Brooksville man in critical condition

        ALEXANDRIA — A Brooksville man was in critical condition Friday after crashing his car on U.S. 27.

        Gary Losey, 52, was traveling south on U.S. 27 at 4:50 a.m. Friday about seven miles south of Alexandria when he possibly fell asleep at the wheel, according to Campbell County police. Mr. Losey's car crossed the center line and hit another vehicle head-on.

        The driver of that vehicle, Barbara Wahoff of Butler, was not seriously injured.

        Mr. Losey had to be extricated from his car before being taken by helicopter to University Hospital in Cincinnati. Police said Mr. Losey was on his way home from work.
       

Senate president backing up legislature

        FRANKFORT — Senate President David Williams said he will take sides in the budget lawsuit to protect legislative interests, even though it was the General Assembly's failure to pass a budget that started it all.

        Gov. Paul Patton issued a spending plan this week for the fiscal year that starts Monday. To clear up constitutional questions, Treasurer Jonathan Miller has sued to determine if the bills presented to him for payment by the executive branch can be paid without a budget.

        “I refuse to shut down state government and trust the court will make the same decision,” Mr. Patton said in response to Mr. Williams' motion to intervene.

        Mr. Williams said during a news conference Friday that the governor does not have the authority to suspend the hundreds of laws that are routinely suspended or altered by a budget bill.

        Mr. Williams said the governor has the power to spend money on “essential state services” but he declined to identify what services might fall outside that definition.

        Franklin Circuit Judge William Graham has scheduled a hearing Monday morning to begin consideration of the lawsuit.
       

Civil rights activist's state contract ending

        FRANKFORT — The state will end its contract with a civil rights activist after determining that it received little return on its investment for him to help seek out minority contractors.

        The Rev. Louis Coleman, founder of the Justice Resource Center in Shelbyville and a self-styled activist on issues ranging from civil rights to environmental topics, had protested the state's record of contracting with minorities before his organization got the contract in 1998.

        Since then, the state has paid the Justice Resource Center $181,728 from six different agencies that contracted for its services. Many of the contract additions came after the Rev. Mr. Coleman organized protests against their hiring and contracting practices.

        The University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, the Metropolitan Sewer District in Louisville, the Transportation Cabinet and Kentucky State University all contracted with the Justice Resource Center. A study by the Finance Cabinet and the office of the attorney general released Friday found that many of the names and companies offered under the contract did not exist or had no connection to companies that would be eligible for contracting. During the course of the contract, it was also discovered that the Rev. Mr. Coleman billed for time he had spent on his protests. Rev. Coleman said that time was improperly billed by secretarial help and they were not paid.

        The report said the contract “demonstrates extremely modest success” in identifying prospective minority contractors for the state.

        The Rev. Mr. Coleman said the report was actually “very complimentary of our program.”

        The Rev. Mr. Coleman said he would continue to press for more state contracting for minority businesses. “We don't need a contract to do that,” the Rev. Mr. Coleman said.

        If the state determines it needs outside consultation, it should seek a competitive bid for those services and not simply award a contract, as it did with the Justice Resource Center, the report said.
       

Five inmates facing charges after fight

        PADUCAH — Five McCracken County Regional Jail inmates face new charges after a fight inside the jail required help from 15 Paducah police and McCracken County sheriff's officers, Jailer Cliff Gill said.

        No one was injured, and no damage was reported. The disturbance lasted only 10 minutes.

        The fight began at 12:10 p.m. Thursday while 23 general population inmates in Cellblock 9 were being served lunch, Deputy Jailer Bill Adams said.

        “A fight broke out, and officers called for assistance,” Mr. Adams said. “But when the other deputies arrived, some of the inmates blocked the cell and refused to allow the deputies to enter. They had to use force to get inside.”

        The officers removed the two inmates who were fighting — Joseph Conner, 18, and Jessie Day, 28 — and locked down the cellblock. Mr. Conner and Mr. Day were moved to isolation cells.

        “There was a lot of pushing and shoving going on, and some threats being made by inmates,” Mr. Adams said.

        Sheriff's officers and Paducah police arrived within minutes. They went to the cellblock and helped deputies remove four other inmates who Mr. Adams said were causing problems. Mr. Adams identified them as Chris Sherley, 23; Carl Martin, 31; Robert Jackson, 19; and Jonathan White, 19.

        Mr. Day, Mr. Sherley, Mr. Jackson and Mr. White were charged later with inciting a riot, and Mr. Martin was charged with menacing. Mr. Conner was not charged after the fight.

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