Safety bands offered for trick-or-treaters

BOONE COUNTY - Free reflective safety wristbands will be available for trick-or-treaters in Boone County at four locations. The wristbands are offered by Boone County Emergency Management.

The four locations are:

Boone County Sheriff's Office in the Boone County Administration Building, 2950 Washington Square, Burlington.

Florence Police Department in the Florence Government Center, 8100 Ewing Blvd., Florence.

Union City Building, 1843 Mount Zion Road, Union.

Walton City Hall, Main and Church streets, Walton.

For more information call Boone County Emergency Management at (859) 334-2279.

Bright Halloween bags available

COVINGTON - Covington Police has bright orange Halloween decorative bags available for trick-or-treaters at community centers in the city and the main police station at 1 Police Memorial Drive off of Madison Avenue.

Covington Police will also be handing out candy at the main police station to children on the evening of Halloween.

Crime dog McGruff to hand out candy

NEWPORT - McGruff the Crime Dog will be handing out candy at the Newport Police station in the city building at 998 Monmouth St. on the evening of Halloween.

McGruff will also be giving children safety tips in classrooms at A.D. Owens Elementary on Wednesday.

Suspect sought in robbery at grocery

COVINGTON - Police are looking for a man wanted in the armed robbery of a neighborhood grocery store on Monday.

A man walked into the Corner Market at 230 W. Sixth St. at 5:25 p.m. and demanded money.

Covington police said when the robber reached into the cash drawer, a clerk behind the counter slammed the drawer shut on the man's hand. The robber threatened the clerk with a gun and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

No one was injured in the robbery.

Police describe the suspect as a black man, 5-foot-6, 135 pounds with short hair. Police recovered a blue and white UK jacket on Greer Avenue that they say the robber was wearing during the robbery.

Police develop fraud program for seniors

COVINGTON - Kenton County Police in conjunction with Kenton County FOP Lodge 44 has developed a new program designed to educate and protect seniors from fraud.

The focus of the program is senior safety. Officers Larry Shelton and Garry Kiser will discuss telemarketing fraud, handyman fraud, general safety concerns, mail fraud, investment fraud and will provide tips on assisting local police.

The free program will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Independence Senior Citizens Community Center at 2001 Jack Woods Drive. For more information, call Capt. Darren Smith at (859) 356-3895 or Officer Shelton at (859) 356-3191.

Football game has police vs. firefighters

Police in Dayton, Ky., will host the first police versus firefighters football game at 6 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Dayton High School football stadium.

Thirty-eight police officers from various agencies will compete against 40 firefighters from Campbell County. There will be an opportunity for an adult and a child to win an official autographed jersey, a raffle for a autographed football and a performance by the Ben-Gals cheerleaders in addition to demonstrations from a SWAT team and police dogs.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students. Children under 7 are admitted for free.

The main focus of the game is to raise money for the anti-drug program DARE at Lincoln Elementary School in Dayton. Additional proceeds will be for development of the Dayton Police Regional K-9 obstacle course.

Firefighters will donate their proceeds from the game to 2-year-old Natalie Cross, daughter of Capt. Elliot Cross of the Florence EMS squad. Natalie is severely handicapped from a brain injury and needs money for hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy. The treatment has helped speed the healing in other children with similar injuries.

For more information, call Dayton Police at (859) 261-1471

Construction starts on veterans cemetery

HOPKINSVILLE - Construction has started on a veterans cemetery that is the first of four planned in the state.

"The first 44 acres will be ready to start interment in late 2003," said Marty Pinkston, spokesman for the Department of Veterans Affairs. "They're not going to develop all 73 acres right at the beginning. As the first area fills up, then they'll develop the rest."

A local Veterans of Foreign Wars post gave $180,000 to buy the acreage for the cemetery.

Specific plots may not be reserved in the cemetery, which will be open to eligible veterans, Pinkston said.

However, veterans and their spouses may have their eligibility for interment determined in advance, according to Tim Meives, cemetery manager.

Mr. Meives is now taking pre-applications from veterans who would like to verify their eligibility for burial in the cemetery.

"That way, at the time of need, their families don't have to go through that," he explained.

Hopkinsville is about 13 miles north of Fort Campbell, home to the 101st Airborne Division.

Sheriff's candidate denies stabbing man

CORBIN, Ky. - A candidate in the Whitley County sheriff's race pleaded innocent to charges that he stabbed a man during an altercation last week.

Benny Joe Leach, 60, of Williamsburg, was arrested Friday on attempted murder charges.

Glennis Anderson Jr., 31, was stabbed once in the stomach with a knife at Mr. Leach's home, police said. Mr. Anderson was admitted to Jellico Community Hospital in Jellico, Tenn., and later released.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Monday for Mr. Leach, held in the Whitley County Jail.

Mr. Leach filed as an independent in August, running against Democratic nominee Onnie Meadors and Republican candidate Lawrence Hodge, who defeated Sheriff Ancil Carter in the May primary.

Knox jail needs more work, inspectors say

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Inspectors from the Kentucky Department of Corrections reported improvements in the Knox County jail, but not enough to allow it to reopen yet.

Lisa Carnahan, spokeswoman for the state agency, said Tuesday that jail officials have installed a new electrical generator and a smoke-evacuation system, which could allow the lockup to reopen in the next few weeks.

The state had ordered the jail to close this month because it had neither a backup generator nor an adequate system for controlling smoke.