Kentucky.com: News
News, sports and entertainment from Kentucky.com

• Artist preserved Scott history
  It's hard to imagine one-room school houses, covered bridges and mills dotting Scott County, but these historic buildings and many others were documented through the paintings of Edith Linn Clifton."Her way of saving the buildings was to paint the buildings," Karen LaBach said of Mrs. Clifton. "She just painted about every building in Scott County."Mrs. Clifton died Wednesday at the Georgetown Community Hospital. She was 92. She died of a stroke, said her son Charles Clifton of Georgetown.Mrs. Clifton was a self-taught artist and painted all of her life, said friend Judy Apple of Georgetown. Mrs. Clifton and Apple were also founding members of the Scott County Art League, which started in 1975."She inspired us to be true to our creative spirit," Apple said.
• Immigrants shocked, saddened by Bhutto's killing
  Pakistani immigrants in Kentucky expressed shock at news of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, and they feared violent consequences as a result of her death."It's very difficult to comprehend right now, what will be the repercussion of this," said Jamil Farooqui, president of the Islamic Society of Central Kentucky. "It's tragic for the family, it's tragic for Pakistan politics, it's tragic for the country."Bhutto, 54, was assassinated Thursday by an attacker who shot her after a campaign rally for Jan. 8 parliamentary elections and then blew himself up. Bhutto served twice as Pakistan's prime minister between 1988 and 1996.Bhutto had visited Kentucky in March, giving a speech at Murray State University. She spoke about the political process in Pakistan and touched upon the chaos in the country, according to an article by the Murray Ledger & Times."Every baby girl has the same right for a future as every baby boy," she said, according to the article. "I don't believe Pakistan can stabilize ... until dictatorship is replaced with democracy."
• Kentucky's newsmakers of 2007
  It was neck-and-neck for a while, but coming down the stretch, the preacher was beaten by a dead horse.The rest of the field barely made it to the first turn.We asked you to vote on our entries for Most Intriguing Kentucky Newsmaker of 2007. Nearly 11,000 of you went to Kentucky.com and responded.The winner, by several lengths, was John Henry, the thoroughbred who died this year at the Kentucky Horse Park. But Jon Weece, the unorthodox senior minister at Southland Christian Church, gave him a good run for his money.There were 25 starters, but our unscientific survey turned out to be a two-entry contest. Together, John and Jon got 2 out of every 3 votes, leaving the rest of the field far behind.
• Ex-student sues over loss of eye
  A former high school student-athlete says his teacher is responsible for a faulty exercise band that snapped and blinded the student in one eye, according to a lawsuit filed this month in Madison County Circuit Court.Josey Cruse, a former student at Madison Southern High School, is suing Aaron Ball, a health and physical education teacher at the school, for failing to properly supervise Cruse and maintain weight room equipment when Cruse was injured under his instruction.On April 12, Cruse was using an exercise band during a weightlifting class taught by Ball when the band broke and struck Cruse in his eyes.Cruse, who is now 18, lost vision in his left eye.Ball failed to comply with his duty to teach and supervise the class effectively because the band was "broken and in a state of disrepair," the lawsuit states.
• State faces $289 million shortfall
  Gov. Steve Beshear is asking state agencies to slash 3 percent from their budgets to help erase an immediate $289 million shortfall and blunt what he called "an unprecedented crisis" facing Kentucky over the next two years.Beshear and his budget director Mary Lassiter laid out a bleak financial outlook to reporters Thursday. They said that a one-two punch of additional expenses and sagging revenues have plunged the state into the hole for this fiscal year, which ends June 30.Compounding Kentucky's condition is that revenue for the next two years is projected to be well below what the state is spending this year -- more than a half-billion dollars off the pace in fiscal year 2009."This is the toughest budget challenge that I've ever seen in my 24 years" in state government, Lassiter said. She noted that although other governors have had to solve single-year shortfalls, none have faced such wide gaps in future-year budgets on top of that.Beshear blamed the "unprecedented crisis of magnitude" mostly on a downturn in the national economy and an increasing reliance by the General Assembly on one-time income from fees and the federal government to pay its bills. That, he said, has created a "structural imbalance" that will take years to rectify.
• Beshear resists calls for higher taxes
  No matter how painful the cuts in state services, few people expect Gov. Steve Beshear and the General Assembly to raise taxes -- not even the tax on cigarettes, which is popular in opinion polls and could yield $100 million a year."New taxes are not on my agenda," Beshear said Thursday. "I think Kentuckians are taxed too much already, particularly in hard times like we're in right now."Likewise, even the lawmakers who regularly call for higher cigarette taxes say the legislature lacks the necessary courage. Tobacco still holds a sacred position in Kentucky, which is a major burley producer. And whenever lawmakers consider taxes, they're frightened by the prospect of campaign commercials accusing them of "big tax hikes," said Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville."It's very difficult to get politicians who run for re-election every two to four years to agree to any taxes," said Marzian, who pushed two cigarette tax bills in the 2007 General Assembly. Both bills died without a committee hearing."What I want to know is, when do people say 'We elected you to provide support for our disabled and mentally ill, for our schools and roads, for our police and safety workers, for our elderly, and we expect you to do it'?" Marzian asked. "The reality is, services cost money, and people want services."
• 2 residents sue over hunting deer in city
  Two Northern Kentucky residents want a judge to overturn an ordinance that allows bow hunters to kill deer within city limits.The Fort Thomas City Council passed the new law earlier this month. It allows people to shoot deer on private property with the owner's permission during the archery season.But William Sheffield and Lisa Kelly say hunting isn't appropriate in city limits.They filed a lawsuit in Campbell County this week challenging the ordinance. Their suit contends the law is defective because it doesn't seek to count how many deer are killed or provide insurance or compensation to anyone injured by the hunters.The city council plans to review the impact of the hunt after Jan. 21, when hunting season ends.
• Louisville council gets first look at new smoking ban
  A new citywide smoking ban without an exemption for Churchill Downs was introduced Thursday at a Louisville Metro Council meeting, but the new proposal's calls for stiffer fines on businesses and its requirement that business owners call police if customers won't stop smoking generated the most discussion.Judge Stephen Ryan threw out the old ban last week because the city had exempted smokers at Churchill Downs. The proposed ban contains no exemptions.The Louisville Metro Council plans to meet early next month to discuss the changes before a final vote is taken.Council member Hal Heiner said he wasn't pleased with the changes."There is a requirement that business owners call the police on their own customers," Heiner said. "Otherwise, they're in violation of the law."
• AROUND KENTUCKY
  WILLIAMSTOWNARMED MAN WALKS INTO GRANT JAIL, GETS SHOTAn armed man was shot at the Grant County jail Thursday afternoon after he walked in and demanded to see the jailer, Kentucky State Police said. Joey T. Montgomery, 31, of Florence walked into the Williamstown jail about 4:30 p.m. with a shotgun and asked to speak to Grant County jailer Steve Kellam, state police said. Montgomery was not an inmate. Police said Grant County sheriff's deputy Brian Maines, 26, shot Montgomery after he refused to drop the shotgun and walked toward him. Montgomery, who had not been charged Thursday night, was taken to University of Cincinnati Hospital with two gunshot wounds. He was in stable condition Thursday. Maines, a sheriff's deputy for two years, was not injured.FRANKFORTBESHEAR NAMES PROJECTS CHIEF
• Louisville Zoo performs daily safety checks on exhibits
  Louis