Local News
23 percent of county’s children living in poverty
RICHMOND —
Kentucky is ranked 40th of 50 states in child well-being, according to the annual KIDS Count report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Twenty-three percent of Kentucky children are living in poverty.
Only Mississippi (30 percent), Arkansas (25 percent) Louisiana (25 percent) and New Mexico (24 percent) have higher poverty rates.
West Virginia, Texas and Oklahoma all are at 23 percent.
The rates are defined by the share of children under 18 who live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, according to KIDS Count Data Center.
In 2008, a family of two adults and two children fell in the poverty category if their annual income fell below $21,834, according to the KIDS Count Data Center.
In 2007, Madison County had a child poverty rate of 23 percent. Owsley County had the highest percentage in the state, at 55 percent and Oldham County the lowest, at six percent.
Madison County ranked 38th of 120 counties.
According to information from 2008, Madison County’s youth consists of 18,366 persons, of which 16,710 are white, 954 are black, 467 are Hispanic and 235 are grouped together as other ethnic groups.
The number of youth ages 10 to 19 charged with public offenses dropped from 332 to 269 from 2006 to 2009.
While that number dropped, the number of youths charged with status offenses rose from 2006 to 2009, from 243 to 294.
Youth detained by the juvenile justice system rose from 11 in 2005 to 118 in 2009, although the 2009 number was significantly lower than the 148 from 2008.
The number of youth committed to the Dept. of Juvenile Justice remains low, at 13, which is down from 24 in 2007 and 20 in 2008.
In 2006, Madison County had 200 births to mothers who were not high school graduates. That number was up only slightly from 196 in 2004.
Low-birth rates, which are babies weighing less than 5.5 pounds at birth, dropped from 2005 to 2006 from 118 to 102.
Madison County had 13 very low-weight babies in 2006. Very low-weight is less than 3 pounds, 4 ounces.
The 2006 number was down from 2005 when it was 21.
Preterm babies, born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, was 113 in 2006, down from 120 in 2005.
Mothers who smoked was listed at 284 in 2006, which is 26 percent of birth mothers. That number is up from 227 in 2005, which was 22 percent.
Annual infant deaths was five in 2006, the same number as the year before.
(Editor’s note: This story reflects the most recent numbers available for Madison County.)
Tim Mandell can be reached at tmandell@
richmondregister.com or 623-1669 ext. 6696.
- Local News
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Police arrest Richmond man for burglary
An Evansdale Avenue resident has been accused of stealing about $2,662 worth of items from a woman’s apartment, said Larry Brock, Richmond police chief.
The woman told police someone had entered her apartment during the overnight hours of Saturday. Entry was gained through an unlocked window, Brock said. -
Battlefield Park getting pistol belonging to Gen. Nelson’s killer
A pistol that belonged to the Union general who shot and killed Gen. William “Bull” Nelson, Union commander at the Battle of Richmond, is coming to Battlefield Park’s visitors center.
The pistol, a Colt .44, was carried later in the Civil War by Gen. Jefferson C. Davis of Indiana, who killed Nelson during an altercation in the lobby of the Galt House in Louisville after the August 1862 Battle of Richmond. -
BREAKING NEWS: Man sitting on tracks hit, killed by train
An unidentified white man was struck and killed by a train at about 11:19 p.m. on Wednesday.
The man’s body was discovered about a-half mile north of the CSX-owned tracks intersection with Four Mile Road said Larry Brock, Richmond police chief. The man appeared to have been sitting on the tracks in the area of Four Mile Road, Brock said.
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Man who fired ‘warning shots’ pleads guilty
A man accused of shooting at his ex-girlfriend after a physical fight between the two pleaded guilty to lesser charges Wednesday in Madison District Court.
Kevin Carter, 24, of Berea Road, had been charged with first-degree wanton endangerment, but as part of a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to criminal attempt to commit fourth-degree assault, a Class A misdemeanor.
Had Carter been convicted of the original charge, he could have faced up to five years in prison. -
Republican party hosting open house
The Madison County Republican Party will be hosting an open house today from 5 to 7 p.m. at its new headquarters at 128 Big Hill Avenue (Wallingford Broadcasting building). Many of the local candidates will be available to meet the public and campaign items will be available.
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Increasing access
A rural health clinic soon will be able to serve more people, offer more services and operate longer hours because of grant funding received from Catholic Health Initiatives.
The $398,610 grant will be administered over a three-year period. The cost of the grant is mostly for salaries, according to Katie Heckman, community relations manager for St. Joseph — Berea. -
Emergency sirens to sound Saturday
The bi-monthly test of the Madison County siren, tone alert radio and local emergency notification system will be conducted Saturday, Sept. 4 at 12:20 p.m.
In the event of threatening weather, the test will be canceled.
The system is tested the first Saturday and the third Wednesday of each month.
Local Emergency Alert System radio stations include: WEKY, 1340 AM; WCBR, 1110 AM; WCYO, 100.7 FM; WEKU, 88.9 FM; WKXO, 1500 AM; WLFX, 106.7 FM; and WIRV, 1550 AM. -
Foothills, White House provide school supplies
Kentucky River Foothills and White House Clinic have teamed up to help provide free school supplies to children in Madison and Estill counties.
This is the first year for the program, which was created to help students in need be able to focus more on learning. -
Local SBA disaster loan centers to close
BEREA — The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will close its temporary Disaster Loan Outreach Center in Madison County on Thursday. Another center in Carter County also will close Thursday.
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Some not happy with cemetery conditions
Richmond Cemetery trustee chair Donald Roberts and his predecessor Tom Smith both acknowledged in a Richmond Register interview published that not everyone was happy with cemetery upkeep, but that much progress had been achieved in the nearly 11 years both had been on the board.
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Police arrest Richmond man for burglary
