News from June 18, 2009 issue

Local News
The Crittenden Press Full Version (PDF)

Pilot, plane survive harrowing experience
Donnie Belt admits his crash landing last week in a crop field near Marion was a harrowing experience, but he's not giving up his wings any time soon.
"I love flying. You have so much freedom up there. I just don't know how to describe it, but it's in my blood and I can't get it out," said the 57-year-old pilot who safely crash landed a SkyBoy Experimental airplane in a freshly planted soybean field just off Coleman Road before dusk Friday.
Belt was the only person on board the two-seat craft known as a light sport plane.
"It's between an ultralight and a Cessna 150 or 152," said Belt, describing the aircraft he was flying. The plane belongs to his friend Joe Nesbitt, and the two have flown it several times without incident.
Gary Cruce, who lives on U.S. 641 near the crash site, said he heard the plane sputtering so he jumped in his Jeep and headed toward where it was going down.
"It was circling and the motor was cutting in and out," Cruce said. "You could tell something was not right then I heard it hit the ground. We headed that way and called the police department."
Cruce said that when he arrived at the crash site, the pilot was standing outside the plane.
Belt said it was beautiful afternoon for flying and that nothing appeared wrong until his engine stalled in flight. He remembered seeing a freshly planted field behind him and knew that would be the softest place to land. His training taught him to be cognizant of his surroundings in case ditching the plane became a necessity.
The aircraft was at 2,500 to 3,000 feet when it stalled. Belt realized he had enough altitude to glide for some distance, but knew he couldn't make it back to Marion Airport from where he had lifted off minutes earlier.
"If I would have tried to get back to the airport I would have ended up on somebody's roof or on the pavement," he said. "I really didn't have time to think too much about anything except going through my checklist."
Part of the procedure when preparing for a crash landing is turning off fuel lines and any electronics to reduce the chance of an explosion on impact, he explained.
"You don't want a big fireball when you hit," he said. "I was pretty confident I could land it though. I was real sure I could if I could get to that field."
Belt circled about three times on his descent then held the nose up as long as he could as the back wheels touched the ground.
"I did what's called a soft wheel landing," he explained.
On the way down, Belt says he was too worried about hitting the freshly broken field than worrying about how bad it could be. He continued to try to start the aircraft as he glided in a downward spiral.
Bobby West, an off duty Marion police officer, was also among the first on the scene. He said the pilot had a small abrasion on his arm, but no other physical signs of injury. An ambulance was not called to the scene, but the FAA was notified.
Belt says the aircraft will be repaired and back in the air as soon as possible.

Locals open dens to Bobcats
When the last out has been made and lights go off at the ballpark, Marion’s Bobcats head to their makeshift dens among host families throughout the county.
The summer collegiate league baseball team competing in its second season in Marion has won the hearts and minds of many sports fans, but the players have truly endeared themselves with their host families. Thirteen local individuals or couples have opened their residences to these athletes, some of whom are hundreds of miles from their own homes. And the bonds are growing more solid by the day.
"I never went to the ball games, but now I go," said Paula Miniard, who hosts Mike DeSanto, a shortstop from Philadelphia.
"I had an empty room back there that no one uses," Miniard explained. "So when they asked me about keeping one, I said I would do it."
Miniard converted her grandchildren's toy room into a bedroom and although she admits her city boy Bobcat is having to adjust to life without cable television or the Internet, there are some things she made sure he'd have.
"I don't have central air conditioning, so I put an air conditioner in the window just for my Bobcat."
Mary and Tommy Tabor are hosting a ball player at their home on Bellville Street. Mary says she told Zach Sutton, her guest, that he was welcome to anything in the kitchen.
"I am no Betty Crocker or Martha Stewart," says Mary with a chuckle, "so I told him that if he wants something to eat he can just look for it."
Sharon Murray, who is retiring from the school system later this month, said she welcomes the company.
"After the games, we sit and talk for a while then he goes to bed," Murray said. "I go to work in the mornings and he sleeps to around dinner. We are seldom at the house at the same time."
The hosts interviewed for this article each agree that their ball players are well-mannered, courteous and respectful.
"He cleans up after himself very well ,and he's very polite," Miniard said. "I can't even tell when he's been in the bathroom."
Gordon Guess, general manager of the baseball team, said 23 players ages 18 to 21 are placed in host homes for 10 weeks. There are 50 games during that span, leaving just eight open dates.
Players are generally at the ball field by 3:30 p.m., for home games or loaded and gone well before that on days when the team is traveling to Owensboro, Fulton, Union City, Tenn., Sikeston, Mo., or Dawson Springs.
Tommy Tabor says there really isn't a whole lot of time for hosts and the players to spend together, but somehow he and his wife find time.
"We stay up waiting for him sometimes," Tabor admits, sounding like a father watching over a son.

Program allows parents to track kids at schoool
The ever-watchful eye of mom and dad will gain a new measure of power next school year thanks to the Internet.
Beginning in August, parents can keep track of the children at school by logging onto a Web site designed to provide them with a variety of real time information about attendance, grades, homework or fees. Teachers and administrators will be posting data daily, giving parents a tool for tracking their children's whereabouts and progress between report cards.
Crittenden County was part of a pilot program and started two years ago integrating the Infinite Campus program into the schools. The high school and middle school have been using the system with access available only to teachers and administrators. Starting this fall, family members who are authorized to view individual student data can track a variety of items that will improve communications between the school and parents.
"For instance," explains Al Starnes, director of pupil personnel, "If you have reason to believe your child is not in school as he or she is supposed to be, you can go to the Web site, log in with your password and check to see if your child is in class."
Starnes said the information will be available in real time on a daily basis. Teachers will post homework assignments online so parents can keep up with those demands on students plus track grades and other classroom activities. Lunch room fees, book costs or other club fees will also be posted in students' files.
The school system has set aside two days this summer to help parents register to use the online service and learn more about it. Orientation periods are from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday (today) and again next Thursday, June 25 at the high school annex off East Elm Street. Registration will take only about 10 minutes so parents or guardians may come and go as they please during the orientation period. They will be asked to sign an acceptable use policy agreement and to verify student information.