SOUTHERN BAPTISTS
Southern Baptists meet; sex abuse crisis tops agenda
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (AP) — The Southern Baptist Convention has opened a national meeting that will be dominated by discussion of a large-scale sex-abuse crisis . Delegates are expected to adopt new abuse prevention measures and consider a proposal making it easier to expel churches that mishandle abuse cases.
J.D. Greear is president of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Greear said at Tuesday’s opening session that the SBC faced a “defining moment” that would shape the church for generations to come.
Pressure on the church has intensified in recent months, due in part to news reports asserting that hundreds of Southern Baptist clergy and staff have been accused of sexual misconduct over the past 20 years, including dozens who returned to church duties.
The meeting comes as U.S. Catholic bishops convene to address a sex-abuse crisis in the Catholic Church.
POLICE SHOOTING-KENTUCKY
Kentucky State Police: Man killed, trooper hurt in shooting
HAZARD, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police say a man was killed and a trooper injured in an exchange of gunfire at a house near where officers were serving a search warrant.
The man who was killed was one of several people who came out of the house after police arrived at a nearby location in Perry County on Monday evening. Police said the man was armed with a gun and refused to obey when told to drop the weapon. A news release from police said gunfire was exchanged, injuring one trooper and fatally wounding the armed man.
The injured trooper was hospitalized overnight.
Police didn’t identify the man who was killed or the injured trooper.
WKU STUDENT-RELEASED
Former WKU student who shot classmate gets early release
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — A former Western Kentucky University student who drunkenly shot his friend and was sentenced to four years in prison for reckless homicide is being released after only 125 days.
The Bowling Green Daily News reported Monday a Kentucky judge granted 22-year-old Peter Gall a kind of early release meant for first-time offenders convicted of low-level felonies.
Gall said he didn’t mean to kill his friend and fellow WKU student, Alex Davis, in September 2017. He testified that in his drunken state, he “decided just to try and scare” him. He said he “began to jab and mess with him. That’s when the gun went off.”
The paper says Judge John Grise faulted Gall’s “poor judgment, immaturity and alcohol.”
Davis’ parents said nothing can bring back their son.
CHILDREN-HOT CARS
Kentucky State Police remind drivers: Remember kids in cars
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — With temperatures rising, Kentucky State Police say parents and drivers should be extremely cautious not to leave children in hot cars.
The agency says statistics show deaths of children being left in hot cars are climbing. Last year, 52 children died that way, including three in Kentucky. Police said the safety organization Kids and Cars reports the 2018 total is almost 21% higher than 2017.
State police spokesman Sgt. Josh Lawson says the general public often misunderstands the issue. He says most parents believe they wouldn’t forget their child in their vehicle. But he says it is easy to get distracted and forget.
Lawson says sometimes children playing outdoors will lock themselves inside a vehicle, become disoriented from the heat and be unable to escape.
JACKSON ENERGY-RATES
Eastern Ky. electric provider approved for rate adjustments
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — An eastern Kentucky electric provider is restructuring its rates, but the adjustments won’t increase monthly bills for an average customer.
The Kentucky Public Service Commission is allowing Jackson Energy Cooperative Corp. to increase the monthly customer charge while decreasing the cost per kilowatt-hour of electricity.
The electric co-op serves 51,000 residential customers in about 14 counties in eastern Kentucky.
The commission says under the new rate structure, below-average monthly consumption will result in slightly higher bills, while above-average usage will produce slightly lower bills.
The PSC also said the change will benefit low-income customers who receive assistance in paying their electric bills.
CONFEDERATE STATUE-KENTUCKY
Kentucky art group appeals choice to move Confederate statue
(Information from: Courier Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky art group is appealing the city of Louisville’s decision to move a Confederate statue from a prominent location.
The Courier Journal reports the Friends of Louisville Public Art sued Monday to stop the John B. Castleman statue from moving to Cave Hill Cemetery from the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood. The statue was built in 1913 to honor Castleman, a Confederate soldier and U.S. general who helped to create the city’s park system.
Stephen Porter filed the lawsuit on behalf of the group. He says the 15-foot bronze statue isn’t a Confederate statue as it depicts Castleman in equestrian clothes as he helped found the American Saddlebred Horse Association in 1891.
Mayor Greg Fischer’s administration has pushed to move the repeatedly vandalized statue because of its Confederate and slavery ties.
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