Reports of a potential acquisition or merger of the two hospitals began swirling last week, prompting concern from local officials and residents.
By Julia Hunter/Hoptown Chronicle (reprinted with permission)
The Jennie Stuart Health board of directors has signed a letter of intent to join the Evansville, Indiana-based Deaconess Health, officials from both hospitals announced Monday afternoon.
This begins “a due diligence process that allows both health systems to evaluate each other and finalize the specific details of the agreement that would strengthen and grow medical services for Hopkinsville and the surrounding communities,” according to a news release from Jennie Stuart. “This process is expected to be completed by late 2024 after further board and regulatory approvals.”
The release from Jennie Stuart and a memo to the hospital’s employees were sent following a special meeting of the Jennie Stuart Health Foundation’s board of directors Monday afternoon. During the meeting, which lasted about one hour and 45 minutes, Jennie Stuart CEO Eric Lee presented the plan to join Deaconess. The foundation board members had not been privy to the hospital board’s discussions about aligning with another health facility system.
Reports of a potential acquisition or merger began swirling last week, prompting concern from local officials and residents. At the time, hospital board members acknowledged they were unable to speak to the speculation because they had signed non-disclosure agreements that prevented them from doing so. Following a two-hour private board meeting on Thursday, Lee said he was not able to release any details related to the rumors of a potential change in ownership, which he called “pure speculation.”
In an email provided to Hoptown Chronicle that was sent Monday afternoon to staff of the health system’s Madisonville location, CEO Shawn McCoy emphasized that the potential affilation wouldn’t impact Deaconess’ commitment to Baptist Health Deaconess Hospital Madisonville.
“This exploration with Jennie Stuart Health aligns with our strategic goals of expanding access to high-quality healthcare in the region,” McCoy says in the memo. “It complements our mission and goals with all our existing hospitals, partnerships and providers. We see this as an oportunity to strengthen our overall network of care, which ultimately benefits all our affiliated hospitals and the communities we serve.”
In an email Monday afternoon sent to Jennie Stuart staff and provided to Hoptown Chronicle, CEO Eric Lee echoed McCoy’s sentiments, calling the potential affilation “an opportunity to strengthen our resources and grow our medical services for the patients of Jennie Stuart.”
“Rural hospitals today are facing huge challenges to provide the healthcare needed to best serve our communities,” Lee said in Monday’s news release. “By coming together with Deaconess, we will be able to continue our mission and expand services that we know will positively impact the health and well-being of the communities we serve.”
Jennie Stuart administrators slated a number of meetings to quickly follow Monday’s foundation board meeting. Lee met with physicians and other providers Monday evening. Three “town hall” meetings are planned with employees — at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday and at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.
– The Murray-Calloway County Hospital Board of Trustees Finance Committee will meet at noon in the hospital’s Garrison Boardroom and via Zoom (call 270-762-1102 for Zoom connection details). See agenda below.
The Murray-Calloway County Hospital Board of Trustees Personnel Committee will meet at 1 p.m. in the hospital’s Garrison Boardroom and via Zoom (call 270-762-1102 for Zoom connection details).
Wednesday (Sept. 25):
The Murray-Calloway County Hospital Board of Trustees will meet at noon in the hospital’s Garrison Boardroom and via Zoom (call 270-762-1102 for Zoom connection details). See agenda below.
GRAVES COUNTY – The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is planning a project on KY 80 (Murray Highway) in Graves County next week that will look to alleviate congestion and improve motorists’ safety during peak travel hours.
Traffic at the 12.8- to 12.9-mile points of KY 80 from Tuesday, Sept. 24, through Friday, Sept. 27, as KYTC constructs a new turning lane at the intersection of KY 80, KY 97 and KY 121 (South Castleman Bypass) in Mayfield. The new lane will carry traffic that is turning onto KY 121 northbound.
The blockage is planned each day from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Some delays are possible during the movement and placement of equipment to facilitate the work.
MURRAY – The curing season for dark-fired tobacco runs from late-August through September, and while western Kentucky residents may be used to seeing smoke billowing from the vents of tobacco barns at this time of year, those who are not accustomed to such sights oftentimes think the building is on fire.
“We get a lot of people from the north and the west that come in and visit our county, which is absolutely great,” said Calloway County 911 Communications Center Director Nathan Baird. “However, they don’t know what a tobacco barn is. So, they see one, and they call 911, which is fine to an extent; but we get about several calls a year that there’s a barn on fire, and it’s not. It’s smoking and doing what it’s supposed to do, but people think that it is on fire.”
(JESSICA PAINE/The Murray Sentinel)
To help mitigate problems caused by people making unnecessary reports, the dispatch center has started a tobacco barn registry. Although it is not required, barn owners and renters are encouraged to visit the Calloway County Sheriff’s Office and fill out a registration form that asks for their contact information as well as details about the barn(s).
“If people call in and say there’s a barn on fire, we’d like to know whether it is ‘your’ barn or a tobacco barn because there’s quite a bit of difference between the two,” Baird said. “Like your barn or garage would probably have chemicals, stuff like that. A tobacco barn has tobacco in it, could be wood or metal; they’re going to burn pretty quick.”
This is one of three tobacco barns owned by Terry Orr, a Calloway County native who has grown tobacco for 55 years. (JESSICA PAINE/The Murray Sentinel)
Dispatcher Fiona Branham, a former Calloway County Fire-Rescue (CCFR) volunteer who has worked in the communications center for three years, came up with the idea.
“I actually started out on fire-rescue as a firefighter,” she said. “So, I knew a little bit about tobacco barns and the struggle the fire department goes through, running all over the place for them and showing up and it’s nothing. So, I wanted to try and make it a little bit easier on the dispatch center, the fire department and tobacco farmers.”
Branham started informally collecting the contact information of tobacco barn owners and/or renters last year. Her goal is to use the information obtained to develop a map with pins identifying every registered tobacco barn in Calloway County.
The fires in this barn, also owned by Orr, are nearly ready to light. (JESSICA PAINE/The Murray Sentinel)
“So, when we get a call about a tobacco barn, we can click on that pin on the map, and it will show the owner’s name and phone number and the address where (the barn) is at,” she explained. “It will show how many barns are there, what kind of barn it is, all kinds of different details that help us better dispatch, to figure out what to take – for the fire department to bring – there to put out the fire and help the fire department know what they’re getting to before they get there.”
“With all of these,” Branham clarified, “I would dispatch the fire department anytime I receive a call, but it’s something where if we find out that the barn functioning normally, we can cancel them in route instead of having to go all the way out there. Some of these barns are pretty far out.”
In an empty barn, the intricate scaffolding required to hang several layers of tobacco is revealed. (JESSICA PAINE/The Murray Sentinel)
Not only will the registry help CCFR and the dispatch center, but it will help the farmers, too.
“Sometimes we get tobacco barns that are on fire,” Baird noted, “and people call in; we get out there and put out the fire, but no one knows who owns the tobacco barn. We can’t tell anybody that their tobacco barn caught fire.”
“We’re a dying breed,” said 69-year-old tobacco farmer Terry Orr. “A lot of us that’s growing, our kids are not gonna grow. There’s a few kids that still grow tobacco. You only grew it because your father or grandfather did since you were knee-high. Nobody just gets up one day and says, ‘I’m gonna grow tobacco.’” (JESSICA PAINE/The Murray Sentinel)Tobacco hangs in the barn just before the wood slabs and sawdust on the ground beneath are set ablaze. (JESSICA PAINE/The Murray Sentinel)
Baird also noted there are a few barns in the county with which dispatchers and CCFR are very familiar. For example, the dispatch center receives five or six calls every year about the barns located on KY 2547 S (formerly known as U.S. 641 S), near Midway.
Terry Orr is the owner of those tobacco barns, three in total. His family has been growing tobacco in the area since 1825. The seventh-generation tobacco farmer has been in the business for 55 years, learning the process from his grandfather and father.
The process of curing tobacco, whether it be fire- or air-cured, really starts in the field where plants are cut and hung on poles, six plants per pole, before loading them on a scaffold wagon, which carries the plants from the field to a barn for curing. The plants currently curing in Orr’s barns will be used to make chewing tobacco.
Scaffold wagons, like the one pictured here, are used to transport tobacco from the field to the barn for curing. (JESSICA PAINE/The Murray Sentinel)
For dark-fired tobacco, five layers of poled tobacco are hung in the barn. Farmers lay down slabs of hardwood – oak and hickory are preferred – in rows running the length of the barn, with a few small gaps along the way. The slabs are then covered with mounds of sawdust and set on fire.
Two men get ready to light fires in one of Orr’s tobacco barns. (JESSICA PAINE/The Murray Sentinel)
The plants stay in the barn for four to five weeks. In that time, the green plants will slowly turn yellow, then brown. At all points, fire is required, Orr explained; however, the temperatures necessary to achieve the desired results vary widely depending on where the plants are along that continuum.
“The heat comes from how many slabs you put there,” he said. “You put three or four; if you do five, it’ll get hotter. If you just put two, it will (be cooler). You just kind of learn that from knowing what it needs.”
Slabs of hickory and oak are piled next to the barn. (JESSICA PAINE/The Murray Sentinel)
While the leaves are green or yellow, low heat and adequate ventilation prevent the tobacco from rotting. Orr said that when the leaves turn brown, then it is time to crank up the heat (ideally to 130 degrees) to dry out the plants’ stems.
“(When the) weather is really dry – low humidity and all of that – it doesn’t take much,” he explained. “If it was rainy weather and cold, you’d have to have more wood in there to warm it up. People get them up to 180 degrees and burn them up. They just keep adding wood. Maybe it’s somebody that’s new at it or somebody that’s not new at it but (in a hurry).”
Opening the barn doors on a windy day can cause the smoldering fires to blaze up.
Luckily, Orr has never had a barn catch on fire.
“We go in about every five, six hours and have a look,” he said. “Something could’ve fell. I could walk around and maybe a plant fell out; if I found it, I can pick it up. But if it fell out during the night and nobody’s out here watching it, then it might just blaze up. When sparks get up here and start touching this tobacco… you can’t check it often enough. I have caught stuff – a plant fell down – and I picked it up and saved it.”
Orr said that the time to worry about a tobacco barn is if the smoke is black, “If I came out and it was just that black smoke rolling out like the corner of a house, once you open the door, you’ve got air in there. But it’s too late anyway.”
The dispatch center asks that, if you see a barn that is believed to be on fire and are unfamiliar with the process, please refrain from opening the doors and contact the dispatch center at the non-emergency number, 270-753-3151.
MURRAY – Murray-Calloway County Hospital’s Anna Mae Owen Residential Hospice House welcomes a new interim director, Jane Bright, RN to continue the commitment of delivering the highest standards of hospice care. Bright brings over 27 years of nursing experience in various healthcare settings, with a deep passion for ensuring that every patient receives dignified and compassionate care during their final journey.
“Hospice care is about honoring life, providing comfort, and supporting families during a very personal and challenging time,” said Bright. “At the Anna Mae Owen Residential Hospice House, we strive to create a home-like atmosphere where patients and their loved ones can find solace and support.”
According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, 1.71 million Medicare beneficiaries in the United States were enrolled in hospice care for one day or more in 2021. However, hospice care may also be considered as an option for terminally ill patients who are younger than Medicare age.
Hospice care can be provided at home or in a hospice facility such as Anna Mae Residential Hospice House, each option having its own benefits. Hospice programs provide pain management, symptom control, psychosocial support, and spiritual care to patients and their families when a cure is not possible.
In addition to the highest level of quality medical and nursing care, hospice care includes the emotional and spiritual support that patients and their families need most when facing the end of life. Through this specialized quality care approach, many patients and their loved ones experience more meaningful moments together. Hospice helps them focus on living despite a terminal diagnosis.
More information about hospice, palliative care, and advance care planning is available from the Anna Mae Owen Residential Hospice House at 270-767-3670.
– The Calloway County Fiscal Court will hold a work session at 8 a.m. at the Miller Courthouse Annex. See agenda below.
– The Calloway County Conservation District Board of Supervisors will meet at 7:30 p.m. at the USDA Service Center, 88 S Robertson Rd. Call 270-873-3070 for more information.
Tuesday (Sept. 17)
– The Housing Authority of Murray Board of Commissioners will meet at noon at the Housing Authority Office, 716 Nash Dr.
– The City of Murray Planning Commission will meet at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall. See agenda below.
Wednesday (Sept. 18)
– The Murray-Calloway County Hospital Board of Trustees Investment Committee will meet at 8 a.m. in the hospital’s Garrison Board Room and via Zoom (call 270-762-1102 for Zoom connection details). See agenda below.
– The Calloway County Fiscal Court will meet at 9 a.m. at the Robert O. Miller Courthouse Annex. See agenda below.
– The Murray Board of Zoning Adjustments will meet at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall. See agenda below.
Thursday (Sept. 19)
– The Calloway County Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. at the Central Office. (Agenda will be posted when received.)
NEW CONCORD – The Calloway County Fiscal Court confirmed in a Facebook post Saturday morning that a black bear was seen in the southeastern portion of the county, around New Concord. Roughly an hour later, the Calloway County Sheriff’s Office posted photos taken by a deputy in the Dunbar area.
The Calloway County Sheriff’s Office made this post on Facebook at 11:38 a.m. Saturday.
New Concord resident Brittany Spraggs made her own Facebook post – a video of the bear attempting to climb a tree across the street. She called the experience of seeing a bear in her yard “surreal.”
Video courtesy of Brittany Spraggs
“We actually had friends over, and I was grilling at the time,” Spraggs told The Sentinel. “One of our friends said, ‘Hey, there is a bear out here,’ and I was in the middle of washing my hands after handling the steaks, so I ran to the balcony to look. We just watched the bear as he wandered around all of our yards. It was a really cool experience!”
“Bears rarely cause a threat,” Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) Public Information Officer Supervisor Lisa Jackson wrote in an email, “and young male bears, who were kicked out by mom, typically begin roaming in the spring and summer as they learn about their environments, and it is nothing too unusual to have sightings of them even in towns and cities. Residents are urged to keep trash and outside food sources locked away and garbage stored properly in bear-proof containers.”
Jackson noted that a special hunting permit is required to hunt bears in Kentucky. Otherwise, unless an individual is in an “extreme emergency situation,” shooting or killing a bear is illegal.
In addition to KDFWR’s website, Jackson recommended bearwise.org as a good resource for information about seeing or living with bears. It explains that bears enter a stage known as hyperphagia in September, and during this time, they can spend up to 20 hours a day foraging and gain two to three pounds per day.
“Even bears that don’t hibernate chow down,” the site says. “Bears are biologically driven to gain weight in the fall even if they live in warmer climates where many bears don’t really hibernate, just take it easier and nap a lot.”
This is one of two photos of the bear posted by the Calloway County Fiscal Court. “This is actual image of the black bear spotted earlier today in New Concord,” the post said.
Black bears are typically shy, elusive animals that tend to avoid people, unless they grow accustomed to human food sources, according to KDFWR’s website. Bears are naturally curious, the site says, noting that their curiosity “should not be mistaken for aggression.”
If you encounter a bear at close range, KDFWR advises to yell or shout to make your presence known, which will, hopefully, scare the bear away; however, if that does not work, you should try throwing rocks or other objects at the bear and do not stop yelling.
“Portray yourself as the dominant animal and do not back down,” the site states. “If a bear is close enough that you feel uncomfortable, slowly back away, continuing to yell while watching the bear at all times.”
If a bear acts aggressively, KDFWR says you should not run. Running is likely to trigger the bear’s instinct to chase, and bears are capable of running as fast as 35 miles per hour for short distances.
“In the event of an attack,” the site advises, “fight back using everything in your power- including fists, sticks, rocks, or any other debris. Do not play dead!”
It is illegal to feed bears in the commonwealth, according to KDFWR’s website. Direct or indirect feeding of bears is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in jail and suspension of hunting and fishing privileges for up to three years. If you see someone feeding a bear, you should contact KDFWR and report the incident by calling 1-800-25ALERT (1-800-252-5378).
“Feeding bears is absolutely the worst thing that people can do to ensure a bear’s death. Fed bears lose their natural fear of people and become habituated to humans,” KDFWR advises on its website. “Consequently, habituated bears live shorter lives than ‘wild’ bears as they tend to die by vehicle collision or poaching by spending so much time around human dwellings. In addition, people who feed bears are teaching those animals to associate people with food.”
Photo source: Calloway County Fiscal Court Facebook Page
KDFWR acknowledges on its website that relocating bears is an option, but it only helps resolve the immediate issue and does not address the underlying problem.
“Unless garbage is properly stored another bear will move in and the problem will start all over again,” the site states. “In addition, black bears have an incredible homing instinct and can travel amazing distances in relatively short periods of time. The KDFWR has trapped bears and moved them 10, 20 even 55 air miles away and they still find their way home. Ultimately, relocating bears is not an effective long-term management tool. Instead, the proper storage of human-related foods and never feeding bears is the key.”
Calloway County Magistrate Paul Rister, who formerly worked for KDFWR, said Benjamin Morris, who is the primary game warden for KDFWR in Calloway County, contacted him and asked for help spreading the word about the bear sighting in New Concord.
According to Rister, KDFWR’s position is to leave the bear alone and let it pass through. The bear was spotted in Hamlin Saturday morning and is believed to be traveling north, likely following Blood River.
“At Hamlin, it can really go two ways,” Rister said in his own words. “It’s either going to go right and just kind of stay in that corner. You know there’s a corner up there where there’s lake on both sides. Or if it turns left, it’s going to go around the back end of Blood River – the ‘river’ part – and make its way around by the Dollar General or around Wildcat (Creek).”
Rister said people need to make sure their garbage cans are secure, adding, “If it can’t find food, then it’s just going to keep moving; but if it finds garbage cans, it’s going to hang around for a while.”
A black bear was also spotted recently in Marshall County. Rister asked if it could be the same bear, but Morris told him that was not likely because the bear in Marshall was much smaller. Regardless, black bears likely do not pose a threat to people or pets, provided it is not cornered or harassed.
In other words, Rister said, “Don’t poke the bear.”
FRANKFORT – Homeowners and renters in Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Christian, Clay, Greenup, Hopkins, Knox, Logan, Muhlenberg, Simpson, Todd, Trigg, Warren and Whitley counties who have loss and damage caused by the May 21-27 severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, landslides and mudslides have less than two weeks to apply for federal disaster assistance. The deadline to apply is Sept. 23
How To Apply for FEMA Individual Assistance
▪ Visit a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center. To find your nearest center, visit fema.gov/drc.
▪ Call FEMA at 800-621-3362. Multilingual operators are available daily, 7 a.m.-midnight ET. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service.
▪ Download and use the FEMA app. FEMA programs are accessible to people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.
In-Person Assistance Is Available at Disaster Recovery Centers
▪ Greenup County (DRC): Flatwoods Senior Center, 2511 Reed St., Flatwoods, KY 41139. Working hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. ET, Monday through Saturday.
▪ Hopkins County (DRC): 114 Madison Square Drive, Madisonville, KY 42431. Working hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. CT, Monday through Saturday.
▪ Muhlenberg County (DRC): Muhlenberg County Training Center, 61 Career Way, Central City, KY 42330. Working hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. CT, Monday through Saturday.
Homeowners, renters, businesses, and nonprofit organizations can apply for long-term, low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to cover losses not fully compensated by insurance and other sources. Apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via the SBA’s secure website at sba.gov/disaster.
For the latest information on Kentucky’s recovery from the May 21-27 severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, landslides and mudslides, as well as news releases, fact sheets and other helpful documents in multiple languages, please visit fema.gov/disaster/4804. Follow FEMA at x.com/femaregion4 and facebook.com/fema.
To view information about how to apply for FEMA disaster assistance in American Sign Language with captioning and a voiceover, please check the YouTube link.
FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during and after disasters. FEMA is committed to ensuring disaster assistance is accomplished equitably, without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, English proficiency, or economic status. Any disaster survivor or member of the public may contact the FEMA Office of Civil Rights if they feel that they have a complaint of discrimination. FEMA’s Office of Civil Rights can be contacted at FEMA-CivilRightsOffice@fema.dhs.gov or toll-free at 833-285-7448. Multilingual operators are available.
MARSHALL COUNTY – A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to begin a project to resurface around two miles of roadway in Marshall County in the Kenlake State Resort Park Golf Course area on Friday.
The project will resurface KY 80 from the Calloway-Marshall County line (0 mm) east to U.S. 68 (1.937 mm), approximately 1.937 miles of roadway.
The contractor will begin milling the roadway on Friday. Motorists should be alert for lane restrictions and flaggers that will last through the project.
Paving will begin on Monday and is scheduled to last from 7 to 10 days.
Motorists should be alert for one lane traffic with alternating flow controlled by flaggers. Some delays are possible during the movement and placement of equipment to facilitate the work.
Appropriate caution is required where equipment, flaggers, and maintenance personnel are along the roadway in close proximity to traffic flow.
MURRAY – The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to block a section of KY 1270 (Edgehill Trail) in south western Calloway County on Thursday, Sept. 12 to replace a cross drain that is failing.
The blockage will be located between Rayburn Road (2.6 mm) and Partridge Road (3.3 mm) and is scheduled to take place between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.
There will be no marked detour.
Appropriate caution is required where equipment and maintenance personnel are along the roadway in close proximity to traffic flow.
