Shelly Baskin

KentuckyOne Health says it is terminating contracts at all its facilities with Medicaid provider Coventry Cares. KentuckyOne Health says the terminations will be effective November 1st at former Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's Healthcare facilities and on December 1st at former Saint Joseph Health System facilities. Today’s announcement comes after Coventry gave notice that it would not participate at two hospitals owned by the health system — Our Lady of Peace in Louisville and Taylor Regional Hospital in Campbellsville.

Metropolis, Illinois landlords showed up to last night’s city council meeting en masse to protest the city’s policy of holding them responsible for the delinquent utility bills of their renters.

A new Illinois law requires whooping cough vaccinations for students entering 6th and 9th grades this school year. The law requires those students to show proof they received the Tdap vaccine. Tdap is a booster shot against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough. Illinois has seen about 1,200 cases of whooping cough this year, compared to 468 cases reported as of August 1st last year.

Christian County’s two public high schools were among the many Kentucky high schools increasing their graduation rates for the 2010-2011 school year. 

Prisoners at the Tamms Correctional Center in southern Illinois will remain at the facility until Corrections Department union employees have a say in the closure process. Governor Pat Quinn ordered Tamms and other prisons closed in June to save the state money. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has asked for transfers to stop while state and union officials discuss safety measures for the closings. AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall says the two sides will meet an arbitrator Tuesday.

Madisonville’s Sanitation Department will seek bids next week for nearly 1,000 curbside recycling totes. The city approved curbside recycling in May. Sanitation director Robert Janes says the bids will be accepted on August 17th with the first totes delivered to customers in Mid September. Janes says the city’s recycling will be done in-house at the new recycling facility. Pickups will begin October 1st and will be bi-weekly on normal trash pickup days.

State Health Department officials are looking for the cause of increased Salmonella cases in the region. Purchase District Health Department Epidemiologist Brandi Earp says they’re examining reported cases this summer to try to find any links between them. She says while the number of cases is high, they’re not considering it an outbreak. She says,

“Kentucky Department for Public Health would just like to share that they’re seeing a little bit more increase in Salmonella cases than usual, and they just want to heighten awareness for the public and for providers.”

In the Graves County High School library, Amanda Henderson introduces a group of the school’s teachers to the new Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD program. Henderson is Graves County’s District Technology Integration Specialist. The BYOD program she’s discussing is a simple solution to a common problem. Schools need to keep their educational resources up to date, but lack the money to continually refresh them. Henderson says ideally, they would provide every student with their own computer, but in reality, it’s just not feasible.

Princeton, Kentucky’s pro-alcohol sales group has raised more money than their opponents in the lead up to the city’s August 7th wet/dry vote. 

The final chance to comment on budget cut suggestions at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area ends on Wednesday. For the past four months, LBL officials have sought public comment on how to cope with a nearly $850 thousand cut to the park maintenance budget. The park starts implementing some of the money-saving suggestions in August.