Headline News

Honor your mother on Mother’s Day!!! Let us and everyone else know how special she is.

Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles will be in Adair County Thursday, April 21, at 1 p.m. to speak with Adair County High School FFA students before possibly making two other stops, Judge-Executive Gale Cowan announced Monday

Bradley Graham of Columbia was charged earlier Thursday morning with possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine; as well as promoting contraband.

Officers from the Columbia Police Department were called to the Adair County Regional Jail after deputy jailers discovered suspected narcotics within a cell. Upon arrival officers observed suspected methamphetamine located within a drink top cap along with a syringe.

Officer Justin Cross was the investigating officer. More charges are expected.

According to the National Weather Service, severe weather could impact Adair County tonight.

Isaac Green, 20, was treated for injuries sustained Tuesday in a single-car accident on Montpelier Road, 10 miles east of Columbia. He was ejected from the vehicle.

A preliminary investigation showed Green was traveling west on Montpelier Road when he dropped off the right shoulder of highway. His vehicle then struck an earth embankment and overturned.

Green was treated on scene by Adair EMS, then transported to T.J. Health of Columbia for additional treatment.

The collision was investigated by Deputy Gary Roy, who was assisted on scene by Columbia Adair County Fire and Adair EMS.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Wednesday vetoed legislation that would require students from sixth grade through college to play on teams based on their biological sex, and the gender with which they identify.

Senate Bill 83, sponsored by Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, would direct the Kentucky High School Athletics Association to develop administrative regulations or bylaws requiring schools that participate in interscholastic athletics to designate all athletic teams, activities and sports based upon the biological sex of the students eligible to participate, and prohibit male students from participating in athletic teams, activities and sports designated as “girls.”

In his veto message, the governor said, “The KHSAA has approached the issue of transgender sports participation with nuance, collaboration and a sense of fairness that would allow transgender children the opportunity to participate in sports without disturbance the competitive balance.”

He pointed out the KHSAA “requires that a student-athlete who has undergone sex reassignment after puberty, must take hormonal therapy in a verifiable manner, and for a sufficient length of time to minimize gender-related advantages in competition.”

Beshear also noted that Republican governors in Indiana and Utah have vetoed similar bills. “They each mentioned the several lawsuits across the country challenging similar bills, with initial rulings enjoining their enforcement on equal protection grounds.”

The Family Foundation expressed disappointment in Gov. Beshear’s veto.  “Kentucky girls and women deserve a fair playing field,” said David Walls, the executive director. “Kentuckians overwhelmingly support this commonsense bill, but unfortunately, Gov. Beshear chose to side with his woke political base instead of Kentucky’s female athletes. Biology matters, especially in sports, and we look forward to the General Assembly overriding Beshear’s tone-deaf veto so that women’s sports in Kentucky can be protected.”

He said the need for the Save Women’s Sports Act, and the necessity of including college athletes, has been on full display as swimmer Lia Thomas, a biological male, recently won a NCAA Women’s Swimming Championship, knocking a female to second place.  In addition, Riley Gaines, a University of Kentucky female swimmer, also had her fifth-place trophy given to Lia Thomas after they tied during another NCAA championship race.

Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, applauded the governor. “From the start, this bill has been more about fear than fairness. In Kentucky’s entire school system, there is only one openly transgender girl we know playing on a school sports team. That student started on her school’s field hockey team, recruited all of the other team members, and just wants the opportunity to play with her friends her eighth-grade year.”

Hartman added, “Instead of solving Kentucky’s real problems, the politicians behind this bill have used their power to bully this student and others like her. At a previous House Committee hearing of the bill, those politicians had to fly in people from out of state to give testimony in support of the bill, because few Kentuckians would. The bill is a carbon copy of the anti-trans bills sweeping the nation this past year, which ignore the policies already in place to ensure an equal playing field for student-athletes.”

Lawmakers can override the veto when they return April 13 for the last two days of the session.

Kentucky State Police Post 15 will be conducting periodic traffic safety checkpoints in the Post 15 area, which includes Washington, Marion, Taylor, Green, Casey, Russell, Adair, Metcalfe, Monroe, Clinton, and Cumberland counties.

These checkpoints will be conducted as part of Post 15’s highway safety efforts. Troopers will be checking for violations of Kentucky traffic and regulatory laws relating to motor vehicle equipment safety, licensing of drivers, motor vehicle registration, and operation of motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants.

Donna Jones may be a little difficult to get hold of over the next few days. She is busy checking all the final details in preparation to open the 2022 Farmers Market on the Square Saturday. She is making sure vendors have everything they need, and customers have a menu of what exactly is available.

“We are pretty excited and eager to get the market started,” said Jones, market coordinator. “We are a little anxious because you are wanting opening day to go smooth. You never know how things are going to go. This year, we have a lot of new vendors coming in so that is definitely something that you are concerned about. All in all, I think we are ready.”

The Farmers Market on the Square, in its 10^th year, will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the corner of Merchant Street and Campbellsville Road. The market is scheduled for every Saturday through the month of October.

“We are still taking vendors,” Jones said. “The word is out that we are full, but I have a waiting list for vendors. Sometimes craft vendors don’t stay at the market for a long period of time so if a vendor quits or doesn’t show up, I want to move somebody into that place. I want to keep a full market this year.”

Jones said opening day for her includes checking every vendor’s paperwork, making sure booths are taken care of, and answering any questions that may arise.

“Some of the new vendors will be offering eggs, and there will be a lot of different crafts coming in,” Jones said. “We have a lot of new vegetable vendors, but they may not be there Saturday because vegetables are not quite ready yet. We will have several baked good people there with fresh baked goods. We have a wide variety of vendors coming in.”

Jones said she has been amazed how word about the market has spread over the years.

“We are even hearing that other communities are getting excited that the market is opening because those people enjoy coming to shop with us,” she said. “We are very happy to have surrounding counties visit and shop with us. That just shows we are doing a good job.”

The vendors are held to a high standard by Jones. They have to take training classes, safety classes and be knowledgeable about the products they are selling.

“The thing that vendors like about our market is that you have to either bake it, make it or grow it on your farm to be able to sell it,” she said. “We do not let you buy something from somewhere else and bring it in and sell it. Some markets do that, we do not. It must be homegrown, home-made and home baked.”

Jones said that rule is an assurance for the customer that what they buy each Saturday is the freshest it can possibly be. She said the vegetables are probably picked, loaded on the truck and brought to the market on the same day.

“The fresh, the local, that is what our market is all about,” said Jones. “We want to support our local farmers and we try to keep our prices the same. We appreciate the community support.”

For more information about the Farmers Market on the Square, contact Jones at 270-634-2125.

The Adair County Middle School volleyball team won the 7th- and 8th-grade tournament championships Thursday night.

FRANKFORT – Today Gov. Andy Beshear signed into law nine pieces of legislation recently passed by the General Assembly.

“I am pleased to sign House Bill 397 which provides our Western Kentucky schools, students and educators extra excused days that were missed due to the tornadoes and storms,” Gov. Beshear said. “I am also thankful to sign some more good pieces of legislation that support local governments, drivers on our roadways, our environment, our pharmacists and Kentuckians seeking telehealth care or facing lung cancer.”

The bills, which will become law on their effective dates, are:

House Bill 397 supports the school districts, students and school staff impacted by the December 2021 tornadoes that devastated Western Kentucky. The bill provides up to 15 disaster days to eligible districts impacted by the storms, which allows the districts to be excused for up to 15 student attendance days that were missed due to the storms. Educators and school staff will not have to make up excused days, but rather the days will count towards fulfillment of their contract.

House Bill 33 allows local governments to perform building inspections and review plans for educational buildings.

House Bill 45 intends to reduce the amount of plastic and solid waste disposed in landfills. This bill also opens the door for Kentucky to benefit from economic development opportunities as new technologies develop and allow for the commonwealth to establish a market for taking discarded plastics and breaking them down into raw materials that can be manufactured into other materials.

House Bill 77 repeals and changes the name of the Kentucky Radon Program Advisory Committee to the Kentucky Board of Radon Safety. It also adjusts the number of members on the board, reestablishes the board’s responsibilities, moves the board to the Department of Professional Licensing in the Public Protection Cabinet, changes the name of the Radon Mitigation and Control Fund to the Radon Control Fund and increases the cap on fines to $1,000 per occurrence.

House Bill 188 makes telehealth more accessible to Kentuckians. It bars professional licensure boards from prohibiting the delivery of telehealth services by health service providers credentialed in Kentucky to Kentuckians who are temporarily located outside of the commonwealth. It also bars professional licensure boards from prohibiting the delivery of telehealth services to nonresidents temporarily located in Kentucky by providers credentialed in the person’s state of residence. Health care providers will no longer be required to be physically present in their credentialing state to provide telehealth services to a person who is a resident of the same state.

House Bill 192 allows pre-qualified contractors approved by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet or appointed by a local government body to inspect electrical work before electricity is reconnected for roadway devices, such as traffic signals, flashing beacons and lighting. This accelerates the process and makes roadways safer.

House Bill 195 promotes information sharing between natural gas transmission pipeline owners and developers of properties near pipelines. The bill requires that a developer of a commercial or residential property, working within 660 feet of a natural gas or interstate hazardous liquid pipeline, notify the pipeline operator. The bill also requires operators of pipelines to communicate location information to developers to raise awareness of the locations of those facilities.

House Bill 219 establishes a lung cancer screening program in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ Department for Public Health, a lung cancer screening fund and a Lung Cancer Screening Advisory Committee to ultimately increase screenings, reduce the cost of treatment and create better outcomes for Kentuckians facing lung cancer.

House Bill 240 allows pharmacists to remotely access a pharmacy’s dispensing or medication management system and perform order entry, order entry verification or drug regimen review, as well as increases flexibility for staffing in pharmacies within hospitals for volume adjustment during emergency coverage needs such as severe weather or pandemic surges.

FRANKFORT (KT) – The Kentucky Senate advanced House Bill 3, a multi-faceted pro-life measure, on Tuesday afternoon after more than an hour of heated debate and chants from the gallery by pro-abortion activists.

The bill, also known as the Humanity in Healthcare Act, addresses medical abortions (regulating the dispensing of abortion pills), the disposal of fetal remains, judicial bypass and parental consent for abortion on minors, abortion complications and abortion incidence reporting in the commonwealth.

“House Bill 3 strengthens Kentucky’s existing laws, providing for greater transparency and more opportunities for women to understand that abortion is never the best choice,” said Sen. Ralph Alvarado, chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee that reviewed HB 3 before advancing it to the Senate floor.

“While the (Supreme Court) established the right to abortion, it simultaneously expressed that the state has a legitimate interest in seeing to it that abortion, like any other medical procedure, is performed under circumstances that ensure maximum safety for the patient,” Alvarado said.

One floor amendment, exempting victims of rape and incest from the measures of HB 3, failed on the floor by a 26-9 vote.

The Senate did adopt a floor amendment tacking Senate Bill 321 onto HB 3. The Senate bill is a 15-week abortion ban mirroring Mississippi legislation at the epicenter of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, a Supreme Court case that could undermine or overturn Roe v. Wade. SB 321 passed in the Senate but later stalled in a House committee.

“In the event that the Supreme Court upholds the Mississippi legislation as constitutional, we will then have a pro-life law in place that would not be subject to a good faith legal challenge,” said Sen. Max Wise, primary sponsor of the bill and its Senate floor amendment to HB 3.

Sen. Reginald Thomas said the bill was “really harsh and unfair” to women. Sen. David Yates stated his belief that the passage of the bill would “cost lives.” Sen. Karen Berg, Sen. Gerald Neal and Sen. Morgan McGarvey also spoke in opposition.

The final vote was disrupted by several outbursts. Pro-abortion advocates began chanting “abortion is healthcare” while holding banners over the edge of the gallery. One individual screamed “Shame on you! You’re killing women!” at legislators as she was escorted out alongside those chanting. Another shouted an expletive at Sen. Adrienne Southworth as she was explaining her aye vote.

HB 3 passed with a 29-0 vote, with opposing senators declining to cast a nay or pass vote. Many stepped out of the chamber as the roll was called.

The House concurred Tuesday night, 74-19, and now goes to the governor. Read the full text of the bill here.

Active weather expected in the area through tonight.

An Easter Egg Hunt has been scheduled for April 16 in Knifley.

FRANKFORT (KT) – While the General Assembly has enacted legislation reducing the number of weeks Kentuckians are eligible to receive unemployment benefits, a bill is advancing to extend those benefits to victims of domestic violence.

The House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee has approved House Bill 83, a bi-partisan measure sponsored by Reps. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, and Samara Heavrin, R-Leitchfield.

“What this bill does is allow victims of domestic, dating, sexual and stalking violence who leave work, are unable to work, or separated from employment due to circumstances directly relating to that violence, to be eligible for unemployment benefits,” Kulkarni testified.

HB 83 would apply in cases where the victim fears violence at or on route to the workplace, she explained.  A victim would also be eligible if he or she wishes to relocate to another area to avoid future violence or protect the safety and health of themselves, their family or co-workers.

Kulkarni cited several studies that show domestic violence is linked to unemployment, with 83% of domestic violence survivors reporting their ability to work was negatively impacted by an abusive partner. Kulkarni said this legislation is necessary because Kentucky has a rate of intimate partner violence higher than the national average.

HB 83 would require claimants to provide documentation to prove eligibility, which would remain confidential, Kulkarni noted. The documentation could be police records, court records, sworn statements or other documentation of violence provided by the victim, shelter workers, members of the clergy, medical professionals or other professionals from whom the victim has sought assistance.

Kulkarni said the fear of violence language in the bill means it must be something that is currently happening and can be proved with documentation and “not the fear of future violence or abuse.”

The measure now heads to the House floor.

Makayla White, a fifth-grade student from Adair Elementary School (ACES), has been selected the Adair County and Mid-Cumberland Retired Teachers Association winner of the “2021–2022 Grandparent of the Year” essay contest sponsored by AARP Kentucky and the Kentucky Retired Teacher Association (KRTA).

White was among thousands of fifth graders who participated in the 20th annual essay competition for 2021–2022. Student submitted essays answering why “My Grandparent should be the AARP Kentucky Grandparent of the Year” to their fifth-grade teachers who selected the school’s winner. Each participating school winner and school receive recognition certificates and White also received a $25 check.

White’s essay was then sent to the Mid-Cumberland Retired Teachers Association (MCRTA) where it was recognized as the outstanding essay in the (MCRTA). White will receive a plaque and $50 in recognition of this honor. Her essay will also be eligible to participate in the state finals. In a recognition ceremony, the “Grandparent of the Year” and student will be honored at the Annual KRTA Convention in Louisville next month. The state winner also receives a $100 award and a plaque.

The essay competition is a unique way to recognize the significant contributions that older Kentuckians make towards shaping the lives and values of youth across the Commonwealth. Across the country and in Kentucky, an increasing number of adults 50 and over are the primary caregivers to minor children. According to the US Census Bureau, nearly 98,000 children in Kentucky are being raised by or living with a grandparent householder.

White is the daughter of Joey and Elizabeth White. Makayla wrote her essay about her great grandfather Jack Garrett. Jack was a star athlete at Corbin High School Who went on to play collegiately before earning his degree from Eastern Kentucky University.

Adair County High School students Natalie Gilbert, JB Piatt, and Mattie Willis made a presentation Tuesday before the Adair County School Board of their Future Business Leaders of America Regional competition effort in the Graphic Design Division.

They created a product line, including marketing and promotion work, and had to pitch the idea to a panel of judges. They finished second and will advance to the state competition in April.

Dalton Lane Gilbert, 16, of Columbia, Kentucky, died Monday, March 21, 2022 at U.K. Medical Center in Lexington from injuries received in an automobile accident on Sunday in Adair County.

He was born in Glasgow, Kentucky on June 20, 2005.  Dalton was a sophomore at Adair County High School and a member of the Valley of the Cumberland DeMolay.  He was baptized by Daniel Nissley at the Cane Valley Christian Church and had been attending Cane Valley Baptist Church.

Survivors include: parents – Robert “Weiner” Gilbert and Christina Loucks of Columbia; brother – Dylan Gilbert of Russell Springs;  sisters – Skylar Gilbert and Alissa Gilbert, both of Columbia; grandmother – Brenda Gilbert of Columbia; uncles – Billy Gilbert of Campbellsville, Keith Gilbert of Columbia, and Timothy Loucks of Owenton; aunts – Renee Poulin of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Barbara Brumley and Tammy Brumley, both of Owenton, Michelle Loucks of Michigan; and several cousins, other relatives and friends.

Funeral service – Friday, March 25, 2022 at 2 p.m. at Adair County High School with Bro. Daniel Nissley and Bro. Clay Scott officiating; burial in Fudge Cemetery.

Visitation after 10 a.m. Friday at Adair County High School.

Casket Bearers: Billy Brumley, Dylan Gilbert, Chase Gilbert, Mason Grant, Charlie Grant, and Bryce Rodgers.

Honorary:  Kevin Mathers, Nate Cape, Skylar Hare, Zachary Burton, Landen Wethington, Jameson Pineur, Jesse Price, Joshua Burton, Easton Burton, Thomas Erler, Tyler Murphy, Matthew Brady, Alexander Farrar, and Brayden Stargel.

Grissom-Martin Funeral Home in charge of arrangements

www.grissommartin.com

A total of 32 veterans will be the first group to be honored with banners to be hung around the courthouse square. The banners are expected to be iup by Memorial Day.

The veterans are from the Vietnam War, Korean War, World War I, World War II, and active duty.

• Phillip Gaskins – U.S. Army
• Derek Cundiff – U.S. Marines
• Randall Jones – U.S. Army
• Joe Payne – U.S. Army
• Leland Grant – U.S. Marines
• Wallace Alexander – U.S. Army
• Bobby Kimbler – U.S. Marines
• Bernard Dunn – U.S. Army
• Sammy Hughes – U.S. Army
• Charlie Morrison – World War I
• James Abell – U.S. Army
• John Burr – U.S. Army
• Paul Smith – U.S. Marines
• Michael Callison – U.S. Army
• Orvis Grider – U.S. Army
• Travis Giles – U.S. Army
• Vince Giles – U.S. Army
• Ronald Burton – U.S. Army
• Brad Scholl – U.S. Marines
• Joe Spires – U.S. Army
• Tommy Corbin – U.S. Army
• W. Grant – U.S. Navy
• Bernard Janes – U.S. Navy
• William Coy Turner – U.S. Army
• Joe Hare – U.S. Army
• Ronnie Holt – U.S. Army
• Alfred Baker – World War I
• George Hancock – U.S. Army
• William Antle – U.S. Army
• George Howard Keltner – U.S. Air Force
• Russell Arnold – U.S. Army
• Walter Gene Hoots – U.S. Army

The next phase of banners is scheduled to be announced by fall.

Adair County School Superintendent Dr. Pamela Stephens announced Tuesday night that schools in the county would be closed Thursday and Friday to honor the passing of students Dalton Gilbert and Shyanna Harmon.

Harmon’s funeral will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Adair County Middle School. while Gilbert’s funeral will be Friday at 2 p.m. at the high school. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. each day.

Adair County Schools Press Release

March 20, 2022

It is with great sadness I share the news that an Adair County Middle School student, eighth grader Shyanna Harmon, lost her life in an automobile accident Sunday morning.

As a district, we send our deepest sympathy to the family and lift them up in prayer. Our condolences also go out to Shyanna’s many friends and family in their time of loss and grieving.

Adair County Schools’ Crisis Response Team, made up of trained counselors, will be on site at each school Monday morning to talk with students, parents, and staff as they process this loss to our school family.

Thank you for your support of our students and staff as we work together to cope with this tragedy. Please feel free to contact your child’s school if you feel that someone needs to check on your child or speak with your child.

Our thoughts, prayers and condolences are extended to the Harmon family.

Dr. Pamela Stephens
Adair County Schools

Adair County High School senior cheerleader Chloe Stapleton (front row, third from left) recently signed to cheer for Campbellsville University during ceremonies at the high school. Joining her for the event were Brandon Booher, stepfather; Saylor Booher, sister; and Nicole Booher, mother; back row: Laura Day, Campbellsville University cheer coach; and Denise Grant, ACHS cheer coach.

Kentucky Today

INDIANAPOLIS — Saint Peter’s left the floor dancing after handing Kentucky a shocking first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

The Peacocks (20-11) needed overtime to dispose of the Wildcats, 85-79, in a stunning outcome. Saint Peter’s made six straight free throws in the final 31 seconds to hand Kentucky its first opening round defeat in John Calipari’s tenure as coach. It also marked the team’s first early-round exit since 2009 when Marquette beat the Cats 74-66.

Kentucky, the No. 2 seed in the East Region, lost four of its last nine games, including back-to-back for the first time to close out the season. The Peacocks carry an eight-game winning streak into the second round and will face Murray State, the No. 7 seed, on Saturday at Grainbridge Fieldhouse.

Albany, KY – Kentucky State Police are asking for the publics assistance in attempting to locate 15 -year-old Cody Reynolds, of Albany, KY. Cody is a 5’10 ” 215 pound, white male, with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen at the Foothills Academy in Albany, on March 16th at approximately 11:30 p.m. wearing blue jeans, a grey sweat shirt and glasses.

If anyone has information regarding his whereabouts, please contact the Kentucky State Police, Post 15, at 1-800-222-5555 or your local law enforcement agency. Tpr. Bobby Maxwell is investigating.

Congressman James Comer is now accepting applicants for the 2022 Congressional Art Competition, a contest open to high school students throughout the 1^st Congressional District. The United States House of Representatives hosts this competition each year to recognize talented young artists from across the country.

High School students are encouraged to participate by submitting artwork for consideration. The winning artwork from the 1^st District will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol alongside the winning artwork from across the country, while the second-place winner’s artwork will be displayed in Congressman Comer’s office for the year.

“If you are a student interested in demonstrating your artistic ability, I would encourage you to apply for the Congressional Art Competition,” Congressman Comer said. “I look forward to seeing the creative skills of students in Kentucky’s 1^st Congressional District on full display.”

Artwork entered in the contest may be up to 26 inches by 26 inches, up to 4 inches in depth, and cannot weigh more than 15 pounds. If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it must arrive framed. Types of artwork could include:

• Paintings – including oil, acrylics, and watercolor
• Drawings – including pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, and markers (It is recommended that charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed.)
• Collages – must be two dimensional
• Prints – including lithographs, silkscreen, and block prints
• Mixed Media – use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, watercolor, etc.
• Computer-generated art
• Photography

The first-place winner, in addition to having their art hang in the Capitol all year, will receive an invitation to attend a reception in Washington, D.C. during the summer months. Past winners have also received additional benefits such as two roundtrip Southwest airline tickets to attend the reception and a $3,000 yearly scholarship to Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) or Tennessee Wesleyan College.

All entries are due by April 22 and can be mailed to or dropped off at Congressman Comer’s District Office at:

200 North Main Street
Suite F
Tompkinsville, KY 42167

For more information on the contest and where to drop off artwork, you can visit Congressman Comer’s website at comer.house.gov/art-competition.

Deputies from the Adair County’s Sheriff’s Office responded Sunday to a single-vehicle accident at the 44-mile marker on the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway, resulting in three medical helicopters being dispatched to the scene.

Upon arrival, deputies found three occupants of the vehicle were entrapped and one had been ejected.

The preliminary investigation showed William Graham, 47, of Glasgow, was driving his 2019 Nissan Rogue east on the parkway when he lost control and entered the median. The vehicle apparently overturned several times and a 13-year-old, Julies Noto, was ejected.

Graham, along with Mary Alice Noto, 35, and Bella Noto, 11, were trapped in the vehicle and had to be mechanically extricated by the Columbia-Adair Fire Department.

Julies Noto was airlifted to the University of Kentucky. Mary and Bella Noto were taken to the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville. Graham weas treated and released.

Sheriff’s Deputy Tracy McCarol is leading the investigation and was assisted by Chief Deputy Brandon Hitch. Agencies responding to or assisting at the scene were: Adair County Sheriff’s Office, Columbia Police Department, Adair County EMS, Columbia-Adair County Fire Department, PHI Air Medical, Air Methods Air Medical, and Adair County 911 .

Early Friday morning, March 11, before 2 a.m., officers from the Columbia Police Department were called to Adair County Regional Jail after deputy jailers located suspected narcotics on a male inmate.

Upon arrival, inmate Christopher Driskell, 31, of Columbia was interviewed and, after viewing camera footage of holding cell where subject had been placed, charged with promoting contraband, first degree; as well as possession of a controlled substance, fentanyl. Both charges are felonies.

CPD officer Trevor Foster was the charging officer.

FRANKFORT – The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a pro-life bill that would ban abortions in Kentucky after 15-weeks gestation on Thursday.

Senate Bill 321 mirrors Mississippi legislation being considered by the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, a case that could undermine or overturn Roe v. Wade. The high court is expected to issue a ruling in June.

“I’m bringing this bill to you so that, in the event the Supreme Court upholds the Mississippi legislation as constitutional, we will have a pro-life law in place that would not be subject to a good faith legal challenge,” said Sen. Max Wise, a primary sponsor of SB 321.

Wise noted SB 321 requires the probable gestational age of a fetus to be determined by a physician “within reasonable probability.” SB 321 also grants the Attorney General of Kentucky and the state Board of Medical Licensure authority to defend the bill on the behalf of the commonwealth and enforce its provisions.

Under current law, abortions cannot be performed in Kentucky after 20-weeks probable post-fertilization—or 22-weeks gestation.

“This bill is filled with non-medical terminology, false information and inflammatory language that is focused on shaming and falsely informing the non-medical community,” said Dr. Brittany Myers, an OBGYN resident at the University of Louisville.

Myers also said the 15-week limit is a “theoretical gestational age chosen with no regard for actual embryo logic.”

SB 321 notes that an unborn child’s heart begins beating between 5- and 6-weeks gestation and at 12-weeks gestation the child can open and close his or her fingers and “senses stimulation from the world outside the womb.”

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology affirms that by 12-weeks gestation, the brain and spine of a fetus have begun to form, facial muscles form, fingers and toes develop, kidneys begin making urine, the pancreas starts making insulin, eyelids form but remain closed and cartilage for limbs develop. According to Cleveland Clinic, a fetus “is fully formed” at the end of the first trimester of pregnancy.

“What we didn’t know at the Roe decision…is that the child, at 15 weeks, has a heartbeat. That child, at 15 weeks, will respond to painful stimuli in utero,” said Addia Wuchner, a former neonatal nurse who serves as executive director of Kentucky Right to Life.

Tamarra Wieder, the state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates East, said the General Assembly should wait on the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs before attempting to move the threshold for legal abortion in Kentucky.

Senate Bill 231 passed with an 8-2 vote.

Sen. Karen Berg called the bill a “medical sham,” while Sen. Gerald Neal said it simplifies a complex question. Both voted no.

Senate Bill 321 is the second pro-life bill advancing through the General Assembly in this session. House Bill 3 sponsored by Rep. Nancy Tate, Brandenburg, is a more sweeping omnibus bill that will regulate abortion. That measure requires women to be examined in person by a doctor before receiving the medication. About half of abortions performed in Kentucky are the result of medication procedures. The bill has been referred to a Senate committee for review.