Ashland Man Sues 136 Companies Over Asbestos

A man named Ronald Eugene Withrow, who was diagnosed with asbestosis on March 28, 2010, has filed a civil suit against 136 companies that he blames en masse for his diagnosis.

That's according to the West Virginia Record legal journal, who says that Withrow - a resident of Ashland, KY - is claiming each of these 136 companies exposed him to asbestos and asbestos-containing products between 1954 and 1999. The defendants are being sued on "theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentations and post-sale duty to warn", according to the journal.

The 136 companies named as defendants are:

3M Company; A.C.F. Industries, Inc.; A.K. Steel Corporation; A.W. Chesterton Company; Ajax Magnathermic Corporation; Aker Kvaerner, Inc.; American Crane and Equipment Corporation; American Electric Power; American Electric Power Service Corporation; Allegheny Energy Service Corporation; Allied Chemical Corporation; Amdura Corporation; Appalachian Power Company; Aristech Chemical Corporation; Ashland Oil, Inc.; Aurora Pump Company; Bay City Crane, Inc.; Borg-Warner Corporation; Brand Insulations, Inc.; Bucyrus International, Inc.; Buffalo Pumps, Inc.; Calgon Carbon Corporation; Cashco, Inc.; Caterpillar, Inc.; Certainteed Corporation; Chevron U.S.A., Inc.; Clark Equipment Company; Cleaver Brooks Company, Inc.; Columbus McKinnon Corporation; Copes-Vulcan, Inc.; Crane Company; Crown, Cork & Seal USA, Inc.; Dezurik, Inc.; Dow Chemical Company; Dravo Corporation; Durabla Manufacturing Company; Eaton Electrical Inc.; El DuPont de Nemours & Co.; Elliott Turbo Machinery Company, Inc.; Fairmont Supply Company; F.B. Wright Company; Flowserve US, Inc. as successor in interest to Bryon Jackson Pumps; Flowserve US, Inc. f/k/a Flowserve FSD Corporation f/k/a Durametallic Corp.; Flowserve US, Inc. f/k/a Durco International, Inc.; Ford Motor Company; Foseco, Inc.; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; General Electric Company, Inc.; General Refractories Company; Geo. V. Hamilton, Inc.; Georgia Pacific; the Gorman-Rupp Company; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Grinnell Corporation; Honeywell International; Honeywell International, Inc.; Huntington Alloys Corporation; I.U. North America, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; Insul Company, Inc.; ITT Corporation; I.U. North America, Inc. f/k/a the Gage Company; J.H. France Refractories; John Crane, Inc.; John Deere Company; Joy Technologies, Inc.; Kelsey-Hayes Company; Kentucky Power Company; KES Acquisition Company; Kramig Co.; Lawrence Pumps, Inc.; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Manitowoc Cranes, Inc.; McJunkin Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Milwaukee Valve Company, Inc.; Monongahela Power Company; Morgan Engineering Systems, Inc.; Mueller Steam Specialty; NACCO Materials Handling Group, Inc.; Nagle Pumps; Navistar, Inc.; NIBCO, Inc.; National Service Industries Venture, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Oakfabco, Inc.; Oglebay Norton Company; Ohio Power Company; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Ohio Valley Electric Corporation; Owens-Illinois, Inc.; P&H Mining Equipment, Inc. Peerless Pumps; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Premier Refractories, Inc.; Rapid American Corporation; Reading Crane; Rhone-Poulenc AG Company; Riley Power, Inc.; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Ross Brothers Construction Co.; Rust Constructors, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Rust International, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; State Electric Supply Company; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA); South Point Ethanol; Stockham Valves & Fittings; Superior Boiler Works, Inc.; Taco, Inc.; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.; the F.D. Lawrence Electric Company; the Gage Company; Trecco Construction Services, Inc.; Thiem Corp.; UB West Virginia, Inc.; Union Carbide Chemical & Plastics Company; Uniroyal, Inc.; United Engineers and Contractors, Inc.; United Engineers & Constructors, Inc.; Viacom, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; Warren Pumps, Inc.; Weil-McLain Company; West Virginia State Electric Supply; Westinghouse Air Brake Division of Trane U.S., Inc.; Westinghouse Air Brake and/or Wabco; Whiting Crane; Washington Group International; Yale Materials Handling Corporation; and Zurn Industries, Inc.

I doubt this scattershot approach will work out, but you never know. Many asbestosis and mesothelioma lawsuits are settled out of court. Others, however, like the infamous W.R. Grace case in Libby, Montana, dragged on and on and on. (W.R. Grace, incidentally, is the same company also involved in a trichloroethylene case in Massachusetts, as depicted in the John Travolta film A Civil Action. W.R. Grace also had a plant in New Albany, Indiana, just over the river from Louisville, for many years.)

Ashland and the Paramount Ghost

One from my writing blog:


Ashland, Kentucky - especially the legendary spirit said to haunt its Paramount Arts Center - is the topic this time in my monthly column Commonwealth Curiosities. Pick up your copy of Kentucky Monthly magazine at reputable newsstands and bookstores everywhere!

Megadeth Guitarist Joins Kentucky Band

Ever heard of Hydrogyn? Me neither. But they seem to be someone we should know.

They're a metal band based out of Ashland, KY that have been plugging away since 2004, albeit with a constant turnover of band members. They're fronted by a eye-catching vocalist named Julie Westlake. I haven't paid much attention to metal music post-90s, but the band seems to be going places, having Michael Wagener as their producer (he's produced albums by Metallica, Ozzy, Alice Cooper).

And now, in their latest lineup shakeup, former Megadeth guitarist Jeff Young has joined the band. According to Blabbermouth, "The band is currently in the midst of writing and recording tracks, has a live DVD in the offing and a simple mission: to rock every town on planet earth."

Ronald McDonald Dies in Ashland

Michael Polakovs, the original Ronald McDonald clown for McDonald's commercials, passed away this past Sunday at King’s Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, KY. Polakovs died of complications from a stroke at the age of 86.

According to an obituary in the Ashland Daily Independent:

Polakovs, who lived in southern Boyd County, was a giant in the world of clowning.

He spent his entire life performing in circuses, was highly respected by his peers and was major source of inspiration for several generations of clowns. A number or the routines he developed are still used by clowns worldwide.

In 1966, the McDonald’s Corp. hired Polakovs to design Ronald McDonald. He designed the outfit and makeup that is worn by the character to this day. He also appeared in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as Ronald McDonald and appeared in the first eight TV commercials that featured the character.

In addition to creating the Ronald McDonald character, Pokalovs was internationally known as Coco the Clown, a persona he inherited from his father Nicolai, also a world famous clown in his day. Pokalovs also helped found the Ringling Brothers Clown College.

The early Polakovs version of Ronald McDonald is actually quite different from the fey and well-groomed fellow we know today. He was scruffy-haired, more striped, wore a giant bib around his neck and a dixie cup over his nose, and balanced a giant to-go box on his head. You can see him on YouTube here and here. Pokalovs was also behind the later redesign of Ronald, which made the character more streamlined and ostensibly less scary.

Paramount Joe

Ashland's Paramount Theatre opened in 1931 as a silent movie house, and in 1971 was reincarnated as the Paramount Arts Center. For many years there's been a gradually building set of rumors about the place being haunted by a spirit dubbed "Paramount Joe", and the most common explanation given is that Joe is the ghost of a construction worker who committed suicide on the premises in 1939.

The Billy Ray Cyrus video for "Achy Breaky Heart" was filmed here in 1992, and Billy Ray was very interested in the legend of Paramount Joe. During his time at the theatre, Billy Ray engaged the invisible Joe in conversation numerous times, seemingly more serious than joking.

Before he left, he autographed promo photos for everyone there, including Joe the ghost. Years later, when a manager decided it wasn't necessary to have Joe's autographed photo on the wall, the ghost knocked every other picture and poster off the walls during the night in retaliation. Or at least that's what it says on several online sources.

You can find the Paramount Arts Center at the corner of 13th and Winchester, downtown Ashland.

Kentucky DuPont Found Negligent

The DuPont controversies never end. From Business First:

A jury in Ashland, Ky., has found E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. grossly negligent for a toxic chemical accident at its Wurtland, KY plant in 2004.

It awarded six plaintiffs a total of about $1.3 million in damages for injuries they suffered as a result of the release and as punishment for DuPont. The punitive damages were calculated at a rate of 10 times the compensatory damages awarded by the jury.

The verdict sets the stage for additional phases of the multiple-stage trial that will consider claims by 173 additional alleged victims. The determination of gross negligence by DuPont and the same punitive damage multiplier will automatically apply to all of the other plaintiffs, so the only issue yet to be decided is the whether and by how much the remaining plaintiffs are to be compensated for injuries.

According to court testimony, a cloud of toxic sulfuric acid was created over a large area of Kentucky as a result of a cracked pipe at the plant. DuPont was sued in 1997 for a similar 1995 accident at the same plant.

According to a report by the Daily Independent newspaper in Ashland, a DuPont spokeswoman said the company would appeal the decision and that its position is that the chemical release was not the cause of the problems alleged by the plaintiffs.

A number of those suing DuPont are police officers, firefighters and other emergency personnel who responded to the scene when the leak occurred.

DuPont has already been in repeated trouble - a long, long list of malfeasance - over poisoning the environment and the population with Chlorofluorocarbons and PFOA. And of course, they're also manufacturers of one of my least favorite substances in the world: plastics.

New Manson Photo

That Kentucky boy Charles Manson from Ashland is in the news again. Much frothing has been going on in the media about a new photograph taken of Manson in prison, and the general tone of the stories has been something along the lines of "Ha ha! Look at Charles Manson now, he's old and gone bald! What a pathetic old schmuck! Ha ha ha!".

It's a bit odd, because I don't recall anything like this sort of mean-spirited petty sensationalism being vented on a prisoner in the news media before. Not even when serial killer Richard Speck was photographed in drag with breast implants in jail. (Then again, I keep forgetting, we do live in a different media era nowadays, where conservative FOX TV hosts and liberal MSNBC TV hosts engage in hurling direct name-calling and personal insults at each other on a daily basis.)

Funny thing is, Manson isn't even really all that bald. Apparently Manson shaved his head recently, and you can even see it clearly growing back on the top of his head. Maybe there's a little male pattern baldness going on in the corners of his hairline, but heck, the guy is, what, going on 75 years old now? Even if he really was naturally bald now, why is that news?

You can read more about ol' Charlie here or on page 103 of your copy of Weird Kentucky.

The Duct Tape Bandit

In August 2007, Kasey G. Kazee, 24, wrapped his head like a Mummy with gray duct tape and then, feeling powerful in his new secret super-villain identity, proceeded to rob Shamrock Liquors in Ashland, KY.

"Kazee allegedly indicated to a female clerk that he had a knife and threatened to harm her if she didn’t give him the money out the cash register. The clerk complied and the robber turned and left," The Daily Independent reported. "Before he could make his getaway, though, a Shamrock Liquors employee, Craig Miller, tackled him in the store’s parking lot. Miller and several other men who came running over from the Foodland store next door detained Kazee until the police arrived."


According to the store's manager, Kazee only got away with $15.

In May 2008, Kazee was sentenced to ten years in jail for the robbery that spawned scores of YouTube parodies and international ridicule. Dubbed "The Duct Tape Bandit" by the media, he's provided much hilarity for those who can laugh at our sick sad world.

The Outcasts

The Outcasts from Ashland were another great lost Kentucky garage band. Their song "Loving You Sometimes" was released on the PLATO label out of nearby Milton, WV and has gradually come to be something of a belated underground hit over the years since it was originally recorded. According to band member Al Collinsworth in an interview on Garage Hangover (Where you can also download "Loving You Sometimes" as an mp3):

The record received local airplay and got on the Billboard charts. The amazing thing is that Lovin You has been released 4 different times on 4 different labels. Plato was the original release.

A second release was with a compilation record along with ZZ Tops' first release and The Allman Joys' first release (Allman Bros). I don't have a copy of this record. A third release was in 1984 with BFD records in Australia on a compilation called "Highs in the Mid Sixties Vol. 9 - Ohio". The liner notes read, "A Zombies-influenced, moody punk sound from Cincinnati, not to be confused with 18 other groups called the Outcasts!"

A 4th release was done in 2002 by Arista Records Hip-Hop Artists, DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist on the very popular "Product Placement" CD. Oddly, and I don't know why, Loving You Sometimes is now a very popular hip-hop hit. Remixes have been done by DJ Shadow and DJ Ayres. LSD Phone Calls (a NYC hip-hop e-magazine wrote, "Maybe the perfect song. Garage psych dorks who hate this also hate the Zombies. Who hates the Zombies!?"

Charles Manson

Charles Manson's name is often invoked as one of the most horrendous serial killers of all time, right up there with Bundy, Gein, Kemper, Starkweather, Nixon, etc. Problem is, as far as is known, Manson didn't actually kill anybody.

It's been stated that Charlie ordered his acid-addled flunkies to do it, a claim Manson denies. Had Manson presented a cogent defense for himself, he theoretically should have been acquitted. But carving an X on his forehead, declaring himself to be both Christ and Satan incarnate, and yelling in court that the judge's head should be cut off didn't exactly endear him to the jury.


Not many people realize that Charlie was a Kentuckian. Although many biographies list him as being from Cincinnati, Ohio, he was in fact raised by his mother in Ashland, Kentucky and simply happened to have been born in a hospital in nearby Cincinnati.

Trivia: James Willett, another victim of Manson's friends, was also a Kentuckian. In November 1972, three Manson associates - Nancy Pitman, Priscilla Cooper and Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, were charged with Willett's murder. His headless body, buried in a shallow grave, was not found for several months. His wife Lauren was found dead soon after Willett's body was discovered.

The Bridges of Kentucky

For those of you who have an unexplainable obsession with bridges - and I know you're out there - the "street view" feature on Google Maps can be quite a handy toy, allowing you to traverse Kentucky's bridges virtually.

Madison-Milton Bridge, Milton, KY

Cumberland River Falls Bridge, Whitley County, KY

Boonesboro Bridge, Boonesboro, KY

Sherman Minton Bridge, Louisville, KY

Clark Bridge, Louisville, KY

Gordon Hill Pike Bridge, Corbin, KY

Paducah Bridge, Paducah, KY

J.R. Miller Blvd Bridge, Owensboro, KY

Lake Barkley US 68 Bridge, Cadiz, KY

Clays Ferry Bridge, Clays Ferry, KY

Ironton-Russell Bridge, Ashland, KY

Roebling Suspension Bridge, Covington, KY


And while Google currently doesn't let us street-view the William H. Natcher Bridge in Daviess County, we do get to go underneath it, at least:

Crop Circles in Maysville Area

Sonny Landham

Submitted for your consideration, the puzzling case of Sonny Landham of Ashland, KY:

1974-1979: Sonny was in Z-grade porno films such as Slippery When Wet and Big Abner (an X-rated parody of the hillbilly comic strip Li'l Abner.) "I made those movies, and did I make the wrong choice," he later told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Yeah, I did. But at the time I was trying to make it as an actor, and I needed the money, and those movies paid well."

1979: Sonny makes a transition to more serious films, starting with a small part in the cult classic The Warriors.

1980s: Throughout the Eighties, Sonny racks up a pretty respectable climb to minor stardom. He scores small roles in big films like 48 Hrs., Southern Comfort, Poltergeist, and Action Jackson. He even obtains substantial roles in Firewalker with Chuck Norris, Lock Up with Sylvester Stallone and Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also guest stars in such big TV shows as The A-Team, Hardcastle and McCormick, Miami Vice and The Fall Guy.

1990s: The next decade wasn't so kind to Sonny. Although he lands roles in films that are technically much higher quality than his 80s output, there are no commercial smashes. In 1996, he directs and stars in the well-made "Billy Lone Bear" alongside Frank Stallone. In 1998, he is convicted of three counts of making threatening telephone calls to his ex-wife during a bitter custody fight.

2000: While in prison, Sonny sues toymaker Galoob for personal identity infringement because of a toy "Micro Machines" figurine of his "Billy" character from Predator. He lost the suit for several legal reasons, not the least of which being that Twentieth Century Fox indisputedly owns the character of "Billy". The judge noted "Because the toy is only 1.5 inches tall and has no eyes or mouth, it bears no personal resemblance to Landham."

2001: After almost three years of being wrongly incarcerated in Federal prison, Sonny was victorious in getting his conviction quashed on appeal. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in reversing the conviction, scolded the prosecutor by stating in its decision, "Landham committed no crime.....This matter should not have been brought to trial."

2003: Sonny ran - but lost - in the Republican Party primary for Governor of Kentucky, apparently hoping lightning would strike a third time after his Predator co-stars Jesse Ventura and Arnold Schwarzenegger went on to political careers.

2005: Sonny forms the Sonny Landham Foundation with Roger Thoney. (Landham and Thoney both would later attend the controversial Council of Conservative Citizens meeting in Louisville, and also put out a truly frightening ultra-right-wing DVD called America Under Attack.)

2006: Sonny lost control of a rented 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser and crashed into a taxicab while driving in downtown Ashland. Police said Sonny was not wearing a seat belt, which caused his head to strike his windshield even though the air bag had deployed. He was treated at King’s Daughters Medical Center for his head injuries.

2008: On June 25, Sonny announced his Libertarian candidacy for Mitch McConnell's U.S. Senate seat. Just one month later, he made extreme racial slurs against Arabs.

Sonny Landham: If I had my way, I would stop Arabs coming into this country. And I would take all, uh, non citizens of the United States, finger printing them, and having a complete background check before they set foot into this country.

Matt Cavedon: How about Lebanese Christians and Arabs who aren’t Muslims?

Sonny Landham: What did I just say? All people. I said no Arabs into this country.

Three days later, Kentucky Libertarians voted unanimously to withdraw Landham's nomination, citing his comments were not in keeping with the party's values.


It's unclear what Sonny's future plans are at this point. Part of me feels sorry for him, because of the raw deal he got by being unfairly imprisoned, and because he really is a charismatic actor and coulda been a contender in Hollywood if only he'd gotten the chance to do more leading roles. However, there's just no getting around the massive atrocity of his ultra-right-wing statements against minorities. If I were in charge of his PR campaign, I would advise him to claim temporary insanity caused by the head injury, and then make the mother of all public apologies for his racist remarks.

Apologizing just doesn't seem like Sonny's style, though.

"Ashland" sign in Lexington

"Unnecessary" "use" of "quotation marks" are "usually" a sure "sign" of a real "moron". But this is one case where it can be forgiven, I suppose: the reason for the quotes here is that they had to be added later due to other morons seeing this sign and thinking they'd made a wrong turn at Albuquerque and wound up in Ashland, KY.