From the June 10, 2010 edition
Cleaning out Cypress Creek
Photo by Tom Evans A pontoon track-hoe works on cleaning out Cypress Creek, which runs through downtown Selmer. The crew is working to clean out limbs and debris to help with the flow of water and prevent flooding. They are cleaning out a section three miles long on each side of the bridge.
Two wrecks result in 1 injury
Photo by Tom EvansThe driver of this truck wasn’t seriously injured when his truck overturned on Hwy. 64 East.
18-wheeler overturns
An 18-wheeler overturned early Tuesday morning on Hwy 64 East, at the foot of Martin Camp Hill, near the McNairy County Highway Department.
The driver of the truck ran off the road on the left side and over corrected, which forced his load to shift and caused the truck to overturn. Two wreckers from Henderson had to be called in to turn the truck back over.
There were no serious injuries in the incident.
Photo by Tom EvansSelmer First Responders help to extract the passenger of this Pontiac Bonneville following a collision with a log truck at the intersection of Hwy. 64 and Poplar Avenue in Selmer Wednesday morning.
Wreck injures one
A wreck on Wednesday morning at the intersection of Poplar Avenue and Hwy 64 bypass resulted in one person being transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Hannah Wagoner of Selmer was driving a 2005 Pontiac Bonneville and was attempting to pull onto Hwy 64 heading east when she hit the side of a log truck that was also heading east. The collision resulted in First Responders and the Selmer Fire Department Rescue team being forced to use the “jaws of life” to get Wagoner’s passenger from the vehicle.
Wagoner and the driver of the truck were not injured. Wagoner’s passenger was taken to McNairy Regional Hospital.
Adamsville downtown readies for paving
Photo by Tom EvansAfter months of work, the final touch to the Adamsville Downtown Project is drawing near. TDOT workers were busy on Tuesday and Wednesday removing the old asphalt. New pavement will be laid in the next few days, which will give the project a finished look and make local residents happy.
2nd Annual Rockabilly Festival is Saturday
The event gets underway with a 5-K race at 8:00 a.m. Antique cars will be on display on Main Street. Various vendors will have concessions and other items for sale throughout the day.
At noon there will be a welcome ceremony, along with the dedication of two new public art projects to be placed in the new downtown park near the railroad tracks where Holmes Brothers Cars used to be.
Music gets underway at 12:30 p.m. with Jason Thomas and the Mean-Eyed Cats.
There will be a special announcement and “Pickin’ at Pat’s Café” at 1:30 p.m.
At 2 p.m., Phil Hummer and the White Falcons will take the stage followed by the W.S. Holland Band at 4 p.m. A Rockabilly Revival Jam takes place at 5 p.m. followed by a street dance.
There will also be a carnival with rides and concessions set up at the Selmer City Park, in conjunction with the festival.
Everyone is invited to bring the family, join in the fun, and get ready to rock!
Ramer residents busted
Ramer residents charged with conspiracy to manufacture meth
Four Ramer residents were arrested last Wednesday by Alcorn County Narcotics Agents and charged with conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. The conspiracy to manufacture arrests followed Alcorn Narcotics receiving information of four subjects at a local business possibly purchasing items to manufacture methamphetamine. Officers spotted the vehicle driving erratically and stopped it at North Harper and Shiloh Rd. Narcotics Investigator Darrell Hopkins said officers gained consent to search and found numerous items used to cook methamphetamine.
Those charged are:
•Christopher Shawn Ingle, 31, Feddie Davis Road, Ramer, Tenn., conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
•Stephanie Louise Ingle, 35, Feddie Davis Road, Ramer, Tenn., conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
•Jessica Dale Branson, 26, Gravel Hill Road, Ramer, Tenn., conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
•Mark Steadman, 26, Gravel Hill Road, Ramer, Tenn., conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
Selmer City Meeting
Contractor for debris cleanup dismissed
The Town of Selmer held their June meeting on Tuesday night. Pastor Freed Ware of Faith Baptist gave the opening prayer. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Bill Webb. Departmental reports and minutes of the May meeting were approved.
When asked if anyone wanted to address the board, Michael Linton, owner of Cat-5, a company hired to pick up storm debris, came forward. Linton was upset because his company was dismissed from their contract to remove storm damage debris after only a few days on the job.
“Why don’t you tell why you terminated our contract,” said Mr. Linton in an address to Mayor Robinson.
“You didn’t start on Wednesday when you were supposed to, you didn’t start on Thursday, you finally started on Friday and didn’t get much done,” said Mayor Robinson. “At the rate you were going it would take over 240 days to finish the job and the contract calls for 90 days.”
In a rebuttal, Linton stated, “He’s decided that we can’t make production based on two days of work.”
City Attorney Terry Abernathy spoke up to say, “This discourse is getting no one anywhere.” Mayor Robinson then stated, “You have a nice night Mr. Linton, I’m not saying anything else.” Mr. Linton added that he would contact a lawyer.
In old business, the Board passed the 2nd reading on the Water Additive Accountability Ordinance, the 2nd reading on an ordinance to rezone Parcels 3, 4 & 5 of Group A from B-1 (General Business) to R-2 (Medium Density Residential), and the 2nd reading on an ordinance to amend the 2009-2010 budget.
In new business, the Board voted to authorize TDOT to close the entrance from Glover/Tennessee Drive onto the bypass to allow TDOT to construct a new entrance at Three Star Drive leading to the UT Martin Center.
“We’ve been fighting TDOT for about a year on this, trying to keep Glover Drive open and they won’t budge,” said Alderman Paul Simpson. “I make a motion we close Glover Drive so we can get better access to UT Martin and the industrial park.” The motion was seconded by Edward Smith and passed 4-1. Lloyd Tennyson voted no.
The Board voted to approve the Bank of McNairy County as an official depository for the Town of Selmer. The vote was 4-0, with John Finlayson passing on the vote.
Outdoors Unlimited was awarded the contract to remove storm debris following the dismissal of Cat-5. The vote was 5-0 in favor.
Alderman John Smith made a motion that the city reopen bids on securing health insurance and the Board approve the bids before changes could be made. The motion passed 5-0.
The 2nd reading on an ordinance to establish the 2010-2011 budget, and the 2011 tax rate was approved. The matter will be discussed on June 24th at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Judge Bill Webb asked Mayor Robinson about tombstones in Oak Hill Cemetery that had been damaged by the tornado and who was responsible for getting them re-set. Mayor Robinson stated that the family members were responsible for the tombstones, but that the City had helped re-set some of them whenever possible if they had no family or they couldn’t be located.
The regular meeting then adjourned and the Beer Board met.
Beer Board Meets
The Selmer Beer Board met immediately following the regular meeting. They approved the beer license for Selmer Food & Gas (formerly Rod’s Quick Stop), by a vote of 4-1. John Smith was the lone no vote. Officer Kim Holley stated that everything checked out fine.
The new owner, Mr. Balbindar Singh, was questioned by Alderman Simpson and asked where he lived and if he knew the laws concerning the license. The owner stated he lived in Selmer and was aware of the laws.
