>> With one week to go, the candidates for governor are putting the pedal to the metal.

>> Now we're now being told that we have proposed has had raises for teachers.

We have >> Hear from the candidates for Lieutenant Governor and they're only TV encounter.

>> It's a celebration of Lee's life.

The truth and the history of battle town.

>> And Happy Halloween from the back in town which festival.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions.

Leonard Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION on this Halloween Tuesday.

October, the THIRTY-FIRST.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you for spending some of your night with gas before your trick or treat.

We are now just one week away from Kentucky is 2023 general election by this time.

Next Tuesday, polls across much of the state will be closed and counting of the ballots will have begun.

While we wait to see who will lead Kentucky for the next 4 years, the candidates are spending the final days of the campaign crisscrossing the state.

>> Governor Andy Beshear began his bus tour over the weekend.

We caught up with the Democratic incumbent yesterday in London where he greeted supporters and touted the state's economic growth spurt during his time in office.

♪ >> I'm grateful that you see the potential that's in front of us.

And I'm grateful that you stuck with us these last 4 years.

This is the last 4 years haven't been easy.

We've been through a pandemic.

>> Tornadoes, flooding ice storms when storms and a year ago today we lost an amazing man and Logan Medlock.

Let's give a big round of applause.

Our first responders that are here to show them.

We love them.

>> But he come off our 2 best years of economic development in the history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

These last couple years.

>> We set our lowest annual unemployment rate.

Our lowest monthly unemployment rate in our longest period of low unemployment.

Our 3 biggest budget surpluses, which means we can more than a 4 to give our public school educators.

The giant Rays 8 is art.

>> The folks up to recognize that a good job as a Democrat or Republican, that a new bridge in red or blue to clean drinking water is a basic human right.

And one of the transformational.

>> That's what I'm the governor.

That brings high-speed Internet access to every home and every business tickets.

Aqui.

I know we have people here today from all different party registrations and there is a place for you not just in this campaign, but in this administration.

If you want to leave that legacy of more opportunities for our kids and for our grand kids, this is the place for you.

>> One where we get up every single day focus on those non partisan issues that don't drive us to the right or the left but move every single family forward.

We stand up for every single Kentuckian.

>> Meanwhile, attorney general and Republican gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron kicked off his statewide fight for Kentucky, quote, Bus tour yesterday at a stop in northeastern Kentuckyian the city of Flemingsburg Cameron urged voters to reject Bashir's agenda on Election Day.

>> And Andy Beshear talks a lot about an economy that's on Bart.

What you all here today, I know that this economy is not on fire.

In fact, it's an economy on life support.

I mean, just think about this.

In the last 3 years, we have seen the median household income drop by 12%.

Meaning that here in Kentucky over the last 3 years.

We've seen the largest decline in median household income that this commonwealth has ever known.

I mean, this is a governor that since he has taken the oath of office.

There are 22,000.

You are There are 80,000 Kentuckians that are on unemployment.

What this governor says, the economy is on fire here in able bodied individual.

We've got to get you back into the workforce.

Andy Beshear, one of the failures, the great failures of nearly 4 years in office has been the fact that there are 22,000.

You are can talking to working.

>> And we have the lowest workhorse with dissipation right in this Commonwealth history.

I've talked to so many employers, so many people that own businesses that say they can't find the workforce.

And so if you're an able-bodied person, I think most people agree that we need to get you back into the workforce and I'm going to be a governor of the most any this year and expanded the welfare roles.

You need a governor who's going to get able-bodied people back to work.

I've been working hard.

I don't think there's been a person working harder than in this governor's We've been all over the state.

We're going to continue to go all across this to make sure that people that they have an opportunity to reject the far-left ideology that Andy Beshear is trying to push in our state and his failed record.

We can reject that as well.

And that's what we're going to do in November 7.

>> While we won't know who wins the governor's race until next week.

We can already say that this Rice has become the most expensive governor's race in Kentucky history.

But where is the money coming from?

Joe Saka, political reporter now with Louisville, Public Media breaks down who is forking over the dough and where it's going.

Saw his latest article relies on filings with the Kentucky registry of election finance which shows Beshear's campaign has spent nearly 17 million dollars since the May primary.

That's nearly 5 times more than Cameron's campaign.

But spending from outside political action committees or PACs is keeping the money race tight PAC supporting Cameron have spent more than 22 million dollars.

That's compared to more than 60 million dollars from PACs backing the share.

So who's doing the spending?

Both campaigns are being heavily subsidized by the Republican and Democratic governors associations, other major donors to the Cameron campaign includes several packs connected to Jeff Yass, a billionaire who previously financially backed U.S..

Senator Rand Paul.

Meanwhile, the share is receiving financial support from outside education groups like the National Education Association.

Now the candidates for Lieutenant Governor have only appeared on TV together, wants and it was last night right here on KET Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman and Republican state Senator Robby Mills talked about a host of issues including jobs, energy and education.

The education talk included a discussion about vouchers, whether Kentuckyian should be able to vote on a constitutional amendment on public money for private schools is exact.

>> They're using this voucher as a red herring.

If I had test scores like they have and the last 4 years and they called themselves an education administration.

I'd be looking for a red herring to.

We have not talked about vouchers in this campaign at all, but I think we can actually for opportunity and choices in education as well as take care of public education.

>> So yeah, they got the governor can veto a constitutional amendment That's not how that works.

But do you support that going on the ballot in 2024, my understanding is that it's going to be talked about.

>> I haven't seen the bill had talked to read the bill first.

It's a very complicated issue because we have all kinds of things, you know, education, opportunity accounts, doubters, charters, open borders.

There's all kinds of choice legislation to the accounts.

Of course, the Turkey Supreme Court struck that down.

And so, yes, exactly.

But but my point is that I would like to see the bill before I talk about, you know.

>> Do you on a general principle support school choice options?

I believe that it's important to offer our kids the best choice that they can have for their education.

Whether it's vouchers are open borders, which we have now.

I think it's important kids get trapped in schools that they can't learn and they need to have the opportunity to move around and find education.

That's best for them.

Here's what voters deserve.

Voters deserve to make to to know >> that the schools in their communities are the best they can possibly be.

So the way that you do that is you put students first, you support or teachers and you make sure our schools have what they need to do, what we need them to do.

That has not been the case for a very long time.

And Kentucky and our voters deserve to know that when when they send their kids to school, it shouldn't matter their zip code.

It shouldn't have to be that they have to move around.

It should be that every school is the best it can be.

Otherwise your zip code determines your opportunity and I can answer your question very, very simply.

I don't agree with the charter school men being being on the ballot.

I don't I don't support charter schools.

Don't support school voucher schemes because it can.

You're taking public tax dollars and you're sending them to an accountable private schools.

That is not just a bad decision for schools that would decimate, by the way, whirl communities.

It is a bad deal for taxpayers to not know how their taxes are being spent.

Later on the program, the candidates talked about Governor Beshear's call for an 11% raise for educators.

>> This is another empty promise on teacher raises.

This makes their 3rd a promise that they're making to teachers that has not been fulfilled at all.

Now we're not able yet.

It we have proposed has had raises for teachers.

We have followed the game, brought us the people who don't believe teachers are worthy of a raise.

Is the General Assembly.

Why Mister Moses Point is you can make the proposal, but it's after the Kentucky General Assembly to endorse did not pose little or no.

You have to have a relationship with the legislature to get your proposed raises through the General Assembly.

>> So we can be that they are struggling not to be able to get out in law enforcement, state employees and social workers make it through the end of the only group that didn't make it through was teachers.

It's the same relationship.

>> If you want to see the full hour long program for last night, go online on demand to KET DOT org.

Slash K why tonight you can also see our other candidate conversations on Kentucky tonight, including our conversations with the candidates for governor that we had on October 23rd go check it out.

Now.

Black faith and political leaders announced their get out the vote effort at Shiloh Baptist Church in Lexington today.

>> When I think about all this happened historically, that brings us to this Every time we need to vote, it's now.

And so we're using this opportunity to encourage people to get involved, to participate to exercise his or her right to vote.

>> Driving by bus or car activists with the Kentucky chapters of the NAACP and Transformative Justice Coalition will stop and neighborhoods, churches and at colleges to motivate people to vote the voter.

KET starts Thursday in Louisville and will travel to Frankfort, Lexington and Cincinnati all the way to Election Day.

>> This is not partisan.

This is a non-partisan demonstration of something that we believe in.

>> I know my mom and my grandmother follow hard to get their voting rights back, you know, to be able to stand up.

And they told each and every one of us how important that he has to vote.

>> The voter Cade wants to make sure former felons who've had their voting rights restored know how to vote.

Governor Andy Beshear signed an executive order in 2019 that restored the right to vote for 140,000 former felons.

Now almost 200,000 people have regained that right.

According to the Courier Journal.

One week until Election Day.

And we want to hear from you were asking voters about the issues on their minds as they prepare to head to the polls.

Our Laura Rogers takes us to the city of Glasgow and barren county.

>> It's a busy lunchtime crowd at a coffee shop on the Glasgow Square.

What lesson very is a college sophomore to drop off his absentee ballot.

I think it's important to it.

>> Vote people in who you believe in who you think will bring forth are out of the two-year state, federal and city.

>> Plus, a very says he is hopeful youth voters will turn out for the general election, but it remains to be seen.

There's a lot of talk but not a lot of walk within college students and that matter.

So I would hope.

But I it's not always a reality.

He says his top priorities when casting his vote, our public education and job opportunities.

I hope that other people are conscious of such issues because the prominent for everybody talked with people about what it was like here during COVID and it was really bad.

You need really draconian in Oregon.

Michelle Snyder moved her family to Kentucky from the West Coast.

And politics was one of the things that brought them here.

I never understood how important politics or a governor was intel living through that time.

She says energy issues and support for the coal industry will help get her vote as much as I love solar.

And I love when I love renewable energy, it is not.

It's not sustainable at this point.

It's really important to me that we KET our coal industry and our natural gas that we have here.

Across town at another coffee shop.

We spoke with Alexandria Hayes volunteering with the non-partisan group Bluegrass Democracy Project to help get out the vote.

I'm a firm believer that lightly.

You can't sit back and complained about a problem if you're not willing to go rogue players that get in the mud in do your part and every person has the opportunity to do.

They should go vote no on governor.

That.

>> They can truly connect with people and also can understand that the from Frankfort looks a lot different than it does here in Glasgow, Kentucky.

Angela Briggs says the promise of more jobs doesn't always impress our alese.

There's also going to be a focus on workforce development and infrastructure improvements or specifically what the candidates going day.

>> You what, therefore, not necessarily what they're against a lot of times a year.

You know, we're going to write again since we're not going to this.

44, whatever a candidate is for less and very tells us he hopes the one elected will work with both parties to find common ground that moves Kentucky forward.

It doesn't have to be this side of the spectrum versus other side.

There are common values that should be pursued and everybody can benefit from it.

>> For Kentucky edition, I'm Laura Rogers.

>> Thank you, Laura.

So much for that will continue to hear from more Kentucky voters throughout the week leading up to Election Day, which is next Tuesday, November, the 7th.

And be sure to tune into KTRK action night.

Our live coverage and informed analysis begins at 07:00PM Eastern Time.

6 Central right here on KET.

♪ U.S..

Senator Rand Paul is urging his Kentucky colleague Senator Mitch McConnell to abandon the idea of an aid package helping both Israel and its fight against Hamas and Ukraine as it battles Russia.

President Biden called for an aid package that contained both the new House Speaker Mike Johnson wants a separate aid package just for Israel.

Senator Paul says that's the right approach.

Here's what he told the website.

Punchbowl News.

Quote, If Senator McConnell things he's going to pass 100 billion dollar conglomeration.

What Biden wants.

There's no way it passes the House.

Senator McConnell's not unaware of the way the House works and the float.

Now on the Senate floor today, Senator McConnell said you can separate the war in Ukraine and the problems in the Middle East because Russia is involved in both.

>> No major power has gotten more turbocharged for randes.

Jurors know work in the Middle they're due for a shoe.

The Kremlin to intervention below that are wrong to establish that most of the corridor and resources to terrorist proxies.

But he's >> McConnell says by helping Ukraine fight Russia, the U.S. is helping Israel.

Shifting.

Now a company wants to find a new use for an old coal mine and why some animals are disappearing from Kentucky.

Our Toby Gibbs has this Tuesday.

Look at headlines around Kentucky.

♪ ♪ >> A sign marking the deaths of 9 U.S. Army soldiers sits in a field on the side of a highway in Trigg County WKU Public Radio reports that a pair of Black Hawk helicopters crashed in Katie's during a nighttime training exercise in March, more than 200 people and members of the family went to the site to honor the Fort Campbell soldiers.

The signed with determining how Louisville's opioid settlement money will be spent is seeking out organizations focused on prevention and long-term recovery support.

The Kentucky Lantern reports that the Louisville opioid distribution settlement advisory board.

We'll give out 5.3 billion dollars groups have until November 27 to submit grant applications.

The settlement money comes from CVS, Walgreens, Teva and Allergan.

U.S. Wildlife officials announced that nearly 2 dozen species are extinct, including animals, native to Kentucky.

Wk MS reports that I've rebuild woodpeckers and to Berkeley and blossom.

Pearly muscles could no longer be found in the state.

Scientists say more species will become extinct due to the exploitation of natural habitats.

Climate change pollution and an increase in foreign and invasive species.

The brothers right distilling company in Pike County is looking to repurpose an underground coal mine to edge its Bourbon.

W E K you reports that the 38 Million Dollar Project includes a distillery Rick House welcome Center Museum and restaurants.

The new complex will create 28 jobs, construction of the project is expected to start this year and finished next year.

With headlines around Kentucky.

I'm told the Good News.

♪ ♪ >> Tonight is game 4 of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks in game 3, Arizona put a Kentuckyian on the mound.

Brandon fought was Arizona starting pitcher last night.

He went to Trinity High School in Louisville and played his college ball at Bellarmine University.

This is his first year in the majors during a news conference on Sunday, he made his Louisville connection clear.

>> something with the Louisville You want to.

to house in Louisville of sorry, get into the >> yeah.

It's pronounced Louisville, all Louisville's Congressman Morgan McGarvey said this on X. I can't believe I'm saying this.

Let's go.

Brandon.

That's a spoof of a slogan used by critics of President Biden, a Democrat Garvey last night was and Fouts.

Best night, though, about gave up 3 runs.

And the Diamondbacks last 3 to one.

♪ >> Today, of course, is the perfect day to tell spooky stories.

But one scary story out of me.

County isn't just Halloween.

Fine.

Its history this weekend and Brandenburg.

They celebrated that history at the second annual battle Town which festival which festival.

We'll take you there and tell you the true story of the battle town, which ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Lives >> to the generation.

Who KET the stories?

>> We Valley a smock.

>> I wanted to preserve those stories.

So they would never be lost because he's part of our history.

The stories of Lia Smock he's come down verbally through the generations.

My uncle was.

The historian of Lia Smock.

He KET the as they were passed down through his family.

His great grandfather was only a year and a month older than Lee.

A small.

This is Leah Smocks mom and dad just told that was seen in the woods lot alone.

But I think it was because she had kind of been ostracized from the community.

A man had bought a team of horses.

Anslee a live animal.

She wanted to pet the horses.

The man who owned the horses told her now she could not touch the horses.

But she managed to get close enough and she rubbed the nose of one of the horses.

The man became very angry and shoved her way and >> the next morning, the horse, Tad and they blame Taliyah for it.

These are the tools.

>> my father-in-law.

>> Well, Don Lee us months, >> The people in that area is that time were farmers for Cooper's.

They made barrels.

The neighbors barrels all begin to fall apart.

And they blamed Lea for their barrels falling apart.

And that was their livelihood.

And I thank you.

Or I believe that.

They became so fearful of Leah.

That.

Their only solution was.

To burn the witch.

There have been many sightings.

In the 1950's.

>> 60's 70's 80's 90's.

And even in the 2 thousands of lia's apparition, every sighting was exactly the same.

>> She had long, dark hair, a long white tree.

Us blacked has.

>> Around her waist to resist.

She was always seen just floating in the air.

>> We really see her as a friend because she was somebody that we would all be friends with.

Now, if she was here.

So that's Biden.

We do what we do.

See Lee as a friend.

>> they cannot kill game in that area.

>> They will shoot and MS.

They can't.

They cannot kill deer.

Squirrels.

Rabbits.

They they can't I guess Lee is protecting the animals.

>> We saw how many people went to a forest.

Infielder screams were like.

There's a lot of people that come here for Halloween.

So let's do something that is fully meet county for Halloween.

We're going from 2500 to 5,000 people, which we find very, very exciting considering that we are in the second year of a festival.

There are people that are going to stay the night.

There are people that are going to by fuel visit other vendors, things like that.

And on top of all, the different small businesses that are located inside the festival, we have kind of around $500,000 which is going to be the economic impact in the local area for the people visiting the festival.

>> It's a celebration of it.

Lee's life.

The truth.

And the history of battle town to, quote, Mask father in law.

It's not a story.

Its history.

Its battle town history.

>> And fascinating history, indeed, for those who may want to visit, Lee is grave.

We want to note that it is on private property and visitors are no longer allowed.

Meade County tourism officials say a great way to honor Lea is to donate to a local animal shelter and of course, visit next year's festival.

Today.

You heard from voters in Glasgow about next Tuesday's election.

Tomorrow we head to Madison County in Central Kentucky considered by many to be an important swing county in the race for governor.

Hear from voters and a political expert on why Madison County could be a key factor in the outcome on Tuesday.

That's tomorrow night.

Wednesday on Kentucky edition, which we hope to see you for its 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central where we inform connect and inspire.

We hope you'll subscribe to get our email newsletters and watch full episodes and clips at KET Dot Org.

>> You can also find us on the PBS video app on your mobile device and smart TV.

And of course, send us a story idea or 2 at public affairs at K E T Dot Org and follow us and KET on Facebook X and Instagram to stay in the loop.

Thank you so much for watching.

I'm Renee Shaw.

You take good care.

Happy Halloween and I'll see you right back here again tomorrow night.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪