Events set tone for new school year

Two events in the coming days geared for Crittenden County students and parents will allow them to meet staff, tour the schools and learn about what the community has to offer.

On Monday, a Back to School Bash will be held for middle and high school students and families. It will be held from 5-8 p.m., at the multi-purpose room.

On Aug. 9, Sneak-a-Peek for elementary schoolers and parents will be from 6-8 p.m., at the school, with students whose last name starts A-K the first hour and all other the second hour.

The following day is opening day for staff of the district. Kentucky’s Commissioner of Education will be the opening speaker for the school year’s kick-off event. The community is invited to attend a luncheon that follows in order to exchange information about your business or organization with staff.

I-24 blocked by multi-vehicle accident

UPDATE: SITE IS CLEARED

A multi-vehicle accident is blocking the westbound lanes of I-24 between Calvert City and Grand Rivers. Traffic is being re-routed around the scene.

Area death

Gertrude Florence Dempsey, 92, of Marion died Wednesday at Crittenden Health Systems. Memorial services will be held at a later date. The Myers Funeral Home in Marion is handling arrangements.

Ledbetter Bridge down to one lane Monday

Traffic on the U.S. 60 Tennessee River Bridge at Ledbetter will be restricted to one lane starting Monday.

The lane restriction during daylight hours is to allow a detailed inspection of the bridge structure.

Traffic will be restricted to one lane with alternating flow controlled by flaggers between approximately 8 a.m., and 3 p.m., weekdays only for about one week.

Motorists should be alert for slowing and stopped traffic in the work zone. Travel delays should be less than 4 minutes. Motorists should be alert for equipment, flaggers and maintenance personnel on the bridge deck.

All Kentucky bridges get a detailed inspection every two years with long-span bridges subject to additional walk-through inspections from time to time. The bridge was opened to traffic in 1931 and now carries approximately 7,800 vehicles across the Tennessee River in an average day.

A new bridge is being constructed approximately 1,500 feet upstream from the existing bridge.

U.S. 60 milling, paving starts Friday

Milling and paving work in Livingston County along U.S. 60 between Marion and Smithland and Ky. 967 is under way this week. The work along U.S. 60 starts just east of Burna and runs to the Livingston-Crittenden County line just east of Salem.

Milling and paving along Ky. 967 runs from the intersection with U.S. 60 near Smithland City Hall northward to Court Street. This runs at the rear of the new Livingston County Judicial Center.

The milling and paving schedule for these projects is as follows:

• Friday and Saturday: Cut back shoulders on U.S. 60 and remove pavement markers.
• Monday: Milling along both projects.
• Tuesday: Start paving operations on Ky. 967 and then moving to U.S. 60.

Motorists should be alert for road crews working along the roadway where traffic will be restricted to one lane. Paving along these projects is expected to take about a week, weather permitting.

Marion man injured in powerline accident

UPDATE: Friends say Hayes suffered burns, but is going to be okay. He is in stable condition.

A Marion man was severely injured today when he was electrocuted while working on a power line in Clinton, Ky.

John Hayes was taken to a Fulton hospital and later transferred to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.

He is employed by Hendrix Electric Inc., of Dixon.

Road work to close U.S 60 in Marion

Tuesday will see the closing of West Gum Street (U.S. 60 West) between Blackburn and Yandell streets in Marion beginning at 6 a.m. The closure will be preceded by prep work on Friday and Monday along the same stretch and will require lane restrictions.

This planned closure, just east of Crittenden County High School and Crittenden Hospital, is to allow a cross drain replacement and improvements to the Yandell Street intersection with Gum Street. The work is expected to be completed by 3 p.m., Tuesday.

During prep work and construction, motorists may take a self-detour via Ky. 91 to Ky. 981 (Old Salem Road).

AG files suit against Daymar College

An investigation into Daymar College by Kentucky's attorney general led to a suit filed today against the owners and operators of the college. Attorney General Jack Conway claims the for-profit college, with locations in Madisonville and Paducah, violated Kentucky’s Consumer Protection Act by engaging in unfair, false, misleading, and deceptive trade practices.

Conway's office received information in 2008 that Daymar College was preventing students from buying their textbooks and supplies cheaper from other sources. The attorney general’s investigation concluded that Daymar College had been engaged in a sophisticated practice of deceiving and misleading students about their textbooks and financial aid so that students would be forced into purchasing books and supplies from Daymar College at prices substantially higher than other vendors.

Additionally, Conway alleges that the defendants provide false and misleading information to students about the transferability of credits earned at Daymar College. In addition to telling students their credits will transfer, the complaint alleges that the written information Daymar College provides to students about the transferability of credits omits the material information that credits are not likely to transfer to other schools.

The complaint further alleges that Daymar has enrolled some students who do not meet the school’s criteria for admission, thereby increasing the likelihood that a student will withdraw from the program, be unable to pay the debt they incurred while attending Daymar and be unable to get a job in their career field. According to information available from the U.S. Department of Education, Daymar Learning, Inc., with the exception of one other school, currently has the highest default rate of any Kentucky-based school.

Besides Paducah and Madisonville, Daymar College campuses or learning sites are located in eight other Kentucky cities. There also is a Daymar College online program.

Persons who have information about Daymar College are encouraged to contact the Office of the Attorney General at 1-888-432-9257 or by e-mail studentcomplaints@ag.ky.gov.

Area death

Larneena Wynn, 80, of Eddyville died Tuesday at Princeton Health Rehab Center. She has a brother, Shoney Oliver, who lives in Marion. Services are Thursday at Morgan Funeral Home in Princeton.

Stout selected for federal bench

Marion attorney Alan Stout has been selected as a U.S. Bankruptcy judge for the Western District of Kentucky to fill a vacancy being created by the retirement of Judge David Stosberg.

A former five-term Crittenden County Attorney, Stout has been in private practice in Marion since 1981. Over the next three months, Stout will phase out his private practice in Marion.

Once sworn to the federal judgeship – sometime before the end of the year – his term on the bench will be for 14 years.

Stout says he will maintain a residence in Marion and Louisville while on the bench. The Western District is headquartered in Louisville and Stout anticipates overseeing dockets in Owensboro and Louisville. There are other satellite courts in Bowling Green and Paducah.

Find this story and more in this full edition of The Crittenden Press.

Hodge is queen of county fair

Jessi Hodge, 18, of Marion (pictured) was crowned queen of the Crittenden County Lions Club Fair Monday night at Fohs Hall.

Jenna Copeland, 20, was first runnerup.

See this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press for details.

Family Night at the Crittenden County Fair

Tonight is Family Night at the Crittenden County Lions Club Fair. Admission is $2 for everyone and ride bracelets will be available at the carnival.

Area death

Clinton Lowery Hunter, 66, of Marion has died at Lourdes Hospital in Paducah. Graveside services are Tuesday at Deer Creek Cemetery. Gilbert Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Man hurt in wreck near Dycusburg

A Kuttawa man was seriously injured in a single-vehicle accident early Sunday morning near Dycusburg.

State Police say Michael Taylor, 20, was driving a Ford Explorer eastbound on Ky. 70 two miles east of Dycusburg just after 3 a.m., when he lost control and SUV and ran off the highway, struck a concrete culvert and a utility pole then overturned.

Taylor was not wearing a seatbelt. He was extrciated from the vehicle by the Crittenden County Rescue Squad. Taylor was transported by PHI Air Medical to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville.

Tolu FD hosting 20th year celebration

Tolu Volunteer Fire Department will celebrate its 20th year of service on Saturday with a barbecue appreciation supper at the community center. The meal will be served at 5 p.m. There will be no charge, but donations of pies or cakes will be accepted.

Area death

Delores Jean Underhill, 71, of Tolu died Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at Livingston Hospital. Graveside services are Saturday. Gilbert Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

See you tonight at the ballpark... It's FREE

Inmate faces 2nd assault charge at county jail

A criminal case alleging that a Crittenden County Detention Center inmate broke the leg of another inmate during an altercation inside a jail cell is going to the Crittenden County Grand Jury next month.

Crittenden District Judge Daniel Heady found probable cause in the case alleging second-degree assault by Matthew E. Young, 27, of Louisville following testimony last Wednesday by two jail employees.

According to testimony by Chief Jail Deputy Tammy Robertson and Jail Lt. Tina Rushing at the preliminary hearing, Young and inmate Scott McAllister were involved in an altercation on Sunday, June 26 over the channel of the television in their cell.

As a result of the alleged assault, McAllister's leg was broken in three places, according to testimony. Robertson testified that hospital officials likened the surgical repair of his leg to "putting a potato chip back together."

Jailer Rick Riley said the alleged victim has been transferred to Kentucky State Reformatory at LaGrange. He said there’s a chance the inmate could lose his leg as a result of the injury.

In another case pending in Crittenden Circuit Court, Young is accused of attacking a deputy jailer on Oct. 17, 2010. He faces third-degree assault charges in that case.

Young is a state inmate. He has several pending felony charges in Louisville and is currently being held for a probation violation from a 2007 conviction of tampering with physical evidence and fleeing and evading police.

Read more in this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press

I-24 one-lane traffic switch Thursday

A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans a traffic shift starting at noon Thursday in a work zone for milling and paving on I-24 between the Calvert City and Grand Rivers exits. Both eastbound and westbound traffic is restricted to one lane on I-24 in this work zone. Since work started July 5, all traffic has been moved to the left-hand or passing lane between the exits. Starting around midday Thursday, the contractor plans to switch traffic to the right-hand or driving lane to allow milling and paving along the passing lane. Motorists should continue to be alert for slowing and merging traffic as they approach this work zone. Work on this section should be completed in about 2 to 3 weeks, weather permitting.

Blood drive today at Methodist church

There will be a Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 4 p.m., today at the Marion United Methodist Church.

The American Red Cross has issued an appeal for blood donors to roll up a sleeve and give blood right now because there is currently a critical blood shortage across our nation. Many donors are busy or traveling, school is out of session and donations have dropped dramatically.

In May and June, donations were at the lowest level the Red Cross has seen in this timeframe in over a dozen years, while demand for blood products remained steady. Because of that, the Red Cross needs blood donors now more than ever. All types are needed, but especially O negative, which can be used to treat any patient.

Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental permission), meet weight and height requirements (110 pounds or more, depending on height) and are in generally good health may be eligible to give blood. Please have a Red Cross blood donor card or other form of identification when donating.