Model railroads on view at library

        COVINGTON — Members of Tristate N-TRAK will display their exhibit of model railroads at the Mary Ann Mongan Library this weekend.

        Trains will be displayed from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.The library is at Fifth Street and Scott Boulevard. Parking is free in the lot behind the library.

        For information or directions, call (859) 491-7610, or visit www.kenton.lib.ky.us.
       

Flu shots available at Park Hills VFW

        PARK HILLS — VFW Post 1484 and the Northern Kentucky Independent District Health Department are offering free flu shots for adults Wednesday. Times are 3:30-7 p.m. at the post, 945 Montague Road.

        Information: (859) 431-3345.
       

Wind brings down utility lines, poles

        LOUISVILLE — About 4,000 homes and businesses served by Louisville Gas & Electric Co. lost electricity Friday as high winds broke utility poles and downed 79 power lines in the 16-county LG&E coverage area.

        A spokesman said most of the outages were in the Louisville area and service was quickly restored to all but about 1,000 by early afternoon.

        Cliff Feltham of Kentucky Utilities said 2,000 or more customers lost service in a Lexington subdivision because of a broken power pole. All but a handful of customers had service restored by early afternoon.

        Mr. Feltham said there were also outages in the London area, Mount Vernon and the Maysville area. Most had service quickly restored, he said.

        The National Weather Service reported that wind gusted as high as 40 mph in Jackson and Lexington.
       

Lexington aims to cut wild parties

        LEXINGTON — Lexington officials passed a measure — with University of Kentucky students in mind — to cut down on wild partying.

        Some UK students opposed to the ordinance watched the 12-2 vote Thursday by the Urban County Council on the Lexington Area Party Plan, and then quietly left the meeting.

        “It's the classic battle of the adults versus the kids,” said freshman Shaun Laungani after the meeting. “They've got the money and they've got the voting power and we don't mean as much to them.”

        In November, students designed an alternative party plan that called for a “good neighbor campaign” and community-services hours, fines and a criminal misdemeanor charge.

        Students raised $15,000 for buses, signs and television ads to fight the ordinance.

        It will give Lexington police authority to issue fines of $50 to $500 to habitual partyers. At houses where police made arrests or issued citations twice within a year, the occupants could be fined, and the house labeled a nuisance for one year.

City fires official convicted of theft

        NICHOLASVILLE — The City Commission voted to fire Finance Director James “Rick” Hood, who is serving 60 days in jail after pleading guilty to three counts of felony theft unrelated to his city job.

        After two audits — one still incomplete — Mayor Sam Corman said there is no evidence Mr. Hood took money from city accounts.

        The commission, in firing Mr. Hood on Thursday, cited a job description that says the finance director “must be bondable.” As a felon, Mr. Hood cannot hold a bonded position, city officials said.

        Mr. Hood was sentenced to 60 days in jail followed by five years of probation after he pleaded guilty to stealing money from Kentucky Sports Medicine and Post Time Audiovisual, where he was the bookkeeper. Fayette Circuit Judge Lewis Paisley ordered Hood to pay $145,060 in restitution.

        Mr. Hood was put on paid leave from the city finance director's position after he was indicted in August.
       

Democrat files for McConnell's seat

        FRANKFORT — Lois Combs Weinberg on Friday became the second Democrat to file to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by three-term incumbent Republican Mitch McConnell.

        Ms. Weinberg has been campaigning for several months.

        Tom Barlow of Paducah, who served one term in Congress from the 1st District, has also filed for the office.
       

Hotel owner fears horse track casinos

        OWENSBORO — The owner of one of Kentucky's largest hotels said he would put it up for sale if the General Assembly lets casinos go in at the state's horse tracks.

        John Bays, owner of Owensboro's Executive Inn Rivermont, said that development would put his hotel out of business because tourists would bypass Owensboro for Henderson's Ellis Park.

        Mr. Bay told the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer that Ellis Park would certainly build a convention hotel if casino gambling was allowed there. He said that would hurt his Executive Inn in Evansville, too.

        Mr. Bays has been seeking a casino license for his 640-room hotel in Owensboro since he bought it in October 1999.

        “If people don't want gambling in Kentucky, that's fine,” he said. “But make sure it's stopped statewide. We can't just let horse tracks build casinos. Every decent-sized city in Kentucky has a horse track except Owensboro. We would be left out in the cold.”

        Lt. Gov. Steve Henry said this week that the state may need to allow gaming in Ohio River counties to combat tourism losses to riverboat casinos in Indiana and Illinois.

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