A McCreary County woman is serving 120 days on contempt of court charges after she attempted to attack a judge in Family Court in Wayne County on Wednesday, July 13.

Melissa Hardwick, 45, was restrained by bailiffs in the courtroom after video of the proceeding last Wednesday shows her jumping over the bench in an attempted attack on Family Court Judge Jennifer Upchurch-Edwards.

Edwards was in the process of sentencing Hardwick to 10 days in jail for contempt of court, after the woman had continued to interrupt a hearing on a domestic violence charge that had been sought by her ex-husband.

Portions of the courtroom video of the incident were replayed on numerous statewide newscasts and on CNN news.

The hearing was just underway when the incident occurred.

As Upchurch-Edwards was looking over documents filed in the case, Hardwick interrupted the proceeding and continued to be disruptive in the courtroom, even as the judge admonished her to be quiet.

The incident occurred as bailiffs approached Hardwick to handcuff her for contempt of court. Hardwick continued to yell, as she was restrained by bailiffs and made what appeared to be threats to Upchurch-Edwards as she was led from the courtroom.

Upchurch-Edwards was not injured in the incident, according to courtroom officials. She informed Hardwick’s ex-husband that another judge will be appointed to handle the domestic violence charges.

Additional felony charges have been filed against Hardwick related to the incident.

She is charged with terroristic threatening third degree, intimidating a participant in a legal process and resisting arrest.

************************

An Ohio man died on Sunday morning, July 17, from injuries sustained in an ATV crash that occurred in the Jabez Community of Wayne County.

Tyler M. Conner, 21, of Maineville, Ohio died several hours later at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, where he was flown following the crash.

According to a report from Kentucky State Police, the crash occurred on Pottershop Road at about 2:44 a.m. Trooper Wendell Higginbotham stated that Conner was operating a 2006 Honda TRX250 ATV and was traveling southbound on Pottershop Road. According to the report, Conner failed to negotiate a curve, left the roadway and struck a fence.

Conner was pronounced dead at 11:19 a.m. at the hospital.

Higginbotham said the victim was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash and alcohol usage is suspected.

Higginbotham is in charge of the investigation. He was assisted at the scene by the Pulaski County EMS and Faubush Fire Department.

************************

Few details were available at press time on Monday, July 18, but officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding an injured toddler.

According to information released by the Monticello Police Department, a 17-month-old boy was taken to Wayne County Hospital on Saturday, July 16 for treatment of injuries.

He was flown from the local hospital to the University of Kentucky Medical Center.

Police stated that it is standard for them to be called in to investigate the circumstances surrounding an injured child.

Information about specific injuries to the child had not been released.

Police said the boy remained hospitalized in the University of Kentucky Pediatrics Intensive Care Unit.

The investigation is continuing, according to the Monticello Police Department.

************************

County employees will receive a 17 cent per hour pay increase this year, following action taken by the fiscal court during a meeting held Tuesday, July 12.

The pay raise was based on the 1.49 percent cost of living adjustment. Instead of giving an across-the-board percentage rate–which means a higher raise for employees who have higher wages–County Judge/Executive Greg Rankin explained that an average wage was used to figure the actual per hour increase.

Rankin noted that the raise is included in the county’s budget.

************************

Following a three-month investigation, the Wayne County Coroner’s Office has released the findings to the public regarding the death of four-year-old Lilly Dishman, who died March 13.

“The Coroner’s Office does not normally release final reports to the general public,” said Wayne County Coroner Forrest Hicks. “But the unknown cause of death of the child at the time of the incident created a great deal of concern and interest in the community. At the same time there was a certain amount of speculation and rumor surrounding the case. Anytime a child dies in a small town it affects the entire community, particularly when the cause and manner of death are unknown at the time of the incident.”

Dishman was found unresponsive on the afternoon of March 13, at her home on Hickory Hill Drive and paramedics were called to the scene. CPR and other rescue efforts were begun in the home and continued in the Wayne County Hospital Emergency Department, but those efforts were unsuccessful. An autopsy was performed in Frankfort at the State Medical Examiner’s Office.

The coroner’s final report indicates she suffered a reported fall from a height of approximately five to six feet in her living room, striking her head and back on the living room floor. Upon examination by her mother she showed no initial sign of injury except for having the wind knocked out of her, and she complained of no discomfort or distress afterward.

Approximately 45 minutes to an hour later she was found unresponsive in her parent’s bed.

Dishman suffered from a closed head injury, in this case caused by her head striking the floor and her brain then striking the inside of the skull, according to Hicks.

“This is the same type of injury that some NASCAR drivers experience when they have a high-force impact with a hard object such as the track wall. There may be no damage to the helmet and no skull fracture, but the free movement of the brain inside the skull creates the severe injury,” Hicks explained. “More importantly, you may not have any injury on the outside of the head and it can take an extended period of time for any symptoms to present themselves.”

Hicks stated that he hopes the release of this information will be beneficial to the family as well as the community as they begin to obtain closure for the child’s accident.