The Murray Board of Education will hold a special called meeting at 1:30 p.m. at the Carter Administration Building.
KDE announces switch to SAT for statewide college admissions exam (Press Release)
FRANKFORT, Ky. – The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) announces the award of a contract to the College Board to administer the SAT Junior State Administration as the state-funded college admissions exam beginning in spring 2026. This initial four-year contract, with a cost of $30 per student locked in over the four years, has the potential to save the Commonwealth up to $350,000 annually.
KDE had received a protest, as of July 14, regarding the contract awarded to the College Board. Upon receiving the protest, KDE continued to work closely with the Finance and Administration Cabinet to ensure compliance with all procurement laws and determine the next steps.
As of Sept. 23, after a thorough review, the Finance and Administration Cabinet determined that the protest lacked merit and did not demonstrate any prejudice. Accordingly, the protest filed against the College Board contract was denied.
Kentucky high school juniors will take the SAT during the school day as part of the state’s required college admissions exam testing. KDE had previously worked with ACT as its college admissions exam provider; that contract ended on June 30, 2025.
The SAT is widely accepted by four-year colleges and universities across the United States. In Kentucky, most public institutions – including the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Eastern Kentucky University and Western Kentucky University – consider SAT scores for admission, even when submission is optional.
“The move to the SAT gives Kentucky students access to powerful tools that support their success, like free, personalized practice through Khan Academy and a new digital format that’s shorter, adaptive and designed to be more student-friendly with fast score reporting,” Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher said.
Students and families have access to a wide range of supports to help them navigate the SAT experience with confidence. Resources such as Understanding Scores explain what SAT results mean and how they connect to college readiness, while More Than a Score highlights the many ways SAT results can open opportunities beyond admissions. Parents are supported with a dedicated Parent’s Guide to Getting Your Teen Ready for the SAT, which offers clear steps to encourage preparation, reduce test anxiety, and connect students to free, personalized practice tools. Together, these resources ensure that both students and parents are equipped with the knowledge and strategies needed to make the most of the SAT journey.
College Board provides educators with practical tools to strengthen student learning and readiness for the SAT. The guide emphasizes how teachers can integrate free Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy into daily instruction, using personalized practice recommendations to target skill gaps. It also includes classroom strategies, sample activities and guidance for aligning SAT practice with state standards. These supports help teachers connect assessment insights to instruction, empowering them to build students’ confidence and academic skills over time.
“We are excited to partner with the Kentucky Department of Education and schools across the Commonwealth to deliver a state-of-the-art testing experience that will give educators actionable insights into student performance,” said Priscilla Rodriguez, head of The College Board’s SAT program. “Additionally, the SAT will provide students and their families with information and resources about college and career pathways to help them plan their futures.”
KDE is required to follow the Kentucky Model Procurement Code (KRS Chapter 45A), which governs how state agencies purchase goods and services, including large-scale contracts like statewide assessments. This process is designed to ensure fairness in vendor selection and was facilitated by the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet. KDE followed all procedures outlined in state laws. The recent change in assessment vendor was the result of a competitive request for proposal process, which evaluated multiple factors, including the technical quality of each proposal submitted by vendors and cost. The decision to move forward with The College Board is the result of a legally required procurement process.
Students will take the exam as part of the College Board’s SAT School Day program. The SAT Junior State Administration is an online exam administered by school staff, and schools select the date(s) they plan to test during a six-week testing window beginning March 2.
Created by The College Board, the SAT is the leading college admissions exam that assesses the core reading, writing and math skills essential for success in any postsecondary pathway. The SAT is a 2-hour, 14-minute digital assessment with reading, writing and math sections, each scored on a 200-800 scale. An additional “analysis in science” score is generated based on relevant questions across subjects.
The SAT is a multistage adaptive exam. Both the Reading and Writing section and the Math section are divided into two equal-length and separately timed parts called modules. Based on the performance of the first module, the second module of questions will either be more difficult or less difficult overall.
Students also will have access to free test preparation materials through the College Board’s testing platform, Bluebook, and via partnerships with Khan Academy.®
Kentucky has long provided a state-funded college admissions exam to ensure access for all students. Many school districts already partner with the College Board to administer Advanced Placement (AP) exams and PSAT, and the SAT testing platform aligns closely with those existing systems and supports.
Murray man accused of attempted kidnapping at bus stop
MURRAY – A Murray man has been charged with attempted kidnapping after witnesses reported seeing him grab two young boys by the arm shortly after they got off the school bus and try to get them into his car. Both boys were able to get away from the man and ran home.
Dawson McCoy, 26, of Murray, was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with attempted kidnapping of a minor, a class C felony, which is punishable by five to 10 years in prison. He was also charged with public intoxication, a class B misdemeanor. He is currently lodged in the Calloway County Detention Center, held on a $10,000 cash bond.
Around 3:40 p.m., the Murray Police Department (MPD) dispatched officers to an apartment complex after receiving a report of a seemingly intoxicated man behaving suspiciously in the parking lot, the agency said this morning in a press release.
Upon their arrival at Tanglewood Apartments, according to the uniform citation, officers were approached by multiple witnesses, who told them the man had gone into one of the buildings. They located McCoy in his apartment. Officers described McCoy as being “clearly intoxicated,” adding observations that he was unsteady on his feet, had slurred speech and was not making sense when he spoke. McCoy’s roommate allegedly told officers that he “had been drinking all day.”
McCoy was told to stay in his residence, the citation stated, and officers returned to the parking lot to talk to the witnesses. One witness, who also signed an affidavit, told officers that, while he was waiting for his stepdaughter to get off the bus, he noticed McCoy near the parking lot entrance. After the bus arrived, he observed McCoy grab a young boy by the arm and heard him say, “‘Do you want to take a ride?’” The boy was able to get away from him and ran to his apartment.
Officers then spoke to the boy and his grandmother. The 10-year-old affirmed the witness’ statement, adding that he screamed for help when McCoy grabbed his arm. According to the citation, officers spoke to another boy, also 10, and his mother, who claimed that McCoy grabbed him after the first child ran away. The second boy told officers that McCoy “squeezed his cheeks to make him smile” before asking if he wanted to go for a ride.
“Both boys advised they were very scared and wanted to get to an adult as fast as possible,” the citation stated.
This is the second time in less than 18 months that McCoy has faced criminal charges – he was found guilty of a class A misdemeanor in May 2024. Alcohol was a factor in that case as well. The month prior, MPD responded to McCoy’s apartment regarding a domestic assault report made by his father, according to the uniform citation.
The elder McCoy told MPD that the two were discussing a family matter when McCoy became upset and punched his father in the face around four times. His father immediately ran outside and called police. Officers made contact with McCoy, who smelled strongly of alcohol and “was not making any resownable [sic] sense” when he tried to explain the situation.
McCoy was arrested that night and charged with fourth-degree assault (domestic violence). Six weeks later, he was found guilty, fined $500 and sentenced to 360 days in jail. His sentence, however, was conditionally discharged for two years. Given that the new charges have been brought within that time, it is possible he will be forced to serve out the sentence.
It is unclear when McCoy will make his first court appearance in this case. As of Tuesday afternoon, McCoy’s arraignment in Calloway District Court had not been scheduled due to the judge being out most of this week for a training conference.
Individuals charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
35 years and counting: U.S. News & World Report recognizes MSU again (Press Release)
MURRAY – Murray State University has again been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top universities in the country in multiple categories, marking the institution’s 35th consecutive year of top-tier rankings by the national college guide.
Murray State ranks in the South region as follows:
- 19th – Best Value Schools
- 6th – Top Public Schools
- 14th – Regional Universities
- 6th – Best Colleges for Veterans – Regional Universities
Murray State increased its ranking in the Top Public Schools, Top Regional Universities and Best Regional Universities for Veterans categories.
Murray State has also been recognized as a top university in undergraduate academic programs of engineering, nursing and psychology, and was recognized for its Doctor of Nursing Practice program as well.
“National rankings such as U.S. News and World Report’s recognition are an important marker of the value and excellence of a Murray State University degree,” Murray State President Dr. Ron Patterson said. “Our University holds a broad, deep commitment to teaching, learning and innovation which has uniquely positioned us to make a contribution and impact today’s society.”
Recognized as one of America’s best college values, Murray State has been recognized nationally for both quality and value by the following publications:
- Washington Monthly – “Best Bang for the Buck”
- Wall Street Journal – “Best Colleges in the United States”
- Niche – “Best Colleges in Kentucky”
- Colleges of Distinction – “Best Colleges”
- Military Friendly – “Military Friendly School”
Admission for the 2026-27 academic year at Murray State University is open as future Racers can apply today at admissions.murraystate.edu. Students interested in joining the Racer family can also learn more as well as schedule a campus visit by calling the office of recruitment at 270-809-2896 or emailing msu.recruitment@murraystate.edu.
About Murray State University: Since 1922, Murray State University has provided a collaborative, opportunity-rich living and learning community that fosters personal growth and professional success through a high-quality college experience. Students receive support from inspiring faculty and staff and will join a distinctive campus community — the Racer Family. With more than 10,000 students, Murray State prepares the next generation of leaders to join more than 80,000 successful alumni who make a difference in their community, across the country and around the world. We are Racers. The University’s main campus is located in Murray, Kentucky, and includes five regional campuses in Ft. Campbell, Henderson, Hopkinsville, Madisonville and Paducah. To learn more about Murray State University, please visit murraystate.edu.
What’s Fake, What’s Real, What’s History?
MURRAY – During a recent presentation at Murray State University, Frank X Walker promised not to make the audience too uncomfortable. But then the award-winning poet paused and leaned into the microphone, adding the word “Yet” in a conversational coda.
“There are things about history we don’t know,” he admitted, reflecting on his own public education, growing up in Danville, Ky.
He remembers being taught that slavery was somehow different in Kentucky, not like other southern states. He refuted that myth by reading his poem entitled, “Ain’t no plantations in Kentucky,” which begins with the phrase, “…unless you count…”
The list that followed started with Alexander Plantation House and then skipped through the alphabet to include familiar names like Ashland, Fern Hill, Maplewood, Oxmoor, Rocky Hill, Slead House, ending with Waveland, Wickland, and Woodstock.
Seventy-two plantations are identified. The names still exist in Kentucky, although no longer associated with wealthy slave-holding enterprises but tagged on malls, tourist attractions, and wedding destinations.
From there, the poet remarked, “The story gets uglier and more uncomfortable.”
Walker, professor of English and African American and Africana Studies at University of Kentucky, explores historic truths in his current book of poems, “Load in Nine Times,” published by W.W. Norton and Company. In May, the rigorously researched collection was awarded the 2025 PEN/Voelker Award for Poetry. Earlier this month, as the 2025 Clinton and Mary Opal Moore Appalachian Writer-in-Residence at Murray State University, Frank X Walker presented a reading and lecture to a full house in MSU’s Curris Center Ballroom.
“Load in Nine Times” weaves historical artifacts and personal history into poetry that informs audiences with rich language and poignant images. According to UKNOW, University of Kentucky News, “The collection challenges prevailing perceptions of Kentucky’s history by offering a nuanced exploration of identity and heritage.”
For example, a poem entitled “Why I Don’t Stand,” intersperses lines from, “My Old Kentucky Home” with text from actual ads for slave auctions. The poem juxtaposes the opening lyrics —
Oh, the sun shines bright
On my old Kentucky home,
‘Tis summer, the darkies are gay.
–with lines from a historic poster proclaiming:
I will pay more for likely NEGROES
Than any other trader in Kentucky.
Another blurb offers a twenty-dollar reward for return of “A Negro Girl named Fatima,” described as “a bright mulatto girl.” The twenty dollars includes Fatima and her “TWO CHILDREN, Rufus and Rachel.”
Commenting on the “mulatto” reference, Walker said, “People never talk about it.”
Doing the kind of research that validates this and the other poems in the book was not easy. “If you dare to look long enough,” Walker claimed, “you’ll be in tears.”
“New Orleans was the worst place to be a slave,” he also explained, “but Kentucky was not a benign place either.”
The story behind Kentucky’s Camp Nelson is told through poems that re-imagine the voices of Black Civil War soldiers, inspired by rigorous archival research.
“Kentucky had the second-highest number of Black enlistees during the Civil War, according to Walker. Louisiana had 24,052 with Kentucky at a total of 23,703.
Recruitment posters, some of them with copy written by Frederick Douglass, invited Black men to enlist, encouraging them with promise of food and clothing. They were able to bring their families with them to Camp Nelson, Walker explained, adding, “If you signed up you became a free man and so did your family.”
Photos from the era documented Black families at Camp Nelson and the Black soldiers who fought. “You can tell they have swagger,” Walker remarked “Their pride is evident. They fought for their freedom and their families.”
While doing research for the poems, Frank X Walker learned that he had three relatives on both sides of his family who were stationed at Camp Nelson. “This was news we never knew,” he said.
During the presentation, he projected an image from an official Civil War document in which his relative, Mary Edelen, was making a widow’s claim regarding her husband’s pension. When Walker noticed an X between the first and last names of Mary Edelen, he realized the X was Mary’s legal signature.
That is when he changed his name to Frank X Walker. “Mary was reaching to me across time,” he declared.
“Load in Nine Times” covers the Civil War and its aftermath, including domestic terrorism that involved burning, raping, and pillaging, especially directed at Blacks who owned land or had a business during Reconstruction.
The book features three ads in which families seek relatives who were lost to them during the slave era. Augustus Bryant and Lutitia Bryant, for instance, were trying to find their five children, “whom we have not seen for four years. They were in Charlotte, N.C. or at Rock Hill when we last heard of them,” it goes on.
“N.B. – These persons were formerly own by John L. and Virginia Moon, of Augusta, Ga,” it ends.
The presentation lasted about 90 minutes and the book, in barely more than one hundred pages, invites readers to delve into this history by providing a bibliography, explanatory notes, and a timeline.
One item on the timeline is February 24, 1865, the day the Kentucky General Assembly refused to endorse the end of slavery and voted against ratification of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery except as punishment for crime. It took one-hundred-eleven years — to March 18, 1976 – for Kentucky to symbolically ratify the 13th Amendment.
A footnote to a June 19, 2024 article by Linda Blackford about the Kentucky timeline in the Lexington Herald Leader said, “As always, thank goodness for Mississippi. It did not ratify until 2013.”
Recipient of a Governor’s Award in the Arts, Constance Alexander has won numerous grants, awards, and residencies for her poetry, plays, prose and civic journalism projects. She is also a founding board member of The Murray Sentinel and currently serves as our board secretary.
Contact her at constancealexander@twc.com.
State charges against Epperson dismissed
MURRAY – Jack Epperson’s legal battles came to an end Monday when – three years and five days after his attempted Molotov cocktail attack on students outside Murray State University – Calloway Circuit Judge Andrea Moore, at the prosecution’s request, dismissed the only remaining charges he faced following his federal conviction last year.
The morning of Sept. 10, 2022, Epperson, 22, of Murray, tried to throw the incendiary device at a group of sorority members who were assembling outside Sorority Row in advance of a Greek event across the street. The weapon fell short of the crowd and exploded on a curb, leaving no one physically injured except Epperson, who suffered second-degree burns on his arms.
The Kentucky State Police, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, initially charged the then-19-year-old with two counts of first-degree assault and possession of a destructive/booby trap device. At his district court arraignment, the second-degree wanton endangerment charge was added by agreement to address Epperson’s mental health concerns.
In August 2023, he was federally indicted on one count of possession of an unregistered firearm, a term broadly defined to include incendiary devices and improvised explosives. While that case was pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, the state court proceedings were held at a standstill.
He pleaded guilty to that charge in July 2024. The plea agreement revealed new details about the case, including Epperson’s motivation for the attack – he was upset over “being denied the opportunity” to talk to an ex-girlfriend.
Calloway District Court records show a domestic violence order was entered against Epperson the following January related to a separate incident. Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney James Burkeen, who was not involved in the domestic violence case, confirmed in a 2023 interview that the victim in that case was also connected to the attack.
After several continuances, Epperson was sentenced in April. In advance of the sentencing, each side filed a sentencing memorandum, presenting their respective arguments for leniency and severity in imposing the recommended 37-month sentence negotiated in the plea agreement.
Attorney Jason Holland, who represented Epperson in both the state and federal proceedings, advocated probating the sentence, noting the extraordinary circumstances and underlying issues in the case. He argued that imprisonment would be detrimental to his client, while a probated sentence would still be sufficient to reflect the seriousness of the crime and promote respect for the law.
His memorandum detailed Epperson’s development, noting pregnancy complications that caused mild cognitive and hearing damage. He was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in childhood, but through early intervention, his symptoms improved to the point he no longer met diagnostic criteria. Regardless, he still lagged behind his peers.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit him especially hard. His grades suffered, leading to expulsion from his fraternity and depression. Although his mood improved when he took an out-of-state internship in summer 2021, trouble refilling prescriptions proved destabilizing.
“It was against that backdrop,” Holland wrote, “that he and his girlfriend ended their relationship.”
Within days of his arrest, Epperson was admitted to Western State Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Hopkinsville, for evaluation. Clinicians noted his depression and ADHD symptoms, while “not sufficient to obviate competence completely,” contributed to a perception of being “stranded” in an unbearable, hopeless situation, and he lacked the support system to manage his emotional pain.
Ultimately, he was deemed competent to stand trial.
Since being released on bond, Epperson has maintained full-time employment, complied with all court orders, avoided further offenses, built a support system through his church, regularly attended counseling, and sees a psychiatrist for medication management. He is currently stable on five prescriptions, though at least three of them would not be available in prison.
“Due to his developmental issues, features of autism spectrum disorder, and significant mental health issues/need for five specialty medications, Jack would be subject to harsher penalties than others due to confinement,” Holland concluded. “… This would essentially be recreating the damage that has been improved and/or healed as opposed to serving any cautionary or rehabilitative purpose.”
Asserting the case involved more than simple possession of an unregistered firearm, U.S. Attorney Michael Bennett requested 37 months imprisonment followed by one year of supervised release in his memorandum.
“Here, the defendant both constructed and used the ‘Molotov cocktail’ in what, thankfully, was an unsuccessful attempt to throw the cocktail at a group of students outside a campus building,” he wrote. “The defendant’s attempt failed only due to his incompetence at the task, good fortune, or some combination of the two. The defendant’s conduct is much more than the ‘run of the mill’ [sic] unregistered firearm case.”
Bennett contended that the crime was “a planned response to punish those who prevented his attempts at conversation.” Although no one was harmed, Epperson’s actions that day “understandably created terror amongst those present” and warranted imprisonment, to deter not only Epperson from reoffending but also others who might contemplate similar crimes.
Taking neither parties’ recommendation, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton sentenced Epperson to four months in prison and two years of supervised release on April 9. Five weeks later, he reported to a federal correctional facility in Arkansas.
With the federal charges adjudicated, Epperson’s case in Calloway Circuit Court was able to proceed. At a status hearing in June, Holland advised the judge that Commonwealth’s Attorney Dennis Foust requested a copy of the “voluminous” mental health records submitted in Epperson’s federal case. Elaborating, Foust said that if the records showed what he suspected, he would likely move to dismiss the pending state charges without prejudice at the next hearing.
During Monday’s hearing, Foust did just that. Judge Moore ordered the case dismissed without prejudice, meaning the Commonwealth reserves the right to try the case in the future.
Asked why he dismissed the charges, Foust told The Sentinel he questioned the appropriateness of the state charges. Without injured victims, the assault charges did not fully apply, and the wanton endangerment charge requires prosecutors to be very specific about who was endangered.
“There was lots of information, so to speak,” Foust said, “but when push came to shove, we didn’t really have a lot of people who we could confirm were actually there. We know there were people there but not necessarily who they were, and it did create problems in terms of us being able to prosecute.”
Foust also noted Epperson’s federal conviction and that he is currently on supervised release, getting appropriate treatment for his mental health issues. “And frankly, the federal charges probably fit better to what he did when you come right down to it,” he added.
“Given the situation, we just felt like it would be appropriate to go ahead and dismiss it without prejudice,” Foust said. “Even though we know he did something terribly wrong, I think we’d have issues as far as fitting what he did into our criminal statutes and in terms also of identifying victims, specific victims. So, all that played into the calculus. … We felt like that was the best (way to proceed).”
“Mr. Epperson is very pleased to have the matter concluded,” Holland wrote in an email, adding that his client is grateful to Foust “for taking into consideration the fact that the case was likewise prosecuted and ultimately resolved in federal court. Jack looks forward to building upon what he has learned through this process and to leading a productive life in the future.”
Related coverage from The Sentinel:
- High-profile defendants appear in Calloway Circuit Court (Published 11/20/2023)
- Epperson pleads guilty in federal court (Published 8/6/2024)
- Epperson sentenced on federal charges (Published 4/19/2025)
- BREAKING NEWS: Judge dismisses state charges against Epperson (Published 9/15/2025)
State auditor’s Medicaid probe uncovers $800 million in waste
By Tom Latek/Kentucky Today
FRANKFORT, Ky. – State Auditor Allison Ball released a special examination of the Kentucky Department of Medicaid Services (DMS) on Wednesday, which says a specific failure on the part of DMS led to more than $800 million of wasted taxpayer money.
It found that DMS did not take basic steps to ensure it was not duplicating payments made by other states once a recipient moved out of Kentucky and enrolled in another state’s Medicaid program. All states must check for and investigate alerts from the federal government warning that double (or more) payments are occurring, but DMS failed to do so. This failure led to about $800 million worth of unnecessary capitation payments to MCOs across four years (from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2022).
“This exam uncovered about $800 million of taxpayer dollars erroneously paid without benefiting Medicaid recipients,” Ball said. “Medicaid is one of Kentucky’s costliest programs, and it’s essential that we make sure every Medicaid dollar spent is going directly to benefit Kentuckians in need of services, not being wasted due to bureaucratic negligence.”
The special examination reviewed a specific issue within Kentucky’s Medicaid program involving payments made to managed care organizations (MCOs) that act on behalf of DMS to pay for Medicaid recipients’ covered services. DMS pays MCOs “capitation payments,” which are somewhat similar to the premiums paid by privately insured individuals to their health insurance providers.
The full report is available here.
This is the latest in a series of Kentucky Medicaid issues uncovered by the Auditor. These include: 1) the failure to ensure ineligible noncitizens did not receive Medicaid benefits, 2) the failure to prevent the same Social Security Number from being used by multiple Medicaid claimants, and 3) the failure to complete inspections of over 100 long-term care facilities in Kentucky, some of which were last visited in 2019.
This article was originally published by Kentucky Today on Sept. 17, 2025.
Tom Latek has been the Frankfort correspondent for Kentucky Today, the online news service of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, since 2016. Prior to that, he worked at radio and television stations in Frankfort, Lexington, and Louisville, since moving to Kentucky in 1982.
BREAKING NEWS: Judge dismisses state charges against Epperson
MURRAY – This morning, at the request of Commonwealth’s Attorney Dennis Foust, Calloway Circuit Judge Andrea Moore dismissed all state-level charges against Jack Epperson, the former Murray State University student who pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from his attempt to throw a Molotov cocktail at a group of sorority members in September 2022.
In July 2024, Epperson pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm, which, by definition, includes improvised incendiary devices, such as Molotov cocktails. He was sentenced to four months imprisonment and two years of supervised release in April.
In addition to the federal charges, Epperson also faced two counts of first-degree assault, one count of possession of a destructive/booby trap device and one count of second-degree wanton endangerment in Calloway Circuit Court; however, while the federal was pending, the state case was stalled.
At a status hearing in June, Epperson’s attorney Jason Holland appeared alone, noting his client was not present because he had recently entered a federal correctional facility in Arkansas. Foust requested the hearing be continued to September and advised the court that he would likely move to dismiss the circuit court charges at that time.
Today, Foust did just that, and Moore dismissed the case without prejudice.
Check back for the full story.
Related coverage:
Local photographer challenges audiences to see pinecones anew
MURRAY – “Every picture is a bit of a surprise,” says photographer Ron Toth, whose large-format photographs of conifer cones will be on display at the Paris Academy for the Arts, in Paris, Tennessee, starting with an opening reception on Sunday, Sept. 21, from 2-4 p.m.
Even though he’s been taking photographs for more than 50 years, Toth still marvels at what he’s able to capture with his camera and, in more recent years, his computer.
Inspired by a collection of hundreds of conifer cones he first began collecting in graduate school at the University of Massachusetts, where he studied botany, Toth, now 77, created the 70-photograph series of conifer cone close-ups that range in size from 16 x 16 to 32 x 40 inches.
“I subscribe to the Georgia O’Keeffe philosophy of art,” Toth says. “She painted these in-your-face flowers. When asked why, she said, so “people will stop and look at them,’” he paraphrases.
The retired biology professor (Northern Illinois University), who lives in Murray, Kentucky, with his wife Cheryl, is also working on a book based on the series.
His photography setups are meticulous, as you might expect from a research scientist who spent decades examining and cataloging specimens under a microscope. Using a vise or two to hold the cones in place, Toth shot thousands of photographs with his Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, making subtle changes to lighting, perspective, contrast and composition.
“When photographing people, you have to have this instinct of when all the components are balanced and take the picture. My mind doesn’t work that quickly,” Toth says. “I take a picture, think about it, retake it, move things around, and retake it again.”
He’s also honed a technique called focus stacking with the help of YouTube how-to videos for Zerene Stacker software. With focus stacking, Toth can shoot multiple images of the same scene, each with a different focal point, and the software combines them to create a single image with a significantly greater depth of field than any individual shot.
“My goal is that viewers will see the forms hidden in the cones (size ranges, scale shapes, symmetry, fragility, solidness, texture, etc.,” Toth writes in his artist’s statement.
“To most people a pinecone is some small ‘spiny’ brown thing to be kicked out of the way or driven over,” he continues. “Few people really look at them.”
With the exhibition that runs through Nov. 15, 2025, Toth hopes to change that, but he insists he’s “no artist.” “I’m more of a presenter,” he says. “But if I’d seen the German Expressionists sooner, I might have been a painter.”
This is Toth’s fifth photography exhibition. Previous shows in Illinois, Paducah, Mayfield and Murray, focused on night scenes, microscopic extractions and earlier conifer cone images.
The prints for “Conifer Cones” were made on a Canon image PROGRAF inkjet printer, mounted on foamcore and framed. In addition to the large-format photos on display, smaller prints will also be available for sale. Although Toth donated the majority of his vast cone collection to the Lovett Pinetum in Strafford, Missouri, select specimens will be on display with the exhibition. For more information, see https://www.schoolforarts.org/.
Ousted MHS teacher arrested after former student agrees to cooperate with police
MURRAY – For the first time, the Murray High School teacher who resigned seven years ago after state police launched an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with students is facing criminal charges after a woman came forward last month, alleging a sexual relationship while she was a student at MHS.
Jason Shelby, 47, was arrested Wednesday and charged with third-degree rape and first-degree sexual abuse, according to a press release from Kentucky State Police (KSP) Post 1.
KSP began looking into Shelby in August 2018 after receiving a report from the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) about possible sexual relations between Shelby and at least two MHS students. Despite detectives’ efforts to investigate the case at the time, there was not enough evidence available to obtain an arrest warrant until recently.
A Murray native, Shelby graduated from MHS in 1996 and returned to his alma mater as a faculty member in 2002. He taught history and, until 2013, coached the academic team and helped with the band. He resigned in October 2018 and voluntarily surrendered his teaching certificate in 2019, resolving a six-year inquiry by EPSB, according to WKMS.
But allegations of inappropriate behavior with students go back 20 years.
The earliest surfaced in 2005, when a teacher shared concerns with then-principal Teresa Speed over Shelby’s interactions with students that “bordered on sexual misconduct,” according to a WKMS story written after Isabel Duarte-Gray, an MHS alumna who claimed Shelby “groomed” her, contacted the radio station in 2018, “hoping to shed light on the issue.”
In 2008, it was alleged that Shelby had impregnated a student. In 2018, former Superintendent Coy Samons told WKMS in an email that neither his predecessor Bob Rogers – who led the Murray Independent School District (MISD) from 2005 to 2017 and now serves as the mayor of Murray – nor Speed believed the report was credible after speaking to the student and her mother, both of whom denied the allegations. Shelby also denied them when the administrators spoke to him.
Duarte-Gray told WKMS she realized Shelby’s behavior was not isolated in 2013, after a fellow MHS alumna shared her own story about inappropriate interactions with the teacher. Motivated by the epiphany, she met with Rogers and Speed, accompanied by three other alumni and the teacher who spoke out in 2005, none of whom were named in the reporting. Together, they expressed their belief that Shelby “was almost certainly a serial predator” and offered emails and handwritten notes to support their claims.
“They seemed to believe that what he had done was inappropriate, but when I started to tell them that this was not isolated and that there were others who had been groomed, they told me this was pure hearsay,” Duarte-Gray said. “Mr. Rogers looked me in the eye and said, ‘This is a man’s life we’re talking about.’ At that point, I had brought up the (allegations from) 2008, which Ms. Speed confirmed were, in fact, made.”
Following the meeting, Rogers gave Shelby a private reprimand and banned him from being involved with extracurricular activities, under the advice of the school board’s attorney at the time, David Buckingham, whose investigation did not yield enough evidence to warrant termination. He also filed a report with the EPSB for them to look into whether Shelby had abused his power by grooming minors.
In an email, Rogers told WKMS there were no indications that Shelby had sexual relationships with any students while they were enrolled at MHS, “but perhaps one or more did so after graduating and becoming adults.” He also noted that the co-academic team coach – whom WKMS identified as the unnamed teacher who made the 2005 complaint – stepped down from that position in 2005 over issues with Shelby, though he could not recall the specific reason for the resignation.
Five years after Rogers’ initial report, EPSB reached a point in its review where it was appropriate to alert law enforcement about potential criminal activity. As such, KSP launched its investigation in August 2018.
Samons, in his 2018 email, characterized Shelby as “popular,” noting there were complaints when he was removed from extracurricular activities. Nonetheless, when Samons received new information that corroborated some of the older, unsubstantiated allegations, he immediately suspended Shelby, who subsequently resigned in October of that year.
According to the complaint warrant, the alleged victim contacted KSP in August, expressing willingness to cooperate with the 2018 inquiry. She reported having repeated sexual encounters with Shelby from May 2008 to January 2009. When the alleged affair began, she was 15 years old, and he was 30.
It is unclear whether the victim in this case was involved in any of the aforementioned allegations made in 2008.
The victim told detectives that she and Shelby communicated through email, and they used “code words” to arrange meeting times and places for the sexual encounters, which she said took place in his car, at Chestnut Park and at his residence. She provided emails to corroborate her story, deciphering the alleged code words and phrases for investigators and tying them back to specific sexual encounters she claimed to remember.
When detectives arrived at Shelby’s home to speak to him, the complaint warrant noted he was cordial and invited them inside. They informed him that the 2018 investigation was active again. When they identified the victim by name, “Shelby had an obvious demeanor change” and told the detectives he no longer wished to speak to them without an attorney present.
He was arrested the next day, lodged in the Calloway County Detention Center and released after posting a $20,000 cash bond, court records show. Shelby will be arraigned in Calloway District Court at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
KSP advised that the investigation remains ongoing and encouraged anyone with information about this or related incidents to contact KSP Post 1 by calling 270-856-3721 or submitting a tip on KSP’s website.
Individuals accused of crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
*Note: The KSP release incorrectly listed Shelby’s age in 2008.
