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IDAHO

Infections triple for whooping cough

BOISE — Cases of whooping cough are on the rise in parts of Idaho. Officials with the Central District Health Department say the number of whooping-cough cases this year is triple the normal number.

So far, 72 cases have been reported in the region. Most people are vaccinated during childhood, but the vaccination can wear off, so the health department is urging residents to get revaccinated.

INDIANA

200 homes must be razed

BOONVILLE — Building inspector Mike Winge said approximately 200 homes in Warrick County will have to be razed because of damage from the Nov. 6 storm that left 23 persons dead in the region.

Another 400 homes sustained serious or major damage and will need extensive rebuilding and repair. Many homes that escaped the storm’s tornado suffered damage from other winds.

KENTUCKY

Violation found with Cheney records

FRANKFORT — Gov. Ernie Fletcher and state police improperly withheld expense records for services provided when Vice President Dick Cheney was briefly in the state en route to an Indiana fundraiser, a judge ruled yesterday.

The administration had invoked a new exception to the Kentucky Open Records Law that allows governments to keep some records secret if they can show their disclosure would pose a “reasonable likelihood” of being useful for plotting a terrorist attack.

Franklin County Circuit Judge Roger Crittenden ruled that the administration had shown no such likelihood.

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