Free Republic

CALHOUN, Ky. (AP) — Construction is underway on a new underground coal mine in western Kentucky that would employ about 280 miners. Paringa Resources says it is planning to begin mining coal at the McLean County site next year. The mine would sell coal that's used to generate electricity at power plants, a sector of coal that has been in steep decline in Kentucky and parts of Appalachia.....

White nationalists are planning a rally in Lexington to oppose the planned removal of two Confederate statues from the lawn of the former Fayette County Courthouse, and they’re considering a lawsuit aimed at blocking the move, a leader in the movement said Tuesday. Matthew Heimbach, chairman of the Traditionalist Worker Party, said his group and others allied under the umbrella of the Nationalist Front are discussing plans for the rally. Heimbach said people in the Lexington area asked his group get involved. The group has members in Kentucky and plans to try to recruit more, he said.

The mayor of Lexington, Kentucky, says after the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, he is taking the steps to remove two Confederate-era statues from the lawn of a former courthouse. Mayor Jim Gray tweeted Saturday he will ask the Lexington-Fayette County Urban County Council at its Tuesday work session to ask a state military commission for permission to take down the statues of John Hunt Morgan and John C. Breckinridge. Gray tweeted he intended to make the announcement next week, but the "tragic events in Charlottesville" had accelerated his announcement.

he Governor of Kentucky is lashing out at local news broadcasters after one flew a drone over his multi-million dollar mansion which critics say he purchased in a 'sweetheart' property deal. In March, Governor Matt Bevin purchased a 150-year-old restored mansion and 10 acres of land in Anchorage, Jefferson County for an estimated $1.6 million from Neil Ramsey, a friend and Bevin campaign donor, according to the Courier-Journal. Bevin decided to buy the home after determining that the 25-room, 18,428-square foot Governor's mansion in Frankfort was difficult to secure and not suitable for his large family. Bevin has a wife...

Last week Operation Save America (formerly known as Operation Rescue), conducted a seven-day rally, several hundred strong, in Louisville, Kentucky. The epicenter of the campaign was the last abortion mill in the state: EMW Women’s Surgical Center, a brown brick building on 2nd and West Market, guarding its 20 feet of sidewalk with nearly a dozen “No Trespassing” signs.Taped out in yellow and black around the EMW entrance, stood a federally-mandated temporary “buffer zone,” prohibiting OSA leaders from nearing the clinic entrance.In May, Rusty Lee Thomas, director of OSA, along with 10 determined associates, had chosen to sit down...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A Kentucky National Guard member says he was shocked by President Donald Trump's announcement that he will ban transgender people from serving in the military. Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to announce the ban because of "tremendous medical costs and disruption." Capt. Jacob Eleazer says he told a superior officer he was a transgender man in 2014. He says when he saw the president's statements he felt like he was "fired by Tweet."

Christian group trying to shut down Kentucky's last abortion A Christian fundamentalist group is trying to close down Kentucky's last abortion clinic. If successful, Kentucky will be the first state without an abortion provider, even though it's legal. Anna Werner reports.

<p>FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - A federal judge has ordered Kentucky taxpayers to pay more than $220,000 in attorneys' fees for a county clerk who refused to issue marriage license to same-sex couples.</p>

Eleven pro-life activists have been charged with violating the federal F.A.C.E. act following a peaceful rescue event outside a Kentucky abortion facility in May. The event, held outside the EMW women’s abortion facility in Louisville, was organized by Operation Save America (OSA). Rev. Rusty Thomas, national director of Operation Save America (OSA), said he decided to check his e-mail late Tuesday evening he discovered that he along with ten other pro-life activists had been formally charged under the federal F.A.C.E. act. F.A.C.E. is the “Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act,” a draconian piece of legislation signed into law by...

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/concrete-firm-to-expand-create-jobs/article_1a6c61f6-3d02-5fbb-96a9-ef13029e563a.html

A volunteer sheriff’s deputy who owns an ambulance company has settled a lawsuit that claimed he illegally pulled over a competitor's driver to intimidate them as they transported a patient. Darrell “Steve” McIntosh admitted no wrongdoing in making the June 2016 traffic stop in rural eastern Kentucky and did not help shoulder the cost of the $26,000 settlement. Ambulance driver and EMT Jason Crigger was instead paid by the Kentucky Association of Counties, which insures local governments, with some of the payout covering attorney fees. ... Breathitt County Sheriff Ray Clemons says McIntosh “does a good job” and “he don’t...

A TeleTech customer service call center in Paducah is hiring 600 local positions. Paducah Communications Acquisition Recruiter Mea Fitzpatrick says the jobs are hourly and full-time with benefits. TeleTech is looking for customer service representatives, team leads, trainers, recruiters, technical assistance, operations management and facilities staff. The company is holding hiring events Tuesday and Thursday at 2301 McCracken Blvd at the Paducah TeleTech building. Fitzpatrick says walk-in applicants are accepted throughout the week. The company is looking to hire applicants with at least 6 months customer service experience and strong communication and computer skills. Applicants must also have a high...

FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 30, 2017) – ShellTech LLC, a newly formed high-volume manufacturing subsidiary of Shell Shock Technologies LLC, plans to locate an ammunition shell casing factory in Pulaski County with a $3.2 million investment that will create 50 full-time jobs, Gov. Matt Bevin announced today. “Kentucky welcomes this investment by ShellTech, the newest member of our state’s booming engineering and manufacturing sector,” Gov. Bevin said. “Their decision to locate in the commonwealth and bring excellent jobs to our communities, reflects positively on our state. I am grateful for their site selection and look forward to their success in the...

To cleanse the palate, how did it take until 2017 for pro (or semi-pro) wrestling to come up with a sneering leftist as a heel? Half the fun of following the WWF in the 1980s was booing Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik. If last year’s election proved anything, it’s that condescending uncharismatic liberals are the villains everyone of this era loves to hate. Even so, I was going to slam this guy for not doing nearly enough to embrace the caricature — where’s the hipster beard? — until I read this and discovered … he really is a...

WILDER, Ky. (June 27, 2017) — Maxim Crane Works LP, the nation’s leading crane rental and lifting services provider, will build a $4.71 million office in Wilder, creating 100 full-time jobs. Maxim has operated a regional headquarters in Wilder since 1937. It is also where the company bases about 400 cranes for quick deployment to customers across the Eastern US. Maxim’s growth projections – including organic and acquisitions – prompted plans to consolidate its operations and regional leadership roles into Campbell County with the construction of a 17,000-square-foot office. The new building on its Wilder campus will house executive and...

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Diversified Consultants Inc. has promoted its chief operating officer into its top spot. DCI announced Monday that Gordon Beck III, a Louisville native, has been named CEO of the company, which specializes in debt collection and recovery for telecommunications companies. DCI recently opened a 40,000-square-foot Louisville call center in the Commerce Crossings business park off Preston Highway near the Gene Snyder Freeway, where it is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs. Beck was promoted to strengthen current relationships and grow the company, according to a news release. He replaces Charlotte Zehnder, who will remain a major shareholder...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - It's the only abortion clinic left in the state, and protests there are getting more aggressive. On Wednesday, Metro Council heard discussions about a "safety zone" outside the EMW Clinic in downtown Louisville. Supporters are fighting for a 20-foot buffer zone, something the ACLU recommends that would be 8-feet wide and stretch from the clinic's front door to the street. Anti-abortion emotions boiled over at Metro Hall at the end of a Council Public Safety Committee meeting. "Respect the unborn children," shouted local pastor Joseph Spurgeon. "Respect our free speech. We will not obey buffer zone...

At a press conference on Friday, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin (R) gave the media what they asked for and delivered a point by point rundown on why he, according to them, gives short shrift to news reporters. Bevin addressed several issues he says the media is deliberately falsely reporting or simply not doing “a little homework” on before running the stories simply because they don’t agree with him politically. He points specifically to the “breaking” story that Bevin hadn’t paid his taxes yet. {..snip..}

Elliott County in Eastern Kentucky, which has voted for a Democrat for president in every election for 144 years, overwhelmingly went for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, by a vote of 2,000 to 740. The county remains overwhelmingly Democratic in its registration, with 4,580 registered Democrats and 429 registered Republicans, according to the Lexington Herald Leader. This week, CNN visited Elliott County, which is among the poorest in the country with a staggering poverty rate of over 34% and which has one of the highest percentages of people in the nation who rely on federal benefit programs. CNN sat down...

A two-month investigation by a Nebraska prosecutor has identified seven people who threatened referee John Higgins after Kentucky’s 75-73 NCAA tournament loss to North Carolina last March. Those seven people could eventually face charges from the FBI or authorities in their jurisdictions, Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov told the Associated Press on Friday. “Based on the investigation’s findings, our office has determined that no local charges will be filed and that pursuit of any criminal charges would be best served by deferring to authorities in the appropriate jurisdictions,” Polikov said in a statement. Kentucky coach John Calipari incited a firestorm...