First responders have been busy tonight in Crittenden County.
Shortly after 8pm, EMS and other agencies were dispatched to help a young child choking on an object at a location north of Mattoon. The child was taken to the hospital.
Shortly after 9pm, Marion Fire Department was dispatched to a vehicle fire on Shady Lane.
There were 14 cases reported in one day on Sept. 14 and 11 in one day on Sept. 8. Those were the highest single day figures.
Half of today's new diagnoses were from the same household. The new cases ranged in age from 3 to 68. Three were three age 20 or younger. All are recovering at home.
The state announced today that Kentucky’s healthcare facilities are about 80 percent full, but new cases moderated a bit statewide, prompting the governor to suggest it might be the sign of a plateau after a recent record-setting spike.
In Crittenden County, there have been 26 new cases reported in the past seven days.
The death of a 74-year-old male was also announced today in Livingston County.
Meanwhile, cases across the Pennyrile Health District slowed a bit. There were 47 cases reported in the five-county area, including 18 in Caldwell, 12 in Trigg, 4 in Livingston and 3 in Lyon.
Daily case loads here had been dropping a bit until today's double-digit announcement.
She was a member of Deer Creek Baptist Church.
Surviving are a son, Kaynan Freeman of Marion; mother, April Bivins of Marion; brother, Andrew Freeman of Murray; sisters, Brianna Bivins, Marion and Callie Jo Bivins of Louisville; grandparents, Buddy and Norma Freeman and David and Reba Smock, all of Marion; and a nephew.
She was preceded in death by her father, Bobby Freeman; and brothers, Charlie Freeman and Tyler Bivins.
Services are at 2 p.m., Friday, Dec. 11 at Myers Funeral Home with Bro. John East officiating. Burial will follow at Deer Creek Cemetery. Visitation will be Friday between the hours of 10 a.m., and 2 p.m. In keeping with Covid restrictions, masks and social distancing will be observed.
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We certainly have. And our first reaction is always this, “Well, it was in The Press.”
Too bad some folks rely only on their neighbor or Facebook for news. Because you know, and we know, that those who pay attention to their weekly newspaper are far more informed than those in the Social Media Tunnel. Sure, we use our social media platforms, too, but the deepest well of information is your local newspaper. We don’t post everything from our full edition of the newspaper online. That’s for obvious reasons.
Here are some things in this week’s newspaper that you will not find on social media before the newspaper hits the streets:
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There have been 23 cases reported here in the past seven days, which continues to trend downward from where the county was 7 to 10 days ago.
Meanwhile, Pennyrile Health District is seeing an overall increase in cases and deaths across its reporting area. Crittenden’s pandemic total of 307 cases is lower than most in the five-county district. Lyon County, which is smaller by geographic size and population than the others, has had the fewest COVID cases, 264, but a disproportional number of deaths, 7.
Pandemic case totals for Caldwell County were 696 on Tuesday, Livingston 393 and Trigg 473. Caldwell has had the most COVID-related deaths, 15. Crittenden has had 6 and Livingston 4.
Crittenden County Elementary School, which has been having in-person classes this week, will be watching the state’s incidence rate map on Thursday. If Crittenden goes into the Red Zone, there will be no school here next week for grades 1-5. Crittenden was about three points from moving into the Red on Tuesday’s state color-coded map.
For more detailed COVID-related information, see this week’s full edition of The Crittenden Press.
Overall, however, the Pennyrile Health District is seeing an uptick in hospitalizations and deaths. The five-county health district is reporting eight new deaths over the past few days.
Those deaths included six in Caldwell County – five of them being over 80 years old. In Crittenden and Livingston counties, two 70-year-old females have died in the past few days.
Also a Hall of Fame Crittenden County basketball player from the 1950s has died from complications related to COVID-19. Don “Sucky” Brasher, 87, of Nashville passed away Sunday in a Williamson County, Tenn., hospital after a few days of battling the virus. See more about his life in this week’s newspaper.
First, bus route deliveries will not be running this coming week because bus drivers will be transporting elementary school students to and from school each day.
The drive-through food service will continue to operate, but it has been relocated to the CCMS/CCHS campus and will be open from 11:30 a.m., to 1 p.m. daily. Parents or students will need to park behind the middle school and come to the multi-purpose room door to pick up meals.
Lunches will be served hot and breakfasts will be given with instructions for prep at home. The drive-through food service is for all middle and high school students and only virtual/remote students at CCES.
"If your child is attending in-person at CCES, please do not pick up food from the drive-through, as in-person students will be eating breakfast and lunch at school," the district said.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we adapt to continually serve all of our Rockets.
Among those diagnosed cases on Friday was a 63-year-old male who is hospitalized. The rest were at home recovering.
There were 31 new cases reported in the county in the seven-day period from Nov. 28 to Dec. 4, an uptick in newly diagnosed cases over the previous several days. Cases were trending downward late last week.
The Pennyrile District Health Department reported 33 new cases in its five-county area on Friday, including 11 in Livingston County, a dozen in Caldwell, three in Lyon and two in Trigg. The health district also posted some new quarantine guidelines on its Facebook page. Go there to see them.
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Decorations will be on display at least through Dec. 20. Viewers will be able to vote for their favorite decorations Dec. 19 at the Chamber’s Facebook page.
Winners will be announced Dec. 20.
The Chamber decided to forego having its annual Christmas Parade this year due to the pandemic. Instead, the group is sponsoring the decorations trail and contest.
The situation will be re-evaluated on Thursday, Dec. 10. If Crittenden is back in the Red on the state's colored-coded COVID map next Thursday, there will be no in-person classes he following week.
The school district released the following message today:
Please note all students and staff must follow the Healthy At School guidelines, issued by the Kentucky Department of Public Health. These guidelines are part of the governor's executive order, which states that all staff and students must social distance and wear a mask at all times at school and on the bus, unless eating or drinking. Exceptions are made for Kindergarten and pre-school students while at school, and those with medical waivers. Middle and high school students will remain on remote learning through December 18. We will evaluate our status on Thursday, December 10 (as required by the order), and communicate our plan at that time for the following week. We plan to welcome all students back on January 5, after the executive order expires on January 4. Thank you, everyone, for all you are doing during this challenging time.
Marion Convenience Center is no longer accepting plastic recyclables.
Because of the pandemic, the normal recycling center used by the county to repurpose its plastics is closed.
The convenience center on U.S. 60 East in Marion has reached its storage capacity and will not be able to take those types of recyclable materials until the center at the Fredonia prison restarts.
This is just temporary, but it is unclear how long the situation will last, said convenience center manager Jason Singleton.
There were four new cases of COVID-19 reported in Crittenden County Thursday, bringing the yearly total to 295.
With these latest cases, Crittenden County has seen 28 cases in the past seven days.
Want to see how much, and where it's going?
Grab this week's full edition of The Crittenden Press.
Marion began legal alcohol sales in the summer of 2019 for the first time since before Prohibition.
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Because Crittenden County is below 25 on the state map, and out of the so-called Red Zone, Crittenden County School District has announced that its elementary school students will return to class on Monday.
In November, Gov. Andy Beshear mandated school closings until after Christmas break with the caveat that elementary school students could return to in-person learning on Dec. 7, if their county is not in the Red Zone on the Thursday previous (which is today).
An automated “all-call” message was sent to Crittenden County Elementary School parents and guardians shortly after 5pm today, notifying them that in-person classes will resume Monday.
Also, the Pennyrile Health Department issued a statement late this afternoon saying that state figures used for the color-coded COVID map are inaccurate, due to “some type of glitch.”
The apparent data "glitch" has opened a window of opportunity for local school children to return to class. It's noteworthy that the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper published an article today citing experts who now believe that children may be safer in a classroom setting as opposed to other options.
According to figures from the Pennyrile District Health Department, there had been 27 COIVD cases reported in Crittenden County during the seven-day period between Nov. 26 and Dec. 2, which would equate to a local incidence rate of 43.8 based on the state formula (as of Wednesday).
The school district issued the following message to CCES families at 6pm today:
Because our county is not in the red zone, as indicated by the Kentucky Department for Public Health Covid-19 Dashboard, Crittenden County Elementary School students may return to in-person learning, beginning Monday, Dec. 7. According to the governor’s executive order, all students and staff must follow the state’s Healthy At School guidance, including masking, social distancing, temperature checks, and staying at home when sick. The decision to have in person school for CCES students the week of Dec. 14 will be determined on Thursday, Dec. 10. Middle and high school students will remain remote learners until January. No bus deliveries will be made the week of Dec. 7-11, but the CCES Drive Thru will be operational for middle and high school students needing meals. Information regarding pick up times will be shared soon. Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we follow state orders to ensure our students’ and staff’s continued safety. We can't wait to welcome back our youngest Rockets!
Crittenden County Judge-Executive Perry Newcom said that nearly $100,000 in free food was distributed over two weekends in this county.
The program, he said, could be reinstated if further federal funds are made available.
There have also been seven new cases reported today in the county, bringing the seven-day total of 27 and the year-to-date total to 291.
The Pennyrile District Health Department is reporting four new deaths in its area, including the one here. There were also deaths is Livingston, Caldwell and Trigg counties.
In Crittenden County, the victim was a 50-year-old male. Although health officials are not disclosing the names of COVID victims, there is an obituary that appears in this week’s full edition of the newspaper for a 50-year-old male. Deaths elsewhere in the area were a 74-year-old female in Caldwell, 91-year-old male in Livingston and an 82-year-old male in Trigg.
There were 43 new cases reported today in the Pennyrile District Health Department's five-county area.
Those reportedly diagnosed today in Crittenden County are recovering at home.
Fourth-ranked Crittenden County (7-2) will travel to northeast Jefferson County at 6:30pm (CST) Friday to play second-ranked Kentucky Country Day (8-1). The teams met last year in the same round of the playoffs and KCD’s tremendous rushing attack beat the Rockets 36-22 at Louisville. KCD’s only loss this season was to unranked Class 6A Bullitt East, which was bounced from the playoffs last week by No. 3 Louisville Male.
KCD rushed for 348 yards against CCHS in last fall’s meeting, but Dorian Heard has graduated. He did most of the damage, scoring four times and rushing for 221 yards.
Still, the Bearcats have a formidable offense with two running backs ranked among the state’s top 20 in Class A. Only one of them – Nathan Caldwell – carried the ball in last year’s encounter. He rushed for 25 yards. This season, he’s averaging 95 yards a game as the team’s top running back.
KCD’s 42.8 points per game is the highest in Class A and its defense, yielding 13.6 points an outing, is ranked No. 3, right behind Crittenden County’s at 13.0. The Rockets are fourth in scoring in Class A, averaging 38 per game.
The club’s annual Lunch with Santa is the latest community tradition sidelined by the pandemic.
Ronnie Heady, president-elect of the Lions Club, said he’d been in contact with the North Pole this week and it is with much regret that Santa’s trip to Marion is off.
The good news is that the Chamber of Commerce is sending a formal letter to the North Pole, trying to schedule Santa for a later date. Stay tuned!
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