hwy. 45 spill leaves dozens stranded, 3a
where in mcnairy, 3A
Independent Appeal
County Champs
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AJHS takes county crown in junior high football PAGE 1B
Making McNairy County headlines for more than 100 years
Volume 107, Number 19, Wednesday, September 28, 2011
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Bungling burglar strikes Selmer By Christen Coulon Editor
In what are likely to be related crimes, a burglar has struck downtown Selmer twice in recent days. However, police may not be looking for a criminal mastermind in these cases. Evidence suggests that these crimes may have been committed by one of the least skilled criminals ever to hit McNairy County. The break-ins at the Selmer Clinic on Houston Avenue and at Jesus Cares on Court Street occurred between Sept. 17-19 and drugs seem to be the likely motive in both cases. Chief Neal Burks of the Selmer Police Department, stated that due to the timing and targets of each burglary that it was possible they were committed by the same person. In the first case, Sgt. Ron Pilkington stated in his offense report that Dr. James Smith was advised by an overnight janitorial employee in the early morning hours of Sept. 18 that his clinic had been burglarized. The incident occurred sometime between 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 17 and 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 18. The burglar got away with two television sets, a laptop computer,
and non-narcotic medication. Pilkington estimated that the value of the stolen items and damage to the clinic was in excess of $1,300. The burglar did fail, however, in his attempt to get narcotic drugs. Smith said that the burglar was not able to get any narcotic medications because none are kept on site. Smith said that the location had been burglarized in the past but it was so long ago that he could not remember the exact date. “We are disappointed that people have to resort to this,” Smith said.
Burglar’s fortunes take turn for the worse As if the burglar’s failure in the first crime wasn’t bad enough, the monumental failure of the second burglary surpasses it and raises the bar for all future criminals. In a heist that could have come straight off the silver screen, the apparent plan of the Jesus Cares burglar appears to have been to break in to the thrift store through the back door, smash a hole in their wall and walk into the neighboring pharmacy to steal their narcotic medications. The burglar followed this plan
precisely, painstakingly creating a hole in the thrift store wall. After some time he was successful, but as he knocked out a final piece of mortar and peered through the wall into what he hoped was the pharmacy, all he could see was the alley in which he originally entered the thrift store. The hole he created was a full 4 feet behind the back wall of the pharmacy. Apparently disheartened by his shoddy measuring skills and too tired to do the work again, the burglar grabbed approximately $25 in change and left the store. “Upon arrival I observed there to be a hole in the (wall) next to Jesus Cares and the back door broken open,” Patrolman Blake Huckabee said in his offense report. “Inside Jesus Cares there was a hole in the wall where someone had tried getting through to the drug store next to it. There was money taken from a cash register in Jesus Cares. A hammer was found by the hole and was collected for evidence.” Jimmy Whittington, executive director, of Jesus Cares said he did not have an estimate of damages Staff Photo by Christen Coulon yet, but fortunately it looks like it A hole remains in the back room of Jesus Cares Thrift Store where an inept burglar tried will not be as much as was origi- to smash his way into the Selmer Rexall Drugstore. The hole was smashed several feet nally expected. They will be able to short of its intended target and led back to the alley where the criminal entered the
building.
See burglar, 3A
McNairy County nabs record 31st Three-Star Award Remains identified By Christen Coulon Editor
Staff Photo by Christen Coulon
(Front row) Carry Vaughn, Brenda Cauley, Patsy Pearson, Rene Moss, Tracy Hellmuth, Gov. Bill Haslam, ECD Commissioner Bill Hagerty, Ted Moore, Russell Ingle, Sandy Robinson and Jai Templeton. (Back row) Anthony Henson, Wilburn Gene Ashe, Sybil Dancer, Laschelle Moore, Rep. Vance Dennis and Steve Simon.
McNairy County was awarded the Tennessee Three-Star Award for a record 31st consecutive year at the annual Governor’s Council on Economic and Community Development last Friday in Nashville. The award is given by the state and recognizes the importance of successful community development best practices and its impact on sustaining economic growth. The Three-Star program helps rural and urban Tennessee communities achieve excellence in community development by emphasizing foundational steps and targeting community strengths to improve quality of life and grow jobs. “The Three-Star Awards
is a program that has been around for 31 years and it has changed over time and it has become a bit more stringent,” said Russell Ingle, Director of Chamber Programs for the McNairy Regional Alliance. “It’s basically a best practices program that helps communities focus on things that will better improve things like maintenance and just help in formulating procedures so that they can better administrate those jobs. It basically helps you do what you need to do and do it in the best way possible.” The Three-Star Program helps communities focus on their strengths and address areas of concern to better prepare their area for economic growth. While the award is submitted by the
Shelby County Medical Examiner identifies body as Wade Epperson
See three-star, 3A
Downtown Selmer gets makeover By Jeff Whitten Head News Writer
Downtown Selmer is getting a new look. The repaving of city streets damaged by the water pipe replacements is nearly complete, Mayor David Robinson told the September meeting of the Board of Alderman. Contractor Arrow Paving, a Lexington firm owned by Andy Autry, is coming back to put finishing touches on the streets, Robinson said. In addition, new benches have been placed along the sidewalks. These benches were purchased with funds from a Downtown Grant that Selmer obtained, Parks and Recreation Department Director Sybil Dancer told the August meeting of the Selmer board. New banners were also placed on streetlights downtown in August. The American flag design, in commemoration of Independence Day, will stay up until Veteran’s Day when they will be replaced with other designs. The signs will be rotated at major holidays. They were also paid for by the downtown grant. The city will also be replacing welcome signs located at entrances to the city, Dancer told the September meeting of the board. These new signs will be financed with a $25,000 Roadscapes grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation. The designs for the signs were chosen from among those submitted in a contest.
Staff Photo by Christen Coulon
Crews begin the paving of Selmer’s Court Street Sept. 15. With the paving work all but complete, Selmer’s main and secondary streets throughout its historic downtown area have a fresh new look.
By Jeff Whitten Head News Writer
A source from the Shelby County Medical Examiner’s office has confirmed that a body found in Selmer on June 8 is that of Wade Epperson. Epperson’s body was found near David and Elyse Henderson’s home. Their dog had been bringing what looked like human bones into their yard. David found a man’s wallet and a man’s pants in their front yard. The Henderson’s reported their findings to the McNairy County Sheriff’s Department and Deputy Josh Gilbert initiated an investigation. County investigators found the body about 100 yards from the Henderson residence and the neighboring trailer occupied by Epperson in a wooded area behind both residences. The body was of a man reported missing on May 6, 2011 who stayed in the trailer beside the Henderson’s home. “It was not unusual to miss him for the man would come and go from the residence,” Sheriff Guy Buck said. Investigators found decayed remains of the body which were gathered and sent to McNairy Regional Hospital and the county medical examiner. The remains were then forwarded to the medical examiner’s office in Memphis to determine the identification and cause of death. Positive identification was determined using dental x-rays of the decedent. As of press time, Epperson’s cause of death was still unavailable. Buck said that a medical prescription in Epperson’s name was empty and had been filled on May 6, 2011 was found beside the body. County Investigator Brad Johnson was assigned to the case and ongoing investigation.
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