Beech Tree News Network

A group of local citizens have announced plans to conduct a petition drive for a local option election that would allow alcohol sales in Butler County.  The announcement was made  via a press release provided to Beech Tree News from a newly-formed civic organization - Citizens for a Better Butler County. 
According to the press release, the group cites both economic and cultural benefits should voters decide to allow legal alcohol sales.

After a year-long investigation by Officer James Embry of the Morgantown Police Department and the Butler County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, a Butler County Jury returned a guilty verdict on Thursday, July 16, 2015, in the trial of the Commonwealth of Kentucky vs.

The Bowling Green - Warren County Drug Task Force with assistance from Warren County Sheriff’s Office has arrested:

Robert D. Thomason of 1033 Clarence Odell Road, Bowling Green, KY Age 34
Charged with:

    Trafficking in a controlled substance, 1st Degree, Class C Felony (2 counts)
    Escape, 2nd Degree
    Unlawful Possession of a Meth Precursor
    Resisting Arrest

Job seekers in Butler County now have another source to help them find employment. Spartan Staffing is now servicing Morgantown and Butler County, and will make their debut on Wednesday, July 22nd with a job fair at the Butler County Public Library.
Nina Cain is the General Manager of Spartan’s local office, which is located in Hartford with another office in Owensboro. Cain says Spartan differs from other employment agencies for a number of reasons. For one, Spartan has the power of the TrueBlue, the largest staffing company in the United States.

“God has blessed us.”  Those same words were spoken several times by many different people on Sunday afternoon at the ribbon cutting for the First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall.  Pastor Greg Wallace thanked everyone for attending.

The Butler County High School Site-Based Decision Making Council met on Thursday, July 9th at the school library.  Teachers Carissa Poston and Ashley Johnson were absent.   
Mr. O’Driscoll called the meeting to order and welcomed new parent member representative Chris Burden. The council approved the agenda, minutes from the June meeting and the monthly financial report. The school emergency plan was reviewed with no revisions.
Mr. O’Driscoll reviewed the new attendance policy. He stated that the policy is the same as Edmonson County High School. 

The Butler County Fiscal Court held its first regular meeting for July on Monday night. All Court members were present along with a crowd of interested onlookers.

Handling the first agenda item, the magistrates voted 5-0 to authorize County Judge-Executive David Fields to purchase ferry boat parts from the Green County Fiscal Court Road Department. The parts will cost approximately $1,500, and will be used to convert the Reed's Ferry tug to a hydrostatic, paddle-wheel drive system.

Beech Tree News provides courthouse statistics on a regular basis.  Courthouse information provided in this article is a matter of public record.  The following records are from the Butler County Clerk and Circuit Clerk’s offices and cover June 24-July 9.
Civil Cases:
Monticello Banking Company vs. Kevin Hayduk
Cavalry SPVI vs. Karyn D. Rynd
Family Court
Jackson Daugherty vs. Shelby Daugherty
Brandy Jo Dockery vs. David Alan Dockery
Jason Jones vs. Amber Jones
William Motley vs. Joyce Motley-Cook

The Morgantown City Council moved quickly through a light agenda at their regular monthly meeting Thursday night, July 9. Mayor Billy Phelps said the planned absence of city clerk Jarrod Barks led to the light schedule.  Council member Dionne Merritt was also absent.
 

A  May 26 special meeting of the Butler County Fiscal Court meeting was not conducted in violation of Kentucky's open meeting laws (KRS 61.823-3), according to the office of the Kentucky Attorney General (OAG). 
The OAG opinion is in response to a complaint filed by Robert D. Cron, who alleged the county violated the law by "failing to limit discussion and action to the items listed on the agenda in the special meeting notice."