The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky (2024)

Kentucky and the Region B4 THE COURIER-JOURNAL THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2000 EDITOR: GIDEON GIL PHONE: 582-4657 FAX: 582-4200 State Mental facility wants abuse reported From Courier-Journal and wire dispatches Alleged patient beatings left staff threatened suspected abuse. Two former patient aides at Oakwood, in Somerset, were indicted in October on felony charges that they kicked a patient in the head. The state Cabinet for Health Services fired them and four others at Oakwood, which has 400 patients and 800 employees. Some employees who allegedly witnessed assaults on patients waited a month or more to report them "due to intimidation" or out of fear of "retaliation," according to the cabinet's final report of its thrown headfirst into a wall. The woman may have endured repeated attacks over several months, according to the report.

She was noted in Oakwood records "to have at least 18 injuries of unknown cause" from Jan. 1 through Sept. 6. Eleven injuries occurred after April 5, when she was put under one-on-one supervision, the report said. In addition to those fired, two employees resigned and one retired.

Three are on leave pending completion of personnel actions, according to the cabinet. The requirement for immediate reporting of abuse also is being emphasized, it said. The assault allegations were made public in October, when the cabinet issued charges. Valerie Hoskins and Crystal Wright were indicted two weeks later on charges of adult abuse by a caretaker. Nine patients allegedly were abused, but the indictments against Hoskins and Wright involved one patient a woman identified only as Client No.

1. In separate incidents, she allegedly was "stomped" in the head, kicked in the face and The report was released yesterday, along with Oakwood's 62-page "plan of correction." The plan said "abuse hotline" numbers had been posted on signs throughout the institution: "Call anytime day or night. Your identity will be protected." All staff members were given laminated wallet cards with hotline numbers. "Extensive abuse training" has been made part of the orientation for new employees and the annual, mandatory training for staff who have direct contact with patients, the document said. By CHARLES WOLFE Associated Press FRANKFORT, state mental institution where patients allegedly were beaten by some workers and where other staff members said they kept quiet out of fear, is encouraging anonymous reporting of Suspect in slaying says rights violated imW, holidays, said Ralph Vick, commonwealth's attorney for Muhlenberg County.

Carin Stewart Newman, 31, a teacher at Muhlenberg South Middle School, was arrested Nov. 27 and charged with four counts each of third-degree sodomy and third-degree rape of an eighth-grader at the school. Newman has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of her case. LEXINGTON Home for children renovates, reopens After sitting empty for more than a year, the former Mary G. Copeland Home has opened its doors again to help children.

A grand opening was held yesterday for the newly named Bellewood James H. Akin Home. The non-profit Bellewood Presbyterian Home for Children, which bought the facility in February, will operate it as a treatment center for youths ranging from infants to age 10. Bellewood was established in 1849 and also operates homes for at-risk adolescents in Anchorage and in Bowling Green. FORT THOMAS Residents oppose pet restrictions About 150 residents showed up at a city council meeting to oppose a proposal that restricts the number of pets in each household.

On Monday, the Fort Thomas City Council was ready to vote on the final reading of the ordinance, which would have limited each household to two cats and two dogs. But residents who flocked to the meeting argued that limiting the number of animals would not necessarily target the city's pet problems. The council voted to start over. The city began discussing the issue after the death of Bonnie Sarakatsannis last summer. She was found dead in a home overrun by more than 100 cats.

JAMESTOWN Man again guilty in 1996 crash A Russell County man has been convicted for the second time of killing five people and injuring another in a 1996 drunken-driving crash. Jack Shaffer, 39, whose 1998 conviction was reversed by the Kentucky Supreme Court, was found guilty by a Russell County jury on Tuesday of five counts of wanton murder and one count of assault. The jury recommended a 100-year prison sentence. Shaffer's truck crossed the center line on Ky. 80 on Dec.

22, 1996, and smashed head-on into a car, killing all but one of the occupants. After the crash, Shaffer's blood-alcohol content was 0.23, more then twice the legal limit at the time. MULDRAUGH Breckinridge man charged in slaying Police have arrested a Breckinridge County man in the slaying of a 37-year-old woman found dead at a hotel Tuesday. Patricia L. Hardesty of Brandenburg was pronounced dead in the parking lot of the Rock Inn on U.S.

60 in Meade County. State police arrested Ringo Star Whitworth, 34, of Custer. He is charged with murder. Police were sent to the scene after a call about an assault taking place at the hotel. According to the coroner, Hardesty died of severe head trauma.

GREENVILLE Grand jury to hear teacher's rape case The case against a female middle school teacher charged with having sexual contact with a 15-year-old male student will go before a Muhlenberg County grand jury Jan. 5, a prosecutor said. The panel was scheduled to meet Dec. 15, but the hearing was postponed until after the "if? 1 7 LI; ASSOCIATED PRESS Joe Keating, an investigator with the Federal Aviation Administration, visited the site of Monday night's helicopter crash in Jackson County that killed Dr. Fred Collatz, Kelly Stewart and Jeremy Harrod.

Doctor killed in crash was new pilot By JOSEPH GERTH The Courier-Journal LEXINGTON, Ky. Lawyers for the man accused of killing a University of Kentucky football player in 1994 filed a court document yesterday claiming that Shane Ragland was not properly read his rights when he was arrested July 14. The lawyers will ask a Fayette Circuit Court judge tomorrow to block prosecutors from introducing inconsistent statements Ragland made during the police interview during his trial, which is scheduled to begin in February. Ragland is accused of killing Trent DiGiuro with a high-powered rifle because he allegedly thought DiGiuro was responsible for getting him blackballed by a fraternity. According to the pleading filed yesterday, Lexington Detective Don Evans and Sgt.

Mark Barnard conducted an interview that went on for 63 typewritten pages in the hours after Ragland was arrested. But they didn't read Ragland his Miranda rights until the ninth page and then didn't tell him anything he said could be used against him in court, the pleading claims. The pleading also claims that Evans and Barnard didn't stop the interview when Ragland first said he wanted a lawyer. Police have said that during the interview, Ragland made statements including his whereabouts the morning of the murder, his access to the type of weapon used in the murder and about whether he lived just down the street from DiGiuro that will eventually be proven to be untrue. Guthrie True, a lawyer for Ragland, said the most important part of the Miranda warning informs the accused that their statements will be used against them in court.

Mike Malone, an assistant Fayette County attorney, said motions to suppress evidence like the one filed yesterday are common. He refused to comment specifically on the claims, saying prosecutors will make their case in court. Region terrain with helicopters, searching for the wreckage after Collatz's family reported him missing late Monday night. The crash site was discovered on a hillside in the Chestnut Flats area about 5 p.m. Tuesday, said Ray Bowman, state emergency management spokesman.

According to Kentucky State Police, the helicopter disappeared after taking off at 6:30 p.m. Monday from Collatz's residence. The search, which included several state and local agencies, began Tuesday morning and continued through the day. Authorities have not determined the cause of the crash, Kentucky State Police spokesman Mike Coyle said yesterday. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were at the site much of the day.

The bodies of Collatz, Stewart and Harrod were removed from the scene shortly before noon yesterday and taken to the state medical examiner's office for and exciting adventure. We consider it a blessing and we are thankful to God for it." Ann Collatz said her son battled drug and alcohol addiction more than 10 years ago and lost his job, his medical license and his wife. A Louisville attorney represented him in his attempt to regain his medical license a fight that took nearly three years, she said. "I'm extremely proud of him," she said. "I tell him he took on the whole state of Kentucky and won." According to the state board of medical licensure, Collatz's Kentucky medical license was fully reinstated in August 1994, although he was placed on five years' probation.

In March 1998, the state agreed to lift probation. Collatz remarried last year, and his mother said he enjoyed spending time with his 15-year-old daughter from his first marriage. "He made his mistakes and he paid for them, but he worked hard on the road to putting his life back together," she said. Investigators comb site where copter went down Associated Press MANCHESTER, Ky. -Eighteen months ago Dr.

Fred Collatz bought a helicopter and learned to fly it in an attempt to reach as many Eastern Kentucky patients as possible. He and other doctors at Christian Cardiology a practice he founded in 1996 bought a second helicopter last month because the first was no longer large enough. That chopper, dubbed Gabriel II, crashed sometime Monday in a remote area of Jackson County about 5 miles northeast of Sandgap, killing Collatz, 45, and two employees Kelly Stewart, 31, and Jeremy Harrod, 21. The three were en route from Manchester to Jackson, where Collatz was working to open a clinic. Authorities spent much of Tuesday combing rugged The crash left many friends and family members wondering what went wrong.

"We have been very close since he started working here," said Roy Varghese, chief of staff at Mary Breckinridge Hospital in Hyden. "He was really an amazing person. We will miss him." Varghese said he talked with Collatz on Friday, and planned to take a ride in the new helicopter a 2-month-old Robinson R-44 sometime this week. Collatz's mother, Ann Collatz of Albuquerque, N.M., said her son was committed to working in Eastern Kentucky because he felt he was needed there. "He decided he wanted to help people who other people didn't want to help," she said.

"He's always been for the underdog." In fact, his company's Web site says naming the chopper Gabriel was "part of a visible and heartfelt Erayer of thanks to God for eing given the privilege of being able to care for our patients. Our aviation project has been a challenging a Fort Wayne man convicted of killing four people. It ordered Allen Superior Court Judge Frances Gull to reconsider the question of whether the defendant Joseph Corcoran should be executed. Corcoran was sentenced to die for the July 1997 shooting deaths of Douglas A. Stillwell, 30; James Corcoran, 30; Robert Scott Turner, 32; and Timothy G.

Bricker, 30. In her oral remarks at the time of sentencing, Judge Gull said in part, "I am convinced in my heart of hearts, Mr. Corcoran, if given the opportunity, you will murder again." Corcoran's attorneys said that demonstrated that Gull considered "future dangerousness" in determining the sentence. That is not one of the aggravating circ*mstances permitted under Indiana's death-penalty statute. NEW ALBANY, IND.

IUS fund drive approaches goal Indiana University Southeast's $10 million fund-raising drive is only about 17 months old, but its organizers say they are sure to meet the goal before the end of this school year. Already, $8.5 million in private gifts and matching funds has been collected. The money will be spent on programs, scholarships, faculty development and technological improvements. "The response in the community has absolutely overwhelmed us," said David Fleming, interim vice chancellor for external affairs. INDIANAPOLIS Court tosses out man's death sentence The Indiana Supreme Court tossed out the death penalty for TODAY IN THE NATION RN Rain SN Snow and overnight low to 8 p.m.

Eastern time. ATUCD From the National Weather Service, DAI nCrV APandAccu-Weather For current weather updates see www.courier-journal.com LOUISVILLE FORECAST 1 National Weather Service forecast; call 968-6025 jmos (i i TODAY I FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY PART1Y I SUNNY I M0STIY CLOUDY FAIR OF RAIN i SUN AND MOON I SUNRISE i 7:46 a.m. SUNSET 5:23 p.m. MOOMRtSE 3:12 p.m. MO ONSET i 3:21 a.m.

I FULL MOON i December 11. i LAST QTR December 17 NEW MOON December 25 f- FIRST QTR 1 January 2 7Q- 1 60- "47 3 50 42. 40- "37 40 30 gar; 35 32 40s NATIONAL WEATHER CL Clear CY Cloudy Temperatures indicate previous day's high City HI to Prec Forecast Albany, N.Y 24 17 27 14 CY Albuquerque 51 34 52 28 CY Anchorage 37 36 .12 33 24 SN Asheville 37 23 43 23 CY Atlanta 44 28 48 29 CL Atlantic City 33 19 41 30 CY Baltimore 33 23 39 24 CY Billings 44 26 40 31 CY Birmingham 45 27 49 30 CY Boise 33 28 44 26 CY Boston 31 26 35 21 CY Brownsville 63 53 68 41 CL Buffalo 21 15 .13 23 16 CY Charleston, S.C 54 27 58 35 CL Charleston, W.Va. ...30 17 35 24 CY Charlotte 42 23 49 26 CL Cheyenne 48 16 50 31 CY Chicago 20 10 31 15 SN Cincinnati 27 17 34 20 CY Cleveland 24 17 26 18 SN Columbia, S.C 48 23 55 30 CL Columbus, Ohio 26 15 30 20 SN Dallas-Ft Worth 49 45 .04 62 33 CL Dayton 27 13 30 18 CY Denver 52 13 55 29 CL Des Moines 27 12 .03 35 23 CY Detroit 23 13 25 15 SN Duluth 6 -3 17 1 SN El Paso 56 36 64 29 CY Fairbanks 14 0 18 3 SN Fargo 18 -2 22 15 SN Flagstaff 52 23 50 23 CY Hartford SpgfW 30 22 31 18 CY Honolulu 84 72 83 69 CL Houston 53 42 37 60 36 CL Indianapolis 25 14 34 21 CY Jackson, Miss 53 31 54 32 CY Jacksonville 62 28 62 30 CY Juneau 42 41 .11 35 32 SN Kansas City 37 23 55 27 CL -5 20 35' -25 Id Prec, Forecast ...64 42 62 44 CY ...74 56 70 54 CY ...40 34 49 31 CY ...79 61 76 60 CY ...17 6 25 11 SN ...20 4 .01 27 12 SN ...58 31 59 39 CY ...32 24 46 26 CY ...60 36 .16 61 45 CY ...32 27 35 26 CY ...37 35 45 31 CY ...42 39 .03 60 28 CL ...41 17 .05 50 28 CY ...70 43 68 44 CY ...33 23 37 25 CY ...75 52 72 55 CY ...24 14 28 18 CY ...29 23 34 17 CY ...45 32 48 31 CL ...32 25 35 21 CY ...43 24 49 28 CL ...61 11 48 31 CL ...48 24 50 25 CY ...34 23 43 27 CY ...46 41 55 42 CY ...30 22 .02 48 25 CY ...46 25 42 25 CY ,..59 50 67 32 CL ...71 57 68 54 CY ...55 47 58 48 CY ...14 3 .07 14 -5 SN ...50 38 47 34 CY ...24 19 .03 24 18 SN ...63 24 62 36 CY ...68 43 69 45 CY ...39 24 58 26 CY ...74 43 72 46 CY ...39 32 .08 62 26 CL ...35 26 39 27 CY City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Beach Milwaukee Mpls-St Paul Mobile Nashville New Orleans New York City Oklahoma City Omaha Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Portland.Maine Portland, Ore Providence Rapid City Reno Richmond Sacramento St Louis Salt Lake City San Antonio San Diego San Francisco St Ste Mane Seattle Syracuse Tallahassee Topeka Tucson Tulsa Washington, D.C.. FRONTS: WW mm- COLD WAHI4 STtnONARf -10' REGIONAL OUTLOOK High Low Showwi Watn T-iorm Flurri Snow Gunny Pt Cloudy Cloudy INDIANAPOLIS 34-21 YESTERDAY'S EXTREMES High: 81 at Glendale and Northridge, Low: -11 at Eagle River and Rhinelander, Wise.

Temperatures are for today's high and tonight's CINCINNATI 034-20 low 90 DAY TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK For December-February BL00MINGT0N 37j27 EVANSVILLE YESTERDAY High: 30; Low: 19 Normals: 48 and 31 Year ago: High: 47; Low: 28 Records: 72 in 1956 and 1998; 6 in 1977 and 1984 Precipitation: 0.00 inch. Month: 0.33 inch, 0.45 inch below normal. Year: 45.81 inches, LOUISVILLE 42-35 y. I 1 r. I MUCH ABOVE 42-37 A LEXINGTON 40-32 PADUCAH BOWLING GREEN 45-35 LONDON 42-33 The following weather observations were compiled yesterday, fj ABOVE NUHMAL BELOW II NORMAL NORMAL l.

N0RMALr-Ti. NORMAL mk "LuUISVIIU normaM BELOW NORMAL "I KliP" N0RMAl WMAEL I I NORMAL THE WORLD pasea on me previous aay weainer HI 1st City HI Lo Hi U) City HI City City 4.14 inches above normal. POLLEN COUNT AIR POLLUTION YESTERDAY'S HIGHEST READING 13U UNHEALTHY Pollutant Sulfur Dioxide Site: Riverport JOflJ Amsterdam 54 51 Athens 60 58 Auckland 68 57 Bangkok 88 72 Barbados 87 77 Barcelona 62 51 Beijing 40 27 Beirut 72 58 Belgrade 38 32 Berlin 50 36 Bermuda 67 60 Bogota 67 43 Brisbane 80 61 Brussels 55 64 Budapest 41 35 B'Ahps 83 60 Panama 91 91 Pans 56 52 Rio 91 73 Rome 64 41 San Jose 84 67 San Juan 88 72 Santiago 92 50 Sao Paulo 74 65 San Salvador ..82 67 Seoul 40 23 Singapore 89 74 Stockholm 46 45 Sydney 76 65 Tel Aviv 74 51 Tokyo 56 46 Toronto 34 15 Kiev 45 38 La Paz 46 33 Lima 71 64 Lisbon 64 56 London 56 53 Madrid 52 43 Managua 91 63 Manila 82 78 Mexico City 62 48 Montreal 36 0 Moscow 35 32 Nairobi 80 57 Nassau 77 69 New Delhi 78 46 Osaka 59 45 Oslo 47 44 Cairo 72 53 Calgary 50 23 Caracas 77 64 Copenhagen ...47 44 Dhahran 79 58 Dublin 55 44 Frankfurt 53 38 Geneva 43 41 Guatemala 'j8 51 Hanoi 78 64 Havana 75 64 Helsinki 45 41 Hong Kong 75 66 Istanbul 58 49 Jerusalem 62 43 Joburg 76 53 MODERATE TREES ABSENT GRASSES ABSENT WEEDS ABSENT "wolds LOW 'r w'aFs 5 3 ri G00D Time: 2 pm, RfiBi.rg .026 oarts per million i r5 I Tomor- Next OHIO RIVER Flood Yester- Cincmnatl 52 26 4 26 3 Markland 51 14 0 13.6 Louisville (U) 23 124 12 5 Louisville (L) 55 120 11.6 Readings taken or forecast lor 7 a (in feet) (L) Lower gauge. (U) Upper gauge Rood Yester- Tomor- Next Cannetton(L) 42 11,9 117 115 11.4 Newburgn 38 13 6 14 0 13 8 13 7 Evansville 42 139 13 7 13 7 13.6 t'yts 3 14.4 14 0 loti U4 263 135 12.5 11.5 263 133 12.5 11.3.