The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page B5

B5 THE COURIER-JOURNAL KENTUCKY A former educatorat public and religious schools in the Louisville area has been charged with molestingtwo boys while working at Schaffner Elementary School in the 1970s. Bill Maggard 56, of Louisville faces three counts of first-degree sexual abuse. He is accused of molesting two boys between 1973 and 1975, when he was a fifth-grade teacher at Schaffner. Maggard, who was indicted Dec. 17, pleaded innocent at his Dec.

22 arraignment; afterward he posted a bond of $5,000. A pretrial conference is set for Jan. 23 in Jefferson Circuit Court. Maggard taught 13 years in Jefferson County Public Schools and later worked at a school operated by Highview Baptist Church, where he also volunteered in Sunday school and choir programs until recently. The church is one of the largest Southern Baptist congregations.

Neither the Jefferson County Public Schools nor the church is aware of any allegation against Maggard other than those in the indictment, officials said. have any complaints (or) disciplinary involving Maggard, said Lauren Roberts, a school district called and asked our Human Resources Department to check the file. There was The Rev. Kevin Ezell, pastor of Highview, said he knew of no allegation against Maggard. When Maggard signed up for volunteer work about seven years ago, a routine criminal background check showed no allegations, he said.

Assistant Attorney Anne Hayniesaid she would seek more information from both the school system and the church for trial. She had subpoenaed Ezell to testify before the grand jury investigating Maggard, but attorneys for Maggard and Ezell successfully petitioned a judge to quash the subpoena. They cited state law protecting clergy-penitent conversations. The indictment charges Maggard with two counts of abusing one boy between August 1973 and June 1974 and a third count of abusing a second boy between August 1974 and June 1975, according to Haynie. Both the alleged victims were students at Schaffner, Haynie said, and were in different grades.

She said the case arose when a member of Highview who knew of allegations of abuse by Maggard at Schaffner was concerned about his being in contact with children in the church. She contacted the alleged victims and encouraged them to go to police, Haynie said. Maggard taught from 1969 to 1975 at Schaffner and from 1975 to 1982 at Wil- liams Middle School, then left the district, Roberts said. Some time after leaving the public school system, Maggard employed very at Highview Baptist School (now Whitefield Academy), according to attorney Jay Turner, who represents Highview Baptist Church and Ezell. Turner said yesterday that he did not have exact job description but that he was not a teacher.

Haynie said she wanted to find out the circumstances under which employment ended at the school. She said she is trying to confirm reports that he was fired as headmaster there. Ezell, who became pastor after Maggard left his job, said he did not know why he left. A man who answered the telephone at Whitefield Academy and who refused to identify himself referred all questions to Ezell. A 1991Courier-Journal article identified Maggard as a teacher who re- ceived a grant to publish a literary magazine at the school.

Ezell said Maggard volunteered in recent years for the Sunday senior high school department as a record keeper. He confirm yesterday if Maggard had done any teaching, but never went on any retreats or he said. Maggard resigned from his Sunday school position in August or September, Turner said, adding he know if the church asked him to. Maggard resigned from a church choir around the time of his indictment, Turner and Ezell said. Turner said Ezell was obligated to defend the clergy-penitent privilege once the Maggard invoked it.

he (Ezell) was subpoenaed to testify, he knew that he had the responsibility to do the right thing and if necessary invoke the clergy-penitent Turner said. would with any part of the investigation that is not confidential, Turner said. Kentucky Rules of Evidence granta privilege disclosing a confidential communication between the person and a clergyman in his professional character as spiritual Legislators last year rejected an attempt to amend that law, making an exception in cases of child sexual abuse, in the wake of scandals in the Catholic Church. Baptist Church has been extremely proactive to ensure that every minor at the church feels Turner added. been very proactive in screening applicants for volunteer position, doing background checks, filling out extensive applications and work Ezell said he did not expect the church would announce arrest to the congregation.

Maggard and his attorney could not be reached for comment yesterday. Former teacher charged with molesting two students By PETER SMITH The Courier-Journal KNOXVILLE, Tenn. The Tennessee Valley Authority has spent $472,000 since 2000 to fly Chairman Glenn McCullough on the company plane from his home in Tupelo, an audit found. these flight legs would not have been required had the duty station been the independent inspector office wrote. McCullough said Tuesday that he has no plans to move from Tupelo, but he will work to reduce travel costs and limit his use of the TVA plane.

intend to use the most efficient mode of transportation available to meet scheduled business McCullough said. will primarily rely on commercial airlines and travel by car to and from my official duty station where it is consistent with TVA business McCullough, a Republican championed by former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi, was appointed to the three- member TVA board in 1999 by President Clinton and elevated to chairman by President Bush in 2001. McCullough, a former Tupelo mayor, is the first TVA chairman in memory not to make his official home in Knoxville, where TVA has its headquarters. Marvin Runyon kept a personal home in Nashville while he was chairman in the late 1980s, but he declared his Knoxville apartment as his official according to TVA spokesman John Moulton. TVA Inspector General Richard Moore said the review, which McCullough requested in July, focused on the choice and use of the company plane, not on the decision to let McCullough declare Tupelo his duty station.

However, he said, believe so long as the official duty station is in Tupelo, TVA should look for ways to reduce the costs associated with that The report noted that the TVA twice reviewed the decision and determined it appropriate since McCullough spent most of his work time traveling, primarily throughout the seven-state region or to Washington. During a review period from October 2000 through June 2003, McCullough spent about 26percent of his workdays in Knoxville and 11percent in Tupelo, the inspector general wrote. Tupelo is about 400 miles from Knoxville, about 290 miles from the main power offices in Chattanooga and about 85 miles from the operations in Muscle Shoals, Ala. The TVA has one leased airplane a 2001 King Air 350 turboprop. It pays $34,279 a month for the twin-engine craft.

It can carry nine passengers and two pilots. The inspector general determined that was conservative compared with other utilities. For instance, Atlanta-based Southern Co. has six jets; Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy has five jets; and the comparable Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, has two turboprops. However, the inspector general wrote that the TVA should tighten policies on documenting the business-only use of the company plane and assess whether there are ways to reduce the overall costs associated with the official duty station being In a letter, Executive Vice President LeAnne Stribley promised the TVA would follow the suggestions.

The inspector general said TVA spent nearly on 427 passenger flights transporting 415 people during the study period. Stribley said the plane is used primarily to fly board members and senior executives. Other passengers include congressmen, state and local officials, TVA power distributors and business people. found no instances of personal use during the review the inspector general wrote. But the auditors did find least 13 non-employee spouses of TVA personnel flying on the The inspector general concluded about 16percent, or $472,000, of the King total costs were due to the of Tupelo over for duty station.

McCullough said that despite a tighter standard on plane travel, he will to travel to meet and build stronger relationships with customers, state and local officials, energy industry officials, employees, retirees, members of Congress and other TVA He called such travel to long-term The TVA is a self-supporting government corporation that supplies electricity to 158 distributors serving 8.3million people in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. TVA spends $472,000 for plane trips By DUNCAN MANSFIELD Associated Press Williams said Seum has represented part of the district and is known for his successful efforts to end vehicle emissions testing in the county, so his name recognition will help his daughter. campaign literature puts quotation marks around her maiden name, to make it stand she said. presence on the Senate floor yesterday drew objections from Democratic Leader Ed Worley of Richmond, who said later that she should not have been there after filing her papers, particularly in light of her rivalry with Saunders. Stephenson, who is able to be on the floor with relatives because of a rule allowing access tomembers of a family, said she meant no disrespect.

father simply invited she said. always done that in the past, any time been in This state Senate races are in the 19 odd-numbered districts, four of which are in Jefferson County. No one has filed in the 33rd District, but Democratic Sen. Gerald Neal said he will run, and Williams said Republicans are unlikely to have a candidate in the heavily Democratic district. The other two Jefferson districts, which swapped most of their precincts in the Republican-drawn redistricting of 2002, already have heated Democratic primaries.

In the 19th District, labor lawyer ChedJennings is challenging four- term Sen. Tim Shaughnessy, who has never had a primary opponent. Jennings, 53, ran for Congress in 2000 but dropped out before the primary. Then-Gov. Paul Patton hired and laterfired him as commissioner of claims.

Jennings said he is running because voters signaled with the election of a Republican governor last fall that they want change, and because Shaughnessy has part of the mess, so to speak, in Asked what mess Shaughnessy had made, Jennings said, not trying to blame him directly, but been over there and been a part of that and I think the voters want to see SHAUGHNESSY, 46, said, think done a very good job of advocating the moderate ground in an increasingly liberal-tainted Despite labor connections, Shaughnessy said he expects to have the support of organized labor. In the 35th District, three Democrats are running for the seat being given up by Democratic Sen. David Karem Denise Harper Angel, Ken Herndon and David Kaplan. Harper Angel, 50, has been Jefferson elected property valuation administrator for 13 years. She said she knows the legislative process because she lobbied for PVAs as the first female president of their state association.

Harper Angel has raised more than $33,000, including $500 contributions from former Gov. Brereton Jones, state Auditor Crit Luallen and businessman Bruce Lunsford, who ran for the Democratic nomination for governor last year, dropped out just before the primary and later endorsed Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher. HERNDON, 46, said his work as executive director of the Louisville Downtown Management District, his leadership in other organizations and causes, and his onetime ownership of a graphic-design business give him a better background. In 2002, Herndon was elected Jefferson County judge-executive, a post that was left without power by city-county merger.

He has raised more than $21,000 for the Senate race. Kaplan, 32, a lawyer at Frost Brown Todd, said he offers progressive and policy in areas such as health care. Kaplan, who was a county cochairman of Ben campaign for governor, has raised more than $27,000. cratic leaders to win the nomination for a vacant Senate seat. Seum ousted Saunders in the 1988 Democratic primary, but with the help of redistricting by Democratic senators, Saunders narrowly defeated Seum four years later.

Seum won adifferentSenate seat in 1994, was re-elected in 1998, then became a Republican, helping the GOP take control of the Senate and oust Saunders as its president. When Saunders gained the post in 1997, Seum told him in a floor speech, you have no STEPHENSON, a teacher who lives in the 7600 block of Manslick Road, is running in the 37th District, which stretches south from the Ohio River through Pleasure Ridge Park and as far east as Jefferson Mall. She said yesterday that a Republican would better serve the district because the GOP controls the Senate, 22 to 16. The voter registration is nearly 2-to-1Democratic, but state Republican Chairman Ellen Williams said President Bush and U.S. Rep.

Anne Northup both carried it in 2000. Saunders said he does not feel threatened because he carried the district by more than 2-to-1in that election, winning every precinct. Redistricting has since elongated the district to the east, but Saunders said it is a tiny bit less Daughter of Seum to seek his Senate seat Continued from Page B1 42 60 155 19TH, 35TH AND 37TH SENATE DISTRICTS BULLITT 3333 33 3535 35 37 3636 36 19 2626 26 38 1010 10 61 71 65 264 264 64 64 265 265 3838 38 26 2020 20 BY STEVE DURBIN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL 65 GEORGETOWN, Ky. A pregnant woman from Stamping Ground was shot and killed Wednesday night in a community park, Scott County officials said yesterday. Ashley Renee Lyons, 18, died instantly of multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at by the Scott County office.

Scott County Deputy Sheriff John Farris said the death was not a suicide. father found her body in a park across from Scott County High School, Farrissaid. Her body was taken to the state medical office in Frankfort for an autopsy. Associated Press Pregnant woman killed at Georgetown park FRANKFORT, Ky. General Fund receipts in December rose 6.4 percent compared with the same month in 2002, the state budget office reported yesterday.

For the first six months of the current fiscal year, whichends June 30, General Fund as a whole grew 0.3 percent, compared with the same period in the previous fiscal year, according to the office. sales tax and individual income tax increased said Brad Cowgill, the budget director. in these sources is necessary for any recovery, as these two sources account for approximately 75 percent of the General Receipts for December were compared with the year before, the reportsaid. The first six months of this fiscal year brought in with the previous year. Individual income tax receipts were up by 8.6 percent and the sales and use tax revenue was up 8 percent compared with the previous report found.

Those figures are indicators that employment and earnings are expanding, Cowgill said. General Fund receipts rose last month Associated Press HAZARD, Ky. expect to see mountains from the windows of the University of Appalachian Centerin Lexington. The view is of flat land. The nearest ridges are miles away.

Some critics are again questioning the rationale of having an Appalachian Center in Bluegrass region, instead of in the mountain region that it was established to help. would think if going to do service, other than lip service, they should be in said Hazard Mayor Bill Gorman. need the strong leadership of the Appalachian Center, but we need it in the Gorman was one of about 50 people who attended a public meeting yesterday in Hazard to suggest ways the Appalachian Center might better serve people in the mountains. Joe Fink, vice president for research and economic development at UK, said an effort is under way to refocus the Appalachian Center, which was established 25 years ago. He said university leaders will consider the calls to move the center to Appalachia.

on the he said. are willing to look at The Appalachian Center was created to help improve the quality of life in Eastern Kentucky and the central Appalachian region. One past role of the center was to challenge stereotypes of the region and to raise awareness of various issues people in the mountains wrestle with, such as unemployment. The center challenged the accuracy of the system for calculating unemployment rates. By adding discouraged workers who no longer receive jobless benefits and who no longer are seeking jobs, researchers found that the unemployment in some counties came close to 50percent.

Ewell Balltrip, director of the Kentucky Appalachian Commission, said the mountain counties can benefit greatly from the resources at UK, particularly with research projects that explore issues specific to the region, especially economic topics. truly a landscape of economic and social he said. have some counties along the I-75 and I-64 corridors that are doing comparatively well. When you get off the interstate corridors, we have counties that are not doing Gorman said he has pushed for UK to move the Appalachian Center to Appalachia since it was first established. He said the center has no visibility in Eastern Kentucky.

Many people do not even know it exists. could never understand why they would have an Appalachian Center in he said. you will move to Hazard, we will find a place to give you free Benny Ray Bailey, a former state senator from Eastern Kentucky, joined He said it makes as much sense to build a Central Kentucky University in Whitesburg as it does to keep the Appalachian Center in Lexington. an insult to the people of Bailey said, it should be an embarrassment to the University of Speakers question site of Appalachian Center They say agency should not be Lexington-based By ROGER ALFORD Associated Press you will move to Hazard, we will give you free Hazard Mayor Bill Gorman.