Beech Tree News Network

On Saturday, July 27, a court-ordered sale by the Butler County Sheriff’s Department was held at 12301 Russellville Road, the same location of an early morning shooting on June 24, 2012.  Sheriff Scottie Ward was named by the court as Administrator of the Estate of Justin Boord on October 23, 2012.  

According to Ward, he was court ordered on June 6, 2013, to sell the personal property belonging to Justin "Scott" Boord.   

A verified complaint and the defendants' response mark the latest stage in the ongoing conflict between a former sergeant with the Morgantown Police Department and the city and mayor for whom he worked. That conflict has now entered the legal realm with a lawsuit filed in Butler Circuit Clerk by former MPD Sergeant Andrew Gidcumb against the City of Morgantown and Mayor Linda Keown (individually and as mayor).  

UPDATE 4/22/13: An arrest has been made in year old death investigation.  Police have charged 19-year-old Daniel Hostetler of Metcalfe County with first degree manslaughter in the death of Brandon Crain, whose body was found in the Green River.

At approximately 8:23 a.m.

It's out with the old and in with the new as First Baptist Church in Morgantown is eyeing the construction of a fellowship hall.  In the meantime, the church moved forward this week with the demolition of its rectory located adjacent to the main sanctuary structure.  

A brick home originally built in 1951, the First Baptist Church rectory has served as living quarters for many church pastors and their families over the years.  It has most recently been used as rental property.    

Nerves were on edge for a few minutes Monday afternoon as school officials at North Butler Elementary found a handgun in the backpack of a second grade student - one that actually turned out to be a BB gun.  A staff member made the initial discovery and immediately took the backpack to Principal Jeff Jennings, who determined the handgun was actually a plastic "inoperable" BB gun. 

With sickness on the rise and decreasing attendance among students and teachers over the last two weeks, Butler County Schools' Superintendent Scott Howard announced yesterday that classes will be cancelled for the remainder of the week.  That decision was reached Monday afternoon after district-wide attendance dropped to approximately 88 percent.   

A local man, facing a plethora of criminal charges, was set to be arraigned yesterday, Friday, January 4, in Warren Circuit Court.  

Rodney Gregory, 34, of Morgantown, is charged with wanton endangerment (first degree, two counts, police officer), wanton endangerment (first degree, two counts), unlawful imprisonment (first degree, first degree), fleeing and evading police (first degree), and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants, among other charges.

Slick road conditions may have been the cause of a single-vehicle accident shortly before 8 a.m. this morning on U.S. 231 North (Eden Stretch).  

A vehicle driven by Bradford Reynolds, 28, of Morgantown (originally Hartford) was on his way to work at Perdue, traveling north, when he apparently hydroplaned, lost control, veered off the right side of the road and struck a tree.  Impact was made on the driver's side of the vehicle.  

In the wake of last week's school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, local school officials are taking this opportunity to review existing procedures, as well as considering new ones.  

The school shooting, which claimed the lives of 26 elementary students and staff members, has sparked a renewed interest in school safety.  It appears the shooter, in this case, gained access to the school through a window.