Wednesday June 19, 2024
It marks the day in 1865 enslaved people in Galveston, Texas found out they had been freed — after the end of the Civil War, and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Sweltering heat continues today but the worst may be yet to come, forecast is on the way.
Three people were arrested on Monday after police found drugs during a traffic stop vehicle search. According to a release from the West Virginia State Police, Jamie Osborne, Alisha Weekley, and Dylan Bledsoe were arrested on two Possession with Intent to Deliver charges. WVSP says the estimated street value of the seized drugs is approximately $33,500. The investigation is still underway. Osborne, Bledsoe, and Weekley are all being held at Southwestern Regional Jail.
A new federal regulation went into effect Monday that sets new standards for coal mining across the country. The new rule will limit the amount of time miners can spend around silica dust. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the rule lowers the permissible exposure to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air for a full 8-hour shift.
Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) is distributing Narcan to first responders, hoping to help the departments save lives. The medical center provided $49,000 worth of Narcan to fire departments, EMTs, and first responders in the surrounding area, The recent focus on Narcan distribution is an effort to provide access no matter where it is needed. NARCAN blocks opiates’ effects on the brain and restores breathing.
U.S. surgeon general has called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms similar to those now mandatory on cigarette boxes. In a Monday opinion piece in the New York Times, Dr. Vivek Murthy said that social media is a contributing factor in the mental health crisis among young people. Child psychologist Dr. Katherine Stone said the US surgeon general’s recommendation to put a warning label on social media platforms is a good place to start. But many social media platforms already have age requirements, which children can easily find ways around.
Johnson County Constable Bruce Ritz was a dedicated public servant. First responders said he was always excited to lend a hand, answer the call, and help people in the community. According to Paintsville Police Chief Danny Smith, Ritz was passionate about protecting and helping children. After years of service, Ritz died Friday. Now, his cruiser is on display outside of Paintsville City Hall to allow the community to honor his service. Services will be held at 11 this morning at the Phelps and Son Funeral Home.
Continuing progress on the Mountain Parkway will mean a change in traffic patterns, beginning today. Eastbound and westbound traffic in Wolfe County, from Mile Marker 45 to Mile Marker 49, will switch over to the newly constructed eastbound lanes starting today. Message boards, barricades, barrels and arrow signage will be in place to alert motorists to the change.
A Pike County man is in jail after police say he broke into a dead man’s home and stole several items. 49-year-old Nicolas Pruitt of Phelps is accused of stealing from a dead man’s home. police found Pruitt at a home on Abe’s Branch, in Phelps, and arrested him for second-degree burglary, criminal mischief and fleeing police. While he was being arrested, he reportedly told police that he knew the man who owned the home had died and nobody was staying there, so he went inside on two occasions and took food, clothes and other items.
A Magoffin County man who was indicted on federal drug charges last month after drugs were found hidden in his car back in February has now been arrested. Daniel Jackson, 56, of Salyersville, stands accused of possession of meth and fentanyl with the intent to distribute. Jackson was pulled over for an equipment violation Feb. 7, and the deputy called in a drug dog because he was acting suspiciously. That resulted in the discovery of a flashlight and a box hidden in the dashboard. The flashlight contained 82 grams of meth, while the box had another 20 grams of meth and 8 grams of marijuana. A further search turned up a small bag of suspected heroin stuffed between the back seats. The charge he is facing typically carries a maximum 20-year sentence, but he faces up to 40 years, due to the amount of drugs found in his car. No hearings have yet been set in the case.
A false-alarm call of a possible overdose on Mill Street led to a Paintsville man’s arrest on marijuana trafficking charges after the man was found to be asleep with marijuana in plain sight, court documents said. Paintsville Police Officer Brian Runyon found 55-year-old James N. Moore laying on some apartment steps on Mill Street in Paintsville and woke him up. Moore said he was okay, but apparently was high on something. And had problems standing up or staying awake. Runyon wrote in the citation that it was at this time he observed what appeared to be marijuana lying in plain view near where Moore had been asleep. This is Moore’s second arrest for trafficking in a school zone this year, according to court documents, which state that he was arrested on May 2 for the same charge alongside methamphetamine possession. In total, jail records indicate Moore has been arrested 40 times in Johnson County since 1999. Moore currently has at least three active cases listed by the Kentucky Court of Justice as active in Johnson County.
