Construction begins on mile-long sidewalk

        WALTON — Construction on a mile-long sidewalk has started.

        Mayor Phillip Trzop said the sidewalk will run along School Road from Mary Grubbs Highway past Walton-Verona High School to Walton Park and would take a month to complete.

        Mr. Trzop also said a $100,000 state grant would pay most of the bill, and he said he is negotiating with Boone County and the Walton-Verona school district to plant some trees and pay for other costs.
       

School superintendent settles lawsuit

        WHITESBURG — Newly hired Letcher County School Superintendent Anna Craft has settled a lawsuit stemming from a previous stint in the same job.

        Darrell Hall, attorney for the Letcher County Board of Education, declined to reveal details of the settlement, but he told The Mountain Eagle of Whitesburg that no local money was involved.

        Ms. Craft, who became superintendent again on July 1, did not comment on the settlement.

        Ms. Craft was hired as superintendent in October 1996, but served only about two weeks before then Kentucky Education Commissioner Wilmer Cody ordered her removed. The district was under state control, and Mr. Cody had veto power over the local school board. Mr. Cody said Ms. Craft, who was the district's director of special programs, lacked the experience to be superintendent.

        Ms. Craft sued to try to get the job back.
       

Trial postponed in bomb-threat case

        MURRAY — A federal trial date for a former Murray State University student accused of e-mailing bomb threats to a member of the university's board of regents has been pushed back to September.

        Seamus Coffey, 18, of Murray, was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court on Monday on federal charges of transmitting electronic communications in interstate commerce containing a threat or injury to others. A motion for a continuance filed by Mr. Coffey's attorney was granted by Judge Edward Johnstone.

        The new jury trial date is Sept. 4.

        Mr. Coffey is accused of sending e-mails to then-Murray State regent Michael Thorne in May, stating that if he did not receive $1 million, he would begin detonating bombs in each building on the campus.

        If convicted, he could be sentenced up to five years in jail and a maximum $250,000 fine.
       

Demoted principal files bias lawsuit

        LEXINGTON — A demoted Fayette County school administrator has filed suit in U.S. District Court, claiming racial discrimination.

        Jerome Johnson, recently demoted after 12 years as principal at Yates Elementary School, filed the suit Wednesday against the Fayette County School Board and Superintendent Robin Fankhauser in Lexington.

        Mr. Johnson, who is black, claims his civil rights were violated and his reputation was slandered as white school officials conspired to force him out. Ms. Fankhauser said the school district would not comment on pending litigation.

        Mr. Johnson is seeking unspecified damages in his suit; he did not ask to be reinstated as principal.

        Ms. Fankhauser demoted Mr. Johnson from principal to teacher May 15, with a drop in pay from $74,359 to $51,448. The demotion followed a report from the state Office of Education Accountability that faulted Johnson for not working with his school's site-based decision-making council.
       

Dam project closes park's lake accesses

        GREENUP — The marina, fishing pier and boat ramp at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park are closed for the rest of the year so the lake's dam can be repaired, the Department of Parks said Wednesday.

        The lake level has been drawn down by about 5 feet since July 9. It eventually will be dropped by 30 feet, a department statement said.

        Park Manager Bobby Bowe said the $1.7 million repair job should be completed by the end of the year. With normal winter and spring snow and rainfall, the lake will refill and the marina and other facilities will reopen in April, Mr. Bowe said.

        The dam project does not affect the park lodge, dining room, swimming pools and campground, the statement said.
       

16 educators chosen as school consultants

        FRANKFORT — Sixteen more Kentucky teachers and administrators have been selected as “highly skilled educators” who will work with low-performing schools, the Department of Education said Wednesday.

        They join 46 others already working around the state.

        The educators act as consultants. The idea is to help schools improve student achievement with scholastic audits, school improvement plans, and training for teachers and school staff, among other things.

        They also are to help teachers and administrators understand test data and how test information can be translated into action plans.
       

City cracks down on kids driving golf carts

        PIKEVILLE — The City Commission has directed police to crack down on children driving recklessly in golf carts in Pikeville's upscale neighborhoods.

        Children as young as 8 years old have taken to the streets on golf carts, sometimes playing chicken and coming dangerously close to plowing headlong into one another, said David Stratton, a resident of the Bowles Addition, the Pikeville neighborhood where Gov. Paul Patton lives when he's not in Frankfort.

        Pikeville Police Chief James Justice said his department has received several calls from concerned residents reporting children driving golf carts.

        “It's usually young kids, and we take them back to their parents,” he said.

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