PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) — Transportation officials urged motorists in western Kentucky to use “extreme caution” while traveling due to flash flooding brought on by heavy rain.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokesman Keith Todd says several counties were reporting water over roadways on Saturday that have not flooded before. Todd says highway crews in McCracken and Carlisle counties are having difficulty getting signs up because so many roadways are flooded.
McCracken County Emergency Management Director Paul Carter told WPSD-TV that crews were dispatched to help about 30 people get out of homes and a motel where water rose quickly Saturday morning.
Ron Bryant, who was staying at a Days Inn with his wife, Rebecca, said he heard gurgling from water coming in under the door.
“I stepped out of bed into 2 inches of water,” he said.
Rescue crews were on hand to help them get to higher ground.
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FORT KNOX, Ky. (AP) — Curator Nathan Jones stops and ponders the oldest item in storage at the General George Patton Museum of Leadership, which reopens this month.
The museum’s namesake, Gen. George S. Patton, toured European palaces during his time in the military, often stopping to admire and praise artifacts on display. Jones said Patton’s kind words led to loads of souvenirs, including knight’s armor and a sword dating back to the 1600s, which is set for display at Fort Knox in June.
The age and weathered condition of the artifacts requires caution and gentle preservation to maintain museum quality.
Jones, who is trained to identify artifacts in need of conservation, faced a conundrum as he stared at a bridle belonging to one of Patton’s horses — relegated to a box, where it sat in storage unmoved for decades.
He requested help from Fort Benning, Ga., to move the bridle without causing harm.
“If you keep it long in one place, it gains a memory,” Jones said.
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GREENVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Parks Commissioner Elaine Walker says improvements are coming to Lake Malone State Park.
Walker told the Messenger-Inquirer (http://bit.ly/10PQoGghttp://bit.ly/10PQoGg ) that she met Friday with a new assistant regional parks director about a list of concerns at Lake Malone.
She says officials will use “limited resources” at the Muhlenberg County park to serve the public as best it can.
She says gasoline sales at the boat dock may be phased out, but boat slips and a sewage dump station are being repaired. In addition, she says the state is working with volunteer groups to keep the area clean.
Her comments came after state Rep. Brent Yonts of Greenville and state Rep. Martha Jane King of Lewisburg sent a letter to Gov. Steve Beshear complaining about conditions at the park.
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SOMERSET, Ky. (AP) — Officials have begun conducting a feasibility study on a proposal to merge the governments of Somerset and Pulaski County in south-central Kentucky.
Somerset-Pulaski County United told the Commonwealth Journal (bit.ly/Zws0hq) that the group expects the study to last about four months.
“We’re glad to get this study underway as we believe that we will learn a lot about how our local government jurisdictions function today,” said Brook Ping, SPCU chairman. “At the same time, we want to learn more about unified government — how it operates — and see if there are any benefits to introducing this concept to Pulaski County.”
The newspaper reports that if government officials decided to go through with a merger it would create the third largest city in the state with a population of more than 63,000.
It would also be the first merged government created under a state law passed last year. Lexington and Louisville also have merged governments, although they were created under a different statute.
“The members of SPCU want to make it very clear: we are not endorsing unified government at this time,” said Ping. “We need to learn more about it first so that we will feel comfortable in the end with whatever recommendations that we might bring to the community.”
