Kimball land sold for $24.5 million
State's stake becoming clearer
Although the State of Kentucky was not party to the purchase of nearly 12,000 acres from Kimball International last week, it does appear that the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources will eventually be a stakeholder in at least some portion of the property.
The details are sketchy at this point, but lawmakers from this area say they've been assured that the fish and wildlife agency will be involved with the land and that it will be preserved for public recreational use.
Woltz & Schrader Auctions offered the Kimball property, located in Crittenden and Union counties, for sale at auction on Saturday, Nov. 8. The event was held at Union County High School and drew dozens of potential buyers. The land was offered as a contiguous unit, and in more than 70 individual tracts.
Forestland Group, LLC, was the highest bidder at the auction, offering $23.3 million for the property as a whole. Kimball did not immediately accept the offer. Instead, Forestland Group and Kimball representatives negotiated privately for nearly a week before reaching a deal.
The auction company confirmed Friday that Kimball sold the 11,759 acres of forest, pasture and agriculture property for $24.539 million, or $2,086.83 per acre.
Forestland Group is headquartered in Chapel Hill, N.C. It owns and manages more than two million acres in 20 states and Costa Rica. The group was characterized by state Sen. Dorsey Ridley (D-Henderson) as a "top notch, old family line foundation that uses property without abusing it, in an ecological manner."
Forestland Group is a for-profit manager of harvestable timberlands and is funded largely by private equity trusts.
Ridley, state Rep. Mike Cherry (D-Princeton) and Rep. John Arnold (D-Sturgis), along with the Gov. Steve Beshear administration, remained close to the negotiations as Foresland Group made its bid for the prized tract of property. Forestland Group, also known as a Timberlands Industry Management Organization (TIMO), is the sole purchaser of the land that straddles the Tradewater River and offers an abundant range of wildlife and trail opportunities. Yet Arnold, Ridley and Cherry each say they are confident that Kentucky will get its hands on at least some of the property either through ownership or a long-term easement. That notion, they said, is based on a pre-sale "gentleman's agreement," with Forestland Group.
Attempts to confirm the agreement with Forestland Group were unsuccessful as calls to the key employees with the group were not returned by press time.
"I am personally confident it's going to happen," Cherry said about the state fish and wildlife agency becoming a stakeholder in the property. "It's my understanding that we have an implied interest at this point."
Ridley and Cherry both explained that the General Assembly will deal with the issue when it convenes in January. Ridley said he anticipates enough support from lawmakers to get a bill passed regarding the purchase of the land by fish and wildlife.
"I am told that we are going to work out something," added Arnold, a state legislator and chiropractor whose office is within a few miles of the land in question.
Arnold said Kentucky and other states have similar deals with timber consortiums and other private landowners.
"This isn't the first time for something like this," he said.
The legislative contingent agreed that the state has several plans for the property, including industrial development, a riverport and adventure tourism, which is a special initiative of the current administration.
What's likely, according to several of those involved in the deal, is that the agriculture portion, about 3,400 acres, will likely be resold at public auction in the near future. The idle coal mine sitting on a piece of the property may also be divided out and perhaps another large chunk for future industrial development. The balance would be a game preserve and recreational area, if the plan comes together.
The land includes hundreds of acres of marketable timber; however, Kimball representatives indicated that the furniture company no longer needed the asset. Instead, it preferred turning the land into cash. Kimball more than doubled its money on the property, which it bought for just under $12 million in 1998.

Community Christmas has 140 wishes still unfilled
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas when Mona Manley starts talking about angels.
Though no sign of the holiday is evident at the Senior Citizens Center where Manley serves as director, she’s been in the Christmas spirit for some time. Over the last few weeks, she and fellow co-chair of Community Christmas Alicia McDowell have been working to make a difficult holiday for underprivileged families a little better by coordinating sponsors for those who sign up for help.
The two women are hoping that the spirit of giving, a hallmark of the season, can overcome a struggling economy that has made sponsorship more difficult and added more to the roles of Community Christmas than ever before. In fact, 134 families, including 305 children, requested assistance this year. As of Monday, almost half of the children remained without sponsors.
And it’s getting late in the game.
“If it’s the first week of December and we have a lot of kids (unsponsored), that’s when I begin to worry,” said McDowell, who added that most donations come before potential sponsors begin spending on their own holiday gift-giving around Thanksgiving.
With Black Friday just a week away, Manley is looking to the community for the angels who arrive each year to help those less fortunate. No, they don’t actually visit from above, but through grabbing a child's wish list from the “angel trees” set up at Dollar General, Pamida and the Farm Service Agency in Marion to give sponsors a glimpse of the need in the community.
The list does not include a child’s name, but the toys, trinkets and clothes sizes for each. The 140 remaining as of Monday join 48 adults who have qualified for assistance.
Several churches have taken on a number of children to sponsor or are offering assistance by other means. Crayne Presbyterian Church has chosen the lists of eight children and planned to finish up shopping on Wednesday. Mexico Baptist Church is one of the few sponsors to ask for the clothes sizes of adults so that an entire family can be outfitted. And the United Methodist Women are hoping to collect pajamas for many of the children who have qualified for assistance.
"A lot of kids don't know what actual pajamas are," Manley said.
As of Monday, night clothes had been collected for only a portion of the goal, however.
Many people choose to give money rather than purchase specific gifts. Two huge donations in the last week alone have signaled a change in the methods of giving. Marion resident Martyne Parker and Marion's Woodmen of the World office each handed over $500 checks to Community Christmas since Nov. 12.
"I find more people are willing to do that now," McDowell said of monetary contributions.
As a former teacher, Parker's donation came from her love for children. The Woodmen donation is a community service of the insurance provider, with funds raised through its annual Make a Difference Day activities in October. Margaret Gilland, a Woodmen member, delivered the donation after Jeff Winn, Marion's Woodmen field representative, suggested Community Christmas as this year's service project.
"Of course, I jumped in with both feet," said Gilland, who has also been helping Community Christmas through Crayne Presbyterian Church's efforts.
Manley said $500 is about as big as it comes in a single donation.
"That's excellent," she said.
McDowell added that many individuals or churches have been making donations by depositing money directly into an account set up for Community Christmas at The Peoples Bank of Marion.
The money, once donations are tallied before the families are awarded their gifts the week before Christmas, will be spread among the qualifying families.
"We can opt to give more to a family who did not get sponsored," Manley said of the flexibility of monetary donations.
Those contributions will be given in the form of vouchers to be used only at Conrad's Food Store, Food Giant, Pamida or Family Dollar. Adults can receive vouchers only for food at one of the two local grocery stores, Manley explained. Each family will also get a bag of groceries through the program on Dec. 19 when distribution is completed.
Donations to Community Christmas need to be made by Dec. 18. For additional information, call Manley at 965-5229.

Marion purchases franchise to keep Bobcats
The future of organized baseball in Marion has never looked brighter.
On Monday, elected officials went to bat for the Marion Bobcats by agreeing to pay the $7,500 franchise fee that will give the city a stake in the KIT League for the duration of the summer collegiate league's existance. Though the franchise technically belongs to the City of Marion, Bobcats General Manager Gordon Guess brought Monday's request before city council members on behalf of the second-year team's investors. Unanimous approval means the Bobcats and city now have a stake in each other's future.
"That's a heck of a committment," Guess said of the city's backing.
With 21 local investors, municipal backing and a strong fan base, the Bobcats truly are a community effort, Guess said.
The franchise fee is a one-time outlay, said league president and commissioner Randy Morgan, who made the trip from his Paducah home Monday to be at the city council meeting to represent the Bobcats' interest. Even if Marion Baseball Club, LLC – the corporation under which the Bobcats operate – ceases to exist, the city maintains a right to field a club in the KIT League so long as a new organization can be formed. If not, Marion can also sell the franchise rights to another city with league approval.
"That means this has value for the city," Guess said.
Morgan said most sports franchises, including those in the so-called "Kitty" League, are owned by individuals, but a municipally-owned franchise is not unheard of.
"It does happen," he said.
Guess also explained that if the club lays out of the league for a year due to financial or other concerns such as the Sikeston Bulls did in 2008, the franchise agreement allows the Bobcats to return to league play without paying another fee. In that manner, the license acts a placeholder in the wooden-bat league.
The Bobcats joined the league in 2008 without having to pay a franchise fee. A provisional waiver was granted to keep the league at six teams when the Sikeston club opted to take the year away from action. It is unclear if Sikeston plans to return to the KIT League in 2009.
Currently, the league consists of frachises in Marion, Dawson Springs, Fulton and Owensboro in Kentucky, and in Union City, Tenn., and Farmington, Mo.

Councilman objects to site for fire station
A turnabout in plans for a new fire station for the City of Marion raised the temperature at Monday's city council meeting.
The flap was not over whether to build a new firehouse, but plans to erect the station a block from where firefighters previously agreed was logistically the best location. It’s aesthetics versus functionality, opposing sides claim.
The change in plans, recommended by Mayor Mickey Alexander and approved 3-2 by city council members, would see a new three-bay fire department built at the corner of Main and Bellville streets where a vacant lot has sat empty for years. Previous indications were that firefighters wanted their new home at the corner of North College and East Bellville streets for easy accessibility from two streets.
Councilmen Don Arflack and Jim Brown oppose moving forward with acquiring the two properties needed for construction at the newly-discussed site. Both have different reasons.
“I know you all want to make it pretty, but I don't think it's feasible," Arflack, also a volunteer firefighter, said of the corner lot. He explained that the busiest intersection in Marion would be less than ideal for exiting the firehouse to respond to an emergency.
The cost of the acquiring the vacant lot from Martha Kurtz-Williams and an existing building that belongs to Franklin Hazzard would be $132,500, as opposed to $139,000 for the parking lot off Bellville and College streets, which belongs to and is adjacent to The Crittenden Press Inc. However, City Administrator Mark Bryant said demolition and clearing of the Williams and Hazzard properties could cost around $50,000.
The added expense is what Brown objects to. He also had questions about access to and from the site by firefighters, he said after Monday's meeting.
Both thoughts go against the mayor’s recommendation.
"I'd rather spend a little more money and improve the looks of downtown," the mayor countered.
But Marion Fire Chief Ronald "Red" Howton said there's no pleasing everyone, he just wants to see progress.
"I'll be satisfied with wherever you want to build," he said. "I'd just like to see you go ahead and do something."
Currently, the fire department is on East Bellville Street in the same building where city hall was once located.
Discussion of a new fire station has been ongoing for years. In recent months, numerous locations have been studied, including both properties in question Monday. Howton and council members agreed at the meeting that if firefighters had control of the stoplight at the intersection of Main and Bellville, that traffic would not be a problem when responding to fires.
Darrin Tabor, Dwight Sherer and Jason Hatfield voted to move ahead with placing an option on the Main and Bellville properties to study the feasibility of construction there. Mike Byford, a volunteer firefighter and incoming council member when a new city government is seated in January, agreed. Councilwoman Janet Pierce was not present.
In a back and forth discussion centered primarily between Alexander and Arflack, the atmosphere became noticeably tense. Arflack is adamant that a fire station at stoplight poses serious traffic concerns during fire calls.
"What do you think is going to happen when we have parades and the big events downtown – people are going to park on the fire station lot, and we’ll never be able to get in to it or out of it!" Arflack told The Press on Tuesday, a day after the council meeting. "Plus, on big court days (and) during funerals... every parking lot and place in downtown is locked up with parked cars."
Longtime firefighter Eddie Myers agreed with Arflack at Monday’s meeting, but was more reserved in his support.
Alexander, going on the recommendation of Howton and other firefighters that control of the stoplight would alleviate concerns, refused to reconsider the issue.
"I want to build a nice fire department and I want it there," he said.
Terry Ford, another volunteer firefighter, said he's just happy to see progress toward a new building.
"We've never made it this far in my 27 years (on the department)," he said.

Magistrates differ over road project equity
A bit of a rift has surfaced on Crittenden Fiscal Court regarding a county road project. Magistrates spent more than 30 minutes during Monday’s regular monthly meeting discussing the matter.
Magistrate Glenn Underdown said he could sum up the entire situation by saying he was “resentful” that so many resources were spent on the Beachy Road project, which included a new bridge and the widening, straightening and flattening of the road in the Amish community.
Magistrate Percy Cook, who represents the district where the road work was done, was absent from Monday’s meeting. Due to his absence, Judge-Executive Fred Brown said he would defend the project.
“Because Percy isn’t here, I will speak on the project,” he said.
Brown said very little money was spent on materials. He pointed out that the project did include labor, equipment and fuel. After the meeting, Brown said he did not have a figure for how much was spent improving the road; however, the bridge cost $190,000, which was approved by the fiscal court prior to the work and paid for with state funds.
Underdown and other magistrates say they have no beef about the new bridge, or even the work that was done. They just want to know when such projects are taking place, and they would like to have equal opportunity for projects in their district.
Underdown said Cook’s district appears to have been given preferential treatment now and in the past.
“In this administration and the previous two when Pippi (Hardin) was in here and even when John May was judge, (Cook’s district) has gotten everything first,” said Underdown, who pointed to a project in his district, on Amos Road, that should be on a priority list.
Magistrate Helen McConnell said she also thought too much time and resources had been spent on the Beachy Road project. She said Long Branch Road in her district needs work and she wants equal attention paid to it.
Magistrate Curt Buntin reminded everyone that the good of the whole county is the primary objective.
"We have to work together," Buntin said, "like we have in the past."
Magistrate Greg West said several little projects have been overlooked in his district and questioned if it was because so much time was spent on the Beachy Road project.
Judge Brown said projects that require labor and equipment may end up getting attention first because those are two things the county has right now. Brown said the road department has six full-time workers and four part-timers, including two federally-funded helpers.
"If we can't keep them busy, we'll have to lay them off, and no one wants to do that," Brown said.
Brown also said he would relinquish any control he has over the road department and let magistrates manage it however they see fit.
"I would defend this project no matter whose district it was in because it was a good project," Brown said of the Beachy Road improvement.
Magistrates agreed that they had been holding back on some road work in their districts because they believed funds were limited.
"I thought we were strapped for money," Underdown commented.
Underdown said he didn't want to change any policy or controls. Rather, he simply wanted equality and more communication regarding projects throughout the county.
In the end, Brown agreed to keep magistrates notified of projects that will require more than one week of county labor.
In other business, Crittenden County Airport Board members Jim Johnson and Billy Fox attended the fiscal court meeting seeking payment of $6,757, which the county owes as its final payment toward the airport improvement project.
The Marion-Crittenden County Airport has undergone major improvements over the past four years, including lengthening of the runway, paving, lighting, fencing and construction of an airport building and self-serve fueling center. Some of the work was paid for through 100-percent state funding while most was a cost-share between the Federal Aviation Administration and state and local governments.
The county's share of the overall $4.3 million project was $71,856, of which $65,098 has been paid in cash or in-kind services.
Johnson told magistrate that the board had originally asked for the balance of the funding in March, and due to other budgetary requirements was in need of the money now.
Johnson also said a jet fueling center will be installed very soon. He said the county's portion of that project will be about $2,125.

Chess team brings home high honors
Less than 24 hours after Crittenden County’s high school football team dispatched Kentucky Country Day 47-0 in the first round of the state playoffs, the school district’s chess team traveled to the same Louisville-area school for its own tournament. And the results for Crittenden County were as impressive on the chess board as on the football field.
The Blue Knights, the name of the local school district’s chess team, played Saturday against 300 competitors at the Kentucky Chess Association Grade Level Championships, bringing home a team title and several individual awards.
“This was mainly an individual competition for each grade in the state to crown the top players in each grade in Kentucky,” said Coach Greg Hollamon.
However, the ninth-grade team of Cody Pinson, Joseph Tedford, Will Hayes and Korey Mays took home the trophy at the freshman level. Team championships were awarded based on the scores of the top four players for each squad, with an individual win counting one point and a draw a half-point.
"The younger competitors faced much stiffer competition, but the ninth-graders still had to play players a lot higher rated than they were," Hollamon said.
He said of all the students competing in the open tournament, most of the players from across the state were in elementary or middle school. And the Blue Knights brought home hardware in those kindergarten- through eight-grade levels as well. In fact, the coach's son, Micah Hollamon, took home fourth place after winning three games at the seventh-grade level. Meantime, in the fifth-grade division, Janzton Croft won a pair of games to finish second.
The coach said he was proud of all his players who travelled to Louisville last weekend.
"Although not receiving a trophy, many of the other Blue Knights won multiple games at this state level tourney," he said.
Jesse Imboden won two games in the senior, or 12th-grade division. Among middle schoolers, Marcus Hughes won two games in the seventh-grade division and both Cole Foster and Cameron McDaniel won two games against fellow sixth-graders.
The Blue Knights will be competing in the Evansville Club Quad Competition this Saturday.