Former University of Kentucky board of trustees Chairman Billy Joe Miles has died. He was 78. Rep. Regina Huff, R-Williamsburg, announced Miles' death at the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee meeting on Tuesday. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports Miles' daughter, Suzanne, an Owensboro Republican lawmaker, left the meeting soon after it started.
Miles, of Owensboro, had been suffering from dementia in recent years, according to testimony in a case in which he was charged with sexually assaulting a home health worker and offering $1 million for her silence. The charges were dismissed after credibility issues were raised about statements the worker made.
After graduating from Western Kentucky University in 1962, Miles began working at his father's seed corn company. He expanded the company into one of western Kentucky's largest enterprises.
