Same robber hit 4 stores, police say

        FLORENCE — Florence police believe the same man is responsible for four robberies at gas stations and stores in the city in 12 days, including Sunday night at the Ameristop Food Mart on Dixie Highway, and are planning a training session for convenience-store workers.

        The robber forced employees to lie on the floor as he took money from a cash register. The employees were then ordered to the rear of the store as he made his getaway.

        The man wore a black nylon stocking mask to cover his face. He did not display a weapon, but in each instance shoved a hard object again a clerk's back.

        Florence Police Lt. Tim Chesser said the department will conduct a robbery prevention training session at 2 p.m. today at the Florence Government Center, 8100 Ewing Blvd.

        Anyone with information about the robberies can call the Florence Police Department at (859) 647-5420 or Crime Stoppers at (513) 352-3040.
       

Take a hike in Fort Wright

        FORT WRIGHT — The Fort Wright Nature Center will observe National Trails Day June 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Ù The free event will include self-guided hikes, a mock campsite to demonstrate “leave no trace” practices, and equipment demonstrations.

        For information on National Trails Day, visit the Web site at www.americanhiking.org.
       

UK fire repairs will be slow process

        LEXINGTON — It will take about two months to reinforce the remaining walls of the University of Kentucky Administration Building, damaged in a May 15 fire that destroyed the roof and top floors.

        “It is a very slow process,” said Buford Burchfield of Burchfield and Thomas, a Lexington construction firm now at work at the building.

        When the mess has been cleared away, Mr. Burchfield said, workers will install steel beams from wall to wall to shore up the building.

        UK officials haven't officially decided to rebuild, but “if at all possible, it would be our choice to restore,” said spokesman Lloyd Axelrod.

        UK President Charles Wethington will present a recommendation to the board of trustees June 19, by which time estimates on insurance payments and rebuilding will be available.
       

Corbin boy charged in brother's shooting

        CORBIN — A Corbin boy has been charged with assault in connection with the shooting of his brother, police said.

        A 14-year-old boy was taken to Baptist Regional Medical Center in Corbin and then transferred to the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington on Monday evening, police said.

        A spokesman at the hospital said Tuesday the teen was in critical condition.

TOBACCO PLANTING: Matt Nolan, left, and helper Mona Spalding prepare tobacco plants as Matt's father, Tom, drives in Danville. The group was setting tobacco on the Nolans' farm near Danville. (Associated Press photo) | ZOOM |

        Kentucky State Police Detective Gary Partin said police were called to Industrial Boulevard in Corbin at 5:17 p.m. Monday, where they found the teen-ager had been shot once in the stomach with a handgun. His brother, whose name was not released by police, was charged with first-degree assault and lodged in the juvenile detention center in Prestonsburg.
       

Chandler comes out against gas drilling

        PIKEVILLE — Attorney General Ben Chandler has sided with opponents of a plan to drill natural-gas wells in the Breaks Interstate Park on the Kentucky-Virginia border.

        “We're looking at the possibility of legal action to stop any proposal to drill in the park,” Mr. Chandler told WYMT-TV in Hazard on Tuesday.

        Blue Flame Energy Corp. has proposed drilling wells in the park, which draws about 400,000 visitors a year.

        Local residents oppose the plan to drill at least three natural-gas wells on the rim of what is perhaps the deepest gorge east of the Mississippi River. They say drilling will disrupt the area's pristine environment.
       

Seat-belt crackdown nets more speeders

        FRANKFORT — The first day of Kentucky law enforcement emphasis on seat-belt use produced dozens of arrests, a recovered stolen vehicle and fewer seat-belt citations than speeding tickets.

        The effort, dubbed “Click It or Ticket,” got off to a bumpy start and Kentucky State Police had to pull back from a plan to ticket all people not wearing a seat belt at safety stops even if there were no other violation. Kentucky's seat-belt law makes it a secondary offense; officers cannot stop a vehicle for that violation alone.

        Monday's 81 checkpoints produced a preliminary total of 265 citations for motorists not wearing seat belts and another 37 citations for improper use of child safety seats.

        There were also 322 speeding citations, 24 arrests for drunken driving, 831 other traffic citations, 18 drug arrests, 37 other arrests and the recovery of a stolen vehicle.

        The safety checkpoints are scheduled to continue through June 3.
       

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