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COVINGTONLEADER.COM ▪ THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011 ▪ VO L . 1 2 6 , N O. 2 9 ▪ T H E VO I C E O F TIPTON COUNTY S I N C E 1 8 8 6 ▪
SPORTS
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Mason man charged with sexual abuse Child, 11, witnesses alleged incident By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com
State champs! Photo courtesy Stan Whitley
By JEFF IRELAND sports@covingtonleader.com
W
ith a 7-5 win over the University School of Jackson, the Tipton-Rosemark Lady Rebels earned the school’s first state title Friday, winning the Division II-A state softball tournament. “We did some digging and couldn’t find any other teams that won it all,”
said head softball coach Joe Layton. First defeating Davidson Academy, the 2009 state champs, with a no-hitter by Roxanna Kimes, the Lady Rebels went on to defeat defending state champs USJ, 3-1. After USJ knocked Davidson out of the tournament altogether, TRA won with a come-from-behind 7-5 win over USJ. That victory earned them the title of
state champions. On Saturday, the Lady Rebels caravan returned to Rosemark with a police escort and plenty of fans. “It was pretty special,” Layton said. For more information on this series, see the story page A10. Above, the Lady Rebels hold up the first place hardware after defeating USJ Friday in the DII-A state tournament finals in Murfreesboro.
With the help of one of its canine officers, the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office apprehended a Mason man charged with sexually abusing a 5-year-old. Authorities say an 11-year-old claims to have witnessed the alleged fondling of the younger child at Chris Aaron Billings’ residence on Yarbro Lane. “The 11-year-old went and got the 5-year-old’s mother and that’s who called us,” said Deputy Chief Donna Turner, spokesperson for the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office. When depuBILLINGS ties arrived to investigate the abuse claim, Billings reportedly fled into the wooded area behind his home. And that’s when the sheriff’s office brought in a new weapon: K-9 SEE ABUSE, PAGE A3
Gun buy goes wrong in Mason By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com
SINKING IN Photos above show the aftermath of a burst corrugated metal pipe, resulting from rusting, which caused the collapse of MHS’s concession stand. last week. On Wednesday, plans were made to replace it with an HDPE pipe to prevent rust. Photos by Tyler Lindsey
Rusted pipe causes building collapse By TYLER LINDSEY tlindsey@covingtonleader.com The athletic department slid into some problems last week at Munford High School due to a bursting pipe and water damage by the football field. The concession stand on the visitor side of the football field fell 16 feet into a sink hole as well as the surrounding area adjacent to the running track. Danny Wallace, Tipton County Board of Education maintenance director, said that the problem resulted from a rusting corrugated metal pipe that burst and shot water through the soil upward. “All that rain we’ve had has been draining from the upper parking lot
and concession stand down the hill and under the football field,” Wallace said. “After 30 years of draining water, the pipe finally rusted and gave in and the water had no where else to go but up. The soil naturally just gave way and the building fell in.” On Wednesday, a new pipe was reported to have been delivered. This pipe is different from its predecessor, being composed of a high-density, polyethylene, or HDPE, pipe. “This new HDPE pipe will take care of this type of situation in the future,” he said. This fact is especially important due to the extensive runoff of rainwater down the grade from the school, parking lot and home side bleachers. The replacement building will show-
case bathrooms so that visitors won’t have to trudge around the field and up the bleachers to the home side. Accommodations will also be made to the building making it handicapaccessible from the lower parking lot. The real question is will the problems be resolved by the 2011 football season. “I’m looking to have the pipe rebuilt within 2-3 weeks,” said Wallace. “We ran into some bad soil so an engineer is coming in [yesterday morning] to provide suggestions on stabilizing the ground. Hopefully, we will have plans drawn up and will have started on the building after a month,” “We’re lucky it happened now. If it happened during football season, we’d be in a mess.”
Mason police need help from the public in locating firearms stolen during several recent burglaries, said chief James Paris. On Friday, the department, with the help of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, conducted an undercover investigation to purchase nearly 22 guns they believed to be stolen. However, the buy didn’t turn out as they’d planned it. “They did not have any weapons, they robbed the undercover officer and were quickly apprehended for the robbery,” Paris said. Aresidential burglary on Mother’s Day resulted in up to 10 guns out on the street and in the hands of criminals. Later that week, there were two more burglaries within the small town’s limits. Paris said a 13-year-old was arrested in connection with the latter two crimes. SEE GUNS, PAGE A3
Reader’s Guide TODAY’S WEATHER Partly sunny. High, 95. Low, 72. INSIDE Opinion Faith Obituaries Education Lifestyles
A4 B4 A6 A7 B3
Sports Outdoors Classifieds Puzzles Legals
A10 A11 B7 B6 B8
INSIDE THE ARTS Don’t miss our summer series Behind the Arts, interviews with local artists, which begins today. See B1. HOW TO REACH US Call 901.476.7116 Email news@covingtonleader.com Visit us at 2001 Hwy. 51 South, Covington, TN 38019
Household hazardous waste will be collected at Brighton High School from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 4. Please see page A9 for more details on this annual collection event.
Thisweek’s week’s Featured Church: This featured church: Covington • Barretville • Millington • Collierville South Tipton • South Covington Mortgage Offices: South Tipton • Millington • South Covington • Collierville
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Canaan Missionary Baptist Church TurntotoPage Page A7 details Turn B5forfor details
6/4/11 9 a.m.events Household Area Hazardous Waste Collection Event, Brighton High School Parking Lot 7 p.m. Music on the Square, Grace Askew, Covington
6/1/11 6:25:45 PM