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Welcoming the new year, the beginning of life’s next chapter

Constance Alexander
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Welcoming the new year, the beginning of life’s next chapter

By Constance Alexander

In 1988, Walt Apperson, then publisher of the Murray Ledger & Times, called me to set up a meeting. He had read a piece I’d written for the New York Times about my recent move from NJ to Murray, and wanted to know more about my writing. When we met in his office, he filled me in on the highlights of his background in newspapers, including his years with the paper in Mayfield, before his move to Murray.

Wherever Walt lived, he knew a good writer when he read their material, he told me. In fact, he had hired esteemed writer and Mayfield native Bobbie Ann Mason to write for her hometown paper in the summers when she was in college.

To this day I can only aspire to the mastery of Bobbie Ann, but I am still flattered by the comparison.

When Mr. Apperson invited me to create my own column, he said, “You can write about anything you want, as long as it’s not political or controversial.”

“Great,” I thought to myself. “That narrows it down.”

Swallowing hard, I crossed my fingers behind my back and said yes. I have never regretted it.

Since my high school years in Metuchen, NJ, I have been writing a column, and I always admired the ability of those who perfected the art. For years, New York Times columnist Russell Baker was my hero. His pieces in the Sunday Times were witty, informative, and written with the elegance and specificity of poetry. In the early 1980s, I actually wrote a fan letter to him. I asked if I could take his place while he was on summer vacation, and promised to emulate his style.

The hand-written note I got back from him gently declined my offer. He ended by saying: “You don’t want people to read your work and say, ‘She writes just like Russell Baker.’ You want them to read what you’ve written and say, ‘I want to write just like Alexander.’”

More words I will never forget.

Since February 2, 1989, I have written a weekly column in Kentucky. The first 31 years were for the Murray Ledger & Times. In 2020, my column moved to Kentucky Forward, and then to another online news site, Northern Kentucky Tribune. In all those years, I never missed a deadline.

“Main Street” is the title I chose because it seemed to me that the heart of any small town was its main street. By the time I moved to Kentucky, small towns across America were losing their identity as downtowns gave way to strip malls and super-stores. Regardless of the trend, my respect for the unique nature of small towns endures. Whenever I am lost, finding the main street helps me get my bearings.

I come from a newspaper family. My father, born and raised in Canada, was an old-time newsboy on the streets of St. John, New Brunswick. After he emigrated to the U.S., his professional life gravitated toward newspapers, not as a writer or editor but on the advertising side. A capitalist at heart, he understood that newspapers relied on income. After all, news was business.

When I was in sixth grade, my father’s newspaper was purchased by Gannett. In the downsizing that followed, he retired. His newspaper days were over, but he ended his career owning an advertising agency in Princeton, NJ.

What would he say about the state of news in the world today, I wonder. The trend toward consolidation reaches way back to the 1950s, but the public still seems surprised by the disappearance of local papers. A proliferation of Internet sources presents a puzzling array of news choices. Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest and others are gaining traction with no guarantee of professional standards for accuracy.


Increasingly, local news takes a hit as small papers downsize to improve the bottom line, or disappear into news deserts.

Non-profit news sources are beginning to emerge, based on financial models different from the past. According to an article by Sarabeth Berman in Nieman Lab Predictions for Journalism 2023, “We are beginning to see the maturation of and experimentation by a number of individual organizations showing how nonprofit news can scale.”

The Northern Kentucky Tribune is an outstanding example of a nonpartisan, independent news organization that produces in-depth, informative journalism in the public interest. Being published by them has been an honor. What a privilege to write about western Kentucky for a site focused on the northern region.

For me, the past year has been filled with changes and challenges, including the death of my husband. Although “retirement” is not a word in my vocabulary, “transition” is. As I strive to create a vision of my own future, I must make space in my life for change.

That said, this is my last Main Street for a while. I cherish my work with NKyTrib and am grateful to Jacob Clabes and Judy Clabes for their patience and confidence in me. Moreover, I cheer readers everywhere who have become acquainted with my work through them. Writing is the core of my life and I will persist but, in the true spirit of the season, it is out with the old and in with the new, at least until I figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.

As the days grow longer and the dark dissipates, here’s hoping that 2024 brings peace and light and joy to all.

Happy New Year!

Constance Alexander is an award-winning poet and playwright. She is also a founding board member of The Murray Sentinel. 

This article was originally published by the Northern Kentucky Tribune. 

Everybody Has One (OPINION)

Guest Contributor
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Everybody Has One (OPINION)

By Bob Valentine

People are spending a great deal of time and energy these days sharing their opinions with me. A short list of topics includes: Immigration, various political candidacies, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, the social justice of heath care programs, and the social justice of Travis Kelce dating Taylor Swift. 

Some of these people show their faces. Some sign their names as authors or editors. This is very handy because I can evaluate their opinion, in part, based on the degree to which they are experts on the subject. 

Some opinion givers are nameless. They lack the courage to stand behind their opinions, or they wish to disguise the fact that they have no real knowledge of what they are discussing. “Nameless,” to me, is the same as “valueless.” 

And some might as well be nameless. If you are blowing off steam because you don’t like Nancy Pelosi or Donald Trump or Gov. Beshear, and you have been armed by a capricious society with a Facebook page or a Tik-Tok account, you have the ability to offer your opinion. 

However, you have no legal or moral right for people to agree with your opinion. That is especially true if your feelings are unsupported by logic, reliable factual information or reputable experts. Thinking people (which should include you, Dear Reader) do not change their minds by majority vote. We need reasons. 

Furthermore, you have no right for people to refrain from offering their opinion of your opinion. If you comment on something as innocent as broccoli (as in, “I hate broccoli”), you have no right to feel injured if 500 Tweeting broccoli fans suddenly virtually descend on you with vilification concerning your Foodie heresy. In short, you asked for it. 

Perhaps you should attend to the admonition of America’s old social mentor, Mark Twain: 

In our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either.

The American newspaper industry took 200 years to develop codes of ethics, policy books and professional canons to prevent the misuse and abuse of the great power of mass communication. For the last twenty-five years we have all had that power, thanks to the Internet. It’s time we learned discretion. 

We seem to have learned that telling people what they wish to hear is profitable whether the information is true or beneficial. Up until the 1990s, spreading harmful gossip or telling lies for political gain was not only immoral, but was considered unworthy of hearing or reading. We used to laugh at The National Inquirer, remember? Money talks. 

There are a number of ways to make your point, but when you enter the public forum, you should try to be sure that the point is worthy. When you offer your opinion to others, after all, you should have a specific purpose: to lead your readers or listeners to belief in a position that will benefit the whole community.

If you’re just expressing your opinion without regard to how it might affect others, then you are asking us to listen to you for your own sake. That’s just selfish. You have a right to ask, “What’s in it for me?” I have a right to spend my time and efforts in another way and I have a right to ignore your opinion — if that’s all it is. 

You can argue for an unpopular position, but you must be prepared for two things: First, you must be willing to suffer verbal attack, a loss of ad revenue, personal insult, and a loss of subscribers or listeners. 

Second, even those who agree with you will better appreciate what you say if you can offer proof for your position and evidence of your concern for others. When you speak, write or create in public, it is no longer about you; it’s about us. 

It may be your opinion, but it’s our time and our attention. Prove it. 

Robert “Bob” Valentine is a retired senior lecturer in advertising for the Bauernfeind College of Business, Murray State University Dept. of Journalism and Mass Communication. He is also the chair of the McGaughey Lecture on Press Freedom and Responsibility.

Murray school board approves $65M facilities plan

Jessica Paine
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Murray school board approves $65M facilities plan

MURRAY – The Murray Board of Education approved the long-range local facilities plan for the Murray Independent School District (MISD) during its regular meeting Thursday. Over the next four years, the district hopes to invest around $65 million in its infrastructure, including $13 million in improvements to athletics facilities and $28 million to build a new elementary school.  

A public hearing regarding the draft facilities plan preceded the board meeting. The hearing officer, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Human Resources Whitney York, reported that no written statements were received from the public prior to the hearing, and no one signed up to speak at the hearing. In the meeting that followed, the board unanimously approved the plan. 

Prior to the board’s consideration of the plan, R.W. Baird & Co. Public Finance Director Mark Rawlings presented an overview of the district’s financial status, including an explanation of how bondable revenues are calculated and what that ultimately means for the district in terms of its bonding capacity. (See “Building fund revenue streams explained” below.)

“I want to tell you the headline that I’m bringing is, really, pretty good news, I think, for you guys tonight, especially as it pertains the ability to do the projects that were discussed on your facility plan,” he said. 

Rawlings also outlined different borrowing scenarios showing the district’s bonding capacity ranging from $20 million to $45 million. Noting that Rawlings’ projections are based on attendance data from 2021, Superintendent Coy Samons said he thought the numbers presented were conservative. Rawlings agreed.

Looking at the details of the plan, the site for the new elementary school has yet to be determined. The 725-student-capacity building will house kindergarten through fourth grades; however, Board Chair Richard Crouch noted that he would like to see architects present a design that would easily accommodate building additions so that, in the future, fifth grade could be relocated from the middle school to the elementary school. 

After the new school is built, the current elementary school building will be repurposed to house Murray Preschool Head Start, the central office and the maintenance shop, with the necessary renovations to make that a reality bearing price tags of $1.5 million, $4.8 million and $1.5 million, respectively.

The auditorium and gym locker rooms at Murray Middle School (MMS) will be completely remodeled for a price of $1.7 million and $756,000, respectively. Three new construction projects are planned for Murray High School (MHS) – a 325-seat auditorium ($1.9 million), a science room ($481,000) and an ag shop ($1.5 million). In addition, the bus garage, which is adjacent to the high school, in the old vocational school building, will undergo major renovations at a cost of $2.2 million.  

The plan includes a district-wide initiative to outfit every classroom with fixed active boards and projectors with wireless capabilities to allow hand-held student assessments and remote operations. The white boards cost $6,500 each, and 50 will be needed to achieve the goal, which translates to a $325,000 investment.

The plan also covers seven discretionary projects focused on athletics totaling $13 million, including $1.5 million to relocate the baseball field to the MHS campus, add a bridge to the track and install a perimeter fence. Ty Holland Field is getting a $1.5 million makeover – a new press box and new seating to accommodate 1,500 on the home side and 750 on the visitor side.  

The old Industrial Arts building on the MMS campus will be renovated to create new football and baseball locker rooms and a weight room; $3.8 million is allotted for that project. The district also plans to invest $4.8 million in renovations to the former vocational school building and create the Murray Athletic Complex, which will house a high school football locker room and practice spaces for archery, baseball and softball. In addition, the Hina Fieldhouse will be renovated ($720,000) and new lighting will be installed at the track ($250,000) and tennis courts ($400,000).

The board also approved a guaranteed energy savings contract (GESC) with Ascendant Facility Partners for $4.8 million. Ascendant Managing Principal Russ Litsinger advised the board that the upgrades and renovations included in the proposal would save the district $139,500 in the first year and nearly $3.7 million over the next 20 years.

Per the approved contract, nearly all buildings will have thermal envelope improvements to address issues with air leakage, which is a major source of heat loss and heat gain from the exterior to the interior; new plumbing fixtures will be installed to promote water conservation; interior and exterior lighting will be replaced with LED lights and occupancy controls will be installed to reduce electricity consumption; and HVAC systems will be rejuvenated, which is a process that involves cleaning, coating and straightening outdoor HVAC coils. 

The remaining projects concern the middle and high schools. Solar panels will be installed on both schools and the outdated direct digital control systems (DDC) will be upgraded. The previously-described track light replacement project at MHS is included in the GESC, but the remaining projects focus on the middle school.

Inside the school, the kitchen hoods and the building’s two low-efficiency boiler units, which Litsinger characterized as being “beyond their effective life cycle,” will be upgraded. As for the exterior, the original building is getting a “period-appropriate” facelift. All of the windows and supporting infrastructure on the building’s south and east profiles will be replaced along with two sections of roof. 

“This effort is really trying to pay homage to the building, put something back that is not only high performance but also speaks to the aesthetic of that building,” Litsinger said. “It’s a great building and a cultural treasure here in town, and we want to do right by that.”

Citing his grandson’s connection to a solar panel manufacturer, Crouch did not comment on the GESC and refrained from voting on the acceptance of Ascendant’s bid as well as the approval to forward the contract to the Kentucky Department of Education for approval. The remaining board members – Robyn Pizzo, Adam Sieber, Shawn Smee and Gina Winchester – all voted in favor of both actions. 

Crouch did participate in the unanimous decisions to authorize the MISD Finance Corporation to pursue the issuance of bonds to cover aforementioned capital expenditures and to employ R.W. Baird & Co. to act as the district’s advisor and agent throughout the process.

In other business, the board approved a new CEO (continuing education option) rank change program for teachers. The proposed 2024-2025 calendar had its second reading, which included one change after the first reading, and was approved. Assistant Superintendent and Director of Pupil Personnel Lou Carter explained that, based on five-year weather trends, the number of required makeup days was amended from five to three. 

Prior to adjourning, the board went into four executive sessions – one regarding the acquisition or sale of property, one regarding proposed or pending litigation and two regarding personnel matters – and reconvened in open session to approve the superintendent’s evaluation. 

The next board meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11, at the Carter Administration Building.

Building fund revenue streams explained

R.W. Baird & Co. Public Finance Director Mark Rawlings speaks to the Murray Board of Education during Thursday's meeting.

As R.W. Baird & Co. Public Finance Director Mark Rawlings explained to the Murray Board of Education Thursday, the revenue streams for a school district’s building fund (also called restricted funds) are functions of the district’s size, wealth and need. 

The first revenue stream is average daily attendance funding, which provides $100 per student, and 80% of those funds can be used to calculate bonding capacity. 

The second is tax revenue. Districts are required to deposit at least 5 cents per $100 assessed value into the building fund; because the Murray Independent School District assesses three taxes – real property, personal property and motor vehicle – the district actually deposits 15 cents.

Equalization funding, the third revenue stream, is an effort by the state to equalize the amount of funding available to each student in the state by bridging the gap between a district’s tax revenue and the state-established minimum funding amount per student, which is calculated based on the state’s total property assessment and average daily attendance. Currently, that amount is $508 per student. The fourth revenue stream comes from the Kentucky School Facilities Construction Commission (SFCC) offers of assistance, which is state money that districts can use to make bond payments.

 “That local facility plan that you guys are approving tonight is really integral to these SFCC offers of assistance you get,” Rawlings explained. “They look at your facility plan; they look at what your bonding capacity is; and the difference between the two – in terms of how much need is on your facility plan and how much you can afford to do yourselves – is how they decide how much of an offer of assistance you get. 

“So, the more things that are on that facility plan – whether you can afford them or not – they need to be on there because they’re going to help you get more state funding.”  

Amendment to city’s human rights ordinance has first reading

Sentinel Staff
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Amendment to city’s human rights ordinance has first reading

By: Laura Ray

MURRAY – Mayor Bob Rogers called the Murray City Council meeting to order on Thursday, Dec. 14, at 6:30 pm at City Hall. The mayor welcomed guests, including several community members who were in attendance for the first reading of the amendment to the Human Rights Commission’s (HRC) code of ordinances. 

Council member and Murray-Calloway County Parks and Recreation Board Chair Johnny Bohannon reported that the board met in an executive session prior to the council meeting, in which it determined to recommend employing Mike Sykes as park director. Sykes was officially offered and accepted the position in open session, according to City Manager Jim Osborne.

Sykes began his career with the local parks system as a lifeguard in 1977 and has served as its Aquatics Director according to the Murray-Calloway County Parks and Recreation website. Sykes has also served as interim director since October 2023.

In other news, the council is adopting a new meeting time next month. Starting Jan. 11, the meetings will begin at 6 p.m. instead of 6:30 p.m.

A second reading of Ordinance 2023-1856, an amendment to clarify the role of Murray Natural Gas System, passed unanimously in a roll call vote.

A second reading of Ordinance 2023-1857 also passed unanimously in a roll call vote. This is an amendment to Ordinance 2022-1826, which adopted the city’s annual budget for fiscal year 2023, “by restating certain revenues and expenditures for the City of Murray Operations Budget,” according to the meeting agenda. 

A second reading of Ordinance 2023-1858 to amend the hours of packaged alcoholic beverages sales and deliveries passed in a 6-2 vote. Currently, no Sunday sales of packaged liquor are allowed; however, this ordinance would permit Sunday sales on federal holidays as well as Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Council members Jeremy Bell and Danny Hudspeth voted no, while Bohannon, Wesley Bolin, Bonnie Higginson, Rose Ross, Alice Rouse and Terry Strieter voted to approve. 

The council unanimously approved the second readings of Ordinances 2023-1859 and 2023-1860, which have to do with zoning and annexing acreage on Industrial Road which is currently owned by Robert Swift. 

The council also voted to close an undeveloped street that is located within private property. Bell abstained from the vote as he stated that a family member was involved.

The council heard the first reading of a proposed revision to the Murray Human Rights Commission’s Ordinance. Rogers explained that the HRC had sent their proposed Ordinance to him for review and he and the city attorney made changes. Rogers also stated that, while the commission had not formally voted to send the ordinance to the city council, it was informally decided to do so. The ordinance would amend several sections of the current code and make some additions as well.

The proposed revisions clarify the purpose of Murray’s HRC: “to implement a policy to protect all individuals within the City from discrimination in certain contexts in housing, employment and public accommodations on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age (over the age of 40 years), disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or familial status.” 

They also provide a process for filing and reviewing discrimination complaints, with an emphasis on mediation as a form of resolution. However, if no conciliation agreement can be achieved, “the complainant will be informed of his right to: (1) independently file his/her complaint with the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights; and/or (2) independently file his/her complaint with a court of competent jurisdiction.” Herein lies a problem as there are no protections at the state level for discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the area of public accommodations. 

Notably, Rogers asked if there were any questions about each of the rest of the ordinances on the agenda, but he did not open this one up for discussion. A second reading is scheduled for the council’s Jan. 11 meeting. 

A resolution awarding a non-exclusive franchise to Mediacom was unanimously approved, so residents will have more cable choices in addition to Murray Electric and Spectrum. Resolution 017 of the City of Murray, Kentucky supporting the establishment of a School of Veterinary Medicine at Murray State University was also unanimously approved.

Finally, Municipal Order 2023-045 was approved to appoint Leslie Pologruto to replace Kate Reeves on the Murray Convention and Visitors Bureau. Shortly after, Bell moved to adjourn.

Regents approve apartment complex purchase

Jessica Paine
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Regents approve apartment complex purchase

MURRAY – With the intent of closing an on-campus residential area known as College Courts, the Murray State University Board of Regents voted today to pursue the purchase of Station Seventy-Four, an apartment complex located on North 16th Street, for $16.5 million. 

“The condition of College Courts deteriorates even though we’re putting a lot of money into those facilities,” MSU President Bob Jackson said. “Replacing College Courts will save us six figures of deferred maintenance and improvements money each year – this ongoing maintenance that we put into those facilities (which are) 60+ years old.”

Station Seventy-Four is a comparable size – 268 beds versus College Courts’ 264 – and is in a similar location, albeit on the other side of KY 121; but Station Seventy-Four was built in 2015, as opposed to College Courts, which was built in the 1960s.

In addition to being in a desirable location, the acquisition would save the university the hassle of building a new facility.

“What this would do,” Jackson said, “is it would avoid major construction timing issues that we’ve run into in the past, major construction costs that we deal with today and related other unknown risks – there’s a lot of unknown risks, we’ve learned post-pandemic, related to construction.”

Jackson noted that the university’s aging housing infrastructure has become a recruiting and retention issue, adding that enrollment projections for next year indicate there will be a great need for additional student housing.

“I think it’s important that we address not only the short-term but long-term needs of the university, and I think this acquisition would be in line with that,” Board Chair Leon Owens said. “It’s financially feasible, and it’s the best option that we have available at the time.”

The board authorized Jackson to enter negotiations for the purchase of the apartment complex for a purchase price not to exceed $16.5 million, exclusive of closing costs and taxes. The board further authorized Jackson to take steps to secure approximately $17.9 million in bonds for the purchase of the apartment complex.

The board unanimously voted in favor of the property acquisition and bond issuance; however, because he owns property in the vicinity of Station Seventy-Four, Regent Thomas Waldrop abstained from voting.

Local nonprofits raise $226,000 through Weaver Challenge

Jessica Paine
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Local nonprofits raise $226,000 through Weaver Challenge

MURRAY – After receiving an overwhelming response from the community in its inaugural year, it would appear that the Drs. Dick and Jan Weaver Challenge for Charities is poised to become a staple fundraising opportunity for those looking to support local nonprofit organizations. 

The Murray Calloway County Community Foundation, in conjunction with the Weaver Educational Trust, a trust started by the late Drs. Dick and Jan Weaver and administered by the Weaver family, created the fundraiser as a way to shine a spotlight on several local nonprofits while also bolstering their financial longevity. 

The challenge kicked off with 20 local nonprofits on Sept. 15. They had until Nov. 30 to raise a minimum of $1,000 to be eligible to receive a matching grant of up to $5,000 to be deposited in the organization’s endowment with MCCCF. Ultimately, 18 completed the challenge; their fundraising totals ranged from $5,081 to $16,625. Collectively, the nonprofits raised $136,002 in donations through the challenge and received $90,000 in matching grants from the Weaver family, for a total of $226,002.

Participating nonprofits had three ways to receive donations. First, each held a special fundraising event, for example, CASA by the Lakes hosted a murder mystery dinner and Angel’s Attic held a “Special Treasures Sale”. In addition to the event, people could donate to a specific organization through its Weaver Challenge PayPal account or by filling out a Weaver Challenge brochure and sending a check. While the organizations knew how much they raised during their special event, they did not know how much they raised through brochures and online donations until yesterday, when MCCCF announced the totals during the Christmas CUBS (Calloway United Benevolent Services) Luncheon.

All 18 organizations received the full $5,000 matching grant. With $16,625 in total funds raised, Life House Care Center had the highest total. CASA by the Lakes raised $12,284, and the Humane Society of Calloway County rounded out the top three with $10,470. 

The other nonprofits’ totals were $8,605 for Neartown, $8,336 for Soup for the Soul, $8,314 for Murray-Calloway County Need Line, $8,075 for the United Way of Murray-Calloway County, $7,377 for the Murray Woman’s Club, $6,751 for the Murray-Calloway County Senior Citizens Center, $6,555 for Playhouse in the Park, $6,377 for the Anna Mae Owen Residential Hospice House, $5,605 for the Murray Art Guild, $5,600 for Serenity Recovery, $5,514 for HOPE Calloway, $5,300 for the Murray Lions Club Foundation, $5,177 for Murray Christian Fellowship, $5,100 for Angel’s Attic and $5,081 for the Murray Rotary Club.

Only two of the organizations did not previously have endowments set up with MCCCF, but they do now. Serenity Recovery and Neartown each had $5,000 deposited in their new endowment. MCCCF Board Member Linda Avery explained that the minimum endowment balance is $10,000, but the organizations have three years to meet that target. 

Woman pleads guilty to misdemeanor in sex abuse case

Jessica Paine
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Woman pleads guilty to misdemeanor in sex abuse case

MURRAY – Sarah Pawlik, a Murray woman who was charged with first-degree sexual abuse in April, may not serve any time after accepting an offer from Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney James Burkeen to plead guilty to a lesser offense.  

The 31-year-old was arrested in April following an investigation by the Calloway County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) regarding an accusation of sexual assault made by her 13-year-old son in February, who, according to the complaint warrant, initially came into Pawlik’s home as a foster child and was subsequently adopted.

Booking photo of Melissa Pawlik courtesy of the Calloway County Jail

By the victim’s account to CCSO Deputy Jacob Hamm, the incident had occurred a couple of weeks prior. Pawlik initiated the assault by taking the boy’s hand and putting it on her rear end. When he pulled away, according to the deputy’s affidavit, she said, “What is wrong? Do you not like me?” Pawlik unzipped her top and exposed herself to the boy before she “got on top of him and started humping him.” 

The teenager told Hamm he was scared, so he “just laid there quietly,” and after approximately one hour, Pawlik got up and went to her bedroom. Fear also kept the boy from telling anyone about the incident. After two weeks, he told his girlfriend, and her older sister contacted the CCSO.

Pawlik was indicted in June for first-degree sexual abuse, a Class D felony, but on Friday, she accepted an offer from the Commonwealth to plead guilty to third-degree criminal abuse, a Class A misdemeanor, and agreed to a recommended sentence of 12 months. Monday, Calloway Circuit Judge Andrea Moore accepted the plea agreement and conditionally discharged Pawlik’s sentence for two years, meaning she will serve no time provided she does not violate the conditions of the plea agreement and does not commit any additional offenses during that time period.  

Per the terms of the agreement, Pawlik cannot communicate or have contact with the victim and cannot serve as a foster parent for the duration of the conditional discharge period, but the Commonwealth did not object to her request to move to Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her husband, Logan.

Mother’s competency to stand trial questioned

Jessica Paine
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Mother’s competency to stand trial questioned

MURRAY – The Murray couple indicted on murder and criminal abuse charges last month appeared for the first time before Calloway Circuit Court Judge Andrea Moore this morning for their respective arraignments. While one proceeded as per usual, the other was continued after concerns regarding that defendant’s competency to stand trial were raised.

Chyanne Niemeyer and Nathaniel Gibson were arrested on Oct. 23 and charged with first-degree murder and first-degree criminal abuse of a child under the age of 12 following the death of Niemeyer’s 17-month-old daughter, and on Nov. 27, the grand jury upheld those charges when it returned the indictments. 

Last Thursday, Niemeyer’s attorney Cheri Riedel, directing attorney for the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy Murray Trial Office, filed a notice with the court questioning her client’s competency to stand trial. In the filing, Riedel cited her interactions with Niemeyer and “other information obtained” as the basis for her belief that, “as a result of intellectual disability, Miss Niemeyer lacks the capacity to appreciate the nature and consequences of the proceedings against her and to participate rationally in her own defense.”

From left: DPA attorney Cheri Riedel, Circuit Court Judge Andrea Moore, Commonwealth’s Attorney Dennis Foust JESSICA PAINE/The Murray Sentinel

The notice is consistent with a motion Riedel filed in advance of Niemeyer’s indictment last month wherein she requested that a 2011 psychiatric evaluation, which characterized Niemeyer as having “extremely low intellectual and adaptive functioning” abilities, be presented to the grand jury. 

At the time, there was no ruling on the motion as the case had advanced from district court, but without an indictment, it was not under the jurisdiction of the circuit court; however, Commonwealth’s Attorney Dennis Foust advised his office would abide by the defense’s request. 

It is not known whether the grand jury considered that evaluation as grand jury proceedings are closed. The prosecution presents its case, but the defense is not allowed to participate; however, the defense can request video footage of the proceedings during the discovery phase of the trial, which is the formal process of exchanging information that will be presented during the trial. 

Niemeyer’s arraignment, which, like Gibson’s, was originally scheduled for 9:30 a.m. but was moved to 8 a.m. following a docket change last week, could not proceed today because her competency to stand trial has been brought into question. Now, she will need to undergo a psychiatric evaluation and be deemed competent before she can be formally arraigned. A review hearing was scheduled for Monday, Jan. 22, at 9:30 a.m. to allow the defense enough time to explore options for experts to perform the necessary evaluations and request funding from the court to pay for those services.

Riedel requested the judge enter a discovery order to initiate the discovery phase, but Moore said she thought it best to wait before proceeding any further. Riedel explained that having more information could have bearing on how the defense proceeds in pursuing Niemeyer’s evaluation. “You can file a motion, and the court will rule on that,” Moore advised.  

Commonwealth’s Attorney Dennis Foust sits at the prosecutors’ table during Monday’s proceedings. JESSICA PAINE/The Murray Sentinel

After the hearing, Foust told the Sentinel that his office is requesting the evaluation be conducted through the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center (KCPC). 

“If they’re going to raise competency issues, then we need to be able to, well, we’re gonna have to have an evaluation also,” he said and added, “If KCPC makes a determination that’s adverse to the Commonwealth, well, we’d be kind of stuck with that, but we need to have that done so that we can know how we’re going to be able to proceed.” 

But it is well-known that KCPC has faced an alarming backlog of competency evaluations for years. Last December, Lexington television station LEX18 reported that 302 defendants across the state were waiting for evaluations from KCPC before their cases could continue. At that time, wait times ranged from 0-1,031 days, with the average wait being 179 days. According to Foust, there has been little improvement.

“The KCPC backlog is substantial,” he said. “I don’t want to tell you it’s 12 months – it could well be – I don’t know for certain, but it’s substantial; I know that. So, that’s not going to be a fast-track process. We’re going to try to get it done as quickly as possible, but they are so backlogged. I know a couple of months ago we were told that it was an eight-month backlog. Where it is now, I don’t know.”

During Gibson’s arraignment, Zanda Myers, a Bowling Green attorney who is serving as Gibson’s public defender, was reappointed to represent Gibson in the proceedings against him in Calloway Circuit Court. Gibson waived formal reading of the indictment and entered a plea of not guilty. Moore ordered discovery and reciprocal discovery and set a status hearing for Monday, Jan. 22, at 9:30 a.m.

Nathaniel Gibson, left, stands with his public defender Zanda Myers, an attorney from Bowling Green, for his arraignment.

“This is going to be a long process,” Foust said. “(On) Jan. 22nd, we’ll be, honestly, checking to see how we’re doing with discovery and just trying to track things to make sure that everything’s moving. But it is going to be a slow process. I wish we could fast track it and do it as quickly as possible, but it’s going to take time.”

Riedel had no comment following today’s proceedings. 

Individuals charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

The hidden costs of keeping secrets

Jessica Paine
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MURRAY – The Kentucky Open Records Act (KORA) declares the “free and open examination of public records is in the public interest … even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment to public officials or others.”  

Initially passed in 1976, the act gives members of the public the right to inspect nonexempt public records, which are defined in KRS 61.870 as “all books, papers, maps, photographs, cards, tapes, discs, diskettes, recordings, software, or other documentation regardless of physical form or characteristics, which are prepared, owned, used, in the possession of or retained by a public agency.”

Public agencies include, but are not limited to, state or local government officers, departments, divisions, bureaus, boards, commissions, legislative boards and judicial agencies in addition to county and city governing bodies, councils, school district boards, special district boards and municipal corporations.

In order to inspect a public record, it must first be formally requested by submitting an open records request to the public agency. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) provides a standardized form on its website that all public agencies are required to accept. As of June 2021, open records requests are limited to Kentucky residents and media outlets. 

After receiving a request, the public agency has five business days to respond by complying with the request or denying it. If an agency denies a request, in whole or in part, it must cite the specific exemption provided under KORA allowing the record to be withheld and a brief explanation of how it applies to the record.

When an agency denies a request or fails to respond in a timely manner, the requester may appeal to the OAG, but that office can only issue an opinion on whether the agency’s actions violated KORA and has no authority to penalize an agency for noncompliance. 

To compel an agency to comply with an open records request, the requester can file a lawsuit against the agency in circuit court where a judge can order it to comply; and if a judge finds records were “willfully withheld,” they may impose statutory penalties not to exceed $25 per day for each day the “right to inspect or copy said public record” was denied. 

A Kentucky Court of Appeals opinion published in 2016 established precedent for assessing penalties on KORA violations on a per-record, per-day basis in a case brought by the Louisville Courier Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader against the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) wherein it upheld a $756,000 fine imposed by Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd.  

Penalties associated with open records violations are currently quite relevant in Calloway County as attorneys for Paducah television station WPSD-TV filed a motion for summary judgment last week in a lawsuit against Murray State University in Calloway Circuit Court over two open records requests the station submitted to the university last year. 

In October 2022, WPSD News Director Perry Boxx submitted an open records request to Murray State, seeking records going back to March 2022 of (A) communications between former Judge Jamie Jameson, university administrators and a former station manager of the university’s NPR-affiliate radio station WKMS, Chad Lampe, and (B) communications between another group of university employees about WKMS.

Days before the request was submitted, WPSD reporters were present as Lampe testified about some of those conversations during the final hearing in misconduct proceedings brought against Jameson by the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission. Lampe’s testimony, while predominantly centered around Jameson, suggested that tensions were high between university administrators and the radio station at the time.

In response to part A of the request, Murray State produced 31 heavily-redacted records on Nov. 3 and claimed the First Amendment, attorney-client privilege and KORA’s preliminary records and personal privacy exemptions as justification for the redactions. The university refused to conduct a search for the records requested in part B, calling that request “unduly burdensome,” which is permissible under KORA when the requester does not specifically describe the records they are requesting.

Two weeks later, WPSD submitted a second request, which covered a wide range of subjects and sought records as far back as April 2020. The next day, Nov. 17, WPSD filed a formal appeal with the OAG over the October request. The OAG sided with the television station on many of its complaints and unequivocally rejected MSU’s use of the First Amendment to withhold records related to WKMS. 

Following the release of the OAG’s opinion, MSU produced more records that were responsive to the October request, but WPSD still did not agree with many of the redactions. In March of this year, the station filed its lawsuit against the university to compel the production of records requested by Boxx in October and November last year. 

Over the past year, Murray State has produced thousands of pages of records, including as recently as Oct. 3, according to the motion; however, WPSD still disputes the redactions on 21 records – 15 from the initial October request and six from the November request, four of which have been withheld completely to date. Should the judge side with the television station regarding all 21 and award the maximum penalty, Murray State would be looking at more than $205,000 in penalties plus attorneys’ fees. 

In the motion, Louisville-based First Amendment attorney Michael Abate, WPSD’s lead counsel in the case, quotes Shepherd’s decision in another lawsuit against CHFS brought by the Todd County Standard over KORA violations wherein he asserts the term “willful” “connotes that the agency withheld requested records without plausible justification and with conscious disregard of the requester’s rights.” In that case, CHFS was required to pay the news outlet a little over $40,000 in penalties and fees. 

“As our motion explains, we believe the University has willfully violated the law in trying to hide documents from the public, and that a substantial fee and penalty sanction is appropriate under the statute,” Abate said in a statement provided to the Sentinel regarding the filing. 

Abate also represented the Courier Journal in the aforementioned landmark case against CHFS, which centered around open records requests submitted by the newspapers, seeking social workers’ case files related to fatalities or near fatalities of children resulting from abuse and neglect.

The case was initially filed in 2009, but that did not stop reporters from submitting requests; therefore, over the course of four years of litigation in Franklin Circuit Court, the scope of the case grew to cover requests for records in hundreds of fatal or near fatal child abuse cases, 140 cases from 2009 and 2010 alone. 

The disputed records largely focused on two cases. One was from 2009 involving a toddler in Wayne County who drank drain cleaner while his parents were staying in a trailer being used as a meth lab. The other involved a nine-year-old girl from Todd County who was beaten to death in 2011 by an older sibling, which the Courier Journal reported as being “particularly damaging” to CHFS. 

In December 2013, Shepherd ruled in favor of the newspapers, advising that the disclosure of records in cases where a child dies or is seriously injured from abuse or neglect is permissible under federal law and required under KORA. 

“The cabinet has intentionally continued to employ a wholesale blanket approach to withholding public records, despite such approach being prohibited by the Open Records Act and contrary to this court’s repeated orders,” Shepherd wrote of CHFS’ willful refusal to produce records. He also accused the agency of making a “mockery” of KORA, treating it as “an obstacle to be circumvented rather than a law mandating compliance.”

In February 2016, the Court of Appeals upheld Shepherd’s ruling, including the $756,000 in fines. In the majority opinion, Judge Irv Maze admonished the state for fostering a “culture of secrecy” and flagrantly disregarding the basic tenets of KORA. He wrote that punishment for such violations should be “meaningful” and noted, “Rigid adherence to this stark principle is the lifeblood of a law which rightly favors disclosure, fosters transparency and secures the public trust.”

The state appealed the ruling but only to contest the penalty amount. In April 2016, the parties reached an agreement whereby the state would not pursue its appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court and would pay a $250,000 fine – $125,000 to each newspaper – and attorneys’ fees in the amount of $339,000 to the Courier Journal and $110,000 to the Herald-Leader. The respective presidents of both newspapers vowed to use the award money to advance the cause of government transparency, particularly regarding child welfare.

As for the Calloway case, a hearing on WPSD’s motion for summary judgment was originally set for tomorrow afternoon; however, the parties filed an agreed scheduling order this morning, canceling that hearing and giving Murray State until Dec. 11 to file its response to the motion; WPSD then has until Jan. 3 to file its reply to the university’s response. A hearing on the motion for summary judgment is scheduled for Jan. 24 at 2:30 p.m.  

Because a portion of the records sought by WPSD are related to communications with Jameson during his 2022 bid for reelection, current Calloway Circuit Judge Andrea Moore, who prevailed over Jameson in the 2022 general election, recused herself from the case. Christian Circuit Judge John Atkins was appointed as special judge. It is not clear in today’s filing whether the Jan. 24 hearing will be held in Calloway or at the Christian County Judicial Building in Hopkinsville, but it is worth noting that the now-canceled hearing tomorrow was supposed to take place in Hopkinsville.  

Editor’s note: This story was written without input or review from our board of directors.

MSU president inadvertently implicated

Jessica Paine
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Story originally written Oct. 31, 2022*, published Nov. 21, 2023

HOPKINSVILLE, KY – Testimony given during a misconduct hearing brought against a western Kentucky circuit judge by the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission (JCC) in October (2022) implied that the administration of Murray State University (MSU) used its budgetary authority to penalize its public radio station, WKMS, over the content of news stories.

JCC attorney Jeffrey C. Mando called former WKMS Station Manager Chad Lampe to the stand on day one of the four-day hearing to testify regarding the seventh count of misconduct against Judge Jamie Jameson. That count centered around conversations he had with Lampe regarding an open records request filed by one of the station’s reporters.

Last spring (2021), the WKMS newsroom received a tip that there was video surveillance footage of the judge walking around the courthouse in his undergarments very early in the morning. The station submitted an open records request to the Administrative Office of the Courts for that footage, which was denied. 

In April, the judge contacted Lampe about the records request. During the conversation, he advised that he had already spoken to MSU President Bob Jackson and told Lampe that Jackson “was not happy” about the situation. In his defense, Jameson maintained that he only called the president of the university to find out who to talk to at the radio station. 

By Lampe’s account, the judge explained what was on the video and wanted assurance there would not be a story about it. Lampe advised that, although it did not sound like a news story, because the news director maintains editorial control of the WKMS newsroom, not the station manager, he would let the news director know what the judge said about the video and get back with their decision. Lampe noted shielding the news director from knowing the judge had contacted Jackson because it would have “complicated matters for them.” 

Regarding the newsworthiness of the story, Lampe’s testimony was consistent with a statement released by WKMS following the announcement of Count VII in early October (2022).

“We want to clarify that the incident the station reporter requested footage of – when explained by Jameson – was not deemed newsworthy because of its personal nature,” the statement said. “Editorial decisions are made by the news director who works to shed light on issue-based stories that impact lives in our communities. The WKMS news team has not and would not compromise its editorial integrity for any person, in any position.”

After speaking with the news director, Lampe contacted the judge to let him know there would not be a story and said he would appreciate him letting Jackson know “this isn’t an issue.” 

Within days of the conversation, Lampe testified, he received an email from David Eaton, dean of the Bauernfeind College of Business, which houses the radio station within the university structure, requesting that he send an accounting of his conversations with the judge to Provost Timothy Todd. Lampe assumed Todd’s inquiry was prompted by the judge’s call to Jackson as he did not divulge having the conversation with anyone other than his limited conversation about it with the news director, wherein he intentionally did not mention Jackson’s involvement.

Jameson’s attorney Richard L. Walter questioned Lampe about the timing of his complaint to the JCC. Lampe advised that he never would have contacted the JCC while he still worked at WKMS; after that, he was settling in at his new job.

“It was a moment of conscience,” Lampe said. “I had been reading the recent reports (about the Jameson case) and I thought, ‘I believe what the judge (did) was intimidating or unethical; and I believe that, if the public employs a judge to do a certain job, then he should be acting in a way that is ethical.’ I think the public has a right to know.”

The commission investigated numerous complaints related to the judge pressuring people to do things as well as engaging in retaliatory tactics; therefore, discussion around any potential retribution Lampe could have endured as a result of not doing what the judge wanted was necessary to understanding the context of the charge, which was complicated by the fact that Lampe left his position at WKMS within two months of his conversations with the judge.

From the beginning Lampe made clear that, while the incident with the judge “precipitated” his departure, it was by no means the only factor that played a role in him leaving the university. During the JCC’s cross-examination, Court of Appeals Judge Glenn E. Acree sought to clarify how the incident with the judge did factor into Lampe’s resignation.

“Would it be fair to say it wasn’t so much somebody who was the subject of the story trying to stop it – you said that’s regular – but what was affecting to you was that the administration was letting (the judge) affect them?” he asked. Lampe called that a fair assessment.

It was clear by Lampe’s account that the interactions with the judge came on the heels of budget decisions for the upcoming fiscal year, which he said were likely already made prior to his conversations with the judge. His testimony implied that WKMS’ allocation was reduced because other sources of news stories had complained directly to Jackson about the newsroom’s editorial choices.

On April 13 (2022), Lampe, in his role as station manager, sent an email to the station’s members informing them that the university administration cut $50,000 in funding to the station in the upcoming fiscal year. Late that afternoon, Lampe sent another email to say the university “had already identified other sources of funds so that WKMS would be held harmless in the new fiscal year” and apologized for not making that point clear in his previous email.

During the hearing, Walter first confirmed Lampe left the university on his own accord then asked if he had been subject to any disciplinary actions resulting from the incident with the judge. Lampe advised that he had not but added that the administration’s inquiry felt like a punishment, noting the request for information was unusual and “based on comments from an elected official.”

“There was no direct punishment to me,” Lampe said upon further questioning, “but the public radio station had received changes in their budgetary allocation as you would see lawmakers contact university officials. … I can say that the station – not necessarily me, but the station – could receive some negative blow back from the administration.”

Pushing for clarification, Walter asked if anyone in the administration informed Lampe that the radio station’s budget cuts were made to punish the station.

“If you were in the meeting that I was in, you could read between the lines,” Lampe answered, presumably referring to a budgetary meeting he had with university administrators around the time of the conversation with the judge.

In a follow-up question, Walter noted that drafting a budget is a process, not something that is changed on a whim.

“In some cases, yes, but in other cases it can be pretty simple,” Lampe noted. “In this scenario, things happened quite rapidly related to the budget changes at the station that were surprising. Again, I’m not saying (the incident with the judge) is the particular instance that precipitated a lot of things; I don’t want you to misinterpret that.” 

Court of Appeals Judge Jeff S. Taylor asked how many times, over the course of Lampe’s tenure, did a president of the university contact him regarding a story the station was about to report.

“In 15 years of working at WKMS,” Lampe said, “I recall the president being involved, or having some level of, not necessarily direct input, but attempted influence on three different stories in the last few years.”

Upon follow-up from Taylor, Lampe added, “I believe sources may have contacted the president directly, without my knowledge.”

About Jackson, specifically, Taylor asked if he had been involved in inquiring about news stories. Lampe said he would not call it “routine” and noted, “The president has no editorial control over the newsroom. Now, control and perceived control are two different things.”

During his time for questioning, Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry asked Lampe to explain what he meant by actual versus perceived control.

“Newsrooms operate independently, and they should,” Lampe said. “… I believe that, in some cases, administrators feel as though they may have control over the content of the newsroom; but if it’s truly a newsroom, they should not have control of the content that comes out because journalists are working in the public interest.” 

*This story was originally written and submitted by this reporter in October 2022 after covering the final hearing in the JCC’s proceedings against Jameson for the Murray Ledger & Times. The Ledger & Times declined to print it. Permission for another media outlet to publish the story was offered but only in exchange for this reporter’s resignation. As of September 2023, this reporter has no affiliation with that organization. 

Portions of the foregoing were included in a Murray Ledger & Times story printed in March 2023 about a lawsuit filed in Calloway Circuit Court by Paducah television station WPSD-TV against MSU over open records requests, presumably motivated by the above-referenced testimony. The preceding is the original story, only edited to add date references for clarity. 

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