Brownsville Radio News Archives
Man shot by Haywood deputy implicated
in Henning Post Office murders
February 24, 2011
No one could guess — Monday a week ago — that a GPS located
stolen pickup truck would lead to so much. Today, the father of
the man that was driving the stolen truck has been indicted for
the murders of two postal workers in Henning.
Monday, February 14, Haywood County Chief
Deputy Mike Smothers intercepted the stolen truck on Highway 70
West not far from Brownsville — the driver — Chastain Montgomery
Jr. Eventually Smothers would kill Montgomery Jr. in a shoot-out
in Mason, Tennessee. Smothers fired the fatal shot when
Montgomery leapt from his truck firing at officers with two
semi-automatic handguns.
Though there is not a lot of detail,
Montgomery Jr.’s dad apparently arrived on the scene shortly
after the shooting in Mason and was arrested for interfering
with police officers. Within a few days, sources told news
reporters that Montgomery Sr. had admitted to the Henning post
office murders.
Federal officials released copies of the indictment this
afternoon accusing Montgomery Sr. of the shootings. The
indictment states that Montgomery Jr. was also a participant.
Investigators issued no comment about the investigation.
Haywood High School Academic Decathlon team places third in
state competition
At the 26th annual Tennessee Academic Decathlon competition,
the Haywood High School team earned fifteen individual medals,
two plaques, and the third place trophy. Students competed in
ten academic disciplines at Austin Peay State University,
February 18-19, 2011, and every HHS team member won at least one
medal.
Five HHS students won speech medals and were invited to perform
their prepared speeches in the prestigious Speech Showcase.
Individual medalists were:
• Kaitlyn Schwarz – Copper medals in Essay, Speech,
Economics
Bronze medal in Math
Silver medal in Art
• Reeves Garrett -- Copper medal in Art
Bronze medal in Essay
Silver medal in Speech
• Nijaa Murray -- Gold medal in Speech
• Taylor Primrose -- Copper medal in Speech
• Madison Eubanks -- Bronze medal in Speech
• Morgan Currie -- Silver medal in Math
• Karla Cisneros -- Copper medals in Music and Literature
• Jay Clinton -- Copper medal in Super Quiz.
Kaitlyn Schwarz and Reeves Garrett also received plaques as the
fifth-highest overall scorers in their divisions. The highest
scorer for the HHS team was Reeves Garrett.
This year’s competition focused on the Great Depression. The
Super Quiz topic was geology, particularly those aspects related
to the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.
Placing first in the competition was Madison Academic Magnet
High School of Jackson. This school will travel to Charlotte,
North Carolina, in April for the national competition. Competing
online in the large school division nationally will be Mt.
Juliet High School. Chester County High School placed second
overall and will compete nationally online in the medium school
division. Two teams from Obion County Central High School placed
fourth and fifth. Also competing were teams from Liberty
Technology Magnet High School in Jackson, and Seymour High
School from Seymour, Tennessee.
Coaches for the Haywood High School team are John Thomas and
Glynn Bridgewater. Joining the group at the event in Clarksville
on Saturday was HHS Principal Dorothy Bond.
Haywood sheriff places additional
charges in murder
February 23, 2011
Termaine Rashad Turner allegedly drove Anthony Dejaun Palmer
away from the murder Palmer is accused of committing Sunday.
Late yesterday, Sheriff Melvin Bond
charged Turner with accessory after the fact in the murder of
Andre Outlaw. Outlaw was fatally wounded outside Club 52 about 1
a.m. Sunday morning.
Palmer was charged with first-degree
murder Monday. Turner was questioned Monday but wasn’t charged
until yesterday. Sheriff Melvin Bond said both men would likely
be arraigned today.
 |
 |
| Termaine Turner
is charged with accessory after the fact in the murder
of Andre Outlaw |
Anthony Palmer
is charged with first-degree murder in the Andre Outlaw
homicide |
Expansion at Delta Heritage will cost more than grant
City fathers to decide fate of the project
February 21, 2011
Aldermen and the mayor will have to decide whether they want
to find a half-million dollars to expand the Delta Heritage
Center.
A grant won during the Webb Banks
administration for $563,000 isn’t enough to fund the building
project, which included a large meeting room.
The Delta Heritage Center is located on Highway 76 at Exit 56
and serves as a visitor’s center for Brownsville, Haywood County
and other communities in West Tennessee.
Mayor Jo Matherne said bids were opened
last Thursday. The lowest bid of $949,000 is $386,000 more than
the grant. Matherne said the bid doesn’t include everything
required to complete the project and said, “…realistically the
city could have to put in some $500,000 total…”
Matherne, who said there are good
arguments both for and against the project, said she’d bring the
issue before the city board during its regular meeting in March.
Haywood County Commission standing committees appointed
February 23, 2011
Haywood County Commissioners approved the standing
committees for the budget, jail, public safety, solid waste, and
education during their meeting. There were no dramatic changes
in any of the committees and the budget committee — the busiest
committee for county government — is unchanged.
Greg McCarley was reappointed to a
four-year term as Supervisor of the Haywood County Highway
Department.
Additionally, Ms. Nadine Lee received an
appointment to the Conservation Committee for a four-year term.
Masked gunman hold-up family
February 22, 2011
Two men wearing masks — both armed with handguns — burst
into the home of an East Jefferson Street family last night.
Holding two adults and two children at gunpoint the men stole a
television.
Police received the call at 9:06 p.m. and
responded to Christopher Matthews’ home at 919 East Jefferson
Street.
Investigators say the bandits kicked in
the door of the home. While one of the men held the family at
gunpoint, the other grabbed the television.
No one was hurt.
Police say the two were black men but
provided no other description.
Palmer charged in Haywood County murder
Andre Outlaw dies in shooting
February 22, 2011
A man that was once called a “person of interest” is now
charged with first-degree murder. Andre Outlaw, 36, was shot to
death early Sunday morning. The sheriff’s department is accusing
Anthony Dejaun Palmer of pulling the trigger.
The incident occurred at Club 52. The
nightspot is located on Highway 76 South.
Sheriff’s investigators began looking for
Palmer shortly after the shooting. Palmer turned himself in to
authorities yesterday morning. Investigators interviewed Palmer
and placed the charges last night.
Deputies had also been looking for Termain
Rashad Turner. They had reports that Palmer left Club 52 with
Turner. Investigators have also spoken to Turner but Sheriff
Melvin Bond told me this morning so far no charges have been
filed against Turner.
Sheriff Bond has ordered Club 52 closed
pending a hearing before the Haywood County Beer Board.
As we started reporting mid-day yesterday,
Chanda Franks was released from jail after posting bond
yesterday. Franks, the Haywood High Softball Coach that has been
accused by a female student of sexual improprieties is charged
with sexual battery by an authority figure. She was arrested
Saturday.
Franks was arraigned yesterday before
General Sessions Judge JR Reid. Reid placed her bond at $25,000.
Quick and efficient was the Haywood County Commission during a
rainy Monday night meeting that lasted just under one hour.
Routine appointment of Standing Committees for 2011,
appropriation of funding for additional security personnel at
the new criminal justice center, and discussion of healthcare
provision to inmates at the county jail were on the agenda.
$20,000 FOR ADDITIONAL BAILIFFS PASSED
Additional labor for security, at a cost of $20,000, will be
required to help operate the new Criminal Justice Complex just
through the end of this fiscal year, which ends in June. Current
security personnel at the courthouse consist of one full time
and one part time bailiffs. The new security force, based on
total weekly hours, will amount to three full time officers.
Sheriff Melvin Bond requested
appropriation for two full time POST certified officers to be
stationed as bailiffs at the new center. Additionally, he sought
funding for four part time employees to cover a five-day week.
The part-timers will be stationed at the entrance to the new
center where all visitors will be required to pass through a
metal detector.
Because current Tennessee law requires
court security officers to be POST certified, new employees must
receive pay as mandated by state law. The starting salary for a
POST certified officer is $28,066 per year plus benefits.
Current total annual salaries for existing
courthouse security personnel, exclusive of benefits,
approximates just under $27,000. The new full-time certified
officers for the Criminal Justice Complex will cost taxpayers
almost twice that. And that doesn’t count the other part time
officers.
Commissioner Robert Green noted the budget
amendment passed this week is a stopgap measure and does not
represent the total annual cost for the additional employees. He
expressed concern over increasing costs at a time when revenues
for the county are tight. County Attorney Michael Banks informed
the Commission that there is a pending bill in the Tennessee
legislature, which will allow non-POST, certified officers as
bailiffs, though he expressed no opinion as to the likelihood of
passage.
$360,000 CONTRACT WITH CONMED SIGNED
County Mayor Franklin Smith told the County Commission that
last Thursday he signed a contract with Conmed Healthcare
Management to provide medical care to Haywood County inmates for
$360,360 per year. The contact excludes the cost of prescription
drugs, which now ranges between 3 and 4 thousand dollars per
month.
The Commission authorized the mayor to do
so at the January meeting. However, at last week’s Budget
Committee meeting Commissioner Bob Hooper presented a less
costly alternative. Hooper introduced two nurses who currently
provide healthcare services for incarceration facilities in
Obion, Lake, and Gibson counties. Nurse Practitioner Rene
Terrelle and registered nurse Sherie McKnight told the Budget
Committee that they were under monthly contract with jails in
Obion for $4,500, Lake for $3,500, and Gibson for $6,000.
Members of the Budget Committee requested
that Sheriff Melvin Bond talk to his fellow sheriff counterparts
in those counties and report back concerning satisfaction or
problems with the services that the two nurses are providing.
Last night Mayor Smith indicated that the services provided by
Ms. Terrelle and Ms. McKnight were similar to those already in
place in Haywood County, with the notable exception that there
were two of them on site compared with only one at the Haywood
County Jail on specified days each week.
Last night Sheriff Bond told Brownsville
Radio his discussions with the Sheriff in Obion County and jail
supervisor in Gibson County provided very high marks and
satisfaction for the price and service provided by Terrelle and
McKnight. However, he noted that the makeup of the inmate
population in Obion and Gibson counties was significantly
different from that of Haywood County, and that the healthcare
needs here are likely considerably greater given the number of
AIDS patients at the Haywood County Jail.
Haywood man murdered at Club 52
This story updated from original
February 19, 2011
Sheriff Melvin Bond calls two people his investigators are
speaking to this morning as “people of interest” in the murder
of a man early Sunday morning at a Highway 76 South nightspot.
Andre Outlaw, 36, was shot to death about
1 a.m. Sunday morning. The shooting occurred outside Club 52
located at Koko on Highway 76 South.
Bond said a fight started inside the club and continued outside
where shots were fired and Outlaw was fatally wounded. The
sheriff said Outlaw was taken to Haywood Park Hospital but died
before he could be transferred to another hospital.
Monday morning Anthony Dejuan Palmer and
Termaine Rashad Turner, reported to the sheriff after hearing
the sheriff was looking for them for questioning. At the time of
this report both men were being questioned but neither are
charged with anything, according to the sheriff.
Sunday, the sheriff told Brownsville Radio that he wanted to
talk to question Palmer about the shooting and he believed
Palmer had left the nightclub in Turner’s car.
Bond did not say what the fight was about.
Club 52 has been closed by order of the
sheriff, pending a hearing by the Haywood County Beer Board.
Brownsville Police arrest teacher
This story updated from original
February 21, 2011
A schoolteacher arrested Saturday has been arraigned in
Haywood County General Sessions Court and has been released on
$25,000 bond.
Brownsville police arrested Chanda Franks who coaches girl’s
softball at Haywood High School.
Warrants were issued Friday and Franks,
who lives in Jackson, turned herself in about 3pm Saturday.
Director of Schools Marlon King said
Franks was suspended from her job Thursday after police told him
Franks had loaned her car to one of her softball students. The
student was stopped by police and did not have a driver’s
license.
Further BPD investigation led to the
additional charges of sexual battery by an authority figure.
Director King says the school system has
initiated its own investigation. Haywood School officials have
also reported the incident to the Tennessee Department of
Children’s Services.
Police are not releasing information about
the details of the alleged sexual abuse.
Franks will remain on leave until all
investigations conclude. Director King says she has been banned
from visiting the school campus pending the outcome of the
investigation.
Brownsville Police arrest teacher
February 21, 2011
Brownsville police have arrested Chanda Franks who coaches
girl’s softball at Haywood High School.
Warrants were issued Friday and Franks,
who lives in Jackson, turned herself in about 3pm Saturday.
Director of Schools Marlon King said
Franks was suspended from her job Thursday after police told him
Franks had loaned her car to one of her softball students. The
student was stopped by police and did not have a driver’s
license.
Further BPD investigation led to the
additional charges of sexual battery by an authority figure.
Director King says the school system has
initiated its own investigation. Haywood School officials have
also reported the incident to the Tennessee Department of
Children’s Services.
Police are not releasing information about
the details of the alleged sexual abuse.
Franks will remain on leave until all
investigations conclude. Director King says she has been banned
from visiting the school campus pending the outcome of the
investigation.
Haywood man murdered at Club 52
February 19, 2011
Sheriff Melvin Bond calls two people his investigators have
been unable to locate “people of interest” in the murder of a
man early Sunday morning at a Highway 76 South nightspot.
Andre Outlaw, 36, was shot to death about
1 a.m. Sunday morning. The shooting occurred outside Club 52
located at Koko on Highway 76 South.
Bond said a fight started inside the club and continued outside
where shots were fired and Outlaw was fatally wounded. The
sheriff said Outlaw was taken to Haywood Park Hospital but died
before he could be transferred to another hospital.
Sheriff Bond is looking for Anthony Dejuan
Palmer. He calls Palmer a “person of interest” in the case.
Investigators believe Palmer left in a car driven by Termaine
Rashad Turner. Bond says he’d like to talk to both of the men.
He said, however, no warrants have been issued for anyone’s
arrest.
Bond did not say what the fight was about.
Club 52 has been closed by order of the
sheriff, pending a hearing by the Haywood County Beer Board.
Brownsville police arrest man for 2010
burglary
February 16, 2011
DNA and fingerprints left behind in an August 20th burglary last
year have led to the arrest of a Brownsville man.
Police arrested Nimrod White yesterday.
The burglary was at Bobby Crutchfield’s
home at 604 North McLemore. The burglar broke out a window and
took over $5,000 worth of jewelry, electronics and cash.
Brownsville investigators delivered
evidence — which included samples of glass and fingerprints — to
the TBI Crime lab shortly after the burglary. Monday the crime
lab told Brownsville police the DNA matched Nimrod White.
White’s DNA profile had been entered in
the national crime computer database during a previous brush
with the law.
White, at the time of his arrest
yesterday, was out of jail on parole after a conviction on
another burglary. He is now being held without bond.
Brownsville Police make progress in another 2010
investigation
February 16, 2011
Brownsville police made an arrest in another old case yesterday.
They arrested Kevin Lavar Smith. Smith’s
arrest comes in connection with a forgery case that was opened
in May last year.
Police say Smith cashed three
counterfeit/forged checks for something less than $1,000 at C &
S Motors on North Washington.
Investigators don’t say much about their investigation but say
Smith was arrested in Tipton County Tuesday.
New information in Haywood County
Deputy shooting
February 16, 2011
There continues to be new information about that man shot to
death by officers in Mason, Tennessee, Monday.
A Haywood County Sheriff’s Deputy fired
the fatal shot killing Chastain Montgomery. Montgomery, 18, was
firing shots at police officers from two semi-automatic handguns
when he was fatally wounded.
Montgomery, investigators believe, stole
the truck he was driving from a construction site in Nashville —
holding a construction worker up at gunpoint about 6am Monday.
It was the On-Star GPS system in the stolen truck that led
Haywood County Deputies to intercept the truck on Highway 70
West near Brownsville.
Montgomery is also the suspect in an
earlier shooting in which a teenager was shot seven times. The
shooting victim is expected to recover but authorities in Middle
Tennessee had been looking for Montgomery for weeks.
There is apparently a separate or perhaps
related investigation involving another vehicle at the scene of
the Mason shoot-out. Authorities are withholding comment — but
witnesses say the FBI apparently detained a person that was a
passenger in a car parked near the scene of the shooting in
Mason.
So far nobody has been charged related to the second car.
Haywood County Schools win Lowe’s grant
February 16, 2011
Haywood County Schools have won a grant from the Lowe’s
corporation.
Director of Schools Marlon King said that
vocational instructor Kenneth Emerson wrote the grant
application.
Emerson’s appeal for the Skills USA Lowe’s
grant stated that the vocational school needed a trailer to help
transport tools and materials to-and-from off campus jobs sites
in which the school’s vocational classes participate. Those
projects include Habitat for Humanity construction projects.
The grant is for $10,000.
Brownsville woman’s dad dies after
December shooting
February 16, 2011
James Sims died about mid-day yesterday.
Judy Tripp of Brownsville is Mr. Sims’ daughter.
Sims, 80, was shot five times during a
robbery at his Humboldt home December 27. Except for a few days
last month, he has been in the hospital since the shooting
incident.
Police in Humboldt have not made any
arrests. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is assisting the
Humboldt PD. Neither of the police agencies are commenting on
their investigation.
Haywood Sheriff’s deputy charged with DUI
February 16, 2011
Sheriff Melvin Bond and Haywood County
Attorney Michael Banks issued a news release today after a
sheriff’s deputy turned in his resignation.
Sheriff Bond said Deputy Terry Wyatt, who has been on paid
administrative leave since February 11, resigned on the heels of
an on-going investigation resulting in Wyatt being charged with
driving under the influence.
According to the sheriff, two women who
were stopped by Wyatt about 2am February 11, called 911 because
Wyatt “put them in fear.” Wyatt was on duty when he stopped the
car on Southall Lane. Other deputies who made the scene said
Wyatt acted erratically and placed him under arrest. Bond has
charged Wyatt with DUI although he says results of a blood test
conducted shortly after the arrest have not been received.
Bond terminated Wyatt in April of last
year after he failed a drug test. The county’s civil service
board later heard Wyatt’s appeal and order he be reinstated.
Bond said Wyatt might face additional
charges resulting from the report from the two women who he
stopped.
Haywood deputy ends shootout with fatal
shot
February 15, 2011
“He got out of his truck guns blazing” — that’s the way
Sheriff Melvin Bond described the scene in Mason, Tennesee
Monday. It was the beginning of a brief shoot-out between law
enforcement and a man that was driving a stolen truck.
We started reporting this via text alert
and on the air within minutes of the incident yesterday morning.
The suspect was eventually fatally wounded
by a gunshot from a Haywood County Sheriff’s deputy.
About 8:30 yesterday morning central
dispatch sent deputies to Highway 70 West. An On-Star GPS
tracking system had located a Ford truck reported stolen in
Nashville. Later, deputies would learn, the truck had been taken
at gunpoint.
Chief Deputy Mike Smothers interecepted
the truck between Brownsville and Stanton and decided to delay
trying to stop the truck until he had back-up. Joined by another
deputy west of Stanton, Smothers cut on his blue lights. Sheriff
Bond said the driver never yielded to the officers and the low
speed chase — Bond said they never exceeded the speed limit —
continued to Mason.
The Mason police chief attempted to block
the vehicle and that’s when witnesses say the driver jumped out
and began firing two hanguns. Sheriff Bond said the suspect was
walking toward the Mason police chief’s car and firing and
that’s when Mike Smothers was able to take the shot that ended
the shoot-out.
The suspect has been identified as
18-year-old Chastain Montgomery. He was wanted in Nashville in
connection with the carjacking and is charged with attempted
murder in a separate incident in which a man was shot and
killed.
Reportedly the man fired more than a dozen
rounds. He was firing a .40 caliber Glock and a .40 caliber
Ruger, both semi-automatic handguns.
Kidnapping victim’s cellphone tracked to Brownsville
February 15, 2011
While deputies were dealing with drama west of Brownsville
Monday, the Brownsville Police Department had drama of their
own.
East Main Street near Dollar General was
blocked for a shor time while police raided a house at 1320 East
Main. Police got the call about 9 a.m. Monday.
The Memphis Police Department asked Brownsville Police to check
the address because they’d received information that a
kidnapping victim might be there. Tameka Rodriguez was reported
kidnapped about 2am Monday from a party in Memphis.
Investigators in Memphis say they tracked
Rodriguez’s cellphone to the East Main Street address. They also
provided the BPD with the name of the man they believed
committed the kidnapping. Brownsville Police searched the house
but found nothing.
Memphis televison stations are reporting
this morning that Rodriguez has been located in West Memphis.
She told police she was not kidnapped.
New proposal could lower cost for Haywood County jail inmate
healthcare
February 15, 2011
New information has stalled a plan to sign a contract for
healthcare services at the county jail. At a meeting of the
county’s budget committee Monday, a county commissioner who
voted against the contract presented information that could save
the county hundreds of thousands of dollars.
At the January 18 meeting of the Haywood
County Commission, members voted 17 to 3 to authorize County
Mayor Franklin Smith to enter into a contract for $360,360 per
year - $30,030 per month - with Conmed Healthcare Management to
provide healthcare services for county jail prisoners.
The vote came on the heels of a year in
which the County spent over $307,000 in healthcare costs.
Commissioner Bob Hooper, one of the three
who voted against the Conmed proposal in January, addressed the
committee saying he believed there is a less expensive
alternative. Nurse Practitioner Rene Terrelle and registered
nurse Sherie McKnight attended the meeting at Hooper’s guest and
said they can provide the service for less money.
Terrelle and McKnight currently provide
healthcare services at jails in Obion, Lake, and Gibson
counties. Terrelle stated that as a two-person team, they visit
jails in each of these counties two days weekly and spend three
to six hours at each. They are on call 24 /7, and they shop for
best pricing on pharmaceuticals for the counties they serve. She
told the Committee she is licensed, bonded, and insured.
Ms. Terrelle stated that Lake County
averages about 40 inmates; Obion County just over 100 ; and
Gibson County 200. Current monthly charges for her services to
these counties are approximately $3,500 for Lake County, $4,500
for Obion County, and $6,000 for Gibson County, exclusive of
actual costs for drugs.
Mayor Franklin Smith stated that even
though the Commission had authorized him to do so, he had not
yet entered into any binding agreement with Conmed. Mayor Smith
noted that for the issue of inmate healthcare to be resubmitted
to the Haywood County Commission, procedures required that any
new proposal must be made by one of the 17 commissioners
previously voting for the contract with Conmed.
New workers may be needed at Haywood County Justice Complex
February 15, 2011
Sheriff Melvin Bond has requested funding for additional
courtroom and building security personnel at the soon to be
opened Haywood County Criminal Justice Center.
The request is for two full time certified
officers as bailiffs, along with the equivalent of one full time
person to monitor citizens going into the facility through the
metal detectors at the main entrance.
Commissioners Robert Green and Leonard
Jones, Jr. questioned Sheriff Bond about the proposal, which is
in conflict with previous assurances there would be no need for
additional personnel at the new Center. Commissioner Green noted
the need to show budgetary restraint.
Presently, security at the Haywood County Courthouse consists of
one full time and one part time officer.
The committee took no action on the
sheriff’s request. Budget Committee Chairman Allen King asked
Sheriff Bond to provide additional information about the need
for more workers.
“BROWNSVILLE ON THE MOVE” SEEKS
COMMUNITY’S INPUT FOR FUTURE PLAN
February 7, 2011
Brownsville Mayor Jo Matherne, the Board
of Aldermen, and the Brownsville Regional Planning Commission,
are asking local citizens to help guide the growth and
development of Brownsville over the next decade. This is an
opportunity for all citizens to shape their shared future.
The first “Brownsville On The Move”
community input meeting will be held on Saturday, February 19,
2011, from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon, at the National Guard
Armory, 221 Morgan Street. This meeting is one of a series of
community input opportunities occurring over the next 6 months
in Brownsville.
Residents are encouraged to come prepared to discuss not only
the positive aspects the City can build on, but also discuss
issues that might hinder future progress. The meeting will
include small group exercises designed to gather detailed input
from each attendee. Everyone is welcome.
The City of Brownsville is working in
partnership with the University of Memphis City and Regional
Planning Department to create a citizen-based comprehensive
document that will guide future development of economic,
cultural and social initiatives issues. Overall goals for
enhancing quality of life and economic prosperity will address
current and future projects like Downtown Revitalization/Main
Street, Business and Industrial Growth, Gateway Improvements,
Neighborhood Preservation, the Hatchie River Corridor, and many
others.
Mayor Jo Matherne explained that community
input is vital in shaping the future of the City. “Brownsville
on the Move isn’t about writing a growth plan, then putting it
on the shelf. It is a great opportunity for your voice to be
heard, and to take ownership in the future direction of
Brownsville. The journey we’re starting on as a community is one
that we all need to walk. Taking that first step together is so
important.”
For More information on this event and
future related events, contact:
Sharon Hayes, City Planner, 731.772.1212 or
shayes@memphis.edu
UofM Contact: Steve Redding
tredding@memphis.edu
www.brownsvilleonthemove.com
Brownsville to seek half-million dollar
sewer grant
February 9, 2011
The City board passed three resolutions pertaining to
funding and implementation of sewer projects in south
Brownsville. The resolutions authorize the Mayor to apply for
$500,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds from the
Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development in
order to continue improvements in the sewer system in the south
part of Brownsville. If successful in obtaining the grant, the
City will employ the engineering firm of Gresham, Smith &
Partners for consultation and implementation of the work. The
same firm was used for similar work last year.
Snow storms increase work for Brownsville public works
February 9, 2011
Public Works Director Bobby Mayer's crews have worked long
hours this year due to an unusually high number of snows. That
will likely continue at least for the next few days.
There were three snows in January, one
already in February, and a significant fifth snow is expected
today, February 9th. The volume of storm water runoff from rains
and snows has been significant , and drainage has been adversely
impacted by beaver dams in drainage areas and creeks. Mayer
reported the removal of at least ten beaver dams this week.
Mayor Jo Matherne commended the street
crews for doing a stellar job keeping Brownsville roads passable
during and following these winter storms.
Call volume large for Brownsville Haywood County Central
Dispatch
February 9, 2011
For January, Central Dispatch received 357 emergency
management calls, 216 calls for the sheriff's department, 1,173
calls to the police department, and 50 calls to the Fire
Department.
The office handled approximately 25,000
total calls in 2010, for an average of 65 to 70 calls per day.
Chief Chris Lea — Crime down in Brownsville in 2010
February 9, 2011
Brownsville Police Chief Chris Lea reported that overall
statistics reflect a decrease in crime in Brownsville for 2010.
One homicide, 17 robberies, 375 assaults, 187 burglaries, 317
thefts, and 21 motor vehicle thefts occurred during 2010.
Robberies, burglaries, homicides, and
assaults were all down over 20% from the previous year.
One area reflecting an increase in
activity is the investigation and management of cases. An
increase from 2 to 5 (addition of 3) officers in the criminal
investigation division in 2010 resulted in a case closure rate
of 76.5%, up from just 23% a year ago when there was less
staffing.
Injury and non-injury related car crashes
also went down in Brownsville in 2010 as total crashes of 147
reflect a reduction of 48% from 2009. Chief Lea attributes some
of the improved numbers to the attainment of almost $ 113,000 in
various agency grants to provide additional personnel, upgrade
equipment, and provide education and prevention programs.
Laptop computers are now in every patrol
vehicle.
Finally, Chief Lea commended Alderman
Carolyn Flagg for Ward 2's Neighborhood Watch program. As
evidence that neighborhood watch programs work, Chief Lea noted
that not a single crime was reported in Ward 2 in January of
this year.
Flagg’s group will be holding a public
meeting this Thursday, February 11, in the Delta Room at
Backyard Barbeque at 1800 East Main
FEMA to provide more than half-million dollars to buy
Brownsville flood damaged properties
February 9, 2011
The City of Brownsville may purchase up to 16 properties
already identified and damaged by the May 1, 2010 flood .
Eligible properties must be in the flood plain, must have
suffered over 50% damage in value as a result of the flood, and
must fit within the city's flood management plan. Brownsville’s
City government must agree per FEMA regulations to own the
property in perpetuity and never use it for residential
purposes.
The purchase price will be the fair market
value of the properties just prior to the flood. There will be a
meeting on Thursday, February 17, at 5:30 P.M. at City Hall to
discuss the program, and all interested parties may attend.
Brownsville City Board to meet later in March
February 9, 2011
Because many City officials will be attending the Tennessee
Municipal League legislative conference on March 7 and 8 next
month. The Mayor and Board of Aldermen moved their regularly
scheduled meeting one week forward to Tuesday, March 15, 2011,
at 5:30 P.M at City Hall. There will also be a called meeting on
Tuesday, March 29, 2011, at 5:30 P.M. at City Hall for a second
hearing and vote on the proposed expansion of the Urban Growth
Boundary for Brownsville.
Brownsville shoplifting suspects
arrested in Atoka
February 3, 2011
By brownsvilleradio.com
Shoplifters hauled off 312 bottles of 5-Hour Energy drink
from Wal-Mart Tuesday — and now two suspects are being charged
as the result of an arrest credited — in large part — to
Facebook.
The suspects were caught on the Wal-Mart
security system camera carting the drinks out of the store. The
photo is also posted here on brownsvilleradio.com.
Brownsville Police Chief Chris Lea said
the police department posted the photos on their Facebook page.
Lea says the store manager of the Dollar
General Store located in Atoka, Tennessee, saw the photos on
Facebook and called the BPD. The couple face similar charges in
Atoka.
Investigators have charged Daniel Payne
and Theresa Beasley with the Brownsville shoplifting case. Lea
did not report an address for Payne and Beasley.
Haywood County solar farm construction
could start immediately
February 3, 2011
The United States Department of Energy has given the green
light to the Haywood County Solar Farm.
The DOE, according to Mayor Franklin
Smith, reported the installation has passed all of its
environmental tests. The news means preparation and construction
can begin. Smith says the DOE approval was the last hurdle for
the 20-acre array that will be the largest solar installation in
the southeast.
Tennessee's Department of Economic and Community Development has
also completed its environmental review of the solar array and
found it complies with its regulations.
Under the Volunteer State Solar
Initiative, $31 million in federal stimulus funds will be used
for the power plant. The University of Tennessee is managing
development, and Chattanooga-based Signal Energy will design and
build it.
The project is to be located near Albright
Road on I-40. The solar farm will include a visitor’s center
employing an unspecified number of worker and be in view of
I-40.
No date has been set for groundbreaking,
but Mayor Smith indicates it will be very soon.
Tomcat Jerry Bradford signs with Bethel
University
Haywood High School senior Tomcat Jerry Bradford received a full
athletic scholarship and signed on the dotted line on February 2
to play football with Bethel University. Jerry played left guard
and defensive end for the Tomcats. He holds a 3.1 GPA and says
he will major in computer science at Bethel. Joining him at the
signing were (seated, from left) Bethel Coach Willie Fells,
Jerry Bradford, Sr., Jerry, Annette Bradford and Bethel Coach
Chancy DePriest; (standing) HHS Coach Tim Stratton, Tomcat
Athletic Director Jim Frazier, HHS Principal Dorothy Bond and
HHS Coach Tim Seymour.
Shoplifters take energy drink from
Brownsville Wal-Mart
February 2, 2011
Two shoplifters stole 52 six-packs — a total of 312
containers — of an energy drink from Wal-Mart yesterday. The
energy drink display was set up in the pharmacy section of the
store.
Police say the couple — a man and a woman—
loaded the drinks in a shopping cart and carried them out the
front door. The heist occurred during the day Tuesday.
Police distributed this security camera photograph of two
suspects who allegedly stole 52 six-packs of an energy drink
from Wal-Mart. Think you know them? Call police 772-1215.
