COVINGTON — Kenton County 4-H Teen Council is looking for teen-agers to serve on the council.

        Members serve as role models for younger 4-H club members and look for ways to help the community and the 4-H program. The council also works at the Kenton County Fair, selling soft drinks, cleaning the 4-H building and repainting. Members in addition have held canned food drives and donated items to a retirement home.

        For information on the Teen Council, contact Mark Mains at (859) 356-3155.
       

Kenton magistrate holding fund-raiser

        VILLA HILLS — Kenton County Magistrate Stephen L.J. Hoffman will hold a “friend-raiser” 4 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the Villa Hills Marina along the Ohio River, just past the white oil tanks in Bromley.

        Tickets cost $10. Proceeds will be used to help Mr. Hoffman continue to serve as the magistrate.

THREE'S A CROWD: Despite less-than-sunny skies and cooler temperatures, three boaters braved the waters of the Licking River near Wilder. Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-70s today. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        Mr. Hoffman has been magistrate since 1989 and is well-known for instituting Web site weddings in the county.
       

Ky. to help counties with animal disposal

        FRANKFORT — A one-year cost-share program has been created to aid counties in the disposal of dead animals.

        The program, which is slated to end June 30, 2002, and is voluntary for Kentucky counties, was proposed by Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Billy Ray Smith and approved by the Agricultural Development Board. The agriculture department will help administer the program.

        “Kentucky is the largest cattle producer east of the Mississippi River, and unfortunately, fallen livestock are a part of animal agriculture,” Mr. Smith said in a news release.

        Under the program, each county will decide on the type of disposal program.
       

Clinics providing Rx for sick plants

        BURLINGTON — The Boone County Cooperative Extension Office is holding a series of “plant health clinics” from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. every Wednesday through Aug. 1. The clinic will not meet on July 4.

        Bring in your sick plants for a free diagnosis and prescription for health.

        Information: (859) 586-6101.
       

Task force to target meth, Oxy abuse also

        LONDON, Ky. — A multistate task force created to target marijuana trafficking in the Appalachian region is shifting gears in response to a rapid rise in other drugs.

        The Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area will also investigate meth labs and abuse of drugs like OxyContin, a prescription pain killer, officials said.

        “The HIDTA program has acknowledged that eastern Kentucky is plagued by more than just marijuana,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger West, who prosecutes cases with the program.

        The program, which coordinates anti-drug efforts in a 65-county area of eastern Kentucky, east Tennessee and West Virginia, had been the only one in the United States created specifically to target marijuana.

        The task force participated in investigations of meth and prescription narcotics the last three years when the cases had ties to marijuana, said Dave Gilbert, deputy director of the program. Now, it won't have to look for a link to justify a nonmarijuana investigation.

        The task force is an umbrella organization designed to coordinate anti-drug efforts by federal, state and local police agencies, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Forest Service and state police. The program helps with information-gathering and analysis, and provides federal funding.

        Congress designated the counties in eastern Kentucky, east Tennessee and West Virginia as a high-intensity area in 1998 because the area is one of the largest pot producers in the country.

        Last year, Kentucky State Police destroyed more than 460,000 outdoor pot plants — more than two-thirds in the 26 Kentucky counties covered by the program.

        But police have become concerned about the rise of methamphetamine production. The powerful stimulant can cause violent behavior and serious health problems.

        In 1998, police found 36 meth labs in the area. That number jumped to 93 last year, Mr. Gilbert said.
       

Ethics complaint missed cutoff date

        FRANKFORT — An ethics complaint against two ranking Kentucky State Police officers was “substantiated in part,” according to an agency document made public Friday.

        However, no disciplinary action could be taken because the complaint was filed beyond a one-year time limit, according to the document — a May 24 letter to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission from the state police's internal affairs commander, Capt. Steve P. Simpson.

        The commission filed the complaint against Col. John Lile and Maj. Joe West, charging that money was improperly solicited from state police contractors for a party marking the agency's 50th anniversary in 1998.

        The commission also claimed that leftover donations were spent on beer, soft drinks and snacks for a commanders' retreat.

        Col. Lile, who also is a deputy commissioner of the state police, coordinated the fund-raising, which topped $275,000. The solicitation was made by people outside the agency — James E. “Ted” Bassett III, a former state police director, and Frank Shoop, a Georgetown car dealer — in letters provided by the agency for their signature.

        Col. Lile and Maj. West have denied wrongdoing.

        Phillip J. Shepherd, the attorney for both officers, blasted the commission for “continuing to engage in this witch hunt.”
       

New ed degree OK'd for U. of Louisville

        LOUISVILLE — The Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board on Friday approved a new bachelor's degree program in early elementary education at the University of Louisville.

        The degree will be offered starting this fall. Students can earn certification in interdisciplinary early childhood education if they have already earned an associate's degree in early childhood education from a community college, or dual certification in elementary education and learning and behavior disorders.

        Douglas Simpson, dean of U of L's College of Education and Human Development, said the program was created to address a shortage of teachers in early childhood and special education.

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