Inez, Ky – Two Inez shop owners are charged after an investigation linked a student’s hospitalization to THC vapes allegedly sold to minors from their store, Smokin Hott Novelties & More. Martin County Schools Police say multiple juveniles reported buying THC products there, including a “Mellow Fellow” vape tied to a Jan. 13 incident that sent a high school student to the hospital. Owners Thelma Goforth and Linda Slone allegedly admitted selling THC vapes to dozens of minors without checking IDs and now face unlawful transaction with a minor and wanton endangerment charges, with potential prison time and fines.

Inez, Ky – A Martin County man has been sentenced to three years in prison for stealing a truck and a grave vault from a local funeral home. Judge Kevin Holbrook handed down the sentence to 27‑year‑old Marcus Thompson of Ulysses on a single count of theft by unlawful taking over $10,000, tied to a Feb. 4, 2023 incident in which Thompson took a truck and vault from Callaham Funeral Home in Warfield, dumped the vault along KY‑292 on the way to West Virginia, and was later caught hiding in a Mingo County garage. Court records show Thompson, who also received a 1‑3‑year sentence in Mingo County, got credit for 337 days already served before sentencing in Martin County.

Salyersville, Ky – Magoffin County has a new judge-executive. Governor Andy Beshear has appointed Salyersville attorney Don McFarland to serve through the end of 2026. He takes over for Democrat Matt Wireman, who retired at the end of last year in order to protect his pension and related benefits. Wireman is still running in this year’s election to reclaim the seat and will face one of two Republican opponents in November, Dewey Thomas Howard or former judge-executive Charles “Doc” Hardin.

Lexington, Ky – Power companies across Kentucky are coordinating where to place linemen ahead of this weekend’s projected snowstorm. Kentucky Electric Cooperatives and Kentucky Utilities are working with partner utilities on strategic staging of crews so they can keep the lights on and restore power quickly if outages occur. Spokesman Joe Arnold says co-ops across Kentucky and in other states are in contact, but no one can lock in specific response plans yet because the forecast may shift over the next 48 to 72 hours. He urges people to prepare emergency kits and be ready if the snow brings down lines and causes power outages.