Whitney Jones

A “Hall of Fame” dedicated to a region’s writers is rare in the United States, but one launched this week in Lexington. The inaugural class of authors will be named this week to the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame.  The Hall of Fame, which is based at the Carnegie Center in Lexington, will honor native-born Kentuckians who have penned either fiction or non-fiction. 

Western Kentucky families are saving money on medications that could cut down on health care costs long term thanks to a partnership between two organizations and local pharmacies. The United Way of Murray/Calloway County and FamilyWize provide a free prescription discount card that can be used at most pharmacies. The FamilyWize card can save families up to 75 percent on their medications.

A historic restoration group is determining whether or not it can renovate two downtown Madisonville buildings that used to serve as the county's library. Members from the non-profit group, The Kentucky Trust for Historic Preservation inspected the buildings yesterday to see if they would be good candidates for renovation. Madisonville/Hopkins County Library board member Gigi Kesterson Smith says if the trust decides to preserve the buildings, it takes the property off the library’s hands.

The Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library named a Versailles man as its new director Tuesday. Library Chair of Personnel Gwendol McCaskill says Joel Meador was among 11 candidates for the job, which has been open since Lisa Wigley resigned last June.

The German company Kemmerich Metal Engineering will build its U.S. headquarters in Murray. The automotive parts supplier plans to add 120 jobs to the community in the next five years. Murray Calloway Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Mark Manning says Kemmerich is the first business to locate in Murray's new northern industrial park.

One of the reasons this company is coming here is because everything had been pre-prepared. All the utilities were in place, the ground was cleared and compacted, so it will speed up construction by months.

Some southern Hopkins County residents are complaining about blasts from an explosives company that they say are shaking and damaging their homes. Donovan Commercial Industries manufactures explosives and disposes of them for the military. Judge-executive Donnie Carroll says even though the homes are far from the plant, he has received calls about residents’ photos falling off their walls as result of the blasts.

Past and present Kentucky School Board Insurance Trust members need to pay an assessment to fix a $60-million deficit in its worker’s compensation and property and liability pools. KSBIT protects school districts from incidents ranging from employee injuries to school bus accidents.

This weekend’s rainfall has briefly alleviated dropping water levels on the Mississippi River, but it didn't put a dent in persisting drought conditions in the area. National Weather Service meteorologist Robin Smith says most places in western Kentucky got 4 to 5 inches but they are still up to 20 inches below average rainfall. The Mississippi River levels are between 12 and 13 feet but Smith expects those levels to drop back to 5 feet in just a few weeks.

UPDATED: 3 p.m.

A portion of the Pennyrile Parkway was closed this afternoon after the cab of a tanker truck carrying hydrochloric acid caught fire this morning. Both north and southbound lanes from the 49 to 54 mile markers are now open. However, only the left southbound lane is open, so expect some traffic as crews continue some environmental remediation work.