Dec 16 2004

News from December 16, 2004 issue

Police solve bank robberies
Suspect shoots himself
Other than some minor brushes with the law in Lyon and Livingston counties, the man who robbed Farmers Bank in Salem last week did not have much of a criminal past.

Police say the man who robbed Farmers Bank killed himself Tuesday afternoon after being chased by troopers on I-24 following another bank robbery in Livingston County.

Norman Anthony "Tony" Springs, 39, of Salem shot himself in the head after state police stopped the black Pontiac Trans-Am in which he was riding. The driver, Bobbie J. Vaughn, 30, of Paducah was reportedly driving the getaway vehicle after Springs robbed BB&T Bank in Lake City at 3:53 p.m.

Ironically, authorities in Paducah were at the time of the Lake City robbery searching a home on Butler Lane in McCracken County where Springs had been allegedly staying with Vaughn.

Authorities had a description of the vehicle Springs might be in because of a tip that had made him a suspect in the Farmers Bank robbery. After receiving a 911 call about the bank robbery in Lake City, troopers began looking for the black sports car on the interstate. Trooper Jerry Knight spotted the vehicle and followed it about 12 miles until backup units Troopers Todd Combs and Lewie Dodd joined the pursuit. The Trans-Am pulled off the shoulder of the interstate after the three cruisers initiated the stop. Neither the driver nor passenger got out when officers asked them exit the vehicle.

According to state police reports, officers fired on the vehicle after observing a weapon being discharged inside the car. The report said troopers feared for the safety of themselves and the driver. The Paducah Sun reported Tuesday that at least 17 shots were fired by police and that all of the shell casings lying on the interstate were from officers' weapons.

Police said Springs suffered a single gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at 5:30 p.m., at Lourdes Hospital in Paducah.
Vaughn, the driver of the car, was not hurt and was taken into custody, charged with first-degree complicity to robbery.

Springs had been in minor scrapes with the law before, including a 2003 speeding ticket in Livingston County, which he didn't pay and was later cited for non-payment of the fine. Springs' last known address was at 139 Mill Street in Salem, which is not far behind the Farmers Bank branch.

"That makes sense because that's where they saw him coming from," said Gareth Hardin, president of the bank. Hardin wouldn't disclose how much cash Springs took from Farmers Bank, but he said "it wasn't a great deal of money."
State Police spokesman Barry Meadows said that money from the BB&T Bank heist was recovered in the Trans-Am, but none of the money taken from Farmers Bank has been found.

"We're 100 percent sure he did the Salem robbery," Meadows said, "and he may have been involved in another one."

There have been five bank robberies in the area over the last two weeks. Some of the physical descriptions of the suspects have been dramatically different, however.

Springs grew up in Lyon County near Kuttawa and had twice been in court in 1995 and 1997 for the illegal taking of mussels (shellfish) from the river. He was found guilty of DUI in 1998 and had been served an Emergency Protective Order after a domestic violence case was opened in 1996.

Other court records indicate that Springs had been in at least some financial trouble recently. One bank or credit company had filed suit against him last year to collect a bad debt, according to Lyon County records.

Those who knew Springs say that although he'd had some minor legal problems they were surprised he was robbing banks. Springs was divorced and had three children, according to relatives.

Police would not say what information they received from Vaughn or whether they'd recovered any evidence at the Paducah residence on Butler Lane where Springs had allegedly been staying.

Trooper Meadows did say that police had identified Springs as a person of interest in the Farmers Bank robbery because an informant had named him as a suspect.

Meadows said he didn't know if Vaughn had taken part in the Salem robbery last week. No one saw a getaway vehicle after the Farmers Bank holdup. However, eyewitnesses did report seeing the suspect coming and going from the bank on foot. Each said he came and went from behind the bank.

Superintendent Hargis hearing called off
The attorney for suspended Superintendent Fredericka Hargis says his client will "certainly have many options available," after the Crittenden County School Board meets in special executive session next week.

"Stay tuned," said Charlie Ricketts, the Louisville attorney representing Hargis in her fight to keep her job as school superintendent here.

Ricketts said the public hearing scheduled to begin Monday in regard to Hargis' employment status was cancelled because the school board was not going to be subject to answering his questions.

"I think they realized it was a sham and a waste of school board money," Ricketts said. He said the board should have to answer questions as to why it wants to fire Hargis.

Crittenden School Board attorney Zac Greenwell said the hearing was indeed cancelled, but it was because Hargis' attorney informed the local school board that she would not be there.

Greenwell said that individuals who would have given sworn testimony at the hearing have been asked to signed affidavits which will be filed as part of the record. Both attorneys said they have until next week to provide each side with sworn statements from individuals who would have testified. Those are due Friday and a response by Wednesday, Dec. 22.

The board has scheduled a special meeting for Dec. 22 to hear the evidence and perhaps render a decision in regard to the matter.

The school board last February suspended Hargis and began the process of removing her as superintendent. It has charged her with conduct unbecoming a superintendent and insubordination.

A hearing in November was also postponed after legal issues concerning the process failed to be resolved.

Ricketts said that Hargis, now employed as a principal of a school in Louisville, is not bound to the job she has now.

"She is holding a job subject to what happens down there," he said.
Greenwell and Frankfort attorney Bob Chenoweth, who has been retained to help in the case, have maintained that Hargis effectively quit her job here when she took another one in Louisville.

"She can file (a lawsuit) in federal or state court," Ricketts said, pointing out Hargis' legal options once the school board takes final action next week.

"The board needs to do some self-searching on what lies ahead," he said.

This is the first time a school superintendent has been attempted to be removed in this manner since the Kentucky Education Reform Act changed the laws governing the firing of such administrators. Ricketts said, "we are plowing new ground."

Ricketts suggested that the legal issues could be tied up in court for some time to come and that could become very expensive to resolve.

Tucker publishing unique cookbook
Her penchant for elegant entertaining and unique presentations in the dining room well preceded Martha Stewart. And now the woman many call Marion's First Lady is putting her recipes, tips for culinary creativity and her 87 year history in Crittenden County in print.

Ethel Tucker is authoring a cookbook appropriately titled, "From Pilot Knob to Main Street," in which she shares a wide range of recipes she has used throughout her life.

The hardback book is in its final stages before it reaches the printer, but advance reservations are being taken, just in time for Christmas.

The title of Tucker's book, which was much encouraged by her late husband Thomas, reflects Tucker's life. She was born on Pilot Knob in the Fords Ferry community of Crittenden County and has lived on Main Street in Marion for the past 25 years. The first chapter of the book, which contains about 50 pictures of family, friends and Crittenden County events, is a recount of her long, full life as a young girl in Marion, her marriage to Thomas and her love of entertaining family and friends.

"The book is not meant to be boastful, but to thank my Lord who has given me this long, full life," Tucker said. "It is also an opportunity to compile the recipes I've shared with my family, including my sister-in-law Imogene Stout James and her sons, Keith and Alan Stout and their families."

Though Tucker is known for her elegant presentations for bridal teas or church women socials, her book is full of dishes that are just plain country cooking. Sweet potato cobbler, creamed turnips and hog jowl-seasoned turnip greens are but a few of the old-fashioned favorites shared in the book.

"I grew up helping my mother, Lizzie Stout, in the kitchen," Tucker says. "At a young age I began to pay attention to presentation, as a box I decorated for an old fashioned box supper at Brown School brought the highest bid in 1924."
Tucker's husband Thomas was considered by many the county historian. Up until his death in 2001, Thomas had a sharp mind that could recite facts about events that shaped Marion and Crittenden County, from the introduction of electricity in Main Street homes to the oft-dangerous goings on at the Cross Keys Inn near Crooked Creek Church.

"Thomas always encouraged me to write the book, but when he died that was put on hold," Tucker says. "Now I've reached the time that I want to see it completed and to share it with family and friends."

The book lists many events the couple hosted during the years they operated Tucker Funeral Home where Ethel Tucker operated an upholstery and decorating shop. Tucker has been a member of the Woman's Club of Marion, the Marion United Methodist Church and Fohs Hall, Inc., for many years. She shared many recipes from appetizers to desserts at functions held by each of these organizations, and shares them now in, "From Pilot Knob to Main Street."

Tucker's nephew, Alan Stout, says lunch or dinner at "Aunt Ethel's" is always special.

"When I was a little boy, it was a big deal to go to Aunt Ethel's for dinner. Keith and I, along with Bill and Bohn Frazer (nephews of Thomas Tucker) would put on our ties and sit at the special 'young people table' in the sun room. And still today, its a big deal to go to Aunt Ethel's," Stout recalls.

The book will be released in the spring of 2005, but Tucker will begin taking reservations for the book on Monday. At that time, certificates can be obtained as Christmas gifts, with the gift-giver retaining a stub that can be presented at the time books arrive in Marion.