PIKEVILLE — A jury in Pike County found that first lady Judi Patton is the rightful owner of 27 acres of property that a neighbor had claimed.

        “I'm elated,” Mrs. Patton told WYMT-TV on Thursday. “A jury of my peers heard all the evidence ... and they said the land is mine.”

        A Pike County woman, Almedia Adkins, had claimed the property at Virgie, about eight miles south of Pikeville. She told WYMT that she plans to appeal the jury's decision.

FOWL PLAY: James Robertson considers his next move in a tic-tac-toe game with Tac, a chicken that is taking on all comers at the Northern Kentucky Auto Show and Sale this weekend at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington. Mr. Robertson battled to a tie Friday. The three previous contestants all lost to Tac. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        Mrs. Patton sued Adkins in 1996 to establish legal ownership of the land after Ms. Adkins shooed away a road contractor who wanted to spread free dirt on the property.

        The trial was to determine whether Ms. Adkins was entitled to the property under Kentucky's “adverse possession” law because she testified she has lived there continuously for more than 15 years.

        After hearing three days of testimony, the jury deliberated about three hours Thursday before returning its decision.

        At the heart of the dispute is a 1968 deed and a dispute about what happened when Mrs. Patton's first husband, Bill Harvey Johnson, paid Ms. Adkins' first husband for the land. Both men are now dead.

        The governor's wife testified in an earlier court hearing that Mr. Johnson paid for the land with $440 in cash and a $310 check.

        But Ms. Adkins said Mr. Johnson traded her and her late husband a motorcycle and car for the property. She said they later voided the swap after the FBI seized the vehicles as stolen property.
       

Wilkinson creditors object to club sale

        LEXINGTON — Creditors of former Gov. Wallace Wilkinson say he should have gotten bankruptcy court approval before selling his membership in a Florida golf club for $81,000.

        But Mr. Wilkinson's lawyer, Mary Fullington, says Mr. Wilkinson and his wife, Martha, who is not in bankruptcy and who received half the money, resigned from the club about two weeks before his creditors filed an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

        Ms. Fullington says the creditors' accusations are full of “falsities and fictions” and should be ignored by the court.

        Both sides claim the dispute gives them more ammunition for an Oct. 31 hearing at which Judge William S. Howard is expected to decide whether Mr. Wilkinson can convert his bankruptcy from a Chapter 11 reorganization to a Chapter 7 liquidation.

        The case began Feb. 5, when Mr. Wilkinson's creditors filed the involuntary bankruptcy. He converted it to a Chapter 11 on Feb. 8, declaring $418.4 million in debts.
       

UK to look abroad for administrators

        LEXINGTON — University of Kentucky President Lee Todd says he will look at international talent once he begins searching for three of the top administrators in his cabinet.

        Mr. Todd left for Germany on Thursday as part of a delegation led by Gov. Paul Patton to promote the state to business leaders.

        “I wouldn't mind talking to professors and presidents over there and let them know I'd be interested in hiring people to come over here and help us think globally,” Mr. Todd said.

        This year, UK's provost, vice president for administration and vice president for research are staffed on an interim basis.

        Mr. Todd also said that he wants to see more UK students study abroad, and a foreign staffer could help that. On average, about 350 students annually spend a semester or more outside the country.
       

Largest nature preserve to open

        HARLAN — Kentucky's largest nature preserve — 2,500 acres of old-growth forest on Pine Mountain in Harlan County — opens to the public on Sunday.

        Blanton Forest State Nature Preserve is among the dozen or so largest old-growth tracts remaining in the East. It contains a 2.4-mile trail that ends at Knobby Rock.

        The forest is named for Grover Blanton, who ran a general store in nearby Wallins, and used his extra money to buy land.

        Don Dott, director of the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission, said Blanton is “truly one of Kentucky's best and most ecologically significant natural treasures.”

        The forest was “discovered” in 1992 by Marc Evans, a commission biologist. The state bought half of the forest from Mr. Blanton's heirs in 1995 and half this year. A campaign is under way to raise money to increase the preserve to more than 6,000 acres.
       

Ind. lawmakers seek daily pledge in schools

        INDIANAPOLIS — A group of lawmakers wants to mandate that all schools in Indiana start each day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and observing one minute of silence.

        State Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, said Friday that it was important for students to start each day thinking about the nation, the victims of terrorism, family, friends and those who are serving the country.

        Under a bill Mr. Young plans to file for the upcoming legislative session, schools would be required to have a U.S. flag displayed in each classroom. Schools would have to provide a daily opportunity for students to voluntarily recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
       

Fire destroys building in Hazard

        HAZARD — A fire in downtown Hazard early Friday morning destroyed a building on Main Street that housed a small restaurant and a jewelry store, authorities said.

        No one was injured.

        The fire was reported about 12:15 a.m. Firefighters worked most of the night to extinguish the flames, which apparently started in the Sandwich Shoppe.

        The restaurant and Bert Bibee Gold and Silver Market were reduced to ashes.

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