Dr. Mike Chandel

Coroner Cantrell said the body has been sent to Shelby County Forensic Pathology Center in Memphis. The cause of death has not been determined, pending outcome of autopsy and toxicology results, he said.

MPD received notification at approximately 11:15 a.m. Sunday from Dr. Chandel’s wife, Carol, who noted that her husband was locked in a bedroom at their home and she was get-ting no response from him. Also at the residence at the time were the couple’s 18-year-old daughter and Carol’s brother, Robert Lennox, who was visiting the family at the time of the death.

McKenzie police officers arrived on the scene and forced entry into the bedroom to find the deceased lying on the bed. Coroner Cantrell arrived on the scene at 11:59 a.m. and determined the doctor had expired six to eight hours earlier.

In recent months, Dr. Chandel had been working at a hospital in South Dakota and also at Benton County Emergency Room. He previously served as a surgeon for Methodist Hospital in McKenzie from December, 1998, until November, 2000, and did E.R. rotations at Camden General Hospital in Benton County.

Dr. Chandel was a native of Dhar IMP, India.

Dilday Funeral Home in Huntingdon has charge of arrangements.
              

Mr. Bobby Frank Ridley of McKenzie won $1,000 in the Publisher's Clearinghouse give-way.

An overnight letter arrived February 2 via Federal Express at Ridley’s residence, stating he was one of 210 finalists in a Publisher’s ClearingHouse Sweepstakes.

The letter read in part: “Acting on our instructions, the independent auditing firm that over-sees our sweepstakes has provided Publishers Clearing House with a list of 210 winners from around the country. 209 people on this list have won $1,000.00 and one person on this list is our Ten Million Dollar SuperPrize winner.

“Your name is on this list of 210 people and that means you’ve won at least $1,000.00. It also means you could be our next Ten Million Dollar SuperPrize winner. (But remember, it’s between you and 209 other people.) This Sunday evening, February 3rd, you’ll find out if you are one of the 209 winners of $1,000.00 or if you are the one lucky person who wins the Ten Million Dollar SuperPrize.

The letter went on to state that on Super Bowl Sunday, one person on the list of 210 would receive a surprise visit from the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol, with the good news that he or she is the new $10,000,000.00 SuperPrize winner.

“I thought, can it really be true that I could be a $10 million winner or for sure a $1,000 winner,” said Bobby, who added that he stayed awake many nights dreaming of a better life for himself and his children.

“I didn’t tell anyone, except my aunt Ailene McCadams of McKenzie,” he said, noting he didn’t even tell his children or close acquaintances.

In an information packet from Publisher’s Clearing House, Bobby was advised to complete a Winner Consent Form and return it immediately in order to claim the winnings.

He said he contacted Federal Express in Memphis and was advised the claim form could be picked up on Monday, February 4.

Mr. Ridley learned in a TV commercial in the post-Super Bowl show on FOX-TV that he was unfortunately not the big winner. However, he graciously stated he was happy to learn that an elderly couple from Minnesota, with lots of grandchildren, was declared the SuperPrize winner.
True to their word, on the following Tuesday, the Federal Ex-press truck rolled into his driveway bringing his prize winnings. Bobby said he went to McKenzie Banking Company on February 13 to deposit the check one day before his birthday on Valentine’s Day, February 14.

“That was a pretty good birthday present,” he added.

He said when he went to the bank with his winnings, all the employees stopped their work to come and take a look at an actual Publisher’s Clearing House prize-winning check. Everyone’s reaction was “I don’t believe it.”

Ridley received an additional surprise on Tuesday, February 19, when City Florist Owner Violet Patterson arrived at his home with a beautiful congratulatory bouquet of red roses, that Publisher’s Clearing House had ordered delivered to his home.

Violet stated she received the order with no additional instructions and, aware of the secrecy surrounding most PCH’s giveaways, was afraid to disclose the information to anyone.

Bobby said she arrived at his house and cautiously asked, “Do you know anything about this.” After inquiring if the arrangement was from Publisher’s Clearing House, he told her of his winning entry.

The McKenzie man said he is not sure when he submitted the winning entry. He stated he began submitting entries to Publisher’s Clearing House in 1993, entering several contests each year and ordering various merchandise from the company since that time.

Asked what he planned to do with the $1,000, he said he deposited it for ‘future spendings.’  

Phone (731) 352-3323 or Fax (731) 352-3322
washburn@mckenziebanner.com