News

News from April 2, 2009 issue

Local News
The Crittenden Press Full Version (PDF)

Museum featuring oldest history yet
Carlos Travis’ eye for history may be a bit sharper than that of the average history buff. In fact, he has found artifacts combing the fields of Crittenden County that not only pre-date the time of Christ, but the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
Hundreds of his discoveries extracted from the sods and creek beds of Crittenden County are on loan to the Crittenden County Historical Museum. The arrowheads, pottery shards and tools of ancient man from his collection of thousands of pieces will be on display through October when the museum opens its doors for the season on Tuesday.
Travis, 50, has been collecting such artifacts his entire adult life. He made his first discovery about 30 years ago combing fields for corn after its harvest. After that, he was hook and since then, he’s pulled hundreds upon hundreds of relics from the grounds of the Crittenden County. In fact, every single piece on loan in the two cases that house his finds at the museum came from within the county’s borders.
“I've always been interested in history,” he said.
Some of Travis’ most unique pieces date back 10,000 years, well before the pyramids – the last remaining monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – are believed to have been built.
“I guess when the ice shelf that covered this area in Caldwell and Crittenden County retreated, this whole area was open,” he explained.
By far, Travis’ thumbnail scrapers and plate knives from the paleolithic age will be the oldest items on display at the museum. And, he’s pretty defensive about the perception most people have of paleolithic man.
“They were more advanced than cave men,” he said, adding that such tools wrongly invoke images of cave-dwelling Neanderthals.
The pottery shards, ornaments and arrowheads that make up the remainder of his massive display are somewhat newer.
Travis can tell you about most every piece in his collection. He even categorizes his finds based on the location they were discovered. He’s even open to scheduling times at the museum this season to discuss his collection with interested visitors.
But don’t ask him how many he has.
“I never thought about counting them,” he said. “I’ve got so many.”
Travis is hoping to expand his museum display to a couple of more cases, but is very protective of some of the most magnificent pieces in his stockpile, like a 9-inch, almost-pristine knife. It’s rare to uncover such whole finds, and he does not want to risk damage or other mishap by transporting them from his home.
He estimates the number of broken artifact find to intact ones to be about 30 to one. To most people, those items are just broken rocks or trash, once thrown away by the score.
“They would throw them away by the bucket,” he said of farmers several years ago who would discover unknown artifacts in their local fields after plowing or discing a field.
Travis has slowed down his searches after a serious neck injury in the mines left him with frequent headaches, but he still enjoys a good find. Those he is willing to share can be found inside Crittenden County Historical Museum between 10 a.m., and 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday until October when the museum closes for winter.
Roberta Shewmaker, former county treasurer, will be the new curator in 2009. She has spent the last few weeks familiarizing herself with the many displays at the museum, from ancient tools to local military memorabilia. All displays have local connections.
Also new at the museum this month will be a Museums-To-Go Traveling Exhibit from the Kentucky Historical Society. The traveling museum, a set of colorful panels with images and text on a variety of topics. The first exhibit of the season is Kentucky Quilts, a nine-panel history of quilters and quilts from inside the commonwealth.
The musuem opted for the quilt exhibit in April to coincide with the annual quilt show in Paducah and the associated Backroads Festival in Marion.
Visits to the museum are free, but contributions are invited. Crittenden County Historical Society and Museum operate on donations only.

Development continues at Dam 50 Area
STAFF REPORT
Development of the Dam 50 Recreation Area is continuing in earnest this spring as contractors are completing new pavilions this week and electricity and water will be available at campsites this summer.
Crittenden County magistrates Percy Cook and Helen McConnell met with Judge-Exeucutive Fred Brown and City of Marion Tourism Director Michele Edwards Monday morning to discuss the latest developments at the area. Edwards said bids for installing camper pads for electrical, potable water and sewer should go out in the coming days.
"We are installing seven hook-up sites for now," Cook said.
The latest improvements to the rural park overlooking the Ohio River are part of two state and federal matching grants received by the county over the last few years. The grants totaled $165,000. All except about $86,000 from those grants has already been spent. The county contributed an equal share toward the development.
Last year, the Dam 50 Recreation Area Committee oversaw the construction of restrooms, a 20x40-foot pavilion with four picnic tables and public-use grill, playground equipment, benches, a walking trail and other general improvements. This spring and summer will see the addition of two more pavilions each with two picnic tables and a grill, and campsites. The camper pads are gravel for now, but plans are to pour concrete for each site and to pave the access road and boat trailer parking area. River access is available at the site thanks to a concrete boat ramp.
Judge-Executive Brown said there will be a fee for use of the utilities at the campsites. Users will need to make reservations, pay the fee in advance and receive a key or combination to unlock the power pedestal and access water and sewer options.
"We're going to have to charge $15 or $20 a night just so we can recoup some of our costs," Brown said.
It has not been determined where campers will sign in, but it will likely be at the Marion Tourism and Welcome Center at city hall. Those details will be forthcoming.
McConnell, who serves on the Dam 50 committee with other magistrates and volunteers, said the new pavilions will be completed this week. They are each 20x26.
Edwards said limited lighting will also be installed at the large pavilion and the restroom area. Although the restrooms are dry right now, she said there have been discussions about having running water available in the toilets-only facility.
Walking trails are still clogged with ice storm debris, but Cook said county inmates will soon be clearing those areas. Inmate labor is used to mow the recreation area and for general upkeep.
Pavilions are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, Edwards said. Reservations are not required.

State: Months of cleanup from ice storm left
Contractors in Crittenden County had cleared away 35,471 cubic yards of debris from the side of state highways as of Sunday, but work will likely continue for a few more months, said Keith Todd, spokesman for the Kentucky Transporation Cabinet.
"I will be very pleased if we're finished by Memorial Day, but I bet it will be closer to the Fourth of July," Todd said about the state's effort to remove debris from the right-of-ways.
Todd points out that the state's total debris removal does not include what has been picked up and chipped by county and city crews in Crittenden County. He said state crews have removed 84,899 cubic yards in Livingston County and 1.5 million cubic yards in the 12 western-most counties of Kentucky.
"There is an incredible amount of debris out there," he said.
While state contractors have cleared roadsides in some areas of Crittenden County, Todd said the federal highways – U.S. 641 and U.S. 60 – have not been finished. He said residents and motorists will be notified when work will start on those major highways.
"We are still asking residents to bring out their debris to the edge of the right-of-way," Todd said. "Please don't put it in the ditches."
Because many areas are prone to spring flooding, debris in side ditches can create major problems. Also, Todd said residents should not put their debris so close to the highway that it hangs over onto the pavement or blocks the view of drivers.
State highway cleanup crews will not collect debris piled up by commercial tree cutters or from pruning or extensive clearing projects.
"The federal requirements allow us to only pick up storm debris," Todd said.
On Monday, Congressman Ed Whitfield announced that more than $16.7 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will help with cutting, loading and removing scattered debris from roads within the First Congressional District to help with cleanup. More than $5.6 million of that amount is headed to the Transportation Cabinet’s District 1, which includes Crittenden, Livingston, Lyon and several other counties. The remainder is for District 2, which includes Caldwell, Union, Webster and additional counties.
"Residents of the First Congressional District continue to feel the effects from the ice storms which devastated our region earlier this year," Whitfield said. "I am pleased that FEMA has allocated these critical funds to help with debris removal on highways throughout western Kentucky."
FEMA obligates funding for these projects directly to the state. It is the state's responsibility to ensure that eligible sub-grantees receive these awards. Following the State's review process and upon receipt of appropriate documentation, they will provide funds to the sub-grantees on a reimbursable basis.