All about Lynchburg: Seeing a local legend and discussing an older one

By Rory Ryan
The Highland County Press

Now here at The Rock, there are two rules and only two rules. Rule No. 1: Obey all rules. Rule No. 2: There will be no writing on the walls.

OK. This is not the Mayberry Jail. But here at The HCP, there is one rule: HCP Karma never fails.

This week, a tall stranger walked into The Highland County Press office. Our VP Angie Matticks greeted him, and from my vantage point, I just assumed the two of them were old friends. And they are. Then, Angie motioned for me to come to our lobby area.

The tall stranger was no stranger. It was one of Highland County's all-time finest high school basketball players and a pretty darned good NCAA college player with Northern Kentucky University.

Yup. Paul Cluxton stopped by to say hello, wish us a Merry Christmas and drop off a box of donuts.

The last time I spoke to Paul was at Lynchburg-Clay's 20-year reunion celebration for Joe Wills' 1992-93 Mustangs who were a state Final Four team.

Paul is the NCAA's all-time career leader in free-throw percentage at .934, and he set an NCAA record during the 1996-97 season by making every free throw he attempted (94-for-94). 

If I make 10 free throws in a row, I stop. No sense tempting fate. But 94 in a row? Are you kidding?

Paul scored more than 2,000 points at Lynchburg-Clay. Peyton Scott scored more than Paul, of course, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAEW9F0JoCU. Sorry, Paul.

I have many memories of Paul and the 1992-93 Mustangs. This is one of my favorites. Playing at home, Lynchburg-Clay was down by two points with just a few seconds left. I was sitting behind the LC bench so I could listen in to Coach Wills' instructions. I heard him say "everybody screen." 

After the timeout, Paul took the inbounds pass well beyond the 3-point arc. He took the last shot from just in front of the scorer's table. Paul let it go, turned and looked at me and said "game over."

Swish. He never saw it go through the hoop.

Later when I asked him about it, Paul just said, "Well, it was game over whether I made it or missed it."

He rarely missed.

Paul also scored 1,495 career points in college, and he led NKU to NCAA Division II national runner-up honors in both 1996 and 1997. He earned third team All-America honors in 1997, and he was named the most outstanding player of the 1996 NCAA II Great Lakes Region Tournament at Evansville, Ind.

Today, Paul and his family live on Cincinnati's west side (the best side) not far from my in-laws and where my wife grew up. He is the general manager of Kelsey Chevrolet near Lawrenceburg, Ind.

I learned today that his son, Willard Cluxton, is a senior point guard for Mount St. Joseph University, a west side institution. I've known Paul since 1990, and it just did not occur to me that he could possibly have children in their 20s. (But I have one in his 20s and two in their 30s. Time flies.)

So, back to The HCP Karma rule. For years, our office has noted that if we mention someone, he or she will soon call or stop by. When I told my son, Colin, who is one of our sportswriters, that Paul Cluxton came by, Colin said, "That figures."

"Why?" I asked.

"I was just telling our basketball players about Paul this week," Colin said.

That's The HCP Karma in action.

Colin is the assistant athletic director at Hillsboro Christian Academy and an occasional basketball coach.

It was great seeing Paul and talking a bit about the old days. The donuts were much appreciated, contrary to my advice from Dr. Jeff Beery. Those extra 10 pounds are most likely here to stay, Doc.

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• Special thanks this week goes to former Highland County Sheriff and Commissioner Tom Horst.

The HCP had an inquiry from Jason Dolph, president, real estate broker and auctioneer of  Modern Brokerage, LLC in Charlotte, N.C.

Jason shared that his father was born in 1949 and grew up in Lynchburg. Jason said his father has passed away, but he used to tell stories about a police officer shooting involving a Native American who lived in the area. He said he guessed this would have happened in the 1950s or 1960s. 

I first suggested the Hillsboro Library may be of some assistance, but then realized Jason was in North Carolina. My next thought was to contact the Lynchburg Historical Society, which Jason did.

Meanwhile, I contacted Tom Horst, who is from Lynchburg and probably knew the story. He did.

The shooter was Everett "Wahoo" Crum, and the Lynchburg police officer was Ernie Wilson.

Tom recalls that Crum escaped from jail and went back to Lynchburg. He was on the lam for two or three days before being apprehended in Cherry Fork in Adams County. He was sentenced to prison, served his time, and passed away Aug. 5, 2013 at his home in Manchester.

Jason told me the Lynchburg Historical Society has more information on this local history. I seem to recall some of it, but Tom was kind enough to share his information from more than half a century ago.

Never a dull moment in this business.

Merry Christmas to all of our readers and advertisers. We do appreciate you.

Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press.