News from April 22, 2003 issue


Bells Mines residents oppose road closure
Five residents of the Bells Mines and Weston communities say they and others oppose the closing of two miles of Bells Mine Road so that a proposed coal mining company can have exclusive use of it.

Crittenden County Coal Company is asking Crittenden Fiscal Court to shut down a portion of Bells Mines Road from the old Bells Mines Church southwest to Green Chapel Cemetery. No one lives within the designated area and the only landowners with property along the two-mile stretch have said they approve of the plan. The coal company made its intentions known during Tuesday's fiscal court meeting. A handful of residents, who say they got wind of the plan late Monday night, also attended and voiced their concerns about the issue.

Area residents who use Bells Mines Road say it will be an inconvenience and a potential safety hazard because the alternate route ­ through Rudolph Chandler Road ­ can be treacherous during the winter and water covers another road leading from the community.
Three families live just south of the Green Chapel Cemetery. They use Bells Mine Road to access Ky. 365 (Baker Church Road). Others who live in Weston use it as a short cut to Sturgis.

"I feel like closing it will be bad for those of us who have to get out every day and go to jobs," said Barbara Conway, who added that she and her husband Troy are retired, but their two sons and their wives who live on Bells Mine Road travel it daily. She said that during winter weather, Chandler Hill is difficult to pass.

"Medical emergencies don't pick sunny days to happen," she said, explaining that closing Bells Mine Road could create a potentially dangerous situation if an ambulance needs to get to her home or to the home of one of her neighbors.

Like Conway, John Miller of Weston said he was not against the coal company, just against closing the road. Miller has worked in coal mines for years and thinks the county can benefit from having the additional jobs a coal company would provide. However, he doesn't understand why the company can't build its own road.

John Wardlaw, spokesman for Crittenden Coal Company, said it did intend to build a two-mile stretch of road cutting cross country from Bells Mine Road to Ky. 365, east of which the company plans to do most of its mining.

Wardlaw said the state would probably require the mining company to put a flashing light on Ky. 365 where loaded coal trucks would cross the highway and travel along a proposed company road that will be built on the east side of Bells Mine Road. The company road would connect to Bells Mine Road at the old church site then use the existing county road until it gets to just north of Green Chapel Cemetery. From there, its coal trucks would go across another length of proposed company road to the Ohio River where it will build a port for loading the coal onto barges.

The Conways live near Green Chapel Cemetery and say they would be adversely affected by the closing of part of Bells Mine Road.

Troy Conway told the fiscal court that there must be another way. "There's an old horse and buggy road that goes through those bottoms. Why couldn't they build a road through there?" he asked.

Wardlaw, Larry Spencer, the coal company's engineer, and Doug Merkel a representative from Kimball International, all attended the meeting. Merkel said Kimball, which owns the land and manages it for its timber resources, is very conscience about making sure the mining operation will be environmentally friendly. Kimball has leased the property to the coal company.

"We're not here trying to ram this down anybody's throat," Wardlaw said. "That's why we're bringing this before the fiscal court."

Crittenden County Judge-Executive Pippi Hardin endorsed the closing of the road, saying that the economic benefits were vital to growth in the county.

Wardlaw said the company will first surface mine coal, then move under ground in a couple of years. It also plans to develop a limestone mining operation at the site and haul the rock overland to the riverport. He said the entire operation could soon be producing 85 jobs. A coal severance tax would also benefit the county, Judge Hardin said.

"We pay four and half percent tax on every ton of coal we sell," Wardlaw explained. "That money goes to the state and some of it comes back to the county."

Wardlaw said the company estimates that it can take about 15 to 20 million tons of coal from the site over the next 20 or 30 years.

Because of the opposition to closing a portion of Bells Mine Road, the county will hold a special public hearing on the issue at 6 p.m., Thursday, May 27 at the courthouse.

County Attorney Alan Stout said the process for the closing the road would entail holding the public hearing, posting signs at three places along the road where it is proposed to be closed and having two viewers investigate the road and report their findings to the fiscal court.

Wardlaw said the company hopes to begin surface mining there this summer. Using the existing county road would minimize startup costs for the company, which he described as a "small operation."

"We've already spent $200,000 developing this plan," Wardlaw said. "That wouldn't be much to one of the big mining companies, but that's a lot to us."

North College bugged by prowlers
Armed with hand-held radios, spotlights and guns, residents on North College Street say they've tried almost everything to rid their neighborhood of harassing, nighttime prowlers.

Now, after a year of being terrorized almost nightly, they're speaking out.

Seven citizens who live near the dead end on north of intersection of East Mound Park and North College streets attended the Marion City Council meeting Monday night and raised concerns about things going on in that part of town. They submitted a three-page letter that detailed four complaints. The most troubling was an eight-paragraph accusation that intruders had broken into two houses, prowled around their yards and tried to break into basements and outbuildings. They say local police have been helpful at times, but so far they've provided little relief from the persistent prowlers.

"This has made our lives a living hell the last year," said Dorothy Hughes, who lives with her husband on the west side of the street.Kevin Bigham, Jamie and Misty Lane, Dorothy Binkley and Gloria Tidwell also attended the meeting.

"When mom and I are trying to go to sleep at night, we can hear them rattling the doors to the basement trying to get in," said Tidwell. "I told mother, I'm about to go get a gun."

In fact, some say they have armed themselves with pistols and have also purchased bright spotlights and Walkie Talkies so they can communicate with one another from house to house at night. They talk in codes so the prowlers, who they think have radios, too, won't know their strategy for trying to catch them.

"They have scanners because they always know when the police are on their way," Hughes said.Marion Police Chief Kenneth Winn said he was aware of the situation, but thought the problem had died down since last fall and winter. He said police had been in the area several times, but hadn't been able to catch any suspects.

The residents also complained about trash in the creek near where the street dead ends and wanted to know why the city street sweeper didn't come down their street. Lastly, they issued a complaint about the foul smell in their drinking water.

Mayor Mickey Alexander said he and the council would take each of the complaints into consideration and see what could be done for the residents.

In other business, the Marion City Council approved appointment of Councilman Allen Lynn to the Marion Tourism Commission.

·Donnie Arflack, of the rescue squad, asked the council if it had considered installing a backup power system at the new city hall in case of emergencies. Mayor Alexander said he didn't know if a generator was included in architectural plans for the new municipal building, but he would check into it.

·Local resident Ruth Ann Farmer, who complained last month about the city asking her to clean up derby cars from her yard, was denied an opportunity to voice similar concerns at this month's meeting. Since the last city council meeting, Farmer has been fined $75 by the Marion Code Enforcement Board and issued a warning to remove the cars or face additional fines.