NASHVILLE — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed strong school safety legislation into law and recognized the investment of more than $230 million to strengthen safety at public and private schools across Tennessee. more

The University of Mississippi announced students named to its Spring 2023 Chancellor’s Honor Roll and Dean’s Honor Roll. Six local students made the lists. more

McKenzie’s legendary barbecue pit master Chris Chadwick is a busy man, but don’t think that affects his cooking in any way. Since 2008, he has produced quality artisan smoked meats and built a strong reputation. He has attracted nationwide sponsors, flown to national competitions, and appeared on television. Yet the one-man-show still somehow finds the time to serve his hometown of McKenzie. more

McKENZIE (August 1) — The McKenzie Rotary Club was delighted to host Ellen Pruitt of Hometown Health Clinic. more

The McKenzie Rotary started the new Rotary year with a strong showing with the induction of three new members. The new members are Ricky Price (Vice President of Pepsi MidAmerica), Ben Wolksi (Network Administrator at the University of Tennessee at Martin), and Ryan Griffin (City of McKenzie Mayor). Each new member received a certificate of membership, a challenge coin, and a welcome packet explaining about Rotary. The Rotary Club of McKenzie was chartered in 1937 and has served an intricate role in McKenzie. more

Hunter Shields, a 23 year old student at Tennessee College of Applied Technology Paris, became the national champion in Motorcycle Service Technology, winning the Gold Medal at the 2022 National SkillsUSA Competitions. The national skilled trades championships, held in Atlanta, were June 21-23. more

The Carroll County Technical Center announces Daniel Latimer, a senior at McKenzie High School, was awarded the Hospitality Tennessee Education Foundation Scholarship for the HospitalityTN Education Foundation. more

The Paris-Henry County Chamber of Commerce partnered with Nance Productions, owned and operated by Cody and Korie Nance, to host the second-annual 2022 Allegro Marinade’s Professional Bull Racing (PBR) event July 1 and 2 at the Henry County Fairgrounds in Paris. In addition to Allegro Marinade being the title sponsor, Chris Dowdy of Mossey Oak Properties presented the competition. more

McKENZIE — (August 1) — Discounted admission prices for entry into home sporting events was the topic of discussion at the McKenzie Special School District Board of Education on Tuesday, August 1. more

Mr. Jamie Smith of Smith and Sons Heating/Air received a special award earlier this year from the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) at McKenzie. Mr. Smith very graciously worked with students in the HVAC program while a search for an instructor was underway. Students were able to receive on-site training while working with the Smiths. more

Coach Wilkins along with the Lady Rebels and Rebel basketball teams are back to host another year of Summer Basketball Camps to children going into first through eighth grade. more

HUNTINGDON (April 12) — Students with intellectual disabilities from the county’s five special school districts displayed their prowess in sporting events during Special Olympics held at Huntingdon’s Paul Ward Stadium on Friday, April 12. more

CARROLL COUNTY — A total of 316 high school seniors from five high schools in Carroll County received diplomas during the past week. West Carroll graduated 72 on Thursday, May 11. On Friday, Clarksburg graduated 20 and Hollow Rock-Bruceton graduated 39; Saturday, Huntingdon graduated 100 and on Sunday, McKenzie graduated 85. In The Banner’s coverage area is Gleason with an expected 36 to graduate on Friday, May 19. The McKenzie Banner will publish the names and individual photos of all graduates from the five special school districts in Carroll County and Gleason. That will publish on May 30. more

McKenzie, Huntingdon, West Carroll and Clarksburg released the enrollment census of students for the first week of the 2023-24 school year. more

Wedding Punch 2 quarts orange juice 1 cup lemon juice (real lemon) 1-2 cups sugar 1 quart pineapple juice 2 quarts water 2 quarts ginger ale more

McKENZIE (June 2023) — The 2022-23 sports seasons at Bethel were again noteworthy with several teams seeing postseason action. more

ATWOOD (August 3) — West Carroll Special School District is proactively addressing security issues at each of its three school sites in McLemoreville, Trezevant and Atwood. The Board voted to start the process to possibly make upgrades at each school. That action came during the August 3 meeting at the West Carroll Junior/Senior High School. more

McKENZIE (July 6) — Ice bucket challenges were really popular a few years ago. The concept was to fill a five-gallon bucket with iced water and dump that water on someone’s head as a fundraiser. A recent fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital took the concept to the extreme: ice water from the bucket of a front-end loader. That followed a pie in the face by Johnathan St. Clair. Will Walker had the pleasure of operating the bucket as he eased the levers forward to dump the water on Trent Johnson and Trent’s granddaughter, Lila Colvin. more

McKENZIE (AUGUST 1) — New state laws affecting education necessitated numerous changes in local school board policy. During the August 1 meeting, the McKenzie Special School District Board of Education approved those changes, some of which included school safety, summer school, intruder drill policy, a public comment policy at meetings, and penalties for unruly spectators or coaches at sporting events. more