U of L director won't share arena

        LOUISVILLE — University of Louisville athletics director Tom Jurich said a proposal from Louisville Mayor Dave Armstrong for U of L to share a downtown arena with a National Basketball Association team is unacceptable and far from what he expected.

        “Obviously we have a long way to go,” Mr. Jurich said Friday night. “We have been very clear in our position.”

        The proposal was outlined in a Dec. 28 letter from Mr. Armstrong and obtained by the Courier-Journal.

        “It wasn't near anything what we had talked about,” he said.

        Among other things, U of L had asked the city to issue $30 million in bonds on top of the $259 million arena project. Those bonds would be used for a variety of university improvements, including completing construction of Cardinal Park sports complex.

        Mr. Armstrong didn't specifically address those requests in his letter, saying such details were open to discussion.
       

Drug tester who took bribes is sentenced

        LOUISVILLE — A Louisville man convicted of taking bribes in exchange for falsely reporting the results of court-ordered drug tests will have to spend six months on home incarceration and pay a $3,000 fine.

        Rodney K. Sanford, 49, also received two years' probation.

        Mr. Sanford, the former president of Adapt Inc., entered a plea agreement in September to federal charges of wire fraud and using an interstate facility to promote bribery. He maintained his innocence but conceded that the evidence against him would result in a conviction during a trial, his attorney, Frank Mascagni, said.

        “He accepted the consequences for his actions,” Mr. Mascagni said.

        Adapt, a drug-testing company, provided services for defendants in Jefferson circuit and district courts as a condition of their pre-trial release or probation.

        Mr. Sanford was accused of soliciting and receiving bribes from defendants in 1996, in exchange for falsely reporting that the tests had found no indication of illicit drug use, or for not reporting tests that found the defendant had been using illicit drugs.
       

Police use of force in shooting critiqued

        LOUISVILLE — A Louisville police detective who fatally shot an 18-year-old after the teen backed a van into another officer fired an unnecessary number of shots, according to an internal affairs investigation.

        However, Detective Johann Steimle's use of lethal force against Clifford Lewis last Jan. 9 was justified, according to a letter from Chief Greg Smith to Detective Steimle.

        He fired after the van hit his colleague, breaking his foot and crushing his leg. Detective Steimle fired again when Mr. Lewis reached into his waistband after he was ordered to show his hands, police said.

        In all, Detective Steimle fired 13 shots. He was the only officer to use his gun.

        A grand jury declined to indict him in May.

        Chief Smith's letter, dated Wednesday and released on Friday in response to an open-records request by the Courier-Journal, summarized the internal affairs investigation. It said Detective Steimle received a counseling session and a warning from Chief Smith.

        Chief Smith declined to comment. Detective Steimle could not be reached.

        Detective Steimle, 30, a seven-year veteran of the force, returned to his job in May, after the grand jury's decision. He had been suspended with pay since the shooting.
       

Fatal house fire cause being probed

        EDDYVILLE — A house fire in which an 80-year-old Lyon County man was found dead Friday afternoon remains under investigation, but foul play is not suspected, according to state police.

        James F. Quertermous, 80, was pronounced dead at his home by the Lyon County coroner. An autopsy was scheduled for Saturday.

        The cause of the fire was undetermined Saturday afternoon.

        Fire Chief Dan Dalbey said the fire started in the living room of the brick home and was under control in 30-45 minutes.
       

Boy, 8, on ATV dies in accident

        SOMERSET — An 8-year-old boy died after the all-terrain vehicle he was driving struck an embankment and overturned, according to the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department.

        Cody Nix of Somerset was pronounced dead at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital Friday evening, police said.
       

Man crossing road is struck, killed

        LONDON — An East Bernstadt man died Friday morning when a vehicle struck him on U.S. 25, police said.

        Thomas Browning, 82, was struck by a Chevrolet Suburban about one mile north of London when he attempted to walk across the highway, said Sgt. Brad Mitchell of the Laurel County Sheriff's Department.

        Mr. Browning was a passenger in a tractor-trailer parked on the highway's shoulder, Sgt. Mitchell said. The driver of the tractor-trailer, Alford Combs, also of East Bernstadt, had earlier walked across the highway to a restaurant. Sgt. Mitchell said no criminal charges are likely to be filed against the driver of the Suburban.
       

Woman not fit for trial in threat case

        LEXINGTON — A woman accused of threatening to blow up the Internal Revenue Service and assaulting three of the agency's law enforcement agents is not competent to stand trial, a judge decided on Friday.

        Mildred Prather, 46, allegedly called the IRS's toll-free number on Sept. 21 to inform an agent that she would launch an assault that would make Timothy McVeigh's attack on the federal building in Oklahoma City look like child's play, according to court records.

        When the IRS dispatched three enforcement officers in October to arrest Ms. Prather for the threat, the lawmen said she attacked them, biting at least one.

        After she was indicted, Ms. Prather was sent to New York City for a 45-day psychiatric evaluation.

        Chief U.S. District Judge Karl Forester read part of that report during a hearing on Friday before committing her for further evaluation.

        The report described Ms. Prather as severely mentally disturbed for 28 years and said she refuses to take the psychotropic drugs she needs.
       

Breeders watch Keeneland sale

        LEXINGTON — Keeneland's four-day January Horses of All Ages sale, which begins Monday, will test the strength of the middle and lower market for thoroughbreds and give Kentucky breeders some hints of the year ahead.

        The first of six annual Keeneland auctions gives breeders a chance to pick up a promising young broodmare or find a bargain among the racing prospects.

        Last year, 1,207 horses sold for $39.7 million, for an average of $32,856. That compares with an average of $71,655 in the most recent November breeding stock sale.

        Keeneland's sales director, Geoffrey Russell, said he expects a solid sale, despite the beating the thoroughbred market took last year from mare reproductive loss syndrome — which killed newborn foals and caused many mares to abort.

        A total of 1,391 horses and one stallion share — a multi-year breeding right — are being offered at the sale.
       

Husband pleads to cutting off wife's hair

       MUNCIE, Ind. — A man who admitted tying up his estranged wife and then cutting off most of her hair could face up to three years in prison.

        Brian Jeffery Newton Bell, 31, of Muncie pleaded guilty Thursday to criminal recklessness, a class D felony. He will be sentenced Feb. 21 by a Delaware Circuit Court judge.

        Mr. Bell tied his wife to their bed on Aug. 14, then cut off most of her hair with scissors.

        During questioning by defense attorney John Quirk, the victim, who has reconciled with Mr. Bell, said she wanted all charges in the case dropped.

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