PADUCAH, KY - The Executive Director of the Paducah Area Red Cross describes donations and volunteers to the organization as an ongoing need, so Jessica Toren was extremely pleased when Bristol Broadcasting General Manager Jamie Futrell presented her with a check for $2,500 on Tuesday.

The donation came from proceeds from the sale of the book "The Great Flood of 2011," published in 2011 by WestKyStar.com.

The money will be used in west Kentucky. As Toren says, "We always honor donor intent. If a donor prefers that it stay local, then we can make it stay local. Some prefer that it go wherever it's needed..." 
 
Toren adds that, in addition to last year's flood, there were 47 house fires in the Paducah area, so she says, "the need is always there."

In January of this year, the Red Cross responded to four house fires and one brush fire in the area.