8.24.25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now we return to the reading of the Hazard Herald,
the News of Hazard in Perry County, Henley Townshend. We
begin with the online edition dated August twenty, twenty twenty five.
As a reminder, radioized a reading service intended for people
who are blind or have other disabilities and make it
difficult to read printed material. Catron named new commander at

(00:24):
KSP Post thirteen by Justin Begley. Kentucky State Police Post
thirteen has a new leader at the helm as Captain
Ryan Katrin takes command following the transfer of former Commander
Jennifer Sandlin to Post fifteen in Columbia. And a statement,
CHSP Public Affairs Officer Trooper Mount DeHart said Catron's appointment

(00:47):
and brings both experience and deep ties to the region.
Kentucky State Police Posts thirteen in Harland proudly announces the
appointment of Captain Ryan Catrine is the new post commander.
Game Heart said, a dedicated law enforcement professional with over
two decades of service, Captain Catrine brings a wealth of experience, leadership,

(01:09):
and community connection to his new role. Upon graduation, he
was assigned to Post eight in Moorhead, where he served
as a trooper, said Gayheart. In two thousand and five,
he transferred to Post thirteen in Hazard, beginning what would
become along and impactful relationship with the region. According to Gayheart,
Capturin advanced through several leadership roles across the state throughout

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his career. He was promoted to sergeant in two thousand
and nine and assigned to the Post ten in Harlan,
where he served as a detective sergeant. Gayheart said. In
twenty eleven, he returned to Post thirteen as a squad
sergeant before his promotion to lieutenant in twenty twelve, which

(01:53):
saw him reassign to Post ten as an investigative lieutenant.
Two years later, he again returned to Post thirteen in
the same capacity, Kayheart said, as leadership trajectory continued in
twenty seventeen when he was promoted to captain. In August
twenty seventeen, Cattrim was promoted to captain and returned to

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Post ten in Harlan, where he served until twenty twenty two.
Then he transferred to Post eleven in London, where he
served as captain until August of twenty twenty five. During
his time at Post eleven, Captain catrimarc over twenty years
of service with the Kentucky State Police. Beyond post assignments,

(02:35):
Kayheart said broadened his experience and expertise by serving in
the KSP Inspections and Evaluations Branch. Captain Cattrim's deeprooted ties
to Eastern Kentucky and his extensive career across multiple KSP
posts including Hazard, Harlan and London uniquely positioned him to

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lead Post thirteen with both insight and dedicateation. Catherine said
He's eager to return and honored to return to Post
thirteen and the community that I'm from. He said, this
area and its people need a great deal to me,
and I look forward to continuing our mission of public
safety and community partnership. Family members gathered at Cincinnati Northern

(03:20):
Kentucky International Airport on Tuesday, August twelfth to receive the
remains of U. S. Army Private First Class Roger Ingall Fields,
who was killed in the Korean War in nineteen fifty.
On August fourteenth, relatives and community members lining the Mountain
Parkway to honor Fields during a funeral possession to Hayden,

(03:41):
where he was laid to rest with full military honors
at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Southeast suspect cruiser theft has
history of fleeing drug charges. Court records show the Perry
County man arrested after allegedly stealing a Perry County Sheriff's
office cruiser had a history of both fleeing police and

(04:03):
facing allegations of drug trafficking. Perry County Sheriff Joe Ingall's
office reported that deputies were attempting to arrest Christopher James Cones,
thirty of left Fork of Macey's Creek Road viper of
August thirteenth, in relation to Eleccher County indictment war. During
the investigation, the statement said, deputies recovered forty grams of

(04:27):
meth amphetamine and several thousand dollars in cash plan custody.
The statement said Cones, who was handcuffed behind his back,
was able to escape the handcuffs and steal the cruiser
a dodge charger. Initially, the office reported Combes with being
considered armed and dangerous. According to a citation written by

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Kentucky State Police Trooper Brandon Watts, on August fourteenth, while
patrolling the Buck Creek area of Letcher County, where Combs's
girlfriend lives. He identified Cones, clad in a brown hoodie walking.
Watch vote that when he stopped his cruiser, Combs fled
on foot. The citation said Watch chase Combs through a

(05:08):
field and into a wooded area. During the chase, I
attempted to discharge my taser two times, but was unsuccessful.
Watch wrote, the foot purceiit further and we both went
to the ground. Watch vrote that he deployed his baton,
struck Combes's leg and attempted to strike him in the
left shoulder, at which time the baton contacted Combes's head,

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resulting in a laceration. Combs was transported to Whitesburg, a
rh where he was treated for his injury, then was
lodged in Electric County jail. He was charged with first
degree fleeting or evading police on foot, resisting arrest, menacing,
and public intoxication. In addition, Combs was charged with first

(05:52):
degree fleeting or evading police, third degree escape, and giving
an officer false information related to the August fifteenth incident.
Colmes was also served with the Electric County Indictment warrant,
which charges him with various crimes, including first degree traffic
in a control of substance, first defense being a persistent

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viliny offender in the second degree, and first degree fleeing
or evading police motor vehicle and on foot and first
degree want an endangerment. The suspect has a criminal history.
Colmbs has a history of criminal charges dating back beyond
twenty twenty. However, his first felony case, according to Kentucky

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court records, came in twenty twenty. Record Show he pleaded
guilty to charges including first degree fleeing or evading police
and first degree wanton endangerment, and was sentenced in March
twenty twenty one to serve a total of three years
in prison, probated for three years. Less than ten years later,
in July twenty twenty three, Record Show Combes was arrested

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again and a month later pleaded guilty to charges including
second degree fleeting or evading resisting arrest, for which he
was sentenced by Peririd District Judge Cody Geran to serve
a suspended sentence of two years to be probated for
two years. In December, Record Show Combs was arrested on
several charges, including first degree trafficking and a controlled substance

(07:22):
and firearms charges. However, records show not Circuit Court Judge
Dennis B. Prater dismissed the charges in February for a
failure to indict. The Hazard City Commission approved the hiring
of a new officer to the Hazard Police Department Monday,
August eighteenth, at the recommendation of Chief SYC. Miller. Miller

(07:45):
said after an extensive background check in multiple interviews, he
recommended Brian Logan Spencer for the position of recruit patrolmen
on conditional basis, subject to the completion of all Kentucky
mandatory law enforcement requirements, including any requirements in the Department
of Criminal Justice Training. City approved multiple promotions at HFD.

(08:11):
The Hazard Fire Department had multiple promotions approved by the
City Commission Monday August nineteenth, after the retirement of Alvin Caudle, Junior,
who had been with the department since nineteen eighty two.
Promotions started with Freddy Guffey from captain to the Assistant Chief,
Brandon Smith from lieutenant to captain, Anthony Turner from lieutenant

(08:34):
to captain, Jared Smith from Firefighter three to lieutenant, Josh
Smith from Firefighter two to Lieutenant Braydon Ritchie from Firefighter
two to Firefighter three, John Deaton from Firefighter two to
Firefighter three, and Cameron Caudle from Firefighter one to Firefighter two.

(08:56):
Mayor Donald Happy Mobuleini congratulated all of the freshly promoted
firefighters and especially thanked the album called the Junior and
Freddie Guffey for their service to the department. Guffey started
as a volunteer in nineteen eighty five and has been
a full time with the department since two thousand. Album
started as a volunteer in nineteen eighty two. They went

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full time in nineteen ninety seven. Man sentenced to seven
years in ARH sexual assault case a not counting Man Vincent's.
The seven years in prison related to an alleged sexual
assault that a law enforcement set occurred at the Hazard
ARH Psychiatric Center. According to court documents, on August twelfth,

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Perry Circuit Judge Allison C. Wells sentenced Doyle Sandifer, thirty seven,
of amberg Y Road, Huntman to in relation to a
guilty police sand Or entered to an amended charge of
complicity to second degree assault. Records show two charges of
second degree rate no force and the charge of second

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degree sodomy were dismissed as they do not apply to
stand effort. Charges of complicity to second degree rate and
complicity to the second degree a sodomy were dismissed in
the case. Also, the sentence was in line with the
recommendation by the office of the Perry County Commonwealth's Attorney,
John Hanson. Two others were charged in the case, Quothus Owens,

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twenty six of Open Fort Pitewell and Marlin Evans, twenty
eight of Martin County. Owens is set to stand trial
on the case in October sixth, while charges against Evans
were dismissed following his death in January at the Kentucky
River Regional Jail. Record show the three were originally charged

(10:47):
with committing sexual likes against the female patient at the
psychiatric center, who did not have the power of attorney
over herself and was incapable of giving consent while they
too were patients. Hazard Police officer Parker Higknite told the
Hazard Herald after the three were originally charged that the
department launched the investigation after being contacted by officials at arh.

(11:13):
Arh called us that evening and said there had been
a sexual assault that took place at the hospital, and
they cooperated with us as they would without violating any
hippo regulations. Through the investigation, they were able to assist
and provide information I needed on everyone involved, along with
the camera footage they were able to hand over after

(11:35):
being delivered a subpoena. Higknite said. The indictment remains under investigation.
Aright said a statement at the time that the organization
was cooperating with the Hazard Police Department. Detecting the safety
and well being of those within our facilities is a
top priority of ARH each day. The statement said, upon

(11:56):
learning of the alleged incident, staff reported it to the
Hazard Police Department and are fully cooperated with the authorities
in this investigation. Due to the nature of the alleged
indictment and ongoing criminal investigation, we cannot provide further comment.
All additional questions should be directed to the Hazard Police Department.

(12:18):
From the editorial page. Get ready, it's that important. There's
a lot at stake this time around. While there are
no elections in twenty twenty five, candidates are getting started
for twenty twenty six, local voters will have a lot
of choices to make with several federal, state, and local
offices on the ballot. While the following deadline for most

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offices doesn't expire until January, candidates, especially those for federal office,
have hit the ground running, visiting our area to ask
for voter support. Most recently, US Representative Andy Barr, a Republican,
visited Perry County to make his case why he should
replace Senator Mitch McConnell, who's not running for re election.

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For the first time in decades, voters and Commonwealth will
be sending a new face to Washington to represent us
along with US Senator Ram Paul in the Senate. Voters
will also be making their choices for county offices and
casting ballots for candidates for state House. There's going to
be a lot of decisions to be made, but it's

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important that people here do what the candidates are doing.
Start early. Thanks to the early start, voters have an
opportunity to vet and research candidates over a long period.
Voters have an opportunity to research and make decisions what matters,
what impact these officeholders can make, and who is the

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best person for the job. And it's more important than
ever that they do so the challenges facing our community
and perhaps the entire region are perhaps the greatest ever.
Economic development, infrastructure policy are all on the line, all
shaping our future. It's not just a popularity contest this

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time around, though it really hasn't ever been. The stakes
are simply too high. Voters have to be prepared to
learn about the candidates, ignoring the surface level stuff like
party and personality. We need people who can get it
done for our community, not to smooth this talkers or
favorite sons or daughters. As the newspaper of the record

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for this community, it's our job to help you in
that respect by getting down to the issues and making
sure the candidates inform you where they stand, and we're
committed to doing so, as well as working to hold
them accountable once they earn your vote. The time to
get ready for the voting booth is now. We will

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help you along the way. Take advantage of what's available
to you, and be informed. Most importantly, though, so be
committed to voting. If you don't show up, you're letting
others make major decisions about the direction of your life.
Then commit to, like us, being diligent in holding these
men and women accountable. They're there to serve you, not

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the other way around. It's your duty, it's your privilege,
and it's your right. Rabbit Holes by Russ Cassaday A
while back, I fell into a rabbit hole I heard
in the past an urban legend about a video game
that allegedly popped up in Portland, Oregon arcades in nineteen

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eighty one. The game Polybius, was allegedly addictive and led
players to suffer numerous ill effects, up to and including death.
The legend goes on deposit that the game wasn't a
game at all, but instead a plant by a shadow
government organization or pick your bogeyman, intended to be a

(16:00):
test of the weapon or tool of control. The problem
with Polybius is there's no evidence that it ever existed,
other they had a lot of photos and other evidence
that tended to date back to after the rise of
the legend itself. Polybius was taken on a life of
its own thanks to several aspects of the story, including

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that it's honestly believable our government lies to us a lot.
Video game arcades in the early eighties were not only
popular spots for youth. From remember Station Alpha I do,
but also an air of newness in history. There's enough
evidence available online that a person who's so likely inclined

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could easily conclude that the game was more than a legend.
Did or does polybius exist? I honestly don't have the answer,
but until I see verification or something that convinces me otherwise,
I'm assuming this is a well crafted story targeted directly
at my generation, which is already prone to trafficking in

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urban legends and hungry for nostalgia. Compelling stories are those
that are intended for and which reach their mark with
a target audience. This is my primary problem with the
idea that x form the Twitter is supposed to be
some type of replacement for mainstream news. I spend time
on this site, not posting, but reading, and I find

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myself often wondering how many people actually buy into the
unverified nonsense that it cites. Primary stock and trade. People
who won't believe their doctor about medical issues will instead
believe the off the wall advice of anonymous social media users.
People who are convinced that you can trust no one

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will assume that the prodigious postings of a loudmouth are
nothing less than the absolute truth X is a free
speech platform and people should be free to say what
they want, however, not without real world consequences like those
that normally stem from libylous or defamatory speech. But that

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doesn't mean we have to buy into that information. Bad
actors and pranksters know that people are susceptible to certain
types of information that they hone their craft to hit
home with maximum efficiency. The problem is their information is
often tends with just enough of truth or speaks intentionally

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to existing biases that it flirts with believability. Unfortunately, that
information is often what leads us to make choices in
important matters. It's what they share, It's what catches the
algorithm and gets fed the more people. Some of the
information there is good, some is jump, but it's incumbent

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upon us to try to assess out the difference, especially
before we put our endorsement on it. Maybe that can
help to make up for a healthier public discourse, something
that is direly needed in our nation. Here are the obituaries.
Nanny Keith Bowen, eighty four of Hazard, died Wednesday August thirteenth.

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Barbara F. Forris ninety died Monday, August eighteenth. Robert Bob
Hamilton eighty two of Hazard died Tuesday August twelfth. Joyce
Chones ninety two of Hazard died Thursday, August fourteenth. Doris
Napier ninety three died Tuesday August twelfth. Harold Newsom eighty

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seventh of Cornetsville died Sunday, August seventeenth, and Shelvi Jene
Sturgel seventy eight I ICO died Tuesday August twelfth. The
hazard in In Dependent School District recently received the Project
Adam Heart Safe School designation. According to a statement from

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the district, Hazard Independent has worked with Project Adam automated
defibrillators in Adam's Memory to a program of Children's Wisconsin
and the Herma Heart Institute to implement a comprehensive plan
to prevent southern cardiac death. The Heart Safe School designation,

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the statement said, indicates to the public that school staff
are trained and prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency.
Heart Safe School designation includes placement of AEDs within a
school building, implementation of a cardiac Emergency Response Plan AED drills,
and education of school staff on the warning signs and

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prevention of Southern cardiac death. AEDs, the statement said, are
safe and easy to use, making it possible from non
medical personnel to provide rapid defibrillation for victims of all ages.
A sudden cardiac arrest, the statement said, is a condition
in which abnormal heart rhythms caused the heart's electrical impulses

(21:12):
to suddenly become chaotic. Defibrilization, which delivers an electrical shock
to the heart, is the only known treatment to stop
this chaotic electrical activity. For every minute defibrillation is delayed,
the victim's chances of survival decrease by seven to ten percent.

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The University of Pinteviell has announced a new partnership with
the Child Welfare Prepare Retain Engage in Partner program to
expand opportunities for students pursuing careers in public child welfare.
This initiative now offers funded opportunities for qualified students and
provides comprehensive training, advising, and fuel placement service. GOP auditor

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Ball cool to expanding pre K, but says Kentucky public
schools need more counselors. A Democratic lawmaker, as Republican Auditor
Alison Ball, if her office's recent critical audit of the
Kentucky Department of Education makes the case for Democratic Governor
Andy Deser's proposal for universal pre k. Ball presented the

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findings of the audit, released last month during a Monday
meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Education. The audit
said widespread improvements are needed across the agency, which oversees
all public education for the state's K through twelve students.
Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman Reginald Thomas of Lexington asked if

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the audit's findings on low readingness for kindergarten supported the
governor's argument for offering all Kentucky children universal pre K
before they enter kindergarten. Doesn't your report make the case
the Kentucky needs to follow the rest of the country
now and adopt some some form of universal pre k.

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Thomas asked, Is the governor absolutely correct and pushing for that?
And if you disagree with that, then explain why not.
The Democratic governor has long supported implementing universal PreK statewide,
but the idea has not gained traction in the Republican
controlled state legislature. For Shiers signed an executive order to

(23:30):
establish an advisory committee to explore and support for the
universal pre K programs in Kentucky Earlier this summer. Kentucky's
Democratic Governor Andy Basheer and Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman
say investigators have been looking into a whistleblower's allegation that

(23:53):
immigrants paid temporary contract workers to illegally obtain state drivers' licenses.
Louisville TV station WDRB reported Monday a former clerk at
the Kentucky Driver's Licensing office said co workers sold for
two hundred dollars each state driver's licenses to immigrants who

(24:14):
couldn't legally obtain them because they're in the country without permission.
The whistleblower, Melissa Mormon, worked at Louisville's and NIA licensing
office through the staffing agency Quantum Solutions. Mormon told the
TV station she was fired when she reported the scheme
to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. She filed a lawsuit against

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the cabinet and Quantum Solutions in April the year, and
a Wednesday press conference toll reporters the cabinet regularly reviews
driver's licensing credential applications and revoked one thousand, nine hundred
eighty five credentials for irregularities. KYTC immediately contacted law enforcement

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who were engaged in a criminal investigation, and it includes
multiple offices that are both state and federal. This year,
said the revoked kagentials, if used, would not work at
an airport, would be flagged and pulled over at a
traffic stop. Were committed to getting all of these facts
and holding everybody who violated the law accountable. The Cheer

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said all employees involved had been hired through a temp
agency and had been terminated. When asked if Mormon was
fired by the staffing agency, Quantum Solutions, or the cabinet
after the supporting after reporting the scheme, Butheer said he
didn't have that information and had not read the whistleblower
or lawsuit complaint. But he said some statements in the

(25:47):
complaint were not factual. Well. The Republican State Auditor sent
a letter Wednesday for this year and can take the
Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray requesting a formal explanation regarding
the allegations, saying she was troubled by the reports of
an alleged black market within the Kentucky Transportation count Cabinet,

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but Heer, responding to a question from a reporter about
if undocumented immigrants were receiving fraudulent driverage licenses, said that
it was part of the investigation. There are a number
of different reasons people might try to get fake IDs,
and I want to make sure I don't get in
the front of a Kentucky State Police investigation. But when

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that's complete, we look forward to sharing any and all
of those facts community actions. Head Start program recently held
its annual pre service training. The three day event brought
together one hundred and sixty six teachers and staff from
across Leslie, not Letcher, and Perry Counties to prepare for

(26:53):
the new school year. According to a statement from LKLP,
pre service training is an important tree addition for head Start,
providing staff with the tools, knowledge, and inspiration needed to
deliver high quality early childhood education. This year's training featured
hands on workshops, team building activities, and a keynote motivational

(27:16):
address from nationally known doctor Earle, encouraging staff to approach
the year with energy a on purpose. As part of
the event, head Start teachers and staff are also recognized
with certificates for their hard work and dedication to local
children and families. This concludes the reading of the Hazard Herald.

(27:37):
Please stay tuned for continued programming. Thank you for joining
me and on behalf of everyone here at RADIOI. This
is Lee Townsend, wishing you a good day.