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TOP STORIES FOR
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2001
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College Drive to Open Soon; Como Street Closed for
Bridge Construction |
By Deborah Turner
Work that has been underway since last winter to
build the mile-long College Drive connecting Main
Street at Bethel College to Highway 22 is nearing
completion. In fact, the road will be open to
traffic on a temporary basis from around the first
part of October until reconstruction work is
completed on the Como Street Bridge.
According to City Clerk Dana Deem, October 1st is an
approximation of the date work may begin on the
bridge. He explained that the Riley Construction
Company crew has other jobs to finish before
bringing in equipment necessary to commence the job.
Riley Construction Company is based in Maury City,
Tennessee.
Thanks to McKenzie's 230th Engineering Company A-,
the City has saved "hundreds of thousands of dollars
- close to a million," estimates SSG (E-6) William
McCaleb of the unit.
"When you sit down and think about the man power
saved, the equipment power and fuel and not having
to have a contractor in there, it's in the hundreds
of thousands," he expounded.
The unit plans to finish their work on the street
commencing September 17, with plans to have the road
ready for traffic by October 1. SSG McCaleb is proud
of the job the men of the unit have performed.
"They have just done a remarkable job doing what
they've been trained to do; it's fantastic," he
said. "We're getting a little better every time we
do it."
Clerk Dana Deem stated that the unit did "all the
dirt work", leveling the ground, putting in the side
ditches and banks and grading the road. The unit
spread the thick layer of gravel using a spreader
equipped with a laser that ensures an equal depth of
gravel across the entire surface of the road.
"They've done an enormous amount of work," Deem
said, adding that the unit has cut a new entrance to
the back side of the City Park which will lend
convenience to park goers and ease traffic
congestion in and out of the park on busy evenings.
"It was a real good deal for us," he continued.
While bills for recently laid gravel are not yet
available, Deem says the City spent around $41,000
on the road construction last year, most of which
was expended in extending concrete box culverts as
well as backhoe and drainage work.
With the need to allow the gravel to settle into a
sturdy base, paving is "probably a project for next
summer," Deem says.
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Atwood City Election Thursday |
A mayor and two aldermen will be elected in the Town
of Atwood Thursday, September 6. The polls will be
open from 9 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. The newly elected
officials will serve a term of four years each.
Early voting ended August 31.
Mike Tolley, an alderman who has served on the board
for eight years and has served as vice mayor for the
past two years, will challenge incumbent mayoral
candidate James Halford. Mr. Halford has served as
mayor for 12 years.
Incumbent alderman Jim Lewis, who has served on the
board for 12 years, is seeking his fourth term. L.N.
McNabb Jr. is running again for alderman after an
absence of eight years on the board. Others seeking
one of two positions as alderman include Alicia K.
Kotsch and Robert Singleton Jr. |
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Carroll County Singer Up For CMA Award |
By Linda Bolton
Carroll Countian Jessica Andrews is nominated for
the Country Music Association (CMA) Horizon Award, a
category for acts with promise. The CMA announced on
Tuesday nominations for its annual awards show which
will be broadcast live from, the Grand Ole Opry
House November 7 on CBS at 7 p.m.
The 17-year-old singer is competing with four other
acts, Jamie O'Neal, Keith Urban, Phil Vassar and
Nickel Creek for the Horizon Award.
"I am very excited and really looking forward to the
CMA's and I'm especially excited about performing,"
said Jessica.
Jessica, best known for the hit single, "Who I Am,"
won her first major award last year when she was
named "Top New Female Vocalist" from the Academy of
Country Music.
Andrew's new single "Helplessly, Hopelessly" is at
number 33 on R & R and number 33 on Billboard.
Also, look for Jessica's photo on specially marked
boxes of Kellogg's cereal. Jessica is shown with
singing artists Chely Wright, Reba McEntire, and Lee
Ann Womack in advertising a one of three volumes of
CD's offered by Kellogg's. Volume 1, "Driving 'Em
Crazy," a country music CD collection includes
Jessica's self written "Good Friend To Me."
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Bethel College has Record Enrollment |
By Joel Washburn
Bethel College's dormitories are bursting at the
seams with new students. Students in Morris Hall are
assigned three to a room, in order to accommodate
the number of freshmen male students. It is the
largest number of students enrolled in recent
history.
Maribeth McGuire, Academic Dean, proudly told of the
increased enrollment during an on-campus interview
last Friday. She attributes the increased enrollment
to a number of initiatives, which include the IBM
Thinkpad University, the Physician Assistant
program, the degree-completion program known as
Success, and increased visibility of the college's
programs. Some of the enrollment increase is
attributed to the "Baby Echo" generation - the
children of Baby Boomers (born between 1945 and the
mid-1960s) who decided to have children at a later
stage in their life. The "Baby Echo" follows the
"Baby Bust", when "Baby Boomers" decided to delay
having children.
Bethel has 473 "traditional students" on campus,
with a full-time equivalent of 452 students. Another
estimated 385 students are enrolled in Success.
Those adult students are divided into 21 groups and
meet at various "campuses" throughout West
Tennessee. Two additional Success classes will begin
in two weeks. An additional 90 students are enrolled
in the Education Graduate Program. Finally, 12
students are enrolled in the first year Physician
Assistant Program, which brings the estimated total
to 960 students enrolled in Bethel's programs.
Mrs. McGuire believes the enrollment numbers exceed
those of the late 1960s and early 1970s when many
male students were enrolled at Bethel. Those were
the years of the Vietnam War when a college student,
in good standing, could receive a draft deferment
until he completed his college education.
Student athletes arrived on campus in early August,
freshmen and transfer students arrived on August 14
for orientation, and classes began on August 20.
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Phone (731) 352-3323 or
Fax (731) 352-3322
washburn@mckenziebanner.com
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