Ike's remnants storm through county
More than 250 Kenergy Corp., customers and a handful of those on Kentucky Utilities remained without power Wednesday morning throughout Crittenden County after strong winds Sunday from Tropical Depression Ike downed trees and power lines and ripped shingles from roofs as the storm moved across the Midwest.
There were no reports of injuries from straight-line winds gusting to nearly 70 mph, but damage was widespread to homes, businesses and municipal interests, including 280 roads or streets and the county courthouse. Marion City Hall, its dispatch center and Crittenden County Detention Center operated on backup power virtually all day Sunday, and the stoplight at the junction of U.S. 60 and U.S. 641 was without power from Sunday morning until around 1 p.m., Tuesday. Crittenden-Livingston Water District was also without power for several hours, relying on the City of Marion to supplement its supply of water to rural customers in two counties.
In Marion, the strongest winds from the remnants of a massive hurricane that made landfall in Texas the day before were from the south, laying over trees and structures toward the north. Large trees, some several feet in diamater, were uprooted and pushed over. Some of those trees fell onto homes, crashing through roofs, carports and porches.
The winds were yet another costly weather event for Crittenden County following an ice storm in late winter that shut down portions of the county for several days due to fallen trees and limbs. That was followed by a torrential rain in April that washed away entire portions of roads.
“The damage was more widespread this time,” said KU spokesman Cliff Feltham of the winds in relations to the winter ice storm. “Amazing damage. It was spread across the county.”
Feltham said at the height of the KU’s outages in the county, 3,200 customers were without power. Utility crews were working around the clock to get power back to homes and businesses, but the sporadic and severe damage made repairs difficult.
“It was just indiscriminate winds,” he said. “They just picked what they wanted to.”
Feltham said about 95 percent of KU’s outages were reported in western Kentucky.
At least one church, Emmanuel Baptist in Greenwood Heights, met Sunday morning without power and held services in the dark that night.
Among other damages from the storm:
• The 70-foot communications tower and antenna at the courthouse was blown down Sunday. The antenna provides for the primary communications system for the Crittenden County Sheriff's Department, and is also the backup for the main 911 dispatching system.
Sheriff Wayne Agent said an electronics contractor has been contacting about replacing or repairing the damaged tower and antenna.
The sheriff's department is still able to communicate with central dispatching from its cruisers. The damage was limited to the office communication system.
• Kentucky Farm Bureau in Marion reported receiving about 150 claims by early afternoon Monday. That figure was expected to rise.
At State Farm in Marion on Tuesday, more than 100 reports had been filed and they continued to pour in. Most of the claims, said Marlene James, were for roof damage, but several claims for autos damaged by trees or limbs had also been filed.
• Judge-Executive Fred Brown's damage assessment turned in to the State of Kentucky included the listing of 280 roads or streets damaged during Sunday's high winds. Additionally, the report showed that two public buildings were damaged. Those were the Crittenden County Courthouse and the Tolu Community Center, which is operated by the Tolu Fire Department. The courthouse lost its flag pole, sustained structural and landscape damage and the communications tower was blown down.
Although 250 county roads were temporarily blocked by downed trees or debris, county road crews worked to make all of them passable by mid-afternoon Monday.
• Crittenden-Livingston Water District lost power for more than 24 hours and had to shut off service to some areas of Livingston County. By shutting off northern Livingston County, the district was able to continue serving life-supporting facilities such as the hospital and nursing home in Salem, according to Donnie Beavers, district superintendent.
The City of Marion helped the rural water district keep customers in Crittenden served during the down time. But Marion City Administrator Mark Bryant said the city’s water treatment facility would not have been able to keep that pace much longer.
“If it had lasted for much longer,” Bryant said, “the district would have been hurting.”
• Bryant said city hall operated on generator power Sunday, but an overheating air-conditioner began filling the building with smoke, making matters even more troublesome as the city tried to get its services back online.
• Greg Rushing, Crittenden County emergency services coordinator, says sustained winds of 60-65 mph were to blame for the damage here. He said the storm was officially considered part of Hurricane Ike.

Flu shots more accessible this season
Last year's flu season appears to be the worst since 2003-04, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and Pennryile District Health Departments are hoping to keep it that way.
In an effort to reach more residents in the outer areas of the county with the 2008-09 influenza vaccination than in years past, Pennyrile-area health departments are taking immunization clinics to the people. The endeavor will offer nine off-site clinics in addition to the flu shots available at respective departments in Crittenden, Livingston, Caldwell and Lyon counties.
“This is the first year we’re going to try this,” said Jim Tolley, director of Pennyrile District Health Departments.
In Crittenden County, Marion, Dycusburg and Tolu will host vaccination clinics next week, as will Salem, Smithland and Grand Rivers in Livingston County.
“Because of the tight economy and a lack of people vaccinated the last few years, I thought that would be a good idea,” Tolley said of the traveling immunization clinics.
Tolley said that by the time a person in Tolu, for example, drives to Marion for a flu shot, they will have spent almost as much in gas as the vaccination itself, which is $20 again this year.
The flu clinics in Crittenden County will be Sept. 24, beginning at 8:30 a.m., at the Ed-Tech Center in Marion and Dycusburg Baptist Church in that community. The Marion offering will be available until 4 p.m., but at 11 a.m., the Dycusburg clinic will close, allowing staff to set up for a 1 to 4 p.m., clinic at the Tolu Community Center.
Clinics in the neighboring communities of Salem, Fredonia and Eddyville will be provided at later dates.
Flu season in the U.S., generally, runs from October to May but peaks in December through March. Annually, the virus is blamed for an estimated 36,000 deaths in America, according to the CDC. Getting immunized now, Tolley said, should help build a resistance to the disease well ahead of the curve.
"It's a little earlier than usual, but they are recommended by the end of October to build immunity," he said of flu shots.
According to the CDC, the earlier the better. Vaccinations provide protection from a targeted strain for a year, and children getting immunized for the first time need two shots four weeks apart.
Nationwide, the severity of last year's flu season was the worst since 2003-04, with a reported 83 children dying from influenza-related illness. Locally, however, Tolley said the season was fairly mild. But, there is no way to predict what lies ahead for 2008-09, he countered. That's why the offsite clinics are being offered to encourage increased immunization.
"It's a little bit alarming that fewer people are getting vaccinated,” he said.
Some pharmacies and doctors' offices also provide vaccinations, accounting for a drop in those provided by public health departments. But Tolley wants to make protection from the virus as easy as possible for those at the highest risk for infection – elderly and children – whether through private or public clinics.
Medicare or Medicaid will be billed for the cost of the flu vaccine through the health department, but patients must bring their card to the clinic. Patients in neighboring counties are also invited to get the shot at the nearest clinic, even if it is not in their home county. No one will be turned away due to their inability to pay either, Tolley said.
It is recommended that anyone 50 years of age or older, particularly those living in nursing homes or extended care facilities, get a flu shot. Children six months to 18 years old are also encouraged to get immunized against influenza, as are women who may be pregnant.

City, county to appoint merger committee
The road to discussing a unified city-county government will be a bumpy one if initial reactions from some elected officials are any indication.
Early this week, Marion Mayor Mickey Alexander and Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown proposed plans to form an ad hoc committee of both city and county representatives to study the feasibility of merging city and county governments. The committee will be powerless to do anything other than explore the issue.
“Is there a cost benefit to merging the governments?” the mayor asked, restating the proposed committee's primary objective.
Alexander, who introduced the measure the night before Brown had the opportunity to do the same with fiscal court, was met with some resistance and questions from council members. Eventually, the council approved the idea of forming a committee, but the most vocal opponent was a counterpart in county government.
“I don't even appreciate it being brought up,” Magistrate Glenn Underdown told the mayor Monday, voicing his opinion against any discussion of a merger. “I want the folks in the county to know my opinion.”
Underdown was equally vocal the following day when he told fellow magistrates and Judge Brown that he didn't want any part of a unified government. Underdown and Magistrate Greg West both voted against forming an exploratory committee, but were outnumbered by those on the fiscal court who wanted to at least look at the idea.
“I’m not saying I will be for it or against it,” Magistrate Dan Wood said. “I just think we should look at it to see if there are any benefits.”
Magistrate Helen McConnell abstained from the vote Tuesday at the fiscal court meeting. Brown, Wood, Curt Buntin and Percy Cook favored forming an ad hoc committee to examine the matter more closely. The fiscal court will have six seats on the exploratory committee and the city three.
All five city council members present at Monday's meeting gave their blessing to the idea of forming a joint body to study the issue. Donnie Arflack was out of town and not at Monday's meeting.
“Basically, we're looking for cost-savings and efficiency,” City Administrator Mark Bryant explained to council members. “If there aren’t any, we just drop it.”
As it stands, both governments will begin working on a list of members to serve on the committee. Its findings will be presented to both bodies of local government in the coming months. If the city and county eventually agree that a merger would be equitable for the entire community, the matter would then be placed on the ballot for voters have the final say.
“Because Kentucky is a non-referendum state, it is seldom that our voters get to make these kinds of decisions, and I think it's good that they will be able to on this one,” Judge Brown said.
The ad hoc committee will not receive any pay nor have any authority to spend municipal monies. Mayor Alexander said the work of the committee will be difficult, handling an array of complex issues on a controversial matter without compensation.
“Obviously, they have to be people willing to get phone calls at home,” he said.
The mayor said that he was neither for nor against a merger at this point, but merely wants to explore if there is a more efficient way to govern in Crittenden County.
“I'm not pushing either way,” Alexander said.

CCES already achieving some CATS targets
Still six years from the target date for achievement as outlined by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), Crittenden County Elementary School has reached that goal in two key areas of study according the most recent testing data released by the Kentucky Department of Education.
The ultimate goal is for schools to reach proficiency – 100 on a 140-point scale – by the year 2014. And while none of Crittenden County’s three schools and only 91 of the Kentucky’s 1,157 public schools have reached that overall mark, the elementary school has surpassed 100 in both math and practical living, two of eight areas measured by scores from the state’s annual Commonwealth Accountability Testing System.
“For the first time since the beginning of this type of testing process, Crittenden County Schools can celebrate that at Crittenden County Elementary we met that 100 mark in two content areas,” said Crittenden County Schools Superintendent Dr. Rachel Yarbrough.
The elementary school as a whole improved from last year’s 93.1 on the state’s nonadjusted accountability index to 93.4 in 2008. However, the school’s scores in reading, social studies, arts and humanities and writing on-demand dropped slightly.
Still, the elementary school scored higher on the state’s accountability index than any other school in the district. The middle school rated an 89.3, down from 90.3 a year ago. Meantime, the high school showed a slight improvement from 74.8 in 2007 to 75.5 this year. The district as a whole
“We are proud of the tremendous improvement demonstrated by the staff and students in Crittenden County as a result of the 2008 CATS results,” Yarbrough said.
Statewide, CATS results show that Kentucky's public elementary schools slightly increased their overall accountability scores. Meanwhile, the state’s high schools saw a slight drop.
The elementary school was the only in the district to meet its state-mandated goal for 2008, but many Kentucky public schools are still far from meeting those academic goals.
The district as a whole also came up short of its goal, but Yarbrough is encouraged by the progress shown across many areas.
“We are continuing to improve the quality of instruction and opportunities for students to demonstrate learning at a proficient level within our schools,” she said. “Our goal is for the Crittenden County Schools to be one of the top performing districts in the Commonwealth within the next few years.”

Festival opens with questions over finances
It took some last-minute solicitation to shore up funding, but Heritage Days returns this week, with a slate of events that began Wednesday night with an outdoor community church service.
On Monday, event organizer Ron Padget approached Marion City Council with a request to contribute $1,000 to help erase a shortfall in the Heritage Days budget.
“We’re running a little short on funds,” Padget told council members 48 hours prior to the first day of the five-day event. “We sure could use the money.”
The $5,000-plus in expenses incurred by the annual Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce festival should now be met with the city's approval of the requested contribution when matched with an equal pledge by Crittenden Fiscal Court. Padget also secured donations of $250 each from The Peoples Bank and Farmer Bank and Trust Co., to supplement the $2,900 in the Chamber's Heritage Day fund.
But the city's gift was not without some angst.
City Administrator Mark Bryant, who also heads the Chamber as its president, opposed the tax-funded gift. While commending Padget for his work organizing the affair, he chided the 130-plus strong Chamber membership for not stepping forward to fund the festival.
"I don't like this," he said. "I hate that it comes down to the city and county governments to fund this."
At least half of the city council expressed a belief that the autumn event should be funded and headed by Marion Tourism Commission.
"To me, tourism should take it over," Councilman Jason Hatfield said.
Councilmen Darrin Tabor and Dwight Sherer vocally agreed with Hatfield.
Tourism Director Michele Edwards was not available for comment Tuesday.
The tourism commission, funded through a citywide restaurant and boarding tax, contributed $200 in advertising for the festival, which was started several years ago by the Chamber of Commerce. Last year, the tourism commission took ownership of the annual Christmas parade from the Chamber.
Looking ahead to next year, Bryant told the city council members that Heritage Days is not expected to generate any revenue for the Chamber, leaving it with a zero balance in its festival fund for next year.
Event still on track
Despite the questions over Heritage Days' future finances, the event itself is on track for this week.
And if the festival seems a bit early, it is. It was moved this year a month prior to its usual late-October arrival. As usual, Saturday's slate of events will be the highlight of the festival.
On Saturday, there will be a selection of vendors around the court square, as well as rides and games for children, but the street play, "A New Gang Comes to Town," will headline the day’s festivities. The three-act comedy by the Heritage Festival Players of Elizabethtown, Ill., will begin at 6 p.m., behind the courthouse on Court Street.
But opening ceremonies for Heritage Days will be today (Thursday) at 6 p.m. Like most of the activities slated for the festival, it will take place on the court square behind the courthouse. Then, at 7 p.m., two cartoons and a full-length feature film will be shown on a giant television screen in the same area.
Beginning at 9 a.m., Friday, vendors around the court square and downtown will open to customers for the day. This year, vendors will set up on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, sales will not begin until 10 a.m.
Rides, slides, games, horse and wagon rides, a rock-climbing wall and community yard sale will run all day Friday and Saturday. The yard sale will take place a block away from most of the action, however. It will be held on the lawn of the old Marion junior high school at the corner of South College and East Carlisle streets.
On Friday night, the Kentucky Possum Wranglers, a local band, will compete with Crittenden County High School's first home football game for attendance. The mix of music will begin at 7 p.m., on the stage behind the courthouse.
A few extras will blend with some of the usual attractions on Saturday. In addition to the Little Mr. and Miss Heritage Days pageant and the FFA pedal tractor pull, Crittenden County Historical Society will offer up a ham and bean lunch at the museum and a petting zoo and apple cider-making demonstration at the log cabin behind Fohs Hall. A Miss, Mrs. and Mr. Heritage Day Pageant at 2 p.m., will be new this year.
Crittenden County Public Library and the Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum will also be open Saturday. Courthouse offices, however, will be closed Saturday.
On Sunday, the festival closes with gospel music from Into the Blue behind the courthouse from 1 to 3 p.m.
A performance by the Alonzo Pennington Band scheduled for last Friday was cancelled due to the threat of inclement weather and will be rescheduled for a later date.
One thing that will be missing this year is Christmas in Marion. Normally scheduled for the same weekend each year, the arts and crafts show and festival will go their separate ways. Christmas in Marion remains scheduled for its usual third weekend in October. The one-day event will be Oct. 18 at Fohs Hall.