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Kentucky 'Survivor' Makes Cut
Friends And Family Cheer Him On
SYDNEY, Australia, Updated 10:54 p.m. EST January 29, 2001 -- Crittenden, Kentucky native Rodger Bingham has survived the first tribal council without anyone voting to have him ousted.
Bingham is a member of the cast of the The Survivor-The Australian Outback.
Because Bingham's Kucha tribe lost the all-important immunity challenge, they had to give someone the ax. The tribe decided to get rid of 45-year-old Debb Eaton, a corrections officer.
Bingham, 53, is a cattle farmer and a computer teacher at Grant County High School.
He was allowed one "luxury item" in the Outback and decided to take his Bible.
Bingham is one of 16 seekers of adventure and a million dollar prize.
NewsChannel 32's John Boel visited Bingham's hometown to speak with his friends and family about his adventure.
By the time most people in Crittendon, Ky. learned that Bingham made the show, he'd already been to Australia and back.
Those who know him say he has a good chance of making the final cut.
"He's been successful at everything he's done," said the manager of a local lumber store, Rick Scroggins. "That's why he'll be successful on the Survivor show."
Even Bingham's wife, Patricia, said she doesn't know Rodger's fate.
I don't know one iota. I told him when he got on the plane that I would not ask him any questions. That's how I want it. That way I'm not lying to people," she said.
Bingham's daughter Angela taught him to swim before he left for Australia. She worried for his safety in the Outback.
"The snakes. When he sleeps at night (she worried) if snakes were going to come around and go for the warmth. And spiders."
Copyright 2001 by TheLouisvilleChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.