Police investigating break-in at CVS
Local police continue following up on leads in their investigation of a break-in at CVS Pharmacy early Tuesday morning.
Intruders used an extension ladder to access the roof then gained entry to the store at Darben Plaza through HVAC duct work in the ceiling.
Store workers said it didn't appear that anything was taken. Police Chief Ray O'Neal said an audible alarm apparently scared the burglars away. The alarm, set off by a motion detector inside the store, alerted police. Officer Chuck Hoover was on the scene in less than two minutes, the chief said. Another officer was right behind him then a CVS shift supervisor came to the scene.
Officers found some evidence at the store and have already questioned potential suspects.
Pharmacy manager Marsha Huddleston said it appeared that the intruders had gotten into the pharmacy area, but cursory inspections revealed that no drugs were missing. It is the second time that the store has been broken into through the roof, shift manager Gretchen Jamison said.
Jamison said the destruction to the store was substantial as duct work will need to be repaired and store shelves were damaged where the intruders came and went from the building.
A large hole was still visible in the drop ceiling Tuesday morning where the burglars got in. Evidence was gathered by police and then CVS workers started cleaning up the mess after the store opened for business.
Anyone with information regarding the break-in can call Marion Police Department at 965-3500.

Couple loses everything in early morning blaze
Bubbie may have secured herself a home for life with a heroic effort, but it could be some time before she has that place of her own to call home.
This week, Warren Scheer and his wife Marie are still reeling from an early-morning house fire last week that claimed all but a few belongings they were able to grab on their way to safety at 3 in the morning. But one of those possessions, a Yorkshire terrier named Bubbie, is responsible for everything they have, including their lives.
"If it hadn't been for her, we might not have known until it was too late," Warren said of the dog's yapping as smoke began rolling through the house.
Until the Dec. 30 fire, Warren and his wife's pet had a contentious relationship.
"She's always kind of annoyed me," he said. "But now, she's got a home for life."
Until the couple is able to rebuild, hopefully on the same property along Ky. 120 where they have called home the last year, Warren, Marie and Bubbie are living with family in their native Webster County. A few animals, including horses and some outdoor dogs, remain cared for on the land where the couple's manufactured home once stood.
The couple has no children.
Though the Scheers are in the process of settling with their insurance company, losing everything, including Christmas gifts from just a week earlier, remains difficult as they try to put back together the pieces. Friends, family and strangers have been eager to lend a hand, however.
"Everyone has been so good," 21-year-old Warren said Monday.
A gift card from the Lakeland Chapter of the American Red Cross used to purchase clothes and food was in their hands the day of the fire. Donations of dog food and sweet feed for his horses have allowed them to hang on to their animals, which include the hamsters he grabbed before the fire became to fierce to salvage anything else from inside. And friends like Glen Foster have gone above and beyond.
"He said anything I need, just let him know," Scheer said of Foster.
Bobby Travis, a neighbor across the road whom Scheer said has been a great friend, said the newlyweds moved into the home about 10 miles east of Marion last year. Travis is also a member of the Shady Grove Fire Department, which responded within minutes of the pre-dawn alarm.
"I really want to thank everybody on the fire department," Scheer said.
Volunteers from Crittenden Fire Department also responded, but the home was already engulfed as firefighters arrived. All that remained in the daylight hours as the fire continued to smolder were the metal housings of appliances within the home. Scheer said he suspected the fire began with an electrical heater.
"There wasn't anything else it could have been," he said.
Scheer said the fire spread quickly, allowing little time for escape as it consumed everything he has labored for.
"It took me two-and-a-half years to work for it and about 15 minutes to take it all away," he bemoaned.
Lori Scheer, Warren's mother who lives in Providence, has been the contact for those wishing to help out with the couple's recovery. She can be reached at 667-0298 by those wishing to make donation.
"We just greatly appreciate it," Warren said of the offers. "It's going to take a bit for us to get back up, but people have been really generous."

U.S. Census seeking Crittenden workers
Cheryl McGregor needs some help with her counting.
McGregor, a recruiting assistant for the U.S. Census Bureau, is looking for local individuals to test for positions with the bureau's 2010 count. In fact, dozens are still needed to fill slots for jobs in 2009 preparing the country's official survey of the population.
"I need to test 100 to 150 or more to fill the positions," McGregor said. "I still need a lot of people in Crittenden County."
Conducted every 10 years since 1790, the Census Bureau employs thousands of individuals across the nation in the year before the official release of the tally. Each county will have its own staff of counters and supervisors who work throughout the year verifying addresses and conducting door-to-door surveys and counts.
In Crittenden County, McGregor has been testing for the temporary federal positions for a few weeks, with 20 slots available for testing each Tuesday evening at Marion City Hall. Poor weather in December and little public knowledge of the testing has kept turnout low, she said, but only a few weeks remain before address-verification workers need to begin their work, most likely in February.
"The weather's kind of put a damper on this," McGregor, a recruiter for six western Kentucky counties, said late last month.
The exam consists of 28 basic questions that are scored on-site at the testing centers. About two hours should be allowed for testing, and registration for the exam is required beforehand. All materials needed to take the test and fill out an application are supplied at the time of the testing.
Few qualifications are needed to fill the temporary, part-time positions, though a Social Security card and valid driver's license must be shown on the night of testing.
McGregor said census workers are on the job about 30 hours a week and can set their own schedule. The preliminary address-verification portion of the census can last as long as 10 weeks. Supervisory positions in each county can require as many as 40 hours and can last up to 10 months, as can the door-to-door portion of census-taking.
Positions begin at $11.25 per hour for census takers with 58.5 cents paid per mile of travel. Supervisors earn $12.75 per hour, with the same mileage reimbursement. Workers are paid weekly for their work, mileage and other expenses, but no benefits are offered.
Those interested in taking the exam to become a census worker must call 1-866-861-2010 to schedule a time and location to take the test. Though testing in Marion is offered only at 5:30 p.m., Tuesdays at city hall, daytime testing is available at other area centers, including in neighboring Caldwell and Livingston counties.
In Livingston County, testing is given every other Monday evening at 5:30 p.m., at the First Christian Community Center in Smithland. The next testing date is Monday. Applicants may also test any Friday at 10:30 a.m., and 1 p.m., at the McCracken County Public Library in Paducah.

Lynn retires after 43 years at Peoples Bank
After 43 years at Peoples Bank, Vice President Betty Lynn has retired, but she has no intentions of slowing down.
"I will not be idle," Lynn said last week during a reception in her honor at Peoples Bank lobby, where she received an honorary key to the City of Marion by Mayor Mickey Alexander.
Lynn was working at F.M. Babb's drug store in the mid 1960s. Nearly every day Neil Guess, the late president of Peoples Bank, would stop by at lunch for a hot dog.
"One day, he asked me, 'Betty, would you consider coming to work at the bank?'
"I told him I couldn't because I didn't know a thing about it, but he said, 'Oh, yes, you can learn it."
The rest is history and Lynn has been one of the most familiar faces at Peoples Bank over the past four decades. She spent her entire career in the bookkeeping department where she witness dramatic changes from ledger cards to computer screens over nearly a half century.
Now, Lynn will spend more of her time volunteering at her church and mentoring youngsters in the school system. She will also have more time to spend with her husband of 53 years, Bill, who retired as a local insurance agent a few years ago. For several years, their offices were side by side in downtown Marion.
Everyone who knows her, says that Lynn is quite frugal. Testament to that is the fact that for many years she brought a half of a homemade sandwich and a glass of tea to work for lunch.
"I seldom left the bank at lunch. If you add up all that over the years, it comes to quite a bit if I had eaten out every day," she says with a smile.
The Angel Food Ministry and Upward Basketball are two programs sponsored by Marion Baptist Church, which Lynn says she will be more active with in the coming days.