A former Crime Stoppers Fugitive of the Week was arrested yesterday, thanks to an anonymous tipster.

The arrest card says 37-year old Clarence Matlock of Hopkinsville was found at 116 Rozell Avenue just before noon. Matlock was wanted on two contempt of court charges and two charges of failure to appear in court.

The person who submitted the tip will receive a cash reward.

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05/16/2012/am

Heritage Christian Academy handed diplomas to 39 graduating seniors last night at the Bruce Convention Center, with several the recipients of scholarship money.              

In all, the seniors combined to receive just over 177-thousand dollars in annual-renewable scholarships to attend college. The Class of 2012 Valedictorian is Kathryn Meador and the salutatorian is Kristen Lisembee.              

The “Warriors of the Year” are Chelsey Bennett and Haylee Page. 12 seniors were able to accumulate a grade point average of over 4.0 by taking advanced placement courses. They were honored as Academic Excellence Award winners and include Meador, Lisembee, Page, Miranda Bivins, David Colby, Zachary Garnett, Emily Goodman, Kelsey Kennedy, Nicole King, Alex Little, Abby Weatherford and Brookelynn Garrett.              

Hopkinsville High School will hold graduation ceremonies this afternoon at 5 and Christian County High will follow at 8:30.
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05/16/2012/am

Hopkinsville City Council tonight approved the second reading of the city’s operational budget amendment for fiscal year 2011-12 and heard remarks from several area residents concerned about the lack of sidewalks in high traffic areas.

Chief Financial Officer Robert Martin says the city is expected to spend $27, 230,000 out of $27,239,469 that has been budgeted and spoke about why the city’s capital fund balance was $232,586 in the negative.

Meanwhile, Martin gave a positive report concerning the city’s payroll tax collections and stated the city has collected $10,805,062 compared to $10,227,500 that was budgeted for ten months.

During public comments Hopkinsville residents, Tim Moore and Harry Allen expressed their concerns about the lack of sidewalks on Koffman Drive and Lafayette Road.

Allen told council members that sidewalks are desperately needed in those areas because students walk to and from schools on the roadways and are in danger of being seriously hurt by vehicles.

City Council then went into closed session to discuss industrial prospect incentives and proposed litigation and took no action.
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Fort Campbell officials say mine resistant ambush protective vehicles are proving its usefulness in missions and in training.

1-32^nd Cavalry Regiment Command Sergeant Major Patrick Frankenberg says the vehicles are versatile in any situation whether it’s in combat or during training exercises at the local post.

Command Sergeant Major Frankenberg says before a deployment, soldiers are trained to familiarize themselves with the vehicle and the weapons systems it carries.

According to military officials roughly 50 billion dollars have been spent over the past decade to purchase the heavily armored vehicles, and now that the war in Afghanistan is expected to wind down, MRAPS will likely be used in another capacity in the armed forces.
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Attorney General Jack Conway announced today that the state is expected to receive $6 million following a lawsuit settlement with Merck Sharp & Dohme Corporation.

The lawsuits filed by the Attorney General claim that Merck inflated the average wholesale prices for their drugs and as a result, the Kentucky Medicaid program paid millions of dollars more in drug reimbursements than it should have.

Attorney General Conway was quoted as saying he was pleased to recover this money for the Medicaid program and Kentucky taxpayers.

General Conway’s Office of Consumer Protection is also pursuing additional litigation against Merck for false and misleading statements regarding the safety of a pain reliever that was pulled from the market in 2004.

The case is scheduled for trial in Franklin Circuit Court in the fall of 2013.
Since January 2008, the Office of the Attorney General has recovered over $230 million on behalf of state and federal Medicaid programs.
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