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Independent Appeal Making McNairy County headlines for more than 111 years
731-610-3412 Volume 111, Number 06, Wednesday, June 26, 2013
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Two county industries expand
this week
By Jeff Whitten Head News Writer
McNairy County hits the diamond 14-year-olds take on tough competition in Jackson
PAGE 1B
Two Selmer industries will be expanding, it was announced at last Monday’s County Commission meeting. Monogram will be expanding into the old Midwest Woodworking plant in Selmer. The McNairy County/Selmer Industrial Development Board will buy the building for $1.2 million and then lease it to Monogram for $10,000 a month. The expansion will add 45 employees in addition to the people employed at Monogram’s current location. Under the proposal, which the commission voted to accept, both the county and Selmer will guarantee the $1 million loan to purchase the building. The IDB will pay
$200,000 down. “We’ll never see an opportunity like this again,” said Budget Committee Chairman Jim Rickman. United Stainless is also expanding. The 20,000 square feet expansion will cost a total of $1.5 million. The nearly $300,000 in infrastructure improvements qualify for a Fast Track Grant from the state, according to Rickman. The $270,000 grant requires a 9 percent match, which United Stainless will pay. The commission approved applying for the grant. In other news from the meeting, the commission passed the 2013-2014 budget. The property tax rate remains at $2.09 per $100 assessed value. The proportion
Eureka!
v What’s Next The next meeting of the McNairy County Commission will be August 12.
going to the general fund will increase to $0.79 from $0.74 the previous year, while the proportions going to the schools, $0.99, and roads, $0.09 will be unchanged. Mayor Ronnie Brooks announced that Beth Vise and Sherry Carroll had been nominated to the Library Board. The commission will vote on these nominations at its next meeting in August. The commission also approved the nominations of Terry Thrasher, Anthony Carr and Steve Simon for the 911 Board.
Selmer man strikes gold Hundreds swarm to michie park Last Saturday’s Michie Summer Bash a success
By Christen Coulon
Staff Photo by Christen Coulon
Managing Editor
PAGE 10A
Luminaries line the track at the park for Relay for Life.
There is a gold rush of sorts here in McNairy County, and local man Carl Dewberry struck gold in north Selmer last Wednesday using his specially constructed Highbanker slush. “I built this thing here last summer,” Dewberry said. “My son and I kind of put our heads together and looked at the internet and did some research, and I have some experience piddling with (prospecting).” He said the machine works by dumping material into the top, and the water washes out the lighter objects down the angled surfaces, leaving the heavier objects like gold and gemstones behind. He said that his machine has a unique feature which allows it to work as a dredge. This allows him to vacuum material directly from a creek bed into the machine using a pump. Dewberry was using material gathered from four separate mining sites in Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina to test his machine. “I wanted to make sure that what I have done would work,” Dewberry said. Now that his local experiment has proven to be a success, he plans to take his machine to some of the nearby prospecting areas. He has previously prospected for gold all over the United States including Colorado, California, Alaska, as well as several sites in the Appalachian Mountains. Dewberry is a member of the Gold Prospector’s Association of
South Pacific: actor’s point of view Pitts shares her experience with AiM musical
PAGE 4A
4th of July Events Calendar Town of Ramer - June 30 Free Picnic at the Ramer City Park with hamburgers and hot dogs beginning at 6 p.m. With live music and fireworks.
Relay for Life raises $30,000 for cancer research By Christen Coulon Managing Editor
The 17th annual McNairy County Relay for Life kicked off last Friday at the Selmer City Park. This year’s event was attended by more than 2,500 people and raised more than $30,000 for cancer research, according to Ray Prather, event co-chair. Official events for this year’s Relay for Life began at 6 p.m. with a short program honoring cancer survivors and a survivor lap around the track. This year, survivors Robyn Pace and Lisa Moore carried the Relay for Life Banner leading the way for this portion of the event. Following the survivor’s lap, teams competed selling food and offering games, door prizes, raffles, and other activities to raise money for the event. This year’s highest earning team was the Hee-Haw concessions booth, which brought in close to $1,200. (This amount does not count the more than $15,000 that Hee-Haw has raised throughout the year in its performances.) The Justice Complex/911 dunk tank was also very popular and gave attendees the opportunity to toss a ball and dunk Byron Maxedon McNairy County’s Circuit and General Sessions Court Clerk, McNairy County Sheriff Guy Buck and General Sessions Judge Van McMahan
Staff Photo by Christen Coulon
Carl Dewberry pans for gold as Carol Pipkins looks on.
America, a group which helps prospectors find viable sites to do their work, and said that he has been prospecting for nearly 20 years. During this week’s test run, Dewberry found several small gold nuggets, a ruby and several amethysts. He also identified several samples that appeared to contain large amounts of gold dust. Recovering this material is more difficult, he said. “Now I will be going back through using tweezers to pick out all of the small pieces,” Dewberry said. The Independent Appeal will follow up with Dewberry and report any results of large finds as he puts his machine to use in the field.
See relay, 2A
Soft drink causes wreck in Selmer
Town of Ramer - July 4 Parade begins at 10 a.m. (Line-up begins at 9 a.m.)
By Jeff Whitten Head News Writer
A soft drink can caused a wreck in Selmer June 18 that injured two people. According to an incident report by Ptl. Tommy Howell and provided by the Selmer Police Department, Cynthia B. Isbell, 45, of Selmer was driving a maroon 2008 Chevrolet SUV down Spruce Street when the vehicle hit a pot hole. This caused passenger Harold B. Isbell, 50, of Selmer, to drop a canned soft drink.
City of Selmer - July 4 Parade begins at 12 p.m. Kids Parade at 1 p.m. Live Music from 2-9 p.m. Fireworks at 9 p.m.
The can fell under the brake pedal, making it impossible to stop the vehicle. The SUV left the roadway, went down the side of an embankment and came to rest in a creek bed. The driver told Howell after he arrived that her back and neck were hurting. Both the driver and passenger were transported by Emergency Medical Services ambulance to McNairy Regional Hospital for treatment of non-incapacitating injuries. MRH has told the Independent Appeal in the past that it is against their policy to give out information on patients’ conditions.
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