 Tonight, on EKB Evening News at 6, a disgraced mine inspector testifies against a former state representative. Good evening. I'm Cindy Mae Johnson. And I'm Gary Slum. Today and Pikeville federal prosecutors continue to present evidence in former state representative W. Keith Hall's bribery trial. Under federal rules, no cameras are permitted in the U.S. District Courthouse, but we do have a reporter covering the trial. The star witness of the day was former co-defendant Kelly Shortridge, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to taking money from Hall in exchange for overlooking violations at Hall's mines. During his testimony, Shortridge admitted to taking payments from Hall. However, he said Hall never specifically asked him to overlook violations. Instead, he said Hall told him on numerous occasions, quote, if you help me, I'll help you, end quote. So taking the stand today was Hall's estranged wife, Stephanie, but her testimony was limited due to Hall's marital privilege protection. She testified about the nature of the couple's businesses, and she said she signed checks that went to a consulting business set up in the name of Shortridge's wife, but she said she did not know what the payments were for. The prosecution has only one more witness to call before resting, as well as one exhibit for the jury, a video made by Shortridge of a conversation between Hall and himself in Hall's office. The defense has said its case will be presented in a matter of hours, meaning the jury could get the case tomorrow or Friday at the latest. One highlight of tomorrow's proceedings should come when Hall is expected to take the stand. The trial continues tomorrow morning at 8.45. For a brief moment today, it appeared we might finally hear from a man who's been the subject of much discussion and controversy over the last month. Stanville attorney Eric C. Kahn was employed circuit court this morning for a hearing over a class action fraud and malpractice lawsuit filed on behalf of 1,500 former clients. EKB news reporter Shelby Steele was in court when Kahn was called to testify. She explains why his only statement in the case is silence. It was a heated courtroom today as Stanville attorney Eric C. Kahn appeared in court. Kahn was in court today for a hearing on whether to continue a restraining order freezing his assets and forbidding him from destroying evidence. During the hearing, Kahn was asked to testify in the courtroom, but exercised his Fifth Amendment right and declined to making a statement. Kahn's attorney Joseph Lambert says it would be legal malpractice if Kahn were to take the witness stand. When someone is attempting to obtain your indictment, then the last thing you want to do is go on a witness stand and be sworn and subject to cross-examination and so on and so forth. Pillar's dwarf explains that he doesn't think it would matter whether Kahn testifies or not. My view is if Eric Kahn's lips are moving, he's lying and I don't see where him saying or not saying would matter. I've come to the conclusion based on the testimony we've heard in this hearing in these cases that the man is basically a criminal, he had this four-day burning of records after his attorney decided not to, and he basically organized a criminal conspiracy. Kahn's attorney states that any document that was destroyed by Kahn's office was planned due to storage reasons. Four or five years ago, there was a planned document accessioning, I think they call it, which means destruction, all right? Removal, social security cases, as you all know, generate really big, thick files, and when you've done thousands and thousands of those, it does become a storage issue. Floyd County Circuit Court Judge Johnny Ray Harris will send his ruling to each attorney Thursday by noon. EKB News will keep you informed as to what he decides. Reporting for EKB Evening News at 6, I'm Shelby Steele. Kentucky State Police Post 9 is investigating an accident involving a juvenile and one of their own state troopers. According to police, the trooper was driving on Route 197 at Sycamore shortly after 10 last night when a 15-year-old riding an ATV pulled out in front of him from Barley Town Road. The youth was taken to Pikeville Medical Center for treatment of what police described as minor injuries. The teen also faces charges as a result of the incident. At this time, no names and no further details have been released. Last night, Pikeville Medical Center held a special ceremony to celebrate being named a verified level two trauma center, the first hospital in Kentucky to earn the designation. EKB News reporter Courtney Leverand tells us what this means for the medical care in the region. As the rain rolled in Tuesday evening, Pikeville Medical Center employees, doctors and other members of the community came out to hear an official announcement from the hospital. The ceremony was held to present the verification of PMC becoming a level two trauma center. The verification comes from the American College of Surgeons and this makes Pikeville Medical the only ACS verified level two trauma center in the state of Kentucky. I think this is real important for Eastern Kentucky. It's the first level two trauma center, but really it's the first trauma center, the formal trauma center that we've got in this very rural area. And when you look at the statistics, the probabilities of dying and becoming seriously injured are so much greater here in the rural areas. Part of it's because of the travel times and it's because of the mountains that you've got. It's very difficult down here and I think having a level two trauma center, particularly affiliated with the School of Osteopathic Medicine is an important addition to this part of the state. And I think it will make a big difference in terms of reducing a death and dying, morbidity and mortality. A level two trauma center differs from a level one by providing assistance to patients there at PMC rather than sending them to medical facilities further away like Lexington or Knoxville. The trauma center will serve a wider area including more parts of Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia and will serve around 400,000 people. Bartlett mentioned that progress is being made to spread the word about the PMC trauma center. One of the things that's going to happen and that you'll see probably over the next few months is that as we now make notifications at the Department of Transportation, these little H signs with the directional arrows, you're going to see them supplemented. And you'll probably see a little trauma center banner that will now guide people in the Pike County in this part of the state to this hospital with the word trauma center under the H. So that'll be the next big thing you'll see. Give it a couple of months. They got to work on this as they do their maintenance, but that's what's coming next. The speakers fielded some questions from the audience as the ceremony drew to a close and Bartlett hinted that PMC is only the first of a few other Kentucky hospitals that will eventually gain this verification. We have some other smaller facilities that are working hard to be ready to be verified. I think we could see as many as 16 throughout the state in the next year to year and a half. For EKB Evening News at 6, I'm Courtney Levin. When the Pike County Fiscal Court meets tomorrow morning, topping the agenda and public interest will be a final vote on a proposed 1% occupational tax for the county. The ordinance already sparked heated public comment during a meeting earlier this month and it's expected to do so again tomorrow. Also on the court's to-do list, passage of a final budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Tomorrow's meeting begins at 9 in the Old Pike County Courthouse. Coming up, fines for parking violations are getting a steep jump in Prestonsburg. And a brand new law and new technology are giving repeat DUI offenders a second chance. We'll be back in two minutes. The cost of parking illegally in Prestonsburg is going up. Here this week, the City Council amended its parking code, doubling and tripling most fines. Fines for parking in a handicapped zone were left as is at $50 and $100. And a $1 fine for overtime was simply stricken from the schedule. All other fines went up. The council also added two new violations for parking on the median or on the shoulder. Council members agreed that the old rates of $5 and $10 were simply not a deterrent to illegal parking. Today 98 of 117 new state laws went into effect across the state. One of those is Senate Bill 133, which allows those with second offense DUI charges to continue to drive under certain conditions. Ignition interlocks may be used for limited driving capability. Pikeville police officer Tony Kahn explained how the device works. It allows people that gets a DUI on second offense to actually go back and forth to work or go back and forth to where they need to with their families and to the grocery shopping and stuff like that, but it makes sure they do not drive DUI again. If they blow in the machine, if they're 0.02 or over, it shuts down. It won't start the car when I start. A lot of people were losing their license on second offense and a lot of people still have to go to work and have to function in society. A lot of people, they had lost their jobs, they couldn't keep their jobs, they couldn't do anything, so they sit at the house and now they've got a second chance to be able to drive their vehicle in the state as long as they don't drive DUI again. The bill provides that the cost of both the device and installing it is to be paid by the DUI offender. However, the court can order a lesser payment on a sliding scale if the offender is found to be indigent. A Monday evening, the Pikeville City Commission voted in favor of exempting local artists involved in a non-profit organization from the Occupational Tax. City Manager Donovan Blackburn explained that the Board of Commissioners wanted to give the downtown Pikeville Business District a more creative and entertaining side. With the addition of the Genie Wally Theater and the Arts House, the Commissioners wanted to make the area more enticing to non-profit artists who want to sell their art in the city. Again, a collaborative effort between the City Commission and what they envisioned, what they wanted to see happen on top of working with those that work with the artist over the day. So it was an important issue to address in order, again, to mean board inviting because when you look at what's happening downtown, downtown's become very warm, very friendly, very inviting, and that's traditionally in most rule-top communities. You don't see little stores downtown. What you typically see is facilities such as an art center, a museum, an arts house, a theater. So this kind of plays into what the overall strategy is. This effort by the City Commission looks to expand the creativity and the community in the Pikeville area. But there is a chance that the artists still have to pay an occupational tax if one is enacted for the county. Well, coming up, Joe Kinzer will be in to tell us about a mountain athlete signing to play at the next level. But first, DKB Chief Meteorologist Lathan Hopkins will have a look at the latest weather forecast. We'll be back in two minutes. You know, I make no secret out of the fact I love summer weather. You're the same. Oh, I'm the same. And it felt a little more like summer today, but you'll notice the humidity levels very low today. The humidity taking a little vacation. Unfortunately, it's only a one-day vacation. It'll be back tomorrow. Well, we enjoy it while we can. That's what we'll do. Doppler radar showing, well, not much. A dry day all across eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia, western West Virginia, all in all, a beautiful day across the region. Temperature wise, we are still in the mid-80s. We have 85 in Pikeville, 80 in Dorton, 86 right now in Prestonsburg, 86 in Painesville, 85 in Saliersville, 86 currently down in Whitesburg. Overnight lows tonight? Well, it'll be a little cooler than what you're used to. We're talking low 60s, about 63, 64 degrees, which is pretty close to where we should be this time of the year. Only though the last several weeks we've been in the upper 60s to low 70s. Tomorrow, well, the heat, the humidity, it is back. Low 90s expected across the region. Now it's only going to be here for one day because we do have some big changes working into the forecast here over the next couple of days. We'll talk about that here in just a second. What we have going on, well, big blue age, high pressure and control of the forecast, that's good news for those folks who just enjoy the nice weather that we've seen out there today. What we have though, this warm front, this is the one that moved through last night, producing a lot of lightning across the area, the showers, the thunderstorms. Now it's on its way back as a warm front and that will move through overnight tonight and during the early morning hours tomorrow. As it does so, the heat, the humidity will begin to move back in as our winds turn from the south and from the west. Then we have to watch this area of low pressure. This one will be making a v-line right toward the Ohio Valley. As it does so, we could see those showers and thunderstorms redevelop a pretty good chance of storms from Friday and even into the day on Saturday. Now tomorrow as that system approaches, we could talk about the potential for severe weather. The Storm Prediction Center has most of eastern Kentucky in at least the slight risk category. The farther north you go toward the Mountain Parkway Interstate 64, this is a level three out of a possible five enhanced risk of severe weather. This is the greatest potential for seeing damaging winds, large hail, heavy rainfall and of course frequent lightning. And this is something we'll watch again. This will be late tomorrow into the early morning hours on Friday. Of course, we'll keep you up to date with the latest and keep you posted on what to expect. As far as the weekend though, that is when the cooler air moves in. Look at this, 70s showing up across the Ohio Valley, New England. Some of those states picking up 50s for high temperatures as we head into the weekend. So as I mentioned, big changes definitely on the way. Polling Count sponsored by Faith Pharmacy, Adams Plaza in Pikeville, 4.0 in the low category for tomorrow and talk about low 1.9 Friday, 1.5 Saturday. Why? 70% chance of rain on Friday, 80% chance of rain on Saturday, temperatures dropping. 76 the high on Saturday, 75 on Sunday. And even early next week, we're talking temperatures that will be hard-pressed to break out of the low 80s. Wait a minute. What in the world is going on? I opened this segment talking about loving summer weather. That's not real summer. I'm giving you one day of it tomorrow. Then we're talking about 70s for the weekend. Overnight lows early next week. We're talking Monday morning. Could be in the 50s. That's why it's spring in the time. If I see a break, open the windows. I know some of you will like it. Some of you guilty. We'll be back with sports in two minutes. Well, Joe Kinzer, some breaking news coming in on the sports desk. Oh, it's been decision day for a long time. And thanks a lot. Gary and Cindy, it was decision day for six four point guard Jamal Murray. The five star Canadian recruit held a signing ceremony just seconds ago in his native land of Canada. And drum roll please as he chose the University of Kentucky. Murray is projected to only play one year of college ball and then is expected to go to the NBA. And Jamal Murray just chose to play in Kentucky. Speaking of the NBA draft, there was a new proposal today announced by the NCAA, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the NBA, that underclassmen will be allowed to play the pre draft combined in Chicago that has held every made to be evaluated. The players will then be able to decide if they want to continue their journey in the draft or return to school, but agents have to be out of the picture. The current rule of declaring for the NBA draft will not permit a player to return to college once it is announced or if the player signs with an agent, deadlines will still be in play for entry and official withdrawals. Last night, the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Virginia Cavaliers squared off in game two of the College World Series. Let's go to the highlights bottom six scoreless game. And there's Ernie Clements of Virginia with a base hit in the left field. One nothing Virginia on top. Next batter coming up to the plate is Thomas Woodruff and there's a solid shot base in the center field. This will play two more runs and Virginia is on top three to nothing. Let's go to the ninth inning. Jason Subores with the heat overpowering the Vanderbilt hitter and Vanderbilt falls to Virginia by the final score of three to nothing. The two's teams will square off in a winter take all contest coming up tonight at 8 p.m. Union College's Pike County pipeline continues as the Bulldogs just landed the fourth athlete from the county. Congratulations goes out to Christian Hage of East Ridge High School as he signed a letter of intent to play baseball today. Hage was announced the 59th district player of the year and batted 4-4 team. I'd like to announce that I'm going to further my education and continue my baseball career at Union College. It's a great feeling. Honestly, it's something I've worked hard for four years doing. I believe them before that I've worked for it. My dad played college baseball, two of my cousins have to so I really wanted to follow in their footsteps. I'm just excited to play for a great college program that's proven itself over the years. Last year they won 39 games, which is pretty incredible. I've got to train harder than I ever have before just to get ready for the season coming up. And here's the play of last night all the way in Chicago. Let's go out to Wrigley Field. There's a ball found away to the right side going into the first row. Here's Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers and look at the dad in the front row. Washington again folks, a baby in the right hand, sucking the bottle and good old dad catches it with the other. Daddy's saying, yeah, where we go? There we go. We can multitask just a little bit. His wife is sitting there laughing, but you know, seeing the effect ball would have hit the baby. She wouldn't have been laughing and guess what? Don't tell us men that we don't know how to multitask. Hey, you know what? Men are starting to catch up with women in that regard and I'm glad to see it. It's about time. That's a very amazing by that dad out there. It really was an amazing catch. It was incredible. It was. I'm glad it didn't hit the baby. We'll ever be right back. Well, Nathan, another hot day and then a cool off. Then a big cool off as a matter of fact, tomorrow we are back in the 90s, 93 degrees, but 84 on Friday, a better chance of rain moving in. That rain cooling us down into the 70s, late June 70s and overnight losing the 50s. Don't look at me and shake your head. I just, I can't explain it. It's not right. I'm not happy about it. I'm really not. I like hot weather and listen. I got to thank you again for that last story. That was awesome. It was either the amazing catch by the dad with the baby in the right hand sucking the bottle or reds highlights with losing last night. It was either one of those two stories. Wait a minute. Those would be reds low light. Those wouldn't be highlights. Well, that will do it for tonight's EKB Evening News. Remember, you can get more local news anytime by listening to the radio stations of East Kentucky Broadcasting. You can follow EKB News and EKB TV on Facebook and Twitter. We leave you tonight with a look at some Eastern Kentucky wildflowers. Good night. Thanks for watching.