News

State Rep. Derrick Graham has been named the new chairman of the state House Education committee, Democratic leaders announced today.

Graham is a Frankfort native who recently retired as a social studies teacher at Frankfort High School. He is a well-known education advocate and previously chaired a budget subcommittee on education.

“I want to congratulate Derrick, my friend and colleague, on his appointment as the House Education Committee’s newest chairman,” House Speaker Greg Stumbo said in a statement.  “He has dedicated his life to education and has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities Kentucky faces academically."

Five House members of the Democratic majority have applied for the open chairmanship, the news release said.

Federal subsidies to tobacco farmers in Kentucky and elsewhere will continue next year, even though a majority of U.S. Senators believe they should not.  The Senate voted Thursday 52-44 to cut off the payments, but the measure required 60 votes for passage. 

California Senator.  Diane Feinstein led the effort to end taxpayer subsidies, suggesting that tobacco farmers, particularly in Kentucky, have done quite well over the past decade.

"A 2012 University of Illinois study found that productivity on Kentucky tobacco farms increased by 44% in the last ten years," asserted Feinstein.  "At the same time, tobacco farmers are seeing some of their best pay days since the 2004 buyout began."

Feinstein argued the payments need to stop because tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the nation.  Other critics claim the payments are too generous.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called the measure’s defeat a big victory for tobacco growers.  The commonwealth is the nation’s top burley tobacco producer.

A Memorial Day ceremony at Fort Knox will honor a Daviess County native who received the military’s highest decoration—the Medal of Honor.

Monday’s ceremony at the Brooks Parade Field at Ft. Knox will honor U.S. military troops, both past and present, for their service. Part of the “past” will be a remembrance of P.F.C. David Paul Nash, a native of the Daviess County town of Whitesville.

As a member of the 9th Infantry Division, the 21-year-old Nash was serving in Dinh Tuong Province in Vietnam. According to his Medal of Honor citation, Nash and three fellow soldiers were on an overnight patrol December 29th, 1968. An enemy grenade exploded near them, wounding two of the soldiers.

Seconds later, a second grenade landed nearby. Nash shouted a warning to his comrades and threw himself on the grenade.

His citation says Nash “saved the lives of the three men in the area at the sacrifice of his life.”

Nash is buried at Saint Mary of the Woods Cemetary in Whitesville, and a section of Highway 54 that runs through the town is named “The David P. “Paulie” Nash Memorial Highway.”

Among voters in Iowa—a key primary state—U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is the strongest Republican in the field of prospective 2016  presidential candidates,  says a new poll by Quinnipiac University.

Kentucky's junior senator leads current Vice President Joe Biden by five points among Iowa voters— and he trails former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the presumed Democratic frontrunner, by only four points.

Those totals are better than Sen. Marco Rubio, the Floridian who is also a leading Republican contender for the 2016 presidential election.

In the Quinnipiac poll, Rubio barely edges Biden and trails Clinton by nine points.

The polling numbers come on heels of his keynote speech to Iowa Republicans weeks ago. But a major reason for Paul's strong standing in Iowa is his perception among Iowa's independent voters.

The attorney for Barren County Sheriff Chris Eaton is working to keep his client out of prison.  Guthrie True filed a motion Thursday asking a federal judge to overturn Eaton's two felony convictions or grant him a new trial.  

A federal jury earlier this month found Sheriff Eaton guilty of directing two deputies to make false reports to the FBI about a 2010 arrest.  Suspect Billy Stinnett alleged he was beaten after being placed in handcuffs. 

Two other officers were acquitted on all charges.  Eaton's attorney, Guthrie True, says it's hard to understand the witness tampering convictions for a crime the jury concluded never occurred.

"I think everybody as well as he and I are a little confounded by the jury's verdict, so we're going to sit tight and see what the court does," says True.

Chris Eaton faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.  However, under sentencing guidelines, he is likely to serve one to two years on each count.  Sentencing is scheduled for August 1, but in the meantime, Eaton is back on the job as Barren County sheriff.