Kentucky Lake Times

Inside KLT

9 May 08 Big Sandy Spring Festival
The annual Big Sandy Spring Festival will be held on Saturday, May 24, 2008. As usual there will be a parade, a car show and many different festivities for the whole family. The Big Sandy Chamber of Commerce welcomes everyone out for a good time. Click here for directions and additional information.
9 May 08 A Muslim president?

Your opinion please... A reader asks, "Is Obama the right Muslim for America?". Click Here to send us your opinion for publishing online. (email addresses are not shared).

Readers' comments:
From Tammy: Oh yes, Obama is the right Muslim for the United States if that's what the Dem party wants.
From Mark: I don't know if he's actually a Muslim or not, but his background appears to be. I don't think we need Muslims in the White House.
From C: Obama is not a Mulsim. This is silly.
From Anon: The ACLU has been trying to get a Muslim man in the government like this for years. I believe it has been their main goal since they came into existence. People think this country is messed up now, wait until Obama gets into office.
From Cal: I don't trust Osama Obama and never will.
From Anon: Once a Muslim always a Muslim. Democrats deserve what they get. And Hillary will probably be his vice president.
From Anon: I really have not been impressed by the lineup of any of the three major players for this election. This is a hard one for me but I know I have no desire to have any Islamonazis in the Whitehouse.
From Kerrie: I'm no McCain or Clinton fan but I don't want a Muslim president after what they did to us on 9/11. How quickly people forget.
From Shelly: A muslim president? Really? I know for a fact that he is not Muslim. He is Islamic.

Click Here to send us your opinion for publishing online, or if you have a question you wish to ask other readers. Comments in reaction to other readers' opinions will likely be ignored. Use the "Letters to the Editor" feature instead. (email addresses are not shared).
9 May 08 Benton County weather
Big Sandy, Camden, Eva, Holladay
Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Some of the storms could be severe. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. North wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west.

Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. North northeast wind around 5 mph becoming east southeast.

Saturday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
8 May 08 County ball parks, poor planning and wasteful spending
Ongoing discussion - Click here to read more or share your opinion.
6 May 08 Benton County slammed with penalties by IRS - County Mayor responsible?
Camden, TN - Benton County resident Henry Berry says that he confronted County Mayor Wiseman two weeks ago about Benton County receiving penalties and interest for failing to pay payroll taxes in a timely manner. Berry said that "while raising his right hand as if to take an oath, Mayor Wiseman told me to my face that it was not true."

"Mr. Mayor, you are responsible for this action. It is unconscionable and in excusable for this to go on for months. Fire the payroll clerk and make restitution to the taxpayers."

For documentation click here.
3 May 08 Man dies after playing Russian roulette
A Versailles, Kentucky man died at University of Kentucky Hospital after apparently shooting himself while playing Russian roulette Friday morning. According to authorities, Ryan Wilson was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his head where he died around 1:00 p.m. Friday.

Police said that Wilson was in his apartment with friends during the shooting, after which they fled the scene. Authorities suspect alcohol was involved.
27 Apr 08 Bob Keast of Birdsong speaks to the Senate Conservation/Environment and Tourism Committee
Bob Keast of Birdsong Resort, Marina and Campground has prepared a speech for Tueday, April 29th in front of the powerful Senate Committee on Conservation, Environment and Tourism.

The speech can be viewed with live streaming video using Windows Media Player on Kentucky Lake Times on April 29.
13 Apr 08 Why did Benton County allow pay structure issues to persist?
According to a post in the Benton County Issues forum, a lawsuit "brought by elected officials to address unfair pay levels was decided in their favor this past week. Judge Harris had listened to arguments one of which was that the General Assembly in Nashville was currently considering a bill that would allow County Commissioners to be part of the process. Thus Judge Harris held that according to the law Mayor Wiseman had acted correctly when he agreed with the lawsuit. One might ask why the County allowed this problem to persist. All county employees should be on the same pay for the same type of work." {Click here to discuss this issue}
8 Apr 08 Major Benton County Announcement
Read more by clicking here
12 Mar 08 Wiseman steps on animal shelter fundraiser
Camden, TN - County Mayor Jimmy Wiseman, labeled as "puppy killer" by some residents of Benton County, has recently been accused on a public forum concerning allegations of interfering with a fund raiser that would benefit the Benton County Animal Shelter.

According to the post, t-shirts were displayed at the Benton County court house, but Wiseman demanded that the display be taken “down immediately", that it was making him look bad.

You can read more about this by clicking here. This link also provides links to photographs of the t-shirts that are being used to help raise funds for the animal shelter.

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State, Nation & World

9 May 08 Car show to benefit Relay for Life
Paris, TN - The "Cool Cars for a Cure Then and Now" car show will take place Saturday at the Paris Civic Center/Paris Elementary School. Registration is only $20. All proceeds go to Relay for Life.

The car show is schedule to begin at 10:00 a.m., concluding at 3:00 p.m. with trophies awarded in five categories at 2:30 p.m. The event is free for spectators. Donations to the American Cancer Society are appreciated.
8 May 08 Capture of al Qaeda leader
Iraqi security forces, trained by the U.S. military, report that they have captured the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq early Thursday in the northern city of Mosul, Iraq. The Msulim terrorist's name is Abu Ayyab al-Masri, among several others, including Abu Hamza al-Muhajir.

If the reports are true, this is another major blow for al Qaeda, a Sunni Muslim terrorist organization. According to Reuters, "Duraid Kashmula, the governor of Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, also said the detained man had confessed to being Masri."

In a video tape Masri had called for renewed attacks on U.S. soldiers, saying that the Muslims should "celebrate" over the deaths of more than 4,000 American troops. A $5-million bounty was placed on his head by America. (Update 9 May 08: The US military denied reports on Friday that al-Qaeda leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri had been captured in Iraq.)
6 May 08 Debt Relief USA, Inc.
Debt Relief USA, Inc. advertises on TV. According to the Better Business Bureau, consumers say they're not happy with the company's service and results of the debt negotiation program. Customers complain that paying the company fee and following the debt negotiation program doesn't reduce debt, as stated by company reps.

As a result of the program, consumers complain they have MORE debt. BBB has received 52 complaints against the company in the past year. It resolves complaints by offering refunds or referring to the Client Services Agreement for explanation. However, it has failed to correct the underlying reason for the complaints.
5 May 08 Notable Quote
"America owes a great deal to those who are 'the power behind the power' - the spouses, children, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters of our men and women in uniform. They, too, make a significant contribution - and pay a price - in the cause of protecting our country" in the war on terror. (U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates)
Economic stimulus payment scams
According to the BBB, scam artists impersonating IRS employees are calling consumers asking for Social Security and bank account numbers, claiming they need the information to complete the processing of their stimulus payment.

Reality: the IRS uses the information on the taxpayer's tax return to process the payment. Another scam is in e-mail form. It claims to be from the IRS and tells recipients to click on a link to fill out a form, apparently for direct deposit of the payment.
4 May 08 Big Brown wins Kentucky Derby
Big Brown wins the gold in the Kentucky Derby. Nearly 160,000 turned out for the Derby. This was Big Brown's fourth consecutive victory.

However, admidst all of the celebrating, there was tragedy on the track when the filly, Eight Belles, went down because she had broken her front ankles and could not be saved. Eight Belles was eventually euthanized by injection on the track.

Photo of Big Brown
27 Apr 08 CMT comes to Birdsong

Bob Keast of Birdsong Signs CMT (Country Music Television) Contract

Sunday April 27, 2008 (Birdsong Resort/TN River Pearl Museum) - Vinnie Kaufmann, Bob Keast and Debbie Tyner pose for a quick picture in front of the Pearl Museum sign as they "ink" the contract to shoot a half hour CMT program on May 11th.

Kaufmann and Tyner are talent and location producers for CMT in Los Angles and Nashville. Kaufmann contacted Bob Keast after reading the Nashville Tennessean's Travel section a few weeks ago and called Bob up to see if he would be interested in providing Birdsong as a resort setting to host a TV show in a series aired on Country Music TV. Bob said, "of course, bring it on to Benton County. We will treat your production company like rich aunts and uncles. Whatever your crew needs like boats and fishing and of course, the 58 acre resort are all free. We want your group to come back and like the publicity that will come out of it."

The trio spent a couple of hours going around the resort and marina in the golf cart taking still pictures and discussing the location and all the attributes the resort has to offer for the production company that is in charge of shooting the half hour show.

According to Keast: "The name of the show is being held at this time for further contractual agreements to be signed but there is a possibility that several top name recording stars will appear in the show being shot here in Benton County. There is a possibility for some local citizens to appear in the crowd shots as the TV show is being filmed."

Keast said, "It is a lot of fun being able to work with a production company especially for a half hour TV show being aired world wide. It is rewarding being able to bring this kind of exposure to Benton County."