Burglary, robbery, unlawful imprisonment head list of four indictments by grand jury;

LOUISA, Ky. -- The Lawrence County grand jury handed down four true bills this month. Among those indicted was Lynette Ball, 51, of Louisa.
 

According the indictment, on March 19 Ball committed the offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon by possessing  a .22 caliber rifle after having been previously convicted of a felony if found guilty Ball faces a penalty of 1 to 5 years and a fine of not more than $10,000.

Also indicted by the grand jury was Jimmy Moore, 32, of Louisa.

Moore is charged with burglary in the second degree complicity and persistent felony offender in the first degree. The indictment states that on January 31, Moore acting in complicity with Josh Harmon committed the offense of burglary by knowingly entering the dwelling of a house belonging to Pauline Harmon of Lisa with the intent to commit the crime of theft. If found guilty, More faces 5 to 10 years and a fine of not more than $10,000, however with the persistent felony charge those sentences could be enhanced.

Harmon received the same charges as Moore of  second-degree burglary complicity and persistent felony offender. He faces the same penalties as Moore.

Sarah Preece, 29 of Louisa, was indicted on charges of robbery in the first degree tampering with physical evidence and unlawful  imprisonment second-degree.

According to the indictment, on March 18 Preece committed the offense of robbery first-degree knowingly while in the course of committing the theft of a 2004 Olds Alero automobile had a .38 Smith & Wesson firearms used or threatened immediate use of physical force while armed with a deadly weapon in an attempt to accomplish the theft.

Preece also committed the offense of tampering with physical evidence when, believing that an official proceding is pending or maybe instituted, destroyed, concealed, removed or altered physical evidence which was believed to be about to be produced and used in the official proceeding by concealing a weapon used with the intent to impair its availability.

Preece also committed defense of unlawful imprisonment in the second degree when she knowingly and unlawfully restrained Mickey Preece by tying or taping Mickey Preece to a chair.

If found guilty of these charges, Preece faces a penalty of 10 to 20 years confinement for the robbery, 1 to 5 years for the tampering with physical evidence charge,  and up to 12 months in jail for unlawful imprisonment she faces $20,500 in fines.

An indictment is not proof of guilt or innocense.

Armstrong denies refusal to feed students because of overdue lunchroom 'accounts';

Says students fed at Lawrence Co. Schools Regardless of Meal Account Status...

LOUISA, Ky – While it is a matter for parents and guardians to address as the school year comes to a close, “charge” fees that are owed on a child’s account at the school cafeteria will “not result in a child being refused a school lunch or breakfast,” according to Lawrence County Schools Superintendent Mike Armstrong.

In a recent communication on the matter to district and school administrators and personnel, Armstrong clarified that students were not to be refused a meal regardless of the status of an account.

“We are in the process of notifying parents/guardians relative to any “charges” that have accumulated relative to the breakfast/lunch program.  We have sent letters home and will likewise be following-up with a phone call.  We are particularly sensitive to this matter now (after Spring break) given that school is in session for only seven more weeks,” he wrote.

Armstrong further stated, “Our current policy is that students may not charge for more than three days.  While we share this specific language in the letter, we also note that no child will be refused to eat either breakfast or lunch.  The cafeteria manager will also remind the student to have mom/dad pay their charge and/or to put money into their cafeteria account.  An option for any family, even now, is to complete a new breakfast/lunch application if their family income has changed.

At no time will the school/cafeteria berate or belittle a child due to the fact that they have accumulated a breakfast/lunch bill.”

Additionally, Armstrong noted that Lawrence County School District is making every effort to complete the process necessary to become a free-lunch program for all students.

No quorum for Thursday night city council meeting - 'maybe next week' clerk says...

ComptonLOUISA, Ky. -- Louisa city clerk Kathy Compton called the Lazer office Wednesday afternoon to say the proposed council meeting announced by mayor Teddy Preston will not be held because a quorum of council members will not be available.

"The mayor announced the meeting before we had the chance to contact the council members and when we did, more than half said they could not attend because of prior plans," Compton said. "He is going to try to have a meeting one day next week."

Mayor Teddy Preston has missed two meetings in the past three months because of illness. On Tuesday he announced he was "sick" just hours before the scheduled time.

"There wasn't anything on the agenda that big anyway," Preston said. But city parking control, garbage and trash complaints and naming a new member for the city water board were three of the items. Also, Water Project advisor Holly Nicholas came from out of town to attend the meeting.

And city residents were planning to ask about the price the city gets from water distributor Big Sandy Water, Inc. which is the same as city costs of less than $3 per 1,000 gallons. The company purchases a half million gallons per month. But Louisa taxpayers and other water customers pay in excess of $14 for the same product.

LOUISA, Ky. -- For at least the third time in the past two months tonight's (Tuesday) city council meeting has been cancelled due to the sudden illness of mayor Teddy Preston.

City Clerk Kathy Compton said Preston became ill around 3:00 pm this afternoon and called to say he could not make the meeting. He complained of similar symptoms at last month's regular meeting which also had to be postponed.

"It seems like something is causing him to get stressed," Compton said. "He could go ahead with the meeting since we have people coming to town for tonight, Bud (Adams) is mayor pro-temp and he could preside over the meetings but he doesn't like to do it."

Preston called The Lazer office at 5:00 pm and said the meeting will be held Thursday night at 7:00 pm and seemed confident that he will be over his illness by then.

City agenda to include parking, water rates Tuesday night;

LOUISA, Ky. -- City council will choose a new member for the water board at tomorrow night's meeting to replace a member who is now on city council, a message said today. Also on the agenda is the intention of the council to have city police begin writing $25 parking tickets for those who park illegally within the city limits, presumably including along the highway beside Louisa West Elementary and at Wal-Mart.

The tickets proved to be a good deterrent several months ago but city attorney Eldred "Bud" Perry determined the city would have to split the money from the tickets with the district court and city police stopped the practice which was supposed to allow the city to keep the entire $25 to benefit the police department.

Adams has come up with a solution to that problem and council voted last month to purchase 2,500 new tickets for $1,500 which include more information making it possible for city clerks to collect the $25.

Also to be discussed is what the penalty should be for violation of the city's garbage and trash ordinance. A representative from a private engineering fund will attend the meeting to explain current water projects and also the city water rates.

Louisa City Council
 

Agenda

April 9, 2013--7:00 PM
 

Louisa City Hall

1.    Call to order.
2.    Pledge of allegiance and prayer.
3.    Approve appointment for Water & Sewer Board.
4.    Approve minutes for 03-12-13.
5.    Holly Nicholas-discuss water & sewer projects.
6.    Second reading Ordinance 2012-09, “An Ordinance Relating to the Regulation of the Parking of Motor Vehicles within the City of Louisa”.
7.    Discuss penalty for violating the garbage ordinance.             
8.     Louisa Police Department.
9.    Louisa Fire Department.
10.    Louisa Water and Sewer Departments.
11.    Louisa Street and Sanitation Departments.
12.    Audience comments.
13.   Executive session.
14.   Adjourn.