Floyd Co. Murder Defendant’s Bond Cut in Hal
A Floyd Co. murder suspect's bond has been reduced, according to a report in the Floyd Co. Times. Following a bond hearing in Floyd District Court earlier this week, Ronald Wright’s attorney, Jerry Patton, asked the court to reduce Wright’s bond from $1 million to a more manageable amount that the accused might have some ability to post. Patton cited Wright’s financial problems, having limited criminal history, and his cooperation with the investigation as reasons to lower Wright’s bond. Assistant County Attorney Tyler Green opposed the bond, saying Wright is accussed of murder and that Wright did allegedly leave the hospital in West Virginia after being treated for his gunshot wound, and had to be arrested by authorities. District Judge Jimmy R. Marcum decided to reduce Wright's bond to  $500,000 full cash, which matched the bond amount of his wife, Loretta. Should he bond out, Judge Marcum insisted that he be hooked up with home incarceration with full pre-trial monitoring. Back in March of this year, Ronald and Loretta Wright, of Printer, allegedly entered the home of Famer and Lorene Halbert, where Famer Halbert was shot in the head and killed in his bed. Lorene Halbert and Ronald Wright were each shot during confrontation that allegedly followed the shooting of Famer. Ronald Wright is charged with one count of attempted murder in the shooting of Lorene Halbert and one count of murder in the shooting of Famer Halbert.

Over $20,000 in Cash and Drugs Seized in Greenup County
A search warrant conducted by the Greenup Co. Sheriff's Dept netted a huge find this week. Nearly $25,000 worth of pain pills and cash was seized from a rural home along Ky. 503 near Wurtland. Sheriff Deputies confiscated nearly 600 30-milligram oxycodone pills with a street value of $40 each and found more than $2,000 cash and a safe containing drugs, cash, assorted papers and receipts. The raid took place after an ongoing investigation of drug activity, including trafficking “for an extended period of time,” according to a news release. Warrants have been obtained for suspects, and Sheriff Keith Cooper said he expects more warrants to be issued, as well as arrests.

War on Drugs in the Big Sandy Area Discussed in Operation Unite Meeting in Prestonsburg
Communities Against Drug Addiction held their April meeting Tuesday in Prestonsburg at the Pit Stop restaurant, discussing the area's current status of the war on drugs in the Big Sandy area. Operation Unite's, Keith Napier, says right now they (Operation Unite) are seeing an increase in heroin in the area, as well as meth labs, due to a drop of available pain killers. While all counties in the Big Sandy area are beginning to see declines in prescription painkiller abuse, Operation Unite officials say the rate of addiction is not changing, it's the fact that addicts are simply turning to different drugs. Keith Napier says these types of community meetings aide in the fight against drugs, "They are imperative because to me it takes a community to curtail or stop drug abuse." said Napier, who added they allow community members to discuss how to help folks who may be suffering from drug addiction. Law enforcement officials are beginning to see some success in controlling prescription abuse, but there is still so much more work to be done to tackle the root cause of addiction and they said they will continue to fight the problem with every sources available.

Ky. Gov't News:

- Beshear Signs Bill To Toughen State Child Pornography Law
Governor Steve Beshear on Wednesday ceremonially signed House Bill 39, giving law enforcement in Kentucky a valuable tool in fighting crimes involving children and the Internet. The measure helps child pornography statutes catch up to current technology, particularly where a perpetrator is using "cloud computing" that allows child pornography images to be viewed but not actually located on a computer's hard drive. "In order to combat child pornography and protect our most vulnerable citizens, it's critical that our laws evolve with technology," Gov. Beshear said. "This law does that by allowing law enforcement to arrest persons who intentionally view these images, even if they don't physically possess the pictures." House Bill 39 also prohibits registrants on the Sex Offender Registry from intentionally photographing minors without the written consent of the parent, unless the registrant is the parent or guardian, and allows for asset forfeiture in these cases. In addition, the law gives the Kentucky State Police commissioner administrative subpoena power in very limited cases when a child may be in danger. "We have to be extra vigilant when it comes to keeping the law up to date as technology changes, and nowhere is that more important than in our children's safety," said Rep. Kevin Sinnette, the bill's sponsor. "I sponsored this legislation because I want to make sure that the law is airtight when it comes to prosecuting child pornographers. I hope it proves to be a valuable tool for law enforcement." Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer noted that April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect, and that the Kentucky Internet Crimes Again Children (ICAC) Task Force is located within the Kentucky State Police Electronic Crime Branch. As part of its role on the task force, Brewer said, the Electronic Crime Branch conducts investigations, makes Internet safety awareness presentations and provides digital forensic services for law enforcement agencies throughout the Commonwealth.

- Gov. Signs Custody Exchange Bill into Law
Governor Beshear signed a bill that's designed to make custody exchanges safer. House Bill 141 was filed after the January shooting in the parking lot of Hazard Community and Technical College. 53-year-old Jackie Cornett, 20-year-old Caitlin Cornett, and 12-year-old Taylor Cornett died. Police say the shooting happened during a custody change. Family members of the victims were on hand for the bill signing. The bill establishes places such as courthouses and police departments as safe places for custody exchanges. Judges could order exchanges take place there if necessary.

Poll: Most KY, U.S. Seniors Oppose Social Security Cuts
Seniors overwhelmingly oppose the idea of reducing Social Security benefits to cut the deficit, according to a new survey. In the national survey conducted by AARP, 84 percent of voters age 50 and older said they are against cutting retirement benefits. Tihisha Rawlins, AARP's associate state director for grassroots initiatives, has spent the past two months traveling Kentucky, talking with seniors about the cost-of-living adjustment idea known as "chained CPI" (Consumer Price Index). Rawlins said she believes the survey results are "dead on." "They all see that as raiding the Social Security piggy bank and trying to save the deficit on the backs of Social Security beneficiaries," she said. The survey also found that how Congress handles Social Security will carry over to the ballot box. Two-thirds - 66-percent - of seniors polled said they would be less favorable toward their congressional representative if he or she voted for the chained or superlative CPI plan. Congress has to find ways to reduce the deficit, said Frank Hatfield, a senior from Bullitt County who is a member of the AARP Kentucky Executive Council. However, he added, Social Security isn't the answer. "Social Security's gotten mixed in with deficit reduction, and Social Security didn't cause the deficit," he said. "I think it should be looked at separately from trying to reduce our deficit." Hatfield's opinion is typical of older Americans. In the AARP poll, 84 percent said the future of Social Security should be considered separately from the budget deficit discussions. Nearly four out of five surveyed seniors - 78-percent - also opposed reducing the annual benefit increase for retired and disabled veterans. Rawlins said veterans are worried. "The veterans' benefits will be impacted as well as their Social Security benefits," she said, "so they are definitely concerned about chained CPI." The survey results are online at aarp.org/colasurvey.

Johnson Co. and Surrounding Counties Participaring in Emergency Exercie Next Week
The following is a news release from Paintsville/Johnson Co. Emergency Mgmt. Director, Gary McClure, concerning a planned community emergency exercise to be held April 24 and 25, 2013.

WHO:    Region 10 Healthcare Planning Coalition (HPC) consisting of preparedness partners in Boyd,  Carter, Elliott, Floyd, Greenup, Johnson, Lawrence, Magoffin, Martin and Pike Counties.  
WHAT:  Conducting a regional full scale exercise dealing with a mock Anthrax/white powder disaster in which those persons “exposed” to the white powder will have to be decontaminated on site and transported to the local hospital for decontamination again and treatment.  The local health departments will be requesting federal assets to treat affected populations.
WHEN:  The regional full scale exercise referred to as “Operation Omega Shield” will be from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon on April 24th and 25th. 
WHERE:  The exercise will be taking place in each of the ten counties in Region 10.  Hospitals, health departments, long-term care centers and local government agencies will be participating in the exercise.