Wednesday, September 06, 2000

Kentucky News Briefs

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Mother and son to exhibit art at Holmes

From Enquirer news sources

        COVINGTON — A mother and son will have a joint art exhibit opening Friday at the Nordheim Gallery on the Holmes High School campus.

        The exhibit for Martha E. Weber and her son, Thomas E. Weber, will be open from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. The exhibit runs through Oct. 6, with gallery hours by appointment.

        Ms. Weber, who has a Cincinnati studio, is a painter and print maker known for her landscapes in oil and impressionistic style. Mr. Weber is a Chicago Art Institute graduate with a bachelor of fine arts, and has a master's degree from Cincinnati Art Academy. He teaches art at A.D. Owens Elementary School in Newport. His works are small abstract paintings, using acrylics and mixed media. His work has been exhibited in Chicago and Cincinnati.

        The Nordheim Art Gallery is on the Holmes High School campus at 25th Street and Madison Avenue in Covington.

DRIVER OK, CAR A LOSS: Firefighters remove Verna Haggerty, 61, from her Ford Taurus after a collision at Thomas More Parkway and Medical Village Drive trapped her Tuesday. She and Bartholomew Gertz, 27, driver of a truck that collided with Ms. Haggerty's car, were transported to St. Elizabeth's Hospital South with minor injuries. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

       

Man pleads guilty to buying votes
        LONDON — A Monticello man admitted in federal court Tuesday that he paid a group of voters in the November 1998 election.

        Tim Craig, 25, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to charges of conspiracy to buy votes. Mr. Craig faces a maximum of up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release. He'll be sentenced Dec. 8.

        Mr. Craig assisted 113 voters with absentee ballots in the November 1998 general election, according to prosecutors. Mr. Craig paid voters to cast ballots in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representative races. Mr. Craig admitted to assisting six voters and then paying them or arranging compensation for them.

        The joint investigation was undertaken by the FBI and the Kentucky Attorney General's Office.
       

Blanket denial of records called wrong
        GLASGOW — The Barren County sheriff improperly made a blanket denial when asked for records of a grisly murder-suicide involving two neighbors, an attorney general's opinion says.

        Some records should have been released when one victim's mother requested them under the Kentucky Open Records Act, the opinion said.

        Others, including photos of one of the dead and a recording of a frantic 911 call by his wife, were properly withheld. Privacy rights of the woman, herself a victim of the crime, outweighed public interest in the materials, Assistant Attorney General Amye L. Bensenhaver said.
       

Inquest called after fatal shooting
        LOUISVILLE — A coroner's inquest is planned into the police shooting of a Louisville man with a history of mental illness.

        The inquest is planned Sept. 20 into the death of Rodney Abernathy, 37, who was shot 15 times after police said he attempted to grab their weapons during a scuffle in a city park.

        Police said the incident began as Mr. Abernathy was being treated by paramedics for apparently self-inflicted head injuries.

        Jefferson County Coroner Dr. Richard Greathouse said Mr. Abernathy was shot once in the head, twice in the abdomen, at least three times in the chest and multiple times in the upper arms.

        All the officers were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure when an officer-involved shooting occurs, police said.
       

5 holiday deaths on state highways

TOTAL LOSS: A stone chimney is all that remains Tuesday of a frame house, built in 1864, on Decoursey Pike. No one lived in the house, but the overnight fire destroyed several pieces of antique furniture that were in the house, owner Judy Rice said. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        FRANKFORT — Half as many people died on Kentucky highways over the long Labor Day weekend this year as last year, Kentucky State Police said.

        Five motorists died in five separate crashes from 6 p.m. Friday to 11:59 p.m. Monday, state police said. That was down from 12 who died in as many crashes last year, state police said.

        One of this weekend's five crashes was suspected to be alcohol-related and one involved an all-terrain vehicle. The victim in the ATV crash wasn't wearing a helmet.
       

Police officer fund gets large donation
        RICHMOND — A new emergency relief program is hoping to raise $1 million in an effort to protect members of law enforcement from insurance crises.

        The Kentucky Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation, based at Eastern Kentucky University's campus, recently received its highest donation, $50,000, from Lexington businessman Gerald F. Healy. The gift is the largest ever to the foundation.

        “Law enforcement officers are a very important part of our community and often need assistance with their lives that an individual agency can not supply,” said Greg Howard, director of training support at the police academy and the foundation's first vice president.
       

Strategy changes for alcohol-sales vote
        RADCLIFF — A Radcliff man seeking to end alcohol prohibition in his city expressed doubt that he would collect the 670 signatures necessary to get the matter on the Nov. 7 ballot by Friday.

        Steve Barno said he needs about 170 signatures.

        Mr. Barno said, instead, he will turn his attention to a special referendum.

        If a petition for that is successful, a vote on alcohol sales in restaurants seating more than 100 people and motels with 50 rooms would take place 30 to 90 days after the petition is turned in.

       

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