PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — A Floyd County man was shot and killed at a construction site Friday and his cousin was charged with the slaying.

        Bill “Buck” Jarrell, 28, of Prestonsburg, was shot at close range Friday morning at the site on Daniels Creek in Banner, Kentucky State Police said.

        George Jarrell, 36, was arrested less than 30 minutes later on Ky. 80 in eastern Floyd County, police said. He was being held in the Floyd County Detention Center. Police are continuing to investigate.
       

Outhouse Olympics
crowns fastest toilet

               GRAVEL SWITCH, Ky. — The 2000 Summer Olympics had a little competition in this small town in Marion County.

        More than 200 people gathered here Saturday to watch six teams of five race their homemade toilets across the finish line in the annual Great Outhouse Blowout, known as the 2000 Outhouse Olympics.

        Penn's Store has sponsored the outhouse races, which include traditional Kentucky food, music and other activities, every October since 1992, when the 142-year-old store got its first restroom. Organizer Jeanne Lane said she got the idea from a similar event in Tennessee.

        Teams from Kentucky and Tennessee decorated their wood or aluminum outhouses, propped them on wheels and raced them for the honor of having the fastest outhouse. This year's first place team won $300.
       

Loan halted until
wage rates assured

               LOUISVILLE — The Louisville aldermen have halted action on a $5.2 million loan to Humana Inc. to renovate the Clock Tower Building, located downtown, until the city is assured that workers on the project will earn state-set prevailing wages.

        Mayor Dave Armstrong asked the aldermen to approve the proposed loan to Humana. The company owns the Clock Tower Building, which Mr. Armstrong wants to be the cornerstone of “eMain USA.” That's his proposal to attract high-tech companies to East Main Street.

        The aldermen have sent the measure back to committee to make sure Humana will pay prevailing wages.

        Alderman Barbara Gregg said a city ordinance requires that workers on any project involving more than $250,000 of public money be paid the local prevailing wage, a rate set by the state.

        The work on the tower is to include new mechanical systems, four new passenger elevators, new restrooms, improved access for the disabled and renovation of the lobby.
       

Democrats predict
success in Kentucky

               OWENSBORO, Ky. — Candidates and office holders at the annual Wendell H. Ford Day Picnic on Saturday expressed confidence that Democrats will take over the state senate and pick up a few House seats.

        The participants also expressed confidence that the Gore-Lieberman ticket will win Kentucky in November.

        Kenny Bosley, Daviess County Democrat part chairman, said the purpose of the rally is to get people excited about campaigning and make sure they vote.

        State office holders, such as House speaker Jody Richards and State Treasurer Jonathon Miller, were juggling time between Daviess and Ohio counties' rallies this weekend.

        “We've got a battle ahead of us,” Mr. Miller said. “This is the most important election of my lifetime and the most important election of a generation.”
       

Madisonville plant
may create 600 jobs

               FRANKFORT — Autoliv, Inc, which manufactures automotive safety restraints, plans to open a factory in Madisonville that could employ up to 600, Gov. Paul Patton said Wednesday.

        The company is buying a 64,800-square-foot facility in the Pennyrile Industrial Park and plans to expand the facility to 140,000 square feet with a total investment of $35 million, according to a statement from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

        Autoliv, based in Ogden, Utah, makes safety restraints for every major automaker in the world, the statement said.

        “These jobs represent excellent opportunities for our citizens in the Madisonville area,” Mr. Patton said.

        Mike Ward, vice president of operations for Autoliv North America, said the Hopkins County plant would compliment the company's seat belt manufacturing capabilities

        Autoliv received tentative approval from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority for $22.6 million in tax credits over 15 years, the statement said.
       

Report to detail
radiation exposure

               WASHINGTON — Current and former employees of the uranium enrichment plant in Paducah are outraged at finding certain workers were unknowingly exposed to dangerously high levels of radiation. The exposure was revealed in a new government report.

        “They've definitely done the workers here an injustice,” said Chris Naas, who has worked at the plant for the past 26 years. “They'll never be able make it right.”

        The Energy Department report, compiled from historical data and interviews, seeks to identify which categories of workers were put at risk and provide some estimates of exposure for groups of workers. It is part of a larger investigation into Cold War activities at the government's uranium plants.

        “We've always been concerned that exposure levels at Paducah were high and that people have developed cancer as a result of those exposures,” said the agency's top health official, David Michaels. He said he expects the new report to be publicly released after a speedy peer review.

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