Proposed Lackey Municipal building renovation under review
The city’s proposed plans to renovate the Lackey Municipal building is one step closer to becoming a reality.
Hopkinsville Chief Administrative Officer Glenn Abee sent out an email this afternoon to Hopkinsville City Council updating council members about the timeline for bidding, reviewing and presenting final project numbers for the new Municipal Center building.
Abee says as per Codell Construction Manager, Richard Mitchell any construction project of this magnitude has tentative timeframes.
Abee reports that the state housing building codes is reviewing submitted plans this week.
The city’s proposed project architect should be receiving those plans for review and revision by next week sometime.
Codell and the City of Hopkinsville will then review the changes and prepare a bid to be submitted by May 15 through 17 and bids should be received back from bidders around June 12 through 14th, with Codell Construction to review all bids for a week.
The City of Hopkinsville is expected to receive a report and recommendation around June 18th or 19th from Codell.
If all dates remain solid and in place, officials with Codell Construction will report to Committee of the Whole at its June 21st regular meeting.
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National Day of Prayer commemorated locally
National Day of Prayer was commemorated with a service this morning at First United Methodist Church, where individuals prayed for several aspects of society.
Pastor Paige Williams led the ceremony, which featured speakers asking for God’s blessing on the earth, government, military, children, adults, families and church.
District Judge Jim Adams led the prayer for the government and prayed that leaders would find more common ground and try harder to work together.
Praying for families was Joey Ashby, who asked for God’s blessings on families across the country.
Prayer requests were also taken from the congregation and an altar call was given to allow individuals to pray on their own while a hymn was sung. The service was just one of many in the area and across the country.
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05/03/2012/am
Hopkinsville, Oak Grove sued over synthetic drug raids
A lawsuit has been filed against the cities of Hopkinsville and Oak Grove and a police officer regarding a recent search and seizure at two Christian County businesses.
The suit is filed by Pizzaroma and Adult Toy Box owner Luther Anderson and Adult Toy Box manager Jessica Long against the two cities and Hopkinsville Police Department Officer Jack Lingenfelter.
The document, filed by Hopkinsville attorney David Rye, alleges that Officer Lingenfelter searched Pizzaroma without a warrant on April 24th. The suit acknowledges that a female clerk at the store signed paperwork allowing a search, but alleges she was intimidated into doing so.
A search warrant was obtained for a storage shed, but Anderson alleges that any probable cause resulted from the first warrantless search.
The suit also alleges that paraphernalia seized from the Adult Toy Box in Oak Grove was meant for tobacco smoking and not synthetic drugs. Anderson also says the incense seized at both locations was not synthetic drugs under state law.
Anderson is asking for all of his property back, including cash, paraphernalia and the synthetic drugs; and is asking for legal fee reimbursement and punitive damages. The lawsuit only represents one side of the story and the cities can not comment on an ongoing lawsuit.
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05/03/2012/am
JSMC, Humana in confict over discounts
A very large health insurance provider could soon no longer be accepted at Jennie Stuart Medical Center, should a compromise on rates not be worked out.
A news release from the hospital says Humana is requesting Jennie Stuart to give the insurer a deeper discount than the large one they are already receiving.
A hospital spokesperson says a letter was received in March demanding the discount be given by June 1st. JSMC Financial Services vice president Sam Brown says they have communicated a willingness to work in good faith with the provider to come to a compromise and have asked for an extension to get one done.
Brown says the medical center must protect its financial viability in a time that has been tough for hospitals, but profitable for insurance companies such as Humana. He says an additional discount would only boost Humana’s profits, while having a negative impact on Jennie Stuart.
Officials say the hospital will continue trying to work out a compromise with Humana, which is the insurance provider for state and local government employees in addition to school system employees.
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05/03/2012/am
Sheriff's Office urging residents to lock up lawn equipment
The Christian County Sheriff’s Office is urging residents to take preventive measures against so-called “warm weather thefts” this year.
A news release from Captain Chris Miller says items such as lawn mowers and weed-eaters should always be locked up and out of site from potential thieves, as criminal activity often increases in the warmer months.
Many thefts are crimes of opportunity and expensive lawn equipment left in the open will garner more attention and make one more likely to become a crime victim.
Captain Miller says another way residents can help police is by recording serial numbers from equipment so that if it is stolen, those items can be entered into a nationwide database to assist in the effort to locate them again.
Residents are also encouraged to keep keys to lawn mowers and tractors in their home and away from the equipment so to not make it easy for criminals. Anyone seeing suspicious activity should report it immediately to police at 890-1300.
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05/03/2012/am
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