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WEAKLEY COUNTY INFORMATION

By David Fisher david@dresdenenterprise.com

    

     State, county and local officials, as well as other interested parties, gathered at 8487 Hwy. 22 in Dresden Friday morning to take part in a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction of a new Fred’s Supercenter.

     The 16,000 square foot facility, which will be located on a two-acre lot adjacent to McCauley’s Chevrolet on Hwy. 22 in Dresden, is expected to be completed by the summer of 2007 and will include a full line pharmacy.

     As the event got underway, General Sessions Judge Tommy Moore, who served as emcee for the special occasion, began by saying, “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to the ground-breaking for the Fred’s Supercenter. It’s a beautiful day. I hope that’s a good sign. It’s great that so many of you have made an effort to witness the birth of this new business in our community. I’d like to extend a heart-felt welcome to several people here today” With this remark, he introduced: State Representative Mark Maddox of Dresden; County Mayor Houston Patrick; Weakley County Economic Development Director Ronnie Price; Dresden Mayor Danny Forrester; Weakley County Commissioner Jimmy Westbrook of Dresden; Alderwoman Joyce Hurt; Weakley County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Barbara Virgin; Weakley County Industrial Board Chairman Junior Moore, who also serves as Vice-Chairman of the Dresden Industrial Board; and Dr. Ed Perkins and his daughter DeeAnn Perkins-Culbreath, who are the developers of the new retail store.

     “Isn’t it great that it was just May 12 that we were taking part in another ground-breaking here in this community,” said Judge Moore. “Locating a business like this in our community is a shot in the arm. The infusion of well-paying, quality jobs in this town and county will have a positive impact on our region. I’m excited about the growth and construction that we are witnessing, about the new industry and businesses, the rumors of other big announcements in the future, and the positive feeling that we have all been having these past few days. I feel – and I hope you do too – that great things are just around the corner for Dresden.”

     Judge Moore joked, “A few years back, they asked Boris Yeltzen when he was president of Russia, if he had one word to describe Russia, how would he describe it? He said, ‘Good.’ They said, ‘If you had two words to describe Russia, how would you describe Russia?’ He said, ‘Not good.’ And things around here have not been good in the past several years, because industry has left and people have had to make a decision of whether to stay here or not. People are taking lower paying jobs and that kind of thing. It’s just great that we’re seeing things like this happen in our area.

 

(Read the rest of the story in the October 4th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise!)

      An official announcement was issued this week that Southern Source, Inc. has plans to expand its operation in Dresden.

     Rufus McPeak, owner of Southern Source, Inc., announced Monday that he has purchased the Avon Books Building in order to continue to expand his company’s customer base and continue to grow as a distribution center. 

     According to McPeak, Southern Source will employ 25-30 workers at its Avon Books facility, with a total of 70 employees in Dresden and 200 employees company-wide.

     Dresden Mayor Danny Forrester and Dresden City Recorder Jennifer Branscum were present at the Avon building Monday afternoon for the announcement. “We’re here today to congratulate Mr. McPeak on fulfilling a dream,” said Mayor Forrester. “He has taken a company of two employees and grown it in 16 years to 200 employees. It shows what self-motivated individuals with the proper leadership and goals can do for their community. We’re proud of what Mr. McPeak has brought to us – the nearly 70 to 100 jobs he keeps in Dresden throughout the year. And we want to support him. And again, I want to say congratulations on behalf of the mayor and board of aldermen, for the great job Rufus McPeak has done for this community.”

     Southern Source was incorporated and began business in 1990 in an incubation center owned by the University of Tennessee in Martin.  The company began as a machine shop with Rufus McPeak as the owner and president and Oscar McPeak as the only employee.

(Read the rest of the story in the October 4th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise!)

     A single-vehicle crash last Tuesday resulted in the driver being arrested on a variety of charges.

     According to Martin Police Captain Scott Robbins, Martin officers responded to the 100 block of Burchard Street just after midnight, after a resident called and said that a car had just run through her yard and struck a tree in her neighbor’s yard and then left the scene.

     At 12:06 a.m. Patrolman Mike Wenz found a vehicle parked in the parking lot of Chappell Ridge Apartments with extensive damage and a man standing beside it. Officer Wenz was able to determine by the wreckage and the damaged parts that were left at the scene that this was the vehicle that had just struck the tree. Officer Wenz also noticed the owner/driver of the vehicle had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage about his person.

     Patrolman Wenz charged 49 year-old Roger Blevins of 125 Highland Street with one count each of: Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Driving Under The Influence- 1st Offense, Driving on a Revoked Driver License, Failure to have Insurance, and Vandalism.

(Read the rest of this story, plus many more in this week's edition of the Dresden Enterprise!)