LOUISVILLE — A Louisville minister is charged with distributing pornographic material showing a juvenile in a sex act, police said.

        The Rev. Greg Youngchild, 53, is charged with distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, said Jefferson County police Detective Mike Mulhall of the Crimes Against Children Unit.

        The Rev. Mr. Youngchild was arrested on the felony charge Wednesday and has been out on bond since Friday, Detective Mulhall said.

        He is accused of sending e-mail to an acquaintance who occasionally attended Metropolitan Community Church of Louisville, where the Rev. Mr. Youngchild has been assistant pastor, Detective Mulhall said.

        The recipient told the church's pastor, the Rev. Dee Dale, who informed police, Detective Mulhall said. “If it had not been for her call, we would have known nothing about it,” he said.
       

Ethics panel OKs promotion deals

               FRANKFORT — State government can team up with a private company for a promotion, provided it has an “overriding public benefit,” such as promoting economic development or tourism, the Executive Branch Ethics Commission says in an opinion.

        In addition, the “partnering” has to be open to any interested company, the opinion says.

        The commission issued the opinion after the state joined with the Kroger grocery chain in a tourism promotion that allows people to use a Kroger shopping card for discounts at state parks. Gov. Paul Patton announced the promotion at a Kroger store in Frankfort.

        The commission said a joint promotion is permissible as long as it primarily benefits the public, not the company.
       

"Belvedere' author Davenport dies

               LOUISVILLE — Gwen Leys Davenport, the author of several books — one of which, Belvedere, was the basis for the 1948 movie Sitting Pretty and the 1980s TV series Mr. Belvedere — died Saturday. She was 92.

        Ms. Davenport, who had congestive heart failure, died at Jefferson Place nursing home in eastern Jefferson County.

        Belvedere, published in 1947, describes a writer who takes a baby-sitting job to secretly study a family and write a novel about their lives and community. The film version had Clifton Webb in the lead role.

        Mr. Webb appeared in two more movies based on Ms. Davenport's character, Mr. Belvedere Goes to College in 1949 and Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell in 1951.

        The television series about the same character, starring Christopher Hewett, was shown on ABC from 1985 until 1990.

        Ms. Davenport's last novel, Time and Chance, was published in 1993.

        Ms. Davenport was born in Panama. She married Louisvillian John Davenport in 1937 and settled permanently in his hometown.

        She is survived by a daughter and two sons.
       

Comedienne Tomlin at Derby prelude

               LOUISVILLE — Actress/comedienne Lily Tomlin will be the guest speaker at the They're Off! Luncheon April 19 at the Galt House.

        The luncheon, which dates to 1957, traditionally marks the start of the Kentucky Derby Festival. It will begin at 11:30 a.m.

        Ms. Tomlin made her television debut on The Garry Moore Show in 1966. She became famous on Laugh-in starting in 1968, especially with her portrayals of Ernestine, the sassy telephone operator, and Edith Ann, a precocious 5 1/2-year-old.

        Her movies have included Nashville, The Incredible Shrinking Woman and, more recently, Disney's The Kid opposite Bruce Willis.

        Ms. Tomlin has also done comedy albums and appeared on Broadway. She has six Emmys, two Tonys, two Peabody Awards and a Grammy.

        Last year's speaker was actor James Earl Jones.
       

Ex-bank worker admits embezzlement

               OWENSBORO — A former bank employee from Muhlenberg County pleaded guilty to embezzlement, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Monday.

        Connie J. Talbott, 46, is to be sentenced June 28 by U.S. District Judge Joseph H. McKinley Jr. She faces up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine and five years' supervised release.

        Ms. Talbott admitted that between about Jan. 1, 1998, and last July 18, she embezzled about $70,320 from First State Bank, later known as Old National Bank, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
       

Body found after flood

               STANTON — Authorities have found the body of an eastern Kentucky man who drowned after the truck he was riding in was swept away in a flood on a small creek.

        William Larry Bellamy, 28, of Clay City, had been missing for more than a week. Mr. Bellamy was one of two Powell County men who drowned in rain-swollen Brush Creek on March 15, said Powell County Coroner Carl Wells.

        The body of Kendall Fallen, 36, was recovered previously.

        They were crossing a bridge off Kentucky 15 near Westbend when the truck toppled into the creek.

        “Normally, you could jump across the creek, but when it rains real hard it comes up quick,” Mr. Wells said.
       

Suffrage sites get new respect

               LOUISVILLE — There's no marker at the neon-red-striped Thornton gas station in downtown Louisville to indicate that the property was once the home of Virginia Robinson, a prominent figure in Kentucky's women's suffrage movement.

        “And we just thought it was a place to stop and buy cold sodas,” Mary Karen Powers said. “Just think of all the times you've gone there without knowing its historic significance.”

        Such sites go largely unnoticed in the city's landscape, but the Louisville & Jefferson County League of Women Voters hopes to make their presence more widely known.

        That effort started on Sunday, when about 60 people boarded Transit Authority of River City trolleys for an 11-stop tour of sites that played significant roles in women's campaign to gain the right to vote. The tour was the first for the league.

        Among the other sites were the Seelbach hotel, where the Kentucky Equal Rights Association held its conventions in 1911 and 1919, and the homes of women who were leaders in Kentucky's role in the movement.

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