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THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012 ! VO L . 1 2 8 , N O. 3 8 ! T H E VO I C E O F TIPTON COUNTY S I N C E 1 8 8 6 !
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‘No relief in sight’ for crops, cattle and farmers as extreme drought plagues country
Drought putting damper on crops Production declines as rainfall, heat worsen drought
In 2006 there was the Easter freeze. In 2007, a drought. In 2010 and 2011, devastating floods. This year, however, it's an extreme drought that's ruining crop yields. "I don't know that we've had this level of heat and this lack of rainfall since records have been kept," U.S. Department of Agriculture County Executive Director Phil Coleman said Tuesday. "It's very devastating." Rainfall totals are only half of By ECHO DAY what they should be, totaling eday@covingtonleader.com just short of 17 inches for the year. "We're almost 15½ inches under normal since January," said Action News 5 meteorologist Tim Van Horn.
The average rainfall for this time period is 32.36 inches. "Last year we had 35.18 inches at this time," Van Horn said. The USDA has classified Tipton County – and many counties in the region – as being in extreme drought conditions and conditions are expected to get worse, not better. Though showers have dropped rain over the area all week, it's just not enough to make a difference. No appreciable drought relief is expected in Mid-South and conditions are expected to persist or intensify through the next three months, according to the USDA's Seasonal Drought Outlook.
"There's no relief in sight," Coleman said. "The tenth of an inch that's fallen isn't doing much to help and there's little moisture in the soil." For a county as rich in agricultural tradition as Tipton County, a drought certainly spells disaster. Coleman said commodity prices are at historically high prices but it does no good if there are no crops to sell. He anticipates big losses for local farmers. "Some yield losses will be up to 50 percent," he said. "Some fields could see no yield and some will be an average crop." Soybeans, Coleman said, could have a chance. " … If we get rain and cooler
temperatures in the next 10 days, but every day we go without appreciable rainfall it's harming the soybean yield." Cotton yields are harder to predict right now, he said, but he isn't optimistic. "Some of it doesn't look good at all. I'm not sure (the farmers) will be able to pay off their costs and if the cotton doesn't get some size on it, it won't be profitable." And even if there is a significant rainfall soon, Coleman fears it won't help. "Even if it started raining and we had adequate growing conditions, we don't have time for (crops) to mature. The crop we have now is what we'll harvest." SEE DROUGHT, PAGE A2
Burglars steal $8K from City Hall By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com COVINGTON – It was business as usual at City Hall Friday despite the overnight burglary that left the city's coffers up to $8,000 short. City officials report two individuals were caught on tape taking thousands of dollars each from the safe. "Kinda like a slap in the face to break into a government building, of course we're having burglaries everywhere," said police chief Tim Glass. A window near the drive-thru was broken, said Glass, and the person(s) responsible entered through the narrow opening. Glass reported the money was taken from the safe inside city hall at approximately 3:30 a.m. Friday. It took the pair of suspects less than five minutes to get in and out
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with thousands of dollars. "There wasn't any dye or anything like that on the money. I don't believe there's any way to trace it," Glass added. Mayor David Gordon said additional surveillance video from early that morning is being looked at by the Secret Service in Memphis. Hours after the break-in, police found the security camera system dumped in a trash can, he said. Some of the video was damaged. Police say if the building had an alarm system, it was not activated. "We want to make sure they secure the vault every night. They were thinking it was secure and apparently it wasn't," Glass said. Glass said this is the first time in his 34-year career that someone has broken into city hall. He says burglary cases like this are popping up all over West Tennessee.
Election Day is today By JEFF IRELAND jireland@covingtonleader.com Tipton County administrator of elections Neil Bell and his staff were busy Wednesday morning, less than 24 hours before election day Thursday. “Calm?” Bell joked when asked if things had calmed down around the office since early voting ended last Saturday. “What calm?” Early voting began July 13 and approximately 4,200 (including absentee votes) Tipton County voters took advantage at the TipSEE ELECTION, PAGE A2
Surveillance camera footage shows two suspects enter City Hall and leave with thousands of dollars from the safe. At press time, no arrests had yet been made. Courtesy WMC-TV
"People are losing their jobs, being laid off. I think the economy has some part of this," he continues. Chief Glass says since this break-in, Covington officials are looking at improving their security system and installing an alarm. The burglary is still under investigation. No arrests have yet been
made. Persons with information are asked to call the Covington Police Department at 901-475-1261 or leave an anonymous tip at 901-476-9036. Police say a cash reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the persons responsible for this burglary.
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Today is registration day for Tipton County Schools. The first full day of school is next Wednesday, Aug. 8. HOW TO REACH US Call 901.476.7116 Fax 901.476.0373 Email news@covingtonleader.com Visit us at 2001 Hwy. 51 South, Covington, TN 38019 or online at covingtonleader.com
The Wings Over Halls Airshow will be August 18 and 19. Pick up your tickets at any Patriot Bank location or go to www.hallsairshow.com for more information. We hope to see you there!
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8/2/12 9:52:16 AM