News briefs from around Kentucky at 4:58 a.m. EST
4 Ky. teens die after car crashes into coal truck PINEVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ Kentucky State Police say four teenagers died after the driver of the car they were in lost control and crashed into a coal truck.
State police said slick roads caused the driver to veer into the oncoming lane Saturday afternoon on U.S. 25 in Pineville. Police say drugs and alcohol were not involved, and all four teens were wearing seat belts.
Those killed were 15-year-old Daniel Campbell of Blackmont; Jessica and Wesley Ingram, 16-year-old twins from Pineville; and the driver, 18-year-old Jonathan Miracle.
Campbell and the Ingrams were students at Bell County High School, and Miracle graduated from the school last year, principal Jeffery Saylor told the Lexington Herald-Leader.
In January, two former students and two current students at the high school were killed when the driver hit a tree.
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Judge weighing location of double-murder trial FLEMINGSBURG, Ky. (AP) _ A judge is weighing whether to move the trial of an eastern Kentucky man charged with killing a man and his mother during a rampage in January.
Attorneys fof Roy I. Pollard have asked Fleming Circuit Judge Stockton B. Wood to move Pollard's trial because an unbiased jury cannot be found in Fleming County.
Pollard is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for allegedly shooting Jason Thompson and his aunt, Willa Thompson on Jan. 11, 2008, at their homes in the Muses Mill community. He has also been charged with unlawful imprisonment for allegedly kidnapping his ex-wife Bonnie Butler, as well as assault, and burglary in relation to the incident.
The Ledger-Independent in Maysville reported that Commonwealth's Attorney Kathryn B. Hendrickson has opposed the request to move the trial.
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Information from: The Ledger Independent, http://www.maysville-online.com
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Eastern Ky. town could lose dispatching service GRAYSON, Ky. (AP) _ An eastern Kentucky town could lose it's 911 dispatching service because it hasn't paid it's $9,900 bill to the county.
Carter County 911 Director Tommy Thompson sent a letter to Grayson Mayor George Steele last week warning him that dispatching servies will stop 12:01 a.m. Dec. 31 because the city is three months in arrears on its payments.
Carter County Treasurer Cindy Lowe told The Daily Independent in Ashland that Grayson hasn't paid its bill since September.
If the service is shut down, calls to the 911 center for Grayson police service still will be routed to the department.
Neither Steele nor police Chief Ed Ginter responded Friday to telephone messages from the paper seeking comment on the situation.
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Economy clouds Beshear's first year in office FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) _ Dogged by economic miseries that have wreaked havoc on the state budget, Gov. Steve Beshear has spent most of his first year in office looking for ways to cut government spending.
So far, the Democratic governor has whittled out $430 million. With no economic rebound in sight, he is being forced to find ways to cut an additional $450 million.
'We're working aggressively on that right now,' Beshear told The Associated Press in an interview last week. 'We haven't made any decisions on where to cut. Most families going through this right now don't have the luxury of improving their revenue situations. They've just got to tighten their belts. And I think they're looking at us to do the same thing.'
Beshear said he fears the $880 million in cuts may be just the beginning, based on gloomy preliminary financial projections for 2009.
'We've got bigger problems looming ahead, perhaps,' he said.
That's not what Beshear had envisioned when he rode along Capitol Avenue in his inaugural parade last December, cheering crowds lining the sidewalks, well-wishers waving to him as he passed by.
