LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentuckians may remember the name Marques Warrick from his days filling the box score at Henry Clay High School in Lexington.

Now three years into wearing a Northern Kentucky University jersey, the Norse guard came back to his hometown to help the next generation of basketball players.

For the second year, Warrick put on a summer basketball clinic for local fifth to eighth graders.

The young ballers went through several different drills working on shooting, dribbling, agility, one on one defense and more.

Warrick remembers going to clinics and camps like this all the time growing up and he wanted to give back to Lexington by helping the next generation of hoopers grow on and off the court.

"What I really want to instill in them so they can take in life is being coachable, being a teachable person where other people can come and have good representation about themselves. Definitely being coachable and being able to learn new things," Warrick said.

Warrick is coming off averaging just under 19 points a game for NKU last season.

He said he looks forward to continue putting on these camps in the future.

THE PLAINS, Ohio —

Before Joe Burrow was an NFL star, he was a small-town kid growing up in southeastern Ohio.

Those who have coached him along the way say Burrow has not forgotten where he came from.

Sam Smathers coached Burrow as a youth. Smathers assisted author Scott Burson in writing "From Bulldog to Bengal: The Joe Burrow Story Through the Eyes of His Hometown."

Ahead of its release, Smathers walked WLWT through the making of a champion.

"We're just, we're very proud, very proud of him. He's just Joe," Smathers said.

Plains, Ohio is where it all started for Burrow.

Smathers has video footage from when Burrow was a quarterback in third grade. With no one open downfield, he decided to run the ball.

Videos from sixth grade show Burrow executing more plays.

"They bring back all the memories. All the memories come back," Smathers said as he watched a highlight reel. "I've watched him grow up, and I've watched damn near every game he's ever played.

Fast forward to high school, Burrow became more competitive.

"He was very competitive in practice and the game, but he wasn't a rah-rah guy," Smathers said.

Burrow led by example.

"Everybody can see that. He's a silent leader," Smathers said.

Burrow led Athens High School to the playoffs and the state championship his senior year.

"That whole group of kids that came through there was just a talented group. You get that every so often, a good group of kids coming through, and Joe was part of that," Smathers said.

Burrow also excelled in basketball. Academics came easy to him. Teachers described him as shy and likeable. Students voted him most likely to become famous in addition to most athletic.

Smathers gives a lot of credit to Burrow's parents, Jim and Robin Burrow.

"They're just that type of people. Down to earth, well-grounded, and that's where Joey gets it," Smathers said. "He hasn't forgotten. He knows where he's from. He's proud of where he's from. I know he is," Smathers said.

That was evident throughout college at Louisiana State University and during his Heisman trophy moment, where he highlighted the issue of food insecurity in Athens County.

"People here understand that he's fed a lot of people, and they're very grateful for what he's done here," Smathers said.

And what he continues to do as a Cincinnati Bengal.

"When we win it, we're gonna win it, and it'll be our way, and way we're going to do it," Smathers said.

Smathers said he helped write the book with blessings from Burrow and his parents.

It's set to be released in the spring.

More information can be found, here.

CLEVELAND — Barbara Fulker and James Gavin of Cleveland feel lucky to be alive. After a suspect van plowed into their home during a Cleveland police chase in July 2019, the couple is now left with $30,000 in repairs.

The senior couple told News 5 they live on a fixed income and couldn't afford homeowners insurance.

So far, the City of Cleveland has told them it's not responsible for helping with repair costs due to "sovereign immunity," which absolves the city of liability in situations involving emergency services like police, fire, or EMS.

To make matters worse, the couple said four months after the accident, the city issued them a citation, fine, and court hearing for the unfinished repairs.

Anthony Garcia

The couple said too often they're forced to use a narrow wooden ramp to get into their home.

“It was a van speeding, and they lost control of the van and ran into the house and the steps," Fulker said. “I was very scared and very shocked. I really couldn’t believe it.”

“I called several times, and I left so many messages, never got a callback, they won't help us."

“I told them we couldn’t afford to have this fixed, especially not in 30 days. We don’t have that kind of money. We still don’t have it.”

Fulker has now challenged the candidates for the vacant Ward 4 Cleveland city council seat to help them find a solution.

Candidate Deborah Gray told WEWS if she's elected, she'll propose legislation that could grant repair assistance to homeowners dealing with police chase-related property damage by amending what can be covered by the Cleveland Moral Claims Commission.

While candidate Erick Walker told WEWS if he is elected in November, he'll explore a city-based homeowners insurance assistance program for qualifying low-income families and seniors on a fixed income, which could help with these types of damage claims.

News 5 also reached out to the Cleveland Mayor's office about this case, and it responded immediately. The city said it'd contacted several city departments to see if anything could be done to help the couple repair their home.

Joe Pagonakis at WEWS first reported this story.

With demand for travel nurses through the roof, staffing agencies and nurses are feeling the pressure.

“I've been a nurse for 10 years, I've never seen anything like this before, said emergency room nurse Abigael Kaszar. “And it's, I mean, it's just something for the books. It's just crazy.”

Kaszar works through Aya Healthcare and she was at three hospitals over the past year, including one in New York City at the height of the area’s virus outbreak.

Kaszar says she's always keeping an eye on open ER positions. At the end of spring, there were a couple hundred. Now, there are over 4,000.

Another staffing agency, Travel Nurse Across America, tells us their requests from facilities are up 175% year over year.

The agency says it's because hospitals want staff that can jump right in.

“Being able to go from one hospital to another, and to understand and learn the different policy and procedure very, very quickly is difficult. And so these nurses are very talented and can come in and start working on a dime,” said Jill Eliassen, VP of Clinical Services at Travel Nurse Across America.

Kaszar is now at a hospital in California, where she says the ER is just overwhelmed.

COVID-19 patients who get discharged can't always go home, but other facilities they'd normally go to are full, so they stay in the hospital longer. The intensive care unit fills up too.

Patients who have nowhere else to go trickle down to the ER, which still has ambulances and other new patients coming in.

All of this is happening while hospitals are trying to isolate COVID-19 patients from others.

“It's just very busy and these people are just so sick, and it's a really big challenge keeping up. It's an emotional challenge, it's sad and it's scary and it's, I mean, so many of these infections were preventable. You feel so much regret and you feel sad for these people,” said Kaszar.

Travel Nurse Across America is encouraging short breaks between contracts because their nurses are getting burnt out.

“These nurses are also having to be psychiatrists and counselors and support for family members that are in a hospital due to COVID and aren't able to be with their loved ones,” said Kathy Kerstiens, Sr. VP of Client Services at Travel Nurse Across America.

The agency thinks the demand for travel nurses won't let up until at least mid-summer, when they can finally get more relief.

COVINGTON, Ky. —

As the delta variant continues to rise, more people than ever are waiting in line over an hour for something no one really wants – a COVID-19 test.

At the Gravity Diagnostic’s testing site in Covington, cars were lined up though the old IRS parking lot and around the outside of it Monday.

“My granddaughter, she’s not feeling well,” said one woman coming into the drive-through site.

“My daughter, from the school they say she maybe was exposed to some kid with COVID. So, we have to take a test for her,” said another woman in line.

The Gravity site gives the gold standard PCR tests. People usually get results by midnight the same day they took the test.

“I think we’ve all been surprised by how delta has changed things in the last six or eight weeks,” said Gravity Diagnostics CEO Tony Remington. “There’s a lot of peace of mind testing for just people going back to school, back to work, going to a Bengals game, going to a concert.”

Remington said the test sites have been so busy, they’ve opened new drive-through sites at Northern Kentucky University, in Ludlow and at Buttermilk Pike for St. Elizabeth Hospital. Gravity is also opening up several other sites around Kentucky and Indiana.

Take-home COVID-19 test kits are also available over the counter at many drug stores, if you can find them.

The cost is about $24.00, but many stores are sold out right now.

The over-the-counter tests kits are fast, but not as accurate as the PCR tests.

Hamilton County Libraries are also giving free take-home tests as long as the last.

“There are differences in the tests. The take-home tests are considered a screening vs a diagnostic test,” said the Health Collaborative’s Tiffany Mattingly.

Mattingly said the key is keeping people from going to emergency rooms to get a test.

“The prediction of where we’re going to peak is really difficult to anticipate. Right now, we know that we’re still climbing,” Mattingly said.