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U.S. House Majority Leader To Be in Tompkinsville

The Majority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, Texas
Republican Dick Armey, will be in Tompkinsville Saturday to speak at the South Central Kentucky Lincoln Dinner. Also featured will be Monroe County Middle School Jr. Beta Club members performing their state champion act and the Monroe County High School band. All veterans also will receive special recognition during the program. The dinner will be held at the Monroe County High School on Saturday,  March 18, starting at 7 p.m. (CST). The public is invited to attend. Tickets are $5 per plate (includes barbecue dinner and dessert) and will be available at the door. The event will be hosted by the Republican Women’s League of Monroe County.

New MCHS football coach

Monroe County High School has a new head football coach. John Myers, a native of Hancock County in western Kentucky, agreed last
week to take over the helm of the MCHS football program. He currently
is assistant football coach and head baseball coach at Mayfield High
School.

Tompkinsville Council

The Tompkinsville City Council awarded bids for employee health insurance during a special session last Thursday night. The Council accepted the bid of Rowland Insurance for $3,232.88 with CHA Health. Half of this total will be paid by the employees themselves. Rowland Insurance/CHA has been the City’s insurance carrier for the past
two years. The only other bid received was from Blue Cross/Blue Shield for $4,111.58.

Fountain Run Commission

Upgrading of Police Department radios was the main item on the agenda
at the regular meeting of the Fountain Run City Commission. Mayor Eldon Veach, Police Officer W.D. Blazier, City Clerk Melinda Downing, and Fire Chief Ernie Kirk gave a report on the need to upgrade to
high-band radios for the Police Department. Saying the sheriff’s office and other agencies have converted from a low-band to a high-band radio frequency and the Fountain Run police could not stay in contact, the Fire Department has agreed to purchase the low-band equipment from the Police Department and the police will use that money to upgrade to the new high-band radio equipment. After a brief discussion, with the Commissioners thanking the Fire Department for their help, the Commission voted to approve the purchases by both the Fire Department and Police Department.

Monroe County Water District

The number of homes that have water cut off as a result of unpaid bills was questioned in discussion before the regular monthly meeting of the
Monroe County Water District Board on Monday night, March 13. Commissioner Charlie Williams introduced the topic, and office manager
Cletra Head explained the process used, adding that this in compliance
with the standards set up by the Public Service Commission. If payment is 10 days late a warning is sent. Then if payment is not received within another 10 days, the water is cut off. She estimated that some 15 homes are cut off each month. She suggested that Williams talk to the other employees in the Water District office who take care of the billing to find out exactly how this is handled. How Tri-County Electric handles overdue bills also was discussed. Head also reported that the Water District will begin printing its own water bills next month. In the past, the bills have been printed and mailed from Bowling Green. Moving this service to the Water District office will save money on printing and mailing, she said. It was noted that there have been requests for Water District employees to install service lines on private property. Board members emphasized that this is against Board policy. Also discussed was installing fire hydrants in various parts of the county. After discussion, it was decided that Water District employees should not install any fire hydrant until this is approved by the Board.

Tompkinsville Housing Authority

The office hours of the Tompkinsville Housing Authority (THA)
director have been extended, with members of the THA Board approving this action on Monday, March 13, during a meeting at City Hall. “The limited number of hours (I work) keeps the work piled up,” said Sue Coffey, acting director of THA. “I just want to keep everything
up-to-date.” The Board approved adding two hours a day to her schedule, for a total of six hours per day, on a motion by Board member Sonny Oliphant, seconded by Jon Hamilton.

Freshwater Shrimp Production

Anyone considering shrimp production to supplement farm income is
urged to attend a meeting on this topic next Monday afternoon, March 20. An aquaculture specialist from Kentucky State University, Forrest
Wynne, will conduct the meeting, which will start at 3 p.m. at the Monroe
County Extension office, 1194 Columbia Ave., Tompkinsville. His topic will be “Freshwater Shrimp Production: Start to Finish.” For more information, call the Extension office at 487-5504.
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Girls Basketball
Season ends for Lady Falcons

Monroe County’s Lady Falcons headed to the Fourth Region Tournament at Bowling Green High School last Thursday, March 9, with high hopes of earning their way back to the State Championship “Sweet 16”. Since the Lady Falcons fell to Clinton County in the finals of the
16th District Tournament, Monroe ended up facing a team from the winner’s side of the bracket. The Allen County-Scottsville Lady Patriots upset the top-rated Barren County Trojanettes in their district tournament, sliding the Trojanettes into the losers’ side of the bracket as well. This meant Monroe would take on Allen County — a team Monroe had defeated twice this season. While Allen was certainly no pushover this season, Barren had defeated Monroe twice and of the two, most Falcon fans would have preferred getting Allen in the first round. Like the old saying goes ... be careful what you wish for, it might come true! The game stayed close throughout with the first period ending with Allen
leading by 4. Monroe’s defense helped shut down the Lady Patriots in
the second period, and the Lady Falcons were up by 4 at halftime. The third period saw Allen forge back ahead and go into the final period
ahead by 2. In the fourth quarter, the lead swapped back and forth, but Monroe couldn’t hold on and Allen County eventually went on to take the 60-53 win, eliminating the Lady Falcons from any further post-season play. Stats: Lindsey Berry, 21 points; Kari Brown, 12; Tracy Hays, 9; Renea Proffitt, 4; Samantha Graves, 4; and Brittany Geralds, 3.
Scoring by quarters: 1st — Monroe 12, Allen 16; 2nd — Monroe 15,
Allen 7; 3rd — Monroe 16, Allen 22; 4th — Monroe 10, Allen 15.
The finals of the Fourth Region Tournament Tuesday night was a replay
of  the 15th District finals, as Allen County-Scottsville and Barren County
vied for the title. The results were the same as in the district finals —  the
Lady Patriots defeated the Trojanettes (an overtime victory) and are headed to the state tournament in Richmond. “Allen County is a good, tough team,” said Lady Falcon head coach Tony Harlan. “I’m proud of the hard work our girls have shown throughout the season and will miss the seniors a lot,” he added. Those seniors that played their last game were Kari Brown, Brittany Geralds, Tracy Hays, Leslie McAlpin and Renea Proffitt.This loss set the Lady Falcon final season record at a fine 21-7 mark.
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Announcements

ENGAGEMENT

Mr. and Mrs. Tony Gumm, Tompkinsville, would like to announce the
engagement and forthcoming marriage of their daughter, Emily Ann, to B.
Keith Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Williams, Hartsville, Tenn.
The wedding will take place at 4:30 p.m. on April 1, at the First Baptist
Church in Tompkinsville. No invitations will be sent locally, but all friends and family are invited to attend.

ANNIVERSARY

Michael and Debra Gail (Pennington) Combs, 502 Etoile Rd., Glasgow,
will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary with their family. They were
married in Tompkinsville on March 21, 1975, by Bro. O.B. Page.

BIRTHS

Mariah Shirlanne Cleary, daughter of Darren and Dawn Cleary, Tompkinsville, was born Feb. 10, 2000. Grandparents are Billy Joe and
Dianne Comer, Gamaliel, and Ronnie H. and Shirley Cleary, Tompkinsville. The new arrival has two brothers, Wesley and Joe Harlen Cleary.

Leigh Ashley Gwen Pruitt, daughter of Ricky and Cheryl (Welch)
Pruitt, Tompkinsville, was born March 8, 2000. Grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Welch and Racheal Shockley, all of Tompkinsville. The new arrival has two brothers, Jonathan Barrett and Justin Garrett Pruitt.

Tori Michelle Chandler, daughter of Thomas and Terri Chandler, Gamaliel, was born March 6, 2000. Grandparents are Philip and Debbie Taylor, Gamaliel; Jerry and Shelia Chandler, Tompkinsville; and Harla Geralds Haynes, Stuart, Fla. The new arrival has an older brother, Taylor Martin Chandler.

BIRTHDAYS

A birthday dinner and card shower was held on March 5 for Elvie  (Hale) Ferguson, Tompkinsville, in honor of her 84th birthday.
A card shower is planned for Nagatha “Ms. Kat” Franklin, 2059 White
Oak Ridge Rd., Fountain Run, Ky. 42133, who will celebrate her 88th
birthday on March 20.
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Deaths

Nine deaths were reported to the Tompkinsville News this past week.
The only local death was that of Johnna Rae Goins, daughter of Johnny
Rae and Tommie (Pruitt) Goins, Tompkinsville, who was stillborn March 10. Deaths reported from other areas were:
— Agnes (Wheet) Todd, 75, Scottsville, who died March 13 (she was the widow of Richard Earl Todd);
— Minnie (Eaton) McCoy, 72, Franklin, a Monroe County native who died March 12 (she was the widow of (Earl McCoy);
— Minnie Jane (Welch) Brown, 89, Moss, Tenn., who died March 12 (she was the widow of Jessie James Brown);
— Charles Edmond Key, 61, Red Boiling Springs, Tenn., who died March 11 (he was the husband of Lois [Jackson] Key);
— Rayburn “Ray” Thomas, 60, Louisville, a Monroe County native who
died March 10;
— Tommy L. Sampson, 90, Lafayette, Tenn., who died March 8 (he was the hsuband of Gillie [Williams] Sampson);
— Lois Estelle (Keen) Swindlw, 81, Lafayette, who also died March 8
(she was the widow of Benton Swindle);
— Barbara Sue (Boles) Scalf, 55, Celina, Tenn., who also died March 8
(she was the wife of James P. Scalf); and
— Jackie D. Shoemake, 54, Lafayette, who died March 7 (he was the
husband of Carolyn [Caruthers] Shoemake).  For more information about their survivors or arrangements, please click here.
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