WASHINGTON — The 6th District Congressional race last year was the most expensive ever waged for the Lexington-area seat, according to a study by Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Advertising.

        Interest groups and political parties poured $2.8 million into the $4.2 million matchup between Republican Rep. Ernie Fletcher and former Democratic Rep. Scotty Baesler. National Democratic leaders had tried unsuccessfully to win control of the U.S. House, counting on Mr. Baesler to beat Mr. Fletcher. But Mr. Fletcher won with a wide margin.

        U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, steered nearly $1 million to Mr. Fletcher and other candidates via party committees in Kentucky. But state Democrats got nothing from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to the report.
       

Houseboat design a concern in Congress

               WASHINGTON — Two Arizona congressmen and one from Colorado have asked Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., for a hearing to review a popular houseboat hull design that has been linked to carbon monoxide poisonings.

        Mr. LoBiondo chairs the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's subcommittee on Coast Guard and maritime transportation.

        Late last year, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Park Service reported that the hull and swimming platform at the back of many houseboats trap high levels of carbon monoxide created by gasoline-powered electric generators. People then swim into the odorless, colorless gas and are overcome.

        At least nine people have died and 102 were sickened by carbon monoxide at Lake Powell, Ariz., alone in the past decade.

        NIOSH also released test results from boats at Lake Cumberland in Kentucky showing similar carbon monoxide buildups. Federal officials are calling for redesigns of the boat.
       

Lengthy probe seen in twins' deaths

               MANCHESTER, Ky. — An investigation into the deaths of 3-month-old Clay County twins will be lengthy, according to Dr. John Hunsaker, the associate state medical examiner who performed the autopsies.

        “It's going to take a while to sort this one out,” Dr. Hunsaker said of the deaths of Gabriel and William Jones. “It's a very unusual set of circumstances, and that's an understatement.”

        The twins were found unresponsive at 11:15 a.m. Saturday in a single crib by family members who were baby-sitting, according to information given emergency medical technicians who responded to the 911 call, said Kentucky State Police Trooper Craig Sutton, of the London post.

        It could be several days before a cause of death is determined. The names of the parents were not released.
       

Guard unit leaves for duty in Bosnia

               LOUISVILLE — Members of the 223rd Military Police Company will spend seven months in Bosnia on the NATO peacekeeping mission. The group of 167 Kentucky Army National Guard men and women left from the Buechel Armory in Jefferson County on Sunday to spend a few days at Fort Benning, Ga., before heading overseas.

        “We're a little bit apprehensive and nervous,” Capt. Shontelle Adams, the unit's commanding officer, told his fellow soldiers.

        “It's a sad day. I've got a bunch of good guys here that do a great job. I know they are going to do well over there,” Capt. Adams said. “But you hate to have to leave your family.”

        The 223rd is based in Louisville, but its soldiers come from across Kentucky. Fifteen guardsmen from Tennessee volunteered to join the deployment, Capt. Adams said.

        The troops will relieve other soldiers.
       

Cruiser overturns; trooper in hospital

               PAINTSVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky State Police trooper was in critical condition Monday after his cruiser hit an icy patch on U.S. 460.

        Sgt. Jeff Blanton, 42, of Flat Gap, was being treated in the intensive care unit at Cabell Huntington Hospital in Huntington, W.Va.The car overturned and he suffered multiple injuries.
       

Homeless pair hit by car; one dies

               LEXINGTON — A car struck two homeless brothers who were carrying wooden pallets across busy Paris Pike on Monday, killing one, Lexington police said.

        Kenneth Ruse, 51, was pronounced dead at the scene. by the Lexington-Fayette County Coroner's Office. His brother, Denzil Ruse, 45, was in good condition at University of Kentucky Hospital. Both are from Lexington.

        Denzil Ruse told police the two were carrying the pallets to a wooded area to start a fire.
        No charges were expected to be filed, Officer Thad Sullivan said.
       

State keeps control of troubled district

               FRANKFORT — State management of the Floyd County School District is being extended for three more years.

        The Kentucky Board of Education on Monday approved an extension of its oversight, to which the local board previously agreed.

        The district, with about 7,100 students, is one of the largest in eastern Kentucky and has a history of conflict with state education overseers.

        The state assumed management in 1998, when the district was declared to be “in crisis.” A critical, two-volume audit of the district was presented to the county board last month.

        State management means the district's administrative, financial and instructional operations have to be cleared through a manager appointed by Education Commissioner Gene Wilhoit.

        To this point, the emphasis has been on the district's finances. Now, attention will increasingly turn to curriculum and instruction, state officials said.

        Bill Weinberg, a state board member from Hindman, said the board was running a risk in extending the management agreement. In three years, “if we don't have significant — and I mean huge — improvement, we're going to have egg on our face,” Mr. Weinberg said.

        “The whole concept of state management” would be brought into question, Mr. Weinberg said.

        Not all of his colleagues agreed. “The onus is on the folks in Floyd County to make it work,” said Craig True, a board member from Fort Thomas.

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