From the April 15, 2010 edition
Franklin Mitchell honored
Photo by Tom EvansLocal historian Franklin Mitchell was honored by the McNairy County Mayor and Commissioners on Monday with a resolution noting his numerous years of work to collect and preserve McNairy County history. Mitchell, a resident of Bethel Springs, has written several books about the county’s history.
Franklin Mitchell recognized, Commissioner Anthony Knight resigns
The McNairy County Mayor and Commissioners held their April meeting on Monday night with 19 of the 21 commissioners present.
The first item of business was committee reports. Commissioner Jim Rickman made a motion that the June and July meetings be combined and that the proposed budget amendments be approved. The motion passed unanimously.
The Building Committee’s request to purchase the Latta Building was approved by a 13-5 vote. Voting no were; Joe Robert Henry, Tammy Dillon, Keith Jernigan, Kenneth Amerson and Ronald Henry.
A resolution authorizing a General Obligation Bond to fund the purchase passed by a vote of 14-5. Commissioners Dillon, Jernigan, Ronald Henry, Amerson and Joe Robert Henry voted no. The Building Committee recommended that a bid of $387,500.00 by Fisher Construction to add an addition to the County Health Department be accepted. The motion passed unanimously.
There was some discussion on the sale of property owned by the county near the McNairy County Health Care Center. Prime Care has offered $120,000.00 for the property, but the county has it assessed for $230,000.00 The Commissioners decided to take no action on the matter.
Commissioner David McCullar gave the Highway Report noting that Pickwick Electric has built a new road off Hwy 142 called PEC Drive. They want the road added to the county road list. Commissioner McCullar stated that it was an excellent road.
Clean up from the ice storm should be completed soon, about a month earlier than expected.
New Hope and Pleasant Site Roads are scheduled to be paved. Paving on New Hope started on Monday.
Four bridges around the county will be replaced. A beautification committee wants to paint some bridges to remove graffiti. The cost of the paint would be around $1,000.
Commissioner O.H. Freeland commended Commissioner McCullar on the excellent job he was doing as head of the Highway Committee.
Ronnie Baldwin of Tiger Correctional Services in Arkansas addressed the Board on securing a contract with the county to provide items to prisoners like toiletry items, snacks and personal hygiene items. The measure would eliminate officers having to spend several hours per month searching incoming items for inmates for contraband. The cost to the County would be zero for Tiger to provide the services. Prisoners would purchase their needed items from Tiger Correctional. The Commission agreed 18-1 to enter into a contract with Tiger Correctional. The sheriff would have the authority to decide what items were on the list to be provided and whether or not an inmate’s family could bring items from home on their initial intake into jail. Joe Robert Henry was the lone no vote.
Betty Ashe, McNairy County Appraiser of Property, told the Commission that the new re-appraisal was complete. Farm appraisal had increased 30 to 36% and homes had seen a 10% increase. The Commission voted 17-2 to approve a 6-year re-appraisal plan, due to the fact that the state would help provide staffing for re-appraisal.
W.F. Mitchell of Bethel Springs, a longtime history buff, was recognized by the Commission for his work over the years to research and preserve McNairy County history. The resolution to honor Mitchell passed 19-0.
Notaries appointed were; Mark Allison, Rhonda Cartwright, Donna Gann, and Keesha York.
The final item of business was the reading of a letter of resignation by Commissioner Anthony Knight by Mayor Jai Templeton.
“It is with great forethought that I summit my resignation as county commissioner from District 6 effectively immediately. I have been approached about another position in the county. It’s been a great pleasure to have served as a commissioner and I wish the best for McNairy County,” stated Knight’s letter of resignation. Knight has served on the county commission for over 20 years.
AiM’s Steel Magnolias a hit 
The cast of Steel Magnolias, seated, from left to right: Sara Morris and Melanie Murray. Standing, left to right: Dr. Nichole Feeney, Sara Norris, Christy Carmack and Meghan Woolworth.
According to those in attendance at last weekend’s production of Steel Magnolias presented by Arts in McNairy the event was a hit. Crowds filled the MCHS Little Theatre.
Dr. Shawn Pitts, a representative of AiM, noted that the show was outstanding and the audience’s attendance and enthusiasm was high.
“I’ve heard nothing but good things about it and we certainly appreciate all the ladies who put on such a great performance and all those who attended,” said Dr. Pitts. “We had three veteran AiM performers and three newcomers, which was a perfect balance.”
The production was directed by Tom Cook. The cast included Sara Norris as Clairee; Melanie Murray as Truvy; Sara Morris as Shelby; Christy Carmack as Ousier; Nicole Feeney as M’Lynn; and Meghan Woolworth as Annelle.
NEW! Click on this link to view all the Steel Magnolias photos!
Photo by Alan Murray
Annelle (Meghan Woolworth) gives M’Lynn (Nichole Feeney) a hair “don’t”.
Selmer working on new downtown park
Photo by Tom Evans
The City of Selmer recently purchased two lots on Front Street and work has begun to turn the areas into downtown parks.
The lot at the corner of Front Street and Court Avenue that was formerly Holmes Brothers Car Lot will be turned into a “green-space area”. The area will include picnic tables and be surrounded by a hedge. There will be three archway entrances.
Local metal artists Tim Pace and Bob Brooks are working on art projects that will be added to the parks and dedicated during this year’s Rockabilly Festival.
The lot at the corner of Front Street and Warren Avenue will be turned into a Farmer’s Market and will feature a large pavilion with a concrete floor.
The parks should be a big improvement to the downtown area when finished.
Hawk & Company holds ribbon cutting ceremony
Photo by Brenda Cauley
Members of the Chamber of Commerce were on-hand for Hawk & Co.’s ribbon cutting ceremony. Hawk & Co. offers formal wear for pageants and proms, tuxedo rentals, and flowers and live plants.
Alice Hawkins, owner of Hawk & Company has been in business in Selmer for a number of years. However, she recently relocated from Court Avenue to 225 South Fourth Street beside J & J Electronics.
Last Friday, members of the Chamber of Commerce were on hand as Hawk & Company held a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony.
Hawk & Company offers all types of formal wear for pageants, proms and other special occasions. They do tuxedo rentals, they also have gift items, do sewing alterations and offer a complete line of flowers and live plants. They will be happy to design a special flower arrangement for any occasion. They will also deliver to the funeral home for you.
Stop by and see Alice Hawkins and her staff in their new location. You can call them at 645-8870 or 610-0790.
Shooting in Bethel Springs
Brother shoots brother following argument
McNairy County Sheriff Ricky Roten responded to a call involving a shooting at 421 Bob Plunk Road in Bethel Springs on Tuesday night at just after 10:00 p.m. The home was the residence of Eloise Hardy.
When he arrived on the scene, Sheriff Roten found a white male lying in the driveway with a gunshot wound to the upper left side of his body, mostly his upper left arm.
The victim was identified as Steven Craig Hardy, age 44. He had been shot by his brother, Richard (Ricky) Franklin Hardy, age 57.
The weapon used to shoot Steve Hardy was a shotgun that was loaded with birdshot.
“They evidently had been drinking and got into an argument and one brother shot the other brother,” said Sheriff Roten.
Steve Hardy was airlifted from the scene to Jackson and later taken to the Med in Memphis. He was reported to be in good condition on Wednesday morning and is expected to recover from his injuries.
Ricky Hardy was arrested and taken to the McNairy County Jail where he was charged with Aggravated Assault with a Weapon. He is currently still in jail awaiting a bond hearing on Friday.
Walmart beer permit approved
Lawsuit dropped
The Selmer Beer Board met on Tuesday night following the regular monthly meeting and approved the previously denied beer permit application by Walmart by a 4-1 vote. John Smith was the lone no vote.
By agreeing to give Walmart the permit, Erica Langston of Nashville, Walmart’s attorney, said that Walmart would drop their lawsuit against the city.
Walmart had applied for a beer permit in 2007 and was awarded a permit but at the time decided not to put beer in their Selmer store.
Walmart re-applied in September of 2009, but at their October meeting the Selmer Beer Board denied the permit even though Walmart met all the requirements. That denial led to Walmart filing a lawsuit against the City of Selmer.
Regular Meeting
In regular business at Tuesday night’s monthly meeting the reports from all departments were approved unanimously. Luke DeLaVerge of the Carl Perkins Child Abuse Center told the Board that he and some volunteers had raised $3,600 towards a new pavilion that will be constructed on one of the lots purchased on Front Street to be used for a farmer’s market. River City Concrete has offered to sponsor $500 of the $1,700 cost to concrete the floor. Total cost of the pavilion is expected to be around $6,000. Sybil Dancer, Director of Parks and Recreation, informed the Board of the progress being made for the new downtown park at the corner of Front and Court Streets. “Many cities have what they call “green spaces” and that’s what we want to have,” said Dancer. “We want to put a row of hedges around it with archway entrances on three sides. We want this to be place with picnic tables and places where people can come and have lunch.” The city has already cleared the lot and is in the processing of adding dirt. Alderman Paul Simpson commended Dancer for the excellent job she was doing as head of Parks and Recreation. In new business the City voted to approve an Inter-local agreement with the McNairy County Sheriff’s Department to participate in a county drug task force. The Board also approved the 1st reading of an ordinance adopting building and residential codes and an ordinance allowing body shops in B-1, M-1, and S-1 districts. A request for new software to update the city recorder’s accounting package for business license, property tax and other receipts was approved. The software cost will be around $12,000. The Board agreed to fund $10,000 toward the new downtown parks and donate a total of $1,000 to this year’s Rockabilly Festival scheduled for June 12th.
Sheriff signs contract with Tiger Correctional
Photo by Tom Evans
Sheriff Ricky Roten signs a contract with Tiger Correctional Services of Arkansas as Ronnie Baldwin of Tiger Correctional looks on. Tiger Correctional will soon start providing snacks, toiletry items, and personal hygiene items to be purchased by jail inmates. The new system will help eliminate drugs and other contraband from coming into the jail and save numerous man-hours for officers that have been having to search all the items brought to the jail.
