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RETURN TO FORMRecovering from injury, Jones scores 20 as UK wins/B1

BUSINESS: Phill’sCustom Cabinets sells Cabinotch patent/D1

Owensboro Mayor Ron Payne likes to

say that “Owensboro is on the move,” and he often follows it by saying that no other city in Kentucky has as much going on as Owensboro.

Last week, in his annual “State of the City” address, Payne made that case again, with details supporting the claim. He seized on the fact that 58 public and

private projects are currently under way in the community with a total value of $759 million, all of which he said contribute to a strong local economy.

Larry Boswell doesn’t doubt it. “I’ve lived here all my life, and it’s been a long time coming,” Boswell said.

Boswell is business manager of the 386-member Owensboro Local 1701 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union. These days, according to Bowell, it’s full employment time for the local,

with more than 200 members working on the new Owensboro Medical Health System hospital

between Pleasant Valley Road and Daniels Lane off U.S. 60 East.

The hospital and a long list of other projects outlined by Payne keep the local’s other electricians working steadily, with

journeymen earning the top rate of $29.02 a hour, plus benefits, Boswell said.

“It’s been very beneficial to us,” Boswell said. “All our members are working. It’s definitely a boost compared to

the two years prior (to 2010). We started seeing the increase toward the end of 2010. 2012 is projected to be great. ... It’s really looking good for any electrical contractor, union or nonunion.”

Some of the projects on Payne’s list are close to completion, such as the Kentucky National Guard Readiness Center, the new state office building and the downtown river wall project. But others, including the downtown convention center and Hampton Inn & Suites hotel, are set to begin this spring. Boswell said spin-off projects related to the hospital and downtown projects hold potential for more construction jobs.

“It looks like several years of work,” he said.

For his fourth “State of the City” speech Thursday at the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Rooster Booster breakfast, Payne delivered a glowing report on the city’s health, shining a light on the size of the surplus in the city’s general fund and moderate-to-low tax rates compared to 13 other first- and second-class cities. He spent the bulk of his time presenting the list of ongoing, just finished or soon-to-start projects and the city’s lower-than-average unemployment rate. While the national unemployment rate is

SEE BLOCKS/PAGE A2

BUILDING BLOCKSBY STEVE VIED

MESSENGER-INQUIRER

SUNDAY SERIES

Gary Emord-Netzley, Messenger-Inquirer gemord-netzley@messenger-inquirer.com 691-7318Salsman Brothers Inc. employees, Jewell Galloway of Madisonville, left, and C.J. Brummett of Dawson Springs, cover a section of concrete wall on the second of two bridges on Ken-tucky 144 on Thursday afternoon. The bridge work is part of the first phase of the U.S. 60 Bypass Extension project under way east of Owensboro. The Bypass Extension is one of 58 public and private projects currently under way in the community with a total value of $759 million.

Projects boosting employment, economic growth

The total economic impact, according to Mayor Ron Payne, will be $1.3 billion.

INDEX

Goodfellows drive tops $121,000/C1

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2012 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airpor t had another record-breaking year in 2011.

And officials there are hoping to set yet another record for pas-sengers in 2012.

In 2010, the airport boarded slightly more than 16,000 passen-gers, primarily on Allegiant Air flights to Orlando, Fla.

Last year, boardings continued to climb to 16,849.

And Ray Assmar, board chair-man, says, “We should bounce

close to 20,000 this year.”The 2011 numbers might have

been closer to 20,000, but Alle-giant suspended flights to Orlando for most of August and September, which are typically slow months for travel to Florida.

The airline did the same thing in 2009.

The 2010 numbers were the most passengers the airport had seen in a single year since com-mercial ser vice began here in 1951 with Eastern Airlines.

SEE AIRPORT/PAGE A2

Airport boardings keep breaking records

BY KEITH LAWRENCEMESSENGER-INQUIRER

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Mitt Romney brushed aside rivals’ criti-cism Saturday night in the open-ing round of a weekend debate doubleheader that left his Repub-lican presidential campaign chal-lengers squabbling among them-

selves and unable to knock the front-runner off stride.

Three days before the first in-the-nation New Hampshire pri-mar y, Romney largely ignored his fellow Republicans and turned instead on President Barack

SEE DEBATE/PAGE A2

Romney brushes off debate barbs

in New HampshireBY STEVE PEOPLES

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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On a warm spring afternoon, family, friends and strangers

gathered in Owensboro’s historic Elmwood Cemetery on Saturday to say goodbye to another American hero.

A reading of Psalms 23.Three sharp blasts from seven

rifles.The lonely sound of taps

drifting over the graves on the hillside.

A three-cornered flag presented to his father.

And Sgt. Michael Christopher Cable, forever 26, was laid to rest

beneath towering trees in the cemetery that holds the graves of soldiers dating back to the War of 1812.

Cable died in Afghanistan on March 27, stabbed in the neck by an Afghan teen while guarding Afghan and American officials attending the swearing-in ceremony of Afghan Local Police in Shinwar district in Nangarhar province near the border with Pakistan.

“We live in perilous times,” Brig. Gen. Mark R. Stammer,

SEEGOODBYE/PAGE A2

Hundreds say goodbye to Sgt. CableBY KEITH LAWRENCE • MESSENGER-INQUIRER

‘MICHAEL’S SACRIFICE WAS

NOT IN VAIN’

Local car dealerships see first-quarter sales jumpOwensboro area new auto

dealerships repor ted strong first-quarter sales with two com-panies experiencing at least a 15 percent boost over last year.

National analysts use monthly auto sales as an indicator of the economy’s health.

“First quarter of 2013, we saw a large increase in vehicle sales,” said Don Moore of the Moore

Auto Group. “Total sales were up over 15 percent year over year. Additionally, it is the best first quarter since 2003.”

Moore said his locations are seeing a lot of older vehicles traded in.

“This would indicate to me that much of the sales increase is due to the need for more dependable transportation. How-ever, Owensboro’s unemploy-ment rate is down significantly,

and I believe this has helped drive consumer confidence,” Moore said. “And currently it is a ‘perfect storm’ — the rates are low, the incentives are high and credit has eased significantly. The banks are very aggressive in automobile loans, especially used vehicle loans.”

The Moore Group sel ls Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadil-lac at its Kentucky 54 location; Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Scion

and Hyundai on Frederica Street; and Ford, Chr ysler, Dodge and Jeep at Moore Ford in Hartford.

National analysts also agree that the market is reflecting strong pent-up demand. Con-sumers armed with tax refunds could also be influencing auto sales, providing down payments to combine with interest rates at or near historic lows.

Both new and used car sales

were strong in March at Cham-pion Ford, Lincoln, Mercur y, Mazda, said Jerry Maggard, new car sales manager.

“Used car sales were a lit-tle tough with the continued shor tage, but overall we had a nice month,” Maggard said. “Our first-quarter sales overall were up slightly over last year. And March to March on new

SEESALES/PAGE A2

BY JOY CAMPBELLMESSENGER-INQUIRER

PhotosbyGaryEmord-Netzley,Messenger-Inquirergemord-netzley@messenger-inquirer.com691-7318Hundreds of people surround the graveside service for U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Christopher Cable on Saturday in Elmwood Cemetery.

A bugler with the honor guard plays taps a short distance away from the graveside service for U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Cable.

MICHIGAN VS. LOUISVILLELouisville takes out Wichita State, 72-68

Michigan tops Syracuse, 61-56SPORTS, C1