NEWPORT - Police arrested two men and cited a third after breaking up a fight involving a crowd of about 100 people shortly before 8 p.m. Monday in the 400 block of West Sixth Street.

        Marco D. White, 20, and Garrett A. Williams, 23, both of Newport, were arrested and each charged with failure to disperse, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

        Police said they witnessed Mr. Williams take part in the fight and arrested him after he argued with officers, refused to leave and urged the crowd not to leave.

        Mr. White, who was part of the large crowd, was arrested after he pushed officers away from him while arguing with them.

        Both Mr. White and Mr. Williams were released from the Campbell County Detention Center in Newport on Tuesday.

        James M. Harvill, 19, of Newport was charged with disorderly conduct and released at the scene.
       

Family to compete in "Junkyard Wars'

        LYNN GROVE — Myles, Jay and Clint Todd haven't planned anything special to prepare for their television appearance on The Learning Channel's Junkyard Wars. After all, building things is what they do every day.

        On the show, two teams of three are given 10 hours to construct unusual machines out of junk, culled from a California junkyard. The machines can range from cannons to salvage rigs, and the teams don't know what they are building until the show is taped. Once built, the machines are tested, and the winning team advances to the next round.

        “There's really no preparation for it,” said Myles Todd, 54, owner of Special Collections, which builds trailers and car carriers. “During the selection, you have to give them all of your experiences. They pick the teams that they think will do the best. They know what we're going to build, and we don't.”

        Mr. Todd has 30 years of experience building trailers and car carriers. His sons, twins Jay and Clint, 26, will join him on the show. Clint is helping his father with the business, and Jay studies mechanical engineering at Murray State University.

        A crew from RDF Media, the company that tapes the show for TLC, spent Monday morning with the Todds. Myles Todd's constant questions aimed at a producer couldn't budge a hint as to what they were going to have to build.

        “I told (the producer) that if they get me there and want me to build a space rocket, I'm going to be at a loss,” he said.

        RDF Media will fly the Todds to Los Angeles to tape the segment May 5-11. If they win, they will return to Los Angeles the following week. The episodes will be shown this fall.

        Clint Todd submitted an application to the show last fall. Their application was one of three selected from 3,000.
       

16-year-old dies in fire at apartment

        LOUISVILLE — An apartment blaze claimed the life of a teen-ager Tuesday morning, then extinguished itself, according to fire officials.

        The Jefferson County Coroner's Office is investigating the death. The 16-year-old's identity has not been released.

        A Louisville Fire Department spokesman, Sgt. Ronel Brown, said the cause of the fire in downtown Louisville is not yet known.

        Sgt. Brown said pipes in a wall became so hot from the flames they burst — releasing water that put out the fire just before firefighters arrived at 6:06 a.m. The fire was reported three minutes earlier by the victim's mother, who was returning home from work when she smelled smoke.
       

Bobsled medalists in Pegasus Parade

        LOUISVILLE — Four members of the U.S. bobsled team that won a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics in Utah will be grand marshals of the 2002 Pegasus Parade on May 2, the Kentucky Derby Festival has announced.

        Two of the team members are Jeffersonville, Ind., native Doug Sharp, a University of Louisville assistant track coach, and Brian Shimer, a graduate of Morehead State University. The other two members are Mike Kohn and Dan Steele.

        The four were on the USA II team that finished third; the USA I team captured the silver medal. They were the first U.S. Olympic medals in the bobsled competition in 46 years.

        Festival officials said the bobsledders reflect the spirit of the 47th Pegasus Parade's theme: “The thrill of the game.”
       

Program to promote home ownership

        LEXINGTON — A $2 million pilot program will help 30 low- and moderate-income families with credit problems buy homes this year.

        Urban Community Out Reach, the effort announced Monday, brings together Fannie Mae, nonprofit groups, banks and the Lexington Urban County Government. The goal is helping people who, because of bad credit or a limited credit history, can't get affordable home loans.

        According to Brenda Ackinson, director of Fannie Mae's Kentucky office, many of those families are minorities. The program is targeted at those earning 80 percent of the area median income — $45,050 for a family of four.

        While 55 percent of all people in Lexington own their homes, only 40 percent of minorities are homeowners.

        “There is a group of people who are being left behind,” said Mayor Pam Miller.

        The $2 million covers the costs of mortgages and probably will help about 30 families in the next year, Ms. Ackinson said. The urban county government has kicked in $15,000 in federal money to cover down payments and closing costs. With this assistance, some families could purchase a home with as little as $500 of their own money.
       

Flooded schools say plan won't help

        LEXINGTON — An eastern Kentucky lawmaker thought she was giving flooded school districts a break with her proposal to ease a requirement that they make up missed school days.

        Rep. Barbara Colter's proposal excuses any missed days above five. As it turns out, most districts missed exactly that much time.

        Ms. Colter, R-Manchester, said she will try again when the General Assembly reconvenes Monday for the final day of the 2002 session.

        Harlan County Schools Superintendent Tim Saylor said he was disappointed that Ms. Colter's proposal didn't help his district.

        When floods swept through Harlan County last month, local school officials asked the state school board to excuse them from making up five missed days. The board turned them down.

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