Tri-County Publishing, Inc., publishers of The McKenzie Banner, Dresden Enterprise, and HenryCountian.com is considering combining all three of its Web sites into one to create a more regional approach. All three counties are adjoining and are essentially equal in population with Weakley at (year 2000) population of 33,732, Henry at 31,511, and Carroll at 29,121.

    The proposed Web site is expected to include current news - updated each weekday, breaking news throughout the week, sports, local and Hollywood entertainment, online real estate magazines, online classified ads, online jobs, weather forecasts, photo galleries, recipes from area cooks, community calendars - updateable by the readers, obituaries from all three counties, citizen journalism, reader-provided photographs, story commenting, gaming, videos and slideshows of local news events, and photos from yesteryear.

    For the past three years, www.HenryCountian.com has experimented with some of the above modules with great success. The site is updated Monday-Saturday and when breaking news occurs.

    No other news medium offers news targeted from these three adjoining counties.

    The proposed Web site would allow considerable reader interaction through story commenting, providing photos, providing sports scores, and adding one's favorite recipes. Another consideration is to allow the area humane societies to post available pets.

    Tri-County Publishing is interested in your opinion concerning a possible new site. Visit www.henrycountian.com to participate in the reader survey.

    A 36-year-old Dresden man entered a guilty plea in Weakley County Circuit Court last week in connection with a domestic violence case.

    Phillip Hutcherson of 483 East Main Street, Dresden, who was charged with two counts of aggravated domestic assault and especially aggravated kidnapping, pled guilty to one count of aggravated assault in Weakley County Circuit Court Thursday, February 5.

    As a result of the defendant’s guilty plea, Circuit Court Judge William Acree sentenced Hutcherson to serve five years in prison.

    Hutcherson was arrested September 26, 2008, after beating his girlfriend, 21-year-old Whitney Bowls, and preventing her from seeking medical attention for several hours.

    Bowls, who was airlifted to the Regional Medical Center in Memphis for medical treatment as a result of injuries sustained in the beating, underwent surgery on her fractured left eye socket. The victim also had a laceration to her liver, brain contusion, and multiple bruises to her body.

    Bowls told Dresden Police Hutcherson assaulted her after she told him she wanted leave him and get on with her life. Bowls stated Hutcherson took a wooden ball bat and hit her in the lower left abdomen. He then hit her in the face repeatedly with his fists. After smashing a glass candle jar against the wall, he allegedly took a piece of glass and cut the victim on the lip. Next, Hutcherson smashed a guitar and broke off the small end, then used it to strike the victim in the left leg and arm. She said Hutcherson also shot her in the right arm with a BB-gun.

    Bowls stated she told Hutcherson she wanted to go to a doctor. But he told her to get in a tub of warm water and the swelling would go down. But Bowls told Hutcherson that something was wrong and she needed to see a doctor. He allegedly told her the only way he would allow her out to see a doctor would be if she did not tell the police what he did.

    The victim stated Hutcherson attempted to get a friend to help him stage an automobile wreck so as not to raise suspicion about her injuries when she went to the hospital, but the friend refused. Hutcherson then tried to fake a ladder accident to explain Bowl’s injuries as being a result of a fall. After Hutcherson set the stage, he called 911 and the police and an ambulance arrived on the scene. However, doctors who examined Bowls at the Med in Memphis determined the victim’s injuries were inconsistent with falling off a ladder, but were consistent with a beating.

 

(Read the rest of this story in the February 11th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)

   

    During the Thursday, February 5 meeting of the Weakley County School Board, members outlined the qualifications for the next superintendent of the Weakley County School System, as previously discussed during a called meeting two weeks prior. The floor was also open to discussion from members of the community concerning the type of person they would like for the job.

 

Qualifications for School Superintendent

 

    During a time set aside for citizen input concerning the requirements for the selection of a new supervisor (also known as director) of Weakley County Schools for the 2009-2010 school year, due to the retirement of Mr. Barber on June 30, 2009, School Board Chairman Gordon Morris stated the board met in special session January 22 to “discuss the ground rules” for hiring a new director of schools.

    “The first thing we did, as a board, was affirm that we wanted to do this process ourselves, rather than enlist outside help from TSBA,” Morris said. He stressed that it’s not that the Tennessee School Board Association doesn’t help recruit good candidates, it’s just that the local school board is fully capable of managing the selection process on its own.

    Morris stated board members developed a list of minimum requirements for a new director of schools, which includes: a professional educator’s license; a minimum of a master’s degree in education with an endorsement in administration and supervision; and five years of successful experience in school administration as principal, supervisor, assistant superintendent, or superintendent.

    Morris mentioned the person hired for the job would also be required to reside in Weakley County. 

    The deadline for applications is noon March 5, 2009.

    Board members agreed the advertisements announcing the vacant position will direct applicants to the Weakley County School’s Web site: www.weakleycountyschools.com to obtain a job application form.

    Morris also stated the board developed an application form specifically customized for the position.

    “We want somebody who can step up to the plate (and get the job done),” Morris said. “Once the applications are received, we’ll go through a screening process looking at credentials and references, and hopefully ending the process with someone who will be the right leader for our school system.

    “We felt it would be appropriate for those other than board members to tell us what they think the new director should be like.”

    Morris said the purpose of the public hearing is to merge the ideas of the school board, school department and general public, in order to locate a candidate who would “be able to lead what is now an outstanding school system, in my opinion, to even further heights.”

    When Chairman Morris opened the floor to discussion, Mrs. Stacy Trevathan of Gleason said, “First of all, I’d like to commend Mr. Barber on his years of service. I’ve taken great pride in having my children go through the Weakley County School System. I wish we could get someone in here who is from the Weakley County area, because I feel like if you are from this community, you have a genuine love for it, and you really care about what happens to the students, who are our future for this county. Secondly, I want someone who has experience in the school system, someone who knows the problems and what’s going on and can take care of the problems on down the road. I hope we can get someone who has experience dealing with kids and what goes on in the school system.”

(Read the rest of this story in the February 11th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)

 

    Members of the Martin Board of Mayor and Aldermen considered a broad agenda during Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, including a resolution requesting federal stimulus funding for local projects needed to help revive the local economy.

 

Ordinances & Resolutions

 

    Board members approved a resolution requesting economic stimulus funds for project in Martin. The resolution notes economic conditions and high unemployment are severe in rural Northwest Tennessee, and that funds spent by cities and counties will have the greatest and fastest impact that will benefit states and regions in energizing local communities. The resolution points out that there are several projects on the drawing board that are “shovel ready” if funding can be secured. Those projects listed include: Brian Brown Greenway Project – Phase II, $800,000; sewer system rehabilitation, $5,310,000; drainage improvements on Park and Elm streets, $620,000; waterline replacement and upgrade on Elm Street, $690,000; water and sewer improvements on Ralston Subdivision, $1,800,000; West End Fire Station, $1,998,021; police department renovation, $2,350,000; paving the entrance road at Martin Industrial Park, $400,000; Martin Automatice Reading System for water and gas meters, $2,254,680; downtown enhancement – phase I, $1,194,000; Martin Senior Adult Center renovation, $500,000; Martin Civic Center renovation, $500,000; and the Information Technology Project, $429,000.

    In other business, the board:

• Accepted the low bid of $53,105 submitted by Clean Air Concepts of Cincinnati, Ohio, for exhaust removal systems for both City of Martin fire stations. The purchase of the air system is funded by a Assistance to Firefighters Grant, which provides 95 percent of the money needed, leaving only 5 percent to be paid by the city.

• Approved a letter of intent submitted by the Weakley County Ambulance Service, Inc. for a service upgrade to Advance Life Support (ALS) ambulance service 24 hours per day. The letter notes that the services of an additional paramedic have been secured for the Martin station. The letter also states new policies are being implemented to provide for staffing of the Martin station in the event that both Martin units become committed to calls simultaneously. This new staffing schedule will replace the 16-hour, seven day a week, ALS staffing of a second unit in Martin that has been in place since November 1, 2008. 

• Accepted a letter of resignation from Municipal Planning Commission member Gale Reese, who has moved outside of the city limits of Martin and is no longer eligible to serve on the commission.

• Approved Martin becoming a member of the National League of Cities. Mayor Brundige gave a brief overview of the advantages of the City of Martin becoming a member of the National League of Cities. One of the advantages to area citizens would be discounts on government purchases of products, and prescription drugs for uninsured and underinsured residents of member cities through the NLC Prescription Discount Card Program. Other advantages to membership include: quick access to information and publications, leadership training, technical assistance, online resources and knowledge network, assistance with complex federal assistance programs, peer networking, site visits including mobile workshops for the purpose of practical problem solving, city showcase program, and annual city exposition highlighting city-focused products. The cost for membership is based on population. Board members approved a two-year membership costing $1,936.

• Approved a resolution to accept a Tennessee Department of Transportation proposal for the State Route 216 Bridge over Cane Creek.

• Approved relocating a sewer line on University Street at a cost of $6,541 for materials and First State Bank will fund all labor associated with the replacement.

 

(Read the rest of this story in the February 11th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)