News from Dec. 25, 2003 issue



Plans being finalized for new city hall

The City of Marion is nailing down the final details on the architectural design of its new home, which should be completed within the next year and half.

The city purchased the old Sav-A-Lot building on Main Street at the former English Manor Shopping Center earlier this year and will move its administrative offices and police department into the new building. The fire department will remain at its current Bellville Street location.

At its recent city council meeting, what's probably going to be very close to the final building plans were unveiled. There are still some cost estimate details being worked out with the architect, CMW of Lexington, but for the most part the exterior design and floorplan are complete.

Mayor Mickey Alexander, city attorney Bart Frazer and councilmen Fred Brown and Allen Lynn are on the committee that's overseeing the design phase of the new city hall. They were hoping to have their new home ready by Heritage Days next October. However, that's not looking like a reality at this point, the mayor said.

"If we had gotten started a month or two ago, we might have made it, but it doesn't look like we will now," Alexander said.

The council paid $300,000 for the building and parking lot and its renovation plans could approach $1 million, according to discussions last week at the council meeting.

Councilman Lynn said the architect's latest cost estimate was higher than he anticipated.

"I kind of feel like we were mislead," Lynn said, pointing out that he believed the cost of the renovation would be closer to $800,000 based on previous talks with the architectural firm.

The latest figures show the renovation, including contingencies, furnishings and design fees to be about $925,000. However, those costs are based solely on estimates. No construction price probes have been made although the project could be ready to bid within the next next month or two.

The design committee has already scrapped one set of plans that called for a much higher price tag. The plans were redrawn to eliminate landscaping in the parking lot and leaving the front part of the building (where Holland Medical was located) unfinished. The city might rent the unfinished portion as one or more offices. The exterior of that portion will be redone, however.
The mayor said landscaping will be done in the parking lot, too, but he thinks a scaled back, more cost-efficient means is available by hiring an independent, probably local contractor.

The floorplan for the new city hall includes an administrative and clerical portion in the eastern part of the building and the police department in the west end.

Police chief Kenneth Winn said the police department will have better security and privacy features than it has now in the back of current city hall.
"I am very pleased with the way it's designed," Winn said. "It's going to be much more secure than it is now."

There will be secure entrances between the lobby and police station and between the police station and the administrative and clerical part of city hall.

The police will also have two holding cells, interview areas and a booking area that will include the alcohol breath-testing machine. Winn said the new facility will be much more conducive to professional police work than conditions at the current location.


Darnell sought on McCracken warrant
A Crittenden County man who has been on the run for over a year is wanted on a McCracken County warrant for theft. Rocky A. Darnell, 48, allegedly took over $19,000 from United Propane Gas while employed as a driver between January 2000 and March 2002. Police say Darnell was overpaid after he falsified trip pay record sheets. Darnell, who is 5-10 and weighs 170 pounds, has relatives in Crittenden County. His last known address was 25 Barnett Chapel Road. Darnell was featured on the Fugitive File on WPSD-TV6 Dec. 17.

McCracken County detectives last had contact with Darnell in December 2002. Then, a detective set up a time to interview Darnell, but he never showed up. Anyone with information on Darnell's whereabouts should contact the McCracken County Sheriff's Department at (270) 444-4740.

Thieves get loot from cars at repair shop
Two vehicles were burglarized at Driver's Car and Truck Repair on U.S. 641 south of Marion. Sheriff Wayne Agent is investigating the thefts, which are believed to have occurred over the weekend and involved a pickup and car parked at the shop's lot waiting for repairs. The vehicles are owned by Darrin Tabor and Heath Hutchison. Taken were three guns, tools and two car stereos.


Dr. Wight retires from school board
as longest serving member in KY
After 45 years as a member of the Crittenden County Board of Education, Dr. Donald Wight resigned this month.

His tenure gave him the rare distinction of being the longest-serving school board member in Kentucky.

Wight, 79, turned in his resignation Dec. 16 after facing complications from diabetes that prevented him from attending several meetings this year.

Wight was elected in 1958 to his first term on the board of education, one year after Marion and Crittenden County schools consolidated.

"The state was saying there needed to be one school system in each county," Wight said. "And we realized a need to bring them together."

Information published in "The History of Crittenden County Schools," pointed to low enrollment ­ then 138 students at Marion High School ­ as one of the reasons for consolidation. At that time, no public school with fewer than 100 students would be accredited, and the city high school was getting close to that mark.

Wight, who operated a dentistry business in Marion for over 50 years, began serving the school system under superintendent Louis Litchfield and continued through the employment of six others including current superintendent Fredericka Hargis.

Brad Hughes, spokesman for the Kentucky School Boards Association, says while he doesn't know Wight personally, his devotion speaks for itself.

"Anyone who devotes four and a half decades to children for any reason is truly a magnificent person," Hughes said. "But to have devoted that many years to make really difficult decisions school board members have to make ­ with only the rarest thank you ­ is remarkable."

Hughes said the average tenure of a board of education member in Kentucky is eight years.
Wight admits that the complexion of public education in Crittenden County is "considerably different," today than it was when he first became involved.

When he took his first seat on the board five years before President Kennedy was assassinated, Crittenden County Schools operated four grade schools ­ Fohs Hall, Tolu, Mattoon, Frances and Shady Grove. Through his tenure, he saw the closing of Shady Grove Grade School, the new construction of Crittenden County Elementary School that replaced an aging Fohs Hall in 1981 and then the consolidation of the three remaining county elementary schools in 1998.

"We started with a system that wasn't the best and ended up with the finest system in west Kentucky, particularly for its size," Wight said.

He said serving on the board of education has been "a great challenge," and it, in addition to his private dentistry practice, have been his life's priorities.

"A lot of people don't run (for the board of education) to serve strictly for the welfare of and the obligations to young people," Wight said.

Current board chairman Larry Threlkeld says he will miss Wight as a board member and friend. He remembers something he told him when he joined the board which he said illustrates Wight's commitment to Marion and Crittenden County.

"He said locating his (dentistry) practice here was the best decision he made in his life," Threlkeld said. "It shows his dedication to Crittenden County.

"He contributed a lot to the school system, and he never sought any glory or jewels in his crown."