Tourism DVD available
Marion Tourism Commission is boasting a new video touting Crittenden County as a haven for visitors.
The just-finished DVDs boasts captivating, full-color scenery across the county from the Amish community to the links at Marion Country Club. The editing and narration were professionally completed by S&W Productions in Paducah.
Michele Edwards, director of the tourism commission, said the eight-minute video is aimed at providing visitors and prospective visitors with a summary of the activities, recreation and relaxation available locally.
"It covers every aspect of this county," she said.
The video will be available for viewing on the tourism commission's Web site soon.
"It will visitors to the site and idea of what they'll see when they get here," Edwards added.
The DVD will also be made available to tour groups who can watch the video on buses equipped with video capabilities. Marion's Welcome Center, Crittenden County Historical Museum and Ben. E. Clement Mineral Museum, all highlighted in the film, will also be equipped with combined TV/DVD players. The tourism commission is providing the players to the two museums.
Marion Tourism Commission's Web site is www.MarionKentucky.us.

Livingston Justice Center set to open
Livingston County is one of three far western Kentucky counties are expected to open new courthouses in the next 18 months. In fact, a new $6.8 million justice center in Smithland opens Monday to replace the 164 year-old predecessor, said to be the oldest courthouse in Kentucky still in use.
Trigg and Carlisle counties are the other counties receiving new justice centers.
Livingston County's new two-story red brick building has limestone accents and is topped with a cupola, similar to that on the old courthouse. It gives the county about 29,000 square feet inside. It has thee separate courtrooms, replacing a historic chamber in the old courthouse.
The Livingston County Judicial Center will have three courtrooms and numerous offices, said .
"It will be the biggest change to the Livingston County judicial system in the last 150 years," said Todd Hanson, head of maintenance at the new building and a Livingston County correspondent for The Crittenden Press. "I believe it is a building that all Livingston Countians can be proud of for many years to come."
Livingston County Judge-Executive Chris Lasher said the new building should last even longer than the one it is replacing.
It's taken 21 months to construct. Weather delays pushed the project between three and four months behind schedule, Lasher said, but he expects it to be ready for circuit court next Wednesday.
One of the biggest changes the public may notice is that the building has a single point of entry and a single primary exit. As visitors come in, they will face a 35-foot-tall mural in the lobby painted by local resident Dana Aguilar.
"But then they will face another form of progress, a metal detector," said Hanson. "Yes, security will be increased greatly over the current courthouse with the combination of single point of entry, metal detector and security guards, which in addition to manning the front will be regularly monitoring the buildings numerous security cameras."
The office of Livingston Circuit Court Clerk will be closed the next week, during which time it will be moving from its current location at the corner of U.S. 60 and Ky. 453 to its new location on the first floor of the judicial center.
Circuit Judge C.A. ``Woody'' Woodall III, who will get to use the Livingston and Trigg buildings, is excited about the prospects.
``They're state-of-the-art facilities, and they'll offer all of our court participants safety and security,'' Woodall told The Paducah Sun.

CCES stalwarts double as tooth-pullers
When it comes to yanking teeth, Crittenden County Elementary School has a couple of official pullers.
Over the years, Barbara Hunt and Brenda O'Neal have separated scores of teeth from the heads of elementary school students. They've pulled so many that the duo have earned quite a reputation. It seems that the children have so much confidence in Hunt and O'Neal, they're reluctant to turn their choppers loose to anyone else, even parents.
"They said Sawyer Towery wanted to come to my house over the summer one year because he wanted me to pull one of his teeth," said Hunt, a 22-year instructional assistant at CCES.
O'Neal has been at the elementary school for 18 years as an instructional assistant and now as safe room and volunteer program coordinator. Although she's not in the classroom any longer, students still seek her gentle tug.
"I remember them leading Nicole Head all the way across school one day when she had a tooth ready to come out," said O'Neal. "I think I pulled every tooth she ever lost."
School officials say Hunt and O'Neal have a special knack for lifting baby teeth from children – generally without as much as a whimper from child or the puller.
"I think some teachers are just afraid to do it and some don't particularly like the idea of it," said Sylvia Thurman, the assistant principal. "They're the only two who pull teeth regularly. If there are any others I don't know who they are."
Armed with a willingness to pull and a compassionate nature, Hunt and O'Neal admit they've combined to lift dozens, if not hundreds, of teeth the past two decades.
Once the pearly whites are taken from the child's mouth, they're bagged in a Ziplock or other container and sent home. The pullers say their responsibility is finished once the tooth is out, and if there is any monetary rewards for the deed, well, that's up to the Tooth Fairy.
"They just get so excited," Hunt said about children as they give up their teeth.
"After it's out, I always clap my hands and jump and down just in case they're a little scared," said O'Neal.
Neither have been bitten and both wash their hands before and after procedures. Hunt says she always uses a Kleenex to help get a better grip on the tooth. That's the closest thing to a dentistry tool employed by either specialist.
Over the last few days, Hunt has helped Alexis Elder, Caden McCalister and Jaelyn Duncan with removals.
"Most come right out. Some are just dangling," Hunt said.
"The first one I ever pulled was for a little girl in the cafeteria," O'Neal recalled. "It was just hanging by a thread and she couldn't eat or anything. I really just touched it and the tooth fell out into my hand."
Every now and then there's a tiny bit of blood, but both say try to never interfere with nature. They don't pull too hard. If a loose one doesn't come right out, they will not force it.
It seems as though tooth loss is contagious, too. Once someone in the class drops a tusk, the others start wiggling and worrying their own teeth.
"It does seem like it happens in spurts," Hunt says with a big grin.

Salem commissioners look toward bicentennial
The City of Salem is already preparing for its bicentennial in 2010, but current matters filled last week’s commission meeting.
Salem City Commission gathered for its regular monthly meeting Jan. 20, discussing an array of topics from sewer grants to cemetery cleanup. Commissioner Stan Wallace led the meeting in Mayor Rell Peck’s absence.
Sewer Plant Superintendant Doug Slayden informed the group on the potential for a matching grant from the Kentucky League of Cities for safety equipment. He listed several examples, but most notably were cones, barricades and other traffic control devices for use in the growing number of events being held in the downtown area of Salem. Commissioners voted for Slayden to proceed with the preparation of the grant application.
Slayden also informed the group that the conversion to the new electronic water meters was almost complete with the exception of four large commercial units that required additional installation. He said that fix would be more feasible later in the year.
Slayden also reported that the old meters are of the same type as those used by Crittenden/Livingston Water District and that the district may be interested in purchasing them. He said they have offered the same price guaranteed by the supplier as a trade in. Commissioners agreed that would be best for all involved.
Commissioner Judy Hodge, meantime, said action needs urged for action to be taken to renovate an old cemetery on the northern edge of town near Ky. 723. And Commissioner Janet Hughes reported that an engineer has surveyed the site of the proposed courtyard area, and his report was positive. She went on to announce that March 27 would be the date for the Salem Garden Club's spring banquet.
A detailed report on suggestions for action to reduce the remaining debt for the city’s sewer system was presented by Commissioner Wallace. Other discussion followed on items such as acquiring a large portable generator for an emergency shelter, and potential grant assistance for sidewalk repairs and replacements.

Legislators hold local forum
Nearly 75 area residents packed into a standing-room-only legislative forum last week at Marion City Hall.
The featured speakers at the event were state Sen. Dorsey Ridley (D-Henderson) and Rep. Mike Cherry (D-Princeton). Most of those who attended the town meeting style forum were there asking for compassion when the state's budget knife falls on programs next month as Kentucky tries to survive a multi-million-dollar deficit. A group of people were also there from the Blackford community asking for lawmaker's help in keeping a renovated railroad tressel open for motorized traffic.
The only group that seemed to get out of the room with any sense of relief was those involved in education. A handful of school administrators and school board members were at the meeting. Superintendent Dr. Rachel Yarbrough also spoke briefly, urging legislators to stay the course in avoiding a four-percent reduction in education spending. While even more is being cut from most state programs, education and police protection, it appears, will be spared the rod to some extent.
In December, Gov. Steve Beshear unveiled his plan to address the state's projected budget shortfall. It included a series of program cuts along with a proposed increase in tobacco taxes. The governor's plan avoids cuts in the state's base education funding (SEEK) and limits cuts to two percent for certain K-12 and postsecondary education expenditures along with Kentucky State Police funding. Most other areas of state government would see a four-percent reduction in funding.
Ridley and Cherry will join other lawmakers as they return to Frankfort Monday to begin poring over economic projections and deciding what will have to be cut in order to avoid an estimated $450 million shortfall over the next five months.
Dr. Yarbrough stressed that if any federal stimulus money is available for school buildings, as President Barrack Obama's plan outlines, Crittenden County's middle school is in dire need of renovation.
The superintendent said that school budgeting is already taking into consideration the likelihood of losing two percent in state funding. She said four percent would be difficult find in an already tight spending plan that includes 60 percent of the overall budget for teacher and staff salaries.
Others in the crowd were there advocating sympathy for seniors, state retirement, local road projects such as U.S. 641 and the Kentucky Homeplace program which was cut in recent weeks.
Ridley and Cherry each said they think some alternative will be found for the Homeplace program – which puts those in need of assistance in medical and other areas in touch with programs that can help.
"That program costs less than $800,000," Ridley said, pointing out that it's a relatively small amount to pay for a good program.
Cherry said the program still exists, there are just fewer facilitators available to help those seeking assistance. He pointed out ways to contact those who can help.
To sum up the forum, lawmakers said painful cuts are in the offing, but they hope the economy will pick up later this summer and curb any further cuts for the coming years.
An audio recording of the forum is available at the Press Online under news podcasts.

Pathways graduates first students
Balancing a marriage and two children, Stephanie Workman-Wright overcame a mountain of obstacles after deciding it was time to go back to high school. And like any good mom, she did it for her kids.
Last week, Wright was among the first to graduate from Pathway Academy, Crittenden County School District's newly-implemented alternative learning center. At the Jan. 20 school board meeting, she joined James Berry and Kevin Collins in the first-ever commencement for Pathway graduates.
"I like to think of you as pioneers," Chris Cook, chairman of the board education, told the three in his graduation address.
At the close, Dr. Rachel Yarbrough handed out her first diplomas as superintendent of Crittenden County schools.
The school district created Pathway Academy last year in order to address an alarming drop-out rate at Crittenden County High School.
"We can usually expect 10 dropping out, based on the data we have," said Vince Clark, director of the Pathway program.
And the reasons for leaving high school early run the gamut. For Wright, it was the pregnancy with her first child. For Berry, it was a prolonged illness that put him so far behind in class work that it could never be made up by graduation time. And for Collins, it was difficulty learning in the regular high school atmosphere.
"I just never could learn anything," Collins explained.
So he quit high school last year, imagining he would have to settle for a GED, making finding a good job or furthering his education a difficult prospect. Enter Pathway Academy.
When the learning center started up in August, Collins, Berry and Wright all had renewed hope for their futures.
Collins, who has been working on the family farm since leaving school, said that same family is what pushed him back into completing his education.
"They wanted me to go back pretty bad," he said of his mom and dad.
He now wants to attend vocational school in Paducah to become and auto mechanic.
"It's something I'm really good at and want to do," he said.
After almost a year removed from the classroom, he found it difficult at first to get back in the swing of academics.
"You pretty much forget everything," Collins said.
In what is known affectionately as "the white house" atop the hill near the central office, Collins was able to earn the four credits he needed to receive his diploma. Using computer-based curriculum, he was able to go at his own pace, free from distractions and the social pressures of high school. And, if he needed assistance, Pathway instructor Tammy Duvall was able to work one-on-one with the 18-year-old.
The school, which is its own entity and not an extension of high school, has 16 currently enrolled. The next graduation will be in June if any of the 16 are able to finish all credits that are needed.
"There are some kids that can do it if they want to work hard," Clark said.
That's what Wright did, buckling down in five months to earn her three final credits. She had two young children to care for – Tiphani at 21 months and nine-month old Emilie – and a commute from Clay for most of the term. She and her husband of almost two years, Daniel Wright Jr., moved there mid-term.
"I had my mind set to it that I was going to get back into school and get my high school diploma," she said.
In fact, guidance counselor Stephanie Hardin point Wright to Pathway when the teenage mother came to her looking to re-enroll in school. She had left school in the fall of 2006 due to her pregnancy and would have graduated in 2007.
"I was pregnant and didn't want to get out of bed," Wright said. "I attempted to go, but I couldn't stay. I couldn't do it."
With a choice of either a three-hour morning or afternoon session, the flexibility allowed her to balance all of her duties to her family, which is why she wanted back in in the first place.
"It was mainly the girls," she explained of her reasoning to return to the classroom. "I wanted them to be able to look up to me and encourage them to get their diploma, too."
During last week's graduation ceremony, Wright was surround by her family, including her two young children, in a reception room set up for the new graduates. She now plans to find a job and further her education in college or a technical school to make a brighter future. She's weighing nursing, teaching or welding.
Others' family members appreciated the ceremony for their loved ones.
"That they took the time to do it is what I'm so proud of," said Wanda Berry, James' grandmother.
 Clark said the high school and Pathway Academy collaborate in an effort keep teens in the halls of secondary education, but sometimes circumstances are unavoidable. That's when Clark becomes a counselor, trying to coax the youth back into school before offering Pathway as an alternative.
"I had a conference with kid today," he said Monday. "There was one leaving today and I pulled him in and see what's going on."
Berry, like his classmate Collins, was wooed back to school by his family, but hopes for his own future was his biggest encouragement.
The 18-year-old dropped out last February when illnesses put him so far behind in the classroom that he saw no light at the end of the tunnel. He abandoned hope of graduating in 2008 and was faced with another year of high school before he could move on. With Pathway, he was able to have his diploma in hand five months earlier than if he had returned to high school to finish his last needed credits.
"A diploma is much better than a GED," he pointed out. "It's an opportuntiy I was glad to have... a benefit to me and my future."
A novice skateboarder, Berry would "load up" on certain days, working both the morning and afternoon session in order to take a free day for skating. He earned six credits that way.
He is now planning to take classes in Paducah toward a career in digital audio and video or video editing. He's done that the last six years with his own video camera.
Clark said he is trying to set up field trip to a community and/or technical college for Berry and his fellow graduates in order for them to explore all of there options.
Without Pathway Academy, none of last week's three graduates had much hope for achieving such goals with only a GED. Now, all three can boast a high school degree the same as their peers, no strings attached.
"Without that, it's not a very good prospect for them," Clark said.
Funded in part by a federal grant, getting Pathway Academy off the ground was a difficult venture. Whether that funding remains or not in the future, the alternative learning center is a program the school district plans to keep.
"We felt like we needed to do something," Clark said.
And the reward came during last week's inaugural graduation.
"It's especially nice to see the gratitude from parents and grandparents of the kids," Clark said.