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THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2012 ▪ VO L . 1 2 8 , N O. 3 6 ▪ T H E VO I C E O F TIPTON COUNTY S I N C E 1 8 8 6 ▪
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CHS earns national recognition U.S. News & World Report ranks school among America's best
By SHERRI ONORATI sonorati@covingtonleader.com
Covington High School has been honored as the only Tipton County high school to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a bronze medalist school in its annual ranking of America’s Best High Schools for 2012. CHS principal Peggy Barber Murdock said she is honored to have her school selected as a top high school and she is very proud of both her faculty and students. “It’s our teachers and our students and it’s absolutely depen-
dent upon them understanding what their capacity is and having high expectations,” said Murdock. “Certainly our expectation is not to get an award, but to get our students ready for college and/or a career. We’re very proud that someone recognizes that we are working hard. Although we have not met all of our goals, it's nice to be recognized for working very hard and making progress and I think that’s probably the most
important thing – that we are moving forward.” To produce the annual U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools rankings, U.S. News teamed up with the Washington, D.C.-based American Institutes for Research (AIR), one of the largest behavioral and social science research organizations in the world. The 2012 report analyzed 21,776 public high schools in 49 states plus the District of Columbia using a three-step pro-
cess to determine the best high schools. The criteria for ranking the schools into categories of gold, silver or bronze was based on the key principles that a great high school must serve all its students well, not just those who are bound for college, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes that show the school is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators. SEE RANKS, PAGE A3
BRIGHTON
Vandergrift, 78, dies after lengthy illness
KEEPING COOL Dylan Gatlin of Brighton enjoys spending time on a slip 'n slide, trying to keep cool during a week of blistering temperatures. Courtesy photo
By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com Louise Vandergrift, one of Brighton’s mostbeloved residents, died Monday. A lifelong resident of Tipton County, Vandergrift was born Jenny Louise Wells in Brighton on a hot day in August 1933, two days after the home her parents and four older siblings lived in burned down. Vandergrift grew up in Brighton. She was a member of Brighton Baptist Church, played basketball for Brighton High School and was Miss Brighton and Miss Tipton County in 1949. In 1903, her grandfather, William Wells, established Wells’ Grocery in Brighton in the small building where Swaim’s Garage is now located. Her father later bought the business and moved it to its last location at 125 Main Street. Vandergrift and her brothers and sisters each worked at Wells, though never at the same time, she said, and it was here that she met the man she’d marry. Arnold Vandergrift, who lived in Mason, was a Coca-Cola delivery driver. After making a stop at Wells, he telephoned Vandergrift on March 20, 1950, and asked her for a date. “I accepted, and we went to the Brighton Baptist Church and afterwards to U-ComeIn in Covington to eat one of those delicious BBQ sandwiches that only Robert Klutts could make,” she wrote in her cookbook, United We Stand, in 2007. They were married six months later on Sept.p 20, 1950, in the Brighton Baptist Church parsonage by Brother T.L. Alexander. “I would write him almost yearly every September to thank him ‘for tying the knot so good!’” The Vandergrifts were blessed with three children - Jimmy, Vannice and Bryan – and had more than a dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her beloved Arnold died in 2007. Mrs. Vandergrift has donated her body to science. A memorial service will take place at a later date. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Covington Funeral Home (covingtonfuneralhome.com).
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By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com If found in West Tennessee, an endangered bat will not change the future of Interstate 69, says the Tennessee Department of Transportation. But that doesn’t mean they’re not looking for it. “I really doubt they’d change the route of I-69,” said Matt Richards, a TDOT biologist. “If it did, it’d be extremely slight.” According to letters mailed two weeks ago, biologists with Kentucky-based Palmer Engineering will be conducting Indiana bat presence/absence surveys through August 15 along I-69’s Millington to Dyersburg corridor. TDOT officials said the Indiana bat, which is a federally-listed species and falls under the protection of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, has already been spotted in East and Middle Tennessee. Found mostly in the eastern half of the United States, the bat’s numbers have been declining for nearly 50 years. They were added to the
endangered list in the late 1960s. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service states the bats are small, mouse-eared creatures who cluster together during hibernation. Biologists can distinguish the Indiana bat from similar species by comparing the structure of the foot and color variations in the fur, among other things. Richards said biologists are conducting surveys because the USFWS has concerns about white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that can kill hibernating bats. “It can further endanger the species,” Richards said. He wants to be clear the potential presence of the Indiana bat will not change the course of the interstate, just the time periods in which some of the construction would occur. “In the summer they roost on trees with exfoliating bark,” Richards said. “We wouldn’t remove those particular trees during the summer. Palmer’s letters, which were mailed to approximately 1,100 landowners, inform residents they will
deploy special devices in wooded areas on or near private property at dusk and remove the devices in the morning. The devices, said the firm, will record bat feeding sounds throughout the night. Each site will require two consecutive nights of recording and mist netting. Mist netting, the firm said, is when the biologists set up special nets to capture bats. Biologists may need to remain on private property throughout the night. Richards said he hopes the letters and media attention alleviate residents’ alarm. Those conducting the surveys will travel in marked cars to help alleviate the concerns of the public. Additionally, he encourages the public not to attempt to catch bats or complete the surveys on their own. “It’s actually illegal. You have to have a special license to do it.” Those with questions or concerns may contact Richards at 615-5323880 or Palmer’s project manager Chris Blevins at 859-744-1218.
Kercher, 21, killed in motorcycle accident
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Survey for Indiana bats to be conducted
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By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com A young Brighton woman died Monday night after being thrown from a motorcycle near Burlison, the Tennessee Highway Patrol reported Tuesday. Callie Elizabeth Kercher, 21, was a passenger on a 2007 Suzuki JS1 motorcycle operated by 20-yearold Cody Etheridge. According to the report
completed by Trooper Mayberry, Etheridge’s motorcycle hit a 2005 Honda VT7 motorcycle operated by 22-year-old Michael O’Brien in the rear on Hwy. 59 West near the intersection of Pisgah Road. The report states that after impact, both vehicles lost control and all passengers were thrown from the motorcycles. Kercher was thrown into the roadway. The motorcycles came to
a rest on opposite sides of the roadway. The accident happened just after 10 p.m. The two young men were injured in the accident. At press time, there was no word on their condition. In his report, the trooper indicated everyone was wearing a helmet. Blood alcohol level tests were requested by the trooper. Results were not
available at press time. Mayberry's report indicated speed was a factor in the accident. The posted limit is 55 miles per hour. Criminal charges and citations are listed on the report as pending. Kercher is a 2009 graduate of Brighton High School. Her older sister, Kendall, 22, was killed in a car accident on Hwy. 51 near Jack Bennett on Jan. 31, 2009.
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