Shelly Baskin

The man who allegedly killed Hickman Mayor Charles Murphy in January was found incompetent to stand trial. Police say 30 year-old Thomas Lattus came into the station and stated he had killed the mayor a little after 1 am the night of the murder. Lattus will be committed to Western State Hospital in Hopkinsville to be treated for up to 360 days or until doctors determine he is competent to be tried. Commonwealth Attorney Mike Stacy says he disagrees with the ruling, but he’s confident Lattus will still be prosecuted.

Planters Bank in Hopkinsville is suing Murray businessman Charles (Chuck) Jones for nearly $11.3 million for allegedly breaching loan agreements with the bank. Jones operates multiple businesses including Southeastern Book, College Book Renter and Integrated Computer Solutions. 

ESPN has ranked the Murray State men’s basketball 28th in the top 50 basketball programs in the last half century. The 50 in 50 project used a points system that took into account all-time wins, conference titles, post-season appearances and national rankings. The Racers have had 25 straight winning seasons, the 4th best streak in the country. The ranking placed the Racers two spots ahead of Western Kentucky, who came in at number 30.

This past week, hundreds gathered at Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site to close a chapter in the Native American history of our region.  They witnessed a ceremony honoring the reburial of the remains of Mississippian-era mound builders who lived in our area almost a thousand years ago.  For over 50 years, the owners of the land that now makes up the historic site displayed them as part of a tourist attraction called Ancient Buried City. 

Low market prices for recycled materials are causing big cutbacks at a Paducah recycling facility. Greater Paducah Sustainability – RecycleNow is a non-profit company that works with the city and county to sell recycled materials to brokers. RecycleNow manager Merle Paschedag says prices for some materials are half of what they were last year. Paschedag says the facility will lay off two full-time employees, and cut their four remaining workers back to 30 hours a week. He says they will also stop all glass collection and cut back drive through drop off hours.

A McCracken county man is leading a group formed to oppose the Paducah – McCracken County government merger. Accountant Allen Kleet says his group, No To Metro Inc., is for efficient government. But pro-merger group Paducah McCracken United cites smaller, more efficient government as an effect of the merger. Kleet says studies and experience show that isn’t likely, despite how the plan looks on paper.

Hundreds of people gathered in Wickliffe Kentucky today for a public ceremony to mark the end of a long battle by Native Americans to have their ancestors’ remains reburied in accordance with tribal traditions. The remains were removed from the Wickliffe Native American Burial Mounds by archeologists several decades ago, and at one point were even displayed to the public. Chickasaw Nation Lieutenant Governor Jefferson Keel says the display was disrespectful. He says,

After McCracken county resident Susan Guess found out her daughter Morgan was being bullied at school she and Morgan founded the Guess Anti-Bullying Foundation to help get the word out on bullying, and how to stop it. This week the Guess’s foundation is hosting anti-bullying advocate Jodee Blanco. She's author of the book “Please Stop Laughing at Me…” which details the abuse she suffered at the hands of bullies in her youth. Shelly Baskin spoke with Jodee about her campaign to reach out to victims and bullies.

Paducah's long-awaited waterfront development project is set to begin early next year after the federal government freed up transportation funds for the project. 

The Tennessee Valley Authority will keep electricity rates the same for customers in the coming fiscal year. TVA's board of directors voted today to approve an over eleven billion dollar budget without raising rate hikes for the fiscal year that begins October 1st. The federal utility provides electricity to 9 million people in seven states, including Kentucky and Tennessee.  TVA CEO Tom Kilgore also announced at the meeting that he will be retiring after 6 years in the position.