I-24 and Parkway Exchange restrictions

A contractor for The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans additional traffic restrictions along the Purchase Parkway within the Interstate 24 Exit 25 Interchange work zone starting on Monday, Aug. 1.

The contractor plans to close the I-24 Westbound Exit Ramp (Exit 25-B) to the Purchase Parkway Northbound starting around 6pm. A message board will mark the detour. 

This is part of an ongoing reconstruction of the interchange to allow Interstate 69 to be extended southward along the parkway in the future.

This phase of work should not impact through-traffic on the main line of Interstate 24.

This work zone includes a 55 mph speed limit with an enhanced enforcement presence and double fines for citations.

Motorcyclist airlifted from scene

UPDATE: Motorcyclist identified as Harold Wayne Hardin of Salem.
--
A motorcyclist was seriously injured when his bike collided with a utility van in front of Crittenden Hospital Friday afternoon.

EMTs were close by and rushed the man's aid. The victim has not been identified at this time. He was taken via AirEvac to an Evansville trauma center.

Area Death

Sandra Kay Autry, 67, of Marion died Thursday. Gilbert Funeral Home in Marion is in charge of arrangements.

City administrator faces felony charges

POST INCLUDES BOND UPDATES FRIDAY PM

An investigation by Kentucky State Police has led to felony charges against Marion City Administrator Mark Bryant.

According to arrest records, Bryant, 55, was taken into custody Thursday night and lodged at 10:09pm, in Crittenden County Detention Center. He made bond Friday, putting up 10 percent of $5,000.

Charges of first-degree promoting contraband, trafficking in a synthetic drug and tampering with physical evidence were filed by state police detective Steve Brynn. All are Class D felonies, punishable by 1-5 years in prison if found guilty. According to state police reports, the United States Postal Inspector notified state police drug enforcement and special investigations west branch of suspected drug trafficking involving Bryant. Detectives responded and interviewed various individuals including Bryant on Thursday. 

State police say their investigation revealed that while overseeing Crittenden County Detention Center work-release inmates assigned to the City of Marion, Bryant was trafficking in synthetic drugs to various inmates. Investigators also say that Bryant was defacing shipping labels on United States Postal Service packages to avoid detection of drug trafficking. 

The FBI, DEA and Crittenden County Detention Center assisted with the investigation.

Trafficking in a synthetic drug was just recently made a felony by the 2016 Kentucky General Assembly. 

Sources say investigators believe Bryant facilitated contraband smuggling into the jail by work-release inmates assigned to the City of Marion. Work-release inmates are allowed to work outside the jail, normally during weekday work hours. In the evening, they are placed back into the detention center.

According to information on the Detention Center's web site, two inmates are regularly assigned to work for the City of Marion at the street department and water department. 

"These inmates receive valuable education and experience in working for local city government," the web site reads. 

The web site lists reading water meters, helping repair busted water lines, fall leaf pick up and litter abatement on city streets among the activities for which inmates are used.

Bryant was certified to oversee inmates working for the City of Marion. Anyone who oversees inmates on work-release programs are required to complete a course taught by the Kentucky Department of Corrections. Instructors provide printed handouts and explain various things overseers can and cannot do while they are engaged in the practice of watching work-release inmates outside the jail.

Bryant has served as the city administrator since October 2006. He is also acting director of the Crittenden County Economic Development Corporation and a member of the Pennyrile Area Development District Board of Directors.

Stop Prescription Drug Abuse

Click Image to Enlarge

County Fair Schedule

Click Image to Enlarge

KSP murder suspect arrested

UPDATE
Deqavion Marcell James was arrested after he turned himself in at the Hopkinsville Police Department shortly after 3:00 p.m.  He is currently in custody of KSP Detectives and will be lodged in the Christian County Jail. 

ORIGINAL
The Kentucky State Police is requesting the public’s assistance in locating a wanted person.

Deqavion Marcell James, 18, Oak Grove, is wanted by the Kentucky State Police for Murder, Robbery 1st Degree and Tampering with Physical Evidence. The warrant stems from the investigation by KSP Detectives involving the murder of De’Andre Marquis Palmer.

Mr. James is a black male, approximately 5’ 6” tall and weighs 130 pounds. He has brown eyes and black hair.

James is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.  Anyone who has information on the whereabouts of Deqavion James, is encouraged to call the Kentucky State Police Post 2 at (270) 676-3313 or toll-free in Kentucky at 1-800-222-5555. Callers may remain anonymous.

Must-have back-to-school news this week

Your comprehensive look at back-to-school

Summer is almost over ... at least for school-age children. In just 13 days, riding bikes, playing video games and sleeping in all day come to an end as the little ones head back to the classroom for a new School Year. Schools open for students on Wednesday, Aug. 10, ending another short summer vacation courtesy of Old Man Winter. But just nine months and 170 closing bells later, they'll get summer back again. Closing day is currently scheduled for May 12, 2017. This year promises to be unlike any other at Crittenden County Schools.

For a comprehensive look at back-to-school, pick up a copy of this week's issue of The Crittenden Press. It's chock full of information you cannot find anywhere else ... including Facebook. It's a must-have!

Find the following stories and features inside:

• 2016-17 school calendar.
• School district: Lunch, breakfast free.
• Online registration already rolled out for some.
• Rocket Way Snow Days could prevent late start to summer.
• Meet every new teacher and administrator in the district.
• Supply lists, including what FRYSC will be providing each grade level for free.
• CCHS, CCMS dress codes remain consistent.
• SUPERINTENDENT CLARK: Schools strive to inspire greatness through tried, new methods.
• BOARD CHAIRMAN COOK: Each in community serves as teacher to youth.
• CCHS PRINCIPAL BROWN: Attendance policy big change at HS.
• CCMS PRINCIPAL RADIVONYK: New MS principal glad to be Rocket.
• CCES PRINCIPAL TABOR: ES encourages parental interaction.
• Board of education contact information.
• Board of education meeting dates.
• SBDM, PTO membership.
• School district bus routes.
• Road damage could affect busing routes.
• District looking for drivers with the right stuff.
• District bus miles equal to lunar trip.
• Board breathes new life into Crosswalk.
• CCHS focused on avoiding dropouts.
• Dual credit offered at no cost.
• CCES PTO seeks books, board games donations.

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

Larry Maness (right) is having his Dodge Demon restored by
a reality show and will be giving the muscle car to his grandson.
Read the full story in this week's issue of The Crittenden Press.

Every student in Crittenden County will eat for free from the cafeteria in 2016-17. The school system got word last week it was approved for the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) that will save families hundreds of dollars a year. Superintendent of Schools Vince Clark announced at the July 19 board of education meeting that Crittenden County Schools became one of the latest high poverty districts in Kentucky to be able to offer free breakfast and lunch to all 1,300 or so children headed back to the classroom Aug. 10.

For more on this story, an entire back-to-school section and the following headlines, pick up a copy of this week's issue of The Crittenden Press:

• County fair starts Thursday.
• Reality show restoring local Dodge for project.
• Filing deadline for city council, school board hopefuls near.
• Magistrates taking close look at local road system.
• Magistrates growing increasingly road weary.
• Road damage could affect busing routes.
• Ky. 365, U.S. 641 to get new pavement.
• Marion's new outdoor market named, should open in August.
• Fed: Ky. water systems get clean bill of health.
• 2 Livingston teens face felony charges.
• Morganfield police chief resigns post.
• Latest Ky. jobless rate at 5 percent.
• Aviation commish wants to see airport’s runway extended.
• Report: CCEDC’s bottom line shows improvement.
• Yarbrough head of all superintendents.
• Woman’s Club plans fundraisers, events.
• Dobyns new minister of Marion Christian Church.
• Back to school time ideal to begin 4-H.
• OPINION: Big difference in Democrats then, now.
• GUEST EDITORIAL: Free meal program at schools should be preserved as it is.
• Future of gas prices likely to see drop.
• FORGOTTEN PASSAGES: Annuals help recall Tolu High School Class of ‘49.
• OUTDOORS: Hunters will see big moves for September geese, woodcock later in fall.
• Fredonia Lions Club festival Aug. 13.

Ky. 1917 re-opens to traffic

Ky. 1917/Wolf Creek Road in Crittenden County is now open to traffic.

Middle school football registration

Crittenden County Middle School football team will be gearing up for the season later this week.

There will be a team meeting for registration and equipment issuing at 6 p.m., Friday, July 29 at the middle school gym.

Practice will begin on Monday, Aug. 1. Players must have a physical before they may practice. An approved physical form can be found online at http://khsaa.org/forms/CombinedMS01andPPEForm.pdf.

It is also available at local clinics offering physicals. The middle school football season will begin in late August.

Ky. 365 paving work starts today

A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans milling and paving along a section of Ky. 365 in northern Crittenden County starting today. 

This work zone runs from Chandler Farm Road at mile point 2.310 extending northward to the Crittenden-Union County line and the Tradewater River Bridge at mile point 8.540, a distance of 6.23 miles. 

The contractor will start with installation of construction signage and cutting back shoulders today to be followed by milling on Wednesday and the placement of wedging and leveling asphalt on Thursday, with surface asphalt paving to follow. 

Motorists should be alert for one lane traffic with alternating flow controlled by flaggers.  Appropriate caution is required where equipment, flaggers and paving personnel are along the roadway in close proximity to traffic flow. 

Rogers Group is the prime contractor on this $454,232 highway improvement project. The target completion date is Aug. 5, weather permitting.

All you need for back-to-school

Area Deaths

Keith E. Poindexter, 84, of Rosiclare, Ill., died Saturday. Boyd Funeral Directors and Cremation Services in Salem is in charge of arrangements.

Virginia L. “Ginny”  Tinsley, 65, of Marion died Friday. Gilbert Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Helen L. Hart, 78, of Flint, Mich., died Wednesday. She was born in Crittenden County. Gilbert Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Lane restriction Monday on Smithland Bridge

A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to place a daytime lane and 9 ft. load width restriction on the US 60 Cumberland River Bridge at Smithland in LIVINGSTON County starting on Monday, July 25.

Traffic on the US 60 Cumberland River “Smithland” Bridge will be restricted to one lane to facilitate installation of new navigation lights on the bridge structure.

Motorists should be prepared to encounter one lane traffic with alternating flow controlled by flaggers.  Appropriate caution is required where equipment, flaggers, and construction personnel are working along the bridge deck in close proximity to traffic flow.  Delays should be minimal.

Due to limited deck width, the US 60 Cumberland River “Smithland” Bridge will be restricted to vehicles no more than 9 ft. wide which prohibits farm equipment and oversized loads from crossing the bridge through this work zone.

Work to place new navigation lights on the Smithland Bridge is expected to take about 3 to 5 weeks to complete, weather permitting.

The US 60 Cumberland River bridge at Smithland, also known as the Lucy Jefferson Lewis Memorial Bridge and the Smithland Bridge, is at US 60 Livingston County mile point 12.696.  The 1,817 ft. through truss structure was opened to traffic in 1931.  About 5,500 vehicles cross the bridge in an average day.

Davis H. Elliot Construction Company, Inc, is the prime contractor on this $938,750 project that also includes navigation light installation on the US 45 Ohio River “Brookport” Bridge at Paducah.  The daytime work zone on the Brookport Bridge is expected to continue a few more weeks.

Closure set for Ky. 1917 Tuesday

The the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to close a secton of KY 1917/Wolf Creek Road in CRITTENDEN County on Tuesday, July 26, 2016.

KY 1917/Wolf Creek Road will be closed at mile point 1.5 to allow a cross drain to be replaced.  This is along KY 1917/Wolf Creek Road between KY 120 and the Shady Grove community.

The roadway is expected to close at approximately 7:00 a.m., CDT, Tuesday.   KY 1917 is expected to reopen to traffic around 1:00 p.m., Tuesay.

There will be no marked detour.  Local access will be maintained for property owners on each side of the clousre.

The Crittenden County Highway Maintenance Crew plans to be at this site on Monday to do some prep work in advance of the Tuesday closure.  That prep work will occasionally require one lane traffic with alternating flow controlled by flaggers.

Jackson School Road is Closed

A state bridge inspector has ordered the county to close Jackson School Road at Dry Fork Creek just below Pond Road where recent water damage has created safety concerns at the bridge.

Crews will begin Monday working to either repair or replace the bridge. County Judge-Executive Perry Newcom said it could be several weeks before the road is reopened to traffic.

The closure is approximately 1.3 miles from Ky. 70 where a bridge crosses a tributary of Livingston Creek.

Area death

Madux Wayne Copeland, 7, of Fredonia died Tuesday, July 19, 2016 at St. Mary Hospital in Evansville, Ind.

He was a student at Caldwell County Primary School and a member of Lebanon Missionary Baptist Church. He was a member of the Caldwell County Gold All-Star's baseball team.

Surviving are his parents, Chad and MacKenzie Copeland of Fredonia; sister, Brylee Copeland of Fredonia; paternal grandparents, David and Chris Copeland of Marion; maternal grandparents, Richard and Jodell P'Pool of Princeton; paternal great-grandparents, Louis and Kathy Salas of Portage, Ind., and Juanita Copeland of Joplin, Mo.; and maternal great-grandparents, Ernest and Kay Lundstorm of Princeton.

Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m., Friday at Morgan's Funeral Home in Princeton. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday at Morgan's Funeral Home with Rev. Mike Boyd officiating assisted by Rev. Joe Farless. Burial will follow in the Lebanon Church Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Lebanon Baptist Church Youth Group, P.O. Box 412, Princeton, KY  42445 or Youth Incorporated of Caldwell County, P.O. Box 336, Princeton, KY 42445.

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

Crittenden County Middle School opened as a high school in 1950.

Built in 1949, Crittenden County Middle School is far from the oldest building in Kentucky where students learn to read and write; in fact, some date back to the early 1900s. But nearing seven decades since the school first opened – and with a looming enrollment boom – CCMS is at the head of the class when it comes to needed facilities upgrades in the school district. That's part of what a local committee formed to develop a plan for educational building priorities in the district is likely to recommend when it wraps up its work in the coming weeks.

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

• Fredonia boy dies in car-bike crash.
• Man facing 13 years for drugs.
• 8 individuals indicted last week in county.
• Big Rivers WMA adds 841 acres.
• Marion council members hear housing concerns.
• First-time fair event to help feed children.
• Noted outdoorsman ordered to pay back $300,000 for duping investors.
• IN PICTURES: Weekend BBQ festival, competition a hit.
• Homeless couple abandons dog at Lake George.
• Schools roll out online registration.
• Crosswalk hosts freshmen event.
• Clerk receives grant to digitize deed records.
• Relay exceeds its goal of $45,000.
• FORGOTTEN PASSAGES: Voters choose leaders of Crittenden for 1926-30.
• GOP continues to grow in county.
• Felony expungement informational sessions planned.
• Society memberships help keep museum open.
• KU named leading utility.
• Western Ky. hospital region one of few deemed healthier.
• SPORTS: Pre-season football competition kicks off practice.
• SPORTS: Local golfers reap honors at Novadell qualify event.
• SPORTS: Softball tournaments this weekend at park.

Ky. 133 re-opens to traffic

Ky. 133/Shelby Store Road has reopened to traffic at the Livingston-Crittenden County Line. 

Erosion repairs have been completed near the Kitchen Road intersection in Livingston County.

This means Axel Creek Road in Crittenden County is also open to through traffic at the county line.