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\"I'm not sure I'm in favor of giving raises this year,\" said board member Don Cremeens at a public safety committee meeting. \"We're gonna have a hard time balancing the budget. There are a lot of struggles.\" \"I'm not for salary increases this year,\" said board member Larry Whitaker. \"It isn't an issue of merit. But I am in favor of being fair to everybody.\"

  [Larry Whitaker] confirmed Monday that Massey Energy will begin work within 10 days on an underground coal mine near Delaware on the Daviess-McLean line that will eventually employ up to 250 miners to extract 2.2 million tons of coal from three shafts over 20 years. Two shafts will extend into McLean County, while a third will extend into Daviess County. Whitaker also said Monday that a second, even larger underground mine will be developed by Buck Creek Resources in the Pack area southwest of Rumsey, with the potential to employ 350 to 400 miners to unearth 3.2 million tons of coal. Massey or some other coal company could actually mine the coal, Whitaker said. Buck Creek has leased the rights to 20,000 acres in McLean, Webster and Hopkins counties for the operation, Whitaker said. \"They've got ground leased and right of way for a beltline to cross a county road. It's going to be a pretty good operation for this whole area,\" McLean County Magistrate Jimmy Igleheart said. \"They've bought several acres. I think it'll be a good boost.\"

\"We knew the kind of game it was going to be,\" Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith said. \"Were undersized. Were not big, but [Larry Whitaker] plays big.\" \"It was all about position,\" said Whitaker, who finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocks. \"We knew they were bigger than us. Going up strong, weve been practicing that for weeks.\" Bartlett took a 23-17 lead at halftime with Mike Banks connecting on all 4 of his 3-point attempts in the first half. Banks most dramatic perimeter shot came as he drilled a 3-pointer as time expired to put the Hawks up 23-17. Earlier, with Bartlett ahead 13-11, he extended the Hawks lead to 16-11 on their opening possession of the period.

\"We knew the kind of game it was going to be,\" Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith said. \"Were undersized. Were not big, but [Larry Whitaker] plays big.\" \"It was all about position,\" said Whitaker, who finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocks. \"We knew they were bigger than us. Going up strong, weve been practicing that for weeks.\" \"We were a little unlucky,\" North coach Tom Poulin said of his teams fourth quarter. \"We had a lot of balls rim out and roll out.\"

  The money will be used for \"audiovisual interpretive media,\" state officials said in a news release. \"Travelers can learn about the byway's historical significance\" with DVDs and CDs and on the Internet with a Web site and audio podcast, they said. \"We've taken what's here for granted,\" [Larry Whitaker] said. \"We competed with projects all over the country for this money. And the federal government agreed that we have something worth seeing.\" \"This is economic development in a different form,\" Whitaker said. \"Lots and lots of people are out driving and looking for places to go.\"

  \"I don't have a way to store 500 pounds or 1,000 pounds of dog food,\" [Larry Whitaker] said. \"I don't have any animals.\" \"The insurance adjuster is meeting on-site today ... to get an idea of the cost to rebuild the structure,\" Whitaker said. \"Once we get those preliminary numbers, I'll look at the estimate.\" \"It will certainly be a bid process,\" Whitaker said. \"I don't think a state of emergency would apply. We're going to be looking at several months before we're in a position to rebuild.\"

\"I would vote for a tax increase before I'd jeopardize the safety of the county and that's what we're doing by parking squad cars and not plowing snow,\" board member Thomas Karr said. Board member Gary Jones said members could eliminate per diems by not submitting claims, which he said he won't do. \"I'm not buying that there is no fat in this budget,\" Jones said, \"because there is.\" \"When the yo-yo (tax levy) goes down, that's fine,\" board Chairman John Krug said. \"But when it goes back up, it's not.\"

  McLean County Judge-Executive Larry Whitaker has issued a ban on open fires in McLean County. The Daviess County Democratic Woman's Club will host a picnic in the East Shelter at Legion Park at 6 p.m. Thursday. The club will provide the chicken and club members will each bring one other food item. Charlene Greer, club president, said the public and all Democratic candidates are invited.

  The switch to countywide broadband Internet is also well under way. Fiscal Court signed an agreement in the spring to participate in GRADD's seven-county broadband initiative and began working on getting equipment set up. The Internet provider, DCI/Cinergy, will be locating existing towers to use for their service, and once all the equipment is in place and working correctly, residential and commercial customers will be able to sign up for the broadband service. Fiscal Court has also requested qualifications and solicited bids for several development projects at Myer Creek Park, although nothing is set in stone yet. [Larry Whitaker] presented a list of potential projects to the Fiscal Court and to the Calhoun City Council, which included tiling the fields of the park, creating special parking for RVs and livestock trailers (with utility hookups), getting electrical and water service to hookups, fencing around the 4-H Activity Center, wetland construction and a stocked lake, two community shelters with tables and a bathhouse/restroom area and an area to play disc golf.

  The seniors have raised their concerns at the last three McLean Fiscal Court meetings, including at a meeting Monday. At that meeting, Ann Boyken, a member of the group, directed strong remarks at Judge-Executive Larry Whitaker. Also, the county's reimbursement for travel doubled from $5,000 to $10,000 annually. The extra funding will be applied toward the purchase of a 12-passenger van. The senior center currently relies on a small car, which Whitaker said can, at best, hold two to three people per trip. The method by which meals are delivered to homebound seniors also will change. Under the proposal, the county will pay drivers per meal delivered instead of mileage, and those drivers will be volunteers instead of paid county employees. Drivers may be expected to deliver 18 to 25 meals at a time.