BY MAJ. Jeff Allen
TF Marne PAO, USD-N
A common phrase among deployed soldiers is, ff“Every day is Groundhog Day, ” because most of their days are long and monotonous. However, on actual Groundhog Day, nothing was ordinary for soldiers and civilians at the Task Force Marne headquarters.
Lt. Col. Jeff Hollamon, the Red Team leader for Task Force Marne, had the privilege of heading up the Groundhog Day event. He had the task of putting together events to get the staff’s mind off of work for a few minutes. In his hometown of Marion, the varmint digs holes all over the western Kentucky landscape. So, when he organized the Groundhog Day celebration for TF Marne, he kept his experiences of hometown in mind.
“We’re celebrating the duality of groundhogs, the evil groundhog and the good groundhog,” he said.
According to Lt. Col. Hollamon, in Pennsylvania, they celebrate groundhogs. In western Kentucky they don’t like them at all.
To go against the Punxsutawney, Penn., tradition of celebrating groundhogs, Lt. Col. Hollamon showed TF Marne how folks in Kentucky deal with groundhogs.
He oversaw a police dog demonstration where soldiers and civilians volunteered to be attacked by military working dogs. Volunteers wore full protective gear for the purpose of training the dogs. Lt. Col. Hollamon had this demonstration to show TF Marne that one can use dogs to hunt groundhogs.
Another way he showed soldiers how his hometown deals with the varmint is having volunteers throw a softball into a barrel. He did this to show that they deal with gophers by putting dynamite into holes that the groundhogs dig and club them when they emerge from the ground. People who successfully threw a softball into the barrel received and Army Air Force Exchange Service gift certificate of $5.
Spec. Raoof Wali, with TF Marne out of Philadelphia and an automations specialist, took part in the festivities.
“It was pretty cool,” he said. “It was a good time and a good holiday. I enjoyed showing my athletic skills.”
Spec. Wali also took part in the working dog demonstration. He wanted to see if he could withstand the force of the dog and remain standing. Spec. Wali was taken down within seconds when the dog grabbed him.
“That didn’t go too well,” he said.
The holiday festivities ended with a cake cutting ceremony. One of the cakes featured groundhog Punxsutawney Phil while the other cake featured his wife, Stinky. According to tradition, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter, but in Iraq, there will be six more weeks of sandstorms. Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, so soldiers stationed in Iraq will have to contend with another six weeks of sandstorms.

Officials optimistic about US 641 plans
Local and state officials are somewhat optimistic that the long-awaited U.S. 641 improvement project will move into construction phase in the coming months.
Rep. Mike Cherry (D-Princeton) said Monday from Frankfort that the proposed new super highway could be moving traffic between Marion and Fredonia by late 2013 or 2014. This is only the first phase of a two-pronged project. The final stage will take the highway from Fredonia to the Western Kentucky Parkway.
Gov. Steve Beshear announced his Six-Year Highway Plan last week, which includes almost $45 million for construction on the 641 project. Cherry said that $29.2 million of those funds are from a transportation bond issue. In other words, the money is in the bank.
"That's real money," Cherry said, pointing out that due to the state's economic condition such funds can be mighty attractive for other expenses. Keeping them in the Six Year Highway Plan and under the 641 flag could prove testy through political wrangling over the next six weeks. The plan will require House and Senate approval.
If those funds remain ear-marked for U.S. 641 at the end of the current session of the Kentucky General Assembly, Cherry said he will be much more certain about the near future of the project.
Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown said he too is optimistic because of how it's funded in the governor's plan.
"It looks a little better than it has in a while," Brown said.
Cherry said acquisition of property to build the road is 99 percent complete. He said there are three property owners who have not accepted the state’s buyout offer. Those may require litigation to settle.
There are other property owners near where the highway is projected to start just south of Marion who have yet to begin negotiating.
While there are some environmental snags in the southern phase of the highway plan, Cherry said those issues should be rectified by the time construction on the second section begins. There is $12 million in the governor’s highway plan for design, right-of-way and utility relocation on the second part of the project in Caldwell and Lyon counties.

American Idol Connection
Lacey Brown is going to Hollywood and taking a small piece of Marion with her. Brown is an American Idol contestant whose parents David and Connie Hibbs Brown graduated from Crittenden County High School in the 1970s. This is Brown's second year to compete on American Idol. Last year she was eliminated in the second round of competition. However, following her audition last week in Orlando, judge Kara DioGuardi said Brown was among her Season 9 favorites. David and Connie Brown are former ministers at Marion's Life In Christ Church. They now reside in Texas.