Area Death: Martin

Thelma Martin, 84, of Marion, died Tuesday at Crittenden Health and Rehab. The funeral is Friday at Gilbert Funeral Home.

More H1N1 & Dollar General

Crittenden County Schools have confirmed two more cases of the H1N1 flu virus among students at the high school and middle school. That makes four the total of students who have suffered from the illness. School Superintendent says both students were out of school for a few days, cured and have now returned to classes.

In other news, there's a second new Dollar General Store coming to the area. 

See this week's issue of The Crittenden Press printed edition, on sale at newsstands today after 3 p.m.

Area Death: Rushing

Paul "Greasy" Rushing, 68, of Fredonia, died Sept. 13, 2009 at his home. The Funeral is at 1 p.m., Tuesday at Morgan Funeral Home in Princeton. 

Congestion, delays expected next week at Henderson

As part of ongoing construction along the U.S. 60 Henderson South Y Highway Improvement Project, a contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is planning work that will create daytime delays next week – Tuesday through Thursday, September 14-17.

Placement of steel on the new Canoe Creek Bridge will require all traffic to be halted for two 15-minute periods each day on U.S. 60/South Green Street near the 10 mile marker. The work is being scheduled between approximately 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., each day. Halting all traffic for 15 minutes is likely to cause congestion that will take 30 minutes or more to clear, so travel delays are likely for through traffic during this phase of work.

Through traffic along U.S. 60 is advised to avoid traveling through the U.S. 60 South Y Project work zone between those times next week. Through traffic should consider self-detouring around this work zone via the Ky. 425 Henderson Bypass and U.S. 41-A during this planned work.

Employees who work in the Henderson South Industrial Area and trucks making deliveries in the area should be aware of the potential for delays and consider accessing manufacturing facilities along the U.S. 60/South Green Street corridor from Ky. 425 via the south end of the project.

Hargis trial on hold during appeal

The civil trial of former school superintendent Fredericka Hargis vs. Crittenden County School Board has been delayed. It was scheduled to begin Monday, Sept. 14 in Crittenden Circuit Court.

The trial was postponed after a pre-trial hearing on Friday when Judge Steven Hayden denied a motion by the defendants for summary judgement. The defendant, Crittenden County School Board, will file an appeal to the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

The trial will be delayed until the appeals court renders a decision.

Students will see president's speech today

President Obama's address to school children – made live on Tuesday – will be incorporated into classrooms in Crittenden County today, according to Superintendent Dr. Rachel Yabrough. The delay was made in order to allow staff and faculty to review the material in the speech.

I-24 blocked in McCracken County

THE ACCIDENT IS CLEARED AND TRAFFIC IS NOW MOVING ON THE INTERSTATE.

I-24 westbound is closed at Exit 7 near Lone Oak.  A car has overturned on the overpass at Exit 7. It appears to be a single vehicle crash. Exit 7 is the US 45/Lone Oak Road Interchange. Motorists traveling I-24 westbound should take Exit 11 and follow the I-24 Downtown Loop to avoid the crash site. This accident happened at 7:30 a.m., and could take a couple of hours to clear.

Bridge over dam will closed 3 weeks

GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. — A contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to temporarily close US 62 and US 641 across Kentucky Dam starting Wednesday, September 9.  The closure is to allow preliminary road work required to eventually tie in a new Tennessee River Bridge being constructed below the dam.

 

US 62 and US 641 will be closed from the US 641/KY 282 Interchange at US 62 mile point 11.023 at the west end of the dam to the KY 453/Dover Road Interchange near the 1 mile marker in Livingston County.   The closure is scheduled to start at approximately 8: a.m., on Wednesday.  The temporary closure is expected to be in place about 3 weeks. A marked detour will be provided via Interstate 24.

 

The closure extends a 2.3 mile trip across the dam by about six miles along a detour via I-24 and KY 453.  The detour adds about six minutes of travel time for commuters.

 

Approximately 6,000 vehicles cross the Tennessee River/Kentucky Lake along US 62 and US 641 via Kentucky Dam in an average day. Completing highway connections will require another temporary closure sometime later in the year to be prepared for opening of the new bridge in Spring of 2010.

 

US 62 and US 641 currently travel atop Kentucky Dam to cross the Tennessee River.  Traffic is being moved to the new bridge to prepare for future construction of a new lock at the east end of Kentucky Dam.  The project also includes moving P&L Railroad tracks off the dam and over to a new railroad bridge that runs parallel to the new highway river crossing.

 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Engineer Tony Ellis says to stay on track to open the bridge in the Spring of 2010, the preliminary road work for the approaches has to be completed this fall.

 

US 62/US 641 traffic will detour via Interstate 24 and KY 453 between Grand Rivers andKentucky Dam Village State Park at Gilbertsville.  Weather permitting, the work is expected to take about three weeks to complete.  Jim Smith Contracting of Grand Rivers is the contractor for the bridge approach work.

Area Death: Wesmoldand

Sybil E. Wesmoland, 86, of Marion died Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009 at her home. The funeral is today at Gilbert Funeral Home in Marion.

Family History Workshop is Sept. 12

- In this month's Family-History Workshop, researchers will learn how to start the process of researching and documenting family history. KHS and the Kentucky Genealogical Society (KGS) will host the free workshop, "Genealogy Basics, Parts 1 and 2" on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Jackie Couture of Eastern Kentucky University Archives will describe proper techniques for basic research and offer information on resources, repositories and helpful tips.

Presented by KHS and KGS, the free Family-History Workshop series takes place on the second Saturday of each month at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, in downtown Frankfort. Topics range from how to begin documenting your ancestry to specialized resources for experienced genealogists. If requested at the time of registration, an optional light lunch is available at a cost of $6, payable at the door.

To make a reservation, contact the KHS Reference Desk at 502-564-1792, ext. 4460 or RefDesk@ky.gov. Registration for the September workshop is required before noon on Friday, Sept. 12. Learn more about the Family- History Workshop programs and other resources for genealogical research on the KHS Web site, www.history.ky.gov.

Following the close of each Family-History Workshop, the Kentucky Technology in Genealogy Users Group (KTIG) offers a program to help support family-history researchers' use and understanding of technology as it applies to genealogy. All interested persons are invited to participate in the free monthly program at 1:45 p.m. The September program will feature a quick overview of the key internet offerings available for researching family history.

Area Deaths

Joey McDowell, 35, originally of Marion died Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 at the Swedish Medical Center in Denver, Colo.  The funeral is Saturday at Gilbert Funeral Home in Marion.

Wilma V. Kimberlin, 89, of Burna died Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009 at Crittenden County Health and Rehabilitation Center. The funeral is Sunday, Sept. 6 at Boyd Funeral Directors in Salem.

H1N1 Flu Reported in Crittenden Schools

Crittenden County Schools have reported their first cases of the H1N1 flu, also called the Pandemic flu or Swine flu.

Dr. Rachel Yarbrough, school superintendent, confirmed the cases late Tuesday afternoon. One male and one female student were treated and cured and are now back in school, Yarbrough said.

The cases were at the middle school and high school.

Yarbrough said a letter was sent home with students this week, detailing flu prevention methods.

Man injured in tractor accident

The second tractor accident in about week has injured a second man.

Leonard Brantley was bush hogging a field off of White Road near Mattoon just before dark Monday when he stopped the mower to use the tractor's front-end loader to push ice storm debris out of the field and into the woods. A low-hanging branch apparently knocked Brantley off of the back of the John Deere tractor.

He became caught by the tractor axle and bush hog and was dragged several feet into the forest before the tractor was stopped by some trees. Brantley was able to get a cell phone out of his pocket and call for help.

Rescue workers, summoned to the scene at 8 p.m., used jacks to remove the tractor and Brantley appeared to have escaped serious injury. However, he was flown to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville as a precautionary measure.

Another local man, Ron Dalley, was injured last week in a tractor accident at his home on U.S. 60 West. He remains hospitalized in Evansville.

Lane restrictions on I-24 this week

A Kentucky Transportation Cabinet survey crew is working along I-24 this week through McCracken and Marshall counties. 

 

This survey work will require lane restrictions for both eastbound and westbound traffic near bridges and overpasses along this section of I-24 from the 0.0 mile marker to about the 30 mile marker.

 

The crew is doing survey and engineering work to prepare for milling and paving of the bridge and overpass approaches along I-24 from the Ohio River Bridge to the Tennessee River Bridge. These lane restrictions include an enhanced police presence in the work zone.

 

Motorists should be alert for slowing and merging traffic at these work zones. Motorists should use appropriate caution where equipment, flaggers and survey personnel will be on the roadway in close proximity to traffic flow.

 

Once the survey and engineering work is complete, the milling and paving work at the bridge ends is likely to start sometime in mid-September. 

 

Area Deaths

Ava Ruth Belt, 93, of Marion, died Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009 at Crittenden Hospital. The funeral is Tuesday at Myers Funeral Home.

Johnny Lee Terry Sr., 72, of Henderson, Ky., died Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009, at his home.

Montgomery Vincent Tarter, 74, of Marion died Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009 at Crittenden Hospital.

See Myers Funeral Home Web site for more information on these obituaries.

Area Death: Brantley

Marlene Brantley, 78, of Marion died Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009 at Livingston Hospital in Salem. Funeral services are Saturday at Gilbert Funeral Home in Marion. 

Highway Delays on US 60 in Henderson

As part of ongoing construction along the US 60 Henderson South Y Highway Improvement Project, a contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is planning work that will create daytime delays on Tuesday, September 1, 2009. 

 

Placement of steel on the new Canoe Creek Bridge will require traffic to be restricted to one lane on US 60/South Green Street near the 10 mile marker. The work is being scheduled between approximately 8:30 a.m. and approximately 3:00 p.m., CDT, Tuesday.

 

Placement of a crane in the roadway required to off-load trucks and place 15 steel beams on the bridge will create a bottleneck.  All lanes will have to be closed about 10 to 15 minutes to allow the beams to be safely moved into position and set.

 

Again, this work near the 10 mile marker on US 60/South Green Street will restrict traffic to one lane at the site and force all traffic to halt.  This bottleneck will likely create extended delays of 10 minutes or longer.  Motorists are advised to avoid the area between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, if possible.  Through traffic should consider self-detouring around this work zone via the KY 425 Henderson Bypass and US 41-A during the day Tuesday.

 

Lane restrictions at the site should be removed in time for the afternoon commute.

 

Employees who work in the Henderson South Industrial Area and trucks making deliveries in the area should be aware of the potential for delays and consider accessing manufacturing facilities along the US 60/South Green Street corridor from the KY 425 end of the project.

Silent Auction: Cornhole boards

High school sports fans will have an opportunity to get their hands on specially designed cornhole (bag toss) boards this weekend during the first ever Kentucky National Guard Warrior Bowl.

The custom-made boards depict mascots from all four teams playing in the bowl: Crittenden County, Massac County, Ill., Glasgow and Herrin, Ill.

Boards will be used for open play starting at 4:30 p.m., before each game then will be sold at silent auction to the highest bidder. Sold will be a set of 2 boards and eight bags depicting each team's colors and logo.

Local woman hurt in wreck

A Crittenden County woman escaped serious injury in single-vehicle accident Wednesday afternoon. Heather Cozar, 40, was traveling eastbound on U.S. 60 West when she met an oncoming vehicle on the center line. Cozart told police that she swerved to avoid striking the other vehicle, causing her 1996 Chevrolet Blazer to run off the right shoulder of the highway. Cozart's SUV overturned, ejecting her from a window. She was not wearing a seat belt. The accident happened at 4:47 p.m.

Cozart was transported to Crittenden Hospital by ambulance. She was kept in the hospital overnight for observation, but did not appear to have any serious injuries.

Kentucky State Police Trooper Darron Holliman investigated the accident. The Crittenden County Sheriff's Department assisted at the scene.

Man injured in tractor accident

A Crittenden County man was injured Tuesday morning in a tractor accident at his home.

Ron Dally, 70, was operating a Ford 600 series tractor when it somehow ran over him.

Dally was conscious and alert when ambulance personnel arrived. He was taken to Crittenden Hospital by ambulance.

The tractor and ambulance (partially obscured by the oak tree) can be seen in this photo.