News from July 17, 2008 issue

Local News
The Crittenden Press (PDF)
(Selected pages from Sections A & B)
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Sun fading on baseball's return to Marion
As the sun simmers down in the blue Kentucky skies at Gordon B. Guess Field, all one can hear is six-year-old Jessica Duncan.
“Gimme a B!” she yells to the onlooking Marion Bobcat fans, who repeat the letter back to her with the force of about 200 screaming voices.
The Bobcats, a first-year summer collegiate league baseball team assembled of college ballplayers, had managed a 12-23, next-to-last-place season as it took the field last Thursday. But, on this evening, the Bobcats were leading the first place Tradewater Pirates 5-0 by the end of the seventh inning, when Jessica began cheering.
Meanwhile, Matt Little, who traveled nearly 400 miles to play outfield for the Bobcats this summer, sits in the clubhouse and realizes his days as a Bobcat may be some of his last on the baseball diamond.
Little, a senior at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss., said he understands that making it in the big leagues is an accomplishment made by very few ballplayers.
“They say you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than making it in the big leagues,” said Little, of the likelihood of playing in the majors. “It’s a dream for everyone of us out here, and I think that’s the reason all of us still play.”
But Little, along with seniors Lucas Cramsey and Adam Enloe from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., have quickly become leaders on a Bobcat team that features 10 guys under the age of 20.
According to Enloe, at the beginning of the season, he could easily determine who the more inexperienced, younger players were, but he said the team has melded together enough that the distinction isn’t as clear now.
“Guys would come up and ask questions, ‘What am I doing here?’ and ‘What am I doing wrong?’ and you kind of get a coach’s feeling when you suggest something to them and then they succeed,” the Bobcat catcher said of young ballplayers seeking advice. “It’s kind of fun to help them.”
As for his own on-the-field experiences, Enloe also said he has had a “reality check” with his aspirations and understands that this may also be his last summer playing organized baseball.
“If it doesn’t happen now, it’s never going to happen,” he said of his career in baseball, adding that he wasn’t sure what he would do next summer. “It is a scary thought to think that it's not going to be baseball anymore.”
The team's first baseman also enjoys sharing his experience with the younger players on the club.
“I like to joke around with them and tell them that ‘when I was your age...,’” Cramsey said of teasing the younger players about the age difference. “But the reality is they still have a whole bunch of years of college ball in front of them, and you just want to give them answers so it will make them better.”
Cramsey said he didn’t even plan on playing baseball this summer until Manager Steve Fowler called and asked him to play for the Bobcats.
“I’ve already told myself this is probably my last summer of organized baseball,” said the Quincy, Ill., native during team batting practice Friday afternoon. “But I’ve just come to grips with it, and I’m trying to make the most that I can of it.”
Later that night, Cramsey did just that against Tradewater, knocking in the winning run of a 12-inning game against the first place Pirates and extending his hitting streak to 11 games. And on Monday, the 6-4 infielder was named to the KIT League All-Stars along with Enloe, Little and pitcher Kyle Medley,
Although neither Little, Enloe nor Cramsey would have pictured themselves as role models for the team, they have slowly assumed the part and have appreciated giving advice to some of the younger ballplayers.
“You throw in a suggestion here or there and try to help them out and do what people did for you,” said Little, who attributed much of his success to what he learned from seniors when he was a freshman at Delta State. “I see so many things that I do now that I had no idea about when I came in as a freshman.”
Although leaders in the clubhouse, all three of the ballplayers have had to acclimate themselves to their new surroundings. Cramsey, Enloe and Little all grew up more than 400 miles from Marion. On the entire 22-man roster, only seven Bobcats list hometowns in Kentucky, with Chad Adcock of Eddyville, being the nearest to a native of the area. Eight hail from more than 400 miles away, including Enloe from Littleton, Colo. and Scott Cashman, a native of Gig Harbor, Wash., about 2,316 miles away from Marion.
Although not as far from home as Cashman, Little said he struggled with homesickness as he tried to adjust to the new lifestyle in Crittenden County.
“I’ve got two younger sisters at home, and it’s tough not seeing them,” said Little. “I get homesick every now and then, but people here do so much for us that it makes it a lot easier.”

City hails return of favorite pasttime
The Bobcats, who are the first organized baseball team in Marion in almost 60 years, have quickly become some of the most recognized faces within the community. Although support from locals was slow coming at first, it has grown as the season progresses.
“To me, this is the most exciting level of baseball you can watch, and it’s a lot better than watching the big leagues,” said Mickey Alexander, mayor of Marion, as John Mellencamp’s “Small Town” plays over the public address system. “This is fun baseball.”
Although General Manager Gordon Guess and others worried at the beginning of the year about attendance, Alexander believes the support has picked up and will continue to increase.
“If they can get more people exposed to it, then I think more people will come back on a regular basis,” said Alexander during the Bobcats 5-0 win last Thursday over Tradewater. “I think people take a lot of pride in it, and it adds to the hometown atmosphere.”
The Bobcats' season, which began in early June, will end next week after a regular season of 50 games. The playoffs, though, will begin July 28
Alexander, along with several other fans in the stands, say the players living in the community also help further that support.
“All these guys are so nice, every time you run into them they speak to you before you speak to them,” said Alexander, of the ballplayers. “That makes it a lot easier to like them and support them, and I think they’re a real asset to the community.”
Some players have been surprised to see such support, especially considering their difficult season.
“Since (baseball) hasn’t been around for a while and there’s not too much going on around town, it’s a pretty high priority,” said Cramsey. “It makes you feel pretty good that they take it seriously.”
After batting in his own winning run Monday, Cashman agreed that a strong fan base makes playing the game even more fun and exciting.
"It's easier to get up for the game," Cashman said just moments after hitting a walk-off single win a 3-2 game against Fulton before the largest crowd of the season on Peoples Bank Night. "And, we're starting to win our home games."
Enloe and Little also noted the firm support from the fans at the beginning of the summer and said that helped them feel more welcomed, including signs at local establishments greeting the players and informing locals of the games.
And on last Thursday night, with a special promotion from Family Practice Clinic and several Fredonia businesses, many fans showed up donning Bobcat t-shirts.
“I like it, and it’s something fun to do that you can bring your kids out here and not worry about anything – I’m sure I’ll come back,” said Junior Duncan, a Marion resident, who came with his wife Debra, who works for the clinic. “It’s a good family-oriented place, and I think it’s pretty neat to see the town people come together and help put up this baseball team.”
Debra agrees with her husband and likes the convenience of coming to the games.
“It’s pretty nice, and it’s really friendly,” she said of her first Bobcat game. “I really like it, and you don’t have to go to St. Louis or somewhere to watch a ballgame. Instead you can just come to your hometown.”
“They didn’t even worry about a record,” said Cramsey. “They just showed up, and they were having a great time out there.”
Back in the stand, with her oversized Marion Bobcats t-shirt hanging to her knees, Jessica, continues on to spell “B-O-B-C-A-T-S” and ends with a resounding question.
“What’s that spell?” she yells to the stands as her mother, Debra, watches on and smiles.
“Bobcats!” the crowd fires back.

Eleven face long meth sentences
Eleven members of what authorities say was a major methamphetamine drug ring were sentenced recently for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute meth in western Kentucky, according to U.S. Attorney David L. Huber of the Western District of Kentucky.
Judge Thomas B. Russell of the U.S. District Court also sentenced the defendants to four to five years of supervised release following their incarceration. There is no parole in the federal judicial system.
Huber praised the cooperative efforts of the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies whose work resulted in this prosecution.
On Aug. 14 of last year, a federal grand jury in Paducah returned an indictment charging 13 individuals, most of them from the Marion area, with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine between the fall of 2003 and the summer of 2007 in western Kentucky.
Tim Binkley, 36, who was the methamphetamine source of supply for the group, pleaded guilty on Feb. 22, 2008. He had originally pleaded not guilty.
During his change of plea, Binkley admitted that in the fall of 2003, he moved to Atlanta, Ga., and found a source of supply for methamphetamine. Over the course of time, Binkley then began supplying co-defendant Russell Hunt, 47, and others in western Kentucky with methamphetamine.
According to the a news release from Department of Justice Western District of Kentucky, Binkley would purchase a pound of methamphetamine for $10,500 in Atlanta and then sell it for $22,000 in western Kentucky.
As part of his plea, Binkley acknowledged that he was responsible for trafficking at least five kilograms but less than 15 kilograms (10-30 pounds) of methamphetamine in this case.
In May 2006, Binkley was arrested by the Paducah Police Department when he tried to claim a bag containing methamphetamine residue and approximately $22,000 in cash that had been left in a rental car at Enterprise Car Rentals. Paducah Police obtained a search warrant for Binkley's hotel room where they found additional money and drug paraphernalia. Co-defendant Riley Marie Baucum, 22, of Paducah was arrested at that time. A search of Binkley's truck revealed a Keltee 9mm handgun with ammunition and a small amount of Mexican currency. Binkley acknowledged during his change of plea that the money should be forfeited to the United States as drug proceeds. Here is a list of those sentenced over the past couple of weeks in U.S. District Court:

Hunt, 47, of Henderson, formerly of Marion, was sentenced to 15 years and eight months.
Stanley Wade Hopkins, 35, of Marion was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months.
Binkley was sentenced to 10 years.
Kimberly Ann Cowsert, 29, of Marion was sentenced to nine years and two months.
Randy Marcel Cowsert, 37, of Marion was sentenced to eight years and four months.
Ollie Peek, 53, of Marion was sentenced to seven years and three months.
Michael Elliot Towery, 38, of Creswell was sentenced to seven years and three months.
Stephanie Beth Holloman, 28, of Salem was sentenced to six years and six months.
Thomas Ervin Dawes, 46, of Calvert City was sentenced to five years and 10 months.
Michael D. Loveless, 36, of Salem was sentenced to five years 10 months.
Riley Marie Baucum, 22, of Paducah was sentenced to five years.

Additionally, co-defendant Robert Andrew Topp of Shady Grove will be sentenced on July 29. Co-defendant Troy Douglas Fox of Marion died on Feb. 17, 2008.
According to the news release issued by the Department of Justice, the investigation in this case revealed that in the fall of 2003, Binkley began supplying methamphetamine to the other defendants in the case, most frequently to Hunt.
As their dealings progressed, Hunt eventually purchased anywhere from eight ounces to a pound of methamphetamine at a time from Binkley, according to the Department of Justice. Hunt then distributed the methamphetamine to others, including but not limited to co-defendants Cowsert, Hopkins, Towery and Fox. As their drug trafficking continued, around January of 2005, Hunt hired people to make trips to Atlanta to pick up methamphetamine from Binkley and drive it back to Kentucky, the Department of Justice said.
Kimberly Cowsert made several trips from western Kentucky to Binkley’s home in Atlanta for the purpose of obtaining methamphetamine. On one trip to Atlanta, she took a briefcase full of money to Binkley at the request of Hunt to pay for methamphetamine.
Randy Cowsert also made trips to Atlanta for the purpose of obtaining methamphetamine, the news release said. On one occasion, however, Cowsert drove to Atlanta with Loveless and purchased a half pound of methamphetamine directly from Binkley. The two were stopped in Tennessee on their way back to Kentucky by law enforcement and Loveless was arrested on methamphetamine charges. However, Loveless was only charged at that time with possessing one-quarter pound of methamphetamine as law enforcement failed to recover the additional methamphetamine that was hidden in the car amplifier/speaker system, court records indicate.
On Feb. 15, 2008, co-defendants Hunt, Kimberly Cowsert, Baucum, Randy Cowsert, Peek, Holloman, Hopkins, Dawes and Towery appeared before Judge Russell and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Binkley pleaded guilty a week later, Loveless pleaded guilty on March 26, and Topp pleaded guilty on April 23, according to the news release.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele L. Thielhorn, and it was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration's Special Agent Daren Atkins, Kentucky State Police, Paducah Police Department's Drug Unit and State Police Lt. Brent White.

Golf cart issue set for Monday vote
On Monday, Marion could become the first city in Kentucky to legalize golf carts as a mode of transportation on public streets.
Last month, Councilman Jason Hatfield introduced a measure to adopt a new state law that would permit licensed, registered and insured golf carts on designated city streets in Marion. After a work session early this week to discuss issues surrounding the proposal, the council intends to put the ordinance to a vote at Monday’s regularly scheduled meeting. But more questions than answers appear to be lingering in the collective mind of the council.
“What good does it do us?” Councilman Darrin Tabor asked of possible passage, citing safety concerns and requests to allow other motorized modes of travel.
A new state law makes it easier for communities to allow carts on their streets.
Kentucky Sen. R.J. Palmer (D-Winchester) said he introduced a bill in the Kentucky General Assembly in effort to address high gas prices as well as give golfers an easier means to travel to and from the course in golfing communities. It was not intended to play favorites to those communities, however.
“The House changed the bill to allow travel only within five miles of an entrance to a golf course,” said Palmer. “I don’t like it. It makes it appear more like it's for golfing communities, and that’s not the intent.”
Marion Police Chief Ray O’Neal cautioned the council to consider public welfare when it makes its final decision next week.
“I think everyone just needs to think about safety,” he told coucil members Monday.
The state law, which went into effect Tuesday, simply allows cities and counties to make up their own minds over golf carts as a means to address high gas prices, Palmer said.
“Your city is the first I’ve heard of to do this,” the senator said Wednesday.