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NEWS TRACKER

3. The pope goes green with a new elec-tric car. 7A

4. A lull in coal min-ing means less rev-enue for the state. 3A

Thunderstorms.

A former coach accused of hav-ing a sexual relationship with an underage teen may spend 3 1⁄2 years in jail and be forever regis-tered as a sex offender.

Sammy Montgomery, 27,

pleaded guilty Thursday in Mc-Cracken Circuit Court to charges of third-degree rape and fi rst-de-gree sexual abuse stemming from the reportedly “inappropriate re-lationship.”

The prosecution offered a 3 1⁄2 year sentence in exchange for the

plea. Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Seth Hancock said the state will also push for Montgom-ery to be considered a violent of-fender, making him ineligible for parole or shock probation, and require him to register as a life-time sex offender.

Montgomery’s attorney, Jer-emy Ian Smith, said he will argue at sentencing against the violent offender designation and the life-time registration requirement. He said he will ask for a 20-year registration period.

Montgomery is also required to

complete a sex offense treatment program as part of the plea.

Judge Craig Clymer set Mont-gomery’s sentencing for 9 a.m. Nov. 7.

Police arrested Montgomery

Ex-coach facing prison sentence, lifetime sex offender statusBY MALLORY PANUSKAmpanuska@paducahsun.com

JOLIET, Ill. — Drew Peterson, a former Illinois police offi cer who gained notoriety after his much-younger wife vanished in 2007, was convicted Thursday of mur-dering a previous wife in a case centered on secondhand hearsay statements from both women.

Peterson, 58, sat stoically look-ing straight ahead and did not react as the judge announced ju-rors had found him guilty of fi rst-degree murder in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Her relatives gasped, then

hugged each other as they cried quietly.

Illinois has no death penalty, and Peterson now faces a maxi-mum 60-year prison term when sentenced Nov. 26.

The trial was the fi rst of its kind in Illinois history, with pros-ecutors building their case largely on hearsay thanks to a new law, dubbed “Drew’s Law,” tailored to Peterson’s case. That hearsay, prosecutors had said, would let his third and fourth wives “speak from their graves” through family and friends to convict Peterson.

Hearsay is any information reported by a witness that is

not based on the witness’ direct knowledge. Defense attorneys said its use at the trial would be central to their appeal.

Savio’s family members were emotional as they left the court-room.

Her sister, Susan Doman, threw herself into the arms of her husband, Mitch Doman.

“Finally, fi nally, fi nally,” Savio’s brother-in-law, Mitch Doman, said.

Peterson’s personality loomed over the trial, and bystanders gathered outside the courthouse

Jury convicts Peterson of 3rd wife’s deathBY DON BABWIN AND

MICHAEL TARMAssociated Press

Associated Press

Marcia Savio, stepmother of Kathleen Savio, speaks of her step-daughter and cries Thursday outside the Will County Courthouse. A jury found former Bolingbrook police officer Drew Peterson guilty Thursday in Joliet, Ill. of murdering Kathleen Savio, his third wife. Please see PETERSON | 11A

In the Thursday, Sept. 6, edition, page 1A, in a story titled, “Turney sentenced in emotional hearing,” it was reported that the existence of alcohol in Kira Bryant’s sys-tem prompted attorneys to object to probation for her stepfather, Jamison Turney. That is incorrect. Bryant did not have any alcohol in her system at the time of the June 13, 2011, motorcycle crash that took her life. Turney had a blood alcohol concentration of .09 after the wreck, thus he was the one with alcohol in his system at the time.

Correction

FRIDAY,FRIDAY, September 7, 2012 September 7, 2012 www.paducahsun.comwww.paducahsun.com Vol.Vol. 116116 No.No. 251251

Robert Coleman holds several distinctions in Paducah. He was the longest-serving elected offi cial in city history, serving 31 years as a city commissioner until leaving the board in 2008. He serves on several community boards and is an active member of Washington Street Baptist Church. But there is one title Coleman may never add to his extensive list: mayor.

Coleman announced his inten-tion Thursday afternoon to drop out of the race for mayor. He

wished opponent Gayle Kaler — who will run unopposed unless a write-in candidate fi les — luck, say-ing he trusts her to do a good job as mayor. Coleman had surgery on nerves in his neck in April before the city’s primary and had hoped to campaign more after recovering.

“The nerves connect to my back as well, and I had been told it would be a slow and substan-tial recovery,” Coleman said. “But about a month afterwards I started having more pain and set-

Coleman exits mayoral race

BY CORIANNE EGANcegan@paducahsun.com

Sun files

Robert Coleman (center) shakes the hand of a supporter at his house on May 22 while waiting for primary results. Coleman fin-ished second in voting for the mayor’s race, but announced plans to drop out of the race on Thursday afternoon.

Post-surgery health issues cited

Please see COLEMAN | 11A

Please see MONTGOMERY | 3A

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — His re-election in doubt, President Barack Obama conceded only halting progress Thursday night toward fi xing the nation’s stub-born economic woes, but vowed in a Democratic National Con-

vention fi nale, “Our problems can be solved, our challenges can be met.”

“Yes, our path is harder — but it leads to a better place,” he de-clared in a prime-time speech to convention delegates and the nation that blended resolve about the challenges ahead with stinging criticism of Republican

rival Mitt Romney’s proposals to repair the economy.

He acknowledged “my own failings” as he asked for a sec-ond term, four years after taking offi ce as the nation’s fi rst black president.

“Four more years,” delegates

Obama: Path to recovery hard, challenge ‘can be met’

BY DAVID ESPO AND ROBERT FURLOW

Associated Press

Associated Press

President Barack Obama addresses the Democratic National Convention Thursday in Charlotte, N.C. Obama said that the road to economic recovery is difficult, but the problems can be fixed.

President asks for four more years in office

Please see OBAMA | 11A

The LineupToday

 Senior Medicare Patrol, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., 1400 H.C. Mathis Drive; 442-8993. Protect yourself from Medi-care errors, fraud and abuse. Learn to detect potential errors, fraud and abuse. Report errors or suspected fraud to SMP.

 Steak night, 5-8 p.m., River City

Eagles Aerie 3686, 1919 Cairo Road.

 Pasta House Inc. live entertain-

ment, 6-8 p.m. 575-1997. Dance, 7-10 p.m., American Le-

gion Post 26 Hall, Mayfield. Band: Just Breakin’ Even. $5.

 Dance, 7-10 p.m., Grand Rivers

Community Center, 155 W. Cum-berland. Stanley Walker Band. $5. 362-8272.

 Saturday

 The 15th annual Democrat Country Ham Breakfast will be held at Lone Oak High School cafeteria.  Food will be served from 7 to 9 a.m., with political speaking at 8:30 a.m. Tickets are $12.50 in advance or $15 at the door. Door prizes will be given away. Call 270-559-2762 for tickets or information.

 Military Order of the Purple

Heart for Western Kentucky, Chap-ter 585, monthly meeting, 9 a.m., Smokies Restaurant, 5th. Ave., Cal-vert City, Ky.

 Open house for new Ledbetter

Senior Citizens Building, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Coffee and doughnuts provided.

 Dance, 7-10 p.m., American Le-

gion Post 26 Hall, Mayfield. Just Friends. $5.

 ■ ■ ■

Items for the Lineup must be received in writing five days in advance. Mail to: Lineup, The Paducah Sun, P.O. Box 2300, Paducah, KY 42002-2300; fax the newsroom at 442-7859; or email news@paducahsun.com. An-nouncements are published day of event. Information: 575-8677.

2A • Friday, September 7, 2012 • The Paducah Sun Local paducahsun.com

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Thursday’s lotteryKentucky

Pick 3-midday: 0-9-7 Evening: 8-6-9Pick 4-midday: 7-3-3-1 Evening: 5-4-7-0Cash Ball: 6-16-18-23 CB 27 Cash Ball Kicker: 4-8-5-7-15 Card Cash: JS-7C-4C-2S-QSDecades of Dollars: 2-25-28-30-32-43

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LEDBETTER — Markets totaled 387 head. Compared to last week: Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls, $3 to $5 lower. Feeder steers, $2 to $3 lower; feeder heifers, steady to $2 higher.

Slaughter cows: breaker, 75 to 80 percent lean, 1000 to 1800 lbs., $64 to $71; high dressing, $75; low dressing, $60; boner, 80 to 85 percent lean, 900 to 1300 lbs., $57 to $65; low dressing, $53; lean, 85 to 90 percent lean, 735 to 1100 lbs., $47.50 to $57; low dressing, $51 to $52.50.

Slaughter bulls yield grade 1: 1715 to 1870 lbs., $95 to $99; yield grade 2: 1200 to 2150 lbs., $85 to $87; high dressing, $79.

Feeder steers medium and large 1-2: 200 to 300 lbs., $188 to $204; 300 to 400 lbs., $170 to $188; 400 to 500 lbs., $150.50 to $166; 500 to 600 lbs., $137 to $145; 600 to 700 lbs., $132; 700 to 800 lbs., $124; 800 to 900 lbs., $105.

Feeder heifers medium and large 1-2: 200 to 300 lbs., $164 to $170; 300 to 400 lbs., $155 to $171; 400 to 500 lbs., $136 to $150; 500 to 600 lbs., $125 to $137; 600 to 700 lbs., $115 to $125; 700 to 800 lbs., $108; 800 to 900 lbs., $94.

Feeder bulls medium and large 1-2: 300 to 400 lbs., $154 to $169; 400 to 500 lbs., $144 to $156; 500 to 600 lbs., $130 to $140; 600 to 700 lbs., $129; 700 to 800 lbs., $105 to $112; 800 to 900 lbs., $97.

Stock cows: Not enough to test.Stock cows/calf pairs: Cows 2 to 9 years old with

calves at side, $750 to $1,100 per pair.Baby calves: $170.

Livingston Livestock

A Paducah teen accused of killing her newborn baby could stay in jail awaiting trial if a judge revokes her bond next week.

Katelynn Teague, 18, was in McCracken Circuit Court on Thursday morning for a pre-trial hearing. Defense attorney Angela Troutman of the Ken-tucky Department of Public Advocacy — who received the case after Bard Brian asked to be dismissed — asked the court for more time so she could re-view the case. Circuit Judge Craig Clymer allowed the con-tinuance, setting Teague’s bond hearing for Wednesday and a pretrial hearing for Nov. 8.

Paducah police were called to Teague’s Trimble Street home on Nov. 21 when one of her friends called the station and said Teague had given birth and the baby had died. Teague initially denied that she had a

baby, but detectives found a newborn girl in a plastic clothes bag in her closet.

It took 2 1⁄2 months for a fo-rensic autopsy report, which named the cause of death as suffocation and neglect. She was arrested after questioning Feb. 13 and charged with mur-der.

Teague is currently serving out a sentence in McCracken County Regional Jail for an Aug. 13 shoplifting charge. Paducah police said she stole leggings, two sticks of deodor-ant and body spray from Kroger on Park Avenue. Teague plead-ed guilty, receiving 60 days in jail. She was out of jail at the time on a $5,000 surety bond related to the murder charge.

Teague would be eligible for release on Oct. 12, but Assis-tant Commonwealth Attorney Seth Hancock fi led an motion to revoke her bond, which will be discussed at the hearing next week. Teague cannot be re-

leased until the issue is settled.

Call Corianne Egan, a Paducah

Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8652 or follow @CoriEgan on Twitter.

Teague bond hearing coming WednesdayBY CORIANNE EGANcegan@paducahsun.com

CORIANNE EGAN | The Sun

Defense attorney Angela Troutman talks to her client, Kate-lynn Teague, on Thursday morning in McCracken Circuit Court. Although Teague’s hearing was continued, Circuit Judge Craig Clymer set a hearing on her bond conditions for next week.

“Love is patient, love is kind,” begins 1 Corinthians 13:4. For Community Christian Academy student Car-son Brown, the verses are more than just words.

A two-week mission trip to Tanza-nia prompt-ed Brown, a 16-year-old ju-nior, to depict one of the chil-dren she met in a drawing for her high school art class.

Art instructor Linda Harper told her students to complete a lyric drawing, using Bible verses or Christian songs to create images. By placing the words closer to-gether, students created a darker value in the painting.

The assignment prompted Brown to recall a girl she had pho-tographed during a vacation Bible school meeting of about 400 chil-dren. “(I) thought it was a really good picture to do for it. I don’t really know what the lyrics should be, though,” she said.

Brown settled on verses from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, which de-scribe the characteristics of love. “We were trying to show God’s love to the children,” she said. “It ... is what love should be: more than just words.”

Brown said that, while writing the same words over and over in Swahili became tedious, she en-joyed the assignment. “I loved it. It was one of my favorite projects,” she said.

The art student chose to share her skill by donating the piece to the Starfi sh Orphan Ministry, 1000 Broadway, which will hold its fourth annual One Child at a Time charity auction at 7 p.m. Sat-urday.

“(The auction) is one of our big-gest fundraisers during the year, and we defi nitely couldn’t have it without the generous donations of individuals here locally,” ministry founder Laura Roberts said.

The auction will include artwork, getaway packages, and other items.

“There’s something for everyone. There are packages that are expen-sive, and there are things that peo-ple can bid 20 dollars on and get,” Roberts said.

Call Laurel Black, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8641.

Mission trip inspires artworkBY LAUREL BLACKlblack@paducahsun.com

Photo contributed

Carson Brown, 16, used a photograph taken on a mission trip to Tanzania to create this lyric drawing for her art class at Community Christian Academy. The Swahili and English words used to create the different values were taken from 1 Corinthians 13:4 - 8, a passage that describes love.

Brown

As the November election edges closer, groups on both sides of the proposed Paducah-McCracken County merger are becoming louder as they voice their messages.

On Thursday, local fi nancial adviser John Williams Jr. gave Paducah McCracken United’s “Why Merger?” presentation to community and business lead-ers at the Paducah Area Cham-ber of Commerce’s Power in Partnership breakfast.

The 25-member pro-merger political action committee, which Williams serves on with other community and business lead-ers, began delivering the presen-tations to neighborhood and civic groups across the county shortly after a 21-member merger study group voted in May to place the option on the Nov. 6 ballot. The presentation maps out reasons why voters should approve a

merger. The study group spent about 2 1⁄2 years researching the concept and tweaking the 14-sec-tion draft plan that voters will decide on.

Members of Paducah Mc-Cracken United say the concept will create smaller, more effi -cient government, better rep-resentation and a louder voice. According to the presentation, which used data from sources such as the Kentucky Workforce Development Cabinet, a merged government would break away from status quo and provide a chance to create jobs, spur eco-nomic development and gener-ate population growth.

Williams pointed out the county’s low population growth and job growth, which accord-ing to statistics has averaged 18 jobs a year for the past 35 years. He told the audience, which included several members of grassroots anti-merger group No To Metro Inc., that without a

merger, taxes will go up.McCracken Judge-Executive

Van Newberry, a founding mem-ber of the No To Metro group, also attended Thursday’s break-fast. He has said consistently that he does not agree with the con-cept and has provided data that states merger has not signifi cant-ly helped other communities and does not prove to create jobs or spur economic development or population growth.

Newberry said he plans to ask Chamber offi cials if they will allow the anti-merger group members to make a presenta-tion explaining their side of the concept.

“We will ask to see if we can give the facts at their next meet-ing,” he said.

Newberry pointed out that the Fiscal Court and county residents have paid Chamber membership dues for years and have a right to speak out on the subject.

Chamber president Elaine Spalding said that the Chamber has been promoting a merger for roughly eight years and will continue the effort until voters go to the polls.

“We are working as hard as we can to get the information out and get the facts out,” Spald-ing said. “We are trying to get out to every small business, ev-ery group and explain what it has and what it doesn’t.”

A debate between the groups is planned for 6 p.m. Saturday at the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church Picnic on the grounds, 6705 Old U.S. 45 near the Graves County line. Newber-ry will speak against the merger, and Paducah McCracken Unit-ed member Lawrence Durbin will speak in favor.

Call Mallory Panuska, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8684 or follow @mal-lorypanuska on Twitter.

‘Why Merger?’ presentation headlines Chamber breakfastBY MALLORY PANUSKAmpanuska@paducahsun.com

paducahsun.com Local/From Page One/Region The Paducah Sun • Friday, September 7, 2012 • 3A

—Staff report

An Edmond, Okla., wom-an was injured Thursday morning in a wreck on U.S. 60 in McCracken County.

Mark Hollingsworth was driving west near Bethel Church Road about 11 a.m. when traffic in front of them stopped, accord-ing to a report from the McCracken County Sher-iff’s Department. A pickup truck driven by Josh McK-endree, of Paducah, did not stop in time and ran into Hollingsworth’s car, according to the report.

Hollingsworth’s passen-ger Gina Hollingsworth was treated at Lourdes hospital

Wreck injures passenger

—Staff reportA month-long investiga-

tion by the Massac County Sheriff’s Depart-ment led to two arrests Wednes-day.

Sheriff Ted Hold-er said the de-partment received sev-eral com-plaints about a home on West 11th Street in Metropo-lis, Ill. Deputies searched it, and Holder

said a methamphetamine lab was seized, along with meth and drug parapherna-lia. Residents Anthony Har-ris, 43, and Peggy Lane, 42, were arrested.

The two face charges of manufacturing meth, pos-session of meth and pos-session of drug parapherna-lia. Both were taken to the Massac County Detention Center.

2 accused of making methamphetamine

—Staff report

on May 21. The third-degree rape charge, which does not designate any type of forced contact, stems from Mont-gomery’s being older than 21 and the teen’s being younger than 16. The sexual abuse charge refl ects that Mont-gomery was in a position of authority to the victim.

Paducah Public Schools Superintendent Randy Greene said after Mont-gomery’s arrest that he was

hired at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year to work as a paid parapro-fessional coach. The term paraprofessional refers to a coach who does not work at the school.

Greene also said that Montgomery was fi red af-ter the charges surfaced.

Call Mallory Panuska, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8684 or fol-low @mallorypanuska on Twitter.

MONTGOMERY

CONTINUED FROM 1A

ALLIE DOUGLASS | The Sun

Lone Oak power at max capacityPaducah Power System technician Brandon Snow works Wednesday on running lines for a new substation off Lovelaceville Road in Lone Oak. PPS is connecting existing power lines to the new station to accommodate growth in the area over the past several years. The two existing substations in Lone Oak have maxed out their available capacity, PPS spokeswoman Andrea Underwood said.

FRANKFORT — Some local governments in Ken-tucky’s coalfi elds could be forced to postpone their planned construction proj-ects because a slowdown in the mining industry has sent revenue plummeting from the state’s coal sever-ance tax, state lawmakers were told Thursday.

Deputy State Budget Director John Hicks told members of the Interim Joint Committee on Energy and Environment that coal tax revenue is projected at $245 million this year. That’s $88 million less than was expected when law-makers passed the budget fi ve months ago. Hicks said the state budget can absorb the shortfall, but it will hit

county governments hard.State Sen. Dorsey Rid-

ley, D-Henderson said the shortfall will mean local governments will have to prioritize infrastructure projects that are on the drawing boards and will likely have no choice other than to delay some.

Greg Harkenrider, dep-uty director of the Gover-nor’s Offi ce for Policy Re-search, said the fi nancial woes could be long-lasting.

“If there’s a rebound in the offi ng, we haven’t seen it,” said Harkenrider, an adviser to a group of state economist charged with monitoring trends for the governor and lawmakers.

An unseasonably warm winter left power plants with huge stockpiles of un-used coal because consum-

ers were using less elec-tricity to heat their homes, contributing to a steep decline in the price of coal. That long stretch of mild weather combined with other factors that led to the layoffs of some 2,000 coal miners in Kentucky’s Ap-palachian region.

State Sen. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard, charged that federal regulations cracking down on coal-fi red power plants have added to the problem, forcing util-ity companies to look to cleaner-burning natural gas or other alternatives to generate electricity. Smith, co-chairman of the Interim Committee on Energy and Environment, accused the U.S. Environmental Pro-tection Agency of declaring war on coal.

Lull in mining means less in coal tax revenue

BY ROGER ALFORDAssociated Press

Lang

Harris

Murray State University’s master’s of fine arts pro-gram has been named to the top 20 in the nation

Poets & Writers ranks MSU in top 20

—Staff report

Although a strong string of thunderstorms raged through western Ken-tucky on Thursday night, area emergency manage-ment directors reported little damage. The storms, which lasted for nearly two hours, brought high winds and rain.

McCracken County Emergency Director Paul Carter said his crew heard reports of a tornado on the ground but there was no damage to support those reports. The county saw several downed trees and power lines, but no injuries were reported.

Ballard County deputy Emergency Management Director Travis Holder re-ported downed limbs and minor wind damage.

The National Weather Ser-vice reported strong winds as high as 50 and 60 mph

Storms produce few damage reports

—Staff report

A wreck in McCracken County left one person dead Thursday.

McCracken Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Jared

Driver lost consciousness before fatal wreck

—Staff report

With cooler tempera-tures expected in coming weeks, the Robert Cole-man Spraypark will close for the season at 1 p.m. today.

Mark Thompson, Paducah Parks Depart-ment director, said the spraypark normally closes following Labor Day.

“The weather is starting to cool down on the week-ends,” Thompson said. “We try to stretch it be-yond Labor Day if we can. Our closing date in the fall is always projected by the weather.”

The park, located at 10th and Caldwell streets, opened in May.

Spraypark closes for season today

Local Briefs

Rivera said that deputies responded to a wreck on Starr Hill Road near Hen-dron Road about 1 p.m. Rivera said an investiga-tion showed that the driver — Rhonda F. Kindred, 41, of Paducah — had, for un-known reasons, accelerat-ed and crashed into a tree. She died at the scene.

Rivera said that depu-ties interviewed witnesses and those interviews, combined with evidence at the scene, led deputies to them believing Kindred had lost consciousness before the wreck.

Hendron Road was closed about three hours for cleanup.

in McCracken, Graves and Marshall counties.

The Kentucky Trans-portation Cabinet also reported a wreck in Cal-loway County near Ham-mond Road, caused by a motorist hitting a tree that was draped across the roadway. The weather ser-vice said that the roofs of two chicken houses were lifted off in rural Hickman County.

for minor injuries. among low-residency pro-grams by Poets & Writers literary organization.

The goal of the MFA program is to facilitate the creative and profes-sional growth of writers. The program is considered low-residency because it offers advanced instruction to creative writers while en-abling them to live and work elsewhere.

The degree provides the necessary academic credentials for teaching creative writing at the uni-versity level, and also offers a field study on the staff of the New Madrid Journal, the national journal of Mur-ray State University’s MFA program.

Ann Neelon is the pro-gram’s director and has been involved since its in-ception in 2005. Carrie Jer-rell is the associate director.

Poets & Writers is one of the largest nonprofit literary organizations in the United States serving poets, fiction writers and creative nonfic-tion writers.

According to Neelon, Mur-ray State’s MFA program was given this honor be-cause of the diverse faculty.

“Our faculty combines

the best of both worlds in the sense that we have writers who teach full time at Murray State, as well as writers from states outside Kentucky who teach part time and provide a vibrant counterpart,” Neelon said. “The dynamics of inside and outside are essential to the richness of our program.”

Mallard Fillmore Bruce Tinsley

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Edwin J. Paxton, Editor & Publisher, 1900-1961Frank Paxton, Publisher, 1961-1972

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David CoxEditorial Page Editor

Jim PaxtonEditor & Publisher

Duke ConoverExecutive Editor

After reading Barack Obama’s book “Dreams from My Father,” it became pain-fully clear that he has not been searching for the truth, because he assumed from an early age that he had already found the truth — and now it was just a question of fi lling in the details and deciding how to change things.

Obama did not simply happen to encounter a lot of people on the far left fringe during his life. As he spells out in his book, he actively sought out such people. There is no hint of the slightest curiosity on his part about other visions of the world that might be weighed against the vision he had seized upon.

As Professor Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago Law School has pointed out, Obama made no effort to take part in the mar-ketplace of ideas with other faculty members when he was teaching a law course there. What would be the point, if he already knew the truth and knew that they were wrong?

This would be a remark-able position to take, even for a learned scholar who had already spent decades can-vassing a vast amount of in-formation and views on many subjects. But Obama was already doctrinaire at a very early age — and ill-informed or misinformed on both his-tory and economics.

His statement in “Dreams from My Father” about how white men went to Africa to “drag away the conquered in chains” betrays his ignorance of African history.

The era of the Atlantic slave trade and the era of European conquests across the conti-nent of Africa were different eras. During the era of the Atlantic slave trade, most of Africa was ruled by Africans,

who sold some of their slaves to white men.

European conquests in Africa had to wait until Eu-ropeans found some way to survive lethal African dis-eases, to which they lacked resistance. Only after medical science learned to deal with these diseases could the era of European conquests spread across sub-Saharan Africa. But the Atlantic slave trade was over by then.

There was no reason why Barack Obama had to know this. But there was also no reason for him to be shoot-ing off his mouth without knowing what he was talking about.

Similarly with Obama’s characterization of the Nile as “the world’s greatest river.” The Nile is less than 10 per-cent longer than the Amazon, but the Amazon delivers more than 50 times as much water into the Atlantic as the Nile delivers into the Mediterra-nean. The Nile could not ac-commodate the largest ships, even back in Roman times, much less the aircraft carri-ers of today that can sail up the Hudson River and dock in midtown Manhattan.

When Obama wrote that many people “had been enslaved only because of the color of their skin,” he was repeating a common piece of gross misinformation. For thousands of years, people enslaved other people of the same race as themselves,

whether in Europe, Asia, Africa or the Western Hemi-sphere.

Europeans enslaved other Europeans for centuries be-fore the fi rst African was brought in bondage to the Western Hemisphere. The very word “slave” is derived from the name of a European people once widely held in bondage, the Slavs.

As for economics, Obama thought that Indonesians would be worse off after Europeans came in, used up their natural resources and then left them too poor to continue the modern way of life to which they had become accustomed, or to resume their previous way of life, after their previous skills had atrophied.

This fear of European “ex-ploitation” prevailed widely in the Third World in the middle of the 20th century. But, by the late 20th century, the falseness of that view had been demonstrated so plainly and so often, in countries around the world, that even socialist and communist gov-ernments began opening their economies to foreign invest-ments. This often led to rising economic growth rates that lifted millions of people out of poverty.

Barack Obama is one of those people who are often wrong but never in doubt. When he burst upon the national political scene as a presidential candidate in 2008, even some conserva-tives were impressed by his confi dence.

But confi dent ignorance is one of the most dangerous qualities in a leader of a na-tion. If he has the rhetorical skills to inspire the same con-fi dence in himself by others, then you have the ingredients for national disaster.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Pardon the inter-ruption of the Bill Clinton gush-fest for a few critical words: It should have started 20 minutes earlier. (Did we really need to hear from Mr. Costco?) It should have lasted 20 minutes less. How many unde-cided voters made it through the whole thing? Without heading to the kitchen to make a sandwich, fl ipping to the football game, checking their e-mail, then clicking back to the coverage and thinking: “He’s still on?”

You know the old joke about the res-taurant: The food isn’t very good, and the portions are too small? My reaction to Clinton’s speech was the opposite: The substance was great, but so much of it?

Discipline has never been Clinton’s hall-mark. Or brevity. Rhetorical brilliance — in particular, an ability to translate wonk-ish details into folksy, accessible language — has been. Wednesday night showed that nothing has changed.

You could imagine Clinton in Chap-paqua, watching the Republicans in Tampa and yelling at the screen. You

know he was stewing over Democrats’ failure to adequately answer those attacks. Wednesday was his time to vent.

There was no issue left behind: Comparative jobs numbers under Republi-can and Democratic presi-dents. The auto industry under President Obama, with a detour into mile-age standards. The boom in oil and gas production. The rate of health care cost increases. The role of Medicaid in nursing home care. The legitimacy of the GOP at-tack on Obama’s welfare waiver.

“Now, let’s talk about the debt,” Clinton said at one point. He was about three-fourths through.

It was a one-stop-shopping refutation of all the Republican arguments against Obama. Every single one of them.

How effective you think this was depends in part on your theory of how conventions matter. Are the parties

communicating with vot-ers through unmediated speeches in the compressed, hour-a-night prime time slot? Or does the message of conventions get through to voters more indirectly, through the fi lter of the en-suing news — and comedy — coverage. Think Plato’s Cave, except the shadows on the wall through which

voters perceive what happened come from “Good Morning America” and “The Colbert Report.”

I have been tending toward the Plato’s Cave theory of convention impact, in which case my Clinton critique may be overstated: If what matters isn’t the entire-ty of the performance itself but the reviews of same, the sound bites plucked out and constantly rerun, then Clinton’s marathon — and at least it was under three hours — may not have mattered as much.

But this is what Clinton himself would call a false choice, between length and impact. It could have been more succinct, more focused on Clinton’s fundamental message. Then again, that wouldn’t have been vintage Clinton.

Edwin J. Paxton, Editor & Publisher, 1900-1961

Editorial

4A • Friday, September 7, 2012 • The Paducah Sun Opinion paducahsun.com

Endless convention speech vintage Clinton: too much of a good thing

Ruth Marcus

Write to usThe Paducah SUN welcomes letters from readers. Published letters must include

a daytime phone number, signature and address. All are subject to editing for clarity and brevity. Writers should limit letters to a maximum of 300 words; shorter letters are preferred. Letters may be mailed to Viewpoints, The Paducah Sun, P.O. Box 2300, Paducah, KY 42002-2300. Writers are limited to one letter per month. Writers may e-mail letters to lcocke@paducahsun.com.

In November, McCracken County voters will face perhaps the most consequential ballot issue in years when they decide whether to merge the county government and the Paducah city government. The vote could set the course for the county’s future, and because Paducah is a trade and commerce center, the decision has the potential to affect the entire region.

That’s why it is of concern to hear John Williams Jr., who is leading the pro-merger effort, say, “I am convinced today that if we were to have that vote most people wouldn’t know what they’re voting for.”

Williams made the comments in a meeting Tuesday with this newspaper’s editorial board. Williams has spent countless hours studying the issue over the past few years and, more recently, speaking to dozens of civic organizations about the proposal.

He says that despite a fair amount of publicity about the issue the past few months, he continues to encounter questions and comments from residents that tell him the public remains relatively unfamiliar with the nuts and bolts of the matter.

Example: Many have expressed fear that a merged government will

impose new taxes on county residents. They aren’t aware that the proposed merger plan includes a five-year moratorium on tax increases — designed to

force a newly elected council to find efficiencies and economies of scale by freezing its tax base. This newspaper has not taken a position on the merger proposal to date and we do not do so today.

But Williams does make some observations beyond the specifics of

the merger proposal that we think merit consideration and underscore the reasons why people — pro, con or unsure — would do well to carefully study and consider the matter.

Specifically, he notes statistics that show utter stagnation in job growth in Paducah-McCracken County over the past 35 years.

Williams points out that the city and county each spent $300,000 every year in the last decade for job recruitment, but the local economy still has netted just over 600 jobs over the past 35 years. That’s less than the number of jobs Paducah is expected to lose if the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion

Plant closes next summer, as is widely feared.

Census figures show McCracken County’s population barely growing, while the rest of the region — excepting Calloway County — is losing population.

“We’ve got to do something that is materially different,” Williams says.

He’s right about that. Is merger that “something”?

Reasonable people can and will disagree. But it is why the subject is hugely important and deserves an informed vote.

BIG ISSUEBeyond all else, merger

deserves an informed vote

“I am convinced today that if we were to have

that vote, most people

wouldn’t know what they’re voting for.”

Obama oft en wrong, never in doubt

Thomas Sowell

paducahsun.com The Paducah Sun • Friday, September 7, 2012 • 5A

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PHOENIX — The most contentious part of Ari-zona’s immigration law fi -nally has approval to move forward, surviving a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, a heated national debate and two years of state politics.

But the practical effect of what critics call the “show me your papers” provision remains to be seen.

Immigrants are worried they’ll be harassed by of-fi cers emboldened to pull them over because they look Hispanic.

Offi cers — who will be required to ask people they encounter while enforcing other laws to show they’re in the county legally if they fi nd them suspicious — say they’ll be open to lawsuits if they’re accused of ra-cially profi ling, or if they’re accused of not adequately enforcing the law.

“It leaves us in a very, very, very, extremely gray area,” Pima County Sher-iff Clarence Dupnik said Thursday. “So now we get sued when we do profi le, and we get sued if we don’t profi le.”

Yet, it may be diffi cult to see the results.

Parts of the law, passed by a Republican-con-trolled state legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer in 2010, have been in effect for months but largely ignored

— mostly because they seem to address problems that don’t exist, immigrant rights advocates say.

Dan Pochoda, the Amer-ican Civil Liberties Union of Arizona’s legal director, said the parts of the law known as SB1070 already in effect “have had virtu-ally no impact.” He add-ed that “we haven’t even heard of any attempts to use” the other provisions.

Those sections of the immigration law include a ban on the adoption of so-called sanctuary city policies. The rule is aimed at preventing local govern-ment offi cials from decid-ing to pick and choose

which federal immigra-tion policies to enforce and which to ignore. There have been no reported vio-lations in the state.

Another provision says that state and local agen-cies can’t have a ban on sharing information, and therefore must cooperate in determining whether a person is a legal citizen eligible for public benefi ts.

Two other sections were viewed as minor changes to existing laws.

None has had any no-ticeable impact on how police go about their jobs.

The newly approved sec-tion of the law could be diffi cult to enforce, too.

Police hit legal minefield about immigration law

BY BOB CHRISTIEAssociated Press

Associated Press

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer speaks to reporters after the Supreme Court questioned Arizona’s “show me your papers” immigration law in front of the Supreme Court in Washington. On Thursday Brewer’s office said the most contentious section of Arizona’s immigration law is expected to go into effect shortly.

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6A • Friday, September 7, 2012 • The Paducah Sun Nation paducahsun.com

WASHINGTON — The jobs outlook in the U.S. brightened a bit Thurs-day just before President Barack Obama was to make his case for re-election to the American people.

Fewer people applied for unemployment benefi ts last week, the government reported. And companies boosted hiring in August, ac-cording to a private survey.

A far more consequen-tial report politically — the government’s unemploy-ment and hiring fi gures for August — will come out Fri-day, just as the presidential race enters its stretch run. Jobs are the core issue in the race, and that report could sway some undecid-ed voters.

There will be two addi-tional employment reports before Election Day. But by then, more Americans will have made up their minds.

“It’s the most impor-tant economic data point we have between now and Election Day,” said Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman under Presi-dent George W. Bush.

Friday’s jobs data is un-likely to signal signifi cant improvement in the still-sluggish economy.

Economists’ consensus forecast is that employers added 135,000 jobs last month, according to a sur-

vey by FactSet. That’s below July’s gain of 163,000. And it’s probably not enough to bring down the unemploy-ment rate, which is forecast to remain at 8.3 percent.

That would let Republi-can nominee Mitt Romney point to 43 straight months in which unemployment has exceeded 8 percent.

At the same time, Fri-day’s report will almost surely mark a 30th straight month of private-sector job gains, a point Obama and his allies are certain to spotlight.

“The president’s support-ers will say, ‘See, it’s im-proving,’ and the support-ers of Gov. Romney will say, ‘See, it’s not improving fast enough,’” said Robert Shapiro, an economist and former trade offi cial under President Bill Clinton.

The biggest threat to Obama would be a rise in the unemployment rate, the most visible economic statistic for most voters. The rate declined slightly in the spring but is now back where it was in January.

For the White House, higher unemployment would offset any political benefi t from slow but con-sistent job creation. Voters

are likely to ask, “If you’re creating jobs every month, why is the rate going in the wrong way?” Fratto said.

A drop in unemploy-ment would enable Obama to focus on social issues that might play better with the independent voters he needs in battleground states. Polls show Obama has an edge on Romney on social issues, while Rom-ney has a slight advantage on the economy.

“It makes it easier for the president to continue at-tacks on women’s health care, immigration and ev-ery other differentiation with Republicans,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a Demo-cratic strategist.

Obama is likely to have gotten an advance peek at Friday’s job fi gures before his speech Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention. The report is normally sent to the White House the day before its re-lease.

Thursday’s government data on the job market exceeded economists’ ex-pectations. Weekly appli-cations for unemployment benefi ts fell 12,000 last week to a seasonally ad-justed 365,000.

U.S. jobs outlook improves as campaign starts to heat up

BY CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER

Associated Press

Faith & FamilyThe Paducah Sun | Friday, September 7, 2012 | paducahsun.com Page 7A

VATICAN CITY — Pope Bene-dict XVI is now a bit greener.

The 85-year-old pontiff was presented with his fi rst electric car Wednesday, a customized white Renault Kangoo for jaunts around the gardens of the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.

Benedict has been dubbed the “green pope” for his environ-

mental concerns, which have been a hallmark of his papacy. He has written of the need to protect God’s creation in his encyclicals, and raised the issue on his foreign trips and in his annual peace messages.

Under his watch, the Vatican has installed photovoltaic cells on its main auditorium and joined a reforestation project to offset its carbon dioxide emis-sions.

But now the pope has his own ozone-preserving electric car, which he used on Wednesday to travel from the helipad at Castel Gandolfo through the gardens back to his palazzo.

He was returning to his re-treat in the Alban Hills south of Rome after presiding over his weekly general audience in the Vatican.

Earlier this year, Italian auto-maker NWG donated an electric

car to the Vatican, but it was for the press offi ce to use. Renault on Wednesday also turned over the keys to a blue version of the Kangoo for the Vatican gen-darmes to tool around Vatican City.

Though Benedict’s Renault is white and carries the pa-pal seal on its doors, it isn’t a popemobile. Mercedes-Benz, which makes the customized popemobile with bullet-proof

windows for the pope to use on trips outside the Vatican, has been studying a hybrid, energy-saving model.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said the pope’s Kangoo isn’t customized with such security features since it’s designed for use inside Vati-can territory at Castel Gandolfo.

In Italy, prices for the boxy Kangoo start at $20,000, ac-cording to Renault’s website.

Pope goes green with electric carBY NICOLE WINFIELD

Associated Press

Associated Press

Pope Benedict XVI was presented with his first electric car on Wednesday, a customized white Renault Kangoo for jaunts around the gardens of the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo. Benedict has been dubbed the “green pope” for his environmental concerns, which have been a hallmark of his papacy. 

ORLANDO, Fla. — In his fi rst class of the fall semester, Uni-versity of Central Florida profes-sor Charles Negy suggested to his cross-cultural psychology students that they might want to read his email to last semester’s class that went viral on the Inter-net — twice.

In the email that created a sen-sation at the time and again just weeks before the fall term began, Negy chastised the devout Chris-tian student who told the rest of the class to ignore the professor questioning their religious beliefs

“Students in my class who openly proclaimed that Christi-anity is the most valid religion, as some of you did last class, por-trayed precisely what religious bigotry is. Bigots — racial bigot (sic) or religious bigots — never question their prejudices and bigotry. They are convinced their beliefs are correct,” Negy wrote.

The confrontation between the agnostic professor and the Chris-tian student is, in miniature, a re-enactment of the ongoing clash in American society be-tween strident true believers and increasingly vocal non-believers.

“I think the tension you are seeing now is the more non-be-lievers there are, the less willing we are to accept that arrogant assumption” that Christianity is

the only true religion, Negy said in an interview. “We are not go-ing away any time soon, and the more of us there are, the more confi dent we feel.”

About 19 percent of Ameri-cans now identify themselves as “unaffi liated” with any religion, including about 5 percent who say they are agnostic or atheist, according to a 2011 survey by the Pew Research Center. In 2008, 16 percent of adults identifi ed themselves as unaffi liated — up from 7.3 percent when they were children, according to Pew.

Nationwide, 29 percent of Americans — and 28 percent of Floridians — say they do not believe in God, according to another Pew survey.

“There is certainly a concern about the increase of secular and non-religious people becoming more vocal,” said Mat Staver, chairman of the Liberty Coun-sel, a non-profi t law fi rm that

advocates for Christian religious views. “What we have seen in the past few years is an aggres-siveness among atheists and non-believers toward those who believe in God.”

Fred Edwords, national direc-tor of the United Coalition of Reason, said the rising profi le of non-believers in the United States began around 2004 with several popular books by atheists

and humanists such as Christo-pher Hitchens. Local groups of atheists, agnostics, humanists and freethinkers began springing up throughout the nation, and a movement to unify the different varieties of non-believers started in 2009.

Edwords compares the growing size and visibility of non-believers to the gay rights movement in its infancy. Non-

believers often refer to “coming out of the closet.”

“What we are fi nding is more people coming out. We have four or fi ve new groups in Orlando,” said Jack Maurice, founder of the Orlando Freethinkers & Human-ists organization. “Coming out is a lack of fear.”

The increase in the non-reli-

Florida professor challenges America’s religious bigotry

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

University of Central Florida psychology professor Charles Negy reads from a letter complaining about his teaching on Aug. 23. Negy sees the religious polarization in American society reflected in his cross-cultural pyschology class in Orlando, Florida.

BY JEFF KUNERTHMcClatchy-Tribune News Service

“There is certainly a concern about the increase of secular and non-religious people becoming

more vocal.”

Mat StaverChairman, Liberty Council

Please see BIGOTRY | 8A

8A • Friday, September 7, 2012 • The Paducah Sun Faith & Family paducahsun.com

gious, along with declines in church attendance, is the subject of many sermons about the United States becoming a godless nation. Both sides — the funda-mentalists, evangelicals and conservative Chris-tians, and the atheists, ag-nostics and non-believers — proclaim the nation is headed the way of Europe, where many countries have become predominantly secular.

“I see a movement to a more secular society,” Staver said. “That is a con-tinuing trend that should concern all of us.”

Many blame professors such as Negy for contrib-uting to a generation that has largely turned its back on organized religion. The Millennials, ages 18 to 29, are far less religious than their parents. About 25 percent of them have no religious affi liation com-pared to 13 percent of Baby Boomers at the same age.

“I think the negative criticism (of Christians) is much more in academia than the general popula-

tion,” said Clark Whitten, senior pastor of Grace Church Orlando in Long-wood., Fla. “There is a patronizing way that is offensive when they make you feel small-minded to believe in faith.”

Whitten said the student was right to stand up in defense of Christianity: “I don’t see it as bigotry. I see it as the truth.”

Negy said he never tries to convince his students they should change their beliefs or adopt his views on religion, but to learn to think for themselves — as he did when he was their age.

Negy grew up as South-ern Baptist in Texas and didn’t begin to question his religious beliefs until he was a college student in Spain and learned about Islam. He found himself thinking, “Is Jesus the true prophet or is Mohammed? What proof is there that either is?”

“And then I realized, ‘Oh, my God, I’ve been believing this for 25 years because everyone around me be-lieves it,’” Negy said. “I un-derstand if you are raised

to never think critically, and question those beliefs, you are shocked that any-one would question that validity. That’s what I want to do in my class.”

Not everybody fears the increase of nonbelievers through the process of crit-ical thinking. Pastor Dan Lacich, director of church planting for Northland Church in Longwood, con-tends that those who are truly Christian are strong in their faith, while many

of those who have left the church were Christian in name only.

“People are more honest about who they are. To me that’s a good thing,” Lacich said. “They’re not just faking it because they think it’s the right thing to do. What you have remain-ing is those who are serious about loving God and lov-ing their neighbor.”

Jeff  Kunerth writes for the Orlando Sentinel

BIGOTRYCONTINUED FROM 7A

Special servicesAmazing Grace Lutheran

Church, 2025 Clark Line Road, will host Kathi Gutierrez and Brenda Madison at 6 p.m. Sept. 15 to talk about their recent mission trip to Liberia as part of Dignity: Liberia, where they ministered to women having fistula surgeries. After they have spoken, there will be a time for visitation, questions and refresh-ments.

Just By Faith Ministries, Me-tropolis, Ill., 1120 Johnson St.; Youth Sunday at 1 p.m. Speak-ers: Craig Duncan and Kestin McClain. Musical guests: Sons of Thunder, JBF Daughters of Faith, JBF Youth Choir.

Fairview Baptist Church, 373 Forest St., La Center, will observe the second anniversary of its pastor, Rodney Hill and his wife, Shenia Hill, during the 10:30 a.m. Sunday service. Spe-cial guest will be Pastor Donald Topp of First Missionary Baptist Church of Cairo.

The United Church of the Liv-ing God, 609 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Fulton. Elder Margaret Pettigrew’s sixth anniversary service at 3 p.m. Special guest: Rev. Michael Pryor of House of Hope Ministries in Paducah. Elder Betty Gordon is assistant pastor.

St. John Missionary Baptist Church of Bardwell will observe the 30th appreciation celebra-

tion of its pastor, Rev. Wendell Gray at 3 p.m. Sunday. Special guests: Rev. James Vinson and congregation of Little Union Missionary Baptist Church of Bandana and Rev. Franklin Stone of Silver Springs Missionary Bap-tist Church of Arlington who will speak at the 11 a.m. service. Dinner at 1:30 p.m. upon arrival of guests at the Bardwell Com-munity Center on U.S. 51.

Ordination service for James Alvin Ware Jr. will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Church of the Living God, 1221 Oscar Cross Ave.

 Fellowship

First Christian Church will host a community breakfast 8-10 a.m. Saturday in fellowship hall to honor all first respond-ers in Paducah and McCracken County, such as firefighters, EMS, police, in remembrance of 9/11. All first responders will eat free of charge. First Christian is located at 415 Audubon Dr. Breakfast will included eggs, bacon, sausage, country ham, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, coffee, milk, and juice.

Oak Level United Method-ist Church, seven miles west of Benton on Wadesboro Road north, will have its annual fish fry beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday. Donations will go to the cem-etery fund.

Homecoming at Bethel Bap-tist Church, 926 N. 8th St. in Paducah. Meal serviced at noon.

 Group meetings

Second Christian Church of Mayfied will host the Kentucky Christian Missionary Convention Women’s Ministry Workshop on Saturday, Sept 15. All women invited. Registration fee is $5 and includes a light breakfast and lunch.

 Radio Ministry

First Christian Church, 415 Audubon, Paducah. Morning wor-ship is broadcast every Sunday 10:45 a.m. on 1560 am WPAD or 99.5 FM

“God’s Guide for Daily Living” each Sunday at 7:30 a.m. on WCBL FM 99.1 and AM 1290, sponsored by Fairdealing Church of Christ, 8081 U. S. 68-East, Benton. Message this week is “Why Come to God?” by Lexie B. Ray, minister of the church.

 Items for the Church Calen-

dar must be received by email by noon Tuesdays to news@paducahsun.com. No mailed or faxed announcements please. Put Church Calendar in the subject line. Include the name, location, physical address, date and time of the event, along with contact information.

Church Calendar

Hope Unlimited will host its annual fundraising banqet Thursday at the Paducah First Baptist Church Great Room. The buffet will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the program will start at 6:30 p.m. This year the banquet is free; however there will be an opportunity to give during the evening.

The keynote speaker will be Gail McWilliams. Her children came at a high cost. With her health in jeopardy her doctors tried to infl uence her to end her pregnancies. However, she chose to give birth.

Clay Campbell will provide the special music. Campbell grew up in Blan, Mo., and has been playing music since. He traveled with his own group until starting the Kentucky Opry in Draffenville in 1988. Campbell produces and directs the shows and books many major country music artists.

“His Company” praise danc-ers and The Watkins’ Fam-ily Strings will also provide entertainment for the evening along with Hope Unlimited’s Abstinence Team.

There are individual seats still available and a few tables left for parties of 8 and should

be reserved immediately by calling 270-442-1166. There will also be information about how people can volunteer or mentor with Hope Unlimited.

Hope Unlimited Family Care Center is located at 1101 Jefferson St. It is a pro-life, non-profi t, Christian based pregnancy care center and medical clinic. Hope Unlim-ited was created in Decem-ber 1989 in response to the needs of women facing crisis pregnancies in the Paducah-McCracken County area. Now Hope Unlimited not only serves women in crisis preg-nancies but now offers ser-vices for both men and women in this situation.

Some of the other servic-es available are free pregnancy tests, life skills and parenting classes, Learn to Earn pro-gram, OB/GYN Clinic, Hope’s Closet thrift store, post abor-tion grief counseling, lay coun-seling sessions, men’s support and abstinence education in the schools.

Hope Unlimited has ex-panded to serve southern Illinois with a center in Me-tropolis. Hope Unlimited is a member of Care Net and The National Institute of Family & Life Advocates.

Hope Unlimited annual fundraiser scheduled

Staff report

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BROOKPORT, Ill. — Mary Kohl Hollis, 90, of Brookport, went home to be with her lord and savior 7 a.m. Thursday, August 30, 2012, at Southgate Nursing Home in Me-tropolis. Mary was born on Christmas Day in Whis-tler, Ala.

Graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. Mon-day, September 10, 2012, at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery in Lone Oak, Ky., with the Rev. Larry Call of-fi ciating.

Mary is survived by three sons, George Earl Cooper of North Ft. Myers, Fla., El-vin Lonnie Cooper Jr. and his wife Arla of Palmdale, Calif., and Robert Winston Cooper and his wife Jeanne of Bend, Ore.; one stepson, Edward Hollis of Metropo-lis; eight grandchildren; two stepgrandsons; and 15 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Beulah Lou-

ise Kohl Sr.; her husband, Raymond Merle Hollis; prior husband, Elvin L.

C o o p e r Sr.; her b r o t h -er and s i s t e r -i n - l a w , G e o r g e K o h l Jr. and Elizabeth F a r r o w Kohl; one

sister and brother-in-law, Dovelyn and E.C. Green Sr.; one nephew, E.C. Green Jr.; and one niece, Barbara Green.

In lieu of fl owers, dona-tions can be made in the form of contributions to: Project Hope Humane Society, P.O. Box 125, Metropolis, IL 62960; or American Heart Associa-tion, 3816 Paysphere Cir-cle, Chicago, IL 60674.

Aikins-Farmer Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

SOUTH FULTON, Tenn. — Mrs. Edith Rose Da-vidson Hayden, 80, of South Fulton, Tenn., died September 6, 2012, at her residence.

She was a longtime member of South Fulton Baptist Church.

She had been a resident of this area since 1968.

She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Wil-lis Franklin Hayden; four children, Trudy Peters of Paducah, Tim Hayden of Jackson, Tenn., Ted Hayden of Memphis, Tenn., and Amy Overbay of Nashville Tenn.; her sister, Mary Ann Lamb of Tamms Ill.; seven grand-children; and three great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Me-linda (Wallace) and Burt

D a v i d -son; four brothers; and a sis-ter.

Grave-side ser-vices will be held 2 p.m. Sat-urday at

Obion County Memorial Gardens.

Entombment will follow in Obion County Memorial Gardens Mausoleum.

Friends may call after 11 a.m. Saturday at Horn-beak Funeral Home of Ful-ton, Ky., until time to leave for graveside services.

GRAND CHAIN, Ill. — James A. Qualls, 78, of Grand Chain passed away at 10:40 p.m. Tuesday, September 4, 2012, at his home.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, September 8, 2012, at Brookport Church of God in Brookport, Ill., with the Rev. Charles Tate offi ciat-ing. Burial will follow at Anderson Cemetery in Boaz, Ill.

Mr. Qualls was a for-mer police offi cer for 5 years in Benton, Ill. After retiring from the church, he worked at Sam’s Club. James recently celebrated his 50th year of pastoring for the Churches of God.

James is survived by his wife, Martha Qualls; two sons, Lanny Qualls and his wife Holly of Danville, Ill., and Lyndal Qualls and his wife Cheryl of Massac County, Ill.; one grand-son, Eric Qualls of Massac County, Ill.; two stepdaugh-ters, Tammy St. Arbor and her husband Michael of Villa Ridge, Ill., and Tina

Helton; three stepgrand-children, Ashley and her husband Carlos Lopez of

Ecuador, Kayla St. Arbor of La Cen-ter, and J o h n M i k u -lich of La C e n t e r ; one sis-ter, Sybil L i n d l e y

and her husband Boyce of Ormond Beach, Fla.; one brother, Douglas Qualls and wife Sybil of Para-gould, Ark.; and several nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Jimmie and Frances (Croslow) Qualls; his fi rst wife, Margaret Ann Butler Qualls; and one brother, Darrell Qualls.

Visitation will be held from 9 a.m. until the funer-al hour Saturday, Septem-ber 8, 2012, at Brookport Church of God.

Aikins-Farmer Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Funeral services for Ruby Caneer, 93, of Paducah, will be con-ducted at noon Saturday, September 8, 2012, at Mil-ner & Orr Funeral Home of Paducah with the Rev. Wayne Carter offi ciating. Burial will take place in Mt. Kenton Cemetery.

Ruby passed away 12:05 p.m. Monday, September 3, 2012, at Superior Care Home.

Ruby was a member of the Mizpah Presbyterian Church and for 29 years she co-owned and operat-ed along with her husband Roy Caneer’s Body Shop Supplies.

A loving mother and grandmother, Ruby is sur-vived by one son, Richard A. Caneer of Paducah, and her granddaughter, Marla Caneer Potter and

husband Scott of Paducah.

S h e was pre-ceded in death by her hus-b a n d , Roy A. C a n e e r ;

a son, Rendell Caneer; a great-granddaughter, Rylee Sierra Potter; a brother, Dick Wade; and a sister, Flora Bartlett. Ruby’s parents were John and Ruby Gleason Wade.

Friends may visit with the family from 5 until 8 p.m. Friday, September 7, 2012, at Milner & Orr Fu-neral Home of Paducah.

You may light a candle or leave a message of com-fort at www.milnerandorr.com.

paducahsun.com Obituaries The Paducah Sun • Friday, September 7, 2012 • 9A

Funeral noticesPaid obituaries furnished to The Paducah Sun by mortuaries.

July 14, 1967 — Aug. 16, 2012

Troy Kenson, age 45, went home to be with his Lord on August 16, 2012.

He is survived by his daughter, Bonnie Ice; his father and stepmother, Tom and Diana Kenson; his mother and stepfather, Judy and Bob Weber; two brothers, Tom Kenson and wife Tracey, and Ja-son Sowers and wife Tam-my; several nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will

be held at 1 p.m. S a t u r -day, Sep-t e m b e r 8, 2012, at The C h u r c h of Jesus Christ on B e n t o n

Road in Paducah with the Rev. Scott Sallee offi ciat-ing.

Keeling Family Funeral Home is in charge of ar-rangements.

David Troy Kenson

Kenson

Kerry P. Warren, 56, of Paducah passed away at 3:36 p.m. Wednesday, September 5, 2012, at Western Baptist Hospital.

He was a retired electri-cal technician for Paducah Power System and had worked for Tennessee Val-ley Authority in Mayfi eld. He was an avid outdoors-man who loved horseback riding and fi shing. Kerry was his nieces’ and neph-ews’ biggest fan.

He is survived by his three brothers, Doug War-ren and wife Barbara of West Paducah, Jeff War-ren and wife Mary of Paducah, Philip Warren and wife Laura of West Paducah; and his nieces and nephews, Clint War-ren and his wife Emily, Matt Warren, Jacob War-ren, Eric Warren, Lindsey Warren, Olivia Warren, Sean Warren; and one great-nephew, Chase War-ren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Wil-

liam B. and Dorothy Webb Warren.

Funeral services for Mr. W a r r e n will be at 1 p.m. S u n d a y , Septem-ber, 9, 2012, at M i l n e r and Orr F u n e r a l Home of Paducah

with the Rev. Tommy Tucker offi ciating. Burial will follow at Mt. Kenton Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Saturday, September 8, 2012, and from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Sun-day, September 9, 2012, at Milner and Orr Funeral Home of Paducah.

Expressions of sympa-thy may be made to your favorite charity.

You may leave a message of condolences or light a candle on line at www.mil-nerandorr.com.

Kerry Warren

Warren

LEDBETTER — Jeni McFarland Leydig, 53, of Ledbetter, passed away at 10:07 p.m. Wednesday at Lourdes hospital.

She is survived by her husband, Gary Leydig; her daughter, Britana White Finke of Denver, Colo-rado; son, Anthony White of Kentucky; two sisters, Karen Hernandez of Jack-sonville, Fla., and Sharon McFarland of Paducah; one brother, Tommy Mc-Farland of Paducah; three grandchildren, Braydon Finke, Austin Sledd, and Gracie Salyers; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in

d e a t h by her parents, Fred Mc-F a r l a n d and Car-rie Chap-man Mc-Farland.

A fu-neral ser-

vice will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Keeling Fam-ily Funeral Home with the Rev. Wayne Hicks offi ciat-ing. Burial will follow in Fooks Cemetery in Mar-shall County. Friends may visit with the family today from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the funeral home.

Jeni Leydig

Leydig

Ruby Caneer

Caneer

METROPOLIS, Ill. — Robert Rudolph “Rudy” Wright, age 85, a resident of Metropolis, Illinois, passed away Tuesday af-ternoon, September 4, 2012, at 1:30 p.m. at West-ern Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Kentucky.

Rudolph was born April 26, 1927, in Simpson, Il-linois. He was the son of William and Delphia (Morgan) Wright.

Rudolph was united in marriage to Arlene Ether-idge on July 2, 1956, in Corinth, Mississippi. She survives.

Other survivors include two daughters, Linda Kendall and her husband Ron of Marana, Ariz., and Tammy Felton and her husband Dan of Yorkville, Ill.; one son, David Wright of California; three grand-children, Nicole Kendall, Michelle McMahon and Troy Felton; four great-grandchildren, Chase Hol-comb, Maddux Kendall, Jackson McMahon and Jacob McMahon; a broth-er, Richard Wright of Gol-conda, Ill.; several nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and many dear friends.

In addition to his par-ents, Rudolph was preced-ed in death by three broth-ers, Glenn Wright, James Ward Wright and Marion Wright.

Rudolph was a U.S. Army veteran. He served in the European Theatre of

Operations during World War II.

Rudolph was employed as a machinist. He worked for Austin-Western in Au-rora, Ill., and was later employed by Fermilab Na-tional Accelerator, a U.S. Department of Energy lab-oratory located at Batavia, Ill. He retired in 1989.

Rudolph was a member of the Community Chris-tian Church at Metropolis, Ill. He was an avid out-doorsman and enjoyed fi shing, hunting and riding his ATVs. Rudolph also enjoyed bird watching and was particularly fascinat-ed by hummingbirds and purple martins.

Funeral services will be held Saturday afternoon, September 8, 2012, at 3 p.m. at Bailey Funeral Home in Vienna. Pastor Mike Hardison will of-fi ciate. Burial will be in the Glendale Cemetery in Pope County, Illinois. Mil-itary graveside rites will be accorded by the Beggs-Gurley VFW Post No. 5222 and the Illinois National Guard Burial Honors De-tail.

Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at Bailey Funeral Home in Vienna.

Memorials may be made to the American Kidney Fund, Suite 1010, Rock-ville, MD 20852-9813 (www.kidneyfund.org)

Arrangements have been entrusted to Bailey Funeral Home in Vienna.

Robert ‘Rudy’ Wright

James Qualls

Qualls

Edith Hayden

Hayden

JOPPA, Ill. — John Ed-ward Rick, 73, of Joppa, formerly of Metropolis, passed away Monday, Sep-tember 3, 2012, in Glen-dale Heights, Ill.

Funeral services will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, September 8, 2012, at Mill-er Funeral Home in Me-tropolis. The Rev. Russell Gilbert will offi ciate. Burial will follow in Masonic Cem-etery with military rites.

He was born March 3, 1939, and raised in Metrop-olis. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and worked for the City of Metropolis for many years.

He was the cherished

son of the late Gus and Fay (Pullman) Rick; beloved brother of Ernie, Pearl Berra, Rose Mangone and the late Gus William, Della Marie, Nellie, Charles, Lily Fay, and Rebecca Ann; many loving nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank Shirley Stetson, his loving and caring caregiver in Joppa, for 2 years.

Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday eve-ning, September 7, 2012, at Miller Funeral Home in Metropolis.

Miller Funeral Home in Metropolis is in charge of arrangements.

John Rick

NEW MARKET, Va. — Mr. Larry Michael Kirby, age 62, of New Market, Va., passed away Sunday morning, September 2, 2012, at his home.

He was born Septem-ber 13, 1949, in Hunting-don, Tenn., and was a son of Lonnie Fred and Ruby Kirby of Paducah, Ky., who survive.

Mr. Kirby attended Gulf Coast College in Panama City, Fla. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1969-1973 as a linguist and cryptog-rapher.

In August 1971, he mar-ried the former Martha Anne Herring, who sur-vives.

He retired from Loews Hotel in Washington, D.C., in December 2002 after 32

years in the food and bev-erage industry.

Also surviving are his daughter, Leigh Anne Kirby Roberts and her husband, Clinton, of Timberville, Va.; a brother, Donald Ray Kirby and his wife, Deb-bie, of Paducah, Ky.; and nephews and niece, Adam of Louisville, Ky., Brent of Paducah, Ky., Stephanie Weeks and her husband, Jarvis, of Ashburn, Va., and Scott Herring and his wife, Corissa, of Mississippi.

Dr. Tom Smith will con-duct a memorial service at 2 p.m. Saturday, Septem-ber 8, 2012, at the Theis Funeral Chapel in New Market, Va.

Memorial contributions may be made to a local food bank.

Larry Michael Kirby

Mary Hollis

Hollis

KUTTAWA — Mr. James “Jim” Stephenson, 69, of Kuttawa, passed away Wednesday, September 5, 2012, at his residence in Kuttawa.

Mr. Stephenson was employed as a parts and equipment buyer for Vul-can Materials Company in Lake City, Ky., with 32 years service. He was a member of the Calvert City Golf and Country Club and Hebron Baptist Church in Lyon County.

He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Beverly Peek Stephenson; one son, Shawn Stephenson of Horn Lake, Miss.; one daughter, Staceye Thom-as of Caldwell County; fi ve grandchildren; two great -grandchi ldren; three brothers, Donald Stephenson of Nashville, Tenn., Robert Stephenson of Princeton, and Phillip Stephenson and his wife Leann of Del City, Okla.; two sisters, Peggy George and her husband Rick of Princeton and Linda Davis

of Naples, Fla.; two sisters-in-law, Shelley Peek Toles and her husband Wilbur of Frankfort and Judith Peek Hilton and her hus-band Jeff of Richmond; and three nephews, Jeff George, Matthew Ste-phenson, and Danny Ste-phenson.

He was preceded in death by two nephews, Chris George and Brian George; his parents were Jessie Bailey Stephenson and Beatrice Beckner Ste-phenson.

Visitation is scheduled for 5-8 p.m. Saturday, September 8, 2012, at Lakeland Funeral Home in Eddyville.

Services will be at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, September 9, 2012, at Lakeland Fu-neral Home Chapel in Ed-dyville with the Rev. Sam Haulk offi ciating.

Burial will be in Hebron Cemetery in Lyon County.

Memorials may be made to: American Cancer So-ciety, 21 Dogwood Drive, Eddyville, KY 42038.

James Stephenson

More obituaries,Page 10A

10A • Friday, September 7, 2012 • The Paducah Sun Obituaries paducahsun.com

Funeral noticesPaid obituaries furnished to The Paducah Sun by mortuaries.

GILBERTSVILLE — Roberta Marie Centers, 90, of Gilberts-ville, died Saturday, September 1, 2012, at her home.

Roberta, a native of Kentucky, born June 10, 1922, in Dawson

Springs, she moved several times with her family as they followed her fa-ther’s employ-ment opportu-nities with the Illinois Central Railroad. A 1940 graduate

of Tilghman High School, Ro-berta was runner-up that same year for the local Strawberry Queen contest. She married Jackson “Jack” Centers, a Pearl Harbor survivor, on January 22, 1943, during a 30-day furlough in Paducah. Following the war, Roberta travelled the roads of Jack’s military transfers, and fi nally made San Diego their home. Having lost a son in 1955, it was here they raised their two surviving children. As her two children became adults, Roberta advanced her education at San Diego City College. She became a professional knitting instruc-tor and co-owner of a Stretch & Sew Store in San Diego. Follow-ing the death of her husband in 1993, after 50 years of marriage, she decided, in 2005, to return to

her Paducah roots at the age of 83. Heaven has gained a bright shining star.

She was the daughter of the late Elmer Jewell Vinson and the late Agnes Marie (Wininger) Vin-son.

She is survived by one daugh-ter, Terry Marie Strick and hus-band Robert of Benton; one son, Tweed Howard Centers and wife Melanie of Carlsbad, Calif.; sister-in-law, Shirley Vinson of Paducah; and grandson, Declan Tweed Centers of Carlsbad, Calif.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Jackson Parker Centers; son, Rex Parker Cen-ters; and brother, Jewell Lee Vin-son.

Arrangements are being han-dled by Collier Funeral Home, P.O. Box 492, Benton, KY.

Graveside services will be held at Fort Rosecrans Military Cemetery, San Diego, Calif., on Wednesday, September 12, 2012, at 10 a.m. with Pastor David Plank offi ciating.

Visitation will be held between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, September 8, 2012, at Collier Funeral Home of Benton.

Memorial contributions may be given to: Possum Trot/Sharpe Fire Department, 39 Little Cy-press Road, Calvert City, KY 42029; or Gospel Mission Wor-ship Center, 6905 Benton Road, Paducah, KY, 42003.

Roberta Centers

FREDONIA — Lola Mae Doom Patton, 91, of Fredonia died Wednesday at Crittenden Coun-ty Hospital in Marion.

She was a homemaker and re-tired as a nurse’s aide for Hilltop Nursing Home in Kuttawa. She was a member of Seven Springs Baptist Church in Crittenden County.

She is survived by two sons, Marlin Patton and Randel Har-din, both of Fredonia; three daughters, Brenda Cummins and Donna Martin, both of Princeton, and Kay Phillips of Versailles; nine grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; six great-great-grandchildren; and one sister, Juanita Cobb of Elkhart, Ind.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Denver Patton; three grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; three brothers; and one sister. Her parents were Francis and Addie Doom.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Sat-urday at Lakeland Funeral Home in Eddyville with the Rev. Donnie Howton offi ciating. Burial will be in Dycusburg Cemetery in Dycu-sburg.

Friends may call after 5 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Lola PattonMURRAY — Will Rob “Scoo-

per” Walston, 67, of Murray died Wednesday at Benchmark in Puryear, Tenn.

Mr. Walston was the owner and operator of Walston Truck-ing and a member of Hardin Baptist Church.

He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Monica Haack Walston; two daughters, Heather Broad-way and Holly Mack, both of Murray; one son, Johnny Gar-ner of Murray; one sister, Shari-on Beggrow of Bon Aqua, Tenn.; and six grandchildren.

His parents were Will Rob and Jewelle Walston.

Memorial services will be at 1 p.m. Sept. 15 at Heritage Family Funeral Home with Ricky Cun-ningham offi ciating.

Friends may call after 10 a.m. Sept. 15 at the funeral home.

Will WalstonSALEM — Services for Jerry

Avery Hunter, 62, of Salem will be at 2 p.m. today at Boyd Fu-

neral Direc-tors in Salem with the Rev. Dennis Winn o f f i c i a t i n g . Burial will fol-low in Old Sa-lem Cemetery.

Mr. Hunter died Tuesday at his home.

He was a member of Old Salem Mis-sionary Baptist Church and an Army veteran of the Vietnam War.

He is survived by his wife, Lesia Hunter; three daughters, Autumn Hunter of Gillette, Wyo., Sarah Hunter of Lone Oak and Ginny Stone of Led-better; one brother, Michael D. Hunter of Lexington; and three grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Annie Hunter; and one grandchild.

Friends may call after 11 a.m. today at the funeral home.

Jerry Hunter

Centers

Hunter

MURRAY — Vicki Elaine Re-ese, 54, of Murray died Thurs-day at Murray-Calloway County Hospital.

She was a former employee of Fisher-Price and of the Pente-costal faith.

She is survived by one son, Jason Bogard of Paducah; one daughter, Brandi Imus of Mur-ray; and fi ve grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Clarence and Ruby Duncan Eldridge; and three brothers.

A private family burial will be held at a later date.

Visitation will be 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Imes-Miller Funeral Home

Vicki Reese

Bill Farr, 85, of Paducah died at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday at his home.

Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at First Presbyte-rian Church in Paducah. Burial in Mount Kenton Cemetery will precede the service.

Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Milner and Orr Funeral Home of Paducah.

Other arrangements were pending.

Bill Farr

Harry Lee Crawford, 57, of Paducah died at 2:40 a.m. Thursday at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington.

Arrangements were incom-plete at Hughes Funeral Home of Paducah.

Harry Crawford

More obituaries,Page 9A

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paducahsun.com From Page One The Paducah Sun • Friday, September 7, 2012 • 11A

began chanting, “Loser. Loser. Loser,” as reporters interviewed his attorneys. Before his 2009 arrest, the glib, cocky Peterson seemed to taunt authori-ties, joking on talk shows and even suggesting a “Win a Date With Drew” contest. His notoriety in-spired a TV movie starring Rob Lowe.

“The whole world has

been waiting for Drew Peterson to be convicted. They hate him. ... They passed a law to get this in-dividual,” said defense at-torney Joe Lopez.

The verdict was a vin-dication for Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow and his team, who gambled by putting on a case they conceded was fi lled with holes.

Glasgow drew cheers from the crowd gathered

outside the courthouse.“He was a thug,”

Glasgow said of Peterson. “He would threaten people because he had a gun and a badge. Nobody would take him on, but we took him on and he lost.”

A neighbor came across Savio’s body on March 1, 2004. She was face down her dry bathtub, her thick, black hair soaked in blood and a 2-inch gash was on the back of her head.

PETERSONCONTINUED FROM 1A

backs. That is why I decid-ed to drop out of the race.”

Coleman plans to remain involved in the community, as he sits on a board that represents workers at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and is a board mem-ber at the Oscar Cross Boys and Girls Club.

Coleman said he will rest and take time to recover over the next few months. He said he will offi cially drop out of the race on Monday.

Coleman fi nished second in May’s primary, behind

Kaler, with 1,201 votes. Mc-Cracken County Deputy Judge Executive Doug Har-nice fi nished a close third with 887 votes.

Kaler emphasized her well-wishes for Coleman on Thursday, wishing him a speedy recovery. Coleman called Kaler a sincere can-didate, noting that he had served with her as commis-sioner for a short time.

“His support for me is good,” Kaler said. “The community can see that we are together. But I am still looking for a large af-fi rmation in November. I still want to get out, go to

neighborhoods and talk to folks. I think that is very important.”

According to Kentucky law, candidates who were defeated in the primary election cannot fi le write-in status. That means Harnice and Charles Ringstaff can-not run for mayor on the November ballot. Potential write-in candidates have until Oct. 26 to fi le with the McCracken County Clerk’s Offi ce.

Call Corianne Egan, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8652 or follow @CoriEgan on Twitter.

COLEMAN

CONTINUED FROM 1A

chanted over and over as the 51-year-old Obama stepped to the podium, no-ticeably grayer than four years ago when he was a history-making candidate for the White House.

The president’s speech was the fi nal act of a pair of highly scripted national political conventions in as many weeks, and the open-ing salvo of a two-month drive toward Election Day that pits Obama against Republican rival Romney. The contest is ever tighter for the White House in a dreary season of economic struggle for millions.

Vice President Joe Biden preceded Obama at the convention podium and proclaimed, “America has turned the corner” after experiencing the worst eco-nomic crisis since the Great

Depression.Obama didn’t go that far

in his own remarks, but he said fi rmly, “We are not going back, we are moving forward, America.”

With unemployment at 8.3 percent, the president said the task of recovering from the economic disas-ter of 2008 is exceeded in American history only by the challenge Franklin Del-ano Roosevelt faced when he took offi ce in 1933.

“It will require common effort, shared responsibil-ity and the kind of bold persistent experimenta-tion” that FDR employed, Obama said.

In an appeal to indepen-dent voters who might be considering a vote for Rom-ney, he added that those who carry on Roosevelt’s legacy “should remember that not every problem can be remedied with another

government program or dictate from Washington.

He said, “The truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve chal-lenges that have built up over the decades.”

In the run-up to Obama’s speech, delegates erupted in tumultuous cheers when former Arizona Rep. Ga-brielle Giffords, grievously wounded in a 2011 assas-sination attempt, walked onstage to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. The hall grew louder when she blew kiss-es to the crowd.

And louder still when huge video screens inside the hall showed the face of Osama bin Laden, the ter-rorist mastermind killed in a daring raid on his Pakistani hideout by U.S. special operations forces on a mission approved by the current commander in chief.

Associated Press

President Barack Obama addresses the Democratic National Convention Thursday in Charlotte, N.C.

OBAMACONTINUED FROM 1A

Only $10.00 Per Entry

Deadline is 4:00 P.M.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Today Sat.

Athens 91 73 t 87 72 sBeijing 82 64 r 83 64 rBerlin 71 58 c 73 52 cBuenos Aires 64 52 r 64 51 pcCairo 94 73 s 93 74 sHong Kong 88 80 t 90 77 tJerusalem 85 65 s 83 65 sLondon 75 55 pc 80 52 pcManila 88 77 t 91 77 tMexico City 79 51 t 77 53 tMoscow 63 45 sh 59 46 rParis 75 51 s 84 56 sRome 83 63 s 84 67 sSeoul 80 66 pc 80 68 pcSydney 74 49 s 69 50 pcTokyo 86 75 pc 87 77 tWarsaw 62 52 sh 65 48 shZurich 74 44 s 78 47 s

Five-Day Forecast for PaducahShown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Almanac

UV Index Today

Sun and Moon

The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

0-2 Low; 3-5 Moderate; 6-7 High; 8-10 Very High; 11+ Extreme8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m.

River and Lake Levels

Ohio River

Full Pool

Regional WeatherCity Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

World Cities

National CitiesCity Hi Lo W Hi Lo W City Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice.

Regional Cities

The Region

St. Louis

Cape Girardeau

Paducah

Owensboro

Cadiz

Union City

Nashville

MemphisPulaski

Blytheville

Evansville

City Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

Carbondale

Clarksville

Jackson

Elevation 24 hr. Chg

Precipitation

Temperature

Flood stageMississippi River

Stage 24 hr. Chg

National Weather

TODAY TONIGHT SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY

84/58

90/61

88/59

92/64

90/64

90/65

92/64

92/69

91/67

98/69

94/69

93/72

94/64

90/62A couple of

afternoon t-storms

High 92°

A strong evening thunderstorm

Low 64°

Cooler with some sun returning

High76°

Low52°

Mostly sunny and nice

High80°

Low52°

Beautiful with plenty of sunshine

High83°

Low53°

Bright sunshine and pleasant

High85°

Low59°

Paducah through 2 p.m. yesterday

Last New First Full

Sept 8 Sept 15 Sept 22 Sept 29

Sunrise today ................................. 6:30 a.m.Sunset tonight ................................ 7:14 p.m.Moonrise today ............................. 11:18 p.m.Moonset today ................................ 1:12 p.m.

24 hours ending 2 p.m. yest. .................. 0.00”Month to date ......................................... 2.35”Normal month to date ............................. 0.63”Year to date .......................................... 18.47”Last year to date ................................... 50.39”Normal year to date .............................. 33.24”

High/low .............................................. 90°/67°Normal high/low .................................. 86°/62°Record high ................................ 101° in 1954Record low .................................... 43° in 1988

Through 7 a.m. yesterday (in feet)

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2012

Kentucky: Very warm and humid, a thunderstorm this afternoon; variable cloudiness in the east.

Illinois: A shower or thunderstorm today, except a couple of strong thunderstorms in the south.

Indiana: Humid today with a couple of thunder-storms. Rain and a thunderstorm tonight.

Missouri: A couple of thunderstorms today; thun-derstorms, some severe in the east.

Arkansas: Partly sunny and hot today with a thun-derstorm; however, dry in the south.

Tennessee: Partly sunny today; an afternoon show-er or thunderstorm; however, dry in the east.

Today Sat. Today Sat.

Albuquerque 91 61 t 79 59 pcAtlanta 90 72 pc 84 62 tBaltimore 92 69 pc 84 64 tBillings 72 51 s 82 56 sBoise 85 58 s 90 65 sBoston 84 69 pc 82 64 cCharleston, SC 90 73 t 89 69 tCharleston, WV 90 68 pc 74 51 rChicago 76 57 t 70 55 pcCleveland 84 63 pc 68 55 rDenver 71 50 c 78 55 sDes Moines 70 49 c 75 52 sDetroit 78 58 t 69 53 rEl Paso 96 70 t 80 64 tFairbanks 55 35 pc 53 36 pcHonolulu 88 71 sh 88 71 shHouston 98 76 s 96 71 pcIndianapolis 84 60 t 73 55 pcJacksonville 89 72 t 88 72 t

Las Vegas 97 81 pc 99 84 pcLos Angeles 85 66 pc 88 66 pcMiami 90 76 t 91 76 pcMilwaukee 72 54 t 70 56 pcMinneapolis 68 49 pc 75 50 sNew Orleans 90 75 pc 90 71 tNew York City 85 72 pc 82 65 tOklahoma City 90 61 t 81 51 pcOmaha 74 48 pc 78 54 sOrlando 90 73 t 91 74 tPhiladelphia 89 72 pc 87 66 tPhoenix 101 85 s 103 86 tPittsburgh 86 65 pc 71 53 rSalt Lake City 81 58 s 85 63 sSan Diego 78 69 pc 80 71 pcSan Francisco 68 53 pc 67 53 pcSeattle 85 57 s 83 54 pcTucson 93 75 t 95 76 tWashington, DC 92 73 pc 84 61 t

Today Sat.

Belleville, IL 82 58 t 75 52 pcBowling Gn., KY 90 67 t 77 53 pcBristol, TN 90 63 pc 76 52 tC. Girardeau, MO 90 61 t 76 48 pcCarbondale, IL 88 59 t 74 49 pcCharleston, WV 90 68 pc 74 51 rChattanooga, TN 90 70 pc 81 58 tClarksville, TN 91 67 t 77 53 pcColumbia, MO 80 52 t 75 54 sEvansville, IN 90 62 t 74 53 pcFt. Smith, AR 94 63 t 83 51 pcHopkinsville, KY 90 65 t 76 54 pcIndianapolis, IN 84 60 t 73 55 pcJackson, KY 90 66 pc 71 52 rJackson, TN 94 69 t 78 53 pcJoplin, MO 84 54 t 77 49 sKansas City, MO 74 50 t 77 53 sKnoxville, TN 92 70 pc 77 54 tLexington, KY 90 65 t 74 51 rLittle Rock, AR 98 68 t 82 57 pcLondon, KY 90 67 pc 74 49 rLouisville, KY 90 67 t 77 55 tMemphis, TN 98 69 t 81 59 pcNashville, TN 92 69 t 79 58 tPeoria, IL 80 51 t 72 53 pcSt. Louis, MO 84 58 t 75 57 pcSpringfi eld, IL 84 51 t 73 49 pcSpringfi eld, MO 82 53 t 73 49 sTerre Haute, IN 86 58 t 74 48 pc

National Summary: A strong cool front will gather momentum over the Central states today. Drenching showers and locally gusty thunderstorms will occur along and ahead of the push of cool air. Spotty storms will also continue in the tropical air in the East and South and to some extent in the Southwest. The balance of the West will be warm, dry and sunny.

Cairo 40 10.44 +0.37

Paducah 39 15.72 -0.10Owensboro 38 10.70 noneSmithland Dam 40 12.37 -0.27

Lake Barkley 359 356.30 +0.10Kentucky Lake 359 356.50 +0.02

Shown are today’s noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.

DownloadThe Paducah Sun | Friday, September 7, 2012 | paducahsun.com12A

Tech Q&A

QUESTION: Our credit card was temporarily not working because we had moved (causing a change of billing address). When my subscription to Pandora was due to be renewed through iTunes, I received an email notifi cation that our credit card wouldn’t go through. But I knew that it would work itself out in a little time.

Then I tried to play the movie “A Bug’s Life,” which I had purchased for my son a few years ago via iTunes. But our Apple TV device would not allow me to play the movie until I updated our credit card information for the Pandora transaction on iTunes.

I talked to the woman you referred me to at Apple, who said it’s a straightforward matter of “You couldn’t watch a movie because you didn’t have current Apple ID information.” (The Apple ID was linked to my out-of-date credit card information.)

To which I said, yes, “that may seem reasonable to you, but perhaps I never want to buy something from Apple ever again, yet I must have a current credit card on fi le with Apple to watch a movie that I purchased in the past?”

What can be done to keep Apple from denying access to legitimately purchased content?

—Becca Vargo Daggett, Golden Valley, Minn.ANSWER: You have a valid point; this isn’t fair

treatment of the consumer. If you buy a movie from iTunes, Apple apparently intends to maintain control over that movie forever.

While an Apple spokeswoman confi rmed your ver-sion of events, she refused to comment on the record. I consider this poor performance by Apple, whose stock price now makes it the most valuable company in his-tory.

Consumers put Apple in this position, and they de-serve better treatment.

Steve Alexander covers technology for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Readers may write to him at Tech Q&A, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488-0002; email: steve.j.alexander@gmail.com. Please include a full name, city and phone number.

BY STEVE ALEXANDERMcClatchy-Tribune News Service

Apple holds reins on old purchases

SANTA MONICA, Ca-lif. — Amazon.com Inc. unveiled four new Kindle Fire models on Thursday, including ones with larger screens, as the online re-tailer steps up competition with Apple Inc. ahead of the holiday shopping sea-son.

Amazon unveiled the larger Kindle Fire amid expectations of a smaller iPad from Apple.

The larger Fires will have screens that measure 8.6 inches diagonally, compared with 9.7 inches for the iPad. The original Fire had 7-inch screens. The speculation on the mini iPad is that it’ll have a 7.85-inch screen.

Apple isn’t commenting, but it has an event sched-uled next week, during which it is expected to at least announce a new iPhone.

Amazon is hoping to make a dent in a tablet computer market domi-nated by Apple’s iPad. Amazon has been selling lower-priced tablets at thin, if any, profi t margins to boost sales of digital items from its online store. As a result, it has been able to compete with the iPad on price.

The basic, 7-inch Fire model will cost $159, down from $199 for the original model.

It will start shipping next Friday. The cheapest iPad costs $399 and the most recent models start

at $499.Amazon is coming out

with a high-end version called Kindle Fire HD. It will have two Wi-Fi chan-nels for faster transfers. That will be crucial for high-defi nition movies and other large fi les, CEO Jeff Bezos said.

The HD model will also have more storage, starting at 16 gigabytes, compared with 6 GB for the old Fire.

The iPad also starts at 16 GB.

A 7-inch model will sell for $199 and ship next Friday. An 8.9-inch model will go for $299 and start ship-ping Nov. 20.

That means a device nearly as big as the iPad will sell for at least $100 less.

The Fire, however, won’t have as extensive a selec-tion of apps as the iPad. And while the HD models will have a front-facing camera for video chats, the iPad as one on the rear as well for taking photos and

video.Amazon also unveiled

a premium Kindle Fire model, one with the ability to connect to the 4G cel-lular networks that phone companies are build-ing. It will cost $499 and come with 32 gigabytes of

memory and an 8.9-inch screen. A data plan will cost $50 a year.

Amazon also re-freshed its line of stand-alone e-readers.

Called Paperwhite, the new e-reader model has a black-

and-white screen. It promises 25 percent more contrast. Bezos

said “the whites are whiter, and

the blacks are blacker.”

The Paper-white has a light source. Bezos says the device is “perfect in direct sun-light.” Tablets such as the iPad and the Fire don’t work as well in bright light because they are lit from the back. Bezos

says the light on the Paperwhite

is directed down at the display. The

device promises eight weeks of battery life, even with the light on.

It costs $119 and starts ship-

ping Oct. 1. Amazon says it will start taking orders Thursday. There’s also a model with 3G cellular con-nections for $179. Amazon is also dropping the price of its low-end Kindle to $69, from $79. That will start shipping next Friday.

BY RYAN NAKASHIMAAssociated Press

Associated Press

Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon, holds the Kindle Paperwhite at the introduction of the new Ama-zon Kindle Fire HD and Paperwhite devices Thursday in Santa Monica, Calif.

Amazon unveils Kindle Fire models

LOS ANGELES — After Greg Harty rolls out of bed in his Los Angeles apart-ment, he grabs a cup of coffee and starts his work day at a desk in the corner of his living room. His assignment: Watch three episodes of “Modern Fam-ily.”

As the hit sitcom plays, the aspiring screenwriter opens another window on his laptop and pulls up a spreadsheet. He begins picking labels — his em-ployer, Netfl ix, calls them tags — to describe what he sees.

The comedy: “quirky.”The humor: “light dark.”The tone: “humorous,”

“irreverent” and “heart-felt.”

Ty Burrell’s Phil: “silly,” “childish.”

Julie Bowen’s Claire: “controlling,” “assertive.”

Ed O’Neill’s Jay: “surly,” “alpha dog.”

Later that morning, Harty uploads the spread-sheet to Netfl ix’s comput-ers at its Silicon Valley headquarters. Then he starts watching the movie “50/50.”

“It’s a perfect job because I don’t go to an offi ce. I work on my own time, and I get paid to watch movies, which makes me a better writer,” said Harty, 33, who some-times snacks on Whop-pers while watching and tagging.

Harty’s choices will be-come part of an algorithm that produces the personal recommendations made to about 30 million viewers worldwide when they sign in to Netfl ix.

Some of the descrip-tions are seen by subscrib-ers, while others are used internally.

If you like “Twin Peaks,” the algorithm says you might also enjoy “Quincy M.E.” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” because Harty and others on a team of freelancers have tagged each of them as “cerebral,” “suspenseful,” “TV mysteries.”

Harty is one of about 40 independent contractors, a group that includes a travel writer in Hawaii, a stay-at-home mother in Illinois, an independent fi lmmaker in Mexico City and several aspiring screenwriters in Los Angeles.

The work of these tag-gers makes it possible for Netfl ix to steer viewers to movies and TV programs they are likely to enjoy.

The taggers were hired for their love of entertain-ment and their ability to evaluate it quickly. Many

are fi lm school gradu-ates who once worked in Hollywood — or dream of doing so.

They’re the ones who pick from more than 1,000 tags to describe thousands of movies and television series offered by Netfl ix to viewers in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Great Britain and Ireland. Every movie is watched by a single person, as are at least three episodes of every TV series.

Taggers are paid sev-eral hundred dollars per week — pocket change for a company that generated $1.76 billion of revenue in the fi rst six months of this year — to watch between 10 and 20 hours of con-tent.

This system, dependent upon taggers’ cultural sensibilities and judg-ment, stands out among companies that rent or sell products online.

Cadre of film buffs helps Netflix sort through clutter by tagging

BY BEN FRITZMcClatchy-Tribune News Service

Associated Press

A Netflix envelop containing a DVD to be returned by mail is clipped onto a mailbox Aug. 23 Springfield, Ill. A group of independent contractors takes on the task of tagging each video in the Netflix library.

Associated Press

“Hive76” members Chris Thompson (left) and Jordan Miller appear in their North Philadelphia workshop or “hacker space.” Hacker spaces serve as “clubhouses” for inventors, where they share tools, electronics equipment and even ideas in a do-it-yourself approach to technology.

PHILADELPHIA — In a cluttered fi fth-fl oor studio in North Philadelphia, two huge pieces of plywood hang from the ceiling, pulsing in time with the music from a pair of high-end stereo speakers.

Thoompa-thoomp-thoomp …

But upon closer inspec-tion, the big pieces of plywood actually are the speakers. They have wires attached to the back, and, somehow, they sound re-ally good.

Typical for Hive76. It is a hacker space, a kind of inventors’ clubhouse where castoff 21st-century junk and random parts are fused together in a collaborative cauldron of ideas. Members share tools, electronics equip-ment, and expertise at the studio, dropping by at any hour of the day to turn what-ifs into why-nots.

So when Louis Gerbarg

kept losing his keys? No problem. He and a friend sought advice from members of Hive76 and whipped up an elec-tronic key-fi nder operated through an iPhone app.

And Robert Vlacich? He hated the jolt of his alarm clock on dark winter mornings, so he wired up two circuit boards in order to wake up gently. His device mimics sunrise by gradually turning on a se-ries of 150-watt lightbulbs.

If you thought the term hacker referred only to someone comfortable nav-igating through the back doors of a computer, it’s time for a vocab reboot. Broadly, it means anyone who takes a do-it-yourself approach to technology — hardware, software, audio, video.

There are several hacker spaces in the city, and many dozens of such places have popped up across the country in recent years. This month, students at the University

of Pennsylvania will host a competition called Pen-nApps, billed as the largest student-run hack-athon in the country.

All this activity has been spurred, in part, by the advent of low-cost tools such as programmable circuit boards and 3-D printers — devices that can spit out any three-dimen-sional object by “printing” layer after layer of plastic. Another key driver is the free exchange of ideas and plans on the Internet. Hackers may have a com-mercial product in mind, though often projects are strictly for personal use, or for the fun of teaching a lot of people how to do something cool. Like the plywood speakers, which radiate sound thanks to the tactile transducers at-tached to their backs.

Hive76 member Bren-dan Schrader, 31, the brains behind those speak-ers, follows a simple code:

“If it’s fun and stupid, I build it,” he said.

Hacker spaces offer havens for ingenuityBY TOM AVRIL

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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