Charges against Wal-Mart dismissed

        BURLINGTON — Charges against the Wal-Mart store at 4999 Houston Road in Florence were dismissed in Boone District Court Friday because the store complied with county zoning regulations.

        Wal-Mart had been charged with operating a temporary commercial display without a permit, and Florence officials had complained about storage outside the store.

        Florence officials said items such as bags of potting soil, propane storage tanks and ladders are left outside.
       

Crescent Springs meeting canceled

        CRESCENT SPRINGS — Because of lack of agenda items, Monday's City Council caucus has been canceled.

        Council is expected to set its annual property tax rate at its next regular meeting on Aug. 13. That meeting will be at the city building, 739 Buttermilk Pike.
       

Villa Hills OKs Duncan as attorney

        VILLA HILLS — City Council unanimously approved the hiring of Michael Duncan as city attorney Wednesday. His contract with the city runs through December 2003.

        Mr. Duncan was hired on a temporary basis earlier this year after Lawson Walker resigned.
       

Study of proposed refuge completed

        HENDERSON — A study of a proposed national wildlife refuge in Henderson County has been completed, and a final decision is expected within months, a federal wildlife official said.

HOPING FOR THE BIG ONE: Ciera Mayes, 7, of Mount Healthy, was one of 100 children to take part in a cane-pole fishing derby Friday. The event was sponsored by the Covington Neighborhoods, Parks and Recreation Department. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        For years, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has sought to create a nearly 23,000-acre refuge in the county along the Ohio River.

        The agency wants to create and preserve wetlands for migratory birds and restore bottomland hardwood forests.

        A final draft of the environmental study will soon be sent from the agency's regional office in Atlanta to the agency's director in Washington, D.C., who will make the final decision.

        During a public comment period, the agency received 61 written responses and three telephone calls, with slightly more than 80 percent supporting creation of the refuge.

        The agency has said it would make payments to help offset the loss of property tax revenue from the land. The agency estimates annual payments of $187,500 to the county if the entire 23,000 acres is acquired.

        The agency said it has no intention of using eminent domain powers to obtain property. Acquisitions would come from willing sellers, it said.

        The refuge would increase opportunities for education, recreation and tourism, the study said. Sportsmen would benefit by greater public access to hunting and fishing opportunities, it said.

        The land would be permanently protected from commercial and residential development. But some land would continue to be farmed through cooperative agreements with landowners.
       

Critics, backers spar over industrial park

        FRANKFORT — Opponents of a proposed airport and industrial park say officials have made overly rosy financial projections for the plan, but proponents say the project will pay for itself.

        Opponents of the proposed 4,000-acre park in south-central Kentucky took their battle to the state Capitol on Thursday at an administrative hearing appealing local financing for the project.

        The first legal challenge to the Kentucky TriModal Transpark could delay or halt development of the ambitious business complex, which would combine air, rail and highway transportation with an industrial center.

        Opponents said the financial projections allow repayment of $25 million in bonds, the first part of a 10-year, $79 million financing plan.

        “They have failed to prove what's required to justify this bond issue,” said resident Joey Roberts, a transpark opponent who appealed the state's bond issuance approval. “That's the question here.”

        But proponents said the project will pay for itself through a combination of land sales and rentals, state and federal grants, and increased tax revenue.

        “Nothing is without risk,” said Dan Cherry, president of the InterModal Transportation Authority, an arm of Warren County government promoting the transpark. “If things go better than we expect, we'll buy more land. If things go worse, we'll slow down the next phase of the bond issue so we won't incur more debt.”

        At issue is a project touted by local officials as an innovative economic development booster, supported by politicians from Warren County Judge-executive Mike Buchanon to Gov. Paul Patton and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Proponents hope to lure more than 7,000 jobs offering good pay within 30 years.

        Opponents say they fear the project would needlessly devour prime farmland, displace hundreds of residents in the Oakland community and generate pollution that could seep into the area's delicate cave system.
       

Mother pleads not guilty in baby's death

        PADUCAH — A woman accused of leaving her 10-month-old daughter in a hot minivan pleaded not guilty Friday to a second-degree manslaughter charge stemming from the child's death.

        Wanda Carlson, the mother of 10-month-old Emily Carlson, is scheduled to return to court Sept. 7 for a pre-trial conference.

        Preliminary autopsy results showed that Emily died of hyperthermia, or increased body temperature.

        According to police reports, Emily was inside the minivan in front of the family's house between two and three hours with the windows closed on June 7. Ms. Carlson was in the house during that time and the infant's father David Carlson, a Baptist pastor, was at work.

        Ms. Carlson apparently realized the baby wasn't in the house, retrieved her from the van and called 911. She was pronounced dead at Lourdes hospital a short time later.
       

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