Pendleton County man injured after car runs off bridge

A Pendleton County man was injured after the vehicle he was driving went off the side of a bridge and overturned in a creek bed on Thursday, December 14. Michael Fultz, 26, of Stonegate Road in Berry, was on his way home from work around 7:35 a.m. when the accident occurred. He was traveling southbound on Jack's Branch Road in a 2000 Toyota Camry and fell asleep. The car went over the right side of the bridge pier rail and landed on the rocks and driftwood below. Chief Deputy Sheriff Craig Peoples, Pendleton County Ambulance Service, and TransCare responded to the scene of the accident. Fultz was transported to St. Elizabeth Medical Center South and treated for injuries to his chest, back and head. Damage to the vehicle was severe. Photo by April DeFalco. Article by Jackie Vaughn.

Location announced for new bridge

By Debbie Dennie, Editor

District 6 Transportation Department officially announced on December 14 the location for the new bridge that will be built over the South Fork of the Licking River on Kentucky Highway 22.

"The new bridge and approaches will be built just below where the old bridge is now," said Kentucky Transportation District 6 Executive Director Tom Schomaker.

A public hearing was held in October inviting residents and any others that were interested or concerned as to where the location of the new bridge would be.

Schomaker said there were quite a few that wanted to see the new bridge built in the same location. Besides residents, the Pendleton County Chamber of Commerce, Pendleton Fiscal Court, Falmouth City Council and others wrote letters of support choosing the present location of the old bridge for the new one to be built.

The Kentucky Transportation Department will now move ahead with the design on the new bridge. The replacement of the bridge is in the six-year road plan and will need to be funded in the 2008 budget. We should see some work on it in a year or so.

Fiscal Court meets with Hilltop Stone, voices concerns

By Roger McKinney, Reporter

Pendleton County Fiscal Court met with Hilltop Stone representatives, President Kevin Sheehan and Consultant John Morgan, on the evening of December 12, 2006. Hilltop Stone is a limestone quarry off Route 177, near Butler. In addition to the members of the court, some 30 individuals from the community which surrounds the mining pit were present to voice their concern regarding bad things created by Hilltop Stone's operation.

Judge/Executive Henry Bertram asked about the status of an emergency access road promised by the company. Magistrate Gary Veirs gave a Power Point presentation, which provided a history of the fiscal court's interaction with Hilltop's owner, John Steele and company executives. Magistrate Veirs' presentation employed photographs to illustrate the negative impact of the quarry on the immediate area. Gary Veirs also mentioned good things produced by the company. Hilltop pays a large sum of taxes to the county. It employs local citizens and improves business for county merchants. "We know that Hilltop Stone is not Disney World," said Veirs, "But somewhere in between the ideal and what we see now, is a midpoint, where we can live in harmony as good neighbors."

As many as ten citizens participated in dialogue with Hilltop Stone's representatives. The group aired grievances and gave advice toward improving conditions. The following is a list of concerns expressed by the gathering: The limestone dust was hazardous to breathe and could cause Gray Lung. The dust was polluting cisterns and making the water undrinkable. The dust was making everything dirty. The blasting vibration was causing drywall to crack and collapse. Blasting vibration was damaging windows and elementary school trophy cases. Sludge, muck, crud or concrete soup was covering Route 177 and sticking to all vehicles that traveled over it. The big 100 ton trucks slowed down traffic and sometimes behaved in a dangerous manner.

President of Hilltop Stone, Kevin Sheehan, addressed the gathering. He agreed that the present situation was unacceptable and must be dealt with immediately. He said that the company was embarrassed by its failure to bring these negative factors under control. President Sheehan apologized to the surrounding community and promised that Hilltop Stone would take steps to solve the problems and to improve communication with local residents.

For more of this story, see this week's Falmouth Outlook

County brightens up with the many Christmas lights and decorations

There is nothing more fun than to take a drive through the county and look at the Christmas decorations that residents have designed this year. Take for instance the above photo of the huge display of lights and Christmas decorations that have been put up at the home of James, Genia, and Skylar Stephens. Oh, the patience it must take to create a light display like this. But it is such a delight to drive by and let the children and adults gaze at the wonder. This family had a great light and Halloween display in October. We will have some more Christmas decoration photos in our New Year's issue. Photo by D. Dennie.

Former US Bank head teller indicted

Julia Pugh, former head teller of US Bank in Falmouth, was indicted on December 13, 2006 on charges of embezzlement.

Pugh, 45, allegedly embezzled approximately $33,500 during her tenure as the head teller until May of 2006. If convicted, she faces up to 30 years in prison and/or a fine of $1 million.

Amul R. Thapar, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Tracy A. Reinhold, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Louisville Division, and James W. Cobb, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, jointly made the announcement after a Federal Grand Jury in Covington returned the indictment.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service. The indictment was presented to the Grand Jury by Assistant United States Attorney Laura K. Voorhees.

Pugh's hearing before the United States District Court has not yet been set by the court in Covington.

Local business and a storage building burglarized last week

One local business and a storage building where items to care for Riverside Cemetery's landscaping were burglarized in the early morning hours of Thursday, December 14, 2006. Falmouth Police responded to Carson Auto and Tractor Supply around 2:45 a.m. where an alarm was going off. Upon their arrival they found that a brick had been tossed through the front door shattering the glass. Police said a couple of drawers were ransacked and a small amount of money was taken. Also several items were stolen from the garage at Riverside Cemetery. Police arrested Matthew Hubbard, 18, of Falmouth, and charged him with a felony theft for the stolen items from the garage. He was lodged in the Boone County Detention Center. A video tape at NAPA shows a male suspect entered the store wearing a ski mask covering his face. He had a hat on and was wearing gloves. If anyone has any information on the burglaries above they can contact the Falmouth Police at (859) 654-5555. Photo by Jackie Vaughn.

Dear Pendleton County School Children

I received the package full of Christmas cards that the children of Southern Elementary put together for all the military guys and gals. It's always fun to get cards like these and I'm sure that they put a smile on everyone's face who read them. Thank you. Thank you for your support.

I'm in northern Iraq, and have been here for close to five months now. My job in the Air Force is EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). What we do is take care of all military and non-military explosives, but what keeps us busy are the IEDS that the insurgents place along roadsides. We (EOD) won't be home for Christmas so all the cards, and letters that the children wrote to all of us over here mean a lot. We should be back in January sometime, so our tour is almost to a close. Still, we remain vigilant, and look forward to coming back to our family and friends.

Thank you again,

Charles Hodge, SrA
USAF EOD
Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq

Additional items include:

Dear Santa Letters

Baby's First Christmas Pictures

Christmas Angels Pictures

Pendleton senior interviews a big success

Sharp Middle School Cross Country Team competes at Regionals

Kentucky State Police provide safe driving tips

Christmas Pets Pictures

and more!!