.

News from January 6, 2005 issue


Board begins superintendent search
Crittenden County School Board Chairman Bill Asbridge said the process for finding a new superintendent will be thorough and public.

According to state law, the local school board has 30 days from the date a vacancy occurs in the superintendent's office to create a search committee to help find a new one. The local board fired Fredericka Hargis on Dec. 22.
Finding a new superintendent will be a time-consuming process and it will likely not be completed until the end of current school year, Asbridge said.
"We will not be rushed on this," said the board chairman. "We need to take our time and make sure we do our best to find the right person."

The Crittenden County Board of Education is scheduled to meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Asbridge said it will set into motion the process for establishing a search committee during that meeting. By law, a six-member screening committee must be appointed to review applicants and to make recommendations to the board of education on a list of finalists.

Kentucky Revised Statute 160.352, establishes that "a screening committee shall be composed of: Two teachers elected by the teachers in the district; one board of education member appointed by the board chairman; one principal elected by the principals in the district; one parent elected by the presidents of the parent-teacher organizations of the schools in the district; (and) one classified employee elected by the classified employees in the district."

While the screening committee is charged with reviewing applicants, it does not have any real power in the hiring process. The committee can recommend a finalist or a list of finalists, but the board is not required to accept the recommendation. It is, however, required to review the screening committee's findings.

"This is obviously going to be the most important decision we make this year in regard to the school district," Asbridge said. "The board is looking forward to moving forward, but we don't want to rush into anything. We will do a very thorough job and we will make sure the process is as public as it can possibly be."

Janie Tomek is the acting superintendent and has served in that capacity since last February when Hargis was suspended after a widely-reported incident at a local beauty shop which ended in her being charged with felony wanton endangerment.

Hydroelectrict plan would benefit Marion
If LG&E Energy goes forward with its plans to spend $526 million over the next nine years to build three hydroelectric-generating plants on the Ohio River and upgrade another, Marion stands to benefit like it's hit the Lottery.

The power company recently announced plans to build new hydroelectric plants at three locations, including Smithland Dam. If so, there could be a big payday for Marion.

The City of Marion still has part interest in the licensing agreement for a power plant at Smithland Dam. The city was able to secure a vested interest in the hydroelectric license more than 20 years ago by virtue of a mapping and clerical process. If the power company builds an electricity-making facility at Smithland, Marion would earn literally millions of dollars in royalties.

Marion Mayor Mickey Alexander said he thinks the chances of a hydroelectric plant being built at Smithland are perhaps better than ever before. The city and its partner Noah Corp., of South Carolina, has in the past worked with TVA, Pacific Gas and Electric and other companies interesting in generating power there, but this appears like a better fit, the mayor said.

"I think there is a lot better chance now, because of the local interest by LG&E and KU," Alexander explained. "A lot of time has passed since this all started, but in many ways that's in our favor because of the changes in technology."

LG&E, the Louisville-based power company, also wants to upgrade the Ohio Falls Station hydroelectric plant at the McAlpine Dam in Louisville. It would build other power-making facilities at Cannelton and Meldahl dams, which along with one at Smithland, would add 240 megawatts to its production capacity.

One megawatt is typically considered enough power to supply 1,000 homes. The Ohio Falls Station would be upgraded to produce 20 more megawatts, from 80 to 100.

LG&E and its subsidiary Kentucky Utilities provides electricity to a vast portion of Kentucky. KU alone serves 485,253 electric customers in the state, including a portion of Crittenden County.

The company has also said that it wants to spend $659 million over the next five years on anti-pollution upgrades, also known as "scrubbers" at two coal-fired plants in Kentucky. It's all part of a plan to make LG&E and KU a more environmentally friendly and diversified power manufacturer.
If the scrubbers are installed, KU customers would face a surcharge of 81 cents a month beginning later this year, and that cost would rise to $7.05 a month by 2009.

The investments in the new coal-fired and hydroelectric plants would not have any immediate effect on rates, according to a story in the Courier-Journal, but they could later be passed on to customers, if approved by the Public Service Commission.

Electricity bills will go up, but "that's appropriate that we pick up the full cost of the power, rather than have the people downwind pick up the cost in terms of illness and mortality," the C-J reported a company spokesman as saying.

Rich due home from second Iraq tour
Marion native Joey Rich is due to return to Camp Lejeune, N.C., from Iraq mid-January after his second tour in Iraq. Cpl. Rich, a member of a Marine Expeditionary Unit in the Second Marines, called his wife Chrystal from Kuwait Dec. 27 to tell her he was out of Iraq and on his way home.

Rich first went to Iraq in 2002 when he did a four-month tour. The second time was a longer stay and a more difficult one personally, because Rich left a one-month-old. Rich is one of about 40 Marines in his battalion who is returning to Camp Lejeune this month. Rich is the son of Hank and Jane Rich of Marion.