Tighter rules sought for OxyContin pickups

        FRANKFORT — Picking up a prescription for OxyContin or other controlled drugs would require a photo ID or thumbprint under a change of law being sought by a task force.

        The task force, at a meeting Monday, decided against asking the General Assembly to ban “call-in” prescriptions or to limit prescriptions at hospital emergency rooms.

        Requiring identification with a photo — or lacking that, a thumbprint — would give authorities more help in keeping tabs on who gets prescription narcotics, proponents said.

        The issue has been highlighted by widespread abuse of OxyContin, a synthetic morphine. Abusers crush the tablets, then inject or “snort” the drug. At least 59 deaths in eastern Kentucky have been attributed to OxyContin overdoses.

Historian calls for new state constitution

        OWENSBORO — Thomas D. Clark, Kentucky's 98-year-old historian laureate, told an audience Monday night that the state needs to call a convention to draft a new constitution — replacing the current 1891 version.

        “We're no longer an agrarian society,” Mr. Clark said at Owensboro's Wendell H. Ford Government Education Center. “We need an intelligent, serious constitutional convention.”

        Former Gov. Wendell Ford introduced Mr. Clark as “a historical jewel,” saying, “He understands Kentucky better than anyone.”

        Mr. Clark came to Kentucky in 1928 to work on his master's degree at the University of Kentucky, where he taught from 1931 to 1968.

Suspect denies he killed grandmother

        LEXINGTON — Jerome L. Williams admits he stuffed his dead grandmother into a bedroom closet, but says he did not kill the 66-year-old woman.

        Mr. Williams, 25, is on trial this week in Fayette Circuit Court for murder and evidence tampering.

        Prosecutors say he not only killed his grandmother, but his effort to conceal the crime was one of the most horrific the city has seen in recent years.

        Sarah Elizabeth Hayden raised Mr. Williams from childhood and still supported him financially and housed him.

Fund will aid families of fallen soldiers

        FORT CAMPBELL — The 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Campbell on Tuesday announced establishment of a memorial fund to assist the families of the three soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan last week.

        Those killed were Master Sgt. Jefferson “Donnie” Davis, 39, of Watauga, Tenn.; Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser, 28, of Frazier Park, Calif.; and Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Petithory, 32, of Cheshire, Mass.

        Officials with Fort Campbell said the funds will be divided equally among immediate family members.

        Donations should be sent to: Chapter 38, Special Forces Association, Attn: Survivor Fund, P.O. Box 223, Fort Campbell, KY 42223-0223.

Park Service to burn Mammoth Cave acres

        MAMMOTH CAVE — The National Park Service plans to burn acreage in Mammoth Cave National Park for the first time ever next spring.

        “Usually our policy has been if there was anything burning, we put it out,” said Jim Carroll, chief of external operations for the park.

        “What we are finding out now is that sometimes that's not the best thing to do,” he said.

        After years of such a policy, the park's 52,000-acre landscape has become more lush.

        “If you look at photos of the area near the turn of the century, it is pretty barren,” he said. “Most of these trees aren't very old.”

        The aim is to use fire to return the acreage and the flora and fauna it supports to a more natural state, he said.

        Park personnel have been working for years to formulate their burn plan, and the Mammoth Cave fire protection plan was signed last week, park management assistant Henry Holman said.

Man convicted of two fatal shootings

        LEXINGTON — After more than five hours of deliberation, a Fayette County jury found a man guilty of murdering his two friends, but not guilty in the death of his stepfather.

        The jury made its decision late Monday night in the case of Ricky Sherroan, 26.

        Mr. Sherroan, who turns 27 Saturday, had always admitted killing Aaron Mills, 22, and Isaac “Ike” Davis, 18, who were found dead in Mills' apartment in Lexington on April 20, 1999.

        Mr. Sherroan said he shot the two men with Mr. Mills' sawed-off revolver after they had gunned down his stepfather, Frank Reschke, at their home a few blocks away.

        Mr. Sherroan denied killing his 57-year-old stepfather, described as having disliked Mr. Sherroan and his friends. Mr. Sherroan said he had a poor relationship with his stepdad, but professed to having a deep tie to the man, who had raised him from age 5.

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