The legislation goes into effect starting Thursday, Sept. 16.
Crittenden County Board of Education will meet in special session Thursday to decide how to proceed.
The school district is asking parents, students and community members to respond to a survey that will help leaders determine the best path forward. Go Here to take the survey.
Update: U.S. 60 is open to one-lane traffic.
Livingston County 911 Dispatch reports a multi-vehicle crash is blocking U.S. 60 at the 14.5 mile marker in Livingston County. Early reports indicate the crash involves a passenger vehicle and a motorcycle.
The crash is just north of Smithland near the Smithland Dam Road Intersection. U.S. 60 is blocked between KY 137/River Road and the Cumberland River Bridge at Smithland.
Estimated duration is 3 hours.
There is no nearby detour for this section of U.S. 60. Motorists traveling between Smithland and Burna on U.S. 60 should self-detour via KY 453 South to I-24 and U.S. 62/U.S. 641 through Marion to connect with U.S. 60.
Pictured are Jason Hurley, who is assistant chief at Caldwell Springs Volunteer Fire Department and engineer at the Crittenden County Volunteer Fire Department, and Tim Rice of Benton, who works for Fire Specialty Equipment.
The company tested water pump pressures and engine factors such as temperature and oil pressure and all of the gauges. A fire truck’s hose needs to blast somewhere around 200psi.
Fire engines must be checked and certified every year.
KDFWR personnel will be torching about 30 acres behind the WMA office off KY 365 between Sturgis and Mattoon.
John Zimmer, manager of the WMA, said there will be a good deal of smoke generated from the fire because moist, green conditions exist in the plant life that will be consumed by the blaze.
The fire will be started after noontime.
CWD is a neurological disease that affects deer, elk, moose and caribou. It is always fatal to the infected animal.
There is no strong evidence to suggest that CWD can be transmitted to people. However, states have gone to great lengths to prevent the spread of the disease among deer herds since it was first discovered in Colorado in 1967. As of now, no CWD has been detected in Kentucky's deer herd.
The disease was found in a three-and-a-half-year-old whitetail female in Henry County, Tenn., about 17 miles southwest of Murray. The deer was emaciated and acting odd, according to a news release by the KDFWR and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission plans to meet at 9 a.m., on Friday, Sept. 10 to receive a report on the situation and to discuss implementation of the response plan.
Checking processes for harvested animals and perhaps baiting practices may be required to change in the counties closest to the confirmed case. We will know more in the coming days about Kentucky will react to this matter.
Kentucky's archer deer season is currently underway.
These changes are not part of reapportionment, which could change the precinct in which voters reside. Those potential alterations would not affect voting until 2023 and will be based upon U.S. Census data.
What’s in the near future are more opportunities for multi-precinct voting centers and an opportunity for consolidation of voting locations, which will save the county thousands of dollars.
An article and high resolution map printed in the Sept. 2, 2021 full edition of The Crittenden Press reflects the changes, indicating which traditional voting locations would be preserved, where new polling locations will be located and where the countywide voting center will be located under a plan recently approved by the local elections board.
The board of elections is made up of the county ... for the rest of this article see the Sept. 2, 2021 edition of The Crittenden Press either in print or online where archives date back to 2008. Subscribe now to our new PDF version mailed directly to your in-box.
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| Pictured is a 1940's era photo of a gazebo that once stood on the courthouse square. Those who had the new one built say it provided the spirit for today's modern version, which was constructed in 1998. |
A six-member board made up of local leaders and judges met Tuesday and set a new path for exploring various options with regard to the gazebo's future.
This week's Crittenden Press full edition, which will be in print after lunchtime and online by noon, will have complete details from yesterday's meeting of the justice center's Project Development Board, including a timetable for what and when will be next.
In this week's newspaper, local historian Brenda Underdown reveals what's in the time capsule hidden somewhere in the walls of the existing courthouse, which is set to be demolished soon. However, a big mystery could prevent the capsule from being opened.
AT&T recently loosened some of the ties that have created an issue with the pole, which is so close to the street corner that it’s often hit by large vehicles. A few weeks after The Press published an article on the matter, AT&T has removed its transmission lines, and those belonging to Mediacom, from the pole.
The only thing left on the pole is a heavy cable to which the traffic signals are connected. The signals are powered from a KU transformer on the opposite side of the street.
Whether by coincidence or due to an issue related to the removal of the telecommunications lines from the corner pole, the Kentucky Department of Highways had trouble with the traffic signals for a few days recently, and actually made some temporary changes to the intersection’s red light configuration.
City Administrator Adam Ledford said there has been no communication or notification from AT&T or the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet about the changes being made at the corner. However, based on recent activity at that pesky pole, there's reason to believe it may either be gone or moved soon.
In an article in last week's full edition of the newspaper, it was published that four third-party buyers purchased 30 certificates of delinquency from 2020 county property rolls during a recent public auction at the courthouse.
The county collected $25,062.95 as a result of the auction.
That means almost $9,500 in tax revenue for the school district and $2,500 for the county.
While those taxing entities will benefit, delinquent property owners could be a in a real bind as those third-party buyers will now have a right to put a lien on the real estate and force its sale. Since the list of delinquent taxes was published in The Crittenden Press in July, the county has collected $41,382.08 in back taxes. There remains $19,227.64 in delinquent 2020 taxes.
Sandy Gilbert is president of the local women's sorority that had the gazebo built more than 20 years ago as a near replica of a former structure that stood on the courthouse lawn in the late 1800s and early 1900s. She and others are organizing support to keep the gazebo after the current courthouse is razed and a new one built downtown. Architects have said there is no room for the gazebo to return, but Gilbert and others are not convinced.
"I am writing this to ask as many supporters of keeping the gazebo where it is to please try to attend a meeting to be held at the Ed-Tech building," Gilbert wrote in a post on social media this weekend. "The people behind taking down the courthouse and constructing a new building are supposed to meet with us. If you value the gazebo and the engraved bricks around it, we need your support."
According to the Project Development Board's agenda for Tuesday's meeting, it will render a decision tomorrow whether the gazebo is allowed to to return to the court square once a new justice center is built.
A recent Crittenden Press survey found that about 80 percent of those polled want the gazebo back on the courthouse lawn.
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| Crittenden County Judge-Executive Perry Newcom recently took news of the new reservation system to campers staying at Riverview Park on the Ohio River. |
“We love it down here because it is so peaceful and relaxing,” she said late last week as she stood in front of her Vengance pull-behind camper.
Shore was excited to learn that reservations at the campground can now be made online. She said the convenience and certainty of knowing a spot is waiting is important because she pulls the camper more than six hours from Portage, Ind., to rural Crittenden County.
“We started coming down here about 10 years ago. Back then we stayed in a tent,” she said.
Improvements to the campground in 2008 included modern campsites complete with water, sewer and electricity. Since then, the park has been a popular destination with campsites full during seasonal peaks. Getting one of those seven RV sites has been on a first-come, first-served basis for more than a decade. Now, you can make reservations and pay ahead of time online to be confident you’ll have a place to unwind when you arrive.
The new automated system is described as user-friendly for campers who would like to book stays at the park well in advance.
Most older residents know the Ohio River campground by another name – the Dam 50 Recreation Area. It is located at the end of Ky. 387 off Ky. 91 North in remote Crittenden ... for the rest of this article see the September 2, 2021 full edition of The Crittenden Press.
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An employee at the LaFarge limestone rock quarry near Burna was injured at about 2:40 p.m., and had to be flown from the scene.
Livingston County EMS responded to the scene and called for Air Evac. The injury was described as a severe "crushing injury" to one of the individual's hands.
No further details were immediately available.
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| Read his op-ed piece in The Press |
Crittenden County Health Department – which hosts vaccine clinics on Thursdays – and other neighboring health departments say that calling ahead is recommended for an appointment to get the vaccine or a rapid test. Rapid testing is in limited supplies. Some area pharmacies are also offering vaccinations. Walk-ins for vaccine at the health departments in the area are accepted, but wait times could be longer than for those with an appointment.
“As the number of COVID-19 infections again increase, we now have a weapon that was not available a year ago. I hope we will use the vaccines to protect ourselves and truly put this pandemic to rest,” Dr. Jonathan Maddux of Marion said in a commentary piece published in this week’s full edition of The Crittenden Press.
“Vaccines are keeping the vast majority of people off ventilators and out of the ICU. Choosing to take the vaccine is personal, but I would highly encourage anyone who has not received it at this point to check into it fully. Discuss it with your health care provider, call the health department or go to reputable sources such as the CDC or Mayo Clinic websites,” Dr. Maddux also wrote.
Pick up this week’s newspaper to read Dr. Maddux’s complete op-ed article. The newspaper also has some interesting new information about the pandemic’s affect on Crittenden County.
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| Rescue personnel pose with the woman after she was found today |
"Crittenden County Emergency Management would like to thank everyone involved in the successful search for a missing 69-year-old female. She was found safe and in good health. We would like to thank the Crittenden County Sheriff's Office, Crittenden County Rescue Squad, Crittenden County Fire Department, Four Rivers K-9, Ledbetter Fire Department Drone Team, Marshall County Drone Team, and other concerned citizens in the area who responded to assist us in the search. The generous outpouring of support and assistance makes me proud to live and work in Crittenden County! Thank you all!"
A huge yard sale will be held in Frances Saturday through Monday. Shop for collectibles, furniture, clothing and even a canoe. Watch for signs.
Crittenden County property tax rates will be unchanged in 2021.
The fiscal court set its tax rates for the year during last week’s regular monthly meeting and they’re a replica of 2020.
Real property taxes – the ones homeowners and landowners pay on real estate – will remain at 12.4 cents per $100 of assessed value.
The county’s inventory tax will stay at 12.4 and inventory in transit and personal aircraft will not be taxed. Documented watercraft will be 12.4 again, but the county has few documented boats, if any. Those are boats that measure five net tons or greater, which are typically 26 feet or longer.
The county has little fundamental control on other local taxing districts, but must formally accept those rates. The public health tax will remain at 3 cents and the library tax at 5 cents.