Published: August 27, 2008 10:56 pm      

Local Briefs: 08/28/08

2 caught, charged with burglary

RUSSELL - Two men were found with burglary tools and a “large quantity” of antique coins and pocket knives inside Hillbilly Flea Market early Tuesday morning. They were arrested and charged with burglary, according to a statement from the Russell Police Department.

Police said they were called to the business a shortly after 3 a.m. and accompanied the manager inside.

The officers found evidence of a break in and began to search the premises, according to the police report, finding further evidence that several booths had been broken into. The responding officers reported finding two suspects “in the process of breaking into a booth at the south end of the flea market.”

The suspects were later identified as Dwayne D. Howard, 35, and Joseph S. Conroy, 45, both of Ashland. Each was charged with burglary and lodged in the Greenup County Jail.

Police say further charges may be pending.

Power outages reported in area

ASHLAND - Electrical service repair crews were dispatched to several parts of the area during the last 24 hours as weather related problems caused outages, according to a spokesman for Kentucky Power.

Nearly 50 customers in the Olive Hill community were without electrical service through much of the evening Tuesday, with circuits again activated by early Wednesday morning.

More than 120 customers in a section of South Ashland were without power between 5:23 and 8:08 a.m. Wednesday, along with another 47 customers in Raceland.

Trees making contact with power lines was the cause of problems for each of the local outages, the spokesman said, except for a blown transformer that left eight customers in Russell without service for a short time.

Russell offices closed Monday

RUSSELL - Offices of the city of Russell will be closed Monday in observance of Labor Day.

Garbage pickup throughout the city will be one day late.

Appalachian Fuels LLC wins award

LOGAN, W.Va. - Appalachian Fuels LLC won the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative 2007 Excellence in Reforestation Regional Award earlier this month.

On behalf of ARRI, Brent Wahlquist, director of the office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, presented the plaque to Don Cooke, engineer, and Dave Maynard, general manager, both from Appalachian Fuels, at the awards dinner at Chief Logan State Park, Logan, W.Va.

This award recognizes those individuals, operators and organizations that exemplify excellence in Forestry Reclamation an surface coal mine sites.

Appalachian Fuels was recognized for its Bent Mountain mine site near Meta, K. It has become a premiere research site and a public showcase for Forestry Reclamation techniques.

Appalachian Fuels has a long-standing partnership with the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources and the University of Kentucky to advance and promote the science of Forestry Reclamation that results in the success of high-value Appalachian hardwoods.

Staff reports