BLANKENSHIP PLANNING CHANGES IN HIS OFFICE
It has only been a month since Mark Blankenship was appointed the commonwealth attorney for Marshall and Calloway counties. Blankenship, a Murray state alumnus, has already made plans to change office staffing and duties. Some of his changes include reopening the Marshall county judicial center, he also plans on hiring a part time detective, which will be part of Blankenship’s focus on violent crimes and a backlog of about 200 cases.

MCCLAIN: CAVETTE DEATH HEART RELATED
Graves County Coroner Philip McClain said that preliminary autopsy results for 21-year-old Randon Cavette show that his death was heart-related. The autopsy was conducted Monday in Madisonville. Cavette died Sunday evening after playing a pickup basketball game at Mayfield Middle School. He was a former Graves County High School basketball player who led the Eagles to the Sweet 16 final four in 2006. McClain said that as a standard procedure, toxicology work would be done, but the results will not be known for two to three weeks.

TOY BACK IN JAIL
Chad Toy, escaped from the McCracken County Jail early yesterday morning has turned himself in that afternoon. Toy escaped while on a work detail inside the jail. Toy claimed that he only escaped to see his child and his sister.

CHAPMAN EXECUTION FRIDAY
Governor Steve Beshear says the state will proceed with the execution of 37 year-old Marco Chapman Friday at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville. Chapman did not want to want his attorney to appeal after pleading guilty to fdouble murder charges from 2002.

EDWARDS PLEAS NOT GUILTY
Ethan Edwards pleaded not guilty yesterday in Graves County to five counts related to the death of 17-year-old Adam Hogarty. Edwards has been charged with manslaughter after allegedly giving morphine tea, a drink containing morphine and codeine to Hogarty. His attorney believes Edwards has been wrongly deemed a drug dealer.

LAWMAKES MAY CONSIDER CIGARETTE TAX INCREASE
Forecasts show the state could lose more than 1.2 million dollars in revenues next two years. Many politicians are reconsidering raising the state's tax on cigarettes, said Democratic state Rep. David Watkins in Henderson.

FARMER PUSHING KY GOODS
Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer encourages Kentuckians to give Kentucky produced foods and products this holiday season. The Kentucky Proud search engine is a free, easy-to-use way to start off your holiday shopping. The search engine enables consumers to search through about 1,300 Kentucky Proud members selling more than18,000 products. From the Kentucky Department of Agriculture's Web site, www-dot-kyagr-dot-com, go to the "KY Proud" pull-down menu on the top right side of the homepage. You also can shop A Taste of Kentucky online at www-dot-a-taste-of-Kentucky-dot-com.

INTERNATIONAL WEEK AT MSU
Chinese Diplomat He Xiangdong is scheduled to speak at Murray State University tomarrow at 7 p.m., in the Curris Center Theatre as part of the university's annual International Week festivities. Xiangdong serves as counselor for congressional affairs with the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. His speech will focus on several topics of interest including the success that China has experienced in the 21st century, the recent Olympic Games, relations between China and the United States, the Chinese economy and a look into what may be coming in the future. Counselor Xiangdong serves as chief liaison to the U.S. Congress and is recognized as one of the most senior Chinese Diplomats in the nation.

ACROSS KENTUCKY
First lady Laura Bush is paying a visit to Hodgenville today, she will spend some time at a school and at Abraham Lincoln's birthplace. This is a trip that was scheduled for last February but postponed because of weather issues. The purpose is to call attention to a campaign to raise money to make improvements to sites important in the Abraham Lincoln story. The "Courier Journal" reports that except for people invited to today's events they're closed to the public.

Kentucky first lady Jane Beshear is announcing a campaign today to renovate the old Governor's mansion. The mansion has been the official residence of the Kentucky lieutenant governor for several years. Mrs. Beshear hopes to raise money from private sources to renovate the building before the 2010 World Equestrian Games.

There are many activities in western Kentucky this week to remember Alban Barkley. Barkley, born in a log cabin in Graves County, went on to have a full political career including serving as Harry Truman's vice president. A graveside memorial was held on Monday, today there's a special presentation at the Paducah Lions Club. On Saturday a panel discussion of Barkley's life at the McCracken County Courthouse, then on Sunday a memorial service at Broadway United Methodist Church.

Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson says he's imposing a hiring freeze and tightening the metro governments spending. Louisville is facing a 20-million-dollar shortfall. The shortfall is blamed on rising unemployment and a drop in business revenues. The mayor expects more cuts to be made in government.

A University of Cumberland student faces identity theft and other charges. Williamsburg Police and the Attorney General's Cyber Crimes Unit have arrested 23-year old Sungkook Kim. They charge Kim hacked into his fellow students' email accounts and tried to blackmail with personal information.