Dycusburg man challenges Cherry
Crittenden Countian C. Lynn Bechler has filed as a Republican to seek the Fourth District Kentucky House of Representatives seat currently held by incumbent Democrat Mike Cherry.
Cherry, a five-term legislator, has filed to seek re-election. Both Cherry and Bechler will be unopposed in the May primary.
Bechler, 63, is a St. Louis native who has owned property in Crittenden County for almost 15 years. He moved here permanently in 2007. A retired engineer, Bechler has worked in the automotive, aerospace and computer industries. He holds degrees in aerospace engineering and mathematics from St. Louis University.
“I have been interested in politics ever since I can remember and to be honest, I have not been really happy with the way things have been going recently,” said Bechler. “I decided that I have the time and the inclination to be a good candidate, so I filed.”
Bechler lives between Frances and Dycusburg in the Brown Mine area. He started visiting Crittenden County in the early 1990s and he and wife Kathy fell in love with the area.
Cherry, 66, has run unopposed in the general election every time since being first elected in 1988, except for 2004. That year, Crittenden Countian Fred Stubblefield ran on the GOP ticket. Cherry won with 61 percent of the districtwide vote that year.
Cherry, owner of Capitol Cinemas in Princeton, is a retired U.S. Naval captain. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Murray State and graduate degrees from the University of Louisville and the Naval War College.

Four vying for county judge-executive
Three Republicans and one Democrat have filed to seek the county judge-executive’s post in Crittenden County. It’s the most contested countywide race this election cycle.
Tuesday was the last day to file for the spring primary elections.
Three incumbents are running unopposed in other countywide races – Clerk Carolyn Byford, Sheriff Wayne Agent and PVA Ronnie Heady.
Two-term Judge-Executive Fred Brown is not seeking re-election, so the race for county judge is wide open. Republicans Greg West, Mike McConnell and Perry Newcom are vying for the GOP nomination for judge while Democrat Larry Hearell will carry his party’s flag into the Nov. 2 general election.
Three incumbents, Jailer Rickey Riley, Coroner Joe Myers and County Attorney Rebecca Johnson, will have opposition in 2010. One will have primary opposition as Republican Brad Gilbert is challenging for coroner. Republican Bart Frazer is seeking election as county attorney; and two Democrats, Rick Mills and Monte Hill want their party’s nomination for jailer.
Frazer was defeated four years ago by Johnson, who got 61 percent of the vote in the county attorney race. Gilbert’s brother, Britt, ran unsuccessfully in the 2006 primary election for coroner as Myers got 53 percent of the vote. Mills and Hill are political newcomers.
Of the three GOP candidates for county judge, only West has direct local government experience. He is currently completing a second term as magistrate in District 6, the southern most area of the county which includes part of Crayne, Frances and Dycusburg.
West, 49, graduated from Crittenden County High School in 1978 and has some college credits from Madisonville Community College. He is a general baptist minister and former contractor. He formerly operated his own business, West Construction Company. Currently, he serves as pastor of Goshen Church at Darben Plaza in Marion.
West is a certified home inspector, member of the Crittenden County Health Board; a board member of the Crittenden County Coalition for a Drug Free Community, and founder and board member of Crittenden County Helping Hands. West resides just south of Marion.
Newcom, 46, grew up Henderson, but moved to Marion as a teen and graduated from Crittenden County High in 1981. His father and mother are Crittenden natives. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Murray State University and has some post-graduate credits.
For the past 15 years, Newcom has been owner and operator of Crittenden Farm Supply, the local Southern States dealer. He is past president of the Crittenden County Lions Club and president of the Agriculgure Business Association of Kentucky. He served four years in the United States Air Force following college.
Newcom currently resides in the City of Marion.
McConnell, 53, is the son of two county magistrates. His late father, Hayden McConnell, was serving a second term as magistrate in District 1 at the time of his death in 2003. His mother, Helen McConnell, currently serves as magistrate of that district, which includes the Mattoon area. She has decided not to seek re-election in order to support her son’s candidacy for county judge.
McConnell is a Sunday school teacher at Marion Baptist Church, where he is also an Upward basketball coach. He is a member of the Mattoon Fire Department, the Kentucky High School Rodeo Association Board of Directors and the Crittenden County High School SBDM Council. Together, McConnell and his wife Kathy have eight children and are foster parents to three.
Hearell, 54, is a heavy equipment operator out of the International Union of Operating Engineers in Henderson. He has been a union worker for about 33 years.
In the early 1990s, Hearell was instrumental in starting a labor council in Crittenden County, which has since disbanded. Hearell has attended a good number of fiscal court meetings over the years, becoming a fairly recognizable figure around the courthouse despite working out of the county most of his career. He lives in the Levias area and has actively supported youth rodeo while his children participated. He served on the Kentucky Junior Rodeo Association Board of Directors for 11 years and is a Life Member of the NRA.
Hearell graduated from Crittenden County High in 1973 and has some trade school and collegiate credit hours in welding and business.