Todd County News

Video from this week's story

2011-12-30T12:37:00.005-06:00

Here is an interesting video from a story we had this week about a singer who had a stroke. She can't speak, but she can still sing.

Thank you, Lord - Sissy's Journey

www.youtube.com

Listen to Gov. Beshear's speech about child abuse files

2011-11-29T15:55:00.002-06:00

Gov. Steve Beshear today (Nov. 29) has directed the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services to open the records of cases in which child abuse or neglect resulted in a child fatality or near fatality.

This is a big win for all of those that wondered if there would ever be any light through the darkness of red tape and secrecy in the Cabinet.

Here is the mp3 of the speech:

A video, taken by David Thompson of the Kentucky Press Association can been seen here:

See this week's Standard for a full story and analysis.

Dye pleads guilty

2011-10-21T16:42:00.000-05:00

Garrett Dye will serve at least 20 years in prison after confessing today to the murder of his adopted sister in Todd County Circuit Court today.
Dye faces a 50-year sentence and must serve 20 of those years before being eligible for parole, said Todd Circuit Judge Tyler Gill.
Official sentencing will be Nov. 23.
Dye entered a conditional guilty plea, which means he can appeal to the state Supreme Court.
See next week's Standard for the full story.

The trouble with towers

2011-10-04T13:13:00.002-05:00

(This week's column by Ryan Craig.)

Don’t think me an ingrate, but I’m about to shore up my complaining pants, tighten my sass belt and straighten my tie of righteous indignation and dance the dance with my angry shoes.

AT&T, you break my heart.

We have reported and reported on the possibility that you would bring us better service here in “wittle-old” Todd County.

You teased us with your towers that will bring service, that will look like those cool commercials with apps that can tell you how many fleas are on our dogs or make us a sandwich when we are tired.

We complained bitterly about your stance that Todd County didn’t have enough customers ... and we still probably don’t, but thanks to that gigantic silicon making thing to the south of us, you guys got a lot of pressure to get something going.

(Sorry, I stopped to take a call and, I would swear to this in front of a judge on a stack of Bibles, the person on the phone lost their service. Their AT&T service.)

Anyway, you dedicated with major pomp and circumstance a tower in south Todd. It wasn’t immediately working, but now it is.

The tower in Clifty — I will get into why I say Clifty and not north Todd later — was up and working faster but many have complained that while they are happy to have cell phone service they were perplexed as to why there is only basic or 2G service.

Since there was no real indication of when 3G (or hopefully 4G since 5G is on its way) will come to Clifty, it seems like the excitement in north Todd at the posibility of overall wireless broadband service is a fleeting dream.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a problem that people in most places would care so much about, except in Todd County, most of the houses outside of the cities don’t have broadband access. Or, at best, they have satellite service which is not always what most experts consider affordable.

Most are stuck with 1994 technology in their homes and a burning dislike in their hearts for companies that see a profit margin before they can see their customers.

Also, we have a high school full of students who have laptops, and there have been real issues for almost three years now getting good high-speed service for the students to use at home.

Truthfully, I think most people on a daily basis don’t see the absolute need for better broadband access, but as the technological world heads farther away from desktop computing to mobile broadband devices like cell phones, laptops and hybrid devices like the iPad, the need for a good infrastructure becomes more and more apparent.

Still, after all the complaining, and, trust us, this newspaper and its editor have complained to the governor, state and U.S. representatives and senators and even AT&T itself. It boggles our mind that we might have to be glad that the slither of north Todd that can get a fast signal through the hills and hollers might be as good as it gets for a long while.

Here’s a story that is absolutely true and scary at the same time:

When this newspaper had a Web site with HD videos, an avid reader and supporter of the newspaper told me he had to download a video in the morning before he went to work on his slow dial-up service and when he’d get home in the afternoon, he would sometimes see the download of the video had just finished up.

That is real problem ... for 1998!

People often ask me when I’m going to put a Web site back up and I tell them that I would be glad to when I thought there would be enough of my readers who could watch our videos and enjoy our site instead of just the parts that will upload at the speed of slug.

Hilda Legg, who has served in the Rural Utilities Service and in the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, D.C., and now serves as a consultant in Rural Economic Development with emphasis in telecommunications deployment in rural America, told me in 2007 (that’s right, four years ago) that high-speed broadband access might be the most important single infrastructure a rural community can have.

Just like market-to-farm roads in the 1930s and electricity in the following decades, she said broadband will be key to the future of rural America staying with the rest of the country, much less the rest of the world.

It just saddens me to see our struggles when communities in Kentucky much smaller than ours have broadband service or are on their way to good service through USDA grants.

The grants, as part of the stimulus package a few years back, were deemed too small for large companies like AT&T.

So if a slow drip by AT&T is the best we can do then our leaders and those who seek a better and brighter future should be commended for what we have.

Still, our leaders (and AT&T) should be challenged to bring in more and better service to Todd County.

Then I can retire my complaining pants and sass belt and enjoy a world where anywhere I go — and I do mean anywhere — I can look up information on the internet on my mobile device just like those folks in the big city.

We should accept nothing less ... we deserve nothing less.

Throw the bums out!

2011-08-12T10:26:00.002-05:00

Here is Ryan Craig's column from this week's newspaper:

LET'S THROW THE BUMS OUT

Let me be straight about this, I am so mad with the elected officials in Washington D.C. that I’m going to refrain from saying what I really want to say (mainly because this is a family newspaper) and I’m going to turn over my anger to a favorite 1930s saying by those who were hit by the both the economic tidal wave of fiscal mismanagement and politicians who couldn’t handle them:

LET’S THROW THE BUMS OUT!!!

Ray Stevens also has a really good song with the same title and as we all know Ray Stevens is rarely wrong.
Also let me be clear, I don’t care if you are a Democrat, a Democrat who votes like a Republican, a Republican who votes like a Tea Party member, a Tea Party member who votes like they have some sort of special way of reading the Constitution or one of the Independent so influential (in effect, they elected President Obama) in the previous two national elections; you all shoulder the blame.

All of us.

I sat and watched in horror of the brinkmanship, partisan rhetoric and murky dealings that really gave us nothing except a terrible set of options and a debt limit that was raised as part of the most pitiful amount of governing in several generations.

Then a few days later, Standard & Poor’s —- a credit agency —- said what we all were thinking: Let’s throw the bums out! Or at least, let’s make an effort to lower debt, raise revenue and give some stability to a world-wide market that is shakier than turtle trying to walk on a washing machine on spin cycle.

The agency took the United States’ credit rating from AAA (which is perfect) to AA+ (which is still super good, but just bad enough to make Wall Street and every other market in the world go absolutely nuts).

Sure, the same politicians who caused the problem because they think compromise is a akin to weakness despite 240 years of our history that contradicts otherwise, started finger pointing.

The Republicans called the credit lowering “Obama’s reduction;” the White House called the same thing “The Tea Party reduction.”

Basically, there is no way this isn’t the fault of everyone in Congress, the White House and those in the so-called “media” who make a living throwing what former GOP strongman Alan Simpson called “sharp elbows” — “instead of having a caucus where you sit down and say ‘What are you going to do for your county?’ you sit figuring out how to screw the other side.”
Simpson, who was about as fiscally responsible and conservative as it gets when he was in office, told Time magazine that America was “the healthiest horse in the glue factory” and needs to get serious about cutting our deficit.

“The absolute rigidity of the parties,” he said. “I’ve never seen that before. Somebody said they’re as rigid as a fireplace poker but without the occasional warmth.”

A couple facts: The U.S. deficit is $14 trillion. You could not count that high in your lifetime. The average share of that deficit is a little over $120,000 per household. For the first time since the Great Depression you have a generation that thinks their lives will not be as good as their parents’ or grandparents’.

Let’s throw the bums out!

Another problem for you and I —- you know, regular people who work for a living —- will be that the credit downgrade for the U.S. and places like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have a majority of the home loans in the nation, will make it much harder to go to a bank and get a loan.

Basically those who have money will gobble up cheap stocks and those who took a huge hit in 2008 will take another ding.

This year over 1,000 millionaires paid no taxes at all. The rich will remain so while all the rest of us become poorer.

While I’m not a fan of socialism, I’m also not a fan of Darwinian capitalism either. The system is rigged for the rich and your American Dream is vanishing by the day as the money is transferred slowly but surely.

Let’s throw the bums out!

There is no reason to think that the current group of jackals we have will change for the better.

So, I say let’s take responsibility for our own lives by not borrowing more than we can cover. Let’s take responsibility for those who make or have made our lives worse.

Let’s throw the bums out!

Let’s celebrate in five years when Rand Paul, and hopefully his ideas that could cripple the lives of our children and grandchildren, is defeated and the last of the bums in Washington D.C. are gone.

This column is not about politics, it is about life, and no one can convince me that a slow, thoughtful effort to rid ourselves of the cancer that has set in in Washington D.C. has to be about politics. They all deserve nothing less than to join the unemployment line.

It is time that we demand more than a bunch of sound bites from those who sign no tax pledges before going into office and then take an oath to serve the people. It is time to stop voting for people who won’t sit in a room with people who have differing opinions on things like abortion, tax codes or what is the best way to run a school.

They are all supposed to serve the people who put them in the office, but instead they seem to serve everyone else first. The biggest problem in D.C. is that everyone seems to serve two (or more) masters and we all learned in Sunday School that way of thinking only brings destruction and anarchy.

So, please, make every effort, send this column to everyone you know. Let’s start taking our task seriously.

Let’s throw the bums out!

Every …
Single …
Last ….
One ….
Of …
Them ….

Trenton 9-year-old's death, brother indicted.

2011-02-18T12:36:00.001-06:00

Garrett Thomas Dye, 17, of Trenton has been indicted for the murder of his 9-year-old adopted sister and cousin, Amy R. Dye.

The Grand Jury indicted Garrett Dye today (Feb. 18) for murder, resisting arrest and tampering with physical evidence. Documents show he has admitted to killing his sister.

Also, the rumor that Dye allegedly used a shovel was wrong. The indictment said it was a hydraulic jack handle.

Look for more on the story in next week's Todd County Standard.

Trenton girl's death arrest made

2011-02-07T11:29:00.003-06:00

From the Kentucky State Police: On Sunday, February 6, 2011, at approximately 4:20 p.m., a 17-year-old was taken into custody by KSP Detectives and Troopers. The juvenile was charged with Murder and Resisting Arrest in regards to the death of 9-year-old, Amy R. Dye. The juvenile was lodged in the Warren County Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Bowling Green.

Trenton 9-year-old's death investigation UPDATE

2011-02-05T15:23:00.001-06:00

From the state police:

DEATH INVESTIGATION UPDATE

An autopsy was performed today (02/05/11) at the State Medical Examiner’s Officer in Louisville. The cause of death for the victim, Amy R. Dye, was multiple, blunt force trauma.

Trenton 9-year-old's death investigation

2011-02-05T13:35:00.001-06:00

Guthrie, KY. (Todd County)

On Friday, February 4, 2011, at approximately 10:20 p.m., the Kentucky State Police Post 2 Madisonville received a call from the Todd County Sheriff’s Department requesting assistance in locating a missing 9-year-old female. The location of the missing child was Dogwood Road between Guthrie and Trenton.

On Saturday, February 05, 2011, at approximately 12:21 a.m., KSP Post 2 was contacted again by Todd County advising that the 9-year-old female had been located deceased. The Todd County Coroner, Bob Whittlesey, pronounced the victim dead at the scene. An autopsy is scheduled for today at the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Louisville. At the present time, no other information is available.

The investigation is continuing by the Kentucky State Police. Anyone with information concerning this investigation is urged to contact the Kentucky State Police at 1-270-676-3313 or toll-free in Kentucky at 1-800-222-5555. Callers may remain anonymous. The Todd County Sheriff’s Department, Todd County Rescue/EMS, Todd County EMA, the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wild Life, the Trenton Police Department, and the Todd County Coroner’s Office assisted at the scene.

Larry Craig Obituary

2011-01-16T21:47:00.002-06:00

Larry Steven Craig, 61, of Morgantown, formerly of Todd County, died Jan. 16, 2011 at his residence.
He was born in Todd County on June 19, 1949, son of J.R. and Clara Pauline “Polly” Utley Craig of Allegre.
Mr. Craig was a Baptist minister and a newspaper journalist. He was a past owner of the Green River Republican newspaper in Morgantown and taught journalism at Western Kentucky University. He had served as a Butler County Trial Commissioner and a past president of the Kentucky Press Association and was a member of Richland Missionary Baptist Church and the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame.
Funeral services will be held at noon on Jan. 19 at Jones Funeral Chapel in Morgantown, with burial to follow in the Hill Haven Memory Gardens. There will be visitation from 5-8 p.m. Jan. 17 at Latham Funeral Home in Elkton and from noon-8 p.m. Jan. 18 at Jones Funeral Chapel, as well as on Wednesday from 8 a.m. until time for the service.
In addition to his parents, Mr. Craig is survived by his wife, Patricia Grace Craig of Morgantown; his daughters and sons-in-law, Julie and John Blanford of Henderson, Summer and Will Hines of Beaver Dam and Paige and Brian McKinney of Morgantown; his sister, Jeannie Craig of Rosewood; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Richard and Mary Ann Craig of Allegre, Michael and Jean Craig of Bowling Green and Thomas and Patricia Craig of Russellville; his grandchildren, Garrett and Will Blanford, Morgan McKinney and Hope, Faith, Cameron and Sophie Hines; and several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

Family tours farm where ancestors were once slaves

2010-08-19T14:03:00.002-05:00

By Jenni Osborne
Todd County Standard

They traveled a dusty road flanked by nearly dried-up corn and beans, stirring tiny yellow butterflies from their afternoon repose, sweating as the sun loomed overhead.

But they could not complain as they walked the path that had paved the way for their future. These were the same fields their ancestors had worked, earth broken on the shoulders of those who came before.

The Russell family looked every bit the tourists they were, khaki shorts, sun hats and iPhone cameras clicking as they surveyed the D.N. Short farm on Allensville Road last weekend, looking for any connection they could make to the past.
The group planned a family reunion around the tour after learning they are direct descendants of the slaves once tethered to the land.

George Russell, whose father was from Trenton, and many members of his extended family hail from Indianapolis, Ind., but they’ve been drawn toward a piece of land in southern Todd County since George met Vanessa Short — whose father-in-law owns the farm — at the Todd County Library while they were researching their respective families’ pasts.

It turned out there was a major connection — specifically, the name Russell.

Vanessa’s husband Ashley’s ancestors — also Russells — owned slaves that kept the surname Russell after they were freed.

Those same slaves that worked what is today the D.N. Short land are Charlie’s forefathers, and when the two families realized it, they began to plan a get-together.

Charlie’s group of about 20 — some of whom hadn’t even met each other before — attended the Aug. 8 celebration in Allensville before gathering at the Short farm on a relentlessly hot day, the women carrying umbrellas as makeshift parasols and exclaiming over the biggest bugs they’d ever seen.

They were still conscious of how much worse it would have been, say, a couple centuries ago.

“As we’re walking, I’m thinking, our ancestors actually worked this land, and here we are with umbrellas!” said reunion-goer Carrie Russell Morris, whose father — the oldest living Russell at 88 — was originally from Elkton.
Ashley and Vanessa showed the Russells around as they stopped to remember a people to whom they owe much of their strength today.

But the real tour guide was Gillie Short of Hopkinsville, Ashley’s nearly 99-year-old grandmother who was dressed in pink and able to lend more insight to the Russells than any genealogical records.

Pausing for get-to-know-yous in a cabin the Shorts rent to hunters, the group’s attention turned to Gillie.

Charlie knelt beside her excitedly but reverently, ready to learn from this woman who had been born on the very farm some of his ancestors died on.

Turns out she was even more amped to meet him. “You’re the man with all the history!” she told him.

Charlie’s been researching his family — and, by extension, Gillie’s — for 20 years, but he still wanted to know what she knows, this woman whose ancestors “owned” his in a way that, as some at the reunion pointed out, we are just now able to talk about.

Cheryl Hall-Russell said it’s about time for gatherings like this. “We have finally gotten to a place in America where we can have these kind of conversations about slavery and what it was and what it meant,” she said. “It’s nice when you can get people who have been on both sides of it, because it is a shared legacy.”

And indeed, on this day, they scrambled for links in their own histories, for the moment their legacies coincide. The extended Russell family kept its attention locked on the tiny woman who might unlock the shackles of their past, the room nearly silent as they waited for names they’d recognize to tumble from her lips.

Does Gillie remember a George Russell? He was Charlie’s ancestor and was named in a Russell family will, as a household’s slaves typically were. Gillie remembered a “Georgie” — perhaps that was him.

Most everyone packed cameras and some videotaped her recollections, as if this ever were a day they could forget.
In the meantime, the youngest member of the Russell group befriended the Shorts’ daughter, Catherine, and the sight of the two holding hands resonated.

“I was just thinking about Dr. King’s words — the children of former slaves and the children of former slave owners playing together,” said Lauren Rochester, another extended family member. “So poetic.”

The kids saw something much simpler happening.

“I’ve made a new friend,” Alyssa Henderson announced as she climbed into the back of a Cub Cadet with Catherine for the tour of the grounds.

Gillie played cruise director — she remembers where the old slave quarters were, a cluster of cabins that have since caught fire, and the group followed her to the shady spot where their family once lived.

Marvin Russell, part of the Chicago side of the family, said he had searched records in Elkton the day before and found his great-great-grandparents’ marriage license from 1895.

Marvin explained that there were 14 kids who came from this farm, sons and grandkids of slaves, who make up the branches of his extended family tree.

One of them, Thornton Russell, is in his direct line, Marvin said. “It’s pretty crazy,” he said of his findings. “We were pretty excited.”

The Shorts also led the Russells on the 10-minute walk to an old sharecropper’s house with 1930s newsprint lining the walls.

“Whew — we don’t know how blessed we are!” was Robert Henderson’s reaction after emerging from the rickety shack.

Ashley showed the group — most of them whom admittedly aren’t that familiar with farming but are interested in everything about the life, asking which crops are which and how they’re planted – a tobacco barn and explained how their ancestors would’ve had to to do everything by hand.

Hall-Russell considered that long-ago struggle.

“It’s pretty emotional,” she said. “You take seconds of quiet where you imagine what their toil was like. It makes me very grateful for my ancestors.”

The pilgrimage concluded at a small family cemetery tucked in a corner of the cornfield. The Russells gathered around the final resting place of one of their own, a tombstone fallen over and nearly hidden in the dirt.

The land owners’ graves are still standing, but most of the slaves were buried in unmarked graves in the back.
Charlie helped brush some of the debris off the headstone and gently righted it to reveal that this one had a name — Cashy Russell.

“If people just knew the stories in their families, they’d be humbled by them — by the sacrifices that were made,” he said.

Nuisance Ordinance

2010-06-10T12:00:00.007-05:00

Here is the hard copy of the proposed Nuisance Ordinance. Tell us what you think.

Test

2010-05-24T13:13:00.000-05:00

African-American managing Jefferson Davis Park

2010-05-21T15:55:00.004-05:00

Here is an interesting story from this week's Todd County Standard:

By Tonya S. Grace
Todd County Standard

Ron Sydnor cuts an imposing figure as he stands near the entrance of the museum at the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site in Fairview.

He is framed in the rear by the park’s famed Jefferson Davis Monument, known as the tallest unreinforced concrete structure in the world, and by the flags flying overhead in the breeze on this sunny spring afternoon.

He is a good fit for the park — for the historic site along US 68 where Sydnor, a former Marine, a student of history and native of Russellville, is now the park manager.

Officials with the Kentucky Division of Parks cite his background in history and the military and his knowledge of the local area as assets for his new job.

“He’s got a lot of familiarity with the area, and he knows that history backward and forward,” observed Chris Kellogg, the department’s communications director.

Sydnor is likely the first African-American to manage the local park, which is the site of the birthplace of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

And Sydnor said he believes that his ethnicity too will be a plus in his capacity as park manager. He said it will give him a chance to dispel some of the myths surrounding the history of the Civil War era, and he noted that black history is intertwined with that history.

“I see myself as a bit of a historian, and this is history,” said Sydnor, who has a bachelor’s degree in history with an emphasis on the colonial era through the Civil War.

“None of us can deny that this happened,” he continued. “As long as I look at it from a standpoint of history, it’s not an issue.”
Sydnor said he was “welcomed with open arms” during a planning meeting for a re-enactment that will be a part of the Jefferson Davis Birthday Celebration in June, and he said park visitors and local residents have received him well at times when he’s been introduced as the new manager.

Sydnor grew up in Pembroke and attended Pembroke Elementary School. He served 20 years in the Marine Corps before retiring in 1992.

Eight years later he returned to Pembroke, and Sydnor began working in the state parks system five years ago when he was named assistant manager at Kenlake State Resort Park.

In March 2006 he became assistant manager at Lake Barkley State Resort Park and spent seven months at that post before being named park manager at Fairview.

Kellogg said Sydnor is among only a handful of African-American park managers in the state’s parks system.

His first day on the job was Monday, and he said he has plans to expand offerings at the park, including new programs that will focus on the Union perspective of the Civil War era, on the lives of Union and Confederate soldiers, on the women’s role at home, and on the part that both African Americans and Native Americans played during the Civil War era.

Sydnor noted that both the Union and Confederacy had color troops, or troops of African Americans who fought with them. Both sides also had Native Americans fighting, and the women were “making do” with their families while the men were away, according to Sydnor.

He said the dolls played with by young girls of the era also had an integral part in the Civil War. They were used to smuggle medicine.

“Eventually where I want to get to is to be able to have at least one program a month,” Sydnor said.

He also noted that his ultimate goal is to keep the park open throughout the year.

Right now it closes on Oct. 31 and reopens on May 1 each year, and hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Sydnor said the park attracts about 25,000 people each year for tours of the park and monument and another 50,000 to 60,000 who use the two rental shelters and enjoy the park‘s other amenities.

The historic site also has open areas that are free for use and a gift shop where visitors can purchase Civil War souvenirs and other items. The museum offers a video presentation that shares the history of the park and museum.

Sydnor said the current presentation talks about Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy, although he hopes to develop additional programs in the future.

He noted that the local park is embarking on a new era now that will include people from all walks of life.

“It’s going to be a park where everybody, regardless of background, will be able to come and enjoy (it),” Sydnor said. “The history here is not just one group of people’s history. It’s all of our histories.”

The Pembroke man observed that African Americans tend to stay away from things that have an association with the Confederate States of America, but he said he hopes to utilize the park as an educational tool “because they need to know” the
history.

He noted that there are black families that use the park for reunions, but that is not enough, he said, noting that more participation is needed from the black community.

Sydnor said he came to Jefferson Davis because Stefanie Gaither, a regional manager with the Kentucky Division of Parks, thought he would be a good fit for the park given his military background and studies of history.

Kellogg said it was his contributions to the area, his passion for history and his military background that all came together to make Sydnor a good fit.

He also worked previously with the Boys and Girls Club in Hopkinsville and did a good job with that organization, Kellogg said.

“The sesquicentennial of the Civil War is coming up next year, and the opportunity to juxtapose the history of the area is absolutely critical,” she noted. “There’s a great story to be told. Kentucky had a critical role in the Civil War, and (Sydnor) has the expertise to take care of all that.”

Sheriff Debate Drugs

2010-05-03T12:10:00.002-05:00

The question was how to combat drugs and crime in Todd County?

Sheriff Debate Drugs

2010-05-03T12:09:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate Drugs

2010-05-03T12:08:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate Drugs

2010-05-03T12:06:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate Drugs

2010-05-03T11:55:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate Drugs

2010-05-03T11:41:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate 24 hour coverage

2010-05-03T11:33:00.002-05:00

The question was how can we have better 24 hour coverage?

Sheriff Debate 24 hour coverage

2010-05-03T09:10:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate 24 hour coverage

2010-05-03T09:07:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate 24 hour coverage

2010-05-03T08:58:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate 24 hour coverage

2010-05-03T08:53:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate 24 hour coverage

2010-05-03T08:47:00.002-05:00

Debate Stokes on fee pooling

2010-05-03T08:36:00.002-05:00

Only Billy Stokes was given this question because we ran out of time.

Sheriff Debate Miller final statement

2010-05-02T17:27:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate Taylor final statement

2010-05-02T17:24:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate Johnson final statement

2010-05-02T17:19:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate Wells final statement

2010-05-02T17:16:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate Harrison final statement

2010-05-02T16:58:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Debate Stokes final statement

2010-05-02T16:24:00.003-05:00

Broadband survey

2010-03-26T11:16:00.005-05:00

Here's a very important thing for those of you who still only have dial-up access or who are not very happy with the broadband service you have.

The state Office of Technology is doing a broadband survey. The reason it has been next to a government secret escapes me, but I have my thoughts on the matter.

Todd County is in the bottom 10 percent in Kentucky with broadband access, so if you know someone that can only get dial-up or can't get any service at all, please have them fill this survey out.

Be sure to fill the survey out as well. The deadline is April 9.

If the link doesn't work copy and paste into your browser.

Also, make sure to do the speed test on your computer and keep the numbers to compare to what your broadband provider is advertising (if you have broadband).

Let's make sure the state government has at least some idea how poor the service is in a county that has a high school full of laptop computers!

Here is the link: http://www.bakerbb.com/broadbandpublicsurvey_ky/Default.aspx

Todd Central coach indicted

2010-03-16T10:51:00.003-05:00

The Todd County Central Boys Basketball Coach Terry W. Nofsinger has been charged with 29 felony counts after an Ohio County Grand Jury indicted him and one of his former assistant coaches of having an alleged sexual relationship with three former players in Ohio County between 1999 and 2002.

Nofsinger, 43, of Greenville, has been charged with five counts of Sodomy (First Degree), 9 counts of Sexual Abuse (First Degree), 14 counts of Unlawful Transaction with a Minor (knowingly induced, assisted or caused a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity). Nofsigner was also charged with one count of Complicity to Unlawful Transaction with a Minor in the First Degree.

According to the indictment, Nofsinger acted "with the intention of promoting or facilitating the offense, (and) he aided, counseled or attempted to aid" former assistant coach Nathan Phelps in planning (the alleged crimes).

Phelps, 32, also of Greenville, was charged with five counts of Unlawful Transaction with a Minor.

This season was Nofsinger's first as the head boys basketball coach at Todd County Central.

FOR MORE ON THE STORY, SEE THIS WEEK'S TODD COUNTY STANDARD.

School board battle ends

2010-03-15T11:11:00.002-05:00

Here are two stories from last week's newspaper concerning a sexual harassment investigation for a middle school principal in 2006-07. The file took three years to get.

----

Documents confirm ex-TCMS principal was
investigated for sexual harassment, other charges

By Melony Shemberger
Todd County Standard

Before James Kenneth Killebrew was fired from his job as principal at Todd County Middle School, he was offered the opportunity to resign immediately.

That was Oct. 27, 2006, when Killebrew was accused of sexually harassing, discriminating and intimidating other employees, all female. He denied the allegations to then-Interim Superintendent Bruce Gray.
Consequently, Killebrew refused Gray’s proposal to resign.

Then, on Jan. 19, 2007, Killebrew resigned from his position, effective Dec. 15, 2006. The resignation was one of the terms reached in a settlement that also paid $27,000 for his legal fees in the matter, led to a reinstatement of his teaching license and removed any sexual harassment charges and other claims against him.

Arguably, the settlement agreement cleared Killebrew of any alleged wrongdoing and dropped any claims he had against the Todd County Board of Education. But it also, to some extent, disregards what five female employees reported to school officials in 2006: Four charged Killebrew with inappropriately touching them, and a fifth teacher said he intimidated her by threatening her job and pay.

“The Board and Gray release, waive, and forever discharge any claims against Killebrew,” according to the settlement.

The settlement is one of many documents recently declared public record and given to the Todd County Standard, following a circuit court ruling that upheld a 2007 attorney general’s opinion. It dismissed with prejudice the school board’s case against Killebrew and his appeal of the charges. This means that when the case is settled or dismissed, the plaintiff is barred from bringing an action on the same claim.

Efforts to contact both Killebrew and Gray for comment on this story were unsuccessful. A representative at Borders, a national book retailer with a store in Clarksville, Tenn., where Killebrew is an employee, said. Killebrew has not been working recently due to being on medical leave. A message was left for Gray, but the call was not returned as of Tuesday night.

What other records revealed
In addition to the settlement, the Standard received copies of Killebrew’s personnel file, which included an internal investigation report with statements by the five complainants and others who had information relating to the charges against Killebrew.

(It is the policy of Todd County Standard not to report the names of victims or complainants in sexual harassment cases.)

The investigation concluded that the statements “were consistent in setting out a pattern of inappropriate conduct by Mr. Killebrew.”

“Based on the totality of the investigation we find that sexual harassment, intimidation and discrimination have occurred by Mr. Kenneth Killebrew, principal of TCMS,” the report read.

According to the report, during the investigation – which began Oct. 25, 2006, and ended Oct. 27, 2006 – Killebrew attempted to have his staff members withdraw their statements, despite Gray’s warning not to retaliate against them.

“Mr. Gray had no option but to take disciplinary action prior to the completion of this investigation to prevent Mr. Killebrew from continuing to attempt to intimidate the staff at TCMS,” the investigation report stated.

After he was fired, Killebrew told Gray that “no one had ever told him no” at the time the incidents of sexual harassment occurred, according to the report. In an attempt to intimidate, Killebrew then accused Gray of requiring teachers to have sex with him to keep their jobs. The ex-principal also attempted to have a teacher with whom he was having an extramarital affair accuse Gray of having had an affair with her, too. She refused to follow Killebrew’s request.

In addition to sexual harassment, Killebrew was accused of making inappropriate racial comments. The investigation revealed that sometime in the fall of 2006, he said scores on state assessments “would improve if the school could get rid of some African-American students.”

“The petitioner made statements that the TCMS should not let any additional black students enroll in the sixth grade, so that they could get rid of the subpopulation for testing and improve the CATS scores,” another investigation report stated.
Killebrew also allegedly gave a massage to a female student in class and berated staff members in front of others, according to the documents in his personnel file.

“He would throw objects at staff members, hide office items such as staplers, keys and so forth from staff members, and intimidated the staff so that they were afraid, did not want to be left alone in their rooms, and did not want to be there in the building alone,” according to the report.

Sometime after the internal investigation had ended, Killebrew requested a tribunal hearing to challenge his termination. Those hearings were canceled after the school board voted unanimously in December 2006 to settle the matter.

According to an order reached between Killebrew and the school board and mediated by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board, the former TCMS principal admitted that while his conduct could have been considered inappropriate and unprofessional, he denied his actions violated state education law.

Killebrew’s license was suspended for a year, but that was retroactive beginning Jan. 1, 2007. To retain his professional certification, he also was ordered to complete 12 hours of sexual harassment training.

A longtime legal battle
The Todd County Standard had been seeking disclosure of the documents for three years under the state’s Open Records Act. In February 2007, when the school board paid $27,000 to Killebrew as part of the settlement, school board attorney Harold “Mac” Johns refused the Standard’s request for the release of the terms of the settlement as well as Killebrew’s employment, discipline and termination records. The Standard then filed an open records appeal with the state attorney general’s office.

That following April, the attorney general’s office sided with the Standard, ruling that the law allows public disclosure of reprimands to employees regarding job-related misconduct and settlement documents.

The school board opted to appeal the ruling. Had no appeal been filed, the attorney general’s decision would have been enforced, according to state law.

Rather, it took three years for the public to learn why Killebrew was no longer principal at TCMS and why public dollars were paid to settle a dispute with him.

----

Judge orders school board
to give documents to Standard

By Melony Shemberger
Todd County Standard

A monetary settlement reached with a former principal following his termination from Todd County Schools has been released to the Todd County Standard by the school board attorney weeks after it was ordered to be disclosed.

Todd County Circuit Court Judge Tyler Gill upheld an attorney-general’s opinion Jan. 22 ordering the board to disclose the contents of the settlement, as well as the employee’s personnel files.

For the most part, Gill’s ruling ends a three-year legal battle between the school and the Standard, which has fought for disclosure of employee records of James Kenneth Killebrew, former principal of Todd County Middle School.

The weekly newspaper received copies of various documents from Killebrew’s employment file. One of the documents included an internal investigation report signed by district school officials that showed he was fired in October 2006 for sexual harassment, intimidation and discrimination against five female school employees.

However, the Standard did not receive a copy of the settlement reached between Killebrew and the school system in the inch-thick file. It wasn’t until March 3 when school board attorney Harold “Mac” Johns handed over the settlement without explanation for the delay.

In his opinion affirming the decision of the attorney-general, Gill said that Killebrew’s employment file, although containing some personal information, was a public record.

“Although personnel files are inherently personal in nature, the allegations against this principal of sexual harassment, inappropriate sexual relationships and racial discrimination against students in the conduct as his official duties as principal give the public a legitimate interest in the contents of his personnel file,” the judge ruled.

Identifiable information – such as address, date of birth, telephone number and Social Security number – for Killebrew and all individuals named in the matter was redacted, or blacked out, by the court.

The Standard requested copies of Killebrew’s employment, discipline, termination records and terms of the settlement in February 2007. Johns refused the newspaper’s request, and the Standard then filed an open records appeal with the state attorney general’s office.

In April 2007, the attorney general’s office sided with the Standard, ruling that the law allows public disclosure of reprimands to employees regarding job-related misconduct and settlement documents.

The school board appealed the ruling, leading to the lawsuit against the Standard. Had no appeal been filed, the attorney general’s decision would have been enforced, according to state law.

Gill’s opinion was the result of a hearing Jan. 6, in which he indicated at the time he was inclined to side with the Standard for disclosure of the records. Until that time, the school board’s lawsuit against the Standard had been delayed in court for more than two years.

On the same team?

2010-02-22T14:48:00.002-06:00

Here's something we are looking into and wondered what the blog-o-sphere thought:

It seems a group of politicians and/or political hopefuls are meeting/have met to discuss how we should not have any more taxes raised and that Todd County should merge with Christian or Logan counties. Some of the ones running for THE SAME office are even in this loose alliance.

Now, while I applaud any group that meets to discuss such important issues I think there are three big factors concerning what they are discussing....

1. THE GEORGE H. BUSH RULE: A big rule of politics is to never promise you won't raise taxes. It will get you unelected faster than even the dirtiest of scandals because people don't forget.

2. THE JAIL LOOMS: Promising to not raise taxes is fine unless the state comes down and makes you raise taxes because you can't make the debt payment on the jail. That could happen. Heck, it almost happened a couple years ago. A big future concern could be if the governor/general assembly decide to cut down the pay-per-prisoner or if the state stops sending new prisoners our way. We would have to raise taxes or shut the jail down to keep from going completely broke!

3. MERGE WILL MEAN HIGHER TAXES: Sure we would get (a little) better services, but let's be honest, where would Christian County send its resources first? Also, the property tax in Todd County is 9.3 percent. It is nearly 15 in Christian and around 12.5 in Logan. Call me crazy, but I don't think they would let us keep our taxes at 9.3 percent.

Hey, at least they are out there talking about it and that is something. Also, we could cross our fingers and hope any payroll taxes from any new industry will make up the difference and the next fiscal court won't have to raise any taxes.

One thing is for sure, the election season is up and running like a freight train.

Posted by Ryan

Haiti left off

2010-02-04T12:29:00.002-06:00

In this week's Standard the jump for the Haiti story was left off... here it is in its entirety.

By Jenni Osborne
Todd County Standard

Celebrities sing for its survival, our texts can direct change in its coffer and the news is mired in its misery. But long before the world's attention turned to Haiti, Dr. Tom Grabenstein had turned to the Haitians. The medical director of the Helping Hands Clinic in Elkton has been on 36 medical missions to the impoverished nation -- now a disaster area following last
month's earthquake.

Indeed, a few times a year, Grabenstein flies to a Caribbean island where the official language melts in your mouth like fine French cheese. It's not a vacation, yet to say it's not a pleasure trip isn't quite accurate, either. Over the years, Grabenstein’s natural compassion has graduated into a genuine affection and appreciation for those he tends to -- and his concern for them didn't begin like much of the world's. He was there before the earthquake, after all, and he'll be there afterward. Actually, in a way, he was there during it. Grabenstein, who's from Clarksville, Tenn., and works at the Elkton clinic on Thursdays, said he was chatting online with an RN he knows from one of the Haitian clinics at that fateful moment when the sky – or at least the ceiling – started falling.

"He was saying, 'Oh, my God, the building is shaking, everyone is screaming, we're having an earthquake,'" recalled Grabenstein of his friend. "All of a sudden, it went dead. Everything was cut off for 24 hours. My wife said, 'Keep that.'"

He was referring to the series of e-mails in which two buddies discuss a natural disaster that will go down in history. At the time, however, the doctor was unaware this event’s scale was so grand – he watched the news that evening thinking it was "still a little thing to shake them up." When he learned what really happened, it was Grabenstein who was stirred, especially when there was no immediate word from his friends. One in particular was a little occupied – she was buried in the rubble for two days, he said. When they finally pulled her out, Grabenstein recalled her delight: “‘An angel came and got me out,’ she said.” Until he heard from the people he knew who were on the island, the man who always helped was pretty much helpless.

But eventually he learned that not only were all his friends spared, so was the clinic where Grabenstein does much of his practicing, at which he is now president of the board. His trips usually last 10-12 days and are often spent at the Visitation Hospital he helped design, now one of the few left standing, he said -- pointing at a photo worthy of a travel magazine, with its pristine white architectural scapes against the kind of blue sky you’d almost demand from somewhere in the Caribbean, whether you take time to lounge on its beach or not. Grabenstein chooses not, as part of his incentive in having picked Haiti for medical missions in the first place was that he felt called somewhere that really needed healing – both kinds – rather than a glamorous hotspot.

"Haiti being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, I figured that was a good place to start." It couldn't have needed him more -- then or now. "Haiti at that time was a country on its knees; Haiti now is a country prostrate in rubble," Grabenstein said. "Bad then... unbelievably horrible now."

He recalled his first trip to Haiti in 1994, pointing out how surprised he was to learn how warped an impression the rest of the world typically has of the country. It's not “voodoo” and chicken-bone curses, he said. "When I got there, everyone was reading the Bible and walking donkeys and kids to school. That’s it!" The east Tennessee native began trekking to Haiti to touch others' souls, true, but also to minister to his own, in a sort of religious Robin Hood mentality.

"You’ve got to have an accounting for your life when you check out," the devout Catholic said. "The biggest thing is, you have to look at yourself-- 'Why do I have all these goodies: good education, nice car, nice house, nice job, family?' and other people are just born into total misery? Well, the people who have all this are obligated to serve those that have nothing."

It sounds like a country song, but Grabenstein was in his early forties when he decided to change his life by taking on mission work – before it was too late.

"This is when you start thinking about the end times," he said.

Through the Catholic church, he found linkages set up to work in foreign countries, where he joins medical teams with other doctors and nurses, mostly funded by church organizations.

While in Haiti, Grabenstein performs primary care medicine -- that means delivering babies, operations under local anesthetic, you name it, he said -- which "keeps it interesting; you're not as constrained as in the United States.”

That includes being bound by four walls or any of the four seasons – hey, it’s the Caribbean: Grabenstein has actually seen patients under a tree, he said. He was scheduled to hop an HCA jet out of Nashville just after the earthquake hit, Grabenstein said, but that idea was scrapped, so he will be making his regular trip in March, armed with a large amount of medicine Helping Hands has purchased and a different playbook than ever before. After a calamity so toll-taking, doctors are worried about a major, en-masse onset of PTSD, he said, and sedatives and anti-depressants are being requested for the first time-- yes, the first time, even for a country so famously poor and needy.

Psychologists and psychiatrists may also tag along as part of the medical team, Grabenstein said, especially for children who have lost parents in the deluge. "I wondered if they would blame God for this," he said. "They haven't. You just keep thinking, 'These people cannot get a break! They've been beat down for 200 years, and now this!'”

Perhaps they are handling the latest bad news better than the media would have us to believe, according to Grabenstein and his inside sources – a.k.a., the people he keeps up with regularly.

“All the looting they are reporting, none of them have ever seen so much as a purse stolen,” he said, also calling heightened violence reports “hype.”

If Grabenstein had been able to rush to Haiti instead of waiting until next month, as a first responder, he would be looking for crush trauma, he said – limbs, skulls and the like; then burns and lung disease from concrete dust. Unfortunately, necessarily quick work in unavoidably shabby locales – there’s how you end up having your baby under a tree – don’t always mean the best medical care. And this is in a country that had only five full-service hospitals before the earthquake, with some of them entirely destroyed, he said.

"A large number of them have had amputations and very quick procedures,” Grabenstein said. “The numbers are staggering, 200,000 dead; 1.5 million homeless, 7-800,000 injured.”

Adding to his colleagues’ frustration and his worry is that people still need regular care, which means in the aftermath they aren't getting everyday life-saving treatments like HIV or blood pressure medicines. Grabenstein’s mission work has never been proselytizing, he said – in fact, it’s all very laid back, island-style, with Catholic services featuring a come-as-you-are vibe for those seeking knowledge and redemption.

They very likely may have already found it; “Haitians are much more religious now,” Grabenstein said, adding that they sometimes go to services that last for hours. “They believe in God, not the dollar bill,” he said, though their GNP was just starting to rise when the earthquake left Haiti ajar. “I’ve seen some improvement over the last few years,” he said, remembering his early trips to Haiti. “It was starting to get better, and then this hit.”

And it is quite a setback, he said. But if anyone is used to handling them, it’s the Haitians.

"They are pretty resilient. They've bounced back from all kinds of things.” Todd County native 1st Lt. Nate Moseley has been to Haiti more times in the past few weeks than Grabenstein will go in a typical year – without actually having been to Haiti, really.

As an Air Force pilot on a C-17, the current Tacoma, Wash. resident flies supplies in and American citizens out of Haiti; he barely has time to load and unload the plane, much less see past the Port-au-Prince Airport.

Working 15-hour days to reunite what he calls “American refugees” with their loved ones waiting in Florida, Moseley said he knew the C-17 would be playing a huge part in the relief effort as soon as he heard about the Haitian disaster, since it featured heavily in the Katrina and tsunami response.

He wasn’t a part of those missions, but Moseley was thrilled to join the crew of “Operation Unified Response,” an effort in which the military planes are sometimes so full of people returning to the United States there’s sitting room only – on the floor of the aircraft. Moseley speculates a U.S. presence will be in Haiti “at least six months,” said while he’s usually too busy to talk to any of his 200 or so passengers, he has noticed the C-17 isn’t the only thing lifting at take-off: spirits are higher too.

“People look like the shock is wearing off,” Moseley said. “Things are getting better every day.” The 2000 Todd County Central High School graduate is gratified to finally see some improvements in such a somber situation. “I love my job,” he said. “I feel a higher calling leading me.”

Clifty Post Office

2009-12-28T16:21:00.002-06:00

According to Congressman Ed Whitfield, the Clifty Post Office will stay for the foreseeable future and will even have improvements.

The change of heart by the United Postal Service basically came about because Whitfield decided to make it an issue and the USPS really didn't have much of a reason for closing the post office.

So, here's to the little guy and their powerful congressman who won the day!!!

Topics for 2010 Election

2009-12-10T14:21:00.002-06:00

If you had to pick one big topic for each local office for the 2010 election what would it be?

Let's go office by office:

Judge-Executive
Magistrates
Sheriff
County Clerk
Corner
Jailer
PVA
County Attorney
Guthrie Mayor
Elkton Mayor
Trenton Mayor
City Council

You don't have to come up with a topic for all, but give us your (top) issue that should be addressed about any of the offices above.

Top Story of 2009

2009-12-10T14:17:00.003-06:00

It is time for the staff here at the Standard to pick the top story of 2009.

We wondered, what do you think is the top story in Todd County for 2009?

Was it the ice storm, the IRS freezing the sheriff's accounts, the laptops arriving at the high school... we had a list of about 20 more.

What do you think? What should be the top story... or give us your top 10 list.

Sheriff's race

2009-11-27T08:28:00.002-06:00

Even though it is seven months away, all anyone can seem to talk about is the spring Democratic Primary and especially the Sheriff's race.

Who do you think has the early lead?

The three who have signed up for the race so far are (in order on the county clerk's sign-up list):

• Arthur "Joey" Johnson

• Giles D. Taylor

• Bobby E. Miller

Note: Current Sheriff W.D. "Billy" Stokes has said he is running but will not file until January.

Document about director to health board

2009-11-27T08:22:00.003-06:00

Here is the document left anonymously at the Standard. It outlines serious claims of fault by Todd County Health Department Director Leslie Daniels.

For more on the document and reaction to it see this week's Todd County Standard.

Date: October 19, 2009

To: Todd County Board of Health Members

From: Vicki Myers, Asst. Superintendent of Schools and Todd County Health Coalition Member

RE: Health Department Grant Issues

I am submitting the following information so that all Board members are aware, and so corrections can be made as needed:

Since mid-April, 2009, the Health Department Director has:
• Missed critical deadlines, 7 times
• Said verbally or by email she had taken care of something, when she had not, 21 times
• Stated something as fact which was not, 6 times
• Been very late or missed meetings which she should have been very involved in, 5 times
• Caused students to be in danger (medication errors), 2 times
• Not trained or supervised staff adequately (treatment protocols, confidentiality, billing, pay-rate/personnel issues, daily supervision)
• Not taken adequate responsibility/ownership of this grant: in most other counties, these grants are completely through the HD

Additional Information:
• Mr. Green has been very involved in this grant and has worked diligently to make any corrections as needed.
• There are many opportunities for the Health Department to generate revenue with this grant and they simply are not being put in place.
• Why was a new billing clerk hired for the grant? We were told all along that a current employee would do the billing, that they had plenty of time to do it and had already been trained.
• Why were there only 600 doses of seasonal flu vaccine ordered again this year (same # as last year), when flu is such a huge issue this year?
• What are the exact numbers of services provided at the Health Department each year (how many physicals, immunizations, etc.)?
• Do these numbers support the hiring of the two additional new RNs at the HD, or could these services be covered by giving additional hours to the nurses working at the schools?
• The public explanation of the Health Department budget is simply unacceptable.
• In Todd County our Health Department is critical to the healthcare of our citizens, yet available services have declined over the past several years

Tuesday, April 21, 2009
• Sandra asked Leslie about interviewing and hiring nurses for upcoming school year.
• She informed Sandra per email that she would begin taking applications and once they were on the state registry she could pull their names and start interviewing.

Log that accompanied the summary:

Monday, April 27, 2009
• Per Leslie’s request, sent her the school nurse interview questions that the school uses when interviewing potential nurses.

Friday, May 08, 2009
• Received email from Leslie stating she will start interviewing for RN positions next week and that her ARNP had resigned.

Monday, May 25, 2009
• Sandra emailed Leslie inquiring about health insurance for the nurses that would be transitioning over to the HD.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009
• Leslie replied via email to Sandra stating the nurse’s insurance would go into effect the first day of the month following the month they were hired.

Thursday, May 28, 2009
• Sandra emailed Leslie to inquire about interviews for existing LPNs.
• Sandra advised Leslie that the transitioning nurse’s health insurance would lapse August 1st if not hired in July according to what she had previously told her.
• Sandra advised Leslie about the (DPH) required school nurse orientation training on July 14-15, but that registration was due by June 10th.

Friday, May 29, 2009
• Leslie’s response pertaining to email from May 28th: “I will contact personnel about the register to make sure each person is on there. If they aren’t then I cannot interview them. As soon as I know they are on there I can pull the register.”

Monday, June 01, 2009
• Sandra inquired to Leslie about re-hiring existing LPNs.
• Sandra advised Leslie that Christian County HD transitioned their existing school LPNs without going through the official hiring process.
• Sandra suggested that Leslie contact Mark Pyle (CCHD director).
• Leslie responded by email stating, “I will contact Mark.”

Leslie emailed the CCHD director on June 01, 2009 below:

From: Daniels, Leslie M (LHD-Todd Co)
Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 9:23 AM
To: Pyle, Mark (LHD - Christian Co)
Subject: School based Program

It is my understanding you were able to switch LPN’s hired by the school system to your employees and that you didn’t have to go through the hiring process. Please let me know if this is correct and if so, how were you able to get approval from the state?
Thank you,

Leslie Daniels, MS
Public Health Director
Todd County Health Department
205 McReynolds Drive
Elkton, KY 42220
270-265-2362

His response was:

From: Pyle, Mark (LHD - Christian Co)
Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 10:06 AM
To: Daniels, Leslie M (LHD-Todd Co)
Subject: RE: School based Program

Leslie,
We did have to post the position internally. Every school nurse from the school system has to complete an application, provide copies of license and college transcript, and is subject to a background check. This is important so that we can verify experience. We are paying based on experience. I worked with Ron on this for about a year.

• Sandra asked Leslie what information the LPNs needed to provide and reminded her that their rate of pay as per the Foundation proposal was $15/hr.

Leslie’s email response to Sandra:
I have to advertise. Once hired I do a background check on each employee. I will call personnel today about the pay rate since the rate has to be included in the advertisement or the state won’t agree or I’ll have to advertise again. I’ll let you know what I find out.
Leslie Daniels, MS

Friday, June 05, 2009
• Sandra emailed Leslie requesting a meeting with Dr. Manthey to discuss his role in the school clinics, along with Donna Talley and Sheila Griggs for them to discuss payroll and funding issues.
• Leslie replied stating she would get back with us when she got the dates set. She emailed back later that day with email below:
I have to check with Dr. Manthey Monday to see when he has a gap in his schedule. Mondays seem to be busy and people call in the morning wanting appointments and he will know by 9am Monday when he will have time that afternoon. That’s the most information I can get today.
Leslie Daniels, MS

Wednesday, June 10, 2009
• BOE mailed in registration fees for 3 nurses to attend required school nurse orientation training.
• This training had been discussed with Leslie on Thursday, May 28th , but had not heard back from her regarding hiring of nurses, but registration for this training was due today.

Friday, June 12, 2009
• Annmarie emailed Leslie requesting a meeting on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 10am.
• Also asked for Sheila Griggs and Dr. Manthey to attend.
Monday, June 15, 2009
• Meeting with Mr. Green, Vicki Myers, Donna Talley, Annmarie Spurlin and Sandra Brown to discuss contract between BOE and HD. No one from HD showed up for the meeting.
• Annmarie emailed Leslie and Sheila a copy of the contract. Leslie advised she was out of town and Sheila stated she was not aware of the meeting.
• Annmarie emailed Mark Pyle (CCHD director) inquiring if new nursing staff, once hired, could attend his coding and billing training.
• Mr. Pyle replied that the training would be on July 28th and that our nurses could attend.

Friday, June 19, 2009
• Annmarie emailed Leslie regarding getting school health packets together to be able to distribute them during school open houses.

Wednesday July, 08, 2009
• Foundation requested a letter from Dr. Manthey stating his role in school health program.

Thursday, July 09, 2009
• Received email from Leslie stating she will pull registry today and does not know if the nurses will be hired in time to attend the required school nurse training.
• Leslie states she was interviewing ARNPs on July 9 & 10.

Friday, July 10, 2009
• Received and email from Leslie stating she had hired an ARNP who could start on July 31st.
• Leslie also stated she had set interviews for the RNs next week and would have them hired by Friday, July 17th.
• Leslie also states the state will help with training and coding for new staff and is working on space for the RNs to do their online training for well child exams.
• Leslie advised that she dropped off letter for the Foundation from Dr. Manthey at the BOE with Vicki Myers.

Monday, July 13, 2009
• Leslie started interviewing existing LPNs. (Sandra and Annmarie had been asking since April about the transitioning of the existing LPNs and Leslie had just now started interviewing them).

Tuesday, July 14, 2009
• Leslie informed Sandra per email that she was dropping off school protocols for Dr. Manthey to sign and that she was making copies of the practice reference manual for each school and requested to meet with Sandra on July 27th to go to each school site to make a list of supplies needed.
• Sandra replied per email to Leslie to let her know what time on the 27th she would like to meet.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009
• Annmarie met with Leslie she stated she had hired 2 LPNs and that the RNs would be hired in a couple of weeks.
• Leslie stated she was still awaiting a reply back from the state regarding Humana.
• Annmarie reminded Leslie that protocols needed to be typed up and signed by Dr. Manthey.
• Annmarie inquired about health packets for school open houses, which Leslie said she would get together. Deadline for packets and protocols of August 10th was given.

Friday, July 17, 2009
• RNs not hired as promised on July 10th.

Thursday, July 23, 2009
• Sandra emailed Leslie requesting to change site visit date to Tuesday, July 28th.
• Leslie confirmed change.

Monday, July 27, 2009
• Annmarie inquired about RN applications.
• Annmarie asked Leslie if Callie Wells, ARNP could attend the Leadership meeting on Monday, August 3rd to introduce her to the Principals and for her to tour the schools.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009
• At 2:20 p.m. Sandra received an email stating Leslie could not do the site visits today as previously rescheduled.
• Sandra sent Leslie an email explaining what was in each school clinic in detail and reminded her of what we had requested in the grant proposal.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009
• Annmarie emailed Leslie reminding her about the meeting on Monday, August 3rd and requesting that Callie tour the schools after the meeting.

Monday, August 03, 2009
• Leadership meeting 8:00am at South Todd Elementary school which Leslie had previously been informed that she needed to attend and bring the ARNP.
• Leslie called Annmarie at 7:45am to inform that the ARNP would not be able to attend the meeting and inquired if she needed to be there and was informed that she still needed to attend. Leslie arrived 15 minutes late to the meeting.
• Administrators asked several questions, including billing for Humana, who would cover the schools if a nurse was absent, and operations of the new school clinics. Leslie could not answer any of these questions, but she assured them she would find out.
• After the meeting several administrators questioned Leslie’s awkward behavior and slurred speech. Mr. Kenner, Superintendent, addressed this issue with Mr. Green.
• Sandra emailed Leslie inquiring about Medicaid Provider numbers which are needed to bill Medicaid.

Leslie’s Response to above referenced email:
Provider numbers are assigned when the employee is keyed in the system unless it is a contract. I didn’t apply for a Medicaid number yet since we weren’t sure we were going to have school clinics. I don’t know where your friend received her information, but that is not correct. Medicaid can be rebilled or billed back one full year so I am not worried about that. We will get things set up as soon as they can be completed on our end for the health department.
Leslie Daniels, MS

Tuesday, August 04, 2009
• Annmarie inquired about the status of the RNs. (still not hired and Leslie promised to have them hired by July 17th)
• Annmarie requested all new nursing staff attend opening day assembly at the high school for introduction of new nursing staff and a meeting afterwards with Vicki Myers.
• Annmarie inquired again about billing Humana.

Friday, August 07, 2009
• Leslie emailed Sandra and Annmarie a list of new employees hired to date.
• Sandra asked Leslie about coverage at the elementary schools until nurses could officially start.
• Sandra reminded Leslie about the opening day assembly.
• Sandra also asked Leslie about nursing supervision per KRS 314.011 regarding LPN supervision.
• Leslie states she is still interviewing for RN and clerical position.
• Leslie states clerical position will be posted in next week’s paper.
• Leslie is requesting Medicaid numbers today.
• Received notification from Leslie that RNs had been hired.
• Leslie advised that she was having copies of PHPRs made, employee handbooks, signed protocols and “making sure we have everything ready to go”.
• Annmarie called Ron Horseman regarding Humana. He advised that Humana can be billed by a mid level provider. Asked Mr. Green to confirm this information.

Monday, August 10, 2009
• Deadline for Leslie to have Health Packets ready for distribution in schools. Health Packets not ready.
• Opening day assembly for school. Nurses and Leslie arrived late, were briefly introduced upon arrival, then immediately left the assembly following introduction.
• Leslie and school nurses attended meeting with Sandra, Annmarie and Vicki Myers at 1:30 in annex.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 *FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL*
• NO HEALTH PACKETS SENT OUT TO STUDENTS.
• NO HEALTH CONSENTS IN PLACE. Except for the regular school consents.
• NO NURSE AT NORTH TODD.
• NO CODING OR BILLING TRAINING FOR NEW NURSES HAD BEEN DONE.
• NO WELL CHILD OR TRAINING MODULES COMPLETED.
• NO PHPR FOR NURSES.
• NO SIGNED PROTOCOLS.
• NO HD FORMS FOR NURSES.
• NO CLARIFICATION ON SUPERVISION OF NURSES.
• NO INFORMATION SENT OUT TO PARENTS PERTAINING TO NEW SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAM.
ALL OF WHICH LESLIE ADVISED SHE HAD TAKEN CARE OF!!

Thursday, August 13, 2009
• Annmarie inquired to Leslie about PEFs, consents, and nursing coverage at North Todd.
• Leslie gave Annmarie a consent to treat form, which Sandra and Annmarie had to revise to fit school health and they also typed a letter to go out with the consent on behalf of the HD.
• Leslie inquired to Annmarie about who the nursing staff contacts for questions and who her BOE contact is.
• Leslie emailed stating she had received Medicaid site numbers. (email below)

Subject: FW: Mediaid site numbers

We just received the site numbers for each clinic. We are complete with hiring, employees in the system, provider numbers for employees, working on basic health department training, Medicaid site numbers for each site, protocols signed, and the PHPR should be to each site by Monday.
I think we are set to start billing as soon as we have the consent forms from the parents.

Annmarie, please make sure the grant people know everything that can be done from our end is complete.

Leslie Daniels, MS

Monday, August 17, 2009
• New nurse starts at North Todd.
• ARNP to begin her rotation through schools beginning August 24th.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009
• Annmarie emailed Leslie concerning Humana AGAIN and she states they are still working on it. Also inquired about HD providing flu shots to school staff. She did not respond to this question.
• STILL NOTHING IN PLACE AS STATED ON AUGUST 12TH.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009
• Sandra updated over the counter medication protocol that was previously given to her by Leslie to include only medications pertinent to the school clinics. Sandra advised Leslie that yeast infection medication, vitamin B12 injections and cancer/rheumatoid arthritis medication should be removed from the original protocols since these would not be necessary in school clinics.
• Sandra reminded Leslie about the Advisory Council meeting on September 2nd.

Friday, August 21, 2009
• Annmarie notified Leslie of meeting on Wednesday, August 26th with Dave Bolt regarding Foundation requirements.
• Annmarie advised Leslie that she would need to bring signed protocols to the meeting.
• Early release Friday nurses meeting, arranged by Sandra and Annmarie, in the high school annex. Questions asked by the school nurses were specific to billing and coding, documentation, who their supervisor was, supplies and protocols for over the counter medication. Leslie advised everyone that she was still working on getting them trained for coding and billing but it probably would be the first of October before she could get anyone down from state level to train them, also that she would look into how they needed to chart for the HD side.
• ST nurse inquired about Principal requesting her work hours change from 7:30am-3:30pm to 7:15am-3:15pm to accommodate early arriving student issues. Leslie told Sandra to have the Principal send her something in writing requesting this change.
• Some concerns were raised about Leslie’s awkward behavior and slurred speech.
• With regards to needing supplies, BOE purchased $500 worth of first aid supplies to get the nurse started.
• STILL NOTHING IN PLACE AS STATED ON AUGUST 12TH .

Monday, August 24, 2009
• Sandra forwarded the ST Principal email requesting school nurse’s hour change as Leslie had requested on August 21st.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009
• Sandra received email from Leslie stating she would prefer all nurses to be on the same time schedule and did not want ST nurse to arrive at school early.
• S.C.O.R.E. Meeting at Board of Education. Leslie arrived late, had to be called by Mr. Green to remind her that she had to attend.
• After meeting adjourned, Sandra talked to Leslie about nursing concerns from Friday’s meeting and she states,” I don’t remember anything from that day. I’m doing good to be here because I had a wreck over the weekend.”
• Sandra reminded Leslie to bring protocols to meeting with Dave Bolt on Wednesday, August 26th. Leslie confirmed that she would bring them.
• Sandra discussed with Leslie about what to do for nurse absences. Sandra expressed the importance of having HD nurses in place to be able to bill for services. (If Sandra covers a school, she cannot bill for services). Leslie stated that she was not concerned about the nurse missing one day. She did not think that would hurt reimbursement of revenue.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009
• Meeting with Dave Bolt with the Foundation. Leslie had been aware of this meeting for some time, but arrived 1 hour late. When Annmarie called the HD to see where she was, Sheila stated that Leslie had left to go to Dr. Manthey’s office to get the protocols signed. (Please note that on August 13th email, highlighted section, Leslie said this had already been done.)
• Chain of Command issues were discussed and Annmarie stated we preferred not to go through Sheila because of her outburst at the Board of Health Meeting on June 18, 2009 and we did not feel like she was on board with this program after that.
• Leslie informed us that she would not be able to get the state people down for coding/billing training for the nurses until fall break.

Thursday, August 27, 2009
• Sandra emailed Mark Pyle (CCHD director) to inquire about obtaining DVD of coding/billing training he had taped over the summer for training his school nurses. (Sandra and Annmarie felt the nurses did not need to wait until October before they were properly trained on how to code PEFs and bill.) He said he would burn us a copy if Leslie would come and pick it up.
• Sandra informed Leslie of the need to email Mark Pyle to make arrangements to pick up coding/billing DVD.

Friday, August 28, 2009
• Leslie emailed Mark Pyle to make arrangements to pick up coding DVD.
• After no response from Leslie regarding Humana. Annmarie called Humana to inquire about billing for services for staff. It was at this time that Humana confirmed that services were billable by a mid level provider.
• Early release Friday nurses meeting in the high school annex. Nurses still having questions regarding charting for HD. Leslie said she would email someone regarding what is required for HD charting. Nurses still having questions pertaining to consents. Leslie advises that students can be seen but not billed if a consent is not on file.
• Sandra inquired about nursing coverage for the high school due to high school nurse requesting day off. Leslie said she would check into it.
• Nurses inquired about their pay being wrong.
• Talked about chain of command.
• Nurse at NT quit due to needing more hours. She is going to work in clinic and Leslie sending clinic nurse to work NT beginning Monday, August 31st. Leslie stated she wasn’t sure how this nurse was going to work because she was a new graduate and didn’t like to give shots.
• Leslie also advised us that she had told Sheila what was said about Sandra and Annmarie being reluctant to go through Sheila after her outburst at the board of health meeting. Leslie stated that because of this Sheila had washed her hands of this program.
• At this time, no billing consents have gone out. Leslie states that she was going to continue to bill anyway because the date on the form is for 09-10 school year. Leslie agreed that by Monday, August 31, she would have a Medicaid consent in place.

Monday, August 31, 2009
• Leslie picked up coding DVD from CCHD.
• Leslie delivered Medicaid consents, as agreed, but after reviewing Medicaid consents, they were not appropriate for school health. New consent designed by Annmarie and Sandra.
• North Todd nurse quit. Leslie advised that nurse quit due to a discrepancy in her pay.
• Sandra discussed with Leslie about coverage for NT and high school.
• Sandra spoke with Leslie regarding nurse coverage. TCCHS nurse requesting day off on Tuesday. Leslie advised that she would work it out and let Sandra know in the morning, but that she would go to the high school first thing in the to have Callie go to NT.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009
• Todd County High School – not covered.
• Sandra called Leslie this morning to inquire about nursing coverage because she had told Sandra she had nurses at the HD today that she would possibly be able to get to the school to cover after lunch because they were in clinic doing their on line Train modules. Sandra inquired how quick she could get a new nurse hired and she told Sandra at this time that she had been busy working all morning talking to people in Frankfort on how to remove the nurse who quit from the system. Leslie stated she hadn’t had time to pull the registry to look at it to get a new nurse hired. Leslie then said her nurses that were in clinic doing the online Train modules could not be pulled to the schools because they can’t be interrupted. At this time Sandra agreed to cover lunch time meds and diabetics.
• Sandra received a phone call from the high school stating there was no nursing coverage and that someone from the HD had come to the high school this morning stating that Sandra would be covering all day.
• Sandra received a phone call from high school Principal inquiring about nursing coverage. Sandra informed the Principal that she would be over to cover lunch time meds and diabetic only. The Principal stated that a HD person said Sandra would be covering all day, which was not correct.
• While at the high school to cover lunch time meds and diabetics. Sandra was confronted by the Principal who was extremely upset about not having nursing coverage.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009
• Callie had to be pulled from regular scheduled school (TCMS) to cover vacancy at North Todd.
• Vicki Myers, Annmarie Spurlin and Sandra Brown met with Leslie to discuss Medicaid consent form and billing. A revised Medicaid consent form was shown to Leslie for approval. Leslie approved consent form and it was copied same day and sent to schools for distribution by Annmarie and Sandra.
• Leslie informed Vicki, Annmarie and Sandra at this meeting that they were behind on keying PEFs. Leslie brought a report for 2 schools for 4 days worth of billing. Annmarie had a report showing that the nurses had seen over 400 students already to date. Leslie assured us that by the Advisory Committee Meeting on Wednesday, September 9th, most PEFs would be keyed in and she would bring an accurate billing report.
• Discussed hiring nurse at North Todd. Leslie advised that things were being held up at state level.
• Sandra talked to Leslie by phone regarding nurse vacancy at North Todd and how it would covered for next week. Leslie informed Sandra that she would have Brandy (HD nurse) cover the high school on Wednesday, September 9th and Linda (High School nurse) would cover North Todd. Christy (HD nurse) would cover the high school on Friday, September 11th and Linda would cover North Todd. Leslie requested that Sandra inform Linda of the change.
• Sandra called Linda to inform of coverage change for week of Sept. 8-11.

Thursday, September 03, 2009
• Callie pulled from regular scheduled school (TCCHS) to cover vacancy at North Todd.
• Sandra received an email from ST nurse requesting time off. Sandra emailed Leslie asking that Leslie make arrangements with the HD nurses for coverage on September 15th and September 24th.

Friday, September 04, 2009
• North Todd not covered. Still no nurse hired.
• Early release Friday nurses meeting in annex. Nurses watched Coding and Billing Training DVD provided by CCHD.
• Sandra reminded Linda about the change in her schedule for week of Sept. 8-11 to cover North Todd and Leslie secured coverage for high school.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009
• Linda mistakenly went to North Todd today, which left the high school uncovered.
• Sandra covered lunch time medication and diabetics.
• Sandra emailed Leslie to ask for an update on hiring status for NT nurse.
• Leslie replied that 2 new applicants had been send to Personnel and she was awaiting the state to approve them for interviews.
• Sandra emailed Leslie to inform her that ST nurse did not need off an entire day on September 15th or September 24th. Sandra asked Leslie if she wanted Linda to cover ST for the partial day on those dates and if she could arrange for HD nurse to cover high school. Leslie replied that she would have HD nurse cover high school on 15th and 24th.
• Sandra reminded Leslie of Advisory Council Meeting on Wednesday, September 9th and reminded her to bring Medicaid billing information.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009
• Advisory Council Meeting at 10am.
• Sandra asked Leslie about getting seasonal flu vaccine for staff and she stated she was only allotted 600 doses and that she has a flu clinic to cover before she can promise vaccine to anyone else. Most of school staff is covered by Humana insurance and this would be guaranteed money generated for the HD. Sandra asked CCHD about what happens if they run out of flu vaccine and was told that all they have to do is order more because there was no shortage of seasonal flu vaccine.
• Sandra asked Leslie where she is at hiring a clerk to key PEFs and she stated that the one she had in mind is not going to be able to do this now and that she has stacks and stacks of PEFs that need to be put in.
• Nearing the end of the meeting 11:15am, Sandra double checked with Leslie to make sure the high school had nursing coverage as per our conversation the previous week (September 2nd). The arrangement that Leslie agreed to was that Linda Spurlin would go to NT on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and that Leslie would have HD nurses cover the high school on Wednesday and Friday and Callie would cover the high school on Thursday. At our Advisory Council Meeting when Sandra questioned coverage, Leslie said she knew nothing about needing nursing coverage for this day. A student’s medication was not given this day because there was no nursing coverage and once Sandra realized this, by the time she got to the high school it was past the legal time to give the medication. The student’s parent was notified of the omission by Sandra. Leslie and Vicki Myers were also notified of medication error.
• Sandra emailed Leslie to verify coverage for September 11th (see September 2nd conversation) and Leslie stated that the HD was double booked for Friday and Sherry Moody was out of the office on that day so there was no one to cover NT.
• Sandra also inquired about nursing coverage for the week of September 14th thru September 18th. Sandra compiled a nurse coverage chart for Thursday, September 10th thru Friday, September 18th and submitted this to Leslie for approval.
• Leslie informed Sandra that she would have HD nurse cover high school September 14th from 11-1pm and HD nurse to cover high school September 15th, she was unsure about coverage on Sept. 16th. Callie would be at high school on the 17th and couldn’t guarantee coverage for September 18th.
• Leslie stated she was working on a list of possible RNs to fill in PRN.
• Leslie informed Sandra and Annmarie that she would not be in the office for the remainder of the week, nor on Monday. She said Sandra needed to contact Sherry Moody if problems came up. She then gave Sandra Sherry cell phone so she could reach Sherry if she was out of the office.

Thursday, September 10, 2009
• Leslie approved nurse coverage chart that was submitted to her by Sandra on September 9, 2009.
• Linda called to inform Sandra that she was going to be out on Friday, due to surgery.
• Sandra emailed Leslie to inform her of this. Leslie emailed back stating that she would have Brandy cover the high school on Friday, September 11th from 11-1.
• Leslie requested that Sandra forward her email on to Mr. Green.

Friday, September 11, 2009
• No nursing coverage at North Todd and High School.
• Annmarie emailed Mr. Green requesting a meeting to discuss problems with no nursing coverage, medication errors occurring, etc. Annmarie informed Mr. Green that Sandra had received an email from CCHD requesting to get in touch with Callie.
• Mr. Green scheduled a meeting with Vicki, Sandra and Annmarie for Monday, September 14th.
• Sandra called high school at 11:30am to make sure HD nurse had shown up and was informed that no nurse was there, but that all lunch time meds had been covered by trained school staff.
• At this time Sandra called Sherry Moody at the HD, but was informed that she was in a room with a patient and that she would have to call me back. Sandra never received a return phone call.
• 12noon, still no call back. Sandra called to speak to Brandy. Brandy informed Sandra that she had never been made aware that she was supposed to cover the high school and that they were too busy doing PAP Smears to leave.
• At this time Sandra went to the high school to give the medication at the Academy and there were no students in the nurse’s office nor was anything abnormal reported at this time.
• Sandra forwarded Leslie’s email from the previous day to Arthur Green as Leslie had requested. Sandra also informed him that no nurse showed up today unlike what was stated in Leslie’s email from the previous day.
• At approx. 3:00pm Sandra received an email from Vicki Myers stating that a diabetic student did not receive their insulin at lunch and the parent called the School Board Office upset because the student stated he went to the nurse’s office but no nurse was there and he waited for quite some time but did not know who to go to. The student’s blood sugar was 270 when he got home. This is the 2nd medication error in one week due to lack of nursing coverage, when Sandra and Annmarie had been informed by Leslie that coverage would be in place!!
• Vicki Myers emailed Leslie to inform her of the upset parent of the diabetic student. Vicki also expressed concern about nursing coverage not being in place when Sandra had been told by Leslie that it would be.
• Leslie replied to Vicki stating that she addressed the nursing coverage issue with Sheila and that she should have told Sheila who she was sending to cover the high school. Leslie stated she did tell one of the HD RNs to cover the high school on Friday, September 11th from 11-1, but she didn’t have an answer for why they didn’t cover the school.
• Leslie informed Vicki that she has requested from Personnel to have the new nursing applicants reviewed and placed on the register so she can interview them next will and fill the vacant nurse position ASAP.
Monday, September 14, 2009
• Vicki, Sandra and Annmarie met with Mr. Green to discuss concerns. He assured them he would look into the issues and get back with them.
• Sandra called HD to confirm that Brandy was to cover high school from 11-1.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009
• HD nurse covering high school until 12noon, then South Todd nurse covering high school for remainder of day.
• Callie ARNP at South Todd all day.
• Linda (TCCHS nurse) covering North Todd because Leslie requests that clinic HD nurses cover high school only.
• Leslie sent email stating 2 RN applicants have been approved by personnel and she has called them to set up interviews.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
• Sandra emailed Leslie to inform her that Callie may be out Thursday, September 17th because of jury duty which meant that if Callie was out that the high school would not be covered because high school nurse was covering North Todd on Thursday since Callie was regularly scheduled to be at high school.
• Sandra asked Leslie to be prepared to provide HD nurses to cover due to Callie’s absence on Thursday as well as needed coverage for North Todd on Friday.
• Leslie responded to Sandra saying that she would have an HD nurse cover North Todd on Friday, September 18th, but that Thursday was the flu clinic at the HD and that she only had 2 HD nurses to handle the flow of patients at the HD.
• Sandra had inquired to Leslie about the status of hiring a nurse at North Todd and Leslie informed Sandra that she had called the 2 new applicants for the North Todd nurse position and will be interviewing one on Friday, September 18th and hopes to have one hired that same day.
• Sandra had inquired about where Leslie was as far as getting RNs on a sub list to cover for absences. Leslie informed Sandra that she had received a call from an RN who was interested in being on call.

Thursday, September 17, 2009
• Leslie emailed Sandra inquiring about a Flu consent form that she had heard was sent out by the schools. I reassured Leslie that NO consent for flu shots had been sent out.
• Leslie requested a total number of flu shots needed for school staff.
• Sandra informed Leslie she would get that total to her as soon as she could.
• Sandra emailed Leslie to ask who she was sending to North Todd to cover.
• Leslie replied and stated the HD nurse would be covering North Todd all day.
• Leslie informed Sandra that she would be doing another change that should help with coverage in the event someone was absent and stated she would discuss that further at the meeting on Friday.

Friday, September 18, 2009
• Leslie informed Sandra and Annmarie that she is looking at going through a Temp Agency to get nurses to cover absences.
• Leslie informed Sandra, Annmarie and Vicki that she was appointing Sherry Moody as school nurse supervisor.
• Leslie emailed Sandra and Annmarie informing them that she had hired an RN for North Todd and that she would be starting on Friday, October 2nd.
• Sandra asked Leslie about nurse coverage September 21st thru September 25th. Sandra informed Leslie that she would work on the nurse coverage chart and email it to her for approval.
• Sandra also informed Leslie that if Sherry Moody was going to be the nursing supervisor that Sherry should sign time sheets instead of Sandra doing it. Leslie agreed.
• Sandra emailed Leslie a nurse coverage chart for September 21, 2009 thru October, 2, 2009. The chart showed nursing coverage needed for the middle school on Tuesday, September 22nd for a few hours. No nursing coverage for North Todd on Thursday, September 24, Friday, September 25th and Thursday, October 1.
• Leslie approved nurse coverage chart and stated she would have HD nurse cover middle school if needed and that she would get back to Sandra about coverage for the other days.
• Sandra spoke with Leslie and emailed her reminding her to check with her supplier for cost of POC testing. Sandra informed Leslie that she would check with the school supplier to see which would be cheaper. Sandra also informed Leslie that the BOE would pay for the testing supplies until grant funds came in if needed.
• Sandra expressed concern that we need to offering POC testing to our students instead of sending them out to have this done.

Monday, September 21, 2009
• Leslie emailed Sandra and stated she had spoken with the middle school nurse and made arrangements for HD nurse to cover from 10-12.
• Sandra reminded Leslie about needing coverage for North Todd on September 24th and 25th.
• Sandra informed Leslie that the schools needed 150 flu shots for staff. Leslie had told Sandra previously that she had set back only 100 flu shots for school staff.
• Sandra asked Leslie what days she wanted to starting giving the flu shots to staff.
• Leslie stated that flu consents would need to be sent out before coming to the schools and that staff would need to provide a copy of their Humana card for filing insurance
• Leslie informed Sandra that there were actually 120 flu shots held back for school staff. Sandra told Leslie that the BOE could buy an extra vial of flu vaccine if needed to cover the extra staff requesting flu shots. Leslie emailed Sandra back and stated that she would see what she could work out.

Thursday, September 24, 2009
• Sandra called Leslie this morning to inform her that North Todd needed more Tylenol. Sandra also informed Leslie that North Todd had reported that Sherry Moody had made arrangements to go to North Todd on Friday, September 25th to start giving flu shots. Sandra informed Leslie that she knew nothing about this until receiving a phone call from the school. Leslie stated that Sherry would not be able to go on Friday, because she (Leslie) needed to be with her and wasn’t going to be able to go on this day.
• Sandra asked Leslie to have Sherry call her to set up dates and Leslie said she would let Sherry know.
• Sarah Evans, Family Resource Center Coordinator, sent out a mass email to all North Todd staff informing them that Sherry Moody would be at North Todd, on Friday, September 25th at 1:00 to start giving flu shots. This email was sent out without Sandra’s knowledge. Sandra had just spoken with Leslie earlier this morning and to her understanding this was not going to happen.
• Sandra spoke with Sarah Evans for clarification and Sarah informed Sandra that when Leslie came to North Todd to drop of the Tylenol that she had told her that she and Sherry would be out on Friday to start giving flu shots. Once again Sandra had no knowledge of the change because just this morning Leslie had told her that it was not possible to start flu shots on Friday.
• This issue was emailed to Mr. Green and he was informed of the major miscommunication and that Sandra still had not received a return call from Sherry, but that apparently things had been set up without Sandra’s knowledge.
• Sherry finally contacted Sandra, flu shot dates were finalized.
• Sandra emailed school staff informing them of flu shot dates and times at each school.

Friday, September 25, 2009
• Sandra received a phone call from Mr. Voth, Asst. Principal at South Todd, informing her that the nurse had called out sick today.
• Sandra informed Mr. Voth to call Leslie at the HD to inform her of this and to inquire about coverage.
• Mr. Voth called Sandra back and said that Leslie stated that she could not send an HD nurse to cover the school.
• Sandra informed Mr. Voth that she would come out to cover.
• Sandra covered South Todd from 8am-12noon and saw 13 students, all of which were not billable because Sandra is not an HD employee which equals a day of lost revenue for the HD.
• Sandra and Annmarie had plans to attend a meeting in Hopkinsville that pertained to projects for the grant, but had to cancel due to covering a nurse absence.

Monday, September 28, 2009
• South Todd nurse still absent.
• Callie at South Todd as regularly scheduled, but had to leave due to her sick child.
• Sandra called Leslie to get nursing coverage for South Todd, but Leslie informed her that she was unable to send a HD nurse to cover.
• Sandra had to cover South Todd this day.
• Sandra saw 23 students this day and since she is not an HD employee she is unable to bill for her services. This was another day of lost revenue, which if Leslie could have provided an HD nurse to cover, then these services would have been billable.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 thru Friday, October 2, 2009 – NO SCHOOL due to illness

Monday, October 5, 2009 thru Friday, October 9, 2009 – NO SCHOOL- Fall Break

Monday, October 12, 2009
• Annmarie and Sandra planned to go to North Todd to meet new nurse and train on Infinite Campus.
• Annmarie and Sandra stopped by South Todd before going to North Todd and noticed that there was no nurse present. Upon inquiring to the office staff, Annmarie and Sandra were informed that the nurse had called out for the day.
• Sandra called the HD to speak to Leslie about this but was told by Sheila Griggs that Leslie had not yet arrived, but that she (Sheila) was not aware of why the nurse was absent this day.
• Sheila informs Sandra that the ST nurse had given her 2 week notice but that she was supposed to be there this day.
• Sandra asks Sheila to have Leslie call her as soon as she arrived.
• While Annmarie and Sandra were at ST a student who had fallen in the hallway arrived for treatment and a diabetic arrived for his morning blood sugar check which were assessed and treated by Sandra and Annmarie.
• During this time Callie Wells arrives as regularly scheduled.
• Sandra receives a call back from Leslie before leaving and Leslie informs her that she was not aware that ST nurse was absent and informed Sandra that the ST nurse had given her resignation letter Friday, October 9th.
• Leslie states that she was planning on calling or emailing Sandra to let her know that the ST nurse had resigned, but because it was so late in the day on Friday when she was made aware of it that she hadn’t had time to do that yet.
• Sandra reminded Leslie that South Todd nurse needed to go with a diabetic on a field trip on Wednesday, October 14th and that a HD nurse needed to cover the school until regular nurse returned.
• Leslie stated that she needed to be made aware of field trips in advance so she could make arrangements. Sandra informed Leslie at this time that she had emailed her on Monday, September 28th to inform her of this upcoming field trip and for her to go back and check her emails.
• Leslie emailed Sandra back informing her she would have an HD nurse cover South Todd while regular ST nurse went on the field trip.
• Sandra emailed Leslie back asking her if she had talked to ST nurse to see what it would take for her to stay. Sandra expressed to Leslie what a great job the ST nurse was doing and that it would be bad to lose her.
• Leslie emailed Sandra back replying that she had not had a chance to talk to the ST nurse yet, but that the reason she was leaving was because of issues with her pay and then stated that she didn’t think she would be able to do anything about the pay.
• Leslie emailed Sandra stating that the new North Todd nurse was having problems and inquired if Sandra and/or Annmarie were planning on going out to help her.
• Sandra informed Leslie that she had already taken care of getting the new nurse set up in the school computer system, but that Sandra had to address some other important issues that came up (such as the nurse being absent at ST this morning and having to cover the school until Callie arrived) which hindered her from getting out to North Todd.
• Sandra asked Leslie if Sherry Moody (nursing supervisor) could go out to North Todd to show the new nurse how to fill out the PEFs and code for her services.
• Sandra informed Leslie that she had important meetings scheduled for the rest of the day, but would go out Tuesday, October 13th to show North Todd nurse how to access Infinite Campus.
• Annmarie and Sandra went to speak with ST nurse to see what it would take for her to stay. ST nurse stated that her pay rate and benefits were not being given as promised by Leslie during her interview.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009
• Sandra went to North Todd to train new nurse on Infinite Campus.
• Callie at North Todd this day and states she will help new nurse with charting and filling out PEFs.
• New nurse stated she was at the HD all last week with nothing to do. She stated she cleaned counter tops.
• Sandra inquired as to why she was not sent to the middle school because the middle school nurse worked last week and could have shown her how to do things. New nurse did not know the answer to that question.
• Annmarie emailed Mr. Green and Leslie to inform him of the reason why ST nurse was quitting and asked if there was anything that could be done to keep the nurse from quitting.
• Mr. Green replied to Annmarie’s email requesting all the school nurse’s email addresses. He was going to set up a meeting with the school nurses.
• Leslie replied to Annmarie’s email stating that she had spoken with the ST nurse and that the nurse was not quitting now. Leslie stated she had resolved the pay rate issue and that she and Mr. Green were checking into annualized pay for the nurses.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009
• Advisory Council Meeting
• Mr. Green questioned who was supposed to train the new nurses on Infinite Campus. Sandra informed Mr. Green that she was supposed to do that. (please see entry on Monday, October 13th for explanation of why this was not done on the new nurse’s first day. Infinite Campus is important for the nurses to know, but there are more important things such as filling out PEFs and proper coding that need to be addressed for revenue to be generated. These things can be done without the nurse having knowledge of Infinite Campus.)
• Sandra asked Leslie why the new nurse was not sent to the middle school to orient with the middle school nurse last week.
• Leslie stated she was not aware that the middle school nurse had worked last week.

Friday, October 16, 2009
• Leslie emailed Sandra and Annmarie to inform them that she has ordered POC test kits. (Sandra and Annmarie had been asking for these since the initiation of the school health program because this was a service that was to be offered in the school clinics per the grant proposal.)

Closed meeting in Guthrie

2009-10-16T10:07:00.002-05:00

This information came too late for last week's newspaper, but the City of Guthrie had a closed session during its regular meeting to discuss the possible acquisition of land.

Could this mean there has finally been a budge on the Kentucky side of the border when it comes to a big factory? To be honest, this couldn't come at a better time for Todd County — even if it is a small factory — the unemployment has held steady at around 13 percent for months.

This could be the first boost to come directly from Hemlock Semiconductors being located right across the border...

Rust termination letter

2009-10-14T14:23:00.002-05:00

Here is the body copy of the termination letter sent to Malcolm Rust, effectively ending his tenure as the environmentalist for the Todd County Health Department.

For more on the story see this week's edition of the Standard.

October 9, 2009

Malcolm Rust
PO Box 85
Allensville, KY 42204

Dear Malcolm Rust:

You requested a meeting with me to reconsider the action contemplated in the "Intent to Dismiss" letter provided to you on September 29, 2009. That meeting was held on October 8, 2009 in my office. The meeting was your opportunity to present reasons for me to consider disciplinary options other then termination. During the meeting the incidents described in the September 29, 2009 letter were read individually by your attorney via conference call and you answered such questions.

After considering the information presented at the pre-disciplinary hearing held on October 8, 2009, I have not found sufficient reasons to rescind or alter the intent to dismiss dated September 29, 2009. You are hereby notified that you are officially dismissed from your position as Senior Environmentalist with the Todd County Health Department, 205 McReynolds Drive, Elkton, Ky 42220, effective close of business on October 9, 2009.

In accordance with 902 KAR 8:100 (copies attached), you are notified the undersigned has concluded cause exists for your dismissal for the following specific reasons:

1. (a) "Inefficiency or incompetency in the performance of a duty".
2. (b) "Negligence in the performance of a duty".
3. (c) "Careless, negligent, or improper use of local health department property or equipment".
4. (i) "Disrupting, disturbing, or interfering with management of agency operation;
5. (k) insubordination"
6. (j) "Abusive behavior towards a patient, coworker, or the public in the performance of duty".
7. (q) "Breach of state law, an agency rule, policy, or directive."

Section 2 (4) One (1) or more of the disciplinary actions stated in subsection (1) may be bypassed by the appointing authority based on the severity of the performance or behavior problem.

Section 4: Conditions for Bypassing Progressive Discipline and the Issuance of a Notice of Intent for the Suspension or Dismissal of an Employee:

(1) An appointing authority may issue a notice of intent for the suspension or dismissal of an employee for a serious misconduct infraction.
(2) (2) An example of a misconduct infraction that may be considered serious enough to merit immediate suspension or dismissal include the following:
(b) Stealing or deliberately damaging the property of (1) the agency.

This disciplinary action arises due to the following:

On September 11, 2009 an article was in the Kentucky New Era stating that restaurants had not been inspected in Todd County on a regular basis in 2008 or 2009. In the article you were quoted as saying "there's too much work for one person to do". (Attachment I) I have given you many warnings concerning speaking with the media. It is required by the Department of Public Health (DPH), Environmental Division that restaurants be inspected twice a year. You have failed to do so from 2005-present. (See Attachment II and V) I have given you warnings concerning speaking with media. I also found your food establishment files to be out of order; not one was in the order I requested in 2007 (See Attachment III).
The scores given to restaurants have not been the correct score based upon the findings during the inspection you performed. See Attachment IV.

You previously received the following disciplinary action(s):

On July 2, 2007 you were given a formal write up for violating 902 KAR 8:100 Section 2 (a), (b), (e), (h), (i), and (k). Attachment V

On August 23, 2007 you received a written reprimand for not informing me you had been speaking to the County Attorney concerning legal matters with Liberty Road School and sending the information to your private attorney without obtaining an open records request.

May 7, 2008 you received a verbal warning in regards to your time sheet and coding of your time to cost centers. Your timesheet for pay period ending 08-09-2008 reflected function code 180 for office work; the appropriate function code 129 was provided to you on 08-11-2008, but you continued to use the incorrect function code 180 for 10 more pay periods. Your timesheet for pay period ending 03-21-2009 reflected cost center 635 which does not exist; the appropriate code is 901 and was provided to you one 03-24-2009 yet you continued to use the incorrect code 635 on your time sheet ending 06-27-2009, 07-11-2009, and 08-08-2009 Your time sheet you submitted for the 7th pay period of the year you coded your time for Food Service training (cost center 500) to cost center 520: Public Facilities. in FY 10 you have miscoded 5 time sheets out of 7. You have been provided several copies of cost centers and function codes for your time sheets.Please see attachment VII which can be found in the Public Health Practice Reference along in your Employee Handbook you were given in December 2008. I informed you on June 30-2009 that any future miscoding of your timesheets would result in further disciplinary action. You questioned me as to whether any disciplinary action could be taken against you over your timesheet being miscoded and I referenced you to the Administrative Regulations and Disciplinary Procedures include in your Employee Handbook.

On July 16, 2008 you received a Written Warning for not following up on a nuisance complaint called into the health department in july 14, 2008. This complaint was reported to the Judge Executive's office and was followed-up by the Judge Executive's office and after review there was no documentation, no file, no address and as of July 16, 2008 you had not completed any work on the report. You were therefore addressed on not keeping files in the rabies case and reports. There was positive rabies case in the county (skunk) and there was no documentation, no file, no address, nothing.

At this time I followed up with my written request for you to organize your food service file in chronological order and the folders had become in disarray again and I noted to straighten your files and have them in he correct dated order.
August 13, 2008 you received a Written Reprimand for not submitting your travel requests on time for the end of fiscal year 2008. All staff was given a memo dated May 27, 2008 stating the end of the fiscal year travel would be due June 16, 2008. Your travel request for June was submitted in late July which as a result will affect fiscal year 2009's finances.

November 8, 2008 you were given a Verbal Warning when it was discovered that Red Top BBQ had begun building onto their restaurant without the appropriate permit issued from the health department. When questioned about this matter you noted you did see the owner adding onto the building before I addressed this with you. This is a violation of 902 KAR 45:005 Retail food code.

December 2, 2008 you spoke with the Todd County Standard without permission to speak to he media and you were quoted as making derogatory comments were made concerning the Amish/Mennonites in reference to the schools. I spoke with you and gave you another Verbal Warning concerning this matter at which time you stated what you had told the paper was much worse when you spoke "off the record". I emphasized my warning about speaking to the media and warned you to never speak about any group of people in the context you did. I also informed you that further disregard for a directive you have been given will result in further disciplinary action leading up to termination.

January 29, 2009 you were given a Verbal Warning as your travel reimbursement request did not match your time sheets or your daily reports. You were given a copy of your daily reports and time sheets showing what needed to be corrected in order for your travel to reflect your work.

January 29, 2009 you were given a Verbal Warning stating when time sheets are due; your time sheet was late for pay period ending 01-24-2009. Your timesheet should have been submitted 01-23-09, but was submitted 01-27-09. Timesheets not provided in a timely manner may prevent delays in the entire agency processing of payroll or can result in extra agency hours spent by the payroll officer to key information at a later date that is unnecessary expense to the agency and is a disruption to services.

July 2, 2009 I gave you a letter giving you extra hours to complete food inspections that were behind. I provided you a list of 20 inspections I wanted completed. During the first week of the extra hours I was notified that an inspector was in the county inspection restaurants. I called guy Delius, Head of Environmental, DPH to find out who had been in the county. Dave Miller, Regional Food Inspector, called me to introduce himself and apologized for not letting me know he was going to be doing work in Todd County. I asked him why he had come to help since I had given you extra time to do your inspections and he stated you had called him requesting help with your inspections. This occurred without approval from me, the Appointing Authority.

You were give a written warning stating food establishments are required to be inspected 2 times a year and according to report 57 this has not been done in Todd County from 2005-present. I asked you to provide me all the inspection reports when they were completed and you failed to provide me copies. Also the list of inspections I required you to perform between July 13th and July 31st, 2009; 4 inspections are still not in the system as being completed.

September 29, 2009 you were placed on Administrative Leave for an intent to dismiss letter. In the letter I requested you turn in keys to the building, camera, and your cell phone which was issued to you by the Todd County Health Department. You did give me these items at 9:45am before you left. At 10:30am I opened the phone and noticed you had removed and taken the SIM card from the health department issued phone. I called your home once this was recognized and you stated you wanted the address book from the phone. I told you I would make you a copy of the contacts by bringing the phone to the wireless store and requested you bring the SIM card back to the health department immediately. You stated you would bring it back that day. I called the health department's wireless carrier and had to deactivate the SIM card since it was taken by you without my knowledge and it health department property.

September 30, 2009 you had not returned the SIM card by close of business September 29, 2009 as you stated. I called the Todd County police department and filed a complaint of theft of health department property. You did not return the SIM card until October 1, 2009. Your actions resulted in theft of health department property, extra cost to purchase a new phone since the SIM card was no longer activated and time to file a police complaint to have health department property returned from you that you were not allowed to possess.

September 29, 2009 after you were placed on administrative leave Shelia Griggs went to your office to see what onsite requests were in need of assistance. At this time Ms. Griggs brought me a file you had made on Vicky Poindexter. In the file was a check for the onsite in the amount of $200 and only the application for the onsite which was dated "9-22-02." During the onsite review in 2007 you were told that plans must be submitted along with an application for an onsite. You have not followed the environmental procedures in keeping records correct in the onsite program.

September 29, 2009 a representative of Clifty Cafe called concerning a restaurant inspection you told him you would do the prior week. He stated he had called you several times for your assistance, but for 4 days you did not show up when you said you would. He also stated he needed to pay his permit fee for the cafe. When reviewing the file it was noted you calculated the wrong amount of money for the permit and you did not charge for the drive thru which would've been a loss of $125.00 to the health department.

After I gave you your letter of Intent to Dismiss on September 29, 2009 you made the following abusive comments to me:
"Are you prepared for the wrath you will have for this?"
"So, this is Malcolm Rust versus Leslie Daniels?"
"Whose idea was this? Yours or Franfort's?"
"You have no idea what you are getting into."

October 8. 2009 Dave Miller came to the health department to do food inspections that are behind. While looking through files he noted to me there were some inspections that had been completed, but not entered in the system as being completed. You stated during your pre-disciplinary hearing you didn't have the adequate amount of time to do food inspections. I have reviewed your time sheets from fiscal year 2008 and 2009 and you have logged 552 hours of office time in fiscal year 2008 and 108 hours of office time in fiscal year 2009. This is ample time to keep inspections up-to-date. Shelia Griggs, Administrative Assistant, keys your data entry, and you have not entered any of your onsites into the system. The onsite you entered was May 29, 2008. You attended the training for data entry. Todd County shows a total of only 14 onsites since 2007. You have also informed me for 2 years you would be offering a food handler's safety course which is required as part of your duties as an environmentalist for Todd County. You have yet to offer one course in your 10 years of employment.

You have received written reprimands and verbal warnings stating that any further violations or discipline issues would be met with more progressive disciplinary measures up to and including dismissal. You were given a copy of the disciplinary actions several times and it is included in your employee handbook you received December 2008.

A request to appear before the appointing authority was submitted within six (6) working days of receipt of this intent to dismiss notice. The meeting was scheduled within six (6) working days after receipt of your request to appear, excluding the day the request was received.

No later than five (5) working days after the meeting I determined there was not sufficient evidence to rescind the intent to dismiss and therefore, your termination is final as of closing on October 9, 2009.

As of October 9, 2009 you are no longer and employee of the Todd County Health Department. Your Administrative Leave ends at the close of business today, October 9, 2009. Your last pay check and expense checks will be sent to you via certified mail.

As you are an employee with status, you may appeal this action to the Local Health Department Employment Personnel Council within fifteen (15) days of the effective date of this dismissal decision. To appeal, you must complete the attached form and direct it to the address indicated on the form; it shall be considered filed on the date it is post marked.

Sincerely,

Leslie Daniels, MS
Public Health Director I
Todd County Health Department

Sheriff may take advancement?

2009-09-04T12:04:00.002-05:00

You could color us shocked (whatever that color is) when we found out last week that Todd County Sheriff W.D. "Billy" Stokes might take the state advancement in 2010. Does this mean that we will finally have peace in the political valley?

Working on weather story

2009-09-04T12:00:00.002-05:00

We are currently working on a weather story. It looks like we have had record cold spells and wet spells. What do you think? Was this a strange summer?

We are also looking for anyone that might have some sort of weather-related story from the summer? If you, or someone you know, has a weather story then give us a holler with a name and a phone number and we'll contact them.

King on economy, labor committee

2009-06-11T08:48:00.000-05:00

Frankfort – State Rep. Martha Jane King has been named to a multi-state legislative committee that focuses on economic and labor issues, House Speaker Greg Stumbo announced today.

Rep. King, D-Lewisburg, will serve this year and next on the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Labor and Economic Development Committee, which is playing a crucial role as the states look for ways to improve their economy while lowering unemployment rates.

“This committee will benefit from Martha Jane’s deep knowledge of these issues,” Speaker Stumbo said. “This role will also give her a chance to learn more about what has worked in other states and how these successes can help Kentucky move ahead.”

“I really appreciate getting this opportunity and look forward to the challenge,” said Rep. King. “As Kentucky and states around the nation find ways to survive and ultimately overcome these difficult economic times, sharing information becomes more important than ever.”

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is a bipartisan organization that serves legislators in all 50 states; its annual meeting is scheduled for Louisville next year, an event that will bring thousands of state legislators, staff and their families to the Commonwealth.

New Jeff Davis Park manager

2009-06-11T08:16:00.002-05:00

Kentucky Department of Parks News Release:

Combs Named Park Manager At Jefferson Davis State Historic Site

FAIRVIEW, Ky. – William Matthew Combs has been named park manager at Jefferson Davis State Historic Site at Fairview.

Combs, a Wolfe County native who has worked for the Kentucky State Parks for seven years, previously served as the front desk supervisor at Natural Bridge State Resort Park.

Jefferson Davis State Historic Site is a memorial to the famous Kentuckian born there in 1808. A 351-foot monument completed in 1924 marks Davis' birthplace and rests on a foundation of solid Kentucky limestone. The visitor's center features exhibits detailing Davis' political life before and after the Civil War, and offers Kentucky handcrafts, souvenirs, books and Civil War memorabilia.

For more information about Jefferson Davis State Historic Site and other parks, visit www.parks.ky.gov

Power resigns from school board

2009-06-11T08:13:00.004-05:00

We had this email come in from the school system central office on Wednesday (June 10):

Deana Power has resigned as school board member, effective immediately. Ms. Power has decided to return to the teaching field.

—

What made Deana a good board member was that she was a former teacher and she didn't mind making tough calls.

It is unclear, in this year with no elections in the fall, who will be appointed to fill the remainder of her term.

Governor on revenue

2009-06-11T07:54:00.000-05:00

Budget op-ed
June 11, 2009
Gov. Steve Beshear
Kentucky is not alone in its financial misery.

From the East Coast to the West Coast, states are facing enormous revenue shortfalls ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, and many have been forced to slash key programs and raise taxes.

In Kentucky, where our projected shortfall for the coming year has been officially set at $996 million, or 10.7 percent of our General Fund budget, I’m recommending we do neither.

Raising taxes in this economic climate would increase the hardship on our families and businesses.

And hacking away at key priorities like education, health care and public safety would do serious harm, I believe, in both the short and long term.

In fact, it’s only by preserving investments in areas like education that we will be able to climb out of and stay out of this economic recession.

That’s the message I’m conveying to the General Assembly in the days leading up to the June 15 special session, which I called to balance the General Fund budget before the start of the fiscal year on July 1.

The budget plan I have unveiled would balance the budget primarily by thoughtful and appropriate use of federal stimulus dollars and by cutting $200 million in spending beyond the $600 million we’ve cut since I took office – a process that will require the same sort of sacrifices our families are making.

We’d also restructure our debt, enhance our tax collections efforts by filling empty positions in the Revenue Department and suspend some paid holidays for state workers to avoid mass layoffs, a proposal that would also apply to me. I’ve also agreed – as have members of my senior staff – to keep in a place a 10 percent salary cut we voluntarily took last year.

The budget plan I’m recommending to the General Assembly includes no proposals to increase taxes. It sets aside hundreds of millions in stimulus dollars to plug anticipated holes in the 2011 budget. And it reduces spending in a thoughtful way that preserves basic education funding, fully funds Medicaid and maintains key areas of public safety like prisons, prosecutors and state police.

Kentucky will never move forward if we take significant steps backward in these areas today.

In this way, my plan carries out the two goals I’ve had ever since I became governor and began to realize the impact of this global economic crisis on the Commonwealth:

First, helping people in our state survive.

Second, finding ways to make strategic investments that will position our state to move forward.

I have put three other issues on the agenda for the session:

A focused reform of our economic incentives packages to enhance our ability to attract and retain many thousands of jobs and renowned events like a NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

An effort to create a mechanism to fund mega-projects between Kentucky and Indiana such as the Louisville bridges.

And saving Kentucky’s struggling equine industry by authorizing Video Lottery Terminals at licensed horse racetracks, an initiative that would help improve race purses and breeder incentives while also bringing in significant money for the general fund.

Gaming proceeds would create a recurring source of revenue that would support our priority investments once the federal stimulus funds are depleted.

While balancing the budget in a way that causes the least harm to our families and our future is my No. 1 goal, I believe these are three issues that require quick action to either take advantage of economic and tourist opportunities or protect Kentucky institutions.

Meanwhile, we continue to take steps to deal with depressed revenues in the Road Fund, which is expected to fall $239 million short in the 2010 Fiscal Year, or 17 percent.

Dealing with that shortfall, as with the General Fund, will require bold but steady action.

And we must be thoughtful.

The economy will recover, but it is expected to recover slowly.

In solving the problem for the coming year, we must be mindful of the years that follow. Economists predict we will not return to 2008 revenue levels for three more years.

And we have less cushion. This is the third straight year of a significant budget shortfall.

In previous years, we have relied on our rainy day fund and other transfers to help balance our budget. But those funds are depleted.

In fact, because of depressed tax receipts and those depleted funds, we begin Fiscal Year 2010 with $636 million less in General Fund resources than we are spending this fiscal year.

These are the numbers that require us to be strategic and responsible.

These are the numbers I have shared with the General Assembly during conversations over the last few weeks. I look forward to the dialogue that follows.

By working together, we will get through this difficult time.

Todd County native to run for U.S. Senate

2009-06-05T12:28:00.003-05:00

This is a post from the Bluegrass Politics Blog that is staffed by The Lexington Herald Leader:

FRANKFORT – A U.S. Navy veteran from Todd County announced his candidacy Wednesday for next year’s Republican primary election in the race for U.S. Senate.

Bill Johnson, 43, who works as a procurement manager for BP, is making his first bid for public office. He said he plans to run whether GOP incumbent Jim Bunning stays in the race or not.

Bunning says he is running for re-election next year, but that has not stopped other Republicans from expressing interest in entering the race.

Other potential Republican candidates include Secretary of State Trey Grayson; Cathy Bailey, a former U.S. ambassador to Latvia; and Rand Paul, a Bowling Green ophthalmologist who is the son of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.

Two major Democratic candidates already in the race are Attorney General Jack Conway and Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, who narrowly lost to Bunning in 2004.

In a news release, Johnson said he respects Bunning “but it is time for new Republican leadership in Washington.

“The land of opportunity is becoming the land of limited prosperity as government grows, the national debt increases, and manufacturing moves offshore. I want to be a voice for concerned citizens who have ‘had enough’ of politicians violating our trust.”

Johnson graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He received a Master’s degree in business administration from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., in 1995.

Johnson served 10 years in the U. S. Navy and worked in a nuclear program. He now works for BP.

Johnson and his wife, Delinda Johnson, formerly of Casey County, have two children.

He said is a private pilot and aviation enthusiast and has logged over 900 hours of flight time since 1982.

–Jack Brammer

Whitfield to seek re-election

2009-06-04T13:19:00.002-05:00

Whitfield Statement on 2010 Plans

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (KY-01) released the following statement today, announcing his intention to run for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010.

“Representing the First Congressional District of Kentucky in the U.S. House of Representatives for the past 15 years has been an honor and a privilege. During that time, I have been fortunate to meet with thousands of constituents and vote on important legislation which has made a positive impact on the everyday lives of Kentucky residents. With our economy still reeling and controversial energy legislation being pushed forward that will have an enormous impact on Kentuckians, a strong voice to represent the First District in Washington is more important than ever. That is why I intend to run for re-election to the House of Representatives in 2010. During these tough times, my experience and seniority in the House will help ensure the needs and values of First District residents are best served. With their support, it is my hope I will be able to continue to serve the First Congressional District of Kentucky in the House of Representatives.”
#####

Sheriff Department audit released

2009-06-04T11:26:00.002-05:00

The State Auditor's office has released the special audit it performed of the Todd County Sheriff's Office at the request of the Todd County Fiscal Court and Sheriff W.D. "Billy" Stokes.

A full rundown of the audit will be in next week's Todd County Standard.

Here is the press release from the auditor:

News from State Auditor Crit Luallen’s Office
Luallen releases ’08 audit of Todd County Sheriff’s Office

(Frankfort, Ky. June 4, 2009) State Auditor Crit Luallen today released the 2008 audit of Todd County Sheriff W. D. Stokes, which found a deficit of $16,051 due to the sheriff using more funds to operate his office than it earned during the calendar year.

During 2008, the sheriff’s office had total revenues of $230,063 and allowable expenditures of $246,114 – with the difference being $16,051. The allowable expenditures included the amounts paid for the sheriff’s maximum annual salary and training incentive benefit.

According to the audit, although the sheriff’s budget contained a revenue line item for Todd County Fiscal Court contributions of $26,152, this contribution, when requested, was only made in the amount of $3,158.

The audit recommends the sheriff only expend available revenues.

Stokes responds in the audit: “Had the Todd County Fiscal Court met its obligation to the sheriff’s office by paying the part it was budgeted to pay, the sheriff’s office would have had $6,943 in excess fees for the year 2008.”

State law requires the Auditor to annually audit the accounts of each county sheriff. The audit found that the Todd County Sheriff’s financial statement presents fairly the revenues, expenditures, and excess fees of the Todd County Sheriff in conformity with the regulatory basis of accounting.

As part of the audit process, the Auditor must comment on non-compliance with laws, regulations, contracts and grants. The Auditor must also comment on material weaknesses involving the internal control over financial operations and reporting.

The 2007 Todd County Sheriff’s budget was audited by reviewing the total revenues and expenditures because of the way fiscal court approved the 2007 budget.

For 2008, fiscal court approved a line-item budget for the sheriff’s office, causing auditors to determine the sheriff’s compliance for each category of revenues and expenditures.

This audit review led auditors to report the following findings:

The sheriff’s office should request budget amendments from fiscal court.
Kentucky law (KRS 64.530) states the fiscal court may fix the maximum amount that the sheriff may expend each year for the expenses of his office.

According to the interpretation of this statute in Funk v. Milliken, Ky., 317 S.W.2d499, 507 (1958), “The fiscal court may fix, in advance, the categories of reasonable official expense that will be allowed and the maximum amount that will be allowed in each category.”

In addition, Kentucky law (KRS 68.210) provides the Kentucky State Local Finance Officer (SLFO) with the authority to implement accounting practices for local government officers. In the County Budget Preparation and State Local Finance Officer Policy Manual issued by the Kentucky Department for Local Government, the SLFO requires the fiscal court to approve the calendar year budget for the sheriff’s office by January 15 of each year.”

On Feb. 22, 2008, the Todd County Fiscal Court voted “to approve the second reading of the sheriff’s line by line CY2008 budget” and “to approve on order 7-64 the sheriff’s maximum expenditure as noted in the CY2008 budget.”

Order 7-64 sets the maximum amount allowed per category for expenses of the sheriff’s office for calendar year 2008. This order does not include payroll items. The maximum amount for payroll items was set with Order 7-63.

During the audit, auditors noted six revenue categories and 16 expenditure categories exceeded budgeted amounts for calendar year 2008. The sheriff's office did not request budget amendments from the Todd County Fiscal Court as categories exceeded budgeted amounts or new categories were created.

The sheriff’s office should establish procedures to monitor budgeted to actual and to request budget amendments when categories exceed budgeted amounts or new categories are created.

Stokes responds in the audit, “As the fiscal court line item budget for 2008 passed, they also included a $30,000 personal state advancement loan by the sheriff, which they had been instructed by the sheriff in September 2007, that the sheriff would no longer borrow, due to him/his estate being personally responsible for the loan, by bond.

“The sheriff has continually agreed to pay interest on a loan made by the County, rather than subject him/his family to have to pay back the local government, should he die or be killed while serving as sheriff. With the fiscal court putting this advancement/loan in the budget, knowing that the sheriff wasn’t going to borrow monies he was personally responsible for, to run a government office, the sheriff notified the Kentucky Department of Local Government, which instructed the sheriff to complete his quarterly reports to the Department of Local Government and to the fiscal court without listing anything in the budget estimate columns. Thus, the sheriff followed the advise of the Kentucky Department of Local Government.”

The sheriff’s office should report wages and pay withholdings and matching timely. The sheriff’s office should report wages and pay the withholdings and matching amounts timely to the County Employees Retirement System (CERS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Kentucky Department of Revenue (KDR), Todd County Occupational Tax Administrator, City of Elkton, Todd County Payroll Clerk, and Kentucky Public Employees' Deferred Compensation Authority.

The Auditor’s Office has referred the audit to the CERS, the IRS and the KDR for further review.

The sheriff’s office should report wages even when funds are not available to make the payments. During calendar year 2008, withholdings and matching were not paid timely due to cash flow problems. The cash flow problems were caused by the sheriff’s decision not to participate in the state advancement program through the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet and the Todd County Fiscal Court’s decision to only provide $3,158 of the $26,152 budgeted for the sheriff’s office by the fiscal court for financial support in the 2008 fee account budget.

Stokes responds in the audit, “At one of the first fiscal court meetings in 2008, the fiscal court passed a motion to stop doing the payroll for the sheriff’s office. This placed an unprepared burden upon the office, already being understaffed. The office got help for the first few months from an accounting firm, which did not prepare any withholdings. The sheriff then obtained a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), who has since corrected the problems for all payroll deductions, and withholdings to be made in a timely manner. There should not be any other problems with these matters, as the CPA is making the payments for the sheriff’s office currently.”

The sheriff’s salary should be paid monthly in accordance with the maximum salary authorization set by the Kentucky Department for Local Government.

Kentucky law (KRS 64.5275) states the sheriff shall receive an annual salary pursuant to the salary schedule set by the Kentucky Department for Local Government (DLG).

The maximum salary set for the Todd County Sheriff in calendar year 2008 was $70,496. Kentucky law (KRS 64.535) states that 1/12 of this salary shall be received monthly.

Payroll records indicate the sheriff did not receive 1/12 of his salary monthly during calendar year 2008. He did not receive a paycheck during the months of January, February, June, July, August, September, and October.

Instead, the sheriff received paychecks for these months during November and December. Additionally, payroll records indicate the sheriff received $71,199, which is $703 over the required salary amount.

The sheriff was overpaid due to mistakes made in withholding city occupational license fees, dental insurance, and deferred compensation from his gross salary. The sheriff repaid the $703 to his official fee account on April 22, 2009.

In the future, the sheriff should ensure that the proper withholdings are made from his gross salary and that he receives 1/12 of his required salary monthly.

Stokes responds in the audit, “The sheriff asked the fiscal court to pay his monthly salary, as there was not enough funds available in the Office to pay them, but the fiscal court refused to pay the sheriff because he wouldn’t borrow money to run the office. No other county elected official has to borrow money to pay his/her salary.”

For these and other audit findings, please view the audit in its entirety at www.auditor.ky.gov.

What ever happened to the Trenton Golf Course?

2009-05-15T11:28:00.003-05:00

If you will recall, last fall the Trenton Golf Course was closed and a company was looking to put a rock quarry there. What has happened? Well, the permit is still under review officially, but if you go out and look at the former course it looks as if dirt is being moved and part of it will even be cropland this summer.

So, what is really going on?

If you have a tip, let us know...

Visas suspended for H-2A workers until May 11

2009-05-06T14:40:00.003-05:00

Swine flu delays H-2A worker visas
Some tobacco farmers left shorthanded

By Rosa Moore
tcstandard@kypress.com

Paperwork that allows visas for H-2A workers from Mexico to work for local tobacco farmers have been suspended until May 11 because of concerns over the swine flu (H1N1 virus).

According to a labor management corporation and the United States Embassy in Mexico City, the visas for the H-2A workers are not being processed causing delays for tobacco farmers.

“The U.S. government has decided to close all U.S. consulate posts in Mexico until May 11 in response to the swine flu,” Sarah Farrell, President of International Labor Management Corporation out of Vass, N.C. said. “Visa processing in its entirety has ceased, this includes tourist visas, H-2A and any type of work visas.”

Farrell said in an interview Tuesday that there is no plan at this time to close the border. Farrell also said the U.S. could choose to extend the visa suspension past May 11.

According to a Congressional research service report on temporary farm labor, H-2A is a temporary agricultural worker program that allows farmers to hire foreign workers to perform full-time temporary or seasonal work on farms in the United States.

Temporary or seasonal work employment is work that is performed during certain seasons or periods of the year.

According to the Center for Tobacco Grower Research Web site, there were approximately 4,800 H-2A workers in the state of Kentucky in 2007.

The H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as the swine flu, is a new form of the influenza virus that was first detected in the United States in April. This virus spreads in much the same way that the regular seasonal influenza viruses spread and has similar symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although the U.S. - Mexican border is technically not closed, Todd County farmers say it seems that way to them.

“If (the consulate) was going to close the border for the swine flu they should have closed it weeks ago,” tobacco farmer Ronald Stokes said. “Why wait until all the cows were out of the barn before you shut the gate?”

Stokes said he’s trying to set tobacco and doesn’t have any help. He said he was expecting 10 workers. Stokes said he’s getting what he needs to do done because he and the one worker are working to midnight or later, he said.

“It’s hard to do when you’re short-handed,” he said. “I’ll get help when they open the border but I don’t know when that will be.”

Other tobacco farmers like George Addison Jr. and Randy Jordan share similar plights. Addison, along with his dad and brother, typically have nine workers come in to help during the tobacco season.

“(The workers) were scheduled to arrive on (May 7) but our H-2A agent told us they were shutting down the border and it would be at least (May 10) or (May 11) before the border would open,” Addison said. “I can’t wait until they get here, it will make things a lot easier when they do.”

Jordan uses H-2A workers and said he is waiting for the workers to arrive after the May 11 deadline as well.

Gwenda Bond, spokesperson from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services said that H-2A workers arriving in Todd County weren’t of a concern and that there is no need to be afraid or weary of people from different countries.

Bond said that most of the reported cases have been in Caucasians that have traveled within the United States and although Mexico has the highest reported number of cases, there’s not a greater risk of anyone of a certain nationality or racial background.

“The incubation period for this illness is 3 to 7 days so chances are that someone would have symptoms early on,” she said. “It does not just affect Hispanics, anyone can potentially be exposed to it.”

Farrell, who handles some of the H-2A workers for farmers in Todd County, confirmed that even though the border is open, information she received from the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said that visa processing has been suspended and workers aren’t able to come.

One of the workers scheduled to arrive on Stokes farm last week was sent home due to a glitch in paperwork. Stokes said that the glitch had something to do with the fee associated with his work visa and that it took a day or two to clear up. Stokes said by the time the worker returned the consulate had closed and he wasn’t allowed to cross.

Numerous calls were placed to both the national and regional offices of the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and to the Department of Homeland Security in Washington D.C.

Even among the various federal agencies there is confusion about exactly what is being done at the border and the consulate posts in Mexico concerning H-2A workers.

Homeland Security spokesperson Amy Goodall told the Standard Tuesday that the information about the H-2A workers was inaccurate and that Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano didn’t make mention of the suspension of visa processing in her most recent press briefing.

“H-2A visas are handled by USCIS and I’m not sure why that (information) is coming from the Embassy but at this point I don’t have any reason to believe that it is accurate,” Goodall said.

However, according to information released by the U.S, Embassy in Mexico City, visa processing has been suspended until May 6, but Farrell told the Standard Tuesday that the deadline had been extended to May 11.

Information released on April 28, through a travel alert by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs confirmed that all visa operations would be suspended.

Curt Judy, Todd County Extension Agent for Ag and Natural Resources, said that H-2A workers are extremely important to the tobacco industry.

The farmers here wouldn't be able to raise tobacco if they were unable to get the migrant workers because the other source of labor just doesn't exist anymore.

"You have a lot of money invested when a crop of tobacco is put out and you're in a situation where you've got to have the laborers to get it cut and in the barn," he said. "The H-2A workers are committed to the grower and have a contractual arrangement so a farmer has the assurance of the labor lined out, otherwise you would be looking at a ad-hoc basis trying to find laborers and wind up not getting the tobacco cut or not getting it cut on time. The H-2A workers make it possible for us to raise tobacco in this county."

Broadband solutions

2009-05-04T11:50:00.004-05:00

If the current talks between local, state and federal officials and AT&T fall through for an answer to broadband for Todd County, then the next best solution might be looking into (affordable) delivery over power lines:

The following was posted last week on The Rural Blog:

Phone, cable companies want broadband stimulus money to extend networks to remote areas Big telephone companies and some cable-TV operators say President Obama's goal "of blanketing the country with high-speed Internet can't be accomplished without significant investments in so-called 'backhaul' networks that stretch to hard-to-reach communities," reports Fawn Johnson of Dow Jones Newswires. "There is some debate, however, about whether those networks should be financed with government money or private sector investments. Extending cable to rural communities can be prohibitively expensive for Internet carriers, which is why those areas tend to have few connectivity options."

A senior Obama adviser said today that backhaul networks, often defined as the connections between an antenna and a switching facility, should be eligible for the $7.2 million in stimulus money for rural broadband. "Investments in backhaul networks, particularly in rural communities, will likely be particularly helpful," Susan Crawford, a member of the National Economic Council and a special assistant to the president, said at a briefing sponsored by the Media Access Project. However, it should be noted that there are other ways to get affordable broadband to homes in remote areas: via power lines or, in relatively flat areas, wireless networks.
Posted by Al Cross at 4/29/2009 04:12:00 PM

If the White House is behind backhaul networks then wouldn't it be simpler to go through an already existing entity like Pennyrile Electric? PRECC is a co-operative and has lines in all of Todd County (as well as a good part of Christian, Trigg and parts of Logan and Muhlenberg counties).

Pennyrile has lines that run to the deepest backwood and as the recent ice storm proved, it stays up on technology and keeps its lines well maintained.

Just as the Logan Telephone Co-operative has helped blanket that county by using existing lines to run broadband Pennyrile Electric could actually bring more broadband to more people in this area than a massive company like AT&T. Also, having the price of the broadband controlled by the co-op board would make everyone sleep a little easier at night.

No mater what, Todd County is now about 5 months behind on having broadband service for a high school full of students who have top-shelf laptops and dial up service at home.

Not exactly a shining example of a community supporting its students, is it?

Jobless rate falls locally

2009-04-28T10:21:00.002-05:00

Todd County's jobless rate has fell from 11.8 percent in February to 11.4 percent in March.

It might mean that, at least locally, the amount of layoffs could slow down.

While that may seem like good news, the state workforce development cabinet is quick to point out that all 120 counties had higher unemployment than in March of 2008.

Todd County's unemployment this time last year was only 7.1 percent.

Ironically, the large unemployment numbers right now are nothing compared to when we lost all the factories a few years ago. Because of the lack of industry here right now, the number of unemployed workers are probably coming from Hopkinsville, Clarksville and Russellville.

One point I always try to make about unemployment is that when it runs out you go off the grid if you don't have a job and even though you aren't employed you aren't counted by the state. In a few months the numbers could be a lot lower but just as many people could still be out of a job.

Posted by Ryan

Environmentalist still part-time

2009-04-20T09:06:00.003-05:00

Although things are looking up for the finances of the Todd County Health Department, it is still notable that the environmentalist, Malcolm Rust, is still a part-time employee.

Rust is the only employee to have his time reduced even though a workforce reduction plan called for other workforce "reduction" options.

Strange that he is the only employee not working full time and this point is never brought up in health board meetings ....

The health department has been quite the scandal den the last few years, but if you attend health board meetings (except for the one last year where the state came down and fussed at the board about how the money is spent) you'd think things at the health department was hunky-dory.

No mention of firings and a two-state doctor shopping investigation, no mention of the illegal meeting they had with the state in closed session last year, no mention of the state putting pressure on the local office to pass inspection on a Mennonite school which had an injunction against it...

The list goes on and on.

De-Nial seems to be a river in Todd County as well.

Posted by Ryan

Should the Amish be made to donate?

2009-04-13T11:11:00.006-05:00

The Amish/Mennonite communities here in Todd County have made their annual donation/bribe to Todd County.

In many counties across the state, the communities have donated the money in lieu of taxes for their use of county roads.

The pay this time was $9,022. County Treasurer Tammy Robertson said the payment was a lot more than in the past.

In past years the payment has been an average of $7,500.

Why was it more this year? Who knows?

The whole idea is like a payoff in some mobster movie. We (the Amish) give you money so you don't push the state government for a tax on tractors and buggies that travel the road.

I know Todd County is hard up for money right now, but the fiscal court should give the money back though you can't blame them if they don't.

Also, you can't blame the ones who came up with the idea of "a donation" as a way to keep the peace.

In Todd County the idea of a tractor and buggy tax has never been very popular because of all the farmers who have to run their tractors from farm-to-farm across county and state roads, but the tide is turning in many communities across the state and the Amish/Mennonite communities are trying keep that issue at bay as long as possible.

The only problem is that as Todd County shifts to large farm operations from small family farms, the equipment — for liability reasons — is often hauled by trailer from farm to farm.

Also, Todd County is in the midst of a change that will push more and more of its population away from traditional farming and more toward technical/industrial jobs. That will result in a whole lot less sympathy for tractors going half the speed of cars on roads that are used to transport workers to and from their jobs each day.

Another, almost as troubling, aspect of more and more Amish/Mennonite families moving here is that when communities grow (especially if that growth is rapid) zoning laws and subdivisions can cause tremendous problems for the Amish/Mennonite way of life.

Urban sprawl (basically unchecked growth) could be lethal for farmers and Amish/Mennonites who aren't afforded some sort of agriculture-friendly zoning.

Larger farming operations tend to make their own zoning — at least until the price of land is worth more than the farmer could make farming and they sell out.

With a huge industrial operation, Hemlock Semiconductor, just yards south of the Todd County line we all need to wake up to the possibility that life may soon change here and change fast.

The first victims are often small farmers (which is what most of the Amish and Mennonites who live here are). If you don't think this is a real possibility then look at current land prices. We are in the middle of a huge economic recession, but land prices in Todd County have continued to climb.

Most land in south Todd is more expensive than ever because of speculation of growth. On the flip side, land in north Todd is also around $4,000 to $5,000 an acre because some Amish are paying an inflated price in an area that seems — at least for a generation or so — insulated from rampant growth.

The problem will be when Todd County sees so much growth that it flips from a mostly rural agri-based economy to a technical service economy. Even then the government that will be in place will no longer be comprised of mostly farmers, the government will be similar to Clarksville's which is mostly comprised of business owners and activist citizens.

That type of government will protect the ones who put them in office and not the farmer.

Already the Todd County Fiscal Court has heard numerous complaints about the Amish and Mennonites on roads and the horse droppings that come as part of their transportation.

As one member of the Amish community told me recently, "(The Amish) might have to eventually move out West where there is lots of land and not as many people."

He sighed and told me he liked living here and how this was a great place to raise a family. To the Amish man it would be sad for he or his family to move because of new laws or pressure from land developers.

I told him it would be more than sad, it would be tragic.

Times are changing and it is a shame that those who might suffer most can't change because of their religious beliefs. Also, it seems that the small farmer and his way of life might also be just as much at risk.

The state needs to come up with a sticker/plate system for all of the tractors and buggies that travel on roads. It shouldn't be near as expensive (maybe $15 or $20) as an automobile or truck, but it would be fair and would give the Amish and Mennonite community a clear stake on the roads of Kentucky and Todd County.

After all, even if it is paid on a volunteer basis, the United States has moved past any group having to make a payment for some sort of protection that, ironically, the county wouldn't have control over in the first place.

Also, the sticker/plates would go a long way toward having families who have lived here for several generations to accept that the Amish and Mennonite communities are now part of Todd County and should be accepted as such.

There is no reason for the Amish/Mennonite community to pay a "donation" as long as the law of the land doesn't make them.

There is also no reason for the counties across the state to accept the donations when all that would be necessary are steps to protect those who seek a rural life (farmers included).

And until those laws are put in place there is no reason for the government to accept money that is not theirs and for the Amish/Mennonites to give the money as part of a false hope that the laws won't change.

By Ryan

Dan Miller dies

2009-04-09T07:55:00.002-05:00

Got word this morning that Dan Miller, longtime anchor for Channel 4 (WSMV) in Nashville, died walking near the course at The Master's:

Here's the report from WSMV's Web site:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Longtime WSMV-TV anchor Dan Miller died Wednesday night of a heart attack at the age of 64 in his hometown of Augusta, Ga.
Miller was in Augusta to watch practice rounds of the Masters Golf Tournament with fellow friends and longtime co-workers Terry Bulger and Rudy Kalis.
Services have not been planned at this time.

Miller, to me, was the better newsman of all of the old time anchors in Nashville. Chris Clark was more popular, but Miller always seemed to do more with a whole lot less resources.

Posted by Ryan

Stimulus and broadband

2009-04-06T13:55:00.002-05:00

In a recent story in the (Louisville) Courier-Journal, Todd County was ranked in the bottom 10 counties in the state with broadband access.

The story implied that soon all of the lower ranking counties could be getting some stimulus money for rural broadband. The problem is how the $7.2 billion is divided up. The Standard did a story on this a few months ago and the money is not going to magically fall out of the sky.

Actually, without some serious pull from U.S. Rep Ed Whitfield there might be little cash coming our way.

Also, in a graphic, the C-J said Todd County had 68 percent of households with broadband service available. That is a laughable number, obviously given by someone like ConnectKentucky — a lobbyist group that counts the expensive satellite service, the number for affordable broadband is most likely the inverse of that number (40 percent at best.)

We'll say it here first: There is no way 7 out of 10 homes in Todd County have Internet availability. No way.

Sure, the so-called experts that live and work in the Golden Triangle like to say there is availability here, but they aren't the ones having to pay for satellite packages that will drain the "working" poors' home budget.

How do we know this? Ask the school system and see how many students with take-home laptops can afford high-speed service through satellite. Then ask the school system what the options are for most of the people who live outside of the cities or service lines for cable and AT&T and see how many have no affordable options despite their children having a $1,200 laptop given to them to use.

Where is the sense of urgency?

It is lost in someone trying to figure out how to make money off of what should be based on a taxed system like roads, bridges and other infrastructures.

There are somethings you shouldn't try to make a dollar off of, and rural broadband is one of them.

Getting booze and cigs

2009-03-31T11:17:00.003-05:00

As the April 1 deadline for the new, and (let's be honest) state budget-saving tax increase on tobacco and alcohol products draws closer there has been a surge in people buying up their vices in the last hours of it being reasonable cheap here versus the states around us.

As an added bonus, about the time people get used to the new prices with the new taxes they can expect another raise during the next General Assembly in January of 2010 when the state is once again the Mayor of Poorville.

Sheriff and Grand Jury

2009-03-27T12:47:00.003-05:00

Here is some BREAKING NEWS for you.

The Todd County Fiscal Court today asked for the county attorney to set up an audience with the grand jury at the grand jury's next meeting.

Basically, they will be bringing charges of malfeasance against Sheriff W.D. "Billy" Stokes. (Malfeasance means that one is not doing the duties of his office.)

Among the charges will be the sheriff taking money that was withheld from paychecks and the matching portion from the sheriff's department fund and saying he spent that money for other things. Stokes admitted to this last fall at a fiscal court meeting.

Also, other charges will include the sheriff allegedly mishandling money, line items in his budget were created without the court's permission and budget items were over budget. Also, the court has found several inconsistencies with what money is reported as received and what was spent.

We will have more details in the next edition of the Standard.

Fact Book

2009-03-26T15:10:00.003-05:00

Here is my column and a list of towns/communites will be at the end.

We live on a little sliver of land on a gigantic planet. We live on a planet in a solar system in a galaxy and a universe that makes our little sliver of land like a single grain of sand on a beach a million miles long.

Datgumit, we might only cling to a wee bit of land, but it is our land. We should be proud and we should celebrate Todd County.
And only those who have the soul of tomorrow, who live in today and possess the knowledge of Todd County’s past can help us.

We need your assistance in a most Herculean task.

—

Did that seem a little melodramatic?

Good. That’s what I was going for …

Not to be too dramatic, but we are gearing up for something that hasn’t been done in several years in Todd County — we are looking to put together a (mostly) fact book.

And as our mascot, Uncle (Toby) Standard might say, “We need you, the reader, to help us.”

As we started planning for a book about all things Todd County we ran into a most daunting task. How are we going to write a comprehensive (or heck, any) history about such places as Crafts Store, Darnell, Anderson, Everett and Wilhelmina?

For that matter how do we best tell the story of places like Tyewhoppety, Pea Ridge and Bradshaw?

We know what the history books, like Former Historian Marion Williams’ excellent look at Todd County, tell us, but what about the tales and folklore that have been passed down from the people who have lived in the area for generations?

The answer finally came to me like indigestion after an extra-large burrito with a heap of guacamole: Why don’t we let the people tell us what we might not discover in two lifetimes.

We took our list from a map which ran nearly a decade ago in a community book spearheaded by former Standard Publisher Evelyn Boone. The map is perhaps the most accurate overview of the communities in Todd County.

That still doesn’t mean we didn’t miss a place or two so feel free to drop us a line if we missed a place.
What we need from you, dear reader, is your story. We don’t need a novel, but something short, unique and about some of the places on our list.

Also in the (mostly) fact book there will be basic information about Todd County. There will be demographic information, a look at industry, infrastructure, government, agriculture and other basics of life here in the book as well.

Those are solid facts we can handle, the (mostly) part is going to be the “stories” you have that can’t be proven but are no less important to the project.

The fact book will be printed and mailed out in the first part of June to every postal customer in Todd County.

We will also make available extra copies to the county, cities, tourism and the industrial foundation.

Mostly, though, we want to share Todd County with you and with those who might move into our community. We want to give them a sense of place.

That’s why we encourage your participation. If you are uncomfortable with writing something about a place in Todd County then stop by the office and we’ll interview you.

Maybe you don’t know the history of where you live or grew up but would like to tell what it was like to live/grow up in places like Stringtown Road or Claymour?

We need the info, you have it and we feel if we can pull this off our (mostly) fact book might be something special.
So give us a call, drop a letter, drop in the office or slap your words in an E-mail and let’s get going.

Also, if anyone, and I do mean anyone has any old pictures that you think might be of interest, please feel free to drop by with them.

It is time for us to tell our story.

Here is the list:

Allegre and Pilot Rock Allensville Claymour
Clifty and Tyewhoppety Daysville Elkton
Sharon Grove Kirkmansville Trenton
Fairview and Britmart Guthrie and Tiny Town

Here is a rundown of the small places, some which no longer exist:
Crafts Store Ashbury Whippoorwill
Mt. Tabor Mt. Vernon Tabernacle
Antioch Mt. Sharon Tress Shop
Cedar Grove Everett Hermon
Liberty Bethel Anderson
Pea Ridge Wilhelmina Bradshaw
Tress Shop Pinchem Hadensville
Hammacksville Darnell

Posted By Ryan

General Assembly could have put the screws to Todd

2009-03-26T14:51:00.003-05:00

We had a call from State Rep. Martha Jane King today warning us that the state House wouldn't be considering any more bills. The reason: A rules change that keeps last-minute bills (and pork) from getting through without lawmakers being able to consider them.

That is a good thing for government and for the taxpayers.

The trouble: When you have a shortened session every other year that means the projects with political will and the clout of leadership will get through first and everyone else can take a back seat. There are some items, such as broadband for Todd County and perhaps some extra funding for industrial recruitment that was either taken out or not dealt with and we won't be seeing any of that money unless King (or State Sen. Joey Pendleton) can finagle some money out of the budget or through grants or stimulus money or lord-knows-where-else ...

Any money they get will be sliced from a pie shrunk down to "pot pie" status from what it was just a couple years ago.

So, baring some epic, political kung fu, Todd County (and a lot of smaller places just like us) are going to come up short. Hey, we are used to being the red-headed step cousin in-law of Kentucky anyway, it's just this time we are looking at real opportunities and some help from the state now could put us in front of the line instead of hanging out somewhere in the middle or in the back when it comes to success.

Sometimes I think that if it wasn't so pretty here, I'd move to Aruba.

Crime fighting

2009-03-23T14:30:00.004-05:00

There is a rumor — one we haven't been able to confirm officially, yet — that Todd County has seen a sharp increase in speeding/moving violations and in arrests (especially the drug arrest kind).

The reason we can't confirm that is the total numbers for the month of March aren't in and it will require numbers from the KSP. Those numbers will most likely require an open records request and a trip to Madisonville.

It is likely that there hasn't been a spike in actual crime, but a spike in the amount of resources the state police have put toward Todd County.

Despite budget cuts, the state police said they would answer all of the calls they had here. It now looks like they are way more active (patrolling) than reactive (just answering when called).

How long will this level of law enforcement last? It is hard to say, but it isn't hard to see that Todd County has never had this much coverage before.

Good for public safety, bad for criminals ...

Stay tuned to the Standard in April, maybe May, to see what the results are.

Big Factory comes to Clarksville

2008-12-15T11:07:00.002-06:00

A multi-billion dollar investment on the Jim Johnson Road, which runs right into Todd County from Tennessee, will be announced today (Monday).

The company, Hemlock Semiconductor, was once looking at Todd County and will build its poly silicon plant on the TVA certified megasite in Clarksville.

Here is the link to the Leaf Chronicle's Web site: www.theleafchronicle.com

What will this mean for Todd County? Well, it is the largest industrial project in Tennessee history. Also, there are rumors that there might be supply factories coming and some of those companies might be coming to Kentucky (i.e.: Todd County).

So, even though the factory didn't come here, how do you think it will affect us?

No Cows, No Service

2008-12-05T13:18:00.002-06:00

It seems that news FDA rules are causing Griffin Industries to no longer pick up cows that will be used for dog food.

The theory is that cows could end up accidentally eating dog food (because the feed might be stored in the same place) and get Mad Cow Disease.

That's fine and all, but it could leave Todd County (and most other rural counties) without dead cow pickup. You could be talking about a situation that really stinks! (Pun intended) Also, it could end up being a public safety issue.

Anyway, the county could have all kinds of problems lying around early next year when the law goes into effect...

Posted by Ryan

Jail comments

2008-12-03T13:57:00.002-06:00

So, we've had a couple comments on the jail and the jailer in the mascot thread, so I say let's air it out here so all the posts will be in one place:

Is the jail being ran efficiently?

Or do the woes come from the state cutting the counties throats by releasing about every other prisoner early?

Also, and this is just an observation, do any jailers in this state really run the day-to-day operations. It might of happened here when we had 16 beds, but is that reasonable to expect now?

Discuss away ...

Posted by Ryan

Mascot or no Mascot?

2008-12-01T16:50:00.004-06:00

The following was from Ryan Craig's column this past week:

If you were to visit our Web site this week you’ll see history in the making. If you were at the high school Monday night for

“Meet the Rebels” you were a witness to history.

You were the first to see “Rebel: Todd County’s Biggest Fan.”

Rebel is a bullish-looking dog and he’s grey, of course.

Rebel also has red britches and a white shirt with a gigantic “R” on the front.

The administration at Todd County Central High School say he is a fan — a representative of the school’s spirit.

He is a symbol.

He is different.

He can also dance like nobody’s business.

He is a lot of things, but one thing he’s not is a mascot.

“It is not a mascot. It might have been called a mascot, but it is not a mascot,” Todd Central Principal Joe Nell Waters said. “It is Todd County Central High School’s biggest fan. What we want Rebel to do is to show the good, old spirit this high school can have.”

Waters said she wanted something for the students to see as a focal point for school spirit and pride.

The suit was anonymously donated to the school by someone in the community.

The idea actually came from questions asked by the student council about what exactly is the mascot for the school.

That question is as explosive as a box of hand grenades on a hot skillet.

I remember the old mascot — the fat, bugle-playing Confederate soldier who looked like he had a Moon Pie and a RC for breakfast, lunch and supper.

I also remember the dark days after an old high school friend, Michael Westerman, was shot over a Confederate Battle Flag.
It took some time, but the fat bugle player and the flag gave way to new layers of paint and varnish.

The students, most who weren’t born or were small children when Westerman was killed, don’t remember a time when the flag was on the walls and the gym floor.

Say what you want about “Rebel the Fan” dog, but it seems like mascots that don’t exactly go along with the team name (or non-mascots in Rebel’s case) are part of sports lore.

Take, for instance, my favorite mascot of all-time Western Kentucky University’s Big Red.
What is Big Red? Who knows?

He’s 1,000 Elmo’s stitched together. He’s E.A. Diddle’s towel lint come to life. He’s a blood clot.

By the way, what in the world is a Hilltopper anyway?

The Auburn Tigers have an Eagle on the sidelines because of a fight song.

The Tennessee Titans have a Raccoon.

Speaking of Rebels, Ole Miss has a rebel mascot that looks like the Colonel at Christian County High School. UNLV has a Running Rebel mascot that looks like a white-mustached Yosimitee Sam/ Grizzly Adams hybrid who doesn't run.

The point isn’t what the mascot looks like. Instead it’s how it helps focus team spirit. Rebel the Fan Dog seems to be able to do that just fine.

Who knows what will eventually be the school’s mascot or if there ever will be one.

Perhaps the Fan Dog will be as close as we get, but as long as whatever we have makes everyone (and I do mean everyone) feel like they can root just a little harder then it wouldn’t matter if the new focus of spirit was a shaved skunk.

OK, that might matter.

Still, LET’S GO REBELS!

LET’S GO, REBEL THE FAN DOG!

Trenton Public Meeting

2008-11-11T12:26:00.002-06:00

We are hearing the fur will fly Thursday (Nov. 13) at 7 p.m. during the so-called public meeting the state is putting on to hear complaints from different people about a proposed rock quarry near Trenton on the grounds of the Cherry Grove Golf Course.

The parties that are complaining the most are from the State and National Trail of Tears Association and the National Park Service (trails division). So, basically, it will be a battle between a soft, historic arm of the federal government and the state office that doesn't seem to blink an eye when whole mountaintops are removed for coal mining.

So, this should be quite a battle of wills and also a battle of preservation versus making a lot of money on a new quarry.

We have also found out other land owners around the property aren't happy either.

Regardless of the state's decision this may end up in a court battle very soon.

Todd County on front of Herald-Leader

2008-10-28T10:41:00.006-05:00

It could be the fact that we are the poster child for complaining about never having a politician to show up, or it could be that the Ole Town Grille has good cheeseburgers, but the Lexington newspaper has put us front and center in today's (Oct. 28) newspaper.

The story, which had the headline "As campaign rages, candidates are absent in rural Kentucky" talks with some local folks about why they feel left out of the race because no major presidential candidate has come within a 75 miles this election.

The story goes on to say that having candidates in the area would make a difference to voters and to those who might to tend to believe some of the more insane Internet rumors.

If you want to read the story go to http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/570820.html or click here.

Overall it was a good story with good coverage, but I would have rather they spent their money sending a reporter three hours to Todd County to cover something that will ultimately matter — like the fact that Todd County is the only county in the state that is going to be giving its students laptops.

Still, this election should be a hoot.

Lincoln and Davis forum

2008-10-23T11:15:00.002-05:00

The following is from a pamphlet promoting “Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis: Contrasts, Commonalities and Conversations.”

As the nation celebrates the bicentennial of one of its greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln; another larger-than-life figure with Kentucky roots, Jefferson Davis, looms with a more complex legacy.

Born approximately eight months and 100 miles apart, Lincoln and Davis had many similarities in common with one another. However, their legacies rest on opposite sides of history.

We are pleased to present this forum to explore the souls of these two American leaders. Three noted historians will take the stage in a roundtable format for a two-hour evening event in Todd County, home of the birthplace of Jefferson Davis.
——
The forum, which will be hosted by legendary journalist Al Smith, will be on Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Todd County Central High School.

Here’s the part that kind of has me scratching my head — there will be a charge for the forum and the good seats are more than a Jimmy Buffett concert!

The really good seats will be in the $50 to $100 range. The other seats range from $10 to $30.

Here’s the question I’m pondering: While I think this is a good thing and very interesting, is it something you should charge for?

Also, how will it play in Todd County where a free candidate forum a couple weeks ago was mostly empty?

Posted by Ryan

Trigg murders

2008-10-20T09:21:00.004-05:00

Details are still coming in about the murders over in the Roaring Springs community of Trigg County. It seems that there have been several murders in recent years, but very often the children have been spared.

It takes a true psychopath to kill children, but also are children often spared in this area because of community beliefs? Or is it often that children are spared because they are young and can't testify?

No matter what you have to wonder what resides where a soul is supposed to be for a person to kill small children?

Another side note, the next time state government talks about cutting back funding for the state police everyone should remember the speed and efficiency in which their investigation brought about an arrest in this case.

Can you say why you are voting?

2008-10-13T15:03:00.002-05:00

Here is a something I've come across recently while talking to people about who they are going to cast their ballots for in the General Election on Nov. 2: Why are you voting for your desired candidate?

The answers have been varied, and at times racist and silly.

Still, despite insane Internet rumors and attack ads that stretch the truth to levels not seen in at least eight years, the public does seem to be a little better informed in this election than in the recent past.

There seems to be at least some effort for people to make up their minds on candidates. We will have an election preview in the coming weeks in the Standard, but except for the local candidates I wonder how much good it will do when it comes to electing a president or a senator?

The real question is: In the national and statewide races is there anyone out there who hasn't made up their minds already?

Web site up and running

2008-10-08T13:28:00.001-05:00

Here is an excerpt from what we ran in the newspaper about the Web site launch:

To join a more technologically savvy world, the Todd County Standard launched its Web site, www.tcstandard.com, this week.

The Web site will be a free supplement to the weekly newspaper.

"Our motto for the site is that it is 'A place to go between newspapers,'" Todd County Standard Editor and Publisher Ryan Craig said. "We even have the motto written at the top of the screen on the Web site."

Craig said the Web site will not be a regurgitation of the newspaper's content each week, instead it will feature videos, breaking news and obituary information, the Standard's Web blog, a continuously updated calendar of events and a new feature that will be called "Stuff that couldn't fit in the paper."

"We can't always get everything in the printed product, such as press releases or state news so this will be a good item for people to browse since it will be updated daily," Craig said of the "Stuff" feature. "We also hope to eventually have some sort of state and national news wire on the site as well."

Perhaps the biggest addition to local news will be video coverage of stories and events.

"We've taken steps to make video a cornerstone of our Web site," Craig said. "The video is shot in HD and most of the time won't be raw footage when it comes to the Web. While we are still working some kinks out, we do eventually hope the videos will tell as much of a story as what we write."
Craig said tcstandard.com would also be used as a tool for breaking news.
"If something happens on a Thursday we will have breaking news coverage, and, if possible, video as soon as possible," Craig said. "Then we will dig into the story and in the next newspaper we will have the full story in the style our readers have come to expect from the Standard."

Todd County Shooting and Fishing Day

2008-10-01T15:54:00.001-05:00

Clips from the 2008 Todd County Shooting and Fishing Day.

How to get pink shirts

2008-09-26T15:22:00.003-05:00

There have been requests for information about Will Stahl and his "Real Men Wear Pink" T-Shirts to raise awareness for breast cancer.

Here is the information from the end of our story in this week's Standard.

For more information on ordering a shirt to support the effort, visit the AGR website (www.ukagr.com). To learn where and how donations are put into action, visit www.Komen.org.

Governor coming to Todd

2008-09-24T15:23:00.002-05:00

It's official, Gov. Steve Beshear is coming to Todd County on Oct. 8 for what is being described as a "meet-and-greet" with anyone who wants to see him. This is unprecedented for Todd County, so we thought we'd give the bloggers a chance to come up with some questions for Gov. Beshear.

If you had a couple minutes of his time, what would you ask him?

2008 Home Coming football game highlights

2008-09-19T15:08:00.003-05:00

Highlights from the 2008 Home Coming football game including the win and celebration.
Expanded content like this will be a major part of the Todd County Standard's website when it launches in the coming weeks.

2008 TCCHS Homecoming

2008-09-16T19:30:00.007-05:00

TCCHS 2008 Homecoming

This video, a low-quality version of what we shot in HD at the queen ceremony last Friday, will be a key part of our new Web site which is set to launch in the next few weeks.

Woody and Chloe Return!!!

2008-09-12T15:15:00.003-05:00

Scrapbooks are available at the Todd County Standard Office for students of all ages to use.

Tax Rates

2008-09-08T16:48:00.002-05:00

Monday is what we call meeting-rama. That is the night when most of the local public bodies meet on the same night in an attempt to keep us from covering all of them.

Of course, we are just kidding about that... ahem, anyway, this round of meetings will deal with the new tax rates.

Here's the kicker: The Todd County Fiscal Court raises it's property tax rate from 9.3 to 9.4 cents per $100 of real property and some people go nuts!

Add in the cities' tax rates and some people will sit in ash-cloth in the streets.

As a business owner and property owner in Elkton and Todd County I feel the pain when taxes go up but I also know that services (what little we can afford here) aren't free.

So, in the coming weeks we will be doing a comparison of the surrounding communities' tax rate to see if the howls of injustice are warranted.

Though I wonder if the cost of living here makes up for the difference between a 15.5 tax rate in Christian County and 22.5 in Hopkinsville? Somehow I doubt it.

Posted by Ryan

Elkton Knights

2008-09-02T19:18:00.001-05:00

Two weeks ago a group of locals got together to try and establish a group to promote the area.

Today many that attended that meeting returned.

The first decision was that the group would be focused on Elkton and not the county as a whole.

Afterward the group moved to come up with some project proposals.

Two of ideas mentioned was signing for Elkton along 68/80 and getting county wide broadband internet.

The group elected officers and came up with a name before ending the meeting.

Deana Power and Danny Bruce McGhee were elected Co-chairs.

Lorie Good was elected secretary while Eric Good was elected treasurer.

The group decided to name the group the “Elkton Knights” in memory of Libby Knight, who the group felt was a driving force in the community during his lifetime.

The next group meeting will be at 5 p.m. Monday Sept. 8 at the old court house.

Stokes' Trial Delayed

2008-08-26T10:16:00.003-05:00

The trial for Todd County Sheriff W. D. "Billy" Stokes has been delayed.

According to a court document, the trial has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008 at 8:30 a.m.

A jury trial that Special Judge R. Harris is presiding over is lasting longer than expected and has caused the delay.

For the full story see this week's edition of the Todd County Standard.

Otter Hunting?

2008-08-22T17:49:00.016-05:00

Hunting season is approaching and to those that enjoy the sport, this isn't anything new. While deer and turkey hunting is the norm, hunters may be surprised by the number of less obvious animals harvested in the county.

According to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1,193 deer killed in the county last year. The spokesman for the department couldn't provide exact numbers for the harvest of other animals, however, the maps do give a range.

Between 21 and 30 bobcats were killed and between one and 10 river otters were killed. It's my guess that number for the otters would be closer to one than 10.

~~Posted by Jason Mallory

A joke?

2008-08-20T03:54:00.007-05:00

Here are some photos taken Monday by the Standard of a sign in the windshield of an undercover vehicle used by Sheriff W.D. "Billy" Stokes. The sign, which is a fake sign that just about every other person on the planet has had at one time or another, is obviously meant to be a joke.

But on this day the sign pointed to the spaces next to the vehicle. One of those spaces was a handicapped parking space at the courthouse.

We wonder if this was intentional?

With a trial coming up next week that involves a now infamous dispute over a handicapped parking space, alleged threats with a tazer gun and improper use of blue lights, we have to wonder if any thought was put into this?

We ask the question: Is this just a harmless joke? Is it funny or with the trial looming was it inappropriate?

You decide.

Jimmy Groves' letter

2008-08-14T15:14:00.003-05:00

We love letters to the editor. But it is a rare day when we get one that asks for Todd County to think about more than just "chicken and lumber."

We will be at Former Circuit Clerk Jimmy Groves' meeting on Aug. 19, but we wonder who else will show up?

We also wonder if this is the baby steps toward a chamber of commerce or some variation?

Either way, we are always for any forum where citizens can come together to discuss the greater good.

Here's Groves' letter:

To Concerned Citizens Interested in Elkton and Todd County:
Elkton has no Chamber of Commerce — no economic development commission - no historical group! There is one Civic Club — Rotary, which mainly supports education...the Mayor, Council and City Administration do what they can to promote Elkton, but their primary duty is governing the town.

Elkton is the location of all county constitutional and statutory offices, as well as federal and state offices. The county's high school and middle school are located in the town, as is the administrative office of the school district. In the near future, a Justice Center will be constructed, and this project will, perhaps, offer the opportunity for more projects.

Those persons who put time, effort and money into developing business operations are to be commended and supported. Individuals who donate and volunteer for the town's interest are much appreciated.

Elkton is not alone in the loss of jobs and revenue, as many communities across the country have experienced the same. Therefore, there is a need to promote and improve our town and area. Good community-minded individuals are needed in our area. More businesses and job opportunities are needed. This is an agricultural area, of which we are proud, but more is needed than chickens and lumber.

"Bike Night" was the idea of one person promoting it. It is now an event which brings people into town and is beneficial to business. It offers enjoyment for many.

The City Clerk is to be applauded for her efforts in promoting activities, but she needs help.

Past efforts of individuals and/or small groups brought about worthwhile projects: Lake Malone began as Rocky Creek Lake, promoted by the Todd County Fish and Game Club; Elk Fork Golf Course and swimming pool is the result of a few men and real effort by a group of women; City/County Park came into being by a small group of Jaycees and donation of land by two men who wanted to help youngsters. In its beginning, Pennyrile Rural Electric Co-op was headquartered in Elkton. The outdoor drama at Jefferson Davis Park was an idea out of Elkton. In 1971, an outstanding celebration for Todd County's 150th anniversary brought lots of activity throughout the county.

The need for an active group to promote Elkton is evident - a group to support growth for jobs, to promote historical recognitions, to bring cultural, art, entertainment and other objectives is envisioned.
In order to 'reestablish' cooperation, promotion, pride and opportunity, you are urged to attend a meeting of like-minded persons of goodwill to form an organization to bring these traits into community life.

Think of a name or acronym for the organization that will 'grab' attention! (Example: P.A.C.E. - Progress Ahead for Community of Elkton; G.E.T.O.N. - Get Elkton Together, Old and New.)

Bring your thoughts and ideas to the Old Todd County Courthouse, Tuesday, August 19, at 5 p.m.

Jimmy Groves

Todd County to get $118,703 grant for EMS

2008-08-14T14:57:00.003-05:00

Here's a news release we received today from Rep. Whitfield. This is good news for the county. We also heard that the county will have to match about 5 percent of the funds (about $6,000).

A sad fact of local government is that state and federal funding more than keeps the ship afloat and it often is the only way to pay for improvements.

Another sad fact of government and what is important: The EMS gets far less (about $400,000) than cities get to fix sidewalks.

To try to understand government is to cause your head to explode.

Whitfield Announces Funds for Todd County Emergency Medical Services

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (KY-01) helped secured $118,703 today for Todd County Emergency Medical Services. The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA).

“Todd County Emergency Medical Services does a great job of keeping the community safe and ensuring fast and quality medical care when a crisis strikes,” Whitfield said. “They play a vital role in Todd County and I am pleased to do all that I can to assist their efforts.”

The department received the grant through the Operations and Safety program. These funds may be used for training, equipment, personal protective equipment, wellness and fitness, and health and safety modifications to facilities. Whitfield sent a letter of support for Todd County Emergency Medical Services to FEMA earlier this year requesting funds.

The award comes as part of the Fiscal Year 2008 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program. These grants aim to enhance first responders’ ability to protect the health and safety of the public with respect to fire-related hazards. Since 2004, AFG has provided a total of almost $2.75 billion to first-responder organizations to purchase response equipment, personal protective equipment, and vehicles.

Posted by Ryan

Back-to-School

2008-08-08T09:08:00.003-05:00

With the first days of school comes much more than a new year of learning, along with those first few days comes an increase in traffic flow.

We here at the Standard urge drivers to be cautious as buses start moving again and to watch carefully for pedestrians. Remember that the stop signs buses put out are not a suggestion. If you have problems getting stuck behind buses, try leaving about five minutes earlier.

While school buses are typically safer than cars, according to a release from the Kentucky State Police, many children are injured or killed in incidents involving school buses.

Here are a few tips from the KSP to help students and parents have a safer school year.

Riding the bus
• Have a safe place to wait for your bus, away from traffic and the street.
• Stay away from the bus until it comes to a complete stop and the driver signals you to enter.
• When being dropped off, exit the bus and walk 10 giant steps away from the bus. Keep a safe distance
between you and the bus. Also, remember that the bus driver can see you best when you are back away
from the bus.
• Use the handrail to enter and exit the bus.
• Stay away from the bus until the driver gives his/her signal that it's okay to approach.
• Be aware of the street traffic around you. Drivers are required to follow certain rules of the road
concerning school buses, however, not all do. Protect yourself and watch out!

Walking and Biking to School
Even if you don't ride in a motor vehicle, you still have to protect yourself. Because of minimal supervision, young pedestrians face a wide variety of dangers while walking to and from school. Here are a few basic safety tips to follow:
• Mind all traffic signals and/or the crossing guard -- never cross the street against a light, even if you
don't see any traffic coming.
• Walk your bike through intersections.
• Walk with a buddy.
• Wear reflective material...it makes you more visible to street traffic.

Riding in a Car
• You might have heard before that most traffic crashes occur close to home ... they do.
• Safety belts are the best form of protection passengers have in the event of a crash. They can lower
your risk of injury by 45 percent.
• You are four times more likely to be seriously injured or killed if ejected from the vehicle in a crash.
• Everyone needs to be buckled up properly. That means older children in seat belts, younger children in booster seats and little children in child safety seats.

— Tips from the Kentucky State Police. Image from Metro Creative Graphics

Posted by Stephanie

SHIFT Happens

2008-08-07T10:51:00.003-05:00

It is very rare these days that I read/see something that causes me to stop and think on such a profound level as a slide show that I witnessed while covering the Todd County School District's Professional Development Day Wednesday at the high school for the newspaper.

Assistant Superintendent Vicki Myers introduced a slide show called SHIFT Happens. To me the title itself caused giggles and I wondered what exactly I was about to see on the big projection screen.

I don't know that I can exactly put into words what I felt while watching the slide show or how I still think about it now, so I'll let you judge for yourself.

When I returned to the office later than day, I clicked on the website and had Ryan watch the show. He didn't say much either but he did bookmark the page. (For Ryan, that is a big deal.)

The slideshow is available on the internet at shifthappens.wikispaces.com.

~~ Posted by Sarah Craig

School starts Aug. 8

2008-07-31T10:28:00.002-05:00

As we prepare stories for our Back-to-School tab it hit me that I would hate to have to start school this early.

Summer was a great time "back in my day." Even though I often complained back then about having to work in the tobacco patch, but it would suck to spend the majority of August inside instead of down at the fishing or swimming hole!

Times change and in some school systems they have already gone to the year-round school calendar.

It just seems that we adults have managed suck the fun out of everything and we wonder why kids seem distant and want to play video games all day....

Oh, well... here's to the death of summer.

Taking the wrong tour

2008-07-24T17:11:00.002-05:00

Here is a column that ran in this week's newspaper. We put it here to see how our bloggers might feel about it:

In political circles it has been long understood that unless you live in a place with a large voting base then you really don’t matter enough to get a visit by a gubernatorial candidate and about once a term you might — and I really mean might — get a visit from a sitting governor.

Kentucky is a state with more width than Paul Bunyan’s britches and, yes, it is hard to get to all of the state in a short amount of time … say, four or eight years.

Still, my britches were in a bunch when I heard that Gov. Steve Beshear would be having a series of 13 town hall-type meetings around the state and the smallest place he would visit would be Pikeville.

Now, compared to the almighty “golden triangle” — Louisville, Lexington and Frankfort — most of the places he is stopping might seem small, but it goes against the spirit of his tour, which is not aptly named “Beshear About Kentucky.”

It should be called “Beshear Wonders From Big Town to Big Town Because That’s Where the Votes Are Baby!”

Though, I think that title would be a little long for a banner.

Here are the cities that Beshear is coming to near our home base of Todd County: Bowling Green on Aug. 6 (48 minutes from Elkton) and Madisonville on July 31 (50 minutes from Allegre). If you drive like a maniac you could get there quicker, but with the price of gas it might be best to putt-putt along. All of the events will start at 6 p.m.

The following is from a press release the Standard received from the governor’s office:
“Kentuckians are, by their very nature, a resourceful people,” said. Gov. Beshear. “I am anxious to hear what they have to say and listen to their ideas on how we can work together to move Kentucky forward.”

The governor is inviting citizens to join him in discussions about ways to provide more with less.

Here is the problem, Kentuckians are more resourceful people who know how to make more with less because they have, for several generations, been taking the slow train to I’mScrewedville and the state leaders have been in the caboose trying to steer!

Gov. Beshear, you are from Dawson Springs, which is small town America personified. If you think about it, you should have known better. You should have taken this tour to the small places that might never see you again.
I think that you meant well, but us pesky journalists have already given you a hard way to go.
You talk about energy initiatives and show up in SUVs that get negative miles per gallon. (Though I read you took a car to the meeting in Somerset Monday.) You also took considerable flack for spending $7,000 to fly three planes full of high-ranking state officials to Pikeville.

But, crazy spending or not, we’d be glad to get you here on the public square and ask you about education cuts, why health insurance is so expensive and what will happen when all the good jobs have gone somewhere else.

We’d just like to talk to you in person.

I know you might think that I’m full of sour grapes and that you shouldn’t pay any attention to a half-crazed country newspaper editor, but I’m not wrong.

Here, in this place, people live and die and never see their governor. They’ve never been to Frankfort (except maybe on a field trip in school) but they are Kentucky as well.

They need to know their voice is heard, but their cries are but a soft whisper when those that listen never come close enough to hear …

Here are some places I’ve been to over the years that would make good spots to visit if you, Gov. Beshear, or your people actually wanted to see places that aren’t seen and hear voices that aren’t heard: Guthrie, Powderly, Morgantown, Sedalia, Sebree, Cloverport, Albany, Liberty, Owingsville, Salyersville and Possum Trot/Gilbertsville.

Or you could just throw a dart at a map. That would work out just about as well.

So, Gov. Beshear, please come and sit for a spell and chew the fat with us.

We are in every little town and we are waiting to be heard.

Posted by Ryan

Check out the CLASSIFIEDS

2008-07-23T12:46:00.002-05:00

As General Manager, I have taken a bold step in personally redesigning the Classified section in this week's Todd County Standard newspaper.

Some will like it and some won't but the purpose was to group information in a more reader friendly manner.

If you are looking for a job, they are all in one place together and one doesn't have to search the entire paper. The same would be true if you are looking for yard sale info or a home to buy or rent.

Real Estate ads will have to be spread over two pages due to such the large amount of space needed for the advertisements.

This section will continue to include new headings such as legal notices, public notices, etc. as they are submitted to the paper for publication.

Hope you enjoy.

Posted by Sarah Craig

181 construction better than nothing

2008-07-22T14:15:00.003-05:00

The Kentucky 181 entrance (from the stoplight to the court square) into Elkton being widened as part of the governor's six-year road plan is a good thing and it will help the city and those who travel through.

With that said, it makes us wonder if it was the right place to start fixing 181. We have been told that if 181 is to ever be straightened out then it will be done in piecemeal sections over several years.

That means that for at least a few years, maybe more than six with the state's money problems, the only construction will be in Elkton and not in the deadly curves north of Clifty, the stretch from Tress Shop to the railroad tracks or the dangerous intersection near North Todd Elementary.

Still, as one official said, we are glad to at least get something since we haven't been on the road plan list in a long, long time (some say, if ever). It is just a shame that it might not be the best use of the money right now.

The entire road should be straightened and have passing lanes on hills and the people of Todd County shouldn't accept anything less.

Does Todd County Take Tourism Seriously?

2008-07-16T10:29:00.002-05:00

The news is out. Most of the counties in the state have enjoyed an increase in tourism. Now this may have as much to do with gasoline being the price of an arm and a leg, but nevertheless, people are not traveling as far when they go-a-visiting ...

Here is some info from the story that was released:

Tourism in Todd County increased 5.6% percent in 2007 and added almost $3 million to the county’s economy. These new statistics were released by the Kentucky Department of Travel and based on an annual report compiled by the Travel Industry Association (TIA) in Washington D.C.

Todd County’s numbers are a part of an overall 6.5% percent statewide increase in tourism in 2007, which added $10.7 billion to the state’s economy.

“We know that travel and tourism are an essential part of Kentucky’s economy,” said Mike Cooper, commissioner for the department. “Money spent on tourism throughout the Commonwealth circulates several times into the economy benefiting Kentucky communities through direct travel and in the service and retail sectors.”

“Attracting tourists to our community is an on-going process and local leaders have worked diligently to increase the number of visitors to the area,” said State Senator Joey Pendleton. “This report is good news for the area and an indication that our efforts are paying off and, thanks to continued strong local leadership, we are looking forward to even more growth in the future.”

The report shows that more than 176,600 people are employed statewide in the industry earning more than $3.4 billion in payroll. In Todd County, approximately 38 people are employed in the tourism industry and account for more than $1 million in payroll. Nearly $7.25 billion was spent directly by domestic travelers in Kentucky in 2007. Combined with indirect spending, the complete value of the tourism industry in the state totals $10.72 billion. These amounts generate just over $1 billion in local, state and federal taxes.

One magistrate, who was raked over the coals for saying it, said, "There ain't nothing to see here" a couple years ago.

Most people know that's not true, but what worries me is that while other counties nearby have significant tourism with even less bonafide tourism spots Todd County is content in not worrying about developing tourism.

Now, we do have a tourism committee and they have already accomplished some good work and more good stuff is on the horizon. Our task as Todd Countians will be to support the tourism development efforts.

We need to develop what we have, add more tourism draws and get a bigger piece of that $10.72 billion pie.

The sad part is that we haven't even begun to look at agri-tourism or what it will take to get a few hotels or B&Bs in the county. We might not think it cool but a B&B in North Todd overlooking a farm, stream or lake will bring in more people than you think.

We also had suggestions for a Corvette racetrack resort. A drive-in theather. A theme park. Or even adventure tourism in the Clifty cliffs.

The possiblities are endless, but we will have to recruit tourism almost as much as we have to court industry and that requires time, money and leadership. While I think the leadership is behind it, I wonder if there are people out there that are willing to give the money or the time?

That is where the recruitment comes in ... I often laugh about counties in Tennessee trying to keep out a Bible-themed park that might bring millions of dollars to the community. The park, while perhaps not my cup of tea, should be the kind of tourism draw we should seek out. Don't believe a theme park in a rural area can work? Take Holiday World in Santa Claus, Ind., for example. People will drive up to five hours to attend the park.

Basically, a good draw is a good draw... especially when it is a good fit for the area.

The trick will be finding the passion to find that good fit.

Posted by Ryan

Time to compromise

2008-07-09T19:45:00.002-05:00

The Todd County Sheriff's deputies remain jobless as the sheriff and the fiscal court continue feuding over funding for the department.

OK, enough is enough. Sheriff W.D. "Billy" Stokes told the Standard that he will not take the state advancement -- a no interest loan from the state to help float sheriff's departments during the dry spell between tax collecting. Stokes told the Standard on Tuesday night that he is standing his ground on the subject of the advancement and will not back down.

On the other hand the fiscal court will not grant any of the sheriff's line item changes until he shows up at a meeting to ask the court for the funds. In the sheriff's budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year the court has the sheriff taking the state advancement. But, Stokes refuses to take the advancement (and yes, he is the only one who can sign the papers), saying that he cannot trust the court to repay the loan if something were to happen to him leaving his family responsible for paying back the $30,000.

My momma has always told me that every good relationship is based on compromise. While the court and sheriff obviously do not have anything resembling even a mediocre relationship, I think a compromise is called for.

Here is what I propose happen: Stokes take the advancement. In return for Stokes taking the advancement the fiscal court should publicly promise that if something were to happen to Stokes it would take care of the loan and not leave it to Stokes' family. Although, such a vow would be unnecessary; if Stokes were to take the advancement and something happened to him and the court refused to pay the advancement back the fiscal court would end up barbecued by the Standard. However, if it would make Stokes more comfortable the court could publicly promise to cover the loan or County Attorney Harold "Mac" Johns could draw up some fancy contract.

And, if Stokes were to take the advancement and somewhere down the line request a line item change, the court could grant it without Stokes' presence. As in most compromises not everyone gets their way 100 percent and not every one is tickled with the outcome. However, this is not about Stokes or the fiscal court. It's about the people of Todd County being without police protection. It's time that Stokes and the court swallow a little stubborn pride and give an inch in this game they've been playing. I, however, do think Stokes should put in an occasional appearance at the meetings. Not every department head attends every meeting, but once in awhile they make an appearance. Stokes could to; and if Stokes were to concede that then the court could concede something else.

Give and take. That's what compromise is all about and it's past time that Stokes and the fiscal court compromise.

Posted by Stephanie

Sheriff lays off deputies — again

2008-06-30T09:45:00.002-05:00

It has been confirmed that Todd County Sheriff W.D. Billy Stokes has laid off his staff for a third time this year.

The sheriff asked the Todd County Fiscal Court last week for $3,259.56 so he could keep paying his deputies.

The court, at the end of a budget cycle, said they just didn't have the money so they refused.

(They also pointed out that Stokes is suing the members of the court and that he hasn't given his bank balance — which is required by ordinance — to the court. So they wouldn't know what to give him.)

What they did say is that Stokes should have taken the advancement from the state. That would have been enough to float the office for several months.

Stokes, of course, has said he wouldn't take the advancement because he can't trust the court to pay it off if something were to happen to him.

Look in this week's Standard for more on the issue!

Tribble recovering nicely

2008-06-21T13:56:00.002-05:00

There have been several phone calls wanting to know about our Office Manager Jonelle Tribble. She had open heart surgery last week, everything went fine and we are pleased to announce that she is home resting.

She told us that she is itching to get back to work, though she knows that the doctors wouldn't think too much of that. :)