Olive Hill Elementary School student Nolan Ryan Lee was recognized by the school board on Monday night for his wrestling achievements. The youth wrestler won a Kentucky State Championship for his age and weight class to close his season last year. Lee’s coach, Mike Skinner, commended the young man for his hard work and dedication and told the board that though they are a new program, they’ve already had two students earn wrestling scholarships and he believes they have several future stars among their youth wrestlers, like Lee. (Photo by Jeremy D. Wells, Carter County Times)
Uncle Jack Fultz’s Memories of Carter County: Of course it will!
By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
We just finished fair week, so of course it was a wet, rainy, and humid one. It almost wouldn’t seem right to have a fair with, well, fair weather.
It’s projected to stay wet and rainy right on through this week and weekend as well. Carter County and eastern Kentucky stay fairly wet anyway. Carter averages about 44 to 45 inches of rain a year, well over the national average of 38 inches a year, and this year has been no exception with heavy rains and flooding right through spring and summer.
Some of that extra rain and flooding can rightly be blamed on climate change, but people have always complained about (and probably always will complain about) the weather. In September of 1920 the editors of the Herald noted that they hadn’t had a clear, rain free Saturday since June – “12 Saturdays straight it has rained without missing one” – the paper noted.
“(In) Olive Hill there has been already this year over 48 inches of rainfall and the average for Kentucky is only about 32 inches per year,” the paper noted. (Whether those figures were accurate, or they have increased over time is unclear, but 48 inches – with three months still left in the year – is a goodly amount of rain no matter how you measure it.)
I guess it’s a good thing, then, that the Maddox Grocery Co. offered local farmers “Certain-teed” roofing to help keep barns and buildings “impervious to driving rain.”
The other option would have been to follow Noah’s lead, but we have a feeling that an ark full of farm animals would be hard to navigate down Tygart Creek, no matter how heavy the rain.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
East Carter to participate in Recreation Bowl: Football game scheduled for August 21 in Mt. Sterling
East Carter High School will be playing in the 74th Annual Recreation Bowl this Saturday, against the Montgomery County Indians in Mr. Sterling, and two East Carter girls are in the running for Recreation Bowl Queen.
Karsen Prichard and Maci Moore are representing East for the queen’s court at the game, the oldest running bowl game in Kentucky high school football.
Prichard, 17, is a senior, the daughter of Chris and Mandy Prichard, who plays on the East Carter Raider Softball Team and participates in Unified and Beta Clubs. She was on the 2021 Kentucky State All Star Softball Team, 2021 16th Region All Tournament Softball Team, and a distinguished scholar. Her volunteer work includes working at local soup kitchens and food pantries, and after graduation she plans to pursue a career in the medical field.
She said she was glad to represent East Carter, and felt she was chosen by her peers because she “love(s) being involved with our school and allthe fun that comes along with being a Raider.”
Moore, also 17 and also a senior, is the daughter of Zack and Kelley Moore. She plays on the East Carter Raider Soccer and Basketball teams, and participates in Beta Club, FBLA, and TSA. She has been recognized as a Distinguished Scholar, All Honors, National Honor Society, and Ultimate Teammate for three consecutive years. She was also a member of the First All Region Team for soccer in 2019. Her volunteer work includes food pantry and soup kitchen hours, refereeing youth soccer games in her community, helping run youth basketball camps, and running “the blitz for my school to welcome upcoming freshmen.” After graduation she plans to “attend ACTC for two years, then continue my academics at Marshall University to pursue a career in biomedical engineering.”
Moore said she believe she was chosen to represent her school because she, “show(s) good leadership and school spirit that our team understand and respects
Running for a swing: Kiwanis and East Carter Cross Country sponsor 5K
By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
The Carter County Kiwanis Club is committed to adding a wheelchair accessible swing to the playground at the new Grayson Sports Park to continue building an inclusive play experience.
Their latest fundraising event is a 5K run and walk scheduled for this Saturday at the Sports Park.
Registration for the event starts at 8 a.m. and runs through 8:45, with the run kicking off at 9 a.m.
“Have you ever watched a kid at a park just sit and watch other kids enjoy themselves?” Kiwanis member Willis Johnson asked. “Well, we are going to try to change some of that, with your kind help.”
The swing set is manufactured and will be installed by the same company that manufactures the other playground equipment in the park. This includes the harness strap zipline and the merry-go-round spinning toy that Kiwanis already provided to the park. That toy is constructed in such a way that children with mobility issues can join other children on the ride without any additional accommodations.
The total cost for the equipment isn’t cheap, though. To add the swing to the mix will cost the Kiwanis club $48,000.
“We can’t do it alone,” Johnson said. “We need your help,” on August 21 for the 5K and everyday, he said.
“If you would like to donate to the project, you can stop by City National Bank and donate directly to the project,” he said. He also encourages folks to consider joining Kiwanis to help support their work for area children and to sign up for the 5K in advance.
You can pick up forms for advance registration from Grayson Sporting Goods. Those who register in advance can also reserve a t-shirt in the size of their choice.
Cost for the one mile kids Fun Run is $10 per person. Cost for the 5K is $25. Registration on the day of the event will take place at the football field at the Grayson Sports Park.
For more information, or to pre-register, contact Willis Johnson at (606)255-6359.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
AIT program leads to industry employment
ASHLAND – Recent graduates of the Advanced Integrated Technology (AIT) program at Ashland Community and Technical College are already going to work, just months after receiving their credentials.
Brayden Porter is one of those grads. He recently began working in operations at Danimer Scientific in Winchester.
“Getting the opportunity of employment in July after just recently graduating makes all of my worries of ‘did I make the right decision choosing the AIT program’ go away,” Porter said. “I can personally attest to the fact that this is the degree every company is looking for. The knowledge you have to offer from this program is unlike any other.”
He says having the opportunity to work close to home meant everything to him and was also part of why he chose to attend ACTC. He added that he knew several people who attended ACTC and left “career-ready.”
“The opportunities and amazing staff at ACTC make it the perfect college. My instructors made it their mission to help us find a career and teach us all they could in the two years I was there,” he said.
Porter says he chose the AIT program because of the focus in advancements in technology.
“Our world is going to a new automation system where everything is on a computer or a robot can do it,” he said. “AIT offers an endless amount of information from robotics to pneumatics to even working with programmable logic controllers. Even if companies aren’t quite there yet they will be in the years to come.”
He says he believes companies seek employees with the kind of experience the AIT program offers.
“At 20 years old, I was able to walk into a job interview and leave them impressed by my resume,” Porter said. “In this program, you learn so many valuable skills that are reputable with employers. I walked into the program with no experience and now I’m an operator at Danimer. Going into AIT was the best decision I ever made.”
Mike Tackett, program coordinator says, “It is wonderful to hear that Brayden received a job with Danimer. This is what we are here to do…help our students find a great career that puts them on a path to success. Plus, it is great to know we are helping provide skilled workers that industry needs.”
The AIT program allows students to acquire the critical thinking, communication skills and problem-solving strategies needed to work in today’s technically advanced industrial settings, including the manufacturing industry.
Students can earn an Associate in Applied Science – Advanced Integrated Technology degree or certificates in Engineering Controls, Multi-Skilled Technician and Skilled Operator.
For more information, visit https://ashland.kctcs.edu/education-training/program-finder/advanced-integrated-technology.aspx or email Mike Tackett at mtackett0070@kctcs.edu
Local labor saves the day
By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
We try to shop local as much as possible. I’ll tell anyone who listens that Tony James, down at James Do-It-Best Hardware, is one of the big reasons I fell in love with Olive Hill. When I tumbled into Tygart Creek, and came into his store looking for something to dry out my phone, he didn’t have to go digging into old stock to find a dessicant for me, but he did. Then he gave it to me free of charge.
It didn’t fix my phone, but it was an attempt to help me out. It was a true and real altruistic act. (He didn’t know me from Adam, I’m sure.) It reminded me that there are good people out there.
I’ve had similar experiences all across the county, from Rush to Soldier, Grahn to Willard, Hitchins to Carter City, Denton to Aden, and all points in between.
When we needed some heating and air conditioning work this week, we called LeMaster Heating and Cooling out of Soldier.
See, I’m not only a proponent of shopping local, I also believe in doing work yourself if you can. And when you can’t, you call in the experts. That’s the point we were at with our air conditioning. During that hot, dry spell where we were hitting record breaking temperatures? We didn’t have air conditioning through most of that. And we were miserable.
Our thermostat would give us a fault and stop working. So, I crawled under the house to check the codes on the front of the unit, the only way to be sure why it was faulting. According to the code it was a drain issue again.
We’d gotten this code earlier in the year, when we first switched from heating to cooling, and after crawling under the house to check the code at that time I snaked the drain line. After a good portion of mucous like material came out of the pipe with the retrieved snake, a steady trickle of water started running. We didn’t have any more issues until the temperatures really started soaring, then the faults came quick and fast.
I snaked the line from outside again. I crawled under the house to make sure it was still the drain fault. I crawled under the house again to snake the drain from the plug at the furnace. I crawled under again to snake it again, and to try snaking back into the furnace itself. I had my partner look up workthroughs and schematics while I swore and insisted there was no way to reach the drain pan without taking the furnace apart.
Finally, we gave in and called the experts.
When LeMaster came out they confirmed two of my suspicions. One, that it was a bad moisture sensor that was causing the system to default. Two, that our furnace is, indeed, constructed and installed in such a way that there is no reaching the drain pan without taking the furnace at least partially apart.
That vindication, though, was really just the icing on the cake. I was happy to admit I was stumped and let the experts come in and handle it. And they did so, spectacularly. When I came home that evening, to a nice, cool house, there was also no question that I’d be sending them a big thanks in this week’s column.
Thank you guys, we appreciate your work and expertise (and saving me from crawling under the house one more time).
Jeremy D. Wells can be reached at editor@cartercountytimes.com
‘Afghanistanism’ went from old study topic to U. S. war disaster
By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
It was nearly 60 years ago that I first heard someone use the term “Afghanistanism”. Dr. Lamar Bridges was teaching editorial writing at Marshall University, and I was trying to learn the skills of a journalist.
As he explained it, “Afghanistanism” was coined 20 years earlier to criticize the practice of certain reporters and editors of concentrating on problems in distant parts of the world while ignoring controversial local issues.
I recall that we had to do some research on that mountainous, landlocked country at the crossroads of South and Central Asia. That was long before the failed Soviet invasion of that tiny nation, the growth of the international opium trade and the initial emergence of the Taliban faction of Islamic extremists.
Dr. Bridges insisted that we learn to write local editorials and avoid wasting the time of our readers by writing about far-away matters that no one really cared about.
On our first day of class, he asked if any of us could find Afghanistan on a map. Out of about 25 students, no one knew exactly where it was or the name of the capital city, Kabul.
Today, nearly 20 years after U. S. soldiers began fighting and dying there, America is ending its longest war with almost 2,500 men and women killed in action. Many veterans of that conflict no doubt will always wonder if their sacrifices were worth the cost.
Our nation spent billions of dollars trying to improve living conditions for the Afghans and to build warfighting capability in Afghan security forces. The weapons and equipment we provided are being displayed on international TV as the Taliban fighters march through each conquered town or village.
From what we have seen thus far, it appears many of the Afghan soldiers have surrendered without a fight. American forces trained them and equipped them but apparently couldn’t motivate all of them to defend their own land.
Pulling out was a tough but correct decision for America. As I reflected on what has happened in Afghanistan, I found myself wishing that I, too, had never heard of that forlorn place.
Keith Kappes can be reached at keithkappes@gmail.com
AS WE SEE IT: Make meetings more public
On Thursday morning our editor had two meetings scheduled at 9 a.m. One was a Kiwanis meeting, the other a park board meeting. Both were important, but he had to choose one or the other. That evening he also had two events, both scheduled at 6 p.m., and had to make a similar choice. It’s a part of his job, and it isn’t a one-time thing.
Yesterday, for instance, there was a special school board meeting scheduled for the exact same time and date as the Olive Hill City Council meeting.
We understand. It’s hard to get everyone on the same page at the best of times. When you can, you can’t always be worried about what else is going on across town. But you should be.
See, conflicting meetings aren’t just a problem for journalists with tight schedules. When you schedule events at the same time, you minimize the crowd or audience you can draw for your event. You minimize the reach of your message, if you have one, or split your attempts to raise funds. You keep people who want to be informed and involved citizens from fully being informed and involved citizens.
Because journalists aren’t the only ones making decisions about which event or meeting to attend. The people are too.
If you are an elected official of any sort, you should be accessible to your constituents. Scheduling meetings without concern to what else your constituents might have going on, however, is not being accessible. Sure, they can request meeting minutes, and they have to be made available to them. But the meeting minutes don’t give the reader the nuance that being present or watching live offers.
Organizations need to do a better job, and be more cognizant of what other organizations and communities are doing. Not only can that help them work together to do wonderful things for our county and our communities, but it can help more people be involved. That’s something every community organization needs.
Something that local government entities with regular meetings can do is something they already started dipping their toes into during the pandemic, and that is livestreaming and/or creating digital recordings of all their meetings. This allows folks to follow along from home if they can’t get away in time to attend the meeting. Saving that digital livestream as a video file after the meeting has completed also allows them to come back and review it later, or to view it at their leisure if they had another event scheduled at the same time.
Olive Hill City Council did both of these things during the pandemic. Though they have ceased the livestreams now that they’ve returned to in-person meetings, their pandemic policy is the very model of transparency we’d like to see become the norm for every meeting.
Grayson also livestreamed their meetings during the pandemic, but they did not archive the videos on their social media pages after the meeting had concluded. Their reason for this was that the comments section became impossible to moderate. That’s understandable. Between spam and inappropriate, off-topic, and heated comments, you either have to let it go and not engage at all, or completely lock-down the comment section to keep it from going off the rails. Neither of these are in the job description of our city administrative staff and keeping up with it would be a full-time job in and of itself.
The third option, that we really like as a compromise, is the policy of the Carter County Fiscal Court. Fiscal court has streamed meetings in the past, both Zoom meetings where all participants are remote as well as meetings where masked magistrates met in person and the meeting was streamed to viewers at home. But regardless of how they do it, the fiscal court always video records and saves their meetings. Copies of these video recordings are available on requests, as DVDs or digital files. It’s not as quick or convenient as pulling up the meeting online, but it does give you the option to hear the full context and nuance that meeting minutes do not provide.
If this all sounds like stuff that would make our jobs easier as journalists with tight schedules, it is. But it’s also important for you.
In a world where people are more and more skeptical of news media, and the information we provide you, you need to be able to fact check us. If something doesn’t sound right to you, you need to be able to follow that up, if it’s important to you. A direct video record of the meeting – as it occurred – can’t lie to you. It can’t obfuscate, it can’t misrepresent, and it can’t spin. The person on the video may or may not be trying to do all of those things, sure, but the video itself is an objective and impartial witness.
In this day and age, there is no reason it shouldn’t be recorded, kept, and made accessible to all.
Pet of the Week: 8/18/21
Bailey is a one-year-old female shepherd mix. She’s an awesome girl, who gets along great with everyone and is good with other dogs. She has a FREE adoption to an approved home, has her rabies vaccination, and has been spayed. Stop by the Carter County Animal Shelter and meet her or call 475-9771 for more information.
Shelter hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Saturday by appointment.
Extension notes: Welcome garden spiders
By: Rebecca Konopka
Carter County Extension Agent
For some of us, the thought of a spider makes us run for a big shoe. Stop before you do that. Most spiders in Kentucky will not harm you, and in fact, spiders play an important role in a healthy ecosystem, controlling insect pests that raid our gardens.
You may notice the large, intricate webs of orb weavers in your garden, particularly in late summer. There are many species of orb weaver spiders in Kentucky. No other common Kentucky spider makes organized, circular, grid-like webs like orb weavers. These spiders are almost always encountered inside their webs.
Orb weavers range in size from the size of a pencil eraser to a little larger, with their legs outstretched, than a U.S. silver dollar. Their coloring ranges from solid tan or brown to colorful, vivid patterns. Seeing one of Kentucky’s largest spiders, a yellow and black Argiope in the center of its web in the morning, when dew droplets turn their work into garden jewelry is a real treat. By the way, their bites are harmless to humans, unless you’re allergic.
When their legs are outstretched, grass spiders are about the size of a U.S. quarter. They are brown with noticeable gray or tan stripes that run the length of their body. They can be distinguished by their prominent hind spinnerets, which are two, finger-like projections on the end of its abdomen that are used to spin the web. Many other spiders have spinnerets, but they are particularly noticeable in grass spiders.
Wolf spiders come in a range of species and sizes, from the size of a pencil eraser to a U.S. silver dollar. Most are dark or light brown, usually with contrasting spots or stripes. They can move fast and are often seen running on the ground. They don’t build webs to catch their prey. Instead, they use their sight to pinpoint their prey, mostly at night, and chase them down like their namesakes, wolves.
You may see wolf spiders in your home, but unless you’re allergic, their bite is harmless.
Grass spiders are very common in Kentucky lawns, where they build large, funnel-shaped webs. They also occasionally wander into homes. They can be mistaken for brown recluse spider, because they are brown and similar in size. They are, however, harmless to humans unless an individual is allergic.
Speaking of brown recluses, they are one of two Kentucky spiders that can harm humans, the other being a black widow. Tan to dark brown, a brown recluse’s abdomen and legs are uniformly colored with no stripes, bands, or mottling. The legs are long and thin and lack conspicuous spines. They have a dark violin-shaped mark on their back, with the neck of the violin pointing toward the rear of the spider. This feature is consistent in adult brown recluses, but is less obvious in younger spiders. Also, brown recluses only have six eyes: most Kentucky spiders have eight, but let’s be honest. Are you really going to get close enough to count?
Their bites are serious and require immediate medical attention, but brown recluses are timid and unlikely to bite unless handled. These spiders are common in all areas of Kentucky. They tend to occur in hidden locations indoors and outdoors, such as piles of cardboard or paper, stacks of cut wood and wall-voids of buildings.
Black widow spiders are also common throughout the state. The female black widow is about a half-inch long and is glossy black with a variable number of red markings on the top and/or bottom of her abdomen. Adult males smaller and are similar in color, but with a few added white markings. Juveniles are highly variable. Their bites are very serious and require immediate medical attention, but the spider is timid and unlikely to bite unless handled. They tend to hide out in concealed outdoor locations such as piles of rocks or firewood and dark corners of garages and out-buildings. Females are common; males are very rarely encountered.
To learn about more of Kentucky’s spiders, visit the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology’s Critter Files, http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/spiders/spiderfile.htm or contact the Carter County Office of the UK Cooperative Extension Service.
Educational programs of the Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expressions, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, or physical or mental disability.
Late to the Game(s): Turok and me
By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Before I started collecting comics on my own, I had a few of my dad’s old comic books he gave to me. Among them were some 1960s Turok, Son of Stone comics from Gold Key. I read them over and over, taking great care not to damage them.
The premise of the comic was that Turok and his brother, Andar, were trapped in a Lost Valley where prehistoric life still existed. Each issue they dealt with the dangers of the prehistoric world they lived in while trying to find their way out of the valley and back home.
Or, at least, that is as deep as the issues available to me went.
Fast forward another decade and the newly minted Valiant Comics reintroduced Turok to the world in 1992, first in a Turok series that hurled Turok and Andar into the future, and introduced the concept of the bionically altered dinosaur. Then, a year later, in the relaunch title Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. In this series the Lost Valley became the Lost World, a time anomaly that draws in people and animals from different eras and then operates on a sort of independent time cycle.
While days go by in the Lost Valley, thousands of years pass in the outside world.
That’s how Turok finds himself in the far post-apocalyptic future, fighting robots and cyborgs and then, with his second Valiant title, back in the 1990s.
While I was an avid reader of the Turok comics – at least after jumping on with the Dinosaur Hunter relaunch – I had never played the Turok video game, or any of its sequels. I know it was a classic of the Nintendo 64 era. It’s one of my cousin’s favorite game, and considered a seminal console FPS (first person shooter). But by 1997 I was 22-years-old and in college. I wasn’t playing many video games, or reading as many comics. I remember thinking something like, “Oh, that looks cool,” when I saw the game ads in a comic, but not much more. It wasn’t enough to make me run out and by a Nintendo 64 (though a good Zelda ad might have).
For the next 24 years I didn’t think much about the Turok video game until I recently discovered I had a copy of it. The “remastered” version of the game came in one of the many bundles or services I own. Versions of it are available on Steam, through Amazon, and on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, as well as other platforms and storefronts.
The game is a “remastered” version, but that doesn’t mean the graphics don’t show their age. This is gaming in all its 64 bit glory; the kind of texture mapping that makes Minecraft look polished. In other words, cutting edge for the era. The dinosaurs and monsters aren’t too bad to look at. The humans, though, are truly monstrous.
You aren’t playing Turok to look at the hero, though, and you can pretend the human adversaries are anything but if it makes you feel better. They look rough enough to be demonic or robotic. The title is Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. You know what you’re here for. And, on that level, it’s a fun enough little retro romp.
As Turok you explore the map and look for keys to unlock each level. Along the way you collect new ammo types, new weapons, and encounter new enemies. And you shoot stuff in the face. I say “shoot stuff in the face” because the first thing you’re going to notice is that this game doesn’t make it easy for midrange shooting, much less sniping from a distance.
Changing weapons is easy, quick and intuitive. That’s a real plus for the game. But there is no sort of zoom or aiming reticle. If you are the type of shooter player who likes to run in and blast away with a shotgun or dance around and stab an enemy with a knife, you’ll do fine. If you want to hunker down behind cover and take out your enemies from a distance as you advance, you’re going to find the experience a bit more frustrating. Or at least I did, especially in the early stages before I had figured out how to start using the tip of my arrow to approximate an aiming strategy.
If you are someone who hasn’t played many games since 1997, and wants a burst of nostalgia, this could be a bit of retro fun. Same as an educational experience for kids who want to see if their parents really did play inherently harder games like they claim (pro-tip, we did).
But if you’ve kept up with shooters over the years, you might find some of the limitations frustrating. I kept wanting to hit the shoulder buttons to zoom the aim, as is standard in so many modern shooters, but one of them was mapped to the weapon swap and the other was a second mapping of the jump button. Early on I’d try to crouch and zoom only to hop up and draw fire.
I might go back and play a little more, just to make sure it doesn’t get any better as I improve my aim, but all in all this is a title that is better left in the Lost Valley. There are better shooters out there, in terms of both looks and controls, if that is what you are in the mood for.
Far Cry Primal doesn’t let you hunt dinosaurs, but you can hunt wooly mammoth and saber tooth tigers, that’s pretty close. It also has all the modern bells and whistles as far as aiming, zooming, crouching, and sneaking. There’s also Ark: Survival Evolved, various Jurassic Park games, and the Monster Hunter series (still not dinosaurs, but also close).
Point is, if you come into this, come into it realizing what you are getting. It’s one of the best of its era, but its era – and that era’s shortcomings – are obvious and written all over the game. Caveat Emptor.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
Weekly arrests report: 8/18/21
The following individuals were arrested and booked into the Carter County Detention Center over the past week. This list includes local arrests only. It does not include federal inmates being housed at or transported through the detention center.
Tony Chancy, 58, of Grayson, arrested by Kentucky State Police on a charge of failure to appear, arrested and booked August 9.
Jeffrey Glover, 33, of Grayson, arrested by Olive Hill PD, on three counts of failure to appear, public intoxication, first degree possession of a controlled substance – heroin, and possession of drug paraphernalia, arrested and booked August 10.
Cara Kimmell, 35, of Grayson, arrested by Grayson PD, on a charge of failure to appear, arrested and booked August 10.
Billy Collins, 38, of Grayson, arrested by Grayson PD, on charges of failure to appear, and second degree assault, arrested and booked August 10.
James Sexton, 43, of Grayson, arrested by Grayson PD, on charges of failure to wear seat belts, no registration receipt, failure to maintain required insurance, license not in possession, and two counts of failure to appear, arrested and booked August 10.
Kevin Estep, 48, of Morehead, arrested by Kentucky State Police, on charges of speeding 5 mph over limit, reckless driving, failure to produce insurance card, no registration receipt, failure to wear seat belts, operating a motor vehicle under the influence, and inadequate silencer (muffler), arrested and booked August 10.
Zachary Brooks, 24, of Grayson, arrested by Grayson PD, on charges of failure to appear, and violation of a Kentucky emergency protective order/domestic violence order, arrested and booked August 11.
Charles Thomas, 60, of Grayson, arrested by Kentucky State Police, on charges of possession of marijuana, and careless driving, arrested and booked August 11.
Jeffery Lawhorn, 23, of Olive Hill, arrested by Grayson PD, on a charge of failure to appear, arrested and booked August 11.
Billy Ingles, 20, of Grayson, arrested by Grayson PD, on two counts of failure to appear, arrested and booked August 12.
Alex Smith, 25, of Grayson, arrested by Grayson PD, on charges of failure to produce insurance card, license not in possession, receiving stolen property – $10,000 or more, failure to maintain required insurance, no registration plates, and no registration receipt, arrested and booked August 12.
Lonnie Marcum, 39, of Vanceburg, arrested by Grayson PD, on a charge of failure to appear, arrested and booked August 12.
Natasha Parsons, 31, of Carter City, arrested by Carter County Sheriff, on a warrant for parole violation, arrested and booked August 13.
Derrick Ison, 32, of Grayson, arrested by Kentucky State Police, on a charge of violation of a Kentucky emergency protective order/domestic violence order, arrested and booked August 15.
Barbara Gilbert, 41, of Grayson, arrested by Grayson PD, on a charge of failure to appear, arrested and booked August 15.
Ryan Partin, 32, of Union City, Ohio, arrested by Carter County Jail, on charges of changing address without approval of parole board, violation of condition of release – failure to register address with sex offender registry, violation of condition of release – having computer access/Facebook account, violation of condition of release – having contact with minors, and establishing an intimate relationship with an adult without prior approval of a parole officer, arrested and booked August 16.
Larry Gannon, 55, of Carter City, arrested by Grayson PD, on a warrant for parole violation, arrested and booked August 17.
All of the charges listed are arrest charges only, and do not indicate an indictment or a conviction for the charges in question. All subjects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Information is compiled from publicly available sources, but may not be comprehensive. Individuals who are released or post bail shortly after arrest may not be listed.
Saying goodbye: Board wishes retiring superintendent well
By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Dr. Ronnie Dotson told the Carter County School board the district had a “great first day of school,” during his final regular meeting with the board before stepping down in September. He went on to discuss attendance, including the approximately 100 students who missed the first day of classes because of known quarantines, before addressing his impending departure.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed almost everything about my time in Carter County,” Dotson said. “And almost everyone I’ve met,” he added teasingly, to laughter from the staff and board.
Dotson noted that when he came on as superintendent, Carter County was a low performing school. Students from Carter County, he said, often had to take remedial classes at the college level before they could begin their university education.
Now, he said, “this district is among the top in the state.”
He said they were one of only two districts in the state where all schools within the district had at least a four-star rating – something he was very proud of helping the district achieve.
As board chair Lisa Ramey-Easterling noted later, under Dotson’s tenure the district also earned Blue Ribbon recognition for two of their elementary schools, Star and Carter City, while East Carter High School went from being under state assistance to serving as a model for improving performance at the high school level. In addition, she noted, graduation rates had continued to increase under Dotson.
Board member Rachel Fankell began to tear up as she remembered the support of Dotson and his family, and the entire district, after the loss of her son.
Kirk Wilburn, meanwhile, said he would remember Dotson for the way he would quietly handle issues brought before him, always looking out for the best interests of the staff and the students.
“There’s nothing I’ve asked for that wasn’t taken care of,” Wilburn said. “It’s all the little things that no one sees… and it’s all taken care of.”
Dotson said he was confident the district would continue to succeed and that he would, “look forward to hearing great things about Carter County.”
In other action the board held a hearing on their property tax rate. Though the board didn’t plan to suggest an increase of their tax rate – instead leaving it at the current rate of 48.1 cents on both real and personal property – they expect their existing tax rate to increase the district’s income by up to $100,000 or more in the new school year. By law, if an existing tax rate will increase a district’s income, they must hold a public hearing, district treasurer Andy Lyons explained.
There was no public comment concerning the estimated increase.
The board also heard from students, community members, and instructional and technology updates before moving to keep their motor vehicle tax rate at 47.1 cents, and to keep real property and personal property tax rates at 48.1 cents.
The board also moved to approve a motion to amend the school calendar for the 2021-2022 school year.
The district removed five days of instruction, taking the school year from their original plan of 175 days of instruction to 170. To meet this number the district also moved to move the last day of school back two days. Instead of school ending on May 17, it will now end on May 19.
With Dotson stepping down, the board also moved to appoint Pam Kouns interim secretary for school board meetings, a role filled by the superintendent in the past. A secretary is required to attend and keep notes for all public meetings.
The board also moved to move their regular October monthly meeting from October 18 to October 12 and declare the new meeting a special meeting.
The board already scheduled a special session on October 11, and the move of the regular monthly meeting to October 12 will allow them to take action immediately on any items discussed at the October 11 meeting if necessary.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com.
Putting rumors to rest: Park board says Little League will play in park
By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Last Tuesday, during the regular meeting of Grayson City Council, Mayor George Steele asked councilman Jerry Yates about a rumor. Steele had heard Grayson Little League was forbidden from playing on the ball fields at the new Grayson Sports Park. Yates, who serves as one of two council representatives on the park board, said he wasn’t aware of any policy forbidding Little League from using the field. He invited Steele to the next meeting of the park board, and on Thursday morning Steele spoke to the board, who put the rumor to rest – there is no policy forbidding the Little League from using the fields.
In fact, park manager Grant Harper is actively working with the Little League board to determine what days they would like to use the fields during the week.
Harper said the fields couldn’t be used for practice, and they needed at least a day of rest between games, but he was more than willing to work up a schedule that gave the league access to the fields on Tuesday and Thursday, or Monday and Wednesday.
Steele asked about the possibility of the team using the field on select Saturdays as well.
When there are no travel teams scheduled for paid time on the field, Harper said, there was no reason the Little League couldn’t use the fields.
He explained it was something he could work out in greater detail as they start putting together their schedule for next year. Between pandemic related supply shortages and bad weather, the park was later in getting open this year than they would have liked, but next year they should have a full schedule, which should include Little League games during the week.
That has been part of the plan since the beginning, the park board said.
This year, Harper noted, the park wasn’t even open yet during Little League’s regular season. Next year will be different, he said.
“I’d definitely like to do the opening ceremonies down there,” Harper said. “I look forward to working with the Little League.”
Grayson Little League board members Garrett Kitchen and Charlie Simmons said they thought the rumors could be attributed to the “telephone game” effect, where small details get confused with each retelling. Simmons said that was why he came to the meeting, to ask the board for help with getting that message out to the community. He noted that most people get their information through social media, and asked the sports park if they would consider specifically addressing the rumor on their social media account.
Mayor Steele said he was glad the situation had been clarified, and said if additional financial support was needed to secure a field, and staff, for more Saturday games and Little League access, he would support more funding. Steele noted that it was Little League parents who supported the restaurant tax when it was first proposed and passed four years ago, because it could be used to build a park.
Restaurant taxes must be used, by statute, to support tourism to the community that collects the tax. The sports park draws outside tourism by hosting travel teams, and thus is eligible for funding from the restaurant tax. However, nothing in the statute states that facilities can’t be used for local events as well. The board also noted that while not specifically tourism, Little League games do draw families from surrounding communities who also spend money in local restaurants. With the Grayson and Olive Hill Little Leagues future merge into the Carter County Little League, they said, that outside traffic could increase even more, resulting in more local restaurant traffic.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
Doughboy down: Malone said county will look at options to repair statue
By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Grayson’s beloved doughboy statute came tumbling down on Thursday morning after beginning to lean heavily overnight. The support beneath his feet finally gave way and the apparent stress of the lean was enough to break the bronze support post inside and the zinc based statue’s cast skin, just above the ankles. Malone checked the base with a level and said it was only “half a bubble” off level along the front.
The WWI memorial statue, which sits on a concrete base on the lawn of the Carter County Courthouse, was already in need of rehabilitation though. Judge Executive Mike Malone sought, and was granted, approval to raise funds for the repair of the statute in September of last year. At that time the concern was on the rifle and the hands, which were showing the effects of their age. The brass plaques, listing the names of all those who served from the county, had also fallen off the wall below the statute. Those have since been replaced.
In October of last year, Malone said, he talked with a restoration specialist who explained that the process for preserving the statute included cutting it in half, placing a stainless steel support structure inside, and welding the halves back together. The cost for that process was “pricey,” Malone said, coming in at $30,784.00, and that was before the current damage.
The assessment from McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory that came along with the $30,000+ estimate noted that “the figure (was) leaning slightly to its proper left.” It noted at the time that though the leaning was due in part to a slightly unlevel concrete base, it was “also because the metal base has partially collapsed under the weight of the figure.”
That collapsing base appears to be what finally caused the statue to break and topple over.
The report also noted that the cast zinc the statue is made of can suffer from brittleness and, “overtime, many historic cast zinc sculptures cannot support their own weight, causing them to collapse or ‘creep’ which leads to deformation and cracking.”
Malone called out road crews to evaluate the situation and come up with a plan for removing the stature. Malone said the statue would be stored at the road department building until it could be repaired and returned to the lawn.
Malone said he would like to see the current concrete block and retaining wall replaced with a large block of limestone from a local quarry. He said he would also like to see the entire viewing area redone so that it is more accessible to those with mobility issues.
The current memorial sits up on the hill, with elevations and slopes that could be difficult for the elderly or infirm. Malone said he would like to see the area leveled, with a depression cut out and retaining wall built behind it, so the memorial display is accessible without climbing a hill.
According to research done by Robert Caummisar, as of 2017 Grayson’s doughboy was one of 136 remaining in the nation and one of nine in Kentucky. The sculptor of the statue, E.M. Viquesney, came from the small town of Spencer, in Indiana. Carter County’s statue was donated by the American Legion Post 138, American Legion Post 156, and the Carter County Fiscal Court.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
John Christopher Blevins
1970-2021
Mr. John Christopher Blevins, age 51, of Olive Hill, Kentucky, passed away Friday, August 13, 2021 at his residence in Olive Hill, Kentucky.
Mr. Blevins was born on Monday, January 26, 1970 in Rowan County, Kentucky to John Robert Blevins and Joan DeHart Blevins.
John was of the Wesleyan faith and served in the National Guard for six years. He was an L4 telephone tech and enjoyed camping, hiking, fishing, gardening and spending time with family and friends.
In addition to his parents, he is survived by his companion, Laura June Kelly. Four sons, Robert Blevins of Grayson, Kentucky, Sean Blevins of Grayson, Kentucky, Cody Kelly of Raceland, Kentucky and Justin Kelly of Raceland, Kentucky. Two daughters, Kayla Shepard Costa of Grayson, Kentucky and Allison Kelly-Queen of Danville, Kentucky. Four brothers Jayson Scott Blevins of Olive Hill, Kentucky and Joe Blevins of Olive Hill, Kentucky, Bobby Blevins of Dayton, Ohio and Aaron Blevins of Loveland, Ohio. Three sisters, Cisha Rose of Rush, Kentucky, Christina Brown of Argillite, Kentucky and Melissa Blevins of Fairfield, Ohio. Six grandchildren, Tallulah Rose McGlone, Easton Levi Kelly, Eric Shawn Kelly, Jaxson Wyatt Kelly, Adalynn Grace Kelly and Harley Anne Queen. Along with a host of other family members and friends who will sadly mourn his passing.
Funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at Globe Funeral Chapel in Olive Hill, Kentucky with Brother J.C. Bond officiating. Burial will follow in the Garvin Ridge Cemetery in Olive Hill, Kentucky.
Friends may visit 6-8 p.m. Monday, August 16, 2021 at Globe Funeral Chapel in Olive Hill, Kentucky.
Robert Blevins, Sean Blevins, Cody Kelly, Justin Kelly, Phillip DeHart and Roger DeHart will serve as pallbearers.
Due to COVID-19 regulations, we ask that everyone wear a mask and practice social distancing.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.globefc.com.
Carson Holbrook
1961-2021
Mr. Carson Holbrook, age 59, of Olive Hill, Kentucky, passed away Friday, August 13, 2021 at his residence in Olive Hill, Kentucky.
Mr. Holbrook was born on Thursday, September 7, 1961 in Elliott County, Kentucky to the late Luster and Annie Catherine Bear Holbrook.
Carson was a Union Lineman IBEW, he loved farming, staying at home and spending time with family, grandchildren and fur babies.
He is preceded in death by two brothers, Larry Holbrook and Wendell Holbrook. Two sisters, Bernice Maggard and Rosewood Richmond.
Carson is survived by his wife of 21 years, Ella Mae Howerton Holbrook. Two sons, Gary Matthew Howerton of Olive Hill, Kentucky and Ron Henderson JR. Of Olive Hill, Kentucky. One daughter, Wendy Withrow (Rick) of Olive Hill, Kentucky. One special granddaughter, Megan Henderson whom he raised as his own. Three brothers, Elmo Holbrook (Doris) of Olive Hill, Kentucky, Wesley Holbrook of Lexington, Kentucky and Stoney Holbrook of Sandy Hook, Kentucky. One sister, Judy Waggoner of Elliott County, Kentucky. Seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, along with a host of family and friends who will sadly mourn his passing.
Funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at Globe Funeral Chapel in Olive Hill, Kentucky with Brother David Bryant and Brother Bobby Day officiating. Burial will follow in the Holbrook Cemetery in Olive Hill, Kentucky.
Friends may visit 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at Globe Funeral Chapel in Olive Hill, Kentucky and after 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
David Roar, Rick Withrow, J.C. Zornes, Rocky Richmond, Mikey Mays and Billy Roark will serve as pallbearers.
Matt Howerton, Ethan Henderson, Carson Eli Henderson and Braxton Howerton will serve as honorary pallbearers.
Due to COVID-19 regulations, we ask that everyone wear a mask and practice social distancing.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.globefc.com.
Billy Gene Clark
1945-2021
Mr. Billy Gene Clark, age 75, of Newfoundland, Kentucky, passed away Wednesday, August 11, 2021 at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky.
Mr. Clark was born on Saturday, November 3, 1945 in Elliott County, Kentucky to the late Ray and Nola Middleton Clark.
Billy was saved and baptized in 2005 and was a member of Concord Enterprise Baptist Church. He was the owner and operator of Condor Trucking. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, trading, race cars and spending time with family and friends, especially his grandsons.
Billy is preceded in death by one daughter, Robin Clark Howard. One sister, Bernice Rose Lawson. One nephew, Ronnie Lawson.
He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Glenna Stephens Clark. Three grandchildren, Brandon Howard (Whitney), Clark Howard and Connor Howard all of Elliott County, Kentucky. One great grandson, Holden Kash Howard, along with a host of family and friends who will sadly mourn his passing.
Funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, August 14, 2021 at Globe Funeral Chapel in Olive Hill, Kentucky with Brother Ford McKenzie and Brother Ricky Lewis officiating. Burial will follow in the Elliott County Memory Gardens in Sandy Hook, Kentucky.
Friends may visit 6-9 p.m. Friday, August 13, 2021 at Globe Funeral Chapel in Olive Hill, Kentucky and after 9 a.m. until the service hour on Saturday.
Brandon Howard, Clark Howard, Connor Howard, Michael Copley, Ronnie Copley, Bobby Lawson, Brian Middleton and Tracy Stephens will serve as pallbearers.
Jackie Jent, Bob Cropper, Daryl Banks, Austin Bryant, Ronnie Kissinger, JT Stephens, Nelson Lewis and Dean Stephens will serve as honorary pallbearers.
Due to COVID-19 regulations, we ask that everyone wear a mask and practice social distancing.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.globefc.com.
William Thomas Stevens
1955-2021
Mr. William Thomas Stevens, age 65, of Olive Hill, Kentucky, passed away Monday, August 9, 2021 at his residence.
William was born Friday, October 14, 1955 in Columbus, Ohio, to the late Robert Stevens and Mary Riggs Stevens.
In addition to his parents, William is preceded in death by one daughter, Billie Stevens and two brothers Danny Stevens and David Stevens.
William was of the Baptist faith and loved working with his buddies and fishing. He enjoyed spending time with his family and especially with his grandchildren.
He is survived by his loving wife of 42 years, Lisa Ann Turner Stevens.
In addition to his wife, William is survived by two sons Jeremy Stevens and Jeremy Holbrook of Olive Hill, Kentucky and one daughter Diana Brown (Jason) of Olive Hill, Kentucky. One brother Gary Stevens and two sisters Shirley Sparks and Diana Mosier all of Olive Hill, Kentucky. Also, his grandchildren Zakkary Holbrook, Gage Holbrook, Brayden Stevens, Abagail Stevens, Maci Stevens, Tyler Stevens, Dayve Stevens, William Eldridge, Nathan Brown, Molly Brown and Karlee Brown.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, August 11, 2021 at 7 p.m. at the Globe Funeral Chapel in Olive Hill, Kentucky with Brother Bobby Day officiating.
Friends may visit after 5 p.m Wednesday, August 11, 202l until the service hour at Globe Funeral Chapel in Olive Hill, Kentucky.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.globefc.com.
