CHS Walk-In Clinic Opens Oct. 2

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Area deaths

Linda Sue Padon, 74, of Salem died Wednesday. Boyd Funeral Directors and Cremation Services is in charge of arrangements.

Floya Marie Elam, 79, of Marion, formally of Hardin County, Ill., died Monday. Gilbert Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Area deaths

Harry Charles Black, 75, of Marion died Monday. Myers Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Floya Marie Elam, 79, of Marion, formerly of Hardin County, Ill., died Monday. Gilbert Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Magistrate Underdown passes

Glenn Underdown, a magistrate on Crittenden Fiscal Court, died this morning. He was 74. Underdown had served on the fiscal court for many years representing District 3.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. at Gilbert Funeral Home in Marion. Private graveside services will be held at a later date.

What's news this week in Crittenden County...

When a powerful earache or ankle sprain strikes on the weekend, no longer will waiting until Monday morning or a costly visit to the emergency room be necessary. Beginning Monday, Oct. 2, Crittenden Health Systems will be debuting a walk-in clinic designed to address non-critical medical needs outside the usual office hours of most doctors and clinics in the area. It will be open 5 to 10 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, times not competing with physicians’ normal practices.

For more on this story and the following headlines, pick up a copy of this week's issue of The Crittenden Press:

• School levy up 1.9 cents per KRS
• Clark addresses school tax failure
• McD’s robber gets 7 years
• Grand jurors indict only 1
• Friday final day for Victory Garden food
• Band marches into 2nd
• MPD makes arrest in home invasion
• Christmas charity eligibility ends soon
• OPINION: 401(k) not good pension reform
• ABOUT TOWN: Quips offer relief, maybe even chuckle
• Tuesday earthquake centered in Illinois
• Conservation district poster contest starts
• TDS now improving Livingston internet
• Tradewater Music Festival draws hundreds to county
• Marion Auction Mart burglary investigated
• FORGOTTEN PASSAGES: Gold Star symbols honored mothers who lost sons to war
• VAUGHT'S VIEWS: Bromley wrapping up his UK coverage
• SPORTS: UK basketball start time and broadcast schedule
• Old-timers hit field to benefit youth
• ‘Adulting’ classes help hone grown-up skills
• Club celebrates 97th anniversary
• Homemakers’ project continues thanks to generous local woman
• SPORTS: Mr. 35 leads golfers into regional tourney Monday
• SPORTS: Rocket ‘D’ annihilates Webster in 49-7 victory
• SPORTS: Fall sports round-up

Lewis joins Tri-Rivers Healthcare

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Area Deaths

Mabel Agnes Harris Cullen, 98, of Princeton died Monday. Morgan's Funeral Home in Princeton is in charge of arrangements.

Donald G. Thomas, 82, of Brownsburg, Ind., and formerly of Kokomo, Ind., died Friday. He was also a part-time Crittenden County resident. Stout & Son Funeral Home of Russiaville, Ind.,  is in charge of arrangements there and Gilbert Funeral Home in Marion is in charge of local arrangements.

No classes Monday in Crittenden County

There will be no school Monday in Crittenden County.

Monday is a Teacher Planning and Professional Development Day.

Additionally, there are no classes for students Oct. 16 or Nov. 27 for Teacher Professsional Development Days

Marion wins Heritage Cup

Marion won the Heritage Cup Tournament last weekend at Marion Country Club.

The event is a Ryder-Cub style competition.

Among those on the winning team were Kyle, Ronnie and Derrick Myers, Jeremy Shoulders, Mike Stone, Jordan Roberts, Ronnie Nix, Emily Watson and Tate Roberts.

Marion beat Fredonia in the event.

2017 School Tax Proposal Soundly Defeated

Here are the numbers by precinct 

in Crittenden County

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Area deaths

Evalyn Carter, 77, of Marion died Friday. Gilbert Funeral is in charge of arrangements.

Maj. (ret) Francis D. “Frank” Pierce Jr., 79, of Clarksville, Tenn., died Wednesday Nave Funeral Homes in Clarksville is in charge of arrangements.

Betty Sue Lloyd Denton, 86, of Providence died Thursday. Jones Kirby Funeral Home in Providence is in charge of arrangements.

What's Bugging You Right Now?

What’s bugging you right now?

Are they ticks or mites?

Health specialists say ticks and mites are very similar – both are arachnids, as are spiders and scorpions. 

What people are calling turkey mites are actually ticks, says Charles Hiter, public health director at the Pennyrile Area Health Department.

“Right now is a big time for them,” Hiter said. “They’re ticks, or tick larvae.”

Anyone who has these types of bites and experiences conditions such as fever, fatigue or flu-like symptoms should seek medical attention. Otherwise, the itch will last from a few days to maybe a week or two.

He explains that conditions over the last several months – including a mild winter, wet spring and moderately dry late summer – have created near perfect conditions for tick hatching.

Ticks and chiggers are the two culprits that are creating big problems for folks’ ankles right now. Keeping them away is similar, but different.

Hiter recommends taking precautions when outdoors, especially in grown up or woody areas. 

“Wear socks and use a repellant,” Hiter said.

Repellants are not all created equal. To keep ticks off, you must use an insecticide that includes the active ingredient Permethrin or some type of pyrethroid. This type of spray actually kills ticks. Chiggers are another matter. They can be driven back by sprays or rub-on repellents that contain DEET, such as products under the brand names Cutter, Repel or Off. Those products do not seem to be as effective at warding off the small ticks that are biting people right now.

Chiggers are also known as harvest mites, perhaps because at harvest time is when they’re most active. They are microscopic parasites that latch onto and bite warm blooded creatures like you and me. Despite common belief, they don’t drill into your skin and set up shop. Pasting them over with nail polish will not smother them, but it will create a crusty mess on your personal exterior.

“I have heard of that remedy, but by the time you see a red spot on your skin, the chigger is long gone,” said Dee Brasher, the Agriculture Extension Agent in Crittenden County.

She recommends showering right after hiking or being in places where chiggers or ticks might be common. It’s a good preventative method, especially for chiggers which don’t tend to latch on too tightly and will wash off easily. 

Chiggers dine on humans and move on to bite again. In their wake, they leave a red, swollen spot; a skin irritation or dermatitis that can be the bane of a person’s existence if inflicted en masse.

The best treatment for chigger bites is a topical analgesic, something with hydrochloride, zinc acetate and/or hydrocortisone. Stopping the itch is about the only remedy. You can, however, scratch the spot until it becomes a sore. Some folks think sores heal quicker than chigger bites.

Hiter said that he doesn’t have any data or way to quantify it, BUT there seems to be an uptick in the number of regional cases of bed bugs and lice. 

“I have anecdotally heard an increased number of possible bed bugs as well as lice,” he said. “No hard numbers, there just seems to be more of it right now.”