Chad Lampe

A closed meeting of Hopkinsville City Council's Compensation Committee this week is facing some scrutiny from the city's newspaper. Hopkinsville’s budget officer, Melissa Sellers Spurr is receiving a promotion to be the city administrative officer. The Compensation Committee Chairman Charlie Henderson invited members of the council to join the committee to discuss  Spurr’s contract. The Kentucky New Era contends the closed door discussion was illegal. Staff Writer Carla Jimenez is covering the story.

The Honeywell uranium fuel conversion plant in Metropolis, IL is still on track to restart work in June after a May shutdown to upgrade parts of plant. Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors prompted the shutdown when they found equipment there could not withstand a major earthquake or tornado.

Murray State University President Randy Dunn is speaking out publicly for the first time regarding a draft report from a Board of Regents ad-hoc contract review committee. The report depicts university progress and/or lack thereof during Dunn’s six year tenure. Faculty Senate and Staff Congress members questioned board chairman Dr. Constantine Curris about many aspects of the report this week. Curris stands by the work. Dunn takes issue with a number of elements, “I think on the academic performance side, to some degree, there was a little bit of cherry picking that went on to make a worse case than what exists,” Dunn said.

Murray State University President Randy Dunn is among eight semi-finalists to be Youngstown State University’s next president.

The Vindicator Newspaper reports Dunn to be among the eight semi-finalists for the Ohio based university. The university’s website doesn’t list the semifinalists. The Murray State Board of Regents voted last month against extending Dunn a new contract. Dunn’s current contract expires June 30th, 2014.

Murray State’s Board of Regents Chairman Dr. Constantine Curris answered an hour’s worth of questions Tuesday afternoon from faculty and staff regarding the board’s vote not to extend Murray State President Randy Dunn’s contract. That vote came on March 15th the day after 5 to 6 regents met for a social gathering and casually discussed university business. A Lexington attorney is questioning that social gathering as an illegal meeting. Curris maintains there was no collusion or discussion of a vote on the president’s contract at that gathering.

Lexington Attorney Jim Deckard is appealing the denial of his open meetings complaint with the Office of the Kentucky Attorney General. Deckard alleges that the Murray State Board of Regents violated Kentucky's open meetings law when a group of five or six regents attended a social gathering and casually discussed university business.  The day following the social gathering the board held its quarterly meeting and, under the guise of other business, voted not to extend President Randy Dunn a new contract.

Volunteers are needed for Land Between The Lakes annual spring cleanup April 13. Volunteers will spruce up the Turkey Bay Off-Highway Vehicle Area trails plant trees, pick up litter and performing trail maintenance.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has appointed Mayfield’s Trevor R. Bonnstetter to Kentucky’s Board of Education. Bonnstetter lead’s West Kentucky Rural Telephone, and replaces Dorothy Combs, whose term has expired.

Beginning today Tennessee doctors prescribing painkillers and other controlled substances are required to check their patients' prescription history to prevent abuse and doctor shopping.

The new requirement signed into law last year put doctors on the front line of Tennessee's battle with some of the nation's highest prescription drug abuse rates. The state's Controlled Substance Monitoring Database has been around since 2006 and now clinicians prescribing any opioid or benzodiazepine are required to check that database first.

Murray State University’s Board of Regents Chairman Constantine Curris says he’ll attend a special meeting of the Faculty Senate and Staff Congress tomorrow.

Both of those organizations have voiced concerns about the board’s decision against renewing President Randy Dunn’s contract. The Faculty Senate and the Staff Congress both issued resolutions of support for the President.