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THE LEADER THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2011 ▪ VO L . 1 2 6 , N O. 4 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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Controversy erupts over canine death Dog’s death prompts outrage at DA, petition for prosecution By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com Controversy erupted this week when the death of a pit bull caused activists to speak out against the district attor-
ney. The dog, a pit bull seized from her owner’s home on Sanford Road on Monday, Oct. 10, was severely malnourished and died Friday, Oct. 14. Veterinarians at Northgate Animal Hospital attempted to save her life with a blood transfusion, however the dog nicknamed Grace died during the procedure. “There’s no sense in it,” Tipton County Animal Control Officer Shane Hooks said. “These dogs, horses … they don’t de-
serve to be treated this way.” Hooks, who has worked with the shelter since 2000, has seen numerous animal cruelty cases. Deputies dispatched to the Sanford Road home, off of Hwy. 14 in the Austin Peay Elementary area, contacted him, asking him to remove the starving dog from the home. Grace was allegedly found tied to a tree; a puppy believed to be about six months old, which has been nicknamed Faith, was found with her. However, the puppy had
chewed through her rope and was eating beans from a nearby field. Hooks believes this is the only reason she has survived. News of the starving dog’s death spread like wildfire across the social networking platform Facebook this weekend, prompting news stories from several Memphis television stations this week. In those interviews, Hooks expressed frustration with the office of 25th Judicial District Attorney General Mike Dunavant, suggesting a lack of prosecution in
animal cruelty cases. “They’re not getting the justice they deserve,” Hooks said. “I have these animal cruelty cases and I get the run around because no one wants to deal with it.” Dunavant, however, disagrees. “There has been some suggestion that this office does not take such animal abuse cases seriously; the citizens of Tipton County and the 25th Judicial District can rest assured that these cases involved animal
SEE DEATH, PAGE A3
Atoka seeks to connect Walker parks
COVINGTON 50, OBION CO. 36
By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com ATOKA – City officials have announced they are applying for a grant that will connect two parks on Walker Parkway, a project that will promote public safety but cost nearly $1 million. If awarded the grant, officials say a paved pathway will connect the parks at Meade Lake and Walker Parkway and Williamsburg Drive and Walker Parkway. Under the 80/20 funding formula, the grant would allow the completion of a project that officials say is “impossible” financially. “This project is important to Atoka,” said town administrator Brian Koral. “In addition to the benefits of connecting two of the town’s parks, this project would be funded primarily with state and federal dollars, providing an outstanding return on the town’s investment.” Phase I of the project will establish a 10 feet wide paved connector between the parks. The path will allow for both pedestrian and bicycle traffic and, Koral hopes, reduce vehicle traffic near the park. “Right now there’s no safe pedestrian connectivity between these two parks,” Koral said. “We want to place more emphasis on safety.” He envisions the pathway, which will be just short of one mile in length, to be wooded, keeping as many of the existing trees as possible. “We want as natural a trail as we can get,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of established trees and we want to keep what we have.” Koral said when the parks were constructed green space was reserved for a connector. This is beneficial because, if the grant is awarded to Atoka, the entire budget can go into designing and building the path and not into acquiring land. “A lot of times that’s where a lot of the money goes,” he said. “Thankfully (the board) had the foresight to set some land aside for this.” Phase I is expected to cost an estimated $997,000, Koral said. The grant application will be submitted by Nov. SEE PARKS, PAGE A3
Reader’s Guide TODAY’S WEATHER Sunny. High, 59. Low, 38. INSIDE Opinion Faith Obituaries Education Lifestyles
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Sportss Correspondence Classifieds Puzzles
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Legals
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WHAT’S HAPPENIN’? Our Fall Frenzy special section, which gives all the details on autumnal events, is inside today. Check it out and be ready to trick-or-treat, go shopping and more! 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
Covington junior Johnston White and the Chargers picked up a big win Friday night in Troy. Covington won 50-36 and will play at Milan tomorrow night. See B1 for more details. Photo by Phil Ramsey.
I-69 UPDATE
Officials working to fund I-69 project By BESSIE CHERRY Serving Publicist for the I-69 Coalition Construction on Interstate-69 is now underway in the Union City/Obion County area and is expected to be completed next year, according to Bill Revell, Tennessee chairman (and Vice-President) of the Interstate-69 Coalition. “Construction is expected to be completed on the four-mile SIU [Section of Independent Utility] by early summer 2012, with the exception of paving,” says Revell. “The pavement will not be applied to the SIU once it’s completed because other sections need to be built first.” Shelby County is also currently making construction strides on its Future I-69 Corridors. In Shelby County, I-269, a western, semi-circular subsection of I-69, encompasses former U.S. Highway 385. The Future I-269 subsection on the corridor is almost completed between Millington and Collierville. According to Revell, it is expected to be fully constructed by 2013. The I-69 corridor will run west of U.S. Highway 51 and will be broken into three sections. It will then join Interstate-240, also a Future I-69 Corridor, and will run directly through Memphis, merging into Interstate-55 at Hernando, Mississippi. The route then runs east to Tunica, Mississippi. This particular section of I-69, running from Hernando to Tunica, is complete. I-240 is currently in the process of acquiring right of way. I-69 construction lettings on I-240 are to begin later this year. Mississippi held a groundbreaking
SCHOOL OF THE WEEK
Crestview Middle School Covington • Barretville • Millington • Collierville South Tipton • South Covington Mortgage Offices in South Tipton • South Covington • Collierville • Millington
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201 Mark Walker Jr Drive ■ Covington, Tennessee 38019 Phone: 901-475-5900 ■ Web: tipton-county.com/cms
ceremony June 23 of this year in celebration of beginning construction on one of its five I-269 subsection SIUs. According to Reanna Mayoral, of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, I-69 construction is in process on Mississippi’s last SIU; construction has begun at U.S. Highway 302, an I-269 subsection on the corridor, that will run from the existing highway to the Mississippi/Tennessee state line. As for the remaining four Mississippi I-69 SIUs, the environmental documents have been completed, but the state can not move forward with the construction process because funding is not available at this time. Revell says recent and expected upcoming budget cuts in funding for I-69 most certainly pose possible construction delays for developing SIUs throughout northwest Tennessee. The Federal Transportation Funding Bill is expected to cut funding by about 35 percent, which will cut the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s funding for the project by approximately $281 million. U.S. Senators for Tennessee, Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, both say the federal government is doing as much as it can to fund project efforts. Corker and Alexander say that states included in the project (Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas) should step up and raise money, suggestively proposing to raise gas taxes. According to Revell, Indiana has used and is continuing to use proceeds from a commercial highway toll both in order to fund its portion of I-69 con-
struction. “By 2014, Indiana will only have approximately 50 remaining miles left to build from Bloomington to Indianapolis.” Revell said Indiana and Kentucky have hired a lobbyist in hopes of raising the funds necessary to build a bridge across the Ohio River. He says Kentucky plans to reconstruct its existing western U.S. Highways, Pennyrile Parkway and Purchase Parkway, turning them into sections on the Future I-69 corridor. “Upgrades for Kentucky’s existing highways will cost about $1 billion,” says Revell. Dan Flowers, Steering Committee chairman for I-69 says, “Little progress has been made during the past year concerning I-69 construction efforts in Arkansas. However, construction is proceeding around the Monticello area.” Flowers said Arkansas has hired a group to discuss innovative financing on how to get the project completed. Mayor Lorenz “Lo” Walker, of Bossier City, Louisiana chairman (and new President) of the I-69 Coalition, says that Louisiana is expected to reach an agreement soon concerning location for its stretch of I-69, according to Revell. “Texas has not reported any developments,” says Revell. Senator Corker has proposed a “cap act” on general spending, which if passed, could leave more money in the federal budget for transportation and infrastructure costs related to future I-69 construction efforts. SEE I-69, PAGE A2
LOCAL EVENTS NOV. 4-5 Junior Auxiliary’s Fall Frenzy Brighton High School, Brighton NOV. 5, FOP 5th Annual Chili Cook-Off, 5 p.m. Court Sauare, Covington
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