Kentucky News Network

Visitation for Elizabethtown Mayor Tim Walker begins Monday.  The mayor died of a massive heart attack last Friday morning at the age of 54.

Visitation is from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the First Christian Church in Elizabethtown and again Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the church with the funeral to follow.

Walker will be buried at Elizabethtown Memorial Gardens.

The National Transportation Safety Board has released preliminary information, on the June 6th Air EVAC helicopter crash in Clay County.

Several witnesses reported the helicopter was spinning prior to the crash, about 750 feet from their base landing zone. One told investigators it was in a 40-degree nose up attitude, and shortly after, no engine sound was heard.

There was conflicting testimony: some witnesses saying the weather was clear, others that there was dense fog. According to security camera recordings, the helicopter erupted into a fireball, immediately upon impact.

All three crew members aboard, Pilot Eddy Sizemore, Paramedic Lee Dobbs and Nurse Jesse Jones were killed.  A public memoiral service for them will be held in the North Laurel High School gym, at 10:00 Saturday morning.

The investigation into the crash continues.

Update at 12:28am:   According to preliminary reports from the National Weather Service, the path width of damage is 300 yards, with maximum winds of 135 mph, making it an EF2 tornado.  One home was completely demolished, three houses and numerous outbuildings were severely damaged, and several livestock were killed. 

Original Post: A tornado touched down in southern Kentucky Monday afternoon, damaging farm structures and some homes. 

The twister hit in Logan and Simpson counties.  It was visible for miles.

Michael Cook, who took this photo, was working on a farm just west of Franklin when the tornado hit.  It destroyed several grain bins and damaged some homes.

A western Kentucky child is in critical condition after ingesting a chemical used to make methamphetamine.

The 2-year-old Ohio County girl drank sulphuric acid drain opener that was in a shot glass. She suffered chemical burns to her lips, tongue, mouth and esophagus.

Authorities say the child's mother and her boyfriend were making meth inside the home.   They allegedly waited six hours before taking the child to the hospital.

The widow of an ambushed Bardstown police officer is making her first public comments since her husband was gunned down Saturday. 

Kentucky State Police say 33-year-old officer Jason Ellis was shot multiple times after he got out of his cruiser to pick up debris on the Bluegrass Parkway in Nelson County.

Amy Ellis Tuesday morning thanked the community for an outpouring of support.

"The only reason I can get up here right now is because of prayers, and God has picked me up off the bathroom floor," said Ellis.  "I didn't want to live another second without him, but I know I have to be strong for our kids."

More than 300 people attended a candlelight vigil Monday night outside the police station.  A stream of mourners turned a police car into a makeshift memorial, covering it with flowers, flags, and balloons.