Mr. Dave Hornback, age 81, of Murray, passed away Friday, Nov. 21, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Mr. Hornback was born on Dec. 9, 1943, in Cairo, Illinois, to the late William Hornback and Beulah Martin Hornback. Dave was a proud graduate of Murray State University and served his country through in the United States Army. His love of learning and history led him to the classroom, where he taught in Hodgenville and Lowes, Ky., shaping young minds with patience, curiosity and a genuine passion for education.
He went on to serve the Hickman County community as a 4-H agent, encouraging and mentoring local youth, before beginning a long and respected career with the Federal Land Bank in Clinton, Mayfield and Elkton, Ky. Dave also shared his knowledge as an adjunct professor in the Department of Agriculture at Murray State University. He later worked at the Bank of Murray and ultimately retired from The Murray Bank, where he played an integral role from its very beginning and was deeply proud of the work he helped build.
A man of faith and service, Dave was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Murray. He gave generously of his time over the years as a member of the Lions Clubs in Clinton, Mayfield and Murray; as treasurer of the Murray Parks Board; as a member of the American Heart Association; and as past president of the Alpha Tau Omega Housing Corporation and Alumni Association. He was also deeply committed to supporting the Alzheimer’s Association, honoring his wife Marilyn’s memory through his dedicated fundraising efforts. His commitment to his community, his alma mater and the people around him was evident in everything he did.
In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn Charlton Hornback; one son, Michael Hornback; a brother, Charles Hornback; as well as five sisters, Doris Frazier, Judy Wagner, Billie Jean Hart, Nancy Estes Hornback and Jane Renfer.
Survivors include one daughter, Kristen Hornback Riggs and husband Taylor of Franklin, Tenn.; daughter-in-law, Kristin Duncan Hornback of Lexington, Ky.; one sister, Pat Leker of Lake Villa, Illinois; as well as four grandchildren, Jackson Riggs, Ainsleigh Riggs, Cooper Riggs and Duncan Hornback.
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 30, at the J.H. Churchill Funeral Home & Cremation Services with Bro. Brett Miles and Rev. Jim Stahler officiating. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 30, at the J.H. Churchill Funeral Home & Cremation Services.
Expressions of sympathy can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association Nashville Chapter, care of Mimi’s Minions and Teddy’s Champions 1801 West End Avenue, Suite 200, Nashville, TN 37203. (http://act.alz.org/goto/mimisminions-hornback)
MURRAY – Newly released assessment and accountability data from the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) for the 2024-2025 school year show students across the Commonwealth performed better last year across many subjects and grade levels than they have in recent years. Looking locally, Calloway County School District and the Murray Independent School District performed above the state average in nearly all areas.
“I am proud of the commendable performance Kentucky students demonstrated during their assessments,” Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher said in a press release. “Our KDE staff has shown a strong commitment to delivering innovative programs, comprehensive training and consistent support for educators throughout the Commonwealth. I want to express my appreciation to the many educators who have participated in initiatives such as the Kentucky Reading Academies, and I am pleased with the positive progress we are making.”
Overall performance rating comparison between the Calloway County School District, the Murray Independent School District and the state. Source: KDE
KDE: 2024-2025 assessment and accountability data summary
During the 2024-2025 school year, Kentucky public school students in grades 3-8, 10 and 11 took assessments called the Kentucky Summative Assessments and the Alternate Kentucky Summative Assessments in reading, mathematics, social studies, science, editing and mechanics, and on-demand writing. Students take reading and mathematics assessments annually in grades 3 through 8, and in grade 10. Other subjects are assessed once per grade level, with social studies, editing and mechanics, and on-demand writing assessed in grades 5, 8 and 11. Science continued to be assessed in grades 4, 7 and 11.
Kentucky students performed at proficient or distinguished levels at a higher rate during the 2024-2025 school year in reading and mathematics than they have in previous years. Several other categories were either slightly above or slightly below where they were in the 2023-2024 school year.
Kentucky is currently in its third year of full implementation following revisions made to KRS 158.6455 by the Kentucky General Assembly in 2020. The accountability system features Status and Change as ways to evaluate state indicators; Status being the current-year performance and Change representing year-to-year progress.
Results are shared through a color-coded dashboard with five colors: blue, green, yellow, orange and red, in order from highest to lowest ranking.
“At the heart of Kentucky’s accountability system is a commitment to students,” Fletcher said. “The system is designed to ensure that every learner is well-rounded, equipped with essential skills and prepared for success in college, career and beyond.”
Among the overall performance ratings in 2024-2025, Kentucky elementary schools saw a rise in the three highest color ratings compared to last year. Middle schools showed a notable increase in blue ratings: 55 in 2024-2025 compared to 27 in the previous year. High schools reported a sharp drop in the lower color ratings while blue ratings nearly doubled from 25 in 2023-2024 to 46 in 2024-2025.
Overall scores among students in all grade levels improved from 2024 to 2025, with gains occurring across nearly all student demographic groups in each grade level as well, most of which were also an improvement compared to 2023.
KDE Efforts Target Literacy and Numeracy
KDE has made great strides with several initiatives tied to important academic areas.
Implemented in 2022 after the Kentucky General Assembly’s passage of Senate Bill 9, also known as the Read to Succeed Act, the Kentucky Reading Academies aim to transform literacy instruction across the state by offering an opt-in, no-cost professional learning opportunity to both K-5 educators and administrators.
The goal behind the academies is to promote educators’ knowledge, beliefs and classroom instruction in evidence-based literacy practices to improve student reading outcomes. Facilitated by KDE’s Division of Early Literacy, the academies provide access to Lexia’s Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, better known as LETRS, an evidence-based professional learning that is rooted in the science of reading.
KDE also supports districts with the adoption of high-quality instructional resources (HQIRs) and started providing coaching to educators through state literacy coaching specialists in the 2024-2025 school year. Other KDE efforts to improve literacy in Kentucky include improved alignment to the science of reading for preservice teachers in educator preparation programs, the establishment of the Kentucky Early Literacy Leadership Network, competitive grants for educators to support literacy and the new Kentucky Reading Research Center.
The 2024-2025 school year marks the first time Kentucky’s school accountability system has three years of Change data available, enabling full implementation of the Change calculation for federal accountability determinations, as required by KRS 158.6455.
This year, Kentucky’s accountability system introduces two distinct calculations. While both federal and state indicator scores use Status and Change, they differ in how Change is calculated and applied. The state Change score is a simple year-to-year comparison, while the federal Change score is a three-year average of Change scores using current- and prior-year Status scores, offering a view of performance over time.
The state calculations determine color ratings for schools, while the federal calculations determine which schools are the lowest performing for potential classification such as Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI).
Kentucky’s accountability system uses six indicators. At all levels (elementary, middle and high school), these indicators include:
State assessment results in reading and mathematics;
State assessment results in science, social studies and writing;
Quality of school climate and safety; and
English learner progress.
Additional indicators at the high school level include postsecondary readiness and a combination of 4-year and 5-year graduation rates.
Kentucky recently re-examined how it measures student learning in science following updates to the Kentucky Academic Standards for Science in 2023 that emphasize deeper learning and the application of scientific practices. A new science assessment was developed to align with these standards, focusing on students’ ability to investigate, analyze and apply scientific concepts. The 2024-2025 school year was the first year of the new science assessment.
Kentucky educators played a critical role in creating the assessment and shaping its implementation. Teachers helped define performance level descriptors, clarifying what it means for students to perform at novice, apprentice, proficient or distinguished levels. They also participated in setting the cut scores that determine the score ranges for each level.
“This collaborative process ensures that assessment results are meaningful, fair and grounded in classroom experience,” Fletcher said.
Assessment and accountability data will first be available on Open House. The 2024-2025 assessment and accountability data will be available on the Kentucky School Report Card dashboard at 7 a.m. ET on Nov. 19.
Progress on Educator Workforce Shortages
Kentucky is seeing progress on another one of KDE’s top priorities: addressing the educator workforce shortage.
KDE conducted the 2025 Kentucky Educator Shortage Survey and the data shows 34 districts reported having no unfilled certified, classified or licensed positions within their district as of Sept. 1. This represents 20% of the survey’s respondents, which were Kentucky’s 171 school districts, the Kentucky School for the Blind, the Kentucky School for the Deaf and the Kentucky Tech System.
Last year, only one district reported having no unfilled positions.
KDE and GoTeachKY kicked off a new campaign this year seeking to elevate and celebrate the profession while inspiring the educators of tomorrow, including billboards showcasing GoTeachKY ambassadors, a compelling television commercial and an updated GoTeachKY website designed to provide resources and information for aspiring and current teachers.
“As the agency in charge of K-12 public education in the Commonwealth, we must be vigilant in targeting areas that are crucial to the success of our students,” Fletcher said. “It is a great sign that a lot of our efforts are already bearing fruit, but the hard work is just getting started.”
Chronic Absenteeism
Another priority for KDE is addressing chronic absenteeism, which is defined as when a student misses 10% or more of their time in school, including both excused and unexcused absences. Data from the 2024-2025 school year shows another year of progress with more kids in the classroom.
In 2024-2025, Kentucky’s chronic absenteeism rate was 25%, a drop from 28% in 2023-2024 and 29.8% in 2022-2023.
“The steps Kentucky schools have taken in recent years to bring kids into the classroom and keep them engaged in learning, along with the efforts of us here at KDE to bring more public awareness to chronic absenteeism, have already made a difference,” Fletcher said. “Chronic absenteeism has been a problem for quite some time, long before COVID-19, but certainly the pandemic accelerated the issue. I am excited to see how much progress we can make in the future to reduce the rate of chronic absenteeism even further.”
KDE launched a renewed public messaging campaign in 2025, which included a commercial and ads strategically placed on streaming services, websites, public transportation services, event venues and billboards across the Commonwealth. The ads featured messaging about how students belong in the classroom – You Belong! – and when a student misses school, they miss more than lessons, they miss connection with their school community and building their future. This followed a campaign in 2024 with similar messaging and efforts to raise awareness about the impact of missing class.
“We want all students to feel that school is a welcoming and supportive place for them where they can learn and grow,” Fletcher said. “Kentucky’s public school educators help students learn the skills they will need to find success in their life. That’s why KDE is All In for keeping Kentucky’s kids in the classroom and on their path to success.”
KDE also provides resources on the Attendance Matters chronic absenteeism webpage for families, community members and educators. Guidelines on when to keep your child home due to an illness, steps communities can take and other information to help promote attendance in schools are just a few of the many helpful resources available on the webpage.
Graduation Rate
The graduation rate indicator is consistent with previous accountability systems. Using the federal definition, the percentage of students earning a regular high school diploma is compared to the cohort of students starting in grade 9.
Kentucky uses a 4-year adjusted cohort rate and an extended 5-year adjusted cohort in accountability, which recognizes the persistence of students and educators in completing the requirements for a Kentucky high school diploma.
The 4-year and 5-year rates are averaged for accountability reporting. Kentucky’s 4-year graduation rate in 2025 was 93.5% and the 5-year rate was 94.2%. Both numbers were an improvement from each of the last four years.
School Climate and Safety
The quality of school climate and safety indicator is designed to measure the school environment. Perception data from student surveys is used to give insights into the school environment.
In the 2024-2025 academic year, more Kentucky school districts earned the highest ratings of green and blue than in 2023-2024. In high school, more schools moved into the top blue rating in 2024-2025 – a total of 76 compared to 44 in the previous year – which accompanied a decline across the other ratings.
“In order to educate our students properly and provide a quality learning environment, our kids need to feel safe,” Fletcher said. “Our efforts to improve school safety are ongoing, and to see that students feel even safer in our schools means our efforts are working.”
No high schools were in the bottom red rating, and 2024-2025 marked the year with the fewest overall schools in red.
Federal Classifications: CSI, TSI and ATSI
Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) are federally mandated school identifications that are based on the overall school score that is generated by the state accountability system.
Schools have been identified for CSI and ATSI on a three-year cycle. This year is the year new schools are identified, so the number of schools identified this year should not be compared to last year. Following the passage of House Bill 298 (2025), KDE will identify new CSI schools on an annual basis moving forward. ATSI schools will remain on a three-year identification cycle.
CSI status schools were identified based on three criteria: If the school is in the bottom 5% of all schools by level based on the overall school score; if they have a graduation rate below 80%; or if they fell under ATSI status for at least three years. A total of 53 schools were identified as CSI schools in 2025, including schools that were identified previously and did not meet exit criteria.
Schools that were identified for TSI in the immediately preceding year and continue to have an underperforming subgroup of students were identified for ATSI. One hundred two schools were identified for ATSI.
TSI schools are those that have a student group performing at or below the bottom 5% of all schools by level for three consecutive years. TSI schools are identified annually and will be identified this fall based on the last three years of data, as required by state law.
When I was growing up, the Thanksgiving menu was anchored by the big bird, stuffing, and two kinds of potatoes — mashed white and sumptuous sweet. On both ends of the table, baskets overflowed with Parker House rolls, slathered with enough butter to clog the spunkiest arteries. Adding splotches of color to the meal were fresh carrots, string beans, and homemade gravy, steaming hot and studded with chunks of turkey giblets. (Ugh!)
Creamed onions rounded out the meal. Not canned, but the white pearly kind, gently boiled and then tucked into sauce thick enough to repair loose bricks in the chimney.
No one would have missed the cranberry sauce but Mother always remembered. The table was not complete until the glistening ruby cylinder was placed on the table, still quivering from the delicate struggle to get it out of the can, intact.
Thanksgiving usually meant that Aunt Marge and Uncle Jim took the train from New York to spend the holiday weekend with the seven of us, in the wilds of suburban New Jersey. Not exactly blood relatives, they were childhood friends of my father from Canada. We called them aunt and uncle because the connection to Daddy went all the way back to St. John, New Brunswick, where winters were so fierce they had to climb out upstairs windows of their houses and snowshoe to school at St. Malachy’s.
Aunt Marge was a nurse who worked for a fancy doctor in NYC, where she was valued for her unstinting calm and wry good humor. We loved her for those traits but also cherished the stack of thin silver bracelets she always wore. We all had teethed on them when we were babies, and she could point out which tiny dents belonged to each Alexander child. Or so she claimed.
My father and Uncle Jim had served in World War I together. Their accounts of military duty in Belgium and France made the effort sound more like a wine tasting instead of a valiant effort to make the world safe for democracy. In spite of them, the Allies won. After Armistice, my father and Uncle Jim sought their fortunes in the U.S. and, according to the 1930 census, were roommates in New York City until work and marriage took them in different directions.
Aunt Marge and Uncle Jim had no children. We all secretly agreed it was sad because Aunt Marge would have made a wonderful mother. Uncle Jim’s parental potential, however, was debatable. Not only impatient and brusque, he was an arts snob who tuned into the broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera every Saturday afternoon and insisted we share this cultural adventure with him.
“Opera’s good for you,” he insisted, and we were too cowed to protest.
Most years, our Thanksgiving routine was the same. Aunt Marge and Uncle Jim arrived Wednesday night after work, and the party lasted through the weekend. The whole time, children under twelve were relegated to meals at a rickety card table in the corner of the dining room, while the adults languished at the big table with gleaming silver and fine china. Despite our exile with cast-off dishes and unmatching cutlery, we kids enjoyed making faces and plotting revenge when the adults weren’t looking.
We gobbled up leftovers until Sunday, when the carcass was ready to be transformed into soup. The last slices of turkey and vestiges of other leftovers chugged back to New York on the train, with Aunt Marge and Uncle Jim.
Except for the cranberry sauce.
Ridges intact, it sat forgotten in the refrigerator until Christmastime, when Mother finally gave up and threw it out.
Capture your own holiday memories through The Great Thanksgiving Listen – StoryCorps. https://storycorps.org/. The Great Listen encourages people of all ages to create an oral history of our times by recording an interview with an elder, mentor, friend, or someone they admire. This year, National Public Radio and our regional affiliate WKMS-FM, invite you to join the annual Great Thanksgiving Listen, and take pleasure in preserving precious memories.
Constance Alexander is an award-winning writer and civic journalist. Currently, she is collaborating with composer Paul Salerni and writing the libretto for an opera.
Constance is also one of The Sentinel’s founding board members and currently serves as board secretary.
MURRAY – Murray Police Department, KY, K9 Bonnie will receive a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Bonnie’s vest was sponsored by Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. and will be embroidered with the sentiment “Honoring those who served and sacrificed.” Delivery is expected within ten weeks.
Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., established in 2009, is a 501(c)(3) charity whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States. This potentially lifesaving body armor for four-legged K9 officers is U.S. made, custom fitted, and National Institute of Justice (NIJ) certified. Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. has provided over 6,225 vests valued at $6.9 million to K9s in all 50 states, made possible by both private and corporate donations.
The program is open to U.S. dogs at least 20 months old, actively employed, and certified with law enforcement or related agencies. K9s with expired vests are also eligible to participate. There are an estimated 30,000 law enforcement K9s throughout the United States.
Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., accepts tax-deductible contributions in any amount, while a single donation of $1,050 will sponsor one vest. Each vest has a value of $1800.00, weighs an average of 4-5 lbs., and comes with a five-year warranty. For more information, or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please call (508) 824-6978. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provides information, lists events, and accepts donations at www.vik9s.org, or you may mail your contribution to P.O. Box 9, East Taunton, MA 02718.
MURRAY – Football season in Tiger Town has always brought with it high expectations as the Murray High School Tigers have carved out over a century of success as one of Kentucky’s most dominant programs. The 2025 Murray High School football season began with very high expectations, and so far, they have not disappointed.
These Tigers bring a super beefy line, a polished quarterback, deep receiving threats and a solid running game. In a pre-season speech at training camp at the University of Kentucky’s Kroger Field, Coach Melvin Cunningham urged his troops to “begin with the end in mind.” The final act of this play is still being written.
The excellence these big cats possess has been in the making for years, as many of these current Tigers were the Kentucky Middle School State Runners-up. Cunningham came to Murray three years ago with a high-energy, passionate style and major college and an NFL pedigree. This has resonated with these talented athletes. Several Tigers have already been offered college scholarships.
At the end of last season, murmurings began about how Murray really could win it all in 2025. The 2024 team easily handled class 3A Union County, who went on to become the state champ runners-up. The Tigers moved up to class 3A in the off-season. Off-season lifting, training camps, practicing in the super humid summer and battling injuries are the blood, sweat and tears that are part of football.
These young men are on a mission. The 2025 team stands on the edge of some pretty rare air. Two Murray High Tiger teams have finished the year as state champs: Legendary coach Ty Holland, for whom Murray’s home stadium is named, and his 1961 team won it all for Murray’s first championship title; and John Hina, Holland’s longtime assistant and successor, and his 1974 squad took the second* trophy. Both of those were Class A Championships.
This year’s 3A Tigers have already aligned themselves with some of the all-time great Tiger squads by finishing the season undefeated. The Tigers began the season with a couple of key players on injured reserve, but they quickly proved how truly deep and talented they are.
They reeled off dominant opening victories over class 5A Owensboro Apollo 48-34 and crosstown rival 4A Calloway County 50-10. They followed these up with wins over 5A Graves and Marshall Counties and 1A Russellville by a combined total score of 135-48. Next came the only close game of the season, seeing the Tigers outlast the class 6A McCracken County Mustangs in a 59-56 shootout.
Murray closed out the regular season, routing district 3A rivals Webster County, Union County and Hopkins County Central to claim the district crown. They then defeated class 2A nemesis Caldwell County. Murray won their last four games by an average score of 52-8.
The Tigers drew Adair County in the first round of the class 3A playoffs, dismantling the Indians 45-8 at Ty Holland Stadium. They followed up this win with another dominant performance, destroying the Hart County Raiders last Friday in Murray 49-6.
This Friday brings to town the Lexington Catholic Knights with an overall record of 10-2. This third-round playoff sees the third-RPI-ranked Tigers hosting the seventh-RPI-ranked Knights.
The 12-0 Tigers are three games away from their dream of hoisting the State Championship Trophy again, but this team’s mission all along has been about taking care of business one game at a time. It seems apparent that they have completely bought into Cunningham’s charge to “begin with the end in mind,” checking off all the boxes each week.
They enter Friday’s contest fully healthy with the top-scoring offense in the State of Kentucky. Combined with a very stingy defense, their Wolverine-like, Adamantium defensive line puts together two goal-line stands against Hart County’s high-octane running attack. Being able to rest most of their starters by the third quarter with a running clock has allowed this team to heal completely and develop experience and depth.
These young men have their eye on the prize and will be ready to roar this Friday night when it is “Football time in Tiger Town!”
*Correction: Due to an editing mistake, a previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the 1974 squad took the second-place trophy. The Sentinel apologizes for the error.
Karl Flood has been married to his wife Melissa for 20 years and has six children and eight grandchildren. He is a retired art teacher and, now, a full-time artist and special abilities minister. He started the popular Murray, Kentucky Memories Facebook group and now presides over a new version of this group: Classic Murray.
MURRAY – Murray State University celebrated a topping out ceremony for the new School of Nursing and Health Professions Building, Jackson Hall, on Oct. 30.
A topping out ceremony marks the placement of the final beam atop a new building, celebrating a key milestone in construction and honoring the efforts of everyone involved.
The new building, which is anticipated to open in the fall 2026 semester, was made possible by a $45.5 million investment from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It will offer state-of-the-art technology, expanded space for labs, larger classrooms, simulation areas, spaces for student and faculty collaboration and study, as well as the campus health clinic.
Guests gathered in the lower-level parking lot, just north of the building’s construction site on N. 16th Street, before the beam was placed on the northwest corner of the building.
Remarks were given by Murray State President Dr. Ron Patterson, President Emeritus Dr. Bob Jackson and Karen Jackson, Assistant Vice President of Facilities Management Jason Youngblood, and School of Nursing and Health Professions Dean Dr. Dina Byers.
“Our topping out ceremony was a shared opportunity to recognize all who have been involved in this wonderful project, as this new building will benefit our current and future students as the next generation of healthcare professionals,” Murray State President Dr. Ron Patterson said.
“This was a great event and a wonderful opportunity for many to experience a unique moment in the construction process. Touring parts of the new building was a memorable highlight for those who were able to visit the structure. We’re looking forward to getting the structure under roof before winter so that progress on the interior spaces can continue to move forward,” said Assistant Vice President of Facilities Management Jason Youngblood.
“I am extremely proud to be a part of this important campus project. Mason Hall has served the nursing program for many years, and we are thankful for the support that the Mason family provided so many years ago. However, we are growing and have the opportunity to expand the way that we teach and collaborate with students and each other. Jackson Hall will provide that special place. We are committed to continuing to provide the best educational experiences to students and to graduating the best nursing and healthcare professionals to meet the needs of western Kentucky and beyond,” said Murray State School of Nursing and Health Professions Dean Dr. Dina Byers.
“Karen and I are very excited about the new School of Nursing and Health Professions building which will be a tremendous asset to Murray State University as we work to serve the nursing and health professions needs of our region and state,” Murray State President Emeritus Dr. Bob Jackson said. “In addition, we are grateful for the naming of this facility, Jackson Hall, in our honor.”
Individuals can visit murraystate.edu/construction to learn more about Jackson Hall, including information on several prestigious naming opportunities for donors and corporate partners to invest in the future of healthcare education in the region.
I’m primarily writing this as a reflection of my tribe. Still, many other tribes are similar in that there’s no such thing as patriarchy. Instead, tribes are matrilineal, so it counted more for who your mother was than your father. Obviously, living in the United States, we’re accustomed to patriarchy having spilled over from the Roman Empire, where a woman was either her father’s or husband’s property. Thankfully, we’ve made a lot of progress in that field. Perhaps knowing about tribal life will help us to function as a society.
In the sixteenth century, when Hernando de Soto came to this continent, he encountered the Choctaws. Chief Tvshkalusa, after whom the city of Tuscaloosa is named, led warriors in fighting the Spanish. A Spanish chronicler noted that as Choctaw men fell in the battle of Mabilla, their women took up arms and continued fighting, believing it was better to fight and die than to become enslaved and lose their honor. Our war dance, to this day, consists of a man and a woman dancing side by side, demonstrating the prominent role women play in our tribe.
One of my favorite stories is of the Chickasaw Hatchet Women. In 1736, at the Battle of Ogoula Tchetoka, Chickasaw women joined men to fight off the French, who sought to gain control of the Mississippi River. To do that, they had to raid a Chickasaw village. Faced with musketry fire, the village was about to be besieged. From a neighboring village, Chickasaw men and women came, along with children with bows and arrows. As they breached the hill, the French and their Indian allies heard women singing. Those who wrote about this said they were singing war songs, and the women were immortalized as the Hatched Women. They attacked, sending the French and their allies to flight. The French officers didn’t flee and were subjected to the Chickasaw’s punishment.
When the United States was a young country negotiating treaties with various tribes, Euro-Americans were taken aback when Choctaw women accompanied the chiefs to the negotiations. These Euro-Americans thought it savagery for the men to have brought women with them. Still, they failed to understand the men’s confidence in their women. This is especially true of elders. When Choctaws wanted to wage war, they would travel to the villages and had to secure the permission of the clan mothers to fight, since it was their children and grandchildren who would be at risk. If the clan mothers didn’t consent, the war didn’t happen despite the chief’s status. If war was waged, the women determined whether captives were to be adopted into families.
One oral tradition that has been suppressed surrounds the death of Custer. Though he was already shot, Buffalo Calf Road Woman, a Cheyenne warrior, is credited as having delivered the blow to Custer that caused him to fall from his horse. Then a vanguard of men and women warriors finished him off.
In my tribe, hollo refers to the feminine essence. From this term stems other cognates: ihollo means “to love,” hullochi means “to sanctify,” and holitopa means “beloved” or “holy.” There’s a phrase I use with my children and my wife: Chi hullo li. It means, “I love you.” Women were the life givers and sustainers. There was probably no more sacred state than for a woman to be pregnant. As her belly grew, if children ever mocked or poked fun at her belly size, they would be met with swift punishment. When it came time to deliver the baby, women would seclude themselves, and men were not allowed to be near.
These are all traits that I see in my daughter. She’s not like one of the women in a Jane Austen novel. She works in the male-dominated field of law enforcement as a Sheriff’s Deputy and a Sergeant with the National Guard Military Police. Since she was little, we’ve wrestled and trained in martial arts. I refer to her as Tvshka, which means “Warrior.” When she started dating the man who’s now her husband, he and I had a chat. I told him my expectations as her father. Usually, most fathers would say, “If you hurt her, I’ll hurt you,” or something like that. I didn’t. However, I did say, “I would say that I’d hurt you if you hurt her, but I don’t have to because she’ll be the one to hurt you.” Don’t get me wrong, she’s tough, but she can also gussy up when the occasion calls for it. To her, my wife, and all the Choctaw women in my life, I tip my hat to you all. Chi hullo li chito!
Steven Hunter is the preacher for the Glendale Road Church of Christ in Murray, Kentucky. He has served and continues to serve on various non-profit boards in the community. Steven is a Reserve Deputy with the Calloway County Sheriff’s Office, a member of the Murray Rotary Club and a volunteer at the Anna Mae Owen Hospice House, among other things. He is also the newest member of The Sentinel’s Board of Directors.
MURRAY – On Oct. 27, 2025, the Murray Police Department was contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regarding an ongoing investigation involving Gregory Ford. Ford, a traveling veterinarian, was recently arrested in Florida for the sexual assault of a juvenile. During the FBI investigation, agents identified an additional victim in Murray, Kentucky. An independent investigation was conducted by the Murray Police Department, and it was determined that Ford sexually assaulted a juvenile in Murray in 2024.
An arrest warrant was obtained for Ford on charges of Rape 1st Degree and Sodomy 1st Degree. Ford is currently lodged in Florida, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky will seek his extradition to face charges in Kentucky court.
The Murray Police Department investigation determined Ford traveled through the Murray area on multiple occasions in 2024, and there may be additional unknown victims.
The FBI is asking anyone with additional information about Ford or other potential victims to visit the following links:
The Murray Police Department would like to remind everyone that any person charged with a criminal offense is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
