Kentucky News Now

STATE SENATE LEADERSHIP

Ky. Senate Republicans nominate leaders

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Senate Republicans have nominated a Greensburg business owner to become the second-highest ranking official in the state Senate.

Republicans chose Sen. David Givens to replace retiring Sen. Katie Stine as Senate president pro tem during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday. It is the first leadership position for Givens, who lost to Sen. Damon Thayer as majority floor leader two years ago.

Republicans also ousted Sen. Brandon Smith as majority whip, replacing him with Sen. Jimmy Higdon of Lebanon. Higdon will resign as chairman of the Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection Committee.

Senate President Robert Stivers was nominated for another term. The Senate president and president pro tem must be voted on by the full Senate. But Republicans will control 26 of the 38 Senate seats, all but ensuring their nominee will win.

KENTUCKY GOVERNOR

Supreme Court justice mulling run for governor

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott is considering a run for governor in 2015.

Scott told the Lexington Herald-Leader he will make his decision by early January. If he does decide to run, Scott said he would immediately resign his seat on the state's highest court that he has held since 2004.

The deadline to file for governor is Jan. 27.

Two other Republicans have already declared their candidacy. Former Louisville Metro Councilman Hal Heiner announced his candidacy in March and has already aired TV commercials. Agriculture Commissioner James Comer declared his candidacy in September. Former U.S. Senate candidate Matt Bevin is another potential candidate.

Attorney General Jack Conway and former congressional candidate Geoff Young are both seeking the Democratic nomination.

HIGHWAY PROJECT

Shelby County highway project beginning next week

SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A new outlet shopping center and other development in central Kentucky will benefit from a highway widening project that starts next week.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says Kentucky 1848 will be widened from two lanes to five between Interstate 64 and U.S. 60 in Simpsonsville.

District 5 Highways Department Chief Engineer Mark Bullock says the additional lanes will benefit traffic flow, while providing a dedicated turning lane for left-turning vehicles will reduce congestion.

Trees and brush along the existing roadway will be cleared starting next week, and crews will build a new bridge over the Norfolk Southern railroad during the winter.

Traffic won't be affected during this phase, but some lane closures will be necessary once construction of the additional lanes begins next spring.

Completion is scheduled for June 2016.

DORM FIRE DEFENDANT

Man acquitted in dorm fire faces unrelated charges

PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) — A man who was acquitted in 2012 in a deadly dorm fire at Murray State University has been arrested in an unrelated case on charges including perjury.

The Paducah Sun reports Jerry Wayne Walker turned himself in Monday after a grand jury indicted him Friday. It wasn't clear if he has an attorney.

The charges stem from testimony he gave at a tribunal hearing to appeal his termination as assistant principal at Paducah Middle School. He was fired for turning in expense reports for a track meet in Louisville that school officials say he didn't attend.

Walker was acquitted of manslaughter and other charges related to the 1998 blaze, but later pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence charges related to letters written after the fire that attempted to place blame for it.

PARKS FOUNDATION

Parks foundation taking part in giving campaign

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky State Parks Foundation is taking part in a campaign to raise awareness during the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Parks Department says organizers plan to use social media to encourage people to give during the holidays, at the hashtag #GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Parks Commissioner Elaine Walker said in a news release the foundation is a good way for parks supporters to make an impact immediately.

The foundation is a nonprofit and supports state parks and various projects in the parks.

A recent project is the school field trip grant program to help students explore the outdoors by providing transportation and program support to schools.

GRAWEMEYER AWARDs

Grawemeyer Awards to be announced next week

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The five winners of the Grawemeyer Awards are being announced in Louisville next week.

The University of Louisville and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary will announce the recipients. They begin Monday with the music composition award, followed daily until Friday in the areas of ideas improving world order, psychology, education and religion.

The awards are $100,000 each.

Charles Grawemeyer created the prizes in 1984 to recognize outstanding ideas with the potential to make the world a better place. Grawemeyer, who died in 1993, was a U of L graduate and a philanthropist.

Winners of the 2015 Grawemeyers are scheduled to speak in April in Louisville.

BOURBON AUCTION

Auction fetches high price for new bourbon

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — One of Kentucky's newest whiskey makers is making a big splash with its first batch of bourbon.

An online auction for the first bottle of bourbon to be produced by Boundary Oak Distillery near Elizabethtown fetched $28,050, including an auction fee of $2,550. The distillery said Tuesday that all the money, including the auction fee, will go to a local charity.

It says the winning bidder is from Hardin County but asked to remain anonymous. Whoever it is will have to be patient.

Distillery owner and master distiller Brent Goodin says Boundary Oak plans to fill its first bourbon barrel in December, and the whiskey will age for two years before bottling.

His distillery ends a long bourbon-making dry spell in Hardin County, where Kentucky's signature whiskey hasn't been produced since the 1890s.

STATE FAIR

Committee to examine Kentucky State Fair

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The chairman of the Kentucky State Fair Board has named a committee to evaluate the event, which saw attendance drop by about 100,000 this year to the smallest crowd in 30 years.

The Courier-Journal said Chairman Mark Lynn named the committee and said he would head the panel.

The fair is held for 11 days every August and has been in existence for more than a century.

Fair board finance chief Anthony Leachman reported last week that the 2014 fair lost more than $200,000, bringing in $9.3 million with expenses of more than $9.5 million.

Fair board president and CEO Clifford "Rip" Rippetoe declined to say whether there are any major problems with the fair. He said the deep attendance drop this year was an "anomaly."

FATAL FIRE

Louisville man charged with murder in fire death

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A grand jury has indicted a Louisville man on charges of murder and arson in connection with a deadly house fire in Old Louisville.

The Jefferson County Circuit Court clerk's office said 53-year-old Ronald Kevin Mills was indicted Tuesday on charges of murder, first- and third-degree arson and first-degree wanton endangerment.

The name of the person who died in the fire Monday hasn't been released. Three others were injured in the blaze.

Online jail records indicate Mills was being held in lieu of $250,000 bond. There was no indication whether he is represented by a lawyer.