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Independent Appeal
SELMER FIRES Selmer hit by multiple fires on consecutive days PAGE 2A
Making McNairy County headlines for more than 100 years
Volume 107, Number 28, Wednesday, November 30, 2011
CARDINAL PRIDE AHS Football finishes memorable season PAGE 1B www.independentappeal.com 50¢
ADAMSVILLE BURNS Early Tuesday fire devastates much of downtown
Staff Photo by Andrew Alexander
An early morning fire destroyed several businesses in downtown Adamsville last Tuesday. The fire engulfed the Saw Meal restaurant and coffee shop, the Dance Academy and the Tanning Alley. By Jeff Whitten Head News Writer
Flames engulfed the Saw Meal restaurant in Adamsville last night. The fire, which broke out just before 11 p.m., was battled for three hours by firemen from Adamsville, Selmer, Hardin County, Savannah, Crump and Lawton, according to Selmer Fire Chief Anthony Carr, who was on the scene. The restaurant, its large dining room, the Dance Academy, Tanning Alley and the Saw Meal Coffee Shop were totally destroyed, Carr said. Carr said that it was his understanding that the case would be turned over to the state fire marshall’s office for further investigation. Forty firefighters from Hardin County from units 2, 6 and 12 were on the scene until 6:30 a.m., according to the department’s Facebook page. Firefighters were cleaning out debris and still extinguishing small
flames at 6 a.m., according to on the scene Independent Appeal reports. The Rehab Unit was also on the scene. The restaurant was opened three years ago. The building is owned by Sammy and Sherry Kiser, who ran the business for the first two years. Michelle Geiger, sister of Sherry, has run the business for the past year. Adamsville Mayor David Leckner said in a statement, “Last night was a dreadful night for Adamsville; one that we will not forget anytime soon. On what should have been a quiet, snow filled evening myself along with several members of our community witnessed our vibrant downtown engulfed in flames. As I stood in the middle of Main Street in shock of what was taking place, I witnessed brave men and women of the local fire departments in action. Through late night and into the morning hours these volunteers worked together to prevent the total loss of our downtown area. They
safely battled the blaze, and all were able to go home to their families in the end. On behalf of the city of Adamsville and the downtown association I would like to extend our sincerest gratitude for their hard work and efforts. In the end we must remember buildings can be rebuilt, lives cannot. God bless the brave men and women who volunteer to keep us safe from harm; below is a list of those we are thankful for: Adamsville Fire Dept., Selmer Fire Dept., Lawton Fire Dept., Leapwood Fire Dept., Crump Fire Dept., Savannah Fire Dept., Hardin Co. Fire Dept., McNairy Co. Sheriff’s Dept., Hardin Co. Sheriff’s Dept.” Attempts to contact Adamsville Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Terry Thrasher were unsuccessful. As of press time, the Saw Meal continued to smolder, rekindling several times throughout the day last Tuesday.
Photo Courtesy of Hardin County Fire Department
Staff Photo by Andrew Alexander
Unemployment Rate in McNairy County (NSA; monthly)
3/31/1990 6/30/1990 9/30/1990 12/31/1990 3/31/1991 6/30/1991 9/30/1991 12/31/1991 3/31/1992 6/30/1992 9/30/1992 12/31/1992 3/31/1993 6/30/1993 9/30/1993 12/31/1993 3/31/1994 6/30/1994 9/30/1994 12/31/1994 3/31/1995 6/30/1995 9/30/1995 12/31/1995 3/31/1996 6/30/1996 9/30/1996 12/31/1996 3/31/1997
7.8 8.6 5.9 10.4 9 10 7.6 8.6 10.1 9.5 7.5 8.2 9.3 9.1 7.8 7.9 8.4 12 11 9.7 11.5 10.6 10 9.3 9.5 8.8 8.4 7.3 9.7
6/30/1997 9/30/1997 12/31/1997 3/31/1998 6/30/1998 9/30/1998 12/31/1998 3/31/1999 6/30/1999 9/30/1999 12/31/1999 3/31/2000 6/30/2000 9/30/2000 12/31/2000 3/31/2001 6/30/2001 9/30/2001 12/31/2001 3/31/2002 6/30/2002 9/30/2002 12/31/2002 3/31/2003 6/30/2003 9/30/2003 12/31/2003 3/31/2004 6/30/2004
8.7 7.5 6.4 7.7 8.6 5.7 5.4 5.9 4.9 4 4.8 4.6 4.4 4.4 4.4 5.4 6.6 5.9 6.3 7.2 6.5 5.6 6.6 7.6 7.6 6.3 6.2 6.7 6
9/30/2004 12/31/2004 3/31/2005 6/30/2005 9/30/2005 12/31/2005 3/31/2006 6/30/2006 9/30/2006 12/31/2006 3/31/2007 6/30/2007 9/30/2007 12/31/2007 3/31/2008 6/30/2008 9/30/2008 12/31/2008 3/31/2009 6/30/2009 9/30/2009 12/31/2009 3/31/2010 6/30/2010 9/30/2010 12/31/2010 3/31/2011 6/30/2011 9/30/2011
5.6 6.4 6.6 6.4 5 5.2 5.9 7.5 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.4 7.3 7.7 8.7 9 9.7 11.6 15.9 14.8 13.2 13.6 13.5 12.2 11.2 11.4 11.5 11.9 10.9
County unemployment rate hits 3 year low By Jeff Whitten Head News Writer
The unemployment rate in McNairy fell into single digits for the first time in three years, according to non-seasonally adjusted figures from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. It was down a full percentage point from a month ago, to 9.9 percent. It has fallen two percentage points over the past year. The labor force decreased by 20 people to 10,870 over the past month as did the number of unemployed by 120 to 1,070. The number of people employed rose by 100 to 9,800. “I’m very appreciative of it. It will be good for our people,” McNairy County Mayor Wilburn Gene Ashe. McNairy Regional Alliance Executive Director Ted Moore was more somber. Looking at numbers from the past few months, Moore attributed much of the decline over this period to people dropping out of the labor force. Moore said that a couple of places
were hiring, but not enough to account for account for a 1 percent drop in unemployment. He said that the MRA had responded to two or three inquiries but this was done under project names only, so he did not know the company names or even the type of industry. In the coming months, 10 or 12 jobs will be lost when Midwest Woodworking in Selmer closes and the MRA is trying to recruit another industry to occupy the building. Connector Casting in Selmer has been hiring some, and Langley Wire in Adamsville is considering hiring some people through the Career Center. At 8.8 percent, Chester County had the lowest unemployment rate of surrounding counties. Hardin County’s rate was the same as McNairy County. At 12.4 percent, Hardeman County had the highest rate in the area. Alcorn County’s rate of 12 percent was nearly as high. Figures from Alcorn County come from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. The unemployment rate went
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down in 92 of the state’s 95 counties, stayed the same in two counties and increased in only one county. At 5.8 percent, Lincoln County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate, followed by Williamson County at 6.3 percent. This represented a 0.4 percentage point decline in Lincoln County and a 0.8 percentage decline for Williamson County. Of the state’s four major metropolitan counties, Knox County had the lowest unemployment rate at 6.7 percent, followed by Hamilton County (Chattanooga) and Davidson County (Nashville) at 7.8 percent. With an unemployment rate of 10.1 percent, Shelby County (Memphis) had the highest unemployment rate of the big counties. Over the past month, unemployment declined a full percentage point in Knox County, 0.9 percentage points in Davidson County, 0.8 percentage points in Hamilton County and 0.7 percentage points in Shelby County.
See UNEMPLOYMENT, 3A
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