IndependentThe W W W . D A I LY I N D E P E N D E N T . C O M

TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2014 50 CENTS DAILY/$1.50 SUNDAY ASHLAND, KY 41101 ©

171

IND

EX TODAY’S WEATHERCLASSIFIED........................B8-10COMICS ..................................B7DEATHS ..................................A4NATION ..................................A9

REGION................................A2-3OPINION..................................A8SPORTS ................................B1-4TV/ADVICE ............................B6

Page designed / edited by Adam VanKirkavankirk@dailyindependent.com

To subscribe to The Independentcall 326-2674 or (800) 955-5860

FULLFORECAST,PAGE A10

HIGH ....15LOW ....2

By MIKE JAMESThe Independent

ASHLANDHoly FamilySchool is planning to goback into the high schoolbusiness 28 years after itslast class graduated.

The school will be astrictly college-preparato-ry operation, and HolyFamily is in preliminarytalks with Ashland Com-munity and Technical Col-lege to offer dual-creditclasses.

Students would taketheir freshman and sopho-more classes at Holy Fam-ily and then spend theirjunior and senior years onthe ACTC campus takingregular college courses.

Upon completion, theywould be eligible for bothhigh school graduationfrom Holy Family andtwo-year associates’ de-grees from ACTC.

The Ashland Catholicschool’s board has been

planning the school sincelast fall, and hopes to beready to enroll the firsthigh school students thisfall, said interim principal

Holy Familyplanninghigh school

Staff report

IRONTON With anotherpolar vortex bringing sub-zero temperatures to thearea, the Ironton-RussellBridge will be closed totraffic for the second timethis month.

Monday’s forecast was

calling for an overnightlow temperature in Iron-ton between one and fivedegrees below zero. Assuch, crews from the OhioDepartment of Trans-portation’s LawrenceCounty highway mainte-

Cold closesbridge again

By KENNETH HARTThe Independent

ASHLAND King’s Daugh-ters Medical Center’s newpresident and CEO on Mon-day said she intended forthe hospital to work morecooperatively with otherarea health care providersthan it had for the previousfew years.

“They’re still our com-petitors,” Kristie Whitlatchsaid in a speech to the Ash-land Rotary Club. “But,when we can help make itpossible for people to stay inthe community for treat-ment, I think we should.One way we can do this is bycreating partnerships sothat we can maximize serv-ices to our community.”

To that end, the hospitalannounced several hours af-ter Whitlatch’s speech thatit was withdrawing its oppo-sition to a certificate of needfor angioplasty at Our Ladyof Bellefonte Hospital.

The CON application foremergency and elective an-gioplasty was submitted to

Whitlatch pledges greaterhealth care cooperationNew KDMC CEO: Partnerships part of maximizing services to community

By KENNETH HARTThe Independent

GRAYSONA former Carter Coun-ty high school principal and bas-ketball coach has filed a lawsuit

against the school system inwhich he alleges he was wrongful-ly terminated.

In the suit, filed Monday inCarter Circuit Court, Jim Webbclaims he was let go from his posi-

tion as the district’s maintenancedirector last spring because of agediscrimination, and that his firingwas done in violation of the Ken-tucky Civil Rights Act.

The suit names as defendant

Carter School SuperintendentRonnie Dotson and the board ofeducation. It seeks unspecifiedcompensatory and punitive dam-ages, court costs and attorney fees,a jury trial and a court order di-

recting the district to reinstateWebb.

According to the suit, Webb —a former principal and boys’ bas-

Former principal, coach suesAction against Carter district alleges wrongful termination

Ironton-Russell spanshut down for secondtime in less than month

GOWIN

ANDERSON

WHITLATCH

Operation would bestrictly college prep;ACTC dual-creditoptions discussed

RYNE is FLYINGRowan junior fifth-leading scorer in region at 19 per game / PAGE B1

ASHLAND JR. GUARDROBINSON MAKES

VERBAL COMMITMENTTO COLORADO

SPORTS, PAGE B1

See BRIDGE / Page A10

See SCHOOL / Page A10

See WHITLATCH / Page A10

See WEBB / Page A10

By MARK MAYNARDThe Independent

ASHLAND Word beganspreading rather quickly onsocial media about 6:30 onMonday night about a lack

of water in Ashland.A major water main

break on 25th Street andCarter Avenue was the cul-prit, leaving much of SouthAshland and the down-town areas, along with

some in Westwood, with-out even a drip of water.

Roads were closed at the2500 block of WinchesterAvenue, Greenup Avenueand Carter Avenue becauseof the ice on the roads.

Crews were workingthrough the night on theproblem, according to pub-lic works director RyanEastwood.

Water main breakcauses problemsMuch of Ashland, Westwood dry

TOM WORDEN / FOR THE INDEPENDENT

Crews were working on a major water main break on 25th Street and Carter Avenue Monday evening.

See WATER / Page A10

ShowersT-Storms Rain Flurries Snow Ice Cold Warm Stationary

FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASHLAND

ALMANAC

RIVER & LAKE LEVELS

UV INDEX TODAY

SUN AND MOON

REGIONAL CITIES

KENTUCKY WEATHER

NATIONAL SUMMARY

NATIONAL FORECAST TODAY

Temperature

Yesterday’s National High/Low: (For the 48 contiguous states)

Flood Stage Level Ohio River

Precipitation

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

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

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

Covington

Ashland

Lexington Frankfort

Louisville

Owensboro

Bowling Green

Middlesboro

Paducah

The patented AccuWeather.com RealFeel Temperature® is an exclusive index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body – everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Shown are the highest and lowest values for each day.

-10s -0s 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s

Frigid with partial sunshine

RealFeel: 21°

15°TODAY

A star-studded sky and very cold

RealFeel: 5°

2°

TONIGHT

10°Mostly sunny and quite

cold

RealFeel: 27° / 10°

22°WEDNESDAY

25°Some sun, then clouds;

not as cold

RealFeel: 38° / 20°

39°THURSDAY

30°Mostly cloudy

RealFeel: 42° / 30°

42°FRIDAY

31°Cloudy with a shower

possible

RealFeel: 44° / 32°

47°SATURDAY

Huntington, WV through 4 p.m. yesterday

In feet as of 7 a.m. yesterday

High/Low yesterday 48° / 19°Normal high/low 43° / 25°Record high 71° (1999)Record low -5° (1936)

10 a.m. 2 (Low)Noon 2 (Low)2 p.m. 2 (Low)4 p.m. 0 (Low)

Sunrise today 7:39 a.m.Sunset tonight 5:48 p.m.Moonrise today 5:19 a.m.Moonset today 3:37 p.m.

Ashland 52 35.04

24 hours ending 4 p.m. TraceMonth to date 2.30"Normal month to date 2.56"Year to date 2.30"Last year to date 2.83"Normal year to date 2.56"

New First Full Last

Feb 22Feb 14Feb 6Jan 30

9/0

15/2

12/-311/-1

16/5

14/5

16/3

21/7

18/4

Regional Forecast: Frigid today with partial sunshine; extreme cold can be dangerous. Bitterly cold tonight; extreme cold can be dangerous. Mostly sunny tomor-row. Thursday: not as cold.

A major winter storm will affect the Interstate 10 and 95 corridors in the South with travel delays and the risk of power outages today. The heaviest snow and ice will occur along the southern Atlantic Seaboard. Rain showers are in store for central Florida and South Texas. Snow is forecast to reach as far to the north as southeastern Virginia at night. Mainly dry and very cold air will stretch from the Great Plains to New England and much of the mid-Atlantic.

High 84° in Fort Lauderdale, FL Low -31° in Brimson, MN

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2014

UV INDEX TODAY

SUN AND MOON

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

10 a.m. 2 (Low)Noon 2 (Low)2 p.m. 2 (Low)4 p.m. 0 (Low)

Sunrise today 7:39 a.m.Sunset tonight 5:48 p.m.Moonrise today 5:19 a.m.Moonset today 3:37 p.m.

New First Full Last

Feb 22Feb 14Feb 6Jan 30

LOTTERIES

A10 Tuesday, January 28, 2014 THE INDEPENDENT | Ashland | Kentucky

nance facility closed the bridge at11 p.m. and the closure will be in ef-fect until inspections have clearedit to be reopened.

Although the bridge. whichlinks Ironton to Russell, is safe fortravel, its steel truss structure is

not wholly guarded against tem-peratures sustained below zeroshould it incur damage from anysevere or unusual external force.Therefore, ODOT officials moni-tor the weather closely duringcold-weather months, and in theevent of projected sub-zero tem-peratures, the bridge is closed asa precautionary measure to en-sure motorists’ safety and thestructural integrity of the bridge.

Once the temperature is sus-tained above five degrees Fahren-heit, ODOT inspectors will con-duct a field inspection to deter-mine if any changes have beencritical to the bridge’s load-carry-ing capacity. In addition, theywill review the information fromstrain gauges that are affixed tothe bridge to determine if thebridge has incurred any addition-al stress and ascertain if any

course of action is deemed neces-sary before reopening the bridge totravel.

While the bridge is closed, mo-torists will be detoured via U.S. 52and the Ashland bridges.

For information on additionallane and road closures caused byconstruction, accidents, floodingor other related traffic eventsthroughout the state, visit ODOTon the web at Ohgo.com.

BridgeFrom Page A1

Barry Gowin.Students are to be what Gowin

calls “a select group” who will betested to ensure they meet aca-demic standards for enrollment.They also must exhibit the maturi-ty needed to take college classes.ACTC will not hold special classsections for the Holy Family stu-

dents; they will be enrolled in reg-ular classes with adult college stu-dents.

The rigorous freshman andsophomore curriculum will in-clude challenging academic mate-rials, classes in religion from liter-ary and historical perspectives,and electives, he said.

Because it isn’t yet known howmany students will apply, it re-mains uncertain whether admis-sion will be competitive.

The high school won’t be limited

to Holy Family students and appli-cants don’t have to be Catholic.Students from the region, includ-ing Ohio and West Virginia, mayapply.

Tuition hasn’t been finalized,but for the junior and senior yearswould be at college rates, paid toHoly Family and passed throughto ACTC.

Holy Family may be able to offerscholarships as it does to studentsin earlier grades, Gowin said.

Holy Family probably would be

able to start the program with itscurrent staff and perhaps one newhire, said vice principal Matt An-derson, who will take the princi-pal’s position in the fall.

The school building at 932 Win-chester Avenue has plenty of avail-able classrooms, he said.

The program may give a boostto Holy Family’s enrollment inearlier grades because it will givefamilies another high school op-tion, development director Rhon-da Suman said. Currently, those

who complete eighth grade theretypically go either to public schoolin their home district or toCatholic high schools in Ironton orHuntington.

Talks are still in an early stage,but the program appears viable,ACTC dean of academic affairsJanie Kitchen said. “It’s not some-thing we have done before, but cer-tainly we would be able to map apathway for students to meet highschool and college requirementsfor associate degrees,” she said.

SchoolFrom Page A1

the Kentucky Cabinet for HealthServices, Office of Inspector Gen-eral in the spring of last year.KDMC had initially opposed theapplication based on statistics thatshowed KDMC’s cardiology pro-gram was more than sufficient totake care of the community’s pa-tient population.

“Today, health care requiresgreater collaboration amonghealth care providers and othernon-profit organizations. In this

case, cooperation, not competition,makes sense as it allows patientsgreater access to the care theyneed,” said Whitlatch.

“Sadly, heart disease remainsthe No. 1 killer of men and womenin Kentucky. By working togetherand making sure all residents haveaccess to cardiac services, we cantry to change that fact."

Whitlatch, a Boyd County HighSchool graduate who began hercareer at KDMC in 1987, was pro-moted from chief operating officerto CEO in December following theretirement of Fred Jackson, whose17-year tenure at the helm of thehospital was highlighted by both

unprecedented growth and contro-versy. Under Jackson’s leadership,KDMC became a major regionalhealth care provider, but, his man-agement style rankled many, andhis retirement came amid an ongo-ing investigation by the U.S. De-partment of Justice into the hospi-tal’s interventional cardiac proce-dures.

Dr. Richard Ford, a KDMCphysician who also spoke at Mon-day’s Rotary meeting, said Whit-latch had spent much of her firstfew weeks as hospital CEO meet-ing with others in the regionalhealth care community, “rebuild-ing bridges that long since had

been burned.”Ford also said Whitlatch’s as-

cension to the hospital’s top posi-tion had been a huge boost to em-ployee morale.

“Nothing is better for moralethan (employees) seeing promo-tion can come from within,” hesaid.

Whitlatch acknowledged im-proving the morale of KDMC’s4,000-member work force had beenone of her top priorities.

“Our team has been through somuch the past several years,” withthe elimination of several hundredjobs from the hospital payroll, shesaid.

Whitlatch also said KDMC’s ma-jor focus for the past several years,out of necessity, had been on “ex-pense management.” While thathas helped see the hospitalthrough some difficult times, “I be-lieve now we need to focus on therevenue side a little bit more,” shesaid.

To do that, the hospital willneed to seek out new servicesthat will be profitable in the fu-ture, Whitlatch said. However, atthe same time, she said she nev-er wanted KDMC to lose sight ofits main mission, which she saidis “to serve the Ashland commu-nity.”

WhitlatchFrom Page A1

ketball coach at West Carter HighSchool — was employed by theschool system from 1974 until hisretirement in 2004. However, thefollowing year, he was rehired asthe district’s construction supervi-sor and then as maintenance di-rector.

In April of last year, the suit

states, Webb was terminated basedon claims he had engaged in acts of“dishonesty” and “insubordina-tion.” Those charges stemmed fromWebb allegedly gaining prohibitedaccess to the district’s fuel pumps byusing an unauthorized key.

However, “The stated reason for(Webb’s) termination was not theactual reason he was terminated”and was “insufficient to explain”why the board chose to fire Webb,the suit states.

The suit alleges that other dis-

trict employees “under the age of 40or ... significantly younger” thanWebb engaged in the same or simi-lar conduct of which Webb was ac-cused without any reprisals.

The district committed age dis-crimination against Webb — whowas 64 at the time of his firing —“by terminating his employmentand by subjecting him to sanctionfor the same or similar conductcommitted by significantly youngeremployees, who faced no adverseemployment or disciplinary action

of any kind,” the suit states.The complaint also states Webb

was a member of a “protectiveclass” because of his age and wasreplaced by a person outside theclass who was “significantlyyounger” than him.

The suit, filed by attorney ReidGlass of Grayson, also seeks puni-tive damages against Dotson forslander stemming from remarksthe superintendent allegedly madeto other school officials that Webbclaims indicated he was being re-

placed for poor job performance,“which is false and misleading.”

Glass also argues his client is en-titled to damages for psychologicaland emotional distress for havinghis privacy invaded and being castin a false light by Dotson’s allegedremarks.

Claims made in civil lawsuitsstate only one side of an issue. Un-der Kentucky law, defendants have20 days from the date they areserved to file responses to com-plaints.

WebbFrom Page A1

KentuckyPick 3 Midday7-4-8Pick 4 Midday8-9-3-7PowerballEstimated jackpot: $171M

WE CATER FOR THE BIG GAME!

LARGE PEPPERONI PIZZAPromo Code: 018-999 Expires: 2/11/14

Tax & delivery extra. Must present or mention ad at time of purchase. Cannot be combined with other offers.

ASHLAND 606-324-1000 713 Martin Luther King Blvd. | Call Ahead Drive-Up Window Available

The three million gallon watertank has almost been emptied, im-pacting South Ashland areas andthe downtown area, according to

city officials. It could be late Tues-day or even longer before it is fullyrestored.

Temperatures were expected toplunge below zero Monday nightand Tuesday. The high for Tues-day was predicted to be 10 degrees.

Facebook posts began poppingup almost immediately with many

worried about frozen water lines.Water has been a huge issue in

the Ashland area for the past cou-ple of weeks. The City of Catletts-burg went nearly a week withoutwater, too.

Several main water linesthroughout the northeastern Ken-tucky area have broken under the

unusually cold temperatures thepast couple of weeks.

Boil water advisories were in ef-fect for all of Ashland, Catletts-burg, Westwood and parts of Sum-mit fed by the Ashland system be-cause of low pressure/no water.

Also, acting Ashland city manag-er Tony Grubb said the fire depart-

ment was topping off the trucks.Ashland schools cancelled class-

es around 8 p.m. because of thewater situation. Boyd County,Greenup County, Lawrence Coun-ty, Elliott, Fairview, Lewis, John-son and Carter County schoolswere closed because of the cold.Rose Hill Christian also closed.

WaterFrom Page A1