Carter will continue as principal
Steve Carter, 30, who served as interim principal the last year at Crittenden County High School, has been hired to fill the position permanently.
The CCHS Site-based, Decision-Making Council (SBDM) asked acting Superintendent Janie Tomek for the names of six finalists, which the council screened and/or interviewed.
The SBDM met Sunday and recommended that Carter be hired on a permanent basis. Tomek notified Carter Monday that he would be hired as principal.
Carter is the fourth principal in eight years to head the local high school and one of seven principals over the last dozen or so years. He has a bachelor's degree in history and math from Western Kentucky University and completed his master's degree in administration in 2001.
A native of Meade County, Carter has worked in the local school system for the last eight years and has served in various capacities including history teacher, football coach, softball coach and assistant principal.
"I look forward to continuing working with the people of Crittenden County and the faculty and staff at CCHS to provide the best education possible for our children," said Carter.
Carter has been the defensive coordinator for the Rocket football team the last three years. He resigned his coaching position earlier this week after learning that he had been hired as full-time principal.
Airport gets $1.8 million for paving runway
Motorists and residents along Ky. 91 North and Crittenden Springs Road have certainly noticed the movement of big piles of dirt and construction that's underway at the local airport.
The Marion-Crittenden County Airport will soon feature a paved 4,400-foot runway, perhaps by this fall. From one end of the pavement to the other will be almost one mile. The new airport runway will extend virtually all the way from Ky. 91 to Ky. 1668. Current dirt work can be seen from both highways.
U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Hopkinsville) was in Marion Friday to leave a check for $1.8 million which will pay for paving the airstrip. The money is from a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant. Local and state governments are also kicking in money for the project, which will have cost $4 million at completion. The FAA has and will have contributed about $3.5 million.
Once complete, the Marion airport will be a state-of-the-art landing facility, capable of handling small jets and turbo prop airplanes.
It will be among only a handful of airports in western Kentucky capable of accommodating corporate aircraft.
"I think this airport is one of the main ingredients in economic development," Whitfield told the crowd gathered at the Crittenden Courthouse Friday for the check presentation to Marion-Crittenden County Airport Board members and local leaders.
Whitfield said the proposed expansion of U.S. 641 and the local Ed-Tech Center are signs of progress in Crittenden County.
"I do believe you have tremendous potential here," he said.
The congressman praised local airport board members and other leaders who made trips to Washington D.C., more than two years ago to meet with FAA officials and other federal office holders.
"The fact that your group came to Washington and met with Kate Lang (deputy assistant administrator for airports) made a big impression," Whitfield added. "It has made the FAA much more willing to work with Crittenden County."
Jim Johnson, the local airport board chairman who has spearheaded much of the effort to raise funding for the expansion project, said it is nice to know that Washington is willing to listen.
"We would have never received this money if we hadn't have gone up there. We made two trips to Washington to secure funding for the project. It simply would not have happened without that type of effort," said Johnson, who pointed out that more than 90 percent of the funding for the project is FAA money earmarked only for airport construction projects.
Johnson said the local airport project was free of many of the issues and stumbling blocks that can kill such plans.
"We owned the land, had an ideal location that's aligned with prevailing winds and runs along a ridgetop," he explained. "And we have three different roads for access to the airport."
The latest funds will be used to continue construction of the new runway and should be complete by late this fall, Johnson said. The airport currently had a 2,700-foot turf runway. The funding is awarded by the FAA through its Airport Improvement Program discretionary account based on direction it receives from Congress.
Of the $1.8 million received last week, $800,000 Whitfield secured through the appropriations process.
Once paving is completed, Johnson said more work will be done to add lighting, an instrument landing system for bad weather operations and perhaps administration building and a fuel center.
Lt. Carlson graduates from West Point
Crittenden County native Brandon Carlson made history on his college graduation day. He is the first person from Marion to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Carlson, the son of Lee Carlson of Marion, concentrated his studies in American history and was commissioned a second lieutenant trained heavily in field artillery.
The 2000 Crittenden County High School graduate will attend Officers Basic Course at Fort Sill, Okla., this summer and in December will join an active Army unit and work alongside soldiers currently fighting the global war on terrorism most likely in Afghanistan or Iraq.
The prestige of graduating from West Point speaks for itself, but Carlson graduated in the top one-fourth of his class.
While on breaks from the rigors of West Point over last four years, Carlson didn't slack off when he reached the comforts of his Crittenden County home. No matter the temperature or time of year, Carlson's feet hit the pavement for runs most wouldn't tread in their vehicles on a cold winter's day. Staying in top mental and physical condition is imperative for a cadet, he said.
The application process just to get into West Point was as rigorous as the daily schedule. Carlson's admission process required a Congressional nomination from U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield.
"I cannot think of a more important job laden with responsibility than being in charge of soldiers, both career noncommissioned officers and newly enlisted privates," Carlson told The Press for a previous article.
While at West Point Carlson was a member of the regimental staff and a platoon leader, both of which are positions coveted by cadets.
The mission of West Point is to educate, train and inspire the corps of cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of duty, honor, country; professional growth throughout a career as an officer in the U.S. Army; and a lifetime of selfless service to the nation.
Carlson will leave for Fort Sill later next month. Coincidentally, his grandfather, the late Thurman Lee Berry of Mattoon was in field artillery at Fort Sill.
