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THE LEADER THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014 ▪ VO L . 1 2 9 , N O. 3 5 ▪ T H E VO I C E O F TIPTON COUNTY S I N C E 1 8 8 6 ▪

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COVINGTON

Mayor says no changes, no secrets By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com

No changes. That's what Covington Mayor David Gordon said he's trying to pass with a new version of the city's municipal code, which led to a recent discussion about separation of powers for the mayor and aldermen. "I assure the board and the public that I'm not trying to have anything passed secretly or change anything," Gordon told the city's Finance and Administration committee Tuesday afternoon. The clarification was prompted by a story and editorial in last week's issue

of The Leader where aldermen questioned the mayor's motives for trying to push through what they believed were changes made to the municipal code, as well as whether or not the city would best benefit from a weak- or strongmayoral form of government. Specific concerns of the board as discussed during the June 19 meeting included disciplinary action they believed singles out the fire chief and committee and board appointments they believed would no longer have to be approved by the board of aldermen. It appeared a power struggle was brewing; the mayor and board members denied that, but still discussed

separating powers. "I'm not trying to do anything underhanded, I'm not trying to gain power," Gordon said. "These documents are as they have been for several years. That's all I have to say." The verbiage of the ordinance involving the fire chief's discipline has not been changed and Section 22 of the charter, which was passed in 2006 when Russ Bailey was mayor, states the mayor shall make appointments as authorized by law. "It's identically the same," vice mayor and F&A committee chairman John Edwards said during the meeting of the Board of Mayor and Alderman on

Thursday. "We may have went out halfcocked in the last meeting." Some aldermen attribute the misunderstanding to the lack in communication about the new code's changes, if any, and its purpose. "There were no changes made to ordinances, they were used to codify," the mayor said. "I'm asking you to approve the codification of ordinances that have been approved legally." Alderman Tommy Black, who led the accusation that changes had been made, told the mayor he didn't agree with the charter in 2006 and still doesn't agree with it. He wants the board to SEE MAYOR, PAGE A3

SCHOOLS

School budget drops $1.2M By FRANCE GASQUET fgasquet@covingtonleader.com

The 2014-15 school budget was approved at the Tipton County Board of Education meeting held June 12. This year’s balanced budget has total expenditures of $78.6 million, which is $1.2 million less than last year's amended budget. The budget, which went into effect on July 1, has a change in total regular instruction of negative $892,000, due to a decrease of $1.035 million in regular instructional equipment. According to Bobby Alsbrook, business manager for Tipton County Schools, the decrease is directly related to PARCC testing. “Money was put in last year’s budget for the school systems to get up to speed in technology for the PARCC testing,” said Alsbrook. “This year, I plan to use the $892,000, for technology equipment, and also textbooks have gone up.” SEE BUDGET, PAGE A3

Election time is near By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com It's a busy time for the Tipton County Election Commission as several deadlines for the 2014 elections are approaching. Persons wishing to register to vote must do so by July 8 – next week – for the August federal and state primaries and the county general election. Changes in address don't necessarily have to be done then, but it's helpful, said Neil Bell, Tipton County's administrator of elections. "You can wait until you get to the polls to do that, but you'll be in line longer," Bell said. Early voting will begin July 18 and will be held at the Election Commission, 113 E. Church Street in CovSEE ELECTION, PAGE A11

Project supervisor Rafe Bomprezzi looks over plans while in the main area of the new Tipton County Library, which is located on the Dyersburg State Community College Campus in Covington. It's expected to open in September. Photo by Jeff Ireland

New library almost ready By JEFF IRELAND jireland@covingtonleader.com The Tipton County Public Library, which is expected to open in two months inside the new 54,000-squarefoot learning center located on Dyersburg State's Covington campus, will be unique in concept and design. State-of-the-art technology and an unprecedented amount of computers available to the public is the main drawing card. But the way, and how fast, the project came to fruition makes the project one of a kind. The government's gears are known to grind slowly. A library built at Dy-

By JEFF IRELAND jireland@covingtonleader.com About 50 new jobs are expected to be created after CSC Sugar began operating Monday at Rialto Industrial Park in North Covington. The company, which is based in Connecticut and Colorado and has other locations in the United States and Mexico, liquifies granulated sugar.

The Covington Manta Rays' swim season is in full swing. B1

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were line to be built because of the local money." The Tennessee Board of Regents oversees and prioritizes construction projects for the state's colleges and universities. Getting things built is very competitive. "The three million dollars did a lot of things," Huffman said. "It helped Dyersburg State get this a lot quicker and, quite frankly, we needed a new library. We couldn't wait 15 years." The Tipton County Public Library in Covington has 15 computers for public use. The new library will have 280 computers, 75 of which will be open to SEE LIBRARY, PAGE A3

Sugar plant in Covington creates 50 jobs

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ersburg State's campus in Dyersburg took more than 15 years from concept to reality. This project took four, thanks in large part to Tipton County's financial involvement. The county appropriated $3 million to the $9.8 million project. "I don't know that it's been done anywhere," Tipton County Executive Jeff Huffman said in regard to a county partnering with a college to get a public library built. "There were a lot of different things that were accomplished. We got a new library. Dyersburg State got a new library and new learning center with it. Quite frankly, we leap frogged a lot of projects that

Nearby Unilever, one of the world's largest producers of ice cream and other frozen desserts, will be one of its biggest clients, but CSC will ship its product to other locations around the country as well. CSC Sugar is leasing about 150,000 square feet in the building formerly occupied by World Color Press. "Obviously, the new jobs created are great for our economy," Covington

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Mayor David Gordon said, "especially for those get those jobs." This is CSC's first facility in Tennessee. The company is investing $4 million in the operation. Gordon said the project has been in the works for six to nine months. Applications for the jobs are currently being accepted at Hamilton Ryker employment agency in Covington.

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“Our patriotic hearts beat red, white and blue” “Downhome Banking the Way It Should Be”

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