Two stores robbed over holiday weekend

        COVINGTON — Police are investigating two armed robberies over the holiday weekend — one possibly the work of a serial robber.

        A man matching the description of the serial robber held up the Dollar General Store in Latonia shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday. He came into the store, ordered the customers to the back of the building and pointed a gun at the clerk.

        The robber is described as a black man in his mid-30s standing 5-feet-7. He was wearing a green print shirt over a blue T-shirt and blue jeans. As has the serial robber who has hit five Northern Kentucky convenience stores this month, he was wearing a black nylon stocking mask over his face.

        The serial robber is not a suspect in the other heist.

        The Ameristop on Madison Avenue across from Holmes High School was robbed shortly before midnight on Friday. A man carrying a gun came into the store before closing, locked an employee in a back office and fled with an undisclosed amount of money, police said.

        This robber is described as a 20-year-old white man with long curly hair. He is about 6-feet-1 and was wearing a white baseball cap.
       

Fort Thomas plan subject of meeting

        FORT THOMAS — The committee studying a major revamping of Fort Thomas' main business district will hold a special meeting Monday to discuss the revitalization plan.

        The Fort Thomas Forward Committee will meet at 4 p.m. in the council chambers of the city building, 130 N. Fort Thomas Ave.

        The committee is expected to make its final report to City Council June 21. Tentative plans call for the burying and relocation of overhead utility wires in a five-block area along North Fort Thomas Avenue and the development of new commercial buildings as well as agathering place.
       

Ashland College gets new president

        LEXINGTON — Gregory D. Adkins was appointed president of Ashland Community College by Michael B. McCall, president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

        Mr. Adkins, who is the president of Jefferson College in Missouri, will begin at ACC July 1, KCTCS said in a statement released Wednesday.
       

Winery seeks to sell its wine in dry county

        WHITESBURG — If voters approve, a local winery could offer the first legal alcohol sales in a Letcher County community since the early 1940s.

        Jackie Looney, owner of the winery at Seco, has asked for a local option election to get voter approval to sell the wine he makes. Mr. Looney submitted a petition to the Letcher County Clerk's Office last week asking for the election.

        Mr. Smith said a new law allows a winery in an otherwise dry territory to sell its own product within that territory, if voters in the local precinct approve.
       

Lead blood levels lower than expected

        GEORGETOWN — Health officials in Scott County said tests on some residents living above an old contaminated city landfill show they do not have dangerously high levels of lead in their bloodstream.

        “I can't give a good, good reason why we saw the low levels,” said Julie McKee, public health director of Wedco District Health Department.

        Twenty-seven Briar Hill residents tested by the Scott County Health Department showed that they were below the level of concern, which is 10 for pregnant women and children and 25 for adults.

        All tested showed between 1 and 7 micrograms per deciliter of blood, McKee said.

        The city is buying back the 19 homes and six undeveloped lots from their owners. For residents who can't part with their homes, the city has offered to physically move the buildings to safer locations.
       

Group admits theft, reselling of items

        LEXINGTON — A group that sold thousands of dollars worth of stolen videotapes and DVDs from Wal-Mart stores pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to transport stolen goods across state lines.

        Misty Washabaugh-Simmons, 28, of Lexington, was singled out as the leader of the conspirators, who stole and then sold between $70,000 and $120,000 of the videos from various parts of the country, including Oklahoma.

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