Beech Tree News Network

FRANKFORT – Kentucky Department for Public Health officials reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week that the influenza activity level in the state has increased from regional to widespread.

Widespread activity is the highest level of flu activity, which indicates increased flu-like activity or flu outbreaks in at least half of the regions in the state. The activity levels for states are tracked weekly as part of the CDC’s national flu surveillance system.

Numerous issues await lawmakers when the 2014 legislative session convenes Tuesday, from crafting a biennial budget amid meager revenue growth to considering again a constitutional amendment to allow expanded gaming.

Their decisions — pending Gov. Steve Beshear’s veto pen — will have far-reaching ramifications for Kentucky. Some pieces of legislation will wither on the vine while others will appear to wilt, only to spring to life at the 11th hour.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but includes some major storylines to keep in mind as the 60-day session gets underway:

At approximately 4:30 a.m. this morning, Tuesday, January 7, local emergency personnel responded to the Morgantown Care and Rehabilitiation Center due to the bursting of a water line.  According to Butler County Emergency Management Director Terry Hunt, a 3-inch water line burst in the east wing of the facility, resulting in heavy damage to the ceiling, walls, and floors in the effected area.  Approximatley 17 patients were relocated to differnt parts of the center.  

Crew with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (District 3) are out in full force treating roads as winter weather moved into south-central Kentucky earlier this evening.  "Our crews are out in every area of our district treating the roads. It is possible temperatures could be too cold for our salt treatment to work," said Wes Watt, Public Information Officer.  "We will have trucks and plows patrolling doing everything we can to make the road conditions at safe as possible. However, because of the low temperatures slick road conditions may be likely in some areas." 

Butler County Area Technology Center is pleased to announce they received a 100% pass rate on their Medicaid Nursing Assistant Exam. Eleven students set for their state exam on December 2nd, which consisted of a written 75 question test and a skills portion that consisted of 5 clinical skills.

With Butler County getting doused by rain Wednesday night and then getting socked by snow Thursday road travel was a major concern but the County Road Department was on top of things.
Timmy West explains that “The State roads are maintained by the State, the City takes care of the town and we are the caretakers of the County roads” “We are responsible for more than four hundred miles of roads.” The County road system is mapped out into five districts with a grid system for utility purposes.

The Butler County Fiscal Court met on Monday night in special session. The Court had a short agenda of items needing attention before the end of the year. Magistrate Johnny Tuck was absent from the meeting.

The squires voted 4-0 to pass the second reading of the new flood plain ordinance. Action was needed because the new flood plain needed to be adopted by January 8th.

A crowd gathered at the BCHS Commons area on Friday night, December 27th, to pay tribute to a man that has become a community fixture since arriving in Butler County in 1966. Dr. Richard T.C. Wan will retire from his medical practice on January 1st. He has practiced medicine in Butler County for the past 48 years.

Most of Kentucky's larger cities are slowly recovering from the global economic recession that began in 2008, according to a study released Thursday by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

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 December 1-25.
Civil Cases:
The Medical Center vs. Joshua Miller
Patricia McKinney vs. Damon White
The Medical Center vs. April Costello
Anesthesia & Pain Specialists vs. Pattie Cherveny