News from Nov. 6, 2003 issue



Crittenden joins counties in industrial park

Crittenden is joining five other counties in a joint industrial park that will be located in Lyon County near the Western Kentucky Correctional Complex.

The county's involvement will cost 15 percent of the total marketing and advertising expense to lure a corporation to the park. In return, Crittenden County stands to reap 15 percent of the tax revenue a large manufacturer will generate.

Gov. Paul Patton on Wednesday deeded 500 acres of state-owned property near the Fredonia prison farm to the Pennyrile West Park Board. The board is comprised of judge-executives from Crittenden, Caldwell, Lyon, Livingston and Trigg counties. The state owned about 2,000 acres at the prison site.

The counties plan on grooming the site in order to attract one large industry rather than seeking a number of small manufacturers. In other words, they're hoping for a home run, and Crittenden County Judge Executive Pippi Hardin thinks the coalition of counties is on the right track.
"It's a lot easier to get state and federal money when you're serving the masses, not just a particular county," Hardin said, pointing to multi-county involvement in the project.

Hardin said the county's initial expense may be up to $4,000 per year, but that small sum could be recouped in a short period of time if the group is able to lure in the type of industry its after.

Hunters for the Hungry establishes in Crittenden
Hunters for the Hungry is forming a local chapter in Crittenden County.

Because there are few funds and great demand for Hunters for the Hungry dollars, the local organization will have very little money to work with this season.

The state Hunters for the Hungry organization is providing $90 to get the project going. That will process just three deer, but John Phillips says that's just a start.
"If Crittenden County shows an interest and gets behind the program, there will be more money later," said Phillips, the former state deer biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Phillips, who has been working with Hunters for the Hungry the last few years since he retired from KDFWR, says the local group can hold fund-raising events and seek donations from other sources to help get the program started this season.
Local representatives from Hunters for the Hungry are collecting contributions. They hope to have about $500 to defray the cost of processing deer this season.
Hunters for the Hungry is a national organization that helps local groups facilitate a process of getting venison to those who need it. Much of the deer meat is taken to nearby soup kitchens or homeless shelters.

Phillips said that many times the venison stays right in the county where the deer was harvested.

"If you have local individuals or groups who want the meat, we can arrange for them to get it," he said.

Family Butcher Shop, a deer processing plant in the Amish Community, will be processing and packaging the meat for distribution.

Hunters who contribute deer to the program will be asked to make an additional $10 donation to Hunters for the Hungry. The hunter's cash contribution will be used to offset the difference in the actual cost of processing the meat and the amount Hunters for the Hungry will pay for packaging it. There are tax deduction options for the meat processor and all contributions to Hunters for the Hungry are tax deductible.

Anyone interested in receiving meat from the program or helping to promote Hunters for the Hungry in Crittenden County should call Chris Evans at 965-3191 or Dan Wood at 667-5235.

Who's really getting the big bucks in deer season?
If Crittenden County's deer hunting activity was a vehicle, it wouldn't be getting very good gas mileage.

Among all the states in the Commonwealth, Crittenden generally ranks among the top five in number of large game animals harvested. However, when it comes to counting the bucks, in this case the cash, Crittenden comes up well short of some other places that offer fewer deer but more places to eat, sleep and shop.

"So many people are not outdoors folks and they just don't comprehend what needs to be done," said Mike Wells, host of the Four Rivers Outdoors television show and a Crittenden County resident.

Wells' profession is directly linked to the outdoors. He's a hunting and fishing guide in addition to hosting WPSD's outdoor show. Helping people better understand the impact of hunting and fishing on the western Kentucky economy is something Wells spends a lot of time doing.

"I've been involved in several studies and did you know that hunting has decreased seven percent in the last few years," he said. "That's something we need to be aware of."

Wells said that single-parent homes and changing culture are taking many folks away from recreational hunting. With numbers declining, it could strike a serious blow to the outdoors-related businesses if the industry doesn't recognize the situation and begin stemming the tide.

When it comes to the dollars and cents of hunting, Wells is tuned in sharply. Advertising and marketing are a big part of his business and thinks Crittenden County can do a better job of selling itself.

"When you compare Crittenden County to Hopkins County there is no question which one has the best hunting, but look at the dollars spent," he said pointing out that Hopkins County's direct economic impact from hunting related activities is $15.5 million. Crittenden's economic benefit is $4.1 million.

Wells thinks that most out-of-area hunters who visit Crittenden County during deer season tend to drive in and drive out without ever spending too much money.
"Most of these folks who pull in campers bring their own food and other items," he said. "There needs to be more encouragement for them to buy here."

It all comes back to marketing and strategic planning, he said.

"There needs to be some advertising directed right at those hunters and I don't just mean sporting goods stores... they need restaurants and fuel, too."

Jonathan Day, the deer biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, says data show that Crittenden isn't selling many hunting license compared to other counties with large deer harvests.

"It looks like people are just coming in there to hunt," he said.
Day helped perform a study of the economic impact of hunting and fishing on Kentucky communities. Some of the information is based on federal statistics from tax money raised by the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and equipment.
"I think the numbers are probably pretty accurate," he said.

If they are right, the figures indicate that Crittenden County is getting the shaft; it's not getting very good mileage from its resource.

While Crittenden always leads area counties in the number of deer and turkeys harvested during their respective seasons, it trails most in regard to the money generated from hunting and the number of jobs created by the industry.

For example, Caldwell County has 69 jobs related to outdoors businesses, generates about $3.6 million in sales of hunting equipment and generates a $7.4 million economic impact for Princeton. Meanwhile, Crittenden trails in every category. The most significant disparity is in economic impact, where Crittenden trails Caldwell by about $3.3 million.