Business Council plans open meeting

        COVINGTON — The Covington Business Council will have an open board of directors meeting Thursday in the ballroom of The Radisson Hotel, 668 W. Fifth St.

        Current and prospective CBC members can observe a CBC board of directors meeting and hear news about Covington's Renaissance program.

        Sherrill D. Morgan & Associates, a CBC member, will explain discounted insurance benefits available to CBC member businesses.

        The event will begin at 11 a.m., with the board meeting scheduled for noon.

        The CBC is a nonprofit organization founded in 1974. The group, which is dedicated to improving the business climate in Covington, has more than 200 member companies.
       

Ludlow prepares for festival, fireworks

        LUDLOW — The Ludlow Festival and Fireworks display will be Saturday at Ludlow Park.

        There will be a craft show and flea market from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., games and miscellaneous booths from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., live music from 7:30 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. and fireworks at 10:30 p.m.

        Food and drink booths will be open all day.
       

Diabetes Association presents award

        EDGEWOOD — Darlene Lageman of the Northern Kentucky Independent Health District, has been named Health Professional of the Year by the American Diabetes Association of the Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky area.

        She was honored for her continued support to the conquest of diabetes.

        Ms. Lageman has been instrumental in coordinating support groups for adults and for children.

        She coordinates the health department's adult diabetes support groups meeting at the Boone County Health Center and at the Campbell County Extension Office.
       

Hospice seeks crafts donations

        FORT THOMAS — Hospice of Northern Kentucky seeks crafters to make items for patients and to sell at craft fairs, with proceeds going to support Hospice services for the terminally ill and their families.

        The group meets from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursdays at Hospice of Northern Kentucky, 1403 Alexandria Pike in Fort Thomas. Donated crafts and supplies also are appreciated.

        Information: (859) 441-6332.
       

Rapist captured after 3 years as fugitive

        WAYNESBURG, Pa. — A 33-year-old man who posed as an Amish baker and handyman has been sent back to Kentucky after three years on the run from 73 counts of rape.

        Paul Matthew Patterson was extradited to Allen County, where he faced 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple rapes of teen-agers.

        He fled with his wife and six children in July 1998, on the day he was scheduled to be sentenced.

        Kentucky authorities had arrested Mr. Patterson two months earlier on allegations spanning from March 1993 to December 1997. He pleaded guilty, was released on bail and then disappeared.

        Authorities caught up with Mr. Patterson, who had spent the last two years in Franklin Township, Greene County, posing as an Amish handyman and baker, after someone told authorities he was a fugitive.
       

UK women's program awarded $3.2M grant

        LEXINGTON — A University of Kentucky program will get a $3.2 million grant from the state to help move mostly single, young mothers and families off welfare.

        UK's Institute on Women and Substance Abuse will use the money from the Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children to expand a program for Kentucky women facing multiple social problems.

        The grant, which is for state fiscal year 2002 and renewable annually, will be used to fund the institute's Targeted Assessment Program.

        The project serves the state's Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Funds (welfare) and Division of Protection and Permanency (child welfare) clients to address substance abuse, mental health problems, domestic violence and learning barriers.

        The funding will support 32 assessment specialists and one full-time case coordinator for hundreds of Kentucky communities, from Christian and Daviess counties in the west to Floyd and Pike counties in the east.
       

City asks for grant to buy "hybrid' cars

        LEXINGTON — Officials plan to reduce gasoline costs for city-owned vehicles by buying a fleet of hybrid cars.

        The vehicles, which run on a combination of electricity and fuel, would save the city gasoline and reduce the level of ozone-depleting emissions.

        The city has applied for a federal grant of about $100,000, which would cover the higher price of 20 hybrids, which generally cost about $6,000 more each than gasoline-powered vehicles.

        The city would sell bonds to raise the rest of the money, about $20,000.

        Richard Murray, director of the city's division of fleet services, said the grant application is under federal review. The city should know by spring if it receives the grant.

        “We hope that we will be able to gradually phase out the regular models and replace them all with hybrids,” Mr. Murray said.

Man pleads not guilty to shooting neighbor

        ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. — The man charged in the shooting deaths of Hardin County Sheriff's Deputy Billy Collins and his wife pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday.

        Gregory Wright, 40, entered the plea before Hardin County Circuit Judge Kelly Easton. He is charged with two counts of capital murder and one count of first-degree wanton endangerment. Bond was set at $1 million.

        Deputy Collins, 48, and his 51-year-old wife Peggy, who was a special deputy for the department, were killed by shotgun blasts across the street from their home on June 9, authorities said.

        A pretrial conference is set for 1:15 p.m. July 11.

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