12/21/05

Roger Alford appointed AP correspondent in Frankfort, Ky.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Roger Alford, Associated Press correspondent in Pikeville, Ky., has been appointed AP correspondent in Frankfort, Ky., leading AP's coverage of state government.

The announcement was made Dec. 13 by Hank Ackerman, chief of bureau in Louisville.

Alford, a native of Middlesboro, has been in Pikeville since September 2000.

Alford worked at The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch from 1997-2000, where he covered metro news and served on an investigative reporting team.

Previously he had been a reporter at the Middlesboro, (Ky.) Daily news, the Ashland (Ky.) Daily Independent, and the Portsmouth (Ohio) Daily Times.

He is a native of Middlesboro, Ky., and a graduate of Union College in Barbourville, Ky., where he was editor of the campus newspaper.

Alford succeeds Mark R. Chellgren, who is retiring after 25 years with AP. Chellgren has been AP Frankfort correspondent since 1983. Before that, he was correspondent in the Evansville, Ind., office of AP responsible for coverage of western Kentucky and southern Indiana.

Contact: Jack Stokes, AP Corporate Communications, 212.621.1720