueysville, Sunday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Clinton “Big Son” Collins, 66, of Ravenswood, West Virginia, formerly of McDowell, April 25, at Jackson County Memorial Hospital in Ripley, West Virginia; Maxine Rice, 60, of Banner, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Versa Turner, 70, of Cincinnati, Ohio, formerly of Eastern, Sunday, at her residence; Bessie A. Hale, 69, of Little Creek, Wednesday, at the home of her son in Ludowici, Georgia; Dewey May, 82, Floyd County native, and former Prestonsburg resident, Tuesday, in Melbourne, Florida; John Hall Jr., 64, of Topmost, Tuesday, at Veterans Hospital; Zelphia Grimm, 85, of Vero Beach, Florida, Monday, at Vero Beach.

(April 15 and April 17, 1992)

Prestonsburg may be willing to move a mountain to provide a home for harness racing in Floyd County. Mayor Ann Latta told city council, Monday evening, that she had met, Friday, with members of the state’s new racing commission to discuss a proposal for locating a track in Prestonsburg, and she expected to meet, Tuesday, with the full commission. Latta’s proposal calls for a dual-purpose development, which would provide a facility for the Kentucky Opry and a five-eighths mile track for harness racing...A Jacks Creek couple was arrested and charged with the illegal sale of alcohol, Sunday, after a Floyd County deputy sheriff allegedly purchased a case of beer at Hilltop Carry Out. Pearl Hall, 43, and Henry Hall, 63, were charged with selling the beverage, when the time of delivery or sale or malt beverages is prohibited; possession of a police radio; and trafficking in a schedule IV controlled substance. Mr. Hall was also charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Mrs. Hall was charged with two counts of possessing prescription drugs not in proper container...A retired Glasgow educator officially took over operation of the Floyd County School System, Monday, at a special board of educaiton meeting. Tuesday’s regularly scheduled board meeting was postponed until April 21. Eldon J. Smith, 59, a retired superintendent of the Glasgow Independent School District, is the interim superintendent, appointed to replace Floyd superintendent Ron Hager, who was suspended without pay from that position, Friday, by the State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education...Registered voters in Prestonsburg’s Richmond precinct will decide, in an April 25 election, whether or not the sale of alcoholic beverages will be permitted. The precinct is currently “dry.” Floyd County Court Clerk Carla Boyd received a petition with the required 55 signatures, February 21, asking that a wet/dry election be held in that precinct...Prestonsburg’s Main Street program received an economic boost last week from the Kentucky Heritage Council...The Main Street program received $170,000 to fund revitalizaiton of Prestonsburg’s downtown area. The money will be used to provide low interest rate loans which can be used for a general facelift of the area, said Henry Mayo, manager of the Main Street program...A 63-year-old Oil Springs man pleaded innocent, Thursday, to a capital murder charge in the March 18 shooting death of Johnson County Sheriff Cecil Eugene Cyrus. Flem Burchett, formerly of Banner, entered the innocent plea in Pike County Circuit Court at his arraignment. The hearing was delayed for approximately 30 minutes after Burchett complained of chest pains. He was taken to Pikeville Methodist Hospital where he underwent tests and was returned to the courtroom...Paintsville’s City Council voted 4-2, Tuesday evening, to authorize a best-use study of the Paintsville-Prestonsburg airport to determine what the future may hold for the site. The council’s vote, Tuesday, was a follow-up to a joint meeting last month of council members from Prestonsburg and Paintsville, and a reaction to a proposal made by the Big Sandy Area Development District....There died: Cordell H. Martin, 75, of Hindman, former Knott County Attorney and State Representative, Wednesday, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center; Fess Hogg Roark, 80, of Garrett, Saturday, at Salyersville Health Care Center; Ruby Evelyn Newman, 68, of Melvin, Friday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Anna Mae Justice, 77, of North Manchester, Indiana, formerly of Prestonsburg, Monday, at her residence; Mallie Marie Hicks, 78, of Kenton, Ohio, Sunday, at Hardin Memorial Hospital; Robert Glenn Johnson, 33, of Printer, formerly of Knott County, Friday, at Prestonsburg, from injuries sustained from an automobile accident; Dorthy Johnson, 72, of Salyersville, formerly of Knott County, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Grace DeRossett George Ellis, 84, of Prestonsburg, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Dollie Handshoe, 71, of Hueysville, Saturday, at U.K. Medical Center; Delphia Burke, 86, of Kite, Saturday, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Hospital; Henry Fisher Frazier, 73, of Lady Lake, Florida, formerly of Floyd County, Friday, at Leesburg; Pluma Kendrick, 79, of Melvin, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Charles Russell Roberts, 65, at St. Joseph Hospital, Lexington; Hobert Sublett, 74, of Sitka, Sunday, at Salyersville Health Care; Joby Martin, 81, of Huntington, West Virginia, formerly of Printer, Friday, at his residence; Delmer Robinson, 75, of West Prestonsburg, Thursday, April 16, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Hattie Thompson McCowan, 93, of McDowell, Thursday, at Salyersville Health Care Center; Edgar “Edd” Castle, 83, of Thealka, Friday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; Nora Whitaker Murray, 86, of Whitehouse, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Ida Marie Pelphrey, 76, of Tutor Key, Tuesday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; Chandis McKinney, 53, of Cicero, Ilinois, formerly of Galveston, died Sunday, at his residence.

(April 1 and April 3, 1992)

A debate over the future of the Paintsville-Prestonsburg Airport came to a happy conclusion this week, when a joint venture was announced for the site. The cooperative project will involve NASA’s relocation of its space puppet show and discovering the world of acting...A candidates forum sponsored by the Floyd County Chamber of Commerce is scheduled for April 31, at the Stumbo, Stumbo and Stumbo convention center at Stumbo Lake State Park (formerly Jenny Wiley State Park). Candidates for Congress have been invited to attend, but only those who pass an entrance exam will be allowed to speak. The test will require congressional hopefuls to demonstrate their ability to balance their checkbooks or, alternatively, balance a spinning basketball on their noses. (APRIL FOOL!)...Though they had earlier signed a confession of guilt, Jeannie Jacobs Fouts, Betty Jacobs Thomas, and Bobby Ray Roberts, pleaded not guilty April 1, to shoplifting charges. Public defender Janice Porter entered the pleas on behalf of her clients at an arraignment held Wednesday, in Floyd District Court, before a production crew from the nationally televised show, “A Current Affair.” Preliminary hearings for Fouts and Thomas, and a pretrial hearing for Roberts, were set for April 9...State Representative Greg Stumbo said, Thursday, that he is cooperating with federal investigators who launched a probe Tuesday, of Kentucky lawmakers. FBI agents swarmed the state’s capitol, Tuesday, serving subpoenas on 13 legislators, including Stumbo and Representaitve David LeMaster of Paintsville, asking for campaign finance records dating to 1988...There died Marvin Lee Boswell, 65, of Prestonsburg, Monday, at his residence; Ricky Slone Jr., 26, of Lackey, Monday, at Knott County Nursing Home; Lula F. Coburn, of Garrett, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Hospital; Charles Russell West, 42, of Cow Creek, Sunday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Mae Banks Hicks, 91, of Wayland, Friday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Patricia Hewlett Salisbury, 55, of Martin, Monday, at her residence; Jerry Sturgill, 52, of Martin, Thursday, at the U.K. Medical Center; Richard King, 72, of Butler, Indiana, native of Floyd County, Wednesday, at the Dekalb Memorial Hospital in Auburn, Indiana; William Glenn Scott, 80, of Somerset, Saturday, at Midtown Care Home; Robert Hamilton, 81, of Teaberry, Friday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; John H. Flanery, 86, of Martin, Friday, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center; Patricia Ann Slone Himes, 48, of Bolviar, Ohio, Saturday; Monnie Clevenger Collins, 78, of Prestonsburg, Monday, at her residence; Frances McKinney, 80, of Paintsville, formerly of Betsy Layne, Tuesday, March 21, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Ollie Dyer Vanderpool, 80, of Garrett, Wednesday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital.

March 25-27, 1992)

“How high?” was the cry, and $3.70 per thousand was the response at Thursday’s Wheelwright City Commission meeting, when commissioners voted to increase water and sewer rates. The increase was necessary in order for the city to receive a Community Development Block Grant to upgrade its water and sewer system. The system’s water production capacity would be increased by 50,000 gallons per day...Trash, liquor and golf were the prevailing issues at Friday’s Floyd County Fiscal Court meeting. Members of Floyd County’s Litter Task Force approached the court, asking what more could be done to combat the county’s trash problem. Kathy Tackett wanted to know how to get more people involved in cleaning up the county, and chided the court about county workers littering the highways themselves...A two-year rift between Prestonsburg’s police and fire departments was bridged, Monday, by city council, which adopted a new employee pay scale in an effort to bring a measure of equality to department salaries. The new salary schedule will cost the city approximately $44,000 per year...Two juveniles escaped from the Big Sandy Area Detention Center, Sunday afternoon, and were recaptured by Prestonsburg Police that evening. Prestonsburg detective sergeant Jeff Stumbo said, Tuesday, that the two escaped around 4 p.m. when one of the turnkeys opened the door to let visitors out...Wendell Ray Newman, 39, of Jacks Creek, was sentenced to 25 years in prison, Monday, by a federal judge in Pikeville. Federal Judge Joseph Hood pronounced the 25-year sentence without parole on Newman, and added a sentence of five years’ supervised release...The first signs of spring are bringing the first sign of jobs related to an intertrack racing facility in Floyd County. The Department of Employment Services announced, Monday, that applications are being accepted for pari-mutuel ticket sellers/cashiers for Kentucky Downs. Applicants should be ready to start work on April 4...A Paintsville councilman called it a “dog and pony show.” An attorney for a pilot’s group labeled it “an inquisition.” The most accurate description, though, of a non-meeting, Tuesday evening, of Prestonsburg and Paintsville city councils came from Paintsville councilman and Prestonsburg attorney Mitch Kinner, who called the two-hour session on issues concerning the Paintsville-Prestonsburg Airport “a waste of time.”...Official charges were served against Floyd County School Superintendent Ron Hager at the eleventh-hour, Thursday, when Hager made a rare appearance at the central office. Floyd County Sheriff’s deputies have made repeated attempts to locate Hager at work and at home since the March 12 state school board meeting when Education Commissioner Thomas Boysen, charged Hager with willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office....A shoplifting spree by a bride-to-be, through Prestonsburg has captured the attention of national media, including the Phil Donahue Show, the FOX Network, and The Globe. The Floyd County Times, the Prestonsburg Police Department and the Floyd County Chamber of Commerce have been besieged with calls from writers with these programs and newspapers, since the story came across the wires of the Associated Press. The article made its debut in the Floyd County Times on March 18. The Associated Press ran its version of the story which was picked up by the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune....Beaver Elkhorn-Water District has recently completed its community meetings that were held at the local schools serving the Left and Right Beaver areas of Floyd County. As explained to all persons in attendance at these meetings, Beaver-Elkhorn Water District has developed a major project to expand its water treatment plant from the present 1.0 MGD to 1.5+ MGD, and extend its water distribution system approximately 76 miles, to serve an estimated 1,500 additional households...There died: William Donald Music, 76, of Abbott Creek Road, Prestonsburg, Saturday, at his residence; Freddie Collins, 63, of Hindman, Wednesday, at Knott County Health Care Center; Gardes Prater, 78, of Marcy, Ohio, Monday, at Mt. Carmel East Hospital, Columbus, Ohio; Paul Buckston Tucker, 58, of McDowell, Tuesday, at The Baptist Hospital East in Louisville; Lacy Bailey, 76, of Hueysville, Tuesday, at his residence; Mack Burke, 71, of Virgie, Friday, at his residence; Nedra Akers Davis, 58, of Joliett, Illinois, Monday, at St. Joseph Medical Center; Estell “Butch” Reed, 70, of Betsy Layne, Sunday, at St. Joseph Hospital; James Dennis Riehm, 40, of Bowling Green, Monday, at Bowling Green from injuries received in a helicopter crash; Minnie Faye Simpson, 54, of Allen, Saturday, at her residence; Winson B. “Mike” McCown, 78, of Wheelwright, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Clyde Johnson, 66, of Bevinsville, Friday, at St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington; Robert D. Francis, 77, of Sarasota, Florida, formerly of Prestonsburg, at a local hospital; David Arnold Wilson, 47, of Harold, Monday, at his residence; Can Little, 91, of Somerset, formerly of Robinson Creek, Thursday, at Midtown Care Home at Somerset; Verdie Mae Cole, 85, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, formerly of Teaberry, Saturday, at Beyer Hospital in Ypsilanti; Ruby Watts, 87, of Pinetop, Friday, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Roxie Meade Burchett, 80, of Martin, formerly of Langley, Thursday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Guy Meade, 81, of Prestonsburg, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Warden Burchett, 78, of Prestonsburg, Saturday, at Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Burnie Newsome, 73, of Virgie, Tuesday, at his residence.

(March 18 and March 20, 1992)

Riding on the coattails of an endorsement by Governor Brereton Jones, Wheelwright City Commissioners, forged ahead in an effort to locate a new prison in their community. Commissioners met for more than over an hour in closed session at a special called meeting, Monday, to proceed with land acquisition for the mountaintop site...About 30 Bull Creek residents met, Saturday morning, to discuss the City of Prestonsburg’s annexation of an area in their community, and whether or not to become their own municipality, Dickie Hall, the apparent leader of the Bull Creek group, told those attending the meeting that the city’s move to annex the nightclub Center Stage was “illegal,” according to the attorney general’s office...Classes resumed, Tuesday, at Wheelwright High School, when suspended principal Lewis “Spike” Berkhimer met privately with students and urged them to return to the classroom. The media was not invited to sit in on Berkhimer’s meeting with the students...’Til theft do us part. The wedding of Jeannie Jacobs, 18, of Topmost, to Danny Wane Fouts of Dema, was delayed by seven hours, Saturday, because the bride was lodged in the Floyd County Jail after an apparent shoplifting spree through Prestonsburg. Prestonsburg police officers detained eight Knott County residents, around noon Saturday, after receiving a report of shoplifting at Food City. When police officers arrived at the scene, one of the suspects, Betty J. Thomas (sister of the bride) made a dash for freedom, heading for the construction site of new U.S. 23, near Food City. Officer Anthony Castle chased her for about one mile, over the rough terrain, before he captured the alleged shoplifter...Johnson County Sheriff Gene Cyrus, who once joked that he would have to be “blasted out of office,” was shot to death, Wednesday, while attempting to arrest a former Floyd County man who had skipped out on his rape trial. Flags flew at half mast, Thursday, at courthouses in Johnson and Floyd counties in honor of Cyrus, one of Johnson County’s most durable and popular public officials...Floyd County may make its way into the Guiness Book of World Records by way of a Florida man who hopes to visit every county courthouse in the United States. John Richard Frankenfield, a retired construction executive from Miami Beach, began his endeavor in 1990, and paid a visit to the Floyd County Sheriff’s office Saturday afternoon...On March 28 around 5 p.m., Floyd Countians should look skyward for a vivid reminder of the year’s significance to the Commonwealth. The “Clean Air for Kentucky” hot-air balloon will fly to Jenny Wiley State Park as part of a statewide campaign to commemorate Kentucky’s 200th anniversary of Statehood, and to boost environmental awareness...There died: Birdus Conley, 70, of Lackey, Sunday, at her home; Has Johnson, 73, of Bevinsville, Sunday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; William (Tate) Baisden, 74, of Prestonsburg, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Nora Calhoun Blackburn, 90, of Prestonsburg, Monday, at Mountain Manor Nursing Home; John S. King, 82, of Beaver Dam, formerly of Knott County, Wednesday, at the Owensboro-Daviess County Hospital, Owensboro; Con Burchwell, 81, of Martin, Saturday, at Jenkins Hospital; Robert W. Evans, 37, of Chicago, Sunday; Rebecca Ashley, 93, of Redfox, Thursday, at the U.K. Medical Center in Lexington; Rudolph Massey, 76, of Sassafras, Tuesday, at the Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Donald Wayne Timm, 56, of Prestonsburg, Friday, at U.K. Medical Center; Kenneth “Dock” Rudder Sr., 52, of Martin, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Laura Ann Dumeyer, 76, of Martin, Monday, at her residence; Charles Edward Jennings, 26, of Caledonia, Illinois, formerly of Drift, Sunday, in Popular Grove, Illinois; Elsie Hicks, 96, of Munith, Michigan, Thursday, at Albion Community Hospital; Glen Ward, 82, of Offutt, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Mary Jane Slone, 83, of Hollybush, Thursday, at the Hillside Acre Nursing Home in Willard, Ohio; Ollie Mae Dutton Fitzpatrick, 81, of Boons Camp, Wednesday; Harvey Reed Gunnell, 62, of Prestonsburg, Friday, at Aivert Nursing Home, Ceredo, West Virginia; George W. Meade, 52, of Printer, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Thomas Kent Oliver, 33, of London, Ohio, Sunday, in London, Ohio; Lydia Smallwood, 52, of Bevinsville, Sunday, at her residence; Paul Buckston Tucker, 58, of McDowell, Tuesday, at The Baptist Hospital East in Louisville; William H. (Buster) Patton, 81, of Prestonsburg, Thursday, at his residence. 

(Mar. 11 and Mar. 13, 1992)

A Pike County man was found not guilty by a Floyd County Jury, Tuesday in the March 1991, shooting death of a Floyd County man. Jurors deliberated just an hour and twenty minutes before returning a not guilty verdict for Ralph Gerald Newsome, 27, of Virgie. Newsome was charged with first degree murder in the March 9, 1991, shooting of Greg Perry of Printer. The two-day trial began one year to the date, after the shooting...With little fanfare and only limited opposition, Prestonsburg’s City Council approved annexation measures, Monday, that set the stage for the start of parimutual wagering in Floyd County. Council adopted four ordinances, Monday, that incorporate a section of Route 3 and the proposed site of an intertrack wagering (ITW) facility into the city limits, also authorizing the sale of liquor by the drink at the ITW development...A Prestonsburg police officer has denied the allegations made by his 18-year-old daughter in a civil suit filed February 28. In the suit, Virginia Slone alleged that she was brutally beaten by her father, Anthony Castle, three years ago while Prestonsburg police officers ignored her pleas for help...The Floyd County Board of Education unanimously approved a recommendation from superintendent Ronald Hager, Tuesday, evening to proceed on developing one of four alternate sites proposed as the locaiton of a new Prestonsburg High School. Hager’s site recommendation was part of a series of proposals to be made by the superintendent during Tuesday night’s regular meeting of the board....Floyd County will play host to at least 92 Kentucky county treasurers and finance officers, this week, when the organization meets for its spring conference at Jenny Wiley State Park. Floyd County Treasurer Deloris Dingus said the local meeting is the first ever, east of Lexington, for the orgaization...Kentucky Education Commissioner Thomas Boysen began ouster proceedings against Floyd County School Superintendent Ron Hager, Thursday, by accusing Hager of willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office. The written charges were presented to the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Thursday morning, when they resumed their March meeting...All but about a dozen of Wheelwright High School’s 218 students walked out of their classrooms, Thursday, in a show of support for their principal, who has been charged with sexually abusing a female student. The students left school at 8:55 a.m., Thursday, setting up a picket line outside the school, and vowing not to return to classes until principal Lewis Berkhimer is reinstated to his position...A Floyd County truck driver was injured, Tuesday, in a traffic accident on the Mountain Parkway that left one person dead. James B. Hays, 43, of Betsy Layne, was driving an oil tanker truck east of Campton in Wolfe County, when it collided head-on with a car driven by Betty Jo Sluss of Inez. Sluss was pronounced dead at the scene...Prestonsburg Housing Authority members voted, Wednesday, to hire a consulting firm to oversee an $850,000 renovation project at Indian Hills. Sassie, a Paducah management consulting firm, was picked to oversee the project and the company scored a 92 on a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) evaluation form...There died: Herman Joseph, 48, of Prestonsburg, Friday, at the V.A. Medical Center Hospital in Louisville; Tive Daniel, 84, of Paintsville, Saturday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; William Charlie Johnson, 71, of Wheelwright, Monday, at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington; Phillip Delmar “Dude” Hagans, 63, of Langley, Sunday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Roger Lee Coleman, 48, of Louisa, Saturday, at the Humana Hospital in Louisa; Ronald David Blair, 47, of Staffordsville, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Wilmer Stapleton, 66, of Hager Hill, Sunday, at his home; Aney Hicks Bolen Martin, 76, of Wapakoneta Ohio, formerly of Mousie, Thursday, at her home; Melba O. Dyer, 88, of Abingdon, Virginia, formerly of Allen, Monday, at the Johnstown Memorial Hospital in Abington; Lloyd Cox, 70, of Louisville, Saturday, at Louisville; Dave Rowe, 72, of Belleville, Mich., formerly of Pike County, Tuesday, at Byer Hospital in Michigan; Rudy Parsons Jr., 35, of Martin, Wednesday, at his residence.

(March 4-6, 1992)

Kentucky’s Civil Air Patrol has flown into the whirlwind controversy over the fate of the Paintsville-Prestonsburg airport, announcing Monday, that a volunteer squadron would be located at Combs Field. The announcement came from State Senator David LeMaster, D-Paintsville, in a press release, apparently issued from the office of Paintsville attorney C.K. Belhasen. Both Lemaster and Belhasen have been active opponents to a proposal to convert the Paintsville-Prestonsburg Airport into a site for industrial development...A Friday night stabbing incident at Wayland sent one man to the hospital and another to the Floyd County jail...Gary Hall, 35, of Wayland, was charged with first degree assault, after Jeffrey Murphy, 27, was stabbed twice in the upper right chest, authorities said...A legislative committee’s refusal, Monday, to endorse a proposal to double-bunk state prison inmates, could pave the way for construction of a new, privately-operated prison, and Floyd County may be in the running as the site...Floyd County Circuit Judge Harold Stumbo issued an injunction, Tuesday, against the city of Pikeville, to prevent them from cutting off the water supply to the Mud Creek Water District. At Tuesday’s hearing, Prestonsburg attorney Ned Pillersdorf, representing the water district, told Judge Stumbo the city had threatened to cut off the water supply because of an alleged $150,000 debt...A Floyd County mother and daughter were tied up while armed thieves ransacked their home, Monday morning. The mother and her daughter, 22, were alone in their Lancer home when two males forced their way into the house through the back door, around 11 a.m...An appeal by an Adams Middle School principal, convicted last year of abuse of a teacher, was dismissed Tuesday. Boyd County Judge Kelley Asbury, who was named as special judge in the case, ruled, Tuesday, that the appeal of Thomas Tackett be dismissed “since no appeal was taken by filing a notice of appeal.” A hearing on the issue was held February 28, in Boyd County...A May 6 preliminary hearing date has been set for a Carl D. Perkins Job Corps Center counselor accused of soliciting an attack on a student at the center in January. Clarence Trammell Jr., 52, of Wheelwright, appeared before trial commissioner Jack Hyden, Wednesday, with his attorney, Keith Bartley. Trammell entered no formal plea during Wednesday’s hearing, but Bartley said after the court appearance, his client would plead innocent...Prestonsburg Attorney Danny Caudill was appointed by Governor Brereton Jones, Wednesday, to fill the unexpired term of former District Judge Harold Stumbo. Floyd County has been without a district judge since January, when Stumbo was sworn in as circuit judge. Two names were submitted to the committee in February...Two men were arrested in Pike County, Thursday, and charged with robbing the home of Frank Adams in Prestonsburg, on Monday, March 2. Arrested were John A. Fletcher, 26, of Marshalville, in Magoffin County, and Parker M. Parker, 20, of Pikeville...A mistrial was declared, Wednesday, and a change of venue was granted in a first degree rape case in Floyd Circuit Court, when a juror announced he could not render a fair verdict. Commonwealth Attorney Jerry Patton said, Wednesday, the juror informed the court Wednesday morning, of his decision after he witnessed the alleged victim talking with an investigator. It was not disclosed if the juror overheard the two talking...There died: Lula Mae “Vina” Prater, 63, of Langley, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Mary Webb Martin, 100, of Ocala, Florida, formerly of Wayland, Tuesday; Alice Mae Prater Puckett, 86, of Prestonsburg, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; John Buford Martin, 69, of Garden City, Michigan, formerly of Garrett, Wednesday, at the University of Michigan Hospital; A. L. “Bear” Davis, 50, of Langley, Saturday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Helen Hall Staples, 85, of Lowmansville, formerly of Honaker, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Maude Grigsby Haddix, 89, of Fisty, Tuesday, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Ted Bates, 78, of Staffordsville, Sunday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; Dingus Pigman, 76, of Raven, Monday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Josephine Brown, 42, of Allen, Friday, at U.K. Medical Center; Roman Tendziegloski, 78, of Battle Creek, Michigan, Saturday, at Battle Creek Health System Community Site; Juanita Ousley, 70, of Prestonsburg, Sunday, at the Methodist Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi; Julia Mullins, 89, of Somerset, formerly of Elkhorn City, Thursday, at Humana Hospital in Somerset; Mallie Terry Slone, 95, of Dema, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center; Estill Meek, 76, of Betsy Layne, Wednesday, at his residence; Bertha Cumbo Spears, 101, of West Van Lear, Tuesday, at Riverview Nursing Home; Ralph Mullett, 77, of Auxier, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Charlie B. Hall, 78, of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, at Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital.

(Feb. 26 & Feb. 28, 1992)

Prestonsburg’s City Council set the wheels in motion, Monday, for the development of an intertrack wagering facility near Water Gap, giving first reading to an ordinance annexing the proposed site. As proposed, the annexation would follow Route 3 from the current city boundary to property now occupied by the Center Stage nightclub....An early morning break-in at Allen Central High School, Monday, caused thousands of dollars worth of property damage and several pieces of electronic equipment were stolen. Classes were cancelled, Monday, as a result of damages to the school...Floyd Circuit Judge Harold Stumbo ordered, Monday, that union dues may no longer be deducted from the paychecks of nine employees of the Floyd County Board of Education. Stumbo’s ruling came as a result of a conflict between the Teamsters Local 783 and nine classifed employees of the school system, who asked the court to dissolve their association with the union...The mother of a 16-year-old child with muscular dystrophy has filed a civil lawsuit against the Floyd County Board of Education, and transportation director Earl Ousley, claiming that a defective wheelchair lift on a school bus injured the girl and aggravated her daughter’s condition. Doris Hunt, on behalf of her daughter Tammy Hunt, filed suit February 19, in circuit court alleging the board failed to repair the lift after it was reported that it had malfunctioned before....One area vacancy was filled, Tuesday, but there has been no word yet from Governor Brereton Jones on who will be named interim District Judge for Floyd County. The Governor’s office announced, Tuesday, that Paintsville lawyer Susan Mullins Johnson had been appointed interim District Judge for the 24th Judicial District, which includes Johnson, Martin and Lawrence counties. Johnson will fill the seat vacated by the election of John Gardner as judge for Kentucky’s Court of Appeals...The remains of a Floyd County woman were exhumed, Friday, as part of an investigation of suspected murder in Michigan. The body of Bonnie Jo Kiser, 51, was discovered on her bed in her Michigan home on December 20, 1991, following a blaze which apparently destroyed the residence. Kiser, a native of Floyd County, was buried December 25, in the Hackworth family cemetery near the Floyd-Magoffin County line on Kane Branch. She was exhumed, Friday, apparently to determine whether she “may have died as a result of a criminal act in the state of Michigan...Three days after Job Corps personnel and community leaders denounced news coverage of alleged gang activity at the Prestonsburg facility, eight students were arrested and two others were hospitalized as the result of a reported gang-style assault at the local center on Monday. Six adults and two juvenile students at Carl D. Perkins Job Corps were arrested, Monday evening, and charged in connection with an attack on two female students, Monday, at the center. One female received a stab wound in the leg...Dixie Campbell of Maytown, whose son was killed in Vietnam, was presented a specially inscribed Bible by the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Chapter 128 recently, following a three-year search for the families of eight soldiers who previously could not be located. The D.A.V. erected a plaque three years ago at Allen’s Stumbo Park in memory of 21 Floyd County soldiers killed in combat in Vietnam, which included the name of Campbell’s son, Andrew J. Campbell. All but eight of the soldiers’ families listed were located and given the specially inscribed Bibles in honor of those who gave their lives for their country in Vietnam. Each Bible was personalized, with the name of the soldier inscribed on the cover...The wife of a Floyd County magistrate was one of three commissioners appointed by the fiscal court, Friday, to draw new magisterial district boundaries in the county. Hattie Owens, wife of magistate Jackie Edford Owens, was named, along with Paul Gearheart and Tom Smith, to redistrict the voting boundaries, a statutory requirement that must begin in February...For almost fifty years, Eugene Wells of Goble-Roberts Addition has carried a piece of World War II embedded in his hip. Now Wells will so carry a piece of that war near his heart. Last week, Wells was awarded the Navy’s Purple Heart, one of the military’s highest honors, for injuries he received in one of the major air-naval battles of war...An attorney representing a Carl D. Perkins Job Corps counselor accused of soliciting an assault on a student said, Thursday, that his client’s 1966 murder conviction has nothng to do with the misdemeanor charges pending against him. “They’re just draggin his name through the mud for nothing,” Prestonsburg attorney Keith Bartlett said. “He has repaid his debt to society.”...There died: Elmer “Hoover” Vanover, 75, of Dorton, Monday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Irvin Sparkman, 81, of Leburn, Thursday, at the Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Stevie L. Milam, 28, of Harold, Sunday, at his residence; Green B. Johnson, 82, of Hi Hat, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Thelma Jones, 85, of Drift, Sunday, at Mountain Manor Nursing Home; Madgie Childers Johnson, 74, of Jenkins, Friday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Jones W. Martin, 91, of Eastern, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; William Henry McCoy, 64, of McCombs, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Golda Tackett, 91, of Virgie, Monday, at Mountain View Health Care Center; David R. “Buddy” Sanders, 52, of Romulus, Michigan, Wednesday; Charles R. Moore, 18, of Chloe Creek, formerly of Harold, Friday, at his residence; Alec Spencer Bailey, Friday, at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington; Charles Edvon Slone, 57, of Banner, Monday, at his residence; Gladys Kendrick Coleman, 83, of Elkhorn City, Saturday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Josephine “Penie” Davidson Fields, 88, of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Dora Honaker Hawkins, 68, of Harold, Monday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital.

(Feb. 19 and Feb. 21, 1992)

A state Appellate Court Judge ruled, Tuesday, that an investigator for the state Office of Education Accountability does not have to testify before a Floyd County Grand Jury, Wednesday, about an investigation into the Floyd County School System. Appeals Judge John Gardner blocked a decision issued by Floyd County Circuit Judge Harold Stumbo, Tuesday morning, that ordered OEA investigator Phil Austin to obey a subpoena from Commonwealth Attorney Jerry Patton...The other contenders in the race for eastern Kentucky’s first harness racing track apparently threw a shoe down the home stretch, as Prestonsburg crossed the finish line alone in the race for the $3 million-plus facility. Friday, the Kentucky Harness Racing Commission unanimously approved the application by Eastern Kentucky Racing Inc. president, and Prestonsburg businessman Clyde Woods, to conduct live harness racing and intertrack wagering within the mountains...A Carl D. Perkins Job Corps counselor was arrested, Thursday night, for allegedly soliciting an assault upon a 17-year-old student, January 10. Clarence Trammel Jr., 52, of Wheelwright, was arrested by Prestonsburg police sergeant Jeff Stumbo and charged with criminal solicitation and criminal facilitation in connection with an altercation at the center involving six students, who allegedly assaulted another student...Students and instructors from Prestonsburg Community College (PCC) met in a peaceful rally, Monday afternoon, at the college to protest apparent state funding cuts for community colleges across Kentucky. Linda Smith, president of Phi Theta Kappa, an honorary scholastic society member, and sponsor of the rally, led the demonstration to discuss the effects of past cuts and apparent future cuts on community colleges and to ask others to contact their legislators about their concerns as to whether quality education will be allowed to continue within community college systems across Kentucky...The Prestonsburg Tourism Commission needs tour guides for one-day trips with groups visiting the area. A clear speaking voice and good communication skills are important in presenting interesting information about our past and present...Approximately 50 Allen city residents were at the Floyd County courthouse annex, Thursday, to protest an entertainment permit application that would allow, if approved, a beer by the drink roadhouse near a New Allen residential section. The application was submitted by Darrell Preston of Ivel, to sell beer by the drink and operate the Crossroads Lounge, “three tenths of a mile from the intersection of U.S. 23 and Route 1428 at Allen,” according to the Floyd County Court entertainment application. The application also noted that the business would offer live music and dancing between the hours of 4 p.m. to midnight, and would be closed only on Sundays and major holidays...No further information has been received by the state Division of Air Quality on an application by a North Carolina soil remediation company to locate a mobile soil incinerator in Floyd County. Roger Cook, with the Division of Air Quality, said earlier this week that his office has not received the additional information from Enviro-Spec that is needed to complete their application...There died: Forrest Clinton Stephens, 60, of Prestonsburg, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; David Allen Songer, 38, of Paintsville, Friday, at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington; John Pack Sr., 95, of Drift, Wednesday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Arizona (Arie) Caudill, 79, of Plumwood, Ohio, Sunday, at her residence; Eva Evans, 64, of Chicago, Illinois, formerly of Stephens Branch Road, Sunday; Paul Richard Wright, 40, of Prestonsburg, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Mae Hunt, 68, of Ypsilanti, Mich., formerly of Cow Creek, Wednesday, at St. Joe’s Hospital in Ypsilanti; Nedra Turner Slone, 44, of McDowell, Saturday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Maude Salyers Hannah, 88, of West Van Lear, Tuesday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; Adrian Griffith, 31, a former Floyd County resident, in an automoble accident on Saturday, at Bean Station, Tennessee; Mary Mynhier Wolverton, 73, of Prestonsburg, Sunday, at her residence; Virgil Shepherd, 63, of Warsaw, Indiana, Thursday, at IU Medical Center; Verdia Sammons, 71, of Prestonsburg, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Verlin “Tuck” Kimbler, 80, of Sitka, Sunday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; Lucille Conley Hackworth, 70, of Silver Lake, Indiana, formerly of Floyd County, Tuesday, at Miller’s Manor Nursing Home in Warsaw, Indiana; Warner Roark Jr., 66, of Weeksbury, Tuesday, at his residence; Woodrow Bradley, 59, of Claypool, Indiana, Wednesday, at his residence; Raymond Astor Woods, 76, of Prestonsburg, Thursday, at his residence; Bascom Clark May, 49, of Crestwood, formerly of Martin, Wednesday, at the Tri-County Community Hospital; Edith P. Terry, 70, of Wayland, Wednesday, at Fisher-Titus Hospital in Norwalk, Ohio.

(Feb 12 and Feb 14, 1992)

Governor Brereton Jones tossed out a few surprises during his budget address last Thursday, and one even caught veteran legislator Greg Stumbo off guard. Stumbo said he had scanned the Governor’s budget speech prior to Jones’ address’ to the General Assembly, Thursday evening, adding that he was “pleasantly” surprised” when Jones specifically mentioned a proposed 18-hole golf course for Jenny Wiley State park as a project targeted for funding...Upset over what they perceive is a dead end in a state investigation of the Floyd County School System, members of the Floyd County Education Association said, Tuesday, they will seek legislative assistance in addressing what one FCEA member called “an intolerable situation.” In a press conference, Tuesday evening, at Adams Middle School, FCEA member Bud Reynolds said his organization had met recently with Dr. Penney Sanders, head of the state’s Office of Education Accountability, and members had come away from that meeting displeased with what they heard...The Prestonsburg City Council apparently is closer to resolving a salary dispute between city employees that has been at issue for most of the last two years. In a business-as-usual meeting, Monday night, Mayor Ann Latta and the city council presented a proposal that could possibly settle the on-going salary dispute with the city’s firefighters, who contend that their rate of pay and actual pay should be more equal to that of the city police...The May primary non-partisan ballot for Floyd County District Judge is made up of three familiar Floyd County attorneys: Danny P. Caudill, Dan Rowland, and James R. Allen. The district judge presides over all criminal misdemeanor charges, preliminary felony hearings, small claims court, juvenile matters, civil cases, domestic violence and mental health disabilities claim...Third time’s a charm? Penelope (Penny) Pajel has represented McDowell Elementary School for the last three years in the Floyd County Spelling Bee competition, and again, as last year, is the Floyd County champion...Preliminary findings of a financial audit of the Floyd County School System, released Tuesday, recommend the district change its ways concerning construction and banking procedures. Auditor Calvin Cranfill of the firm Helton Linton, Cranfill and Hall told the board, Tuesday. that the audit wouldn’t be finished for two weeks, until information concerning a 1984 debt to the federal government could be obtained...The Martin City Council met, Wednesday evening, and adopted an ordinance involving city employees’ health care costs. The issue was addressed following questions and complaints from city employees who apparently have been hard-pressed to meet the rising costs of individual, self-supplied health insurance coverage...Coach Rick Pitino will bring his senior Wildcats to Paintsville on Thursday, March 5, to hold a benefit dinner and auction for Our Lady of the Mountain School. John Pelphrey, Richie Farmer, Deron Feldhaus and Sean Woods will join the coach and guests for a prime rib dinner at 7 p.m., in the atrium of The Carriage House, in Paintsville...Commonwealth Attorney Jerry Patton has subpoenaed a state education investigator to appear before a Floyd County Grand Jury, next week, to provide information about a bingo probe and an investigation into the Floyd County School System. Office of Education Accountability investigator, Phil Austin, was served with the subpoena before the start of Tuesday’s board of education meeting to appear before the grand jury, Wednesday, February 19, at 1 p.m. Austin and Steve Yater, another OEA investigator, were in Floyd County, Tuesday, to continue gathering information concerning an investigation into management and administrative procedures in the school district...There died: Chester Slone, 53, of Hi Hat, Tuesday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Homer Ray Rowland, 45, of Orlando, Florida, Monday, February 3; Paul Bryon Hayslett, 62, of Sitka, Tuesday, at St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington; Rhoda Ellen Hicks, 67, of Garrett, Friday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Glen Richard Ward, 56, of Xenia, Ohio, formerly of Prestonsburg, at Greene Memoral Hospital; Lois Rice Richardson, 76, of Little Paint, Saturday, at her residence; Grover Morris Gillum, 68, of Melvin, Sunday, at his residence; Andrew Charles Robinson, two-month-old infant son of Gregory and Lisa Moore Robinson of Laguna Niguel, California, Monday, from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome; Belvie Maynard Farmer, 62, of Rockford, Illinois, Thursday, at Rockford Memorial Hospital; Gladys P. White, 97, of Lexington, Thursday, at Lexington Country Place; Donald David Stepp, 37, of Newport, North Carolina, Friday, at Carteret General Hospital in Morehead City, North Carolina; Theo Blanton, 77, of Dwale, Wednesday, at Health Care Center at Campton; Willie Halstead Damron, 70, of Flatwoods, formerly of Collins, Thursday, at her home; Elwood Conley, 52, of Hueysville, Sunday, at The Parkview Manor Nursing Home in Pikeville; Virgil Shepherd, 63, of Warsaw, Indiana, Thursday, at IU Medical Center; Elder Millard Blanton, 83, of Langley, Saturday, at Mountain Manor Nursing Home; Haskell Hughes, 71, of Ashland, Saturday, at his home; John B. “Slim” Ratcliff, 79, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Mary Alice Prater Shepherd, 89, of Hueysville, Wednesday, at Markey Cancer Center of the University of Kentucky Medical Center; Roxie Mae Pitts, 90, of Blue River, Monday, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Hospital; Granville Howell, 84, of McDowell, Wednesday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital.

(Feb 5, 1992 & Feb 7, 1992)

Floyd County School Board members enacted a hiring freeze last Friday night despite objections by superintendent Ron Hager who said that reports that the district will be in a deficit are false. Hager added at Friday's meeting that the auditing firm of Helton, Linton and Cranfill was hired illegally to perform the school district audit...A North Carolina Company has a permit application pending with the state Division of Air Quality to locate a soil remediation incinerator at Warco in Floyd County. EnviroSpec Inc. of Matthews, North Carolina filed a permit application with the state in July 1991 to locate a soil incinerator on 10 acres at Warco between Maytown and Martin...A 15-year-old female was arrested Monday evening for allegedly stabbing a 14-year-old female four times during an altercation near downtown Prestonsburg. A year-long dispute between the two juveniles apparently peaked when the 15-year-old allegedly pulled a knife on the victim, stabbing her twice in the back, once in the chest, and once in the arm, Dectective Sergeant Jeff Stumbo of the Prestonsburg City Police said Tuesday...The future of Combs Airport is in local hands, a state official said Tuesday, but Kentucky is Office of Aeronautics will keep a watchful eye on the facilityís operation and its compliance with aviation regulations. Non-compliance with state safety requirements has been one issue in the ongoing debate over the fate of the jointly-owned Paintsville-Prestonsburg airstrip and that non-compliance continues to concern state aeronautics officials. The Wayland City Council addressed many of the cityís short-term problems Monday evening, but long-range plans for bridge repair and creek clean-up continue to be hampered by the city is in apparent bleak financial outlook. Mayor Hobert Webb told the council that Floyd County Judge-Executive John M. Stumbo had assured him that the Wayland Bottom road would be repaired as soon as weather permitted, but no new solutions were in sight regarding creek clean-up for Wayland...Pikeville apparently has been scratched from the race for the proposed harness racing facility following Methodist church opposition to the project. Pikeville Mayor Walter E. May said Thursday in a prepared news release that it now appears that the hoped-for harness racing facilities will not be located in Pikeville, but will instead be going to Prestonsburg....Police are apparently still searching for a middle-aged, white male who at gunpoint robbed a convenience store in Stanville Sunday. The Kentucky State Police said a 140 to 150-pound man with curly, collar-length brown hair armed with a shotgun and pistol robbed the Cardinal Mart on U.S. 23 at approximately 10:30 p.m. and fled on foot after demanding money from the clerk...Two Floyd County students advanced to Sweet 16 Academic Showcase state competition this week after placing in regional competition February 1 at Morehead. Jennifer Steffey and Michael Ousley, who placed third in the Journalism, Advertising/Promotion category, have earned a spot in the state competition which will be held at the Transylvania University in Lexington March 18-20. The duo won the honor with their media bicentennial presentation which included a mock advertising campaign for magazine, newspaper, radio and billboard displays...A rare coronerís inquest was held Thursday in Floyd Circuit Court to determine the cause of death of a 38-year-old Floyd County coal miner who died in December 1990. Delmer Castle died the morning of December 7, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital after he became ill while working at the Floyd/Knott coal mine near Jones Fork in Knott County...Two hours of spirited debate Wednesday night at a special Wheelwright City Commission meeting covered all departments overseen by the four commissioners and resulted in two new appointments for two departments. Commissioners appointed Randall Johnson to the utility commission after former appointee Jerry Tackett declined the nomination. Mayor Charles Johnson swore in Clark Thornsberry to the utility commission after a short debate on the oath. Thornsberry took his oath from a back row seat in the audience. Thornsberry was named to the commission at the January meeting...A 15-year-old juvenile accused of stabbing another teenager Monday evening is back in school this week amid parent concern and questions. Floyd County Trial Commissioner Jack Hyden explained Thursday that because the accused juvenile attends a different school than that of the alleged victim and the accused is apparently a good student, a school release was issued during a hearing on the matter Tuesday...There died: Grace Arnett Craft, 83, of Jackson, Friday, at University Hospital in Columbus, Ohio; Samuel Conn, 25, of Hunter, Saturday, at the Hazard Appalachian Regional Hospital; Evelyn Elaine Sword, 53, of Pikeville, Saturday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Paul David Wells, 38, of Prestonsburg, Saturday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Ballard Hunt, 88, of Harold, Saturday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Angel Brown, infant daughter of Edgar Brown Jr. and Kimberly Harvey Brown of Garrett, was stillborn Friday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; Charlie Johnson, 77, of Wheelwright, Thursday, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington; Bartee Estep, of Hindman, Wednesday, at the Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Richard Harmon Hubbard, 79, of Kings Mountain, North Carolina, formerly of Prestonsburg, Saturday, at Kings Mountain Hospital; Cora M. Sturgell, 76, of New London, Ohio, native of Osborn, Saturday, at Fisher Titus Medical Center; Aaron D. Hall, 68, of Youngtown, Arizona, formerly of Kentucky, Tuesday; Chillie Thornsbury, 66, of David, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Hazel H. Hamilton, 78, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday, at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington; Charlotte Jean Hall Newman, 41, of Bevinsville, Tuesday, at Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington; and Mella Damron, 78, of Pikeville, Wednesday.

(Jan. 29-Jan. 31, 1992)

Councilman Billy Ray Collins presided over the Monday evening meeting of the Prestonsburg City Council, in the absence of Mayor Ann Latta, as several items were debated, including a bid by several council-members to have Prestonsburg’s Mayor-Council form of government changed in the November, 1994 election. Councilman Jerry Fannin, in a surprising move, motioned council to include on the November, 1994 general election ballot that Prestonsburg’s city government be changed to a city commission plan of administration...Comments made at a public hearing, Thursday by residents living near a medical waste incinerator will cause the state to take a closer look at a pending permit for that facility. Officials with the State Department of Air Quality listened intently as 14 speakers told of their concerns about the incinerators at Auxier, operated by Medisin Inc...With enough Democratic candidates to field a football team, the race to replace departing U.S. Congressman Chris Perkins drew an unprecedented lineup of challengers, Tuesday, as the filing deadline passed. Eleven Democrat candidates will crowd the ballot for the Congressional seat that, for most of the past 45 years had been shared by just two men—both named Perkins. Rarely had the Perkins’ hold on the 7th District—now the 5th District—seat been challenged in primary elections...A 25-year-old Martin woman was charged with first degree wanton endangerment and first degree assault, after allegedly stabbing her husband, Saturday. Rebecca Collins of Martin, was charged with stabbing her husband, Larry Collins, twice with a knife after an altercation at their home Saturday afternoon...A Floyd County woman unknowingly saved the life of Sheriff Paul Hunt Thompson when she took to heart a threat allegedly made by her husband. The woman called the sheriff’s department, Saturday, asking that a deputy be sent to her home and the situation turned out to be a domestic violence complaint...Floyd County school officials would neither confirm nor deny reports, Thursday afternoon, that a special meeting of the county school board, Friday evening, would include a proposal to eliminate all administrative positions in the system’s central office. Board Chairman Ray “Shag” Campbell would neither confirm nor deny the rumored actions, and said, “all I know is it’s an open meeting about personnel. I don’t know what all they’re going to do.”...The Prestonsburg City Council has been a hotbed of hot issues for many this week, and tongues are not likely to cool soon, because a question has been raised recently about whether long-time city councilman William R. Callihan is eligible to act as both a city councilman and be employed by the city. A letter from the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, dated September 23, 1991, which is currently circulating about the area, and which the Times received anonymously, states that, although not a formal legal opinion, “a councilman, a city officer, may not serve as an employee in the same city he is serving as a councilman.” The corresponence was signed by Thomas R. Emerson, assistant attorney general...A “do nothing attitude” and “a lack of interest” for growth, forced Wayland City Councilman Robert Stewart to resign his seat at council’s January meeting. “They do as they please and no citizens will come to the meetings, because they know they won’t do nothing,” Stewart said. “In the past, I’ve talked with the Big Sandy Area Development District about getting grants to clean the ditches out. But, I couldn’t get anyone (on the council) to help me. I can’t do it by myself. It’s pitiful.”...Despite a 4-4 vote by council, Monday evening, there were obvious indications that a proposal to change Prestonsburg’s form of city government is anything but dead. A swing vote on the issue was all but promised by newly elected councilman, George Archer, if the current system’s checks and balances fail to meet Archer’s expectations. Should the issue be revived and a proposal for change is passed by council, Prestonsburg voters will have the final say....Prestonsburg civil rights attorney Ned Pillersdorf agreed to a press conference Thursday, to offer details on a current lawsuit which might possibly attract national attention and notoriety. Pillersdorf is representing Weeksbury resident Mary Ann Johnson, who claims that her husband, Billy Virgil Johnson, committed suicide on February 15, 1991, as a direct result of taking the highly controversial drug, halcion....Ladies and gentlemen place your bets on Floyd County being chosen as the site for a new harness racing track. The state’s Harness Racing Commission met Thursday in Prestonsburg, with city and local officials, to talk about the prospect and to tour three potential sites. After the tour, the commission’s chairman and vice chairman said they felt, in their personal opinion, Floyd County is the best place for the track...There died: Clinon Slone, 94, of Larkslane, Friday, at the Hazard Regional Medical Center; Alberta Ashley, 81, of Mallie, Thursday, at her home, following an extended illness; Kermit Stamper, 78, of Litt Carr, Saturday, at the Letcher Manor Nursing Home in Whitesburg; James Mullins, 77, of Leburn, Friday, at the Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Ervin Preston, 80, of River, Tuesday, at Humana Hospital in Louisa; Irene Clark, 70, of Sitka, Sunday, at her residence; Birtie Mae Risenberg, 51, of Springdale, Ohio, formerly of Pike County, Thursday, at Hospice of Cincinnati, Ohio; Hubert W. Pennington, 71, of Ligon, Saturday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Marilyn Hughes, Tuesday, at her residence; Tommy Kendrick, 62, of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Vealie Louise Caudill, 75, of Hi Hat, Sunday, at her residence; Haleem Kawaja, 76, of Lexington, Thursday, at Veterans Administration Hospital in Lexington; Carroll Wade Moore, 52, of Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, at his residence; Connie Lee Thompson, 43, of Abbott Creek, Saturday, at his residence; Virginia Tackett Reynolds, 77, of Wheelwright, Monday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Dr. Clellen Herbert Boshears, 47, of Hickory, North Carolina, Thursday, at his residence; Lora “Goody” Johnson, 73, of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, Tuesday, at Lansing General Hospital; Fannie Mae Lafferty Hicks, 58, of Hudson, North Carolina, Sunday, at Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory, North Carolina; Timmy M. Shaheen, 30, of Arlington, Ohio, Monday, at his residence; Glendia Sue Burke McCoy, 43, of Martin, Wednesday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Cassie Roseline Casebolt, 84, of Speight, Wednesday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Mary Wilson Roberts, 85, of Lexington, Tuesday, at Cape Coral Hospital, Cape Coral, Florida.

(January 22 and January 24, 1992)

A civil suit, filed January 17, alleges that a Pikeville bank used insider information to acquire a failed Floyd County savings bank. The suit, filed in Floyd Circuit Court by First Guaranty Corporation, claims that Pikeville National Bank and Trust Company used confidential information provided by First Guaranty Corporation to acquire ownership of United Federal Savings Bank in Prestonsburg...Although four new Wheelwright Council members took office in January, at their first meeting, Thursday, council conducted business like old pros. In what appeared to be a move to clean house, council voted to replace three members of the utility commission, which brought a verbal resignation from a fourth member...Kentucky Congressman Harold Rogers announced, Tuesday, that he is seeking re-election to a seventh term in the United States House of Representatives. Speaking at Hazard and Pikeville, which are among the communities that have been added to the Fifth Congressional District, the veteran Republican lawmaker promised to continue his efforts to create jobs, promote family values and help people in need....Customers of the B & H Gas Company, which services the Ivel, Mare Creek, Betsy Layne and Stanville areas, will see soon an increase in their utility bill. The Public Service Commission granted the gas company increased rates in the amount of $13,100 annually. Rates will increase for the average residential customer from $48.40 monthly to $62.83...A 31-year-old Hazard man, arrested Monday morning, is the prime suspect in a month-long investigation to find a truck driver who has allegedly been exposing himself to passing female motorists. Floyd County Sheriff’s deputy Homer Neeley arrested Edward Gayheart at approximately 9 a.m., on Route 114 traveling toward Magoffin County. Gayheart was stopped after Neeley noticed the truck driver was apparently trying to get an automobile to stop, said chief deputy Linzie Hunt...A fire at Drift, Saturday morning, hospitalized one man and caused two children to be treated for minor burns. The home of Mose Meade was razed in the blaze which is still under investigation by the Left Beaver Volunteer Fire Department, fire chief Derek Thacker said Monday...Unless an 11th-hour rush occurs early, next week, at the Secretary of State’s office in Frankfort, the only dogfight in Floyd County for the May Primary election will be a race for district judge. Although no candidates had formally filed for the Seventh Judicial District race, Thursday, three candidates have announced their candidacy...State education leaders ousted three members of the Harlan County School Board, Wednesday, after finding them guilty of official misconduct. It is the first time in Kentucky’s history that local board members have been removed from office by state officials...A political dynasty that spanned four and a half decades will come to a close at the end of this year, when the current term of U.S. Congressman Chris Perkins expires. Perkins announced Wednesday that he would not seek a fifth, two-year-term as Eastern Kentucky’s representative in Congress, citing the adverse effects of politics on his personal life as the reason for his decision. Perkins was first elected in 1984, largely by acclamation, to succeed his father, Carl D. Perkins, who died after representing the now non-existent 7th Congressional District for 35 years. The younger Perkins faced no serious challenge to his family’s hold on the congressional seat until 1988, when he won re-election by getting just 59 percent of the vote over GOP challenger Will T. Scott...Local reaction to U.S. Representative Chris Perkins’ decision to not seek re-election to Congress has been mixed, but many Floyd Countians agree that Eastern Kentucky will feel the loss, and that is is certainly a sad end to a 44-year political dynasty. Chris Perkins’ contributions to Eastern Kentucky cannot be denied by many area residents, officials, and business leaders who are well aware of the strides made by Perkins for improved black-lung benefits; healthcare and nutrition programs for the poor; money secured for roads, water and sewer projects for the 7th District; and his efforts to raise the minimum wage rates while in Congress. His decision, however, to not seek re-election drew reactions state-wide and locally...Downtown Prestonsburg has been targeted for revitalizaiton by city planners and, by the end of 1992, area residents should be able to detect a marked difference visually, historically, and hopefully, economically in the downtown central business district. Last year the city received a $250,000 state grant for downtown revitalization, because Prestonburg was recertified as a Kentucky Main Street City in 1991, and also due to the efforts of State Representative Greg Stumbo and Senator Benny Ray Bailey...There died: Rev. Rudolph Lewis, 77, of Banner, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Della Blankenship Jones, 81, of Teaberry, Monday, at the residence of her daughter, Ollie Hall; Rose Annie Hamilton, 89, of Stanville, Thursday, at The Albion Community Hospital, Albion, Michigan; Kevin Harris, 31, of Springboro, Ohio, formerly of Prestonsburg, Saturday, at his residence; James Thornsberry, 25, of Kite, Saturday, at Kite from injuries sustained in an automobile accident; Windell Tackett, 51, of Lucasville, Ohio, Saturday, at Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital in Ashland; Edgar Bartley, 82, of Pikeville, Saturday, at Parkview Manor Nursing Home; Ben Sellards, 73, of Rush, formerly of Endicott, Friday, at Veterans Administration Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia; Minnie B. Conley, 98, of Garrett, Wednesday, at her residence; Shirley M. Caudill, 63, of McDowell, Thursday, at St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington; Hattie Little Vaverek, 62, of Chicago, Illinois, formerly of Weeksbury, Sunday, at her residence; Evelyn Castle Fraley, 71, of Drift, Monday, at her residence; Lovada Brown Damron, 88, of Prestonsburg, Friday, at Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Lillie Hamilton, 91, of Fellsmere, Florida, formerly of Banner, Sunday, at The Humana Hospital in Sebastian, Florida; Tommy Kendrick, 62, of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Henry Edgar Harmon, 94, of Pikeville, Tuesday, at Mountain Manor Nursing Home; Hazel Music Howell, 62, of Indianapolis, Indiana, formerly of Bonanza, Saturday, at the Community Hospital in Indianapolis; Elizabeth Martha Damron, 66, of Pikeville, Wednesday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital. 

(January 15 and January 17, 1992)

State officials apparently have joined the dogfight over the future of Combs Airport, issuing an ultimatum that safety violations at the airstrip must be corrected by January 30, to prevent the possible revocation of Combs’ landing designation. Revocation of the airstrip’s landing designation would effectively force closure of the jointly owned Paintsville-Prestonsburg facility...An arrest was made, Monday, in connection with the December 13, 1991, robbery of Jim’s Stop & Shop on North Lake Drive in Prestonsburg. Prestonsburg Police Detective Jeff Stumbo, arrested James Slone, of Paintsville, after Slone was detained for questioning on a forgery warrant...An early morning break-in, Friday, at Mert’s Gun and Ammo in Allen resulted in the loss of thousands of dollars worth of guns and knives. Floyd County deputy Chuck Ousley, and Kentucky State Police are investigating the burglary which, was reported by the owner at 4:49 a.m...Plans to use Allen Central High School’s swimming and athletic facilities for underprivileged children from local housing projects may have hit a snag in the areas of insurance and transportation. Floyd County Housing Authority members pondered those issues at Thursday’s meeting, but requirements by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) may nip the project in the bud...Residents of Left and Right Beaver may within the year be drinking suitable water as the Beaver Elkhorn Water District enters yet another stage of expansion, and water line installation for approximately 1,700 potential new customers in that area. Representatives from the Beaver Elkhorn Water District and the Big Sandy Area Development District will be conducting numerous public meetings in February for Left and Right Beaver residents about the expansion of water service into those areas. Meeting locations and times will be announced later this month...Prestonsburg Mayor Ann Latta gave her State of the City address during the local city council meeting, Monday night. Prestonsburg continues to show moderate economic growth, with slight increases forecast in all revenue categories for the current fiscal year. Caution should be the fiscal byword for the coming year, Latta pointed out, because of national business conditions. The current fiscal year city budget is $2.8 million...A $2000 reward is being offered by South Central Bell for information about thefts of telephone cable in Floyd County. Telephone cable has been stolen at Abbott Mountain, Highway 114 on the Old Middle Creek Road, and in West Prestonsburg across from Archer Park. The reward will be paid for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the parties responsible for the thefts....A meeting of PTA and PTO presidents and vice-presidents took less than two hours last Thursday evening to select a parent reprsentative to participate on the superintendent screening committee to find a new top administrator for the Floyd County school system. The group decided on Debra Hayes of Betsy Layne to act on the committee required by KRS 160.352, which calls for a screening committee for superintendent applicants composed of two teachers, one board of education member, one principal, and one parent. Present board superintendent Ron Hager’s contract expires in June 1992...Allegations that improperly placed construction materials on the site of the Left Beaver High School caused an eight-month delay in progress was called “comical” by representatives of the company that oversees construction on that project. Those allegations and claims that the site contractor and project architect James Ellis were punished for voicing complaints about the constructon manager of the project were raised at Tuesday’s Floyd County Board of Education meeting...Controversy concerning the Left Beaver High School project is not new, questions and concerns about the site were raised by the architect, construction manager and the public, as early as 1987. Once the site for the new school was announced in 1987, referred to as the Mitchell site, heated discussions took place between residents in the Wheelwright and McDowell areas; between residents and the architect, James Ellis; and between the architect and the local and state school board...Morehead State University is establishing a local scholarship program that might well contribute to the lives of many Floyd Countians. President C. Nelson Grote announced Wednesday, at the Prestonsburg MSU extended campus that Morehead State University is developing the program for area “part-time, nontraditional students” who would like to attend the college locally...A 46-year-old Prestonsburg man was charged with first degree wanton endangerment after he allegedly fired two shots at a man at Jenny Wiley Village in Prestonsburg, Wednesday evening. Ernest “Bucky” Collins turned himself into the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department, Wednesday evening, for allegedly shooting at James “Whig” Pennington, after the two men had argued in the village parking lot, said Sheriff Paul Hunt Thompson...Country music stars are shining bright on a Harold youth. Kimberly Carter, 17, recently signed a recording contract with American Records of Tokyo, Japan. Her single, “Rocking at the Dance Hall,” will be released throughout the United States on February 17. The album’s release date is March 23, in Japan. The album has been recorded with producer Mick Lloyd, who has produced recordings by Johnny Lee, Slim Whitman, and the late Lew DeWitt, of the Statler Brothers...There died: Elmer Hackworth, 64, of Abbott Creek, Sunday, at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Lexington; Shirley Daniels Sparks, 71, of Louisa, Saturday, at her residence; Basil McGuire, 70, of Taylor, Michigan, formerly of West Prestonsburg, Friday, at Heritage Hospital in Taylor; Alva Stambaugh, 77, of Sitka, Saturday, at the Paul B. Hall Medical Center; Lillie Jones, 88, of Robinson Creek, January 13, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Willard “Baby” Moore, 69, of Minnie, Thursday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Boge Tackett, 68, of Myra, Thursday, at Jenkins Community Hospital; June Slone, 57, of Langley, Thursday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Velva DeRossett Compton, 65, of East Point, Wednesday, at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington; Okey Burkett, 73, of Warsaw, Indiana, formerly of Floyd County, Monday, at Kosciusko Community Hospital in Warsaw, Indiana; Fred Miller Sr., 97, of Pierceton, Indiana, Sunday, at Whitley County Memorial Hospital, Columbia City; Francis Marion Tackett, 91, of Virgie, January 15, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Juanita “Nita” Puterbaugh, 51, Monday, at the Life Care Center of La Grange; John Melvin Barbe, 55, of Shelbiana, formerly of Betsy Layne, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Virginia Vinson, 87, January 15, at her residence; Edna Faye Adams, 69, of Hager Hill, Sunday, at the J.J. Jordan Nursing Home in Louisa; Ivory Mae Jarvis, 66, of Endicott, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Minnie B. Conley, 98, of Garrett, Wednesday, at her residence; Geraldine Bryant, 64, of West Prestonsburg, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center.

(January 8 and January 10, 1992)

A Floyd County man pleaded guility to charges of murder for hire and cocaine possession in U.S. District Court Monday. Three other Floyd County men entered guilty pleas in federal court on drug charges in December. Wendell Ray Newman, who also faces a murder charge for a 1978 shooting in Floyd County, pleaded guilty to trying to hire an undercover FBI agent to kill Dave Slone, who was at one-time his co-defendant in the Floyd murder case...Prestonsburg’s new postmaster, Edith Risner, was welcomed by city officials, business owners and area residents, Tuesday, in a standing room only swearing-in ceremony at the Prestonsburg post office. The official ceremony began in prayer with Bro. Clem Stambaugh followed by Boy Scout Troop #877 leading the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Two songs were performed by Kentucky Opry representatives Rebecca Recktenwald, Jonathan Estep, Angela Carr, and Nikki Queen. Introductions were made by postmaster, Leslie C. Nelson, of Paintsville...Special Judge Stephen “Nick” Frazier ruled Tuesday that members of a Paintsville-Prestonsburg Airport commission are city officers whose appointments to the joint board must be confirmed by the city councils of the respective cities. Frazier’s ruling effectively voids the October 29, 1991 appointments of six new members to the airport board and resolves, for now, a civil lawsuit filed by a Combs’ Field pilots’ association...An incumbent city councilman at Martin quit his post Monday prior to a ceremony that would formalize his election. James Robinson, in a one sentence letter to the council, resigned from his seat on the city council. Robinson had served the previous two years on the council and had again regained his seat during the November 5 election....A meeting is set for Thursday, January 9, to elect the parent screening committee representative to recommend a superintendent for the school system. John Rosenberg, who was asked by the board to coordinate the meeting, said Tuesday that anyone interested in being a candidate for the position should attend Thursday’s meeting at Allen Central High School...Voter turnout was 100 percent and election results were unchanged in the Prestonsburg City Council race following a special election held in Floyd Circuit Court Friday. Special Judge James Knight asked the 30 registered voters subpoenaed from the Cliff 2 precinct to cast their ballots to settle a lawsuit filed by former councilman Dr. Gary Brown...Questions remain in the Sunday evening shooting of a Floyd County man where investigators are hampered because of the victim’s reluctance to discuss the incident. Eugene Tackett, 40, of Branhams Creek was shot one time in his left shoulder at Tackett’s Store, a small grocery store he operated at Branhams Creek. The Floyd County Sheriff’s Department and Kentucky State Police are investigating the incident...The Kentucky Division for Air Quality’s public meeting regarding Medisin Inc., originally scheduled for January 9, has been rescheduled to Thursday, January 23, at 7 p.m., at Jenny Wiley State Resort Park. Medisin, which operates a medical waste incinerator at Highlands Regional Medical Center, has applied for an operating permit required under state regulations which went into effect in February 1991...Some light could be shed on the problems and delays surrounding the new Left Beaver High School project at Tuesday’s meeting of the Floyd County Board of Education. Project architect James Ellis has been directed to attend Tuesday’s meeting adn bring a wide variety of records pertaining to the project...Prestonsburg may be ahead of other contenders in the race for a proposed $3 million harness racing track and facility. Representative and attorney Greg Stumbo, who is representing an unnamed client interested in placing the harness racing track near Prestonsburg, has reached a “tentative verbal agreement” with Chester Porter, owner of harness racing’s Louisville Downs...Investigators from the state’s Office of Education Accountability were in Floyd County this week to review school records pertaining to certain operations in the district. Dr. Penney Sanders, director of OEA, said Thursday that investigators were in the district to review school administraive procedures. Sanders did not reveal what operations were being reviewed....No definite plan to fill a vacancy created by incumbent James Robinson’s resignation from the Martin city council was made during the second special meeting held Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Martin city hall. Robinson sent a letter of resignation to council members dated January 6—the day of the first special meeting and swearing in of the council...Newly appointed Justice Secretary and Kentucky State Police Commissioner Billy Wellman announced key appointments in the force last week that includes a new commander for the Pikeville post. Captain Robert Forsythe was moved to command the KSP Pikeville post. Forsythe was post commander in Madisonville before being reassigned...As the filing deadlines for the May Kentucky Primary election draws near a look at the state of open offices promises a spring season of heavy campaigning. Besides the Presidential primary on the national scene, many of Kentucky’s federal legislators are at the end of their terms. U.S. senator Wendell Ford’s term expires, leaving his seat up for grabs. All six of Kentucky’s congressional districts have representatives up for election, including U.S. Representative Chris Perkins’ seat in the newly created 5th Congressional District. No one has currently filed for the senatorial position, but Jerry Cecil of Hazel Green in Wolfe County has filed to challenge for Perkins’ seat. Cecil ran unsuccessfully against Perkins in 1990...There died: Bert Colvin, 78, of LaFollette, Tennessee, formerly of Prestonsburg, Saturday, at LaFollette Medical Center; Roy Mullins, 47, of Martin, formerly of Bevinsville, Sunday, at his residence; Josephine Wilhelm, 88, of Allen, formerly of Lewisburg, Ohio, Sunday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Preston Hicks, 71, of Sarasota, Florida, formerly of Floyd County, Sunday, at a nursing home in Florida; Curtis Elliott, 71, of Detroit, Michigan, formerly of Floyd County, Saturday, at The Oakwood Hospital; Beverly Conn, 84, of Dwale, Sunday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Charles Lee Watkins, 71, of Wayland, Tuesday, at the Cabell Huntington Hospital; Willie (Bill) Burke, 63, of Myra, January 6, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Bonnie Jo Prater Kiser, 51, of Warren, Michigan, formerly of Middle Creek, Friday, at her residence due to injuries received during a house fire; Kenneth Thacker, 64, of Greasy Creek, Wednesday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Betty Elswick Moore, 93, of Virgie, January 6, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; William Kenneth Fyffe, 60, of Independence, Monday, at Bradley Memorial Hospital; Josephine Brown, 86, of Garrett, Friday, at The University of Kentucky Medical Center; Daniel B. “D.B.” Gibson, 66, of Columbus, Ohio, formerly of Minnie, Wednesday, at The Lancaster Hospial in Ohio; Eva D. Page, 67, of Arlington, Virginia, formerly of Floyd County, Tuesday, at The Northern Virginia Doctors Hospital; Thelma Hart Meade, 86, Friday, at the Medical Care Center in Lynchburg, Virginia; Charles Hansford, 77, of Garrett, Tuesday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Anna S. Gibson, 96, of Groveport, Ohio, formerly of Minnie, Tuesday, at the Mt. Carmel East Hospital in Columbus, Ohio; Lee Andrew Baker, 55, of Beaver, Tuesday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Jesse Perry Wright, 67, of Grethel, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Thelma Hart Meade, 86, Friday, at the Medical Care Center in Lynchburg, Virginia; Velva Derossett Compton, 65, of East Point, Wednesday, at Central Baptist Hospital, Lexington.

(Dec. 18 and Dec. 20, 1991)

A Floyd County Sheriff’s Deputy was the target of a hit-and-run attempt early Tuesday morning in the driveway of his home, near Ligon. An individual who is believed to have knowlege about the incident was questioned by Sheriff Paul Hunt Thompson and deputies, Tuesday evening. Deputy Sheriff Larry Newsome of Beaver said someone made two attempts to run him down with a car at 4 a.m., Tuesday morning, after someone pulled into his driveway and blew the car horn...State education officials will be asked to appraise the old Prestonsburg Drive-in property as a site for a new Prestonsburg High School. Floyd County Board of Education members voted at their December 12 meeting to contact Mike Luscher, director of facilities management for the Department of Education, to commission the appraisal and to contact the property owner(s) of the drive-in site to determine if the site is available...An elderly Floyd County man who was reported missing Sunday night was spotted, Tuesday morning, walking on KY 80 near Allen....Claude Patton, 78, of Eastern, was last seen by family members at 8 p.m. Monday evening, near the home of his sister, Martha Tuttle. Patton lived with Tuttle but occasionally spent the night in a one-room house adjacent to Tuttle’s home...Floyd County school students and teachers were caught by surprise, as well as the flu bug, Monday when schools closed early prior to the holiday break due to the rising rate of absenteeism. Average daily attendance (ADA) dropped to 81 percent, this week closing Floyd County schools until Monday, December 30, according to assistant superintendent Pete Grigsby...Oral arguments will be heard December 30 in Johnson Circuit Court, in a civil suit concerning appointments to the Paintsville-Prestonsburg Airport board. The suit, filed last month by Paintsville attorney C.K. Belhasen, challenges the legality of six appointments to the board, made jointly by Mayors Ann Latta of Prestonsburg and John Preston of Paintsville...Santa Claus is coming this Christmas, but his sleigh may be somewhat lighter than in previous years. With the increase of unemployment in local industries and the cost of living on the rise, Christmas shopping is proceeding steadily, but cautiously, this season...A boil water advisory, which began last week for residents of Mud Creek, will probably remain in effect throughout the remainder of the week. Seven water samples were taken last week by employees of the Mud Creek Water District, and tested for contamination by McCoy and McCoy, Inc., of Pikeville...A redistricting plan approved by the General Assembly, Wednesday will put U.S. Democratic Congressman Perkins in a district with Republican contender Congressman Hal Rogers. Reaction to the state’s plan brought mixed reaction from the congressmen and a warning from the state’s Democratic chairman. “It makes possible for the Republicans to win the congressional district in the east,” said Grady Stumbo...Payments to the construction manager on the Left Beaver High School project were resumed Wednesday by the Floyd County Board of Education after an attorney for the company threatened to take legal action against board members. Board members voted at the December 12 meeting to suspend payments to Martin Engineering and Construction Company on the advice of their attorney Cliff Latta. Latta told the board he had “serious questions” if the monthly payments were a contractual obligation and asked them to stop payments until he reviewed the issue...A midnight fire claimed the life of a Floyd County man at Cow Creek, Wednesday night. Donald Ray Goble, 35, of Slickrock, tentatively identified by Floyd County Coroner Roger Nelson, was dead at the scene following a blaze that leveled his hillside home. Goble’s wife, Jane, and three children escaped without injury through a bedroom window, according to Nelson...There died: Kenneth Eugene Ward, 37, of Van Lear, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Myrtle Kendrick Conway, 83, of La Grange, formerly of Floyd County, Friday, at Tri-County Community Hospital in La Grange; Raymond Hamilton, 72, of Marshall, Michigan, Friday, at Tendercare of Marshall; Nim Patrick, 90, of Hazard, Thursday, at the Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Charles V. “Chuck” Ormerod, 57, of Prestonsburg, Sunday, at his residence; Lloyd “Hop” Salisbury, 66, of Hunter, Saturday, at the Veterans Hospital in Lexington; Bill McCoy, 77, of Prestonsburg, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Carl Caudill, 61, of Melvin, Friday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Lela Tackett Elkins, 83, of Myra, Saturday; Fred Amburgey, 78, of Mallie, Monday at the Hazard Appalachian Regonal Medical Center; Emmogene Turner, 60, of Vermillion, Ohio, Sunday, at Lorain Community Hospital, in Ohio; Paul Saunders, 87, of Delaware, Ohio, Monday, at his residence; Lucy Hackworth Shell, 81, of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Edward B. Jarrell, 74, of Banner, Monday, at his residence; Maggie Marie Hall, 84, of Flat Gap, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Johnny Milton Osborne, 53, of Eastern, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Ruth “Fox” Patrick, 75, of Martin, Tuesday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Theodore Warrix, 54, of Hager Hill, Saturday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; Anna Lee Gambill, 81, of Thelma, Saturday, at her residence; Bradley Lewis, 54, of Daniels Creek, Banner, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Angie Douglas “Doug” Harmon, 66, of East Point, Thursday, at Humana Hospital in Louisa; Sallie Ratliff, 92, of Langley, Saturday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Oscar “Nig” Mosley, 82, of Minnie, Tuesday, at University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington.

(Dec. 11 and Dec. 13, 1991)

Floyd County Attorney Jim Hammond apparently will not question State Representative Greg Stumbo’s account of an auto mishap early Sunday morning that resulted in Stumbo’s arrest on a charge of driving under the influence of intoxicants. In a press conference Monday, Hammond said the DUI charge against Stumbo, Majority Leader for the Democratic Party in Kentucky’s General Assembly, would be amended to public intoxication because an investigation could not prove Stumbo was driving at the time of the mishap...Officials at Martin Engineering and Construction Company said Monday during a press conference that their records concerning school construction projects in Floyd County are open for public inspection. Company owner Sam Martin, whose firm is providing construction manager services for the new Left Beaver High School project, issued a challenge and a welcome to auditors, accountants, attorneys and taxpayers, to inspect their records concerning school construction projects...Two men escaped from the Floyd County jail around 3:30 a.m., Monday, while on cleaning detail at the facility. Alvin “Tiger” Branham, Jr., 20, of Auxier and Stevie Crum, 20, of Harold, escaped by jimmying the third floor door between the men and women’s side of the jail, according to Jody Mullins, deputy jailer...A Life Line Company ambulance, which was transporting a dialysis patient home to Minnie, Saturday afternoon, collided head-on with a van, killing two and injuring five others. The victims included the van’s driver, Ivle Moore, 68, of McDowell; and a paramedic in the ambulance, Billy Dean Johnson, 40, of Weeksbury...Pay scale inequities among Prestonsburg city employees continue to be a hot topic of discussion for the Prestonsburg City Council, and council is prepared to take matters into their own hands. Council reviewed a proposal they commissioned from Paul Combs and Associates, a consulting firm from northern Kentucky, that would equal out pay scales for the employees...Certified and classified employees of the Floyd County School System delivered an apparent ultimatum to the board of education, Tuesday night—talk or we walk. Carol Stumbo, president of the Floyd County Education Association, told the board that the teachers group was disappointed that the board and Superintendent Ron Hager had not followed the terms of an agreement signed in September to head-off a repeat of last year’s teacher strike...Members of a search committee to select a new Floyd County superintendent will be named at the January meeting of the Floyd County Board of Education. Chairman Ray “Shag” Campbell asked that the teachers, board, principals and parent-teacher organizations name their representative for the committee...A Floyd County woman was listed in good condition Thursday, after a tractor trailer, transporting coal, struck the driver-side door of her compact car, Wednesday, at the intersection, of Route 122 and Ky. 80 in Martin. The truck reportedly ran the red light at the intersection as Helen Wicker, 50, of Mousie, proceeded onto Ky. 80...A boil water advisory will remain in effect for residents of the Mud Creek area in Floyd County, probably throughout next week, until testing for contamination is complete, according to Eula Hall, chairperson of the Mud Creek Water District. Water service was restored, Wednesday, for most of Mud Creek, after last week’s flooding and cold weather caused several breaks to occur in approximately 35 miles of the area’s water lines. Service was interrupted from Harold to the top of Ligon hill, last week, as workers tried in vain to provide water to area residents...Payments to Left Beaver High School construction manager Sam Martin were halted Tuesday night, by the Floyd County Board of Education until its legal counsel determines if there is a contractual obligation. Attorney Cliff Latta advised the board to withold the $13,608.40 December payment to Martin until he is furnished with a breakdown of payments made to date to determine if the payments are a legal obligation...A 21-year-old Floyd County man was arrrested Wednesday night, and charged with attempted murder in connection with a stabbing incident. Ronald Dean Hall of Melvin, is accused of stabbing Richard Hill, 31, of Wheelwright three times in the abdomen after an argument at the home of Hill’s brother, George Hill...There died: Ivle Moore, 68, of McDowell, Saturday, at Minnie from injuries sustained in an automobile accident; Ralph Lewis, 46, of Banner, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Berlie Conn, 70, of Martin, Saturday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, from injuries received in an automobile accident; Ed Marshall Marcum, 55, of Louisa, Tuesday, at Humana Hospital in Louisa; Thurmel “Jack” Prater, 63, of Alanson, Michigan, formerly of Hueysville, Sunday, at the Northern Michigan Hospital; Noah D. Thacker Jr., of Florida, a native of Martin, November 26, in the Methodist Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida; William R. “Bill” Davis, 77, of Paintsville, Sunday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; Delmar Castle, 38, of Melvin, Saturday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Chester Arthur Patrick, 81, of Paintsville, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Donnie Bailey, 42, of Flat Gap, Saturday, at his residence; Flora Mae Walters, 73, of Delbarton, West Virginia, Wednesday, at her mother’s residence in Columbus, Ohio; Rhoda Compton, 94, of Hi Hat, Thursday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Carrie Hall, 78, of Bevinsville, Friday, at her residence; Stella Bevins Johnson, 76, of Raccoon, Thursday, at Kentucky River Regional Medical Center in Jackson; Liddie McGuire Miller, 88, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Billie Dean Johnson, 40, of Weeksbury, Saturday at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Marcelino Castillo, 88, of Beaver, Wednesday, at his reisdence; Matt Hamilton, 69, of Galveston, Thursday, at his residence; Myrtle Keathley Hall, 74, of Galveston, Wednesday, at the Mountain Manor Nursing Home in Pikeville; Clyde Justice, 52, of Harold, Wednesday, at his residence; Worley O. Mace, 76, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Thursday, at Mount Carmel East Hospital; Alvin “Ousley” Elliott, 57, Thursday, at The Kosciusko Community Hospital in Warsaw, Indiana.

(December 4 and 6, 1991)

Three-and-a-half days of steady rain pushed Floyd County streams out of their banks, Monday, and swelled the Big Sandy River to within five feet of flood stage in Prestonsburg, Tuesday. The Big Sandy was expected to crest at 7 p.m. Tuesday, at 35.4 feet. Flood stage is 40 feet...Johnson Circuit Judge James A. Knight will serve as special judge in a civil suit contesting the outcome of the November 5 election for seats on Prestonsburg’s City Council. Knight had set no hearing date on the issue by presstime, Tuesday, but said it would be possible to conduct a preliminary hearing this month...Wet weather and high water made a Floyd County Housing Authority meeting doubtful Monday, but a quorum of the board managed to make it to the office at Green Acres. The special meeting of the board was called to approve the authority’s 1992 operating budget before the December 15 deadline....The first wave of a state Office of Education Accountability review of the Floyd County school system is expected to arrive in Prestonsburg this week. Dr. Penney Sanders, head of the Office of Education Accountability (OEA), said Monday that OEA investigators will be in Floyd County this week to talk with school officials about matters that “are currently under review in Floyd County.” She declined to elaborate on specific issues, and she would neither confirm nor deny that the scope of the investigation would be broadened after the initial review was completed....A 30-year-old Johnson County woman was struck by a vehicle Saturday night on Route 23, after attempting to cross the highway at a local lounge. Tammy Hensley of Wittensville was hit by a car driven by Glenda Howard of David, at approximately 7:30 p.m., at the Mountaineer Lounge near Prestonsburg, said Floyd County deputy Lloyd Powers. Hensley suffered a head injury and was taken to Highlands Regional Medical Center...The engraving on 72-year-old William Hurstle Gibson’s congressional medal reads—Remember Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, “A Day That Will Live In Infamy,” Act of Congress, 1990. This is the inscription found on the Congressional Medal for Veterans of the Attack of Pearl Harbor presented by Senator Wendell Ford to William H. Gibson on behalf of the Pearl Harbor Survivor’s Association of Kentucky...There died: Dick Burchett, 72, of Endicott, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Burt Gearheart, 79, of Hi Hat, Monday, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington; Edward “Frog” Bentley, 67, of Wabash, Indiana, Sunday, at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne; Hollie LeMaster, 77, of Wittensville, formerly of Martin, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Homer Gene Mullins, 27, of Mansville, Massachusetts, formerly of Floyd County, Friday, at his residence; Goldie Osborne, 89, of Lexington, formerly of Eastern, Wednesday, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington; Charles Eugene Hall, 45, of Beaver, Saturday, at the U.K. Medical Center; Kathleen “Moore” Lee, 58, of Marion, Ohio, formerly of Wayland, Wednesday, in Marion; Michael D. Gilliam, seven-month-old infant, Monday, at Cabell-Huntington Hospital; Ernest Crisp Jr., 44, of Wayland, Saturday, at the Veterans Medical Center in Huntington, West Virginia; Betty Jean Simpson Cooper, 64, of Drift, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Fred Bingham, 78, of Louisville, Sunday, at Baptist Hospital East in Louisville; Paul Edwin Compton, 33, of Weeksbury, December 2, at McDowell A.R.H.; George Parsons, 69, of Drift, Monday, at his residence; Estill Cox, 82, of Jenkins, Thursday, at the Wolfe County Nursing Home in Campton.

(Nov. 27 and Nov. 29, 1991)

Four alternate sites are being considered for the location of a new Prestonsburg High School, a project which has been delayed because of controversies surrounding the project. The Floyd County Board of Education voted at its November meeting to look at alternate sites for the school to get the project moving. A representative from the state Department of Education met with local officials, Monday, to look at the sites and to determine if they were suitable alternatives to the current proposed site at Middle Creek...Pay inequities among Prestonsburg city employees, and concerns that no plan existed to close the gap, were raised, Monday night, by councilman Billy Ray Collins. But, the issue is expected to be resolved at the December council meeting, according to Paul Combs, owner of the firm hired to develop a plan to eliminate the inequities...Prestonsburg’s troubled United Federal Savings Bank reopened Monday with a new name, a new owner and a new lease on life. United Federal, taken over earlier this year by Resolution Trust Corporation amid financial difficulties, has been sold to Pikeville National Bank and Trust Company, one of Kentucky’s leading banking institutions...They gasped when Governor Wallace Wilkinson presented Floyd County Judge-Executive John M. Stumbo a check for $6 million to finance the extension of water lines in the county. They applauded as Hilda Legg, co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, suggested that her organization must shift its focus from bricks and mortar, to address “our human infrastructure.”...A Floyd County Grand Jury has apparently declined to issue indictments in two cases of local concern—one relating to the operation of illegal bingo games at Prestonsburg High School, and the second concerning a traffic fatality involving a Kentucky State Police trooper. After hearing testimony from KSP special investigator Johnny Ray last Wednesday, the grand jury issued no true bill in connection with the Prestonsburg High bingo games operated by an organization known as the Prestonsburg Academic Athletic Association...An unsuccessful candidate for reelection to Prestonsburg’s City Council has filed suit in Floyd Circuit Court, seeking either a special election in one precinct or a ruling declaring the entire city election null and void. Dr. Gary Brown, who finished ninth in the November 5 balloting for eight city council seats, alleged in his suit, filed Wednesday, November 27, that “a minimum of 30 voters” residing in Prestonsburg’s Cliff No. 2 precinct were “wrongfully and illegally” denied the opportunity to vote in the city council race...The conviction last month of a Floyd County school principal has prompted the Kentucky Association of School Administrators to take unprecedented action. For the first time, the association will directly represent one of its members in court, executive director V. Wayne Young said Wednesday in an interview with the Associated Press...Kentucky’s new ungraded primary school program, which is to be in place and in full operation by the ’95-’96 school year, is an innovative concept for kindergarten through the third grade. The Kentucky Education and Reform Act of 1990 (KERA) has developed and outlined a learning curriculum very different from the traditional method of teaching primary school students...Complaints were few and actions were swift in an unusually short meeting of the Floyd County Fiscal Court, Friday. Three people addressed the court during the grievance session, asking for help with roads and water, and wanting to know the status of an ordinance dealing with political signs...Greyhound Bus Lines is planning to discontinue coverage into Eastern Kentucky, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the end of passenger bus service for the area. All Greyhound stops along Route 23 from Ashland to Pikeville are scheduled to cease, December 2, due to the excessive costs associated with covering the area and a steady decline in the number of passengers...There died: Mike Staley, 94, of Mt. Sterling, formerly of Lackey, Friday, at the Mary Chiles Hospital in Mt. Sterling; John Denver Fannin, 71, of Wabash, Indiana, formerly of Floyd County, Sunday, at Veterans Medical Center in Marion, Indiana; Pearl Dicie Lambert Bradley, 80, of Estill, Tuesday, at her residence; James “Shum” Monroe Mullins, 68, of Pikeville, Monday, at his residence; Fred (Dutch) Marshall, 77, of Prestonsburg, Friday, at his residence; Rebecca Lafferty Ford, 80, Friday, at Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Norman L. Hicks, 85, of Wabash, Indiana, formerly of David, Sunday, at the home of his daughter; Era Ward Webb, 82, of Johnson County, Friday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; Aline Crum, 44, of Lorain, Ohio, formerly of Dana, Thursday, at St. Joseph’s Hospital; Bill Parsons, 75, of Pikeville, Sunday, at his residence; John F. “P Jack” Daniels, 50, of Paintsville, Monday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; Kathryn M. Carpenter, 64, of Arcanum, Ohio, Sunday, at Wayne Hospital; Winifred Archer Daniels, 75, of Frankfort, formerly of Prestonsburg, Saturday, at King’s Daughters’ Memorial Hospital in Frankfort.

(Nov. 20 and Nov. 22, 1991)

Floyd County school officials will set their third tier priorities for school construction projects in a public hearing slated for November 25, despite continuing problems on priority one projects and the possibility of a state investigation into building procedures. In the past year school construction projects in Floyd County have come under considerable scrutiny, raising questions concerning excessive costs, the quality of construction, construction management and fiscal control. Combined, the construction issues paint a picture of indifference on the part of the Floyd County Board of Education and indicate a total lack of oversight on the part of the state Department of Education...Learning to read is a vital component in anyone’s life; it is a skill they will need and use the rest of their lives. When the skill to read is not mastered early in life, it takes an admirable amount of courage and determination to begin that process later on. Then, a person’s courage and determination is matched with someone who can provide the time and effort to teach them...A Pikeville architect has asked the Floyd County Board of Education to rescind an October decision to employ another firm for a proposed Betsy Layne Elementary project, claiming he was given the job in 1988. In a letter dated November 11, James Ellis advised the board and superintendent Ronald Hager that the board’s decision in October to employ architect Paul Hoffman and Martin Engineering for the Betsy Layne classroom addition project “raises two concerns.”...Floyd County Housing Authority members met Thursday to approve one item on their agenda, to renew voucher funding with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The contract provides for housing assistance payments for residents of public housing. The amount of the contract was for $111,300 and will, for the first time, require a separate budget and register. The contract is in effect for five years...Projected shortfalls in state revenues are taking their toll on all areas of government, including higher education. Prestonsburg Community College president Dr. Deborah Floyd told advisory board members Tuesday evening that PCC will be affected by a cut of more than $3 million in the community college system budget...An expansion of the new Veterans Outreach Clinic near Prestonsburg could be in the works since the number of patients expected to be seen at the clinic has doubled. A letter from Philip Elkins, director of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Huntington, West Virginia, to Seventh District Congressman Chris Perkins shows the clinic is averaging 790 patients a month. The clinic was projected to serve 387 veterans monthly....Roy May of Maytown is a talented and quite interesting person. He is a wood carver. He makes bowls and scenes of people working. These figurines are very detailed and beautiful. May has been carving all his life. He is self-taught. When he was a little child, he used a hatchet to carve an Indian’s head in his father’s apple tree. May thinks that incident occurred when he was about six years old. He really enjoyed that experience, so he continued carving. Nowadays, he carves at night, while watching television. He said he usually carves every evening...There died: Zina Pack Sexton, 83, of Drift, Sunday, at the Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington; Josephine Bingham Hall, 89, of Town Branch Road, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Ollie DeRossett, 86, of Ivel, Saturday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Harold Lee Blocker, 61, of Weeksbury, Friday, at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington; Maudie Hall, 94, of Raceland, Saturday, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Paul Stephenson, of Raceland; Carolyn Stanfill Black, 86, of Pikeville, Friday, at the Mountain Manor Nursing Home of Pikeville; Erie “Darkes” Cotton, 87, of Grayson, Sunday, at King’s Daughters’ Medical Center in Ashland; Walter C. Zemo, 64, of Pataskla, Ohio, formerly of this area, Friday; Jeffrey Smith, 36, of Raccoon, Tuesday, in the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Greenville “Wedge” Branham, 55, of Bypro, Wednesday, at his residence.

(Nov. 13, 1991- Nov. 15, 1991)

Verdicts in a robbery, and a drug case on appeal from Floyd County Circuit Court, have been upheld by the Kentucky Court of Apeals. Attorneys for Ronnie Hall, 32, of Galveston, filed an appeal in October on grounds that Judge Hollie Conley erred in not admonishing the jury to Hall’s admission of a prior felony. The appeal said the jury should have been admonished that Hall’s admission could only be considered as it might affect his credibility as a witness...Dr. Penney Sanders, head of the state’s Office of Education Accountability, will be the guest speaker at the dedication ceremonies for Floyd County’s Head Start outdoor learning environment center, Friday, November 15...Though insurance, Haz-mat equipment quotes, and conservation fund applications were the scheduled topics on the agenda, a 40-minute executive session headed Monday night’s two-hour city council meeting, culminating in the hiring of Mark A. Wells as the new city administrator. Wells, currently serving as finance officer for the City of Prestonsburg, will now assume the duties of City Administrator, a position performed over the past few months by Mayor Ann Latta. The position of finance officer will be left vacant for now...The Floyd County Grand Jury will meet November 18-20, and is expected to hear evidence concerning a bingo game at Prestonsburg High School, and a fatal traffic accident involving a Kentucky State Police trooper. Commonwealth Attorney Jerry Patton said in September that information concerning a bingo game operated by the Prestonsburg Academic Athletic Association is expected to be brought before the grand jury by a KSP special investigator...Plans for a bicentennial train excursion through eastern Kentucky have been derailed, at least temporarily, members of a regional Chamber of Commerce learned Tuesday. Clyde Blevins, executive director for the Paintsville-Johnson County Chamber, told regional chamber members gathered in Prestonsburg, Tuesday, that the project had received a “flat no” from CSX Transportation, the rail company which operates the tracks targeted for the tourism project...Though the silvery voices of the Jenny Wiley Theatre cast are silent for the winter, symphony of whirs, bangs, and rattles is reverberating through the amphitheater while renovations are underway. Next summer’s audience will be in for a pleasant surprise, said Tedi Vaughan, general manager of the theatre. The most noticable change, Vaughan said, will be the theatre’s new “sleek, contemporary look.” Wires will be buried underground; the new lighting and sound systems, temporarily installed this past summer, will be permanently installed. This will give the theatre a “clean look,” said Vaughan...A recanvass of votes, Wednesday morning, in the Prestonsburg City Council race produced no changes in the vote totals. Floyd County Court Clerk Carla Boyd said Thursday that vote totals for all candidates remained the same and she would present her findings to a Floyd County Grand Jury next week...Good things may come in threes, but promoters of a mountaintop golf course in Floyd County think the magic number is fore, uh, four. That’s as in nineteen ninety-four, the year targeted for the opening of a new, 18-hole golf course near Jenny Wiley State Park...State school officials declined, Thursday, to discuss specifics of an apparent probe into school construction projects in Floyd County. School board member Eddie Billips said at Tuesday’s board of education meeting he had been questioned by the Office of Education Accountablity (OEA) about the board’s hiring practices concerning construction managers, architects and engineers for school construction projects. The issue came up when discussion at Tuesday’s meeting turned to the new Prestonsburg High School project...A shortfall in state education funds will put a budget crunch on the Floyd County School System. Superintendent Ron Hager told board members Tuesday night that he was informed by state education department finance offices that projected revenue cuts will force local budget cuts...There died: Annie Bell “Totsie” Scott, 80, of Wheelwright, Sunday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Thomas Conn, 76, of Martin, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Maggie Ethel Johnson, 57, of Hi Hat, Sunday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Thomas Ketty Ritchie, 75, of Mousie, Saturday, at his home; Elder John “Johnnie” King, 98, of Harold, Monday, at the Mountain Manor Nursing Home, in Pikeville; Roger Lee Whitaker, 33, of David, Sunday, at the K.T.K. mining site in Martin County; John Combs, 87, of Fisty, Friday, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Ursell McKinney, 80, of Harold, Monday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Nancy L. Amburgey, 65, of Larkslane, Tuesday, at the Flemingsburg Hospital; Lillie Mae Newsome, 64, of Beaver, Saturday, at her residence; Lewis “Bob” Wright, 61, of Sidney, Indiana, Tuesday, at Wabash County Hospital; Mitchell Hitchcock, 76, of Meally, Tuesday, at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington; Frank Childers, 79, of Wheelwright, Sunday, at St. Joseph Hospital, in Lexington; Johnnie Dyer, 61, of Hindman, Saturday, at his home after an apparent heart attack; Jean Carol Hale, 59, of Hindman, Wednesday, at the U.K. Medical Center in Lexington; Ellis B. Kidd, 57, a former New London, Ohio, resident, Monday, at the Hillside Acres Nursing Home in Willard, Ohio; Andrew “Jack” Dotson, 57, of Claypool, In., Wednesday, at his residence; Sherd Caudill, 45, of Virgie, Wednesday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Bert Hunter, 71, of Garrett, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Frona Bayes, 69, of Staffordsville, Monday, at the Scioto Memorial Hospital.

(November 6 and November 8, 1991)

With Democrats holding a 13 to 1 edge in voter registration, Tuesday’s general election balloting in Floyd County was a predictable one-party runaway, offering no surprises and few friendly fires for state GOP candidates who wandered into the stronghold. As expected, Floyd County’s general election outcome was set with the finalization of the Democratic ticket in last May’s primary, with only the final margins to be determined Tuesday. And, from the Governor’s race down, Democratic candidates drew lopsided victories...A Floyd County man was killed Saturday night after he was thrown from a vehicle that overturned on the road near Drift. Donnie Columbus Patton, 43, of Allen, was pronounced dead of a fractured neck by Floyd County Coroner Roger Nelson. Two other occupants, a 17-year-old male and a 17-year-old female, were taken to McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital, Nelson said...Forest fires in eastern Kentucky appear to be under control, but extremely dry conditions still pose a threat to the brittle timberlands. Steve Brackett, spokesman for the state Forestry Department, said Tuesday that a 10-acre fire at Tram, in Floyd County, and an unconfirmed report of a fire at Frasures Creek were the only fires the department were concerned with at the time....Stay out of the woods or go to jail, was the message issued by Governor Wallace Wilkinson’s office October 31. The emergency order, issued to avoid outbreaks of forest fires, bans entry or travel in wooded areas in 25 eastern Kentucky counties, including Floyd. Violators could face six months in jail, and a $100-$500 fine, said Pat Able, legal counsel for the governor’s office. Able said he did not know how long the ban will last. “It depends on the circumstances,” he said, referring to the numerous forest fires currently blazing in eastern Kentucky...An elementary school principal filed a federal lawsuit last Wednesday against Floyd County superintendent Ron Hager and the board of education, alleging her first amendment rights of free speech and free association were violated...Prestonsburg Police Chief Greg Hall was undoubtedly surprised Monday morning when one of his policemen kicked in his door. That unannounced visit was to alert the chief that his house was on fire. Policeman Anthony “Harpo” Castle was on his way to work Monday when he drove past Hall’s home at Lancer Addition and noticed smoke coming from the attic at approximately 7 a.m., said Prestonsburg fire chief Tom Blackburn. Castle burst through the door and woke up Hall and his family to warn them of the fire, Blackburn said...The jackpot for Wednesday night’s Lotto Kentucky drawing has grown to a record high $42 million, and ticket sales in the 17-county region served by the Prestonsburg office of the Kentucky Lottery Corporation are soaring. Regional lottery manager Jeff Riley said Tuesday that Lotto Kentucky ticket sales in the Prestonsburg region had increased by approximately 33 percent over the past two weeks, jumping from a total of $1 million during the week of October 20-26 to $1.33 million last week...A Prestonsburg City Councilman who was not re-elected in Tuesday’s election filed Thursday for a recanvass because of voting problems in the Cliff number two precinct. Dr. Gary Brown served notice to the Floyd County Board of Elections for a recanvass of votes in the seven precincts in the city limits...The director of the Floyd County Head Start program was elected to the Kentucky Head Start executive committee last month. Janie Bailey Smith was elected to serve on the committee during the October meeting in Owensboro...A third suspect in a four-county theft ring was taken into custody Thursday by the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department. Harold Brown, 19, of Prestonsburg, was charged with burglary and theft by unlawful taking. Brown is a suspect in a theft ring being investigated by the sheriff’s department and the Kentucky State Police...A House-Senate conference report containing $596 million for education programs serving needy areas passed the House of Representatives Wednesday. Concentration grants, a formula created by Congressman Chris Perkins that funnels federal dollars to school districts with the highest concentration of low income families, received the funds...There died: Dudley Jack Martin, 67, of Price, October 31, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington; Enoch James Mitchell, 44, of Grethel, Monday, at his residence; Myrtle M. Prater, 65, of Hippo, Tuesday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Lula Shepherd, 88, of Hueysville, Friday, in the McDowell Appalachian Hospital; Sara Caitlin Nicole Haley, seventeen months, of Eastern, Saturday, in the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Melissa Gwen Hall, 28, of Rittman, Oh., formerly of Hi Hat, Friday, at her residence from injuries suffered in a house fire; Archie Tucker, 73, of Newman, Georgia, October 12, at Humana Hospital in Georgia; Millie Jane Mullins, 78, October 3, at Morgan County A.R.H. in West Liberty; Leonard Ousley, 85, of Silver Lake, Ind., formerly of Floyd County, Saturday, in Dukes Memorial Hospital in Peru, Ind.; Wanda Bray Cobb, 64, of Emma, November 1, at her residence; Robert Ellis Samons, 88, of Martin, Friday, in the Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Don Columbus Patton, 43, of Allen, Saturday, at Hunter, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident; Ivory Mae Stratton, 86, of Stanville, Sunday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Luther Wicker, 66, of Lima, Oh., Tuesday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Sallie Conley, 96, of Ivel, Thursday, at her residence; Benjamin Fred Tackett, 79, of Bristol, Tenn., Thursday, at his home; Mary Nancy Daniels, 64, of Prestonsburg, Monday, at her residence; Ballard Whittaker, 76, Sunday, at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington; Jerome Cade, 62, of North Highland, Ca., Friday, at his residence.

(October 30, and November 1, 1991)

Six new members were appointed, Tuesday, to the Paintsville-Prestonsburg Airport Board, and they immediately became the defendants in a lawsuit. The new members, three from Prestonsburg and three from Paintsville, were appointed Tuesday at Combs Field by Mayors Ann Latta and John David Preston. They include Ted Nairn, Sam Isbell, Dr. David White, Scott Perry, J.K. Wells and Mike Schmitt....The Christmas season in downtown Prestonsburg will take on a decidedly different look this year if plans for a Main Street Expo come together. Main Street program manager Henry Mayo told City Council members, Monday evening, that the Expo was “the beginning of a whole new focus” for downtown and that the hoped-for results would be a “revitalization” of the city’s central business district...An outbreak of hepatitis in two areas of Floyd County appears to be under control, said Floyd County Health Department director Earl Compton. The community of Dwale, near Allen, has had the most cases reported, approximately 20. Several cases have been reported in the Wheelwright area which prompted questions about the sanitary condition of the city’s water supply, said Audrey Yates, business manager for the Wheelwright Utility Commission...Two adults and one juvenile were arrested, Monday, in connection with a four-county theft ring, Floyd County Chief Deputy Linzie Hunt said Tuesday. Alvin “Tiger” Branham, 20, of Auxier, was charged with theft by unlawful taking for allegedly taking a dirt bike belonging to Lorrie Slone of David. The motorcycle was recovered by the sheriff’s department...Governor Wallace Wilkinson is expected to declare an emergency in the eastern half of the state, today, due to an outbreak of forest fires. National Guardsmen are expected to be activated to the area once the order is signed, said a governor’s spokesperson, Tuesday. Floyd County Judge-Executive John M. Stumbo and Prestonsburg Mayor Ann Latta declared a state of emergency Tuesday afternoon, and have banned any burning in the county or city....Auxier Fire Department and Allen Park were recipients of state grants last week totaling $81,703.97. A $71,703.97 grant from the state’s Area Development Fund was awarded to Floyd County for improvements at the Allen park golf course and to pave the walking track. The Big Sandy Area Development District board of directors recommended the project to the department...Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brereton Jones grabbed the lion’s share of ballots cast in a six-day mock election held at A.J.’s Market at Allen, grabbing 72 percent of the votes cast in that race. In a battle of local interest, Paul Burchett breezed past Harold Stumbo in a non-partisan race of Floyd Circuit Judge. Burchett drew 54 percent of the ballots cast to Stumbo’s 36 percent...In the general election on November 5, 11 candidates are running for the eight seats on the Prestonsburg city council...Two Floyd County men were injured in two separate shooting incidents Wednesday, at Drift and Teaberry. Anthony N. Allen II, 18, of Drift was shot one time in the face after he allegedly threw corn at a vehicle near Drift at approximately 9:30, Wednesday night, according to a state police report. The motorist stopped and fired several shots into the area with one shot striking Allen in the face. A sprinkling of local flavor is expected to spice up next Tuesday’s general election ballot in Floyd County, where a race for circuit judge, and contests for seats on two city councils should pique voter interest...Floyd Countians will be going to the polls Tuesday, November 5 to cast their votes for candidates seeking the state’s highest offices and for candidates hoping for a place on local city councils. Floyd County schools will be in session Tuesday, said County Court Clerk Carla Boyd...Prestonsburg was inducted Thursday into Kentucky’s Certified Cities Hall of Fame, signifying recognition from the state Chamber of Commerce for the city’s continuing effort toward development. The award was presented at a luncheon, Thursday, in Frankfort, and culminates a six-year project by city leaders to qualify for the state Chamber’s certification program...The windshield of a Floyd County school bus carrying about 50 students was broken, Tuesday afternoon, by someone throwing rocks from a passing vehicle. Floyd transportation director Earl Ousley, said Thursday, that a bus traveling near Lancer was hit by rocks thrown from a passing vehicle. The incident occurred near the site of a 1958 bus crash that claimed the lives of 27 students...There died: Maegolda Ramey Johnson, 70, of Hueysville, Tuesday, at the Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Anne Katherine Stephens, 75, of Lawrenceburg, formerly of Floyd County, October 26, at King’s Daughters’ Memorial Hospital; Preston Tackett, 71, of Pike County, Monday, at his residence; Lula Harris, 88, of Prestonsburg, Monday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Maudie Gayheart Martin, 89, of Eastern, Sunday, at the Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Norman Ward, 77, of Prestonsburg, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Rina Mae Wallen, 73, of Water Gap, Monday, at St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington; Ben Crum Jr., 73, Monday, in Wayne, W. Va.; Delmar “Del” Lafferty, 49, of 80 Penry Road, Thursday, at his residence; Glima Hughes Allen, 77, of Mt. Dora, Fl., formerly of Pikeville, Friday, at The Flordia South Hospital in Orlando, Fla.; Henry P. Hall, 59, of Warsaw, In., formerly of Floyd County, Saturday, at the Kosciusko Community Hospital in Warsaw; David A. Wyatt, 52, of Ypsilanti, Mich., Thursday, at the Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington; John Douglas Hardwick, 45, of Thoreau, New Mexico, formerly of Betsy Layne, Saturday, at his residence; Phillip Jenkins, 77, of Myrtle Beach, N.C., Monday, at Bowman Gray Hospital in Winston Salem, N.C.; Alice Wright, 78, of Drift, Tuesday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Willard Adkins, 75, of Allen, Monday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center.

(October 23 and October 25, 1991)

Readin’, ’ritin and ’rithmetic, education’s legendary “three Rs,” have a new sibling, thanks to Kentucky’s General Assembly, Dr. Penney Sanders announced Monday at Prestonsburg Community College. What’s it called? “Revolution,” Sanders said. Speaking to a crowd of future teachers at PCC Monday, Sanders, head of the state’s Office of Education Accountability, said 1990 legislation establishing the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) would be appropiratley titled the “Kentucky Education Revolution.”...Relocation of a county road and a continuing feud between a magistrate and a David Fire Department volunteer were the top issues discussed at Friday’s Floyd County Fiscal Court meeting. Fiscal court members heard from Sammy Hall and Freddy Osborne of Osborne Branch at Hunter about road condtions and allegations of public officials doing work on private property...There will be no tricks for trick or treaters at the Prestonsburg Rotary Club’s safe Halloween, set for Sunday, October 27, at the Holiday Inn in Prestonsburg. Participating Floyd County businesses will gather at the Holiday Inn in a wing of rooms to give treats to thousands of youngsters who attend the annual event. Trick or treating begins at 6 p.m. The Holiday Inn co-sponsors the event...Testimony will continue Wednesday (today) in the trial of Adams Middle School principal Thomas Tackett who is charged with abusing and harassing a teacher at the school in May. A charge of terroristic threatening was dismissed Tuesday aternoon by special Judge Miller Kent Carter of Pike County, who sustained a motion by the defense for a directed verdict on that charge...A long-standing struggle between a local citizens’ group and a medical waste incinerator received national attention Monday when an environmental magazine came to eastern Kentucky. Free-lance reporters for Audubon magazine, the national magazine, for the National Audubon Society, came to Floyd County Monday in conjunction with a feature story on Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC), a citizens’ action group based in Prestonsburg. The Audubon reporters attended a protest rally at Medisin Inc.’s Highlands Regional Medical Center incinerator staged by Floyd Countians In Action (FCIA), a group which KFTC helped to organize...Adams Middle School principal Thomas Tackett was found guilty of abuse of a teacher and acquitted of a harassment charge Wednesday by a Floyd County District Court jury. The jury deliberated for approximately an hour before returning its verdict. The jury recommended a $500 fine on the abuse charge, Special Judge Miller Kent Carter followed the jury’s recommendation and levied the fine against Tackett...Maytown Elementary will be holding site based Committee elections for parent members on Monday, November 4, beginning at 7 p.m. in the school’s library. Any parent of a Maytown student, who meets the qualifications, may nominate themselves to run as site based members...An attempted robbery of an Allen market was thwarted early Thursday morning by two newspaper deliverymen and a quick response by a Floyd County Deputy Sheriff. Two men waiting to pick up papers near the Allen Food Mart observed that the glass door of the market had been broken out and they saw a man in the store. A call was made to the Floyd County Sheriff’s office at 2:45 a.m. that someone was robbing the store....A Prestonsburg woman was arrested Tuesday by Prestonsburg Police and charged with trafficking in a controlled substance within 1,000 yards of a school. Brenda Pennington was arrested by Prestonsburg detective sergeant Jeff Stumbo and police chief Greg Hall after an investigation. Pennington allegedly forged prescriptions for schedule III and IV controlled substances, Stumbo said. She worked at a doctor’s office in Prestonsburg...Wheelwright High School’s American history class will be participants in a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in Lexington, December 7. The Pearl Harbor Commemorative Association will hold ceremonies at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center, and history students at Wheelwright High School will sing songs that were popular during World War II...There died: Marie Stratton, 67, of Hi Hat, Saturday, at the Central Baptist Hospital, Lexington; Marie Martin, 76, of Dema, Monday, at her home; Crystal Gail Hall, 12, of Galveston, Monday, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center at Lexington; Edna Milom, 76, of East Point, Sunday, at the Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Norman Ray Mulkey, 50, of Homer, Michigan, Wednesday, at his home in Michigan; Nora Castle Jones, 78, of Martin, Sunday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Marie Hurd, 69, of Warsaw, In., Monday, at Miller’s Merry Manor; Dewey Gibson, 76, of Detroit, Mich., formerly of Melvin, Monday, at Quali-care Nursing Home in Detroit; Haig Gayheart, 73, of Van Lear, formerly of Hueysville, Wednesday, at Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington; George Holdred McPeek, 74, of Virgie, Wednesday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; John Wilson Huff, 66, of French Lick, In., formerly of Langley, Thursday, at The Gentlecare of French Lick, French Lick, In.; John B. Evans, 86, of Craynor, Saturday, in the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital.

(October 16 and October 18, 1991)

Freedom will be flying this Saturday at Martin, during the 22nd annual celebration of Red, White and Blue Days. This year’s event will be dedicated to our country’s veterans...Three Ohio juveniles, the oldest of which is 14, ended up in the Floyd County juvenile detention center in Prestonsburg, Monday, after taking police on a high speed chase in Floyd and Pike counties. The three, two boys and a girl, were identified as runaways from Columbus, Ohio, who apparently were en route to Florida. Three cars were reportedly stolen by the trio, the last of which was wrecked during the police chase, Monday. That car was stolen in Paintsville...A member of the Prestonsburg City Council was reprimanded last week by U.S. District Judge Joseph Hood for failing to report for jury service in federal court. According to Hood, this was the councilman’s second no-show for jury duty. William O. Goebel appeared before the judge in a show cause hearing to present evidence why he should not be held in contempt of the court. He gave a medical condition as his defense...A Prestonsburg businessman, who pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking, received a five-year probated sentence in Floyd County Circuit Court. James Dale Mosley, 38, of Prestonsburg, was indicted by a grand jury earlier this year and charged with trafficking in a schedule II narcotic; possessing a schedule II narcotic; and trafficking in marijuana. The trafficking in marijuana charge was dismissed. Mosley pleaded guilty in Circuit Court, May 9, and was sentenced September 27. The court order, issued October 8, said Mosley received a five-year probated sentence because of a pre-sentencing report by the Division of Probation and Parole and because of his history and character....Cupboards are bare in Floyd County’s six food pantries and will have to depend on community resources to continue to provide food to needy families for the rest of the year. The Floyd County Ministerial Association reported that a 20 percent cut in federal funding this year has tightened even further their small budgets...A special meeting of the Floyd County Board of Education has been called for Friday, October 18, at 11 a.m., at the administration building. The meeting has been called to open and award bids for the gymnasium floor at Allen Central High School...A Martin County jury deliberated for three and a half hours Wednesday, before finding a Johnson County man guilty in the 1990 shooting death of a Prestonsburg teen-ager. The jury found Jim Jack Penix Jr., 31, of Van Lear, guilty of second degree manslaughter, recommending a 10-year sentence...An hour and a half meeting produced only the election of new officers for the coming year and a commitment to pursue hiring an executive director for the Floyd County Development Authority. Harold businessman Paul Gearheart was named chairman of the board Wednesday, at the regular meeting of the authority and Julius Martin was named to fill the vice chairman slot. Burl Wells Spurlock retained his seat as secretary...A special meeting of the Floyd County Housing Authority has been called for Monday, October 21, at 3:30 p.m., at Green Acres housing office in Prestonsburg. The purpose of the meeting is to select a maintenance man for the Warco Housing Project...Red Ribbon Week, an annual campaign against drug and alcohol abuse, will be commemorated in Kentucky, from October 19 through October 26, including a “gigantic” celebration, October 23 in Frankfort. The Red Ribbon campaign resulted from the murder of federal Drug Enforcement Agency agent Enrique Camerena by drug dealers in 1985...Representatives from two national magazines will be in Prestonsburg, Monday, to report on issues surrounding a medical waste incinerator at Highlands Regional Medical Center. National Audubon and National Geographic will meet with members of Floyd Countians in Action (FCIA) Monday, to discuss their concerns about Medisin’s incinerator located at the hospital, said Phyllis Walker, a leader of FCIA....In what commissioners said is a way to encourage future development at Paintsville Lake, the Johnson County Fiscal Court voted Friday, to pay for an appraisal of the lake’s marina. The court said the action was not an indication that the county plans to purchase Paintsville Lake Marina, which is in jeopardy of closing...A charge against a Floyd County principal for allegedly threatening to harm a teacher while at school will be tried Tuesday, October 22, in Floyd District Court. Special judge Miller Kent Carter of Pike County denied a motion Thursday, to dismiss the charges against Adams Middle School principal, Thomas Tackett, for allegedly threatening Gwendolyn Hammonds on May 14. An additional charge of harassment was placed against Tackett Thursday by Hammonds...There died: Columbus Hall, 62, of Dana, Friday, at the Parkview Manor Nursing Home in Pikeville; Katherine “Kitty” Lewis, 47, of Prestonsburg, Sunday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Myrtle Wicker Triplett, 90, of Marion, Ohio, formerly of Knott County, Monday, at the Community Nursing Care in Marion, Ohio; Freda Whitaker Price, 56, of River, Thursday, at the Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center in Paintsville; Mary Little, 86, of Hager Hill, Saturday, at the Paul B. Hall Medical Center; Kenas Akers, 58, of Grethel, Friday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Nollie Sue Hicks, 64, of Huntsville, formerly of Floyd County, Saturday, at a hospital in Huntsville; Mary Jane Bates Hall, 78, of Melvin, Sunday, at her residence.

(October 9, 1991 and October 11, 1991

A Floyd County coal miner filed a complaint last week with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, alleging that Leo A. Marcum, Commonwealth Attorney for Martin, Johnson, and Lawrence counties, threatened to have him committed to a mental institution if he persisted with safety complaints he had made against Martin County Coal Corporation. Randall G. Fitzpatrick of Prestonsburg, a former assistant foreman at the Black Bear No. 2 mine, filed the complaint of discrimination with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission in Washington, D.C. Marcum and Martin County Coal are named as defendants in the complaint....Floyd County Attorney Jim Hammond said Tuesday that the Kentucky Women Advocates’ “injustice” award given to him was itself an injustice and was based on erroneous and purely unfounded information. Hammond was named as one of the five recipients of the group’s “injustice” awards, given at their annual meeting October 5, in Louisville...Five contestants are vying for the title of Miss Jenny Wiley during the pageant in association with the Jenny Wiley Festival. The pageant will be held Thursday, October 10, at 8 p.m., at the National Guard Armory on U.S. 23 in Prestonsburg. The contestants are: Elizabeth Ann Leslie, 17-year-old daughter of Steve and Lois leslie of Emma; Helen Louise Hammonds, 19-year-old daughter of Harold and Rebecca Hammonds of Prestonsburg; Tracy R. Hall, 20-year-old daughter of Larry Hall and Rosemary Arnett of Salyersville; Tricia “Sinae” Risner, 18-year-old daughter of James and Daisy Risner of Prestonsburg; Tara Lee Branham, 16-year-old daughter of Gay and Sandy Branham of Wayland...Radio station WMDJ and First Guaranty National Bank are gearing up for their ninth annual Day in the Park, October 20, at Stumbo Park in Allen. This year’s event will feature many local entertainers and country music star Trisha Yearwood...A Floyd County man has accused two Prestonsburg patrolman of police brutality in a federal suit filed October 7, in U.S. District Court at Pikeville. In his complaint, Gregory Johnson, alleges that on October 9, 1990, city police officer Jeff Stumbo “maliciously rammed his vehicle” into a car driven by Johnson in the Corn Fork area of the county. Johnson contends he was permanently injured in the collision...No injuries were reported after a shooting incident at McDowell school Wednesday, and the shots fired were determined to have come from a BB or pellet gun. Kentucky State Police detective Joel Newsome said Thursday that a window in the high school building was hit with two shots from the gun, and one projectile went through the window...There will be no voice for the classified employees of the Floyd County School System until the workers merge the three separate employee organizations into one. The independent organizations came before the board of education Tuesday asking to be recognized as the “designated spokespersons” for the 396 employees...An Adams Middle School student was injured Thursday after he and approximately 15 other students decided to skip school. Ted Amburgey, no age available, was injured after he reportedly fell from a cliff near the school. Amburgey was taken to Highlands Regional Medical Center where he was admitted Thursday afternoon for observation...In its first meeting in approximately six months, the Floyd County Housing Authority announced, Wednesday, that ground-breaking for a new public housing unit in Left Beaver should begin in November. Floyd County Housing Authority executive director Julia May said, Wednesday, that the final architectural plans are scheduled to be approved by the Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by mid-November, and construction is scheduled to begin shortly thereafter...There died: Ward Lee Reed, 88, of Drift, Monday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; William Jessie, 70, of Greenup, formerly of Banner, Thursday, at his residence; Luther Messer, 68, of Garrett, Monday, at his residence; Josie Boyd Akers, 88, of Dana, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Nicholas Kent Johnson, infant son of Kent and Melissa Cornette Johnson of Hudson, North Carolina, formerly of Floyd County; Mary Ann Stumbo Clark, 75, of West Prestonsburg, Wednesday, October 9, at Highlands Regional Medical Center.

(October 2 and October 4, 1991)

Unity, politics and organization were the words of advice, Saturday to classified personnel of the Floyd County School System, as the birth of their own organizaiton unfolded. Prestonsburg attorney Ned Pillersdorf directed the group of about 40 classified workers who elected interim officers and took their first steps toward becoming an organization to voice grievances and concerns to the board of education...A $10,000 grant has been awarded to the Mud Creek Water District from the Area Development Fund, for the purchase of a maintenance and operations vehicle. The Area Development fund is a capital projects program administered by the Department of Local Government in the Office of the Governor. The state’s 15 area development districts make recommendations to the department on the basis of state law and policy for project funding. The Big Sandy Area Development District board of directors recommended this project...A 41-year-old Floyd County man was charged with first degree assault after allegedly shooting his brother early Sunday morning. Billy Jay Scott of Hueysville, was charged, Monday, after his brother, Oney Scott, 55, was shot in the neck at 12:20 a.m., Sunday, with a .38 caliber revolver, said Floyd County deputy sheriff Ricky Thornsbury. Thornsbury said both men were extremely intoxicated at the time of the incident...If last May’s primary is a measuring stick, November’s general election isn’t likely to measure up to much in the area of voter turnout in Floyd County. Figures released this week by Floyd County Court Clerk Carla Robinson Boyd, indicate a paltry 33 percent of the county’s registered voters turned out for the May primary, which included heated contests for a variety of statewide positions...A Pike County judge last week dismissed State Auditor Bob Babbage as a defendant in a lawsuit concerning school construction projects. Pikeville architect James Ellis filed suit against the Pike County Board of Education and Babbage in August, claiming that Babbage’s audit of school construction projects in Pike and Floyd counties prompted the board to withhold payments from him...The U.S. Office of Surface Mining has awarded $8.4 million in grant money to Kentucky for the reclamation of abandoned coal mines. Five projects in Floyd County will be funded by the grant, including abandoned mines on Henry’s Branch, the Orkney Slide, Powers Highwall, Tinker Fork and Campbell’s Slide...First impressions are ones that last, and Floyd County received high marks as hosts for a group of nationwide travelers. Campers from across the nation met last weekend at Jenny Wiley State Park for one of the four annual meetings of the Vintage Birds. About 50 campers from Alaska to California, driving Blue Bird motor homes, enjoyed the weekend, sightseeing in Floyd, Johnson and Pike counties...A state legislative panel voted, Monday, to increase to 50 percent the share of coal severance taxes returned to coal-producing counties and to eliminate allocations to coal-impacted counties. Under a curent state formula, coal-producing counties and those affected by coal transportation, share 12 percent of the revenues raised by coal severance taxes...It appears that two groups will represent the Floyd County school classified employees, and Ned Pillersdorf, an attorney willing to represent one, will not represent the Teamsters Union. Pillersdorf sent a letter dated September 30, to school board attorney Cliff Latta, that said he had been approached by several groups of classified workers and he would be willing to represent them under certain conditions...Four persons which were apprehended by the Kentucky State Police, the Virginia State Police and the FBI, in connection to a May bank robbery in Pike County, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Monday. According to Tom Self, assistant United States attorney, Kenneth D. Warth, 36, and his wife, Daisy Helen Warth, 44, both of Endicott in Floyd County, along with William A. Burchett, 25, and Nelson Zepeda, 37, both of Fort Wayne, Indiana, entered the pleas to three of the four counts for which they were charged...A report prepared for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has concluded that two parcels of land to be used for a connector road for Johnson County’s section of new U.S. 23 were contaminated by diesel fuel spills and waste oil disposal. The properties are located on Route 1428 at Hager Hill and border a CSX Transportation railroad track, the report said. Transportation officials said in August that a connector road near the location would be modified because of the contamination...There died: Misty Dawn Ritchie, 13, of Pikeville, September 28, at Pikeville; Ruby Hyden, 66, of Blue River, September 30, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Dixie May, 65, of Allen, Thursday, September 26, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Cecil Hall, 71, of Allen, Saturday, at the Veteran’s Hospital, Lexington; Lillie Emma Fairchild Webb, 80, of Bonanza, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Doris J. Solderich, 59, of Jacksonville, Florida, Tuesday, in a Jacksonville University Hospital; Patricia Blair May, 53, of Allen, Friday, at her residence; Minnie Hall Spears, 89, of Virgie, Monday, at the Mountain Manor Nursing Home, Pikeville; Phyllis Faye Brown, 59, of Langley, Saturday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; Hollie Hamilton, 51, of Stanville, Saturday, at his residence; Charlie Jones, 86, of McDowell, Tuesday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Hobert Mullett, 62, of Weeksbury, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Inez Scutchfield Hammonds, 71, of Water Gap, Wednesday, at Salyersville Health Care Center; Phillip Dale Kidd, 41, of Buffalo, West Virginia, formerly of Printer, Wednesday, at Buffalo, West Virginia; Edgar Ray, 72, of Beaver,

(September 25 and September 27, 1991)

The suspect in a 1978 murder, and a convicted rapist, are in federal custody this week following their arrests, Friday, on murder-for-hire and drug trafficking charges. A third man has been arrested on state charges relating to drug trafficking. All three suspects are Floyd Countians. At a hearing, Tuesday, in U.S. District Court at Pikeville, Wendell Ray Newman, 37, of Bevinsville was ordered held without bond by federal judge Joseph Hood pending action by a federal grand jury, next month...Floyd Countians could see an arts and learning center and performance theater for the Kentucky Opry built in Prestonsburg in less than three years. The Prestonsburg City Council voted Monday night to hire the architectural firm of Sherman, Carter and Barnhart to design the arts center and theater, that will be located on two sites in the city...Auxiliary police work schedules and Wheelwright night noises topped the agenda at the Wheelwright City Council meeting, September 19. City council members also discussed establishing a feasible work schedule for auxiliary police officers who will protect the city while Wheelwright police personnel unergo training at the police academy. Three auxiliary officers, Rodney Newsome, James Vanhoose and Bill Wagner will patrol the area during the regular officers’ absence. Wheelwright Mayor Kenneth Johnson expressed concern about the work schedule, saying that according to the law, one man could only work so many hours....Two investigators with the state’s Office of Education Accountability were in Prestonsburg this week, reportedly conducting follow-ups into ongoing probes of the Floyd County school system. A spokesman for the agency declined, Tuesday, to offer specifics of the follow-ups and would neither confirm nor deny reports that one area of investigation involved school finances at Prestonsburg High School...Floyd County Fiscal Court members have until the end of the year to submit a plan for the construction of a new jail to the state Corrections Cabinet before any action is taken by the state to close the current facility. Floyd Jailer Lawrence Hale informed the court at Friday’s fiscal court meeting that he had received a report from the Corrections Cabinet about the condition of the jail, and that action needed to be taken to the issue before October 10...Classifed personnel and the Floyd County Board of Education reached an accord at Thursday’s special meeting when the board voted unanimously to recognize an organization to represent the workers. “Designated spokespersons” will be the mouthpiece for bus drivers, cooks, custodians, clerks and maintenance personnel, and the board “will be open for discussions...to all matters affecting their membership.”...A Martin County man was arrested at his home near Tomahawk, Thursday, and charged with two counts of murder in connection with an early morning incident in Scioto County, Ohio. Paul Daniels Jr., 34, was taken into custody without incident at his Ooten Fork home by Kentucky State Police and members of the Martin County Sheriff’s department....A head-on collision, Tuesday afternoon, on Town Branch Road, sent four people to Highlands Regional Medical Center in Prestonsburg. A Volkswagon Golf driven by James J. Spurlock, 19, of Prestonsburg, collided with a Honda LX driven by Auddie L. Cooley, 29, at Prestonsburg at approximately 5 p.m., Tuesday...Johnson County Circuit Judge Stephen “Nick” Frazier had not ruled, Thursday, if Floyd County Superintendent Ron Hager was properly replaced as secretary to the board of education. Hager filed suit in August after the board named Gary Frazier, assistant superintendent of instruction, to replace Hager as secretary to the board...United Steel Workers International union will have a rally in Pikeville City Park, October 12, to consider a boycott of Pikeville businesses. The boycott is being asked for by the union, because Methodist Hospital non-professional workers in Pikeville were not given the opportunity to vote on union representation...There died: Michael Boleyn, 72, of Garrett, Wednesday, at the Veterans Hospital in Lexington; Rebecca Boyd, 14, of Dayton, Ohio, Thursday, at her residence, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound; Eliza Belle Bates, 90, a former resident of Dorton, at the Mt. View Health Care Center; Odis Ray, 54, of Teaberry, Sunday, at his residence; Noah Newsome, 90, of McDowell, Saturday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Mattie Hoover Scott, 84, of Hueysville, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Clarence Ray Crawford, 57, of Estill, Monday, at Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington; Harry Ray Fain, 59, of Pickerington, Ohio, Wednesday, at Mt. Carmel East Hospital in Columbus, Ohio; Duran Reynolds, 80, of Wheelwright, Sunday, at the McDowell Hospital; Orville Boyd, 74, of Banner, Sunday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Vanita Kay (Horn) Cole, 42, of Martin, Wednesday, at the Parkview Manor Nursing Home; Beulah Williamson, 96, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday, at the Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Woodrow W. Goble, 76, formerly of Floyd County, Tuesday, at his home in Lehigh Acres, Florida; Argona McCown, 67, of Perryville, Maryland, formerly of Robinson Creek, Sunday, in Perryville; Maude Curnette, 79, of Auxier, Sunday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Kevin Christopher Slone, 14, of Auxier, Tuesday, at Auxier.

(September 11 and September 13)

An issue raised recently about the disparity in salary rates, compensation, and work schedules, for city employees, particularly fire department, police department and street department workers, could be solved within the next 60 days. Prestonsburg City Council members voted Monday night to hire Paul Combs and Associates Inc., a personnel consulting firm, to address the city’s plan. The firm plans to begin by reviewing all job specifications with department directors and other employees. In order to ensure equal pay for equal work, the employee classification plan must also be reviewed and/or updated, as well...A suspect in the Saturday night shooting death of a McDowell man at the American Legion Post 283 in Martin, apparently warned a patron he was going to return to the bar with a weapon. Floyd County sheriff’s deputy Linzie Hunt said a witness told him that Frank DeRossett, 50, of Allen, made the statement he “was going home to get (a) gun and clean this place out” about 45 minutes before Clive Case, 34, of McDowell, was shot five times with a .38 caliber handgun...A hearing Monday in Floyd County Circuit Court, conducted by special Judge Stephen “Nick” Frazier, produced a lot of testimony, but no ruling in a dispute between school superintendent Ronald Hager and the Floyd County Board of Education. Judge Frazier has asked for additional information on the suit, and is expected to issue a ruling after September 16...A 66-year-old Floyd County man was killed, Tuesday morning, after the car he was driving was struck by a coal truck that jackknifed near Harold. Willie Tackett of Grethel, was pronounced dead at the scene by Floyd County deputy coroner Glen Frazier. Tackett was driving south on KY 979 in a Buick Regal when his car was struck by the coal truck driven by D.J. Hollins that jackknifed and crossed into the northbound lane, a spokesman for the Kentucky State Police said. Tackett’s vehicle then struck a Chevy S-10 pickup truck driven by Hillard Newman of Grethel. Newman nor Hollins were injured...Floyd county students and taxpayers are apparently the winners in a drawn out debate over school finances, employees salaries and instructional programs. Disputing parties reached a tentative agreement, Tuesday afternoon, that could head off a threatened teachers’ strike and cooled off fears of new taxes...Picket lines were expected at all Floyd County schools, Friday morning, after the system’s classified employees called for a work stoppage. The strike was called after Floyd County Board of Education chairman Ray “Shag” Campbell declined, Thursday evening, on a request that the board recognize the employees as members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters...An agreement reached Tuesday, between teachers and school administrators was approved Thursday night by the Floyd County Board of Education, but not without some hesitation and alteration. Following an extended closed-door session Thursday, board members voted 5-0 to accept an eleven-point plan to resolve employee differences, adding a point of their own and deleting one supplementary recommendations. The unanimous approval came with a stipulation that funds be allocated to pay for the employment of three assistant principals’ at three county high schools...Two investigations being closely watched in Floyd County are expected to be brought before a Floyd County Grand Jury during its November session. Floyd Commonwealth Attorney Jerry Patton said Wednesday, that a traffic fatality at Lancer in July and an investigation into an alleged illegal bingo operation at Prestonsburg High School will be brought before the grand jury....Murder indictments were returned Wednesday by a Floyd County Grand Jury, against three persons, including an Allen man who is the suspect in the Saturday night shooting death of a McDowell man. Frank DeRossett, 50, of Allen, was charged with murder for Saturday’s shooting death of Clive Case, 34, of McDowell at the American Legion club at Martin. DeRossett was also charged with first degree assault for shooting Larry Spears, 34, of McDowell, who was hit by a bullet during Saturday’s incident....The curtain will go up soon on the first act of a local story about a small town which aspires to become the arts and entertainment center of the Kentucky hills. With some success, the story could unfold well-beyond those boundaries. After months of discussion and debate, phase one of a project to develop the Kentucky Opry in downtown Prestonsburg is shifting gears, moving into high speed...There died: Southa Branham Breehne, 72, of Cincinnati, Ohio, formerly of Floyd County, Thursday, at the Anderson Mercy Hospital in Cincinnati; Russell Blackburn, 62, of Martin, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; James “Tom” Slone, 62, of Bevinsville, September 8, at his residence; Aileen Bentley Collins, 68, of Wayland, Thursday, at her residence; Alva Saunders Collins Hamilton, 75, of Honaker, Thursday, at the Knott County Nursing Home, Hindman; Harold Roscoe Prater, 50, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, formerly of Floyd County, Saturday, at his home; Judy Carol LeDue, 48, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, formerly of Rock Fork, Friday, at the Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne; Lora Slone, 71, of Pippa Passes, Friday, at the Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center; Willie Tackett, 66, of Grethel, Tuesday, at Harold, from injuries received in an automobile accident; Verna Mae Shepherd Ratliff, 68, of Hager Hill, Sunday morning, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Clive Allen “Bubby” Case, 34, of McDowell, Saturday, at the American Legion Club in Martin; Milton Dwane “Magoo” Little, 47, of Minnie, Tuesday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Myrtle Thornsbury Wallen, 76, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, formerly of Floyd County, Wednesday, at the Heritage Hospital in Taylor, Michigan; Paul Tackett, 69, of Virgie, Wednesday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center, Prestonsburg; Viola Bates, 77, of Bevinsville, Wednesday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; James W. Evans, 68, of Auxier, Wednesday, at St. Josephs Hospital, Lexington; Hillard Jones, 72, of Virgie, Thursday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Stephanie Ann Morgan, 21, of Hardin County, Sunday, from injuries sustained in a car accident.

(September 4 and September 6, 1991)

Floyd County teachers will be manning their classrooms instead of picket lines, Wednesday, with strike plans put on hold, while State Department of Education officials try to resolve budgetary issues in the district. State finance administrator Ron Moubray and Dr. David Thomas, assistant commissioner in charge of communication and assessment, will meet Thursday, at 10 a.m., with Floyd superintendent Ron Hager and Floyd County Education Association (FCEA) representatives to discuss the district’s financial condition. Board member Eddie Billips said, Tuesday, that he “felt good” after a three-hour meeting with FCEA president Carol Stumbo and Dolores Smith, Saturday...The Kentucky Highlands Folk Festival has a full schedule of activities planned for this coming weekend. With the addition of the civic center, all activities will be centralized in the area of the Jenny Wiley Amphitheatre parking lot. The arts and crafts fair, which will be held in the parking lot, will begin the event on Friday at noon. The craft fair will also be held in the parking lot, beginning at 10 a.m., Saturday, and continue throughout the day. The Appalfolks Writer’s Workshop will also go on throughout the day, Saturday, in the convention center...United Federal Savings Bank in Prestonsburg was open for business as usual Monday, but business was anything but usual. United Federal was placed in receivership Friday, August 30, opening Tuesday, September 3, as United Savings Bank, FSB, and under the management of Resolution Trust Corp., which oversees failed thrifts...State lawmakers are expected to receive recommendations during the 1992 General Assembly from the state Department of Education to change laws pertaining to state school construction projects. State board member John Williams told the State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education, Wednesday, that proposed changes are being developed by the state based on recommendations from state Auditor Bob Babbage, who audited school construction projects in Floyd and Pike counties earlier this year...GOP gubernatorial candidate Larry Hopkins presented Floyd Countians his income tax returns for the past 10 years at the Floyd County Court Clerk’s office, Wednesday. Hopkins said it would be impossible to personally deliver a copy of his income tax returns in all 120 counties in Kentucky...The State Board for Secondary and Elementary Education issued a costly reprimand, Wednesday, to the Johnson County School System during a segment of the state board’s three-day meeting in Prestonsburg. The board voted unanimously, Wednesday, to retroactively approve the purchase of a school site by the Johnson County board, but denied a request for additional state funding for the purchase...Candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor will be the featured speakers, September 19, at Jenny Wiley State Park during the annual meeting of the East Kentucky Corporation’s board of directors. The meeting, which begins at 11 a.m., at the park convention center, will include comments from Brereton Jones, the Democratic nominee for Governor; Larry Hopkins, the GOP nominee for Governor; Paul Patton, the Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor; Gene Goss, the GOP nominee for Lt. Governor...There died: Lawrence Amburgey, 79, of Bypro, Thursday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; William Arthur Salisbury, 90, of Hunter, Friday, in the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Claude P. Hagans, 82, of Ashland, formerly of Langley, Monday, at the King’s Daughters’ Medical Center in Ashland; Rev. T. A. (Thomas Alex) Patton, 82, of Auxier, Thursday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Bill Harvey, 85, of Honaker, Sunday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Lester Tackett, 63, of Robinson Creek, Saturday, at the Holzer Medical Center; Claude Mosley, 77, of Minnie, Friday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Andrew Case, 79, of Martin, Friday, in Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Mark Chaffins, 78, of Lackey, Thursday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Effie Slone, 82, of Hueysville, Wednesday, at her residence; Jean Cornett Hornsby, 60, of Plainview, Texas, formerly of Floyd County, at her home; Jimmy Everett Johnson, 58, of Melvin, was found dead Tuesday night at his home.

(August 28 and August 30)

An Ashland businessman has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of bank fraud in a case involving a Floyd County bank. Eric Charles, a car and coal dealer, pleaded guilty to 12 counts, including one charge that he defrauded more than $1 million from the Bank Josephine in Prestonsburg. The local issue involved Charles’ alleged execution of a scheme to defraud a federally insured bank, and of submitting false documents in support of loans...A quick response by the Prestonsburg Fire Department can be credited for saving the V&R Market at Goble-Roberts from more extensive fire damage than it received on August 26. According to assistant fire chief, Mike Wells, a call came into Station Two at 9:45 p.m., Monday. Firefighter Mike Moore was attending church down the street from the market and was the first on the scene, radioing to the other firefighters that smoke and flames were visible, Wells said...Dewayne Bush takes pride in his work, and now he can take pride in knowing he’s the best in Kentucky. Bush won the title of Kentucky’s best bagger at the Kentucky Grocers’ Association trade show at Heritage Hall Sunday, August 25. He received $200, a $500 scholarship, and will compete at a national contest in Orlando, Florida, in February...Talks between Floyd County teachers and school administrators reached an impasse, Tuesday evening, leaving questions about school finances unresolved less than 48 hours before district teachers are scheduled to vote on a possible strike. Representatives of the Floyd County Education Association (FCEA) met three hours, Tuesday evening, with a district budget committee, school finance officer Russell Frazier, board chairman Ray “Shag” Campbell and superintendent Ronald Hager, before reaching a statemate over budgeted expenditures...A break-in last weekend at the Floyd County Board of Education’s book depository at Wayland school resulted in a loss of school equipment and destruction of school property. The thieves stole approximately $1,000 worth of student calculators and caused more than $4,000 in damages, said assistant superintendent Gary Frazier, Monday when the break-in was discovered...The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sees child care as the fastest growing business in the next decade. The State Cabinet for Human Resources says it will be the favored benefit of the ’90s. To help Floyd Countians become more informed about their options in this area, Carol Lewandowski, human services coordinator for Big Sandy Area Development District, coordinated a seminar, Tuesday, entitled “All About Business and Child Care” and invited area businesspeople and child caregivers...It appears that the 1991-92 school year could start as scheduled, even though a majority of Floyd County teachers voted Thursday ,to strike. The Floyd County Board of Education decided at a special meeting, Thursday, to ask the state Department of Education for assistance in solving a budget impasse between the district’s budget committee and the school board’s representatives...Preliminary construction could begin this fall on the Prestonsburg connector from new Route 23, but full-scale development won’t begin before the spring of 1992. Tentative approval was given last Friday, August 23, to a $15.4 million bid for the ambitious project, which calls for construction of an overpass near Glyn View Plaza. The construction bid, offered by Bizzack Bros. Construction, has not yet been awarded...A keen eye by a Prestonsburg Police officer, Tuesday evening, led to the recovery of a vehicle stolen from Ohio and the arrest of a Floyd County man under indictment. Patrolman Mike Conn observed a suspicious vehicle at Greer Meat Company on South Lake Drive, at 10 p.m., Tuesday and his investigation resulted in the recovery of the vehicle reported stolen from Warren, Ohio, and two arrests...Larry Hardin, 44, nephew of Prestonsburg resident Pat Mills, became the first Martin Countian to successfully undergo a heart transplant operation, having survived the critical first 48 hours in good shape in the University of Kentucky intensive care unit at Lexington. “He’s a miracle,” said Hardin’s surgeon, Dr. Michael Sekela, who headed the seven-man operating team...A cry for help was heard and heeded this week, as more than 175 people turned out at the Central Kentucky Blood Center in Prestonsburg to give for the “Great American Blood Drive.” According to Billy Biddle, donor resources consultant, three records were broken during this week’s drive, which was conducted on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The single day record is now set at 66 registering to donate; the blood-drive total record was passed with 178; and the Rotary vs. the Jaycees on-going battle surpassed the past three drives’ total collection...There died: John Lee Crum, 58, of Martin, Saturday, at his residence; Ruby Mae Hackworth Bradford, 66, of Blue River, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Richard Wyatt, 69, of Galion, Ohio, Tuesday, at Galion Community Hospital; Williba Hall, 74, of Virgie, August 22, at his residence; Doris Ann Spradlin Lafferty of Prestonsburg was incorrectly listed in last Wednesday’s edition as 56 years old at her death. She was 53. Also: Sheldon Maggard, 83, of Hindman, Wednesday, at his home; Bonnie Tackett, 61, of Ecorse, Michigan, formerly of Virgie, August 26, at the Harper Hospital in Detroit, Michigan; Geraldine Allen, 59, of Prestonsburg, formerly of Langley, Thursday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Jeffery James Damron, 65, of Allen, Wednesday, in the emergency room at Our Lady of the Way Hospital at Martin.

(August 21 and August 23, 1991)

State Auditor Bob Babbage has been named as a defendant in a legal dispute between a Pikeville architect and the Pike County Board of Education. The suit, filed August 15, by architect James A. Ellis, involves a monetary dispute between the architect and the Pike County Board, which apparently arose soon after a state review of school construction projects in Floyd and Pike counties...Problems continue for a former Wheelwright police chief, following the recent filing of a civil rights action against him in U.S. District Court. The case against Danny Milligan, filed by Prestonsburg attorney Ned Pillersdorf, stems from a September 1990, incident. Milligan allegedly “violently assaulted” Dennis Buckley, the plaintiff, “without justification or provocation,” by striking him with a blackjack, spraying mace in his eyes, and kicking him in the legs as Milligan was putting Buckley into the police cruiser...A Martin County woman was killed Monday evening, August 19, when she lost control of her car on U.S. 23, crossed the center line and struck an oncoming vehicle, state police said. The victim, Carletta Crum, 20, of Inez, was northbound on U.S. 23 at Auxier at 6:05 p.m., when her ’88 Chevrolet Cavalier apparently went out of control and hit a ’90 Jeep Wagoneer driven by Clarence Sheffield, 54, of Prestonsburg, according to a report from the Pikeville state police post...Thanks to a court ruling issued Monday, the Floyd County Board of Education apparently has an official board secretary, an unofficial board secretary and a secretary to the secretaries...at least temporarily. After a brief hearing last week, Johnson Circuit Judge, Stephen “Nick” Frazier ruled Monday that the appointment of assistant superintendent Gary Frazier to the post of board secretary would stand, until a challenge to Frazier’s appointment was resolved in court. On the eve of the first anniversary of the last year’s teachers’ strike in Floyd County, fears of a repeat performance appeared to have been calmed at Monday’s meeting of the Floyd County Board of Education. Although no salary increase was approved by the board, a joint report from the county’s District Planning Committee and District Budget Committee, said funds were available to provide an across the board 13.5 percent pay hike to all employees of the Floyd County School System...A Prestonsburg woman was killed Wednesday afternoon in a two-car auto accident at Banner. According to Kentucky State Police reports, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Dessie H. Setser, 71, of Prestonsburg, was killed when her 1981 Toyota Corolla was struck at the junction of U.S. 23 and Rt. 1426 by a 1986 Trans Am driven by Dennis Osborne, 43, of Ivel. Setser was attempting to cross U.S. 23 when her car was struck...The Carl D. Perkins Job Corps Center has received funding for the next three years through the U.S. Department of Labor, according to U.S. Senator Wendell Ford. Career Systems Development Corporation, the company which operates the center, has received $6,812,877 for the operation of the Job Corps Center in Prestonsburg. The period of funding is October 1, 1991, through September 30, 1993, with the possibility of three additional one-year option periods...Two Little Mud Creek men got quite a scare Wednesday, after they lost their 86-year-old father while ginseng hunting on a hillside at Martin. Palmer and Darrell Yates called the Floyd County Emergency and Rescue Squad at 4:02 p.m., Wednesday, and reported their father, Preston Yates, as missing, said rescue squad member Chuck Hall...Life in the fast lane, Tuesday evening, led to the arrest of three persons and opened a case of international intrigue for the Floyd County Sheiff’s Department. The fast lane is where deputy sheriff Roy Compton stopped a black four-door Buick on U.S. 23 near Watergap at approximately 5 p.m., Tuesday, ater the driver failed to move into the right lane...There died: Doris Ann Spradlin Lafferty, 56, of Prestonsburg, Sunday, at her home; Elmer “Elmo” Prater, 85, of Westland, Michigan, June 19, at St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Walter Jackson “Jake” Cochran, 51, of Prestonsburg, Sunday, at his home; Correne Tabor, 35, of Scottsville, Thursday, at the Bowling Green Medical Center; Gertrude Hancock, 47, of Garrett, Thursday, at her residence; Thomas Lewis Miller, 61, of Prestonsburg, Friday, at the Wabash County Hospital in Wabash, Indiana; Dollie M. Perry, 79, of Albion, Michigan, Tuesday, at her residence; Beulah Brown Martin, 55, of McDowell, Wednesday, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington; Laura Compton Crisp, 84, of Martin, Thursday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Alva Jean Hall, 40, of Betsy Layne, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Donald B. Tackett, 51, of Harold, Thursday, at the Veteran’s Hospital in Lexington; Stacy Glenn Tackett, 15, of Virgie, Tuesday, in Huntington, West Virginia; Arthur Goble and Joel Goble, two Floyd County natives, within two months of each other. Both were former residents of Lancer. Arthur Goble, 79, died August 12, in Ypsilanti, Michigan; his brother, Joel “Blackey” Goble, 70, June 21; Robert Kestner, 44, of Bays Branch, Tuesday, at his home; Dessie Hitchcock Setser, 71, of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital from injuries sustained in a car accident at Banner; Willie Hamilton, 63, of McDowell, Saturday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Paul B. Conway, 64, of Louisville, Monday, in Norton Infirmary in Louisville; James “Corbit” Bailey, 54, of Hueysville, Thursday, at his residence.

(August 14 and August 16, 1991)

A Floyd County man was killed in a two-car accident, Monday, near Highlands Regional Medical Center, while attempting to pass a tractor-trailer on U.S. 23. Earl D. Branham, 20, of Martin, was pronounced dead at 8:38 a.m., at Highlands, by Floyd County deputy coroner Glenn Frazier. Branham died of massive head trauma, Frazier said...An upbeat session of the Floyd County Chamber of Commerce ended on a somber note, Monday, when a Prestonsburg businessman warned that immediate action was necessary to rejuvenate the county’s dying economy. Prompted by sparse attendance at the Chamber session, called to plot the organization’s course for the 1991-92 year, Prestonsburg auto dealer Estill Carter closed the meeting with dire predictions for the future...A 30-year-old coal truck driver was injured Monday morning, when his brakes apparently failed and he was covered in coal, after he jumped from his runaway coal truck. John T. Martin, of Paintsville, was in stable condition, Tuesday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital in Martin, after fellow truckers apparently dug him out of the coal that buried him, said Dave Phillips, district supervisor for the Pike County branch of the state’s Department of Mines and Minerals. The accident occurred at 9:45 a.m., Monday....If the crowd at Monday night’s performance is any indication, the Kentucky Opry has truly made a hit here in eastern Kentucky. It was a sell-out show with a record number of 764 tickets being sold for the Opry, 200 of those being general admission. The Opry came on stage after the students from James D. Adams Middle School’s performance of “Clowns,” directed by Cathy Caudill, music teacher...Prestonsburg City Council members will draw extra-duty pay for attending council committee meetings, and their expenses relating to those unofficial sessions will be reimbursed by the city. The council order, first introduced by councilman Bill R. Collins, authorizes “the city to reimburse council members for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, including a $15 reimbursement for attendance at council committee meetings.”...A Carl D. Perkins Job Corps student has been sentenced to one year in the Floyd County jail after pleading guilty, Tuesday, to a charge of possession of marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia. Responding to a call from the Job Corps staff, Prestonsburg police officers, Roy Roberts and Anthony Castle, arrested Robert Mellor, formerly of Florida, at 11:30 a.m., Monday, August 12...An encore of last year’s teacher’s strike in Floyd County is possible this year if terms of the strike-settling pact are not met. Teachers remained on picket lines for 10 days last year until an eight-point agreement was reached between the Floyd County Education Association (FCEA) and the Floyd County Board of Education...A move by the Floyd County Board of Education to oust Superintendent Ron Hager as secretary to the board, has prompted Hager to seek an injunction barring the board’s decision. Hager filed suit in Floyd Circuit Court, Thursday, asking that a temporary and permanent injunction be granted to prevent the board of education from adopting the minutes of the August 8 meeting, where Hager was replaced as board secretary by assistant superintendent Gary Frazier, and to keep the board from rescinding his contract as secretary...The City of Prestonsburg is safe from any future Ku Klux Klan marches—unless the Klan can come up with the $100 permit fee. The Klan vowed to take legal action against the city after the city’s November denial of a parade permit. In an August 12 letter, however, David Friedman, General Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky (ACLU), said “In light of the Sixth’s Circuit’s decision in “Stonewall Union v. City of Columbus” (May 6, 1991), we will no longer pursue Virgil Griffin’s challenge to Prestonsburg’s parade permit fee.”...There died: Earl Dwayne Branham, 20, of Martin, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Raymond “Cat” Shelton, 78, of Drift, Sunday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Curtis Tackett, 66, of Harold, Wednesday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Linda Lou Horn, 49, of Banner, Sunday, at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington; Lola Bell Robinson, 87, August 8, at her home; Laura J. Glimpse, 91, of Speight, Friday, at her residence; Norma Jean Hopper, 61, of Melvin, Wednesday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Annie C. Mullins, 60, of Drift, Sunday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Louise Johnson Hall, 44, of New Dover, Ohio, Thursday, at her residence; Leonard Joseph Sr., 83, of Prestonsburg, August 12, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Ora Schroeder Warrens, 92, of Prestonsburg, Monday, at the home of her sister, Mrs. Hager White of Prestonsburg; William Rice Bolen, 75, of Garrett, Sunday, at the VA Hospital in Beckley; Sam Frazier Sr., 73, of Kensington, Ohio, formerly of Martin, Tuesday, at a Canton, Ohio, hospital; John Henry Sexton, 35, of Printer, Friday, at his residence; Magnolia Martin, 78, of McDowell, Monday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Betty Arlene Preston Dawson, 56, of Nippa, Monday, at Clark County Medical Center; Chester Hager Kelley, 70, of Keaton, Saturday, at his residence; Dekota Castle, 67, of Nippa, Thursday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; Bennie Hall, 85, of Greenup, Tuesday, at his residence; Opal Blackburn, 80, of Robinson Creek, August 13, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital. 

(August 7, 1991 and August 9, 1991)

The Floyd County Board of Education is reportedly considering a call for a special meeting Thursday to review a host of controversial issues confronting the board. Among topics proposed for discussion are issues concerning purported restrictions on booster clubs at Prestonsburg High School; school activity fund finances at Martin Elementary; and the position of board secretary...A federal judge denied a motion August 1 on behalf of a Floyd County teachers’ aide to set aside a settlement in a civil rights case against the Floyd County Board of Education. Judge Joseph Hood ruled Thursday that a settlement on behalf of Karon Robinson would stand as submited to the court by her attorney, John David Preston of Paintsville...Water samples taken from the area where medical waste was discovered in Dewey Lake on Friday, July 21 have been tested and the results returned on Tuesday, according to David Chaffins, Area 9 Disaster and Emergency Services representative. The results, provided from the Floyd County Health Department, showed no type of contamination, according to Chaffins. The Kentucky State Police are still investigating the incident and further information about the contents of a medical dispenser bottle found on the scene were unavailable...An investigation is underway into the cause of a train derailment Tuesday morning near Allen Elementary School. At approximately 9 a.m. on August 6, a CSX train rounded a curve and two of the cars tipped off the rails and landed on the side embankment. The derailed cars had been ripped from their axles and they spilled a portion of their cargo, which was plastic beads. An engine and two other cars were also derailed in the incident but remained upright...Morgan County native, Jerry Cecil, has announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for the 7th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Cecil, 48, finished a distant second to incumbent Congressman Chris Perkins in the 1990 primary...A motorcycle accident on Friday, August 2, near Honaker, resulted in the death of a Floyd County man Tuesday. According to state police reports, Edessel Case Jr. of Honaker was driving his 1974 Honda motorcycle west on Route 2030 when he apparently lost control of the bike on a curve and crossed the center line, striking a 1991 Toyota Corolla driven by Clifton Hughes...While presenting a drug awareness and prevention program to a group of Headstart teachers Wedneday at Adams Middle School, Floyd County Sheriff Paul Hunt Thompson and D.A.R.E. officer Ricky Thornsbury were unaware of the real-life drama unfolding involving the eradication of marijuana in a remote area of the county...The intersection on the east side of Prestonsburg at the entrance to the Jenny Wiley State Park was the site, on Wednesday, August 7, of yet another accident. It was the third accident at that intersection in less than one month. According to Ricky Conn, investigating officer for the Prestonsburg Police Department, David Pratt, driving an ’81 Chevy Malibu, was leaving the park heading west on Route 3 and failed to stop at the intersection of Route 1428, striking a 1985 Dodge Aries driven by Darlene Campbell, 36, of Prestonsburg...There died: Elma Nellie McKinney, 53, of Grethel, Sunday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Dicie Watson, 70, of Printer, Friday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Gladys Marie Schmidt, 65, of Sciotoville, Ohio, Friday, at her home; Lawrence Edward Conley, 28, of Lackey, August 2, in the Cabell Huntington Hospital; Finley Boshears, 79, of Halo, Thursday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Grover Watkins, 77, of Middletown, Ohio, Tuesday; Henry (Jim) Hamilton Jr. of McDowell, Sunday, at HRMC; Bersheba (Ber) Dingus Stumbo, 89, of Nicholasville, formerly of Prestonsburg, August 2, at her residence; Lon Irvin Slone, 32, of Blue River, Tuesday, at his residence; Vonda Humble Webb, 60, of Dwale, dead on arrival Saturday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Mandy McCoy Ray of Wheelwright, during a prayer session at Sunday services, at the Pentecostal Church of God; Neola Burke, 70, of Virgie, Monday, at the Williamson Memorial Hospital; Aggie J. Click, 63, of Martin, Wednesday, at her residence; David Lee Allen, 33, of Garrett, Tuesday, at Garrett, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident; Lizzie Newman Frasure, 87, of Harold, Sunday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; James Elzie Keathley, 57, of Galveston, July 31, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Edessel Case Jr., 26, of Honaker, Tuesday, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia, from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident, Friday; Willow Johnson Makarewicz, 55, of Ecorse, Michigan, Tuesday, at the Wyandotte General Hospital in Michigan; Otto (Bruiser) Endicott, 77, of Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, Saturday, at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital; Curtis Tackett, 66, of Harold, Wednesday, in the Pikeville Methodist Hospital.

(July 31 and August 2, 1991)

Two Floyd Countians have been found dead this week due to unknown circumstances, according to Kentucky State Police reports. On Monday morning, Willimer Conn of Martin, was discovered by a nephew, dead in his car at the head of Arkansas Creek. The 56-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene by Floyd County Coroner Roger Nelson, and the body was sent to Louisville for an autopsy on Tuesday. Nelson said that Conn had been dead for several hours before the body was discovered. The second death occurred on Tuesday morning. Lon Irvine Slone, 33, of Blue River was found dead in his bed at 7:30 a.m., by his wife. Nelson pronounced Slone dead at the scene, and estimated that time of death between midnight and 1 a.m., Tuesday. The body was also sent to Louisville for an autopsy...Floyd County could become one of just five counties in Kentucky to have two certified cities within its boundaries if the city of Martin is approved into the program. A state evaluation team was in Martin, Tuesday, reviewing the city’s application package and making recommendations for improvements. The Certified City Program has been sponsored by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce for eight years, and is a program coordinated to challenge cities to improve themselves. Kentucky is the only state where the chamber sponsors this program, usually it is done by a state economic development cabinet...An investigation is being conducted at Dewey Lake following the discovery of discarded medical paraphernalia there, Friday. According to state police reports, visitors to the lake found a brown medical dispenser bottle containing an unknown substance floating in the water near the Goble Branch launch ramp. They notified the state park office who then notified David Chaffins, area coordinator for the Kentucky State Department of Disaster and Emergency Services (DES)...The face of justice in Floyd County is changing. After nearly 30 years on the bench, Circuit Court Judge Hollie Conley has decided to step down. On November 5, a successor for Conley will be chosen by Floyd County voters. The candidates for the position are Paul Burchett and Harold Stumbo...The death of a 63-year-old Martin woman is under investigation by the Kentucky State Police after she reportedly climbed into a ground well and drowned. Aggie Click of Stephens Branch, was found in the well near her home by her grandson at approximately 10 a.m., Wednesday. Members of the Floyd County Emergency and Rescue Squad removed Click from the well and she was pronounced dead at the scene by Floyd County Coroner Roger Nelson...A 33-year-old Floyd County man was killed in a one-car accident Tuesday night, and a passenger in the car is in critical condition. David L. Allen, 33, of Garrett, was pronounced dead on arrival at Our Lady of the Way Hospital after he lost control of the vehicle he was driving which struck a utility pole and overturned, said trooper Ghomer Prater with the Kentucky State Police...An Indiana man is awaiting extradition to his home state after an observant state employee recognized his name from a warrant in the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department. Frank McGuire Jr., 31, whose address was listed as Highland Heights in Prestonsburg, was arrested Wednesday, at 1:15 p.m., by deputy Mike Conn at the Floyd County courthouse while he was applying to get a Kentucky driver’s license to replace his Indiana license...There died: Mrs. Gipsy LeMaster, 82, of Hager Hill, Wednesday, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center; Alonzo Patrick, 57, of Nappanee, Indiana, Monday, in the St. Joseph Hospital, Mishawaka, Indiana; Willimer Conn, 56, of Arkansas, at Martin, was found dead Monday, in a vehicle on Arkansas; Dr. John A. Patton, 76, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, formerly of Hueysville, Monday, at the Middle Tennessee Medical Center, Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Proctor (Prock) Blevins, 82, of Pekin, Indiana, formerly of Staffordsville, Friday, at Washington County Memorial Hospital in Salem, Indiana; Dona Tackett, 91, of Virgie, July 25, at the Mountain View Health Care Center; Alberta Virginia Caldwell Williamson, 64, of Prestonsburg, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Mexico Spears, 70, of Banner, Saturday, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Hospital; Lester Green, 72, of Smithville, Tennessee, formerly of Hi Hat; John D. Lemaster Jr., 66, of Springfield, Ohio, formerly of Martin, Thursday, at the Community Hospital in Springfield, Ohio; Dinah Osborne Hall, 80, of Prestonsburg, Friday at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Harold Allen, 68, of Hueysville, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Erma Horne Wilcox, 85, of East Point, Monday, at her residence; Lon Irvin Slone, 32, of Blue River, Tuesday, at his residence; Thaniel Mosley, 47, of Frasure’s Creek at McDowell, Tuesday, at St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington.

(July 24 and July 26, 1991)

A 34-year-old Martin County man was killed early Friday morning after reportedly trying to elude Prestonsburg City Police. John L. Webb of Warfield, died after the motorcycle he was operating collided with a car driven by Betty Carroll of Allen, on Rt. 3, near Lancer. The incident marked the second fatality within a week at the same location involving a police pursuit...Prestonsburg is in deep water again, according to statistics compiled by the Huntington Army Corps of Engineers. Remapping the flood plain along the Levisa Fork, engineers listed parts of Prestonsburg as 10 feet below flood level—a level that would put flood waters just inches below the traffic light at the junction of Court Street and South Lake Drive. Flood waters have not reached that height in Prestonsburg since the 1957 flood...Eastern Kentucky veterans had reason to celebrate Sunday, when officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a veterans’ outreach clinic located near Prestonsburg. World War II, Korean and Vietnam veterans, gathered at the clinic, located in the Riverview Building on U.S. 23, near Highlands Regional Medical Center, to watch the ceremonies. Many veterans said the location of a clinic in eastern Kentucky was long overdue and that the clinic will attract veterans who either can’t afford, or are too ill to travel to other clinics in central Kentucky and West Virginia...A Hi Hat man has been charged with criminal attempt to commit murder after a stabbing incident at Left Beaver, early Friday morning. Kelly Slone, 31, of Hi Hat, was charged with attempted murder, first degree wanton endangerment and first degree assault, after James “Blue” Hall, of Wheelwright, was stabbed several times with a large knife at a Hi Hat residence at approximately 3 a.m., Friday, said Floyd County Sheriff Paul Hunt Thompson. Thompson said Hall and Slone apparently were arguing when the stabbing occurred...The Floyd County Chamber of Commerce will host “Business After Hours” Thursday, beginning at 6 p.m., at Jenny Wiley Theatre. Following the meeting, a presentation of “Big River” will begin at 8 p.m....A small quantity of drugs stolen from a Prestonsburg pharmacy Tuesday night, were recovered Wednesday, near the scene of the crime. The Floyd County Sheriff’s Department alerted the Prestonsburg Police Department of the discovery of a 1,000-count bottle of Tylenol 3 and other depressants near the Convention Center in the old Heck’s building in Prestonsburg...A federal funding package to complete reconstruction of Route 23 between Prestonsburg and Paintsville survived an assassination attempt, Wednesday, and moved closer to final approval. A surprise amendment to the $8 million funding measure, which attempted to kill federal financing of Route 23 and other “demonstration” projects, was defeated Wednesday by a vote of 365 to 61 in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill, sponsored by 7th District Congressman Chris Perkins, now goes to the Senate for deliberation...A sergeant in the Prestonsburg Fire Department who was fired last week claims his dismissal was related to his active role in a firefighters’ union, and he plans to file suit against the mayor. Kevin Hedrick was fired July 19 by Prestonsburg Mayor Ann Latta, for, in part, “failure to perform assigned duties,” according to a memo Latta sent to Hedrick...There died: Betty Turner Elliott, 61, of Martin, Friday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Pauline R. McCarty, 82, of Olympia, formerly of Martin, Thursday, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center of an apparent heart attack; Herbert Cordial, 61, of Dana, Sunday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; John Wicker, 93, of Mousie, Sunday, after a long illness; Gypsie Compton Collins, 86, of Prestonsburg, Sunday, at the Jenkins Hospital; Ben Music, 83, of Auxier, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Media Combs, 72, of Decoy, Friday, at the Pine Meadows Health Care Center in Lexington; David Lee Grigsby Jr., 32, of Norton, Virginia, formerly of Martin, Thursday, in Mousie from a gunshot wound; Elijah Hamilton, 69, of Virgie, July 19, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Donald Ray Garrett, 49, of Betsy Layne, Monday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Reba Stratton Brewer, 69, of Ivel, Monday, at her residence; Vanie Thacker Owens, 72, of Pinsonfork, July 21; Virginia Mitchell, 79, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Claude “Eskimo” Greer, 74, of Cleveland, Ohio, formerly of East Point, Wednesday, at Fairview Hospital in Cleveland; Vina Ellen Beverly, 78, of Plano, Illinois, formerly of Auxier, Tuesday, at Copley Memorial Hospital.

(July 17 and July 19, 1991)

Investigators are conducting a probe into a fatal car crash, Sunday, involving a Kentucky State Police trooper. The accident killed a 54-year-old Prestonsburg woman, and seriously injured her father. Ruby Baisden Lafferty was pronounced dead on arrival at Highlands Regional Medical Center after the car she was a passenger in was struck at the intersection of KY 3 and KY 1428 at Lancer, by a Kentucky State Police cruiser driven by trooper John Blanton, who was in pursuit of a red Chevy S-10 pickup, KSP officials said....A Tuesday morning fire destroyed the home of Mrs. Shirley Fay Slone of Buckeye at Blue River. The blaze, fed by oxygen from open windows in the house, consumed the home within 35 minutes, according to Larry Adams, training officer for the David Volunteer Fire Department, which responded to the scene. Mrs. Slone’s neighbor and relative, Roger Slone, who is a member of the fire department, recognized the odor of a house fire around 10 a.m. that morning. The house was empty. Slone discovered the blaze and reported the fire over his radio which speeded the response, Adams said...David School director Danny Greene was named as a member of the Prestonsburg Community College Advisory Board, Tuesday by Governor Wallace Wilkinson. Greene will serve in that position until June 30, 1995. He will replace Robert Conley of Paintsville, whose term expired...The Eastern Kentucky Veteran’s Outreach Clinic will open July 22, and will serve veterans from seven eastern Kentucky counties. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Sunday, July 21, at 2 p.m., at the clinic, located in the Riverview building on U.S. 23 in Prestonsburg, below Highlands Regional Medical Center...A criminal investigation into the Bingo games at Prestonsburg High School is continuing, and any evidence of wrongdoing will be presented to a Floyd County Grand Jury. Kentucky State Police detective Johnnie Ray said Tuesday that the investigation is in its preliminary stages and a completion date could not be set...State police are investigating the death of a 38-year-old Harold man who died Saturday at a construction site in Teaberry. Jay L. Tackett was killed at 12:10 p.m., Saturday, when the block walls of the bulding he was helping construct, collapsed, sending the roof trusses down on top of him, police officials said. Tackett was pronounced dead at the scene by Deputy Coroner Glenn Frazier...Prestonsburg Police Chief Greg Hall, clarifying an earlier statement, said Thursday that police sergeant Gerald Clark had the intention of conducting a roadblock last Sunday before the crash between a Kentucky State Police trooper and a car driven by a Prestonsburg man and his daughter. Ruby Baisden Lafferty, 54, was killed in Sunday’s collision, and her 84-year-old father, LeRoy Baisden, was critically injured. Their vehicle was struck by a KSP cruiser driven by John Blanton at the four-way intersection near Lancer...A group of county judges, including Floyd County Judge-Executive John M. Stumbo, from coal-producing areas of the state, descended on Frankfort, Tuesday and Wednesday, to testify before the legislative Coal Revenue Allocation Task Force. The task force is considering a redistribution of monies collected from the coal severance tax. The coal severance is mineral tax money returned to counties which are impacted by coal mining...Smoke escaping from the open windows of a building adjacent to Martin Elementary School, Tuesday, caused Martin firefighters to prepare for the possibility of a school fire. Around 1 p.m., school workers heard the fire alarm sound at the school and investigated the adjoining building, which school board members voted to tear down earlier this year. The building’s fire alarm system is networked with the school’s, and workers had previously discovered the alarm sounded if the building’s occupant, Charles Salyers, created a lot of smoke during his cooking....There died: Ruby Baisden Lafferty, 54, of Highland Avenue, Prestonsburg, was pronounced dead on arrival Sunday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center from injuries received in an automobile accident near Lancer; Ollie Music Gray, 72, of Greenup, formerly of Mays Branch, Prestonsburg, Tuesday, at Our Lady of Bellefonte in Russell; Nellie May Osborne, 92, of Myra, July 15, at the Mountain Manor Nursing Home in Pikeville; Pearl Hamilton Sr., 79, of Willard, Ohio, Thursday, in Hillside Acres Nursing Home, Willard; Raymond O’Brien, 65, of Indianapolis, Indiana, formerly of Hunter, Tuesday, in Indiana, following a long illness; Josie Ousley, 81, of Alger, Ohio, Saturday, at Hardin Memorial Hospital, Kenton; Mary Elizabeth Stephens Estepp, 69, of Langley, Saturday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; Sadie Hall, 93, of Kite, Saturday, at her residence; Charles Hicks, 42, of Wheelwright, Thursday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Virda M. Martin, 88, of Prestonsburg, July 12, in the Riverview Manor Nursing Home at Prestonsburg; Ellis (E.L.) Moore, 88, of Harold, Friday, at Berea Hospital; Rev. Arthur Miller, 69, of Hi Hat, Sunday, at his residence; Mae Neeley, 63, of Lima, Ohio, Wednesday, in St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima; Candice Erin Hicks, infant daughter of Charles and Karen Marie Hicks of Martin, Tuesday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; W.B. Conn, 61, of Dana, Thursday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; James Manns Jr., 63, of Kendallville, Indiana, formerly of Wayland, Thursday, at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

(July 10 and July 12, 1991)

Deep-rooted problems in the city’s fire department are edging Prestonsburg to the brink of disaster, fire chief Tom Blackburn warned Monday, and city council involvement is necessary to quell the threat. A city firefighter said Tuesday, however, that problems can be resolved through “civilized” discussion. Blackburn’s plea for council input came after the chief advised the panel that paid duty men in the fire department were not “turning out” for alarms after their shifts end. Blackburn said a “pattern” of no-shows on fire calls was becoming “really serious,” and could lead to disaster in the event of a major fire....An ambitious plan to rejuvenate downtown Prestonsburg got the stamp of approval, Monday, from city council, but a state commission will have the final word on the project. Anchoring the revitalization proposal will be a $250,000 grant awarded by the Kentucky Heritage Commission, and continuing development of a city civic center to house the young, but growing Kentucky Opry....Floyd County Circuit Judge Hollie Conley ruled last Wednesday that the Floyd County Board of Education acted correctly in declaring a candidate for cheerleader ineligible. The ruling dismissed a lawsuit filed by Judy Hall Flannery on behalf of her daughter, Krissy Hall, a former cheerleader at Prestonsburg High School. Flannery claimed her daughter had already been punished for an incident that school officials said prohibited her from being named to the squad....A change of venue has been approved, and a special judge has been appointed, in a 12-year-old Floyd County murder case after a round of legal battles since April by the suspect’s attorney, Daniel Taylor III of Louisville. Chief Regional Judge Stephen “Nick” Frazier ruled Friday, that “pretrial publicity” has “raised sufficient and substantial doubt” if Wendell Ray Newman, 37, of Jack’s Creek can receive a fair trial in Floyd County...The lack of a quorum forced the cancellation of the Floyd County Board of Education’s regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night. Chairman Ray “Shag” Campbell and members Tommy Boyd and Eddie Billips did not attend last night’s meeting...A 16-year-old Prestonsburg youth, who police declined to identify, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a car accident, Friday, in Virginia, that killed an 18-year-old Floyd County man...The House appropriation’s subcommittee on transportation, Tuesday, approved an additional $8 million to continue the four-laning of U.S. 23 between Prestonsburg and Paintsville, according to U.S. Congressman Chris Perkins’ office. The funding will now move on to the full spending committee for consideration and a vote. Then it must be passed by the House and Senate before it becomes official...Roadblocks throughout the county over the Fourth of July weekend provided a needed boost to the Floyd County Sheriff Department’s D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program and the Kentucky Sheriff’s Boys and Girls Ranch. Sheriff Paul Hunt Thompson said the roadblocks collected almost $7,500 for the two programs. The donations will enable the department to pay off a large debt in the D.A.R.E. program, and provided a few extras for next year’s program...An automobile accident which occurred on April 19, between a Prestonsburg Police Officer and a Pike County man, is the subject of a civil suit filed in Floyd County Circuit Court last week. The civil suit, filed by John D. Preston of Paintsville, attorney for Ivan Neal Smith of Pikeville, claims that officer Darrell J. Conley was “operating his city police cruiser in a careless and negligent manner...without the use of the required siren and light apparatus.”...Goble-Roberts residents got a scare, Thursday morning, when Prestonsburg Fire Department personnel suspected a natural gas leak after responding to a trash fire. Fire chief Tom Blackburn said Thursday that a fire had been smoldering for several days on a lot wned by Kenny Smith. The site had been used as a dumping ground for roof shingles and other remodeling materials before Smith purchased the land, Blackburn said...A Magoffin County woman missing for 12 days had apparently been hiding from family members, and rescue workers, said Magoffin County Rescue Squad captain Carter Conley. Ruth Irene Baises, 41, of Puncheon Creek, was returned to family members Wednesday night, after going to the home of Ernest Howard of Swampton for food and water...There died: Mary Francis Spradlin, 63, of Prestonsburg, July 9, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Laura Vanderpool Conley, 90, of Lackey, Thursday, at the Riverview Manor Nursing Home, Prestonsburg; Della Johnson Curry, 83, of Wheelwright, Tuesday, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Hospital; Flora S. Rife, 87, of Weeksbury, Tuesday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Fieldery Lawson, 65, Monday, at his residence at Garrett; Coosie Akers Hall Grant, 87, of Wayne, Michigan, formerly of Banner, Friday, at the Amnopolis Hospital in Wayne, Michigan; Keith Douglas Kidd, 18, of Prestonsburg, Friday, at Richlands, Virginia, from injuries received in an automobile accident; Herbert (Meanness) Spurlock, 42, Tuesday, at his residence in Martin; Henry B. Fults, 72, of Ocala, Florida, formerly of Wayland, Sunday, at his home; Lawrence Newsome, 30, of Bevinsville, July 9, from injuries received in an automobile accident in Knott County; Lila McComas Chaffins, 79, of Long Beach, California, formerly of Garrett, Saturday, at the Oxnard Pleasant Valley Convalescent Hospital in Oxnard, California; Clifford Buster Tackett, 62, of Galveston, July 11, at his residence; Mary Francis Spradlin, 63, of Prestonsburg, July 9, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Wilma Agnes (Billie) Leslie Merritt, 75, of Emma, Wednesday, at her residence; Ella Keen, 83, of Wayland, Thursday, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Hospital; James Bradley Pruitt, 18, of Ivel, Thursday, from injuries received in an automobile accident; Anthony Michael Tackett, 2-month-old son of Michael and Debra Tackett of Virgie, July 9, at his residence.

(June 26 and June 28, 1991)

A special meeting of the Prestonsburg City Council was called Thursday to officially adopt several written policies pertaning to the city fire department. According to the state Department of Work Place Standards Occupational Safety and Health Programs (OSHA) the fire depatment was in non-compliance with state regulations. The city has filed a formal letter of protest against the fines placed on them due to alledged violations, contending that standards were being followed or have been adopted since the state inspector visited from April 11 through May 14, 1991, and identified the alledged violations....Preliminary autopsy results indicate that an 86-year-old Floyd County man found dead in a creek last Wednesday drowned, Floyd County Coroner Roger Nelson said Tuesday. Cecil Boyd of Buffalo is believed to have suffered from a heart condition that may have caused him to fall into a creek near his home, Nelson said. Reports show that Boyd had two blocked vessels in his heart which could have caused him to pass out and fall into the creek, Nelson said....More than 250 people attended the 1991 Annual Floyd County Chamber of Commerce Banquet held last Thursday evening at the Jenny Wiley Convention Center, highlighted by a visit from Governor Wallace Wilkinson; “Competitiveness, that’s what it’s all about,” was the message Governor Wilkinson carried to those attending the banquet. The Governor bragged about Kentucky’s standing on the national level, stressing the state’s “sound financial footing” and announcing that Kentucky was one of “two or three states east of the Mississippi not facing a budget crisis.”...The mailbox of an Abbott resident was destroyed by an explosive device Monday, and police officials believe it could have been dynamite. Lanny and Linda Hunt of Jenny’s Creek Hill reported to police Monday that their mailbox had been blown up by an unknown person(s). The box was found over an embankment behind the home of their neighbor, Lanny Hunt said Thursday. The blast hurled the metal mailbox approximately 300 feet. A rash of mailbox vandalisms have been reported in the last five months, but this incident is believed to have been different...Members of Floyd Countians in Action (FCIA) are anxiously awaiting the reports from the state office of Air Quality Control to ascertain whether the two incinerators located behind Highlands Regional Medical Center are burning hazardous waste. Whatever the results of the tests, Medisin will be required to obtain a permit to operate a medical incinerator according to new state laws passed in February. Since the incinerator was in existence before the law was passed they have until Dec. 31, 1994, to comply wth the new regulations according to Eva Smith Carroll of the state Division for Air Quality....Certified and classified central office personnel were hired by Floyd County superintendent Ron Hager at Monday’s special school board meeting. The meeting was referred to as an end of the school year “clean up” meeting to close out the 1990-91 school term. It was announced at Monday’s meeting that finance officer Russel Frazier would retire at the end of this school year, June 30. Superintendent Hager said he had not received official notification, but chairman Campbell said Frazier told him he would be retiring at the end of the year...President George Bush has said “this should be the greatest Fourth of July celebration ever.” With that in mind, WMDJ and the Floyd County Fiscal Court have planned a fitting celebration. Festivities begin at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 3, at the Stumbo Park in Allen with local bands “Westwind” and “Brotherhood” performing. The evening will also include several local politicians and dignitaries speaking on what America means to them...There died: Manis Ousley, 75, of Buckeye, at Blue River, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Anna Bell Jones, 61, of Dorton, June 21, at the Jenkins Community Hospital; Ester Ree Tackett, 69, of Virgie, June 22, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Franklin Burke, 59, of Speight, June 21, at St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington; Edna Faye Burchett, 67, of Endicott, Monday, June 24, at Jenkins Community Hospital; Oscar (Bill) Francis, 65, of St. Petersburg, Florida, Thursday, at his home; Ruth P. Copenhefer, 70, of Medway, Ohio, formerly of Floyd County, Monday evening, at her residence; Joseph Burke, 67, of Virgie, June 17, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Timothy Ernest Alsop, 53, of Morehead City, North Carolina, Saturday, at his residence; Oliver Goble, 84, of Betsy Layne, Monday, at his residence; Sammie Robinson, 62, of Martin, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Clara (Ted) Slone, 81, of Martin, formerly of Garrett, Wednesday, at her residence.

(June 19 and June 21, 1991)

The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees named Deborah Lee Floyd, Tuesday, as president of Prestonsburg Community College. Floyd is currently vice president of student development at the Colleen County Community College District in Mckinney and Plano, Texas, a position she has held since 1985. At Prestonsburg, she will replace Henry A. Campbell as president of the 2,700 student community college. Campbell is retiring this month after serving 27 years as PCC’s president...Gas prices for customers of East Kentucky Utilities Inc., have decreased. The Public Service Commission has granted East Kentucky Utilities a purchased gas adjustment to reflect a $25,464 decrease in wholesale costs from its supplier. The average annual decrease per residential customer is $28.24, retroactive to May 1...A would-be robbery was avoided, Saturday morning, when an employee of Sav-More startled the suspect into fleeing the scene. At approximately 9:30 a.m., on June 15, an unidentified female entered the Sav-More store in downtown Prestonsburg carrying a green duffel bag. According to Prestonsburg Detective Jeff Stumbo, the woman went to the office and handed the store comptroller, JoAnn Holbrook, a note stating she had a bomb and wanted all the money...A special meeting of Prestonsburg’s City Council has been set for Thursday, June 20, at the city municipal building. The meeting agenda includes proposed additions to fire department policies; designation of a fire department safety officer; and proposed purchase and installation of fire and street department equipment...The suspect in a 12-year-old murder case has been released from custody on bond, ordered reduced by a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge, and he has filed suit against his trial judge on allegations of false imprisonment...Educating children about the disposal of solid waste in Floyd County will reach a new level when programs begin in the Floyd County school system in September...The mass site preparation contract for the controversial new Prestonsburg High School will go out for bids, beginning Friday. According to the invitation to bid, bids for the contract will be accepted until July 9, at 4 p.m., and opened “as soon as practical thereafter.”...The body of an 86-year-old Floyd County man was found in a creek at Endicott, by neighbors, Wednesday, after relatives reported the man missing. Cecil Boyd of Buffalo, was found approximately two and four-tenths miles from his residence by Rodney Blackburn and Gerald Maynard, Boyd’s brother, Luther, reported him missing on Wednesday...A special meeting of the Floyd County Board of Education has been called for Monday, June 24, at 6 p.m. at the administration building in Prestonsburg. Items on the agenda include: two due process hearings, cheerleading hearings, personnel actions; setting salary schedules for certified and non-certified personnel; and a proposal to amend the program of studies...Because of contracts entered into in previous years to protect the company from fluctuating gas prices, Columbia Gas System Inc., is now paying prices much higher than those available to non-contracted buyers and threatening to seek bankruptcy court protection. The board of directors of the Columbia Gas System Inc., as a result of financial difficulities facing Columbia Gas Transmission Corp., its principal pipeline subsidiary, suspended the dividend on its common stock Wednesday....There died: Alen Turner, 61, of Garrett, Saturday, June 15, at his home in Garrett; Lawrence A. Maggard, 82, of Martin, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Marthell Hall, 58, of Teaberry, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Girvin Waddle, 74, of Prestonsburg, Monday, at his resisence; Otis Wright, 74, of Cow Creek, was pronounced dead on arrival at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Ella Keens, 80, of Melvin, Saturday, at her residence; Chiles H. Stanley, 74, of Somerset, Thursday, at the VA Medical Center; David Alexander Hengsebeck, 63, of Scottsboro, Alabama, Sunday, at Jackson County Hospital; Elizabeth Fraley, 45, of Stratton Branch, Prestonsburg, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Birtie Waddles Hall, 84, of Kite, Wednesday, at her home; Rosella Hall, 81, of Lexington, formerly of Hall, Thursday, at the Homestead Nursing Home in Lexington; Donna Ann Reatherford Ratliff, 35, of Langley, Monday, at Paintsville; Elmer Daniels, 68, of Canton, Ohio, June 9, at Doctor’s Hospital in Canton, Ohio; Earl Wallace, 64, of Garrett, Monday, at his home from a gunshot wound; Charles V. Crum Jr., 47, of Arkansas Creek, Wednesday, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Hospital; Cecil Boyd, 86, of Endicott, was found dead Wednesday, at Endicott; Elizabeth Fraley, 45, of Stratton Branch, Prestonsburg, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center.

(June 12, 1991)

Prestonsburg High School will hold commencement exercises Friday, June 14, at 7 p.m., in the Prestonsburg Fieldhouse. Diplomas will be awarded to 133 graduates...A Halo man was indicted for murder Monday by a Floyd County Grand Jury for the 1978 shooting death of a Letcher County man. A murder indictment against Wendell Ray Newman was returned with 64 criminal indictments Monday morning, by the grand jury. Twelve sealed true bills were also issued concerning juveniles and domestic violence cases...Mayor Ann Latta’s tie-breaking vote Monday, resolved a city council deadlock and ended a heated debate on Prestonsburg’s city budget for the 1991-92 fiscal year. Councilman Billy Ray Collins questioned Latta’s authority to vote on the budget issue after his motion to table the second reading of the budget ordinance drew a 3-3 vote from the council. City Attorney Larry Brown advised the mayor could vote to break the tie...The first bank robbery to take place in Prestonsburg in several years happened before the bank was even built. Late last Wednesday night, copper tubing worth more than $100 was taken from the construction site of the First Guaranty Branch Bank in Prestonsburg. The alleged culprit was caught and jailed the following morning as a result of an investigation by Prestonsburg Police officers Ricky Conn and John Hunt, and detective Jeff Stumbo...Wheelwright High School will confer diplomas to its graduating class of 42 students at commencement exercises to be held at the high school on Thursday, June 13, at 7 p.m....A decision by the Floyd County Board of Education, Tuesday night, to reject bids for four contract bus driver routes could result in a significant savings to the county schools. Bids for contract driver runs for Daniels Creek, Ivel, Prater Creek and Little Mud Creek cost the board $73,220 last year, finance officer Russell Frazier said Thursday....Floyd County District Judge Harold Stumbo is back at home recovering from an angioplasty procedure to unblock an artery. Judge Stumbo’s wife, Pluma, said Thursday, that Judge Stumbo returned home Wednesday from Atlanta and is “doing wonderful.” She said Judge Stumbo will be returning back to work after a short rest...Scenes from the Roaring ’20s and special guest, Cawood Ledford, will open Jenny Wiley Theatre as Arthur Laurent’s Tony award winning musical, “Gypsy,” premieres Friday, June 21...One of the original members of the restructured Kentucky Court of Appeals, Judge Harris Stephens Howard, died Wednesday morning as the result of an apparent heart attack...There died: Jakie Kent Horn, 19, of Prestonsburg, died Saturday, June 8, at the home of his grandparents, Jake and Lucille Cobb in Richmond; Earl Gayheart, 75, of Beaver, Friday, June 7 at his residence; Sara Martin Gibson, 64, died Wednesday, June 5, at her residence; Legotha (Shorty) Lewis, 50, of Banner, Tuesday, June 11, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Denzil F. Prater, 48, of Crestline, Ohio, formerly of Hueysville, Wednesday, at the Fulton County Health Center, Wauseon, Ohio, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident; Cora Thompson Smith, 98, of Churchill, Tennessee, formerly of Prestonsburg, Sunday, at Life Care Center of Churchill, Tennessee; Alice Bentley, 87, of Robinson Creek, Monday, at her residence; Elsie M. Burke, 73, of Windsor, Ohio, Monday, at her residence; Earl Garrett, 82, of Banner, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Jesse James Thacker, 53, of Stafford, Viginia, formerly of Pike County, Tuesday, at his residence; Birtie Waddles Hall, 84, of Kite, Wednesday, at her home; Harris Howard, 62, of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, at his residence; Carol Little Endicott, 42 of Columbus, Ohio, formerly of Weeksbury, Tuesday, at Columbus, Ohio.

(June 5 and June 7, 1991)

Allen Central High School will hold commencement Saturday, June 15, beginning at 7:30 p.m., in the school auditorium. One hundred fifteen students will graduate...Shots were fired at two Floyd County deputies Sunday night at David, while officers were answering complaints of gunfire in that area. Deputy Lloyd Powers and auxiliary deputy Roger Slone were shot at approximately six times by Lanie Shepherd, an elderly resident of David, said Sheriff Paul Hunt Thompson. The deputies were not injured. Thompson said officers were investigating a report of shots being fired in the area when approximately six shots were fired in their direction. The shots came from the area of two homes in the vicinity, and a neighbor that was questioned that night, claims sheriff’s deputies harrassed him...The prospect of having a Morehead State University Extended Campus in Prestonsburg is quickly becoming a reality. The lease has been signed and the interim director has been appointed. If all goes well, classes will begin August 19. Representatives from MSU have been looking into locating the higher education facility in the old Hecks building at Highlands Plaza for some time now...A 30-year-old Floyd County man was sentenced Thursday, May 30, in Federal District Court in Pikeville by Judge Joseph M. Hood on a charge of mail theft. Franklin Delano Hagans received a sentence of six months incarceration, to be satisfied by serving three months in prison and three months in a halfway house, according to Assistant United States Attorney Kenneth R. Taylor, who prosecuted the case...A preliminary autopsy Monday proved inconclusive in determining the cause of death of a 31-year-old Tram man found in his car Monday evening. Clay Webster Charles was found dead sitting in a 1987 Plymouth station wagon in the parking lot at Velocity Market at Betsy Layne, said Kentucky State Police...The Floyd County Board of Elections will begin a recanvass of voting machine totals on Wednesday, June 5, beginning at 6 p.m., at the storage building on the West Mountain Parkway. Larry Forgy, Republican candidate for governor, and John Lackey, Democratic candidate for attorney general, filed a request to recanvass all voting machines and absentee ballots...The Jenny Wiley Summer Music Theatre will be opening in two weeks, and once again promises an entertaining summer line for the residents and visitors of Floyd County. Opening night is scheduled for Friday, June 21, with “Gypsy” being the first production of the summer...A federal jury in Pikeville convicted a Knott County elementary school teacher, her husband and son, Tuesday, on eight charges relating to a drug conspiracy and growing 4,590 marijuana plants. Donna Gaye Brenner Hall, 57, of Kite was convicted on four charges and Claude Hall Sr., 64, and Claude David Hall Jr., 37, of Kite were convicted on eight charges...Arson has been cited as the cause for a fire that destroyed a home at Stone Coal early Wednesday morning. Kentucky State Police arson investigator Barry McKenzie said Wednesday that a fire at the same home last week was an apparent arson and, since the structure burned Wednesday, it would be further investigated by the KSP...Termination of security service contracts in the Floyd County schools will be discussed at Tuesday’s board meeting at Prestonsburg High School...There died: Ruth Hall Moore, 65, of Wayland, Saturday, June 1, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Sanford “Kelly” Layne, 77, of Ivel, Saturday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Helen Williamson, 59, of Waukegan, Illinois, formerly of Estill, Sunday, at the St. Theresa Hospital in Waukegan, Illinois; Ethel Mae Lafferty Burchett Bootz, 76, of Allen Park, Michigan, formerly of Floyd County, May 29; Roger Dale Bentley, 44, of Wayland, Thursday, at his residence, after an apparent heart attack; James McKinley Frazier, 69, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, formerly of Maytown, Saturday, at Ypsilanti Hospital; James Darrell Slone, son of Bobby L. and Maggie C. Watkins Slone, was stillborn at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Saturday; Johnny Lee Lewis, 60, of Stratton Branch, Prestonsburg, Monday, at his residence; Topsie Evans, 62, of Grethel, Tuesday, at her residence; Ralph Blankenship, 87, of Lakeland, Florida, formerly of Wayland Monday, at the Lakeland Health Care Center; Minnie Jordan, 71, of Beaver, Monday, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington; Charles Johnson, 63, of Melvin, Tuesday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Roxie Moore Horton, 85, of Portsmouth, Virginia, formerly of Wayland, Wednesday, at Maryview Hospital there; Alma Robinson Baldridge, 85, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, formerly of Floyd County, Friday, at Bethel Park; Dester Hamilton, 61, of Beaver, Tuesday, at his home.

(May 29 and May 31, 1991)

Lexington Mayor Scotty Baesler, made a surprising, early exit from the Democratic race for Governor Tuesday, conceding the battle to Lt. Governor Brereton Jones before 9 p.m. With just a little more than 65 percent of the state’s precincts counted. Baesler, who had run within a few percentage points of Jones in the early going Tuesday, acknowledged defeat ahead of Dr. Floyd Poore, who ran a distant third to Jones...Preparation for a 911 emergency telephone service is moving into its second phase, bringing 911 closer to becoming a reality for Floyd County...Though it carried no official weight, a judicial race for Kentucky’s Court of Appeals appeared headed Tuesday for a surprise finish. With 16 of 21 counties reporting, Johnson County District Judge John A Gardner held a three percentage point lead over incumbent Judge Harris Howard, of Prestonsburg, in the 7th District, 2nd Division race for Appellate Judge...A $300,000 flood control project for Right and Left Beaver passed a major hurdle in congress last week, when the Appropriations Committee approved a $14 million flood control package. In addition, the committee approved $7.5 million for the Army Corps of Engineers to maintain the Dewey Lake, Paintsville Lake, Yatesville Lake, Cave Run Lake, Carr Fork Lake, Grayson Lake, Buckhorn Lake, and dredging at the mouth of the Big Sandy River... The annual Floyd County Chamber of Commerce banquet will offer a visit from a special guest to Prestonsburg. Governor Wallace Wilkinson will be the keynote speaker at the annual banquet, scheduled for Thursday, June 20...Ex-conservation officer Jimmy Goble has vowed to continue legal action in connection with his dismissal from the state Fish and Wildlife Department in June 1989. Goble was dismissed from the department for a deer kill incident at the Dewey Lake Wildlife Management Area...After winning the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, Paul Patton has announced that he already has his sights set on “making Pike County the home of the next governor of the state.”...A proposal to construct water lines in the Left Beaver area, and expand the Beaver Elkhorn Water District’s capacity is underway, and the Floyd County Board of Education is being asked to contribute to the project. Big Sandy Area Development District director Roger Recktendwald asked the board Wednesday to contribute $50,000 to help complete the local funding required for the project...There died: Ruben Lafferty, 77, Friday, at his residence in Garrett; Carl Greer, 61, of Printer, Saturday, in McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Butler Hall, 60, of Lavalette, West Virginia, formerly of Printer, Saturday, in St. Mary’s Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia; Dolla Ramsey, 79, of Penny, Kentucky, May 25, at her residence; Martha Roberts, 66, of Yuba City, California, May 12, at Rideout Hospital; Goldie Salisbury Kay, 51, of Stratford, New Jersey, formerly of Printer, Sunday, at Stratford; Ethel Boyd Johnson, 80, of Lebanon, formerly of Allen, Thursday at the Springview Hospital, Lebanon, Kentucky; Myrtle Cable, 63, of Harold at her residence; Ada Marie Hale Moore, 53, of Pyramid, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Buford Lee (Ronnie) Sword, 59, of Long Beach, California, formerly of Pikeville, Saturday, at the VA Hospital in Long Beach; Richard M. Harmon, 61, of Zephyrhills, Florida, formerly of Floyd County, Sunday at his residence; Earnest Prater, 74, of David, Tuesday at the Highlands Regional Medical Center.

(May 22 & May 24, 1991)

An Adams Middle School teacher filed a criminal complaint Monday in Floyd County District Court against middle school principal Thomas Tackett for allegedly interfering with normal school activities. Gwendolyn Hammonds filed an abuse of a teacher charge against Tackett Monday, claiming that Tackett, on May 14, committed the offense of abuse of (a) teacher...when he directed speech and or conduct toward the affiant, knowing that said conduct will disrupt or interefere with normal school activities or will nullify or undermine the good order and discipline of the school.”...A 17-year-old juvenile charged in the March shooting death of a Goble-Roberts man could be tried as an adult in the case. A hearing held May 16 in Floyd County District Court transferred the case against Douglas Todd Keathley, 17, of Betsy Layne, to Floyd Circuit Court, said County Attorney Jim Hammond. Keathley was charged with murder in March 27 shooting death of Larry Douglas Calhoun, 35, of Goble-Roberts....Plans are underway to establish an historical landmark at the site of a Civil War battle on Middle Creek, which would bring Floyd County’s past into its future. The property, which has been owned by the Fitzpatrick family for more than two centuries, is located near the junction of the Middle Creek and David roads, and is the site of the Battle of Middle Creek, which was fought on January 10, 1862...The first drowning in the Paintsville Lake’s five-year history occurred this weekend, taking the lives of two young people. April Pennington, 16, and Timothy H. Stambaugh, 24, were swimming near the picnic area, across from the boat dock, with friends late Saturday night, according to Trooper Ghomer Prater of the Kentucky State Police...Two Floyd Countians and two Indiana residents were named in a four-count indictment last week for the May 7 armed robbery of a Pike County bank. Kenneth David Warth, 35, and Daisy Helen Warth, 44, of Endicott, were charged along with Nelson Zepeda, 37, and William Arthur Burchett, 25, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, by a federal grand jury in Lexington...Acting on an anonymous tip, the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department found and destroyed 203 marijuana plants Thursday afternoon behind Allen Central High School at Eastern. Deputies Ricky Thornsberry and William Howell found the marijuana growing in a wooded area behind the school. Thornsberry said it appeared that the plants were being bedded to be transplanted later. Deputies also found a garden hoe near the marijuana patch...There died: Pearl Phillips, 90, of Sookey’s Creek, Kentucky, May 16; Anna Howard Shepherd, 91, of Pyramid, Sunday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Fred Coleman, 80, of Robinson Creek, May 16, at his residence; Billy Junior Yates Sr., 46, of Delaware, Ohio, May 10, at the Grady Memorial Hospital; Hazel Rice, 80, of Prestonsburg, formerly of Garrett, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Robert L. (Beverly) Hall, 62, of North Las Vegas, Nevada, formerly of Banner, Tuesday, at The Osteopathic Hospital, Flint, Michigan; Emma Jane Conley Campbell, 73, of Prestonsburg, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Joshua Drew Horn, infant son of Samuel and Ramona Conn Horn, of Winchester, Friday, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington; Robert Reed Mitchell, 52, of Pikeville, May 20; Ashland (Hawk) Howard, 75, of David, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Viola Justice Akers, 67, of Harold, Wednesday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital.

(May 15, and May 17, 1991)

A second teachers’ strike by Floyd County educators is unlikely, but the Floyd County Education Association (FCEA) has retained an attorney to fight the board of education’s negation of part of an agreement to end last years’ 10-day walkout. Prestonsburg attorney Ned Pillersdorf said in a May 13 letter to the board that FCEA intends to file a lawsuit in federal distrtict court if a 13.5 percent pay increase is not met...The Carl D. Perkins Job Corps Center will hold a dedication ceremony for the new female dormitory on Friday, May 17. The dormitory is being named after Verna Perkins, widow of Carl D. and mother of Representative Chris Perkins...When you think of recreation in Floyd County, you probably think of Dewey Lake. The lake is the most popular attraction in the county for fishing, swimming, boating, skiing and much more. But if your definition of recreation includes the consumption of alcoholic beverages, beware, because that is illegal at Dewey Lake, and the Corps of Engineer Park Rangers will strictly enforce that prohibition this year...Floyd County sheriff’s deputies arrested a 29-year-old Cow Creek man Friday after officers allegedly watched the man conduct an illegal drug transaction at Allen. William H. Goble was arrested at the scene and deputies obtained a search warrant for his home. Officers found a wide variety of weapons, drug paraphernalia and a police scanner...Prestonsburg’s City council will let the courts decide the validity of a 20-year-old contract that forces the city to purchase natural gas from a local supplier, and which could lead to higher gas rates for city customers. At issue is a contract signed in 1971 between the city council and John Allen, trustee for the local gas producer, which requires the city utilities company to buy natural gas from the local company at a rate equal to the rates charged by Kentucky West Virginia Gas Company...Denzil Allen of Prestonsburg was installed as Commander of the Kentucky Wing Civil Air Patrol during recent ceremonies in Lexington...The state will provide funds for the addition of two road improvement projects to the newly approved 1991-92 Rural Secondary Program for Floyd County, according to Transportation Secretary and Commissioner of Highways, Milo D. Bryant. The first project entails the placement of blacktop repavement on 5.2 miles of various county roadways...A Prestonsburg youth escaped serious injury Thursday after he tried to beat a train across a railroad crossing. His motorbike didn’t fare as well. Jimmy Branham, 12, and Billy Quinn, 14, were apparently riding beside the trian as it traveled along the tracks next to the Job Corps Center in Prestonsburg. The engineer saw the boys coming, but didn’t think they would attempt to cross the tracks, Assistant Police Chief Roy Roberts said...Understanding and appreciation were the outcome of a meeting between teachers and their board representative. Board member Eddie Billips met with teachers from educational district one Wednesday afternoon to explain his decision about the teachers’ strike agreement and to listen to the teachers’ concerns...To make sure everything is legal Pike County School Superintendent Larry Burke has ceased all Bingo games operated in schools and ordered the board’s attorney to make sure the games meet state and federal guidelines...There died: Clara Sturgill Arthur, 41, of Prestonsburg, Thursday, at her home; Claude Hunt, 56, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, formerly of Allen, Sunday, at the St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital, Superior Township, Michigan; Mary Sue Ousley Varney, 35, of Prestonsburg, was found dead at her residence at Indian Hills in Prestonsburg, Wednesday; Josephine Tate, 70, of Buckhannon, West Virginia, May 13, at Ruby Memorial Hospital, in Morgantown, West Virginia; Betty Sue Hunter, 53, of Prestonsburg, was pronounced dead on arrival at Highlands Regional Medical Center Wednesday; Edna Keathley, 73, of Harold, Saturday, at the Mingo Manor Nursing Home, Wiliamson, West Virginia; Raymond Cecil Hall, 64, of Clyde, Ohio, formerly of Grethel, Saturday, at his residence; Maggie Ratliff Hill, 72, of Prestonsburg, was found dead Friday afternoon, at her residence; Bess C. Hayes, 81, of Chesapeake, Virginia, Saturday, at Knott County Nursing Home, in Hindman; Clifford Justice, 39, of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, at Paintsville from a self-inflicted gunshot wound; Fonzo Conn, 46, of Arkansas Creek, Wednesday, at his residence in Martin; George W. Collins, 74, of Maysville, Ohio, Sunday, at Lima Memorial Hospital; Raymond L. Cook, 71, of Tucson, Ariz., formerly of Knott County, Monday; Robert L. Hall, 63, of North Las Vegas Nevada, formerly of Banner, Tuesday at Osteopathic Hospital in Flint, Michigan; Juanita Clark Adams, 72, of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, May 8, at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center; Harlan Ray Stumbo, 64, of Minnie, Tuesday, at Elmwood Village Convalescent Center in Ashland; Pearl Goble, 74, of Indian Hills, Prestonsburg, Wednesday, at South View Hospital in Dayton, Ohio; Wanda June Ousley, 37, of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, at Paintsville, victim of a shooting incident.

(May 8 and May 10, 1991)

Kentucky apparently will not receive emergency federal assistance for damage wrought by a storm which swept thorugh eastern Kentucky, on April 9. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, Monday, denied a request from Governor Wallace Wilkinson to provide emergency funding to 24 Kentucky counties, including Floyd. Storm damage to the area was estimated at $20,805,399, said Mark McDaniel, a spokesperson for the Disaster and Emergency Services office in Frankfort...A 16-year-old Pike County girl was killed Monday, after the car she was driving struck a vehicle driven by a Tennessee couple on U.S. 23 at Ivel. Wendy Hazelett, a sophomore at Pikeville High School, was pronounced dead at the scene by deputy coroner Glenn Frazier...A man who stopped at the scene of an accident Monday that claimed the life of a 16-year-old Pike County girl received an unwelcome surprise when he was arrested. Garrell Compton, 38, of Harold was arrested by Kentucky State Police trooper Eddie Crum, after Floyd County sheriff’s deputies alerted the trooper that Compton was wanted on a first degree sexual abuse warrant... A Bristol, Virginia, jail official confirmed reports late Tuesday that a Floyd County man and women were being held in Bristol in connection with a Tuesday morning bank robbery in Pike County. The jail official, who asked not to be identified, said Kenneth B. Warth, 35, and Daisy Warth, 44, of Endicott, were being held in the Bristol jail at the request of the FBI, after the pair was arrested in Buchanan County, Virginia, Tuesday...State and local reaction to a report released last week by State Auditor Bob Babbbage on school constructon projects is generally in agreement with the auditor’s recommendations...John M. Rosenberg, director of the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund Inc. of Prestonsburg, has been selected as the recipient of the national 1991 Kutak-Dodds Prize for outstanding public service through law. The $10,000 prize is awarded annually to a legal services lawyer or public defender who exhibits exemplary service to his community...The Fine Arts Festival, a part of the Festival of FACES, will be held Thursday, May 16, at the Prestonsburg High School Gym beginning at 7 p.m. The evening features performances from the All-County Band and the All County Chorus; the art exhibit winners’ display and the crowning of the Music Festival Queen....A hearing today (Friday) will decide whether a motion filed on Monday to have Judge Hollie Conley withdrawn from a trial is valid. Wendell Ray Newman, a defendant in a 12-year-old murder case, is claiming bias on the part of the Floyd County Circuit Court Judge, due to an alleged coal company dealing...The last of four suspects, including another from Floyd County, have been arrested in connection with Tuesday’s armed robbery of a Pike County bank. William Burchett, 24, of Endicott was arested at 7:33 p.m., Wednesday, at Draffin in Pike County. Burchett was located by the Kentucky State Police’s canine unit...There died: Betty Lois Miller, 55, of Drift, died Monday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Bertha E. Salyer, 92, of the Middle Creek Road, died Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Victoria Murrill Spradlin, 87, of Prestonsburg, died Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Hollie B. Osborne Hall, 86, of Sarasota, Florida, Wednesday, at the Sarasota Memorial Hospital; Lester Lee Coburn, 83, of Eastern, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Rhodes W. (Crawdad) Lynch, 80, of Betsy Layne, Sunday, at his residence; James Shelby Combs, 72, of Nicholasville, Monday, at Central Baptist Hospital; Feney Hamilton Story, 90, of Teaberry, Friday, at her residence; Bobby Dawson Bryant, 79, of Hi Hat, Monday, at her residence at Hi Hat; Robert H. Buster Sturgill, 73, of Hindman, Friday, at the Highhlands Regional Medical Center; Martha Sue Kinder, 53, of Portsmouth, Ohio, formerly of Ligon, Sunday, at her residence; William Riley Johnson, 27-day-old infant son of William Wiley Hall and Brenda Sue Johnson, of Weeksbury, Tuesday, at Cabel-Huntington Hospital, Huntington, West Virginia.

(May 1 and May 3, 1991)

A long-awaited report on a state review of school construction projects in Eastern Kentucky apparently will be released today, May 1, in Frankfort, to a legislative subcommittee. Officials in the office of State Auditor Bob Babbage declined, Tuesday, to discuss specific details of the report. Nine members of Babbage’s Public Integrity department visited schools in Floyd and Pike counties in February and March after school construction projects in those counties were questioned. The auditing team reviewed construction procedures and policies concerning projects built, or under construction, using funding provided by the state School Facility Construction Commission...With all the soldiers returning from Saudi Arabia, the word “hero” has become commonplace in the American vocabulary. But, the word “hero” does not only apply to those who fight wars. It can also say something about those everyday people who perform brave and rare acts. Prestonsburg, and more specifically, the Job Corps Center, has their own local hero in Alexander Smith. The 17-year-old Job Corps student said he knew at some time he would be required to use the life saving skills his mother had taught him a year ago, and on Sunday, April 28, he proved his knowledge with flying colors...A Floyd County husband and wife were killed and two teenagers were injured in a head-on collision with another car on Ky 22, at Salisbury, on Thursday, April 25. According to Trooper Ghomer Prater, Pamela Webb, 17, of Martin, was traveling west on Ky 122 when she lost control of her 1981 Pontiac in a curve, crossing into the east bound lane and striking a 1983 Toyota Celica. Driving the Toyota was Harold Conn, 45, with his wife, Shelby Conn, 43, as a passenger. The Conns of Hunter, were pronounced dead at the scene by Floyd County Deputy Coroner Glenn Frazier...A head on collision between a coal truck and a passenger vehicle resulted in a Floyd County woman’s death on Thursday, April 25. Bonna Patrick, 27, of Hunter was pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Jay Hinkle, after the vehicle in which she was a passenger crossed the center line and struck a coal truck, according to Trooper Gomer Prater of the Kentucky State Police...A former Prestonsburg High School cheerleader has filed a lawsuit against the school’s cheerleading sponsor, principal and the Floyd County Board of Education alleging negligence which resulted in physical injury. Alrita Shepherd filed suit April 17, in Floyd County Circuit Court, on behalf of her daughter, Karla Darice Phipps. The suit alleges Phipps was required to perform certain cheerleading routines which caused severe injuries to her knees...Dr. Henry A. Campbell Jr., a mountain educator whose wit and wisdom have earned him the respect and love of his faculty and students at Prestonsburg Community College, will deliver his last Commencement Address as PCC president Sunday, May 5, at 2 p.m., at Jenny Wiley State Park’s Amphitheatre. Campbell will retire from his presidential post on June 30, at the mandatory retirement age of 65...A tour of several Floyd County schools by board of education members Thursday, proved enlightening, and gave members, a close-up look at problems in schools. The tour began at 10 a.m., at Betsy Layne Elementary gym, with board member Tommy Boyd voicing his concern about lack of maintenance at the gym and the schools. Boyd pointed out that the gym’s ceiling was covered with dirt because filters in the filtering system had not been changed regularly. Boyd also pointed out weeds growing on the campus and the need for a fence behind the school, since it is so close to the Big Sandy River...A week-long review of school construction projects in Floyd and Pike counties in February and March by a team of state auditors has resulted in a 36-page report and a list of 16 recommendations for changing the ways schools are built in Kentucky. State Auditor Bob Babbage presented the report, Wednesday, to members of the state’s Special Legislative Subcommittee on Education Accountability. Babbage told the Times Wednesday, that the review uncovered “no evidence of criminal wrongdoing,” but added that the state’s Office of Education Accountability” will pursue other aspects of our reports and make recommendations to the Legislature.”...Six Floyd County high school juniors have been selected to participate in the 1991 Governor’s Scholars Program this summer. Named as Governor’s Scholars were Stephenie Biliter, Steve Clark, Brian Jones, Anthony Little, Brian Newman, and David Pigman...There died: Lacy Tackett Webb, 74, of Craynor, April 14, at her residence; James (Jimmy) Prater, 90, of Morehead, formerly of Hueysville, Sunday, at the St. Clair Medical Center, Morhead; Curtis Newman, 66, of Melvin, Saturday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital, McDowell; Goldie Newsome, 72, of Pikeville, April 26, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Enoch Combs, 67, of Garrett, Sunday, at the Good Samaritan Hospital, Lexington; Robert (Bob) Butler, 80, of Printer, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Effie Della Frazier Maggard, 86, of Martin, Monday, at the Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Thelma Allen Anderson, 76, of Allen, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Paul J. Snyder, 77, of Evansville, Indiana, Friday, at the Deaconess Hospital, Evansville; Isom Johnson, 80, of Myra, April 23, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington; Thelma Mae (Craft) Rudd, 50, of Ripley, West Virginia, formerly of Huntington, Thursday, at Eldercare Nursing Home, Ripley; Naomi Hughes German, 74, of Medaryville, Indiana; Woodrow Wilson Hurd, 78, of Prestonsburg, Sunday, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center; Gusta Branham Martin, 76, of Virgie, April 20, at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington; Harold Dean Conn, 45, and his wife, Shelby Jean Case Conn, 43, both of Hunter, Thursday, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident at Printer; Virginia Ann May Allen, 69, of Allen, Sunday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Robert (Bob) Butler, 80, of Printer, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center.

(April 24 and April 26, 1991)

The Agape House (Prestonsburg Adult Day Care Center) will officially open its doors to the public, Wednesday, April 24, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. in a grand opening celebration. Opening remarks by dignitaries will begin at 11 a.m. Among those speaking will be Mrs. Libby Jones, wife of gubernatorial candidate Brereton Jones; John M. Stumbo, Floyd County Judge Executive; Ann Latta, Prestonsburg Mayor; Linda Napier, representing the state Division of Aging; Roger Recktenwald, executive director, and Doug Lawson, Big Sandy Area Development District’s Division of Aging. Rev. Mike Taylor will present the invocation and Rev. Ron Masters will close with the benediction... Floyd County’s turn at testifying before a state transportation committee was cut short Tuesday by checkout time at May Lodge, but the contingent did get in a few licks before the two-day session was adjourned. Members of the state’s Legislative Task Force to Study Highway Needs convened the District 12 highway meeting, Monday but reserved Tuesday for public comment on the seven-county region’s road needs...The Floyd County Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee will meet Thursday, April 25 at 10 a.m., at Prestonsburg City Hall. The meeting will be to discuss the Kentucky World Trade Center locating an office in the Prestonsburg area...Floyd County Coroner Roger Nelson has been elected president of the Kentucky State Coroners’ Association. Nelson is the first Eastern Kentucky coroner to hold the office. Nelson’s election was announced at the association’s 24th annual conference held recently in Louisville, where he was also recognized for his cooperation with the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome program...Floyd County Attorney Jim Hammond advised Floyd County Fiscal Court members, Friday, not to pay for work performed at the county jail, because the company and the county jailer appeared to have violated state bidding laws. The dispute, between the fiscal court and Disponette Service Co., of Lexington, centers on the method used to obtain the air conditioning expansion job...A roof fall in a Knott County mine on Tuesday, which killed two miners, including one from Floyd County, has sparked a state investigation questioning the length of the bolts which held the roof in place. Thirty-inch bolts were used at the Bullion Hollow Mining Co.’s No. 1 Mine at Big Branch several miles south of Hindman. Roger Reynolds, supervisor of the state Department of Mines and Minerals’ Hazard office, said Wednesday that this length may have been inadequate to adhere the 30-inch-thick seam of slate to the above layer of even thicker sandstone...Development of a 500-acre industrial park near Ivel took a giant step forward this week when state officials okayed construction of a bridge spanning the Big Sandy River near the site...There died: Wesley Keith Evans, one-month-old son of Ronald Keith and Deborah Lynn Newsome Evans of Patterson, N.C., formerly of Floyd County, Sunday, at the Brenner Childrens Hospital, Winston Salem, N.C.; Gusta Branham Martin, 76, of Virgie, Saturday, at the Central Baptist Hospital, in Lexington; Wade Little, 70, of Melvin, Tuesday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Dorothy Marie Hensley, 65, of Melvin, Monday, at the Wheelwright Clinic; Oscar Collins, 83, of Harold, Friday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Claude Samons, 63, of Martin, Thursday, at Phelps Nursing Home; Betty Ray Conn, 55, of Lexington, formerly of Pikeville, Friday, at Saint Joseph Hospital, Lexington; Charles L. Taylor, 63, of Hueysville, Thursday, in a fire that destroyed his home; Willard Jeffery Bailey, 28, of Langley, April 23, at the Bullion Hollow Mining Company, Hindman, from injuries sustained in a mining accident; Nokomis Moore, 80, of Hi Hat, Thursday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital.

(April 17-April 19, 1991)

A Floyd County company which faces a threat of court-ordered dissolution has gained tentative state approval to expand its nursing care facility in Prestonsburg and to develop a new facility in Paintsville...A 39-year-old Martin man was shot and killed Saturday night by a blind man after an altercation at a Mount Sterling stockyard. Burlin Conn, of Arkansas Creek, near Martin, was shot four tmes in the chest by Dale Staton, 33, of Owingsville in Bath County, after Conn allegedly attacked him at the Gateway Stockyard, said Trooper Lon Fields of the Morehead State Police Post. The incident happened at 9:30 p.m. Saturday...A 19-year-old Floyd County woman was charged Friday with second degree manslaughter in connection with the death of a newborn baby found in a dumpster, Thursday, at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond. Pamela Michelle Harris, formerly of Melvin, was charged by the school’s Division of Public Safety, after the body of a newborn baby girl was found by a custodian outside of Burnam Hall, a residential hall on campus...Five Floyd County juveniles were arrested early Monday morning after leading police officials on a three-county chase through Floyd, Magoffin, and Johnson counties. A patrol by the new Middle Creek Neighborhood Watch group spotted a black Chevy pickup truck stop on the Abbott Road and saw the juveniles jump from the truck and begin beating on mailboxes with a baseball bat...Separate house fires in the county, Thursday, claimed the life of a Hueysville man and destroyed a two-story home near Jenny Wiley State Park. Charles Taylor, 64, was found dead in the remains of his home on Reed Branch at Hueysville. Taylor, a paraplegic, is believed to have been smoking in bed...A one-day strike by United States railway workers started and ended soon after it began, Wednesday, when Congress ordered the pickets back to work Wednesday night. Picket lines were set up Wednesday in Martin and Allen in Floyd County by members of the United Transportation Union (UTU), Brotherhood Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWE), and Locomotive Engineers...The City of Wheelwright has hired Charles L. Harmon, 34, of East Point as police chief for the town. Harmon was officially hired by the city council, April 2, and has added a part-time police officer to the force...There died: Berlin Conn, 39, of Martin, was dead on arrival, Saturday, at Mary Chiles Hospital in Mt. Sterling; Ray Howard, 62, of Hippo, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Grover Cleveland, 69, of Allen, Saturday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, following an apparent heart attack; John C. Osborne, 72, of Brinegar, former Morehead State University security guard and woodworking hobbyist, January 14, at St. Claire Medical Center; Clydia Crabtree, 85, of Estill, Tuesday, at her residence; Colonel Robert Peters, 87, of Ashland, formerly of Martin, Sunday, at his residence; Terry Jewell, 34, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday, at the residence of his father-in-law, Don Bays of Goble-Roberts; Carl Crum, 67, of Columbus, Ohio, formerly of Prestonsburg, Monday in Mercy South Hospital in Fairfield, Ohio; Lorene “Peachie” Williams Conn, 61, of Ivel, Friday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Floyd Cecil Tackett, 55, formerly of Johnson and Floyd county, April 7, victim of a drowning accident at his home in South Shore; J. B. Goble, 68, of Prestonsburg, Thursday, at his residence in Prestonsburg; Grover Cleveland Rowe, 69, of Allen, Saturday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Glenn Sterling Anderson Sr., 83, of Prestonsburg, Wednesday, at Riverview Manor Nursing Home; Susan Lorraine Lester, formerly of Prestonsburg, recently, in Lafayette, Indiana.

(April 10 and 12, 1991)

The beauty in the stillness was the first thing Danny Green noticed around 5:30, Tuesday evening, as he sat with his 3-year-old daughter nestled in his lap. Then the clouds started moving; the skies became dark; the wind became a vibrant roar. “It was the loudest sound ever heard in the mountains,” said Green, as he described the storm that ripped down the hillside and buffeted his home at David. He saw the wind coming by the debris it flung along its path. He ran into the house with his daughter, Alanna, and took his wife and infant daughter into the basement. The wind rocked his home, causing ripped siding to smash against his windows...The Kentucky Court of Appeals has affirmed the 1989 first-degree manslaughter conviction of a Prestonsburg woman in connection with the November 1988, shooting death of James Ronald Hudson, 39, of Prestonsburg. Karon Couch, 31, was tried and convicted on August 7, 1989, in Floyd Circuit Court...Many Prestonsburg businesses face significant increases in their costs for having garbage removed, but the full effect of rate increases, adopted Monday by city council, won’t be felt for at least a year...After an extended debate, council voted Monday to adopt an amended ordinance establishing new rates for commercial garbage pickup, and setting new regulations for all residents who use city sanitation services. Residential fees of $8 per month were unchanged by the new ordinance...Six members of the Prestonsburg Fire Department’s diving team were in South Shore Monday and Tuesday, assisting police officials in the search for a possible drowning victim. Ashland Kentucky State Police dispatcher Dwight Clark said rescuers are looking for Floyd Tackett, 55, of South Shore in Greenup County, who they believe may have drowned after falling into the East Tigert Creek at approximately 1 p.m., Sunday...Two military canisters found in an open dump near County Line Liquors, Tuesday, morning created a furor before the contents were determined to be harmless. Area 9 Disaster and Emergency Services Director David Chaffins said the DES could not respond to the incident, because it dealt with the military, and his office contacted the Division of Waste Management. The canisters contained Q-A (a solvent), which can only be sold to the federal government, Chaffins said...Martin City Council membes learned last Wednesday night at their council meeting that the city had won its suit to condemn property owned by Josephine Crisp Hayes. The property is the site of a proposed sewage treatment plant. With the help of the Big Sandy ADD, Martin was awarded a grant to help construct the facility...There died: Rebecca Stumbo Moore, 87, of McDowell, died Monday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Burnis Mullins, 77, of Grethel, Sunday, at his residence; Willie DeRossett Spears, 82, of Newport, Saturday, at Lakeside Place Nursing Home; Henderson Bays, 69, of Prestonsburg, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Lucy Crum Robinson, 69, of Martin, Thursday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Lealie Poe, 68, of Cridersville, Ohio, formerly of Prestonsburg and McGuffey, Ohio, Sunday, in the Cridersville Nursing Home; Hulda Cook, 91, of Willard, Ohio, formerly of Dry Creek, Wednesday, at the Hillside Acres Nursing Home in Willard, Ohio; Glenn E. Woods, 59, of Emma, Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; June G. Webb, 64, of Wayland, Sunday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Clyde Boling, 81, of Rock Fork at Garrett, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Polly Ann Blair Williams, 95, of Martin, Sunday, at the Hazard Nursing Home; Susan Virgie Darby, 91, of Cow Creek, April 12, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Nicy Conn Rice, 94, of Banner, Tuesday, at the Markey Cancer Center, Lexington; Harry Fain, 89, of Wheelwright, Wednesday at McDowell Appalchian Regional Hospital; Elizabeth Wells, 72, of Estill, Tuesday, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington; Nola Marie Blevins Sword, 74, of Weeksbury, March 30, at Central Baptist Hospital, Lexington.

(April 3 and April 5, 1991)

Hard times in the coalfields struck home this week with reported layoffs at operations in Floyd and Martin counties. Officials with Branham and Baker Coal Company, headquartered in Prestonsburg, were unavailable, Tuesday, to confirm reports the company had shut down its Beverly Ann tipple at David, Monday, idling at least 100 workers...Residents of Middle Creek are organizing a neighborhood watch program to combat the problem of “ongoing” thefts in the area. About 25 citizens met Monday night with Floyd County Sheriff Paul Hunt Thompson and Kentucky State Police trooper Ghomer Prater, to obtain information about a group watch to discourage crime in their area...Two teenagers, including a Floyd County youth, were killed, Monday morning, after the car they were riding in crashed head-on into an embankment at Sitka in Johnson County...A Middle Creek man has asked state Attorney General Fred Cowan to investigate “possible violations” of Kentucky election laws which he alleges occurred during Eddie Billips’ successful campaign for a seat on the Floyd County Board of Education...Temperatures soared to 140 degrees during his stay in the Middle East, but when Lieutenant Colonel Gangadher Maddiwar returned home, the warmth he experienced was beyond compare. Members of Our Lady of the Way’s staff, where Dr. Maddiwar serves as Chief of Staff, greeted him with cheers and with tears at a welcome home celebration Saturday, at Adams Middle School. Maddiwar who was one of three surgeons assigned to the 47th Field Hospital unit near Bahrain, erlated his experiences while he was in the Middle East...Federal investigators have uncovered evidence of widespread fraud at 850 of the nation’s underground coal mines, including more than 300 in Kentucky, in a probe which focused on the alleged tampering with coal dust samples used to assess miners’ risk of black lung disease. According to reports, nearly 500 coal companies ae being fined $5 million for alleged violations in 16 states...There died: Emily Conley, 85, of Lackey, died early Tuesday morning, at South Williamson Appalachian Regional Hospital; Terry Kevin Isaac, 18, of Bevinsville, Monday, at Cabell Huntington-Hospital from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in Johnson County, Monday; Larry Douglas Calhoun, 35, of Prestonsburg, Thursday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Denville Leake of Ortonville, Michigan, formerly of Little Paint, Thursday; Elder Curtis Frasure, 83, of Martin, Tuesday at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Howard Douglas Sample Sr., 64, of Milligan College, Tennessee, Wednesday, at his home; Thomas Ward, 72, of Staffordsville, Saturday, at the VA Hospital in Lexington; Maudie Ellen Boyd Porter, 56, of Dana, Thursday, at the residence of a son, Wade M. Boyd of Harold; Gloria June McKenzie Pitts, 58, of Columbus, Ohio, formerly of Auxier, Friday, at the Columbus Hospital; Alice Jean Shelton, 56, of McDowell, Thursday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Joe Kendall (Bud) Allen, 72, of Allen, Saturday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Susan Lorraine Lestor of Lafayette, Indiana, formerly of Prestonsburg, in Lafayette; Dolly Robinson Green, 88, of Wayland, formerly of Town Branch, Thursday, at the Knott County Nursing Home in Hindman; Clyde Boling, 81, of Rock Fork at Garrett, Wednesday at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Emily Shepherd Conley,84, of Lackey, Tuesday at Williamson Appalachian Regional Hospital; Joe Adkins, 69, of Jackson, Michigan, formerly of Dock, Tuesday, at the Veterans Hospital in Jackson, Michigan.

(March 27 & March 29, 1991)

A published account of an audit of the Floyd County Circuit Clerk’s office brought protests from Circuit Court Clerk Frank DeRossett, and from the Administrative Office of the Courts. The audit, released by State Auditor Bob Babbage, cited problems with bank procedures, with cash closeout and with court cost assessments. Geoffrey S. Reed, Deputy Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), confirmed the accuracy of the Times’ report, but said it needed to be clarified...A Pike County woman will be a contestant for the title of Miss Kentucky following her selection in the Miss Sandy Valley Pageant, Saturday night, at the Jenny Wiley Convention Center. Conda Gail Meade, daughter of James Allen and Diana Meade, of Pikeville, performed a modern lyrical dance performance during the talent segment of the competition before judges chose her to represent the area in the Miss Kentucky Pageant...Thomas Tackett, principal at the James D. Adams Middle School, is encouraging teachers to use school field trip funds to make up for a lack of teaching supplies at the school. Floyd County Assistant Superintendent Russell Frazier said Tuesday, he received a report that teachers are being asked to use field trip money to purchase toner for copier machines at the school...Construction crews began work recently to link the new Rt. 23 with old Rt. 23 near East Point. The road will connect with a bridge near Highlands Regional Medical Cener on the Auxier Road section of Rt. 23. The bridge and road will cost approximately six million dollars upon completion...There died: Manis Hackworth, Tuesday, at Hardin Memorial Hospital in Kenton, Ohio; Leo Sturgill, 83, of Pikeville, Thursday, at his residence; John Music, 75, of Prestonsburg, Sunday, at Phelps Community Medical Center; Nora (Donnie) Johnson, 84, of Meally, formerly of Hi Hat, Friday, at the Paul B. Hall Medical Center, Paintsville; Hallie Woods Allen, 83, of Sizemore, in Leslie County, Thursday, at St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington; Lawrence (Buddy) Brown, 68, of Martin, Tuesday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Larry Calhoun, 35, of Prestonsburg, Thursday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital, victim of a gunshot wound; Forrest Stanley Curry, 63, of Banner, Tuesday, at the Veterans Hospital, Lexington; Burns Osborne, 81, of Prestonsburg, formerly of Martin, Wednesday, at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Addie Lewis Miller, 81, of St. Mary’s Ohio, formerly of Prestonsburg, Thursday, at her residence.

(20 & March 22, 1991)

Former Floyd County Attorney James R. Allen has withdrawn from the race for judge on the State Court of Appeals for Division 2 in Kentucky’s 7th District. Allen said he is withdrawing from the race for personal and financial reasons. Allen said Monday that he has two daughters, one in college and another entering in the fall, adding “I just don’t feel I can afford the money it requires to cover 21 counties...The Department of Education will hold a regional meeting to gather public input, Tuesday, March 26, at 7 p.m., at the Adams Middle School in Prestonsburg. The meeting will be to gather opinions and suggestions for Kentucky’s plan for early adolescents, and discuss national recommendations made in a report published by the Carnegie Corporation of New York...The World Market will be coming to Eastern Kentucky, if plans for a satellite office of the Kentucky World Trade Center come together. City officials and House Majority Leader Greg Stumbo, met Monday in Lexington with members of the Kentucky World Trade Center to discuss locating a branch office in Prestonsburg...The City of Wheelwright is no longer without local police protection as Charles Harmon was hired to fill the position of Police Chief on a temporary basis. Harmon, a resident of East Point, is a former police officer for the City of Martin, and he served under Sheriffs Henry Hale and Paul Hunt Thompson. The City of Wheelwright will continue to accept applications for the position of Police Chief until March 25...Prestonsburg City Patrolman Mike Conn has completed a 400- hour training program at the Police Academy at Eastern Kentucky University at Richmond...The Floyd County Board of Education voted last week to authorize the Kentucky’s Opry’s Billie Jean Osborne to coordinate music and theater education in all of the county’s schools...A Pike County teacher was convicted, Wednesday, of reckless homicide in the 1988 traffic death of a 9-year-old Pike County boy. Phamon Tackett, 56, a teacher at Elkhorn City High School, was found guilty by a Pike County Circuit Court jury, and given a minimum one-year prison sentence...A large crowd bearing American flags and banners of support, turned out for Patriot’s Day celebration in Martin, Thursday afternoon...There died: Frank Stambaugh, 73, of Meally, Friday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Margaret Jane (Peg) Hill Hewlett, 84, of Prestonsburg, Thursday; Naulty Gayheart, 80, of Beaver, March 18, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; George Paul Chidester Jr., 67, of Jacksonville, Florida, formerly of Floyd County, Saturday, at Humana Hospital in Orange Park, Florida; Alka M. Scott, 65, of Garrett, Friday, at University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington; Dewey Lee Allen, 74, of Banner, Monday, at his residence; Lissie Slone Rose, 84, of Pierceton, Indiana, formerly of Blue River, Sunday, at Whitley County Hospital in Pierceton; Denise (Dee Dee) Oliver, 25, of Jeffersontown, Tuesday, of injuries suffered in a fire; Ruby Moore Akers, 50, of Price, Tuesday, at her residence; Mary Thelma Ratliff, 61, of Albion, Michigan, Friday, at her home; Mitchell Johnson, 80, of Wheelwright, March 8, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Goldie Hal Meyers, 61, of Wheelwright, Tuesday, at the home of her son, Curtis Meyers of Columbus, Ohio.

(March 13-15)

Floyd County patriots unite. The Floyd County Chapter of the American Red Cross has planned a day for patriots. The Chapter will unfurl the flags on National Patriots: Flags Across America, on Thursday, March 21. The program, tentatively set to begin at 1 p.m., amidst ripples of Red, White, and Blue at Martin, will include speeches, singing of patriotic songs, and a salute to the military personnel and to their parents...There was no shortage of input at Tuesday’s board of Education meeting in Wheelwright, with 14 speakers signed up to talk to the board during the public comment session. Speakers ranged from teachers to parent groups to a high school student, with each expressing their concerns about problems in the school system...A double shooting near Oil Springs, in Johnson County has been ruled a case of murder, suicide, according to Johnson County coroner J.R. Frisby. Kentucky State Police reports indicate that Rick O’Neil Balwin, 36, was found dead shortly after 2 a.m., Wednesday, on Little Pigeon Road near Rt. 580 at Oil Springs, apparently from single gunshot wounds to the head. A Pike County man has been lodged in the Floyd County jail following the weekend shooting of a Floyd County man at his home at Price. According to State Police reports, Ralph G. “Jerry” Newsome, 26, of Virgie was charged with murder in connection with the Saturday morning shooting death of Gregory Dean Perry...“All I want to do is go home, get some rest and enjoy some peace,” said Eddie Watkins of Middle Creek, one of Floyd County’s first soldiers to return from active duty in the Persian Gulf War. “The first thing I want to tell people is that I am not a .50 caliber machine gunner,” joked Watkins as he hugged his mother, “I am a Dragon gunner.”...There died: Junior O. Perry, 74, of Albion, Michigan, Thursday, at Marshall Manor Care Center; Maude Wallen Gibson, 92, former Prestonsburg resident, Tuesday, at the residence of her daughter, Mae Belle Crites in Camden, Tennessee; Mary Vaughan Webb, 86, of Princeton, West Virginia, formerly of Dwale, Thursday; Ethel Conley Wills Pulliam, 74, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday; Gregory Dean Perry, 28, of Hi Hat, Saturday; Joseph Hawley Stephens, 28, of Hi Hat, Sunday; Mary Elizabeth Wolverton, 71, of Allen, Sunday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Denise (Dee Dee) Oliver, 25, of Jeffersontown, Ohio, Tuesday, of injuries suffered in a fire; William Bill Hall, 60, of Prestonsburg, Friday at VA Hospital in Lexington; Ellis Green Hall, 69, of Banner, Thursday, at Methodist Hospital at Pikeville; Walton Davis, 68, of Flint, Michigan, formerly of Wayland, Monday, at Hurley Medical Center; Byron (Rig) Thompson, 72, of Lucasville, Ohio, Wednesday, at Southern Ohio Medical Center; Lawrence Prater, of Amherst, Ohio, Tuesday, victim of a heart attack; Nannie Rhoton, 81, Sunday, at her residence at Martin.

(March 6-8,1991)

Billie Jean Osborne had a dream and the reality was the Kentucky Opry. Prestonsburg City Councilman Jerry Fannin had a dream, and the reality will be a permanent home for the Opry. Fannin’s idea resulted from an ongoing effort to find a base of operations for the Kentucky Opry, a music education and tourism development project spearheaded by Osborne. Fannin’s proposal, which he said came to him in a dream, is a reincarnation of a shelved revitalization project—a proposal to build a multi-level parking garage downtown—that, with a few alterations, will eventually become a Prestonsburg Civic Center and home to the Kentucky Opry...A contractor on the Left Beaver High School project claims in a lawsuit filed Friday, that he has not been paid for work his company has performed, while alleging a second company has been paid for work it didn’t do...Operators of Prestonsburg’s Riverview Manor Nursing Home won’t know until May if their effort to add 60 beds at the local facility will be successful....Riverview Manor’s request to expand was reviewed Tuesday in Frankfort at a hearing before the State Certificate of Need Authority. If approved, the expansion proposal will add 60 certified nursing facility beds to Riverview Manor’s existing 121-bed facility...Wheelwright Police Chief James Newsome has apparently left that post, according to Wheelwright City Councilman David “Marlee” Samons, who said the officer turned in equipment, uniforms and his police cruiser this week...Prestonsburg City officials will meet an architect and other interested parties today (Friday) at 2:00 p.m., to “brainstorm” and discuss ideas for practical application to the proposed four-story building to house the Kentucky Opry in downtown Prestonsburg...Plans are underway for a Floyd County Chapter of Mother’s Against Drunk Driving, MADD...A 25-member task force was named in Frankfort, Wednesday, to study the issue of returning more coal severance tax money to coal producing counties. House majority Leader Greg Stumbo and Harlan County Senator Charles Berger were named co-chairmen of the committee that will meet March 27 to discuss the best way to distribute more coal severance tax money to the coal counties...The war is over and the event that all America has been waiting for has begun—the soldiers are returning home. Two Floyd Countians who were part of the fire and fury of Operation Desert Storm will be returning home in March for a respite from their battle operations...There died: Reggie Watkins, 79, of Lackey, and Mt. Dora, Florida, Saturday, at his residence; Adaline Ramey Castle Lilly, 79, of East Point, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Oliver McKinney, 74, of Betsy Layne, Saturday, at his residence; Jenny Arrington, 89, of Martin, Thursday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Sadie Christine Shepherd Slone, 70, of Blue River, Sunday; Ralph Hall, 70, of Dana, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Virginia King Henry, 69, of Minnie, Thursday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Bobby J. Hicks, 56, of Howe, Indiana, Sunday, at LaGrange Hospital; Willard Johnson, 53, of Teaberry, Wednesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Dennis Patrick (Peanut) Reynolds, 19, was found dead at his home at Beaver, Tuesday; Walton Davis, 68, of Flint, Michigan, formerly of Floyd County, Monday, at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan from injuries received in an automobile accident; Ralph Hall, 70, of Dana, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center.

(February 27-March 1)

A coalition of economic development organizations in Floyd and Pike counties has been formed to secure, develop and promote a 500-acre industrial park located near Pikeville and Prestonsburg...Due to the number of eleventh grade students in this area, Floyd County was allotted five positions to fill for Governor’s Scholars, and competition was fierce among area high school scholars for this top academic position. To be considered for the honor, students had to be at the top of their class. To win the honor, students had to excel, and Anthony Lee Little, a 17-year-old junior at Wheelwright High School excelled. He was selected as a Governor’s Scholar with four Betsy Layne High School students last week...A Lexington engineering firm has been employed to perform a location and cost analysis for a new, 18-hole golf course at Jenny Wiley State Park...For Lisa Meade of Abbott Creek, supporting American soldiers involved with Operation Desert Storm has become a personal mission. Meade has written letters to approximately 26 American soldiers from Floyd County, and plans to write to every Floyd County soldier possible. “I just want to thank them for the job they are doing. To thank them for my children’s future,” said Meade. “I don’t have any relatives over there, but I really want them to know that we support them and have them in our prayers.” Meade said she started writing to the soldiers January 26, with a letter to Marine Brian Caudill...Representatives of local businesses recently participated in a shoplifting prevention program offered by the Prestonsburg Police Department in an effort to curb losses to thieves...An inmate at the Floyd County jail was charged Tuesday, with 21 counts of first degree arson after allegedly setting a fire at the jail late Wednesday night. Eddie Dean Hall, 18, was charged after allegedly setting fire to mattresses and pillows at the jail...There died: Nora Joseph Jones, 83, of Langley, formerly of Hueysville, Thursday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Viola Tackett Bailey, mother of Senator Benny Ray Bailey, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Regina Kathleen Staup, 66, of Fairborn, Ohio, Saturday, in Greene Memorial Hospital; Ada Hall Martin, 75, of Paxton, formerly of Floyd County, Friday, at Kettering Memorial Hospital; Magalene Lemaster Gilliland, 72, of Langley, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Edgar Childers, 73, of Topmost, Saturday, at his residence; Evelyne Tackett Bentley, 59, of Teaberry, Tuesday, at her residence; Lennie Samons Peters, 95, of Martin, Wednesday, at the Riverview Manor Nursing Home; William Virgil Combs, 83, of East Point, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center.

(February 20-22)

Circuit Judge Stephen Nick Frazier, Chief Circuit Judge for the 7th Judicial District, filed suit Tuesday in Floyd and Martin Circuit Courts, claiming that his opponent in the 24th Judicial Circuit is not eligible for the position...Slippery roads Friday in Floyd County prevented two members of the fiscal court from attending their regularly scheduled meeting, but the court conducted business as usual and heard from several citizens who braved the weather...Local air forces recruiter Staff Sergeant Jason Pavolko, of the United States Army, said this week that the Persian Gulf War has not had a profound effect on local recruting efforts...The Floyd County Times will hold its second annual fashion show “An Evening To Remember” Sunday, February 24, beginning at 6 p.m., at the Holiday Inn of Prestonsburg...The Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance Companies have initiated a program which will waive one full six-month renewal premium for automobile insurance policyholders called to active military duty...Floyd County Attorney Jim Hammond said Thursday that he believes the county’s method of dealing with DUI cases is effective and appropriate, despite criticism in a recent story in a Lexington newspaper...Civic and governmental leaders from Floyd and Martin counties are promoting a plan to relocate a connector road that will link new Route 23 to the existing Route 23. The officials are pressing the state to redesign the connector to tie the new, four-lane route to the recently four-laned Route 3 leading to Inez...There died: Angeline Spears George, 80, of Betsy Layne, Saturday, in the Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Gory Porter, 80, of Dwale, Monday, at the Livingston Regional Hospital, Livingston, Tennessee; Charlie Branham, 92, of Wheelwright, Friday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Billy Virgil Johnson, 60, of Weeksbury, Saturday, at McDowell Appalchian Regional Hospital; Isaac Lee Hurd, 75, of Martin, Monday, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center; Perry Crider, 84, of Prestonsburg, Monday, at Knott County Nursing Home; Elizabeth Akers, 75, of River, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Fannie Vanderpool Newman, 90, of McDowell, Wednesday, at the McDowell Appalachian Hospital; Herbert (Hub) Wallen, 81, of Martin, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Sena Miller, 75, of Tucson, Arizona, Tuesday at North West Hospital in Tucson; Hurschel Hatcher Stratton, 76, of Prestonsburg, Monday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; William Virgil Combs, 83, of East Point, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center.

(February 13, 1991 and February 15, 1991)

Part of an agreement which settled a 10-day teachers’ strike last fall was called illegal Tuesday by an attorney representing Floyd County school administrators...Two people were found unconscious in their home at David Tuesday morning, after they were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes from a faulty furnace...Members of the David Volunteer Fire Department responded to the home of Joe and Nora Ousley near Open Fork Road on Rt. 850 at David, and removed Nora Ousley from the hallway of the mobile home. Joe Ousley was found in the living room and removed by a neighbor, Arnold Hicks, before firefighters arrived on the scene. David firefighters Chuck Bishop and Jeff Shepherd, both certified emergency medical technicians, administered aid to the victims before they were transported to a local hospital...Circuit Judge candidate Barkley Sturgill has confirmed widespread rumors that he is withdrawing from that race, setting up a two-man contest in November...Parents at Betsy Layne High School are becoming frantic over an increase in the number of in-school fights and the severe beating of one female student while at school...There died: Codie Newsome, 68, of Betsy Layne, Monday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Lona Crawford Mullins, 82, of David, Saturday, at the Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington; Hilton Henderson Garrett, 96, of Wheelwright, Friday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Arnold Howell, 77, of Lettering, Ohio, formerly of Floyd County, Thursday at his residence; Mary E. Lowe, 67, of Endicott, Tuesday; Katie Ann Yates, 85, of Prestonsburg, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Willard Collins, 75, of Auxier, Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Carl Prichard Elkins, 82, of Harold, Wednesday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospita; Verdie Patton, 76, of McDowell, Wednesday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital.

(February 6 & February 8, 1991)

A day-long conference Saturday, sponsored by We Are Floyd County will be the first event held at the new Jenny Wiley Convention Center and will feature two keynote speakers. Thomas Boysen, Kentucky’s Commissioner of Education, and Ben Ross, executive director of the Eastern Kentucky Jobs Creation Authority, will address the theme of the conference: Education, concerns about the environment and economic development will be discussed...The cost of mailing a First-Class letter jumped roughly 16 percent Monday, February 4, when the price of a 25¢ stamp increased to 29¢...A conflict between the architect and construction manager of Left Beaver High School could be a topic of discussion at February’s meeting of the Floyd County Board of Education...The Big Sandy Area Development District has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to U.S. Congressman Chris Perkins...A Floyd County woman was killed last Friday when the car she was riding was struck broadside by a truck on U.S. 23 at Harold...A Middle Creek farm owned by Floyd County Judge-Executive John M. Stumbo was burglarized earlier this week...Floyd County Board of Education members will honor Wheelwright teacher Carol Stumbo for being chosen as one of the nation’s five Christa McAuliffe scholars. The meeting will be held at Betsy Layne High School at 6 p.m., Tuesday. The developer of the Glyn View Plaza in Prestonsburg has been ordered to pay more than $285,000 in overdue bank loans to Lexington banks by Fayette County Circuit Judge Rebecca Overstreet...There died: Adron Herbert Ratliff Sr., 62, of Endicott, January 31, at St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington; Hattie Conn Kilburn, 66, of Hueysville, Sunday at McCray Memorial Hospital in Kendallville, Indiana; Martha Hall Newsome, 75, of Teaberry, February 1, at Harold, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident; Bennie Marshall, 67, of Honaker, Sunday at the Highlands Regional Medical Center; Margaret Calhoun, 88, of Prestonsburg, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Green B. Kidd, 92, of Harold, Sunday, at his residence; Cecil Adams, 59, of Etna Green, Indiana, formerly of Floyd County, Sunday; Jack Z. Martin, 63, of Prestonsburg and Huntington, West Virginia, Monday, at St. Mary’s Hospital; Edward Lee Ray, 77, of Martin, died Monday at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Bessie Terry Skiver, 67, of Wayland, Monday, at her residence...Curtis Slone, 71, of Melvin, Thursday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Hattie Conn Kilburn, 66, of Hueysville, Sunday; Ermal Sturgill, 80, Sunday, at Sterling Heights, Michigan; Curtis Blair, 63, of Bypro, Sunday, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Hobert Pack, 76, of Somerset, formerly of McDowell, Thursday, at his residence; Velma Hall Crum, 83, of South Webster, Ohio, formerly of McDowell, Tuesday at the Scioto Memorial Hospital, Portsmouth; Floyd Smith, 64, of Shivley, formerly of Martin, Sunday, at Louisville.

(January 30 & February 1, 1991)

Coal county legislators have all but conceded defeat in an effort to have coal severance taxes restructured during the current special session of Kentucky’s General Assembly, but the proposal could draw priority attention during the legislature’s 1992 regular session... A million dollar site preparation contract for the Prestonsburg High School will have to be re-bid after the contract submitted to the State Department of Education was rejected... Dr. Thomas Boysen, Kentucky’s Commissioner of Education, will be the guest speaker at an event February 9 which will unite 71 community and county organizations in Floyd County... Sam Campbell, Prestonsburg City Administrator, said Thursday that plans to install lighting on U.S. 23 from the Glyn View Plaza to the Bert T. Combs Bridge may soon be a reality...F ormer County Magistrate Ed Caudill was granted shock probation Tuesday by Johnson County Circuit Judge Stephen N. Frazier... A $10 million hospital bond issue was approved at a special meeting of the Floyd Fiscal Court Friday, despite opposition from County Attorney Jim Hammond and District 4 Magistrate Jackie Edford Owens... There died: Raymond Gearheart, 81, of Hueysville, January 27; Loretta Smith James, 84, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, Sunday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Bill Johnson, 67, of Bypro, Saturday at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Arkansas Handshoe, 73, of Hueysville, Tuesday, at HRMC; Lena Sellars Brown, 92, of San Pedro, California, formerly of Prestonsburg; Marshall Davis of Albion, Michigan, Monday at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo; Marie F. Brank, 69, of Wheelwright, Monday at HRMC; Nebraska Martin, 83, of Prestonsburg, formerly of Dry Creek, Thursday, at the HRMC; Noah Howell, 65, of Wayland, Friday, at his residence; Effie Patrick Milby, 88, of Lexington, formerly of Prestonsburg, Sunday, at Central Baptist Hospital; Ira Spears, 85, of Auxier, Tuesday, at HRMC; Oscar Wallen, 74, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday, at HRMC; Asa Bush, 71, of Harold, Thursday, at his residence; Dr. Hershel Ray Stratton, 68, of Sarasota, Florida, Monday; Dr. Robert Gene Goebel of Anchorage, formerly of Prestonsburg, January 25, in Costa Rica, from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident; Elder Banner Manns, 84, of Hueysville, Thursday, at HRMC

(January 23 & 25, 1991)

While the world’s attention focuses with anger at Iraq’s reported treatment of allied prisoners of war, a Floyd County soldier stationed in Saudi Arabia reported Tuesday that Iraqi prisoners are finding a remarkably different approach to captivity on the U.S. side of the battle line... The constitutionality of an ordinance aimed at regulating hazardous medical waste burned at a local incinerator has been challenged in federal court by Medisin Inc... Testimony is expected to begin today, Wednesday, in Johnson Circuit Court in the trial of a Van Lear man charged with the May, 1990, murder of a Prestonsburg teen-ager... A group of Floyd County residents, expressing concern that a new high school will not appear on the horizon of their children and grandchildren, will hold an organization meeting Thursday... Betsy Layne Volunteer Fire Department has the highest insurance rating for a volunteer department in Kentucky. The fire department recently received a Class 4-rating; most fire departments strive for a Class 6 or 5... “A homey atmosphere, a place to feel comfortable” will be the major attractions of Adult Day Care Center soon to be located at Archer Park, said Patsy Evans, director of the center... Former Kentucky State Police trooper Jerome Martin has filed an appeal of his dismissal in Franklin Circuit Court. Martin was fired earlier this month on sexual misconduct charges... A 20-year-old Floyd County man was charged with first degree robbery for an incident allegedly involving the theft of two pizzas... A state legislative committee has recommended that Agriculture Commissioner Ward “Butch” Burnette face impeachment... A television crew from ABC’s Good Morning America program was in Paintsville Thursday to tape a candlelight vigil supporting U.S. troops in the Middle East... An early Friday morning fire resulted in major smoke and water damage to the home of Buford Slone of Wayland... There died: Verlie Daniels Ward, 72, of McDowell, Monday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Rhoda Moore Napier, 80, of Garrett, died Saturday, January 19, at the Riverview Manor Nursing Home, Prestonsburg; Otellia Estepp, 67, of Columbus, Ohio, formerly of Drift, died Thursday, at Riverside Hospital in Columbus; Ethel Elliott, 53, of Bevinsville, died Sunday, at McDowell ARH; Elaine “Bud” Stade Howard, 67, of Martin, died Saturday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Edna Tackett Hall, 71, of Craynor, died Friday, at St. Joseph Hospital; Vannie Sexton, 76, of Martin, Monday, at HRMC; James Adam Click, 39, of Martin, Thursday, at his home; Garfield Castle, 88, of Harold, Sunday, at the Jenkins Hospital; Lora Layne, 77, of Dema, died Monday, at the Shelby Memorial Hospital; Blake Roger Meadows Jr., 47, of David, Thursday, at HRMC; Florence Salyers Woods Bussey, 74, of Allen, died Thursday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Thornie Steve Daniels, 91, of Ashland, formerly of Louisa, died Monday, Jan. 21, at his home; Woodrow Whitaker, 78, of State Road Fork, Prestonsburg, died Tuesday, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Frank Bailey, 67, of San Antonio, Texas, died January 15 at his home; Kermit Dean Castle, 48, of Shelby, Ohio, formerly of Hueysville, died Wednesday, at Mansfield General Hospital; Eva Robinson, 67, of Langley, Wednesday, at HRMC.

(January 16 & 18)

Prestonsburg’s Abigail Theater, closed since 1965, could regain some of its entertaining quality in the future if a proposal to develop a community center downtown progresses...Property tax bills for 1990 are in the mail, and Floyd County property owners will be paying more this year, according to Floyd County Property Valuation Administrator Lovel Hall...Classes at Betsy Layne High School were cancelled yesterday in order for students to attend the funeral of Cynthia Mullins, a Betsy Layne High School student killed in a car crash Saturday in Pike County...As the war in the Persian Gulf escalates, the efforts of Floyd Countians to show support for American troops have also gotten underway...With the war less than 24 hours old, Allied bombers in Iraq had reportedly begun dropping leaflets on Iraqui defense positions Thursday, urging soldiers to surrender. Meanwhile, Libyan dictator Moammar Khaddaffi, an ally of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, suggested that the start of hostilities in the Middle East could possibly lead to the beginning of a third world war...The flames of patriotism will flare at a candlelight rally to support American soldiers stationed in the Middle East on Monday, Jan. 21. The rally will be held at 7 p.m., in the municipal parking lot, located in front of the courthouse in Prestonsburg...Times reporter Lieutenant Tess Whitmer, who is part of Operation Desert Storm, called her grandparents, Jim and Anna Lamoreaux in Ohio, shortly after the attack on Iraq Wednesday...Former Harold Merchant E.W. Conn, 93, of Mt. Sterling, died Sunday at the Mary Chiles Hospital. There died: Anthony J. Huber, 33, of Warsaw, Indiana, Thursday, January 10, at the Kosciusko Community Hospital; William Crawford, 56, of Taylor, Michigan, formerly of Hi Hat, Thursday, January 10, at the Oakwood Hospital, Dearborn, Michigan; Alpha Jean Caudill, 63, of Bevinsville, Saturday, January 12, at her residence; Arthur Franklin Hughes, Tuesday at the Central Baptist Hospital.

(January 9 & 11, 1991)

Former Betsy Layne High School assistant football coach Donnie Ray was arrested Monday evening in connection with a Monday afternoon bomb threat which forced emergency service workers to evacuate students at Betsy Layne High School... Convention facilities in Floyd County will expand next month when the new Jenny Wiley Convention Center opens for business... A 30-year-old Langley man was arrested December 26 and charged with three counts of first degree rape and two counts of first degree sodomy after an alleged incident involving two juveniles... State Representative Greg Stumbo of Prestonsburg was reelected by Democratic legislators this week as House Majority. Leader for the Kentucky General Assembly... Former Martin postmaster Leslie C. Nelson was sworn in Monday as the new postmaster for the Paintsville office of the U.S. Postal Service... There died: Melda Lemasters, 70, of Prospect, Ohio, formerly of Floyd County, Tuesday, January 1, at her home; Lenora Hall Ravensburg, 73, of Lake Stevens, Washington, formerly of Topmost, Wednesday, January 2, at the Everett General Hospital; Imelene Craft, 58, of Prestonsburg, Saturday, January 5, at her residence; Rosie Gayheart, 84, of Eastern, Monday, January 7, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; John B. Tackett, 56, of Beaver, Sunday, January 6, at Jewish Hospital; Maggie Webb Allen, 94, of Lexington, formerly of Eastern, Thursday, January 3, at the Lexington Country Place Nursing Facility; James Gilliam, 72, of Wheelwright, Saturday, January 5, at Hazard Appalachian Regional Hospital; Wanda Setser, 83, of Allen, Wednesday, January 2, at Highlands Regional Medical Center; Audie Ellen Shepherd, 69, of Winona Lake, Indiana; Nancy Gibson Hall, 89, of McDowell, Monday, January 7, at her residence; Bruce Shepherd, 72, of East Point, Sunday, January 6, at Paul B. Hall Medical Center; H.B. Flack, 95, of Betsy Layne, died Wednesday, January 2, at the Veterans Hospital in Lexington; Ruth Marie Conn, 63, of Arkansas Creek of Martin; Tuesday, January 8, at HRMC; Johnny G. Mulkey, 62, of Banner, Tuesday, January 8, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Stella Stegall, 80, of Hi Hat, Tuesday, January 8, at McDowell ARH.