10.12.25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the reading of the Lexington Herald Leader. Today
is Sunday, October twelfth, twenty twenty five, and your reader
is Roger Hamperion. As a reminder, RADIOI is a reading
service intended for people who are blind or have other
disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material. We'll

(00:21):
start with the seven day forecast, brought to you by
ACU Weather. The weather. Sunday will be sunny and pleasant,
with a high of seventy four degrees and a low
of fifty two. Monday will be sunny and nice, with
a high of seventy four and a low of fifty four.
Tuesday will be sunny and pleasant, with a high of

(00:43):
seventy seven and a low of fifty six. Wednesday will
be mostly sunny and nice, with a high of seventy
two and a low of fifty one. Thursday will be
sunny with a high of sixty seven and a low
of fifty two. Friday we'll see plenty of sunshine, with
a high of seventy three and a low of fifty three.

(01:07):
Saturday we'll also see plenty of sunshine, with a high
of seventy two and a low of forty eight. In
the Weather Almanac. The high temperature is sixty five degrees
and the low forty seven normal high seventy two, normal
low fifty. Last year's high seventy seven. Last year's low

(01:30):
forty four. Record high was ninety one in nineteen thirty nine.
Record low thirty one in twenty twenty two. There was
zero precipitation on Thursday. Month to date five point zero
three inches normal month to date one point seven Year

(01:53):
to date fifty one point four four normal year to
date thirty nine point six eight last year to date
forty one point one five record for the date one
point five six in nineteen ninety nine. The pollen count
is in the moderate range, the main offender being mold.

(02:16):
Sunrise today will be at seven forty four am sunset
seven o six pm. Moonrise today ten twenty three pm.
Moonset today one nineteen pm. Moon phases. Last quarter is
October thirteenth, New moon October twenty first. First quarter October

(02:41):
twenty ninth. Full moon will be on November fifth. Now
we'll read the front page headlines from today's edition. Can
a West African shrub curb substance abuse Ibogaine is a
naturally occurring compound found in the root bark of iboga,
a shrub found in West Africa. It's illegal in the US,

(03:04):
but in some countries it is used for the treatment
of substance use disorders. A Kentucky legislator plans to introduce
a bill to allow research of the psychedelic drug as
possible treatment for drug addiction in the Commonwealth. Also, man
released from Kentucky prison early after killing child arrested in Florida.

(03:26):
The first article from today's edition is titled the Path
to Recovery. Kentucky Republican proposes studying psychedelic drug I begain
to curb addiction by Alex Acquisto, A Kentucky lawmaker wants
to revisit a previously abandoned idea for the state to
fund research of an illegal psychedelic drug for its potential

(03:49):
to treat drug addiction, calling addiction a scourge in Kentucky,
Nicholasville Republican State Senator Donald Douglas told the Interim Joint
commit on Health Services August twenty seventh in Frankfort, we
can't and we shouldn't continue in this same cycle. Douglas,
who is also a doctor, set an alternative to medication

(04:13):
assisted treatment drugs like suboxone, a low grade opioid prescribed
to treat opioid use disorder, is needed. We've been dealing
with the same clinical model for decades, Douglas said. It
ain't working, folks. Douglas proposed investing state resources to research ibogain,

(04:33):
a psychedelic, as a possible therapeutic to curb drug addiction
and other mental health diagnoses like post traumatic stress disorder,
with the goal of helping it get formal Food and
Drug Administration approval as a widely available medication, currently a
Schedule IE drug that's illegal in the United States, the

(04:54):
same category as heroin, LSD and ecstasy. Ibogain is derictd
from the bark of an ibogatry native to Africa. Douglas's
idea is a repackaged proposal dating back to twenty twenty three,
when the Kentucky Opioid Debatement Advisory Commission first floated investing

(05:15):
forty two million dollars into clinical trials of ibogain as
a treatment for addiction, but incoming Attorney General Russell Coleman
all but shut the idea down as he prepared to
take office at the beginning of twenty twenty four. Since then,
investment in the research of psychoactive drugs has gained traction nationally,

(05:36):
at least in a Republican party rooted at least partially
in a distrust of historically trustworthy medical and research institutions
like the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What has emerged in recent years is a push for
alternatives to mainstream medication across the board that includes psychedelics.

(05:59):
Members of the GAS are embracing, even championing alternative methods
for treating sickness and disease. Health and Human Services Secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Junior, appointed by Republican President Donald Trump,
explicitly champions investing in the clinical study of psychedelics. Texas,

(06:19):
a Republican controlled state, just agreed to invest fifty million
dollars in ibogain research. Though he didn't provide specifics, Douglas
said he plans to file a bill in the twenty
twenty six regular legislative session that complements this new Texas
law to create an avenue or pathway where we can

(06:40):
start doing some research on this compound. Douglas also said
he's been in talks with lawmakers in roughly fifteen other
states about forming a legislative consortium that pools money for
iba gain research. He also suggested adjusting the scheduling classification
of ibogain so it's no longer or illegal in Kentucky.

(07:02):
No other lawmakers on the committee signaled whether they would
co sponsor Douglas's bill in the next session, but chairman
Senator Stephen Meredith, Republican of Litchfield, asked whether either the
University of Kentucky or the University of Louisville had given
input on the proposal, since both are possible venues for
future clinical trials should they occur. Have either of our

(07:25):
research universities expressed an interest in doing this research or
have you reached out to them? Meredith, a former hospital CEO, asked,
Meredith is the former CEO of a West Kentucky based
hospital system. I haven't reached out to them, Douglas said.
He then alluded to creating more public private sector partnerships

(07:47):
and develop other areas where the state can share the wealth.
Kentucky has a second chance with ibogain. The original effort
to bring ibogain to Kentucky originated with Brian Hubbard, former
head of the Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. At the time,
no state had done anything similar. Hubbard, who spoke with

(08:09):
several people who credited ibogain with their long term sobriety,
suggested investing forty two million dollars in opioid lawsuit settlement
funds to research ibogain as an alternative to the FDA
drugs on the market. His pitch was similar to Douglas's
on Wednesday in Frankfort, in a state decimated by opioids,

(08:30):
where generations of Kentuckians are still struggling with addiction, what
if there was an alternative to the currently available FDA
approved medication assisted treatment options that could help people achieve
long term sobriety. But in December twenty twenty three, just
weeks before Hubbard was slated to call it for a

(08:50):
vote before the Commission, he was asked to resign by
incoming Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman, who did not share
Hubbard's enthusiasm for investing in the experimental psychedelic Any possibility
of ibogain research in Kentucky was effectively halted with no
promises it would be revived over the next year, a

(09:12):
Hubbard shopped the idea around to other states. In June, Hubbard,
with the help from former Texas Governor Rick Perry, found
major success in Texas. The lone Star state elected to
invest fifty million dollars in researching the psychedelic by way
of clinical trials, an amount to be matched by private
sector investments. Hubbard, now head of Americans for ibagain, hopes

(09:37):
that with Texas breaking the mold, Kentucky and other states
are more likely to consider following suit. Hubbard didn't attend
the late August meeting with Kentucky lawmakers because he was
traveling to Jackson, Mississippi, to attend the first of two
public hearings on August twenty eighth, to consider a near
identical proposal in that state legislature to an invest in

(10:00):
ibogain research. Texas has provided the people of Kentucky with
the social, political, and cultural leverage necessary to break the
institutional capture of our government by the opioid maintenance industry forever,
Hubbard wrote in a text about Douglas's proposal. The leadership
of the Kentucky legislature have my gratitude for restoring this

(10:24):
opportunity for us. Still, there is limited peer reviewed research
across the country into the impact of ibagain on the body.
Research from clinical trials that have mostly taken place in
other countries notes the drug's risk of cardiac arrest. Democratic
Governor Andy Basheer noted this risk when he was asked

(10:44):
about the proposal. A lot more research needs to be
done on ibogain. It can also cause really significant reactions,
he said in August. You don't tread lightly into something
that can be that powerful or potentially that damaging. This
is what the FDA is for, This is what they
ought to be researching. Basher then said, the system of

(11:07):
combating opioid addiction that's currently in place and the medication
available through the FDA, is a system that works. Let's
make sure that we're not just looking at the next bright,
shiny object, but that we're recognizing the hard work with
the structure we have in place, which has done so
much to help our people. I begain blocks certain channels

(11:30):
of the heart, prolonging the time between heart beats and
increasing the chance for cardiac arrhythmia, which spikes the likelihood
of a heart attack. Ibogain has caused fatal heart attacks,
according to the National Institute of Health. A handful of
medical researchers in twenty twenty three told The Herald Leader
this side effect is likely part of the reason why

(11:52):
the FDA has not given the green light for ibogain
to be studied in a clinical setting. Representative Adriel camuel,
a Lexington Democrat, raised this question at the August committee meeting.
It may occur naturally, but it seems to cause cardiotoxicity, psychosis,
and neurotoxicity. Where's the urgency to study this when we

(12:15):
do have medications therapies to help people who are struggling
with addiction, Camuwell said. We do not have studies with
long term follow up, said doctor Gene Loftus, a volunteer
with Americans for Ibogain and a plastic surgeon in northern Kentucky.
That's the whole reason we're here. The drug is not

(12:36):
yet FDA approved. It needs to get FDA approved. Jessica
Blackman offered lawmakers the only personal history with ibogain, explaining
that years of relying on FDA approved medication didn't work
to curb her addiction to heroin and OxyContin. Which began
when she was a teenager. Blackburn previously shared her story

(12:58):
with The Herald Leader in twenty two twenty three. She
traveled to Mexico in two thousand and eight at age
twenty two to take ibogain, and she says it saved
her life. Blackburn has been sober for a decade. During
that multi hour experience, she hallucinated vividly and attended her
own funeral through her mother's eyes, watching her family and

(13:20):
friends grieve her death. When she came to, she said
her withdrawals and cravings had been nipped entirely because of ibogain.
I was able to reclaim my autonomy and make the
conscious decision to make healthier choices and allow myself to
heal and grow. Blackburn said, every person who suffers should

(13:40):
be afforded the same opportunity. Kentucky has a second chance
to bring our state out of the despair from the
opioid epidemic and into a place of healing and innovation
and mental health care and treatment. The next article from
the front page of today's edition is titled man released
from Kentucky prison early after killing child, arrested in Florida

(14:04):
by Christopher Leech, the man who killed a six year
old child in Kentucky and was released after serving less
than half of his twenty year prison sentence, was arrested
Thursday in Florida. Ronald Exantus, forty two, was released from
a Kentucky prison October one, after serving nine years, nine months,
and twenty five days of his twenty year prison sentence

(14:27):
for assaulting the sisters and father of six year old
Logan Tipton. He was found not guilty by reason of
insanity in Logan's stabbing death. He moved to Florida after
his release, but he failed to register as a fellon,
which is against the law. According to the Marion County
Sheriff's Office, the Sheriff's office and the Fifth Judicial Circuit

(14:48):
State Attorney's Office obtained a warrant for Exantus arrest Thursday afternoon.
According to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeyer. The Sheriff's office
said they found exact Anthe at home on southwest forty
third Terrace Road in Marion Oaks, near an elementary and
a middle school. Marion Oaks is in central Florida, about

(15:10):
fifty miles south of Gainesville. Exantas was booked into the
Marion County Jail at four thirty nine pm Thursday, according
to jail records. Uthmeiers said state officials are working to
send him back to Kentucky. I am proud of the
quick response by my deputies and the inner agency teamwork.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said in a news release.

(15:32):
I have no tolerance for this type of dangerous person
flaunting our laws and thinking he would hide out in
our county. Exantas was in the custody of the Kentucky
Department of Corrections but on mandatory supervised release at the
time of his arrest. Mandatory supervised release is granted by
state law to qualified inmates in Kentucky who are within

(15:54):
six months of their estimated sentence completion date. Inmates who
violate can conditions of their supervision may be returned to
prison and shall not be eligible for mandatory re entry
supervision during the same period of incarceration. According to state law,
It was not immediately clear what would happen to Exantus

(16:14):
when he returns to Kentucky. On December seventh, twenty fifteen,
Exantus drove from Indiana to the Tiptons unlocked home in
Versailles and attacked the family with a butcher knife. According
to court documents, Logan was killed in the attack, while
his sisters and father were injured. At his trial, a
jury found Exantus not guilty by reason of insanity on

(16:37):
a murdered charge for Logan's stabbing death, absolving him of
criminal responsibility for the offense. He was found guilty but
mentally ill on assault charges and sentenced to twenty years
in prison with an expected release date of twenty thirty five.
While incarcerated, Exantus earned good behavior time credits and participated

(16:58):
in multiple educational and wa work programs, which cut time
off the back end of his sentence. His time served
credits reduced his expected release date to June twenty twenty six.
Exantus's release drew national attention. White House Press Secretary Carolyn
Levitt said his release was wholly unacceptable and the White

(17:19):
House was looking into it. Kentucky State Representative T. J. Roberts,
Republican of Burlington, said he hopes to abolish mandatory supervised
release and Titan insanity plea laws in the twenty twenty
sixth General Assembly. The next article from Today's edition is
titled Judge temporarily blocks Guard deployment in Illinois by Mitch Smith.

(17:44):
A federal judge in Illinois issued a temporary restraining order
Thursday evening blocking the Trump administration's deployment of National Guard
troops in the Chicago area, days after the President called
up soldiers over the Democratic governor's objection. The judge, April M. Perry,
a Biden appointee, said in court that I have seen

(18:06):
no credible evidence that there is a danger of a
rebellion in the state of Illinois, rejecting one of the
administration's stated reasons for the deployment. Perry's decision came after
a lengthy hearing in U S District Court in downtown Chicago,
about thirteen miles from an immigration and Customs enforcement facility

(18:26):
in the western suburbs where members of the Texas National
Guard were spotted earlier Thursday. In addition to the Texas
troops sent to Illinois, the President also placed members of
the Illinois National Guard under federal command. Lawyers for the
federal government described the Illinois mobilization as necessary for preserving

(18:47):
the safety of federal agents and argued that the president's
judgment in deploying the Guard was not reviewable by the court.
The state Attorney General's office called the administration's positions startling, unbounded, limitless,
and not in accord with our system of ordered liberty.
A lawyer for the Trump administration said in court that

(19:10):
he objected to the temporary restraining order, and Perry acknowledged
that an appeal was likely. Officials with the Justice Department,
the White House, and the Department of Homeland Security did
not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday evening. Perry's
temporary restraining order is in effect for fourteen days and

(19:30):
says that federal officials are temporarily and joined from ordering
the federalization and deployment of the National Guard of the
United States within Illinois. She indicated that the wording was
intended to prevent officials from sending in troops from another
state's guard. She declined a request by the administration to
stay her ruling. It was not immediately clear what would

(19:54):
happen with the troops already mobilized and deployed in Illinois.
The deployment in Illinois came amid weeks of escalating tension
between the President and the state's Democratic leaders, and after
similar efforts by the President to send troops into Democratic
led California and Oregon. A federal appellate panel held a

(20:15):
hearing on the Oregon case Thursday, following a lower court
judge's decision to temporarily block the National Guard from deploying
onto the streets of Portland. In the Chicago area. The
military mobilization came during an emigration enforcement blitz that has
infuriated local officials and set off protests that have sometimes

(20:36):
turned violent. Federal officials said they arrested hundreds of people
who are in the country illegally during that campaign. Earlier
this week, President Donald Trump suggested that Governor J. B.
Pritzker of Illinois and Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago, both Democrats,
should be in jail for what he described as failing

(20:57):
to protect ice officers. Perry, who declined to immediately block
the deployment during a previous hearing Monday, pressed a lawyer
for the Trump administration Thursday about the rationale for sending
the National Guard and the extent of its duties in Illinois.
The administration's lawyer, Eric Hamilton, described the current scope as

(21:18):
a limited mission of defending federal property and federal agents,
but he would not commit to the mission, remaining limited
to those functions. I am very much struggling to figure
out where this would ever stop, Perry said. The next
article from today's edition is titled Parton reports on her health,
I Ain't dead Yet. In Woman's World, Dolly Parton is

(21:42):
setting the record straight on her health, telling the world
in a newly released social media post, I ain't dead yet.
The seventy nine year old country music superstar and icon
commented on not taking care of herself after her husband,
Carl Thomas Dean's death. It all started in September when
the singer announced she had kidney stones, then postponed her

(22:04):
Las Vegas residency. Then when her sister posted on social
media on October seventh urging people to pray for her,
fans got worried. Now Parton has cleared the air. I
wanted to say, I know lately everybody thinks that I
am sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you?
I'm working hard here anyway. I wanted to put everybody's

(22:28):
mind at ease, Parton said in her social media post.
I can always use prayers for anything and everything. But
I want you to know that I'm okay. I've got
some problems. As I mentioned back when my husband Carl
was very sick. That was for a long time, and
then when he passed, I didn't take care of myself,

(22:48):
so I let a lot of things go that should
have been taken care of, the singer continued. The next
article from today's edition is titled Ceasefire begins Israel says
as Gosm's were turned to north by Liam Stack, Aaron Boxerman,
and Belao Shabt. Thousands of people began the long walk

(23:09):
from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip
on Friday after the Israeli military announced a ceasefire that
mediators hoped would lead to the end of the two
year war. Men carried bags, women carried young children, and
older children held hands as they made their way up
the dusty seaside road toward the ruins of Gaza City,

(23:30):
which they were ordered to flee weeks ago. Some said
they were heading north for the first time since the
war began. The surroundings were bleak, the mood was jubilant.
The crowds are unbelievable, said shamac Al Dibbs, who fled
south with his family last month. People are so happy,
even if what they're going back to is destruction. Israel

(23:53):
agreed early Friday morning to a ceasefire deal with Hamas,
which the military said came into effect at noon. As
part of the agreement, Hamas would release the remaining hostages
held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, while Israeli
troops would partially withdraw. The deal was based on a
proposal presented by President Donald Trump last week. On Friday,

(24:18):
a spokesperson for Israel's parliament said Trump was expected to
visit the Chamber in Jerusalem on Monday. Steve Whitkoff, Trump's
Mid East envoy, said the US military had verified that
Israeli troops had withdrawn to the agreed upon line inside
Gaza that he said on social media opened a seventy

(24:38):
two hour window in which Hamas must hand over the
remaining hostages. Netanyahu said in a recorded statement Friday that
the ceasefire deal would allow Israel to bring back the
remaining hostages while maintaining its forces in Gaza. Israel would
not compromise on the rest of its demands, he added,
including that Hamas lay down its weapons and that Gaza

(25:01):
be demilitarized. But Hamas regards disarmament as tantamount to surrender
and views armed struggle as a legitimate form of resistance
against Israeli control over Palestinian lands. If this is achieved
the easy way, so much the better. If not, it
will be done the hard way, Netanyahu said. On the

(25:22):
coastal road in Gaza. Musa Rajab twenty two, a nursing student,
said he and his cousin had decided to start walking
to Gaza city as soon as they heard about the
seasfire around them. Thousands of pedestrians shared the asphalt with trucks, vans,
and horse drawn carts, packed with people and piled high

(25:43):
with blankets, water tanks, and mattresses. We just want to
see if our homes are still standing, Rajab said. We
heard ours was partly damaged, but we have to see
it with our own eyes. Though previous ceasefires in Gaza
have collapsed into renewed fire, for Job was optimistic the
war might actually be over. This time, everything still feels uncertain,

(26:07):
he said, Will they tell us to leave again? I
hope not. I just want this to be the last
time we walk this road. Avaschet Andre, a military spokesperson,
said Friday that the Israeli military would allow Palestinians in
southern Gaza to travel along major roads to the north,

(26:28):
but he warned people not to approach several areas across
Gaza where Israeli troops would remain active, saying those places
were extremely dangerous. On Thursday night, the Israeli military said
it had struck a site in northern Gaza which it
said was being used by Hamas fighters who posed an
immediate threat to Israeli troops. Gaza's Civil Defense Emergency Rescue

(26:51):
service said the site was a residential building that dozens
of people were believed to be in at the time
of the strike. According to to a government resolution net
And whose office released Friday, Israeli military would have to
move to new deployment lines inside Gaza by early Saturday.
Hamas would then have seventy two hours to return all

(27:14):
of the hostages, including the bodies of those who have died.
The text also said Israel had authorized the release of
two hundred and fifty Palestinian prisoners, mostly serving life sentences,
and seventeen hundred twenty two Palestinians detained during the war
who were not involved in attacks of October seventh, twenty

(27:34):
twenty three, including twenty two people who were younger than eighteen.
On Friday, the Israeli government issued a list of the
prisoners who would be released, including many who were convicted
of staging attacks against Israelis. It did not include several
high profile prisoners whose release analysts had expected Hamas would

(27:54):
try to secure. A HAMAS official that handles prisoner's affairs
said Friday that the list was not yet agreed on
or finalized. And now, after a short pause, I hope
you'll rejoin us for a continuation of the reading of
the Lexington Herald Leader for today. Thank you for listening,
and now please stay tuned for more news right here

(28:17):
on RADIOI. Now we will continue reading from the Lexington
Herald Leader for Sunday, October twelfth, twenty twenty five. Your
reader is Roger Hamperion. We will start with the obituaries.
We read only the name, age and location. If you
would like further information on any of the obituaries, please

(28:39):
see their website or call us during the weekdays at
eight five, nine, four, two, two, six, three nine zero,
and we will be glad to read the entire obituary
for you. I will repeat that number at the end
of the listings. Today's obituaries are as follows. William mcgodwin
Junior of Lexington, Gladys Pramuk ninety one of Lexington, Donna

(29:07):
An Snyder Sesam eighty two of Raleigh. If you would
like any further information about any of the listings today,
please visit the following website www dot legacy dot com
slash obituaries slash Kentucky. Again, that site is Legacy dot

(29:27):
com slash obituaries slash Kentucky. You can also call us
at our radioized studios at eight five nine four two
two sixty three nine zero and we will try to
read them to you over the phone. There is no
Paul Prather column this week, so we will continue by
reading the next article from today's Herald Leader. It is

(29:49):
titled Kentucky Juvenile Justice guard faces felony charge over texts
picks sent to teengirl by John Cheeves. A Kentucky juveni
justice guard is accused of texting sexually lewde messages and
pictures of his genitals in May to an underage teen
girl who had been held at the Boyd County Detention

(30:11):
Center where he worked, and who was returned to that
facility the next day. Travis Edward Porter, forty two, was
a correctional officer at the Boyd Regional Juvenile Detention Center
in Ashland, operated by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice.
Porter communicated with the girl via TikTok and text on

(30:32):
May twenty ninth, during a brief period when she was
out of custody, according to an internal investigation by the
Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. The Herald Leader obtained
the cabinet's investigative file under Kentucky's Open Records Act. State
officials told The Harold Leader on Thursday that Porter wasn't

(30:52):
supposed to be working at the juvenile detention center anymore.
He has a recent history of domestic violence cases that
include protective orders against him and charges of assault, terroristic threatening,
and strangulation. According to court records. The girl said that
after Porter followed her on tik tok, she explained she

(31:13):
was fourteen years old. Investigators wrote he responded by providing
his phone number. She said, now you trying to see
your favorite staff Penis l O l Porter wrote to
the girl as he texted photos of his genitals, followed
by can you work with that? Porter later told Kentucky
State Police that he'd mistakenly believed the girl was eighteen

(31:36):
years old, not a miner, although he realized in hindsight
that he still should not have communicated with her. According
to internal investigators, even nineteen or twenty isn't much better,
Porter said when told that if you have to ask
if someone is eighteen, you probably shouldn't be talking to them.
Porter replied, I agree there, investigators wrote. At one point

(32:01):
in his May twenty ninth conversation with the girl, Order
asked her to delete everything investigators wrote. When he fully
realized what he had done, Porter told police that he thought,
holy crap, I'm eft. Investigators wrote criminal charges pending. Porter
awaits a pre trial hearing October twenty fourth in Boyd's

(32:22):
Circuit Court on one class B felony count of using
electronic devices to induce a minor to engage in sexual activities.
According to court records, Porter remained jailed this week and
the Boyd County Detention Center in lieu of a two
hundred thousand dollars full cash bond in part because his
August nineteenth felony indictment violated the terms of his probation

(32:47):
for a domestic violence conviction the previous month on fourth
degree assault and strangulation charges. Court records in Greenup and
Boyd Counties indicate Porter has a history of domestic violence cases,
including two protective orders filed against him by two different
women in recent years. Porter was sentenced February fifth to

(33:08):
six months of diversion to resolve fourth degree assault and
terroristic threatening charges from October twenty twenty four, when a
woman told the Boyd County Sheriff's Department that he repeatedly
punched her and threatened to slit her throat with a knife,
according to court records. He was sentenced July thirty first
to three years of probation to resolve a different arrest

(33:29):
in April, when he was charged with fourth degree assault
and strangulation. A woman in that case told the Raceland
Police Department that Porter texted her threatening messages and then
came into her home while drunk and shoved his forehead
arm into her throat to choke her, according to court records.
State officials admit error as why Porter was working in

(33:52):
a juvenile detention facility despite his various legal issues. State
officials acknowledged to The Herald Leader that he should not
have been This should not have happened and is unacceptable,
said Justice and Public Safety Secretary Keith Jackson. I was
advised in twenty twenty four this person was being terminated,
but that decision was reversed without my knowledge or consent,

(34:15):
Jackson said. We are still reviewing the circumstances of this
person's hiring and will get to the bottom of it.
The secretary said, I will be taking steps to ensure
nothing like this happens again. A public defender assigned to
represent Porter on the felony sex charge did not return
calls this week seeking comment. His attorney in the domestic

(34:38):
violence cases declined to comment. A string of similar problems.
Porter is only the latest in a series of adults
who worked inside Kentucky's juvenile detention facilities to be charged
with sex offenses involving youths held at the facilities. Last
month and Adare County Jerry convicted teacher Elena Barden on

(34:59):
felony sex charges related to her behind Barr's relationship with
one of her students at the Adair Youth Development Center
in Columbia, and a November seventeenth trial is set in
Campbell County for Neil Mormon, a guard charged with first
first degree sexual assault for his allegedly inappropriate physical contact
with girls at the Campbell Regional Juvenile Detention Center. The U.

(35:24):
S Department of Justice is investigating conditions inside Kentucky's juvenile
detention facilities to determine if youth's civil rights are being violated.
Following years of critical news stories, lawsuits, and a state audit,
Porter's latest trouble started on May thirtieth, when the girl
whom he allegedly texted, returned to the Boyd Regional Juvenile

(35:46):
Detention Center to be reincarcerated. During the intake process, the
girl said she was scared because of one of the
officers at the facility, whom she identified as Porter, had
inappropriately communicated with her while she was out in the community,
and she handed over her phone to a lieutenant for
officials to review. Investigators wrote based on the contents of

(36:09):
the phone, Kentucky State Police were called to begin at
criminal investigation. The next article from today's edition is titled
sat Or Act, which college entrance exam will Kentucky high
school juniors take this spring by Valerie Honeycutt Spears. As
part of Kentucky's move away from the ACT for college

(36:32):
entrance exams, every high school junior in Kentucky will take
the SAT starting this spring. The standardized test will come
at no cost to students and families. Education Commissioner Robbie
Fletcher said in a statewide message Wednesday, this is a
big change, but one we know will have a tremendous
impact on supporting students in reaching their goals after high school.

(36:56):
Fletcher said the Kentucky Department of Education CAATION previously used
the ACT as its primary college admissions exam provider, but
that contract ended June thirtieth. A KDE announcement on the
Kentucky Teacher website said the SAT will become the state
funded college admissions exam beginning in spring twenty twenty six.

(37:18):
Under an initial four year contract. It will cost the
state thirty dollars per student, a price that's locked in.
The move has the potential to save Kentucky up to
three hundred and fifty thousand dollars annually. The announcement said
KDE is required to follow the Kentucky Model Procurement Code,
which governs how state agencies purchase goods and services, including

(37:43):
large scale contracts like statewide tests. This process is designed
to ensure fairness in vendor selection and was facilitated by
the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet. Students will take the
exam as part of the College Board's SAT School. The
SAT Junior State Administration is an online exam administered by

(38:07):
school staff, and schools select the dates they plant to
test during a six week window beginning March second. The
SAT is a multi stage adaptive exam. The reading and
writing section and the math section are divided into two
equal length and separately timed modules. Based on the performance

(38:27):
of the first module, the second module of questions will
either be more or less difficult overall, or said. The
digital exam takes two hours and fourteen minutes, with reading, writing,
and math sections each scored on a two hundred to
eight hundred scale. An additional analysis and science score is

(38:48):
generated based on relevant questions. That means the SAT does
not have a standalone science section, but those skills are
assessed within the other modules, making the tests shorter. Fletcher
said The move gives Kentucky students access to free personalized
practice and a new shorter digital SAT format designed to

(39:09):
be student friendly with fast score reporting. The SAT is
accepted at colleges and universities across Kentucky and throughout the US.
It also connects students to national scholarship opportunities. Fletcher continued.
Kentucky students previously took the ACT during the spring of
their junior year. They could then opt to retake the

(39:32):
ACT on their own, which they can still do under
the new Contract with SAT. Contract applies only to juniors
taking the mandatory School Day Program exam. But the move
hasn't come without critics. KDE received a protest on the
shift as of July fourteenth, regarding the contract awarded to

(39:52):
the College Board SAT Education officials have not set who
lodged the protest, but KDE reported it worked with the
Finance and Administration Cabinet to ensure compliance with all procurement laws.
As of September twenty third, the cabinet determined that the
protests lacked merit and it was denied. We are excited

(40:14):
to partner with the Kentucky Department of Education and schools
across the Commonwealth to deliver a state of the art
testing experience that will give educators actionable insights into student performance,
Priscilla Rodriguez, head of the College Board's SAT program, said
in KDE's announcement. Additionally, the SAT will provide students and

(40:35):
their families with information and resources about college and career
pathways to help them plan their futures. The next article
from today's edition is titled as Sales slow, Barrel inventory
hits new record What it means for Kentucky Bourbon by
Janet Patten. Kentucky bourbon makers are sitting more barrels of

(40:56):
whiskey than ever. According to new data released by the
Kentucky Distillers Association, the state had sixteen point one million
barrels of bourbon and warehouses and all time high. There's
also another million or so barrels of other spirits as well.
That's as of January first, twenty twenty five, when the
state's one hundred twenty seven licensed distilleries submitted numbers to

(41:20):
the Kentucky Department of Revenue for tax purposes. According to
the kDa, distillers will pay seventy five million dollars in
taxes on aging barrels, up twenty seven percent from twenty
twenty four and up one hundred sixty three percent in
the last five years. Barrel taxes are scheduled to begin

(41:40):
sunsetting next year, starting with a four percent reduction, and
will gradually phase out over the next twenty years. The
tax break was passed by the Kentucky General Assembly in
twenty twenty three over the objections of local governments and
school districts that rely on the tax revenue to sub court,
fire departments and other community services. KATA president Eric Gregory

(42:05):
said in a Wednesday news release the number of licensed
beverage alcohol distilleries in Kentucky is also a record mark.
Several new distilleries have been announced or are under construction,
meaning more jobs and investment in the commonwealth, according to
the news release. However, Kentucky's nine billion dollar bourbon industry

(42:25):
is facing financial difficulties, including layoffs, bankruptcies, distillery closures, and
a glut of oversupply. US whiskey production began slowing late
last year. The Treasury Department reported that from January to April,
whiskey production had dropped nearly twenty eight percent compared to

(42:46):
the same period in twenty twenty four, hitting the lowest
level since twenty nineteen. Demand has fallen as well. Only
fifty four percent of Americans say they consume alcohol, the
lowest level in eighty years, and August twenty twenty five
Gallop poll found that's left the spirit's industry with massive
overhang of nearly one point five billion proof gallons on hand,

(43:11):
three times the level of inventory they had a decade ago,
according to federal data. According to Whiskey Decision, a newsletter
for whiskey enthusiasts, bottling also has slowed down, but only
by eight percent. If these trans hold. Twenty twenty five
sees two hundred and thirty million gallons produced versus eighty

(43:31):
million bottled. According to Whiskey Decision, another one hundred and
fifty million into the warehouse already stuffed from the boom years. Meanwhile, exports,
which last year set a record at nearly two point
five billion dollars, have been crippled by President Donald Trump's
ongoing trade disputes that have already cost bourbon makers millions.

(43:53):
According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the US, a
trade group, American whiskey exports are down thirteen percent through
the second quarter compared to the same period in twenty
twenty four, a loss of about forty million dollars to
American bourbon makers. Canada has continued to boycott bourbon, and
Brown Foreman has seen sales there dropped by sixty percent.

(44:17):
President and CEO loss In Whiting recently said other major
bourbon drinking markets, including the European Union, the United Kingdom,
and Japan, are also buying less, and new tariffs could
be coming in some of those markets. Last year, Kentucky
exported seven hundred fifty one million dollars in spirits, second

(44:38):
only to Tennessee, which is the home of global giant
Jack Daniels, though it's owned by Louisville based Brown Foreman.
In the kda's news release this week, Gregory reiterated the
group's call for a return to reciprocal TARA free trade
that transformed Kentucky bourbon into a key export for the
Bluegrass state. You're not going to find a better model

(45:02):
for reciprocal trade than Kentucky bourbon, he said. Much of
the expansion over the last decade has been geared towards
global growth, long term planning for a product that won't
be ready for years. Is already tough enough. We need
the certainty of tear free trade for America's only native
spirit to flourish. The next article from today's edition is

(45:24):
titled These Kentucky energy projects may lose funding as Trump
administration eyes more cuts. By Piper Hansen, Kentucky's energy projects
could lose about four hundred sixty million dollars in federal
grants as the Trump administration considers more funding cuts. An
electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility and several energy related research

(45:49):
projects are on the funding chopping block, according to a
list of potential cuts, first reported by Semaphore and now
circulating around Capitol Hill. The list is about a dozen
pages long and includes hundreds of project grants totally about
twenty four billion dollars. A three hundred sixteen million dollar

(46:09):
grant for a Hopkinsville electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility being
built by Ascend Elements is targeted on the list, and
the companies said it was notified October seventh it had
been terminated. The Massachusetts based manufacturer announced in October twenty
twenty two plans to invest close to one billion dollars

(46:30):
to build its largest ev battery recycling and manufacturing facility
in Christian County, creating four hundred full time jobs. Assand
Elements CEO Lynn Austin said in an email to The
Herald Leader, any DOE decision regarding grants doesn't change the
company's trajectory. We will replace the terminated grant with a

(46:53):
balanced mix of private growth, equity, project finance, strategic off
take prepayments, and none US incentives, including support we've been
awarded in the EU. Austin said. Our business economics are
not predicated on grants, but by consumer demand operational excellence
in our patented hydro to cathode technology. In April, Kentucky

(47:17):
Public Radio reported construction had been paused on part of
the facility, though it's set to restart next year. Also
in April, Ascend Elements was named a defendant in a
lawsuit over one hundred thirty eight million dollars in unpaid
construction bills. A month before that, the Manufacture and Energy
Department agreed to cancel a separate one hundred sixty four

(47:41):
million dollar federal grant related to the project. Also targeted
on the list is a seventy five million dollar grant
for Diageo, the alcoholic beverage company, which planned to add
batteries to its facility in Shelbyville to reduce carbon emissions.
That grant was terminated in May, as was US the
seventy two million dollars one for a carbon capture project

(48:03):
at LG and E and KU's Kine Run generating station
just outside Louisville. It also appears on the longer list.
The fifty million dollar grant supporting Mitsubishi Electric Corporation as
it retrofits a Maysville factory to make high efficiency heat pumps,
could also have its funding cut. According to the list,

(48:25):
five projects through the University of Kentucky Research Foundation are
on the list and could stand to lose almost twenty
four million dollars altogether. The largest of those grants, almost
seven million dollars, is for a Pigment College of Engineering
and Institute for Decarbonization and Energy Advancement project demonstrating the
effectiveness of a carbon capture device that then puts the

(48:49):
raw material into glass production, according to grant award documents.
The UK Research Foundation and a university spokesperson were not
immediately available for comment. Kentucky has been the recipient of
several recent high dollar economic development announcements related to clean energy.
It has seemingly embraced multiple parts of the EV supply

(49:11):
chain through incentives from the legislature and tax credits for
consumers passed under former President Joe Biden. Governor Andy Basheer
is no stranger to securing frozen or canceled federal funds.
Just this year, he's joined multi state lawsuits to restore
funding for AmeriCorps K twelve schools and public health programs.

(49:34):
During his weekly Team Kentucky update, he said his office
hadn't gotten official word regarding the possibility of funding cuts.
I'd be very disappointed if this is going to move forward,
he said in a statement. Department of Energy Deputy Press
Secretary Emery Washington said the department's staff have been unable
to verify the lists we've seen so far. In an

(49:58):
emailed statement to the Herald Leaders, the Department's chief spokesperson
Ben Dietrich said no additional determinations have been made about
funding aside from cuts already announced this year. At the
start of October, the Department of Energy terminated three hundred
twenty one financial packages totaling seven point five six billion

(50:18):
dollars for two hundred twenty three projects, several of which
are on the long list. According to E and E News,
About two dozen other grants canceled earlier in the year
also appear on the list. As Secretary Chris Wright made
clear last week, the Department continues to conduct an individualized
and thorough review of financial awards made by the previous administration.

(50:43):
Dietrich said the cuts so far this year and the
new list indicating more might be coming, match President Donald
Trump's agenda to cancel clean energy programs. Trump has often
criticized renewable energy, especially the effort to reduce car urban
emissions as part of a green energy scam. On day one,

(51:05):
the Energy Department began the critical task of reviewing billions
of dollars in financial awards many rushed through in the
final months of the Biden administration with inadequate documentation by
any reasonable business standard, Right said in a statement. When
the department made its October second cuts, President Trump promised

(51:25):
to protect taxpayer dollars and expand America's supply of a affordable, reliable,
and secure energy. Most of the cuts this month yanked
funding from Democratic States members of Congress in those states
said in a letter to the department's secretary that the
decision was blatantly partisan and would harm jobs, weaken the grid,

(51:47):
and give foreign adversaries like China and EDGE. The new,
longer list includes grant projects in Republican states too. It
also shows more billions of dollars could be cut for
five hydrogen hubs authorized by Biden's Energy Department and his
Infrastructure Bill that allocated funding to the system that would

(52:07):
have produced and transported clean energy across the country. ARCH two,
headquartered in West Virginia, is one of those hubs. It
would have regional activity and support jobs in Kentucky, but
it isn't estimated to be in service until twenty twenty
seven or twenty twenty eight, according to the Appalachian Regional

(52:28):
Clean Hydrogen Hub or ARCH two. According to the list,
a twenty eight million dollar grant for Ford to explore
alternative fuel sources and several grants totaling five hundred and
sixty five million dollars for general motors could be canceled.
Both automakers have assembly plants in Kentucky and employee thousands.

(52:49):
The next article from today's edition is titled Kentucky sheriff
charged with third DUI in two years is resigning. Governor
Basher says by leech, the Kentucky sheriff facing his third
DUI charge in less than two years, is resigning at
the request of Governor Andy Basheer. Basher announced that Terry Gray,

(53:12):
forty eight, is resigning during his weekly Team Kentucky news
conference on Thursday. The day prior to, the governor sent
Gray a letter demanding that he resigned or he would
move to remove him from office. Kentucky State Senator Steve West,
who represents the twenty seventh district, which includes Robertson County,

(53:33):
said he is grateful Gray chose to do the right thing.
His resignation will spare the community a long drawn out
process of forced removal from office. West said in a
news release, it is my sincere hope that mister Gray
seeks help and turns his life around for the sake
of those who love him. Gray was arrested in Mason

(53:53):
County on Tuesday after he allegedly drove more than one
hundred ten miles per hour through the county and nearly
flipped his car multiple times. He told Mason County Sheriff's
deputies he was looking for a vehicle he had last
seen near the Mason Robertson County line on US Route
sixty eight, and that he was trying to find him.

(54:14):
According to court documents, Gray was wearing an official Robertson
County Sheriff's Office uniform and had a gun and handcuffs
at the time of his arrest. According to court documents,
a deputy found a miniature bottle of fireball whiskey in
his pocket. Gray took a breath test and had a
blood alcohol content level a point two two six, nearly

(54:37):
three times the legal limit of point zero eight to drive.
Gray told a deputy he was not that drunk, court
documents saying in addition to aggravated DUI, Gray was charged
with first degree official misconduct, first degree wanton endangerment, and
reckless driving. He's being held at the Mason County Jail

(54:59):
on a fire one hundred thousand dollars bond, according to
jail records. In his two earlier DUI cases, Gray received
two years of probation. He entered Alfred pleas in both cases,
a type of plea where a defendant does not admit guilt.
But acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict if
the case proceeds. Basheer said Gray's most recent dui charge

(55:23):
was a difference maker in terms of seeking removal from office. Certainly,
the three together present a significant case for habitual drunkenness,
which is mentioned within the statute and is defined under law.
Bashir said, if Gray were to be released from jail
on bond, he is not allowed to drive, drink alcohol,

(55:45):
possess a weapon, or use illegal drugs. According to court documents,
he is scheduled to be arraigned in Mason District Court
on October thirteenth. The next article from today's edition is
titled After eighteen years, Central Kentucky's the City will resume
construction of a government center by Piper Hanson, A three

(56:06):
story building for the city of Nicholasville's new municipal center
will be built by twenty twenty seven, centralizing public services
for the growing city fifteen miles south of Lexington. The
seventeen million dollar building has been in the works for
nearly eighteen years. It is being financed through twenty year
municipal bonds. After the project was started then put on

(56:28):
hold during the recession, according to a news release from
the city, which is located in Jessmine County. You to
time constraints, will need to end this article at this time.
This concludes the reading of the Lexington Herald Leader for today, Sunday,
October twelfth, twenty twenty five. Your reader has been Roger Imperion.

(56:48):
Thank you for listening and please stay tuned for sports
news here on RADIOI