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11 hours ago
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Remembering Brenda Cowan, Lexington's first Black woman firefighter
Editor's Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city's history — some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange. Lexington's first Black woman who was a firefighter, Lieutenant Brenda Cowan, died in the line of duty. She died Feb. 13, 2004, when she was shot at the scene of a domestic dispute. She had been a firefighter for 12 years and was 40 years old, and had been promoted to lieutenant just days prior to her death. Cowan grew up in Sturgis and graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in psychology. An avid fan of the Lady Cats basketball team, she was a Wildcat Lodge Little Sister and became lifelong friends with members of thewomen's basketball team. After graduation, she joined the Lexington Fire Department, where she was widely respected. 'She just had an affectionate smile and personality that just made you feel good, and it was a joy to work with her,' Lt. Gavin McMenama told the Lexington Herald-Leader. 'She was a very good fireman. She was just an even better human being and just a pleasure to be with and make doing our jobs, sometimes when it's tough, made a lot easier for how she handled things and how she approached things.' Lexington's first Black female firefighter honored on 20th anniversary of her death Cowan had just been promoted to lieutenant when sheresponded to a domestic violence call in south Lexington. Fontaine Hutchinson had been shot in the head by her husband, Patrick Hutchinson. When other emergency crew members arrived on scene, Cowan and another firefighter, Jim Sanford, approached the house to get to the injured woman. However, Patrick Hutchinson fired on them, striking both multiple times. Hutchinson told Herald-Leader reporter Janet Patton he was staging a coup against alien-created human clones, and that he shot his wife because she had been taken over by the aliens and had a radio in her head. According to him, aliens had taken over the federal government. 'There's only 735 humans left in Lexington, and about 3 million left worldwide,' he told reporters. His actions, he said, were the beginning of an Armageddon, and he had been told by a snake carrying a branch he was the leader of the 'tribe of the stick,' with more than 250 panther-tiger and thousands of cobra members. Hutchinson barricaded himself in his house on Adams Lane near I-75. Police negotiated with Hutchinson as four first responders trapped in their vehicle were rescued. Crews extracted Cowan and Sanford as law enforcement began negotiations with Hutchinson. After a six-hour standoff, chemicals shot into the building forced Hutchinson from his home. Cowan died at the hospital. Her death marked the first Black woman firefighter to die in the line of duty in the United States. Her loss and legacy were felt throughout the community. An elementary school in Lexington, Brenda Cowan Elementary, was named after her and the Lexington Fire Department began hosting an annual fire camp for girls in her honor. Hutchinson was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. He pleaded guilty but mentally ill in 2008 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He is currently 66 years old and lodged at the Kentucky State Reformatory. Hutchinson is eligible for parole in 2028, and his sentence ends Dec. 3, 2033. Have a question or story idea related to Lexington's 250-year history? Let us know at 250LexKy@
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
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Former Lexington councilman latest Kentucky Dem to launch campaign for Congress
Former Lexington councilman David Kloiber is the second Democrat to announce a bid to flip Kentucky's 6th Congressional District from red to blue next year. Kloiber's plan is to bring 'common sense back to the Commonwealth' by emphasizing in Washington the importance of increasing access to affordable housing, alleviating high costs of health care, creating jobs and providing quality public education. 'Common sense means I'm focused on the core issues that impact people day-to-day,' Kloiber told the Herald-Leader ahead of his Wednesday morning launch. '... We need someone who is going to take our community's issues to Washington instead of the other way around and bringing Washington's rhetoric here.' Kloiber previously represented District 6 on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council from 2020 until 2022. That district includes neighborhoods in the city's Winchester Road corridor, Hamburg area and parts of Bryan Station. He's a Lexington native and graduate of Lexington Catholic High School and the University of Kentucky. In 2022, he ran an unsuccessful mayoral campaign against incumbent Linda Gorton who is now in her second term. Gorton received 71% of the vote. Kloiber took second with 29%. During that race, Kloiber gave $630,000 of his own money to his campaign, much of which came from loans from his family's generational wealth and a trust in his name. Just before Election Day that year, Kloiber had raised $644,055 and Gorton had raised $152,860. In conceding, Kloiber said, 'The biggest thing has always been name recognition, just to show people that there's an alternative. Now, it's all about reaching out, making those connections, and letting people know what it would mean to vote for somebody else.' During his run for mayor, Kloiber had a similar lineup of ideas to his current run for Congress. He's said then and now the city and area lacks appropriate workforce development infrastructure like job training facilities, housing close to where people work and good schools in every neighborhood. 'All politics is local,' Kloiber said. 'And too often we get caught up in national things that might not even impact us.' The former councilman runs the Kloiber Foundation, a nonprofit providing students and teachers in Fayette County Public Schools and surrounding counties with necessary technology. Outside of that, Kloiber said he has a leadership role in an investment management firm that has bankrolled new factories, upgrades to cattle ranches, hotel renovations and helped tech companies get their start. 'I know everyone has their own reasons for being here today, but my reasons are very simple,' Kloiber said during his campaign launch speech Wednesday at Elite Printing. 'They're the same ones that have driven me to do everything I've done in my life and that's make sure the place I live is the best it can be for my kids, my family and my community. 'I'm driven to ensure that every tomorrow shows more opportunities than every today.' He said if he wins the seat, he would pull from previous job creation experience to get more Kentuckians well paying work that is compatible to the area. Everything else part of his 'core pillar,' like housing access and curbing the costs of prescriptions, would hopefully fall in line once the jobs come, he said. During his campaign launch Wednesday, Kloiber said in Congress, the 'small caucuses being able to make a large impact by figuring out where and when their votes matter' makes all the difference and is what will 'allow us to get those results-driven policies that we need here in Kentucky.' Kloiber's announcement rings similar to early campaigning from the other Democrat in the race, former Lexington state representative Cherlynn Stevenson. 'I want to follow that blueprint,' said Kloiber of the way Gov. Andy Beshear has redefined what it means to be a Democrat leading what's an otherwise Republican state. Andy Barr, the longtime congressman, has held onto the 6th District seat since 2013. Since a close three-point victory in 2018 over Democrat Amy McGrath, he has won his last three elections by an average of 24 percentage points. President Donald Trump won the district by about 15 percentage points in the last election. But as Kloiber pointed out — and is hoping will help his own campaign — Beshear previously won the district by about 20 percentage points. Kloiber said he would spend the next few summer months 'traveling the district, hearing from residents and incorporating their experiences, their problems and their solutions into a comprehensive, common sense plan that's going to put people ahead of politics.' 'I think that up until very recently, he [Barr] really did reach out and try to appeal to those common issues,' Kloiber said during his launch. 'Now, I can't speak for what he's doing in his run for Senate, but I think that by reaching out to voters where they are on the issues they care about, that's the key to success.' Kloiber's name has been floated to fill the seat after a leading campaign committee for U.S. House Democrats said Kentucky's 6th Congressional District was back in play for the party. On Tuesday, nonpartisan election predictor Sabato's Crystal Ball shifted its rating for the seat from 'safe Republican' to 'likely Republican' as more Democrats show interest in the seat and due in part to the passage of cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs likely to impact how voters decide who represents them. The Herald-Leader previously reported Kentucky Democratic Party Executive Director Morgan Eaves has not denied interest in the job. Party chair Colmon Elridge has also been mentioned as a potential candidate. Federal prosecutor Zach Dembo and former secretary of state Allison Lundergan Grimes have also been mentioned. State Rep. Ryan Dotson, R-Winchester, has announced he's running for the seat. Republicans who could also be contenders include other state legislators like: Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, R-Lexington; Rep. Deanna Gordon, R-Richmond; Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville; and Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
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KY judge freezes Lexington Blue owner's assets. He insists he's being ‘vilified'
A Kentucky judge on Monday froze the assets of the owner of the failed roofing company Lexington Blue, days after the owner said he was being 'demonized and vilified.' Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, who described the company as a Ponzi scheme, sued Lexington Blue and owner Brad Pagel on May 30. The suit came days after the Herald-Leader reported on homeowners who had paid thousands for roofing repairs that never happened before Pagel shuttered his company and disappeared. Fayette Circuit Court Judge Diane Minnifield granted a temporary restraining order against Pagel, freezing his assets, as well as those belonging to Lexington Blue, various shell companies and Pagel's business partner, Alex Southwell. 'We are constantly on guard against predatory organizations that try to take advantage of Kentuckians, and we will hold these bad actors accountable,' Coleman said in a statement. 'We're sending a strong message to scammers that they will face serious consequences when they operate within our commonwealth.' Pagel, who has not responded to numerous Herald-Leader requests for an interview, posted on his Facebook page, with a link to Frank Sinatra's 'My Way,' over the weekend that he has 'spent the last 10 years of my life caring for others in ways no one ever cared for me, save for a select few who saw me. 'Being Demonized and Vilified is my only worldly reward.' Pagel said he had 'I sacrificed everything at the alter (sic) of a stupid company, trying my best to be everything to everyone I saw in need. ... The sad part is that a lot of these people have been going out of their way to destroy my entire life, anything or anyone associated with me, and crippling my ability to make things right for the very same customers they had a hand in accumulating. 'Please stop all of this! It's causing me so much more harm than you can possibly imagine!' Former employees of Lexington Blue told the Herald-Leader that he ran the company as 'a cult' with intimidation and threats. He also went after a job applicant who posted online about his unusual encounter with Pagel during his interview. In a now-deleted post, Pagel seemed to say that a pending bankruptcy would resolve issues for hundreds of roofing clients who said that they paid thousands for work that was never done. 'I already gave everything I had to keep everyone afloat for as long as I could and my net worth WAS the company,' Pagel wrote. 'Bankruptcy became my only option. The courts will assign the backlog and LB (Lexington Blue) will be dissolved shortly after.' But Pagel has not filed for bankruptcy protection for himself or his businesses. Now, under the court's order, Coleman's office is allowed to enter Lexington Blue's offices at 287 Pasadena Drive to copy records, including any electronic files. Pagel and Lexington Blue are restrained from soliciting any new roofing business or requesting additional money from current customers. According to documents filed Friday by Coleman's office, 'Lexington Blue may have accepted deposits from between 300 and 429 consumers without delivering services. In 2024 alone, it accepted $4.8 million in consumer payments for 329 projects, the majority of which appear unfulfilled.' Coleman's office said the actions 'go beyond poor management — they appear more like a coordinated scheme to defraud. ... Additionally, the company's financial practices are more akin to a Ponzi scheme: new consumer deposits were used to refund or partially complete older contracts, while substantial funds were diverted for personal gain. 'As with any Ponzi scheme, this practice eventually led to the fraud's escalation and Lexington Blue's collapse.' Attorney General Coleman said in a news release he encourages anyone who needs assistance with Lexington Blue to contact his office at 888-432-9257. Lexington roofer, under investigation by Kentucky Attorney General, shuts down
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
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Pistol dueling editors are part of the history of Kentucky's first newspaper
Editor's Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city's history — some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange. Disagreements over articles printed in Kentucky's first newspaper led to two deadly fights, leaving one editor and a civilian dead. When Lexington was founded 250 years ago, settlers decided they needed a newspaper to keep the 300 people in the area informed. Two of the settlers, John and Fielding Bradford, offered to return east to learn the craft and gather supplies for a press. When they returned, they started the Kentucke Gazette, the first newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains. The paper's main goal was to provide opinions on state politics and global issues to the American frontier community. Over the years, the name changed to the Kentucky Gazette and the publication grew from two pages to six pages a week. Its goal of providing community members with opinions and news remained. In 1827, Thomas Roberts Benning came to Lexington to serve as the editor of the Kentucky Gazette, after working as the editor of the Paris Register in Bourbon County. After Andrew Jackson was elected president, Benning turned his attention to matters at home — farming, education and abolition. Some didn't take too kindly to the opinions he printed in the paper. In 1829, Charles Wickliffe, the 21-year-old son of one of the area's largest slaveholders, Robert Wickliffe, was infuriated by an editorial that painted his father in a bad light. Wickliffe went to the Gazette office to talk to the writer of the editorial. When he saw Benning, an altercation ensued. Benning tried to beat Wickliffe off him with a small stick, but Wickliffe pulled out a pistol. Grabbing Benning's stick and throwing it on the floor, Wickliffe then shot Benning as he was trying to flee through the office's back door. 'Wickliffe then pulled out another pistol and maintained his stand for a moment in an attitude of menace, in Benning's office, and finally pulled out a third pistol and stood some time in front of the office threatening to shoot again,' the Gazette wrote about the incident. 'Mr. Benning did not fall when he received the wound but was soon carried from his office to his residence, and had his wound examined … the ball (had) gone through the intestines and lodged in the walls of the belly in the front and to one side. He lived in extreme agony about twenty-four hours and then died,' the Gazette wrote. Wickliffe was charged with murder, but his defense attorney — one Henry Clay — was able to get him acquitted before a mostly pro-slavery jury sympathetic to the Wickliffe family. Later that same year, a successor to the editor position was named, Wickliffe's best friend James George Trotter. A few months later, Wickliffe again found fault with something written in the paper. According to an account of the duel by J. Winston Coleman, Wickliffe was upset by 'some remarks made in the paper in relation to the death of Benning. This editorial insinuated that young Wickliffe had cowardly murdered the former editor of the Gazette without the latter having a chance to defend himself and hinted strongly at a 'packed and perjured jury' and the undue influence of Henry Clay as senior counsel for the accused.' As a result, Wickliffe challenged Trotter to a duel. On Oct. 9, 1829, the two men met at the Fayette County and Scott County line. The men fired and both missed their mark, with Trotter's ball passing through Wickliffe's pants. Wickliffe immediately demanded a second shot, to which Trotter agreed. After reloading and taking their positions for a second time, Trotter and Wickliffe fired at each other again. This time, Trotter's bullet found its mark. Lowering himself to the ground, Wickliffe was examined and found to be mortally wounded. After being rushed to his father's house at the corner of Jefferson and Second streets, Wickliffe died about three hours later. An inquiry into the duel found that it had been conducted properly and Trotter returned to his position as editor of the Gazette. Although many friends of Wickliffe attacked him, Trotter only answered them in the columns of his paper, writing 'I abhor dueling. I abhor fighting in every shape and form; but I can say to the whole host of scoundrels who … put themselves behind the breastwork of villainy and rascality, that whenever they are disposed to experiment upon my cowardice, they can be accommodated.' It wasn't the last duel for Trotter. According to the Kentucky State Historical Society, 'Trotter seems to have been a ready and willing man of war with the pistol, as well as with the quill, when occasion demanded. We hear of him again in 1833, engaging in a personal encounter with George D. Prentice, editor of the Louisville Journal, upon the streets of Louisville.' The Trotter-Wickliffe duel went down in Kentucky history. Wickliffe, the hot-head who went after newspaper editors was dead. Trotter, after a few more years as the Gazette's editor, was admitted to and died in an asylum 20 years later. Have a question or story idea related to Lexington's 250-year history? Let us know at 250LexKy@
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3 days ago
- General
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How Lexington's first food bank was founded and continues to help across KY today
Editor's Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city's history — some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange. Mim Hunt, Lexington's first food bank founder, couldn't escape her calling to help others. Mildred 'Mim' Salmon Lunsford Hunt spent her life helping people in Lexington and beyond. Although at one point she vowed to leave 'the heartbreaking profession of social work,' the desire to help those in need pulled her back in. Born on Feb. 24, 1914, Hunt grew up in Lexington. In the 1940s, Hunt moved to New York City to pursue a career as a child welfare worker. After several years in the city, she moved back to her hometown, vowing to leave social work behind. In the early 1950s, though, that would change. In a 'History of God's Pantry,' Hunt wrote that she realized that Lexington had its own empoverished areas just like New York City. Enlisted to help those in need by Dr. Harriet Marble, Hunt raised money to help Black patients at Eastern State Hospital. Later, she and her husband Robert started a retail space selling health food, gifts and antiques named Mim's. Instead of leaving social work behind her, she started collecting food, clothing and bedding for those in need just blocks away from her and distributing them directly to people. By 1955, her basement had become the first organized 'food bank' in the city. Soon, neighbors were bringing donations to what they called 'Mim's Pantry' in her Parkers Mill Road home. Hunt was quick to point out it wasn't her pantry. 'I don't fill these shelves,' she said. 'God does. This is God's Pantry.' Thus, God's Pantry Food Bank was born. It remained mobile until the first brick and mortar location opened in 1959. Since then, the pantry has grown to serve 50 counties in Central and Eastern Kentucky, with a dedicated staff committed to helping those experiencing food insecurity. Between July 2023 and June 2024, the food bank served more than 264,000 individuals and distributed nearly 47 million pounds of food with the help of more than 32,000 volunteer hours. The food bank estimates that one in six Kentuckians and one in four children in Central and Eastern Kentucky experienced hunger during that 12-month period. Hunt, who died in 2005, said she was called to make a difference. 'I have never felt that life was a popularity contest and as I read my bible's marching orders 'to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and give a cup of cold water to the thirsty,' I listened to my own drumbeat and with God's help — forged ahead!' she wrote on the pantry's 40th anniversary. 'I truly believe that one day someone will be celebrating a 100th anniversary if we continue to have faith!' Have a question or story idea related to Lexington's 250-year history? Let us know at 250LexKy@
