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TOP STORIES FOR
WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2003
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Monday Storm Destroys Buena Vista
Post Office, Wreaks Other Damage |
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By Linda Bolton and Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
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A midday storm that swept through the east Carroll
County communities of Buena Vista, Spanish Grove,
Huntingdon and Hollow Rock Monday caused extensive damage
to the Buena Vista post office, as well as damaging
several homes in those areas. The storm ripped the roof
from several buildings at Value Plus building supply store
on Highway 70 East near Huntingdon and deposited the
material in a nearby field.
Buena Vista Postmaster Steve Parish said moments before
the storm struck, a friend from Huntingdon called to warn
him of the approaching bad weather.
Parish said he had been talking to his friend
approximately five minutes when heavy lightning was
followed by a loud pop. Moments later, an 85-year-old
pecan tree at the back of the building came crashing down
on top of the post office.
The impact of the falling tree twisted the building so
that the front door was jammed when Parish tried to exit
the building.
“I couldn’t get it open, so I went to a side door, which
was already open,” he said. “I opened a screen door and
went out.”
The Postmaster said it was raining and hailing so hard
that he could hardly see his truck in the parking lot, but
somehow managed to make it to the vehicle through the
powerful wind.
He said a friend had a storm cellar near the post office
that he went to and climbed in until the storm passed.
Afterwards, he noticed that trees were down all over the
community, he said. The post office building shifted
sideways a good five inches at the top, he noted.
Don Stafford, a U.S. Postal Service facilities engineer,
condemned the Buena Vista building and ordered all its
contents removed by day’s end.
“No mail was lost and all stamp countability was
retained,” said Parish. All the contents of the Buena
Vista facility have been moved to Hollow Rock Post Office,
which is located five miles north of the damaged building.
Hollow Rock Postmaster Lillian Rice said all service to
Buena Vista postal customers will be continued.
“We are glad to assist those customers during this time,”
said Ms. Rice. “We will continue to provide post office
box and window service.”
Ms. Rice stated that route delivery will continue
uninterrupted to postal customers in Buena Vista .
“We will continue everything,” she added.
Speaking of the fate of the damaged Buena Vista facility,
Parish said he hopes the postal service will repair or
rebuild the building. He personally believes the building
will have to be torn down and rebuilt.
“I hope they do that,” he said. “All these small
communities need their post office and they rely on it for
stamps and other postal service.”
The postmaster said the post office was built in Buena
Vista in October 7, 1847. Ironically, the deadly tornado
that struck Huntingdon and surrounding areas in 1971
destroyed the Buena Vista Post Office as well. The current
facility was rebuilt at that time and has stood without
incidence for 32 years.
“That was the worst storm I’ve seen since the tornado of
1971,” said Postmaster Parish. “I’m just thankful that no
one in the community was lost.”
Monday’s storm also left several sheds at Value Plus
Building Supply on Highway 70 East near Huntingdon without
roofs and local utility companies reported numerous downed
trees throughout the county.
Carroll County Electric Department Manager Lynn Compton
said Buena Vista community was the hardest hit, followed
by Spanish Grove and Hollow Rock.
Compton said 600-700 utility customers experienced
blackouts following the storm, primarily because of trees
down over power lines. All power was restored by 8 p.m.
Monday, except for a few customers who had private damage
to their homes that prevented the restoration of
electricity.
Ricky Scott, Carroll County Road Supervisor for the
affected areas, said his crew worked five hours on Monday
clearing the roads of downed trees and debris from the
main roadway. Workers returned on Tuesday to clear the
remaining debris from the roadside.
Some of the roads affected were Ball Creek Road, King
Loop, Buena School Road, McKee Levee Road, Moore Creek
Road, Maytown Road, and Butler School Road. |
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High Liability Insurance Premiums Limiting Medical
Practice |
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By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
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Higher premiums for malpractice insurance are limiting the
availability of certain medical services throughout the
nation and in Tennessee. The Tennessee Legislature is
holding hearings on the results malpractice premiums are
having on the medical practice.
The two hospitals in Carroll County are currently seeking
general surgeons after Thomas Brown, the lone practicing
surgeon, retired March 31, 2003. Brown practiced at
McKenzie Regional Hospital and Baptist Memorial
Hospital-Huntingdon.
Robert 'Scooter' Miller, CEO of McKenzie Regional Hospital
said a general surgeon will be on staff in September. He
will serve the surgical needs of Community Health Systems,
Inc. owned hospitals in McKenzie and Martin.
Susan Breeden, administrator of Baptist Memorial
Hospital-Huntingdon, said the hospital is conducting a
search for a new surgeon. Some states are actually having
a worse problem with malpractice insurance than Tennessee,
causing the surgeons to seek a practice in Tennessee, said
Mrs. Breeden.
Another area affected by high malpractice claims is
obstetrics. Dr. Lee Carter of Huntingdon is the lone
practitioner of obstetrics at the Huntingdon facility.
Carter told a legislative committee that he plans to end
his obstetrics practice in March, 2003 when his last
pregnant patient gives birth.
According to The Tennessean, Carter, a Huntingdon native,
has been practicing in Huntingdon for eight years,
delivering approximately 450 babies. His malpractice
insurance premiums are $30,000 annually, requiring 66
deliveries to pay the premium. Last year, he delivered 60
babies.
Mrs. Breeden said Baptist expects to add a doctor in
September who will practice general family medicine and
obstetrics. Baptist is constantly recruiting new doctors,
said the administrator.
BMH-Huntingdon is presently adding a Magnetic Resonance
Imager (MRI). Mrs. Breeden said the unit should be
operational by October. Once the MRI is complete,
construction will expand the emergency room and make
renovations in the radiology department.
McKenzie Regional has four physicians and one midwife
practicing obstetrics at the hospital. Doctors Volker
Winkler, Terry Colotta, David Martin, and Michael Bryant
as well as certified nurse midwife Leigh Crossett deliver
babies at McKenzie Regional. A second certified nurse
midwife is expected to begin practice this week, said
Miller. A total of 302 babies were delivered at the
McKenzie hospital last year. |
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Work on Prosser Hall Progressing |
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By Jim Steele
steele@mckenziebanner.com |
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It may not look like much, but work on Bethel College's
new dormitory is clicking right along.Work on Prosser Hall, expected to be finished by Spring
of 2004, is in sort of a preliminary phase, according to
Walter Butler, Bethel's director of business affairs.
"We are mainly working on the electrical end right now,"
he said. "We have the pad in place for the new
transformer and the transformer will go down in a couple
of days."
Butler said that the electrical configuration for part
of the campus will change when the new transformer is in
place.
"They tell me that we'll have to rearrange how certain
buildings get power," Butler said. "Morris Hall, Prosser
Hall and the library may get their power from one
transformer and other buildings may get it from
another."
While technicians work on shuffling the power
configuration, some dirt work has already been done. A
strip of the old BC tennis courts has been removed as
well as a fence line.
"That's done basically for the conduit and transfers,"
said Butler. "The old tennis courts will be turned into
a parking lot."
The next phase of the process will be digging out old
Laughlin Hall, the dormitory that was torn down in 1979.
Prosser Hall will rest on the site of the razed
residence hall.
"We'll have to dig out Laughlin Hall and then fill and
pack it," said Butler of the big hole expected to be
caused by removing Laughlin debris.
"We don't show much progress right now, but we're in the
early part of the process," said Butler.
Prosser Hall's assembly marks the first major
construction project on Bethel's campus in 30 years. The
new residence hall will be on the cutting edge of
technology, providing students with wireless Internet
access. Construction is being funded solely through
financial gifts to the college; BC will not incur any
debt as a result of Prosser Hall.
Bethel has had record enrollment, swelling to over 1,200
students when ground was broken in April. Construction
crews began moving dirt on May 19. |
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These
stories and more exclusively in the
print edition: |
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- Two Charged Following Separate Shootings
- TVA Electric Rate Proposals Meeting Resistance
- Gleason Citizens Outraged over 10-cent Tax Hike
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Phone (731) 352-3323 or Fax (731)
352-3322
washburn@mckenziebanner.com
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