KBI WELCOMED BY LOCAL, STATE OFFICIALS

HOPKINSVILLE -- The law enforcement muscle in Kentucky became bigger last
week as it welcomed a new agency -- the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation.

The bureau was formally inaugurated Thursday by Attorney General Greg
Stumbo, one of the leading proponents of the investigating agency.

A news release concerning the agency outlined four areas in which the KBI
would be concentrated. Those include public corruption and special
investigations; Medicaid fraud and abuse control; welfare fraud; and drug
investigations.

The last area, drug investigations, is a welcome sign for Cheyenne Albro,
director of the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force.

"We're hoping anybody can give us assistance from any law enforcement
agency. Anything that would be fighting drugs -- whether it be federal,
state, or anybody -- would be a help," Albro said. "We could use all the
help that we can get."

The new KBI is headquartered in Frankfort and led by Commissioner David
James, a former chief investigator in the Office of the Attorney General.

The bureau will have agents in western Kentucky. They'll have a regional
office in the judicial center of Benton, but it hasn't formally opened yet,
according to a state spokesman.

A list released by the Attorney General's office said there will be 33
investigators on the agency's payroll. It claims that this list of officers
represents more than "700 years of experience."

Another thumbs-up came from Hopkinsville police Chief Butch Yeager, who
said his department would appreciate the extra assistance.

"I just hope it doesn't duplicate the work of the (Kentucky) State Police.
That would be a waste of money," Yeager said.

Maj. Malcolm Moore of the Christian County Sheriff's Department said his
department was used to working with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation,
so a similar unit in Kentucky would be welcome.

"It will be a handy thing and it could help us in a lot of investigations,"
Moore said.