Diabetes diet program sets 3 dates

        BURLINGTON — The Boone County Cooperative Extension Service's “Dining with Diabetes” series of three lectures will be held 6:30-8:30 p.m. March 5, March 12 and March 19 at the center, 6028 Camp Ernst Road.

        Methods to teach Type 2 (adult onset) diabetics to control their diet will be presented. Cost is $2 per person per session and payable at the door, but preregistration is required.

        Information: 586-6101.
       

Murray St. president to resign June 30

        MURRAY — Murray State University President Kern Alexander, long an influence on higher education in Kentucky, said Tuesday he would resign on June 30, his 62nd birthday.

        Mr. Alexander, who was also president of Western Kentucky from 1985 to 1988, said he would also resign as a tenured faculty member. June 30 will also be Mr. Alexander's seventh anniversary at the university.

        Mr. Alexander said he would retain close ties to Murray but devote much of his time to his family, including seven children and three grandchildren.

        Mr. Alexander is a native of Marrowbone, Ky., a hamlet in Cumberland County.

        While at regional institutions, Mr. Alexander has often challenged the supremacy of the University of Kentucky among the higher education establishment.

69,000 on Medicaid being placed in HMO

        FRANKFORT — Some 69,000 Medicaid recipients who receive federal Supplemental Security Income payments — SSI — are being placed in managed care, the Cabinet for Health Services announced Tuesday.

        The managed care program, KenPAC, now has 254,000 enrollees in 102 counties. It also has 1,500 physicians who are paid a monthly fee — soon to go to $4 for each Medicaid patient — to manage their cases.

        A cabinet statement said SSI recipients will retain the same level of benefits as others covered by Medicaid. They will be asked to select a primary care provider who will manage and coordinate their care and make referrals to specialists. The transition is to take place from March 1 to May 1.
       

Concrete eagle returned to perch

        LEXINGTON — A concrete eagle that perched on a pillar to welcome visitors at Spendthrift Farm has returned to its stand.

        Last Wednesday, workers discovered that the eagle was missing. The eagle and a nameplate had been stolen while sitting behind a pillar being repaired.

        Bruce Kline, one of the farm's owners, offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the return of the statue and nameplate.

        An anonymous call came at 11 p.m. Friday saying the eagle and nameplate were in a church parking lot. Mr. Kline and farm manager Jim Brown found the eagle and nameplate resting against a post, undamaged.
       

Senate OKs curb on givers' contracts

        FRANKFORT — A Republican bill to make many campaign contributors ineligible for state contracts was passed by the Kentucky Senate on Tuesday.

        The vote was 21-16, largely but not exclusively along party lines. The bill faces long odds in the House, which is controlled by Democrats and where a similar Senate bill died last year.

        The bill, by Senate President David Williams, is widely seen as a slap at Gov. Paul Patton. State contracts have long been a currency of the executive branch, though many are competitively bid.

        In one of a series of floor speeches, Republican Sen. Robert Stivers of Manchester said campaign contributions often are given for “less than altruistic reasons. ... It is time we remove the appearance of impropriety.”

        Under the bill, a person giving more than $50, or a business whose officers gave more than $500, would be ineligible for a contract for 18 months. There would be no restrictions on contributors to legislative races.
       

Minister's body recovered from lake

        LUCAS — The body of a 77-year-old Fountain Run minister was pulled from Barren River Lake after he drowned when his car went into the water.

        The Rev. Rex Hunt apparently drove his car off a boat ramp at the lake, Barren County Coroner Mike Swift said. The Rev. Mr. Hunt was pronounced dead at the scene Sunday.

        Mr. Swift said at least six other deaths with similar circumstances have occurred there in the past few years. The road curves down into the boat ramp, and it can be difficult to see where the road ends and the lake begins, Mr. Swift said.

        The Mr. Rev. Hunt, a pastor of Capitol Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Fountain Run, was a minister for 57 years, including 21 as a radio minister in Lafayette, Tenn.
       

Hills pet food cuts 180 jobs at plant

        BOWLING GREEN — Hill's pet food is eliminating almost 80 jobs at its Bowling Green plant.

        The company called a special meeting Monday to announce that employees have until March 12 to decide whether they will voluntarily quit or seek early retirement, said Bob Murray, vice president of corporate communications for Colgate-Palmolive, Hill's New York-based parent company.

        Hills is offering severance and early retirement packages, Mr. Murray said.

        “We looked at all four plants to see how we could make the products more efficiently,” Mr. Murray said.

        Hills, which makes Science Diet pet food, came to Bowling Green in 1985, when it had 185 employees.
       

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