February 14, 2008

Storms and flooding hit Powell hard
By James Cook, Times Editor

The storms that roared across the state last week caused millions of dollars in damages and spawned 26 tornadoes in 20 counties. Powell was hit by winds that were estimated at over 70 miles per hour by local officials, causing small outbuildings and barns to collapse. Trees were blown over and blocked roadways, as power lines fell, causing some power outages. The heavy rains that followed caused flooding problems along the Red River, including a bridge on Highway 15 near Manning Road being washed away.
The storms rolled into Powell County around 2 a.m. when a Tornado Warning was issued for the county. The emergency sirens were activated, as Powell Emergency Management Director Arthur Ashley and Powell EMS/911 Dispatch Director Raymond Patrick, who came in from his job at Winchester, began to coordinate the county’s response.
Within the first few minutes two reports of funnel clouds were received by the dispatch office. Both reports came from trained weather spotters. The first was spotted over the Spout Springs area, the second over top of the Clay City Fire Department. It was not clear if the sightings were the same funnel cloud.
Dispatchers received over 30 calls of damage over the next two hours, as more storms moved into the area. Trees were down throughout the county, with the Clay City and Happy Top area seemingly the hardest hit. There were also reports of trees down in Stanton. One on Halls Road blocked the street and another fell across Breckinridge Street directly behind the Powell County Courthouse.
The rains that followed, nearly two inches, caused the streams and creeks to rise. Soon the Red River began to cover roads. The river blocked Highway 613 at Bowen, Highway 1184 at Rosslyn and Pompeii Road in Clay City. Several drivers tried to cross the roads and got caught in the high waters. All were rescued without serious problems, but forced police and fire departments to respond to each incident.
The bridge that the state transportation department had been working on near Highway 15 and Manning Road was washed away by the rushing waters of a flash flood. At least one home near the area had their culvert and driveway washed away by the storms.
“We had some damage here and there throughout the county, but we responded quickly and the damage did not appear to be too bad,” Ashley said as he spent several days after the storms to survey the damage. “Overall I was pleased that no one was hurt, damage was not severe and I was especially pleased at how we were able to respond to the emergency.”
During the height of the storms, Patrick had an ambulance staged in Clay City, with others ready to roll. Ashley had fire officials staged at their stations and blocking roads where live electrical wires were down. Magistrate Ricky Creed came out and joined a work crew to help remove trees and limbs from roadways in his district. “Everything seemed to work well,” Ashley said. “It went well and we were able to get help where it was needed,” Patrick added.
Overall, the storm system produced over 70 tornados in four states. Officials have stated that seven people died in tornados in Western Kentucky. Tornados were confirmed in Clark County, Menifee County and Bath County just north and east of Powell County. Tennessee was also hard hit, with 31 deaths confirmed there. At least one local resident, Rita Farmer of North Fork Road, found a report card from Sumner County, Tennessee in a field near Spaas Creek. The report card has the school listed as Vena Stuart Elementary, which is in Gallatin, Tennessee. According to press and weather service reports a twister touched down near Gallatin moved through Sumner County, Trousdale County and Macon County before entering Kentucky. That tornado also hit Allen County in Kentucky where four people died.

Barnett trial moved to Mt. Sterling
By James Cook, Times Editor

The much awaited decision on whether or not to move the murder trial of James H. “Jamie” Barnett was handed down last Wednesday by Powell Circuit Judge Frank Fletcher. Citing at least three case law examples, Judge Fletcher decided to move the much publicized trial to Montgomery County. But it took a little legal wrangling to help set the location and a July 8 trial date for the case.
“I have looked at three cases dealing with change of venue cases and one in particular sort of sums up the situation,” Fletcher told the packed court room. “In Stouffer vs. Commonwealth, on page 14, the court of appeals ruled that ‘great weight is given to the trial courts decision about change of venue, not the amount of publicity but also the arousal of the community by the publicity, and since the judge of the district sits in that district and knows the situation surrounding the case and the community.’ With all that said, this court feels there is no choice than to grant the change of venue motion.”
Attorneys for Barnett, who is accused of killing Clay City Police Chief Randy Lacy last June following a DUI arrest, had made the change of venue motion based on the pre-trial publicity. That included a parade held to honor Chief Lacy and a monument that was placed outside the Powell County Courthouse. During the original hearing for the change of venue motion on Jan. 23, defense counsels Barbara Carnes and Marcus Jones, presented three witnesses who testified that Barnett could not get a fair trial in Powell County. The testimony, mostly by friends of the Barnett family, also indicated that the Lacy family was well known and well liked in the community, and that the publicity would make it hard to find impartial jurors.
Powell Commonwealth Attorney Darrell Herald contested the motion to move the trial. Herald seemed to be in agreement with the courts decision last Wednesday. Both sides also seemed pleased with the location where the trial will be held.
“The court is leaning toward either Montgomery County, Clark County or Rowan County,” Fletcher told the attorneys. “I’m looking at Rowan County because Mr. Barnett is housed in Montgomery County and the location would not be a hardship, I don’t believe.” The statute states that a change of venue, if granted, must be held in an adjoining county. “I’m not going to name a location today, I’m just letting you know what the court is thinking,” Fletcher added.
However, Herald reminded Fletcher that he would have to issue subpoenas and needed to know soon where the trial would be held. The defense also seemed eager to know the location, but was willing to wait. “The commonwealth has asked for a decision today, so if you need to know today, then we’ll move the trial to Montgomery County,” Fletcher said.
Judge Fletcher also went on to tell both sides that Montgomery had notified him that their court room would be available for two to three weeks in July. “Let’s check our calendars and set a date,” Fletcher advised both sides. After reviewing the calendars and Fletcher stating he would move normal motion hour dates to accommodate the trial, he set a start date of July 8.
“If you plan on making any motions, like for a continuance, I need those to be heard by May 23. That will give you about a month before the trial,” Fletcher said. But he also advised both sides to be sure a continuance is necessary “This court will be resistant to motions for a continuance,” Fletcher told the respected counsels. “It would have to be something mandatory for this court to grant a continuance.”
The change of venue was mostly accepted by the defense. “It was the right decision, it took some thought by the judge, but he made the right call on his par. He really didn’t have much of a choice,” Jones told the media in an impromptu press conference after the hearing. Jones went on to explain why the judge faced a difficult, but necessary choice. “With all that is accumulated, with parades, memorials and publicity, the trial needed to be moved,” Jones said.
As for the trial’s location, Jones liked his chances but did have another choice. “I’m from Richmond and have worked in the Clark County courts a lot, so I had hoped it would be moved there,” Jones added. “But Montgomery is good too. It will be a lot easier to pick a jury with a bigger jury pool to choose from. Plus the media affect will not be so great there.”
Jones also stated that any future motions from the defense may deal with discovery issues. “We may have additional discovery on scientific evidence, that we may want to have tested ourselves,” Jones said.
The prosecution has made their intentions known since the arraignment that they would seek the death penalty. The defense had been leaning and now is stating that a mental health defense will be used. That issue also came up at the hearing. Herald had an order tendered for Barnett to be evaluated at the Kentucky Corrections Psychiatric Center (KCPC) in LaGrange. Before Fletcher could sign it, Jones and Carnes reviewed it and disagreed with the wording. “It said, in the second paragraph I believe, that the report would be sent back to him (Herald). But that report may contain confidential, personal information and then it is supposed to go to the judge first for review so he can decide if anything needs to be blocked out,” Jones told the Times. “There could be some attorney-client privilege involved.” Jones also told the media that when Barnett is being interviewed at KCPC, their doctor, along with Jones and Carnes will be there with him. “When he goes there, so will we. We’ll go with him,” Jones added.

Puryear indicted; Chism takes 20 years
By James Cook, Times Editor

A Mount Sterling man has been indicted for killing a fellow Montgomery County man in Slade and a Clay City man who has served time before, will be going back to a prison cell and drugs has helped put him there.
Ricky Lee Puryear of Mount Sterling who was arrested and charged in the murder of Michael A. Flora, was indicted last Wednesday for that murder. While Marion T. Chism took a plea deal and will now serve 20 years for manufacturing methamphetamine. He could end up serving most of the sentence due to his earlier jail time.
According to police records, a witness told them that they drove Puryear, 36, and Michael A. Flora, 23, to Powell County on the night of Saturday, Jan. 19. The witness also said that the two men got out of the car at a place Puryear instructed the driver to stop. After the two men got out of the car, the witness stated they heard several gunshots and Puryear got back into the car. Puryear then told the witness to “drive” and they left the area. (The Times has seen the citation and knows the name of the witness, but will not identify them while state police are still investigating the case.)
On Sunday, Jan. 20, two out-of-state hikers were driving eastbound on Highway 15, about one mile east of the Slade Exit to get some supplies and return to their camp site. They made the gruesome discovery. The hikers found Flora’s body and called for help.
Kentucky State Police Communications Officer from Post 8, Trooper Ralph Lockard has stated in earlier interviews that evidence indicated that Flora was murdered at the scene, just one mile east of Slade. Carl Wells, Jr. of the Powell County Coroner’s Office pronounced Flora dead at the scene. Preliminary autopsy results have indicated that Flora died of multiple gunshot wounds. At least five shell casings were found at the scene.
Puryear has been indicted for murder, possession of a handgun by a felon and tampering with evidence. Police believe he has disposed of the weapon used. His bond based on the indictment is $500,000 cash. It was originally set at $1 million when he was placed under arrest on Jan. 31.
Chism, 41, was arrested on June 19, 2007 after officers from the Powell County Sheriff’s Department, Stanton Police, Kentucky State Police and Kentucky Motor Vehicle Enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence on Jones Road in Clay City. Upon entering the trailer, where his family was also living, several chemicals and a home-made gas generator used to manufacture methamphetamines was found. Officials called in the KSP Drug Enforcement Special Investigation (DESI) team to dismantle the generator due to the danger of a possible explosion.
Chism who served just over15 months of a ten year sentence handed down in Feb. 2005 for manufacturing methamphetamines and shooting his wife in a domestic assault in May 2004. Facing his second major felony conviction in three years, Chism decided to take an offer from the commonwealth attorney’s office. Chism accepted a 20 year deal, however due to his earlier conviction and parole status, just how long he will have to serve is still a questionable point to some court observers. According to some court sources, because the latest offense was not a violent crime, Chism would only have to serve about 20 percent of the sentence. That would make him eligible for parole in four years.