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

A court order issued last Friday by 27th Judicial Circuit Court Judge William Acree details the conditions for remedying the alleged mold problem at Westview High School.

The court order was issued as a result of a lawsuit filed against the Weakley County School Board in December by Carol Hinman, the mother of Griffin and Dominique Pochop, which asked for a temporary injunction hearing to prevent Westview from being used as a high school while contaminated with toxic mold.

Hinman’s attorneys argued that her children tested positive for mold exposure and have been suffering many of the symptoms experienced by Westview student Caleb Joost. Hinman had asked the Board of Education for mold remediation over the past several months at school board meetings. When the school board failed to hire a professional mold remediation firm to correct the problem, Hinman filed suit seeking a court ordered solution to the problem.

Additional testing was conducted by toxicologist Richard Lipsey, Ph.D. on January 29 and 30, 2008. Dr. Lipsey sampled both Westview High School, where Hinman’s son, Griffin, is a senior, and Martin Middle School, where Hinman’s youngest child, Paige Pochop, is a student.

Based on evidence collected as a result of that sampling, a motion seeking a temporary restraining order against the use of Westview was filed and heard on February 4, 2008. The motion sought to enjoin the Weakley County Board of Education from using Westview High School, due to the high amounts of toxic mold found on January 29 and 30.

A motion seeking a temporary restraining order against Martin Middle School was filed February 11, 2008. Judge Acree heard the motion on Friday, February 15, 2008. The motion sought to enjoin the Weakley County Board of Education from using Martin Middle School, due to the high amounts of toxic mold found on January 30. During Friday’s hearing, Dr. Richard Lipsey, a toxicologist who is an expert witness for the plaintiffs, offered his testimony in the case regarding the lab test results of samples taken at Westview and Martin Middle School. Dr. Lipsey stated that both schools contain high levels of very toxic molds and bacteria that seriously affect the health of the students, faculty, and staff, including the Pochop children.

Additionally, Judge Acree signed an order allowing for the filing of a third party complaint by the Weakley County School Board naming various contractors as defendants in connection with the case concerning the construction of Westview High School.

Court Order

The court order, dated Monday, February 11, 2008, came after Judge Acree heard evidence and testimony in recent hearings on the presence of alleged toxic mold at Westview High School, which according to plaintiffs Carol Hinman and her two children – Griffin Pochop and Dominique Pochop, has already harmed the health of students, and must be removed from the school in order to insure the safety of all the building’s occupants.

The court order states the following:

“This matter came to be heard before this Honorable Court on Monday, February 4, 2008, upon the plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order and temporary injunction regarding Westview High School. Upon the oral arguments of counsel, and this Honorable Court having expressed its reluctance to grant the relief sought by the plaintiffs, it is hereby ordered by the Court as follows:

1. The Weakley County Board of Education will conduct a school-wide inspection of Westview High School to determine the extent of mold growth, if any. Any inspections will take place after 3 p.m. on Monday through Friday or anytime on Saturday and Sunday;

2. Board will immediately employ a professional third party remediation company to remediate signs of mold growth discovered during the inspection referenced in paragraph 1. Any and all remediation will be conducted in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the EPA Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings handbook and is understood to be an immediate and temporary remedy, with permanent remediation to occur in the summer. Any and all remediation will be photographed and documented as it occurs;

3. The Weakley County School Board will preserve and store any materials removed from Westview High School during the remediation described in paragraph 2, above, at the Weakley County School Board of Education central offices that can reasonably be preserved and stored;

4. At the conclusion of the remediation described in paragraph 2, above, the herein parties will endeavor to agree upon a neutral third party to inspect said remedial work. In the event the parties are unable to agree upon a neutral third party, the Court will appoint a neutral third party to inspect the remedial work performed at Westview High School;

5. Griffin Pochop and Dominique Pochop will temporarily be permitted to participate in the “Homebound” program to fulfill their respective educational requirements mandated by the State of Tennessee. Carol Hinman will be responsible for picking up and dropping off the work assigned to Griffin Pochop and Dominique Pochop while they are participants in the “Homebound” program. Griffin Pochop and Dominique Pochop will be removed from the “Homebound” program and will be required to attend classes at Westview High School voluntarily, at the conclusion of the remediation described in paragraph 2, above, or by Order of this Court; and

An inspection of the dampers and pneumatic air system will be conducted at Westview High School. This inspection will determine if the dampers should be reconnected at this time. The parties will endeavor to agree upon a neutral third party to inspect the dampers and related systems and the expert will be hired by the Board. If the parties are unable to agree upon a neutral third party, the Court will appoint a neutral third party to inspect the dampers and related systems of Westview High School.”

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

Gleason City Board to honor Roy Auvenshine; apply for sewer grant

By David Fisher

Staff Reporter

Members of the Gleason Board of Mayor and Aldermen agreed to install a memorial stone at the Gleason Girl’s softball field at Snider Park in memory of the late Roy Auvenshine, during Thursday night’s regular monthly meeting. Board members also approved a resolution applying for a sewer improvement grant.

Roy Auvenshine Memorial

Gleason Mayor Jack Dunning stated that he has heard suggestions that the Girls Softball field at Snider Park should be named in honor of the late Roy Auvenshine, who devoted so much of his time and in helping to raise money for improvements to the grounds.

Gleason Park Director Ronnie Dilday suggested that a masonry plaque be mounted in the brick wall on the dugout in memory of Roy Auvenshine’s devotion to the Gleason Park Program. “He spent lots of time and lots of money on that particular ball field,” Dilday said. The board agreed to have the mayor and park director get together and work out the details of installing the memorial stone, including deciding where it should be placed.

CDBG Sewer Grant

On the recommendation of Mayor Dunning, the board approved a resolution authorizing the submittal of an application to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development for the Small Cities Block Grant Program for fiscal year 2008. The resolution notes that the grant application is for $173,300, with $168,101 (92 percent) to be provided by CDBG funding, and the remaining amount of $5,199 (5 percent) to be funded by the City of Gleason. Providing the grant is approved, the money will be used to replace two lift stations in the city’s sewer system. The vote was unanimous, with Alderman Mike Morris being absent.

(Read the rest of this story and see the pictures in the February 20th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)

Highway Commission, Public Works Committee approve budget transfers

By David Fisher

Staff Reporter

During Thursday afternoon’s joint meeting of the Weakley County Highway Commission and Public Works Committee, members approved a budget transfer and discussed the addition of a road to the county’s maintenance system.

Budget Transfer

Under new business, the Road Board and Public Works Committee approved a budget transfer calling for shifting $423 from the retirement fund for litter crew employees and moving it into the line item for salaries.

Hopper explained that every year about this time, money is moved out of the Litter Grant Program and into the Highway Department in order to pay for these employees to work instead of having them draw unemployment.

The proposed budget transfer now goes before the Finance, Ways and Means Committee of the Weakley County Commission for its consideration.

Road Addition

Under old business, Weakley County Highway Supervisor Kermit Hopper stated that a resolution authorizing the addition of Post Oak Road to the county’s road maintenance system, which was approved by both the Road Board and Public Works Committee during their last meeting, did not get on the agenda of January’s meeting of the Weakley County Commission, but would be considered during their March meeting.

Hopper stated that the road, which is approximately 850 ft. in length and travels west off Gaylord Road to a dead end, has four houses on it.

Storm Damage

Hopper stated that Highway Department crews were kept busy during the night of the recent storm system that moved through the county, which resulted in downed trees and limbs blocking roadways.

“Our storm damage was very minimal, although we did have to work two (consecutive) Tuesday nights,” Hopper said. He stated that the damage was caused by strong, straight-line winds. “The first one, we had three crews out pretty much all night.” Hopper stated that, at that time, crews worked until midnight and were called back around 3:30 a.m. “After daylight came, it was mostly just cleaning up small stuff. We already had all of the roads open when we were out the first time, by around 10 p.m. Then we had some late fallers, or at least they hadn’t been reported earlier.

“Last Tuesday night, we just had one crew to go out . . . and they stayed out most of the night.”

He stated that one culvert washed out, but that was the extent of the water damage from the storm.

Hopper mentioned how blessed Weakley County was by missing the ice storm that hit about 20 miles or so north of the county in Kentucky, which downed many power lines and caused extensive damage.

He noted that the Highway Department coordinated cleanup efforts with Weakley County Emergency Management via radio, and that blocked roads that prevented emergency teams from reaching areas having medical emergencies had top priority.

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

NWTEDB policy council recommends Head Start director to be terminated

During a joint meeting of the Northwest Tennessee Economic Development Board of Directors and the Early Head Start Policy Council, held last Wednesday at the University of Tennessee at Martin’s University Center Ballroom, members voted to recommend to the full board that Head Start director Pam Castleman be fired due to complaints, lawsuits and reported audit compliance irregularities.

A former employee is suing Castleman and the Head Start program over allegations of mismanagement.

Crockett County Mayor Larry Griffin stated that Castleman was responsible for $126,000 in questionable costs. Griffin noted that although Castleman has been asked to resign, she has chosen not to do so. He added that the integrity of the Head Start program has been substantially corroded.

Although the Northwest Tennessee Economic Development Board of Directors voted unanimously to terminate Castleman, Head Start members Policy council members tabled the matter until they could review the audit and compliance findings.

(Read the rest of this story in this week's February 20th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)