Donkey Basketball at County Fair

Here's a short video from the Donkey Basketball Game at the Crittenden County Lions Club Fair Wednesday night. The fair continues through Saturday when the week's featured event, the annual demolition derby, will be held.

Bobcats' season over

Marion's baseball season came to an end Wednesday in a rain-shortened 4-3 loss to Tradewater.

The Bobcats dropped the second game in the best-of-three KIT League semi-finals like so many other contests on the year, by the slimmest of margins. After taking an early 2-0 lead over the Pirates, Marion fell behind 4-2 in the third inning on five consecutive hits off starter Dylan McCurry. 

As the tell-tale lightning and wind gusts that precede a summer thunderstorm threatened an early end to the playoff contest, the Bobcats began to rally. But with only one out and the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the sixth, Marion was able to push only one run across the plate, leaving the tying run and hopes for extending the season only 90 feet away.

Home plate umpire Brian Thomas sent the teams to their respective dugouts after six complete due to the approaching lightning. Shortly after the hometown Bobcats covered the home plate area and pitcher's mound with tarps, the skies opened and drenched the field with a 30-minute downpour. Thomas called the game around 9:30 p.m., giving Tradewater its ticket to the KIT championship game to face Owensboro beginning Friday.

There was no protest by either team regarding the decision. 

Marion baseball fans now await a decision by the team's 20 investors as to whether the Bobcats will return in 2009 for their second season. Though General Manager Gordon Guess gave no indication the team would not return, he said nothing will be official until the investors vote on the matter later this year.

Bobcats drop first game to Pirates

Marion lost the first game of a best-of-three playoff series to Tradewater Tuesday, making Wednesday's game at Gordon B. Guess Field a must win for the Bobcats.

Tradewater won Monday 11-1, but Marion lost more than the game. Outfielder Dustin Kennon will not only miss the rest of the postseason for the Bobcats, but he will probably be out of baseball for some time with an injury sustained Monday when he collided with the right field fence.

According to Marion Manager Steve Fowler, Kennon suffered a shattered right hip in the collision with one of the 4x4 outfield posts at Riverside Park. The 22-year-old Memphis-area native hit the post attempting to make a play on a deep fly ball in the bottom of the first inning. There is no padding on the posts that hold up the fence at the park and no warning track to let players closing on a ball know of the nearing fence.

Fowler said Kennon was taken from the game to Regional Medical Center in Madisonville, where he was kept overnight.

Game 2 of the semi-final series will be played at 7:05 p.m., Wednesday in Marion. If the Bobcats win, the final game of the series will be played Thursday at Riverside Park.

Sights & Sounds from the fair

Crittenden County Lions Club Fair continues through Saturday this week. Tuesday was Family Night with plenty of excitement at the carnival for children of all ages. Here is a short video from Tuesday night.

11,700 acres up for sale

The largest privately owned block of property in the state of Kentucky is going on the market.

The Kimball International property in Crittenden and Union counties will likely be sold at auction later this fall. The company is selling 11,700 acres, which is well known for its coal reserves, timber and deer hunting. 

The land is currently leased for hunting by Game Trails, a nationally-known outfitter that is often seen on outdoors TV shows.

When Kimball bought the property from Alcoa in 1998, it was listed for $13 million. Land prices have more than doubled over the past 10 years.

For more on this big land sale, see this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press which will be on sale Wednesday afternoon.

Lanham Miss Crittenden County

Meredith Lanham, 17, was crowned Miss Crittenden County Monday night at Fohs Hall. The fairest of the fair pageant kicks off Crittenden County Lions Club Fair week. Lanham will serve as the honorary hostess for fair activities.

See this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press for details on the fair queen and her court.

Bobcats advance in playoffs

The Marion Bobcats (20-28) won their first-ever postseason game Monday, eliminating Union City (26-24) from the KIT League playoffs with a 4-3 win at Union City.

Starter Joey Haston pitched six strong innings, but faltered in the seventh, allowing Union City to close a 3-0 deficit to tie the game.

"He had such a quick six, I thought I'd leave him in for the seventh and save my staff," Manager Steve Fowler said of his initial plan to pitch Haston, 1-2 with a 1.61 ERA in the regular season, for only six innings.

But Marion, as they have tended to do during the regular season, won the game with some late-inning drama.

"We had flawless execution in the ninth," Fowler said.

Jacob Martin led off the last frame with a walk and was moved to second on a sacrifice by Adam Enloe. Lucas Cramsey, who ended the season with a 25-game on-base streak, moved Martin to third, allowing Mitch McClay to score Martin on bloop hit. Closer Kyle Medley, with eight saves on the regular season, finished the game with a postseason save by throwing a perfect inning.

Chad Adcock, who pitched the eighth inning against the Greyhouds, earned the win.

"It's pretty big," the manager said of the first-year team's first playoff win.

Marion now advances to the second round of the playoffs, traveling to Tradewater (35-15) Tuesday for the first game of a best-of-three series against the league's best team. The second game of the series will be played at Gordon B. Guess Field in Marion. Game 3, if necessary, will return to Riverside Park in Dawson Springs.

"It's going to be an all-out war," Fowler said of the series. "They want us!"

The winner of the Marion-Tradewater series will advance to the championship to face the winner of the Owensboro-Fulton series, which also gets under way Tuesday. Owensboro (27-20) beat Farmington (8-38) Monday 6-2 to advance to the second round.

Marion beat Union City Monday for the seventh time this season. The Greyhounds are the only team against whom the Bobcats had a winning record in the regular season, 6-4.

Fowler's club faired almost as well against his old team, the Pirates. The Bobcats were 5-5 against Tradewater this season, including three consecutive wins against Tradewater to end the season series. Tuesday's playoff game should be a continuation of the hottest rivalry in the KIT League.

"We're either going to wreck their season, or ours is going to come to an end," Fowler said after Monday's playoff win.

Fowler has not yet decided on his starter for Game 1 of the Tradewater series, but the Pirates have the league's top two winning pitcher in George Hebert (8-0) and Don Pugliese (7-0). The game at Dawson Springs will start at 7:05 p.m.

Game 2 of the Marion-Tradewater series will be at Gordon B. Guess Field in Marion, with a 7:05 p.m., start time.

New principal

Just one week before classes return to session in Crittenden County, the high school has a new principal.

Todd Merrick has been named as Karen Nasseri's successor at the school, two months after Nasseri took a position as special education coordinator for the district. Merrick has more than two decades in education, first arriving in Crittenden County in 1990 as a high school English instructor. He has also served the district as consultant for the state board of education and assistant principal at the elementary school for two years. Last year, Merrick served as principal of the elementary school in his native Caldwell County.

"I'm glad to have the opportunity to come back to the district," Merrick said Monday.
Merrick expects to name an assistance principal later this week.

For more information about the new principal, stay tuned for this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press which will be on newsstands Wednesday afternoon.

Desserts galore

Dozens of dessert lovers were in heaven Thursday at the Marion Woman's Club's fundraiser, Chocolate Heaven. Club members created an array of chocolate treats from simple covered peanuts to elaborate cakes to satisfy the sweet tooth of visitors. For a cover charge that goes toward funding Sam Koltinsky's documentary on Crittenden County, visitors could sample the many platters of desserts. So far, $32,000 of the $50,000 goal for the documentary has been raised. The film is expected to be completed and for sale by Christmas of this year.

Juvenile found

That 16-year-old police believe was connected with car thefts in the area was found Saturday night on the West Kentucky Parkway. He was stopped by a state trooper for a traffic violation while driving a Ford pick-up. State police found that the truck belonged to an 80-year-old man from Elizabethtown. The juvenile was taken into custody and later released to his parents. Because he is a juvenile, his name and the charges against him were not released by police.

Marion police believe the juvenile was with 18-year-old Jackie Lee Beasley last week when they allegedly stole a pickup truck from Conrad's parking lot. They are also suspected in other car thefts in Princeton and elsewhere in Kentucky. (see related blog below).

Fair all this week

It's fair week in Crittenden County. Here's the schedule of events:

Monday, Beauty Pageant at Fohs Hall and Horse Show at fairgrounds

Tuesday Family Night and Talent Show at fairgrounds
Wednesday Donkey Basketball at fairgrounds
Thursday Truck and Tractor Pulls at fairgrounds

Friday Antique and Lawn Tractor Pulls at fairgrounds
Saturday Demolition Derby at fairgrounds

Family night will be $2 per person at the gate with $3 off arm bands.

Donkey Basketball will be a special gate price of $5 per person.

All other events will have a $8 gate for ages 16-up; $5 for ages 6-15; and 5-under is free.

All events begin at 7 p.m., and the carnival opens at 6 p.m.

 

Auto theft suspect found

Jackie Lee Beasley, 18, of Marion was arrested in Richmond, Ky., Friday after allegedly stealing a vehicle from the Wendy's restaurant there.

Beasley is suspected of taking another vehicle in Marion earlier this week. He is a suspect in the theft of a black Ford Ranger pickup from Conrad's parking lot Monday.

Marion Police Chief Ray O'Neal said he believes Beasley and a juvenile took the black truck from Marion then went to Princeton where they stole another vehicle. He said Beasley told Richmond authorities that the black truck taken from the grocery store parking lot in Marion was abandoned near Dawson Springs. As of Friday, it had still not been recovered.

O'Neal said police believe Beasley ran out of gas in the vehicle taken from Princeton. It was found abandoned on the Purchase Parkway. Authorities don't know how Beasley got from there to Richmond.

A vehicle was reported stolen in Richmond Friday and police found Beasley in it a short time later. He was alone.

Beasley was lodged in the Richmond Jail.

O'Neal said the juvenile believed to have been with him was still missing as of Friday night.

Call for blood

Despite recent efforts to boost the blood supply, blood levels remain low in the Tennessee Valley Region, which includes western Kentucky. There is less than a 24-hour supply of all blood types combined, with even lower levels of specific blood types.

Blood types O+, O-, A- and B- have fallen below a 12-hour supply, or the amount requested by hospitals in a 12-hour period.

Continuing to operate at such low blood levels could make it difficult to meet patient need at regional medical centers.

“We are this region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center. Because we treat the very sickest of accident victims, our population of critically injured patients consumes a tremendous amount of blood and blood products. In fact, just one of these patients could consume our entire supply of available blood in less than 12 hours. This is why it’s so important for people to donate blood and donate it now,” said Bryan Cotton, M.D., a Vanderbilt Medical Center Trauma surgeon. “The blood they donate could save the life of a friend, neighbor or even a family member.”

“When blood levels reach the critical stage, we run the risk of having to cancel or postpone surgeries. I encourage all eligible blood donors to make an appointment to give blood to the American Red Cross so we can continue to meet the needs of our patients,” says James Beattie, M.D., Medical Director of the Clinical Laboratory, at The Medical Center in Bowling Green, Ky.

Blood Drive Center
The Paducah Donor Center located at 4635 Falconcrest Drive is extending hours:
Thursday, July 24 – 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday, July 25 – 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday, July 27 – 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Health Fair

Marion Police Officer Bobby West fingerprints Dillan West, his nephew, Thursday as part of a child identification kit during a community health and safety fair at Marion Commons.

The police department inked and blotted more than 500 tiny fingers at its booth aimed at giving families a jump on finding a child in the event the child comes up missing. "Basically, it helps us get a jump on things instead of having to sit down (with the family) and gather this information," Officer West said of the ID kit. 

The procedure gives parents not only a record of fingerprints, but also a comprehensive list of information that can be handed over police in order to help to locate a missing child. For parents who missed the City of Marion and Crittenden Health Systems-sponsored fair, arrangements can be made with the Marion Police Department or Crittenden County Sheriff's Department to have their child fingerprinted for the information kit.

Accident with injuries

UPDATE: Names released
Five people were injured, but none seem too seriously hurt, in a two-vehicle accident involving a van and Mustang near Moore Hill on U.S. 60 West about 12:30 p.m., Wednesday.

Rescue squad and ambulance crews help take four children and at least one adult to the hospital. 

The names of victims were:

Derrick Walton, 14 of Marion 

Dennis Holloman, 9, of Fredonia

Shy Anne Smith, 5, of Marion

Summer Holloman, 8, of Salem

Arleta F. Davidson, 57, of St. James, Mo.

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate

Some of the community's greatest dessert architects and engineers will be making available their delicious designs on Thursday evening at the Woman's Club Building in Marion.

The event is billed as "Heavenly Chocolate, a delightful, delectable, delicious chocolate buffet" to help raise funds for an ongoing community documentary.

Everyone is invited to stop by the Woman's Club at 127 East Carlisle Street between 7-9 p.m., for some relaxing fellowship and a dessert bar that will be stocked by some of the community's top cooks, including cookbook author Ethel Tucker.

Casual attaire is suggested for the "come and go" dessert buffet, said Tucker, author of "From Pilot Knob to Main Street."

A plethora of chocolate dishes will certainly attract a large crowd and the sponsors hope to raise money by charging a $5 per person fee.

Tucker said that the money will go toward Crittenden County Documentary film which is currently in production and will be part of a series called My Kentucky Home. Visitors to the buffet are encouraged to bring along photographs, documents and memorabilia which will be considered as part of the documentary to record the community's history.

"We hope you will plan this relaxed evening with your friends and family while supporting this very meaningful project for our community," Tucker said.

The chocolate buffet is being sponsored by the Fohs Hall Documentary Committee, the Crittenden County HIstorical Society and the Woman's Club of Marion.

For more information, contact Tucker at 965-4055 or Judy Winn at 965-3345.

Cumberland River nearly runs dry

UPDATE: Conserve Water Order extended to 8 a.m., Wednesday, July 23.

The water level on the Cumberland River reached alarmingly low levels Tuesday, creating a problem for the Crittenden-Livingston Water District. The Cumberland, from where the water plant at Pincknevyille draws its raw water, was a foot below the intake lines early Tuesday morning, according to Donnie Beavers, district superintendent.

Beavers said it appears that an increased drawdown on the Ohio River at Dam 52 near Brookport, Ill., caused the problem.

"The Cumberland River was about six feet below summer pool," Beavers said. "It was at 296 feet above sea level at Pinckneyville."

The water district issued a conserve water order Tuesday, which was broadcast on Paducah's television station. The water level problem and conserve order were expected to be lifted Tuesday night about 6 p.m., after the Corps of Engineers releases enough water from Lake Barkley to solve the problem.

"There was shoreline on the Cumberland River exposed that hadn't been exposed in 40 years," Beavers said. "People around Dycusburg told me they had never seen it that low."

Golf carts tabled

Marion City Council has tabled a proposal to allow golf carts on city streets. The council voted 4-1 Monday to table the idea, which in all likelihood means the matter is dead. Unless it is revived by a majority vote at the next regular meeting, the current proposal will die.

Councilman Jason Hatfield, who initiated the plan last month, was the only member supporting the idea of allowing golf carts on city streets. The proposal would have allowed them on streets only during daylight hours, by a licensed driver and other restrictions would have applied, including liability insurance on the vehicle.

Fairest of the Fair

Nine young ladies have registered to via for the title of Miss Crittenden County during the annual Lions Club Fair pageant Monday at Fohs Hall. 

Contestants are (front from left) Talley Nix, 16; Lashea Loveless, 16; Lacey Etheridge, 18; (back) Samantha Peek, 19; Lonna Starnes, 17; Layton Maxfield, 16; Meredith Lanham, 17; and Katie Head, 17. Rachel Cook, 16, is not pictured. 

The deadline to enter the fair pageant is 4 p.m., Sunday when practice will be held at Fohs Hall. Anyone wishing to enter may attend that practice session or call 965-4216 or 875-8276.

Stolen SUV found

LATEST UPDATE: The blue Ford Expedition stolen from Kara Hatfield's driveway Sunday afternoon has been found on a side road between Caldwell County High School and Wal-Mart in Princeton.

First reports were that the vehicle was undamaged. Police are going to have it towed back to Marion and processed for evidence.