Funds Raised   9/31/05

          Mary Lodge, Executive Director of the Paris Henry County Art Council announced that teams raised  $6174.00 for the Red Cross, which was given to Red Cross Representatives Mike and Debbie Martin the night of the Bouffant’s Concert at the Krider Performing Arts Center.  An additional $797.38 was donated by the audience at K-PAC that evening.

Bus Derby   9/31/05

     Constable Krezinsky will be driving in the Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway Extreme Bus Race on Saturday in Calvert City KY.  The event features a night of action with figure 8 extreme school bus racing as well as figure 8 derby racing.                     

Krezinsky, who drives for the county school system, is an enthusiastic racer and invites every out to cheer him on. 

County School Coordinated Health  9/30/05

      The Henry County School System Coordinated School Health Advisory Council met Thursday for their quarterly meeting, the first of this school year.  The council is made up of local health care providers, school nurses, councilors, students and parents whose goal is to provide the students with a healthy environment to learn in.

     The advisory council is currently planning its annual Teen Summit for Oct. 27^th.  Teen Summit is a day for students at Grove that provide speakers on various topics such as healthy eating, exercise and   self esteem.  The council also sponsors a similar day for all county 7^th graders known as Youth Day, scheduled for   November.     The group is currently working on a wellness policy for the schools. 

     This is the 4^th year for the coordinated health program and Henry County is one of four pilot programs in the state to receive the grant funding for the project.

     The coordinated health program is responsible for fruit juices and healthy snacks in vending machines.  They also provide the mass health screenings in the county schools at the beginning of the school year.  Another new activity instituted by the health program is 5 minutes of walking 5 days a week in grades K through 4.   Blue Cross provides each student with a bracelet for the program and each teacher with a pedometer.  “The walking is done at times not used for PE or recess,” explained Stephanie Winders, Coordinated School Health Director.  “Increased activity has been shown to improve academic achievement.”  

Home Coming  9/29/05

     This is Home Coming Week at Henry County High School and the festivities will culminate with the football game on Friday night, September 30 followed by the Home Coming Dance from 9pm until 12 midnight.

     All his week students have been celebrating with dress up days.   Monday was Pajama Day, Tuesday was Nerd Day, Wednesday was Clash Day, Thursday will be Hollywood Day and Friday is Patriot Pride Day.

     This years Home Coming Court will include Senior attendants Nikki  Bobo, Hope Carson,  Brittany Moore.  Junior attendant will be Bobo Cheung.  Sophomore attendant is Shawnton Clay.  The Home Coming Queen will be announced at 7pm in Patriot Stadium prior to the 7:30 kick off of the game against Munford.

Downtown Star  9/29/05

          Paris Downtown Business Association (DBA) recently introduced “Downtown Stars”, a program designed to reward the excellent service provided by employees and staff working in the downtown area. 

     “Downtown stars are people who meet 3 criteria,” stated DBA President Kay Foust.  “The first is good ol’ customer service, from opening doors for customers to referring them to other businesses for specific items or services.  Second is good citizenship, such as keeping downtown clean and government and store parking available for patrons by using the city’s free lots.  Finally they must be emblematic of the store or business they represent.”

PSSD   9/28/05

     The Paris Special School District’s board of Education met Tuesday evening and considered items they would discuss at their upcoming yearly retreat in Oct.

HCMC  9/28/05

        “We are beginning to see more and more activity from uninsured patients looking for service from our facility,” stated Medical Center Administrator Thomas Gee.  He went on to say that the hospital would continue to meet the needs of local citizens but may have to discourage attracting out of service area patients without resources to afford the care.

     A new chief financial officer has been hired for the Medical Center.  The CFO, Lisa Casteel, will join the executive staff November 7.  The lack of a CFO was brought up by the auditors, Littermore, Black, Morgan and Cain at Tuesday’s meeting who then added that HCMC was in a very sound financial position.

     The medical center learned that it does not need a certificate of need to add the bed space that completion of the unfinished portion of the bed tower would create and bids to finish out that area will soon be let.

        The trustees approved a request for $136,736 worth of new equipment including new beds for 2 East and pediatrics as well as 10 new beds for the new construction area and money for a new nurse call system.

BPU   9/28/05

     The Paris Board of Public Utilities bought a tanker truck of fuel before the hurricane Katrina hit.  According to Richard Edwards the price for one now will not be guaranteed by distributors.  “We have a 45 day supply of gas and diesel,” Edwards told Board members at Tuesday’s meeting.  Edwards is in charge of the electric department where vehicles are used to read meters and provide other services.  “We are trying to minimize gas usage,” he said.

     BPU General Manager Charles Perry stated that TVA charges for kilowatt-hours of electricity are higher than ever before.  “The Brownsville Ferry facility is expected to ease the power problem considerably but it will not be on line until Feb. of 2007.”   Perry also noted that it has been a hot couple of months and natural gas prices are skyrocketing.  In the last month BPU has installed 4 new gas units and 5 heat pumps.    

     The Board of Directors approved a bid from Elkhorn Construction to enclose outdoor filters at the water treatment plant.  The filters were noted on a sanitation survey and according to Perry, since 9-11 enclosure has become mandatory.

     If approved by the Paris  city commission, BPU will lower its Industrial Pretreatment Surveillance fees to $500 a month.  The fees are used to pay for the cost of monitoring what Dana, PML and Cliffty Farms puts into the sewer system.  According to Perry all three of the regulated industries have agreed on the new price, down from the new rate of $1,000 per month.  If the move is approved by the city it will be retroactive to August 1.

Health Fair   9/27/05

          A Health Care Options Fair was held at the Central Community Service Center Monday afternoon.  The event featured 50 booths from health care providers, local and state agencies and provided citizens an opportunity to speak to state officials about the loss of TenCare benefits.

     According to Legislative Coordinator for the Department of Human Services Mark Brown, there are 700 thousand people in the state without insurance.  The health care options fair held in Henry County was one of more than 11 that are being held across the state in an attempt to strengthen the ‘health care safety  net’.

     Sen. Roy Herron and Rep. Butch Borchert spent the afternoon discussing citizen’s concerns over lost benefits.  “ We met with the governor this morning on the safety net and I believe we can up the safety net drug allowances,” stated Borchert.

   “The most urgent needs are those people facing immediate health issues like cancer treatments and surgeries,” explained Herron.  

     Budget concerns still face Governor Bredesen, but according to Herron the governor has placed education and health care at the top of his priorities.  "That is where our limited resources will be focused,” added the Senator.

     The Representative did state that Tennessee will be reimbursed by the Federal government for money spent to aid hurricane victims and those health costs will not cut into the TenCare benefits of state residents.  

Aid available  9/26/05

Tanner   9/26/05

   Tanner has helped honor mothers who have lost sons and daughters in the Armed Forces by helping to pass a congressional resolution that recognizes Sept. 25 as Gold Star Mothers Day.

Benefit  9/26/05

     Friends, family and well wishers turned out for a whole hog barbecue for Henry County Commissioner Charlie Parker at the Henry Civic Center Sunday afternoon. 

     Fellow county commissioners along with Henry officials attended the fundraiser to help Charlie with medical costs from his recent surgery to remove a brain tumor.

      An active member of the Henry Community, every one was glad he is on the mend.  “We are all glad Charlie is back,” stated Henry Mayor Faye Lowery.  “Charlie and I are well known for butting heads over issues and I am just glad he is back.  I missed the confrontations.”

Puryear Special Meeting   9/23/05

     The Puryear Mayor and board of aldermen met in a special called meeting Thursday evening to approve on second reading changes to 3 city ordinances. 

     One ordinance addressed the number of vacation and sick days that city employees could accumulate and a second ordinance change raised the municipalities court fees for items like moving violations such as speeding to $50 and traffic school to $40.  Last week at the regular monthly meeting board members had state that the fees were “unreasonably low”.

Benefit for  Charlie   9/22/05

Hurricane Victims Welcome  9/22/05

     Hurricane Katrina Victims are welcome in Tennessee and to show how welcomed, Henry County Emergency Manager Ron Watkins has announced that the state of Tennessee’s Mobile Disaster Center will be in Henry County Thursday September 29 at the West Tennessee Career Center on Mineral Wells Ave from 10am to 6pm. 

     The traveling unit will help evacuees to find housing, jobs and information about the help that FEMA, the American Red Cross and the state of Tennessee can provide Katrina victims.     

Gas Co.   9/21/05

     The Paris Henry County Natural Gas Utility District has completed its Hwy 218 Project.  That part of the line will not be serving gas customers but completes the gas line loop.  The lines have been purged and now contain gas.    Bid at  $301,000 the project came in at a completed cost of    $288,000.

     3 ids were received for a backhoe.  At Tuesday’s noon meeting the board accepted the low bid for a Case Tractor at $45,000.

     The gas company is having trouble collecting fees from Jackson Boring and Trenching Co.    The boring company hit a line along Hwy 79.They owe the utility $5,000 and the board voted to forward them to a collection company.

Pioneer Day  9/20/05

By Larissa Boyd

The annual Henry Pioneer Day kicked off Saturday morning at 10:00 as the parade started to pass through downtown Henry.  Many Henry citizens and visitors lined the streets to watch the parade despite the chilly weather.  The parade lasted close to an hour, and most everyone stayed for the Pioneer Day festivities. 

Scottie and Cindy Rainey served as Mr. and Mrs. Pioneer this year.  Scottie served two terms on the Board of Alderman, and Cindy is currently Henry’s Vice Mayor.  Both have been very active in the city and the surrounding communities.

This year’s Pioneer Day was dedicated in memory of Mary Mertens.  Ms. Mary was a very well known citizen of Henry with a very big heart.  She moved to Henry in 1994 and became a city favorite immediately.  She was known for helping others in need, and for baking wonderful goodies for many events in the city.  She started a Christmas program for the children of Henry which included treats and gifts that the children may not have received otherwise.  There was also a visit by Santa that the children were excited about every year.  She did not do these things for fame or fortune, she did them because she cared.  Many people missed her cakes during the cakewalk this year, as she always had a few that she donated.

All the proceeds of Pioneer Day benefit Henry’s Volunteer Fire Department.  Fire Chief Keith Qualls explained the expenses of the fire department.  Henry’s fire truck was purchased as a used vehicle for $40,000.  Jimmy Allen, a member of the VFD, dressed in full gear and Chief Qualls pointed out that the total expense of the gear was about $4200.  Chief Qualls thanked everyone for coming to Pioneer Day to help raise money for gear and equipment that keep the firefighters safe.

 Chief an Jimmy Allen

There were many new children’s activities this year.  The favorites included an inflated clubhouse and bobbing for apples.  There was a ring toss game, a duck pond game, and coloring contests.  There was also a face painting and hair spray-painting booth that many of the children lined up for.

There were many vendors selling everything from belt buckles to jewelry to flags, and an airbrush t-shirt booth that stayed very busy throughout the festivities.

There was an antique car show in the field next to the town square.  Many car enthusiasts spent time viewing each car.

As usual, the favorites for most people were the cakewalk and Bingo.  “We want to thank everyone who baked and donated a cake for the cakewalk,” Mayor Faye Lowery said.  The cakewalk brought in the most proceeds for the fire department.  I personally enjoyed the cakewalk, and luckily walked home with a wonderful cake made by Mandy Owen.

There was no gunfight this year.  The VFD had voted to have the gunfight in August, but it could not be pulled together in time for this year’s festivities.  “We hope to have the gunfight next year,” Mayor Lowery stated.  “We are also looking at expanding Pioneer Day to make next year bigger and better.”

The annual street dance also attracted many people, despite the cooler weather.  The Tennessee Rebels played from 7:00 until about 10:00.  Firefighter and auctioneer Jason Wyatt auctioned off many cakes during their intermission.  Laura Qualls, Henry resident and long-time volunteer for the city won a drawing for a patio set.

“The Fire Department did an excellent job pulling this together.  We hope next year can be even better,” Mayor Lowery stated.

“We appreciate all the community support and the volunteers who helped make this Pioneer Day successful,” Fire Chief Keith Qualls said.  “It was great to see the community come together.”

County Commission      9/20/05

     The tragedies in the Gulf States are bringing some prosperity to parts of Henry County.  County Mayor Brent Greer announced at Monday evening’s meeting of the County Commission that Champion Homes has hired 15 new workers and expects to hire more as they attempt to meet the demand for their modular units, due to the housing shortage created by Hurricane Katrina.  “These new jobs will definitely effect the economy of this county,” stated Greer.     The city of Henry and the county of Henry will be applying for a safety grant to make improvements at Hwy 79 and Champion Lane where the large Champion Homes enter the highway.

     The commissioners also approved an anticipation note to provide the Henry County Highway Department with expected funds from the wheel tax so that they can continue to work on roads while weather permits.

Health Care Options Fair   9/19/05

          A Health Care Options Fair has been scheduled for Henry County as part of the ongoing process of strengthening the stat’s health care safety net.  Members of the Governor’s administration, Senator Roy Herron and Representative Butch Borchert, health care providers and health care advocacy groups are scheduled to attend.

     “As we continue to think about ways to strengthen our states safety net for Tennesseans losing TennCare coverage, we need to do all we can to educate them and all the Tennesseans who are uninsured about the other healthcare options that are available,” said Bredesen.

     Senator Herron and Representative Borchert agreed that educating the public about their options was a necessity.

     Booths at the Health Care Options Fair will be open from 4 to 6pm, Monday September 26 at the Central Community Service Center on Jones Bend Rd. 

Tanner Helps Pass National Registry  9/19/05 

     Congressman John Tanner supported and the House of Representatives passed the Children’s Safety Act of 2005 on Wednesday, an act which Tanner said will help protect children from potential and convicted sex offenders.

      The bill establishes a National Sex Offender Registry for the FBI to track state and local sex offender registries, expands sentences for sex crimes against children and requires background checks of prospective foster care families.

     As a grandfather of 2, Tanner stated, "I know how important it is for families to be safe from child sex offenders.  Unfortunately they are not as safe as they could be and we are addressing that at a national level.” 

     Tanner believes that a central coordination of information is a necessary tool to keep children and neighborhoods safe.

Noon on the square  9/16/05

     Noon on the square, an event that fills the courthouse lawn with people and music every Friday in September was a great place to enjoy lunch this Friday with a breeze blowing and the sun shining.  Sponsored by Commercial Bank the month long event has become a favorite for downtown shoppers and merchants.  The Downtown Business Association gave away $50 ‘downtown bucks’.  The lucky winner was Caroline Akers      

Bouffant’s Show Becomes Disaster Relief  Effort 9/16/05   

     The hurricane disaster has inspired the Paris Henry County Arts Council to turn their upcoming

Bouffant’s concert into a friendly fundraising competition.  Teams are being formed to raise money for hurricane victims.  The Money will be presented to the Red Cross at the concert this Saturday, Sept. 17^th at the Krider Performing Arts Center.

     “It didn’t seem right to have this fun group performing in the midst of this tragedy, so in true Henry County fashion we decided to use this as a rallying point to raise as much money as possible,” stated Mary Lodge, Executive Director of the Arts Council.

     Several local businesses already have committed teams of at least 5 members each to the effort.  All Temp Services, Fred’s Express, Henry County Medical Center, McDonalds, Paris Magazine, and the PI will be collecting money at their locations.  They also will be seeking donations from friends and family.  The funds will be collected and given to the Red Cross representative during a special segment of the show.

Henry County School Board    9/16/05

          Building inspections will become a part of the yearly and long range planning of the Henry County School System.  At Thursday’s school board meeting the members agreed that inspection of the facilities, one school a year, that included roof, electrical ad other components would help keep the buildings in good shape and help with long term planning for improvements. 

     “This wood be an excellent way to plan for the future,” stated Director of Henry County Schools, Rick Kriesky.  “This could save us millions in the long run,” explained Bobby Claxton, who is in charge of the school buildings and their upkeep.  “It is also proactive and good stewardship of the tax payers money,” added Kriesky.   With the boards approval contracts with inspection groups will now be sought.

     Auxiliary buildings at Grove and Lakewood were approved Thursday.  The metal buildings will house men’s changing rooms.  The board also approved $1500 for new soccer uniforms to replace those that were stolen.  Introduced to the board was Miguel Dominic Tharpe.  Tharpe, a graduate of Henry County High School, will serve as the nonfaculty assistant basketball coach.

       It was announced that FFA and 4-H members of HCHS had placed 1^st in the state’s dairy cattle judging.  Also announced were the improvements shown in ACT scores.  “We are very pleased with the large jump.” stated Donna Poole, High School Principal, “It’s a huge jump but now we must sustain that growth.”

Fish Fry    9/15/05

         On Friday evening, September 16^th, the Charles Conger Senior Citizen Center will be having a fish fry in the cafeteria of the Central Community Service Center located on Jones Bend Rd. from 6pm to 7:30pm.  That Friday evening the fish and fries along with hushpuppies and coleslaw will be served up with a drink and homemade desert for only $10.  Tickets may be purchased at the Senior Center or from members of the Office on Aging Committee.  The highlight of the evening will be the music provided by Representative Butch Borchert and his band. Borchert is also donating the fish for the event.

Puryear     9/14/05

The Puryear Mayor and Board of Aldermen had a busy night with 3 meetings Tuesday.

     Passed on 1^st reading was an amendment to the city ordinance on junk vehicles.  The amendment will be read again either in a special called meeting or at next months regular meeting.  According to Mayor Kenny Paschall between now and then the aldermen will survey the city to see how man will be affected by the change.  “Now we have no count on the number of vehicles there are or how many this will effect”.  He also told concerned citizens that they would be given time to clean up or move the ‘junk’.  “We will work with you anyway we can,” the mayor told the citizens of Puryear.

     There was no new business for the Puryear Beer Board to conduct and after approving the minutes of the last meeting the Board moved on to the regular monthly meeting.

     The Mayor and Board of Aldermen announced that the city had received a new fire rating which would lower the cost of insurance premiums for city residents.  The new ISO rating went from an 8 inside the city and a 9 outside to a 5 inside Puryear and a 9 outside.  The new rating will take effect on January 1.  “That’s very, very good and the water and fire departments are to be commended,” stated the Mayor.  “That will mean a significant savings in insurance costs,” he stated. Paris has an ISO rating of 4. The board also approved the funds to purchase crayon and coloring books for October’s Fire Protection Month.

     The city will be applying for a Community Development Block grant to purchase a new tanker truck for the volunteer fire department.  The old one will be listed as surplus and be auctioned off.

Paris Parks and Recreation Board  9/13/05

     The Parks and Recreation Board approved a 3-year contract for concession sales to Brian Webb, the current contract holder.  “We have had nothing but good comments about Webb and his concessions”, stated Mr. Hosford, Chairman of the Park Board.

     The board also discussed building a new concession stand with a 2^nd  floor at McNeil Park.  A masonry building approx. 24x12 was talked about, as were bathrooms but, according to Director of Paris Parks, Tim Check, due to current sewer connections they would not be economically feasible. 

          The city has budgeted $7,000 for improvements that could be used for the concession stand and an additional $2000 is in the Park budget.  That along with money donated by the ASA Girls Softball League in the amount of $1500, according to League President, John Burnett, could mean the building construction might begin early this fall.

Anonymous Help

Originally sent to the P.I. and forwarded to the Henry County News Digest by Mr. Dunlap--

Dear Sir:

I had wished for my efforts to help some displaced persons from New Orleans to remain anonymous because of my philosophy that the only true gift is an anonymous gift, but since Jerry Hamlin of the Paris Housing Authority mentioned my name in yesterday’s paper, and the contents of the article were so incorrect, I thought I would ask the paper to publish this letter to set the record straight, and to tell the residents of Henry County why my secretary, Nichole Decker, walked in my office one day and said, "I love living here."

Long story short, the generosity shown the Serrano family was so enormous that it brought tears to my eyes and I think will to the people who read this article. This saga began when I called the Red Cross in Jackson, Tennessee, on Wednesday, August 31, 2005, and received a typical Red Cross bureaucratic answer, but that is the Red Cross. Following my philosophy that if you want to do something, do it yourself, I went to Wallin Hardware; got two gallons of gas; and took off to Jackson. I walked in the gymnasium attached to the West Jackson Baptist Church and found the ten Red Cross bureaucrats that were too busy to take down my name and address occupied in gossiping among themselves. They told my secretary they were overwhelmed ( a lie.) I spotted the Serrano family and asked them if they would like to come to Paris, Tennessee, with me. After I convinced them I was not Jack the Ripper, off we went to The Dream Center, which is a homeless shelter in Jackson run by the West Jackson Baptist Church that saved the family from sleeping on the streets. They had spent one night at the Dream Center. All the Red Cross had to offer was bottles of water. The only other place the Serranos had stayed in Jackson was the first night when they were ripped off by the Indians who run the Old Ramada Inn, at which point they were out of funds, and as far as the Indians were concerned, out of luck.

Now comes my list of the angels of Henry County:

1. My secretary, Rosann Autry, who Thursday went to Wal-Mart and bought a $200.00 shopping card for the family and some toys for the children.

2. Rev. Otto Duncan, the pastor of the Quinn Chapel AME Church and Carey Counseling Center, who enlisted the aid of Wayne Travis and others of Quinn Chapel, to come to the aid of the Serranos. In fact, Rev. Duncan, who is from New Orleans, was grieving himself for the losses his own family suffered, but he oversaw or made certain the Serranos went to all the appropriate places.

3. Paris Special School District, who made certain that the children of the Serranos would attend school the next available day, which was Tuesday of this week, and told the parents not to worry about school supplies, and to Wanda Gallimore, of the Paris Special School District, who directed them to East Wood Church of Christ.

4. East Wood Church of Christ, who gave, gave, and gave out food and clothes to the point of embarrassment.

5. The Optometic Center at Wal-mart, who immediately treated Mrs. Serrano, who is legally blind, and gave her a month’s supply of disposable contacts and told her her glasses would be in in week. She was able to see for the first time in two years, all for free.

6. Melanie Scott, of the Optometic Center, who gave the Serranos personally a lovely couch and loveseat.

7. The Salvation Army (the best charity of its kind in the nation) who gave and gave and gave and gave.

8. The Methodist Thrift shop, who gave and gave children’s clothes to my secretary, Nichole Decker, and when she was asked for the purpose of the clothes, Sue Page of the Thrift Shop, wrote them a check for $100.00.

9 My dear friend, Ed Reynolds, of Furniture Exchange, who gave them needed furniture.

10. Bill Anderson, who runs the local Sears Store, who this past Saturday donated a driver and his delivery truck to help carry some of the accumulated goods for the family. He had to rearrange rather dramatically his scheduled deliveries to take care of this family.

11. The Paris Country Club, who gave a meal in a value in excess of $60.00 to the Serrano family.

12. My daughter, Susannah Murphey and her husband, Michael Murphey, and Michael’s sister, Beth Harrod, who gave clothing, money, and a great deal of love.

13. Ms. Jerry Hamlin, of the Paris Housing Authority, who gave the Serranos a three bedroom apartment immediately.

14. Cynthia Boyson, of Quinn Chapel Church, who gave a $150.00 bedroom bunk bed set.

15. Larry and Lucile Smith and their daughter-in-law, Lindsey Smith, who got the Trinity United Methodist Church to adopt the Serrano family. God bless them and the Smiths themselves for housing six refugees or displaced persons from Mississippi in an apartment behind their house.

16. The other five members of my office staff who took up a collection this past Friday of money and gave it to the Serranos.

If I have left anybody out, I apologize.

The only "no" was received from Operation Roundup of the Board of Public Utilities because they said the Serrano family did not fit the "rule book" for them, but David Flowers, a member of the Executive Committee, did have Kay Foust call E. W. James and arrange a $50.00 food gift from the Food Bank.

Anyway and anyhow, it took a day and a half of my time and expenditure of a paltry amount of money on my part, and I let the Serranos live in the upstairs of my house for four days at no cost to me. It is fully furnished and just sits there, and what I have received in return in warm, fuzzy feelings is 100 times more than I gave.

Very truly yours,

Signs  9/8/05

     As the city of Paris contemplates a change in its ordinance about signs on City right of ways, BPU is also grappling with the problem.  The city is worried about the cluttered appearance the signs make but the Paris Board of Public Utilities is worried about the safety of its linemen.  According to the General Manager, Charles Perry, there are a growing number of sings being placed on BPU owned utility poles in Paris and Henry County.    The signs are most often stapled or nailed to the pole, which poses a hazard for linemen who must climb the poles.