Florence man killed in motorcycle crash

FLORENCE — A 38-year-old Florence man died Wednesday when the motorcycle he was riding crashed on Hopeful Church Road.

Sonny R. Parrett of Sandstone Court was pronounced dead at the scene by the Boone County Coroner's Office. Florence police said he was wearing a helmet.

Mr. Parrett was driving his 1994 red Suzuki motorcycle at 8:31 p.m. Wednesday when he lost control and struck a guardrail on Hopeful Church Road between Rosetta Drive and Burgess Lane, according to Florence Police.

Hopeful Church Road was closed to traffic for 4 hours. Lt. Tim Chesser, spokesman for Florence Police, said the exact cause of the crash had not been determined.

Curfew in Cloverport under legal challenge

LOUISVILLE - The city of Cloverport in Breckinridge County is facing a federal lawsuit over its curfew that prohibits anyone, including adults, from being out in public after midnight on weeknights and 1 a.m. on weekends.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky filed suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Louisville on behalf of four Cloverport residents.

The ACLU says the 2-year-old ordinance violates constitutional rights to assemble and travel and places restrictions on people's liberties without due process.

According to the ordinance, it's illegal for anyone to be on the streets between midnight and 5 a.m. on weekdays and between 1 and 5 a.m. on weekends unless they are engaged in a lawful occupation, are traveling to or from their place of employment, or are en route to a specific legally permissible destination. No one has been arrested under the ordinance.

The lawsuit asks that the law be struck down and that the court order Cloverport to pay the ACLU's legal fees and any other damages the court sees fit.

Charles Mattingly III, Cloverport's lawyer, said Wednesday that he would fight the lawsuit because he believes the curfew is constitutional.

Cloverport passed its law after an outbreak of vandalism in which a park bench was destroyed and several windows along Main Street and at City Hall were broken.

“Any constitutional right is subject to reasonable restrictions,” Mr. Mattingly said.

David Friedman, general counsel for the ACLU of Kentucky, said some courts have struck down juvenile curfews, “but having a blanket rule that no one can be on streets late at night is tantamount to martial law.”

Two other Breckinridge County towns, Hardinsburg and Irvington, have similar curfews. Mr. Friedman said the ACLU filed suit against Cloverport because “that's where we had plaintiffs who wanted to file suit.”

Former poet laureate Joy Bale Boone dies

GLASGOW - Joy Bale Boone, a former Kentucky poet laureate and civic activist, died Tuesday after a lengthy illness. She was 89.

A literary enthusiast from childhood, Mrs. Boone founded and edited the Kentucky poetry magazine Approaches.

She also edited two anthologies of Kentucky poetry, served on the Board of Friends of Kentucky Libraries, where she was a driving force for the establishment of the bookmobile system, and the editorial board of the University Press of Kentucky.

Mrs. Boone was the first Kentucky poet laureate, from 1997 to 1999, after the General Assembly established criteria for the designation.

Adult education, GED classes popular

FRANKFORT - Kentucky enjoyed record years for GED graduates and adult education enrollment, state officials said.

In its fiscal year 2002, the state Cabinet for Workforce Development reported that 14,651 Kentuckians earned GEDs, compared with 13,939 last year. Enrollment in adult education programs was 86,413, up from 62,734 in 2001.

“The significance lies in the fact that for every person who becomes better educated, Kentucky has one more person better prepared to earn a living, to pursue postsecondary education, to be a role model and to contribute as a fully involved citizen,” Workforce Development Secretary Allen Rose said.

Because they met enrollment and performance goals, 71 counties are sharing nearly $800,000 in rewards funding, according to the cabinet.

Stretch of I-64 claims another life in W.Va.

BARBOURSVILLE, W.Va. - Another person has been killed in a wreck on an accident-prone 28-mile stretch of Interstate 64 between Milton and the Kentucky border.

The man's identity has not been released.

He was traveling eastbound Wednesday evening when he apparently lost control of his car about 3 miles east of Barboursville, State Police Trooper G.N. Losh said.

At least nine people have died in accidents on the section of highway since June 2001. A total 309 accidents were reported to the state Division of Highways from July 1, 2001, through June 30, 2002. There were 945 accidents reported between July 1998 through July 2001.

— Compiled from staff and wire reports

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