Kentucky News Now

CHURCHILL DOWNS-CANCELLATION

Churchill Downs cancels 2nd straight day of racing

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Churchill Downs is cancelling live racing for a second straight day after the track remained frozen following an early blast of wintry weather.

It's the first time a frozen track has forced consecutive cancellations since Nov. 23-24, 1970. The 10 races set for Wednesday and Thursday have been wiped out after crews were unable to thaw out the one-mile dirt track. Training was scuttled, too.

Churchill president Kevin Flanery says strong winds Wednesday didn't help and the track cushion hasn't dried out evenly to provide a suitable racing surface for the horses. The track was hit with 3 inches of snow on Monday, keeping horses out of training.

TOBACCO-STATE PROPERTY

Kentucky state property goes tobacco-free

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky state property is going cold turkey on Great American Smokeout day, ending the use of all tobacco products and electronic cigarettes on executive branch state property Thursday.

Executive branch buildings were already smoke-free inside. Gov. Steve Beshear's executive order includes all tobacco products and executive branch state property.

The changes means sidewalks, parking lots and state-leased buildings are included in the bad. The Personnel Cabinet says tobacco users will have to leave the property to smoke or use other tobacco products.

Some facilities have been granted limited or partial exemptions.

BOURBON AUCTION

Bourbon producer hoping first bottle brings record

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky has its multimillion-dollar ham auction. Now the owner of a new central Kentucky bourbon producer is hoping the first bottle from his first batch will fetch a record price in an online auction that ends Thursday.

This year's Grand Champion Ham at the Kentucky State Fair brought a record $2 million split between two bidders.

Brent Goodin of Boundary Oak Distillery in Hardin County told The News-Enterprise (http://bit.ly/1yqkAsS) he is expecting more like $25,000 for Bottle No. 1 of Batch No. 1. With 24 hours to go before the auction ended, the high bid among 26 was $6,750 at http://hodgesauction.com.

Proceeds from the first bottle of bourbon legally produced in Hardin County since the 1890s will go to the charity of the buyer's choice.

MOTOR FUELS TAX

Ky. motor fuels tax rate to drop on New Year's Day

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky's tax on the sales of gasoline, diesel and ethanol fuels will drop by 4.3 cents per gallon on New Year's Day.

Transportation officials said Wednesday the lower tax rate would cost the state Road Fund about $129 million on an annualized basis. State Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock says a revenue loss of that magnitude is "crippling," meaning less money for road and bridge projects.

The Transportation Cabinet says a $129 million revenue loss amounts to about 6 percent of Kentucky's highway program.

The lower tax rate reflects a decline in the calculated average wholesale price of motor fuels. The motor fuels tax is paid by those using highways and bridges. Its components include a variable excise tax and a supplemental user fee of 5 cents per gallon for gas.

EBOLA-AIRMEN RETURN

National Guard members returning from Ebola duty

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Air National Guard says about 40 members have returned to Louisville from Africa where they were helping battle the spread of Ebola.

The 123rd Contingency Response Group established a cargo processing hub in Senegal during its deployment. The hub is designed to accept large quantities of cargo arriving on C-17 and C-5 aircraft, process the material and then ship it to affected areas.

The Air National Guard says the members were stationed in Senegal, hundreds of miles away from areas affected by Ebola outbreaks. They will not have to undergo a quarantine upon their return but are undergoing symptom monitoring as a precaution.

The arrival early Wednesday was the first of several scheduled to bring the unit home.

Members of the 123rd Contingency Response Group have been involved in previous humanitarian missions, including the Haiti earthquake in 2010.

SHERIFF-TAX BILLS

Jackson County sheriff agrees to collect tax bills

(Information in the following story is from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com )

McKEE, Ky. (AP) — An eastern Kentucky sheriff has agreed to collect county property taxes, signing a form that had delayed printing and mailing of this year's tax bills.

Jackson County Clerk Donald "Duck" Moore told the Lexington Herald-Leader that Sheriff Danny Peyman signed for receipt of the county property tax bills Wednesday.

The bills normally go out by early November in most counties, but Peyman hadn't signed the required form agreeing to collect the taxes.

Moore reported that Peyman said his phone was "red hot" when he came in Wednesday morning to sign the form.

Moore said the county will be able to send out the bills either Dec. 1 or 15, depending on when the contractor can print them.

Peyman was defeated in the May Republican primary and will leave office at the end of the year.

PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH

Community college system chooses Box as president

VERSAILLES, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Community and Technical College System board of regents has unanimously selected Jay K. Box as the system's next president.

Board Chairman P.G. Peeples Sr. said the board voted in special session Wednesday in favor of Box to succeed the retiring Michael B. McCall on Jan. 16.

Box has been chancellor of the system since 2009 and has more than 30 years of experience in community college leadership.

Box appeared at a forum Tuesday for faculty, staff and students in Versailles. A news release from KCTCS said he spoke about his vision for the system and answered questions.

The release said a survey that participants completed after the forum showed 85 percent said Box met or exceeded their expectations.