River recreation getting federal money

        CLARKSVILLE, Ind. — A project to create a network of paths and recreation areas along the Ohio River is expected to receive $2.4 million in federal funding.

        The total is included in an appropriations bill approved by the Senate on Thursday that awaits President Bush's signature.

        “This gets us one step closer to freeing up that money,” said Phil Hendershot, chairman of the board overseeing the Ohio River Greenway project.

        The project will create a seven-mile, $31 million series of riverfront paths for walkers and bicyclists connecting Jeffersonville, Clarksville and New Albany. It also will include $23 million for recreation areas, including overlooks, picnic areas, fishing piers, playgrounds, basketball courts and an improved boat ramp in New Albany.

Charges added in death of infant

        HOPKINSVILLE — A Hopkinsville couple accused of killing their infant daughter more than a year ago have been indicted on additional charges.

        Joseph Melancon and his wife Kristi, both 25, now also face three counts each of first-degree criminal abuse.

        The new charges are contained in indictments returned Friday by the Christian County grand jury.

        According to the indictments, the three abuse counts are for the couples' two children and their dead daughter.

        The couple reported their 8-month-old daughter, Emily Rose, missing Aug. 11, 2000. They told police she was kidnapped from their home and made tearful public pleas for her return.

        City police investigators claim the mother neglected the baby until her death. The father, a Fort Campbell soldier, then disposed of the child's body in a pond on post, police said.

        The trial is scheduled for Nov. 26 through 30. The defendants will be tried together, prosecutors said.

        The Melancons each pleaded not guilty during separate arraignments last year. Each was originally charged with murder, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse and filing a false police report.

Helicopters help fight forest fires

        HAZARD — Five helicopters from the Kentucky Army National Guard have arrived in Hazard to help contain forest fires burning over the eastern part of the state, forestry officials said.

        Division of Forestry spokeswoman Gwen Holt said she didn't know if the fog in the area inhibited the missions.

        Ms. Holt did say the water dropped from the 660-gallon buckets under the choppers is about the only water the fires will see from above.

        “The rain hasn't helped us much,” Ms. Holt said. “Most of the eastern Kentucky districts received less than two-thirds of an inch.”

No charges likely over fetuses in jars

        BENTON — Marshall County Sheriff Terry Anderson said he doesn't think there will be any criminal charges stemming from four fetuses found in a former doctor's clinic on Wednesday.

        “I don't see anything right now we can pursue criminally,” Sheriff Anderson said. “That pretty much wraps it up. We're going to continue to talk to employees and try to find out all we can.”

        Coroner Mitchell Lee said Dr. Mark LeVaughn, director of the West Kentucky Regional Forensic Center in Madisonville, reported that the fetuses were not aborted by a doctor.

        Mr. Lee said the tests showed the fetuses were miscarried.

        The fetuses were discovered Wednesday morning in a closet at the former doctor's office. The last doctor to work at the clinic before it closed was James E. Holmes of Benton, Sheriff Anderson said.

        “Dr. Holmes has been questioned, but no charges have been brought against him,” Sheriff Anderson said. Dr. Holmes could not be reached for comment.

Sleeper car back on Kentucky Cardinal

        LOUISVILLE — Amtrak will restore sleeper car service on the Kentucky Cardinal, a move railway officials expect will increase ridership when passenger train service returns to Louisville next month.

        A “Golden Spike” ceremony signifying completion of the extension of the Cardinal's route from Jeffersonville, Ind., to Louisville is scheduled for Dec. 4 at Union Station.

        The sleeper car, is expected to attract passengers who were uncomfortable with no other choice but to spend the 13-hour trip between Southern Indiana and Chicago in a coach seat.

        One-way sleeper car fares are to be $92 to $152 for an economy room for two people; $150 to $234 for a three-person room with a restroom and shower. Fares depend on when tickets are bought and other factors, such as availability and holidays. One-way coach fares are $36 to $66.

Ex-state worker claims misconduct

        LOUISVILLE — A Kentucky Transportation Cabinet engineer once in charge of the Kennedy Bridge painting project says state workers solicited bribes from contractors and kickbacks from a supplier.

        In a whistleblower lawsuit filed against the cabinet Friday in Franklin Circuit Court, engineer Ron Gardner said he was retaliated against after telling supervisors that he “discovered and/or suspected” that cabinet employees had solicited payments, padded time sheets, falsified payroll records and routinely carried firearms at the work site.

        He says a state worker once brandished a gun during an argument with the contractor.

        Mr. Gardner said he also reported last fall that state employees accepted substandard materials from suppliers and that inspectors intentionally delayed checking work so they could collect overtime.

Dead pine trees becoming hazards

        WHITLEY CITY — Officials in eastern Kentucky are concerned that hundreds of thousands of dying pine trees could cause destruction throughout the region by blocking roads, knocking out power lines or worse.

        Most of the area's pines have been destroyed by an outbreak of hungry southern pine beetles.

        The threat of property destruction — and worse, human casualties — from falling trees is real, officials fear.

        In late October, Onel Bryant, the road supervisor in McCreary County, and another employee were on their way to clear a tree blocking a road when a pine tree fell on his pickup, smashing the windshield. They were not hurt.

        “If it had been a large tree, it would have been a different story,” Mr. Bryant said. “Somebody's going to get killed.”

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