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TOP STORIES FOR
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2003
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Explosive Material Discovered At Trezevant |
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By Linda Bolton
linda@mckenziebanner.com |
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Several sticks of potentially
explosive material were safety destroyed after several
anxious hours, evacuation of homeowners, and a highway
closing in Trezevant Saturday.
Trezevant Police Chief Tony Lane said a resident moving
into a home at 5825 Main Street, near city hall and across
from Brummitt Funeral Home, was loading items left by a
previous owner onto a truck at approximately 1:30 p.m.
when he discovered five sticks of slurry construction
explosive. The explosive material was housed in five
separate plastic cylinders, with the cylinders bound
together by duct tape, the chief said.
Charles Foster, Trezevant Street Department
Superintendent, was at the location and advised the
resident to contact Carroll County Sheriff Office to
determine a proper disposal of the material.
Carroll County Deputy Mike Darnell and Carroll County
Emergency Management Director Janice Newman arrived on the
scene and contacted the Tennessee Highway Patrol bomb
explosive unit in Nashville. Trezevant police and fire
personnel were advised to secure the area until a team
could arrive from Nashville.
"Everyone within a 300 ft radius of the residence was
evacuated," said Chief Lane. "We closed Highway 105 to
through traffic and traffic was rerouted onto Power
Station Road."
Several hours later, Special Agents Craig Smith and Greg
Brown arrived on the scene and took charge of the
explosive. The material in question was transported to a
sand pit at a location on Highway 190 where it was
detonated in a safe environment at approximately 7 p.m.
Standing by to assist THP special agents at the scene were
Chief Lane, Trezevant Fire Chief Danny Curtis and
ambulance personnel from McKenzie Regional Hospital.
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Woman Dies after Falling In Bathtub |
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By Linda Bolton
linda@mckenziebanner.com |
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A 47-year-old woman died last week after falling in a
bathtub at her Bruceton home, authorities reported.
Cause of death in the case of Martha Anne (Waldrup)
Myers, a former McKenzie resident, was ruled as
drowning, secondary to a fall, according to Carroll
County Coroner Steve Cantrell.
Cantrell said investigation revealed that Ms. Myers was
in a weakened condition, because she had been sick with
a respiratory infection, possibly pneumonia, for
approximately one week prior to the accident. She had
apparently filled the bathtub with water, when she
slipped and fell, striking her head, he said.
Chassie Myers, daughter-in-law of the victim who resided
at the home, was asleep in bed at the time of the
mishap. She reportedly heard a loud thump at
approximately 8 a.m. and went to the bathroom to
investigate. When she could not gain entrance because
the bathroom door was locked, she called her
mother-in-law's name but received no response. She
telephoned Martha Myer's mother, Iva Mae Waldrup of
McKenzie, who is a Licensed Practical Nurse. The woman
told Chassie to run next door for help, Cantrell said.
After calling Emergency 911, Chassie and a neighbor
returned to the Myers' home and found Martha submerged
in water, after breaking the lock on the door to gain
entrance. They began CPR, which was continued when
ambulance personnel arrived on the scene.
The victim was transported to Baptist Memorial Hospital,
where she was not able to be resuscitated. |
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Henry Receives Grant, Loan to Install Sewer System |
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By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
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The Town of Henry will soon have a municipal sewer
system, thanks to a $459,200 grant and a $650,000 low
interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
(USDA) Rural Development Agency. The project is also
being co-funded with a $500,000 Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG). Total project is estimated at $1.6
million.
The announcement was made March 4 at City Hall by Mary
Ruth Tackett, State Director for the USDA's Rural
Development.
Representatives of the town, USDA, and Congressman John
Tanner's office were in attendance during the Tuesday
morning announcement.
Robert Martin, engineer on the project, said the new
citywide system will serve 179 new customers. It will
consist of a new decentralized sewer system that will be
a Septic Tank Effluent Pumping (STEP) System. The system
will utilize the resident's current septic tank as the
first part of the system. The wastewater will travel
along small diameter piping to a step system and finally
to a wetland system. Approximately 11 miles of PVC
piping will be installed to carry the effluent to the
constructed wetland. Construction will take three to six
months following state approval of the design.
Gordon Ray McFadden, an alderman and businessman said
sewer from failing septic tanks comes to the surface in
some parts of the city. One problematic area is around a
mobile home park McFadden owns. "Some have had sewer
problems for 50 years," said McFadden, who hopes the
addition of sewer will provide a boost to industrial
recruiting.
Septic tanks in the Town of Henry have a failure rate of
79 percent, said Faye Lowery, mayor of Henry. Speaking
of the citizenry's response to the sewer system, Mayor
Lowery said, "For the most part, everyone is happy." The
problem of individual underground septic tanks is
exasperated by small lot sizes in the older section of
town. Septic systems need adequate field lines to
"perk." Without adequate open spaces, the wastewater has
a tendency to come to the surface.
The mayor praised former mayor Joe Qualls and McFadden
for their work on the project.
"This is a great day for Henry," said Joe Hill,
representing Congressman John Tanner. Hill is a native
of Henry, where his brother, Jim now resides. In a bit
of nostalgia, Mayor Lowery resides in the Hills'
childhood home.
Once the system is operational, Mayor Lowery said the
estimated monthly sewer bill will be $19 on the first
2,000 gallons and $3.20 per each additional 1,000
gallons.
In other business, the city has approved the first of
two readings to sell the city-owned natural gas system
to West Tennessee Public Utilities. The sale price is
$550,000. |
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More Adjustments Made to McKenzie School Calendar
2003-2004 Calendar Approved |
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Students of the McKenzie Special School District will
attend classes March 17 and April 17 (originally
scheduled as spring break) and April 25 (Fish Fry).
However, school will not be in session on March 14 and
May 9, according to a news release from McKenzie Special
School District dated March 10.
During the March 4 meeting of the McKenzie Special
School District Board of Education, Superintendent James
Ward advised McKenzie students had missed 11 days of
school due to inclement weather. Five of the 11 days are
made up automatically through "stockpiling" built into
the school calendar in which students attend 30 minutes
extra per day throughout the year. In a February 19
meeting of the six superintendents in Carroll County,
the school calendar was revised adding three make up
days, with one additional day being excused by the Board
of Education, however, two additional days were missed
following that meeting.
McKenzie board members had approved Mr. Ward's plan in
which students would have attended classes on March 14,
March 17 and April 17 (days originally scheduled for
spring break) and also April 25 (Fish Fry) and May 9
(Strawberry Festival); however, McKenzie's plan to add
two days more to the make up schedule than those agreed
upon among the superintendents was scuttled after
Carroll County Schools denied bus transportation.
While Mr. Ward indicated in the March 4 meeting that the
McKenzie School District is geographically the smallest
in the county and that only drivers for MSSD would have
been affected, transportation for the two extra school
days requested by McKenzie was denied by the Carroll
County Board of Education, who oversees bus
transportation. Mr. Ward later reported Carroll County
Board of Education Superintendent Charlotte Tucker
stated that because there was insufficient time to
assemble the Carroll County School Board, the County
would not be able to furnish transportation for the
make-up days due to the two days missed following the
meeting of the superintendents. She further stated,
according to Mr. Ward, that the County Board has a
policy that all school districts in the county "have to
be alike".
Mr. Ward was unapologetic concerning the requested
additional days of attendance, stating, "We have a
responsibility to make up that instruction time...
because everybody but the graduating seniors have got to
come back."
Instruction time missed is particularly damaging to high
school, stated Mr. Ward, who advised missing one day is
like missing two days because of block scheduling in
which students attend the same class for 90 minutes. |
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Phone (731) 352-3323 or Fax (731)
352-3322
washburn@mckenziebanner.com
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