News from July 2, 2009 issue

Local News
The Crittenden Press Full Version (PDF)

Luck helps native avoid deadly D.C. Metro crash
Marion native Morgan Lynn is counting her blessings and thanking God that her boss took a vacation last week.
Lynn, 20, is a Centre College junior interning in Washington, D.C., where a Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, or Metro, Red Line train wrecked June 22, killing the train operator and eight riders. It was the deadliest crash in the Metro system's 30-year history.
It was a spine-chilling moment last Monday afternoon when Lynn turned on her computer and saw the headlines on her homepage: Washington Metro Kills 6. The death toll increased over time and so did the heavy realization that Lynn could have been on that very train.
“I, thought, oh my gosh, and then started reading the details,” Lynn said, pointing out that her Web homepage is the New York Times, which had immediate coverage from the scene.
Lynn said her boss at the non-profit Build A Nest in the nation’s capital was vacationing in California. Therefore, she and co-workers had the day off. She had gone to the beach, and as soon as she got home, hopped on the computer to catch the latest news.
“As I read on, I realized this was the line that I normally ride. Then I started calculating the time that it happened with the times I normally get out of my meetings and thought, oh my gosh, this was really close.”
Lynn says she only rides the Red Line twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, meaning everything was in order for her to be on that train.
“You never know, because a train comes along every two to five minutes, so I might not have caught that one, but it was kind of a shock.”
Her boss phoned her to make sure she hadn’t been on the train, and Lynn also called her father, Allen Lynn in Marion, to tell him she was okay.
“I wanted to call him before he even saw it on television,” she said.
Lynn lives in Solomons Island, Md., near Alexandria, Va., with her mother, Vicki, also formerly of Marion. She commutes by vehicle about half-way to work then rides the transit system into the city. The trip takes more than an hour one way.
Lynn is majoring in international studies and history at Centre. Her work for the non-profit organization in Washington helps earn credit toward her college tuition. The non-profit group supports women artists and artisans in the developing world by helping them create sustainable entrepreneurial businesses.
You can read about the non-profit’s work at www.buildanest.com. Lynn says she writes many of the site’s blog entries.

New monitoring station keeps an eye on climate
The Kentucky Mesonet is expanding its weather and climate monitoring network to Crittenden County.
A group of technicians was in the county for three days last week, installing instruments and equipment that provide sophisticated, timely weather to anyone with an Internet connection.
The data-gathering station was constructed on the David Fornear farm off U.S. 60 northeast of Marion.
Stephen Struebig, meteorology and electronics technician, was on site building the weather center last Wednesday. He said data collecting stations such as this one need to be away from buildings and trees which might affect the wind, rain or temperature.
“We look for meadows like this, wide open spaces,” he said.
The weather station includes a transmission tower and rain gauge. It tests temperature, precipitation, wind speed and direction and solar radiation. The instruments are powered by 12-volt batteries that are maintained by a large solar panel.
“We are extremely pleased to have a new station operating in Crittenden County as part of the Kentucky Mesonet,” said Dr. Stuart Foster, director of the Mesonet and the Kentucky Climate Center at Western Kentucky University. “This site will provide valuable data to assist National Weather Service meteorologists in producing forecasts and severe weather warnings, and will also provide benefits to a wide range of interests in the local area.”
This is the 28th Mesonet site statewide. Data is packaged into observations and transmitted to the Kentucky Climate Center at WKU every five minutes, 24 hours per day, throughout the year. New data is uploaded to the Internet every 15 minutes.
The data is available online at www.kymesonet.org; the Web site includes a live graphs feature that allows users to visualize weather/climate data collected in a 24-hour period.
The Mesonet project’s goal is to develop a statewide automated environmental monitoring network of approximately 100 stations that will collect data and support a variety of needs across Kentucky in agriculture, education, emergency management, energy, engineering and construction, recreation, transportation, water supply management and weather forecasting.
Since the Mesonet’s first station at the WKU farm in Warren County became operational in May 2007, more than 20 stations have been installed and plans for expanding the network are progressing. The Mesonet has partnered with universities, school districts, businesses, farmers and others for site locations. The National Weather Service and media outlets are utilizing the Mesonet data for weather forecasts and reports.
Other stations are located in Caldwell, Union, Adair, Allen, Barren, Breathitt, Bullitt, Calloway, Carroll, Casey, Christian, Cumberland, Fayette, Franklin, Grayson, Hopkins, Jackson, Knox, Lincoln, Logan, McLean, Mercer, Ohio, Owen, Rowan and Taylor counties. Additional site installations are scheduled for Breckinridge, Johnson, Lewis, Madison, Marshall, Metcalfe, Morgan, Owsley and Pike. Site negotiations are under way in Campbell, Clark, Hardin, Henderson, Marion, Mason, McCreary, Muhlenberg, Nelson, Nicholas and Pendleton with active site searches in 21 other counties.
Foster, the state climatologist, is director of the Kentucky Mesonet and the Kentucky Climate Center. The Kentucky Mesonet staff includes meteorologists and staff with expertise in instrumentation, information technology, quality assurance, and education outreach. The Kentucky Mesonet also provides opportunities for WKU student employees and interns to work side-by-side with professional staff.
Initial funding for the project was secured by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell through a $2.9 million federal appropriation for the Kentucky Climate Center, part of WKU’s Applied Research and Technology Program in the Ogden College of Science and Engineering.

Time running out on old hospital’s future
A group of community volunteers says time is running out for salvaging what remains of the city's old hospital.
Six years ago, a small number of concerned citizens formed Crittenden County Tomorrow, Inc. Its primary aim was to raise money to buy and stabilize a three-story building on North Walker Street that was near and dear to the hearts of many. Built in 1902 as an immaculate dwelling for the Hayward family, whose patriarch was among the founders of Farmers Bank, the structure later served as a school and then a hospital.
In the early 1970s, the place was no longer needed as a medical facility, following the construction of a new county hospital at its present location on U.S. 60. It didn't take long for the once stately home to fall into ill repair.
By the start of the 21st century, it had deteriorated to the point that historic enthusiasts in the community began to take notice. They incorporated and starting raising money. To date, Crittenden County Tomorrow has spent about $40,000 to buy and firm up the superstructure of the old mansion. The windows were boarded and work began in earnest to find a partner or grant to help restore the old home to its original glory.
Sadly, the efforts of Crittenden County Tomorrow have been largely in vain. Money for such projects has dried up in the last few years, and because the home is located in a rural community, it fails to qualify for financial assistance from customary sources.
Linda Schumann is president of the community organization that has spearheaded the project yet. Still, Schumann and others are not giving up.
“It’s been very frustrating,” she said. “I know that people are not seeing anything happening and think we’re not doing anything, but we are. It’s just been very difficult to find the financial assistance we need.”
Schumann said that through posting the home’s history and needs online, the group has attracted some modest attention, but nothing serious. The price tag at restoring the home to its once elegant stature has been estimated at nearly $2 million. The home, which has proven effective for various uses, has more than 15,000 square feet, plus a basement.
“The Hayward family has shown some interest in helping, but so far there has been no financial commitment,” Schumann said.
The group hasn’t given up on finding a grant, but Schumann said attention is turning toward a partnership or even selling it with some covenants or requirements that it be restored.
“There is no question about it, we don’t have much longer to be able to restore it,” Schumann said, pointing to the building’s rapid deterioration. “It is the finest home ever built in Crittenden County and we would like to see it saved.”