THE JACKSON-BREATHITT COUNTY TIMES-VOICE

TIMES-VOICEThursday, January 26, 2012

Vol. 124, No. 4Email- [email protected]

News & Sports: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]

(606) 666-2451Telephone information

Published in Jackson, Breathitt County, KY

See ‘THEFT’ PG. A5

See ‘HAMILTON’ PG. A5

See ‘FISCAL’ PG. A5

See ‘WATER’ PG. A5

Check out The Times-Voice

Valentine’s Day Conteston page B8

The City of Jackson is currently reviewing all of its grant applications in an effort to ensure alignment with the most pressing needs of the community. Over the past two years, the City Council and the Mayor’s office have encouraged every department to pursue “each and every grant” possible to better serve the needs of the community.

James O. Hale, 29, and Stephanie D. Miller, 29, entered not guilty pleas to the charges of manufacturing methamphetamine and five counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree this past Monday along with Marlana R. Moffitt, 23, who was charged with five counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree. All three list Highway 1098 (Southfork Road) as their residence, which is where the methamphetamine was being manufactured according to the uniform citation. Kentucky State Police Trooper Glenn Combs in his uniform citation said he had received a complaint that subjects were cooking meth at the residence on Hwy 1098. “Breathitt County Sheriff’s Deputy Brant Noble and I arrived at the residence at 6

James O. Hale Marlana Moffitt Stephanie Miller

p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, and were admitted by James Hale. Inside we found Stephanie D. Miller and Marlana R. Moffitt along with five children ages two to eight years, Hale gave permission for us to look around the residence.” “As we were walking out the door, Deputy Noble heard someone say, ‘get the stuff.’ We walked back in to find Hale standing at the back door

in the hallway holding a small bucket with water bottles, one with a small hose sticking out of it, a bag with bottles in it and a small cardboard box. The bottles had a white residue in them. Around back I found a black trash can sitting next to the back door with steam coming from around the lid.” The methamphetamine clean-up crew found six generators, three one-

stop bottles, one pound of household lye, three empty Claritin-D packs and two battery hulls. The three were placed under arrest and lodged in the Three Forks Regional Jail with bail for Hale and Miller set at $20,000 full cash and $2,500 cash for Moffitt. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for the trio Monday, Jan. 30 before Circuit Court Judge Frank Fletcher.

Five children endangeredThree Arrested at Southfork

Third candidate files to run for circuit court clerk

Lucy Tharp

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERNFrom the Estate of Alfred Davis

The DAVIS name is NOT legally affiliated with any CANDIDATE in the upcoming election. Good luck to all candidates in the upcoming election from the whole FAMILY of Alfred DAVIS.

City Prioritizes Grant ApplicationsSewer Grant is the Top Priority

“It is essential that we go after every grant opportunity and try for every bit of assistance from anyone willing to help,” Mayor Rose Wolfe said on Monday. “We are working with every state and federal agency to help bring much needed dollars to the city to combat the issues we face. Since January of last year, the city has received more than $100,000 in state and federal

grants with numerous other applications outstanding.” “Each year the Council and the Mayor need to review all of those applications to ensure that the money we are seeking match the problems we are working to address,” Vice Mayor Stephen Bowling said. “This review is to make certain that the city can provide enough money that is needed to match the grants if they are awarded.” Based on this needs assessment, the City has reorganized two grant applications that are pending. In July 2011, the City Council and the Mayor’s Office approved a proposed partnership with AU Associates

Betty HardinTimes-Voice Reporter

After 38 years of service, Lowell Hamilton, cooperative extension agent for agriculture and natural resources, will be retiring next week.

“Jan. 2, 1974, is when I started working,” he said. “Over 38 years at one job and in one county, I thought it was time to retire. My last day is Jan. 31.”

Hamilton attended the University of Kentucky and majored in agriculture at the

Hamilton to retire from extension office

“Anything I’ve done, it’s not just been me. It’s the people

of Breathitt County that’s

worked together to do some of these things.”

-Lowell Hamilton

urging of a teacher. “It all started in high school,”

he said. “My agriculture teacher encouraged me to go to UK and

major in agriculture. Of course, I was really interested in agriculture. After I got to UK, worked on the farm, and studied agriculture, I was just really interested in working for UK.”

The Pike County native then started looking for available jobs.

“Back then you couldn’t

Lowell Hamilton flips through the “Farmer’s Tax Guide” in the bulletin room at the extension office. Hamilton will be retiring at the end of the month.

of Lexington to convert the Federal Courthouse Building on Broadway, which was most recently used by the Breathitt County Health Department, into much needed housing for the community. As a part of that agreement, the City committed $500,000 in states’ Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to the project. The City has re-prioritized that project now in favor of a $1,000,000 grant that would rehabilitate the city’s crumbling sewer system. “The major issue that we face today is the looming failure of our aging sewer

See ‘GRANT’ PG. A5

Betty HardinTimes-Voice reporter

A regular court meeting of the Breathitt County Fiscal Court was held Tuesday morning.

The discussion creating the most stir was last month’s vote to turn the county’s 911 service over to McIntosh Ambulance.

Mike Curry with the 911

Breathitt County Deputies Brant Noble and Marvin Reed were able to break up a active theft ring this week operating in the KY 205 and 1812 area of Breathitt County and recovered some of the items reported stolen. Deputy Noble told the Times-Voice that Deputy Reed and he were investigating a reported theft of a handgun, two lawnmowers and a weed eater from a residence on Mud Lick Church Road last week. That investigation led them to Waylon Fields, 22, who admitted he and Courtney Combs had stolen the items and took the officers to where he had put them. Fields who was taken into custody early Saturday morning and lodged in the Three Forks Regional Jail on a bail of $2,500 cash told officers that one mower had already been sold by Courtney Combs who remains at large. The arrest of Fields provided information the two officers had been seeking about the rash of break-ins in the area and while on patrol Sunday night around 10:30 p.m. the officers came across a pickup sitting along side the highway and they turned the cruiser around to see if the driver needed assistance. Finding it empty the

Theft ring broken up by BSCO

Fiscal Court meets in regular sessionAmbulance service major talking point

service said, “Last month it was voted to switch the 911 service over to McIntosh Ambulance on April 1. I’m here this morning to ask the court to reconsider their decision.”

Curry said Trans-Star, which is based in Prestonsburg, had made a lot of progress in the five and half years it’s been in Breathitt County.


On Wednesday, Jan. 18, the Breathitt County Water District Board met.

Updates from Estill McIntosh of the Water District included news on meters and hook up

Water disctrict board meetsNesbitt urges water board to action

fees.“AML meters have to be

accounted for,” he said. “We’ve used these on the Frozen property. I’ll have to get a count on them but I think there’s somewhere around 100. We need to make a deadline for all AML


Lucy Tharp filed to run for circuit court clerk office on Jan. 18, after deciding to seek a better life for her family and for Breathitt County. “I received a little boy into my home four and a half years ago,” she said. “He has changed everything about me. He is the force behind me. I’m not a politician. I’m just a regular person trying to make a better life and, in the process, be of service to the citizens of Breathitt

County.” After the two-year-old was removed from his home in Knott County, Tharp took the child in. “I’ve tried to adopt him but the family won’t let him go,” she said. “I would love to adopt him.” Tharp, who works as Judge Fletcher’s secretary, is no stranger to the circuit court clerk’s office. “I’ve worked in the law field for 25 years,” she said. “I got to utilize the circuit court clerk’s office and see it from outside. For the past five years, I worked with a judge so I’ve to see it from the inside.” As circuit court clerk, Tharp said she will always be respectful. “The circuit court clerk obviously needs to know the duties and responsibilities of the office,” she said. “I think that a good circuit clerk should be dependable, trustworthy, and honest. The one thing my parents have instilled in me is to treat people with respect. Whether it be attorneys or the people coming in to renew their driver’s license, I’m going to treat them with respect.”

The Voice of our Times 50 CentsThursday, January 26, 2012

Your newspaper of record for over 120 years

Lowell Hamilton, Extension Agent

TIMES-VOICETHE JACKSON-BREATHITT COUNTY

Retiring after 38 years of service

BHS Cheerleaders heading to State

METH LAB BUST

Documents

THE JACKSON-BREATHITT COUNTY TIMES-VOICE