Winchester police arrested Juan Garcia-Ponce after a 42-minute pursuit through multiple Kentucky counties Thursday. Officers had been alerted that Garcia-Ponce, wanted in connection with a Bourbon County stabbing, was heading toward Winchester; the chase ended near the Montgomery-Bourbon County line after a police PIT maneuver. He was booked into the Bourbon County Detention Center, and the sheriff clarified he is charged with attempted murder. The victim remains hospitalized.
Kentucky voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to amend the state constitution to bar governors from issuing pardons from 60 days before an election through Inauguration Day. Amendment 1 stems from Senate Bill 10, repeatedly introduced by state Sen. Chris McDaniel and passed last legislative session. McDaniel says the change would increase accountability, citing former Gov. Matt Bevin’s more than 400 pardons in 2019.
One person was taken to a hospital with minor smoke inhalation after a house fire Thursday night in Lexington. Crews were dispatched just before 8 p.m. to the 3300 block of Squires Creek Way, where firefighters found flames in the attic and contained and extinguished them. The person was removed from the home. Investigators are working to determine the fire’s cause and origin.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council passed two ordinances Thursday regulating data centers in Fayette County, completing their second reading. One creates a separate zoning category and includes recommendations on facility size, energy and water use, and setbacks from buildings such as schools; the other revises language governing future data centers. The council previously extended a moratorium on related permits, development plans and zone changes through October 2027.
Winchester police identified Juan Garcia-Ponce as the suspect in a stabbing on Stoney Point Road in Bourbon County, Kentucky; authorities said the victim survived. A citation alleges Garcia-Ponce stabbed a friend over money, then took the victim’s vehicle, prompting a chase toward Winchester that ended in Montgomery County when deputies disabled the vehicle. He is being held without bond in the Bourbon County Detention Center on charges including attempted murder, assault
The University of Kentucky’s Department of Dance and Theatre staged the ancient Greek play “Antigone.” Actors used words and movement to tell the drama. The story centers on choosing integrity above all else.
University of Kentucky students are staging Sophocles’ “Antigone” in Limestone Hall in Lexington, bringing the ancient tragedy into the audience’s space. Actors move through square-arranged seating, sing folk songs and invite audience members to join a nearly two-hour performance without an intermission. Cast members Jullian Ramirez and Francesca Annoni and director Christina Ritter said the production uses theater and music to build connections among performers, audience and community.
A rural Kentucky county is being considered as a site for a nuclear power campus described as the largest in the United States. The headline does not identify the county or provide details about the proposal.
Lexington-Fayette voters will go to the polls Nov. 3 to choose a U.S. senator and 6th Congressional District representative, mayor in a race between Linda Gorton and Raquel E. Carter, Urban County Council members, school board members and a district judge. Kentucky voters will also decide a constitutional amendment limiting governors’ pardons around elections. Three local charter amendments address council pay, attendance records and an eight-year charter review. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Kentucky women’s soccer freshmen Kyla Dawn and Elise Ernest have earned SEC recognition as the Wildcats approach postseason play. Dawn leads the team with 10 goals, including four game-winners, and earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors twice; Ernest received the honor after helping Kentucky upset then-No. 25 Texas while adapting to a defensive role. Kentucky has two regular-season home matches left, against Ole Miss and No. 23 Arkansas.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted unanimously Thursday to remove data centers as a primary use in six zoning districts, blocking new facilities under current rules. It also asked the Planning Commission to consider a stand-alone data center zone. No land is currently designated for data center use, and any proposed project would need a zone change reviewed by the commission and council. The county’s moratorium runs through October 2027.
Johnson Central High School’s 80-member choir in Paintsville, Kentucky, was selected from more than 1,000 applicants as one of 24 groups to perform at the White House Holiday Open House in Washington, D.C., in December. The students are preparing two hours of holiday music and raising money for the trip. Recently retired assistant choir director Andrea Daniels submitted the application, and director Amy Conley said she was proud of the students. The school recently removed a wall to give the group room to
Lucy G. Hieatt, 89, of Frankfort, died Wednesday at Frankfort Regional Medical Center. A longtime factory worker at AeroBraze Engineered Technologies, she was a member of Lawrenceburg Church of Christ and enjoyed fishing, painting houses and babysitting. She is survived by three children, 10 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. Visitation is Monday, Oct. 26, from 5 to 7 p.m.; funeral services are Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens.
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton and Fayette County Public Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Bill Bradford announced a winter weather plan Thursday. It will provide alternative student bus routes during hazardous conditions.
Confirmed measles cases in Bath County, Kentucky, have risen from one to 11, as the state reports 194 cases statewide. UK St. Claire Hospital is preparing for a possible increase in patients, and an infection-prevention official urged residents across the region to stay alert because people travel between counties. Anyone with possible exposure or symptoms should call a health care provider before visiting a medical facility; officials say vaccination is the best prevention.