By David Fisher Staff Reporter

 

   A Dresden native was one of three members of the Tennessee 118^th Airlift Wing Security Forces Squadron, recently awarded the Purple Heart Medal for injuries sustained while serving in Iraq.

    Tennessee Air Guard Staff Sergeant Robert “Robby” Gertsch, Jr., formerly of Dresden, who now resides in Madison; Technical Sergeant Charles Carney from Brush Creek; and Staff Sergeant Delroye Stoner, Jr. from Murfreesboro were honored with the Purple Heart presentation October 13, 2007 at the 118^th Airlift Wing Headquarters at Berry Field in Nashville.

    Family members, friends and fellow Air Guard members were in attendance for the occasion as Colonel Randall K. Jones, 118^th Airlift Wing vice commander, presented the awards to Staff Sgt. Gertsch, Sgt. Carney and Sgt. Stoner.

    The Airmen sustained injuries when their HMMWV (Humvee) was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED), during a security escort mission in February 2006. They were providing convoy security and quick reaction force support for the Army’s 709^th Military Police Battalion during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    When the IED exploded, it disabled their Humvee, knocking out the motor and all electrical systems including communications. Another vehicle in the convoy pushed the damaged Humvee through the kill zone, saving their lives. Also in their favor was the fact that not all of the IEDs at that location exploded. However, the convoy did receive incoming small arms fire after the explosion.

    As a result of the explosion, Staff Sgt. Gertsch received a concussion described as a “bruise on the base of his brain.” He was airlifted to a hospital in Germany for medical treatment, and returned to the United States in April 2006. The blast left him with damaged hearing and constant headaches. Doctors wanted to perform surgery, however, the spunky airman resisted having an operation, saying that he wanted to see if it would heal on its own first.

Staff Sgt. Gertsch Jr., who is the son of Robert “Bob” Gertsch Sr. and Karen Gertsch of Dresden, has two younger brothers, Michael, 29, and Christopher, 28.

    His parents met and married in Alaska, while both were serving in the Air Force. His father served 23 years in the Air Force; he then worked as a probation officer for Supervisory Services in conjunction with Weakley County General Sessions Court for 14 years; and in 2007, he began working as a firefighter for the city of Martin. Robby’s mother, who served in the Air Force for four years, has worked as Assistant Librarian at the Weakley County Library for the past 10 years. They moved to Dresden in 1993, where all three of their children graduated from Dresden High School.

(Read the rest of this story in the October 31st print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)

By David Fisher Staff Reporter

 

    A Martin couple appeared for a hearing in Weakley County Circuit Court in Dresden Thursday, October 25, to answer to charges of child abuse.

    Wesley and Tiffani Griffin, who are charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect, had their case continued and were both ordered to appear in court December 6, 2007.

    The alleged victim is recovering in Milan in the care of his great-grandparents. Doctors say he was so severely physically abused by his father and stepmother that he nearly died this July.

    The child abuse case first came to light during the evening hours of Saturday, July 28, 2007, when Martin police officers were dispatched to Volunteer Community Hospital in Martin in reference to a child that had a serious head injury.  

    When Investigator James Hatler arrived, he observed that the 19-month-old boy had bruises and cuts on his head and arms, and severe trauma to the head.

Due to the seriousness of his condition, the child was transferred to Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis by Air Evac Lifeteam.

    Lt. Randal Walker traveled to Le Bonheur on Monday, July 30, and interviewed medical staff members, who stated that the injuries are consistent with severe child abuse. At that time, the child was in the Intensive Care Unit of Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center in critical condition. 

    After law enforcement officials heard the medical evidence in the case, they charged the child’s biological father, Wesley Griffin, age 20, of 100 Stafford Street in Martin, and step-mother Tiffani (Callahan) Griffin, age 24, of the same address, with aggravated child abuse and neglect.

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

    A joint effort by local and out-of-state law enforcement officials led to the arrest of a Weakley County man this week on charges relating to dog fighting.

    On Friday, October 26, investigators from the Weakley County Sheriff’s Department, along with law enforcement officers from the Stoddard County Missouri Sheriff’s Department, and the Missouri Humane Society, served a search warrant on the residence of Curtis Pickering located on Buck Mason Road in Northern Weakley County.

    The warrant came about as a result of Pickering’s arrest in Missouri on October 21 on charges of animal abuse, dog fighting and possession of dog fighting paraphernalia.

    During the search, investigators found veterinary records, pit bull pictures, notes detailing which dogs were to be fought, dog harnesses used to train dogs to fight, ledgers dealing with dog fighting, fiberglass used to make tools that pry open a dog’s jaws from another dog and medicines used to treat dog wounds. Investigators also have in their possession a homemade videotape showing Pickering engaging in pit bull fighting in a building on Buck Mason Road.

    Also, Tennessee Wildlife Resources agents came to the scene and took possession of a small alligator owned by Pickering.

 

(Read the rest of this story in the October 31st print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)