Strunk sentenced to 12 years on drug charges
Voice Staff Report
A plea arrangement by the Commonwealth’s Attorney has left three men facing long prison sentences for crimes they admitting committing.
After a court appearance last week, Ronnie Wayne Strunk, entered a guilty plea in two cases and now faces a 12-year sentence.
In one case, Strunk, 51, faced two counts of first degree trafficking in a controlled substance. According to the indictment returned against him, Strunk sold a total of four Oxycontin to a confidential informant on two occasions in June 2003.
Last Thursday, Strunk pled guilty to the charges and faces a recommended sentence of seven years in addition to time he faces in another case.
In the second case, Strunk faced two counts of an enhanced charge of first-degree possession of a controlled substance and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun. The indictment in that case states Strunk was found in possession of methadone, oxycodone and hydrocodone, along with various firearms, on January 16, 2004 by Kentucky State Police Detective Billy Correll.
Strunk also pled guilty to the charges in that case and faces a recommended sentence of five years for the charges. The sentence in that case was recommended to be served consecutively with the other case for a total incarceration period of 12 years.
McCreary Circuit Court Judge Paul Braden will formally sentence Strunk on January 23. According to court records, the Commonwealth’s Attorneys, Allen Trimble and Robert Stephens, would not oppose probation in the case if Strunk served at least 60 days of his sentence.
Earlier this year, Jason D. Jahns and Paul Jenkins were jointly indicted in a case that claimed the men entered the residence of Donald Ray Daugherty on July 27, 2004 with the intent to commit a crime and “during the process of the burglary” were found in possession of a handgun. The pair each faced charges of first degree burglary and theft by unlawful taking over $300.
Last Tuesday, both Jenkins, 19 and Jahns, 21, pled guilty to the charges. It is recommended that each man serve a 10-year sentence for the crime, concurrently with a seven year sentence in another case where the men also faced a burglary charge.
Both are currently being held at the Department of Corrections Northpoint Training Center in Burgin, Kentucky.
In other Circuit Court news:
Tony Ridner, 24, entered a guilty plea to charges of first-degree criminal mischief and first-degree wanton endangerment. He faces a total sentence of seven years, but it was recommended by the Commonwealth’s Attorney that five years of the sentence be probated. Judge Braden will sentence Ridner on November 28.
Also on Thursday, Allen West, 27, faces a three year sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of receiving stolen property over $300. He is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on January 23.
Quest for the arches
By Andrew Powell
For thousands of years these stone relics have stood silently in the forest. There are no signs or trails that point the way. The only visitors have been our prehistoric ancestors, the game they tracked and in latter years, a few secretive whiskey makers.
Now others are blazing their way through the wilderness. They pay no mind to the rough terrain and only seek the awe they experience once they complete their quest and gaze upon these lost geologic marvels.
A Big South Fork geology guide states “hundreds of arches and rock shelters of varying size wait to be discovered by the adventurous explorer.” Adventurous explorers came from as far away as Colorado and England this week on the quest to see the next great arch.
The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area was the site of the Natural Arch and Bridge Society’s fall conference. The Society, which is based in Colorado, was formed in 1988 to support the preservation of arches and the interests of arch enthusiasts from around the world.
One of these enthusiasts, Kentuckian Victor Fife, led the fall conference along the Cumberland Plateau, one of the richest areas for arch discoveries. Fife, along with his brother, has made a weekend habit of visiting McCreary County and the surrounding Big South Fork region and wading the wilderness in search of new geologic landforms.
“When I was a kid I just loved being outdoors looking at rock formations, waterfalls and things like that. So naturally arches just appealed to me greatly,” Fife said. “Things just flowed from that, getting into these pristine areas and searching for arches. It just kind of feeds an addiction, so to speak.”
Fife isn’t the only person to use the outdoors and arches to feed an “addiction.” As part of the conference a small clan of individuals joined Fife, all enthusiasts like himself, from various parts of the country and world. One man in the group, John Burns, claims to have visited more than 3,000 arches around the world. He carried with him a large binder, filled with more than 200 sheets of paper, documentation; photos, directions and GPS coordinates, to the hundreds of arches he has visited throughout Kentucky and Tennessee alone.
Though there is not much documented information locally on the number of arches in this area and only the largest and more easily accessible arches can be found on park service maps, Fife said he has personally visited nearly 60 arches in McCreary County. More could be out there too, he said.
“Me and my brother Todd decided to do this on weekends instead of watching ball games. We will sit and look at topographic maps for hours, just trying to pick a spot where we think an arch may be. Then we get out in the woods, walk cliff lines and try to find them,” Fife said. “We’ve found a lot of arches that way and also have found a lot by just stopping and asking people working out in their yards if they know where any ‘holes in the rock’ may be.”
Fife said he and his brother, who lives in Chattanooga, have been all over the Cumberland Plateau looking for arches and have even extended their searches to western Kentucky around Mammoth Cave and areas in Ohio and southern Indiana.
“Anywhere where we think there are arches, we will go,” Fife said. He added that he has been locating arches and exploring the outdoors for around 30 years, but in the last five years has become very involved with locating and documenting arches.
That is part of his society’s mission; to gather, document and disseminate information on natural arches, wherever they may be found. The Society’s website has links for information on arches in Kentucky, Arizona, Utah and 33 other states where arches may be found as well as some international locations.
The Natural Arch and Bridge Society Fall Convention began on Saturday with the arch hunters visiting a few “warm-up” arches in Tennessee and hosting a registration dinner. Tom DesJean, Big South Fork Cultural Resources Specialists, spoke that evening with archers about the geology of the area and the first arch hunters; prehistoric Native Americans. DesJean said college students conducting research projects on the Big South Fork are also working to identify and catalogue arch information for Big South Fork officials.
The group moved during the next several days through the Big South Fork in Tennessee visiting arches such as Hanging Rock, Cowboy, Scorpion, Triple, Paul West and Daylight arch. On Tuesday, the group found themselves moving along the Divide Road from Tennessee into Kentucky to Hollow Rock, Sun Roof, Bear Claw, Cool-Off, Sampson’s Pillar, Double Ledge and Coal Branch (possibly also known as Coonpatch Ridge Arch). The group would visit a few more arches in the area on Wednesday before heading north into the Red River Gorge area, another pristine location in Kentucky known for arches and magnificent rock formations.
The majority of the arches visited cannot be found on marked trails and are seemingly lost within the wilderness.
“The arches in this part of the country reveal their secrets grudgingly, but that makes them all the more enticing,” Fife said in a pre-convention letter to members.
For more information on arch hunting and the area’s natural arches, please visit www.naturalarches.org or contact the U.S. Forest Service at (606) 376-5323 or the Big South Fork Recreation Area headquarters at (423) 569-9778.
Obituaries-October 20, 2005
Ruby Cooper
James Henry Cox
Paul "Pugy" Hollars
James C. Meadows
Agnes Lovett Murphy
Carl Perry
Marshal Thompson
Donald Ray Waters
Ruby Cooper
Ruby Cooper, age 79, of Pine Knot, Kentucky the widow of Noble Cooper, passed away Tuesday, October 18, 2005 at her home.
Funeral services will be held Friday, October 21, 2005 at 1:00 p.m. at the Hickman-Strunk Funeral Home Chapel. The family will receive friends Friday from 10:00 a.m. until funeral service time at the funeral home.
The obituary information is incomplete at this time, the complete obituary will be in next weeks edition.
Hickman-Strunk Funeral Home is serving the family of Ruby Cooper.
Mr. James Henry Cox, age 58, passed from this life on Sunday, October 16, 2005 at his home in Revelo, Kentucky.
Funeral services were held Thursday, October 16, 2005, at 2:00 p.m. in the chapel of Pine Knot Funeral Home with Rev. Lloyd King and Rev. Larry Vanover officiating. He was laid to rest in the Pine Knot Creek Cemetery.
He was born at Duck Run, Kentucky, to the late Ernest C. and Mary Bryant Cox. Besides his parents, he is preceded in death by two sisters Vernice and Irene Cox and two brothers John W. and Everett L. Cox.
Surviving family include his long time companion, Edna Stephens of Revelo, three brothers Junior Cox of Whitley City, Kenneth Lee Cox of Jamestown, Ohio, Willard Cox of Williamsburg, Kentucky, four sisters, Pauline Ball of Revelo, Kentucky, Rosa Bolin and Nora Egan both of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Sylvia Cox of Williamsburg, Kentucky.
Mr. Cox had been a truck driver and logger.
Pine Knot Funeral Home assisted the family with funeral arrangements.
Paul “Pugy” Hollars, age 74, Stearns, Kentucky died October 11, 2005. Funeral services were held Thursday, October 13, 2005 at McCreary County Funeral Home with Bro. Harold Angel officiating. Burial was in Hickman Cemetery.
He was born at Doodle Town, Kentucky on December 22, 1930 the son of the late Charlie and Loretta Hancock Hollars.
His parents and his sister, Edith Worley precedes him in death.
Survivors include his brother and sister, Dillard Hollers and wife, Ruby, Stearns, Kentucky and Geneva Angel and husband, William, Parkers Lake, Kentucky. Heather Bowden is the special great niece. Several nieces and nephews survive.
McCreary County Funeral Home entrusted with arrangements
James C. Meadows, age 63 years, Strunk, Kentucky died October 14, 2005. Funeral services were held Monday, October 19, 2005 at McCreary County Funeral Home with Rev. Ronnie Duncan officiating. Burial was in Pine Knot Cemetery.
He was born at Paint Clift, Kentucky on September 1, 1942 the son of Beulah Foster Meadows and the late Roscoe Meadows. He was coal miner and a member of the Baptist faith.
His father, Roscoe Meadows, preceded him in death.
Survivors include his wife, Eula Fay Ross Meadows and his children, James Dean Meadows and wife, Debbie; Tammie Meadows/King and husband, Kevin, Benton, Illinois; Mark Spradlin, Elwood, Indiana and Tonya Stephens and husband, Jerry, Pine Knot, Kentucky. His mother Beulah Meadows, Strunk, Kentucky survives. The surviving brothers and sisters are, Bud Meadows and wife, Betty, Oklahoma; Lemual Meadows, Winfield, Tennessee; Wanda Hamlin, Strunk, Kentucky and Glenna Hull, Gillham, Arkansas. Eight grandchildren survive.
McCreary County Funeral Home entrusted with arrangements.
Agnes Lovett Murphy, age 95 years, Pine Knot, Kentucky died October 13, 2005 at Scott County Hospital in Oneida, Tennessee. Funeral services were held Sunday, October 16, 2005 at McCreary County Funeral Home with Rev. Dilmon Stanley officiating. Burial was in Davis Cemetery.
She was born at Holly Hill, Kentucky on January 14, 1910 the daughter of the late John and Selena Phillips Lovett. She was a homemaker and member of Pine Knot United Baptist Church.
Her husband, Raymond E. Murphy and her parents precede her in death. The deceased children are, William Moore and Ruth Strunk and husband, Byron. The deceased brothers and sisters are, Oscal Lovett; Infant brother; Leonard Lovett; Walton Lovett; Ola Lovett Ashton; Lois Lovett Moore; Maggie Lovett Wilson; Vina Lovett Neal and Reva Lovett Boyd. Norma Murphy Geary; Dorena Murphy and Lorena Murphy are the deceased grandchildren.
Survivors include her children, Earl Moore and wife, Ruth, Bethany, Oklahoma; Randolph Murphy and wife, Dorene, Pine Knot, Kentucky; Phyllis McAtee and husband Larry, West Chester, Ohio and Sue Meadors and husband, Pete, Strunk, Kentucky. Ten grandchildren; thirteen great grandchildren and three great great grandchildren survive.
McCreary County Funeral Home entrusted with arrangements.
Mr. Carl Perry, age 82, passed away peacefully at his home with his family by his side in Stearns, Kentucky on Tuesday afternoon, October 11, 2005.
Funeral services were held Friday, October 14, 2005, at 2:00 p.m. in the chapel of Pine Knot Funeral Home with Rev. Eddie King and Rev. Robert Gilreath officiating. He was laid to rest at the Higginbotham Cemetery.
He was born on August 12, 1923, at Barron Fork, Kentucky, the son of the late Ernest and Martha Jones Perry. He is also preceded in death by his wife Anna Jean Wyatt Perry who passed away May 31, 2000, a brother Coy Perry and three sisters, Clara Howard, Thelma Strunk, and Norma Godsey.
He is survived by his children, Carl Mitchell Perry and his wife Margaret of Indianapolis, Indiana, Brenda Moore and her husband Larry of Stearns, Kentucky, and Linda Spangle and her husband David of Bicknell, Indiana. There are two surviving brothers, Arvil (Ob) Perry of Florida and Boyce Perry of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and three sisters, Evelyn Privett of Ohio, Bonnie Edwards of Marshes Siding, Kentucky, and Jeanette Jones of Stearns, Kentucky. Carl and Anna Jean were blessed with 8 grandchildren, and 14 great grandchildren.
Carl had worked for 35 years as a grain processor for the Farm Bureau Co-operative in Mooresville, Indiana. Upon retirement he and his family moved back to McCreary County where he enjoyed hunting, fishing and gardening. He was also quite skilled in woodworking. He was a member of the Lower Hickory Grove Baptist Church.
Pine Knot Funeral Home assisted the family with funeral arrangements.
Marshal Thompson, age 44 years, Marshes Siding, Kentucky died October 11, 2005 at University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. Funeral services were held Saturday, October 15, 2005 at McCreary County Funeral Home with Rev. Tom Sellars officiating. Burial was in Barren Fork Cemetery.
He was born at Marshes Siding, Kentucky on May 31, 1961 the son of the late Joe and Mable Dick Thompson. He worked for the sanitation dept.
His parents precede him in death.
Survivors include his children, Marshall Ray Thompson and wife, Amanda, Lancaster, Kentucky and Crystal Bates, Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The surviving brothers and sisters are, Bob Thompson; Mary Yocum, Lancaster, Kentucky; Terry Thompson, Whitley City, Kentucky; David Thompson, Marshes Siding, Kentucky; Danny Thompson, Covington, Kentucky; Thelma Thompson, Danville, Kentucky; Patricia Stephens, Burnside, Kentucky and Joanne Belcher, Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Gage Bates; Jackson Bates and Tanner Thompson are the surviving grandchildren.
McCreary County Funeral Home entrusted with arrangements.
Donald Ray Waters, age 52, of Stearns, Kentucky passed away Monday, October 10, 2005.
Funeral services were held Thursday, October 13, 2005 at 2:00 p.m. at the Hickman-Strunk Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. Randall Meadows and Bro. Larry Coffey officiating. Burial followed in the Coffey Cemetery.
He was born May 6, 1953 in Virginia to Ray Waters and Nellie Clark Waters and worked as a coal miner and as a factory worker before his retirement. Donnie enjoyed walking, fishing, and riding his motorcycle.
Preceding him in death was his father, Ray Waters, his son, Shawn Allen Waters, and an infant brother, Sherley Waters.
Survivors include his mother, Nellie Waters Worley of Stearns, Kentucky, his brothers, Wendell Waters of Stearns, Kentucky, Samuel Waters of Stearns, Kentucky and Orlando Waters and his wife, Robin, of Henderson, Kentucky, his sisters, Phyllis Cook and James Sarlanis of Columbia, Maryland, Mary Harris and her husband, Larry, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, and Freida Sullivan and her husband, Merle, of Lucerne, Indiana, half-brothers, Darrel Waters and his wife, Linda, of Muncie, Indiana, Michael Waters, and Steven Waters, and his wife, Amy, and a half-sister, Tammy Waters of Bronston, Kentucky.
Donnie was a generous man and had a lot of friends and loved ones who will mourn his passing.
Condolences may be emailed to the family at strunkfh@yahoo.com.
Hickman-Strunk Funeral Home served the family of Donald Ray Waters.
