Hearings with the U.S. Coast Guard and Foss Maritime regarding the Eggner’s Ferry Bridge incident continue this week in Paducah, with an audio recording of the crash played this morning.

There were three microphones on the cargo vessel recording various aspects of the journey, much in the same way as a plane has a “black box.” Also like an airplane, the vessel carried a data recorder that mapped the ship’s exact location and trajectory as it approached the bridge on the Trigg-Marshall County line.

A 20 minute recording was played, as heard on WPSD TV’s streaming coverage on its website, with the vessel’s crew talking about financial investments for the first few minutes.

The first mention of the bridge is made a few minutes before the wreck, before an extremely loud crash that lasts for about 12 seconds.

In the two minutes preceding the incident, the ship’s senior crew discussed which lights looked to be “higher,” trying to decide between green and red ones.

Much of the discussion so far has been about which lights were working and which ones were not, with what role or lack of a role that could have played in the incident.

No one was injured when a 322-foot span of the bridge was knocked out by the vessel, with motorists having to find a detour around the bridge since that night.

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04/17/2012/am

Hopkinsville Mayor Dan Kemp continues to say he will soon introduce an ordinance which would make most public places such as restaurants smoke-free.

Speaking at the Earth Day and Healthy Kids Day kickoff event Monday morning, Mayor Kemp said he will present the smoke free ordinance to the Hopkinsville City Council Committee of the Whole next month and asks the public to contact their council member.

A recent study showed Christian County continues to lag behind many other areas in overall health and Mayor Kemp attributes part of that directly to smoking.

The Wisconsin study stated that 28-percent of polled adults in Christian County are smokers, double the national average of 14-percent and just a tick over the state average of 27-percent.

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04/17/2012/am

A wreck on Dawson Springs Road Sunday night injured a Christian County woman.

The report from the Christian County Sheriff’s Office says 37-year old William Mitchell of Dawson Road was attempting to pass another vehicle around 7:50pm and found an oncoming vehicle as he topped a hill.

Mitchell tried to get back in his lane, but the two vehicles collided sending the pickup driven by 37-year old Scott McLaughlin of Crofton off the roadway and into a ditch. McLaughlin’s vehicle overturned and came to rest near a driveway.

A passenger in the Mitchell vehicle, 39-year old Ella Thomas of Dawson Road, was taken by ambulance to Jennie Stuart Medical Center. McLaughlin went uninjured.

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04/17/2012/am

Officials in Todd County are becoming increasingly frustrated with the new Justice Center construction process—saying the rules are being changed in the middle of the game.

The Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts is in charge of such projects in the commonwealth and dozens of counties have built new buildings in the last few years. The office was extremely generous in its funding before the recession and counties were out very little expense, but budget cuts have caused drastic changes.

Todd County Attorney Mac Johns says while the Office of the Courts hasn’t changed their requirements for the Justice Center; they have reduced the amount of money they’re willing to spend.

One example Judge-Executive Darryl Greenfield gives is a 400-thousand dollar security camera system that has been paid for in almost every other county by the state. The AOC is saying Todd Fiscal Court will have to pay for the one in Elkton, but Judge Greenfield says the county doesn’t have that kind of money to throw around.

Going forward, Judge Greenfield says the county will have to be cautious with what it commits to regarding the Justice Center, because no one knows when the AOC could change the rules again.

The discussion began when Sheriff Joey Johnson told Fiscal Court he will soon need to hire bailiffs or security guards—with their 8 dollars per hour salaries supposed to be funded by the Administrative Office of the Courts—but not their tests required for the hiring process.

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04/17/2012/am

 The Christian County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a burglary in Herndon from the weekend.

Deputy Adam Vanderkolk responded to 875 McCraw Road Sunday morning after someone broke into the home of 63-year old Jimmie Higgins and stole eight guns, a television and several other electronic devices. Total value of the items is listed at about 27-hundred dollars.

The perpetrator broke a window next to the front door to get inside, sometime between 9am and 11am Sunday morning. A named suspect is listed on the report and the investigation continues.

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04/17/2012/am