Falmouth firemen, above, use the Jaws of Life to free Barbara Fields from the SUV she was a passenger in. She was airlifted to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Photo by Jackie Vaughn.

Dave Schoborg, of Independence, was pronounced dead at the scene. The photo above shows EMT's preparing to remove him from his pick-up truck. Photo by Jackie Vaughn.

Head-on collision claims the lives of two on US 27

By Jackie Vaughn, Reporter

A two-vehicle accident near the intersection of US 27 and KY 17 claimed the lives of a Falmouth man and Independence man on Tuesday, October 2.

Harold (Wayne) Fields, 63, of Falmouth, and Dave Schoborg, 51, of Independence, were both killed after their vehicles collided head-on and overturned around 10 a.m.

Fields and his wife, Barbara, 62, who was a passenger, were traveling north in a 1999 Chevrolet Trailblazer. Schoborg, of Planum Excavation, a business in which he owned and operated, was heading south in a 2004 Chevrolet 2500 series pick-up truck.

According to the Pendleton County Sheriff's Department accident report, two witnesses to the crash stated that Fields drifted across the double yellow line into the path of Schoborg's truck. The point of impact occurred in the southbound lane.

For more of this story, see this week's Falmouth Outlook

Volunteer Falmouth firefighter Michael Pollard was laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery on October 4. His casket was carried atop one of the fire trucks en route to the cemetery. In the background are two ladder trucks, one from Independence and the other from Walton. Their ladders cross high in the air and the fire truck proceeded under the ladders. Photo by D. Dennie.

Michael Pollard, restaurant manager and volunteer fireman, laid to rest

By Jackie Vaughn, Reporter

Family, friends, and fellow firefighters gathered together on Thursday, October 4, to say their last goodbyes to one of Falmouth's finest native sons.

Funeral services were held for twenty-four-year-old Michael Pollard at Peoples Funeral Home in Falmouth with interment taking place at Riverside Cemetery. He received a full-firefighter ceremony from members of the Falmouth Fire Department, local emergency personnel, and representatives from other fire departments from the surrounding counties.

Pollard lost his life around 3 p.m. on Monday, October 1 in a boating accident at Kincaid Lake. He was fishing with friend and fellow firefighter Dustin Brown when their boat hit some underwater debris and capsized. The two held onto the boat for as long as possible and then tried to swim for shore. Brown attempted to help Pollard make it out of the lake but was unable. Pollard went underwater and never resurfaced.

"Dustin made three attempts to save Mike," said Assistant Fire Chief Darrin Brown, the father of Dustin. "Twice he was able to bring him up out of the water. He told me he kept telling him 'Calm down, we're going to make it. We're going to be okay' but the third time he went under, he never came back up. Dustin's a good swimmer. He did everything he could to save him. He was just exhausted. Mike was a great friend of his."

After Dustin made it to land, he tore off this shirt to mark his spot and ran frantically for help.

What ensued was a twelve hour recovery attempt by Pendleton County Search & Rescue; Falmouth, Northern Pendleton, and Butler Fire Departments; Campbell County and Grant County Search & Rescue teams, and many other individuals and emergency squads. His body was recovered by Grant County around 3 a.m. the next morning.

Hundreds of people showed up for the funeral to pay their respects to the late fireman and friend.

For more of this story, see this week's Falmouth Outlook

Health Department Promotes Annual Flu Vaccination

Three Rivers District Health Department reminds residents they have a powerful tool in the fight against the influenza virus: an annual flu vaccine. They encourage residents wanting to reduce his/her risk of getting influenza to be vaccinated.

The flu vacine will be offered through its county health centers only this year. All centers will schedule appointments for flu shots during regular hours, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Mon.-Fri. In addition, each health center will offer an evening and Saturday clinic to accommodate those people who work during regular business hours. No appointments will be needed for the special evening and Saturday clinics. Times, locations and phone numbers are as follows:

Pendleton County Health Center in Falmouth, (859) 654-6985, 4:30Ð6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 25; and 8 a.m.-12 p.m., Saturday, October 20.

They accept Medicare and Medicaid or the costs of the vaccine is $23.00 each.

Flu vaccination is strongly recommended for those people who are at high-risk of developing complications from the flu, including:

People over age 65, especially those who have an underlying medical condition, such as heart disease or diabetes, or who have weakened immune systems, Residents of long term care facilities, Children age 6 to 59 months, Pregnant women, Health care workers who have direct patient contact, Family members of and out-of-home caregivers of children less than 6 months old.

There are good health habits that can prevent the spread of flu and other respiratory viruses: Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze, Wash your hands often with soap and water for 15 to 20 seconds or by using alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers, Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

Germs are often spread when a person touches an object that is contaminated with germs and then touches their eyes, nose or mouth. Avoid close contact with people who are sick, When you are getting sick, stay home from work, school or errands, Keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick, The signs and symptoms of influenza include the sudden onset of chills, fever, headache, muscle aches, sore throat, dry cough and extreme fatigue. Children who develop flu symptoms should not be treated with aspirin, as it can lead to Reye's Syndrome.

For more information on the flu, please call the Health Department at (502) 484-3412 or visit http://www.trdhd.com

Pendleton County Schools do well on state scores

Some schools exceeded goals set

All schools in Pendleton County made gains on this year's state test, with several schools exceeding the goals set by their Site Based Decision Making councils [SBDM]. "This has been a turning point for our district," said Superintendent J. Robert Yost. "This is the highest our district has ever scored in our history."

The Kentucky Department of Education on October 2nd released information for the fourth biennium of the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS). This year is the first of the two-year cycle, so schools that underperformed in this round have next year to improve their two-year average. Each school has a precise target to meet or exceed in each biennium to be in the category of "Meeting Goal" and thus on target to reach 100 or Proficiency by 2014.

District Assessment Coor-dinator Betty McKinney will make a report to the Board of Education at their Regular Monthly Meeting on Thursday, October 18 at 7 p.m. in the Library at Pendleton County High School.

There were a number of changes to the testing and accountability system that affect the data reported for the 2007 administration:

The Kentucky Core Content Test (KCCT) was based on a revised Core Content for Assessment 4.1. The KCCT used a new test design. Assessments in on-demand writing and practical living/vocational studies were moved to new grades.

Assessments in reading and mathematics were added to accomplish annual testing of those content areas in grades 3-8 as required by No Child Left Behind.

Legislative requirements were passed that Kentucky public school students participate in the ACT and its companions, PLAN and EXPLORE.

For more of this story, see this week's Falmouth Outlook

Additional articles this week:

The power of gratitude - Rabbi Ben Ezra

Ladycats golf team competes at State Tournament

Wildcats football team shutout 34-0 at home by Harrison County

NJROTC camps with National Guard

Williams selected for Youth Council

Pfefferman graduates from ROTC

Wool Festival pictures

and more!!