Yahoo News TDI's Top 10 News Countdown of 2023: Recalling highs, lows of the year
Dec. 31—One cannot simply pop the cork on a bottle of champagne to ring in the new year before they've waded through the last 12 months of notable wins and losses.
Depending on which side of the fence one was watching from, not all of the headlines from 2023 invoked hope and happiness, but that's the beauty of turning the page on a new calendar year.
As The Daily Independent treks through noteworthy events and news coverage from 2023, it invites the reader to celebrate the highs, acknowledge the lows and look forward to the next 365 days of 2024's memorable moments.
10. 'A life-saving decision'
It's not always possible to rely on an immediate emergency response for those living in the rural most parts of our region.
Just six months ago, residents of sprawling Greenup County could find themselves up a creek if a medical emergency arose, as it could take upwards of an hour or more for an ambulance response.
In June, Greenup Judge-Executive Bobby Hall discussed a new countywide ambulance service with the fiscal court and, by the following month, commissioners passed the first reading of an ordinance to establish just that.
At that meeting, Hall noted the importance of the day.
"Today, July 11, 2023, is a historic day," he said. "... In just a few minutes, the fiscal court will make a life-saving decision."
The court quickly turned their talk to action and with the help of donations from community partners and community cooperation, Greenup County cut the ribbon on its very own Ambulance Authority last month.
As of Dec. 28's official ribbon cutting, five ambulance stations are ready to respond to the unincorporated areas of the county who previously depended on availability of Portsmouth's privately owned service.
With an effective date of Jan. 1, 2024, additional ambulances are now stationed in Argillite, Flatwoods, Greenup, Load and South Shore, capable of responding to people in need spread out over a 300-square-mile area.
Buford Hurley, Greenup's E911 public safety director, said having available ambulances and medically trained staff aboard was a matter of life and death.
"You will save lives with what you did today (July 11)," Hurley said.
9. Deputy Jailers sentenced
A multi-year court saga came to an end in 2023 with the final sentencing of three former deputy jailers responsible for the death of an inmate in 2018.
In September, family members of 40-year-old Michael Lee Moore received justice as they spoke to three former deputies, each sentenced to multiple years in prison for their actions during the last 38 hours of Moore's life.
Per previous reports, Zachary Messer, who prosecutors previously said inflicted the most brutality towards Moore, was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, facilitation to commit manslaughter and second-degree criminal abuse.
Former deputy jailers Colton Griffith and Jeremy Mattox received six and five years, respectively, behind bars on multiple counts of criminal abuse.
Griffith, Mattox and Messer will join their former Sgt. Brad Roberts, who was convicted by a jury in 2021 on charges of reckless homicide and criminal abuse.
Alicia Beller also earned a previous conviction in Moore's death after she pleaded guilty to first-degree wanton endangerment in exchange for a five-year diversion.
With the final perpetrators of Moore's death finally sentenced, Katrina Caudill, a relative of Moore, previously said, "Our family can try to pick up the pieces and move forward."
8. Kim Davis to pay damages
2023 was evidently a time to finalize long-winded court proceedings, as an eight-year-long battle between two same sex couples and former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis also reached finalization.
Davis received national-scale scrutiny in the fall out of the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage after she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as it was against her religious beliefs.
Although U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Kentucky already ruled that Davis had infringed on the constitutional rights of gay couples, Davis and the two couples, David Ermold and David Moore and Will Smith and James Yates, let two separate jury panels decide how much Davis would have to compensate the couples for her refusal.
One panel of jurors assigned to hear Ermold and Moore's case determined Davis would have to pay the couple $100,000 in compensatory damages, as the jury found Davis's actions and resulting attention caused the couple to endure threats of violence, harassment and mental health woes.
The separate panel of jurors on Yates and Smith's case awarded them $0.
Davis is represented by the controversial Liberty Counsel who, records indicate, love a good appeal, so it may not be the end after all.
Stay tuned in 2024.
7. ARC in Bellfonte
The year started with a bang throughout the community of Russell as word traveled that Addiction Recovery Care, a drug rehabilitation center, had plans to purchase the remnants of the former Our Lady of Bellfonte Hospital grounds.
To the dismay of some Russell residents, including local attorneys, who voiced worry about security risks, the ARC train kept chugging.
In late January, the Greenup County Joint Planning Commission approved a proposal to subdivide the Bellefonte property in order for ARC to purchase.
ARC closed on the purchase of a portion of the hospital facilities the following month and by November, a 40-bed inpatient psychiatric center opened.
After announcing the center was up and running, Ashland Mayor Matt Perkins said ARC's investment "paves the way for a healthier and stronger community."
6. Black History Museum opens
Black history in Ashland found a permanent home for preservation and fellowship in April 2023.
Named in honor of the former principal C.B. Nuckolls, who led the segregated Booker T. Washington High School for decades, the Black History Museum has already hosted several events since its opening eight months ago and shaped up to be a welcoming spot for the community.
The new museum hosted Ashland's Juneteenth event over the summer, conducting free tours of multiple Black history exhibits, music, food and celebration.
In October, the museum, the only one of its kind in the area, drew the attention from the Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers — the largest African American club in the world — who rode in on a host of motorcycles to take a tour of the museum.
Museum Co-Founder Darrell Smith said getting the space ready at 901 Kilgore Drive was a labor of love, but it was simply part of his journey.
"This has been a lot of work and this has been a dream of mine," Smith said at the museum's opening ceremony. "I'm speechless over this."
5. ARC takes Ashland (no, a different ARC)
While it may bear the same acronym as another on the countdown, there wasn't too much squabble about this one coming to town.
In the late summer the city began preparations to welcome hundreds of visitors from every corner of Appalachia to take part in the Appalachian Regional Commission's annual conference.
For back-to-back days, speakers, politicians, entertainers, economic developers and more, all originating from the 13 Appalachian states (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia) dispersed throughout Ashland for insight on what makes this region special and how to capitalize on new and old assets.
What made the conference a deal so big it cracked the top 10?
Ashland was selected by the commission out of all 13 states and all other cities, allowing locals to show off this specific corner of the mountain range to potential investors and future tourists.
A visit from Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari, Appalachian legend Tyler Childers and now, two-time-elected Gov. Andy Beshear, made it a touch more exciting.
"This, to me, is probably the biggest conference the city has ever held in its history," Ashland Mayor Matt Perkins previously said. "To be the host city for a storied, celebrated organization like the Appalachian Regional Commission is an honor for us, and we're thrilled to showcase what we're doing in our city and region."
4. Death in police custody
The death of a 34-year-old in the custody of the Ashland Police Department led to a national-scale outcry in March 2023.
In a social media video, which garnered thousands of views throughout the country and stirred the mainstream media cycle, Clarence Wilkerson sat at the feet of multiple officers who appeared to take little action as Wilkerson repeated he was having trouble breathing before going in and out of consciousness.
Police later claimed Wilkerson had active warrants and fled when police made contact with him, but the image of Wilkerson's alarming complexion and visible medical distress made an impact, escalating after he was pronounced dead later that day at a nearby hospital.
After Wilkerson's death, questions and outrage remained, with his family and community members questioning if the police's lack of urgency played a factor in his death.
Days later, surviving family retained high-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represented the families of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
Ashland city leaders sat down with the Boyd-Greenup County Branch of the NAACP for discussions focused on unity amid chaos and tension spurring from police brutality throughout the country.
Candlelight vigils took place, protestors peacefully assembled and the words of Martin Luther King Jr. were shared in the following weeks in honor of Wilkerson.
Wilkerson's cause of death was reported as being caused by methamphetamine intoxication and a pre-existing heart condition, according to previous reports.
In June, a grand jury in Boyd County was given the option to criminally indict any of the officers supposedly involved, but the jury declined to issue any criminal charges.
The investigation was handled by Kentucky State Police and, per previous reports, Ashland Police Department said it would conduct its own internal investigation into the matter.
APD has not issued any statements following the grand jury's decision.
3. Winchester thrown for a loop (followed by a loop, followed by ...)
With a goal in mind to revamp and revitalize Winchester Avenue into a two-lane pedestrian oasis, Ashland leaders pounded away at their vision this year.
The project, mostly state and federally funded, will include the installation of consecutive roundabouts in place of the old-school stop light intersections of 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th Streets.
The Ashland City Commission pushed the project out to bid in June and by September (after one of the ARCs left town) road construction signs and chunks of asphalt were going up.
The community expressed some pushback throughout the project "phases," mostly after the annual Christmas parade was rerouted and local business owners criticized the project interfering with foot traffic and parking in the middle of the holiday shopping season.
On Dec 1, TDI published a story sharing the voices of multiple business owners who mostly requested a heads-up from the city on which sidewalks would be ripped out.
As of Dec. 4, the City of Ashland and VisityAKY's social media pages have provided traffic pattern and Winchester project updates fairly regularly.
And if one's 2024 is feeling cruddy, take a cruise down Winchester Avenue, once it's completed, and test out the roundabouts to turn it all around.
2. $$$ Boyd hits jackpot $$$
If the reader was taking a gamble on the top two stories of 2023, the grand opening of Sandy's Racing & Gaming is a pretty sure bet.
Early in 2023, the vacant Sears building at Camp Landing earned its new name and identity with Revolutionary Racing announcing the casino and off-track betting portion of the soon-to-come quarter horse track destination.
Sandy's Racing & Gaming, coined after the Big and Little Sandy Rivers, is now packed full of 700 slot machines, shining a revenue-hued light throughout the area.
With hundreds employed during its construction and hundreds more managing the day-to-day operations, the $75 million facility has been a largely welcomed piece of Revolutionary Racing's puzzle, reassuring locals that Boyd County may just be the next big thing.
Last year also saw a BetMGM and Sandy's partnership, the entrance of legal sports betting and the first dynamite blasts to make way for the quarter horse track, anticipated to be complete in 2024.
1. Alleged misconduct and student grooming
The arrest of a local teacher and prominent coach in February 2023 set the stage for a year seemingly crowded with similar allegations of disturbing conduct in a number of local districts.
The filing of sex-related criminal charges against former Rowan County teacher Andrew Zaheri in early 2023 jarred the district and parents alike, but it wasn't the last of courtroom appearances or pointing fingers last year.
2023 included multiple accusations of sexual misconduct by school-based figures affecting Boyd, Carter, Rowan and Raceland-Worthington Schools.
Following the 20-plus count indictment against Zaheri and a subsequent lawsuit filed against the Rowan County School Board and administrators alleging they knew of Zaheri's allegedly sexual relationship with a minor student, a longtime Boyd County High School art teacher, Michael Spears, faced criminal prosecution after allegedly admitting to having sex with a student.
Spears's case is still active and ongoing into 2024.
September 2023 also saw a 10-year prison sentence for Darrin Rose, a former Carter County bus driver convicted of possessing and distributing child pornography.
The same month, Raceland-Worthington Independent School Board meetings packed to the brim with outraged parents and community members alleging grooming and sexual abuse of students was a frequent occurrence in their school district, too.
Raceland parents and school board members butted heads throughout the remainder of the year, with one of the accused teachers resigning, another having faced an order of protection by a 10-year-old's father, and another causing conflict of interest arguments due to relation to Superintendent Larry Coldiron.
The Raceland conundrum has resulted in the formation of a soon-to-be official organization, Kentucky PATH, which states its mission is to assist school districts in developing proper policies and to provide transparency to parents and communities when these sorts of allegations arise.
The formation of the organization hasn't gone over all that well, as Raceland School Board member Jerry Epling alleged the group has led targeted threats at the school board and compared them to a gang. PATH responded that those are all unfounded accusations.
The showdowns between the Raceland community and an alleged inactive school board are expected to continue throughout next year.
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