UK, Shriners Hospitals Negotiating New Facility

{Lexington, Kentucky}...The University of Kentucky is in final negotiations with Shriners Hospitals for Children to build a facility for the charitable organization on South Limestone across the street from UK's new patient bed tower.  C.J. Parrish, spokeswoman for Masonic Homes of Kentucky, confirmed Tuesday that the organization has had informal discussions with Shriners officials about buying the 29-acre property for a seniors community. Michael Karpf, UK's executive vice president for health affairs, says the UK Board of Trustees would have to approve the development plan at its meeting next week. At that point, Shriners and UK could enter into an agreement for a long-term ground lease to make way for a roughly $50 million, 100,000-square-foot building on the block between Conn Terrace and State Street. Shriners would pay for the construction, and UK would lease back 50,000 square feet for an ophthalmology clinic. UK already owns 10 of the 14 buildings on the block. The university is in negotiations to acquire the other four. Shriners Hospitals for Children in Lexington, one of 22 Shriners hospitals around the country, was founded in 1926 at Good Samaritan as a hospital for children with polio. Today, the Richmond Road facility focuses on pediatric orthopedics, with two surgical suites and 50 hospital beds.

Lawmaker Pushing "Robotripping Bill"

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Representative Fitz Steele, D: Hazard, is pushing his "Robotripping Bill" which would limit the sale of medicine containing dextromethorphan as the lone active ingredient to adults only. Steele says robotripping is what teens call the act of guzzling down cough syrup and getting high on its main ingredient, dextromethorphan. Representative Steele hopes to pass his bill at the next legislative session in January.

Woman Sentenced For Embezzlement

{Louisville, Kentucky}...Fifty-four year old Mary "Kathy" Montfort, a former bookkeeper for the Little Sisters of the Poor, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay $364,000 in restitution for embezzling money from the charity and using it to buy herself a new car, among other items. Montfort pleaded guilty in April to pilfering the money by forging the names of nuns in writing 43 checks on the organization's account between April 2010 and November 2011. She had faced 16 charges, including forging checks and money laundering. The charges arose in November when a nun with Little Sisters of the Poor, who operate St. Joseph's Home for the Aged in Louisville, called police to report suspicions that Montfort was embezzling from the organization.

State Attempting To Condemn Land

{Louisville, Kentucky}...The owners of an eastern Louisville tract of land that's in the path of a planned Ohio River bridge say they are moving ahead with plans to develop a subdivision with two marinas, but the state is moving to condemn 11.28 acres of the site to make way for the bridge. Attorney Bill Bardenwerper says, even if the Riverside Village subdivision is never built, getting a plan approved could enhance the land's value. The land is owned by the Harrods Creek Land Management Association, headed by retired Glenmore Distillery chairman James "Buddy" Thompson. Kentucky Bridges Project Manager Gary Valentine says the state has purchased 93 of the 106 properties it intends to buy on the Kentucky side of the river. Of the remaining 13, the state is still in negotiations with one, and the Riverside Village site is among a dozen that have been turned over for condemnation action.

McConnell...President Obama Governing From Left

{Somerset, Kentucky}...While speaking to the Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce in Somerset Tuesday, U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell accused President Obama of governing from the left on a number of issues, including healthcare, even after the American people voted in a Republican majority in the House of Representatives in 2010. McConnell said the president's economic policies have prevented the country from bouncing back after the recession. McConnell said the only way for the nation to recover is through the private sector and through a change in leadership.

State Furlough Day

A second state imposed furlough day set for Tuesday, September 4th, extends the Labor Day weekend for hundreds of Kentucky court employees. The Judicial Branch says the closures will help it make up for $25 million in budget cuts.  Another furlough day is scheduled for October 15th. 

Elderly Man Kills Intruder

{Vernoa, Kentucky}...The Boone County Sheriff's Office says 92 year old Earl Jones of Vernoa told investigators he heard a noise in the basement of his home at 2:10 A.M. Monday and picked up a .22 caliber rifle. An intruder walked up the stairs to the first floor, where Jones shot him then called his neighbor, who called 911. When deputies arrived, they found the outside basement door opened with no one but Jones in the house. Later, Kenton County Police responded to a call on Courtney Road of a man who had been shot. At that scene, police found 24 year old  Lloyd Adam Maxwell of Richmond deceased, along two other men, in a 2001 Chevrolet Impala. Ryan Dalton, 22, and Donnie Inabnit, 20, both of Dry Ridge, are charged with second-degree burglary complicity and tampering with physical evidence. Police say Dalton and Inabnit admitted their involvement in the burglary at Jones’ Violet Road home.