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Search now underway for new superintendent

The search for a new superintendent of Monroe County schools is
underway, according to James Graves, current superintendent. Graves announced his decision to retire, effective July 1, 2000, at the January meeting of the Monroe County School Board. During the February Board meeting, held last Thursday night, Graves announced that eight applications for the position have been submitted, with the final deadline for applications set for Feb. 20. Graves commented that the Board will be pleased with the quality of applicants for his successor, calling them “real fine, strong candidates." The applications will be begin to be reviewed when the first meeting of the screening committee is held on Feb. 24. The screening committee consists of a School Board representative, Dr. Kenneth Crabtree, appointed by the Board chairman; two teachers, Marcia Bartley and Hope Myatt (elected by the teachers); one principal, Larry Moore (elected by the principals); one parent, Bobby Geralds (elected by the PTA presidents or largest parent support group); and one classified employee of the school system, Ellen Headrick (elected by the classified personnel). This committee will screen the applications and submit five names to the board by March 23. March 27 is scheduled as the date Board members will meet for interviews of the five candidates. The new superintendent will then be selected when the school board meets on March 30. The new superintendent is scheduled to take office July 1, 2000.

MCHS hosts 16th District Tournament

Monroe County High School hosts the 16th District Basketball  Tournament next week, with opening-round action scheduled Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 28-29, and the finals on Thursday and Friday, March 2-3. Tickets are $4 per person each night. The Lady Falcons open the tournament Monday at 6 p.m. against fourth-seeded Cumberland County. Monroe gained the #1 seed in the district after winning a coin toss with Clinton County. (Both teams ended their district play with identical 5-1 records.) Clinton will play the third-seeded Metcalfe County girls’ team at 6 p.m. Tuesday night. Winners of these two games play for the district title on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Monroe County Falcons is scheduled to take on second-seeded Metcalfe County on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. The Falcons also won a coin toss with  Cumberland to become the district’s third-seeded team (both Monroe and Cumberland had 1-5 district records). Cumberland and first-seeded Clinton County will play on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. The boys’ championship game is scheduled Thursday night at 7 pm. With only four schools in the district, all the first-round winners will advance to regional play, either as district champions or runners-up. The boys’ Fourth Regional Tournament will be held March 6,7,10 and 11 at Allen County-Scottsville High School, while the girls’ Regional Tournament will be held at Bowling Green High School on March 8,9, 13, and 14. The boys’ State Tournament will be March 15-18 in Lexington, while the
girls’ State Tourney will be in Richmond March 22-25.

Water Board chooses engineering firm

Stigall Engineering was chosen as the Monroe County Water Board’s
engineering firm for the Phase VIII project during a special called session
of the Board on Monday, Feb. 21, at the local district office. Members turned in their engineer evaluation forms of the three firms that had submitted letters of interest to become the engineer for the Phase VIII
project, which will expand the water system to the Turkey Neck Bend area and install a new storage tank in Gamaliel. The three firms were scored in different areas, with 300 total points possible. Total scores were: Stigall Engineering (294), Monarch (278),  and GRW (274). Board Member Paul Lee stated that he was comfortable with going with
Stigall as he feels “they have done a great job in the past.” Tommy Willett, board member, added that Stigall had “outscored the other companies,” and the decision was made to chose Stigall as the project engineers.

Farmers’ Market — last call

Anyone interested in participating in a Farmers’ Market in
Tompkinsville for Monroe County should attend the organizational meeting to be held at the Monroe County Extension office on Tuesday, Feb. 29, at 6 p.m. “We are currently ‘on the bubble’ as to whether there is enough interest in grower participation to justify the establishment of a Farmers’ Market here,” said Steve Osborne, Monroe County Extension agent for agriculture and natural resources. “If enough interested persons come to the Feb. 29 meeting, we will proceed with the establishment of the market and select a board of directors, but if not enough interest is shown, further development of the market will not proceed at this time,” he said. Osborne noted that there are opportunities for three different types of  growers — 1) growers interested in participating in the market whenever it is open; 2) individuals with excess produce from their home gardens; and 3) producers with large amounts of one vegetable or fruit that want to market during certain periods of the growing season.

MCHS students win honors in regional writing competition

Monroe County High School students took several top honors in the
first annual South Central Kentucky Regional Scholastic Writing Awards
competition. Three of the top five entries in the contest were from Monroe students and these, along with several other local entries, were chosen to be entered in national competition. Several of Janice Graves’ senior English students submitted entries near the end of last semester to this regional competition, which was sponsored by the Capitol Arts Alliance. An awards ceremony recognizing the winners was held Sunday at Western Kentucky University. Joni Lindquist had two of the top five entries in the region — in the science fiction and short-short story categories. Also ranked in the top five in the region was a group entry for satire, written by Nick Burnett, Sarah Eubank and Donny Geralds. These three entries, plus three other entries by Monroe students, received Gold Key Awards and advance to national competition. The other three entries were by Terri Cleary in science fiction and by Seth Howard in both poetry and portfolio categories. Other entries by local students that were recognized and received Silver Awards were by: Sarah Eubank, Jennifer Hayes, Seth Howard and Josh Lane, all in science fiction; LaToya Howard, poetry; Destiny Spears, short story; and Terri Cleary, Josh Lane and Brittany Geralds, group entry in satire. Competing in this regional contest were students from 14 high schools from a 12-county area in south-central Kentucky.
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Girls Basketball
Lady Falcons boost record to 19-5

The Lady Falcons played just one game this past week as they hosted
Todd Central Friday night in their next- to-last game of the season. Calling Todd Central a good team, one of the better in the region,
head coach Tony Harlan knew his Lady Falcons would face a test, especially coming off the loss to Barren County the previous Tuesday night. The game was closely played with both Monroe and Todd’s defense holding down the scoring in the first half. Following the intermission, Todd was able to trim into Monroe’s narrow lead, making the game a tight 36-30 going into the final period. The offenses on both teams began to click in the final period but Monroe managed to outscore the visitors by 2 points and took the 59-51 win. “This was a good team effort,” said Harlan. “Todd has been playing really well since mid-January.”
Scoring by quarters: 1st — Monroe 11, Todd 6; 2nd — Monroe 13, Todd 9; 3rd — Monroe 12, Todd 15; 4th — Monroe 23, Todd 21.
Stats: Brittany Geralds, 18 points; Renea Proffitt, 17; Kari Brown,
13; Leslie McAlpin, 8; and Lindsey Berry, 3.
This win boosted Monroe’s record to 19-5, with the one regular season
game remaining at always tough Allen County. With Monroe County High School hosting the 16th District Tournament,  Athletic Director and girls’ Head Coach Tony Harlan wants to invite  everyone out to help cheer on both Monroe teams and to see some good action.
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Boys Basketball
Falcons lose two as season nears end

The Monroe County Falcons’ season is drawing to a close with two
games this past week and the regular season finale tonight (Thursday) against Allen County.
Todd Central
Monroe County hosted Todd Central this past Friday night in a
late-season match-up. Unfortunately for the Falcons, their offense couldn’t get cranked up early in the game, and though the offense reappeared in the second period, Todd continued to pull away, handed the Falsons their 19th loss of the season, 77-48. “The shots just wouldn’t fall for us,” said assistant coach Dwayne Murray (Head Coach Brian Carter was out of town yesterday and thus unavailable for comment).
Scoring by quarters: 1st — Monroe 8, Todd 23; 2nd — Mnroe 19, Todd 21; 3rd — Monroe 8, Todd 16; 4th — Monroe 13, Todd 17.
Stats: Chris Pitcock, 11 points; Radford Graves, 8; Cory Netherton,
6; Chase Moore, 5; Josh turner, 4; Zack Grace, 4; Casey Kirk, 4; Eric
Davis, 2; Jonathan Hamilton, 2; and Jessie England, 2.
Logan County
This game was originally scheduled for Jan. 25, but postponed due to
inclement weather at that time. Played this past Monday night, Monroe got off to a good start as six different Falcons scored in the opening period, giving Monroe a tie at the start of the second quarter. Monroe’s offensive slacked off some in the second quarter, not a lot, but enough to let Logan begin to pull away, a trend that continued throughout the game.
The final score ended up at 83-66 and Monroe’s season record dropped
to 3-20, with one game left before tournament time. “We were in the game,” said Murray, “But the shots just wouldn’t fall in the second quarter — we got behind and couldn’t catch back up.”
Scoring by quarters: 1st — Monroe 21, Logan 21; 2nd — Monroe 15,
Logan 25; 3rd — Monroe 13, Logan 17; 4th — Monroe 17, Logan 20.
Stats: Zack Grace, 21; Radford Graves, 15; Chris Pitcock, 10; Casey
Kirk, 5; Cory Netherton, 4; Chase Moore, 4; Jessie England, 4; and Jonathan Hamilton, 3.
Even with Monroe’s disappointing season record, the coaching staff
knows it takes just one win in the district tournament to reach the
regionals. With the district played at home this year, the team and staff would like to see a good turnout next Tuesday night to help them grab a win.
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Announcements
WEDDINGS

Carter-Graves

The wedding of Brandi Kay Carter and Donald Paul Graves was performed by Rev. Leroy Davis on Jan. 1, 2000, at the home of the bride’s parents, Roger and Betty Davis, Bowling Green. The bride is also the daughter of the late Jimmy Carter. She is the granddaughter of Anna Jean Thompson, Tompkinsville, and the late Clint E. Thompson, and of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Wayne Carter, also of Tompkinsville. The groom is the son of Donald and June Graves, Tompkinsville. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Cass Graves, also of Tompkinsville, and the late C.J. and Mamie Isenberg.

Proffitt-Mills

Janice Proffitt and Kenneth Mills were united in marriage on Saturday,
Feb. 12, 2000 in Tompkinsville. The groom is retired from General Motors in Flint, Mich., and the bride is a former employee of Kentucky Apparel in Tompkinsville.

Scott-Melton

Bryan Melton and Sonya Scott, both of Tompkinsville, would like to
announce their marriage which took place on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2000 at
the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nev. The bride is the daughter of Jackie and Dollie Scott, Tompkinsville. The groom is the son of the late Diane (Gearlds) Melton and the late Jesse Earl Melton and the grandson of Geraldine Gearlds and Truman Gearlds, both of Tompkinsville.


BIRTH

Cassie Nichole Blythe, daughter of Robert and Rhonda Blythe,
Tompkinsville, was born Feb. 12, 2000. She is the granddaughter of
Narcie and Bedford Blythe, Tompkinsville, and of Thomas Smith, Tompkinsville, and the late Pat Smith.

BIRTHDAYS
Card showers are planned for:
— Hazel (McMurtrey) Fitzpatrick (Rt. 4, Box 135, Livingston, Texas
77351), who will celebrate her 77th birthday on March 3;
— Saretha Curtis (P.O. Box 367, Tompkinsville, Ky. 42167), who will
celebrate her birthday on Feb. 29; and
— Clay Hale (Monroe Health and Rehab Center, Room 6C, P.O. Box 367, Tompkinsville, Ky. 42167), who will celebrate his 88th birthday on
March 1.

A potluck dinner will be held in honor of Roxie (Watson) Kerr (1290
Celina Rd., Tompkinsville, Ky. 42167) on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 12 noon, at Kenneth’s, located ½ mile from Tompkinsville on the Old Glasgow Road. Everyone is invited to attend. She would also welcome cards.
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Deaths
Elmer Lanny Whiles, Gamaliel, owner of the Sky-View Drive-in near
Tompkinsville, died Feb. 17 at the age of 83. He was the husband of
Jeannine (Hixson) Whiles.
Other local deaths reported to the Tompkinsville News this past week
were:
— Eugene Turner, 64, Freetown-Emberton Rd., Gamaliel, who also died Feb. 17 (he was the husband of Clara Mae [Key} Turner), and
— William C. “Billy” Sheffield, 66, Sheffield Ridge Rd.,
Tompkinsville, who died Feb. 16 (he was the husband of Elva [High] Sheffield).
Deaths reported from other areas were:
— Hascal Martin, 76, Arcola, Ill., a Monroe County native who died
Feb. 11 (he was the husband of Genelle [Denham] Martin);
— John A. Duncan, 94, More-head, a Tompkinsville native who died Feb. 14 (he was the husband of the late Mary [Walden] Duncan);
— Gloy “Penny” Pennington, 68, Hermitage Springs (Tenn.) community, a Monroe County native who also died Feb. 14 (he was the hsuband of the late Alberta Lee [Dillehay] Pennington);
— James King, 74, of the North Springs community in Clay County,
Tenn., who also died Feb. 14 (he was the husband of Kathryn [Dickerson] King);
— Kathleen (Murley) Smith, 89, Glasgow, who died Feb. 15;
— Roy Hamilton Fowler, 82, Celina, Tenn., who also died Feb. 15 (he
was the husband of Geneva Fowler);
— Alty (Franklin) Coons, age 100, Hendersonville, Tenn., who died
Feb. 17 (she was the widow of Jim Coons);
— Bertha (Campbell) Eldridge, 86, Sellersburg, Ind., who also died
Feb. 17 (she was the widow of Tarry Eldridge); and
— R.C. Gregory, 74, Lafayette, Tenn., who also died Feb. 17 (he was
the husband of Barbara Jean [Evetts] Gregory.
Details about their backgrounds, survivors and funeral arrangements can be found by clicking here.
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