2022 Year in Review Continuation
JULY
• Flags at all state buildings were lowered to half-staff in memory of three law enforcement officers and a K-9 officer killed during a standoff at Allen in Floyd County.
Killed during the incident were Captain Ralph Frasure, a 39-year law enforcement veteran who served with the Prestonsburg Police Department since 1983; Floyd County Sheriff’s Deputy William Petry, a 31-year law enforcement veteran who served two years with the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, 15 years with the Kentucky State Police and 14 years with the Prestonsburg Police Department; Officer Jacob Chaffins, a three-year law enforcement veteran who had served with the Prestonsburg Police Department since 2019; and K-9 Drago, a Belgian Melinois German Shepherd drug detection canine and a six-year veteran with the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office.
Lance Storz, 49, of Allen, was later indicted on three counts of murder, first-degree assault on a service animal and multiple other charges.
A moment of silence was held on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in memory of the three police officers and K-9 Drago killed in Floyd County.
• Major flooding occurred in Floyd and several other Eastern Kentucky counties from recent heavy downpours.
AUGUST
• The water had receded, but the devastation remained as Eastern Kentucky residents continued to clean up and rebuild from deadly flooding that hit the region two weeks earlier. Gov. Andy Beshear made several trips to the flood-torn region, including visits to Floyd County on Aug. 2 and Aug. 6 to assess the damage.
• The body of 12-year-old Stacia Leigh Collins of Van Lear, who had been reported missing, was found in the Miller Creek area of Boons Camp. Her father, Stacy Collins, was also found suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. He was later charged and indicted with his daughter’s murder.
• The operator and an employee of an underground coal mine in Floyd County were named in a federal indictment concerning coal dust samples. Black Diamond Coal, LLC, was charged with willful violation of a health and safety standard and false record. The company’s certified dust sampler, Walter Perkins, was charged with knowingly violating a health and safety standard and making a false statement.
• Gov. Andy Beshear announced that disaster food benefits had been approved for residents and people working in 12 Eastern Kentucky counties that suffered significant damage from flooding that began on July 26. Also in July, at the governor’s request, President Joe Biden issued a major disaster declaration in Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Knott, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Owsley, Perry, Pike and Whitley counties, which paved the way for Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (D-SNAP).
• The Martin County Fiscal Court held a special meeting and gave an update on the July and August flooding, with FEMA representatives present to offer information on how to get help. Martin County Judge-Executive Colby Kirk estimated damage at approximately $900,000 in the county.
SEPTEMBER
• Septemberfest officials announced that Lawrence County native Tyler Childers would close the festival with a concert on the Saturday night of the annual event. They had previously announced that fellow Lawrence County natives Noah Thompson, Ricky Skaggs and Larry Cordle would also perform during the event.
• Gov. Andy Beshear Friday announced that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) had begun construction to permanently replace county and state bridges damaged by the devastating flooding that occurred in Eastern Kentucky in late July. The priority projects included publicly owned crossings.
• Kentucky State Police identified three people who were killed in a shooting incident in Paintsville Friday. Paula Wells, 56, Richard Morman, 56, and Myrtle Dorton, 36, all of Paintsville, were pronounced dead at the scene by the Johnson County Coroner’s Office. Ronnie Pack, 21, of Paintsville, was charged with three counts of murder and one count of first-degree wanton endangerment.
• Gov. Andy Beshear visited Prestonsburg to announce plans for the final section of the Mountain Parkway expansion and a grant to improve the Dawkins Line Rail Trail. Beshear said plans were underway to build 13 additional miles of the Mountain Parkway in eastern Magoffin County through Floyd County. Beshear also announced $4.1 million in funding for the first phase of a Dawkins Line Rail Trail rehabilitation project.
• The Kentucky Apple Festival of Johnson County was held following a two-year absence, while Alley on Main, also in Paintsville, hosted its second annual Alley Fest, which featured Johnson County native Crystal Gayle and “American Idol” winner Noah Thompson of Louisa.
• Former Lawrence County Attorney Michael Hogan and his wife and legal secretary, Joy, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove on wire fraud and federal program theft charges. Michael Hogan was sentenced to serve 42 months incarceration, three years of supervised release and his report date is Dec. 6. Joy Hogan was sentenced to serve one year and one-day incarceration, three years of supervised release and her report date is Jan. 3, 2023.
OCTOBER
• Loretta Lynn, the Kentucky coal miner’s daughter from Johnson County and undisputed queen of country music, died at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. She was 90.
• Three former employees of the federal prison in Martin County who were indicted in May on federal civil rights violations were named in a superseding indictment. A federal grand jury returned an indictment in May charging Samuel J. Patrick, 41, of West Van Lear; Clinton L. Pauley, 40, of Ironton, Ohio; and Kevin C. Pearce Jr., 37, of Inez, with violating an individual’s right under the color of law and falsifying records to impede an investigation.
The superseding indictment claims that the three former employees “engaged in a course of assaultive conduct” on March 21, 2021, when Patrick sprayed another inmate with aerosol spray, Pauley punched and kicked the inmate, and Pearce pushed and shot the inmate with a.68-caliber oleoresin capsicum (OC) launching dispenser.
• A total of $6,200 was raised for Christmas for Kids at this year’s Alley Fest, according to program official Brandon May. The Christmas for Kids event was held in December at the Paintsville Recreation Center.
NOVEMBER
• Louisa Middle School won the Kentucky Middle School Football Association 8th Grade Division 2 state championship at Great Crossing High School in Georgetown on Saturday, Nov. 12. The Bulldogs shut out Paducah 40-0 in the championship game.
• Kentucky State Police investigated a single-vehicle collision involving a Magoffin County school bus on Ky. 40/Horsepen Fork. A total of 19 people were on the bus, including the driver and 18 students, and the initial investigation indicated the bus was traveling west on Ky. 40 when it exited the roadway and went over an embankment, landing on its side.
• Familiar faces won the handful of local contested races that were on the ballot in Lawrence, Johnson and Martin counties, according to unofficial results, including Lawrence County Judge-Executive Phillip Carter, Lawrence County District 1 Magistrate Michael “Mouse” Halcomb, Lawrence County District 3 Constable Jeff McCarty, Martin County Judge-Executive Lon Lafferty, Louisa Mayor Harold Slone, Paintsville Mayor Bill Mike Runyon and Inez Mayor Ed Daniels.
• The last rally of the season for the NASA Rally sanctioning body was held in Lawrence County. The event kicked off with a demonstration run at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds on Town Hill Road, where a course was constructed using straw bales and cones. Each of the 15 competitors made two laps to test their cars and give people an opportunity to see what rally racing is all about.
• The grandsons of a Wayne County doctor honored their late grandfather with a new scholarship at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. Samuel D. Wellman Jr., M.D., class of 1983 and a neonatologist (specializes in treating critically ill newborns) in Hickory, N.C.; Marc A. Workman, M.D., class of 1986 and a family medicine physician in Louisa; and James F. Spears II, M.D., class of 1987 and an independent contractor in family practice/urgent care in Huntington, W.Va., created a scholarship to carry on the legacy of their grandfather and Wayne County, W.Va., native Roy Wellman.
DECEMBER
• Blaine Elementary School received a $7,000 Steele-Reese Foundation Grant that provided funding for new choir risers for use during its upcoming Christmas program and other special programs throughout the year, Music/art teacher Stacy Reynolds, with the assistance of middle school students Kaden Lewis, Andy Burchett, Luke Ferguson, Katelynn Lewis and Jordan Hay, set up the new risers on the gym stage.
• The Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky announced its newest affiliate, the Johnson County Community Foundation. The Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky brings together people, ideas and resources to build communities and encourage philanthropy, according to its website. Johnson County Community Foundation advisory board members include Daffiny Trimble, chair; Jerry Price, vice chair; Connie Bayes, treasurer; Tammy Barker, secretary; Dewey Bocook; Doug Pugh; and Chris Slone.
• Judge John David Preston of the 24th Judicial Circuit, who was set to retire Jan. 1 after five decades in public service, said his diverse career had been a “good run.” In addition to sitting on the circuit and family court benches, Preston also served as commonwealth’s attorney, Paintsville mayor and state senator in a career that began in 1982.