Kentukcy news Now – June 5th 2014

CHURCH ABUSE

Retired priest pleads guilty to sex abuse of minor

(Information in the following story is from: Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, http://www.messenger-inquirer.com )

OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — A former western Kentucky priest has pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual abuse in the 1970s.

The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reports the Rev. Louis Francis Piskula, who is now 74, entered into a plea agreement that dropped a first-degree sodomy charge brought in a 2012 indictment.

Piskula's lawyer, Steven Dowell of Owensboro, said his client "vehemently denied" the sodomy charge and dropping it made it possible for Piskula to accept the deal. It calls for a maximum five-year sentence, with sentencing set for Aug. 6.

The case involved a minor under the age of 12 while Piskula was serving at Blessed Mother Catholic Church in Owensboro.

Piskula was priest at several Catholic parishes in Owensboro, Murray, Paducah and Whitesville. He was ordained in 1975 and retired in 2002.

COMICS AUCTION

Ky. man's comic collection sells for $1.5 million

PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky man's comic book collection with first issues of Superman, Batman and the Flash fetched $1.5 million in an online auction this week.

John Wise had collected the valuable super hero comics over three decades.

A comic from 1940 with the first appearance of Flash claimed the top individual price of $182,000. First issues of Superman and Batman from the same era sold for $172,000 and $137,000 in the offerings that ended Tuesday. His issue of the first-ever comic from Marvel sold for $95,000.

Wise says the exploding popularity of super heroes in movies and TV made it a good time to sell. He plans to buy a house and send his grandchildren to college with the profits.

The comic books were sold on Comicconnect.com, an online auction house.

MARINE-CONVICTION OVERTURNED

Court overturns sexual assault case of Marine

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A military appeals court has overturned the conviction of an enlisted man on sexual assault charges, concluding that the Marine Corps commandant's push against sexual assault looked like unlawful command influence.

The U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals also set aside the 19-year sentence handed down to Staff Sgt. Stephen P. Howell. The ruling, issued May 22, comes as the military and Congress seek to crack down on sexual assaults in the armed services.

Howell's case stemmed from allegations of rape, forcible sodomy and adultery brought by a Lexington woman against Howell. A military judge in October 2012 sentenced Howell to time at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The court concluded that comments by the Marine commandant, Gen. James Amos, tainted the panel handling Howell's case.

COAL SCHOLARSHIP

New scholarship available in coal counties

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Residents of Kentucky's coal-producing counties have a few more days to apply for a new scholarship designed to help people living in those counties finish a bachelor's degree.

Maximum award amounts range from $2,300 to $6,800 per year.

The deadline to apply for the Kentucky Coal County College Completion Scholarship is June 15.

To qualify, a student must be a U.S. citizen and permanent resident of a Kentucky coal-producing county, have at least 60 hours toward a bachelor's degree, be enrolled at least half-time in a bachelor's degree program, be in good academic standing and have no past-due financial obligations to the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority.

For more information, visit http://www.kheaa.com, click on "Paying for College," then "KHEAA-Administered Programs," then "Kentucky Coal County College Completion Scholarship."

PAWN SHOP SHOOTINGS

Lawsuit filed over pawn shop shootings in Danville

(Information in the following story is from: The (Danville, Ky.) Advocate-Messenger, http://www.centralkynews.com/amnews )

DANVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A man accused of killing three people inside a central Kentucky pawn shop last year now faces a lawsuit filed by the mother of one of the victims.

The Advocate-Messenger in Danville said Barbara Lewis filed the lawsuit against 49-year-old Burnside pastor Kenneth Allen Keith on behalf of herself and her two grandchildren, who are 10 years and 20 months old.

Lewis' son, 35-year-old Michael Hockensmith, and his wife, 38-year-old Angela Hockensmith, of Stanford, and 60-year-old gold broker Daniel Smith of Richmond were killed in the shootings.

The lawsuit filed last week in Boyle County Circuit Court seeks $665,000 for Michael Hockensmith's lost wages and $7,341 for funeral expenses as well as unspecified punitive damages and damages for the two children.

KENTUCKY SENATE

Grimes criticizes Obama power plant plan in ad

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes has released a radio ad criticizing President Barack Obama for his "pie in the sky" power plant regulations that she says will hurt Kentucky.

The ad debuted Wednesday in coal regions in eastern and western Kentucky.

Grimes says in the ad that Obama's plan will lead to utility rate increases, shortages of power and the loss of more coal jobs.

She says it's clear Obama has "no idea" how his plan affects the state.

The ad is a response to Obama's plan to order big cuts in pollution discharged by power plants.

It represents Grimes' latest attempt to distance herself from Obama, who is unpopular in Kentucky.

She is challenging Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the fall election.

McConnell campaign spokeswoman Allison Moore says the ad is "transparently political."