By Joel Washburn washburn@mckenziebanner.com

     

Staff Sgt. Michael Beal carries a malnourished child from an Iraqi orphanage.

Michael Beal, age 31, a graduate of West Carroll High School in Atwood Tennessee, is featured as one of the Army soldiers in a rescue of severely malnourished Iraqi children. Beal is a member of the 82nd Airborne from Ft. Bragg.

Inside the Iraqi government-run orphanage of special-needs children, soldiers found emaciated little bodies tied to their cribs. They had been kept this way for more than a month, according to an exclusive from CBS News.

In a video interview, Staff Sgt. Beal said, “I saw children that you could see literally every bone in their body that were so skinny, they had no energy to move whatsoever, no expression on their face.”

Beal compared the children to his own eight-month old son, Logan, whom he saw briefly before his deployment back to Iraq. Sgt. Beal left behind his wife Patricia and their first son to return for his third tour of Iraq. He has also served in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Bosnia.

The tragedy of the situation is the orphanage’s kitchen was well stocked and clothes were in the storeroom. Three people were cooking their own food but not sharing it with the children.

The children were taken to the hospital via ambulance and the caretakers were turned over the Iraqi authorities.

Danny Beal of McKenzie, Tennessee is proud of his son. He said his Michael is on his sixth deployment, none of which has been easy for his father. “This is good reason for us to stay in Iraq,” said Danny.

Michael is the son of Danny Beal of McKenzie and Mary Ann Smith of Atwood and the wife of Patricia.

Mike’s wife wrote, “Mike is always avoiding cameras, but he got caught this time... Several young boys in an orphanage were
starving, tied to chairs and beds, dirty, and who knows what else. Our guys rescued them. They were taken to the hospital, and the man in charge was arrested. The supplies were there. He was simply not taking care of the kids. I'm so proud of Mike.”

See the CBSnews.com story Iraqi Orphanage Nightmare for more information, photos and videos.

   

PARIS (June 19, 2007) A proposal to raise the county’s property taxes by five cents on $100 assessed value is headed to the full County Commission in July. Budget planners voted to add the tax rate to provide additional revenues for the county Highway Department.

If approved, the tax rate will move from $2.30 to $2.35 per $100 assessed value to net an estimated $225,000 for road maintenance and development. Road Supervisor Ray Norwood said the cost of building materials and paving has drastically increased over the past few years. The Highway Committee had originally asked for a property tax increase, a wheel tax increase, and a portion of the Tennessee River Resort Act funds, but settled for the property tax increase.

Mayor Brent Greer said a future wheel tax could be implemented by the county commission with two-thirds vote during two consecutive commission meetings. Even if approved by the commission, voters in the county can petition the issue into a referendum with a petition containing the voters’ signatures equal to at least 10 percent of the 9,860 votes in the most recent gubernatorial election. Currently, the county has an $18 wheel tax to pay for the construction of the new jail and $15 for the Highway Department. A $1 clerk’s fee is added to the wheel tax.

Greer said that Norwood and the Highway Committee had justified the increase in funding, especially in light of the reduced state reimbursement for roads. The county received $122,000 fewer state highway dollars this year as compared to last.

The county will pull $309,471 from fund balance, $331,231 from the unspent Tennessee River Resort Act reserves, and another $53,204 from other reserves to balance the 2007-2008 fiscal year budget. Greer said the Drug Fund is flush with cash following the sale of two county-owned helicopters.

All employees will receive a three-percent cost of living raise and county officials will receive a five-percent, state-mandated pay raise.

Register of Deeds Alice Webb requested substantial pay raises for her three deputy clerks. And again, the Budget Committee set the raises equal to the three-percent cost of living adjustments (COLA) other departments will receive.

Webb requested an annual salary of $31,836, a 9.5 percent raise, for her first clerk; $27,737, or 9.0 percent for her second clerk; and $26,573, or 8 percent, for her third clerk. She said clerks should receive merit raises, not simply COLAs.

Commissioner Randy Veazey, a teacher, said it’s difficult to provide merit pay in governmental positions. For instances, he said some teachers or more valuable than others, but all have to abide by the same pay scale.

Greer noted that long-term employees are rewarded with step pay increases. After the fifth years, the employee receives a $50 annual bonus and eventually tops out at $2,500 annual bonus.

Webb scolded Commissioner Earl Anderson concerning the merit pay raises. She said the Policies and Procedures Committee voted several years ago to call together all the elected officials and discuss the issue. She said that Anderson seconded the motion to do so.

At the close of the meeting, Anderson said the Policies and Procedures Committee allowed the state to conduct the study for free. That study indicated that the clerks in Henry County earn more than clerks in surrounding counties. As for merit raises, Anderson said the commission implemented the step bonuses including $50 annually after five years with a cap at $2,500. Two of Webb’s employees received significant raises immediately with the implementation of the program.

Commissioner Dan Paschall made a motion to accept Webb’s budget with a three-percent raise as all other departments are receiving. In the roll call vote, committee members Everett Moody, Dan Paschall, Bobby Freeman, and Kenneth Humphreys voted for the amended budget, while Lyman Black and Dorris Kendall voted against. Following the vote, Webb gave Black and Kendall a hug.

The board accepted Clerk and Master Mary Burns’ budget as submitted.

Capital projects budgeted include: $37,000 for airport improvements, $50,000 for building improvements including the painting and clock repair at the courthouse, air conditioner at the Health Department, a fire alarm system, $9,600 to repair the brick on the Courthouse Annex, $92,110 for six Sheriff’s Department vehicles, $100,000 to pay a portion of the right of way acquisition for the extension of Highway 219; $35,000 to purchase a video system at the jail, annex, and courthouse for the arraignment of defendants without having to transport the prisoner to the courtroom. The interactive video system would eliminate prisoner transportation, deputy overtime, and increase security.

  
Stephen Clark of Instituform retrieves a camera from the sewer system along South Main Street, McKenzie.

Repair of McKenzie’s sewer system began last week. In May, the city approved a bid of $362,224 from Instituform to repair sewer lines in three geographic areas of McKenzie. The Senatobia Mississippi company will reline the existing pipes to prevent storm water infiltration and to repair damage after decades of deterioration.

McKenzie was previously under a sewer moratorium, which did not allow any new customers to be added to the sewer system. The moratorium was removed by the State Department of Environment and Conservation for most of the city except five of the nine sewer sub basins. Instituform will make repairs in the sub basins of Como Street, Manley Street and South Main.

McKenzie received an 80 percent grant up to $500,000 to complete the current sewer system repairs, estimated at $575,000 including engineering, administration, and the relocation of one sewer service line near Moore Avenue. Engineers recommended that a portion of the city’s sewer system be rehabilitated each year.

During testing of the sewer system earlier this year, survey crews discovered that approximately one-half of the storm water infiltration was caused by faulty customer sewer service lines extending from the home to the city’s lines.

Beginning in July, McKenzie water customers will see a $3 maintenance fee added to their monthly bills.

McKenzie Water Commission unanimously voted to add the flat fee on each customer to help offset the on-going maintenance of the water and sewer systems.

The new fee is estimated to generate $72,000 annually earmarked for repairs and maintenance of the water and sewer systems.

    

MCKENZIE – McKenzie Special School District 2007-2008 fiscal year budget includes no new property taxes. During a budget workshop Monday evening with the school board, Superintendent Jim Ward said the $7.3 million budget could be funded at the current local tax level using $600,000 in new state BEP 2.0 funds and $296,441 from reserve funds.

After a county-wide reappraisal, the certified tax rate for MSSD is $1.36 per $100 assessed value, of which $.77 is for General Purpose Fund and $.59 for General Debt Service. The school board will adopt the $1.36 rate. The tax rate was $1.53 prior to reappraisal.

The budget is based on a five percent raise for 104 certified personnel and an eight percent raise for non-certified personnel. Seasoned teachers will also receive step raises for longevity. Certified staff changes include two new positions at MHS, funding the Early Intervention Teacher at MES from the General Purpose Fund instead of dwindling Federal funding, replacing retired MES music and kindergarten teachers and a first grade teacher, and hiring a new MMS principal.

MMS Principal Jon Frye is relocating to Dyersburg after a two-year stint in McKenzie. Ward said that several persons have shown an interest in the position.

Also, MHS Assistant Principal David Duncan is being deployed with the National Guard for the school year. Duncan is assistant principal, assistant football coach, and head coach of the track team. Duncan will be part of the effort to patrol the U.S.-Mexican border.

Ward reported that the school’s overall student attendance has increased. The Average Daily Membership (ADM) has increased from 1,353 to 1,389.

The average teacher salary at MSSD is $41,745 for a 200-day contract. Starting pay for a beginning teacher with a bachelor’s degree is $32,000.

The School Board and the McKenzie Education Association will negotiate certain benefits during a July 10 session.

Substitute teachers will be paid $45 and $50 respectively for non-degreed and degreed persons in the coming year. The school has $50,000 budgeted to pay substitute teachers for the 2007-2008 year.

Funding is being provided to pay for a student resource officer. Budgeted is $20,000 to contract with the city of McKenzie for a police officer to teach DARE, patrol at ball games, and be in the schools. Ward said the city and school will share the funding of the certified officer. In the past, MPD Officer Jackie Sykes served as the SRO at McKenzie schools. Sykes attended a previous school board and asked that the funding be provided to restore the position after a one-year absence. The position was previously funded through a grant.

Ward praised the maintenance team of Ted Mayberry and Ken Graves for keeping the school buildings well maintained. He said the two attended heating and air conditioning courses at the Tennessee Technology School at McKenzie. MSSD paid the tuition, which has been returned in savings on maintenance costs.

    

Carroll County Emergency Management Director Janice Newman, Carroll County Mayor Kenny McBride and Carroll County Fire Chief Terry Bradshaw discuss earthquake reaction strategies during the Carroll County Advisory Committee’s mock earthquake drill meeting.

HUNTINGDON (June 19) Carroll County Emergency Management Director Janice Newman, County Mayor Kenny McBride, and members of the county’s Local Emergency Planning (All Hazards) Advisory Committee, participated in a mock earthquake drill at the Carroll County Office Complex.

The event, held in conjunction with statewide emergency earthquake preparedness training sessions occurring that day, focused on preparing representatives of the county’s emergency management, Hazmat response, county and town firefighting services, hospital Medical-ambulance services, and county and town law enforcement departments should a major earthquake impact the region.

The New Madrid Fault line, located in new Madrid, Missouri, represents the most imminent threat for earthquake activity to the West Tennessee region.

Historical documents reveal that in the spring of 1812, violent fracturing in the fault resulted in a series of horrific and deadly earthquakes and aftershocks that displaced huge areas of terrain to form Reelfoot Lake located in Dyer County. It was also noted that the quake’s ferocity forced the current of the Tennessee River to temporarily flow backward.

Newman, after welcoming representatives, solemnly stated, “What each of us needs to realize is that for the first 72 hours after the occurrence of earthquake, Carroll County will be on its own. Everything that we are accustomed to having in everyday living will be dramatically effected.”

She continued, “The task before us will be staggering. It is up to us now to create ways to deal with a crisis of this magnitude. We must openly discuss and seek to find answers for problems that will undoubtedly present themselves in a catastrophic incident of this magnitude.”

Newman said, “Strategies must be enacted to deal with the losses of electricity, communications, fuel, water and sewer, infrastructure collapse of bridges, roadways and buildings. There will be a lot of major problems and limitations facing us, and our job is to communicate and find answers before this happens. Homes and buildings, especially older, two-story structures will be destroyed and many people will need to be rescued and given medical aid.”

She added, we have roughly 29,000 residents in Carroll County and 195 volunteers. We aren’t going to have enough personnel available to handle this.”

Carroll County Fire Department Chief Terry Bradshaw informed, “Space for people left homeless will be limited. The 600-bed National Guard Armory in Lavinia has already been designated as a staging area for the influx of people from Memphis and the surrounding region who will be fleeing from hard-hit areas. A lot of FEMA people would also flood into the area. Shelters will fill up. We will run out of space to house the homeless.”

Bradshaw continued, “There will likely be fatalities in a disaster of this level. Dilday Funeral Home in Huntingdon has the only refrigerated vault available in the county that could be utilized for storage of the dead. We may be faced with a situation like what happened in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It’s going to be a very, very trying time for all of us.”

He added, “Food and water will be in short supply and services we have grown accustomed to will not exist.”

McLemoresville Mayor Phil Williams responded, “We must inform all churches and church members throughout our county of what they will need to do. The doors of churches must be open to aid and shelter those who are homeless, hurt, and in need. He continued, “Everyone can do something, and everyone able to do something will need to do so. We must be responsible for ourselves and others.”

Regarding communications, Huntingdon Police Chief Joe Parker said, “A relay system for spreading information throughout the region must be created. We may have to message each other by police radios, ham radios, walkie-talkies-whatever is available. It might be best to split the county into four separate zones with each zone having a command center responsible for addressing the problems in that zone until help arrives.”

He added, “It will take a long time to rebuild roads, bridges and communities. Reconstruction of our county’s infrastructure won’t happen in a matter of months. It will take years.”

Baptist Memorial Hospital representative Johnny Wilson said, “Should bridges and roads throughout the area be destroyed, we will have to depend on air support to deliver medicine and needed supplies. Helicopters from Fort Campbell may be available to help us unless they are deployed in war. Medical aid will definitely be compromised should roads become unusable.”

Carroll County Sheriff Department Chief Deputy Terry Dickey said, “Prisoners housed at the county jail will have to be rounded up and supervised should the jail be damaged or destroyed. We can’t just let them out to go home. Some of them are in jail for violent offenses and might commit crimes like the ones that caused them to be incarcerated if allowed to go free. If they did so, responsibility for their actions would fall back on the county.”

Management of local preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery activities of essential services are grouped into 16 Emergency Support Functions and headed by a primary agency and supported by other public and private sector agencies, departments or groups. They include: Transportation; Communications; Infrastructures; Firefighting; Information and Planning; Human Services; Resource Support; Health and Medical Services; Search and Rescue; Environmental Response; Food; Energy; Law Enforcement; Donations and Volunteers; Recovery and Animal Housing and Care.

Concluding the discussion, Newman thanked meeting attendees for their participation and encouraged continued dialogue between all respective parties.