Image 1 of The Winchester Sun April 17, 2012

SPORTS: Cats’ title team heads toward breakup — B1 Air Conditioning Service $39.95 Includes up to 1lb of Freon. Most vehicles apply. Covy’s Auto Service 1275 Industry Rd. Lexington 859-281-CARS (2277) Expires: 5/7/2012 *some restrictions apply* The Winchester Sun TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2012 WINCHESTER/CLARK COUNTY Paying the tab for the EOC Officials fret over potential cost overruns B y Katie Perkowski The Winchester Sun City and county leaders asked emergency management representatives Monday who would pick up the tab if the new Emergency Operations Center went over budget. In late March, the county secured the necessary three acres for the project from the Clark Regional Foundation for the Promotion of Health. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will give the county $3.6 million for the building. The 6,400-square-foot, single-story building will house the WinchesterClark County Emergency Management office, the Chemical Stockpiles Emergency Preparedness Program and the 911 dispatch center. All are currently housed in the Winchester Police Department. “When we moved dispatch from the front of the building of the police department to the other part of the See EOC, A3 Katie Perkowski/kperkowski@winchestersun.com Wayne Burb, project manager for the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management, far right, gives a presentation about the new Emergency Operations Center during a joint Clark County Fiscal Court and Winchester Board of Commissioners meeting Monday evening. GENERAL ASSEMBLY Called session leads to quick actions James Mann/jmann@winchestersun.com Firefighters from Winchester Fire-EMS, from left, Lt. Greg Witt, firefighter/paramedic Dan Gurecky, firefighter/EMT Chris Howard and firefighter/paramedic Josh Slugantz, right, and Clark County Board of Education maintenance worker Billy Damron walk around the top of Shearer Elementary School to check on an air conditioning motor that burned out Monday afternoon. Shearer students evacuated after air conditioner overheats By Bob Flynn The Winchester Sun Students at Shearer Elementary School were evacuated from the building Monday afternoon after an air conditioner motor above a classroom ceiling malfunctioned. Clark County Public Schools District Administrator Paul Christy said that a second grade teacher noticed “a smell like something burning” in the classroom and notified Principal Cynthia Powell. After checking out the smell, Christy said, Powell pulled the fire alarm to notify Winchester Fire-EMS at 2:22 p.m., then began evacuating students from the building. All students were removed from the building and were standing outside when firefighters arrived at the school four minutes later. The district routinely conducts fire drills at the schools, Christy said, so the majority of the students thought it was just another fire drill. “We do fire drills once or twice a month so most of the kids FRANKFORT (AP) — Lawmakers hurriedly introduced two key bills dealing with highway construction and drug abuse Monday in hopes of wrapping up a $60,000a-day special legislative session as quickly as possible. Gov. Steve Beshear had called lawmakers back to the Capitol on Monday because they ended their 2012 session last week without passing legislation that would appropriate some $4 billion for road projects over the next two years and that would attempt to curb overdose deaths from widespread prescription drug abuse. Logistically, Kentucky lawmakers need a minimum of five days to get legislation through both the House and Senate. If lawmakers can wrap up their work by the end of this week, the cost of the session would be limited to some $300,000. “I would hope that we could get through in five days,” House Speaker Greg Stumbo said Monday. “Nobody really wants to be here any longer than five days. I can assure of that, at least nobody in the House.” Kentucky’s divided Legislature has a history of ending legislative sessions without budget agreements. The state’s last three state operating budgets were adopted in special sessions called after See QUICK, A3 IN YOUR WORLD OBITS Anna Catherine Eades, 98, Winchester Fred Bond, 72, Danville Anna Jean Proffitt Warner, 89, Mount Sterling James Mann/jmann@winchestersun.com Shearer Elementary School teacher Tony Thornberry directs a classroom of students to go to the back of the school building and wait for parents to pick them up after a malfunctioning air conditioner prompted an evacuation. There was no fire in the school. Students were about 15 minutes later than normal leaving school because the fire happened just minutes before t he end of the school day. thought this was just another drill. The only ones that knew the difference were the ones in that classroom and the ones that walked by it on their way out of the building,” Christy said. “One little boy told me he just thought somebody was popping popcorn and burned it.” After the electricity was turned off from the school, firefighters checked the classroom and the roof of the building and determined the cause of the smell was See SHEARER, A3 Servicing all makes and models! Tommy Covey, owner 1275 Industry Road, Lexington, KY Mon-Fri 8am-6pm 859-281-CARS (2277) Like us on Facebook for Web ONLY Specials T.G. McKnight, 79, Winchester — A2 WWW.WINCHESTERSUN.COM VOL. 134, NO. 89 75¢ PER COPY Become our fan! www.face book.com • Brake Service • Tires • Tune-Ups • Front End Repairs • Shocks & Struts • Computer Diagnostics