Commonwealth Journal

Local News

December 29, 2008

Woman killed in wreck on Ky

Two others injured in Sunday crash

Two people remain in the hospital after a two-vehicle accident that occurred east of Somerset claimed a woman’s life this past weekend.

According to the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department, authorities were dispatched at around 9:37 a.m. Sunday to the site of the accident approximately 10 miles east of Somerset on Ky. 461.

Scarlett Jones, 25, of Purr Rigsby Road, Brodhead, Ky. was killed after the 2000 Chevrolet Impala she was operating northbound on Ky. 461 left the roadway and struck a guardrail and then struck a vehicle traveling southbound.

Jones was extricated from the vehicle by the Somerset Pulaski County Rescue Squad and pronounced dead at the scene by the Pulaski County Coroner’s Office.

Pulaski County Coroner Richard New said Jones most likely died from blunt force trauma that occurred during the accident.

“We are speculating that blunt force trauma was the cause of death,” New said.

New emphasized that the cause of death won’t officially be known until an autopsy is performed.

The operator of the 2001 Toyota truck, Vincent Pickens, 52, of Mt. Rushmore Drive, Richmond, Ky. was treated at the scene by Somerset Fire/EMS and transported to Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital. He was later airlifted to the University of Kentucky Medical Center by Air Methods.

A passenger in the Pickens vehicle, Glenna Jones, 49, of Village Drive, Berea, Ky. was also transported to LCRH and later transported by Air Methods to the UK Medical Center.

A UK spokesperson said on Monday afternoon that Pickens was listed in fair condition.

Glenna Jones was listed in serious condition at UK as of Monday afternoon.

Lt. Philip Cross with the sheriff’s department said the initial investigation suggests that Scarlett Jones was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.

Cross could not confirm whether speed may have been a factor in the crash.

“We’re still looking into that,” Cross said.

Traffic was rerouted for approximately four hours while authorities worked to reconstruct the accident and clear the scene.

The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department was assisted on the scene by the Shopville Stab Volunteer Fire Department and the Kentucky Safe Patrol.

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  • girdler.sl.jpg Pulaski carries Girdler to win

     

    In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.
    Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.
    Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.
    That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent. 
    However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.
    In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.
    Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.
    “I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”
    Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”
    As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that. 
    However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.
    “Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them. 
    Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month. 
    Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.
    Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”
    Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”
    Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.
    Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.
    “I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.
    “I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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