State election officials mail address verification cards

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky State Board of Elections has mailed address verification cards to about 600,000 registered voters.

The board sent the postcards to people who have not voted or made any changes to their voter registration information in the past four years.

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said voters who receive the card are still eligible to vote. Voters don’t have to do anything if the postcard contains their correct address. Anyone who gets a card with incorrect information should mark “return to sender” and put it back in the mail.

Grimes said the mailings are to satisfy federal requirements. She promised to fight any effort to suppress votes in Kentucky by unilateral purging of voter rolls.

Teen hurt when he falls 200 feet from cliff

JAMESTOWN, Ky. (AP) — Authorities say a teenager was hospitalized but alive after falling more than 200 feet (60 meters) from a cliff in south-central Kentucky.

News outlets report the 17-year-old boy was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. South Russell Fire Chief Roger Dale Coffee tells WKYT-TV the teenager was with his family Sunday when he fell from an overlook near the Wolf Creek Dam in Russell County.

Coffee says he fell from the Lake Cumberland overlook and had a broken leg and several cuts. He was close to the edge when he slipped and fell.

Authorities say two boaters helped bring rescue crews to where the teenager had fallen. Coffee says he was alert and talking to rescuers.

42 cadets graduate from Kentucky State Police Academy

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police have added to their ranks with the graduation of 42 new troopers from the state police academy.

KSP officials say their addition to the force brings the agency’s strength to a total of 874 troopers serving the state.

The new troopers are part of the agency’s 96th cadet class. They reported for training this past January in a class that consisted of 75 cadets. Thirty-three resigned during the program.

The training includes more than 1,000 hours of classroom and field study in such subjects as constitutional law, juvenile and traffic law, use of force, weapons training, first aid, high speed vehicle pursuit, criminal investigation and computer literacy.

Police arrest naked man who says he ‘may be Jesus’

JOHNSON FORK, Ky. (AP) — An Indiana man has been arrested in Kentucky after police found him naked in a stranger’s yard declaring he might be Jesus.

The Kentucky New Era reports a homeowner called police to report a naked man behind his house. The homeowner told police the naked man took some things from his car and poured gasoline from a jug in his yard and around his house.

Magoffin County Sheriff’s Deputies said they found the man lying in the grass near the home. They said he would not tell them his name, saying he “may be Jesus.” He was later identified as 31-year-old Austin Michael Johnson of Indiana.

Johnson now faces seven criminal charges and is being held at a local jail. No court date has been scheduled yet.

Worker electrocuted at construction site

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky coroner has identified a worker who was killed when his dump truck came into contact with high-voltage power lines at a construction site.

The Fayette County coroner’s office says in a news release 61-year-old William Everman was electrocuted Friday in Lexington.

WKYT-TV reports Everman was moving debris into a pit and had raised the dump truck’s bed, causing it to come into contact with power lines.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

School district official confirms probe of finances

FLEMINGSBURG, Ky. (AP) — An eastern Kentucky school superintendent has confirmed an investigation into the district’s use of public funds.

The Ledger Independent reports Fleming County Schools Superintendent Brian Creasman says the district has discovered irregularities that are “troubling, selfish and egregious.”

Creasman blamed the problems on a former district employee he says took advantage of his authority and opportunity. He said he wants the review to make sure the problem is not more widespread.

Creasman did not identify the former employee or what the discrepancies were.

Creasman said school officials have handed the investigation over to the Kentucky State Police. He said the district will make changes to make sure officials do not misuse public funds.

Ex-University of Louisville head wants lawsuit dismissed

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The former president of the University of Louisville wants the court to dismiss the school’s lawsuit against him that alleges he mishandled millions of dollars.

The Courier Journal reports James Ramsey filed a motion in court Wednesday seeking the dismissal of the school’s claims. His motion also says the school can provide more detailed allegations instead of dismissal.

An April lawsuit by the university and its foundation alleges Ramsey and several other people knowingly caused the foundation to spend endowment funds at an unsustainable rate. It also alleges the defendants diverted some of the funds toward ventures that had little chance of repayment.

Ramsey argues in his motion that the school’s case offers “stale” allegations and argues that this “far-too-late-in-the-day second-guessing of legitimate business judgments is woefully inadequate.”

Illinois-Kentucky ferry may sink under rising costs

CAVE-IN-ROCK, Ill. (AP) — An Ohio River ferry in southeastern Illinois is in danger of shutting down due to a lack of money.

The Cave-In-Rock Ferry transports people between Illinois and Kentucky. But the Southern Illinoisan reports t hat the free service is now in danger of drowning in rising costs.

Kentucky and Illinois typically split the cost of running the ferry. State Rep. Natalie Phelps Finnie says Illinois kicked in an extra $184,000 this year as part of the state’s budget. But at least $1 million more is needed to keep the service afloat because of changes in federal regulations.

Phelps Finnie says it’s now on Kentucky to start paying more of the costs. Without more money, the ferry could close down by July 1.

Vote possible on release of Louisville police program review

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An official says a vote could be taken this week on whether to release a federal investigation into a Kentucky city’s handling of a child sex abuse scandal within a police program.

Louisville Metro Council President David James tells The Courier Journal he’s trying to organize a special council meeting Wednesday to review the special investigation conducted by former U.S. attorney Kerry Harvey. The investigation focused on sexual abuse allegations in the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Youth Explorers program.

James says the council will determine whether to release a redacted copy of the investigation.

Sexual misconduct lawsuits have been filed by six former participants in the program for teens interested in law enforcement, and two former officers have been indicted.