11.5.25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Celebrity Reader Week on RADIOI. Your reader today
is Taylor six and I'm the Crime and Courts reporter
with the Lexington Herald Leader. I grew up in Lexington, Kentucky,
and I attended Lafayette High School before attending Eastern Kentucky University,
where I graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism. Welcome
to the reading of the Lexington Herald Leader for today,

(00:23):
November fifth, twenty twenty five. 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 start with the seven day forecast brought to you
by ACU Weather. Today's forecast is sunny and windy with
the high of sixty eight degrees. The real field temperature

(00:46):
is sixty seven degrees with a UV index of three.
Tonight will be clear with a full moon and a
low of thirty eight degrees, with the real field temperature
of thirty six degrees. Thursday will be most cloudy, with
a high of sixty degrees and a low of forty
six degrees. The real field temperature is fifty nine degrees

(01:07):
with a UV index of two. Friday calls for a
shower and thunderstorm with a high of sixty seven degrees
and a low of forty six degrees. The real field
temperature is sixty four degrees with a UV index of one.
Saturday's weather is variable cloudiness, with a high of sixty
three degrees and a low of forty five degrees. The

(01:29):
real field index is sixty three degrees with a UV
index of three. Sunday the weather is partially cloudy and
a high of fifty two degrees and a low of
twenty eight degrees. The real field temperature is forty seven
degrees with a UV index of three. Next Monday calls
for colder temps and is partially cloudy with a high

(01:51):
of forty degrees and a low of twenty four degrees.
The real field temperature is thirty three degrees with a
UV index of three. Next Tuesday, the weather calls for
partly sunny and cold conditions with a high of forty
two degrees and a low of thirty six degrees. The
real field temperature is thirty seven degrees with a UV

(02:13):
index of three. Here is the Almanac Lexington. Monday temperatures
high fifty seven degrees, low thirty three degrees. The normal
high is sixty one degrees and the low is forty degrees.
The last year high is seventy eight degrees with the

(02:33):
low of forty seven degrees. The record high is seventy
eight degrees in twenty twenty four, with a record low
of twelve degrees and nineteen fifty one. The precipitation Monday
zero inches. Month to date normal sixteen inches and thirty

(02:55):
four inches. Year to date fifty four point five eight
inches with a normal rate of forty two point sixty
one inches. Last year today forty one point five to
three inches. Record for date one foot and one inch
rainfall in nineteen thirty six. The pollen as of ten

(03:19):
twenty nine is absent. The sun and moon cycles. Sunrise
today is at seven oh nine am, The sunset tonight
is at five thirty five pm. Moonrise today is at
five twenty five pm, and the moonset today is at
seven sixteen am. Now we will read the front page

(03:42):
headlines from today's edition. Senate leaders prepare to pivot to
new bill to end shut down, with snap aid in doubt,
Kentuckians flocked to food pantries, homeowners confront Lexington Blue Owner
and bankrupt Court. The first article from the front page

(04:05):
of today's edition is titled Senate leaders prepared to pivot
to new bills in shutdown by Airis Fawley, Washington, Senate
Republican leaders planned to abandon a House passed funding patch
to reopen government and pivot to a new bill that
would provide more time to complete fiscal twenty twenty six appropriations.

(04:30):
The move reflects a growing recognition that the funding extension
to November twenty one, as the House proposed in September,
would no longer provide enough time to complete appropriation bills
for the fiscal year that began October first. It also
comes after Democrats blocked the House measure from advancing in
the Senate more than a dozen times. Quote the idea

(04:53):
that we would get any appropriation bills done by November
twenty one, now that date's lost, said Senate Major Already
leader John Thune, Republican South Dakota, told reporters Monday, in
confirming the new strategy. The objective here is to try
and get something that we could send back to the
House that would open up the government. Until Monday, GOP

(05:17):
leaders back into session until the government reopened in an
attempt to pressure Senate Democrats to vote for the House
Pass bill, But more than six weeks later, Democrats have
refused to cave, and the partial shutdown is set to
become the longest in history as of Wednesday. As a
condition for reopening the government, Democrats have insisted on extending

(05:40):
health insurance subsidies that are set to expire at year's
end and send premium soaring. Thuone said he was optimistic
that a deal could emerge to end the shutdown this week,
though he was careful to hedge his bets. If we
don't start seeing some progress or some evidence of that
by at least the middle of this week, it's it's
hard to see how we would finish anything by the

(06:02):
end of the week, he said. But before senators can
draft a new stopgap measure, they must decide how long
a new funding extension could last. Funding patch duration in dispute.
Opposition has been building against setting a December deadline, which
would require finishing full year bills just before the holiday recess,

(06:25):
as some Senate appropriators would like. Hardline conservatives renewed their
push Monday for a short term funding patch that would
extend at least into mid January, warning lawmakers against passing
an end of year omnibus spending package right before the holidays.
In a pair of posts on x GOP, senators Rick

(06:45):
Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah indicated support
for a continuing resolution that would extend funding at current
levels beyond January fifteenth. Democrats shut down the government because
they hate President Trump and want to waste more of
your dollars after putting the nation in a path for
an unsustainable thirty eight trillion dollars in debt, Scott wrote,

(07:08):
any new continuing resolution must extend past January fifteenth to
avoid a Christmas Christmas omnibus. Lee endor Scott's message in
a follow up post shortly afterward. I'm certainly open to it,
Thune said as of January deadline, as you look at
the calendar, if you want to do normal appropriations work,

(07:29):
you look at how long it takes to get bills
across the floor in the Senate and through the House.
The longer sort of runway there is better. But multiple
GOP appropriators in the Senate have expressed support for a
stopgap that ends before January to keep pressure on lawmakers
to hash out their annual funding bills. Dune acknowledged the disagreement,

(07:50):
saying he was certainly listening to our colleagues and trying
to figure out kind of where that landing spot would be.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffrey's Democratic New York meanwhile, appeared
to welcome the change of strategy at his news conference Monday.
He said a longer term continuing resolution would be a
small step in the right direction as it relates to

(08:11):
actually having bipartisan conversations to enact and enlightened spending bill
that actually makes life better for the American people and
doesn't continue to gut the healthcare of everyday Americans. Appropriations
game plan Appropriators have begun mapping out a potential game
plan on what bills to move once the government reopens.

(08:37):
GOP leadership has already pushed for both chambers to formally
conference the three bills funding the Departments of Agriculture and
Veterans Affairs and the Legislative Branch that the Senate passed
as a package over the summer. Bipartisan funding talks also
picked up in the Senate last week, as members face
growing pressure to end the shutdown amid rising and certainty

(08:59):
over foodstamp. Senate negotiators say they're eyeing a second potential
funding package that combines defense, labor, HHS, Education, and potentially
other bills, possibly including the Transportation HUD and Commerce Justice
science measures. I think appropriators want it to be before

(09:20):
the end of the year, said Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat Hawaii,
a senior appropriator, last week, when he asked for his
preference for a CR length. I think December is the
most logical timeline, he said. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins,
Republican Maine, has also said that she is not eager

(09:40):
to go into January, but GOP leadership in both chambers
has yet to land on a new potential end date.
A White House official said the administration would defer to
Congressional Republicans for determining the length of the next Continuing Resolution.
Johnson meanwhile, would prefer a funding extension into January as

(10:01):
opposed to December, according to sources familiar with his thinking.
This is a very important matter, Johnson said Monday at
a news conference. It's something that we're giving all of
our attention to. Our leaders will go and meet on
the calendar right now. We're watching every day. Jacob Fulton
and Aiden quickly contributed to this report. The next article

(10:24):
from the front page of today's edition is titled with
SNAP Aid and Doubt, Kentuckian's flock to food pantries by
Beth Musgrave Taylor six, Austin R. Ramsay, and Aaron Mudd.
Just after eight thirty am Monday, the number of cars
lined up to get free food at God's Outreach food

(10:45):
bank stretched into East Main Street and Richmond. We typically
see about five or more cars, Nothing like this, said
Mandy ag, assistant director of God's Outreach. There were more
than twenty cars lined up thirty minutes before the pantry opened.
By nine a m. The line has stretched to thirty
cars in the Madison count County pantry lot. The federal

(11:06):
Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program SNAP ran out of money Saturday.
The same day, a new monthly round of benefits would
have been issued to those who rely on the program,
formally called food stamps. Late Friday afternoon, two federal judges
and separate rulings ordered President Donald Trump's administration to fund
SNAP using contingency money, expecting the lag in benefits even

(11:30):
if the administration does not appeal, Kentucky Governor Andy Basheer
has ordered five million from the state's own rainy Day
fund to feeding Kentucky. Later on Monday, the Trump administration
said it will partially fund those SNAP benefits in November,
but it would only be half of what people typically receive.
The average monthly benefit is one hundred and eighty three dollars.

(11:53):
Nearly six hundred thousand Kentuckians received SNAP benefits. The Herald
Leader sent reporters to counties throughout Kentucky Monday to gauge
demand and talk to those who rely on SNAP and
other programs to feed their families. Many pantries, like God's Outreach,
saw the surge in late October, when the Trump administration
first announced it would not fund SNAP past November first.

(12:15):
Even with the federal bench rulings, it's not clear if
and when SNAP benefits will restart. Pantries are preparing to
meet the additional demand. Last week, God's Outreach served about
five hundred and twenty seven people. It typically averages three
hundred a week. Agy said, there are people we have
never served before, or people we haven't seen in years.

(12:36):
Age said. Monday, before the pantry officially opened, a woman
stopped at the back door. She had never been there
before and wanted more information on how to apply. Across Kentucky,
in Laurel County early Monday, cars were bumper to bumper
outside the Cavalry Baptist Church, filled with individuals hoping to

(12:57):
receive food boxes. Two hundred and fifty cars queuing, some
as early as six thirty am, more than four hours
before the pickup is the normal amount of demand volunteers
served the second Monday of each month. According to Associate
pastor Dennis Gibbs, it shows food is a real need
in the community. He said, people struggle with not having enough.

(13:20):
If you have ever gone hungry, you know that you
don't care what you get, but you're just happy to
have something to eat. Each car receives a box of
food worth about one hundred dollars, filled with dry goods, produce,
and canned foods, among other items. Unlike other places, Cavalry
Baptist does not require any assistance or job income verification,
and since the loss of Snap Funds has received calls

(13:42):
from people as far as North Carolina, traffic to God's
Pantry location in Somerset, the largest food bank serving fifty
counties in the region, was steady Monday as well. Brenda Russell,
the executive director, anticipated fifty six food carts would be
distributed by closing at two thirty pm. It was Friday
that proved strange, with an outpouring of calls as individuals

(14:05):
anticipated Saturday's snap cut off. Those calls for food assistants
continued Monday. Russell said, if I didn't have a way
to feed my kids, I would be panicking. Russell said
the pantry serves four thousand individual households, about fifteen percent
of Pulaski County's population. The community has rallied for Russell
and the pantry, leaving the shells full and orders coming.

(14:28):
But food and security and the fear of it will linger.
Russell said. You get a certain kind of PTSD when
you go hungry. Russell said people will continue to use
the pantry for fear of their food being taken again.
The Eastern Kentucky region, already plagued by high unemployment and
poverty rates, tends to see more interest in food pantries
during the fall and winter months as power bills reflect

(14:50):
colder temperatures, said Trisa Scott, director of the Thankful Hearts
Pantry and Pikeville. This October has been especially bad as
SNAP recipient's fear taking on the cold winter without federal
food aid. We had sixty two new clients on Thursday
and Friday, Alan Scott said. People were texting me past

(15:12):
midnight last night asking about emergency food. At this time
last year, the Two Fish and Five Loves Ministry at
Maple Street Church of God in Hazard gave a way
between seventy and ninety boxes of food a week. Over
the last two weeks, the church has averaged more than
two hundred boxes, said Nancy Smith, who oversees the program.
It's humbling. Smith said, We've got a lot that's worried,

(15:35):
like parents that are very concerned about getting food for
their kids and not being able to meet their demands.
Many of these people have never had to rely on
the food pantry before. Across the state, in Bowling Green,
the laps and SNAP benefits couldn't have come at a
worse time for Brandy Clayton, a mother who was evicted
by her roommate two weeks ago despite being paid up

(15:55):
for the month. Clayton, who had been sleeping at a
local park, had placed her children into her mother's care.
On Monday, she was checking into the shelter at the
local Salvation Army. She hoped it would be a short stay.
I don't think I even need a month, just enough
to get a deposit. Clayton said, I'm a very hard worker.
Despite her circumstances, the young woman's spirit shined through. Having

(16:19):
recently lost her third shift job, Clayton was eager to
start a new one she'd found at Walmart. You gotta
want to help yourself, and I'm willing to help myself.
Clayton said, these hard times won't be long. You know.
You just have to stay in there and get through it,
don't break. In Between many new faces applications, God's Outreach

(16:40):
also has a food backpack program, which currently serves thirty
five hundred children in three counties with weekend meals. That
program has also received more calls from people who have
never needed it. Agy said there were also a lot
of new faces at God's Pantry Food Bank's pantry on
Winchester Road and Lexing. Monday, volunteers helped one man who

(17:02):
had never been there before get a shopping cart and
explained how the pantry worked. People can get fresh vegetables
and fruit in one area. Two stand up freezers along
the wall had other vegetables and meat. There were also
options for bread, canned goods, and cereal. Laura Anderson, the
Fayette County God's Pantry food coordinator, said they too, have

(17:25):
seen an increase in the number of people seeking initial
appointments for eligibility screenings. It's definitely picked up, Anderson said,
but there are some good news. God's Pantry and God's
Outreach have both seen a surge in donations monetary and
canned goods AG, said Dewan Carrie, volunteer and food drive
manager for God's Pantry, said the organization, which serves fifty

(17:49):
central and eastern Kentucky counties, has also seen both individuals
and community partners set up with financial help and donations.
The next article from the front page of today's edition
is titled Homeowners confront Lexington Blue Owner and bankruptcy Court
by Janet Patten. Brad Pagel, CEO and owner of failed

(18:15):
roofing company Lexington Blue, sat under oath Monday. He does
not know how to put a roof on a house.
The admission came during a creditors meeting and federal bankruptcy
court under questioning from one of the many homeowners whom
Pagel's company took thousands in deposits but failed to complete roofwork.
Lexington Blue went out of business abruptly in April, leaving

(18:37):
hundreds of homeowners in Kentucky ode roofing work. The company
filed for Chapter eleven bankruptcy in June, but the reorganization
never got off the ground and has been converted to
a Chapter seven liquidation case. The company declared it owed
at least three point two million dollars to former customers
and employees. Toward the end of Monday's meeting, homeowner Judah

(18:59):
No of Lane Lexington asked Pagel, who was represented by
his attorney Adrian Southworth, if he doesn't feel some responsibility
to people like me who paid eighteen thousand dollars still
with a leaking roof. She suggested that if Pagel really
cared about the wrong homeowners, as he claimed that he
himself would come fix her roof, why don't you personally

(19:23):
bring your hammers and nails and I will buy the
roofing material. Pagel demurred, saying I don't know how to
install roofs. The comment came after nearly four hours of
testimony under questioning by Laurie A. Schlarman, the trustee who
has taken over Lexington Blues bankruptcy. As the trustee and
her lawyer grilled Pagel on his business, he swung between

(19:45):
claiming pride and building quote the largest roofing company in
the state of Kentucky, and ignorance of its financial control
and record keeping. Pagel was the sole owner, operator, and
beneficiary of the business, which he said had been successful
for a decade. That success, he said, justified a twenty
six thousand dollars average monthly payment to Pagel and his wife, Courtney,

(20:10):
despite minimal time spent working on the company, as well
as what he described as CEO perks of car payments,
retirement benefits, and company paid childcare. Pagel said he maintained
a hands off approach to the business over the past
few years, even as evidence of financial distress mounted. A
lien had been placed on Pagel's home after he took

(20:32):
out a high interest loan from a creditor of last resort.
The lien and the loan were paid off earlier this year,
when Pagel sowed his Beaumont area home for nine hundred
and six thousand dollars. Under questioning, Pagel said he could
not verify any company records, produced balance sheets, or say
when he last looked at correct financial statements. He said

(20:54):
he relied upon general manager Alex Southwell and finance director
Nick Conway to keep him manad the loop via quarterly
check ins. So your review of financials was just a
vibe check with staff. Is that what I'm hearing, ask
Michael B. Baker, attorney for trustee Schlarman. Yeah, Pagel responded.

(21:14):
In a separate court case, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman
is suing Lexington, Blue Brad and Courtney Pagel, as well
as Southwell, Conway, and former office manager Brooke Durbin under
the state's consumer protection statutes. Records of texts between Pagel, Conway,
and Southwell that have been introduced in the Fayette Circuit
court case indicate Pagel was in constant contact with his

(21:36):
employees on multiple aspects of the business, including its finances.
In October, Fayetts Circuit Judge Diane Minifield ordered that the
bank accounts for the Pagels and all their businesses, as
well as the other defendants, remain frozen indefinitely. Whether the
frozen funds were derived from unlawful trade practices taken or

(21:59):
knowingly allowed by either of the Pagels remains a disputed fact,
and they are entitled to full consideration of the defense
they seem prepared to mount. But the Court is satisfied
with the Attorney General's demonstration that at this point in
the proceedings he has reason to believe that they did
take or at least knowingly allow such actions with resultant

(22:20):
financial benefit. Minifield wrote. Several of the victims of those
unlawful trade practices, including home owner No confronted Pagel in
court Monday and demanded answers to where their money is,
which Pegel claimed not to know. If you took money
from me and didn't do your job, what does that
make you look like like you run a Ponzi scheme?

(22:42):
In many cases, people have paid all they have out
of their savings accounts to you, and they don't have
any recourse to get a roof, She told Pagel Pagel
responded that the business collapsed under its own weight. My
heart goes out to you. It's hard to have a
lot of demonstrable sympathy because of the pressure that I'm
under to sort this out. I don't believe I'm legally

(23:05):
liable for an accidental business failure. Homeowner Renee Hinkey told Pagel.
The other former Lexington Blue clients have little sympathy for
Pagel's financial situation. Please stop telling us how poor you are.
You took our money. We're the ones who had to
sell assets to cover a roof twice. We'd appreciate it

(23:27):
if you would have answers and stop saying I don't know.
Please come with answers. Quit wasting our time. The next
article from today's edition of The Herald Leader is titled
how Kentucky TSA employees are surviving without paychecks by Beth Musgrave.
Kentucky Transportation Safety Administration employees are taking out loans, scrambling

(23:51):
to find cheap food, and considering second jobs as the
federal government shut down hits the thirty day mark. Union officials,
said Shannon McAllister, an executive vice president of the American
Federation of government employees Local six one six and a
TSA employee at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport said the

(24:12):
last time TSA employees were paid was October tenth, and
that was only a partial paycheck. Many airport security employees
are beginning to feel the pinch as they continue to
work without pay. People are picking up second jobs. McAllister
said a lot of people are doordashing. McAllister is also
considering DoorDash. Her last partial paycheck was about three hundred

(24:34):
and fifty dollars less than what she is typically paid.
TSA employees were supposed to be paid October twenty fourth.
The shutdown happened after Congress could not come to an
agreement on spending bills that would keep the government open.
Democrats wanted assurances that Affordable Care Act tax credits, which
helped subsidize insurance premiums, would be extended. Republicans have balked

(24:58):
and said more changes need to be made to the
Affordable Care Act before an agreement can be inked. According
to the Congressional Research Service, as of September twenty twenty four,
there were twenty four thousand federal employees working in Kentucky
that figure does not include military personnel at Fort Knox
or Fort Campbell or federal contractors. Many federal employees have

(25:20):
been furloughed during the shutdown while which started October first, others,
including TSA, Social Security, military personnel, and various law enforcement employees,
continue to work without pay. McAllister, who spoke as a
union official, said after her TSA shift, said some TSA
employees have opted to get loans against their government retirement accounts.

(25:44):
Some banks are also offering no interest loans. Many are
doing what they can to cut costs. I went to
the grocery store last week and tried to find the
cheapest bread, but the cheapest bread was all gone, so
I had to find the next cheapest bread. Everyone is
going through a tough time right now. This shutdown is
affecting everyone. McCallister said some banks are understanding when it

(26:06):
comes to mortgage payments. However, some leandlords are not. One
single mother of a young child told McAllister she is
worried she will get evicted after November first because she
doesn't have enough money to pay her rent. Unfortunately, that
can stay on your credit report forever. McAllister said of
a notice of eviction. TSA employees, including supervisors, are doing

(26:26):
what they can to help. One supervisor recently brought in
a large tray of muffins. Someone has also donated Starbucks
gift cards. They are talking about starting a food drive
to help coworkers who are struggling. She said management has
stayed on top of payroll, so when the government reopens
or Congress finds a way to pay TSA employees, people
can be paid in three or four days. She said.

(26:49):
We are incredibly grateful for the management we have, McAllister said. McAllister,
who has worked for TSA for twenty three years and
has been through other government shutdowns, said the emotion strain
of not knowing when the next paycheck will come is
draining employee morale. The last shut down was in December
twenty eighteen and January twenty nineteen and lasted thirty five days.

(27:11):
The fun people at work, the ones who made airport
security less of a grind, now where they're worry on
their faces, she said. We are trying to keep people's
spirits up, McAllister said. McAllister said that she doesn't blame
Republicans or Democrats for the shutdown. It's like a group
project at school. Some people don't pull their weight. There's

(27:33):
a lot of finger pointing and blame, but in the
end it doesn't matter. Everyone gets the same grade. Congress
that has this assignment every single year to put this
budget together, she said, but they can't seem to complete
that assignment. Both sides need to do what they were
elected to do, what the American people expect them to do,
and get a budget or a continuing resolution so that

(27:54):
the American government can function the way it needs to function. Now,
we will continue reading from the Lexington Herald Leader for
November fifth, twenty twenty five. Your reader is Taylor six.
We will start with the obituaries. We read only the name, age,
and location. If you would like further information on any

(28:17):
of the obituaries, please see their website or call us
during the weekdays at eight five, nine four two two
sixty 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. Michael Brussel seventy
four of Lakeland, Marjorie Mary Fay Ferris eighty eighth, Richmond

(28:43):
Thomas Kriegel eighty one, Lexington Margaret Lane seventy six, Versailles,
George PARRISOT sixty nine, Henrietta Barry Peel eighty Lancaster, Clifford D.
Smith eighty two, Lexington. If you would like any further

(29:06):
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 com slash obituaries slash Kentucky.
You can also call us at our radioized studios at

(29:27):
eight five nine four two two six three nine zero
and we will try to read them to you over
the phone. The next article from today's edition of The
Herald Leader is titled Jonathan Bailey named twenty twenty five
Sexiest Man Alive by US Weekly and People Magazine. Jonathan

(29:50):
Bailey can officially add People's twenty twenty five Sexiest Man
Alive to his resume. Bailey thirty seven, was revealed as
this year's Hottest On during the Monday episode of The
Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. The Wicked star stepped out
on stage sporting a chic black sweater and trousers. When

(30:11):
Fallen fifty one asked Bailey how he felt about earning
the title. He replied, I mean, it's an honor of
a lifetime, he joked. And I want to say, Jimmy,
thank you so much for turning it down so that
I could be here. Bailey, who learned the news earlier
this year, said that it wasn't hard to keep it
a secret. Surprisingly, not no, he said, because not many

(30:32):
people are going, are you Fallin held up two different
covers of the Sexiest Man Alive issue, and one Bailey
is standing in the ocean with a smoldering stare, and
the other he's holding his dog Benson. Bailey's big reveal
comes days after Dancing with the Stars announced that judge
Derrek Hugh won the Sexiest forty year old category in

(30:54):
People's Sexiest Man Alive twenty twenty five Reader's Choice poll.
Last year, people named John Krasinski as the twenty twenty
four Hunk. The next article from today's edition of The
Herald Leader is titled Lexington Company in Automated Manufacturing EXPANSE
Facility Workforce by Piper Hanson. A robotic automation company is

(31:19):
expanding in Lexington with a four million dollar investment in
its facility The expansion is also adding twelve jobs to
the company's workforce. Kinemetrics expanded manufacturing operation is anticipated to
support the automated manufacturing industry as well as the region's
growing electric vehicle supply chain that has promised to employ

(31:41):
thousands across the state on the back of billions of
dollars of investment. The company, according to its website, develops
automated systems for a robotic assembly of various electric vehicle components,
as well as leak tests, scalability technology, and other systems modeling.
The company makes automation processes for its customers and implements

(32:03):
those solutions across a number of production floors. The expansion
project began in January twenty twenty four, when Conmetrics began
using precision equipment and added high skilled engineering and technician
jobs to its Lexington facility and hopes of doubling business capacity.
The company will employ fifty five people total after twelve

(32:25):
new jobs are filled at its Lexington location on Miles
Point Way off Old Frankfort Pike following the facility expansion.
According to a news release from the Kentucky Cabinet for
Economic Development, the expansion has allowed Kindmetrics to double its
capacity and grow revenues by over fifty per cent since
twenty twenty three. The investment positions the company to grow

(32:49):
again next year and support a manufacturing ecosystem that includes Kentucky, Tennessee,
and Ohio. Some of Kentucky's largest economic development projects in
state history are electric vehicle related. The almost six billion
dollars five thousand job Blue Oval sk battery Park and
Hardin County from Ford Motor Company, and the same automaker's

(33:12):
two billion dollar commitment in Jefferson County to make new
mid sized electric trucks as the first in the line
of electric vehicles. Also in the state's portfolio of electric
vehicle related projects is aesc's two billion dollars two thousand
job battery factory project in Warren County. In the past

(33:35):
five years, manufacturers have announced about eight hundred facility location
or expansion projects, with a reported capital investment of twenty
eight billion dollars and more than thirty seven thousand additional jobs.
According to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, over two
hundred fifty thousand Kentuckians work in a manufacturing facility. Kinmetrics

(33:58):
president Jim Payton said since the company's last expansion, it
has worked on building its internal teams and new robotic
assembly technology. It's now time to move to the next
level of scale. Peyton said, we're growing along with our
market leading customers and building additional capacity to serve the
accelerating manufacturing growth in our region. Kentucky Governor Andy Basheer

(34:21):
congratulated the company on October thirtieth, following its ribbon cutting
on the expanded facility. He said the state's wealth of
advanced manufacturing continues to create jobs and spur economic growth
across multiple communities. This expansion will not only support our
growing EV sector, it will also add quality, skilled job

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opportunities in Lexington area. Basheer said, I want to thank
company leadership for their commitment to the Commonwealth and look
forward to their continued success. Lexington Mayor Linda Gordon and
Commerce Lexington President and CEO Bob Quick also gave the
company praise and thanked it for staying in Lexis. Since

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nineteen ninety five, kind Metrics has provided advanced automation solutions
focused on helping companies enhance operational efficiency on their production floor.
Quick said its design process increases up time, which in
turn maximizes productivity and strengthens the economy across our region
and in the Commonwealth. The next article from today's edition

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of The Herald Leader is titled Representative Thomas Massey announces
marriage to former Rand Paul staffer by Austin Horn. Representative
Thomas Massey has remarried, he announced on social media Monday.
The longtime Northern Kentucky congressman posted Monday that he had
married Carolyn Grace Moffa on October nineteen. The marriage occurred

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just over a year since the sudden passing of his wife,
Ronda in June twenty twenty four. The congressmen and Ronda
Massey were high school sweethearts and were married for thirty
one years. The newlyweds met when Matha worked as a
staffer on agriculture policy under fellow Kentucky politician, Senator Rand Paul.
According to Massey's post, as Senator Paul's ag policy staffer

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until twenty sixteen, Carolyn was a very early proponent and
practitioner of making America healthy again. She even visited me
and my late wife, Ronda on our grass fed cattle
farm several years ago. Massy wrote, Massey and his late
wife have four adult children who were all married, and
three grandchildren. MafA is thirty six years old and Massey

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is fifty four. The union is Mafa's first marriage. He
wrote that he proposed to MafA on the steps of
the Library of Congress, where they held their first date.
They were legally married in Massey's native Kentucky, but held
a ceremony in Pennsylvania, where MafA is from. Fun facts
about our wedding. Of course, we served raw milk with

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the wedding cake, and margaritas made with frozen peaches from
our farm. Senator Ran paul In, Representatives Jim Jordan, Warren Davidson,
Marjorie Taylor Green, and Victoria's Sparts attended. However, the real
VIPs were my three grandkids. My oldest grandson was the
ring bearer, Massy Rope. The next article from today's edition

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of The Harold Leader is titled Lexington Bourbon Week twenty
four Special Cocktails featuring Kentucky Spirits by Janet Patten. The
third annual Lexington Bourbon Week returns November sixth to November
fifteen with specialty cocktails at restaurants and bars around town.
The ten day celebration of Kentucky's Native Spirit is produced

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by Smiley Pete Publishing and presented by Give two seventy,
which raises money for non profit organizations through weekly raffles
of sought after bourbons. This year, twenty restaurants and bars
will serve two dozen unique off menu bourbon cocktails featuring
one of the events partner Bourbons, Castle and Key, Bespoken,
James E. Pepper or Never Say Die. Participating local restaurants

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and bars include Athenian Grill, Azure Barrel, Fifty three Bells,
Cocktail House, Bespoken Spirits Lounge, Col's seven thirty five, Main,
Chevy Chase Inn, Drake's, Epping's on east Side, Goodwood, Grand
Dam At, the Manchester, Honeywood, The Kentucky Castle, The Los Palm, Malone's,
Merrick Inn, Meleda, Nick and Norman's, OBC Kitchen, Paddock, Bourbon Club,

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Rack House, Tavern, The Thirsty Fox, and more. Here's what
each restaurant is offering. Athenian Grill, The Odyssey, Bespoken, Bourbon Bitters,
Simple syrup Uzzo, rents, lemon garnish and a chilled glass
for twelve dollars Athenian Grill thirty eight oh one Mall

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Road number one twenty, open Sunday through Thursday, eleven a
m to nine pm, and Friday and Saturday eleven a
m to ten pm. Athenian Grill Tales from Thermoplay, bespoken,
Rye Metaxa sweet vermouth, Uzzo, Ngossera bitters, citrus bitters, orange

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peel and cherry garnish for fourteen dollars. Athenian Grill thirty
eight oh one Mall Road number one twenty, open Sunday
through Thursday, eleven am to nine pm, and Friday and
Saturday eleven am to ten pm. Aser Mind Your Nanners
James E. Pepper seventeen seventy six Pecan and banana liqueurs

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with cinnamon simple syrup, served up with a bruleet banana
slice for fifteen dollars. Azer Lake Crest Circle number five fifty,
open Monday through Thursday four to nine pm, Friday and
Saturday four to ten pm. Sunday ten thirty am to
two thirty pm, four to ten pm. Bell's Cocktail House,

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Kentucky Breakfast brown butter washed Pecanon fuse barrel proof James
Pepperbourbon barrel aged maple syrup and black walnut bitters, garnished
with an orange peel and a cherry price not available.
Bell's Cocktail House, one fifty six Market Street, open Thursday
through Saturday, six pm to two am. Bespoken Spirits Lounge

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Autumn Mule Bespoken Bourbon, apple cider and lemon juice, topped
with ginger beer and garnished with apple, cinnamon stick and
a lemon twist for ten dollars. Bespoken Spirits Lounge, one
oh one West Lauden Avenue, number one thirty two, open
Wednesday noon to seven pm, Thursday through Saturday noon to
eight pm, and Sunday noon to six pm. Chevy Chase

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in Bespoken Red Eye. The best bourbon cocktail only needs
two things, a great bourbon and a glass. The Red
Eye takes this up a notch by pairing a poor
of Bespoken bourbon with a pint of Chevy Chase Lagger
nine dollars. Chevy Chasin eight thirty three Euclid Avenue, open

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Monday through Thursday two pm to one am, Saturday eleven
am to one am, and Sunday three thirty pm to midnight.
Cole's seven thirty five Main Bluegrass Shakedown, Never Say Die Bourbon, housemaids, spice,
honey syrup, wisebird, pommeu lemon candy, ginger rim for fourteen dollars.

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Coal seven thirty five seven thirty five East Main Street,
open Tuesday through Thursday, four to nine pm, Friday and
Saturday four to ten pm. Drake Smoked Old Fashioned Castle
and Key Bourbon, simple syrup and gostra bitters, black walnut
bitters serve smoked for eight dollars. Drake's eighteen eighty pleasant

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Ridge Drive, Hamburg three ninety East Brandon Road, Nicholasville, Brandon
Crossing and thirty three forty seven Tates Creek Road, open
daily eleven am to eleven pm. Epping's on east Side
Not Dead Yet a riff of a classic tiki drink
called the Undead Gentleman with Never Say Die bourbon, grapefruit juice,

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lime juice, housemade toasted ball, falernum and angoster bitters shaken
and served with an absence rinsed martini glass for fourteen dollars.
Epings on East Side to sixty four Walton Avenue, open
Tuesday through Thursday, four to nine pm, Friday and Saturday
four to ten pm and Saturday and Sunday ten am

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to two pm. Goodwood Square Meal Sweet and Spicy Cocktail
featuring bespoken bourbon and Goodwood hot sauce garnished with a
cucumber for twelve dollars. Goodwood two hundred, Lexington Green Circle
Sweet one ten open Sunday through Thursday eleven am to
nine pm, and Friday and Saturday eleven am to ten pm.

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Honeywood Nutty by Nature toasted pecan infused old pepper, bottled
in bond house, apple bitters and local maple for fouryeen dollars.
Honeywood one ten Summit at Fritz Farm Number one forty,
open Monday through Sunday, eleven am to nine pm. James E.
Pepper Distillery Bourbon Flight Enjoy a curated tasting featuring decanter,

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gold decanter, single barrel, decanter, barrel proof for twenty two dollars.
James E. Pepper Distillery twelve twenty eight Manchester Street, Unit
one hundred, open Monday through Saturday, ten am to six
pm and Sunday eleven thirty am to five thirty pm.

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The Kentucky Castle Pepper Peach Punch James E. Pepperbourbon mixed
with our homemade peach punch, topped with ginger ale and
gardish with the lime wedge for fifteen dollars. The Kentucky
Castle two thirty pixel Pike and for sales, open daily
eight thirty am to one pm, Sunday through Thursday five
to eight pm, and Friday and Saturday five to nine pm.

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Lost Palm Summer Solstice, a riff on a my tie
seventeen seventy six James E. Pepper rye, allspice, dram orghee,
passion fruit syrup, lime juice for sixteen dollars. Los Palm
nine forty one Manchester Street, open daily four to eleven pm.

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Malones Pecan, Old Fashioned Castle and Key Bourbon, pecan syrup
and Goostra bitters black walnut bitters for nine dollars. Malones
thirty three forty seven. Tates Creek Road, Lansdown thirty seven
thirty five, Palomar Palamar and nineteen twenty pleasant Ridge Hamburg,

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open daily eleven am to ten pm. The Manchester Grand
Dam Lounge. Midnight Rain a riff on a boulevardier midnight rain,
made with seventeen seventy six James E. Pepper, rye, kimpari,
sweet vermouth, patron Xo coffee liqueur, apparol aperavedo for sixteen dollars.

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The Manchester Hotel's Grand Dam nine to forty one Manchester Street,
open Sunday through Wednesday, four to eleven pm, Thursday and
Saturday four pm to midnight. American Bespoken Breakfast, Old Fashioned
Bespoken twice toasted bourbon breakfast and fused whiskey, banana, liqueur

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and black walnut bitters finished with housemade candied bacon and
a caramelized banana for thirteen dollars. American ten seventy four
A Meerck Drive, open Monday through Saturday, four to eleven pm.
Melaya pepper harvest James Pepper seventeen seventy six, rye blood
orange liqueur, black pepper syrup, amoro nonino, lemon juice, orange bitters,

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black salmon fuse coconut oil garnish for fifteen dollars. MALAYEDA
thirty five sixty five Nicholasville Road, Sweet nine thirty two,
open Wednesday through Thursday, eleven am to nine pm, Friday
and Saturday eleven am to ten pm, and Sunday eleven
am to nine pm. Nick and Norman's BlackBerry Derby Bespoken

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Bourbon House infused BlackBerry, met syrup, agave, lemon juice and
blackberries for thirteen dollars. Nick and Normans one thirty five
West Main Street, open Monday through Saturday eleven am to
ten pm and Sunday eleven am to nine pm. OBC
Cherry Cinnamon toast Crunch, Boulevardier cinnamon toast crunch, milkwa washed

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Castle and Key Bourbon, Lilt rouse, dark cherry reduction, Italian
amoro and operative fruit and aromatic bitters for ten dollars.
OBC Kitchen thirty three seventy three Tates Creek Road, open
Monday through Thursday three to ten pm, Friday three to
eleven pm, Saturday ten am to eleven pm, and Sunday

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ten am to nine pm. Paddock Bourbon Club Paddock Sidecar
James E. Pepperbourbon, lemon juice and Grand Galla orange liqueur,
shaken and served in a coup with a brown sugar rim.
Price not available. Paddock Bourbon Club three nineteen in South Limestone,
open Monday through Friday three pm to two am, Saturday

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one pm to two am, and Sunday one pm to
two am. Rack House Tavern Campbell House bespoken campfire bespoken bourbon, rosemary,
honey lemon for fourteen dollars. Rack House Tavern, thirteen seventy
five South Broadway, open Monday through Friday four to ten pm,
Saturday four to eleven pm, and Sunday eleven am to

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two pm and four to eleven pm. Thirsty Fox at
Zim's Cafe, Oh My Gord bespoken toasted bourbon, field trip squash, amorro, honey,
ginger syrup, nutmeg, lemon served up with a cinnamon for
fourteen dollars. Thursday Fox two fifteen West Main Street, number fifty,

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open Monday through Friday four to ten pm, Saturday four
to eleven pm, and Sunday eleven a m To two
pm and four to eleven pm. The next article from
today's edition of The Herald Leader is titled Powerful Vice
President was war advocate Washington insider by James Oliphant and

(48:27):
James Kersten, saying from the Los Angeles Times. Richard B. Cheney,
the former vice president of the United States who was
the architect of the nation's longest war as he plotted
President George W. Bush's thunderous global response to the nine
to eleven terror attacks, has died. Vexed by heart trouble
for much of his adult life, Cheney died Monday night

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due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.
According to a statement from his family, he was eighty four.
For decades, Dick Cheney served our nation, including ding as
White House Chief of Staff, Wyoming's congressman, Secretary of Defense,
and Vice President of the United States. The statement said
Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught

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his children and grandchildren to love our country and to
live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing.
We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did
for our country, and we are blessed beyond measure to
have loved and been loved by this noble giant of
a man. To supporters and detractors alike, Cheney was widely

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viewed as the engine that drove To supporters and detractors alike,
Cheney was widely viewed as the engine that drove the
Bush White House. His two term tenure capped a lifetime
of public service both in Congress and on behalf of
our four Republican presidents. It often fell to Cheney, not
President Bush, to make an assertive, unapologetic case for the

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American led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and for the
controversial anti terrorism measures such as the gun Guantanamo Bay prison.
And after the election of President Barack Obama, it was
once again Cheney, not Bush, who stood among the new
president's fiercest critics on national security. In in October two

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thousand nine speech one emblematic of the role he embraced
after leaving the White House, Cheney blasted the Obama administration
for opening a probe of enhanced interrogations of suspected terrorists
conducted during the Bush years. We cannot protect this country
by putting politics over security and turning the guns on

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our own guys, he said. The rhetoric was textbook Cheney, blunt, unvarnished,
delivered with authority. While Cheney at the time was attempting
to occupy the leadership vacuum in the GOP and the
age of Obama, there was little doubt that he also
was motivated to preserve a legacy that appears to be
as much his as former President Bush's for eight years,

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Cheney redrew the lines that defined the vice presidency in
a way no predecessor had. His office enjoyed greater autonomy
than others before it, while working to keep much of
his influence from plain sight. That way of operating led
to a challenge before the Supreme Court, as well as

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a criminal investigation over a leak of classified information. Moreover,
the image of a powerful back room operator managing the
Bush administration's war on terror, combined with his service as
Defense Secretary during the Persian Gulf War and his stint
as a chairman of the defense contracting giant Halliburton, made
Cheney a towering betat noir to liberals worldwide. To them,

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he embodied a dangerous fusion of politics and the military
industrial complex, and they viewed his every move with deep suspicion.
To his champions, however, he was the firm, jowled, hulking,
resolute defender of American interest. Standing with the administration was
more than a duty to Cheney was an article of faith.

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The invasion of Iraq was the right thing to do,
and if we had to do it over again, we'd
do exactly the same thing. Cheney said in a two
thousand and six interview, even as the nation slowly learned
that US intelligence suggesting Saddam Hussein's regime possessed weapons of
mass destruction was simply not true. Three years earlier, Cheney

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had pledged that the US would be greeted in Iraq
as liberators, a comment that haunted him as insurgents in
the country gain strength, killed thousands of Allied troops and
extended the conflict for years. The war in Afghanistan would
drag on for twenty years, ending in twenty twenty one,

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as it had begun, with the Taliban back in control.
While Cheney will largely be remembered for his leading role
in the response to the nine to eleven terror attacks,
he had long worked the corridors of power in Washington.
He was a White House aide to President Nixon and
later chief of staff to President Ford. As a member
of the House from Wyoming, he rose quickly to become

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part of the Republican leadership during the nineteen eighties. In
the early nineties, he ran the Pentagon during the Gulf War.
Richard Bruce Dick Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on
January thirtieth nineteen forty one, and spent much of his
teenage years in Casper, Wyoming. His father worked for the
United States Soil Conservation Service. As a young man, he

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was more interested in hunting, fishing, and sports than in academics,
and a stint at Yale University was short lived. He
eventually obtained bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of
Wyoming and studied toward a doctorate at the University of Wisconsin.
In nineteen sixty four, he married Lynn Anne Vincent, who
became a lifelong political partner while strongly influencing Cheney's conservatism.

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Daughter Elizabeth, who was elected to Congress in twenty seventeen,
was born in nineteen sixty six, and her sister Mary
arrived three years later. The sisters became embittered years later
when Elizabeth, who preferred Liz, took a stance opposing same
sex marriage, with seems a slap to Mary and her wife. Cheney, however,
offered his support for such unions, an early GOP voice

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for same sex marriage. Years later, he came to Liz's
defense when she broke with fellow Republicans and voted to
impeach President Donald Trump following the January sixth, twenty twenty
one attack on the United States Capitol. In addition to
his wife and daughters, Cheney had survived by seven grandchildren.
In nineteen seventy eight, at the age thirty seven, and

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in the midst of the primary election campaign, he had
a heart attack, the first of several. He would undergo
multiple surgeries, including a quadruple bypass, two angioplasty's, installation of
a heart pump, and in twenty twelve, a transplant. His
frequent trips to the hospital and seeming indestructibility provided fodder

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for late night talk show hosts during Cheney's vice presidency.
With the he the help of television ads reminding voters
that Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson had served
full White House terms despite having had heart attacks. He
narrowly won the Republican nomination, and in November nineteen seventy eight,
secured election to the House of Representatives from Wyoming single district.

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In Congress, he was known as a listener more interested
in a problem solving than conservative demagoguery, even as he
quietly built a voting record that left no doubt about
where he stood on the political spectrum, he quickly moved
into the ranks of GOP leadership. Cheney stepped into the
public spotlight after he was named Defense Secretary by President

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George H. W. Bush in nineteen eighty nine. As the
Berlin Wall fell and the Cold War cooled, Cheney was
charged with overseeing a Pentagon that was more fractitious than usual.
In a test of political and managerial will, he oversaw
major reductions in the defense budget, a profound downsizing of forces,

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and the closing of obsolete military bases. He helped implement
the US invasion of Panama in nineteen eighty nine to
oust the country's leader, Manuel Norega for drug trafficking and racketeering.
But Cheney, along with his hand picked Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell, made his mark in
the American response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in

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nineteen ninety. Due to time constraints, we will need to
end that item at this time.