Beech Tree News Network

The Morgantown Utilities Commission met on Monday night, March 9, at the Eva J. Hawes building.  All members - Doug Weathers, Bobby Green, Dale Adcock and Hugh Evans - were in attendance.  Utilities Superintendent Randall Gaskey and bookkeeper Joyce Nally were also present. 

Butler County Fiscal Court held its regular meeting for March on Monday night. All members - Stevie Givens, Johnny Tuck, Chad Tyree, David Whittinghill, and Bobby Moore - were present, along with Judge-Executive David Fields.

First on the short agenda was a report from Don Sullivan from the Butler County Ambulance Board. Sullivan told the court that declining funds caused by the reduction of land-line phones and expenses incurred with updating the county’s 911 equipment has caused a budget shortfall for the ambulance service.

A falling boulder has resulted in a single-car accident on the William Natcher Parkway.  On Monday evening, March 9, shortly before 7:00 p.m., a vehicle driven by Sarah Ward Williamson, 66, was traveling south on the parkway when a large boulder fell into her lane.  While trying to avoid the boulder, Williamson left the road and her vehicle came to a stop between the guard rail and the rock wall.  The parkway shut down one lane of traffic for a brief time.  The accident took place near the 31 mile-marker.    

Morgantown Police Officer James Embry encountered a vehicle on Veteran’s Way with one tail light on Saturday night, March 7th. Officer Embry attempted to stop the vehicle at the intersection of Veteran’s Way and Helm Lane.  The vehicle disregarded Officer Embry’s signal to stop and continued on Helm Lane, to South Tyler and eventually onto South Main Street where the vehicle continued south and out of the city limits.  While traveling on U.S. 231/Bowling Green Road, speeds reached in excess of 90mph.  After the vehicle turned off of U.S.

FRANKFORT — Kentucky’s annual unemployment rate plunged to 6.5 percent in 2014 from 8 percent in 2013, while nonfarm employment gained 29,000 jobs, according to the Office of Employment and Training. It was the lowest annual jobless rate for the state since 2008 when it was a pre-recession 6.4 percent.

Delbert Hendrix has kept an old tree limb for almost 44 years, and like most keepsakes, there’s a story behind it.

The branch isn’t much today — it’s withered significantly throughout the decades — but once upon a time it was Mother Nature’s projectile, a limb 6 inches thick and a foot long fired through a window “like a bullet.”

“We saved that (branch) for one reason,” said Hendrix, a retired 60-year-old East Prairie, Missouri, resident. “It’s a reminder of what happened. That was the nearest, the closest, we ever flirted with death.”

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Kentucky Republican Party's Executive Committee gave preliminary approval Saturday to U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's request to hold a presidential caucus in 2016 rather than a primary election.

The move would rescue Paul from the consequences of a state law that could have prevented him from seeking both the presidential nomination and renomination for his Senate seat simultaneously.

Winter storms and along with them the cold, snow and icy conditions can make delivery of your mail very challenging for letter carriers and your Post Office.

Support your letter carrier and Post Office in providing safe and timely delivery of your mail.
We will do our best to make delivery to all addresses. At the same time, we must insure the safety of our carriers along their routes. We’re asking that customers take caution themselves as they clear a path for their letter carrier.

Snow began to taper off this morning, but many roads remain treacherous as a layer of ice covers the ground.

“It’s a skating rink,” said meteorologist Landon Hampton, founder of weather blog wxornotbg.com. “Once that snow got packed down, (the ice) doesn’t go anywhere.”

Bowling Green got 6 to 8 inches of snow and ice, and more was dumped on nearby counties. Grayson County got 20 inches. In the Butler County community of Rochester, Mayor Horace Hammers measured 18 inches.

With ice and sleet forecasted for our area, here are some tips from WarrenRECC that may benefit those who experience a power outage:

Preparing for a power outage