Students disciplined for alcohol incident at school
Eight Crittenden County Middle School students have been disciplined for their involvement in an alcohol-related incident at the school on Monday, Feb. 23.
The Crittenden County Board of Education met in special session Friday and held disciplinary hearings for each individual allegedly involved in the incident. The school district released a statement Monday morning confirming that the board of education had completed its investigation and had meted out varying degrees of punishment.
Superintendent Dr. Rachel Yarbough said punitive action was based on violation of the school district's Student Handbook and its policy regarding the prohibition of drugs and alcohol on school grounds. She said students each receive a copy of the handbook at the start of the school year and sign a statement acknowledging that they will abide by the rules and policies set forth in the Student Code of Conduct.
Yarbrough said punishment ranged from extended suspension to varying degrees of alternative school placement depending on the level of involvement of each student, as determined by the investigation.
"The board of education's action was based on appropriate, strict enforcement of the Student Code of Conduct, which provides for a drug- and alcohol-free environment," Yarbrough said.
Students receive zeros for any school work due on the particular days that they are suspended. Alternative school is an on-campus, in-school-suspension program. Students placed in the alternative school, located in a separate building from other mainstream students, continue to work on grade-appropriate curriculum, but it may differ from normal classroom work, the superintendent explained.
The school district's investigation into the incident uncovered the involvement of four females and four males, all eighth graders. There was no correlation between the students and any organization or club sponsored by the school. The incident took place during school hours on school property.
No drug nor alcohol tests were administered as part of the investigation, Yarbrough said.
The investigation found that vodka was brought to the school by two students and distributed to others in plastic water bottles.
"There were some who brought it, some who distributed it and some who drank it," the superintendent said.
Yarbrough said that school policy does not allow disclosure of further details regarding the incident.
She said parents concerned about the matter can be engaged by keeping an open line of communication with their children. She said parents should keep a close eye on their children's peer groups, behavior and grades. Changes in any of those areas should be appropriately scrutinized, she said.
Based on the district's investigation, the incident appeared to be an isolated one, Yarbough said.
"Crittenden County School District is committed to a healthy, safe, drug-free, learning environment for all students," she said.

Woman charged in check forgery
A Marion woman is jailed at the Crittenden County Detention Center and faces felony charges for allegedly using personal checks belonging to someone else to get $735 in cash.
According to police reports, Melva Louise Richmond, 45, of Main Street was given a free room at Myers Bed & Breakfast in Marion on the night of Jan. 20, because she had nowhere else to go. She had been evicted from her apartment, police reports said.
While at the bed and breakfast, police think Richmond took four checks belonging to owner James Myers.
A surveillance video caught Richmond cashing a $375 check at Peoples Bank Drive Thru on Feb. 18. Other checks were written to Conrad’s and Food Giant for cash.
Because the checking account on which the checks were written was closed, the bank and merchants were unable to recover their losses.
Richmond faces four felony charges of possession of a forged instrument and misdemeanor theft for allegedly taking the checks.

Farmers and outdoorsmen assess storm damage
Now that most humans are getting back to some sense of normalcy following the recent ice storm, wildlife officials, outdoorsmen, timber owners and farmers are assessing the long-term effects of what has been called the greatest natural disaster in Kentucky's modern history.
For farmers, pressing issues are fences and clearing fields for the planting season, which is just around the corner.
"Time is one of the biggest factors," said Corey Payne, Crittenden County Extension Agent for Agriculture, "when it gets dry enough to start planting, these farmers don't need to be out there cutting up trees or burning brush piles."
Some no-till fields will also require soil preparation if line crews went through them repairing utility poles, Payne said.
"The biggest issue in Crittenden County is fencing," Payne explained. "Some livestock farmers lost half of their perimeter fencing and that's going to be expensive to repair."
Payne said fencing is about $2 a linear foot and corners cost about $85 with braces and corner posts.
"In some places trees are just piled up and it will take a dozer to clean out fence rows and they will have to just start from scratch," Payne added.
The United States Department of Agriculture is providing some financial assistance for fence repair. Contact the local FSA office in Salem at 988-2180 for information.
Laura Jackson, Kentucky Division of Forestry's forester for Crittenden and Livingston counties, says immediate steps can be taken to preserve and protect damaged trees. Most will survive the ice storm's wrath, she said, if they were healthy before it hit.
"We have had two recent droughts and a late spring freeze that have really stressed trees," Jackson said.
The ice storm alone wouldn't be a great horror for many timber owners if it were not for the consequences of the other recent natural stressors, she explained. However, some landowners with high-grade timber will indeed see heavy losses and some may be tax deductible, according to Philip Sharp of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife resources. A private lands biologist, Sharp said timber owners need to assess their damage with help from a certified forester then develop a mitigation plan, which might include salvage cutting right away.
If marketable timber has already been downed by the storm, the forester said it needs to be removed to a mill within a few weeks or up to six months depending on the type of tree and whether it's susceptible to rotting. A tree on the ground will rot faster than one not directly on the earth.
Jackson said that unless a standing tree lost a great deal of its canopy, it will likely survive. Those that lost the terminal leader (or main stalk) will not get any taller, though.
"They can put on volume, but that's as tall as they will ever get," Jackson said.
The Division of Forestry has received countless calls for assistance in recent days, Jackson said. Unless your timber has suffered catastrophic damage, she suggests pruning where possible and then waiting to see what happens this spring.
"We will be able to tell more when those trees start to leaf out," she explained.
Unless a damaged tree poses a hazard to life or property, Jackson suggests waiting to see what the next growing season brings. You can always cut it later, she said.
Sharp pointed out that the coming spring and summer will be critical for injured trees. Because of stress factors on timber over the last few years, another drought or late freeze would indeed increase problems.
"These trees are going to be putting all of their energy toward repairing themselves," Sharp said. "If we have a normal growing season, most of them will be okay."
As for wildlife, Sharp says dead timber is very beneficial.
"People don't really want to hear that their damaged trees are good for woodpeckers," Sharp said, but it's true.
The ice storm's thinning of the forest canopy will create all sorts of benefits for wildlife, Sharp explains. It will allow hard mast producing trees such as oaks and hickories to naturally regenerate, it will improve browse in forestlands and improve nesting habitat for all sorts of animals.
"A dead tree in the forest has many benefits," the biologist said. It attracts insects and bugs which birds feed off of and it provides cavity nesting possibilities for animals such as squirrels, raccoons and birds.
Because the ice cover was short lived, Sharp said it did not have any real impact on wildlife survival. He does predict that the turkey population will show signs of storm-releated injuries when spring gobbler season opens in April.
"I think we will see in our spring harvest some birds with injured feet or tail feathers," he said.
Because much of the icy precipitation fell during the night while turkeys and others birds were roosting in trees, their feet and feathers may have frozen to limbs, Sharp explained.
Despite general discomfort for a few days, Sharp said most animals are equipped to survive such natural hazards. While their food was buried for three or four days, most healthy animals were able to bounce back quickly. There may have been a few injured or killed by falling limbs, but not many, Sharp said.
The biologist explained that during clean-up, folks can improve wildlife habitat by piling up their limbs and debris in one spot and leaving it as cover, rather than burning it.
"Brush piles are very beneficial for all sorts wildlife," he said. "But they need to be constructed properly."
Sharp recommends stacking larger limbs or logs on the bottom of the brush pile, then stacking small branches on top in a crisscrossing fashion. It will provide habitat for rabbits, quail, songbirds and many other species, he said.

KY Guard details mission during storm
The Kentucky National Guard conducted over 100 missions in Crittenden County, including:

* Operated refuel/resupply point at the Marion National Guard Armory.
* House to house welfare checks on the citizens of Crittenden County.
* Assisted local law enforcement.
* Conducted presence patrols to increase visibility and reassure
citizens.
* School shelter security
* Security checks on the Marion banks and pharmacies.
* Elderly citizen transport to the hospital
* Generator refuel at the school shelter and Crittenden County
Hospital.
* Kentucky Emergency Warning System generator refuel and maintenance.
* KENERGY equipment and site security
* Assisted in debris clearance from major roads.
* Transported food and water from supply distribution points to
Crittenden County.
* Assisted in searching for missing civilian (During our door to door welfare checks, an elderly lady told soldiers that her husband left in his truck and had been gone about 24 hours. Guardsmen notified law enforcement and assisted them in searching the area
149th MEB.
*Established communications trailer to provide emergency management
pertsonnel additional means of communications.

Additionally, Guardsmen assisted local emergency management personnel in determining aid requirements and interacted frequently with other local officials to ensure needs were addressed.

The National Guard distributed 20,700 meals and 74,130 bottles of water to Crittenden County.

Approximately 50 Solders were committed to the Crittenden County mission.They came from various units in Western, Central and Eastern Kentucky to include the unit in Marion. "I am extremely proud of their commitment to the citizens of the Commonwealth and enthusiasm for this mission," said Col. Scott Campbell, a native of Marion.