News from March 9, 2006 issue



 LOCAL state budget items
County water lines $800,000
City sewer lines $400,000
New county jail $450,000
Emergency services center $150,000
Ongoing jail operations $40,000
Mineral museum $20,000
Senior center $65,000
Animal shelter $40,000
Total $1,965,000


Crittenden gets nearly $2 million
Crittenden County will get nearly $2 million from the state budget over the next two years, mostly from coal severance funds, according to Rep. Mike Cherry.

Details of the state's spending plan were still being hashed out late Tuesday by the Kentucky General Assembly which is in session in Frankfort.

Cherry, in a cell phone interview from the House floor Tuesday evening, said that Crittenden can expect $1.2 million for water projects, up to $450,000 towards a new jail, $40,000 for jail operations over the next two years and $275,000 for various other projects like the senior citizens center, emergency services building and the local mineral museum.

The House unanimously passed the state budget Tuesday. It will now be considered in the Senate. Gov. Ernie Fletcher warned Tuesday that the House spending plan is "unstable" and should be changed as it moves through the legislative process.

Cherry was confident, however, that Crittenden's share will be unchallenged. Most of the funds, $1.7 million to be exact, will come from coal severance taxes. Crittenden became a coal severance county last year when a mining operation was opened in the Bells Mines area just south of Sturgis.

"It's great that Crittenden is now part of this program," Cherry said. "I always felt comfortable that we could get projects funded for Crittenden County in the past, but now that Crittenden is in the coal severance program, it's much easier."
Cherry said that $265,000 of the funds appropriated for Crittenden County will come out of the state general fund and go towards the new detention center and ongoing jail operations. Otherwise, the county's state appropriations are exclusively from coal taxes.

The largest chunk of money will be for water and sewer projects. The Crittenden-Livingston Water District will get $800,000 for laying new water lines in Crittenden County. Water district superintendent Donnie Beavers said the funds will be used to begin a brand new Phase 13 project that could mean several miles of new lines.

The City of Marion will get $400,000 to continue ongoing improvements in its water distribution system, said City Administrator Garry Barber.

Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown said the fiscal court has a great deal of influence on where the state spending plan directs coal severance funds. "It's only proper that we share some of that with the city," Brown said.

Brown was pleased with the county's portion of the state's $17.7 billion budget.
"Of course we always want more, but I think we're happy with what we got," he said Wednesday morning.

Brown also anticipates $65,000 in federal funds which could free up that much coal money that is currently ear-marked for the Crittenden County Senior Citizen Center.
Brown said the county has been approved for a $300,000 grant to double the size of the senior center on North Walker Street. The state's budget calls for $65,000 for the project. That money, Brown said, would be matching funds on the grant.

"It looks like U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield has been able to secure the matching funds for us, too," Brown said. "That means the state money can be used elsewhere."
Brown said he will be working with state government over the coming days to re-designate those funds.

Cherry said the state spending plan provides $20,000 for the Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum and $40,000 for a new animal shelter in Crittenden County.

The animal shelter funds will be used as matching money for a $119,000 grant. The shelter is a multi-county project and will be built next to the Crittenden County Maintenance Garage on U.S. 60 East. Lyon County is a partner in the project.
Brown said the new animal shelter will be heated and cooled and capable of holding an adequate number of cats and dogs for the two counties.

A new emergency services building will be funded through the state budget. The county is getting $150,000 to help build the structure which will house equipment for various local emergency response agencies. It will also be used for administrative and training purposes and will be built on West Carlisle Street near the rescue squad and county fire department buildings.

While there is currently $450,000 ear-marked for the new jail, Brown and Cherry said some of that may be redistributed into other local projects.

Survey IDs school concerns
If students responded truthfully to a survey last fall, about one-third say they have seen weapons at school.

There is no way to know whether a handful of middle and high school students fabricated their responses on a safe schools survey, but administrators are taking the information very seriously.

The survey was among the resources school administrators used in determining a need to hire a full-time policeman to patrol the hallways at Crittenden High and Middle schools.

One in three Crittenden County middle and high schoolers saw a fellow student carrying a weapon on campus, according to the Kentucky Center for School Safety survey.
While the majority of the students reported seeing knifes, six students at the middle school said they had seen a gun on school property during the fall 2005 semester. Two high school students also reported seeing guns.

The school safety questionnaire, given to 291 middle school and 278 high school students, was one element of a one-day evaluation conducted by the Kentucky Center for School Safety (KCSS). The Safe School Assessment Report released to the Board of Education last month lists commendations and suggestions regarding a wide range of safety issues, including bullying and harassment, theft, drug use, crisis preparedness, bus behavior and physical elements like access to school entrances and procedures relating to visitors and employees.

In addition to the survey, the KCSS assessment conducted Dec. 1, 2005 included a review of the schools' emergency response/management plan; observations of the schools during bus duty, lunchtime and between classes; parent and teacher surveys; and student, parent and teacher interviews.

The elementary school was not included in the December 2005 assessment; however, it underwent the same evaluation last week. Immediate feedback from the CCES team indicated it was impressed with many of the safety protocols in place. All three schools voluntarily participated in the study.

Bullying, tobacco, alcohol and drug use are the greatest perceived safety issues at Crittenden County middle and high schools, according to parents, teachers and students.

In most cases, school officials say the report validates their own concerns.
"Any time you bring unbiased people into the school ­ and I praise our parents, because about half responded to the survey ­ I think it's good information and we will take it and use it where it is most needed," said CCMS principal Vince Clark.

Reducing the incidence of bullying and bad behavior on school buses are the two top priorities at the middle school, Clark added.

According to Crittenden Superintendent John Belt, there are reasons to be concerned about bullying, drug use and presence of weapons.

"The data is quite interesting, and I guess you could say it is valid since they were asking students for their honest opinions, so we take it seriously," Belt said.

Many of the issues brought up in the safety report are things school officials were already working to improve, such as installing a surveillance system for the middle and high schools. It has been given high priority on the district's needs list in addition to a resource officer, who would be a Crittenden County Sheriff's Deputy on duty at the middle and high schools.

"Some of the suggestions can be improved by better management, some by policies and procedures, but some will require dollars," Belt told the board of education in February.

Clark says the middle school has a bullying prevention program in place, which includes weekly videos, class discussion and consequences published in the school's handbook. He said the study, which also came on the heels of a professional development workshop for teachers, reinforced its decision to take a proactive response to bullying as well as to finalize a school policy relating to harassment. Beyond the issue of bullying will be the middle school's focus on behavior on the bus. Clark said the school plans to focus on its safety plan, which should clearly state when and where parents may pick up their children in the event of an earthquake or other disaster.

The high school SBDM has discussed the report, and Principal Karen Nasseri said she agrees with most of the concerns pointed out by the safety team.

"We are looking at what changes we can make to help improve issues such as supervision and assigning staff to parts of the buildings such as in the bathrooms and at different times," said Nasseri. "I am glad we did the assessment, it confirms some things we see every day. The surveillance equipment is definitely something we need."

Nasseri is not discounting student information relating to weapons on the school campus; however, she is surprised that she didn't know if or when there were actually guns in the school.

"If a child brought a gun to school, I think I would find out because kids come and tell me things," she said. "I think I would have found out about it even if was two or three days later."

Thirty-five and 36 percent of students surveyed at CCMS and CCHS, respectively, said they had seen weapons on campus. Seventeen percent of high school teachers reported seeing weapons, including pocket knives and such.

"You have to take it seriously, I haven't discounted (the data), but it goes back to supervision, making teachers more visible," Clark said.

No reports of guns made their way to either principals' offices last fall.
Easy entry into the two schools was a perceived concern by the assessment team. Several exterior doors were not monitored and were left unlocked throughout the school day in order for students to come and go to classes at Rocket Arena and the annex. The report suggested school officials keep doors locked and consider installing a system that would allow ingress at the front door of the schools only, and only after identification is presented.

Last fall the board of education received an estimate for a very sophisticated surveillance system that would include security cameras, a intercom system for visitors and entrances accessible by students and teachers via an electronic device similar to credit-type cards used at hotels.

A tentative '06-07 budget will be presented to the board of education in April, and at that time the board will know how much money it can allocate for a security system.
Another issue identified in school assessments was drug and alcohol usage.

At the high school, those surveyed said tobacco was the most serious problem at their school. According to the study, a "significant" drug and alcohol problem exists with students using alcohol and drugs before and after school. Students also reported that alcohol is brought into the school in open containers and occasionally consumed in class.

As The Press has previously reported, drug use is being addressed by the Board of Education in the form of a new policy related to drug testing athletes, students participating in extra-curricular activities and those who drive to school.
A complete copy of the safety study is available from the school system.