Local News

It was a storm that caused more power outages than Kentucky has ever seen, and nearly 700,000 homes were without electricity as a result of last Tuesday’s ice and snow storm that slammed the commonwealth.

Locally, about 70 percent of the homes in Washington County were without power for at least a short time according to Washington County Judge-Executive John Settles, who said he is also without power at his home.

A Washington County grand jury has returned indictments against four individuals.

• Bobby Joe Barnes, 47, of Croake Station Road in Springfield, was charged with one count each of marijuana cultivation of five or more plants while in possession of a firearm (Class C felony), acquiring property/enterprise from income from drug-related activity (Class D felony) and use/possession of drug paraphernalia (Class D felony).

Bond for Barnes was set at $40,000 cash.

Times are hard in Washington County, and no one knows that more than the Washington County Fiscal Court. At their meeting on Friday morning, the court discussed the possibility of not conducting the county-wide bulky item cleanup this spring, which has been going on for the past eight years.

“In my opinion, to cut down on expense, have people bring their items to the landfill,” said Albert Wimsatt, director of the county road department, which conducts the annual cleanup.

He has been sworn in now, and Barack Obama is our nation’s 44th president. For the first time ever, an African American is president of the United States of America, and four local residents will never forget the experience of attending his historical inauguration ceremony.

It was a trip planned by Mike and Lisa Haydon, along with Joe Pat and Nell Haydon, but when scheduling conflicts didn’t allow Mike to attend, that opened up a spot for a friend of the group, Pam Grundy.