Marion Baptist hosts fall athletes

Marion Baptist Church is inviting local athletes and their families to Fall Sports Sunday this week.

The church is having its 10am Sunday service inside its Family Life Center and encouraging everyone to come wearing their Rockets uniforms or fan gear.

Boil Water Advisory is Lifted

The City of Marion has lifted its boil water advisory that was issued yesterday.

A water main break on the north side of town, which caused low water pressure throughout the system, prompted the precautionary advisory.

Tests of the system have been conducted and the water has been deemed okay to drink without boiling, said City Administrator Adam Ledford.

Bids opened next week on sidewalk project

Bids for a sidewalk replacement project along a portion of South Main and West Carlisle streets in Marion are due in Friday, Nov. 1, but construction is not likely to take place until early 2020.

Marion City Administrator Adam Ledford said he met with multiple contractor interested in the project in a prebid meeting last week. The work will relay about 1,700 feet of sidewalks along four city blocks. The original estimated project cost is $193,200, which will all but $10,000 be covered by federal grant money.

“Originally, it was as much as a 20 percent match,” Ledford said, “but the state has said the match is $10,000.”

The project will add to a sidewalk reconstruction started years ago with Safe Routes to Schools money and will connect the high/middle school campus with the public library.

For more on this story, see the Oct. 31 edition of The Crittenden Press.

2 more derelict homes to be razed

Two more derelict homes in Marion are scheduled for the wrecking ball, so to speak.

Unoccupied, abandoned homes at 120 Shady Lane (above left) and 421 S. Walker St. (above right) will be razed by order of the city, possibly as early as this week. The teardowns are part of the city's efforts led by Code Enforcement Officer Terri Hart to clean up unsightly Marion properties.

Hart said signs of squatters had been found in at least one of the homes. She is using money budgeted by Marion City Council for code enforcement to remove the structures and clean up the lots.

Jeremy Whited of J and J Excavating in Fredonia was the low bidder for cleaning up the two properties.

Last week, a home that sat behind the Imogene Stout Market on Main was torn down by Marion Tourism Commission to make way for a parking lot. Also in the process of being razed is a home on West Bellville Street. It was dilapidated when Gary Baulos acquired the property, and he has agreed to tear down the structure.

Schools seek photos to honor veterans

Crittenden County Schools will be hosting its annual Veterans Day program at Rocket Arena and is seeking names and photos of local veterans to honor during a slideshow. The program begins at 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 11 and is intended to pay tribute to all who served in the United States military. Veterans and the public are invited to attend the ceremony.

To honor a veteran, email a current or service-time photo, the name of the veteran, branch of service and years served to broadcastjournalism@crittenden.kyschools.us. The schools are also asking for the veteran’s address in order to mail an invitation to the event. The deadline for submissions is Friday.

Crittenden County Public Library is offering a digital scanning service at no charge for families who do not have electronic images of their veteran honoree. They will scan the photo and return it at the time. They will also forward the information to the schools at not cost.

Equipment auction Saturday

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Buntin Auction Service is holding its annual fall consignment auction Saturday.

Numerous pieces of farm equipment has been consigned, and auctioneer Curt Buntin will conduct the sale beginning at 9 a.m.

The sale will be held behind Buntin Trailer Sales off Ky. 297 near Sheridan.

To learn more about items listed, contact Buntin.

Lady Rockets capture second straight district crown

Crittenden County’s volleyball team, under the direction of first-year head coach Bayley McDonald, ran the table against Livingston Central Tuesday night to win its second straight Fifth District championship.

The Lady Rockets won in straight sets 25-17, 25-13, 25-22 in the district tournament championship game at Rocket Arena.

The CCHS girls will play in the Second Region Tournament next week at Madisonville. The tournament draw will be held later this week, but Crittenden will open with a district runnerup after capturing the district’s No. 1 seed.

Listen Now to Coach Bayley McDonald's

Post-Match Interview

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Required city sewer fee to climb

An environmental assessment fee that appears on monthly city sewer bills will be going up again in December. The fee is mandated by the state to ensure the City of Marion can pay back the $13 million it will finance to construct mandated upgrades to the wastewater system, including a new sewer plant.

Introduced at Monday’s city council meeting, elected officials are not happy with the second increase to the fee since it was established in 2016. However, they have little choice but to approve what will be a significant increase on the average water/sewer customers' monthly bill.

“We can’t keep raising rates on people,” said Councilman Don Arflack. “We just can’t do this. Some people are barely paying their bill now.”

Sewer project engineer Alan Robinson, president of Eclipse Engineering, reminded the council that it is under an agreed order to have a new sewer plant online by July 2021 or face daily fines of thousands of dollars.

For the full story, see this week's edition of The Crittenden Press.

City under boil water advisory

A city-wide boil water advisory is in effect inside Marion city limits.

A contractor hit a water main near Darben Plaza on the north side of town.

City residents are asked to boil water for drinking or cooking until further notice.

Marion leaf collection appears a go

Leaf collection will return next month for Marion residents.

After speculation that the City of Marion may have to do away with the popular service, it appears a solution has been found to help residents dispose of their fallen leaves this autumn. Marion Mayor Jared Byford announced at Monday’s council meeting that he was working on a plan to bring back leaf collection. Today, that plan was confirmed.

This marked the third consecutive year that the city entered fall unsure if it was going to continue the service.

For this full story, see this week's issue of The Crittenden Press.

Lions host Nov. 9 events

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A vendor fair for home-based and online businesses and a disc golf tournament are planned for Nov. 9 in Marion.

The Crittenden County Lions Club is sponsoring both events, the vendor fair at its recently completed building at the fairgrounds and the disc golf tournament just down the hill at the City-County Park.

To learn more about the vendor fair or to reserve booth space, contact Natalie Parish.

To learn more about registering for the disc golf tournament, call Rodney Travis.

Both events benefit the Lions Club and its charities, including eyeglasses for those in need.

Late-night blaze destroys vehicle on lot

A vehicle was destroyed by fire late last night in the parking lot at Par 4 Plastics on Industrial Drive in Marion.

Marion fire department responded and extinguished the blaze.

No other information was immediately available.

Gilchrist to announce golf commitment this evening

Crittenden County senior Lauren Gilchrist plans to unveil this evening where she will play Division 1 collegiate golf beginning this fall.

The standout Lady Rocket golfer qualified for four KHSAA state tournaments and six All A Classic state tournaments during her high school career and she was a three-time All A regional champion.

Keep an eye on her Instagram and Facebook accounts this afternoon for the big announcement.

For all the details of her signing and the historic significance it will have for CCHS, see this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press.

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Community Christmas sign-ups Nov. 1

Many details for 45th annual Community Christmas in Crittenden County were set last week by the council that oversees the holiday charity, and this year, collection of gifted items will be one-stop shopping for the less fortunate.

Sign-ups for Community Christmas will be Friday, Nov. 1 at the Extension service annex on U.S. 60 East just north of Marion. The morning session will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and an afternoon period will be 2-6 p.m.

Last year, only 33 families sign up for help through community’s flagship holiday charity. In the past, the Community Christmas has served more than 100 families and upward of 300 people. The numbers have fallen in recent years since Crittenden County Interagency Council began requiring community education classes before qualifying for assistance. The requirement is for only three hours of credit to become eligible for food, vouchers and toys for children.

Classes are not required for seniors seeking food baskets.

A significant change this year will be the location for distribution in December.

For more on Community Christmas 2019, pick up a copy of this week's issue of The Crittenden Press on newsstands Wednesday.

Rains allow burn ban removal

Crittenden County Judge-Executive Perry Newcom this morning lifted a burn ban that had been in place due to recent drought-like conditions.

Here is the order, lifting the burn ban:

Effective this 21st day of October 2019 the burn ban for Crittenden County that was implemented on the 23rd day of September 2019 by virtue of KRS 149.401 has been rescinded affective immediately.  

The rescinding of this burn ban is a result of recent rainfall and the forecast for a greater possibility of rain chances and lower temperatures.  I would still encourage all citizens to exercise extreme caution regarding all planned outdoor burning activities.

Therefore, the county of Crittenden will now revert back to normal State burn laws which states that between October 1 through December 15 no one can set fire to or, have someone set fire to or, add flammable material capable of spreading fire, located in or within 150’ (one hundred fifty feet) of any woodland or brushland except, between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. or, when the ground is covered in snow.

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Commonwealth Policy releases survey responses

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The Commonwealth Policy Center has released results of a survey presented to Kentucky gubernatorial and attorney general candidates. 

Issues addressed in the survey include protection of human life, gambling expansion, the protection of religious freedoms, legalization of recreational marijuana, funding for Planned Parenthood and use of transgender restrooms.

Both the governor and attorney general races will appear on Kentucky's November 5 ballot.

Lady Rockets crack pre-season Top 10

Crittenden County's Lady Rocket basketball team is among the Top 10 teams in the Second Region, according to a pre-season media poll.

Madisonville's boys' are a consensus No. 1 selection and Henderson and Webster counties share the top spot for Second Region girls.

See this week's printed  edition of The Crittenden Press for complete look at the pre-season basketball poll.

Trunks of Treats at Mexico Baptist

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Kids are invited to participate in a costume parade, devotion and trunks of treats during a seasonal celebration Oct. 30 at Mexico Baptist Church.

Costumes are encouraged, but no gory ones please.

The event will be held at the church on Mexico Church Road just off Ky. 70 between Crayne and Fredonia. Church members decorate their trunks and hand out cane to kids.

For more information, contact the church.

Area death

Alton Dykes, 85, of Paducah, formerly of Crittenden County, died Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019 at Ray and Kay Eckstein Hospice Care Center in Paducah. Milner & Orr Funeral Home of Paducah is in charge of arrangements.

Rescue squad offered armory for home

Crittenden Fiscal Court decided Thursday to forego running a new water line to the county's rescue squad headquarters on West Carlisle Street in favor of offering the former National Guard armory for use.

The county has an agreement with the Department of the Army to lease the Carson G. Davidson Kentucky National Guard Armory in Marion at no cost for the next five years. The local Guard united vacated the building early this year.

The agreement restricts usage for only offices and/or warehousing. Shifting Crittenden County Rescue Squad headquarters from West Carlisle Street to the armory appears to fall within the confines of what was agreed upon, allowing the emergency response team to store its vehicles and equipment at the building and use it for training and administrative duties.

Rescue Squad Chief Don Arflack had requested the county run a water line to its current headquarters adjacent to the jail for restrooms and a variety of uses. Water is available at another building used by the rescue squad on the same block, but running a line to replace a dysfunctional one at the headquarters could cost the county several thousand dollars.

Judge-Executive Perry Newom and magistrates have no specific plans for the armory currently, but have discussed the possibility of moving several county offices to the location on Rochester Avenue as well as the rescue squad.

For more on the rescue squad's possible interest in the armory, see next week's issue of The Crittenden Press on newsstands Wednesday.