9.21.25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the reading of the Lexington Herald Leader. Today
is Sunday, September twenty first, twenty twenty five, and your
reader is Roger Hamperion. As a reminder, Radio I 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

(00:23):
by ACU Weather. Today's weather, we'll see a thunderstorm around
with a high of eighty three degrees and a low
of sixty six. Monday we'll see a thunderstorm in spots
with a high of eighty and a low of sixty five.
Tuesday will have a stray afternoon thunderstorm with a high
of seventy nine and love of sixty six. Wednesday we'll

(00:47):
see a thunderstorm war II with a high of seventy
five and a low of sixty three. Thursday we'll see
a thunderstorm in spots with a high of seventy five
and a low of sixty. Friday we'll have a couple
of afternoon showers with a high of seventy six and
low sixty Saturday we'll have clouds and sun with showers

(01:10):
around with a high of seventy seven and low sixty one.
In the Weather Almanac, the high temperature is eighty nine
degrees and a low fifty five normal high eighty normal
low fifty seven. Last year's high eighty six. Last year's
low sixty four. Record high was ninety six in nineteen

(01:34):
fifty three. Record low was thirty nine in nineteen thirty seven.
Thursday's precipitation zero month to date point nine seven inches
normal month to date two point zero two. Year to
date forty four point one point one normal year to

(01:55):
date thirty seven point two to one last year to
date thirty one five point seventy four. Record for the
date one point zero seven inches in nineteen ninety two.
The pollen count is in the high rains, the main
offender being weeds. Sunrise Sunday will be seven twenty five am,

(02:17):
sunset seven thirty eight pm. Moonrise six oh eight am,
moon set seven oh nine pm. Moon phases. New moon
is today September twenty first first quarter September twenty ninth,
Full moon October sixth, last quarter October thirteenth. Now we

(02:39):
will read the front page headline from today's edition, Halloween
means Big Business forget summer. Here comes Halloween decorations, pumpkins
and candy. Lots of candy are filling store shelves as
Central Kentucky shoppers shift their attention to autumn. The bulish

(03:00):
season means big dollars, and even with the uneven economy,
consumers are standing in line for all things orange. The
first article from today's edition is titled all Things Autumn.
Summer's not over, but Halloween decor Autumn goods have arrived
in Central Kentucky by Piper Hanson. Autumn doesn't arrive until

(03:24):
September twenty second, but that hasn't stopped Lexington area stores
or shoppers from welcoming ghouls, goblins, scary costumes, and pumpkins,
lots and lots of pumpkins. As soon as Labor Day hit,
major retailers in the area like Target, Walmart, Marshall's, Hobby Lobby,
and others pulled down their back to school displays, replacing

(03:47):
them with all Things Halloween. Harvest inspired orange colored and
pumpkin spice scented. The area's spirit. Halloween locations are opening too,
offering shoppers enough cobwebs and costumes to make the scary
season memorable. Make no mistake, Autumn is big business. National

(04:08):
shopping trend experts predict seven and ten Americans plan to
participate in Halloween celebrations this year. Last year, the National
Retail Federation projected US consumers would spend nearly one hundred
four dollars in the lead up to Halloween, less than
what they'd likely spend on Easter and Valentine's Day, but

(04:29):
more than what they'd spend celebrating the fourth of July
and Saint Patrick's Day. What's a big chunk of the
spending Why Candy? Of course, National retail sources say the
average family spending on Halloween candy was thirty one dollars
and ninety three cents in twenty twenty three, remained close
to thirty two to thirty five dollars in twenty twenty four,

(04:53):
and is similarly estimated to be around thirty two to
thirty five dollars for twenty twenty five. About half of
consumers surveyed by Prosper Insights and Analytics for the Retail
Group's spending data said they were opening their wallet to decorate.
The National Retail Federation projected nearly four billion dollars would
be spent in twenty twenty four on fall decorations. Early

(05:17):
Halloween shopping is on the rise, according to that same
spending data for last year's season, a phenomenon likely happening
this fall in and around Lexington if store displays and
shopping carts in checkout lanes are any indication. The National
Retail Federation found forty seven percent of consumers surveyed were

(05:38):
beginning their shopping before October, up from thirty seven percent
five years ago. Half of those who planned to shop
early last year said they were doing it because they
were looking forward to the fall season. Halloween marks the
official transition to the fall season for many Americans, and
consumers are eager to get a jump on purchasing si

(06:00):
seasonal decor and other items, said Katherine Cullen, the Federation's
vice president of Industry and Consumer Insights. Alongside last year's
data projects, retailers are prepared to meet this early demand
by offering shoppers all the holiday essentials to make this
year's celebrations memorable. The National Retail Federation hasn't released projections

(06:23):
for spending totals in twenty twenty five, but based on
data from the Federal Reserve and its survey of consumer finance. Moody's,
a leading financial analytics company, said higher income earning households
were still spending and keeping pace with inflation in the
year's second quarter ending in June. Overall, though, consumer optimism

(06:46):
about the economy has been steadily declining since November twenty
twenty four. According to mckinzian Company, a business management consulting firm,
rising prices are the leading concerns income groups. There's a
growing sense of caution that could mean families spend less
on discretionary purchases such as home improvement supplies, furniture, and decorations.

(07:11):
Nearly half of consumers surveyed as part of the Mackenzie
data said they planned to keep their holidays spending in
line with last years, and about one third of them
said they would be shopping almost entirely online. Those shopping
in person and Central Kentucky have been treated already this
season to instore deals and a plethora of holiday goods.

(07:34):
What might shoppers expect? High on the list anything you
could dream to be pumpkin shaped that includes puzzles, picture frames, mugs, candles,
beads for homemade crafts, and so much more. In Spirit Halloween,
the seasonal retailer, there's skulls of plenty on the same
shelves as string lights shaped like bats and plastic gravestones

(07:58):
meant for a front yard display. Spirit Halloween is operating
two stores in Lexington, one in Fayett Mall in the
former Party City next to Half Priced Books, the other
in Hamburg in the former Big Lots between Dick's Sporting
Goods and Coals. Want to create a cozier vibe, several

(08:18):
stores have seasonal blankets patterned with apples, leaves, pieces of
pumpkin pie, black cats, ghosts, and more. Many shoppers in
Marshalls and Home Goods didn't leave without a new candle
on a post Labor Day shopping spree. The front wall
of Hobby Lobby in the Brannan Crossing shopping Center in
Nicholasville is covered floor to ceiling in red, orange and

(08:42):
yellow leaf wreaths, scarecrows, and pumpkin paraphernalia. The store's enclosed
entryway is reminiscent of a day spent pumpkin picking, with
scarecrows sitting on hay bales guarded by crows and on
the very top of shelves in hobby lobby only accessible
by Lafetter. Our hints of what's next The stores stash

(09:03):
of faux Poinsetta's, the red and green flowering plant widely
used in Christmas floral displays and decorations. Forget Halloween, Christmas
is coming. The next article from today's edition of The
Herald Leader is titled Trump threatens to acts licenses of
networks that criticize him, by Catherine Lucy and Kate Sullivan.

(09:26):
President Donald Trump suggested that US broadcast networks should face
scrutiny over their licenses if their content is overwhelmingly critical
of him, and defended ABC's decision to suspend late night
host Jimmy Kimmel's show indefinitely over remarks about the death
of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. That's something that should be

(09:48):
talked about for licensing too. When you have a network
and you have evening shows and all they do is
hit Trump. Trump told reporters a board Air Force one
their license. They're not allowed to do that. They're an
arm of the Democrat Party. Trump praised FCC chair Brendan
Carr and drew a direct link between coverage that the

(10:11):
President views as negative and the prospect of TV licenses
being revoked as a consequence. I read someplace that the
networks were ninety seven percent against me. Again, I get
ninety seven percent negative, and yet I want it easily.
I won all seven swing states the popular vote. Whatever

(10:31):
they're ninety seven percent against, they give me totally bad
publicity the press. Trump said they're getting a license. I
would think maybe their license should be taken away. It
will be up to Brendan Carr. I think Brendan Carr
is outstanding. He's a patriot, he loves our country, and
he's a tough guy. So we'll have to see. The

(10:54):
comments add up to Trump's furthest reaching threat to US broadcasters,
who controlled both industry leading television news operations as well
as air mass market entertainment that's freely accessible to anyone
with a television and viewed daily by millions. Trump and
Republicans have long complained that Hollywood broadly is unfavorable to conservatives,

(11:17):
and the president has repeatedly called for CBS, ABC and
NBC to part with their late night commandic hosts, who
are frequently critical of his administration. Trump's comments come after
Walt Disney Co's ABC network said it is taking Jimmy
Kimmel Live off the air indefinitely, following a backlash from

(11:38):
conservatives over the late night host's comments about Kirk. Earlier Thursday,
Trump backed ABC's decision to remove Kimmel amid pressure from
network affiliates who had said they were pulling the show.
Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings, more
than anything else, and he said a horrible thing about

(11:58):
a great gentleman known as Tor Charlie Kirk, Trump said
Thursday during his press conference with British Prime Minister Kerr Starmer.
Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person. Trump continued, He
had very bad ratings and they should have fired him
a long time ago. So you know, you can call
that free speech or not. He was fired for lack

(12:19):
of talent. Kimmel's comments inflamed many conservative commentators and brought
a rebuke from members of the Trump administration. Carr told
podcast host Benny Johnson that he had a strong case
to punish Kimmel, ABC and Disney. The FCC grants licenses
to broadcasters such as ABC and its affiliates. Kimmel on Monday,

(12:43):
accused Republicans of using Kirk's death to criticize opponents. We
hit some new lows over the weekend with the Maga
gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk
as anything other than one of them, he said. The
suspension started with Wednesday's broadcas Disney said in a statement.
The company announced the decision minutes after Nexstar Media Group Incorporated,

(13:07):
which owns dozens of ABC TV affiliates, said it would
pull the show indefinitely from its stations over remarks it
cast as offensive and insensitive. Trump and Vice President J. D.
Vance have blamed Kirk's killing on inflammatory leftist rhetoric and
vowed to investigate left leaning organizations in response. Individuals accused

(13:29):
of celebrating his death or offering negative viewpoints of Kirk,
a polarizing figure who took staunchly conservative stances on issues
such as race and gender, have faced online vitriol and
in some cases lost their jobs. The moves have also
come amid a broader assault by Trump on media organizations

(13:49):
whose coverage he has been unhappy with. Last year, ABC
agreed to pay fifteen million dollars to settle a defamation
lawsuit brought by Trump over comments made by host George Stephanopoulos.
The president this week sued the New York Times Company
for fifteen billion dollars, claiming it has an agenda against him.

(14:10):
The next article from today's edition of The Herald Leader
is titled Grande wins major award for songwriting from Parade.
Fresh off selling out her Eternal Sunshine tour, her first
tour since twenty nineteen, Arianna Grande has added another milestone
to her career with a major award win. According to Variety,

(14:33):
Music licensing company SESAC named Grande as its Songwriter of
the Year and recognized her for her song we Can't
Be Friends Wait for Your Love, the tenth song on
her most recent album, Eternal Sunshine. It also became the
singer's seventh song to debut at the top of the
Billboard Hot one hundred, earning her the record for a

(14:56):
female artist's most number one debuts in history. Thank you
so much for this incredible honor, Grande wrote on her
Instagram story along with an announcement, I am so, so
moved and grateful. Over the past decade, Grande has solidified
her place as one of pop music's most influential artists.

(15:17):
She first broke out on the charts with her debut album,
Yours Truly in twenty thirteen, and has since released seven
studio albums, each with multiple hits. Currently, Grande is promoting
the second installment of the Wicked film series, in which
she stars as Glinda. She is also set to appear
in the Doctor Seuss animated film Oh the Places You'll

(15:40):
Go and the Meet the Parents sequel Fokker in Law
in twenty twenty six. The next article from today's edition
of The Herald Later is titled Russia, China and Iran
use Kirk's murder to stoke division by Stephen Lee Myers.
In the days since Charlie Kirk's assassin, Russia, Iran, and

(16:02):
China have spread thousands of false or incendiary claims about
what happened to the conservative activist in an effort to
stoke political divisions or to portray the United States as
a dysfunctional country. Official state media in the three countries
mentioned Kirk sixty two hundred times from September tenth to

(16:22):
September seventeenth, framing the killing as a conspiracy, though they
differed on the nature of the plot involved. According to
an analysis Wednesday by NewsGuard, a company that tracks disinformation online.
The findings underscored remarks made by Governor Spencer Cox of Utah,
where Kirk was fatally shot during an appearance on a

(16:44):
college campus September tenth. What we are seeing is our
adversaries went violence. Cox said two days after the shooting.
We have bots from Russia, China, all over the world
that are trying to instill disinformation and encourage violence. Foreign
influenced campaigns have become a recurrent backdrop to virtually any

(17:05):
news event in the United States, from natural disasters to
elections to political crises. Russia, China, and Iran especially tried
to exploit events in the United States to push their
own geopolitical agendas. While their narratives differ and even contradict
each other, they share a goal of undermining American democracy

(17:26):
and its reputation globally. Kirk's assassination immediately generated a deluge
of false claims, baseless speculation, and conspiratorial thinking from domestic
sources that has not yet relented. The country's adversaries have
seized the moment as well, at times amplifying the same
unsubstantiated narratives. The day after the killing, Russia's English language

(17:50):
news channel RT repeated unsubstantiated claims that people near Kirk
were making hand signs to cue the shooter. Law enforcement
officials have said Tyler Robinson, the man charged in the killing,
acted alone. Alexander Dugan, a prominent ultnationalist writer in Russia,
falsely claimed in subsequent days that the Deep State and

(18:13):
George Soros Open Society Foundation were behind the killing because
of Kirk's faith and patriotic values, a theme echoed among
some conservatives in the United States as well. Charlie Kirk
was on our side of the front line that now
divides humanity, Dugan wrote. The civil war in the USA
is not something distant. Russia's state media sought to link

(18:35):
the assassination to the war in Ukraine, while officials and
pro Russian accounts online even suggested that Ukraine was somehow
behind it. NewsGuard noted that the Russians made the same
claims after the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump during
last year's election campaign, which had no link at all
to Ukraine or the war. In the past. Russia, like

(18:59):
other adversaries, has also spread similar narratives using bot accounts
posing as Americans. Iran claimed that Israel's secret service carried
out the killing as a way to distract Americans from
the killings of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. China not
inaccurately portrayed the United States as a deeply divided country,

(19:20):
but one pro China account on the social platform x
falsely stated that the shooter donated two hundred twenty four
dollars to Trump's election campaign in twenty twenty, according to NewsGuard.
The next article from today's edition of The Herald Leader
is titled Belle Breezing Did the Lexington Madam inspire a
Gone with the Wind? Character? By Liz Carey. Lexington's Bell

(19:45):
Breezing was a nationally known madam, but questions still linger
about if she was the inspiration for a character in
Gone with the Wind. Breezing was born Mary Belle Cox
in Lexington in eighteen sixty, the daughter of of an
unmarried dressmaker who moonlighted as a prostitute. Not long after
her fifteenth birthday, Breezing found out she was pregnant. She

(20:09):
gave birth on March fourteenth, eighteen seventy six, to her
daughter Daisy May Kenny. Just two months later, Breezing's mother
died of cancer. While she was at the funeral, her
mother's landlord padlocked the house, leaving her and her daughter homeless.
Breezing left Kenny with a neighbor and turned to prostitution.

(20:30):
In eighteen seventy nine, Breezing got her first job in
a brothel and quickly became its top earner. Bankers and
politicians were among her clients. Two years later, she rented
a house on Upper Street to open her own brothel.
She was determined to make her brothel the finest in
the city. Her trips to Cincinnati and New York City

(20:51):
helped her to furnish it with the best linens, furniture,
and clothes she could buy. It made it more comfortable
for the businessmen, bankers, and und politicians who frequented her
body house. When she was arrested for her profession in
eighteen eighty two, she was pardoned by Kentucky Governor Luke Blackburn.
By eighteen eighty three, she'd saved enough money to buy

(21:14):
her own house at one ninety four North Upper Street.
In eighteen eighty nine, the Lexington Daily Press published a
petition of citizens calling for her brothel and others to
be closed, citing their addresses. Breezing, with the help of
Philadelphia millionaire William M. Singerly, promptly opened another brothel at

(21:35):
one fifty three Northeastern Avenue. It quickly became one of
the most stylish brothels in the city. Breasing used her
business sense and her affability with her customers to propel
the house to another level. Some of her richest clients
came from across the country to see horse races. One
of them, wealthy Boston banker Ali Bonner, would rent the

(21:58):
entire house out for the duration of the races when
he was in town. Breezing's reputation spread from Kentucky to
the East Coast and to the wild West. But Breezing
wasn't all business. She was also charitable. When a hospital
in Lexington had a fire, Breezing allegedly bought all the
linens in the city and sent it to the hospital.

(22:20):
When a local prostitute was murdered, Breezing made sure she
had a proper burial in the Lexington cemetery. For every
bad miss Bell did, she did five hundred good ones.
One Lexington resident said after Breezing's death. There were a
lot of poor people in that neighborhood and she helped
many of them. There was an awful lot of stuff

(22:40):
that went out that back door to them. Breezing's brothel
didn't survive the temperance movement in Lexington, and in nineteen
fifteen her brothel closed. She continued to live on the
premises and was diagnosed with uterine cancer in nineteen thirty eight.
She died in nineteen forty. Time magazine published an obituary

(23:01):
about her, calling her a famed Kentucky bod, while the
Lexington Herald published a front page eulogy. Her estate was
auctioned off and her house was converted to apartments. When
a fire burned the house in nineteen seventy three, Brick's
savage from the home were sold with the inscription Brick
from the Bell Breezing Home the most orderly of disorderly homes.

(23:24):
But her legacy didn't end. There is Breezing a character
in Gone with the Wind. In nineteen thirty six, Margaret
Mitchell published her novel Gone with the Wind. Many believed
then and now that Breezing was the model for the
prostitute Belle Watling, who comes to the aid of Captain
Rhett Butler. In the book, the similarities are striking. Waltley

(23:48):
is a prostitute with her own brothel financed by a
millionaire Butler. Watling was compassionate and generous throughout the novel
and donated money to the war hospitals. Although the main character,
Scarlett O'Hara despises Wattling and looks down on her, Butler
ultimately thinks Watling is superior to Ahara because of her

(24:09):
warm heartedness. But there are differences too. Watling is a
red haired beauty with colorful clothes and a big personality.
Breezing was a petite woman with dark, curly hair and
a pleasant face, but not exactly pretty. She was also
reserved and discreet, something Wantling was not. Mitchell swore that

(24:30):
Watling was not based on Breezing. Breezing died just six
months after the release of the film adaptation of Gone
with the Wind, the highest grossing film of all time
when adjusted for inflation. The film sold and estimated two
hundred two million tickets in its initial runs, a record
at the time. It is estimated to have earned a

(24:51):
total adjusted gross of between three point three and four
point five billion dollars globally, but many suspect Mitchell's husband,
who had lived in Lexington, would have known about breezing
and told Mitchell about the nationally famous Madam with the
Heart of Gold. The next article from today's edition of
The Herald Leader is titled Kentucky's Supreme Court nullifies Lexington

(25:14):
ban on no knock warrants. Citing state law by Taylor
six and Austin Horne, Kentucky's highest court has reversed Lexington's
ban on no knock warrants, ruling that a city ordnance
banning their use directly conflicts with state law. The Kentucky
Supreme Court issued the ruling Thursday morning, reversing a decision

(25:37):
from the lower Court of Appeals that said the city's
twenty twenty one ban on no knock warrants was lawful.
Writing for the majority of the court, Justice Robert Connolly
wrote that a state statute designed to limit how no
knock warrants can be executed explicitly allows those warrants to
be executed throughout the state. Nothing has been shown to

(25:58):
negate this one salient fact. LPD officers are directly prohibited,
and the judges of Lexington Fayette County are indirectly limited
by the ordinance from doing what the judges and law
enforcement officers and the rest of the Commonwealth are authorized
to do for the statute. The ordinance prohibits what the
statute allows, it makes illegal what the statute declares is legal,

(26:22):
and therefore contravenes the public policy of the commonwealth. Conley wrote.
Two of the Court's seven justices, Michelle Keller and Angela Bisig,
discended in ruling. Justices Devora Lambert, Shane Nicol, and Kelly
Thompson concurred with Conley's opinion. Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Pamela
Goodwine did not opine on the case. The Supreme Court's

(26:45):
ruling argues that the city's ordinance conflicts directly with Kentucky's
Senate Bill four, enacted in twenty twenty one to regulate
no knock warrants statewide, setting strict standards for when and
how they can be issued and executed. Susan Straub, spokesperson
for the city, said the office just received the ruling

(27:06):
and needed time to study it before offering comment. The
debate began when Lexington passed an ordinance in twenty twenty
one banning city police from using no knock warrants, a
type of warrant where officers can enter a home without
first knocking on the front door or announcing themselves. State
law requires such warrants to be signed by a judge

(27:28):
and that can be used only for potentially violent offenders
and suspects of specific types of serious crimes. The law
also outlines a time restriction for when no knock warrants
can be executed. The time restriction allows them for hours
in the day when people are generally awake, a significant
issue when there have been several notable incidents around the

(27:51):
country in which no knock warrants executed in the middle
of the night led the resident jolted from sleep to
grab a gun and defend himself from what you may
have believed was an unlawful intrusion by private individuals, only
to be killed by law enforcement officers. The opinion read,
due to time constraints, we'll need to end this article

(28:12):
at this time 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 on RADIOI. Now we will continue reading from the
Lexington Herald Leader for Sunday, September twenty first, twenty twenty five.

(28:38):
Your reader is Roger Hamperion. We will start with the obituaries.
We read only the name, age and location. If you
would like any further information on any of the obituaries,
please 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 bitchau

(29:00):
for you. I will repeat that number at the end
of the listings. Today's obituaries are as follows. Carolyn Bachelet
Buchanan ninety nine of Lexington, Betty Finny ninety three of Lexington,
Susan Greenwell Swinford sixty eight of Lexington. If you would

(29:22):
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
com slash obituaries slash Kentucky. You can also call us
at our RADIOI studios at eight five nine four two two, six,

(29:46):
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 reading. The next
article from today's edition of The Herald Leader, titled school
board investigator hired to dig into claims against Superintendent Ligands
by Valerie Huntingcut Spears. An independent investigator will dig into

(30:11):
allegations against Superintendent Demetrius Liggins made by the Fayette County
School budget director he suspended. On Wednesday, school Board Chairman
Tyler Murphy sent Anne Sampson Grimes a letter saying the
board had hired attorney Lee Latherow of the Van Antwerp
Law firm in Ashland to conduct an independent investigation. Lathow

(30:33):
will investigate allegations in the August twenty seventh letter from
Samson Grimes attorney Brandon Velker that are directed against Ligands.
That August twenty seventh letter said Liggins retaliated against Sampson
Grimes by placing her on leave August fifteenth after she
repeatedly warned district officials of the need for budget cuts

(30:54):
of the financially challenged district. Velker has painted his client
as a scapegoat for the district's budget woes. Velker's letter
to Murphy said each time Samson Grimes advised that budget
cuts must be enforced, her peers and superiors pushed back
on her suggestions. They claimed she was incorrect or flat
out ignored her advice. Velker said in the letter he

(31:18):
described her leave as discriminatory and retaliatory. Samson Grimes filed
a lawsuit against Ligands and the school district September tenth.
It accused the superintendent of gross intentional conduct meant to
punish her and preventing her from lawfully reporting potential mismanagement
and or waste of FCPS funds. Lathro's investigation will delve

(31:42):
into whether the facts related to those allegations substantiate that board,
district policies or procedures were not followed. The letter said
the five person school board acts as Liggan's boss. Faye
County Public Schools officials have repeatedly said they cannot comment
on personnel matters. Sampson Grimes, a former branch manager at

(32:03):
the Kentucky Department of Education and former chief financial officer
at Anderson County Public Schools, went to work for County
public schools in twenty twenty. Her current title is budget director.
Velker said he shared Murphy's letter to Samson Grimes with
The Herald Leader so the public would know about the
investigation into Liggands in a bid for transparency. This investigation

(32:27):
is separate from any other inquiry or process currently under
way within the district. Murphy's letter reads, Miss Latherou has
been retained as an outside independent investigator due to the
superintendent being the respondent. The investigation will be conducted consistent
with the board policies on grievances and discrimination. While Miss

(32:49):
Latherow is an attorney, she is acting as an independent
investigator rather than a legal representative or legal adviser to
the board in this situation, Murphy's letter reads. Velker told
The Herald Leader Thursday that the fact that the school
board would outsource the very determination that they are elected
to make is troubling. More importantly, despite numerous requests for

(33:12):
the reasoning for Miss grimes administrative leave, no one will
provide an answer. Instead, they seek to ask us to
participate with a third party investigator, Velker said. Velker wants
Samson Grimes to meet with lathero in front of school
Board members. Our proposal is simple and transparent. The board,

(33:32):
at a lawfully called meeting simply hear from my client
and the evidence that will establish that the financial issues
were known. The board, its investigator, or anyone else can
ask questions, he said. To ensure transparency and proper examination
by the school board, it is necessary the board here
directly from Samson Grimes, as compared to a third party.

(33:55):
He said. Board policy prohibits retaliation against an employee because
they submit a grievance, assists, or participates in an investigation,
proceeding or hearing Murphy's letter to Samson Grimes said in
a Thursday letter to Lathro, Velker said, emails, Google worksheets,
and other documentation which established that FCPS was advised of

(34:18):
the financial issues for a significant period are in the
possession of FCPS, who remove Samson Grimes from her respective
access to the documentation. The fact that the Board, through
the chairs September seventeenth, twenty twenty five letter, would seek
to engage a third party investigator to determine whether board
or district policy or procedure was violated is troubling since

(34:42):
they are the duly elected board. Velker told Lathro Furthermore,
reference that somehow MS Grimes has information documentation that is
not permitted or required by law to be shared, is
also concerning the information she has is both permitted and
would be subject to the Kentucky Open Records Act. He said,

(35:04):
the proper investigation of my client's claims needs to be
in a public form for the board to hear and determine,
not a secretive investigation. Velker said, this will be a
properly called public meeting, and we will present all information
and answer all questions. As the legislature advised Superintendent Ligands,
the public has lost faith in the district. Faith will

(35:26):
be restored with transparency, Welker told Latherow. Velker was referring
to Liggins's Tuesday appearance before the General Assembly's Interim Joint
Committee on Education. The next article from today's edition of
The Herald Leader is titled Phoenix Park has risen with
a new life after four point six million dollar overhaul

(35:47):
by Beth Musgrave. The four point six million dollar newly
reimagined Phoenix Park officially reopened Thursday with new playground features,
an expanded an improved dog park, and the city's first
self cleaning public restroom. The triangle shaped park at the
corner of Maine and Limestone Streets has long needed a facelift.

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It was largely concrete with non functioning pools and fountains.
Named after the Phoenix Hotel which once stood on the site.
The area in front of Lexington's Public Library had fallen
into disrepair in recent years. Many had complained Phoenix Park
is living up to its name and has risen like
the mythical Phoenix with new life, Maryland to Gorton said

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during the Thursday Ribbon Cunning ceremony at the park. With
these updates and first in Lexington features, it not only
revitalizes this downtown park, it makes it a destination for
families to visit. Kids played on the new obstacle course
and playground during Thursday ceremony. The play area also features

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the city's first NEOs three sixty, an interactive game system
offering eight different games that can be played solo or
with others. Also new are large swings near the corner
of the park at Limestone and Main Streets. An already
existing dog park was expanded and improved. There are also

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new tables, seating and shade structures. A raised stage near
the center of the park will soon welcome performers for
a new Lexington Parks and Recreation series, Phoenix After five,
which will feature live music starting at five pm September
twenty sixth. Lunch with the Arts will be noon to
two pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, said Monica Conrad,

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director of the city's Parks Department. But the feature that
got the most attention the new self cleaning toilet located
near Limestone Street. The toilet has lights on the outside
that alerts people when they can enter the restroom and
when it's closed for cleaning. Before and after Thursday's ribbon cutting,
attendees opened and closed the door and took tours of

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the new restroom. Lexington fat Urban County Councilwoman Hannah Lagree,
whose district includes downtown, said the self cleaning toilet is
a first for the city. The city had previously looked
at self cleaning toilets, but waited until it could find
one with a proven track record of reliable service. Lagree
thanked multiple people who live and work in the downtown

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area who played a key role in pushing for the
four point six million dollar overhaul. Of the park. Conrad
and Lagree said the city sought input from multiple groups
before construction began last year. It's more than just a
public space, Lagree said, It's an investment in a stronger, safer,
and more connected downtown. The next article from today's edition

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of The Herald Leader is titled last of chemical weapons
waste destroyed at Central Kentucky plant by Piper Hansen. The
last of more than sixty eight thousand warheads containing chemical
agent waste has been destroyed at the Bluegrass Chemical Agent
Destruction Pilot Plant in Richmond. The Madison County plant began

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getting rid of World War II era chemical weapons at
the Bluegrass Army Depot more than five years ago. The
plant is in a closure phase and is getting closer
to demolition, said Mark York, communications manager for Bechtel Parsons Bluegrass,
the joint venture that built and operates the plant. At
peak operation, between fifteen hundred and sixteen hundred people worked

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at the plant, York said, but as October approaches and
decontamination and decommissioned work continues, with demolition on the horizon.
Now less than eight hundred people work at the plant
every day. We've been working ourselves out of a job.
York told The Herald Leader in March. It was never
designed to be a continuing operation. The last weapon in

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the nation's chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed at the Richmond
plant in July twenty twenty three as workers separated the
warhead from the rest of the rocket components. Holes punched
and the warhead drained the GB and VX chemical agent,
but some residual amounts remained, then considered agent contaminated secondary waste.

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The warheads were placed in metal containers in igloos, where
they were temporarily stored before being completely destroyed September eleventh.
The Kentucky facility, the Bluegrass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant,
was built in twenty fourteen for the specific purpose of
destroying a chemical weapon stockpile at the Bluegrass Army Depot nearby.

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The depot was built in nineteen forty one, where it
stored about two percent of the country's chemical weapons supply,
or about five hundred twenty three tons. A single ton
weighs about two thousand pounds. The warhead is the part
of the M fifty five rocket that contains a liquid
chemical agent with an explosive meant to disperse the agent

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over a wide area. Chemical agents GB and VX are
the result of scientists in nineteen thirty eight and nineteen
fifty two, respectively, doing pesticide research. The insecticides were then
recognized by German and British militaries for their potential to
be a chemical weapon during warfare. Large quantities of both

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were stockpiled and World War II and immediately after, but
have been seldom used. In nineteen eighty six, Congress mandated
all US stockpiles of chemical weapons be destroyed according to
the Program Executive Office Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, which is
responsible for the destruction. Our dedicated workforce overcame numerous technical

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challenges to safely complete the destruction of the rocket warheads,
said Bechtel Parsons Bluegrass project manager Joe Curcio. Our attention
has now turned to preparing for demolition of the facilities
used to process the warheads. York said, demolition of parts
to the plant where a chemical agent has been is

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on track for some time next year. Before that can happen,
those still working at the plant are aiding in decommissioning
and decontamination efforts by taking equipment apart, and destroying some
of it. Those once employed at the plant are well trained,
followed procedure and would be an excellent addition to any organization,

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York said. The first layoff notices were sent to some
of the plant's employees during the last quarter of twenty
twenty four. This year, eight Warren notices, the federally required
advanced announcement of workplace closures and layoffs, have been sent
to the state's Kentucky Career Center. According to those notices,

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five hundred and twelve employees have lost their jobs as
parts of the plant close. We've been working with the
local communities, local government helping to find those opportunities for
our workforce. York said. We had a very successful job
fare last next month here in Richmond. York said. Some
of the plant's workers are retiring, while others are taking

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jobs with one of the five contractors that destroyed warheads
at the plant, Bechtel National Parsons, corp Amentum, GP Strategies
and Betel Memorial Institute. The next article from today's edition
of The Herald Leader is titled attendee shows gun outside
middle school football game in Eastern Kentucky by Christopher leech

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An attendee made threats and showed a gun outside a
recent middle school football game in eastern Kentucky. According to
a letter from Powell County Superintendent Sarah Wasson, The incident
happened at a September twelfth game between Powell County and
Morgan County, was Wasson said in letter to parents and
community members. Wasson said a Morgan County fan exchanged words

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with a volunteer who was helping move the sideline chains
during the game, and then waited outside the gate until
one of the Powell County players left and the fan
exchanged more words. As they were leaving the parking lot,
the Morgan County fan displayed a gun, Wasson wrote. Morgan
County Superintendent Ralph Hamilton reported the incident to Wasson and

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the Powell County School Police Chief. Wasson wrote that Hamilton
showed support for the investigation and said the district does
not tolerate such behavior. We also want to thank the
Morgan County School District and superintendent for bringing this to
our attention and his support to ensure our athletic programs
are focused on students growing as athletes and our safe

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environments for players, fans, and our communities. Wasson wrote. The
school's police chief is investigating the incident with the help
of Stanton Police and other Powell County officials. According to Wasson,
no other information about the incident or investigation was provided,
but Wasson said officials are working to file appropriate charges.

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The next start from today's edition of The Herald Leader
is titled Lexington restaurant fined twenty five thousand dollars for
kicking out disabled veteran service dog by Janet Patten. A
Lexington restaurant has been fined twenty five thousand dollars by
the Lexington Human Rights Commission for discriminating against a patron

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over her service dog. The woman, a disabled Navy veteran,
was denied service and told to leave the Oasis Mediterranean
restaurant in Chevy Chase in March twenty twenty three because
of her service dog. In an opinion on the incident,
a hearing officer said the offense was intentional and it
was severe. The officer said Oasis and then the owner,

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Ahmad Salah, violated state regulations and city ordinances, and the
fine amount was appropriate given the circumstances. The restaurant changed
hands in April twenty twenty five and is now owned
by Sean Sohaal and is no longer affiliated with the
previous owner. Sarah Van Vooren, now a Fayette County Public

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school teacher, filed the complaint with the Lexington Fayette County
Human Rights Commission in twenty twenty three, alleging that she
was discriminated against based on her disability after she was
denied service at the restaurant due to the presence of
her service animal. The Commission investigated and issued a probable
cause determination. On September fifteenth, the Commission voted to adopt

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the order by the hearing officer. Sala has thirty days
to appeal the order in Fayette Circuit Court. Sala did
not immediately respond to a request for comment. I am
extremely grateful that the Lexington Human Rights Commission ensures that
the rights of those of us in the disability community
are preserved and protected. We deserve to be treated with

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dignity and respect, and this ruling affirms that, Van Vooren
said in a statement. I hope this serves as an
opportunity for more people to learn about the important role
that service dogs plug in assisting individuals with disabilities in
everyday life. This is a significant victory for the Commission
and missus van Vooren, whose only transgression that day was

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wanting to enjoy a nice lunch while accompanied by her
service dog. Raymond Sexton, Executive Director of the Lexington Fayette
County Human Rights Commission, set in a statement Thursday, this
case is a stark reminder that disabilities come in many forms,
both seen and unseen. Our anti discrimination laws exist to

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ensure that everyone, including the disability community, has equal access
to employment, housing, and public accommodations, and our office will
vigorously enforce them. Incident involved service dog buffet. According to
the hearing officer's report, Salah unlawfully discriminated against Sarah van

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Vooren by failing to accommodate her at its restaurant. Specifically,
the violations stemmed from the fact that, even though miss
van Vooren was a disabled individual accompanied by a service dog,
Sala and Oasis refused to accommodate her request to use
the restaurant's restroom and presumably the use of its buffet table.

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The report details how Van Vooren, accompanied by her service
blonde labrador Mooney entered the restaurant and was seated by Salah.
When Van Vooren and Mooney attempted to go to the restroom,
Salah blocked their path and refused to allow them to
pass by the buffet. Van Vooren then documented on her
phone camera Salah denying her service. Video provided by Van

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Vooren showed that the dog was wearing a vest labeling
it as a service animal. Second unrelated complaint against Oasis restaurant.
After Van Vooren filed her complaint, a second patron filed
a similar complaint against Oasis. Danielle Burton, who uses a
seeing eye dog. Violet, reported that when she visited the

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restaurant in June twenty twenty four, she was denied access
to the buffet with her dog. Sala, who testified on
his own behalf, cited Health Department food care regulations as
justification for his actions. According to the hearing officer's report,
what Oasis owners said, but Lexington Fed County Health Department

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regulations explicitly say escorted police patrol dogs and service animals
are permitted in dining areas. During the course of his testimony,
Sala did not show any signs of remorse in fact,
he expressed the opposite point of view, in that he
didn't think he had to be nice to someone who
was making a scene in his restaurant. According to the report,

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Salah attempted to say that he denied access only to
Mooney van Vorn's dog, but the hearing officer called that
a distinction without a difference. Denial of the dog's ability
to be with Miss van Vuren a is a denial
of service to Miss van Vuren. The next article from
today edition of The Herald Leader is titled digging into

(50:03):
Government Documents? How does the Kentucky Open Records Act Work?
By John Chieves. The Kentucky Open Records Act has been
in the news a lot lately, with the state's public
universities and the Fad County Public schools all violating the
law at different times. What is the Open Records Act.

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It's a fifty year old state law that requires public
agencies to make their records available to Kentucky residents on request.
That includes local and state governments, their boards and commissions,
public schools and universities, and entities that get at least
twenty five percent of their funding from a local or
state government. Public records include a lot of different things. Budgets,

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spending records, employee directories, meeting minutes, email or written letters,
travel reports, personnel files, and internal investigations, plus most of
the database they have on hand, anything from police traffic
citations to school test scores. You can't require a public

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agency to create a document for you, but if the
document exists, you can ask for a copy of it.
Want to know how much your town pays its city manager.
Ask for payroll records, including bonuses or other compensation. Want
to know why a sheriff's deputy suddenly resigned without comment
from anyone. Ask for the deputy's personnel file, including any

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disciplinary actions. Some public agencies helpfully provide an email and
mailing address for open records requests on their websites. They
might even post an official form they want you to use. Otherwise,
call and ask them where to send your requests. The
request doesn't have to sound like a lawyer wrote it.
Simply type the date, the agency's name, and then under

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the Kentucky Open Records Act, I request access to and
copies of Be specific about which records you want and
for what period of time. The more detail you provide,
the better don't be ridiculously overwhelming. Public agencies don't have
to give you every email they've produced over the last

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five years. They likely will have to turn over that
one email their deputy director sent about a particular project
on June's second, twenty twenty three. Focus on what you're
looking for. Ask for a copy of the records electronically
to be emailed to you if the agency keeps them electronically,
as it probably does. Otherwise, you could be required to

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pay and possibly haggle a fee for the copying costs
as well as postage, unless you pick up the documents
in person. All public officials from a rural school district
to Governor Andy Basheer must reply to open records requests
within five business days, although they can ask you for
more time to say supplied the requested documents if they

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provide a reasonable explanation and a target date. There are
narrow limited exceptions to the open records law. Private data
such as medical records, individual students, educational information, social security numbers,
and home addresses will be redacted. Information about pending real
estate or business deals can be withheld until the deals

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are complete. Ditto for information about pending criminal investigations. An
off cited exemption, one that is frequently and sometimes successfully challenged,
covers preliminary drafts, notes, and correspondents other than correspondence which
is intended to give notice a final action of a
public agency. Public agencies try to use this to shield

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a wide variety of their internal documents. If you're not
satisfied with a public agency's response, if it doesn't respond
at all, or if it fails to produce the records
by the promised date, or if the records are blacked
out by redactions that you think are unjustified, citizens can
appeal to the Attorney General's Office by emailing OAG Appeals

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at ky dot gov. The Attorney General's decisions carry the
weight of law on the Open Records Act, although a
grieve parties can appeal to Circuit Court. The next article
from today's edition of The Herald Leader is titled This
Central Kentucky factory will make glass for every iPhone and
Apple Watch by Piper Hanson. Timmy and Tommy Shirley used

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to play baseball in what's now the parking lot for
the job that's given them everything. The pair are third
generation employees at Corning Inks Glass manufacturing facility in Harrodsburg.
The plant is located almost directly across the street from
the house they grew up in. My grandfather helped in
the construction in nineteen fifty two. My dad started in

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nineteen sixty four when he was eighteen, Tommy Shirley said,
and I started when I was eighteen. For nearly two decades,
Corning has made glass for Apple iPhones. Following an August
sixth investment of two point five billion dollars from Apple
to finance and expansion and advance production line, Now, glass

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covers for every iPhone an Apple watch sold around the
world will be made in Kentucky. So we're going to
make devices right here in my hometown. Tommy Shirley said,
that's going to affect people's lives all over the world.
The brothers stood before the assembly line where they both
work on Friday, September twelfth, as the newest iPhone was

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made available for pre order and the facility was opened
for guests to get an inside look. Timmy Shirley said
it's special to have visitors at the plant both Friday
and right after the investment announcement was made. He said
those visits show how important the work they are doing is,
and it shows him how important he and his family

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is as a member of the team. Shawn Markham, a
Corning corporate fellow, said Friday, the impact the small community
forty five minutes southwest of Lexington has made is impressive. Plus,
it's cool to hear my kids be able to tell
their friends with iPhones. My mom made that, she said.
Aside from production line upgrades, Corning and Apple will also

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open a new Apple Corning Innovation Center at the plant
that will play a key role in the development and
engineering of advanced materials and next generation manufacturing platforms for
Apple's future generations of products. Apple officials said, due to
time constraints, we'll need to end this article at this time.
This concludes the reading of the Lexington Herald Leader for today, Sunday,

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September twenty first, twenty twenty five. Your reader has been
Roger Hamperion. Thank you for listening, and please stay tuned
for sports news here on Radio I