Williamson Woman’s Club hosts annual fundraiser for Tug Valley Recovery Shelter.

The post 13th annual Girls Night Out in Williamson appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

Shawna Kelly Blair has been elected as the Pike County representative for the Upstream Academy, an initiative of Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky.

The post UPIKE professor representing Pike County for abused children initiative appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

LOUISA, Ky. — A Lawrence County woman is facing child abuse charges, after police conducted a welfare check at her home.

The Louisa Police Department went to the home of Virginia Lynn Fernow, 26, to check on her children, ages 2 and 4.

When they made contact with Fernow, they described smelling a foul odor coming from inside the home, but she spoke with officers on her front porch. She told them that her 2-year-old daughter had burned her back on a heater, but she didn’t take the girl to the doctor, instead putting diaper rash cream on the burn.

When officers said they needed to see the children to see if they were all right, she agreed to let them inside, but warned there were dog feces in the floor in several places.

Inside, officers described finding dog waste in multiple areas, adding that some areas of the home were inaccessible without stepping in dog feces or household garbage. The children were found naked in Fernow’s bedroom, with flies and other insects visible around them.

Fernow reportedly told police she had not attempted to clean the house in 4-to-6 months.

Fernow now faces a felony charge of second-degree abuse and a misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a minor. She is being held in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville on a $5,000 cash bond.

The post Louisa woman charged with child abuse, endangerment appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

Judi’s Place for Kids held it Kids Storybook Gala at the University of Pikeville on Saturday, November 1, 2025.

The post Storybook Gala Helps Kids appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

The Food and and Drug Administration has issued a press release recommending that 7-OH, an ingrediant in the herbal supplement kratom, be scheduled.

The post FDA Recommends Scheduling 7-OH appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

HAGER HILL, Ky. — The parents of three small children were arrested Monday evening, after one of the children tested positive for drugs.

Police were called to a residence on Jenny’s Creek Road, after social workers obtained paperwork to have the children removed from the home, after the youngest child, a 2-year-old, tested positive for a “lethal amount” of meth, as well as lesser amounts of cocaine and amphetamine.

The parents — identified as Brandon Patrick, 25, and Toni Brashay Short, 27, both of Hager Hill — reportedly told police they did not know how the children came in contact with the drugs. Both suggested the drugs must have come from the children’s maternal grandfather, who the children had stayed with until he was recently arrested.

The parents were arrested and charged with first-degree child abuse, first-degree wanton endangerment and endangering the welfare of a minor. They are being held in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center on $10,000 cash bonds.

The post Parents arrested after child tests positive for ‘lethal amount’ of meth appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

UPDATE: At 8:21 p.m., Kentucky State Police announced Jerome Norman has been found and taken into custody.

RACCOON, Ky. — Following the arrest of a Pike County woman accused of torturing a child, police are asking for the public’s help locating a man also wanted in the case.

Kentucky State Police is actively searching for Jerome Norman, 43, of Raccoon, on charges of first-degree child abuse, first-degree assault, kidnapping and fleeing police.

On Wednesday, police arrested Mary Hall, 42, of Raccoon, for all of the same charges except fleeing police. She continues to be held in the Pike County Detention Center on a $500,000 cash bond.

The case came to light after someone at the child’s school noticed he had chipped teeth and a busted nose. The arrest warrant also notes that the child would often gorge himself on meals at school because he would be punished at home by being denied food.

Once the boy was taken from the home, Hall’s arrest warrant noted he went into cardiac arrest and had to be taken to UK Hospital. There, doctors said he was unable to keep down solid food and that he showed signs of torture.

Anyone with information on Norman’s whereabouts is asked to contact Kentucky State Police Post 9 in Pikeville at 606-433-7711.

The post Police searching for second person in child torture case appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

RACCOON, Ky. — A Pike County woman is in jail after a boy returned to school showing signs of what doctors called “torture.”

Mary Hall, 42, of Raccoon, was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with first-degree child abuse, first-degree assault and kidnapping.

The charges were the result of someone at the child’s school noticing several injuries and disturbing behaviors. The person said they had not seen the child in over a month, due to the extended break from school.

Before the break, they reported the boy would come to school with bruises which could have been caused by playing. But when the child came back to school this week, his front teeth were chipped and he had a busted nose.

The boy explained his injuries as the result of carrying wood while riding a bicycle, but did not say how they happened. When she was asked about the injuries, Hall also said he had been carrying wood and outside playing, but also said he might have hurt himself in his sleep.

But there were other signs of abuse outlined in the report.

“There are times when [he] is not allowed to eat at home due to discipline,” the arrest warrant says. “[He] has appeared hungry. The other children report to Mary as to what happens at school. [He] was able to have a piece of cake and pizza at school, and Mary stated that he will not receive dinner since he was given this at school.”

The report described the boy as pale and skinny, and that he appeared malnourished with clammy skin. It also says he would frequently gorge himself when he ate at school, and that he did so until he threw up the day the report was taken.

The report says the boy’s siblings do not get the same treatment and do not appear malnourished and do not gorge on food at school.

When police went to the boy’s home, they found his bedroom to be a dark room with locks on the outside.

Once the boy was taken from the home, the arrest warrant noted he went into cardiac arrest and had to be taken to UK Hospital. There, doctors said he was unable to keep down solid food and that he showed signs of torture.

Hall is currently being held without bond in the Pike County Detention Center.

The post Pike woman charged with child abuse that doctors say had the appearance of torture appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

PAINTSVILLE, Ky. — A Johnson County woman is facing child abuse charges for allegedly leaving her children home alone.

Neighbors called 911 around midnight Sunday, saying there were children playing on the roof of a Washington Avenue apartment, and they had overheard them saying their mother hadn’t been home for two days.

When police arrived, they found the children, who were both under the age of 12. Inside the apartment, police say they found dried feces and urine in the floor, spoiled food, expired food, trash throughout the house and dirty dishes with flies on multiple surfaces.

Officers were able to get in contact with the mother, identified as Carolyn Gibson, 33, who came to the apartment. She told police she had been gone for two days, but thought that the children would be OK.

She was arrested and charged with two counts of criminal abuse, a felony punishable by 5-to-10 years in prison.

The post Mom charged with abuse after leaving kids home alone for two days appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

RACCOON, Ky. — A Pike County couple is facing a child abuse charge, after their daughter sought a neighbor’s help when they passed out and she couldn’t wake them.

The neighbor called police after the 7-year-old girl showed up at her house just after 2 a.m., Friday. Police went to the home on Keene Village Drive at Raccoon and couldn’t get anybody to come to the door, but they went inside after looking through the window and seeing a woman on the couch who appeared to be possibly dead.

The woman, identified variously in public records as either 46-year-old Mandy Coleman or Mandy Lewis, was not dead, but was breathing shallowly and had cold, damp skin. Her husband, James Coleman, 59, was also passed out in the floor nearby.

Repeated attempts wake the couple were unsuccessful, until police revived them with Narcan. Mandy Coleman required two doses, but denied using any drugs other than her prescription for hydrocodone.

James Coleman told police that Mandy Coleman came home with a large bag of a yellow powder, snorted some of it and passed out on the couch. He said he also snorted a small line for pain and also passed out.
Police believe the powder to be fentanyl.

Both were arrested on charges of second-degree child abuse and drug possession.

The post Couple charged with child abuse after they have to be revived with Narcan appeared first on Mountain Top Media.