Whitney Jones

Former employees of a veterans charity already under scrutiny in Tennessee say the organization handed out only a fraction of the money it raised in the form of gift cards. Florida-based Veterans Support Organization is under fire for its fundraising methods that brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars and for threatening to fire workers if they did not meet fundraising quotas.

Kentucky officials say curtailing prescription-pill abuse will suffer a major setback if a wave of generic painkillers reaches the market without safeguards. OxyContin and Opana ER patents are set to expire next year allowing for generic versions of the powerful drugs. The brand-name painkillers were popular sources for abusers until tamper-resistant formulas were added.

Leaders from Fort Campbell’s 101st Combat Aviation Brigade will speak with the media today about their first 100 days of deployment to Afghanistan. The brigade went overseas this year to provide helicopter support throughout two regions of the country, including areas where other Fort Campbell units are deployed.

The clock is ticking for Illinois legislators to come up with a law approving the concealed carry of weapons after a federal appellate court decided last week to throw out the state's ban on concealed guns. The legislature has 180 days to craft a new law and has the option of using a law already in place in one of the other 49 states.

Law enforcement is on the lookout for three men who escaped Calloway County Jail Sunday by jumping over the facility’s barbed wire fence. The three are Terry Hardin, Tab Delancey and Bradley Cathey. Hardin is a 5’ 7” black male, Delancey a 5’ 7” white male and Cathey a 5’11” white male. Hardin and Delancey were both incarcerated for burglary and Cathey for violating probation. The men may be with Lasey Jones and Ashley Bessette in a red 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix.

Kentucky’s Public Service Commission will announce today whether or not it will create a new area code for the western part of the Commonwealth. The cell phone boom has resulted in using nearly all of the numbers available with the current 270 area code. The new area code would be designated as 364.

A McCracken Circuit judge has overturned the conviction of a woman accused of improperly euthanizing animals at a Paducah shelter. This past August, a jury deliberated only 30 minutes before returning the guilty verdict against Dalena Hall for actions taken last year at the McCracken County Humane Society. Police say she was not certified to euthanize animals but was doing so anyway. Hall appealed the conviction and Circuit Court Judge Tim Kaltenbach ruled in her favor.

From NPR: Millenials tired of low-paying jobs or no jobs at all are creating their own small businesses. Some use the space of already established businesses to work while others stay at home and work from their living room.

Hopkinsville Community College is going tobacco-free policy starting Jan. 1.  Smoking has long been prohibited in HCC buildings, but the college created four designated smoking areas on campus in 2008. The Hopkinsville City council enacted a city-wide smoking ban in October and HCC President Jim Selbe tells The Kentucky New Era their smoking areas would’ve violated the ban.

A McCracken County woman has accepted a plea deal in the 2010 murder of CaSondra Evrard. Jamie Taylor, along with her husband Mark, and daughter Jasmine were charged in the case. The Paducah Sun reports Taylor received two life sentences for kidnapping and murder. The sentences will run concurrent with a five year jail term for tampering with evidence. A judge will officially hand down the sentences after Mark and Jasmine Taylor’s trials.