An investigation into a robbery reported on Friday, August 21, at Save-A-Lot Food Store located at 4200 Skyhawk Parkway, by members of the Martin Police Department has revealed that the robbery was staged by a store employee.

    Cori Wyatt Hill, 24, of 160 Old Fulton Road, A-1, Martin, and Marco Dewayne Murrell, 27, of the same address, are both charged with felony theft of property over $500 and aggravated assault for placing the second employee, who had no knowledge of the staged robbery, in fear for his life when Murrell brandished the weapon.

    According to the original story that the store’s night manager, Cori Hill, told to Ptl. John C. Finch on the night of the incident, the robbery took place at approximately 8:45 p.m. Hill said that he and another store employee were closing for the night. Hill stated that as they were walking to their vehicles parked at the side of the store with the store’s money bag that was to be deposited at a local bank, they were approached by a black male with a slender build, who stood a little over 6 feet tall, and was wearing a dark blue or black hooded sweatshirt, as well as a white rag partially covering his face. The robber allegedly pulled a handgun, forced the employees to lie on the ground, took the moneybag and fled on foot through a wooded area at the rear of the business. At that time, Lt. Eric Reed contacted Lt. Randall Walker, who responded to the scene to assist in performing a search of the surrounding area, but no one matching the description of the robber could be located.

    When Martin investigators Lt. Randall Walker, Tommy Erwin and Robbie Hatler questioned Hill, they discovered inconsistencies with his statement, and during a second interview, Hill allegedly confessed to his involvement in the robbery.

    Hill told the investigators that he had orchestrated the robbery and had his roommate, Marco Murrell, to play the part of the gunman and to take the moneybag when the store closed.

    The majority of the money, which amounts to approximately $6,000, along with checks and the moneybag, taken in the fake robbery were all recovered by investigators.

(Read the rest of this story in the September 5th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)

By David Fisher Staff Reporter

 

   Weakley County citizens, along with all customers served by the Tennessee Valley Authority, will be paying more for electricity this fall.

    According to Faron Collins, who serves as director of the Weakley County Municipal Electric System, local customers will be paying an additional 6 percent for electrical service effective October 1 through the end of December.

    Collins explained that the rate hike is due to the Tennessee Valley Authority resetting its rate every three months, based on fuel costs. He stated that since it has been so hot lately with record breaking temperatures, TVA has been operating at peak demand and has been forced to purchase additional electricity from other vendors. This increases TVA’s costs to provide the electricity to their customers.

    On the up side, Mr. Collins stated that if a mild winter is experienced across the Tennessee Valley, when the rates are reconsidered on January 1, 2008, the cost of electricity should decrease and the net amount paid for the year could break even or even be less than that of last year. It all depends on the weather and on power usage by its customers.

    The 6 percent increase means that the cost for electricity will jump to 7 cents per kilowatt-hour. Simply put, a monthly $100 electric bill will increase to $106 for the same amount of power usage during the months of October, November and December 2007, in order to compensate TVA for its additional costs to purchase power during the previous rating period.

    But if fuel costs and power usage decline in coming months, the rates will be adjusted accordingly.

    According to an official news release from the TVA, historic drought conditions across the Tennessee Valley during the past seven months have cut TVA’s least expensive generation resource, hydropower, by more than 40 percent. The period of January through July is among the driest on record in 118 years.

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

    Due to extremely high wildfire danger caused by the drought, record high temperatures and low humidity, last week, state forestry officials announced the implementation of burning restrictions usually reserved for official wildfire season.

    Effective as of Aug. 27, citizens are required to obtain a burning permit from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry before conducting any outdoor, open burning of debris within 500 feet of woodlands, grasslands or forestlands.

    “Although our level of wildfire activity is moderate and manageable, we’re concerned about the potential for high wildfire danger due to the extremely dry conditions and the effect it’s having on forest fuels as we move into the fall,” said State Forester Steve Scott. “We want to be proactive by helping citizens determine when and where it’s safe to burn and when it’s not.

    “Considering the forecast for continued hot, dry conditions and little chance of rainfall, we will be issuing burning permits on a very limited basis, to be evaluated county by county and considering local conditions. We are taking these steps to help undercut the threat of wildfires caused by debris burning before they happen, and to protect lives and property.”

    Typically, burning permits are not required by the state Division of Forestry except during official fire season, which runs Oct. 15 through May 15 each year. However, under state law the State Forester can prescribe other periods of time for requiring burning permits as conditions warrant.

The burning permit requirement is expected to remain in force through May 15, 2008, when official wildfire season ends.

    According to state Forestry officials, burn permits are not likely to be issued until areas of the state receive substantial rainfall. When conditions improve, citizens should inquire about burning permits by calling their local Division of Forestry office listed in the phone directory under state government between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. A directory of state forestry offices by county can also be found on the Web at www.burnsafetn.org.

(Read the rest of this story in the September 5th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)