News from Oct. 20, 2005 issue

County gets look at jail blueprint
When built, the new Crittenden County Detention Center will be a state-of-the-art jail that could be a blueprint for other small counties to follow.

Judge-Executive Fred Brown said the layout for the proposed 129-bed jail designed by JKS Architects & Engineers of Hopkinsville is created to make the most efficient use of space and funds.
"I believe it will be a model for future small jails built in Kentucky," Brown said.

The $5.1 million facility will be constructed between Carlisle and Depot streets just west of the current county jail and Crittenden County Public Library.

The jail will be complete with central dispatching capabilities, a visitation area, outdoor recreation area, drive-through port for depositing and picking up inmates, a library, conference room, laundry area, isolation cells and will all be handicap accessible, according to engineer Keith Sharp of JKS.

The Crittenden County Fiscal Court met Tuesday morning with Sharp and Vince Gabbert of Ross Sinclaire & Associates, the company helping oversee the financing of the project.

Sharp went over details of the new jail, showing how it will be designed for safety, video surveillance, have a suicide watch area, a cell block for women and even the old-fashioned, but modern "drunk tank." There will be a place for inmates to meet with their attorneys and families and video-arraignment capabilities that will allow judges to see suspects without them having to be taken out of the jail and to a courtroom.

The jail will be capable of holding 129 inmates, but under special circumstances could house about a dozen more. It will be built so that it could be easily added onto in the future if more cells are needed. Any addition would be built onto the west end of the facility toward where the county rescue squad and fire department are located.

Current plans do not require the jail project to use the library property or the former county museum. The jail would face Carlisle Street and the main entrance would be located about where the vacant white home now sits behind the library. There would be access and parking from both Carlisle and Depot streets.

Total cost of the project, including bond fees, property, design and construction and principal and interest payments over 25 years would be $10 million. Based on the payment schedule, the county would be able to get the jail open and be running for about eight months before its first payment of $409,102.50 would be due. Sharp said bids could be ready to go out after the first of the year and Gabbert said bonds will be sold in February. Construction will take about 12-14 months, meaning the new jail could open in the spring of 2007 if the project continues on course.

County Attorney Alan Stout applauded the fiscal court for taking steps to build the new jail despite certain opposition to such a costly venture.

Magistrate Percy Cook, responded, "We don't have any other option."

The county currently spends about $280,000 a year on its small, life-safety jail which keeps about 20 or so county inmates. There is speculation that the state will require those types of jails to close within the near future.

The new jail would be capable of keeping inmates sentenced for felonies from other areas. The state will pay for those inmates to be housed here. According to calculations by the engineers, the jail might actually operate at a profit if kept full.

"We just want to break even," said Magistrate Dan Wood. "If we do that, this county saves what we're currently putting into the jail."

Sohn to cook up Lewis & Clark dishes
The visit of television chef and cookbook author Mark Sohn will be shrouded with double intrigue Nov. 5.
Sohn is the grandson of the late Julius Fohs, benefactor of historic Fohs Hall in Marion. A member of the Kentucky Humanities Speakers Bureau, Sohn will lecture about food gathered and consumed by the Corps of Discovery during the Lewis and Clark journey of 1804-1806.

The presentation will be accompanied by a catered meal reflective of the types of foods Meriweather Lewis, William Clark and their corps of explorers ate on their journey to explore the uncharted West.

"We're very excited to have Mark Sohn here, since he is Julius Fohs' grandson, and I think there remains a great deal of interest in the Lewis and Clark Expedition since the commemoration of their journey is being celebrated through 2006," said Fohs Hall board member and event planner Ethel Tucker.

Sohn is a professor of psychology at Pikeville College in Eastern Kentucky, in addition to being a food editor, author and newspaper columnist.

Fohs Hall, Inc., is hosting the event, which begins at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 5. Seating is limited and reservations are required by phoning Tucker at 965-4055 by Oct. 28.

The meal, catered by the Marion Cafe, will consist of a green salad, Rocky Mountain Stew (choice of beef or venison), Corn Dodgers and Mixed Berry Dumplins ala Mode.

Sohn's discussion will focus on what the 30 members of the Corps of Discovery ate during their 28-month journey to Oregon. Actually, the explorers ate almost nothing but meat, because it was the most easily accessible source of nourishment. Many of the members of the exploration suffered from scurvy, which is a result of low consumption of vitamin C, that causes a number of ailments including rashes, sores and boils. Sohn's discussion will detail the types of meats and vegetables eaten along the way by Corps of Discovery, including bison, grizzly bears, deer, elk, dogs, beaver, antelope, big horned sheep, black bears, otters, grouse, horses and turkeys. Upon meeting up with the Nez Perce Indians, the explorers were introduced to various berries, roots, fish, salmon, mussels and crabs.

His inspiration for cooking began as an 11-year-old Boy Scout in Oregon. As that 11-year-old, Sohn cooked over an open fire and in the shadows cast by tall Douglas firs, he baked biscuits, simmered stew and scrambled eggs. From that time, he has enjoyed cooking, and in 1987, he studied culinary arts at L'École de Cuisine, a school in Paris, France, owned by Pierre Cardin and Maxim's Restaurant.

Sohn holds a Ph.D., and in addition to being a teacher, he is a foods author, recipe developer, newspaper columnist, cooking teacher, food stylist and photographer. He serves as the food and cooking editor for The Encyclopedia of Appalachia with an expected publication by the University of Tennessee Press in 2005.
Some information obtained from Sohn's website mark@marksohn.com.