News from April 17, 2008 issue

Local News
The Crittenden Press (PDF)
(Selected pages from Sections A & B)
WARNING: PDF files will take longer to download, especially on low-speed ISPs.

'Press' Driskill is a self-described trader
“My daddy was a trader and I've been a trader all my life,” said the 77-year-old salvage yard and used equipment owner.

Driskill buys, sells and trades nearly everything, but he specializes in old farm equipment. If there's a piece no one else has, you can almost be assured "Press" will have it.

"I bought my first pig for a quarter when I was seven years old and sold it for 50 cents," he says with a smile that's as big today as it probably was when he turned a 100 percent profit on his first swine deal.

Driskill, along with his wife of many years, Willadean, lives and operates his shop on Ky. 1107 just across the county line in the edge of Caldwell County. There are heaps and piles of parts, gadgets, gizmos, instruments, implements and tools. His inventory appears too extensive for average computer database, but it's all logged piece by piece in his mind. He even handles a few new parts, like tires for common tractors.

Driskill grew up Livingston County around the area known today at Mitchell Store. He moved to the Piney area in 1959 and finished raising his three children there.

“I was born tradin’,” he says, but that's not all he's ever done. Driskill drove a tractor-trailer, hauling livestock for many years. Through it all, he continued to buy, sell and swap all sorts of items.

Most of his merchandise comes for estate sales, flea markets or by watching the classified ads for a bargain.

"I don't go to as many sales as I used to," he admits. "You have to get a bargain at a sale in order to sell it reasonable."

Now, he spends several hours a week manning his spinoff sales yard in Fredonia. He bought the corner lot at U.S. 641 and Ky. 91 a few years ago. The former Ashland Station lot makes a perfect location for him to sell his wares.

Because the price of scrap has gone sky high, he's also doing a great deal of metal hauling, taking it to salvage yards in the area.

Through the years, he's prided himself of making profitable deals, but admits that a few have gone afoul.

"I took a load of scrap to Evansville once and while I was there, I picked up an old compressor and paid just a few dollars for it," he recalled. "A few days later, I sold that at a consignment sale for $300."

Driskill stretches another wide grin and finishes the story, "but I've been skinned once or twice, too."

Oddly, he's never done much advertising. Word of mouth has been his greatest marketing tool.
The most common items he sells are tires and wheels for farm equipment. He's tried selling things on the Internet with help from friends, but so far the e-Bay style can't hold a rusty nail to his face-to-face, old-fashoned trading.

County roads badly damaged
Crittenden County roads suffered more damage during recent flash flooding than they did through the whole of winter, Judge-Executive Fred Brown said.
"We may have to permanently close some roads if we get another monsoon like we did a few days ago," Brown said regarding the damage to roads issued by 7.5-inches of rain the first week of April. "The flooding did more damage to the road system than the ice storms this winter. We have major problems all over the county."
Crittenden has received $50,000 in emergency aid from the State of Kentucky, and while county officials are proud to get the help, they say it's a drop in the bucket.
Helen McConnell, magistrate in District 1 which covers the area around Mattoon and Weston, said damage in her area is impossible to know because some roads are still under water. She said road crews are concerned that repairs will hamper mowing efforts later this spring.
"We're going to being doing repairs all summer," she said.
The emergency funds from the state, ironically was for the ice storm damage, Brown said. The county is also applying for federal emergency assistance due to the flood damage.
Several county roads re-opened this week. Because the list changes daily, the names of roads open or closed is regularly posted at The Press Online.

Magistrates reported the following damage to county roads in their district:
Amos Road, washed out badly
A.T. Crider Road, tile uncovered
Aunt Jane Tabernacle Road, tile replacement
Axel Creek Road, washed out
Baker Hollow Road, half of road slid off in creek
Barnett Chapel Road, bridge washed out
Blackberry Lane, road washed out badly
Blackburn Church Road, tile and tanks uncovered
Bridwell Loop, hole in road at big tanks, washed out tiles at Crooked Creek
Brown Mine Road, tile stopped up
Brown School Road, tile repair
Cave Springs Church Road, tile washed out, washed around slab
Cecil Croft Road, Road washed out, tile uncovered
Champion Road, Washed out around tank
Claylick Creek Road, tree down, road washed badly
Coleman Road, hole washed in side of road
Cool Springs Road, tile uncovered
Copperas Springs, washed out
Crayne Cemetery Road, tile washed out
Cross Creek Road, tile washed out
Cunningham Road, road washed badly
Earl Hurst Road, tile damage
Fishtrap Road, tile replaced
Fords Ferry Road, bridge washed out at Butler Creek, remove debris in front of bridge
Frances Road, chip and seal washed off bridge
Glendale Church Road, tile damage
Gorman Pond Road, tile stopped up
Gum Creek Road, road and tile damage
Guthery Browning Road, tile washed out
Guy Hodge Road, washed out around tank
Hebron Church Road, trees in road, water over road
Henry Road, road washed badly
Hillyard Road, road washed out badly
Holly Mines Road, tile and slab washed out
Hunt Road, tile washed out, replaced
Hurricane Church Road, tile damage
Irma White Road, damage to two bridges, blacktop, concrete slab and large tile washed out
Kirk Bluff North, road washed badly, ditches stopped up
Kirk Bluff South, road washed out badly
Lark Loop, needs grading and chip and seal
Larping Springs Road, tile stopped up
Lily Dale Road, hole washed around tile
Llyod Road, chip and seal washed out
Marion Road, tile washed out, fix or replace
Mexico Road, needs 10 yards of concrete
Millie Peek Road, road washed, tiles stopped up
Monroe Westmoland, tile damage
Nunn Switch Road, two bridges washed out on ends
Paddy's Bluff Road, road washed out badly
Phin Croft, tile and bridge damage
Pleasant Hill Road, tile washout
Pond Road, rock replacement
Providence Road, hole in tile
Roe Wafford Road, slab washed out
Railey Road, concrete bad on end of bridge
Ray Peek, rock replacement
Red Road, tile damaged, may need replacing
Runyan Road, general damages
Sanders Road, road washed badly
Silom Church Road, tile damaged
Sugar Grove Church Road, bank caved in
Towery Road, tile stopped up
Turkey Knob Road, bridge washed out on both sides
View Road, needs concrete and resurfacing
Watson Cemetery, two tiles washed out
White Road, road washed badly
Youth Camp Road, concrete washed away from tile
Zion Cemetery Road, two large tiles damaged

School starting Aug. 6 this year
The first of 175 days of classroom instruction for Crittenden County students in the 2008-09 school year will be Aug. 6, one of the earliest starts on record. Day 1, a Wednesday, should be an easy transition from summer break though, with only a half-day scheduled.

Legislation introduced during the just-ended session of the General Assembly would have pushed the start of schools statewide to the third week of August at the earliest. Senate Bill 134, however, never even made it out of committee.

Next year’s school calendar will see the last day of classes on May 15, 2009, barring lengthy cancellations due to weather or other reasons.

Twelve days of classes have been missed by Crittenden County students during the current school year, forcing administrators to juggle the calendar by adding two Saturday’s of instruction and pushing the last day of classes to May 30. Students served their first weekend Saturday with “very good attendance,” according to Al Starnes, director of pupil personnel for the school district. May 17 will be the second Saturday of classes.

To prevent last-minute scrambling next year if multiple days are missed over the winter, Starnes and a calendar committee set plans to address as many as 13 days of missed school.
“If we miss 14, we’ll have another decision to make,” he said at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

The committee, which has met multiple times over the last several weeks, is counting on so-called banked time to cushion the first three days missed. State law requires 168 six-hour days of instruction, and next year’s school calendar includes 171 of those, plus four half-days.

If more than three days are missed, Day No. 4 would be made up by going to class on Feb. 16, currently scheduled as a professional development day for staff. If a fifth day is needed, a half-day slated for March 4 would be extended to a full day for students. May 18, the first Monday after the initial last day of school, would be used to make up a sixth day. Because May 19 is an election day in Kentucky, the remainder of 13 make-up days would be scheduled for May 20 on, except Memorial Day on May 25.

Graduation is currently set for Friday, May 22, but would need to be adjusted if more than nine days of school are missed during the 2008-09 academic year.
The calendar also includes a week each for fall (Oct. 13-17) and spring breaks (April 6-10), two weeks for winter break (Dec. 22-Jan. 2), Thanksgiving break (Nov. 26-28) and one day each for Labor Day (Sept. 1), election day (Nov. 4) and Martin Luther King Jr., Day (Jan. 19).