Jonathan Wayne Goodrum and Kristina Louise Sawyer, the parents charged in the March 24 rape of their one-day-old daughter, appeared in Carroll County Circuit Court Tuesday.

The court approved a change of attorney for Goodrum based on the belief that Goodrum could not receive a fair trial because of a conflict of interest with his present attorney, Public Defender Billy Roe. Judge Creed McGinley appointed Bob Keeton III to replace Roe.

Steve West, court-appointed attorney for Sawyer, convinced to court to release his defendant on her own recognizance. He told the court Sawyer was not a flight risk, adding that all of her family lives in the area and she has no where else to go.

Both Goodrum and Sawyer are scheduled to return to circuit court on July 18.

According to Lt. Tim Nanney of the McKenzie Police Department, Goodrum allegedly had unlawful sexual contact with his daughter by penetrating her with an unknown object, while still at the local hospital where she has been born. Nurses at the hospital reportedly observed tears in the child's body during an assessment of the infant.

Sawyer had made a deal with the state to testify "truthfully" as to what occurred in the case, according to West and Assistant District Attorney Steve Jackson.

Evelyn Eubanks of McKenzie, Goodrum's aunt who reared him, told the Banner following the hearing, "Let God be with him."

According to school officials Goodrum attended school at McKenzie for a time. However, at age 15, he was placed in state custody for a juvenile offense prior to entering high school.

The new E-Slate voting equipment replaces the former punch card machines.

Voters will use new electronic voting machines during the August 3 elections in Carroll County. Every precinct will have the new machines, which utilize a display screen, a rotating dial, and push buttons to cast a ballot.

Linda Radford, administrator of elections in Carroll County has established times for voters to get familiar with the new voting machine. The demonstrations will provide a "hands-on" experience prior to August 3 and early voting balloting. Voters may visit the Election Commission office at the Carroll County Office Complex 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekdays for a demonstration. Special community visits are planned at the following city halls: McKenzie, June 13, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.; Hollow Rock, June 14, 9:00 a.m. -noon; Trezevant, June 19, 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.; McLemoresville, June 19, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.; Clarksburg, June 20, 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.; Atwood, June 20, 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.; Bruceton, June 21, 9:00 a.m. - noon.

Early voting for the August 3 election will be conducted at the Election Commission Office July 14 to July 29. The last day to register to vote in person is July 3rd.

The E-Slate machines cost $243,500 paid entirely by the state and federal government.

 

The West Carroll School Board held its monthly meeting on Thursday, June 1st and approved field trips, heard budget updates, and a report about major hail damage to school roofs.

School Superintendent Eric Williams informed the board about the two field trips on the agenda. Mr. Williams explained that teachers Mrs. Molly Van, Mrs. Lori McClain, and Ms. Jana Vickers took the energy team to the National Energy Development Project that was held in Nashville on May 12th. The West Carroll Energy Team placed second and was awarded a trip to Washington, D.C. from June 23rd through June 26th. This trip will consist of 12 students who will be attending. All students will be accompanied by a parent or guardian along with the teachers. Another 19 people will also be attending including adults, parents, and students. The students are furnishing their own funds for the trip and request permission from the board for the trip. After a motion by Jim Pirtle, followed by a second by Mike Foster, the trip was approved by a unanimous vote on the first reading. Mr. Williams then stated that teacher Mrs. Pam Bryant requested permission from the board to take students on a history trip to Land Between the Lakes from August 19th through 20th. Chaperones will be determined by parents of the participants. Adults going on the trip are David Bryant, Marsha Coleman, Becky Haley, and Pam Bryant and others. The board granted permission for the history trip by a unanimous vote after a motion by Mike Foster followed by a second by Jim Pirtle.

Mr. Williams met with the school insurance company (T.S.B.A.) at the Trezevant Elementary and the McLemoresville Primary schools to inspect both buildings for roof damage due to a hail storm that occurred a few weeks ago. Mr. Williams stated that both buildings were hit hard by the storm and both roofs are in need of repair. At Trezevant, from the 6th grade end to the 4th grade end of the building, the roof needs to be replaced completely down to the ceiling tiles. At McLemoresville, from Mrs. Claudia's office down to the 2nd grade end, replacing the entire roof in that area along with fire alarms systems, intercoms, security equipment, computers, and everything that has water damage at this point. The ceiling tiles at McLemoresville in the damaged area have asbestos in them, so a special team will remove those tiles. When this is completed, there will be no asbestos in any of the buildings. The T.S.B.A. estimated the damage to both buildings at $200,000 to $250,000. The damage is covered under the school insurance policy and the repairs should be completed before the new school year begins.

The board approved the Federal Budget Amendments along with the IDEA Budget. The next items of business were school wellness, acquired immune syndrome 5.401, and acquired immune syndrome 6.404. All were handled under one motion and passed with a unanimous vote on the second reading.

The basketball request for funds was next on the agenda. Mr. Williams explained that accounts must be zeroed by the end of the fiscal year. The system recently sold some fencing along with the post out of the surplus category that totaled $2,323 which could be transferred into the basketball funds for a start. Mr. Williams assured the board that once the basketball program received the funds to balance out, the program should be profitable in the future. Board member Jim Pirtle made a motion to give the basketball program $6,000 to zero the account as well as $1,000 for basketball camps to be divided evenly between the girls and boys basketball programs. Mike Foster followed with a second and the request for funds was granted by a unanimous vote.

Playground equipment bids were the next item of business. Mr. Williams stated the bids were due in June 2nd. Mr. Williams continued by stating they were paying for this out of pre-school grant money along with contributions from the Primary School in McLemoresville. The playground will be completed in steps. They are starting with about $19,000 but the total bill should be approximately $40,000 to $45,000. The money will have to be allocated through grants. School Board Chairman Jimmy Halford suggested forming a committee for bid approval. After little discussion, Jim Pirtle, Eric Williams, Claudia Argo, Travis Carter, and Dr. Shannon Burton volunteered to be on the committee if needed. Board member Sam Inman motioned to that effect and also added to grant the committee permission to approve the bids. Mike Foster followed with a second and the vote was unanimous in favor of the committee.

Mr. Williams then gave each board member a copy of the proposed 2006-2007 budget for them to review before the final approval at the next meeting. Mr. Williams briefly explained the document explaining that the school is still waiting on the June BEP estimate and that may change the numbers a bit. Mr. Williams stated that the proposed budget of $5,783,451 shows a $179,988 increase (3.2%) from last year. This is based on small increases in property taxes combined with a BEP increase, a proposed payroll of $3,754,390, an increase of $76,649 ($10,079 BEN). Mr. Williams continued by stating that the retirement category hit them extremely hard this year with certified rate going from 5.5 to 6.13 and the non-certified rate jumping from 4.16 to 7.77, which is calculated on a yearly basis. This increased the proposed retirement $43,706 over last year's budget of $202,116. The proposal also increases the insurance from last years cost of $237,993 to $251,044, an increase of $13,062. This is calculating in a 7.5% increase that will occur in January. Due to the increase in utilities as well as the cost of library books, text books, and supplies, the total increase will be more than what was included in the proposed budget. The additional costs will have to be absorbed by using additional funds. The system has also lost some BEP funding for teachers because student numbers have decreased. However, this proposed budget is based on keeping the same amount of staff as this past year. The budget approval meeting will be Monday, June 26th with a 6:30 p.m. start time.

In closing, Mr. Williams told the board members that in order to fund food service budget with an increase in food of approximately $30,000 for the next year, this can be absorbed with a combination of state money and a 25 cent increase in lunch prices across the board. That would increase the student lunches to $1.75 and the teacher lunches to $2.25 while leaving the breakfast prices as they were the previous year. They have suggested an approximate $47,000 (18%) increase in food for the year but they have decided to look at the 25 cent increase instead. This rate is still below some of the surrounding area schools systems lunch rate.