Council Memo Reveals Significant Vacancies in Police, Fire, E911, and Corrections - Only Seven Recruits in Police Academy Class

Council Memo Reveals Significant Vacancies in Police, Fire, E911, and Corrections – Only Seven Recruits in Police Academy Class

Lexington, Ky.–Fayette County’s public safety positions are currently facing significant understaffing issues, with a lack of officers in Community Corrections, E911, Fire, and Police, according to a March 9 memo to Council obtained by the Lexington Times. The city’s Community Corrections is dealing with 105 officer vacancies, with only 16 recruits starting on March 6, 2023. However, the department has received 108 applications–of which 76 were submitted, and 32 are in the draft stage–since January 31, 2023. Similarly, E911 is facing 19 vacancies, which is less than the authorized strength of 79. The...

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Chaos Erupts Near Rupp Arena as Robbers Open Fire

Chaos Erupts Near Rupp Arena as Robbers Open Fire

Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena, home of the University of Kentucky basketball team, was damaged by gunfire on Monday night, following a robbery that took place nearby. According to the Lexington Police Department, the incident occurred at around 11:30 p.m. on Algonquin Street, near the arena. Shots were fired during the robbery, which led to damage to the arena. Police officials confirmed that three suspects were apprehended at the scene, one of whom was a juvenile. The suspects have been charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree wanton endangerment, and second-degree fleeing/evading police. However, they...

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This is how we live... and innocents die.

This is how we live… and innocents die.

by Teri Carter, Kentucky LanternMarch 28, 2023 LAWRENCEBURG — About the same time a woman opened fire inside The Covenant School, a Christian elementary and preschool in Nashville, Tennessee, killing three nine-year-old children and three adults, I was sitting at a stoplight behind a blue Chevy truck with a bumper sticker that read, “No airbags. We die like real men.”  That’s a new one. Mostly what I see around these parts are Trump 2024, Three Percenter logos — the one with the skull — and little stick figure families on the bottom corner...

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Council Urged to Raise Wages for Traffic Safety Officers in Lexington

Council Urged to Raise Wages for Traffic Safety Officers in Lexington

Lexington, Ky.–Traffic safety officers in Lexington are requesting a pay increase. During a public comment to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, Kenny Isaacs, a Second District resident and Traffic Safety Officer, highlighted the key duties and responsibilities of the traffic safety officers and their invaluable contributions to the city. Isaacs quoted Theodore Roosevelt, stating that “No man can be a good citizen unless he has a wage more than sufficient to cover the cost of living,” before asking the Council to consider the work that traffic safety officers do and their importance to...

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SB 150 will harm military families and their missions

SB 150 will harm military families and their missions

by Jonathan Hedrick, Kentucky Lantern No matter how you feel about trans health care, we can all agree that soldiers defending America’s interests abroad shouldn’t have additional, unnecessary worries about their families at home. That’s exactly what’s happening with the movement of Senate Bill 150. SB 150 is one of the most extreme attacks on transgender health that we’ve seen across the U.S. This bill will ban medically necessary, lifesaving care for transgender youth — care that the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association have said is essential for some...

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Beshear vetoes bill that would ban gender-affirming care for Kentuckians under 18; Republicans are expected to override it

Beshear vetoes bill that would ban gender-affirming care for Kentuckians under 18; Republicans are expected to override it

By Melissa PatrickKentucky Health News Gov. Andy Beshear has vetoed a far-reaching bill that would ban transgender minors’ access to gender-affirming care and sets strict rules for teaching in Kentucky’s schools about sexuality.  Senate Bill 150 would ban gender-affirming treatment for Kentuckians under 18, including surgeries and puberty-blocking hormones, even if parents want the treatment for their children. It would bar schools from requiring teachers to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns, keep trans students from using bathrooms that fit their gender identity, and bans instruction that explores “gender identity, gender expression or sexual...

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Beshear signs bill to re-employ retired Lexington police officers

Beshear signs bill to re-employ retired Lexington police officers

Lexington, Ky.–Governor Andy Beshear joined Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton and other city officials to sign three pieces of legislation aimed at increasing public safety and supporting law enforcement on Friday. The new laws, which received bipartisan support in the state legislature, will expand the eligibility of potential peace officers, allow the re-employment of retired police officers, and create consistency in expectations for school resource officers in public and private schools. Senate Bill 89 will allow the legislative body of an urban-county government such as Lexington to re-employ individuals as police officers who have...

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Beshear outlaws tianeptine known as ‘gas station heroin’

Beshear outlaws tianeptine known as ‘gas station heroin’

by Lantern staff, Kentucky Lantern Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday issued an emergency regulation classifying tianeptine, known as “gas station heroin,” as a Schedule 1 controlled drug. In some countries the drug is prescribed in low doses to treat depression and anxiety. The drug is not approved in the United States and in higher doses produces opioid-like effects and can lead to addiction and even death, says the  Food and Drug administration. The FDA also says some countries where the drug is legal have restricted how it is prescribed or dispensed, or revised the...

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Kentucky lame-duck lawmakers flew to Hawaii on taxpayers’ tab

Kentucky lame-duck lawmakers flew to Hawaii on taxpayers’ tab

Altogether 26 legislators attended Council on State Governments conference Dec. 7-10 in Honolulu by Jack Brammer, Kentucky Lantern Seven lame-duck lawmakers were among 26 members of the Kentucky General Assembly who attended a conference last December in Hawaii. The trip cost taxpayers more than $86,000. The conference of the Council of State Governments in Honolulu, which attracted more than 1,000 state legislators from across the country, offered workshops on various governmental issues. It was held Dec. 7-10. The expenses paid include $752.88 to each lawmaker except House Speaker David Osborne. Osborne got paid $942.38 in...

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Police Officer Disciplined After Third At-Fault Collision in 12 Months

Police Officer Disciplined After Third At-Fault Collision in 12 Months

Lexington, Ky.–The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council heard a police disciplinary recommendation at their Thursday meeting. The Chief of Police, Lawrence Weathers, presented the case of Officer Wesley Watkins, who had violated the General Order 197302k Disciplinary Procedures Appendix B Operational Rule 1.40 on Preventable Collisions. According to the investigation, Officer Watkins was involved in at least three at-fault collisions within a 12-month period, with minor property damage and no harm to the public or police department members. He had already completed driver retraining on September 13th, 2022, but it did not prevent the...

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