-News from August 20, 2009 issue

Local News
The Crittenden Press Full Version (PDF)

Officers kill charging pit bull
Marion police officers shot and killed a pit bull dog that allegedly tried to attack them during a routine code enforcement mission at a local home.
The dog’s owner, Angel Voges, 36, was charged with harboring a vicious animal, a Class B misdemeanor. It was the second time Voges had been charged with the same offense regarding the pit bull. She was found guilty in Crittenden District Court in June, ordered to pay a fine, restitution to the animal shelter for keeping the animal and ordered to remove the dog from the State of Kentucky. The dog bit postal carrier Randy Belt in April, prompting the first charge.
Voges was scheduled in Crittenden District Court last Wednesday on the latest charge of harboring a vicious animal, but she did not appear. A bench warrant was issued for her arrest.
According to police reports, Chief Ray O’Neal and Senior Officer Marty Hodge went to a home at 307 West Gum Street on Wednesday, Aug. 5. The officers were there on a city code enforcement issue regarding trash and junk appliances in the yard.
When the police chief knocked on the door to an enclosed porch, the door opened. O’Neal announced himself as a police officer. About that time, the pit bull charged from another room and was heading for the police chief. O’Neal stepped backward and pulled his .45 caliber service weapon as the dog lunged toward him. He fired twice, hitting the dog once.
The dog then charged toward Officer Hodge, who also fired twice, hitting the dog once. The dog was disabled and soon died from the gunshot wounds.
Police records indicate that Voges was out of town when the most recent incident occurred, but her two teenager daughters were at the home. They were not charged.
Animal control officers and policemen involved in the first case with the dog, when it bit the postal worker, identified the animal that was shot as the same one from the previous incident.

LHHS replaces CEO, CFO
Jeff Buckley has come full circle in the hospital business.
In the early 1980s, his first administrator's job was as head of Livingston Hospital.
Now, he's back as interim chief executive officer of Livingston Hospital and Healthcare Systems.
The hospital board of directors has made some major changes over the past few weeks, replacing the two top officials and implementing some financial strategies.
Buckley is vice president of Louisville-based Alliant Management Services, the company hired to help run the hospital in Salem.
He says it's not common for a vice president to come into a hospital and take over daily operations, but this situation was unique.
"This was a personal situation for me. This was my very first hospital. I still had relationships here and wanted to see the hospital doing well. I know what its potential is," said Buckley, who was the hospital's administrator from 1980 to 1983.
Buckley replaces Mike Budnick, who had been CEO at Salem for more than two years. Chief Financial Officer Dale Kominga is also gone after being on the job for less than one year. He was replaced with another Alliant executive, Jim Fraser.
Buckley said, “LHHS is a stable and busy 25-bed critical access hospital.”
It averages almost 20 patients per day, he said. The hospital has gross annual income of about $34 million, and it’s a non-profit organization so all carryover goes back into the budget.
“We're barely in the black right now, and that's one of the issues we're working on,” Buckley said.
The change in management does not signal any problems with the heath care facility, said the interim CEO.
"The hospital board and Alliant Management felt it was time to take the hospital in a different direction," Buckley said. "We are in the process of recruiting a CFO, and my tenure here has yet to be determined."
Buckley has more than 25 years of experience as a senior level executive in multiple health care organizations. He is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and has also attended Webster University in Saint Louis, and the University of Minnesota. He also holds a master's degree in Health Care Management.

Convenience Center raising trash rates
Rates for disposing of garbage and other trash items are going up markedly at the Crittenden County Convenience Center.
Shea Holliman, deputy at the Crittenden County Detention Center which operates the convenience center, said rates will go up on Monday, Aug. 31.
“We raised the rates earlier, but people complained that they were not given any notice, so we decided to put something in the newspaper and hold off until the end of the month,” she said.
Holliman said rising expenses precipitated the need for price increases.
Wesley Cullen, the deputy jailer who oversees the convenience center on a daily basis, said some rates are going up very slightly while others have doubled.
“The biggest change is in full sized trucks with sideboards,” Cullen said. “It went from $50 to $100.”
The convenience center is on U.S. 60 East next to the county road department. Residents can dispose of household trash and many other items. The site is open from 8 a.m., until 4 p.m., weekdays, except Wednesday. On Wednesday and Saturday, it is open from 8 a.m., until noon. The phone number to the site is 965-0892.
The center was previously operated by Freedom Waste, but in the past year, the jail started operating the facility. Cullen and four inmates man the center.
Holliman said the local facility’s rates were much cheaper than similar sites in nearby counties. The new rate structure will bring it more in line with other counties, she said.

NEW RATES STARTING AUG. 31.
Single trash bag $3
Additional bags $2
1 axle dump trucks half-full $100
1 axle dump trucks rounded $150
2 axle dump truck half-full $150
2 axle dump truck rounded $200
Small truck half $15
Small truck full $20
Small truck with sideboards $30
Full size truck half $30
Full size truck full $50
Full size truck with sideboards $100
15-16 ft. trailers $75-$100
Roofing materials $100-$150
Sofa $15
Bed $15
Recliners/chairs $10
10-14 ft. trailers $60