In an effort to reduce accidental fires, burning restrictions are in place during fall fire season when fallen leaves can quickly spread flames. Beginning Oct.1 through Dec. 15, it is illegal under state law to burn anything within 150 feet of any woodland or brushland between the daylight hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Delaying burning until late in the evening when humidity levels are typically higher and winds are generally lower makes it harder for fires to escape.
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Crittenden County Board of Education, which just met Tuesday, will be back on campus at Rocket arena Thursday, Sept. 30 for a special meeting at 6pm.
On the agenda will be discussion of a proposal to amend the Test2Stay policy and procedure the was approved Tuesday.
Looks like the school district is going to consider using Crittenden Community Hospital for its diagnostic testing instead of a Louisville contractor as previously approved.
Test2Stay for students and staff, a longer school day and new mask rules based on Kentucky’s color-coded COVID map were among measures acted upon Tuesday by the school board at its regular monthly meeting.
Get all of the details in this week’s full edition of The Crittenden Press, on newsstands Wednesday around lunchtime.
Even if you have not read the book, you are most welcome to attend to hear about how Todd researched and wrote the latest publication about this dark chapter in local frontier history.
He will also have copies for sale.
Crittenden County Board of Education will meet in regular session at 5:30pm Tuesday, Sept. 28 at the Crittenden County Elementary School library.
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If you are having a yard sale, contact The Press today to get your yard sale advertisement in this week's newspaper. We will also be posting the yard sale locations online.
Call us now at 270-965-3191.
“The new KSP regional driver testing locations are being done in accordance with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) licensing model. Regionalizing these locations will offer more efficient and effective services,” said Gov. Beshear. “I wish all Kentuckians the best of luck as they start the journey in obtaining a Kentucky driver’s license.”
Beginning Sept. 27, KSP will offer driver testing at the KYTC Regional Drivers Licensing Office, located at 56 Federal Street, Madisonville, KY 42431, for residents of Caldwell, Crittenden, Hopkins, McLean, Muhlenberg and Webster counties.
Appointments are available Monday through Friday and can be made online by visiting KSP’s website. Residents must make an appointment prior to arrival for a permit, driver or commercial driver license test.
“One of the benefits of regionalization is increased availability of testing services,” said KSP’s Commander of Driver Testing, Captain Marshall Johnson. “New appointments will be posted daily at 8 a.m., Monday through Friday, and this availability is the product of regionalizing our services.”
KSP is continuing to work with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Kentucky’s circuit court clerks to open the remaining regional offices statewide by June 30, 2022.
Prior to an appointment, new drivers should prepare for the exam by accessing the only approved Kentucky driver’s Kentucky driver’s manual or by viewing it through the official KSP mobile app, ‘kspolice’. All driver
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| - WATCH NOW - |
You will be able to watch the Crittenden County vs Union County LIVE STREAM Here at WMSK's Facebook Page.
Kickoff is at 7pm. Get all of the post-game stats and highlights at RocketsFootball.com and tune into our Press YouTube Channel for post-game interviews. You can follow the game through Twitter updates, too, @CrittendenPress.
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Charah on the NY Stock Exchange
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This week's Press includes coverage of September's dockets for felony cases, and includes pleadings and sentences.
The Crittenden Press is your primary source of news and information for this community. We’re proud to serve our community and we take great pride in bringing you real news, sports reporting and other information that helps you know what’s going on in town and across the county. Help ensure that real reporting continues in this community by subscribing today. You can subscribe online to the full version of the newspaper for only $2.95 a month. Try out new e-Edition newspaper emailed straight to your inbox every Wednesday. Click here to subscribe.
Copyright 2021
The Crittenden Press
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| Kim & Stacy Collyer |
In Crittenden County, there have been nearly a half dozen deaths over the past couple of weeks, and the virus is also affecting younger adults. In the paste few days, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of a husband and wife in Marion, for whom a prayer vigil was held late last week at the park. Stacy Collyer died Sunday at a Paducah hospital and his wife Kim, a former Crittenden Press employee, died Wednesday at a Paducah hospital. They were both in their mid 50s and leave two adult children.
The latest virus-related deaths in the Bluegrass State included people as young as 34, 38 and 39, Gov. Beshear said. The statewide death toll reached at least 8,422 since the pandemic began.
Over the past seven days, the virus incidence rate has fallen a bit in Crittenden County, yet it remains elevated. The average number of daily cases has gone from more than 10 to about 6 early this week.
A 29-year-old teacher in eastern Kentucky has died from the virus despite being vaccinated and a meticulous mask wearer, read more about how COVID is affecting teachers and others across the commonwealth Here @KYToday.
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| Go Register at Extension Page |
The University of Kentucky's local Extension Service is coordinating the program again this year and deadline to register your site on the official map is Oct. 8.
Trail maps will be available Oct. 16 and voting for the best site will be done on the Extension Service Facebook page. Register by emailing crittenden.ext@uky.edu.
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Newspaper coverage this week includes a local healthcare professional's renewed approached to COVID-19 and vaccine options.
Will Marion become a one-stop-light town? We examine that question on this week's front page.
Also, The Press this week has details from a deadly fire in Lola, a new timeline for the Riverview Park Ohio River dock, information on when the community's fall corn maze will open to the public, and more on that search for a time capsule hidden inside the courthouse.
The Crittenden Press is your primary source of news and information for this community. We’re proud to serve our community and we take great pride in bringing you real news, sports reporting and other information that helps you know what’s going on in town and across the county. Help ensure that real reporting continues in this community by subscribing today. You can subscribe online to the full electronic version of the newspaper, which can be emailed directly to your in-box each week on Wednesday. Never miss an issue. Click here to subscribe. Copyright 2021
“Upon the recommendation of the Kentucky State Police and our federal security partners, the Finance and Administration Cabinet’s Department for Facilities and Support Services, we will be seeking a request for quotes for the installation of bollards on the grounds of the Kentucky State Capitol,” Beshear said.
Architecturally-styled posts will be installed on what is known as the Capitol Loop, between the Capitol and Annex, from the Floral Clock to the Rose Garden, which means drivers will have to go behind the Annex to get from the west to the east side of the Capitol.
The street has long been a source of concern for security, say officials. Continue Reading this Article at Kentucky Today.
Completely untrue is a rumor that began this week that the Marion grocery store was planning to temporarily close for several days in order to conduct a deep clean.
Those rumors are unfounded, the store told The Press and also said in a post on social media today.
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Fohs Hall in Marion is the ideal venue for your next event.
Three Illinois residents were arrested today inside the dormant Rogers Group quarry on U.S. 60 East near Mattoon, charged with stealing valuable metals from materials at the quarry.
Crittenden County Sheriff’s Deputy Chuck Hoover was following up on a request for extra patrol at the quarry, which the company has temporarily closed. Once inside, the deputy encountered three individuals actively burning insulation off of copper in a remote section of the property.
The three were charged with a variety of crimes. Charged were Richard A. Ward, 41, and his wife Jin H. “Christine” Ward, 35, of Goreville, Ill., and Gene D. Broadway Jr., 44, of Benton, Ill.
See this week's full edition of The Crittenden Press for all the details.
The event will begin at 6 p.m., at Trimble Farms, 3513 Farmersville Rd., in Princeton.
The field day will include a tour of a small diversified farm operation and offers networking opportunities with the Trimble Family, which grows a variety of vegetables, flower crops and livestock production including chickens and hogs.
Call the Crittenden County Extension Service at (270) 965-5236 to register.
He was last seen two week ago on Friday, Sept. 3 in the area of Clay, wearing a black Nike hat, orange cut off T-shirt, shorts, Nike shoes and carrying a black Nike backpack.
Hook frequents areas in Hopkinsville and elsewhere in Webster County.
Anyone with information concerning his whereabouts is urged to contact KSP at 1-270-676-3313 or toll-free in Kentucky 1-800-222-5555. You may also call your local law enforcement agency.
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However, there's good news. The 3rd Region Sports Network provides a live stream and these guys do a great job. We recommend tuning into their broadcast to watch the game live from Hancock County. Here is a link to their YouTube Channel.
Kickoff is at 7pm. Get all of the post-game stats and highlights at the Rocket Football Web and tune into our Press YouTube Channel for post-game interview. You can follow the game through Twitter updates, too, @CrittendenPress.
A Big Thank You to Our Digital Partners
Local businesses help bring you Rocket Football Coverage
Whitetail Properties, Mark Williams, agent
Moments in Time Pictures / Reese Baker
Farmers Bank & Trust Co. of Marion
C-Plant Federal Credit Union in Marion
Curnel Ag Repair / Corey & Derek Curnel
Charah on the NY Stock Exchange
Marion Eyecare Center, Dr. Adria Porter
VISIT THEM TODAY In-Person or Online
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| Illinois Central Centennial marker |
The gazebo and bricks are to be preserved in some manner, even though it’s unclear at this point where they will go once the new courthouse is built.
There are a handful of other memorials on the courthouse lawn. Grab this week's Crittenden Press to find out what will happen to those cherished monuments and markers and get a little information about each one.
A mask mandate in the Crittenden County School District is extended through Oct. 15. The recommendation comes on the heels of the passage Sept. 9 of SB 1, which gives more local decision-making power to boards of education regarding COVID-19 protocol, including mask mandates.
The five-member board, after hearing results of a survey taken by 718 teachers, parents, students and community members, voted unanimously to accept Superintendent Vince Clark's recommendation to continue masking.
Clark based his recommendation on school survey results, CDC guidance and feedback from local healthcare workers and community members.
Crittenden students begin fall break Oct. 1. The mask mandate will be in effect for one week following the week-long break. The board meets again Sept. 28, at which time masking and further procedures again will be evaluated.
Although public health officials have not been providing age and gender information for newly diagnosed cases over the past week, the Pennyrile District Health Department has revealed that there were 78 new cases during the seven-day period from Sept. 9 through Sept. 15.
That's an increase from the previous seven-day period when there were 50 new cases.
Meanwhile, the county's vaccination rate continues to climb. It has risen more than 10 percentage points in the past couple of weeks to 37 percent of the population.
Today is the weekly vaccine clinic at Crittenden County Health Department. You can get the vaccine on other days with an appointment, and vaccine is available at some area pharmacies.
Tonight, Crittenden County's Board of Education meets at 6pm to discuss how it will proceed with regard to a masking policing at schools in light of last week's SB1 legislation which gives local control on the matter to school boards.
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“To date, 22 individuals, businesses and foundations have made contributions or commitments to the Fohs Hall Performing Arts Center Fund. The total stands at approximately $22,000 in contributions and pledges received toward the overall goal of $50,000,” Stout said.
Stout said Fohs Hall directors are appreciative of the support and working diligently toward reaching the goal.
"If you have ever attended school or an event at Fohs Hall, please consider supporting this project to renovate the lighting and sound system,” Stout said.
Coordinators hope the project cis completed by the Nov. 13 when the next production of Kentucky Hayride will be held.
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| Go Here For More Stats |
Last year, Crittenden County averaged about 189 bushels to the acre for its corn yield, according to USDA's Agriculture Statistics Service. Early indications are that this fall's crop will be as good or better.
The corn harvest is rolling hard right now while the harvest of early soybeans is just getting off the ground in some parts of the state.
Both corn and soybeans continue to be in mostly good condition. Early reports on corn yields have been positive, however much of the crop is still in the ground. Corn harvest appears on schedule compared to a typical year, according to the USDA.
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| Kim & Stacy Collyer |
Organizers David Godfrey and Rene Sizemore are asking friends, family and others affected by COVID-19 to meet at the competition track at the end of Upper Park Drive for a time of prayer and music.
Both Kim and Stacy Collyer are on ventilators at separate Paducah hospitals as a result of COVID-19.
Clerk Daryl Tabor said there were problems yesterday, too, with the statewide computer system that allows the local office to communicate with databases in Frankfort.
The statewide system also experienced glitches in July for several days.
"We apologize yet again for the inconvenience. Feel free call ahead at 270-965-3403 before visiting our office to see if we will be able to serve you. If you have a simple renewal, you may drop it off in the office or leave it in our blue drop box outside the front entry to the courthouse," the clerk said.
Seems as though a few folks were offended Friday by the way the American Flag hung during the playing of the National Anthem before the high school football game.
Marion Fire Department crewmen attached a very large American Flag to a ladder truck and hoisted the Stars and Stripes high in the air. The department wanted to do it to honor America and for a special remembrance of those who lost their lives in Afghanistan last month.
Clearly, the fire department had only noble intentions and the agency should be commended for its willingness to bring its truck and flag to the game.
Plans were to hang the flag vertically off of the long fire truck ladder. In that case, the proper way to display an American Flag is with the stars on a blue field in the upper lefthand corner. And that's what occurred, until it was determined that the ladder needed to be raised a bit higher so everyone could see the full glory of Old Glory. That's when the flag draped downward a bit, giving it an appearance of being upside down, which is a sign of distress.
Firemen drew down the flag and repositioned it more appropriately on the ladder after realizing how it was hanging.
We can only hope that no one was terribly offended by what was a very well-intended gesture.
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Hometown Foods and Strong’s Enterprises each submitted sealed bids in response to request by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to lease local property beginning no later than March 1, 2022.
The state has budgeted about $12 million to tear down the current courthouse in Marion and build a new judicial center in its place. Local government offices will not be going into the new courthouse. They will move to the Marion Ed-Tech Center.
During the demolition and construction, district court, family court and circuit court, along with its administrative support staff, will be looking for a building to occupy that would accommodate.... for the rest of this article see the Sept. 9, 2021 full edition of The Crittenden Press, on newsstands now.
Collaborate Marketing and Creative Services, an Eddyville-based marketing group, is offering a $5,000 promotional grant for design and creative services.
Applications are accepted each year from Sept. 1 until Oct. 31. To apply, fill out an online form at Collaborate’s website WeShouldCollaborate.com by describing your project in as much detail as you find necessary to communicate your goals, needs and limitations.
The grant is open to anyone who would like to apply, however there is preference given to several factors including, but not limited to: budget, local or regional affiliation, local or regional impact of proposed project, nonprofit status, and prior history of local/or regional community service.
The individual is a white male, driving a black GMC pickup truck that was pulling a trailer with an orange lawn mower.
The Livingston County Sheriff's Department has issued a statement saying that the individual left the scene and drove westbound toward Smithland.
"Let me stress, this man is a potential witness and we need to speak with him regarding the events that transpired just prior to the collision," Sheriff Bobby Davidson said in the statement, which was posted on social media and sent to area media.
Anyone with information can call the Livingston County Sheriff's Office at (270) 928-2196.
Further details of the fatal crash have not been released. However, early reports were that a motorcycle was involved.
The legislation goes into effect starting Thursday, Sept. 16.
Crittenden County Board of Education will meet in special session Thursday to decide how to proceed.
The school district is asking parents, students and community members to respond to a survey that will help leaders determine the best path forward. Go Here to take the survey.
Update: U.S. 60 is open to one-lane traffic.
Livingston County 911 Dispatch reports a multi-vehicle crash is blocking U.S. 60 at the 14.5 mile marker in Livingston County. Early reports indicate the crash involves a passenger vehicle and a motorcycle.
The crash is just north of Smithland near the Smithland Dam Road Intersection. U.S. 60 is blocked between KY 137/River Road and the Cumberland River Bridge at Smithland.
Estimated duration is 3 hours.
There is no nearby detour for this section of U.S. 60. Motorists traveling between Smithland and Burna on U.S. 60 should self-detour via KY 453 South to I-24 and U.S. 62/U.S. 641 through Marion to connect with U.S. 60.
Pictured are Jason Hurley, who is assistant chief at Caldwell Springs Volunteer Fire Department and engineer at the Crittenden County Volunteer Fire Department, and Tim Rice of Benton, who works for Fire Specialty Equipment.
The company tested water pump pressures and engine factors such as temperature and oil pressure and all of the gauges. A fire truck’s hose needs to blast somewhere around 200psi.
Fire engines must be checked and certified every year.
KDFWR personnel will be torching about 30 acres behind the WMA office off KY 365 between Sturgis and Mattoon.
John Zimmer, manager of the WMA, said there will be a good deal of smoke generated from the fire because moist, green conditions exist in the plant life that will be consumed by the blaze.
The fire will be started after noontime.
CWD is a neurological disease that affects deer, elk, moose and caribou. It is always fatal to the infected animal.
There is no strong evidence to suggest that CWD can be transmitted to people. However, states have gone to great lengths to prevent the spread of the disease among deer herds since it was first discovered in Colorado in 1967. As of now, no CWD has been detected in Kentucky's deer herd.
The disease was found in a three-and-a-half-year-old whitetail female in Henry County, Tenn., about 17 miles southwest of Murray. The deer was emaciated and acting odd, according to a news release by the KDFWR and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission plans to meet at 9 a.m., on Friday, Sept. 10 to receive a report on the situation and to discuss implementation of the response plan.
Checking processes for harvested animals and perhaps baiting practices may be required to change in the counties closest to the confirmed case. We will know more in the coming days about Kentucky will react to this matter.
Kentucky's archer deer season is currently underway.
These changes are not part of reapportionment, which could change the precinct in which voters reside. Those potential alterations would not affect voting until 2023 and will be based upon U.S. Census data.
What’s in the near future are more opportunities for multi-precinct voting centers and an opportunity for consolidation of voting locations, which will save the county thousands of dollars.
An article and high resolution map printed in the Sept. 2, 2021 full edition of The Crittenden Press reflects the changes, indicating which traditional voting locations would be preserved, where new polling locations will be located and where the countywide voting center will be located under a plan recently approved by the local elections board.
The board of elections is made up of the county ... for the rest of this article see the Sept. 2, 2021 edition of The Crittenden Press either in print or online where archives date back to 2008. Subscribe now to our new PDF version mailed directly to your in-box.
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| Pictured is a 1940's era photo of a gazebo that once stood on the courthouse square. Those who had the new one built say it provided the spirit for today's modern version, which was constructed in 1998. |
A six-member board made up of local leaders and judges met Tuesday and set a new path for exploring various options with regard to the gazebo's future.
This week's Crittenden Press full edition, which will be in print after lunchtime and online by noon, will have complete details from yesterday's meeting of the justice center's Project Development Board, including a timetable for what and when will be next.
In this week's newspaper, local historian Brenda Underdown reveals what's in the time capsule hidden somewhere in the walls of the existing courthouse, which is set to be demolished soon. However, a big mystery could prevent the capsule from being opened.
AT&T recently loosened some of the ties that have created an issue with the pole, which is so close to the street corner that it’s often hit by large vehicles. A few weeks after The Press published an article on the matter, AT&T has removed its transmission lines, and those belonging to Mediacom, from the pole.
The only thing left on the pole is a heavy cable to which the traffic signals are connected. The signals are powered from a KU transformer on the opposite side of the street.
Whether by coincidence or due to an issue related to the removal of the telecommunications lines from the corner pole, the Kentucky Department of Highways had trouble with the traffic signals for a few days recently, and actually made some temporary changes to the intersection’s red light configuration.
City Administrator Adam Ledford said there has been no communication or notification from AT&T or the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet about the changes being made at the corner. However, based on recent activity at that pesky pole, there's reason to believe it may either be gone or moved soon.
In an article in last week's full edition of the newspaper, it was published that four third-party buyers purchased 30 certificates of delinquency from 2020 county property rolls during a recent public auction at the courthouse.
The county collected $25,062.95 as a result of the auction.
That means almost $9,500 in tax revenue for the school district and $2,500 for the county.
While those taxing entities will benefit, delinquent property owners could be a in a real bind as those third-party buyers will now have a right to put a lien on the real estate and force its sale. Since the list of delinquent taxes was published in The Crittenden Press in July, the county has collected $41,382.08 in back taxes. There remains $19,227.64 in delinquent 2020 taxes.
Sandy Gilbert is president of the local women's sorority that had the gazebo built more than 20 years ago as a near replica of a former structure that stood on the courthouse lawn in the late 1800s and early 1900s. She and others are organizing support to keep the gazebo after the current courthouse is razed and a new one built downtown. Architects have said there is no room for the gazebo to return, but Gilbert and others are not convinced.
"I am writing this to ask as many supporters of keeping the gazebo where it is to please try to attend a meeting to be held at the Ed-Tech building," Gilbert wrote in a post on social media this weekend. "The people behind taking down the courthouse and constructing a new building are supposed to meet with us. If you value the gazebo and the engraved bricks around it, we need your support."
According to the Project Development Board's agenda for Tuesday's meeting, it will render a decision tomorrow whether the gazebo is allowed to to return to the court square once a new justice center is built.
A recent Crittenden Press survey found that about 80 percent of those polled want the gazebo back on the courthouse lawn.
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| Crittenden County Judge-Executive Perry Newcom recently took news of the new reservation system to campers staying at Riverview Park on the Ohio River. |
“We love it down here because it is so peaceful and relaxing,” she said late last week as she stood in front of her Vengance pull-behind camper.
Shore was excited to learn that reservations at the campground can now be made online. She said the convenience and certainty of knowing a spot is waiting is important because she pulls the camper more than six hours from Portage, Ind., to rural Crittenden County.
“We started coming down here about 10 years ago. Back then we stayed in a tent,” she said.
Improvements to the campground in 2008 included modern campsites complete with water, sewer and electricity. Since then, the park has been a popular destination with campsites full during seasonal peaks. Getting one of those seven RV sites has been on a first-come, first-served basis for more than a decade. Now, you can make reservations and pay ahead of time online to be confident you’ll have a place to unwind when you arrive.
The new automated system is described as user-friendly for campers who would like to book stays at the park well in advance.
Most older residents know the Ohio River campground by another name – the Dam 50 Recreation Area. It is located at the end of Ky. 387 off Ky. 91 North in remote Crittenden ... for the rest of this article see the September 2, 2021 full edition of The Crittenden Press.
