Area News

Robert Moore Herald Staff [email protected] Severe flooding has killed  at least three people in Kentucky this past weekend. Nowhere in Mercer County has been harder hit than Burgin, where a large part of the city remains submerged by storm water. On Monday, Mayor George Hensley signed an order proclaiming the city a disaster area. Hensley…

Trenton Easterling has been found guilty of the murder of Tristan Cole and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Easterling was found not guilty of a related charge of 1st-degree robbery. While the defense tried to make the trial about Zachary Lay, who was found guilty of two counts of evidence tampering related to the murder, Easterling…

Robert Moore Herald Staff [email protected] The trial against Trenton Easterling began Tuesday morning at Mercer County Judicial Center. While Easterling is accused of murdering and robbing Tristan Cole nearly two years ago, everyone who once hung out at the house on Story Avenue is on trial with him. And in the first day of Easterling’s…

Dalton Christopher Herald Staff [email protected] Harrodsburg water customers have been calling the City of Harrodsburg Water Department claiming higher than normal bills. Commissioner Jack Coleman said a number of factors can contribute to the recent spike. “We had a perfect storm of things going on,” Coleman said. Amy Kays-Huffman, water administration supervisor at City Hall,…

Robert Moore Herald Staff [email protected] Proposed budget cuts at the state level will force local schools to make some hard decisions over the next several years. It might even force some school districts to insolvency. There are currently 173 school districts in Kentucky. If the budget cuts go into effect, 120 of them—including Mercer County—would…

Robert Moore Herald Staff [email protected] The one thing everyone in Burgin can agree on is that city streets are terrible. Rough uneven asphalt, manhole covers so high up  they prevent the streets from being plowed and rampant flooding. However, no one in Burgin can seem to agree who’s to blame. While some blame the Mercer…

Robert Moore Herald Staff [email protected] Mercer County Property Valuation Administrator David Best is trying to get the word out about the impact state budget cuts could have locally. The state government already cut funding for PVA offices across the Commonwealth by 5.1-percent in December. If the proposed budget is passed, there would be another 23.5-percent…

Kennedy Mill Bridge is closing for repairs. Again. Starting Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 9 a.m., the bridge will be closed to traffic for one week, reopening Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 5 p.m, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Department of Highways. KYTC called the closure  “temporary” and said it was necessary for rehabilitation work to be…

Robert Moore Herald Staff [email protected] Mercer County is hiring a lawyer to look into the financial arrangements at Boyle County Detention Center. Mercer County Judge-Executive Milward Dedman announced Tuesday morning the county was hiring J. Robert Lyons Jr., a partner with Dinsmore and Shohl LLP of Lexington, to look into the interlocal agreement that splits…

Robert Moore Herald Staff [email protected] UPDATE: (Monday, Feb. 19) Court officials are saying the jury has been selected for the Trenton Easterling trial. Opening arguments will begin tomorrow morning at Mercer County Judicial Center. Jury selection ran all day Monday, with potential jurors screened by the prosecution and defense. Insiders were expecting the process would last until at…