Ky. to get more than $158M in military spending

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky is poised to receive more than $158 million for construction projects at its military bases.

The John S. McCain 2019 National Defense Authorization Act authorizes $716 billion in federal spending. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office said it contains money for several projects in Kentucky.

Kentucky-specific spending includes $32 million for a vehicle maintenance shop at Fort Campbell, $62.6 million for the Fort Campbell Middle School and $26 million for a digital air/ground integration range at Fort Knox. The bill also includes nearly $1 billion to destroy chemical agents and munitions, some of which will go to the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond.

The bill has passed the House and Senate and now heads to President Donald Trump for his signature.

Federal mine safety agency holding input meetings around US

BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) — The federal agency that oversees mining safety is holding public stakeholder meetings in six states, including West Virginia.

The Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration is seeking information on safety improvements with hauling vehicles and bulldozers at surface mines and belt conveyors at surface and underground mines.

The West Virginia meeting is Sept. 11 at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy in Beckley.

The other meetings in August and September will be held in Alabama, Texas, Nevada, New York and Arlington, Virginia. The agency says it is part of a larger initiative that MSHA is undertaking to reduce accidents involving powered haulage.

Those type of accidents accounted for half of the 28 mining fatalities in 2017.

Ambulance service officials plead guilty to fraud

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Three people at an eastern Kentucky ambulance service have pleaded guilty to health care fraud for submitting false bills for Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.

News outlets cited court records in reporting that Arrow-Med Ambulance owner Hershel Jay Arrowood; his wife, Lesa Arrowood, who handled billing; and manager Terry Herald entered guilty pleas Tuesday in federal court in Lexington.

An indictment says the group would lie about patients’ medical conditions so they could transport them to treatments and have Medicaid or Medicare pay for it. Medicaid and Medicare will pay for ambulance runs, but only if they are medically necessary.

They are set to be sentenced in October and face up to 10 years in prison. Court records say the company and the Arrowoods also are liable for repaying nearly $250,000.

Fort Campbell soldier dies in training accident

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Officials at Fort Campbell say a soldier has died in a training accident.

The Army base along the Tennessee-Kentucky border says in a news release the 101st Airborne Division was conducting routine training at the time of Wednesday’s accident.

The statement says the soldier was pronounced dead at a hospital on the base. The soldier’s name was not immediately released pending notification of relatives.

No one else was injured in the accident, which remains under investigation.

School system’s deadline to avoid takeover extended

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s largest school system says the state has extended its deadline to reach a settlement agreement to avoid a complete management takeover.

The Courier Journal reports Jefferson County Public Schools spokeswoman Allison Martin announced Wednesday that the original Aug. 1 deadline has been pushed to next week.

Interim Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis announced in April that the state would take over the system’s management, citing achievement gaps and abuse. He offered the system a settlement last month to avoid the takeover. System officials said the system’s board was unable vote on the settlement in time.

Lewis says Superintendent Marty Pollio told him the board may discuss the settlement next week. Any settlement agreement will be sent to the state Board of Education for approval.

Ky. soldier killed in Korean War identified

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky soldier who went missing in 1950 during the Korean War has been identified by his remains.

Pfc. Joe Stanton Elmore was 20 when he died on Dec. 2, 1950, in Changjim County, Hamgyeong Province, North Korea.

A release from Gov. Matt Bevin’s office says his remains will be returned to his family in Bowling Green.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, which keeps a record of missing American soldiers, announced Elmore’s identification on July 3. He was a member of the 7th Infantry Division and one of about 2,500 U.S. soldiers assigned to the 31st Regimental Combat Team, also known as Task Force MacLean and Task Force Faith.

This week, the U.S. received the remains of dozens of presumed U.S. war dead that were handed over by North Korea.

Kentucky State Fair to begin taking job applications

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky State Fair begins hiring next week for 750 temporary positions.

A statement from the fair says officials will begin accepting applications on Monday for several positions during the 11-day event in Louisville, including admissions, operations and maintenance, groundskeepers and housekeeping. The statement said there are indoor and outdoor jobs available, as well as day and night shifts. Pay starts at $9 per hour and applicants must be at least 18 years old.

Job seekers can apply online or at the Gate 4 employment office. The Kentucky State Fair is Aug. 16-26.

Chemical company to move corporate from Kentucky to Delaware

COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A specialty chemicals company and Kentucky mainstay has announced it will move its corporate headquarters to Delaware.

News outlets cite a Tuesday statement from Ashland Inc. saying the company will move its headquarters from Covington to Wilmington, Delaware, within the next 17 months.

The Lexington office employs 58, and will be shuttered. Some jobs will be relocated to Wilmington or Dublin, Ohio, while others will work remotely. The Covington office will be downsized from 48 to 15 employees, with some roles also relocated.

The company says it will retain workers in Kentucky. Its manufacturing plant in Marshall County employs 515 workers and will remain open.

Employees whose jobs are eliminated will be offered “enhanced severance benefits.”

Ashland was founded as an oil company in its namesake city in 1924.

UK welcoming first medical class at Bowling Green campus

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — The University of Kentucky College of Medicine is welcoming its first class to its new Bowling Green campus.

The school says in a statement that it will welcome 30 first-year medical students on Aug. 3 with a white coat ceremony at Western Kentucky University’s Van Meter Hall.

UK partnered with The Medical Center and WKU to expand its medical school to Warren County and surrounding communities in south-central and western Kentucky. The partnership aims to help alleviate the region’s physician shortage and allow Western’s faculty access to medical research opportunities.

Medical school students will attend classes in Bowling Green on the campus of The Medical Center. The medical degree will be conferred by UK, and a certain number of slots in the program will be available first to WKU students.