Local News fom February 18, 2010 issue

The Crittenden Press Full Version (PDF)

Arson suspected in Family Dollar fire
Arson is the suspected cause of a fire at a Marion business Monday.
At least a dozen members of the Marion Fire Department responded to Family Dollar Store in Darben Plaza when the fire was reported around noon.
Two employees and two customers were in the store when the fire was discovered on the northeast wall amid shelves of toilet paper and paper towels.
"There is no doubt that the fire was set," said Fire Chief Red Howton. "It wasn't electrical."
Howton said by looking at the shelves, it appeared as though the fire started behind the front stack of paper products. An electrical outlet was near the roughly eight-foot section of flames extinguished by firemen. However, Howton said the outlet did not appear to be the source of ignition. Nothing was plugged into the socket, he said.
Howton said Tuesday that he plans to discuss the fire with the store manager and state fire marshal to determine whether further investigation is warranted.

Call rejoins clinic serving animals
Dr. Stephanie Call is in a familiar environment and one she loves at The Animal Clinic in Marion.
Call recently returned to The Animal Clinic as a part-time veterinarian. She worked there several summers and during time off from Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, where she graduated in 2006.
Call, 28, is a Princeton native who now lives in Madisonville. She hopes to move closer to Marion eventually.
She attended Mid-Continent University and Murray State University, and in three years completed the required coursework to apply to veterinary school. Following graduation, she worked in Chattanooga, Tenn., one year and two years in Madisonville before joining the staff of The Animal Clinic.
Call specializes in small animals, and is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association as well as the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association.

Review of Community Christmas results
Community Christmas raised almost $9,500 in 2009. That’s $1,000 more than the previous year. Funds helped distribute Christmas to 162 families, but 46 fewer families participated in 2009 than did in 2008, according to the Community Christmas evaluation.
After reviewing the year-end report, Nancy Hunt, UK Extension agent, views Community Christmas as a big success.
“There was more community support this time,” Hunt said. “We just really attribute that to the economy and people wanting to help others.”
Hunt wasn’t completely sure why fewer families participated, but attributes it in part to families’ lack of awareness of the sign-ups.
“Next year, in addition to the advertising through The Press and radio station, we’re going through the school system more,” Hunt said. “We’re going to mail letters to the parents of students who are on free or reduced lunches. We’re also going to start contacting the guidance counselors in October instead of December.”
Hunt also attributes the increased community support to the sponsor trees being at three locations, which made people more aware of them.
“It worked wonderfully to have two different pick up sights because it increased our number of volunteers. We plan to continue that,” Hunt said.
Due to the success of the event, all of the planned improvements are small ones, according to Hunt.
“We need to have a better traffic flow at the National Guard Armory to make (distribution) go faster,” Hunt said. “We really need to train the volunteers – for sign-up and distribution – at least a day before so everyone will be prepared.”
Registration dates for Community Christmas 2010 aren’t set in stone yet. However, they will be around the third or fourth week of October with one session during the day and one in the evening, Hunt explained.
For more information the coming Community Christmas, contact Hunt at 965-5236.