Dresden Enterprise - Covering Weakley County Like the Dew from Heaven for 118 Years

The long awaited day finally came Friday morning with the official grand opening of the new Fred’s Supercenter in Dresden, which was attended by a large number of area dignitaries, store officials and local citizens. The 16,000 square foot facility is located on a two-acre lot adjacent to McCauley’s Chevrolet on Hwy. 22 in Dresden and includes a full line pharmacy.

As the ceremony got underway, Weakley County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Barbara Virgin welcomed everyone to the event saying, “On behalf of the Weakley County Chamber of Commerce, we would like to welcome you here on a wonderful day. It’s going to be a great day in Weakley County and Dresden. Dresden is very fortunate to have the Fred’s Supercenter here. We have been anticipating this since the groundbreaking.” After expressing her appreciation to those who turned out for the event, she said, “At this time, I would like to present the Weakley County Chamber of Commerce plaque to Mr. Ricky Pruett (Fred’s District Manager) and your cooperation, and for the progression of Weakley County.”

Dresden Mayor Danny Forrester was next to address the audience saying, “Good morning, and welcome to a great day for the City of Dresden. On behalf of the board of aldermen and the citizens of Dresden and Weakley County and the adjoining counties, we’d like to welcome Fred’s Supercenter and Mr. Perkins for the investment that they have made into our community.” Mayor Forrester also expressed his appreciation to all Fred’s representatives for the commitment that they have made to the City of Dresden. “In October when we were here, we knew this exciting day was approaching. So everyone shop Dresden and welcome to the City of Dresden.”

Dr. Ed Perkins with Perkins Corporation is the landlord who built the store, while his daughter Dee Ann Perkins-Culbreath, serves as president of the corporation. Many area citizens may recall that Dee Ann previously worked as a news anchorwoman for WBBJ-TV in Jackson for several years.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Dr. Perkins said, “First of all, on behalf of Dee Ann and me, we would like to express our appreciation to Carroll Bank & Trust of Carroll County for being our construction lender and the Andrea Hughes and First State Bank in Dresden for being our permanent lender.

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

Carroll County man dies in Friday evening accident

A Carroll County man was killed in a one-car accident on Friday about eight miles north of Gleason.

William E. Scott, 20, of Bruceton, died in the accident. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol report, the accident occurred at about 6:55 p.m. on Friday on Tenn. 190 about eight miles north of Gleason.

Olsen was driving a 1991 Pontiac Firebird and was heading south on Tenn. 190 when he failed to negotiate a curve and ran off the left side of the road into a culvert and his vehicle overturned.

Christopher D. Wilson, 23, of Martin, was also injured in the wreck. Wilson was airlifted from the scene in serious condition.

The Weakley County Rescue Squad and Weakley County Ambulance Service responded to the accident as well as the Como-Ore Springs Fire Department, the Weakley County Sheriff’s Department and the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

(Read the rest of this story in the June 6th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise!)

Altercation results in arrest of unregistered sex offender

Martin Police Chief David Moore says that Martin police officers are continuing to be vigilant about checking the sex offender status of defendants that they come into contact with on a routine basis. The most recent arrest was made at approximately 1:03 p.m. on May 23, at which time Ptl. John Finch came into contact with Eldridge A. Lee, 28, of 210 Church Street, while the defendant was at the Martin Police Department in connection with an unrelated domestic dispute case.

Upon having dispatch check the N.C.I.C. computer for any active warrants, Ptl. Finch discovered the defendant was on the sex offender registry and had not reported his whereabouts since 2005.

Lee stated he was incarcerated in Shelby County, Tennessee, and upon his release in January of 2007, he moved to Martin. The defendant was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Martin Police Department for booking procedures.

This is the second arrest made by the Martin Police Department in the past month for violation of the sex offender registration law.

The fact that Lee was an unregistered sex offender came to light while police were investigating a domestic dispute involving Lee and a Martin woman, who allegedly pulled a knife on Lee after he told her he was leaving her.

According to a report filed by Martin Police Officer Guy T. Pryor, at approximately 11:59 p.m. on May 23, Ptl. Pryor met with the victim, Eldridge A. Lee, concerning an aggravated domestic altercation that allegedly took place at 210 Church Street.

(Read the rest of this story in this week's print edition of the Dresden Enterprise!)

First phase of Dresden's sewer renovation closed out

By Jason Peevyhouse

Staff Reporter

The City of Dresden is one step closer to completing its sewer rehabilitation project as Mayor Danny Forrester reported to the board on Monday night that the first phase is being closed out.

Mayor Forrester reported that the projected appeared to come in under budget from the bid price. Forrester added that the sewer camera would be used to scan the rest of the city’s sewer system and that process would take about three months.

2007-2008 Budget Ordinance

The board voted to approve the second reading of an ordinance approving the proposed 2007-2008 budget, as well as an amendment to the proposed budget.

The amendment to the budget was added to cover the city’s portion of the Tri-City Landfill. The total expense for the landfill for Dresden is $11,895.64.

Some of the highlights of the budget include:

• The Child’s Street Bridge construction project, which is estimated to cost roughly $90,000. However, the final cost will not be known until after the bid process is complete. The money to pay for the project would be funded from the city’s General Fund over the next two years without borrowing money from an outside source. Details for this bridge construction project will be finalized in the near future.

(Read the rest of this story in the June 6th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise!)