The Murray Sentinel

12/15/2024

This week's public meeting schedule is up. Click the link for details and agendas.

Monday (Dec. 12): - The Calloway County Fiscal Court will hold a work session at 8 a.m. at the Miller Courthouse Annex. See agenda. Wednesday (Dec. 14): - The Murray-Calloway County Hospital Board of Trustees Investment Committee will meet at 8 a.m. in the hospital’s Garrison Boardroom and via Zoo...

12/15/2024

The Murray Sentinel is officially an award-winning news organization!! I received notice this morning from the Kentucky Press Association that two of our entries won awards in this year's KPA contest! We will find out the categories and how we placed on Jan. 24.😁🤞

We can't do what we do without our community! Please consider making a donation today so that we can continue to provide free access to our award-winning (that's so cool to say!) journalism for years to come.

And now is the perfect time because NewsMatch will match your donation dollar-for-dollar (up to $1000/donor), including recurring donations, which are matched at their 12-month value. Here is the link: donorbox.org/25k-for-25

The community will thank you, and we do, too. 😊

12/15/2024

What a week!! “Cowboy Cody” made national news on Monday for fleeing police on a mule. Thursday, the hospital board announced they’ll proceed with a “renewed” search after their pick for CEO declined the offer. The cherry on top came Friday morning when the majority of the county spent the morning engulfed by a mysterious, sulfurous stench.

All in all, our posts had 107k views this week! We also gained 232 new followers, and in the process, our page crossed a major milestone – The Sentinel surpassed 2500 followers!

The timing couldn’t be more apropos because we are in the midst of our $25k for ’25 Campaign!

Our goal is to raise $25,000 by the end of the year to ensure that we can continue to bring you high-quality news that matters throughout 2025. And with $13,212 raised so far, we are more than halfway there!

Now is the perfect time to donate because NewsMatch will match eligible contributions dollar-for-dollar, up to $1,000/donor, and that includes recurring donations, which are matched at their 12-month value.

We can’t do what we do without our community! Please consider making a donation today. You can use the QR code in the image below or click this link: donorbox.org/25k-for-25 . The community will thank you, and we do, too. 😊

12/14/2024

The source of the pervasive natural gas smell reported throughout Calloway County this morning was not located, according to Calloway County Emergency Management Director Josh Kerr. As for how widespread the phenomenon was, he said the odor was reported in Henry County in the morning and in Marshall County, after it passed through Calloway.

In the photo: Murray Fire Department and Murray Natural Gas units respond to a call about a strong natural gas smell from a home on Belmont Dr. this morning. (Jessica Paine/ The Murray Sentinel)

12/13/2024

Hello to our 130+ new followers in the last 24 hours!!

12/13/2024

UPDATE (7:45 p.m.): Calloway County Emergency Management Director Josh Kerr advised that the source of the pervasive natural gas smell this morning was not located. As for how widespread the phenomenon was, he said the odor was reported in Henry County and in Marshall County, after it passed through Calloway.

UPDATE: Per Calloway County Emergency Management Director Josh Kerr, no gas leaks have been confirmed at this time anywhere in the county.

"What we have is the odor over a widespread area," Kerr told The Sentinel, "We're trying to track down where it is coming from, but so far, we have not confirmed any natural gas leak."

Kerr further advised that he has spoken with emergency management officials in other counties - including Henry County - who have also had reports of a natural gas smell.

This is rapidly developing story. We will continue to update this post as new information is received.

***
There is a major gas leak in the city. Dispatch is receiving calls from all over town about a strong gas smell. Murray Fire Department and Murray Natural Gas units are traveling throughout the city to find the source.

This information was received through an anonymous tip from an individual with direct knowledge of this situation.

We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

12/13/2024

BREAKING NEWS: The Sentinel just received the following press release from the hospital marketing/PR department...

MURRAY, KY – Murray-Calloway County Hospital’s (MCCH) Board of Trustees met tonight in Executive Session to discuss the CEO search.

“As you all know, the board selected Tonda Haigler at last Thursday’s public meeting to succeed Jerry as the next CEO. Over the past several months, through the course of numerous meetings and discussions, with input from the medical staff, directors, and public; it was felt that Tonda was the best candidate to lead the hospital. An agreement was drafted and discussed with her, and after receiving assurance from Tonda that she would accept the position if offered, the public vote was held. Just as we felt that Tonda was the best choice to lead our facility, her current employer felt the same and she has since informed us she will not be leaving her current employer. At the next board meeting on December 23, the board will determine how to proceed with a renewed search,” stated Steve Owens, Chair of the Board of Directors.

***
Check out our previous coverage of MCCH's search for a new CEO: https://themurraysentinel.org/index.php/2024/12/05/2694/

12/11/2024

Thank you to everyone who supported us in the Weaver Challenge for helping us raise $3,599!!

12/11/2024

It's official - the storm siren on Glendale Road is up and running!

After failing to sound during quarterly tests last December and March, the city decided to replace the siren, which has had problems off and on for years. The hardware was installed in July but has remained unfunctional, awaiting a technician to complete the installation.

“What we were doing today was the final install on the Glendale Road siren,” Bierds told The Sentinel yesterday. “We’ve had everything in; we just had to finish up the wiring. So, the contractor came down, put the wiring in, put the batteries in. The batteries have to charge in the box for 24 hours before we run the test.”

The siren was tested at shortly after 3 p.m. and worked as expected.

The Glendale Road siren is not the only one in town to have problems. The siren outside Riviera Courts, which also has not sounded during a quarterly test since last December, again did not sound during the quarterly test last Friday.

“That’s just something we’ve been running down with the technician,” Bierds said. “I may be reaching out to a different company to see if, maybe, a different set of eyes can try to figure out what’s going on. We can get it functional and then the failure just moves. So, we fix one part, and it will work; then another part will fail. And it may be another case, too (like the Glendale Road siren), where it starts to ‘nickel and dime’ us to the point where we want to buy a whole new system for it. We’re just going to have to figure that out at the City Hall level how we’re going to move forward on that.”

Interested in the backstory? Check out our previous coverage here: themurraysentinel.org/index.php/2024/07/22/out-with-the-old-city-erects-new-storm-siren-on-glendale-road

12/11/2024

Jonathan “Cody” Mason, the Murray man whose story of fleeing law enforcement on a mule went viral yesterday, was arraigned in Calloway District Court this morning. The Sentinel was there. Check back for our full accounting of today’s 17-minute arraignment.

In the meantime... click this link for the backstory: themurraysentinel.org/index.php/2024/12/09/murray-man-arrested-twice-for-animal-cruelty

(Screenshot of FB video by Jamie Sarten)

12/10/2024

MURRAY – At 12:56 p.m. today, Brandon Story posted a video on Facebook with the caption, “Enjoying a nice lunch at Hih-Burger and then…” By 9:15 p.m., the 27-second video showing Murray Police Department officers arresting a man riding a mule outside Hih-Burger restaurant on South 4th Street had been viewed more than 207,000 times.

The Sentinel obtained court documents related to this incident and two others on Saturday involving the same man. Click the link to read the full story.

MURRAY – At 12:56 p.m. today, Brandon Story posted a video on Facebook with the caption, “Enjoying a nice lunch at Hih-Burger and then…” The 27-second video showing Murray Police Department officers arresting a man riding a mule outside Hih-Burger restaurant on South 4th Street. By 9:15 p.m....

12/09/2024

Per a notice sent this morning, the Murray-Calloway County Hospital Board of Trustees will hold a special called meeting on Thursday, Dec. 12, at 4 p.m. An agenda was not provided; however, the notice states the meeting will be an executive session "to discuss specific items of importance" and will not be open to the public.

We will post the agenda for this special called meeting when it is provided.

12/08/2024

In this column, Amye Bensenhaver discusses a lawsuit brought against the Hazard Police Department after its chief arrested a man requesting public records.

Click the link to read Amye's full column.

By Amye Bensenhaver This report in the Dec. 5 Lexington Herald-Leader, "Kentucky man sought public records from police. Instead, the chief arrested him, lawsuit says," raised the hackles of every proponent of the open records law and the public's right to know. We assumed that the resulting lawsuit....

12/08/2024

Some highlights from tonight's Rotary Christmas Parade...

12/07/2024

Floats are lining up on 10th Street for the annual Christmas parade!

Main Street will be closed from 12th Street to Court Square starting at 4:30 p.m. The parade starts at 5 p.m., going east down Main from 10th. It is expected to last two hours.

12/06/2024

From the article: “The Kernel believes that transparency and truth are crucial to the well-being of students on our campus,” Cutrer told the Herald-Leader Tuesday.

12/05/2024

MURRAY – After whittling a pool of more than 150 candidates over the last four months, the Murray-Calloway County Hospital Board of Trustees unanimously selected Tonda Haigler to be the hospital’s next CEO after current CEO Jerry Penner retires at the end of March.

Click the link to read the full story.

https://themurraysentinel.org/index.php/2024/12/05/2694/

MURRAY – After whittling a pool of more than 150 candidates over the last four months, the Murray-Calloway County Hospital Board of Trustees unanimously selected Tonda Haigler to be the hospital’s next CEO after current CEO Jerry Penner retires at the end of March.

Click the link to read the full story:
https://themurraysentinel.org/index.php/2024/12/05/2694/

12/05/2024

BREAKING NEWS: In this morning’s special called meeting, the Murray-Calloway County Hospital Board of Trustees unanimously voted to offer the CEO position to Tonda Haigler.

Haigler currently lives in Montgomery, Alabama, with her husband and two sons. Since 2019, she has served as system vice president of ambulatory services for Baptist Health of Central Alabama, a health system which she describes in her resume as a “non-profit network of three facilities” with affiliations to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

For the 12 years prior, she rose through the ranks at the for-profit system Community Health Systems, as an administrative specialist, assistant chief executive officer and, ultimately, chief operating officer.

Haigler graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science and earned a master’s degree in public health/healthcare administration in 2001. In 2006, she received a second master’s degree in business administration from Mississippi State University.

Check back this afternoon for the full write-up

In the photo: Haigler speaks to the crowd during her “meet and greet” event in October. (Jessica Paine/The Murray Sentinel)