News from September 30, 2004 issue


Judge issues no burn order
Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown announced an emergency order Friday prohibiting open burning in the county due to extremely dry conditions.

The ban will remain in effect until the county experiences a minimum rainfall of two inches countywide within a 24-hour period or until further notice by the judge-executive.

Glenn Underdown, Weather Watcher for WPSD-TV, said Marion has not received a measurable rainfall since Aug. 25. On that date, four-tenths of an inch fell here. In fact, since Aug. 21, there has been only one inch of rainfall.

The county burning ban extends to all types of grass, trash or garbage burning, even in barrels, Judge Brown said.

This ban supercedes the state's fall forest fire hazard season which begins Friday throughout Kentucky. Once the local ban is lifted following adequate rainfall, the county will continue to operate under the state restrictions through Dec. 15. During that time, burning within 150 feet of a woodland or brushland is illegal from 6 a.m., to 6 p.m. daily.

Matt Dillon, the local Kentucky forester, says several factors such as lack of rain, low humidity and fall winds have created a virtual tinderbox throughout the county.

"Thank goodness common sense prevails in Crittenden County where we actually have a low incidence of forest fires," Dillon said. He cautions everyone to continue using common sense and avoid campfires, other open burning and even be careful putting out cigarettes until the no burn ban is lifted.

Salem wants regional jail
Efforts to build a regional jail took one under the chin last Thursday as citizens and city leaders from Salem threw their hat into the ring, saying they want the jail there.

Although a location for the proposed 150-bed jail ­ which would serve Crittenden and Livingston counties ­ had never been determined, most members of the two-county committee pushing the plan agreed that Marion had an ideal spot for the jail. In fact, Crittenden County recently purchased two lots and took an option on a third behind the current jail and between Carlisle and Depot streets where the new jail could be built.
When the regional jail committee met last week at Salem, Mayor Andy Fox, Salem City Council members and other residents showed up to voice their reasoning for putting the jail in Salem instead of Marion. They say Salem is more centrally located and they offered free land, just over five acres of undeveloped, city-owned property.

Thursday's type-written meeting agenda was passed out to about 30 people who attended. The agenda included seven different items with location being the first thing discussed. After about an hour and a half of talking about where the jail would be located, the meeting was adjourned without any attention given to the other items on the agenda, which included creation of an official two-county jail authority, its bylaws, members and financing options. None of those things were even brought to the table after a division over the site dominated talks.

Although leaders from the two counties say they remain optimistic about the likelihood of a regional jail being built, several expressed their concerns privately that the same old stumbling block could kill the idea.

The regional jail concept has been tried twice before in the past 15 years or so, but each time a loosely formed coalition broke up over the issue of where it would be located.

Fred Brown and Chris Lasher, judge-executives from Crittenden and Livingston, and county magistrates, sheriffs and jailers have been working on the idea of a regional jail for the last four months. Union County has also shown interest in the concept, but not as a primary partner. Union officials have indicated they would likely contract with the Crittenden-Livingston Jail to keep some inmates if it's built, because they are now taking prisoners to farther away jails.

Leaders from Crittenden and Livingston counties say the regional jail idea would help both counties curb increasing costs of incarcerating criminals. Right now, the two counties spend a combined $700,000 on their two jails, which are not eligible for keeping state inmates. A new jail would be built to state standards and could charge other counties or the state $26 a day to hold prisoners.

Lasher said Salem leaders deserve an opportunity to make their pitch for the jail. He said the small town near the county line was not originally considered because several years ago when the concept was on the table, Salem residents rose up against putting a regional there.
"We didn't think they would be interested," Lasher said. "The two communities are going to have to do something about this jail issue so we need to work on determining the best location then move ahead."
Lasher did however caution the Salem contingent that selling the jail to their community as economic development will not be wise because it will not provide many new jobs.

Rev. John East was at the meeting and talked about Salem's need for more visibility if nothing else. He said that he encouraged his congregation at Salem Baptist Church Sunday to "go to bat" for the community and urge officials to put the regional jail there.

Fox, Salem's mayor, said the property the city is willing to give up for the regional jail is located on the south side of U.S. 60 just east of Tambco Convenience Center.

Salem's city maintenance supervisor Doug Slayden said the site has Kentucky Utilities power (two sub stations are directly in front of the property), Salem's sewer plant is rated to treat 160,000 gallons per day but currently using just 44 percent of its capacity and the city and/or county water lines are right there, too.
"We knew from the onset of this thing that location was going to be the biggest hurdle," Crittenden's Judge Brown said. "I think we need to have an independent study done on both sites and let that be the determining factor."
Putting the jail in Marion has been partly contingent on the fact that the city has 24-hour police service available.

Salem City Council will meet at 7 p.m., Oct. 12 for its regular monthly meeting and will call a special town meeting two days later on Oct. 14 at the Salem Baptist Church Christian Life Center (former elementary school). The town meeting will be for the purpose of gauging community support for the jail in Salem. The jail committee is scheduled to meet again Oct. 28 at Marion's Ed-Tech Center.

Summer school fails on funding
Reductions in funding for Extended School Services (ESS) has resulted in the elimination of summer school at two Crittenden County schools.
In the past, summer school was a four-week program to help students recover credits they failed during the school year. It cost the district $9,000 per school.

Next year, only the high school will offer summer school. The money saved at the elementary and middle schools will be used to pay the extra staff who are staying for after school ESS programs.

Cuts to ESS funding totaled just over $31,000 from last year to the current school year. It was up to principals and school councils to determine the best use of funds to meet student needs.

Acting superintendent Janie Tomek said beefing up remedial programs throughout the year is beneficial to students and a better use of the school system's money. A four-week summer school program costs three times the amount of year-round ESS, in part because of transportation provided during the summer.

Plus, Tomek says emphasis on remediation throughout the year helps students catch up on skills they missed on a more timely basis, rather than waiting until the end of the school year.

The elementary school suffered the greatest cut in ESS funding ­ $11,000.

When charged with developing a plan for using its ESS allocation, CCES' school council decided it would be better to focus ESS efforts throughout the year and eliminate summer school, said assistant principal Karen Nasseri.

The council could have elected not to have ESS throughout the school year and instead save the money for summer school; however, the council thought it would be more beneficial for students to receive extra help during the year, Nasseri said.

About 35 percent of the students in grades six, seven and eight have been identified for ESS at the middle school. Those students receive extra attention in specific subject areas two afternoons a week by teachers hired for ESS and peer tutors from the high school. Middle school principal Vince Clark said administrators will use CATS and CTBS scores in the spring to develop focus groups in math, reading, science, social studies and writing.

Offered in conjunction with the high school's ESS offerings is a new Credit Recovery Program. The program has been implemented to allow students to make up credits they have failed without waiting until summer to do so. It is an attempt to keep students on grade level and ultimately reduce the potential for a student becoming a drop out, explains principal Steve Carter.

Students are required to attend 58 hours of the 66 hours offered twice a week after school. Students work on NovaNet, a computer-based curriculum program.

The program is funded by Gear Up & Soar. Upon completion of the semester, grades earned during the Credit Recovery Program are averaged with students' previous grade.