Society

The Commonwealth Attorney prosecuting the man accused of starting a Murray State dorm fire 14 years ago wants some of the pre-trial proceedings held behind closed doors.

Jerry Wayne Walker faces charges related to the 1998  fire in Hester Hall  that killed fellow student Michael Minger. 

It’s one of those cold gray days in Paducah where the rain doesn’t seem to ever stop. For many that means curling up in their homes. For Carrie Brown, that means her new trailer. It’s the first place she’s had to call her own since her uncle passed away last June. Carrie worked as a caretaker for her uncle. But when he died, that meant she lost her job. Soon after, she lost her house and was living out of her car.

“Everybody is just one paycheck away from not having a place to live if you don’t have family.”

With a 69% spike in motorcycle accidents so far this year, Kentucky State Police are turning to social media to counter the problem.  KSP spokesman Trooper Michael Webb says the agency is launching a weeklong campaign urging both motorcyclists and drivers to be careful. He says,

“Our message for motorcycle safety is simply to be more proactive and vigilant in the upcoming months. Summer is closely upon us and we know that more motorcyclists will be on the roadway during that time.”

Marshall County will likely hold a vote on whether to allow alcohol sales July 17th. County Judge Executive Mike Miller says he'll recommend the date at the fiscal court meeting next Tuesday.  County Clerk Tim York sent Miller a verified petition from the group “Marshall 1st” last week to hold a local option election. York says his office quit counting after verifying 2,160 signatures. That's nearly 100 more than were required.  Murray will also hold a local option election on July 17th. 

Clarksville’s Police Department is going paperless in an effort to cut down times for traffic stops and help the City Court become more efficient.  Police Chief Al Ansley tells the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle he hopes to have the paperless traffic stops in place soon.  He says it will cut down the time it takes to issue a citation from fifteen minutes down to five and eliminate time-consuming data entry for city clerks.  Ansley also says the paperless system will save the department money on ticket books.  He says the department has ordered 148 printers, one for each patrol officer, that pri