TRASCRIZIONE 🔗
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Now we turn to the reading of the Hazard Herald
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for news of hazard in Perry County. I'm Lee Townsend.
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We'll begin with the online edition dated November 11th, 2026.
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As a reminder, Radio Eye is a reading service intended
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for people who are blind or have other disabilities that
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make it difficult to read printed material. MCHC celebrates grand
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opening of Hazard Medical Clinic and Pharmacy. Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation, MCHC,
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celebrated the grand opening of its new Hazard Medical Clinic
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and Pharmacy on November 5th, welcoming local and state representatives,
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leaders in the medical field, community leaders, and area officials
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for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in partnership with Hazard-Perry County Chamber
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of Commerce. The event drew a large turnout, with attendees
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enjoying complimentary meals and gift bags, while members of the
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Hazard High School band performed as part of the celebration.
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The new facility, located at 30 South Kentucky 15, across
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from Black Gold Plaza, will provide a variety of medical
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services to residents throughout the region, while bringing approximately 30
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jobs to the community, according to local officials. MCHC CEO
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Mike Caudill welcomed those in attendance, and expressed appreciation for
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the community's support of the organization's continued growth. I've been
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CEO of MCHC for the last 20 years, Cottle said.
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We're grateful to everyone who's come out here today to
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this new open house for the new Hazard Medical Clinic
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and Pharmacy. We want to thank everyone who took time
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out of their busy schedule to join us today. I
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appreciate each and every one of you. While the opening
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marks a new chapter for the organization at hazard, Caudill
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emphasized that MCHC has long-standing roots in Perry County, dating
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back to its earliest operations in the region. Everyone says
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we're going to Perry County, but they're actually going back
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to Perry County, Caudill said. We're originally starting out in
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Perry County on the second floor of the Huff Drugstore.
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We did our first clinic on the Perry County, Leslie
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County line in Wooten. A couple of years later, we
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opened our Leatherwood Blankey Clinic in Cornettsville. In addition to
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the new clinic and pharmacy, Caudill highlighted the organization's expanding
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healthcare services in the area, including its presence at Hazard
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ARH Regional Medical Center. We're here today because of the
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MCHC Hazard Medical Clinic and Pharmacy and also the MCHC
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Hospital Service that we're now providing at the Hazard ARH
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Hospital called SED. The new clinic will offer several areas
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of medical care with providers including Dr. Brian Nichols, DO,
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specializing in family medicine, Dr. Kelsey Gregory, DO, specializing in
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internal medicine, Dr. Adam Boddy, DPM, specializing in podiatry, and
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Amber Wagers, APRN, providing family medical services. The local officials
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also welcomed new facility, emphasizing the additional health care resources
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it will provide and the economic opportunities associated with that opening.
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Hazard Mayor Donald Happy Mobolini described the investment as another
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example of continued growth and development throughout Hazard and Perry County.
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Today is a great day, Mogollini said. If you haven't noticed,
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Hazard and Perry County is growing leaps and bounds, and
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this is just another example of that. As Scott says
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all the time, we're open for business. The city and
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the county is willing to support you in any way
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we can. We might not get Toyota, but 30 new
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jobs is a lot better than what we had yesterday.
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Perry County Judge Executive Scott Alexander echoed those sentiments, emphasizing
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the importance of recognizing the economic opportunities being created throughout
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eastern Kentucky. Alexander secures third term as Perry judge executive.
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Perry County Judge Executive Scott Alexander secured a third term
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in office in the November 3rd general election, defeating former
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Judge Executive Denny Ray Noble and earning another four years
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Load full transcript
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to continue ongoing projects and development initiatives throughout the county.
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Alexander expressed gratitude to Perry County voters for their continued
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confidence in his leadership, saying he looks forward to building
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on the progress made during his previous terms while placing
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an increased emphasis on economic development, tourism, and quality of
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life improvements. With several infrastructure projects underway and additional investments anticipated,
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Alexander says he believes the county's position for continued growth
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in the years ahead. Care cottage seeing increase in child abuse.
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According to local officials with the Kentucky River Children's Advocacy Center,
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also known as Care Cottage, Perry County and other counties
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in the Kentucky River District have recently been experiencing an
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increase in varying forms of child abuse. It went up
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very much, said Care Cottage Executive Director Pamela Carey, who
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also serves as a forensic interviewer for the center. Currently,
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said Carey, The Care Cottage has 2,679 active cases within
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all eight counties they serve. The center, located in Hazard,
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serves children and families throughout the Kentucky River region, providing
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services to communities across Bethet, Knott, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Owsley, Perry,
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and Wolf Counties. The Care Cottage provides support and services
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to local children who have experienced abuse and or trauma.
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The care cottage, Kerry said, uses a multidisciplinary team approach,
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bringing together professionals from law enforcement, school protective services, prosecution,
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medical services, mental health providers, and victim advocacy to work
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together on behalf of the children they serve. This, said
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center officials, means that the professionals involved in the case
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work together in one location rather than each agency handling
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the case separately, which helps reduce the number of times
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children have to repeat what's happened. We just got our
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most recent report in for fiscal year 2026 about a
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month ago, said Jonah Gooch, Care Cottage Assistant Director and
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Case Review Specialist. This report, he said, covers July 1,
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2025 through June 30, 2026, and shows a large change
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in the number of cases being served in the Kentucky
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River Regional District. For fiscal year 2026, Gooch said, the
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care cottage saw 349 new child victims over the course
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of a year, with the primary age of those victims
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being 13 through 17 years old. Gooch said the center
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saw 198 children between 13 and 17 years of age,
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99 between 6 and 12, and served 52 children between
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0 and 5 years of age. According to the report,
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Gooch said, the primary gender that the center served was female.
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Last year, we had seen 212 female victims and 137
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male victims, he said. A majority of the new cases
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being worked, said Gooch, related to sexual abuse. However, there
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is also cases related to other forms of abuse. The report,
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he said, included 117 cases of sexual abuse, 84 cases
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of physical abuse, 77 of neglect and dependency, and 14
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cases of human trafficking. Gooch said 85 cases were at
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risk of harm from physical abuse, and 45 cases were
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at risk of harm from sexual abuse. 61 cases, he said,
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were classified as other, which includes emotional abuse and emotional neglect.
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These numbers, said Gooch, are continuing to rise. The CARES
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cottage conducted 300 forensic interviews in the fiscal year 2026,
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he said. However, just since New Year's Day of 2026,
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they've already had 280 forensic interviews. It's not unusual for
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us to average between 5 and 15 cases a week,
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said Gooch. We see about 10 to 12 percent increase
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per year, he said. In addition to the new cases
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of abuse, Gooch said, the report also included documenting the
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number of children experiencing custody issues related to reported abuse.
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Last year, our region had 73 new children enter into
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the custody of the state through the Cabinet for Health
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and Family Services, but we only had 54 new
adoptive
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and foster cares last year. Those numbers kind of show
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the big disparity of more of a statewide issue in
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that the state is currently taking in more kids into
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care than what they have foster homes or adoptive parents
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to put the children with. He said roughly 19 of
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those 73 children were taken into state custody in our
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region and didn't have placement. Although the numbers of child
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abuse cases in the region are rising at an alarming rate,
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center staff said they continue to provide services as well
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as promote resources and education. This endeavor, he said, is
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an ongoing effort being made in partnership with local law
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enforcement agencies, schools, and other community partners. It's hard to
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portray to the public that there are multiple professionals out
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there that are working diligently at investigating these cases and
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helping these victims, but the public can't always see that
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because of the confidentiality aspect, said Deutch. The work is
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getting done. Carey agreed, adding that the care cottage has
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a website and Facebook page for more information about their services,
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as well as outreach and awareness events. Perry Mann charged
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in Minnesota online sex investigation arrested in Clay County. A
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Perry County man and former teacher's aide who was charged
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in Minnesota after investigators said he communicated in a sexual
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manner with a decoy account he believed belonged to a minor,
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has been arrested. Records show that Elmer Mitchell Fields, 57,
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of Sexton Branch Road, previously was a teacher's aide at
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Hazard Middle School. Fields was arrested by Manchester police on
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November 3rd on a fugitive form justice warrant. Fields is
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facing a charge of engaging in electronic communication relating to
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or describing sexual conduct with a child in Washington County, Minnesota,
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related to an ongoing investigation there. According to the complaint,
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in July, human trafficking investigators created an undercover account on
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the Kik messaging application to depict a 15-year-old female. The
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Kik application, the complaint said, had been associated with various
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safety concerns including its use in cyberbullying, grooming, and exploitation
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of minors due to anonymity features. On the date the
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account was created, the complaint said, the account received a
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message from an account later linked to Fields stating, Hi there,
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I'm 54, I'm a married high school teacher and dad here,
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home alone on break. The complaint said that despite the
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investigators identifying as a 15-year-old, Fields proceeded to message the
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account in a sexual manner and sent audio and video
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files of himself engaged in sexual activity alone. The complaint
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said investigators executed a search warrant on the KIK account,
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linked to Fields, and found the account had multiple conversations
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with other users who represented themselves as females between the
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ages of 13 and 16. Many of the conversations, the
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complaint said, were sexual in nature and feels talked in
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them about his school schedule and specific dates when he's
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on break from school. On October 28, the complaint said,
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Kentucky law enforcement executed a search warrant and seized multiple
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mobile devices and computers, along with items that were seen
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in the videos Fields sent. Hazard Independent Superintendent Sandra Combs
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said that Fields is no longer employed by the district.
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According to a statement from Engel, Fields said he was
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employed as a teacher's aide and the Hazard Independent Schools
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District has been cooperative in the investigation since being notified
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on October 28th. Records show Fields was lodged in the
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Clay County Detention Center on November 3rd. According to court documents,
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Fields waived extradition to Minnesota on November 9th. White Wins
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Perry County Sheriff Race by 14 votes outlines priorities for office.
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Perry County will welcome new sheriff January 1 after Sean
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White was elected, beating his opponent
Shannon Woods by a
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narrow 14-vote margin in the November 3rd general election. White,
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who will succeed retiring Sheriff Joe Engel, expressed gratitude to
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Perry County voters for their support and said he looks
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forward to building on the progress made by the sheriff's
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office while expanding law enforcement's presence throughout the county. Before
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this election, I told as many people as I could
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get out and vote, he said. That's your American right,
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and it's also a great way for people to settle
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some of their differences to get out and vote. I'm
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very excited and feel very blessed to be the sheriff-elect.
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White brings nearly three decades of law enforcement experience to
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his new position, having begun his career with the Hazard
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Police Department before transitioning to the Perry County Sheriff's Office
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where he served for nearly 20 years. Reflecting on his career,
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White credited a longtime mentor with encouraging him to pursue
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law enforcement at a young age. It started in October
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1998 at the Hazard City Police when my neighbor and mentor,
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Rob Maggard, really encouraged me to get into law enforcement,
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he said. I was given the opportunity when I was
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19 to have a job dispatching. At that time, I
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worked a couple of years and then I became an officer.
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White said his career eventually led him to the sheriff's office,
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where he was given an opportunity to continue serving the
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community under former Sheriff Les Burgett. I worked until around 2007,
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where I was blessed to meet Sheriff Les Burgett, who
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gave me an opportunity to be a deputy in his department.
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And I've been with the sheriff's department ever since, White said.
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Throughout his career, White has also worked with local school
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systems and experience he describes as particularly meaningful because of
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the opportunity to protect and mentor young children. From the
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opinion page, The Fat Lady Sang by Jeff Vanderbeck. As
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Master Pro said to Grace Grasshopper, or was it Stan Lee,
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with great power comes great responsibility. Tuesday, we witnessed the
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acquisition of great power by people who will be accountable
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to the public with great responsibility. Don't screw it up.
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The election is finally over. The votes cast, the speeches delivered,
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and the political experts on social media have returned to
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their holes in the ground. Some candidates are celebrating. Others
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are wondering how they lost to someone who may not
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be the sharpest tool in the shed. Either way, the
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voters have spoken, and now comes reality, governing. But before
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we get into the actual wake-up call of the new businesses,
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there is some unfinished business. The damn campaign signs that
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have littered the roadside need to come down. Candidates were
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quick to put them up. Hell, they were even social
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media arguments about placement. Winners and losers need to show
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the voters they are equally motivated to remove those eyesores.
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The winners have been decided. Your name doesn't need to
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be attached to a telephone pole until the return of
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Jesus Christ. So let's shoot for the week before Thanksgiving
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to have them all removed. To the winners, congratulations. Enjoy
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the victory, the handshakes and the pats on the back.
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Thank your supporters and perhaps cross the line and thank
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those who didn't vote for you. Also now would be
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a good time to think and thank the opposition who
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spent the last few months calling you incompetent. Then get
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to work. There were several major holidays before you take office. Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa,
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Boxing Day, Christmas, and New Year's Day. You have plenty
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of time to celebrate, eat turkey, open gifts, and pop
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the champagne before you figure out exactly what you've gotten
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yourself into. Come January, there's no room for excuses. blame,
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or criticizing the past. You need to have a plan
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and you need to start implementing that plan now. Praying
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that there will be hope and figuring it out as
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you go are foolish ways to prepare to govern. You
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can hope and pray all you want, but if you
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don't have a comprehensive plan that's well thought out and
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requires transparent, measurable results, you will fail and therefore you
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will fail the voters. During the campaign, all candidates had
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some kind of plan. Some were fairly thought out. Some
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were plans that will never come true and were talking
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points to get votes, while others had plans that we
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all knew the candidate could never devise. So maybe a
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family member or AI created their plan, which will show
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its ignorance soon. Now is the time to turn those
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campaign promises into something more substantial than a postcard or
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social media post. By now, if you don't know the budget,
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the inner workings of the position you want, where the
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money comes from, and where it goes and why there
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is never enough, you're starting in failure mode. Winners should
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meet with the employees in office in which they want.
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Ask questions of those employees as they know the inner
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workings and know where the bones are buried. so to speak.
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Talk to the people who didn't vote for you. They
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pay taxes too, and they may be able to understand
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a different perspective, and you will need them on your
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side in your quest for success. Those returning to office,
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remember winning does not make you smarter. It means you
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got more votes or voters pulled an all-party ticket not
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knowing what you stood for. And sometimes people vote for
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the incumbent because they fear the alternatives. Winners, losers, and
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voters on both sides need to leave the political grudges
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at the door. Winning an election is not a hall
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pass for a four-year revenge tour against your opponents and
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their voters. We all had enough campaigning. We don't need
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another four years of mudslinging disguised as public service. The
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voters have done their job. Now it's your turn. Enjoy
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the holidays and somewhere between the turkey leg and the resolution,
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start a plan that involves more than getting reelected. A
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letter to the editor, pleased with election results. After a
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decade of bigotry and cruelty, an oligarchy sinking its teeth
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into American democracy, secret police terrorizing innocent citizens, and in
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some cases murdering them, a failed coup and an illegal
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war that sent inflation spiraling. We've just heard the death
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rattle of MAGA. This is the most exciting time in
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American politics in modern history. Abolish ICE, destroy the oligarchy,
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pass Medicare for All, guarantee a livable wage for every job,
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completely end aid to Israel, Free Palestine, by Jalen Adams
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from Chavez, disagrees with the column. I recently read the
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Honorable Russ Cassaday article, State-Sanctioned Murder, in your opinion column.
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In particular, he referenced the botched court-ordered execution of Krista
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Pike in Tennessee. I concur that was an atrocity that
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should never have happened in modern-day America. However, I find Mr.
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Cassaday's thinking to be flawed in many respects. To wit,
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had the execution been successful at the outset, it would
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not have been justice. The state has decided Pike should
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die for her crime. I am the state. Murder committed
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by the state is committed by us. The aforementioned statements
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are sensational and without merit or foundation. To suggest that
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we collectively committed murder because we are the state is reckless. Tennessee,
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through their electorate, collectively voted for the death penalty. Pike
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received the death penalty for her crimes, not her crime. Mr.
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Cassaday is one man with one opinion. He does not
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represent any state or carry the weight to suggest a
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murder was committed by the citizens of Tennessee. Perhaps Mr.
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Cassaday already has been blinded by the liberal views minus
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substantive facts. Death row has made a significant reduction in
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repeat offenders and persistent felony offenders. MLK Jr., injustice anywhere
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is a threat to justice everywhere. Arthur Rogers, Navarre, Florida.
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Life After Service, a guest column by Brandon Smith, state
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senator for District 30. Trampas Miller lost a leg to
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an improvised bomb in Iraq in 2008. His recovery at
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Walter Reed Medical Center took three and a half years
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and more than 100 surgeries. Later, he attended a deer
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hunt through Jason's Box, a Paris nonprofit that provides free
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outdoor activities for severely injured veterans. Miller recalled just realizing
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you're not alone during that first hunt. He stayed on
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as a volunteer and now helps coordinate activities for other veterans.
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Miller found something that mattered to him and chose to
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help make it available to someone else. In Hazard, the
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Paul E. Patton Eastern Kentucky Veterans Center, a 120-bed facility
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set on 30 acres in the Perry County Mountains, provides long-term,
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skilled health care and rehabilitation for Kentucky veterans close to home.
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Named for the governor who made the building a priority,
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the center opened in 2002. In fiscal year 2023 alone,
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it's provided 24,674 days of care to the veterans who
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live there. Veterans Day is a chance to know people
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like Miller beyond their military service. After years of service
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and work and friendships, they matter deeply to veterans and
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the communities they call home. Here are the obituaries. David Mason, 36,
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of Hazard, died Tuesday, November 3rd. Thomas T. Tom Patterson, 78,
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of Hazard, died Tuesday, November 3rd. Alice Combs, 71, of Hazard,
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died Tuesday, November 3rd. Charles Ray Campbell, 79, died Monday,
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November 2nd. Carolyn Eldridge Cootes Hamlin, 82, of Hazard, died Tuesday,
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November 3rd. Jean Charles Rice, 85, of Hazard, died Monday,
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November 2nd. Jeffrey Scott Burden, 68 of Gaze Creek died Wednesday,
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November 4th. Sharon Carlene Couch, 67 of Krypton, died Friday,
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November 6th. Kevin Pollard, 72 of Iper, died Monday, November 2nd.
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Beulah Jean B.J. Rudy of Worcester, Ohio, died Wednesday, November 9th.
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And James Smith, 93 of Hazard, died Monday, November 9th.
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Hazard man killed in crash on Kentucky 80. A hazard
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man was killed in a crash at Bulin on November 3,
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according to a statement from Kentucky State Police. The statement
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said that at approximately 5.34 p.m. on November 3, KSP
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Post 13 received a call in reference to a two-vehicle
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collision on Kentucky 80 at Bulin. Troopers, along with medical personnel,
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responded to the scene, the statement said. According to the statement,
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the preliminary investigation indicates that a 2023 Jeep Wrangler was
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traveling eastbound on Kentucky 80 when it crossed the raised
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median and into the westbound lane, striking a 2015 Ford
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Mustang being operated by David Baysden, 36, of hazard. Baysden
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was pronounced dead at the scene by the Perry County
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Coroner's Office. The operator of the Jeep was transported by
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Perry County EMS to Hazard ARH where he was treated
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for non-life-threatening injuries. An autopsy has been scheduled and toxicology
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is pending. Seatbelts were in use at the time of
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the collision, according to the statement. A Hazard woman is
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facing felony charges after police said she set fire to
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a house she owned, but which was unoccupied in Hazard,
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leading to damage by surrounding residences and injuries to an
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occupant of one residence. Video footage, the warrant said, showed
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Kelly Janelle Miller, 43, going to and from the house
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she owned on 409th High Street multiple times prior to
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the fire. This concludes the reading of the Hazard Herald.
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Stay tuned for continued programming. Thank you for joining me,
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and on behalf of everyone here at Radio Eye, this
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is Lee Townsend wishing you a good day.