Image 2 of The Advocate Messenger April 6, 2012

A2 FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012 LOCAL/STATE THE ADVOCATE-MESSENGER WWW.AMNEWS.COM Obituaries Visit our online obituary archive at www.amnews.com DEATHS n Ricky Sowers, 52, of Lancaster, died Wednesday. Arrangements are pending at Spurlin Funeral Home in Lancaster. FUNERALS Carlos Ray Carlos Charles Draven Ray, of Junction City, died April 2, 2012. Born March 30, 2012, he was a son of Jonathan Ray and Carla Martin. Survivors include two Joanna King/jking@amnews.com Animal Control Officer John Hambel watches the monitor to the new security system at the Danville-Boyle County Humane Society. Hambel designed the new system, which became necessary because of recent thefts of dogs at the facility,. Security in place at humane society By JOANNA KING jking@amnews.com It was not the first time dogs had been stolen from the humane society but efforts since an early January theft may have guaranteed it will be the last. Dan Turcea said after the last theft he could not recall exactly how many times dogs had been stolen in the 14 years he has been director of Boyle County Animal Control, but that it had been at least twice recently. He also said at that time that the offices he shares with Danville/Boyle County Humane Society had been broken into at least three times with money and “vet items” stolen before an investment in a security system solved that problem. By the end of the weekend, animal control officer John Hambel will have finished his work to install a state-of-the-art security system he designed to protect the shelters — and the furry guests who call the shelter home. Turcea said Hambel is the resident technophile and so took it upon himself to come up with a plan to address the issue that last time resulted in one puppy being left for dead in a dumpster. “John took on the job to increase security,” Turcea said. “He went before the board — the county and the Humane Society board — and they gave him the green light.” Hambel’s “Recommendation to Make Our Shelter More Secure” included: n Create a standard operating procedure for opening and closing the shelter, which includes entering and exiting the building after hours. n Repair gates and fencing to ensure they are impenetrable when closed and locked. Keep side and back doors closed and locked. n Remove the high growth of shrubs and weeds and trim foliage that blocks visibility around the building/property exterior. n Review the controls and operations of our exterior lights. Document the specifications, and create a routine maintenance program. Add motion activated lighting. n Maintain a master list of key assignments and make sure staff acknowledge receipt of keys. n Contact the local police department and request that a patrol unit regularly pass by the shelter, keeping a close eye out for suspicious activity or trespassers. n Post prominent signs indicating that the shelter has video surveillance and is monitored and secured 24/7. While all the other protocols now in place according to Hambel’s plan might be things the military calls good “op-sec” (for “operational security”), the last item on the list is certain to be effective. Signs around the property now advise visitors to smile for the cameras, and cameras are everywhere. A few of the newly installed cameras are wireless and already operating. Some that will be in place by the end of the weekend also are motion-sensitive and designed to follow movements. e cameras send live feeds not only to a monitor in Hambel’s office but also can be accessed by Hambel and the staff from any computer anywhere, in real time. Images are recorded, as well. “It’s going to be something, all right,” Hambel said. “One of our volunteers is an electrician, so the installation was donated.” Hambel was given the green light to develop a plan and then implement it within a fairly small budget and was able to pull it off because of his technical expertise and falling prices for just the items he needed. “And eBay,” he said. Price charged to the DBCHS and Boyle Animal Control for expert design and installation of the new security measures: $0 Budget approved for Hambel to secure the animal areas of the shelter: $500. Keeping the animals secure from thieves: Priceless. brothers, Steven Martin and Jerae Ray; a sister, Nevaeh Ray; a grandmother, Mary Martin; two aunts, three uncles and several cousins. He was preceded in death by his twin brother, Jonathan Ray Jr.; a grandmother, Barbara Ann Ray; and a grandfather, Robert Martin. A graveside service will be 1 p.m. Saturday at Junction City Cemetery. Visitation will be 12-1 p.m. Saturday at Stith Funeral Home in Junction City. Online guestbook at www.stithfuneralhome.net. Rally on child abuse held at Capitol FRANKFORT (AP) — More than 5,000 silver pinwheels glittering Thursday on the front lawn of the state Capitol represented child victims of sexual abuse served by the children’s advocacy centers across Kentucky in 2011. The pinwheels were part of a celebration of hope and healing that was part of the National Children’s Alliance’s ONE With Courage campaign and coincided with April’s designation as Child Abuse Awareness Month. Meghan Wright, state coordinator of the Kentucky Association of Children’s Advocacy Centers; Laura Kretzer, the association’s board president; and Chief Deputy Attorney General Patrick Hughes spoke at a rally on the front steps of the state Capitol on Thursday afternoon to call attention to the problem of child abuse and efforts being made to deal with it. Wright said that the 5,035 pinwheels signified the children who had been helped by the state’s 15 advocacy centers in fiscal year 2011, but were “only a sampling” of the thousands of children whose lives have been forever changed by abuse. “Today we mourn for innocence lost, and it’s important that we begin there,” Wright said, adding the pin- wheels signify the children had the courage to tell someone. “And because they told, we are able to celebrate the triumph of healing we have seen in their hearts.” Kretzer described the work the children’s advocacy centers do in providing services for the investigation, treatment and prosecution of child sexual abuse cases. In 2001, they provided 3,183 forensic interviews and 1,021 medical examinations. Hughes thanked the children’s advocates for their contributions and discussed his office’s efforts to fight child pornography and cyber-crimes against children. Wright thanked the advocates’ supporters and partners, including legislators for their work on several child abuse bills during this year’s session of the General Assembly. Two bills in particular stood out, she said: HB 519, which would broaden the definition of incest and raise the age of consent from 16 to 18 in some cases, and HB 350, a bill regarding human trafficking. Both bills are “still on the table,” and she and other advocates hope they will pass on the last day of the session, April 12, she said. Rep. Mike Nemes, RLouisville, the sponsor of HB 519, was among those attending the rally. KENTUCKYtoday Thomas chides colleagues for too many questions The letter is among 191 pages of documents released Thursday by Lexington police chronicling their investigation into the Sept. 11, 2009, shooting death of 29-year-old Amanda Ross. Steve Nunn had been engaged to Ross. He pleaded guilty in June and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The Lexington Herald-Leader used the Kentucky Open Records Act to request the file last year after Nunn pleaded guilty. Police at first refused, saying the file would be closed until Nunn finished his sentence. City officials reconsidered and released the first volume of the file in August to the Herald-Leader and other news organizations that followed it in filing records requests, including The Associated Press. The newly released documents include interviews with family and friends describing the couple’s volatile relationship. Many of Louie Nunn’s accusations mirror those that would later be made by Ross and others against Steve Nunn. LEXINGTON (AP) — Maybe it’s Southern courtesy or his introverted nature that keeps him from interrupting attorneys during oral arguments, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Thursday evening. Whatever the reason, the Georgia native had a blunt assessment about the rapid-fire questioning from some of his colleagues during recent hearings on the nation’s health care law. The queries weren’t helpful to him in deciding the case, he said. And Thomas suggested his loquacious colleagues should do more listening and less talking. “I don’t see where that advances anything,” he said of the frequent questions. “Maybe it’s the Southerner in me. Maybe it’s the introvert in me, I don’t know. I think that when somebody’s talking, somebody ought to listen.” His remarks drew applause from the audience that heard Thomas’ insights on the court during a 90-minute appearJudge sentences Bengals’ ance at the University of Kentucky. A relaxed Thomas anSimpson to 15 days swered questions from UK’s law school dean, a law professor and a leading UK law school alum. COVINGTON (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Thomas has gained a reputation for staying silent during Jerome Simpson was sentenced Thursday to 15 days in jail oral arguments before the high court. and three years’ probation on a drug-related charge. A judge in Covington reduced the jail time from the 60 days recommended by prosecutors in their plea agreement Gov. Nunn wrote to son: with Simpson, now an unrestricted free agent after four sea‘God will humble you’ sons with the Bengals. Simpson pleaded guilty March 1 to the felony charge reFormer Kentucky Gov. Louie B. Nunn told his son in a 1997 letter that “within my mind and memory, you do not sulting from about 2 pounds of marijuana shipped to his exist” and that “Someday God will humble you,” while de- northern Kentucky home in September. He was indicted on tailing multiple allegations of abuse by former lawmaker a felony charge of marijuana trafficking, but the plea agreement changed the charge to a prohibited act relating to Steve Nunn against family members over the years. Louie Nunn, who served as governor from 1967 to 1971, controlled substances, also a felony. Simpson, clad in a dark suit, took the stand briefly and castigated his son in writing for what he saw as mistreatment of his ex-wife and children and said the family wanted apologized to his family, the community and his team. “I take full responsibility for my actions,” he said. He also nothing to do with him. “It appears to me that nothing I can do will ever humble told the judge that he thinks that “because of this I am a betyou in any way,” Louie Nunn wrote on Aug. 4, 1997. “Some- ter person.” Simpson told the judge that he would try through comday God will humble you.” munity service to help others not to make the same mistake. Western Ky. man to face retrial in murder case BENTON (AP) — A western Kentucky man will face a retrial on a charge of murder starting Wednesday and a judge says he may move the proceedings to a new county if a jury can’t be seated. Marshall County Circuit Judge Dennis Foust on Thursday ordered jury selection for George Luna to start in Marshall County, but opened the possibility that it could be moved to Calloway County if finding an impartial panel proved impossible. The state Supreme Court ordered in 2010 that Luna was entitled to a new trial. The Paducah Sun reported (http://bit.ly/HiTVCQ ) that Foust will allow prosecutors to seek an enhanced penalty of life without parole for Luna if he’s convicted. Prosecutors plan to argue that Debra Hendrickson’s 2007 death coincided with robbery and arson. Prosecutors want competency test in murder case LOUISVILLE (AP) — Prosecutors in Louisville have asked a judge to order a competency evaluation for a man charged with killing a Sullivan University student. Jefferson County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Van De Rostyne told Circuit Judge Mitch Perry that the request was prompted by a review of Gregory O’Bryan’s medical records and an interview with police in which O’Bryan indicated he had received psychiatric treatment. The Courier-Journal reported (http://cjky.it/HBN9XJ ) it wasn’t clear Thursday if Perry granted the motion. Perry told attorneys not to discuss the issue publicly. Police say 18-year-old Andrew Compton has not been seen since Oct. 28, 2010. O’Bryan has pleaded not guilty to murder, sodomy, two counts of tampering with physical evidence and three counts of abuse of a corpse. His trial is set for November. CONTACT NEWSROOM Periodical postage paid at Danville, KY. 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