The Russell Springs Family Dollar Store in the Key Village Shopping Center was robbed at gunpoint just after 3 p.m. on Monday, July 16, according to Russell Springs Police Chief Joe M. Irvin.

The suspect, 24-year-old Jessica H. Walter, was taken into custody on Bernard Ridge a short time after the incident by members of the Russell Springs Police Department and the Russell County Sheriff’s Office.

Walker was taken into custody by authorities and the arresting officer was listed as Sgt. Troy Young of the Russell Springs Police Department.

Deputy Nick Bertram noticed a vehicle matching the description given to police following the incident at a mobile home near his residence. Upon Bertram approaching Walker’s vehicle she put the car in gear and ran over Bertram’s right foot while attempting to flee from the mobile home.

Walker was arrested just a short distance from the mobile home after she was cornered by Deputies Bertram and Clete McAninch.

Irvin said more than $200 in stolen cash from Family Dollar was recovered from Walker’s vehicle as was a loaded 9mm handgun, which had reportedly been stolen from Bowling Green.

Walker is lodged in the Russell County Detention Center on charges of first degree robbery, receiving stolen property-firearm, theft by unlawful taking, first degree assault on a police officer, reckless driving, and first degree wanton endangerment-police officer.

In another incident that happened last Saturday night, July 14, the Russell Springs Police Department investigated an armed robbery on Bluebird Dr. in Russell Springs.

The mobile home of Jose Manuel Osorio was entered before midnight by two white males brandishing firearms and held the family at gunpoint, Irvin said.

Irvin said one shot was fired into a wall inside the home and a woman inside the home, Lucia Angulo, was taken to Russell County Hospital for treatment of her injuries. She was later released. Osorio was assaulted as well, according to Irvin.

The two male perpetrators fled the scene on foot before police arrived and were still at large, Irvin said.

Officer Nathan Bradshaw is leading the investigation.

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Recently the Lake Cumberland Community Action Agency (LCCAA) lost a contract that has resulted in the loss of 13 positions, according to the agency.

Funding for the Family Preservation Program was first awarded to LCCAA in 2010 and it kept the program local for the following two years, but this year the funding for the program was contracted to Buckhorn Children & Family Services.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children & Families website, “Family preservation services are short-term, family-based services designed to assist families in crisis by improving parenting and family functioning while keeping children safe. These services developed largely in response to the over-reliance on out-of-home care that characterized services in the 1970s. Family preservation services grew out of the recognition that children need a safe and stable family and that separating children from their families is traumatic for them, often leaving lasting negative effects. These services build upon the conviction that many children can be safely protected and treated within their own homes when parents are provided with services and support and empowered to change their lives.”

According to LCCAA their goal was to insure that children at risk of removal from the home had access to services, caseworkers, support systems and care so that the family could stay together. The intensive home services were scheduled at the family’s request and at times that were convenient to families, including nights and weekends.

“The Family Preservation Program staff has been on call 24/7 to assist families in crisis at any hour of the day or night,” stated Amy Roy, FPP Director.

In 2010 the Department for Community Based Services recognized LCCAA’s abilities by awarding funding for the FPP, and would award it to them again the next year.

According to a press release by the LCCAA, local staff lived in each county served by LCCAA so that a case worker was always just a few minutes away from a family in need. Most importantly, the local staff were vital members of each local community and was intimately familiar with what that community had to offer the families as additional support.

Sometimes this was as simple as just knowing when the library offered reading or tutoring. Sometimes it went as far as knowing a landlord who could offer a family a safe place to live.

LCCAA employs local citizens, offering job training, educational scholarships and employment assistance. Many LCCAA employees have been with the agency for decades and began while they were still studying for their GED or finishing college. LCCAA’s staff live, learn, and working in the local communities and are an important part of the region, reads the press release.

From July 2010 through June 2012 the LCCAA helped serve 232 families through the FPP program.

According to the release, upon completing FPP services, more than 95 percent of the families served remained, unified with their children living in the home.

Six months after services were provided, almost 95 percent of the children were still in the homes and were an integral part of their local community. This success has a strong partnership with local resources and providers and improves the quality of life for families who reach out to its programs.

It was an unexpected event that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services chose to go with an agency out of the region that includes Russell County. The awarding of the FPP to Buckhorn, a multi-state organization that runs residential, out-of-home placement facilities, including FPP as a sideline to its other programs.

According to the release, “Rather than being a lifelong resident of the region, like LCCAA and its staff, the large provider is just a corporation who can offer some type of services at a potentially lower cost per child. LCCAA will have to terminate 13 staff as a result of the loss of this program,” and according to Roy, she is the only one remaining.

LCCAA is currently undergoing an effort to appeal the decision and have the contract awarded to it, stating in their release:

“LCCAA has filed a protest to the bid award, asking the state to consider the best interest of the children and families in the region when awarding state dollars for service provision.”

“It is important that local communities speak out about who they want to serve their families and protect their children. Kentucky businesses that educate and train and employ local residents, who have contributed to the local economy for decades, and those who support the state’s retirement systems and insurance pools are important. Our community and our community partners know how important it is that local people and local businesses contribute to the region. We are a vital community and we have the training, ability and resources to provide the best possible care to our children and youth,” the release adds.

“LCCAA supports the region and is ready, willing, and able to provide these much needed services, while keeping our tax dollars at home,” stated LCCAA Executive Director Bruce Brown.