News from Aug.
4, 2005 issue
Payne is new county ag agent
After being vacant for months, the Agricultural Extension Agent
position will be filled Aug. 15, and stepping into the position
will be the first Crittenden County native ever to hold it.
Corey Payne of Crittenden County was hired by the University of
Kentucky to return to the area.
The new agent has a positive evaluation of his position.
"I think it will be great," he said. "I think it
will be good to see all the familiar faces and to be able to get
acquainted with those I don't know and get experience and help
in any way I can."
Until about nine years ago, Extension agents were not allowed
to work in the counties they graduated high school from so neither
they nor the local residents have any preconceived notions that
may keep people from using the service, Extension agent Nancy
Hunt said. Payne graduated from Crittenden County High School
while growing up on a county farm.
Payne graduated from Murray State University with a degree in
animal science in 2003. When he undertook his study, he didn't
really have any intention of coming back to his home county, but
eventually he began looking at becoming a county agricultural
agent. Then, his mind turned homeward.
"I wanted to be involved in the community and help as much
as I can with its agricultural needs," he said.
So Payne applied for the Crittenden County job, and UK sent him,
assuming he knew the area and its people enough to get involved
in the community and it made sense to settle him in a place he
wanted to be.
He will be assuming the position left behind by 10-year agent
Tom Moore of Marshall County, which has been vacant since last
December.
His job responsibilities will include assisting county residents
with any agricultural questions or concerns, having educational
meetings and planning activities.
Payne has been living in Crittenden County and commuting to his
current job for the past year. He has worked at the USDA Farm
Service Agency in Dixon and has helped administer federal farm
programs.
Simmons is new Marion postmaster
The day-to-day operations of the U.S Post Office at Marion are
under the reign of a new postmaster, and he hopes to have a positive
effect on the whole community.
Mike Simmons of Princeton took over the duties of former Postmaster
Mike Gilkey on Saturday, July 23.
"I just love the way we serve the community," he said.
"I think nothing really connects a small community like the
postal service because we see everybody; we deliver to every household."
That's why Simmons began working for the postal service in 1995
as a distribution clerk in Paducah.
He had just left his nine-year career in the U.S. Army infantry
because his daughter was starting kindergarten and he didn't want
her to have to move and change schools often. He now has a wife
and two children.
After a year and a half in Paducah, Simmons worked as a window
clerk in Benton for a year and a half. From there, he spent almost
two years as a clerk in the Princeton post office before returning
to Benton as a city letter carrier for three years.
He then served as supervisor in Fort Campbell for more than a
year before applying for the top position here after Gilkey became
Benton's postmaster.
Simmons wanted the position, he said, because it increased the
sphere of people on whom he had an effect.
"I don't want to become stagnant at one position. As postmaster,
you get to have a positive effect on the whole community."
In Marion, Simmons' responsibilities will include handling finances,
scheduling employees, placing orders and making sure all deliveries
are made among other things.
He said the hardest part about the job so far has been trying
to find out where everything is, turning five-minute tasks into
45-minute tasks.
Simmons said the postal workers in Marion seem to have a strong
work ethic, and cutting his drive time in half after moving his
career to Marion from Fort Campbell was nice, too.