A Lewis County man has been charged with murder in the death of another during the weekend of October 21-22. Authorities say others will likely be charged in connection with the brutal incident.

David Thurman, 24, of Vanceburg was charged with murder in connection with the incident and is lodged in the Lewis County Detention Center without bond.

The body of Marvin Charles "Charlie" Prater, 33, was discovered in a shallow grave October 24, nearly three days after he was allegedly beaten to death with an aluminum baseball bat, according to Lewis County Sheriff Bill Lewis, who added that the incident may have been drug related.

The body was discovered some five miles from where authorities say they believe Prater died.

The case began to unfold Tuesday morning, October 24, according to Vanceburg Police Chief Joe Billman, when he received a call from someone who said they wanted to meet and talk with him.

Billman said the informant gave the names of others present when then alleged crime was committed. At that point, Billman contacted one of the other alleged witnesses who confirmed the information and agreed to go with Billman and the other witness to the scene.

Billman then contacted the Lewis County Sheriff's Office and also sent word for Kentucky State Police Detective Sherman Royce, who was in Lewis County for a district court session, to meet him at Jones Cemetery, just off Big Salt Lick Road (Ky. Rt. 989).

After officials met at the cemetery and began to interview the witnesses, the events of the previous weekend came to light.

Billman said the witnesses told officers that they were together with Prater and Thurman, along with another person, in an area adjacent to the cemetery Saturday night when Thurman allegedly struck Prater in the head with an aluminum baseball bat.

Dennis Brown/Lewis County Herald
Officials rake away leaves where the body of Marvin Charles Prater was located in a remote wooded area off Paint Lick Road last Tuesday afternoon.

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After leaving the area of the cemetery, the four drove away and at some point stopped at a residence where items allegedly taken from Prater were burned. After leaving the residence, the baseball bat was allegedly tossed out of the window of the vehicle into a wooded area, Billman said.

The next day, Billman said, Prater's body was allegedly moved from the area near the cemetery to a nearby wooded area. According to the witnesses, the body was moved again on Monday to the location on Paint Lick.

Prater's body was taken to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Frankfort for an autopsy. His identification was confirmed through dental records.

Royce said that preliminary autopsy results indicated Prater had been struck multiple times in the head, and added that although the murder weapon had not yet been  located officials were continuing the search.

Evidence will be presented to the grand jury for additional charges on Thurman and charges against the others, Royce said.

A meeting last week to provide information and attract members to the newly formed Lewis County Chamber of Commerce attracted more than 50 Lewis County business owners and individuals.

Steering committee Chair Kenny Clark said several of those attending signed up to become members of the Chamber and many of those expressed an interest in filling a position on the board of directors.

Clark said the steering committee will meet in a few days and schedule the first meeting for the Chamber when the board will be elected by the membership.

Representatives of the Fleming County and Maysville-Mason County Area Chambers of Commerce spoke to those in attendance to fill them in on what the Chambers are doing in those communities.

Mary Jo Litton of the Fleming County Chamber of Commerce said their Chamber evaluates the elected officials and determines those who are interested and those who are not. She noted those who are in favor of zoning and planning and those who think progressively.

Dennis Brown/Lewis County Herald
Mary Jo Litton, with the Fleming County Chamber of Commerce, talks with some of those present last week for an organizational meeting of the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber of Commerce allows networking of its members and helps to bring the community together and keep the dollars here. A Chamber also promotes and encourages private enterprise and works to unify the direction of the business community.

Those interested in becoming a member may contact Amy Kennedy at 606-796-3672. Membership applications are also available at the Lewis County Herald office. An on-line application is available in PDF format (requires Acrobat Reader). Chamber application page 1, page 2.

Even though Carey Highfield had farmed the land for years, he had no idea that lying beneath the top soil were millions of tons of sand and gravel just waiting to be discovered.

Two years ago, Highfield, 33, was doing some backhoe work near his home on Ky.Rt. 8 near the old Lock & Dam 32, when he discovered the sand and various grades of gravel.

Following further investigation and some core drilling for samples, Highfield applied for a surface mining permit. Two years later the permit, Lewis County #1, was approved and last Monday Lewis County Sand & Gravel Inc. sold its first official load of concrete sand removed from the site.

Highfield said it seemed like forever from the beginning of the application process to the approval.

Numerous engineering reports had to be filed, mandatory inspections, safety training, more reports, more training and a lot of waiting.

Highfield says the operation is pretty much mom and pop.

He does the digging, separating and loading. His wife, Vickie, a licensed level II aggregate technician, does the paperwork and is also in charge of the on-site lab.

Highfield removes the material from the ground and places it in a separator. There it is scrubbed, washed and separated into sand, pea gravel, larger gravel (#57), larger rock utilized as base and oversize rocks.

The sand and gravel are then placed where the water can drain away into a holding pond and is then ready to be sold.

Dennis Brown/Lewis County Herald
Carey Highfield stands near the separator located at Lewis County Sand & Gravel Inc. The quarry opened for business last week on Ky. Rt. 8 west of Vanceburg.

Highfield said the permit covers a 30-acre area and engineers estimate a reserve of 3,233,000 tons of material at the site.

At full volume, Highfield said, he can process about 1,200 tons per day.

The sand and gravel at the site, he said, is actually glacial deposits, likely left there when the Wisconsinian Ice Sheet receded some 18,000 years ago. According to geological maps, the ice sheet extended south to the area of the Ohio River here.

The gravel is a mixture of smoothly rounded rocks of various compositions. Some show evident fossil formation, others are various colors including white, green, red and various mixtures of those colors.

Highfield said he is loading every day and, since their home is only steps away from the company's office, he can usually be found easily.

For information on Lewis County Sand & Gravel Inc., call 606-796-6473 or 606-796-9682.

Photo Submitted
BUG INVASION? Don't worry about the recent ladybug invasion, there's something bigger lurking in the Garrison area! The 25-foot long caterpillar is actually constructed of five round bales of hay and field tile. It has taken up residence at Dee's Greenhouse on Route 3311, five and a half miles up Montgomery Creek.