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THE LEADER
COVINGTONLEADER.COM ▪ THURSDAY, MAR. 24, 2011 ▪ VO L . 1 2 6 , N O. 2 0 ▪ T H E VO I C E O F TIPTON COUNTY S I N C E 1 8 8 6 ▪
Dr. Ganier retires after 40 years
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EVENTS
By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com It was the year that the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, “All in the Family” debuted on television and Walt Disney World opened in Florida. And 1971 was also the same year Dr. Roger Ganier began his practice in Covington. After four decades of dentistry, this month Dr. Ganier officially closed his doors. “I’ve always been in my practice where I started from the get-go,” Ganier said. “I’ve always loved dentistry and I love helping people.” He has served three generations of families in Tipton County and extended his mission to the Reelfoot area as well as to the jungles of Central America. Ganier and wife Gail have been on three mission trips – one to Honduras and two to FROM THE VAULT This Feb. Nicaragua. 18, 1971 clipping from The “It’s like Covington Leader announces the opening of Dr. Roger Ganier’s dentistry on the fly,” practice in Covington. Ganier retired this month, closing his Gail said. “You’re set- practice after four decades. Courtesy Gail Ganier ting up a dental clinic in the middle of nowhere. And by clinic, I mean a chair.” Gail recalls her husband’s help in Honduras once went beyond dental work. “There was a boy there with a toe that had almost been cut off by a machete; it was just hanging by a thread …” she said. “While another dentist stood over him praying, Roger sewed that toe back on and the toe made it. It’s one of those moments you just never forget.” Gail used to work in the office with her husband and has never forgotten that experience, either. “It’s been 40 years and a lot of laughs,” she said. “They were always back there carrying on with the patients.” In four decades, much has changed in his profession. Ganier recalls a time SEE DENTIST, PAGE A3
Reader’s Guide TODAY’S WEATHER Mostly sunny. High, 62. Low, 45. INSIDE Opinion Faith Obituaries Events Education
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AT&T U-VERSE COMES TO BRIGHTON Legislators and local business leaders announce the cable and internet service’s expansion into another Tipton County city, A22. HOW TO REACH US Call 901.476.7116 Email news@covingtonleader.com Visit us at 2001 Hwy. 51 South, Covington, TN 38019
Barbecuing and bean bag tossing By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com
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unny skies and mild temperatures brought many festival-goers to the second annual Brighton Fest and Car Show on Saturday, March 19. The event, a fundraiser for the Brighton band boosters, boasted a craft fair, games, car show and plenty of food. Above, Len Billings, owner of the Bald Butcher, dishes up hot dogs. At right, a bean bag is tossed by one of the many children who visited the festival. The Brighton high school and middle school bands entertained the crowds throughout the day.
COMMUNITY EVENTS Want to attend
more local community events? See page A8 for listings. Photos by Brian Blackley
COMMUNITY
Handyman works to help veteran Clemmons: ‘It was the worst case of black mold I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.’ By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com A chance meeting has led a Brighton handyman to help a World War II veteran after black mold was found growing inside his bedroom. On the way to give a customer a home improvement estimate Monday, Gary Clemmons stopped at Highway 14 in Brighton. He’d only intended to buy a Coke, but the stop changed things for him. “An old gentleman approached me and started asking a million questions about what I do,” he said. “He is 91 years old and wore a World War II Veteran hat on his head. He was in the calvary, rode horses.” With a tender smile on his face, Gary shared that he and Jessy Fulcher chatted – about the war, about Gary’s job, about the recent death of Jessy’s wife. “At one point, he broke down and cried while talking about losing his
wife. He said he was her caretaker for about 18 months and could barely leave her side. He was such a nice man, it was all I could do to keep back the tears as I was talking to him.” While talking for nearly an hour at the gas station, Jessy also expressed to Gary concern over a possible leak in his tin roof. A handyman by profession, Gary agreed to visit Jessy’s home and look for evidence of a leak. But there was no roof leak. “We walked around his house, checking the roof, which was in good shape. I suggested we go inside and check things out in there,” Gary said. While walking down the hallway, Gary said he was overwhelmed by heat and humidity and knew there was moisture somewhere inside the home. “As we entered his bedroom, the water in the carpet oozed up around my shoes,” he said. “At this point, I found it hard to breathe in this room and he had been sleeping in this room every night.” Gary opened the closet door and said the smell almost knocked him down. “It was the worst case of black
mold I’ve seen in my lifetime. His clothes were saturated with mold, the walls were covered in mold. It was like scraping peanut butter off of the wall.” Gary removed Jessy’s clothes from the closet, discovering the hot water heater hidden in the corner didn’t have a pan underneath it to catch water. It was, he said, pouring water and draining out of the holes in the floor where the plumbing came through. “He didn’t know there was a problem until water backed up into the bedroom carpet. I was surprised he hadn’t gotten sick from sleeping in that room night after night.” Gary suggested Jessy stay with his closest relatives – his son and daughter-in-law in Somerville – after turning the hot water heater off. Doing so, he cautioned, would make the mold dry out and become airborne. Gary doesn’t know how long the hot water heater had been leaking, causing the mold to grow. He said the insurance company may not help Jessy because the growing mold was evidence it had been leaking for “some time.” SEE VET, PAGE A3
Area events
AREA EVENTS
This featured church: Thisweek’s week’s Featured Church: Covington • Barretville • Millington • Collierville South Tipton • South Covington Mortgage Offices: South Tipton • Millington • South Covington • Collierville
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Ravenscroft Episcopal Church Turn to Page A7 for details Turn to Page A7 for details
4/8/11 5-8 p.m. Habitat for Humanity Fish Fry Covington First United Methodist Church $6 donation
3/23/11 8:21:38 PM