News from Oct. 16, 2003 issue



School board renews Hargis' contract
After meeting behind closed doors in executive session for two hours Tuesday night, the Crittenden County Board of Education voted 3-1 to renew the employment contract for Superintendent Fredericka Hargis for another four years.

Hargis' original four-year contract doesn't expire until June 30, 2004. The new agreement takes effect the following day. Boards may offer superintendents contracts ranging from 1-4 years.

Board member Phyllis Orr cast the only dissenting vote. Board member Dr. Donald Wight was not present at the meeting. Bill Asbridge, Tina Harris and Larry Threlkeld voted for renewal of Hargis' contract.

"So many people in the community tell me how dissatisified they are with the school board and how they're not pleased with (Ms. Hargis)," Orr said Wednesday morning, the day after the meeting when contacted by The Press. "They say she doesn't try to be a part of the community or a partner in education, which is what we are supposed to be."

Changes were apparently made to Hargis' contract, but it did not include a raise, according to Orr. Hargis told The Press that a copy of the contract could be viewed after a written request is submitted to her office.

Orr said phone calls from constituents led her to vote against renewing Hargis' contract.
"There have been different situations with administrators being ousted, three principals in three years at the high school, the Office of Educational Accountability being here and raising taxes," Orr said. "I just responded to my convictions."

Hargis said she understood the board's fiscal concerns and its reason for not approving a proposed $5,000 raise. Hargis earns about $85,000 annually.

Man escapes after pot found at jail
A Crittenden County man remains at large after leaving the Crittenden County Jail last week on work release and not returning.

Jerry Lee Pruitt, faces second-degree escape charges. He has not been seen since he left last Wednesday, Oct. 8.

Pruitt was involved in another incident last week at the jail and will face promoting contraband charges when he is found.

According to a report at the Marion Police Department, a deputy jailer smelled marijuana in the jail on Oct. 5. A search of the cell area turned up a pipe with marijuana in it. Two inmates, Pruitt and Lonnie Moore, consented to a urine drug test, but results have not been returned to police.

Marion Police officer Ray O'Neal conducted a thorough search of the jail, but found nothing more. He was assisted by deputy Ryan Orr and another Marion officer Bobby West. O'Neal obtained a warrant for Pruitt's arrest on the drug charges last Thursday, one day after he escaped from the jail work release program.

According to the police report, Pruitt tried to bribe Deputy Jailer Susan Gilland, who found the pipe and marijuana.

Pruitt was serving a short sentence for failure to pay fines before last week's incidents.

Crittenden man indicted on federal charges
Jerry Wayne Buie, 58, of Just a Mere Road, Marion, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Paducah with trafficking in cocaine and unlawful possession of a firearm. The indictment stems from a May 12 search of his home by Kentucky State Police, who found what they say was 50 grams of cocaine, marijuana, two handguns and more than $5,000 in cash. Buie, a convicted felon, is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm under federal law. He will be prosecuted under Project Backfire standards, a federal program that aims to prosecute all gun crimes to the fullest extent of the law. If convicted, Buie could face 50 years in prison and nearly $3 million in fines. Buie is scheduled to appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Paducah on Oct. 29.

Burglars swipe old pews from Blackburn
Burglars recently hit an old church in rural Crittenden County, taking from it four pews former members say are at least 100 years old. The old Blackburn Church, which is no longer open for church services, was burglarized sometime in the days prior to Oct. 3. A school bus driver discovered the building's front doors open during his morning route Oct. 3. The church is located on Blackburn Church Road about six miles off of Ky. 120. A former church member asks that people alert authorities if they discover church pews being sold in the area. Information about the burglary should be reported to Crittenden County Sheriff Wayne Agent.