Suspect identified in high-speed chase

Michael Fortner

A Colorado man who led multiple police agencies on a three-county high-speed pursuit this morning was lodged in Crittenden County Detention Center shortly after noon today.

Michael Fortner, 29, of Denver, Colo., is charged with multiple felonies, speeding, DUI and possession of heroin.

The suspect was taken by ambulance to Crittenden Community Hospital at about 10 a.m., with police security. He was booked into the county jail about two hours later.

See our previous post for more details:
High Speed Pursuit Ends in Crash on 91

For complete details, see this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press which will be on newsstands after lunchtime tomorrow.

The Crittenden Press is your primary source of news and information for this community. We’re proud to serve our community and we take great pride in bringing you real news, sports reporting and other information that helps you know what’s going on in town and across the county. Help ensure that real reporting continues in this community by subscribing today. You can subscribe online to the full version of the newspaper for only $2.95 a month. Click here to subscribe.

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ROCKET Way Employees of Month named

Crittenden County Board of Education recognized three of its own as September ROCKET Way Employees of the Month at Monday night’s meeting. Food service managers Caryl Robinson (right) at the middle and high school cafeteria and Stephanie Mott at the elementary school were named by Superintendent of Schools Vince Clark as the classified employees to be honored. Derrick Ford, not at the meeting, is the certified employee of the month. He is a language arts teacher at the middle school.

Almost 2,000 attended Friday's football game

Almost 2,000 people attended Friday night's football game between Caldwell County and Crittenden County at Rocket Stadium.

According to high school officials, there were 1,486 tickets sold at the gate. There was a promotional event for Junior Pro football players and cheerleaders and middle school players and cheerleaders, all of whom got in free. Additionally, if one were to consider the game's participants and coaching staffs, teachers and KHSAA-card carriers – all of whom get in without paying – there were an estimated 1,900 or more in attendance.

Historic attendance records are not kept, most most observers say the crowd at last Friday's game between the two Top 5 high school teams in the state was among the largest ever at Rocket Stadium. Crittenden lost the game 36-14.

High-speed pursuit ends in crash on 91 North

A male suspect has been taken into custody after a high-speed pursuit that began in Lyon County and led multiple police agencies through Marion, along Fords Ferry Road, Bridwell Loop and eventually onto Ky. 91 North where the suspect crashed.

EMS was called to the scene, but it's unclear the extent of any injuries. It did not appear that any officers were seriously hurt. The suspect was take to Crittenden Community Hospital with police security.

Early reports are that the suspect is from Florida and was driving a maroon Honda Accord. Officers found alleged heroin and hypodermic needles in the vehicle.

Reports are  hat speeds reached 95 mph or higher during the pursuit that involved state, county and city law enforcement officers.

Marion Asst. Police Chief Bobby West's cruiser was damaged in a crash due to the pursuit at the intersection of Bridwell Loop and North Weldon. His pickup was damaged, but West was not injured.

Several other police cruisers were reportedly damaged during the pursuit, which ended after a maneuver by officers to end the chase in a rural area north of the city.

The pursuit ended about 9:20am with the crash. The suspect was detained after short foot pursuit in a field between Dam 50 Road and Fords Ferry Road on Ky. 91 North.

Ricky Brown, who lives just south of Marion said speeds were certainly in excess of 100 mph when the chase passed his house. He was working on his lawn and said several troopers were behind the suspect at that point.

Kelly Perryman, who works downtown, said the chase came through Marion at alarming speeds.

"It's amazing no one was hurt," she said, pointing out that a pedestrian narrowly got out of the street before being struck at the crosswalk in front of Farmers Bank.

The pursuit reportedly started on I-69 in Lyon County and continued into Caldwell and Crittenden counties.

Stay tuned for updates and the complete story in this week's edition of The Crittenden Press.

School board explores new CCES book room

Crittenden County Elementary School Principal Jenni Gilkey shows board of education members prior to Monday evening's meeting at the school a new book room that offers leveled titles for guided reading. The organized and stocked book room supports educators in providing students with varying levels of reading materials. The space is easily accessible by all teachers, with diverse titles in many genres, themes and levels.

Council closes meeting after proposing pay plan

Marion City Council closed a portion of its public meeting Monday night after introducing a proposal to amend the pay plan for classified city employees and non-elected officials.

The council voted unanimously to move into closed quarters for its discussions, citing an exception to the opening meetings law, namely KRS 61.810(1)(f) which allows for private discussions or hearings that might lead to the appointment, dismissal, or discipline of an individual employee, member, or student.

However, general personnel matters may not be discussed in private.

According to a precedent Kentucky case, Floyd County Bd. of Ed. v. Ratliff, “The personnel exemption...does not allow a general discussion...when it involves multiple employees.”

There appears to be a couple of problems with the council’s handling of this closed session. First, the so-called personnel exemption does not permit the discussion of general personnel matters in closed session. Instead, the council can have a closed session under this exemption only if it involves a discussion which may lead to the hiring, firing or discipline of a particular employee. Whether to provide raises to a class of employees, or its general pay plan, is a policy matter and the public, not to mention that group of employees, has an interest and right to observe the discussion.

There were three (non-elected) city employees in attendance at the meeting. Those employees are normally at council meeting because of their jobs.

The Crittenden Press questioned whether this was a legitimate use of the exemption and will explore it further.

While the council was in closed session for more than 40 minutes, the question was raised with regard to why the time of the meeting was improperly listed on the city's website. The meeting started at 5pm, but the website shows that it is scheduled to begin at 6pm. The proper time (5pm) was, however, published in last week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press. 

The city's website was subsequently changed at some point following the meeting to reflect the appropriate time.


For more on this matter and further details from Monday’s city council meeting, see this week’s printed edition of The Crittenden Press.

Area Death

Richard Keith Ford, 57, died Sunday. Gilbert Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Volunteers overhaul courthouse landscaping

Logan Martin, 10, helps Crittenden County Road Foreman Audi Maraman shovel mulch Saturday morning into a refinished landscaping area around the courthouse as Valerie Gilbert rakes the bedding into place. The landscaping drew almost 20 volunteers organized by local WoodmenLife agent Grant Rogers, who was able to secure a $500 grant from the company to use toward community beautification. Earlier this month, the county had several bushes and overgrown holly trees removed from the courthouse lawn to make way for the lower-profile plants.

Junior Pros beat Caldwell in doubleheader

Colt Bailey and the third- and fourth-graders Crittenden County Junior Pro football team shutout Caldwell White and the fifth- and sixth-grade Rockets beat them, too, on Saturday at Rocket Stadium. Jaxton Duncan (at right) picked off this pass for the older group and Bailey (left) rushed for 25 yards in the other game.

The Junior Pro teams will be in action tomorrow night against Caldwell County Gold. Kickoff in the first game is at 6pm. They will also play at Trigg County on Saturday.

Get all of the game details and individual statistics in this week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press.

Farmers hosts photo contest

Click Image to Enlarge

A photo contest will earn a couple of lucky winners $25. All you have to do is submit a winning photograph with the theme "What Ag Means to Me."

The photo contest is held in conjunction with Farmers Bank & Trust Company's annual Farmer's Day Celebration, planned for Friday, Sept. 27 at the bank's South Main Street location in Marion.

Photographs must be submitted before Sept. 27 at the Crittenden County Extension Service on U.S. 60 East or at the Farmers Bank's main building on Main Street.

Winning photos will be displayed at Farmers Bank. Photos must be 8x10 prints. Divisions exist for amateur and professional photographers and for youth and adult divisions.

Area Death

Ollie Clinton Bigham, 74, of Marion died today at Crittenden Community Hospital. Gilbert Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Jail could see smaller state inmate pool

One man’s burden is another man’s treasure.

With a burgeoning inmate population in Kentucky – a problem plaguing the entire nation – state officials are looking to pull out the stops to reduce the count of state prisoners and, thereby, the cost of corrections. But all those violators are keeping county jails – even county budgets – afloat.

That is certainly the case in Crittenden County, where a 172-bed jail houses around 210 on any given day, with about 120 of those being state inmates each earning Crittenden County Detention Center $31.34 per day. It has allowed the jail to be self-sufficient, operating without any taxpayer subsidies.

But Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Secretary John Tilley calls the overcrowding in county jails “perverse.” He is urging state lawmakers to look at making changes to statutes to reduce the Kentucky's inmate population of 24,000-plus by a third, a move that would save state government hundreds of millions of dollars, but could put more on the backs of local taxpayers.

Next week’s issue of The Crittenden Press will look at the changes Tilley and lawmakers are considering to reduce the cost of corrections and how those changes could affect Crittenden County. Find a copy at newsstands or subscribe to the online version by clicking here.

Rusty Gate open for fall

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The air temperature may not feel like fall, but the foliage at Rusty Gate Farms tells a different story.

Mums line the property and stacks of pumpkins are ripe for the picking at Jessica Cummins' nursery that sells flowers and ferns in the spring and shifts gears to seasonal favorites when fall approaches.

Located on Fords Ferry Road just off North Main Street in Marion, Rusty Gate Farms sells many varieties of pumpkins, mums and also straw bales for decorating. Other seasonal items are available as well.

17 undeveloped acres on city council agenda

Marion City Council meets Monday, and these 17 acres just south of town are on the agenda, along with a Marion-Crittenden County Airport Board appointment, pay plan changes and shifted responsibilities for city employees.

Check out next week's issue of The Crittenden Press to find out what the undeveloped acreage on U.S. 641 just outside of Marion has to do with city business.

Top 5 Football Showdown Tonight at Rocket Stadium

Catch the YTG PreGame Sideline Show at 6:40pm

Live on Facebook

Click Link to Watch

It is likely that there has never been a Crittenden-Caldwell football game more closely watched than the one coming up tonight at Marion.

For the first time ever, the Rockets and Tigers meet with each team ranked among the Top 5 in their respective divisions, and adding to the importance of this showdown is the fact that for the first time, the KHSAA has a new playoff system in force which will seed some rounds of the late postseason based on a strenghth-of-schedule fourmla.

The fifth-ranked Class A Rockets will be at home to face Caldwell County, ranked No. 5 in Class 2A, on Friday.

It will be Crittenden County’s first real test of the season and Rocket Stadium will be packed with consequences high for both storied programs.

Crittenden comes into the matchup 3-0 while Caldwell is 2-1.

Ladies' Night is Back at H&H Home & Hardware

H and H Home and Hardware in Marion, Ky., will host another Ladies' Night on Saturday, Oct. 5. Big Johnz BBQ truck will be there plus music by DJ Remix MC, DIY Crafts with Paint Samplers  and Viki Carlson's Chalk Paint Demonstrations. It's PARTY TIME at H&H Home and Hardware. 

The fun starts at noon, but Ladies Night Specials begin at 7pm. 

Be in line by 6pm for Live Entertainment and Early Bird Specials.

Accident involved empty school bus in Livingston County

UPDATE 3:
More details are now available from the accident in Livingston County this morning involving a school bus and pickup truck.

Daniel Lawless, 42, of Smithland was reportedly southbound on River Road when his pickup crossed the center line, hitting the northbound school bus driven by Dustin Wood, 37, of Smithland. Wood's daughter was the only student on the bus. Neither Wood nor his daughter were injured. Lawless was airlifted to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville.


UPDATE 2:
At 10:45am traffic was moving through the crash site on one lane.

UPDATE:
Reports are that an empty school bus – carrying no children – and pickup truck collided. One person was airlifted from the scene.

According to the Kentucky Department of Transportation, the road will remain closed to at least late morning.

The bus driver was taken to a nearby hospital but did not appear to have serious injuries. A person in the pickup had to be extricated and was flown to a nearby hospital.

ORIGINAL POST
There has been a multi-vehicle automobile accident in Livingston County on River Road (Ky. 137).

River Road is blocked to through traffic between Ky. 763 and the Birdsville boat ramp.

The road is expected to be blocked until about 10am.

Injury accident on US 60 east of Marion

First responders are working an injury accident on US 60 east of Marion near the county line.

All occupants are reportedly out of their vehicles.

The extent of any injuries is unclear at this time.

Bonding potential for new school still years away

 

Until Rocket Arena is paid off in July 2024, building a new school in Crittenden County School District is not likely without an additional tax. That’s what Lincoln Theinert, a financial advisor with the district’s fiscal agent, told board of education members tonight at a monthly working session.

Theinart is an investment banker with Ross, Sinclaire & Associates’ Kentucky School District Finance Division, providing cash flow analysis to 132 of Kentucky’s 174 public school districts. The Lexington-based banking, securities brokerage and asset management firm works with school districts across the state to manage their bonding potential for construction projects. At tonight’s meeting, Theinart told board members that the local school district has about $6 million in bonding potential, $2 million short of a new $8 million high school proposed two years ago when the board sought a tax boost that ultimately failed at the ballot box.

The report on bonding potential was routine. The five-member board is not ready to again propose a so-called Second Nickel property tax increase sought in 2017, but is still concerned over keeping a 70-year-old middle school, 44-year-old high schools and 37-year-old elementary school maintained and equipped for providing a modern education to the 1,400 students under its charge.

“…(T)he vote in 2017 was pretty clear,” said Superintendent of Schools Vince Clark. “The community expects us to do with what we’ve got.”

For a deeper look at the school district’s financial capabilities, see next week's issue of The Crittenden Press.

Circuit Judge hands sentences down

A 38-year-old Marion man was among a handful of people sentenced to prison today by Circuit Judge Rene Williams.

Jason Rushing entered a guilty plea for resisting arrest and possession of meth in a late 2016 case and was sentenced to three years in prison. 

A handful of others were sentenced Thursday or had their probations revoked.

The judge also set bond at $55,000 cash for 31-year-old Brian Fitzgerald, who was indicted today multiple felony charges in connection with an alleged crime spree last winter and a manhunt that ended with his arrest in Florida. Fitzgerald completed his sentence on convictions stemming from his arrest in Florida and was brought back to Kentucky a couple of weeks ago. He is lodged in the Crittenden County Detention Center.

Find complete details of circuit court action in next week's printed edition of The Crittenden Press.

The Crittenden Press is your primary source of news and information for this community. We’re proud to serve our community and we take great pride in bringing you real news, sports reporting and other information that helps you know what’s going on in town and across the county. Help ensure that real reporting continues in this community by subscribing today. You can subscribe online to the full version of the newspaper for only $2.95 a month. Click here to subscribe.