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Sunday Storm Takes 24 Lives, Leaves Path of Destruction |
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Pilgrim’s Rest Church Pastor Aaron
Holmes, left, along with an unidentified man, look over
the splintered remains of the church in Christmasville
Community following Sunday storm damage.
By Joel Washburn, Linda Bolton, David Fisher, and Carla
Crocker
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
Before.
Severe thunderstorms ripped through Carroll, Henry and
Weakley counties Sunday evening delivering high winds,
tornadoes, and hail as large as golf balls. Two injuries
were reported in the Pillowville/Stafford Store area of
Weakley County and property damage was reported in all
three counties.
Tornadoes struck five West Tennessee counties Sunday
killing 24 people in Dyer and Gibson Counties, including
an 11-month-old child and a family of four. The family
has been identified as Brad and Tanya Taylor and their
two children of Bradford. Most of the deaths were along
a 25-mile path stretching from Newbern to Bradford,
officials said.
Carroll County Emergency Management Director Janice
Newman stated damage occurred at 34 homes, two
apartments, one church, one shop building and nine farm
buildings in Carroll County. Total damage was estimated
at $785,000.00.
The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado
passed through Carroll County Sunday evening. A damage
assessment team will be in the county later this week to
determine the strength of the winds.
A Carroll County Rescue Squad member reportedly saw a
funnel cloud touch down on Winston Road, just off
Highway 79 near McKenzie. County deputies reported other
funnel clouds.
Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) Director
General Bassham and associates Kurt Pickering and Marsha
Cornish, along with Newman and County Mayor Kenny
McBride, surveyed local damage from a Blackhawk
helicopter Monday afternoon.
Pilgrim’s Rest Cumberland Presbyterian Church, a
two-story landmark located in the Christmasville area on
the Carroll-Weakley County line, was destroyed during
the storm. Debris from the church was strewn across the
road, with some debris lodging in nearby trees.
“It is a historic church and one with a long history,”
said Rev. Aaron Holmes, pastor of the church for the
past 45 years. “Our building is gone, but the people
make up the church. We are still in shock over the
loss.”
Bettie Scates of McKenzie, along with her sister, Lois
Vaughn of McKenzie, served as pianists at the church.
Scates said services were held bi-monthly, with 8 to 10
members in attendance each second and fourth Sundays.
Their last service was held March 26.
“This is just so sad,” said Scates, who noted her
father, Don Williams was the oldest member of the church
and served as treasurer prior to his death on January
30.
Janice Newman said she attended Vacation Bible School
there as a child with her grandparents, O.B. and Lena
Griffin.
Emergency Management Director Janice
Newman and Carroll County Mayor Kenny McBride prepare to
assess the storm damage from a helicopter.
Geraldine Campbell, a member until 1947 when she
married, said people used to travel far and wide in
horse-drawn buggies to attend services there.
Dorothy Tegethoff, who has been attending the church for
50 years, said “I just hate that it’s happened. It’s
been here so long, I hate to give it up.”
Pastor Holmes, who was at the site Monday morning to
survey damage, said the late Vance Rushing once told him
“Only God has been at this church longer than you
(Holmes) have.”
No meeting has been held to determine the future of the
church, said Scates.
The church was organized in the summer of 1866 and brush
arbor meetings were held until the building was
completed in February, 1872. Every piece of lumber used
in building the church, even to the window sashes, were
dressed by hand, according to historical records. Wooden
pegs were used to fasten massive wooden beams.
Pilgrim’s Rest Masonic Lodge also formerly used the
upstairs of the church as a meeting hall for several
years.
In another area of destruction, the Ben and Tommy Surber
farm on Hico Road sustained major damage to grain bins
and barns.
Newman estimated damage at the Surber farm at
$250,000.00.
Grain bins filled with corn sustained heavy damage to
augers and the cat walk located on top of the bins.
The overhead structures and augers
were ripped from grain bins at the Ben and Tommy Surber
farm near McKenzie.
An adjacent mobile home, owned by the Surbers, was also
destroyed. Amazingly, farm machinery situated near the
grain bins were untouched by the storm’s wrath.
Ben Surber stated the bins were filled to capacity,
keeping them from being blown away. An equipment shed
damaged several pieces of farm machinery when high winds
toppled the building. One combine header was heavily
damage in the storm.
A mobile home adjacent to the grain
bins was destroyed.
Ben and wife, Lenore sought refuge in a hallway of their
nearby home during the height of the storm. They did not
realize the extent of damage until they were notified by
electric department personnel, who discovered the source
of the power outage was downed power lines at the grain
bins.
Diversified Contractors of McKenzie arrived on the scene
Monday and utilized cranes to make repairs at the Surber
farm.
Taylor’s Grocery personnel opened the store Sunday night
to provide free food for emergency workers in the
Stafford’s Store/Pillowville communities. They reported
more than 100 rescue workers came by the store.
Newman said the Hollow Rock-Bruceton area primarily
sustained damage to roofs.
Carroll County Electric Department Manager Lynn Compton
said Carroll County experienced only minor damage.
Customers experienced power outages in the areas of
Christmasville, Hollow Rock-Bruceton, and an area near
Carroll County Airport between McKenzie and Huntingdon.
One utility pole was pulled out of the ground in the
Christmasville Community, said Compton, but overall
damage was very minor.
“We were very fortunate,” he said.
Compton noted that two Carroll County crews are
dispatched to other counties to offer assistance. One
crew is assisting the Forked Deer electric system in the
Halls/Newbern area and one crew is assisting Weakley
County Municipal Electric System, which serves the
Bradford area.
Photos of Pilgrim's Rest
Pilgrim’s Rest Cumberland Presbyterian
Church lies in ruins. The pews were crushed by the
two-story structure.
Damage in Neighboring Counties
The Weakley County E-911 Office in Dresden reports that
in addition to the two injuries, four homes were
destroyed and 28 homes damaged, and at least two barns
were leveled in the Pillowville Community in the
vicinity of Stafford Store Road.
The tornado tore through Weakley County around 9:30 p.m.
causing severe damage along a narrow path that struck
homes on Stafford Store Road, New Prospect Road, Pittman
Road, and Christmasville Road (Hwy. 190).
A mobile home occupied by Shirley Hawks and her
nine-year-old son, James Hawks, on Stafford Store Road
was destroyed by the tornado, which injured Mrs. Hawks
and her son, who were both critically injured and
transported to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.
The remains of the Hawks’ home was scattered over an
open field with the steel frame twisted and split in
half.
Mrs. Hawks was widowed on February 14, when her
54-year-old husband died.
Carroll County Deputy Tommy Gunter and others
volunteered their time to search for Mrs. Hawks’ purse
and other personal belongings Monday morning.
The home of Richie Schoenemann, located at 450 Pittman
Road was also completely destroyed. Schoenemann said
that he and his mother, Pat Adams, and sister, Angie
Adams, were in the home when the storm hit. He recalled
that as the wind increased and the sound of the hail
grew louder, they all huddled together in the hallway.
Then, the electricity went off and the sound from the
storm increased. The house began to rock and was flipped
over and tossed approximately 50 feet behind its block
foundation. He said that when the roof came off, he
could see the tornado pass over their home. The tornado
leveled the house and left them outside and exposed to
the elements. But miraculously, they were not injured.
Another case of total destruction was at the home of
Joey Duncan, located at 807 New Prospect Road, where his
single-wide mobile home was torn to shreds. His next
door neighbor, O.J. Dickson, also reported damage to his
home and the destruction of a couple of out buildings.
Additionally, a huge tree fell on his vehicle. Dickson,
who built the front stairs and deck to Duncan’s trailer,
noted that he was glad to see the porch he had
constructed was still standing and in good condition,
but was saddened over the loss of his friend’s mobile
home. The same situation prevailed in the case of the
Hawks’ front porch, which was also left intact.
A mobile home frame lies coiled and
twisted.
Donna Gray, who resides at 504 Pittman Road, tells of
her personal experience when the storm passed by her
home, leaving it damaged but intact. She said that she
was watching television when the tornado hit. At first,
she says she heard loud hail and took refuge in a
clothes closet. “I was scared to death,” Gray said. When
the storm passed, she took inventory of the damage,
saying that her roof was damaged and leaking, some of
her windows shattered, and a falling tree smashed her
water pump. There were also other trees that had been
ripped out of the ground by their roots and scattered
across her front lawn.
A mobile home, owned by Jodie Black of 1517 Stafford
Store Road, was damaged. The property across the road at
1522 Stafford Store Road, owned by Ellis Smith, was also
damaged by the mighty winds which tore the tops off of a
couple of his barns and knocked down an antenna in his
front yard, as well as causing other minor damage.
Minor damage was reported at the home of William Cooper
at 320 Pittman Road, where there was scattered debris on
the property and in the trees.
A huge old barn located on a farm rented by Mark Martin
was leveled by the high winds and his fences were
damaged, but he was uncertain if any of the cows were
killed or injured in the storm. His brother, Keith and
several others were helping him string barbed wire
Monday morning to keep the cows in.
Also, a metal-framed garage fell on a couple of vehicles
at 1445 Christmasville Road (Hwy. 190), as a result of
the storm.
Vehicles damaged by falling debris.
Pillowville Fire Chief Lynn Scarbrough stated that his
community was assisted in working the emergency by
members of the Dresden, Gleason, Palmersville and Latham
fire departments. He said that Weakley County EMS and
Rescue Squad also assisted. Additionally, Sheriff Mike
Wilson and other members of the Weakley County Sheriff’s
Department were out in force in the area providing
assistance to those affected by the storm, as were
Weakley County Highway Department and Weakley County
Municipal Electric System crews. Chief Scarbrough stated
that free food was also provided by Richie and Reggie’s
BBQ in Dresden. Monica King, 17, prepared the food and
transported it to the WCSO, where it was picked up and
delivered to those emergency workers on the scene.
Oddities of objects carried hundreds of miles by the
storm system were reported across the region. Junior
Moore of Dresden contacted the Dresden Enterprise to say
that he had found a cancelled check from someone in
Kennett, Missouri. Also, a Jolley Springs Road couple
reported that they had found several pieces of paper
from neighboring states including: a cancelled check
from Hayti, Missouri; a checking account statement and
Servall Pest Control statement from families in
Dyersburg; as well as a partial page torn from a bible,
part of a letter, and a piece of a yearbook page all
from parts unknown.
Henry County
Henry County Emergency Management Director Ron Watkins
25-30 homes had minor damage, which covered most of the
northern portion of Henry County. A boat dock at Cypress
Springs Resort in northeast Henry County at Cypress Bay
on the Kentucky-Tennessee border sustained major damage
and several boats moored there were damaged as well. A
restaurant on the property, which actually is located in
Calloway County, Kentucky, sustained major roof damage.
There were no reports of other structural damage and no
injuries reported, he said. Damage was primarily
contained to downed trees and power lines, minor roof
damage, and shingle damage.
Employees of the highway department, rescue squad,
utility company and volunteer fire departments were out
throughout the night assisting in clearing roadways.
The storm took its toll on electrical customers, with
3,000 to 4,000 residents without power during the worst
of the storm, said Watkins. The Paris Board of Public
Utilities worked throughout the night and by 8 a.m.,
only 500 customers were still without power.
A major brush fire, sparked by lightning, occurred on
Coast Guard Road in the Paris Landing area off Highway
119. The fire consumed several acres before it was
brought under control by the Paris Landing Fire
Department.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol is providing support and
specialized services in areas of West Tennessee hit
hardest by Sunday night’s tornadoes. Special Operations
personnel, several all-terrain vehicles and three K-9
units have been sent to the region to assist local law
enforcement agencies.
Thirteen troopers from THP’s Jackson District assisted
local authorities in hard-hit Dyer and Gibson counties.
They assisted with search and recovery operations,
traffic control and other duties.
Colonel Mike Walker advises people not to go out to see
the damage.
“People without legitimate business in the
storm-affected areas should stay out and let law
enforcement and other first responders do their work.”
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a d v e r t i s e m e n t
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Bake Auction Nets $1807 in First Day - Fresh baked goods
wait for your call through Friday |
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Mary Kee (third from left) accepts a fresh apple pecan
pie from Gladys Patterson Tuesday morning following an
incredibly successful first day of the five-day cancer
bake auction. Gladys has been supplying baked goods to
the auction since the mid-70s. Looking on are Harold Kee
and Martha McCadams.
The auction raised $1807 Monday with four days to go in
the fundraiser that benefits the American Cancer Society
through North Carroll County Relay for Life. The
delicious baked goods, donated by some of the area's
finest cooks, will be auctioned and sold to the highest
bidder. Everyone is encouraged to listen to WHDM radio
1440 AM beginning at 1:00 p.m. daily. Persons may call
in bids by phoning 352-0167, 352-0168 or 352-0169, or by
visiting Alexander Hall, where the items may be viewed.
Join the fun and help make this a special event for a
worthwhile cause.
Baked goods will be accepted each day, beginning at 6:45
a.m., through Friday, April 7 at Alexander Hall in
downtown McKenzie. Each contribution is tax deductible
and goes to a very worthwhile cause.
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a d v e r t i s e m e n t
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Planning Commission to Recommend Annexation, Road Plan
Requires Amendment Moments After Approval |
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City planner Shelton Merrill and
commission members Dean Robb and Ed Dillon peruse the Major
Road Plan map at the conclusion of the March 28 meeting of
the McKenzie planning commission.
McKenzie (March 28, 2006) - McKenzie planners rejected a
motion by Dean Robb to add the Paw Paw Lane subdivision
into a three-pronged proposal for annexation considered
during the Tuesday, March 28, regular meeting of the
McKenzie Municipal Regional Planning Commission.
The sections include "area A", which runs parallel to
the county line, north of residences on Anderson Drive
and extending west of that region; "area B", west of
Cole Street and east of Highway 22; and "area C" east of
Cole Street. Robb's proposal would have created a fourth
section, "area D".
Most of the Paw Paw lane development lies in Henry
County, just outside McKenzie's northernmost city limits
and the boundary of Carroll County. However, the
southerly portion of the street, ending in a cul-de-sac,
with extends into Carroll County, composed a portion of
"area C".
Shelton Merrill, the city's professional planner,
advised the commission that including the lower tip of
the subdivision in the city limits would force police
officers to enter Henry County, outside city limits, in
order to provide police protection to the region.
Robb had advised taking the entire subdivision into the
city with the approval of Henry County officials. The
idea was rejected as too expensive due to the cost of
extending infrastructure to the region.
Approved was a recommendation to annex the three
original parcels of land minus a notch containing Paw
Paw Lane.
The sections apparently lay outside the city limits when
the Carroll/Henry County lines were determined in
previous years. Winchester said the discrepancy was
noted when engineering maps showed the sections to be
within the city limits but the tax assessor's office did
not.
The proposal will be presented to the McKenzie Board of
Mayor and Council for further action.
In other business, the commission approved the Major
Road Plan minus an amendment suggested by planner Larry
Webb, who, during the public hearing phase of the
meeting, requested that Magnolia East be excluded as a
"collector" street, bringing traffic into town.
Commercial truckers began using Magnolia East as a truck
route following the completion of College Drive.
His suggestion reopened debate on the use of College
Drive as a truck route. Highway 124 is the designated
truck route through the city. However, the city in
August 2004 acquiesced to truckers and businesses
preferring the route, despite being advised by the state
that the road would not hold up under commercial truck
traffic and its refusal to accept the road as a state
route. The state assumes the cost of maintaining state
designated truck routes.
Shortly after the meeting adjourned, however,
planners--who typically sit in a gallery from which it
is difficult to peruse unwieldy maps laid out on a table
below--noticed Highway 124 in its entirety was not
designated as an arterial street. Merrill said the issue
will be reintroduced in the next regular meeting,
scheduled for April 25 at 4:30 p.m.
Merrill suggested program design for the 2006-07 year
include the McKenzie Land Use and Transportation Plan.
Counseling "the plan is only as good as its
implementation," Merrill said the plan will be prepared
with the input of city department heads and citizens.
"We want this to be a plan everybody has an opportunity
to make comments on," he noted.
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Huntingdon Completes Mid-Year Fiscal Review |
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Huntingdon (March 28, 2006) - Mayor Dale Kelley lauded
the local business and service community for the
economic growth that put general fund revenues over
expenses at $52,900.00 in routine mid-year budget
amendments. The original budget anticipated $950 revenue
over expenses.
"It is because of the local business community that our
community has experienced over a nine percent growth in
the local sales tax for the town of Huntingdon," he
said. Increased tax collections brought an approximate
$75,000 increase in the local options sales tax.
The general fund budget also reflected the increased
cost of gasoline and 2005 budget items which were
actually paid for in the current year due to the
ten-month delivery of a public works department truck
and $12,000 FY 2005 audit costs, which arrived too late
to be paid in that year. The Downtown Streetscape
project expenditures were downscaled from $400,000 to
$156,000, reflecting a decrease in grant monies as well
as representing more accurately the amount of work that
can be completed in the fiscal year.
The revised drug fund's revenue under expenses of
$24,900.00 (previously $5,400.00 revenue under expenses)
was a result of additional drug investigations, the
purchase of body armor for all officers, and adding
funds for drug education. The deficit will be covered by
prior years' drug fund reserves.
Kelley reported increased undercover drug operations
resulted in 27 arrests and 52 counts, with most of those
cases bound over to the grand jury. "We commend Lt.
Johnny Hill and the Huntingdon Police Department for a
job well done," he said.
An estimated $307,350 deficit in the Dixie Carter
Performing Art Center budget will be funded by grant
reimbursements recognized as revenues in the 2005 budget
in which revenues exceeded expenditures by $322,900,
said Kelley. The current budget included repayment of an
$800,000 grant anticipation note due in September this
year. Also reflected in the budget were one-time
expenditures, totaling $83,846, related to the opening
of the center, such as the initial purchase of office
and janitorial supplies, computers, furniture,
musician's chairs and equipment, set-up fees,
microphones, and the like.
The utility fund came in at revenue under expenses of
$10,200.00 (previously $2,050 revenue over expenses.) No
change was noted in the public improvement fund.
Kelley praised the two-week line-by-line and
item-by-item review of the budget by city recorder
Martha Taylor, working closely with the town's audit
firm.
"I commend Mrs. Taylor for all of her work in putting
the budget together," he said.
Planning Commission Recommendations Considered
The council voiced its approval on two planning
commission proposals for amendments to the zoning
ordinance: (1) to allow mini-warehousing storage in B-2
(general business) districts, and (2) disallowing mobile
structures for permanent commercial use.
After receiving inquiries on behalf of a developer
concerning the possibility of operating a mini-storage
business in the B-2 district, members of the planning
commission noted, during their March meeting, that the
current ordinance did not allow for business services in
that district, but did allow such services in the B-3
(central business) district. The planning commission
recommended the town adopt an amendment to the ordinance
allowing business services in line with those allowed in
"most other communities with similar highway-oriented
general business districts." Services noted, in addition
to mini-warehousing of household goods, were:
advertising services, including outdoor advertising
services; consumer and mercantile credit reporting
services; adjustment and collection services;
duplicating, mailing, and stenographic services;
dwelling and other building services; news syndicate
services; employment services; and other business
services not elsewhere coded.
The second amendment would delete section 14-203(22)(a)
of the zoning ordinance, which allowed mobile structures
so long as it met all other building and zoning codes.
It would replace the section with language requiring
that no temporary building permit shall be issued until
a site plan for the permanent structure on the same site
has been approved by the planning commission, unless the
temporary building is in conjunction with a special
event.
Kelley expressed appreciation for the planning
commission which he said had been working diligently and
was "a very important arm of city government."
Huntingdon Lamppost Dedications Boost Beautification
Efforts
Kelley also expressed gratitude for several citizens who
have purchased lamp posts for the town in honor or in
memory of loved ones. Lamp posts have been purchased by
Carolyn Espey and family in memory of Billy Espey; the
Tony Eldridge family in memory of Maurice and Edna
Eldridge; and Russell, Debra, Josh, Will, and Sarah
Eldridge in honor of Buddy and Shelby Leach.
"People are taken note of that and we encourage people
to participate," Kelley said, noting the $750 lamp post
donation was a great way to pay tribute to loved ones
while contributing to downtown beautification efforts. |
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