Hog Rock has Ferry hopping

The annual Hog Rock festivities in Cave In Rock, Illinois has the Cave In Rock Ferry busy as it can be this week. Some entrepreneurs have even set up shop on this side of the river, providing refreshments for long waits for the ferry.

Lucas 6th in state 3200 meters

Originally published June 2, 2016 The Crittenden Press

Crittenden County’s Aaron Lucas continues to climb the ladder of success in the 3200-meter race. The sophomore finished sixth Memorial Day Weekend at Lexington in the KHSAA state meet, 11 rungs higher than his performance a year ago and good enough to earn a medal and a place on the winner’s platform with other top finishers.

The two-time regional champion finished the two-mile race in 10:25.44, about five seconds faster than his qualifying finish two weeks ago in the First Region Class A meet at Murray.
Lucas finished 17th last year in the state meet with a time of 11:01.47. He’s trimmed more than half of a minute off his time in the past year and has his sights set on the school record and perhaps a state championship, but the road will not be clear ahead as several underclassmen have proven themselves in the distance runs.

At Lexington, Lucas was 24 seconds behind the two-mile champion, Keeton Thornsberry, who is just a freshman at Louisville’s Holy Cross High School. Thornsberry’s time was 10:01.13. Also in front of Lucas in this particular race was a seventh grader, two sophomores and a junior. That means the CCHS harrier will have his work cut out for him moving forward if he wants to win a state championship.

Lucas’s coaches say the sky is the limit for the long, lean runner who is only just now learning how to pace himself against the course and his competition.

Lucas was 10 seconds off pace at the state meet to set a new Crittenden County school record. The Rockets’ all-time best time in the 3200 meters was more than 25 years ago by Claude Williams at 10:14.30.

Lucas was 11th in the 1600 meters, finishing about 20 seconds behind the winner, Dedrick Troxell at 4:26.87. Lucas was tripped while running in traffic during the crowded race, but recovered for a strong finish.

Troxell, like Lucas, is a sophomore. The Green County miler will be a real challenge for Lucas in years ahead. Thornsberry, the Holy Cross freshman, was second at 4:29.74. A couple more sophomores finished slightly ahead of Lucas, but the others were upperclassmen.

Crittenden County’s Dylan Hicks finished 19th in the state’s 300-meter hurdles. Hicks was third in the region and earned an at-large berth at Lexington. Murray’s Malik Britt-Taylor won the race at 39.92 and Hicks finished at 46.19. Livingston Central sophomore Chase Cooper was 14th.
The Rockets’ 1600-meter relay team captured 18th place at the state meet. Its anchor runner, junior Will Tolley, was a bit banged up from a car wreck a week earlier, but he was still able to close out the final 400 meters for the squad. The foursome of sophomore Jacob Russelburg, senior Dylan Hicks, freshman Devon Nesbitt and Tolley earned an at-large bid in the state meet. The boys finished at 3:43.73 in a very tight race that was won by Bishop Brossart at 3:29.83.

Crittenden County’s school record in the 4x400 was set in the 1970s at 3:29.00.

City offering shelter from weekend heat

Marion City Hall will be open all weekend as a cooling center for local residents who may have been caught off guard by unseasonably warm temperatures forecast for the coming days.

The mercury is expected to rise to the mid-90s Friday through Sunday, weather more akin to late-July or August. City Administrator Mark Bryant said the air-conditioned digs of city hall will open to the public to come and go throughout the duration of the blistering heat. After an uncommonly cool May, Bryant reasoned that many residents may have yet to install their air conditioners for the summer or otherwise be prepared for late-summer temps.

Temperatures are forecast for the low 90s on Monday and Tuesday before dropping back down to more seasonable readings.

KSP vehicle auction scheduled for Friday

The Kentucky State Police will put approximately 130 running and 90 non-running vehicles, two modular buildings and other miscellaneous items up for public auction on Friday, June 10.

The auction will be held at 94 Airport Road in Frankfort and is open to the public. Auction items can be viewed beginning at 8 a.m. with the auction beginning at 9 a.m.

All announcements made on the day of sale supersede any previous announcements, oral or written. KSP reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

There will be a 7 percent buyer’s premium charged to all items sold. Full payment is required within one hour after last item is sold. Payment for items to be made by cash, cashiers, certified or travelers checks, money order or in-state personal checks with proper identification.

All out-of-state checks and checks totaling more than $5,000 will require a fully-certified bank letter that guarantees payment. The letter must be on bank letterhead, or bids will not be accepted. There is a $100 fee on all returned checks and a 2.75 percent fee on all credit card transactions.

All items are sold on an as is and where is basis.

Auctioneer provided by Kentucky Auctioneer’s Association. Sale number 16-025.

For a listing of the auction items, visit http://finance.ky.gov/services/surplus/Pages/UpcomingPublicAuctions.aspx.

Thursday Sale

MOVING SALE THURSDAY. Desks, couches, rocker, sheets, towels, blankets, glassware, home furnishings and decor, floral arrangements, toys, men's and women's clothes. Too many items to name. 175 Nunn Jent Rd, just off Chapel Hill Rd, 1.2 miles from Par 4.

Saturday in Princeton

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

Summer Reading started Tuesday at the
public library. Above, sisters Karlee and Emily
Hardin get down to business with some coloring
during the opening ceremonies of an Olympics-
themed summer of sharpening young reading skills.

In many ways, Hurricane Camp Meeting can be boiled down to a numbers game. There’s a head count for campers. This year, almost 70 young folks – the most ever – will ascend upon the grounds, bringing their laughter, pillows, tooth brushes and excitement to the forested hillsides that are tranquil and tame for the other 51 weeks out of the year.

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

• FORGOTTEN PASSAGES: Hurricane Camp offers 128 years of history.
• Vets invited to appreciation luncheon.
• Crittenden Relay nears 2016 goal.
• Audit of sheriff takes issue with practices.
• OPINION: Flag Day reminder to stand for heritage.
• Schools close successful year, look ahead.
• CCES final 9 weeks honor roll.
• CCMS end-of-year awards presented.
• Culvert on Hurricane road to be replaced after camp meeting.
• Rains dampen farmers’ schedule.
• 36th Marion High Reunion July 2.
• County woman injured in wreck.
• Chamber discussing idea of farm-to-fork dinner featuring nothing but local tableware.
• Community Christmas classes slated.
• Salem man arrested for second-degree robbery.
• Woman’s Club earns 7 state awards.
• Library’s top 10 includes Amish fiction.
• SPORTS: End-of-season baseball, softball stats.
• Senior center monthly evening fundraiser set for tonight.
• Dual credit offered at no cost to students.

Track and Field awards ceremony

Here are the Crittenden County track and field award
winners from this season. They are (front from left)
Shelby Wallace, Jessie Potter, Nikki Shuecraft, Dylan
Hicks, (back) Devon Nesbitt, Amanda Lynch, Branen
Lamey, Jantzen Croft, Jesse Belt, Sarah Hodge,
Jacob Henry, Aaron Lucas and Will Tolley.

Track & Field
Awards
  Crittenden County High School’s track and field team held its award ceremony last week at the park.
  Among those honored were the following:

100 Point Club
Madison Champion 100
Nikki Shuecraft 100
Branen Lamey 118
Amanda Lynch 121
Jessie Potter 126
Will Tolley 136
Shelby Wallace 137

150 Point Club
Jacob Russelburg 156
Dylan Hicks 168

175 Point Club
Devon Nesbitt 176
Aaron Lucas 183

MVPs
Shelby Wallace
Aaron Lucas

Seniors
Jantzon Croft,  Margaret Sitar, Jacob Henry, Nikki Shuecraft, Dylan Hicks, Sarah Hodge, Gary McConnell, Jesse Belt

Letterman
Barnes, Emmalea
Beavers, Adam
Belt, Jesse
Brooks, Landon
Champion, Madison
Crider, Ross
Croft, Jantzen
Curnel, Cortne
Duncan, Jaelyn
Ford, Devin
Gobin, Anzie
Graham, Kaylee
Hayes, Trinity
Henry, Jacob
Hicks, Dylan
Hodge, Sarah
Hutchings, Nadia
Keller, Kate
Lamey, Branen
Lucas, Aaron
Lynch, Amanda
McConnell, Gary
Nesbitt, Devon
Perkins, Will
Perryman, Kenlee
Potter, Jessie
Russelburg, Jacob
Shuecraft, Nikki
Steele, Tyson
Tabor, Alexis
Tolly, Will
Wallace, Shelby

On tap this weekend

VISIT US ONLINE

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DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI: Juanita Farley Burks

The exemplary life’s work of each of this year’s four Crittenden County Distinguished Alumni inducted last month involves careers in justice, technology research, broadcasting and business. This year’s inductees Judge Jerry Brown and Dr. Andrew Mason exemplify the very best of ambition, drive and hard work. Posthumous inductees Bob Swisher and Juanita Burks each shared a lifetime of contributions already recorded in history. All were recognized at a private luncheon May 27 and again at commencement ceremonies at Rocket Arena.

Burks blazed trail for minority women in business
By DARYL K. TABOR, THE CRITTENDEN PRESS
Juanita Burks embodied all the traits that made her generation the greatest of all American generations – hard work, dedication, perseverance and self-sacrifice. For that, and her success as a pioneering Louisville businesswoman, the Marion native is being honored posthumously Friday as the first minority inductee as a Crittenden County Distinguished Alumnus.

Burks

Born on July 2, 1920, she entered into a segregated Southern society still influenced by Jim Crow laws, even in Crittenden County, where racial tensions were virtually non-existant. As an African-American, she was not allowed to attend high school locally. Instead, she was forced to find transporation out of town each day on a farm truck in order to complete her secondary education at Dotson High School, a school for blacks in Princeton.

“She had to catch a ride on a slop truck,” said her son Ish Burks, a retired Army colonel, former Kentucky State Police Commissioner and current academic coordinator for the criminal justice department at Jefferson Community & Technical College in Louisville.

Marion High School was not integrated until 1955, long after Juanita had started a new life and family in Louisville. But she never let the separate and unequal opportunities for blacks in that era become a barrier to success later in life. And her son said the family was never allowed to dwell on issues of discrimination.

“They understood,” Ish said of his mother and father, for whom he was named. “Those were the times we lived in. They never showed any sense of bitterness.”

Ish said his mom enjoyed her life growing up in Crittenden County. Though he was born in Louisville, Ish, 71, would spend his summers as a youth in Marion with his grandparents, Allen and Donna Farley. He, too, has only fond recollections of Marion.

After graduating high school, Juanita attended the historically black Kentucky State University in Frankfort, but things did not work out. She married and moved to Louisville, and like so many other women during World War II, she went to work in a munitions factory. For a period, she worked as a domestic and even an elevator operator to help put all three of her children through college.

That’s just what good parents do, said Ish, who plans to attend Friday’s Distinguished Alumni luncheon at Rocket Arena.

“They always wanted more for their family,” he said of his parents. “They always made sure we had good things.”

After putting her last child through college, Juanita herself returned to the halls of higher education, taking business courses at the University of Louisville, where she would later serve on the board of trustees. She parlayed that education into a series of successful ventures around Louisville. Most notably, at the age of 60, she founded J.P. Burks Construction, which won contracts for work at iconic Louisville sites.

“Over 20 years later, she continued to work 12-hour days. Her company supplied glass for the expansion of the south wing of the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center and was awarded a $193,000 contract to supply sprinklers for the renovation of Churchill Downs,” her entry in “The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia” reads.

Six years before establishing her construction company, Juanita and Ishmon Sr. mortgaged their home and took out a federal small business loan in order to open a personnel recruitment service that paired minority workers with Fortune 500 companies. “Her later business ventures included a nursing business, an alcoholic beverage distributorship, a stop-smoking center and a shoe store," her encyclopedia entry continues.

She even sold insurance door-to-door.

“It takes a certain knack to do that,” Ish said with a chuckle.

Juanita was appointed by Gov. Julian Carroll in the late 1970s to President Jimmy Carter’s energy board. She earned the Woman of Achievement award from the Business and Professional Women of River City in 1983, became a member of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, raised diabetes awareness and at 76, was named the 1996 Kentucky Entrepreneur of the Year.

In her mid-80s, her Encyclopedia entry tells, Juanita claimed, “As long as I got breath in my body I’m going to be doing something.”

“We had to literally pull her out of her office (to get her to retire),” Ish added.

The son said he is most proud of the work ethic his mother exhibited and instilled in her three children.

“I’m 71 and still working full time,” he added. “I’m only doing what I saw. I’m very thankful for those values.”

Ish said his mother’s impact lives on today, two years after her death.

“I cannot walk down the street that somebody doesn’t stop me – primarily black people – and ask if I’m her son,” he explained. “They’ll tell me, ‘Your mother helped me so much. She was such an inspiration.’ I get it all the time.”

What is the Distinguished Alumni honor?
The Crittenden County Distinguished Alumni honor was created in 2010 as a means to recognize accomplished men and women who earned their public education in Crittenden County schools. Recipients of the award must have completed their education at Crittenden County High School or one of the other secondary schools that once existed in the county. Special consideration is given to individuals for whom a high school education was not available here at the time. Selections for the Distinguished Alumni honor are determined by educational, professional and community service accomplishments.

Previous winners are:

2011

• Kenneth Winters
• Albert Michael Crider
• Forrest Carlisle Pogue*
• F. Julius Fohs*
• Ollie M. James*

2012

• Scott Campbell
• Trish Milburn
• Jim Hatfield*

2013

• Johnny Rushing
• Jeff McKenney

2014

• David Newcom
• Helen Moore
• C.S. "Clem" Nunn*

2015

• W.A. Franklin
• Stephanie Kelly

*Posthumous

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI: Bob Swisher

The exemplary life’s work of each of this year’s four Crittenden County Distinguished Alumni inducted last month involves careers in justice, technology research, broadcasting and business. This year’s inductees Judge Jerry Brown and Dr. Andrew Mason exemplify the very best of ambition, drive and hard work. Posthumous inductees Bob Swisher and Juanita Burks each shared a lifetime of contributions already recorded in history. All were recognized at a private luncheon May 27 and again at commencement ceremonies at Rocket Arena.

Swisher western Ky. sports broadcasting legend
By DARYL K. TABOR, THE CRITTENDEN PRESS
If a person can truly be born for a particular job, sports broadcasting was given Bob Swisher.

The longtime voice for western Kentucky sports, Swisher grew up during the Great Depression and World War II on the ballfields of Crittenden County. When he wasn't playing ball, he was pretending to call the games like the St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster he idolized.

"When he was little, he would go around with a tin can and play like he was on air," his college sweetheart and widow Hilda said. "He was trying to sound like Harry Caray."

Swisher

As a boy, she said, he went so far as to showcase his early skills before a crowd at the county fair.

It's for developing that passion into a long, successful career that Swisher will be inducted posthumously Friday as a Crittenden County Distinguished Alumnus. He began broadcasting for real while a student majoring in history and physical education at then-Murray State College in the late 1940s and remained on the airwaves in western Kentucky as a fixture until his death at the age of 82 in 2010.

Sports broadcasting was the perfect match for a man who excelled as an athlete both as a hard-hitting shortstop and as a quarterback for Marion High School's Blue Terrors. In 2000, he was inducted into the Marion-Crittenden County Athletics Hall of Fame.

After graduating MHS in 1946, Swish – as he was known by many of those close to him – traded in the ball for a microphone and was able to remain close to the games he loved. Settling in Paducah, he became station director for WKYB radio and broadcast professional baseball games for the Paducah Chiefs of the former Kitty League and gridiron action for Paducah Tilghman High School and Murray State.

"He had a great voice," said Gordon Guess, whose own amateur broadcasting career was greatly influences by his friend Swisher.

"It was a gift, and he had a nice easy way of doing it," Hilda, who plans to attend Friday’s induction ceremony, said of her husband's delivery.

Though he would leave Crittenden County to establish his career, he never forgot his heritage. In the years after he left in 1946, he would often frequent local sporting events, visit with friends and even emcee the annual Marion High reunion.

In 1957, Swisher put a face with that voice by signing Paducah's new television station, WPSD, onto the air. His television career budded earlier that decade in San Diego as a public information officer in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He left television in 1990, having influenced dozens of on-air personalities in his 30-plus years as sports director and production manager for WPSD.

Swisher never really retired from broadcasting. Though he maintained no regular broadcasts in his later life, he would turn up on air from time to time. In 2008, Guess invited Swisher, an infielder six decades earlier for Marion's amateur Twin States League team, to toss out the first ball for the Marion Bobcats on opening night of the inaugural season. He later joined Guess on air for the first-ever Bobcats radio broadcast.

For decades, Swisher's voice painted the picture of what was happening on the field. But he left his mark on western Kentucky in other ways. He organized Sports Against Cancer that continues to raise money for the American Cancer Society. At church, he used his silky voice to teach a senior women's Sunday school class.

"They just loved him," Hilda said.

Despite Swisher’s success, he never took his gifts for granted.

"Since he's gone, I just think about how many things he was good at," Hilda said, adding a little career advice for today's youth. "He worked hard at things he wanted to do. And if you get the chance do something you really love, that's just a wonderful thing."

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI: Judge Jerry Brown

Four individuals were inducted May 27 into the 2016 Class of Crittenden County County Distinguished Alumni. A luncheon was held at Rocket Arena to honor the three men and one woman.

The exemplary life’s work of each of this year’s four Crittenden County Distinguished Alumni inducted last month involves careers in justice, technology research, broadcasting and business. This year’s inductees Judge Jerry Brown and Dr. Andrew Mason exemplify the very best of ambition, drive and hard work. Posthumous inductees Bob Swisher and Juanita Burks each shared a lifetime of contributions already recorded in history. All were recognized at a private luncheon May 27 and again at commencement ceremonies at Rocket Arena.

Career in law elevates Brown to federal bench
By CHRIS EVANS, THE CRITTENDEN PRESSThe Honorable Jerry Brown’s judgeship in New Orleans has brought him into contact with some of the most powerful people in the South, but the 84-year-old has never forgotten his modest roots in Crittenden County.

Brown, a justice for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, counts himself among the luckiest men in the country. The 1950 graduate of Marion High School has literally seen the globe thanks to his military career, personal travels and professional work as a lawyer and judge for almost 60 years.

Judge Brown will be recognized Friday as a 2016 Distinguished Alumnus by Crittenden County Schools.

Brown

Brown earned an undergraduate degree from Murray State University, where in 2007 he was named a Distinguished Alumnus by the university.

“Looking back, I guess I’ve just been the luckiest guy in the world. I was always at the right place at the right time. The good Lord has been good to me,” said Brown.

A veteran of the U.S. Army, Brown went to college on the G.I. Bill after serving overseas in Europe as an enlisted soldier. Beyond the military, Brown earned a law degree from Tulane and stayed in the Deep South, working as a clerk for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge John Minor Wisdom, who was instrumental in civil rights decisions during desegregation.

He’s a leader among the most esteemed attorneys in Louisiana, having served as president of the state bar association, federal bar association and Tulane Inn of the Courts, a professional support group for young lawyers.

For more than 30 years, Brown was a partner at Monroe and Lemann, a prominent New Orleans firm. He spent a short time as a special partner at Bronfin Heller, a bankruptcy law firm, before ascending to the federal bench in 1992. In 2005, he was named chief bankruptcy judge in the district, and following his retirement in 2011, Brown was recalled to service. To this day, he continues to serve as bankruptcy judge with a full docket.

Brown speaks highly of his early education in Marion where he received the motivation, inspiration and foundation for his highly regarded career in law. He was raised in Farmersville, lived five years in Detroit with his family during World War II then moved back to western Kentucky where the family settled in Crayne. He attended Marion High School from his sophomore year until graduation. At commencement ceremonies in 1950, Brown delivered the valedictory speech although he was not the school’s top graduate.

“Billy Campbell was the valedictorian,” he said, “but he didn’t like speaking, and I did, so I wrote and gave the speech.”

Public speaking was one of his strengths, and it has served Brown well in the legal profession. Reading and writing, he said, are perhaps more important for aspiring attorneys of today. Most cases are now settled through briefs instead of oratory as in earlier days, Brown explained.

“Marion had terrific high school teachers. Dr. Brandon was an excellent math teacher I had. He went back to school and became a medical doctor and served the community for many years,” Brown said. “Two teachers I remember the most were Mable Minner and Ms. (Nannie) Miller. They both taught English and were excellent teachers. When I came out of high school and went to Murray State, about a third of the students at Murray had to take what’s now called remedial English, but I don’t remember anyone from Marion having to take it.”

Brown played basketball at Marion High. At Murray, he graduated with honors in 1954. His military service took him to Germany, then he chose Tulane in New Orleans over Washington University in St. Louis for his education in law. He says a love for Dixieland Jazz drew him to the The Big Easy.

“As a kid, I listened to Clear Channel Radio and loved the music that came out of he Blue Room at the Roosevelt Hotel. I’d never been to New Orleans and didn’t know a soul, but I loved the music,” said the judge, who admits he can’t sing or play a single instrument.

His grandfather was an old-fashioned “horse trader.” Brown remembers growing up without electricity or running water, but he counts the blessings of his life and its accomplishments.

“I am awfully grateful,” he said. “I grew up dirt poor, but we didn’t know the difference because everyone else was, too.”

Brown and his wife, Florence, have been married 56 years. They raised three children who became an investment banker, lawyer and doctor. He and his wife have traveled extensively, covering most of Europe, Central and South America, Russia, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Greece, Turkey, Japan and China. This fall, he is planning a trip to a previously unvisited part of Italy.

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI: Dr. Andrew Mason

Class of 2016 Distinguished Alumni
Inductee Andy Mason; Hilda Swisher, widow of posthumous inductee Bob Swisher; Vince Clark, Crittenden County Superintendent of Schools; inductee Judge Jerry Brown; and Ish Burks, son of posthumous inductee Juanita Farley Burks.

The exemplary life’s work of each of this year’s four Crittenden County Distinguished Alumni inducted last month involves careers in justice, technology research, broadcasting and business. This year’s inductees Judge Jerry Brown and Dr. Andrew Mason exemplify the very best of ambition, drive and hard work. Posthumous inductees Bob Swisher and Juanita Burks each shared a lifetime of contributions already recorded in history. All were recognized at a private luncheon May 27 and again at commencement ceremonies at Rocket Arena.

Micro-sensor research brings Mason esteem
By ALLISON EVANS, THE CRITTENDEN PRESS
Many locals remember Andy Mason as a tackle on Crittenden County High School’s state championship football team in 1985. Others recall his successes as a debater on the school’s speech team and that he was valedictorian of the Class of 1987.

Mason grew up in Tolu with his parents, Jack and Debbye Mason, and attended Tolu Elementary School.

Almost 30 years after leaving for college, Dr. Mason is an accomplished Michigan State University research professor in the electrical and computer engineering department. On Friday, he will be recognized as a Crittenden County Distinguished Alumnus, largely for his contributions to the development of micro-sensor technology.

Mason

Following graduation from CCHS in 1987, Mason obtained his bachelor’s degree in physics from Western Kentucky University and a bachelor’s of electric engineering from Georgia Tech. He went on to earn a master’s degree and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Michigan State.

In addition to teaching, Mason’s research related to nano/micro-sensor technologies and their uses for biomedical and personal safety has resulted in numerous presentations at United States and European universities. Career funding for the Advanced MicroSystems and Circuits Laboratory he formed at Michigan State totals $14 million from sources such as the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Simply stated, Mason and a team of students under his leadership focus on miniaturization and automation of sensors – some as small as a pencil eraser – that can be used for biomedical and personal safety applications.

One of the biosensors Mason’s lab is working on today can detect the parasite that causes malaria.

“We currently have a hand-held prototype that plugs into any smartphone for field use, and we plan to further miniaturize the system to the size of a human thumb. The prototype is actually being tested in a South African country later this month,” Mason said.

His lab has also developed a wearable gas sensor that monitors a wide range of gases. It is specifically deployed at underground mines. However, the next generation of that sensor is being designed for health applications, particularly for children with asthma.

All of the projects he’s directing at Michigan State are designed to improve health, including the development of a new blood analysis system that could detect bacteria in a bedside application, which would avoid a two- or three-day wait for samples to be lab tested.

“We also work on implantable devices. Everyone is familiar with hearing aids and pacemakers, and some may be aware of deep brain stimulators (used to treat Parkinson's disease and essential tremors),” Mason said. “These are existing biomedical microsystems. We work on technologies that will enable the next generation biomedical microsystems that provide health care workers with more data about their patients or allow constant at-home monitoring of patients with critical needs.”

Teaching wasn’t always in Mason’s plan. His initial study of physics turned to engineering, and when he completed his master’s degree, Mason realized he wasn’t ready to stop learning.

“Somewhere within my 12 years in college, I decided to direct my career toward improving quality of life,” he said. “When I discovered I could apply my electrical engineering background to solve biomedical challenges, I knew I was on the right path.”

He gives credit to several Crittenden County teachers whose positive influence shaped his professional career, including the late Anna Hayes Sherer at Tolu Elementary, and Pat Sobolewski and Eric LaRue at the high school.

“Many others had a hand in helping me develop a passion for learning everything I can, but mostly I would give credit for this to my parents, who to this day continue to provide me with thought-provoking conversation,” he said.

Mason has been married for 24 years and has two teenage daughters.

He travels across the Atlantic Ocean to London a few times a year to support research collaborations he has developed while serving as a visiting professor at Imperial College. He is also the associate editor of a professional journal, has published more than 100 peer-review professional papers and supervised 31 graduate thesis projects for students in his department.

“As an engineering professor, my primary job responsibility is research, securing funding for and leading my research team,” Mason said. “Although teaching courses is a smaller part of my job, I do very much enjoy the opportunity to illuminate engineering principles and excite students about the potential their education provides."

100 POUNDS AT A TIME

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LCMS SBDM meeting rescheduled

The LCMS SBDM June meeting has been re-scheduled to Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the LCMS Staff Workroom. Please see the LCMS website for the agenda, minutes and other SBDM information, etc.

SBDM meeting Monday

There will be a special called meeting of the Crittenden County High School SBDM on Monday, June 6, at 12:30 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to review and approve the student handbook. The meeting will be in the high school conference room.

Community patriotic service set for July 6

Marion Baptist Church will be hosting the annual community patriotic service July 6 in the Family Life Center. Community churches are encouraged to dismiss regular Wednesday night services and join in the celebration of god and country. 

A flagbearer from each branch of the military is needed. To volunteer, contact the church at (270) 965-5232.

Highway crews again attempt to begin mowing

After being delayed for several weeks by rain, the effort to kickoff mowing season along Kentucky highways is resuming this week.  Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 1 highway crews and contractors are starting to mow grass on state right of way this week as weather conditions allow.  Crews will be removing litter on some highways as well.

KYTC officials ask Kentuckians to do their part by keeping the state right of way clear of temporary signs and other obstacles that can obstruct the path of mowers and may pose a hazard for mowing crews and motorists alike.  Kentucky law prohibits placement of unauthorized signs on state right of way and requires that they be removed by highway personnel. The prohibition also applies to signs attached to utility poles and on the roadway side of boundary fences.

KYTC contractors will again attempt to begin the first cycle of mowing this week along major routes in Lyon County and McCracken County.

State highway crews will also be mowing along rural secondary roadways and some U.S. highways in all counties as weather allows.

Mowing zones will be marked by appropriate signage and should be treated with the same caution as any other work zone. Drivers are urged to slow down and watch for slow-moving tractors and support vehicles that may be required to cross travel lanes from time to time as they go about their work.  Motorists should also be mindful of personnel in close proximity to traffic flow in areas with ongoing mowing or litter removal activities.

KYTC District 1 is responsible for 2800 miles of highway in Trigg, Lyon, Crittenden, Livingston, Marshall, Calloway, Graves, McCracken, Ballard, Carlisle, Hickman and Fulton counties.

Cosby signs Ecclesia baseball scholarship

Originally published in The Crittenden Press May 19, 2016

CCHS senior Alex Cosby signed a letter of intent to play
collegiate baseball last week. Pictured with him
 during the signing ceremony are (front from left) CCHS
Athletic Director Angela Starnes, father Jim Cosby, Alex,
mother Jackie Cosby, sister Taylor Tinsley (back) CCHS
Principal Curtis Brown, West Kentucky Bombers
coach Rick Hayworth, Bombers coach Robert
Copeland, Bombers coach Jason Darnell and
CCHS baseball coach Donnie Phillips.

There’s a group of young baseball players in western Kentucky who consider 17-year-old Alex Cosby a living legend.

So says Cosby’s former travel league coach Rick Hayworth of Mayfield.

Cosby signed a letter of intent recently at Crittenden County High School surrounded by coaches, school administrators and his family. The senior will be attending Ecclesia College in Springdale, Ark., next year on a baseball scholarship. The four-year Christian college is almost an eight-hour drive from home, but it’s a place where he will fulfill a dream; and become a hero for other boys who aspire for the same.

Hayworth, who coached Cosby and his teammates to a third-place finish in the USSSA Baseball World Series three years ago, said his 11-year-olds playing travel ball now think Cosby is a baseball legend because he’s going to play collegiately.

Cosby began playing baseball in the Crittenden County recreational league when he was nine. When he joined the travel team at age 14, Cosby told his dad he was serious about playing and wanted to play in college. His father, Jim, last year registered his son with a national recruiting service. He developed a player profile for his boy and loaded some video to a website. It wasn’t long before the phone started ringing.

“They reached out to us,” Jim Cosby said. “And they recruited him as a catcher.”

Although the CCHS senior has caught a couple of games this season for the Rockets, he’s never really been a first-team backstop. Not because he isn’t good back there, but mostly due to the fact that he’s perhaps an even better outfielder.

“His speed is his greatest asset,” Hayworth said. “He’s very rangy defensively.”

Donnie Phillips, who coaches the high school team, said Cosby’s baseball IQ is excellent, too.

“His knowledge of the game helps everyone around him,” said Phillips, who has coached Cosby the last two seasons. “He anticipates well.”

Cosby hits anywhere from two to five in the lineup. He’s been on the high school team since seventh grade and is a three-year starter. Right now, he’s hitting .296. He’s pitched about 50 innings and has a 2.15 ERA.

Cosby was also an all-conference football player, but he says he enjoyed baseball much more.

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

Finds lots more pictures of Graduation 2016 in this week's newspaper.

Responding to a large number of complaints by park-goers, Marion-Crittenden County Park Board is initiating a plan to make the public facility smoke-free. During its regular meeting last week, the six-member park board decided to immediately post “no smoking” signs on fences at ball fields and to ask local governments to codify the rule by ordinance.

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

• Relay for Life Friday at park.
• National bicycle route officially marked through county.
• IN PICTURES: Graduation 2016.
• IN PICTURES: Distinguished Alumni honored.
• Scholarships aid dozens of graduates.
• Tire collection Friday, Saturday.
• Farmers encouraged to aid food banks.
• Local reservist baking up ideas for unit reunion.
• Summer meals offered free to children.
• Free summer program offers virtual travel.
• CCMS teacher Bryant honored.
• County honors ultimate sacrifice paid for freedom.
• IN PICTURES: School’s out for summer!
• Military history class experiences array of firearms.
• WKCTC names 2016 grads.
• Jobless rate falls in county.
• 16 locals to compete in Special Olympics this weekend at EKU.
• Ky. joins lawsuit over fed’s transgender edict.
• SPORTS: CCDL standings, scores.
• SPORTS: Lucas finishes 6th in state’s 3,200 meters; 11th in one-mile run.
• SPORTS: No regional Rocket surprise.
• SPORTS: All 5th District selections made.