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TOP STORIES FOR
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2004
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Two Candidates to be Interviewed for Huntingdon
Superintendent |
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By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
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With the concept of 'promoting from within', the
Huntingdon School Board decided to interview Teresa
Davis, supervisor of instruction, and Lynn Twyman,
principal at Huntingdon Middle School for the position
of director of schools. Two other candidates from
Mayfield, Kentucky and Davidson County were dropped
from consideration.
Interviews will begin on May 4 with teachers,
questions from the public on May 6, and board
interviews on May 10 for Ms. Davis and May 11 for Mr.
Twyman.
Current director Danny Truett will be retiring on June
30 after 16 years with the school system.
In other business, the board approved the 2004-2005
school calendar to coincide with the other four
special school districts.
The Board will review the cost of installing lights at
the school's baseball field. Truett said a group of
persons is seeking donations of services and materials
for the installation. The Board decided to wait until
the final costs are presented before committing to the
project. Without donations, the total cost is
estimated at $70,000 to $80,000.
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Huntingdon Adds Parking Lot to Downtown Assets |
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Members of the Huntingdon Town Council on Tuesday,
April 27, approved unanimously the purchase of a
parking lot, owned by Paul and Carolyn Sanders, that
adjoins the parking lot located behind City Hall. The
lot will complement and aid construction of the Dixie
Carter Performing Arts Center, providing safer access
and exit for the removal of debris.
“Once it’s complete we can have a very nice parking
area behind City Hall that goes all the way to Third
Avenue,” remarked Mayor Dale Kelley, who also expected
the lot to benefit Mallard’s Restaurant, where parking
will be reduced because of DCPAC construction.
The $7,000 cost of the property will be funded through
the reallocation of $5,000 from the General Government
Fund (previously designated for professional fees) and
$2,000 from Finance and Administration (previously
designated for office machinery and equipment.)
In other matters the council:
- Approved the low bid of City Lumber Company in
the amount of $17,950 for custom cabinet work for
the DCPAC project. Wood Master’s bid the job at
$18,856.25.
- Approved the sole bid of Thomas Glass Company in
the amount of $12,000 for glass, glazing and mirrors
for the project, a price which the mayor advised was
“well within the range that was previously
projected”;
- Approved the request of First Baptist Church for
the use of Edwards Park Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
nights from June 21 though August 30 for area church
men’s and coed leagues.
· Heard Kelley announce ten cars and miscellaneous
items from the DCPAC buildings were sold at auction
on April 24, bringing in $3, 606.50;
- Heard Kelley announce tickets are on sale for $6
each for the Police Memorial Day luncheon to be held
at the Carroll County Civic Center Friday, May 14,
from 11:00 until 12:30. Guest speaker will be
Special Agent Kim Moore.
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HEADLINE NEWS |
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McKenzie Regional Hospital to Get Facelift -
New Emergency Department under Construction |
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By Linda Bolton
linda@mckenziebanner.com |
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A construction project estimated at approximately $2
million is underway at McKenzie Regional Hospital,
according to Robert Miller, CEO. The project will
include construction of a new emergency room, as well
as renovation of the hospital's registration area.
The new area will be constructed in front of the
current hospital entrance and sports medicine complex.
Once work is completed, the facade of the hospital
will have a complete new look.
The front entrance of the hospital was closed last
week in order for preliminary work and construction on
the new addition to begin. Actual construction is
expected to begin the first week of May.
All visitor and patient traffic flow is now routed
through the existing Emergency Department entrance,
located at the back of the hospital. The emergency
entrance is accessed by turning left from Hospital
Drive at the next turn past Spivey Eye Clinic.
Beginning Monday, May 3, patient registration will be
temporarily relocated from the main lobby to the
chapel. Patient registration can occur at the
emergency department or the chapel. Both are accessed
by way of the emergency department entrance.
Plans call for the new emergency department and
registration area to open the week of Thanksgiving,
said Mr. Miller.
Architectural drawings of the new addition call for
4,850 square feet of new construction, 1,860 square
feet of renovation, 1,552 square feet of refurbished
corridors and 1,300 square feet of canopies, which
includes coverings for both the front and ambulance
entrances. When the new addition is open, the
ambulance entrance will be relocated to the south side
of the building.
The new emergency department will feature seven
examination rooms, including one room designated as a
decontamination room. That room will be designed to
meet new codes and regulations required for
decontamination of patients exposed to hazardous
materials, Miller said.
Ancillary services, which includes x-ray and lab, will
also be closer and more easily accessible to patients
requiring medical care in the new emergency
department. The department will be equipped with the
latest technology in vital sign monitoring, stated Mr.
Miller.
The registration area will be renovated and will
include admissions for emergency room, as well as
inpatient and outpatient services.
In November, when the new emergency department is
opened, visitors will once again enter the hospital
through the front entrance.
McKenzie Regional is licensed as a 45-bed hospital,
with 29 beds currently operational. The hospital has
six labor and delivery beds in the obstetrics suite.
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High Cost of Fuel Has Impact on School Transportation |
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By Jim Steele
steele@mckenziebanner.com |
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The rising cost of fuel has had an impact on most
every facet of American society. The Carroll County
Education Department is feeling the crunch perhaps as
hard as anyone at the moment. Carting 3,200 students
nearly 750,000 miles every year is a costly venture by
itself, but the rising cost of gasoline and diesel
fuel is making that exercise even more expensive.
Superintendent Charlotte Tucker said her office is
crunching the numbers to cushion the blow of the high
cost of fuel.
"This has been an unanticipated expense," said
Tucker. "We may have to go into reserve money but we
don't want to do that."
Tucker said that a few summertime capital projects
could be delayed and her office may submit a higher
line item for fuel in the May budget submission. But
she said she was reluctant to take money from the
reserve coffers.
"We try to budget just like everyone else does at
home and we don't want to live above our means," she
said. "If we have to, we'll take money from somewhere
else (to subsidize fuel)."
That means the vocational-technical center may not get
some technical equipment and other routine summer
projects may be deferred.
"If we have to take the money out of reserve, it's
like taking it out of your savings account," Tucker
said. "We don't like to do that because you are taking
out money that will be hard to replace."
But Tucker's office is trying to get a handle on
the fuel cost trend and is hopeful that prices will
decline before the start of school next fall.
"A few years back, when fuel prices went up, we had
to take similar measures," she said. "We will try not
to go into reserves, but that's why we have it. It's
foolish not to have reserves for an emergency like
this."
Athletic events and school field trips won't be
impacted, said Tucker, because the groups and
organizations pay for the use of the buses.
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Bethel Graduation Set for This Sunday |
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Bethel College's Spring Graduation is set for this
Sunday, May 2, 2:00 p.m. at the Laughlin Gazebo on the
Bethel College campus. If there is inclement weather,
the Graduation will be held in the Baker Fieldhouse, at
the same time. Dr. Charles McCaskey, Moderator of the
173rd General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church, will be the commencement speaker at the spring
commencement.
Well over 100 students will graduate this spring,
with graduates from Bethel's traditional undergraduate
program, the Success Program, and graduate students in
Bethel's Education and Physician Assistant Studies all
receiving their diplomas. In addition, the class of 1954
will be honored to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of
their graduation from Bethel.
Dr. McCaskey graduated from Bethel College in 1963,
and later earned his Master's degree from Memphis
Theological Seminary and his Doctorate from Louisville
Seminary. He served Bethel College on the Board of
Trustees for 14 years, including three years as Chairman
of Bethel's Board of Trustees. His daughter, Mary
Catherine, is a graduating senior at Bethel and will
receive her diploma during the May graduation ceremony.
As Moderator of the 173rd General Assembly, Dr.
McCaskey represents the Cumberland Presbyterian Church
and serves as the official responsible for the conduct
of meetings of the General Assembly. |
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Maintenance Shop, Parking Lot Sell During H.I.S. Tax
Auction |
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By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
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Carroll County - Remnants of what was once Carroll
County's largest employer was sold in parcels during a
tax sale Friday at the Carroll County Courthouse.
Carroll County Chancery Court had become the owners of
five parcels after H.I.S. and its successor, Durango,
failed to pay the 1999-2003 property taxes totaling
$444,498.42.
Two of five offered parcels sold at auction on Friday.
Richard Amsden of Bruceton purchased a parking lot,
located on Carroll Street and adjacent to the old sewing
factory. He paid $1,050.99, an amount equal to the
delinquent taxes. Tim Gateley of Huntingdon, a 26-year
employee of H.I.S., purchased the United Warehouse,
located on Broad Street, next to the Butcher's Block.
Gateley paid $14,100 for the 11,300 square-foot
building, formerly used as the company's maintenance
shop. Taxes owed against the property totaled $8,324.82.
Both properties are subject to redemption by the former
owner within 12 months.
No bids were received on three parcels. The 40,000
square-foot warehouse on Carroll Street (facing the
railroad roundhouse) had an asking price of $118,530.84
to pay the delinquent taxes; (2) the vacant lot, where
the old ice plant once stood, had tax liens equaling
$596.51; and (3) the 202,000 square-foot sewing factory
on Lexington Street had tax liens of $315,998.26.
Brad Hurley, president of the Carroll County Chamber of
Commerce, said the tax sale auction is one step in the
county's and city's legal process against Durango. Two
of the main buildings - the 450,000 square-foot
distribution center built in 1966, and the 200,000
square-foot cutting room built in 1990 were not
auctioned on Friday, said Hurley. The cutting room will
be subject to Chancery Court action next year if Durango
fails to pay the associated taxes. Hurley said an
investor, who has visited Carroll County approximately
four times, offered to purchase the cutting room
building within the last 60 days. Durango rejected the
offer even though it matched the company's asking price.
Also not offered for sale was the Trezevant facility.
The town of Trezevant "opted-out" of Friday's tax sale.
Kenny McBride, county mayor, said the town of Trezevant
assumed full responsibility for that building. If and
when the building is sold, the county will receive its
share of the taxes.
H.I.S. once employed 1,800 workers in this county in
Bruceton and Trezevant. Employees stateside were idled
and the six buildings in Carroll County were vacated
when the company relocated its operations to Mexico
after the passage of the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) in the early 1990s. In its wake, H.I.S.
dealt a devastating blow to the twin cities communities,
whose economies were built on the backbone of the
railroad and H.I.S. All that remains of the company are
empty buildings, memories, and a statue of Sam Siegel,
former Bruceton mayor and community leader. The company
also closed plants in Tiptonville, Hohenwald, South
Fulton, Fulton, Gleason, Camden, and Saltillo. |
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Carter Becomes Sole Owner of Dilday Funeral Home |
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By Linda Bolton
linda@mckenziebanner.com |
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Steve Carter of Huntingdon, whose family has been in the
funeral home business for many years, has become the
sole owner of Dilday Funeral Home, Carroll Memorial
Gardens and Mausoleum, and Northwest Tennessee
Crematory.
Carter's business partner, Roy Bozeman, sold his
interest in the business to Carter effective April 1,
2004.
In addition to the funeral home and chapel, located
across the street from each other at 19810 East Main
Street, Huntingdon, Carter also owns Carroll Memorial
Gardens and Mausoleum, and Northwest Tennessee
Crematory, located on Highway 22 between McKenzie and
Huntingdon.
Dilday Funeral Home originated in 1909. At the time R.F.
Dilday first started the "undertaking" business, coffins
were put together at the funeral home or at a general
store that kept a stock of caskets. It was the custom
then for families to select interiors and hardware which
would be assembled on appropriate sized coffins.
Fourteen years after opening the business, Mr. Dilday
bought a vacant lot on East Main Street and erected a
building, which housed the Dilday and Son Funeral Home.
Haywood Kerr Dilday, older son of R.F. and Etta Kerr
Dilday, joined his father in the business soon after
graduating from Gupton Embalming School in Nashville.
"Scoop" was nineteen years old at the time. In 1932, he
died at the age of twenty-five. His brother, Robert
Leighton Dilday, who was a student at Union University
in Jackson, returned home to join his father in the
operation of the family business.
In 1946, the home of Haywood and Amelia Priest was
purchased and the funeral home was moved to what is now
the west visitation room of Dilday Funeral Home. The Ivy
Williams Teachout home was purchased in 1962 for an east
chapel. In 1968, the two buildings were connected.
Robert L. Dilday continued to operate the funeral home
until his retirement in April of 1985. He died on August
17, 1985.
In 1993, the stock of Dilday Funeral Home was purchased
from the Dilday family heirs by longtime employees Roy
Bozeman and Danny Carter.
In 1997, the funeral home acquired Carroll Memorial
Gardens and Mausoleum, which is situated on 15 acres on
Highway 22 between McKenzie and Huntingdon.
In July of 1999, after being diagnosed with Melanoma
Cancer, Danny resigned his position with Dilday Funeral
Home and Roy was promoted to CEO and manager of the
corporation. Danny died in October 2001 and his son,
Steve, a long-time employee, purchased his stock.
When the county moved to the new office complex on High
Street in Huntingdon, the property directly across the
street from Dilday Funeral Home became vacant. This
property was the old Church of Christ building and was
also used for many years by the county for the library
and other county offices. Dilday Funeral Home purchased
the property from the county and after a complete
renovation made this the Chapel.
In October 2001, Dilday Funeral home opened Northwest
Tennessee Crematory, located on Carroll Memorial Gardens
grounds. The crematory serves approximately 25 funeral
homes in Tennessee, primarily West Tennessee. The
facility is equipped with state of the art cremation
equipment.
For more than 95 years, Dilday Funeral Home has been
providing a valuable service to the families of Carroll
County. |
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These stories and more exclusively
in the print edition: |
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- Captain Brent Morel Honored with Resolution
- McKenzie Entries Win at Fish Fry Parade
- Construction Underway on Dixie Carter Performing
Arts Center
- Area Unemployment Continues Downward Trend
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Phone (731) 352-3323 or Fax (731)
352-3322
washburn@mckenziebanner.com
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