ByCarolyn Walker

On Feb. 29 Deputy Punkin Arnett will turn in her badge. After 32 years in law enforce-ment, 22 as the D.A.R.E. offi-cer in the Dawson Springs and Hopkins County school sys-tems, she has decided to retire.

In 1979 Arnett, the first female state trooper in the commonwealth, was assigned to Kentucky State Police Post 2. For 10 years she served Hopkins and Muhlenberg coun-ties before leaving KSP to start a family. She went to work for the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Department as a Drug Abuse Resistance Education instruc-tor. Although she enjoyed her position with KSP, she felt the D.A.R.E. program was a bet-ter fit with her new role as a mom. As a result, area school children have come to know Deputy Punkin through their participation in D.A.R.E.

The D.A.R.E. program, which focuses on fifth grade students, is a semester-long course designed to teach the skills needed to avoid drugs,

to make good choices and to understand the consequences of one’s choices. As a D.A.R.E. officer Deputy Punkin also held visitations with primary stu-dents, discussing such topics as stranger danger, community helpers and bicycle safety. Her final class was a three-week middle school program this month for seventh graders at West Hopkins.

Deputy Punkin has touched the lives of students too numer-ous to count, and that has obvi-ously had an impact. Adults now tell her they have made better choices because of what they learned in D.A.R.E. A member of the Madisonville Police Department told the deputy he became a police offi-cer because of his experiences with her in the classroom.

The work Deputy Punkin has done has not gone unno-ticed outside Hopkins Coun-ty. In 1990 she was named D.A.R.E. officer of the year, and in 2009 she became the only person in Kentucky to be named state D.A.R.E. officer for a second time.

Deputy Punkin describes her

retirement as “bittersweet.”“I’m excited in a way about

retiring,” she said, “but it’s so sad that I still have kids that I haven’t taught D.A.R.E. yet.”

Although she won’t be the one in front of the classroom, her influence will still be felt. She has also been a part of the state D.A.R.E. training team, prepar-ing police officers to become D.A.R.E. officers. As recently as January she trained candidates from Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, Kansas and California.

Deputy Punkin believes one of the best effects of the pro-gram is that it gives students a positive look at police officers.

“Kids who might not see a police officer in a positive way have the opportunity to do that,” she said.

At the end of this fall’s D.A.R.E. course at Dawson Springs Elementary School, students submitted essays about what they learned and what the program means to them. Essays by fifth graders Sabreyn Pleasant, Erin Orten, Hannah Greenfield, Marlee Burden, Heaven Bratcher and Kayla Nichols were judged the

best and were read by those students at the D.A.R.E. gradu-ation.

A common thread in the six essays is the positive rein-forcement students received from Deputy Punkin as they learned to handle peer pres-sure with confidence and make the difficult decisions they will likely face. Their respect for Deputy Punkin shows in their descriptions of the energetic manner in which she conducts the class and their joy at see-ing her “special dance” when students are able to explain the consequences of a bad choice. And, of course, everyone want-ed the chance to hold Daren, the D.A.R.E. mascot.

“Here in Dawson Springs we’ve always had great support for the D.A.R.E. program,” Deputy Punkin said, adding that each year she is invited to be in the local Christmas parade.

“That’s always fun to be in the Christmas parade in the D.A.R.E. car,” she said.

A new D.A.R.E. officer for

D.A.R.E. officER in DAwson spRings foR 22 yEARs

Deputy Punkin Retiring After 32 Years As Police Officer

senAte bill 135

Telephone industry isAsking for An optionTo End Basic service

One Of 38 cOmmunities

grant Awarded forRecreational Trailsnets city $12,896

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KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau, Mo., reported a 4.0 magnitude earthquake shortly before 4 a.m. Tuesday about five miles north-northwest of East Prairie, Mo.

The station quoted the Center for Earthquake and Research Information in Memphis as saying the quake was about three miles deep. Reports came from four

states, including Kentucky, that the quake rattled homes and buildings, but no injuries or significant damage were reported. However, some KFVS viewers have seen minor cracks in walls in their homes.

A spokesman with the USGS National Earthquake Center in Golden, Colo., said a few aftershocks are pos-sible.

The Dawson springs progressVOL. 93, NO. 3 Dawson Springs, Hopkins County, Kentucky 42408, Thursday, February 23, 2012 FIFTY CENTS

cOuRse OffeRing AnD scheDules

Jr.-sr. High sBDM is planningfor 2012-2013 school year

The city of Dawson Springs is one of 38 Kentucky communities receiv-ing more than $1.8 million in grants to develop and maintain recreational trails across the state. Dawson Springs was awarded $12,896.

First lady Jane Beshear joined Tour-ism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Secre-tary Marcheta Sparrow and Depart-ment for Local Government Commis-sioner Tony Wilder to announce the grants Feb. 15.

The grant dollars are part of the Federal Highway Administration’s Recreational Trails Program. The applicants include city and county government as well as state and fed-eral agencies.

“Developing Kentucky trails is instrumental in increasing overall adventure tourism efforts and boost-ing local economies throughout the state,” said Beshear. “These federal funds help communities get trail proj-ects off the ground so they can bring in tourism dollars and provide areas for their citizens to be active and live healthier lifestyles.”

Also receiving grants were the city of Princeton, $9,990 for the Dodson

Park Recreational Trail; the city of Hopkinsville, $62,500 for the West Side Walking Bridge Project; and the city of Earlington, $50,662 for the Earlington ATV Park Project.

Beshear also recognized award recipients from last year’s Mid Amer-ica Trails and Greenway conference. Lynda Bray Schaffer was recognized for being an outstanding volunteer to help expand trails in Kentucky, and the Legacy Trail in Lexington was recognized for being an outstanding trail or greenway in Kentucky.

The Recreational Trails Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration. Kentucky’s RTP grants are administered by the Department for Local Government and require that applicants match the amount of funds requested. The grants may be used to provide assistance for acquisition of easements; development and/or main-tenance of recreational trails; and trail-head facilities for both motorized and nonmotorized use. Examples of trail uses include hiking, bicycling, inline skating, equestrian use, off-road motor-cycling and all-terrain vehicle riding.

PRESCHOOL students who visited the Dawson Springs post office recently are (from left) Memphis Opaleck, Rihanna Rudolph, Kolby Crook, Bailee Coates, Abbie Cardin, Christopher Morgan, Peyton Pace and Jaxson Miller, who is canceling his stamp with postal employee Lisa Peek.

ByCarolyn Walker

Plans for the remainder of the 2011-2012 school year as well as schedules and courses for 2012-2013 were dis-cussed at the Feb. 15 meeting of the Dawson Springs Junior-Senior High SBDM Council. Principal and council chairman Terry Hayes said a tentative final exam schedule has been set. How-ever, in the event of school closures, the schedule will have to be amended.

Hayes and guidance counselor Lori Wooton are also discussing next year’s course offerings and schedule. Changes in the math curriculum rec-ommended by the math department at the January meeting were tabled until after a meeting of Hayes, the math fac-ulty, Superintendent Alexis Seymore and Assistant Superintendent Charles

Proffitt takes place this week. Council members may also attend.

Program reviews for arts and humanities, writing, and practical liv-ing and career studies are underway. The program reviews are a part of the new state assessment system being implemented this year. Evidence of instruction in these areas was col-lected and scored by an internal audit team. The evidence will also be scored at the district level, and both scores will be sent to the Kentucky Depart-ment of Education. Since the local high school is a pilot school for the program, evidence gathered will be submitted electronically to KDE.

The council held second readings of the FRYSC agreement and the grade translation for end-of-course exams. Both were approved.

The budget report was also

approved with an available balance of $4,857.21. Approximately 80 percent of the allocation has been used.

With SBDM elections for parent and teacher representatives taking place in the spring, Hayes asked coun-cil members to consider changing the current one-year terms to two-year terms. The matter will be discussed further at the March meeting.

Hayes said he has been approached by high school students about creating a drama club. A first reading was held of a proposal outlining the purpose and requirements of the club. Science teacher Mark Taylor has agreed to sponsor the organization.

An open house and parent-teacher conferences are scheduled for March 12 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The next regu-larly scheduled council meeting will also take place at 3:30 p.m. that day.

DEPUTY PUNKIN ARNETT—Continued on page A8

small Earthquake shakes part of west Kentucky Tuesday

ByJohn Cheves

Lexington Herald-Leader

Kentucky’s telephone industry wants the option to end basic phone service in less profitable parts of their territories if other communications options, such as cell phones or the In-ternet, are available in the area.

The industry hopes to build on its 2006 legislative success in deregu-lating basic land-line phone service, arguing that it needs to shift its re-sources to cell phone and broadband communications.

But consumer advocates warn that rural communities, the poor and the el-

derly could be among those left behind if basic phone service disappears.

The industry is pushing Senate Bill 135, referred to as “the AT&T bill” by its sponsor and others because it originated with that company’s lobby-ists. The bill would strip the Kentucky Public Service Commission of most of its remaining oversight of basic phone service provided by the three major car-riers — AT&T, Windstream and Cincin-nati Bell — such as the power to initiate investigations into service problems.

More significant, critics say, the bill would let the companies end basic phone service in less profitable parts

—Continued on page A8