Somerset — A White Lily man was arrested for arson, assault and wanton endangerment after he assaulted his mother and started a fire at her home on Thursday.
According to the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department, the department along with the White Lily Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire located at 7474 Hwy. 1643 Somerset, on that day.
Upon arrival at the scene they found that a mobile home was on fire. The subsequent investigation revealed that a domestic violence assault had occurred before the fire was started. They found that Derrick Gaines had assaulted his mother and started the fire inside the mobile home, with his mother and another female inside, by pouring kerosene onto the floor and igniting the flammable liquid.
At the scene Gaines, 22, was arrested by Deputy Steve Molen and charged with first-degree arson, two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment and fourth-degree domestic violence assault.
Gaines was lodged in the Pulaski County Detention Center and has a $50,000 cash bond.
Caption Mark Catron with the Somerset Fire Investigation Division said there was heavy damage to half of the structure and the rest of the structure had severe heat and smoke damage.
Catron also said that the Mt. Victory Fire Department also responded to the scene.
The investigation is continuing by the Somerset Fire Investigation Division along with the White Lily Fire Department and the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Depart-ment.
Local News
Local man accused of assault, arson
Gaines allegedly set trailer on fire after assaulting mother
- Local News
-
- Trial delayed for parents charged with trafficking daughters
-
Wolf Creek Dam renovation on target for Summer 2014 completion date
-
Burnisde may soon move to fourth-class status
-
McGaha didn’t approve farewell letter
-
Refinery to re-open in early summer
- Downtown road work running ahead of schedule
-
Board upholds principal’s demotion
-
Fast-moving blaze guts mobile home off Slate Branch Road
-
Big Bang Theory
Pulaski County is not at war. The booming you may hear at dusk is mock cannon fire to scare away birds.
Stuart Spillman, environmental director for the Lake Cumberland Health Department, said at least three cannons are on loan from the department to residents who want to scare away swarms of starlings and blackbirds settling in to roost.
He said a cannon is being used by a resident on Laura Lane off Ky. 39; another is in the Oak Hill Road area and a third is on Ashurst Street in the eastern part of Somerset.
Spillman said a timer on each cannon allows it to “fire” at whatever frequency is desired. The cannons must be used as the birds circle before going to roost. “After they settle in, nothing will chase them out,” Spillman said.
The Health Department doesn’t operate the cannons unless there is a specific complaint in an area where there are lots of birds, Spillman noted. He said so far this year the birds are not as bad as in the past. -
Boil water advisory is lifted countywide
The water controversy that Pulaski County has been boiling over — so to speak — for the last week is finally over.
At 10 minutes after noon Wednesday, the “boil water” advisory for the Western Pulaski Water District was lifted — almost a full week after the problems began around 1 p.m. last Thursday.
Prior to that, the Somerset Water Service — along with the other water providers in its system, including Science Hill Water, Southeastern Water, and Eubank Water — lifted their advisories, with Somerset on Saturday afternoon and the last, Southeastern, by Monday morning. Western Pulaski was the last in the system to complete sample testing for potential contaminants, due to not being able to access its Pikeville-based testing lab until Monday.
Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler thanked the public for its patience and understanding during the duration of the boil water advisory — put in place to keep citizens from drinking water that could have been contaminated after an accident last Thursday at the water plant site — and also thanked all the city employees for their hard work during this time.
“The boil water advisory went about as well as would be expected,” said Girdler.
- More Local News Headlines






