No Upward sports at Baptist Church

Due to snow, there will be no Upward Basketball or Cheerleading tonight at Marion Baptist Church.

Also, the G-R-O-W Outreach team will not meet tonight.

Tonight's school board meeting cancelled

Tonight's working session for the Crittenden County Board of Education has been postponed. It will be rescheduled at a date to be announced later.

CCHS sports events cancelled today

Athletic Director Angela Starnes says that all school-releated ballgames and practices are cancelled today due to the snow and hazardous driving conditions.

Winter advisory still in effect for Crittenden

A winter storm advisory remains in effect until noon today across all of western Kentucky and southern Illinois, according to the National Weather Service.

Crittenden and all nearby counties are still receiving light to moderate snow. Accumulations are around one inch in places and up to three inches in some instances. Highway crews are out treating the roadways, however, driving conditions vary greatly. Snow-covered roadways will be encountered if you are driving this morning.

Transportation officials and police say that after about the third winter weather event of the season, the number of traffic accidents go up. After enduring a couple of snow events, motorists tend to get more comfortable driving in winter precipitation and become over-confident, said Department of Highways spokesman Keith Todd.

"That over-confidence leads to an increase in crashes as winter goes on. Be sure to buckle up, slow down and leave plenty of extra stopping distance whenever you’re driving on snow and ice," Todd cautions.

No school today in Crittenden

Snow has cancelled school for Tuesday, Jan. 11 in Crittenden County.

Friday is barbecue platter special at Italian Grill

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Area deaths

Vera L. Riley, 60, of Marion died Friday, Jan. 7, 2011 at Livingston Hospital in Salem.

She was a member of Repton Baptist Church. The funeral is Monday at Gilbert Funeral Home in Marion.

Jack Dempsey Lewis, 49, of Marion, died Friday, Jan. 7, 2011 at Crittenden County Health and Rehabilitation Center. The funeral is Monday Boyd Funeral Directors in Salem.

Sugar Grove Cemetery Association meets

The annual meeting of the Sugar Grove Cemetery Association will be held after morning church services on Sunday. Anyone interested in the upkeep of the cemetery is encouraged to attend this meeting.

Area death

Lemma Riley Parker, 97, died Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011 at Crittenden Hospital. She was born in Livingston County on Oct. 12, 1913. The funeral is Sunday at Boyd Funeral Directors in Salem.

U.S. 60 closed 6 hours due to wreck at Mattoon

UPDATE: U.S. 60 IS NOW OPEN (2:25 p.m.)

U.S. 60 East at Mattoon will be closed for approximately six hours starting at noon today due to an accident involving a tractor-trailer hauling anhydrous ammonia. A recovery team is en route to remove the anhydrous gas before the overturned truck can be righted.

There were no ruptures and no gas has been released. There is no danger to nearby residents. No one was injured in the accident.

Two detour routes are being established, one northwest of U.S. 60 and one southeast of U.S. 60. Traffic will need to use Baker Hollow Road, Ky. 654, Fishtrap Road, Nunn Switch Road and/or Ky. 120 to detour around the accident.

U.S. 60 and the intersection at Ky. 654 is closed in downtown Mattoon.

Pictured above is Mattoon firemen Russ Eaton and Trooper Darron Holliman stopping traffic in Mattoon shortly after the accident.

Rescuers respond to U.S. 60 accident

EMS and Crittenden County Rescue Squad volunteers were called to the scene of a one-vehicle accident around 6:30 this morning. The vehicle overturned near The Animal Clinic on U.S. 60 West. Two individuals were involved in the accident. Their conditions were not immediately known.

Highway crews spraying brine ahead of snowfall

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to pre-treat area highways in anticipation of light snow moving across the 12 counties of District 1 – including Livingston and Crittenden – over the next couple of days, and an additional opportunity for snow early next week.

Crews will initially concentrate on pre-treating bridges, overpasses, and other potential trouble spots such as hills and curves early Friday, then pre-treat additional areas through the day Friday as time allows.

Motorists should be alert for slow moving trucks and support vehicles on area highways as crews go about their work on Friday.

Pre-treating involves spraying brine on road surfaces. Brine is produced by pumping water through salt in a vat or generator. When brine solution is sprayed on the roadway the water component dries leaving behind a layer of fine powdered salt. That salt then remains on the driving surface available to be activated when winter precipitation first starts to fall.

Area death

Bobby Rudell Howard, 69, of Livingston County, died Thursday, Jan. 6, at Salem Springlake Health and Rehabilitation Center. Arrangements are pending at Boyd Funeral Directors in Salem.

Main Street Italian Grill offers big barbecue platter

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Dead birds found near Murray State

State wildlife officials have told the Associated Press that "several hundred" dead birds were found near the Murray State University campus last week.

They said mostly blackbirds that migrate through the area during early winter months such as grackles, red wing blackbirds and starlings were among the dead animals. There were also robins.

New Year's Eve fireworks may have been responsible for causing the deaths of thousands of blackbirds in central Arkansas last week. The bird deaths have made national headlines.

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources spokesman Mark Marraccini told the AP that someone called police about the discovery in Murray, and they alerted state officials.

Marraccini said tests performed on the birds ruled out diseases or poisons. He said the deaths could have been caused by weather conditions or another natural event.

Pothole repair makes I-24 one lane

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to restrict eastbound traffic to one lane on Interstate 24 in Livingston County today.

The lane restriction is to allow the Livingston County Highway Maintenance Crew to patch potholes along the eastbound lanes of I-24 between the Tennessee River Bridge at mile point 29.352 and the Cumberland River Bridge at mile point 33.885. The lane restriction is expected to be in place from about 9 a.m., to about 1 p.m.

Motorists should be alert for equipment, flaggers, and maintenance personnel on the roadway in close proximity to traffic flow. Slow down and use appropriate caution in this work zone.

Relay team sponsors half-court shot tonight

Crittenden County Health Systems Relay for Life team will sponsor a half-court shot during half time of the second game in the Rockets and Lady Rockets doubleheader tonight at Rocket Arena.

Members will be selling tickets throughout the first game. Cost is $1 per ticket for a chance at winning $100.

Marion Auto Body reaching for Main Street

Marion Auto Body owner and operator Shannon Lain says customer service and convenience are driving forces behind an expansion project for the Moore Street vehicle repair business.

When Lain bought Marion Auto Body almost six years ago, he had plans to expand the business, but the opportunity hadn’t presented itself until recently when he bought property to extend his location eastward onto South Main Street. Lain purchased a house formerly owned by Theresa Fletcher, which burned last year.

"I've always had the idea to further expand my business," Lain explained. "It was just the matter of when, where and how. No one knows we're back here and by having a front entrance on Main Street, I'm hoping that our service will grow by 25-30 percent."

The expansion will give the shop better exposure right next to the new coin laundry and Marion Eyecare Center and across the street from Marion Pit Barbecue.

A need to keep up with advancing technology is also part of Lain's need for expansion.

"It's hard to try and keep up with rapidly-growing technology, but that's what we strive for – to provide top-notch service with up-to-date equipment,” he said.

Lain says new equipment will allow him to provide service for smart and hybrid cars.

For more see this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press.

Pictured above is Shannon Lain in front of the body shop.

Murray dies at Paducah hospital

Longtime school district employee Sharon Murray died Tuesday morning in a Paducah hospital from complications of a heart attack she suffered last week.

Murray, 63, had been employed by the Crittenden County Board of Education for more than 33 years. She retired in 2009 as assistant transportation director, but returned to the school district in 2010 as a part-time bus dispatcher.

UPDATE: Visitation is from 5-8 p.m., Thursday at Gilbert Funeral Home. The funeral is at 11 a.m., Friday at the funeral home.

Area deaths

John Alfred Atwood, 78, of Marion died Saturday, Jan. 1 at Crittenden Hospital. A memorial service will be held later. Myers Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Norris Wayne McCraw, 59, of Tiline died Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011 at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah.

A memorial service will be held Tuesday at Boyd Funeral Directors in Salem.