Ky. auctioning surplus, confiscated items next month

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is having a public auction of surplus and confiscated items next month.

Among the surplus items are a Schaffer 16-foot aluminum boat, Mercury and Johnson boat motors, four-wheel-drive trucks and a generator. Confiscated items include shotguns, rifles, bows and hunting and fishing equipment. Only qualified Kentucky residents may bid on confiscated items, but bidding on surplus items is open to anyone.

A list of items being offered and terms and conditions are available online .

Viewing begins at 8 a.m. EDT May 7, with bidding to start at 10 a.m. The auction will be held near the Salato Wildlife Education Center in Frankfort.

New trail at Mammoth Cave features better accessibility

MAMMOTH CAVE, Ky. (AP) — Officials at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky plan to dedicate a trail that has been made more accessible for people with disabilities.

The park says in a statement that the Echo River Springs Accessible Trail will be dedicated Wednesday as part of National Park Week.

The half-mile path has been upgraded from a dirt trail to an 8-foot (2-meter) wide concrete walkway. Other improvements include four exhibits with tactile features for people who are visually impaired along with an improved parking lot and bathroom.

The construction was paid for in part with a grant from the National Park Service.

Mammoth Cave is one of 59 national parks in the United States. It is home to the world’s largest known cave system, with more than 400 miles (600 kilometers) explored.

Shooting suspect shot by police dies

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A suspect in a weekend shooting in Kentucky who was subsequently shot by police has died, authorities said Monday.

Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Rita Taylor told news outlets that 37-year-old Miguel Escalona Vivas died early Monday, a day after the two shootings.

Officers Keith Walz of the West Buechel police force and Gary Phelps of Hurstbourne Acres police were identified Monday as the agents involved in Vivas’ shooting. Both have been placed on paid administrative leave. Their two communities are in the Louisville metropolitan area.

West Buechel Police Chief Todd Walls said at a news conference that Walz was flagged down Sunday by someone reporting a man chasing another man with a gun. He said that when Walz found the two men, the victim had already been shot and wounded and that Vivas didn’t comply with repeated requests to drop a weapon.

Walls said Vivas then fled on foot, initiating a chase that was joined by Phelps.

Police said the two officers confronted Vivas and shot at him when he pointed the gun at them. Hurstbourne Acres Police Chief Steve Griffin said Phelps was off duty and not in uniform.

The Louisville Metro Police Department’s public integrity unit is investigating.

Authorities didn’t immediately identify the initial shooting victim or the condition of the victim.