Henry answers auditor's questions

        FRANKFORT — Lt. Gov. Steve Henry said Friday he has responded to the state auditor's questions about the use of state resources in his wedding.

        But while Mr. Henry “respects the public's right to know if state resources were used improperly,” his prepared statement said his office will not answer any questions about the matter until after Auditor Ed Hatchett has completed the review.

        Mr. Hatchett announced he was looking into whether any state personnel or funds were used to put on the Oct. 27 wedding between Mr. Henry and former Miss America Heather French Henry. Mr. Hatchett said he received numerous calls about state expenses for the wedding after a story by the Associated Press disclosed the hiring of Libbi Taylor, the director of the Miss Kentucky pageant.

        According to Bill Riggs, Mr. Henry's chief of staff, Ms. Taylor was hired as executive assistant to Mrs. Henry. Mr. Henry has since said Ms. Taylor works primarily for him.

        In a statement released Nov. 15, Mr. Henry said he “does not believe that state resources were used improperly.”
       

Park tries to woo “equine Super Bowl”

               LEXINGTON — Kentucky Horse Park wants to woo an international horse show, which track officials call “the equine Super Bowl,” in 2006,

        The World Equestrian Games, held every four years, will be in Jerez, Spain, in 2002, though the federation that heads the games is already searching for sites for 2006.

        The games are considered the world championships for show jumping, dressage, driving, vaulting and other events.

        “By hosting the 2006 World Equestrian Games, Kentucky would experience the equivalent of an equine Super Bowl,” Kentucky Horse Park Director John Nicholson said in a news release.
       

Bus driver had been denied license

               HERNDON, Ky. — The driver of a school bus that crashed, killing a 5-year-old and injuring 30 other students, was denied a driver's license in Tennessee, a Nashville television station reported.

        WTVF-TV said Ulima Allen, 36, had two speeding tickets in the past five years, most recently in March. She failed to pay that ticket and her license was suspended Nov. 15-28, two days before the accident.

        Ms. Allen applied for a driver's license in Tennessee in 1998 and was turned down because her license was suspended in Louisiana, WTVF said.

        “I can't comment about Miss Allen's record,” said Raymond Clagg, director of Transportation for Christian County Schools. “I can tell you — we exceed the standards for training with the state.”

        Ms. Allen has not been charged with any wrongdoing. She declined WTVF's request for an interview and checked out of Jennie Stuart Medical Center in Hopkinsville on Friday afternoon. She had been admitted Thursday, complaining of back pain.

        The bus driven by Ms. Allen was carrying 47 students and an adult monitor to South Christian Elementary on Thursday when it apparently ran off the shoulder after rounding a curve. The driver overcorrected, sending the bus across both lanes before it overturned, Kentucky state police said.

        The bus came to rest on its right side, and the students had to be removed through three emergency exits or through the shattered front windshield, state police said.

        National Transportation Safety Board investigators are ques tioning Ms. Allen and examining the bus wreckage as part of their investigation into the cause of the accident.

        All the students injured in the wreck are now home from the hospital. A child taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., was released Friday.

        A funeral will be held Sunday for the boy killed in the crash.
       

Police shoot suspect after chase

               LOUISVILLE — Police shot an armed suspect Friday in the back yard of a home in southwest Jefferson County, authorities said.

        Jefferson County Police spokeswoman Stacy Redmon said the unidentified man was wanted for questioning in a recent murder. Police were trying to serve the suspect a warrant when he fled the scene on foot about 3:30 p.m. EDT Friday, Ms. Redmon said.

        The chase continued for about five blocks when the suspect turned, waved a handgun and threatened the eight pursuing officers. Four officers then fired their guns, Ms. Redmon said.

        Ms. Redmon said the suspect is a white male in his early 20s. A hospital spokeswoman said he is listed in critical condition at the University of Louisville Hospital.

        Ms. Redmon said the four officers have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
       

Former athlete violates probation

               BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — A former Northwestern basketball player convicted in a 1995 point-shaving scheme has violated his probation agreement, according to federal court papers.

        Federal authorities met Kenneth Dion Lee, a Louisville native, on Thursday at Warren County Middle School Learning Center, where he works.

        A Warren County schools policy requires criminal background checks for all school employees before their hiring, school board member Dickie McKinney said. Convicted felons and federal criminals aren't allowed to work in the school system.

        Mr. Lee, 27, will appear before U.S. Magistrate C. Cleveland Gambill in Louisville on Dec. 12.

        He was sentenced to a month in prison after he admitted to devising a points-shaving scheme with former Notre Dame place-kicker Kevin Pendergast.

        Under the scheme, Mr. Lee agreed to help keep the Wildcats' score low enough during three Big Ten games to let their opponents beat the spread. Mr. Pendergast promised Mr. Lee a cut of his winnings from betting on the games against Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan.
       

Awards honor slain prosecutor

               LEXINGTON — Slain prosecutor Fred Capps was honored posthumously by the Kentucky Commonwealth's Attorneys Association and Gov. Paul Patton at a banquet on Thursday.

        Mr. Capps, commonwealth's attorney for Adair, Casey, Cumberland and Monroe counties, was killed at his home June 5 by a gunman. His assailant, Eddie Vaughn, was also killed in the gunfire.

        The Kentucky Commonwealth's Attorneys Association gave the slain prosecutor a lifetime achievement award and named a scholarship in his honor. His widow, Catherine, accepted the award in his honor.

        Angela Moon of Burkesville was awarded the $1,000 Fred Capps Memorial Scholarship. Ms. Moon is a first-year student at Chase Law School in northern Kentucky.

        Gov. Paul Patton also bestowed a lifetime achievement award on the slain prosecutor.
       

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