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News Headlines
Wednesday, February 9, 2005
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McElhiney's Men's Store Closes After 32 Years |
By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
Dusty Frazier of Gleason is assisted with his
purchases by Danny McElhiney. |
"It was the most unusual feeling sticking that key in the
door for the last time," said Danny McElhiney. After 32
years of serving West Tennessee from downtown McKenzie,
McElhiney closed his men's apparel store on Saturday.
Danny and Sandra McElhiney purchased the men's apparel
business on June 1, 1973 from Jerry Escue and Don Holt after
McElhiney worked for the men for just over a year.
The goal at the store was to provide quality name brand
merchandise at fair prices, said McElhiney, who had built a
reputation for his quality service throughout West Tennessee
and parts of Kentucky. He prided himself in offering
service. "Each customer was to be greeted, waited on, and
asked to 'come back,'" said McElhiney.
"Sandra and I have thoroughly enjoyed our time in McKenzie.
It was absolutely a wonderful time," said Danny. "It goes
beyond selling. It was the friendships and relationships we
created here. I won't forget it." He offered his thanks to
the many friends and acquaintances through the years.
The closing week was unexpectedly met with some turmoil in
their younger daughter's career. Ashley, head coach of the
Nashville Rhythm team, was the subject of a courtside
termination in Nashville on Saturday, January 29. Team
co-owner Sally Anthony made the public spectacle to fire the
coach. Ashley maintained her composure, finished the game
with a win, and departed the gymnasium without comment.
McElhiney, age 23, was reinstated five days later. The
Rhythm and the St. Louis Flight competed at Gleason High
School - Ashley's hometown - on Saturday, February 5 - the
same day the McElhineys closed their store.
"Everything that happened with Ashley and the game on
Saturday is all we had on our minds," said Danny. "It was a
tough week for Sandra and me."
Sandra spent many hours with Ashley in the aftermath of the
incident. Ashley told reporters following the Gleason game
that her family and friends helped her through the tough
times.
Some of the former associates at McElhiney's include: Byron
Rich, Larry Maynard, Matilda Cooper, Kenny McBride, Buddy
Wiggleton, Jessica Fortner, Cara Priestley Kelley, Stan
Welch, Jennifer Kelley, and Christy Hampton.
With the closing of the store, McElhiney will begin a new
career with Abernathy's Harley Davidson in Union City. The
motorcycle dealership is building a new store in Union City.
McElhiney made the decision to join Abernathy's over a year
ago and will be selling motorcycles, clothing, and ordering
inventory, but definitely not mechanic work.
Sandra will relocate her decorating and sewing business to
Robertson's Decorating in McKenzie.
McElhiney said the opportunity at Abernathy's provided a new
opportunity. "It is an opportune time to move on," said
Danny.
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Dr. Rob Pomphrey Joins Staff of McKenzie Medical Center |
By Linda Bolton
linda@mckenziebanner.com |
 Dr.
Rob Pomphrey has joined the medical staff at McKenzie
Medical Center, located adjacent to McKenzie Regional
Hospital. He is accepting patients Mondays and Fridays, 8
a.m. until 5 p.m. and Wednesdays, 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.
At the McKenzie Medical Center, he joins doctors Volker
Winkler, Bryan Merrick, Terry Colotta, Michael Bryant, and
David Martin; certified nurse midwives Anita Baker and Amy
Papszycki; certified nurse practioners Cindy Argo, Alex
Bridgeman, Michael Smith, Delia Rhinehart and Rina Prosser;
and physician assistants Stan King and Cathy Martin.
Pomphrey is not new to the McKenzie community, having served
as a full time emergency room physician at McKenzie Regional
Hospital since 2001.
"I love emergency medicine and I like the adrenalin rush
that comes with emergency care, but I missed the continuity
of patient care, getting to know people and their families,"
said the doctor. "I decided, why can't I have both?"
Rob graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee
at Martin in 1988 with a degree in chemistry. He earned his
medical degree from University of Tennessee in Memphis in
1992.
While attending medical school, he joined the U.S. Navy and
completed three years residency in family practice at
Pensacola, Florida.
As a naval doctor, he was assigned to a hospital in Guam,
the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands in the
Pacific Ocean, for two years. While there, he met and fell
in love with Rene Romens, a registered nurse working in
labor and delivery. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Rene
was also a member of the U.S. Navy.
The two married and Rob continued his family practice in San
Diego, California, for one year before leaving military life
behind.
Pomphrey returned to his hometown of Dickson, Tennessee,
where he entered private practice at Dickson Medical
Associates; and at the same time retrained in emergency
medicine.
In 2001, he learned of an opening at McKenzie Regional
Hospital and decided it was time for a change. For the next
three years, he also worked as a full-time emergency room
doctor at Dyersburg Regional Medical Center.
He briefly served as medical director of the emergency room
at Dyersburg Regional Hospital in 2003 and was recently
named medical director of McKenzie Regional Hospital
emergency room, a position he plans to maintain.
"I'll still work a few shifts a week in the ER and serve as
medical director, but hopefully I will build up a practice
in family medicine as well," he said.
Although Rob has worked in obstetrics in the past, he is not
delivering babies at this time.
"That's something I might consider," he said. "My twins were
the last babies I delivered."
"I like caring for people and their families and getting to
know them on a one-on-one basis," he added.
Coming to McKenzie ER, Rob was pleasantly surprised to learn
that his former college buddy, Dr. Terry Colotta was on
staff at the local hospital.
"I went to medical school with Terry and probably joined the
medical center staff as a result of my relationship with
him," he said.
Rob said working in the ER and the variety of medicine
experienced there has tuned up his skills as a medical
doctor.
"When I was in medical school, this is what I wanted to feel
like as a doctor. Sometimes, when you're just starting out,
you aren't too sure of yourself. It has really honed my
skills," he said.
Pomphrey moved his wife and three daughters, Cecelia, age 7
and twins, Natalia and Katarina, ages 4-1/2, to Gleason in
2001. The girls each attend Gleason school. Rene is also
employed at McKenzie Regional as a registered nurse in labor
and delivery.
"It ended up feeling like home - so I moved my family to
Gleason and decided to stay here."
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Fire Damages Catfish Restaurant |
By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
 Employees quickly evacuated the Catfish Restaurant
Thursday, February 3, after a flash fire ignited grease in the
kitchen.
They all hope to return to work in approximately two months in
the same location, said Jimmy Sinis, a friend of owner, John
Paul Jacob. Already, employees are removing damaged items and
an electrician is rewiring the building. The insurance company
had already inspected the damage, said Sinis.
McKenzie Fire Chief Brian Tucker said 18 McKenzie firefighters
responded to the 15895 Highland Drive scene at 10:42 a.m.
Thursday. Utilizing two pumpers, firefighters attacked the
fire in the kitchen, located in the rear of the restaurant.
Fire damage was contained to the kitchen and the entire
facility sustained heavy smoke damage. Tucker said ceiling
tiles were pulled down to check for fire in other parts of the
building.
A call for assistance from Trezevant Fire Department was
cancelled after the MFD brought the fire under control.
Janice Newman, Carroll County emergency management director,
Terry Bradshaw, Carroll County fire chief, and the county's
air van, all responded to the scene.
The building is across the street from the former Catfish
Restaurant, which also burned on August 9, 2002 at 3:00 a.m. |
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Gleason Welcomes Home A Favorite Daughter |
By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
 Memories. Ashley McElhiney had a flashback to her days as a
star center at Gleason when she walked onto the court Saturday
night and the crowd gave the Gleason native a standing
ovation.
"It brought back memories," said the coach of the Nashville
Rhythm, an American Basketball Association team.
Gleason turned out to cheer their favorite daughter. The new
gymnasium was converted to the home stand for the Rhythm in
their contest with the St. Louis Flight. Gleason High School
cheerleaders changed their standard cheers to correspond with
the Rhythm colors, said Megan Owen, a cheerleader for Gleason.
Ashley's dad, Danny, said he wasn't surprised with the
support. When a person leaves the Gleason program, they are
not forgotten, said McElhiney.
The near-capacity crowd was obviously there to support Coach
McElhiney and her team. Spectators were greeted with photos of
Ashley's basketball career at Gleason and Vanderbilt in the
lobby. Fans stood in line to purchase souvenir T-shirts and
programs, featuring Ashley's photo on the front. Familiar
faces from Gleason, McKenzie, and Weakley County filled the
stands. Some traveled from Union City to watch Rhythm's #32,
Marcus Williams, from Union City.
St. Louis defeated Nashville 130-114 in an ABA-style
run-and-gun game.
"Ashley is my hero," said Judy Baker, who traveled from
Huntingdon to watch professional basketball. Ashley
autographed a basketball Baker brought with her.
Courtney Broadbent and Mitch Merrick, both of McKenzie, waited
their turn in line following the game to receive an autograph.
Then Courtney presented Ashley with her game program. In her
handwriting, Courtney had written, "You are a great player. I
want to grow up and be just like you."
The 23-year-old is the first female coach of a men's
professional basketball program. McElhiney had originally
declined the coaching position of the startup ABA program. She
had opted to assist with the Ohio State team, taking a
temporary job at a tanning salon in Ohio before beginning her
season. Then, something on the radio made her reconsider the
Nashville position.
Print and T.V. media canvassed the gymnasium for the story of
Ashley's return home after a tumultuous week. Nashville,
Jackson, and Martin T.V. stations attended along with
newspapers from Nashville, Murfreesboro, McKenzie, Dresden,
Martin, Jackson, and USA Today. One Nashville station
representative said she was reporting on Ashley's first game
back.
Ashley was fired after a courtside encounter with Rhythm CEO
Sally Anthony on Saturday, January 29, in Nashville. News of
the firing made international news. The majority of co-owners
reversed Anthony's decision five days later, leaving the game
at Gleason in question until the announcement that Ashley
would remain.
Prior to a news conference Saturday evening, a representative
told reporters that McElhiney had signed a non-disclosure
statement concerning the events leading up to and following
the courtside encounter. However, the representative assured
reporters that "no settlement" was made.
McElhiney said she and the team started together and want to
finish together. She wants to move forward and put the
unfortunate issue behind her. She said she was grateful for
the level of support she received during the ordeal and was
"very comfortable" with her decision to stay as coach.
The Rhythm had not practiced the entire week because of the
incident with Anthony and McElhiney. But McElhiney said the
team did not show the level of energy needed to win the
contest with St. Louis.
McElhiney was also honored to be selected as an assistant
coach of the ABA's all-star game to be played in Las Vegas.
The week was a stressful one for the McElhiney family, said
Ashley. Not only was it the big game day following a week of
uncertainty with the team, it was also the day Danny and
Sandra McElhiney closed their downtown McKenzie men's store
after 32 years in business. |
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