By Joel Washburn washburn@mckenziebanner.com

Pictured are burned fishing boats at the Buchanan Resort.
 

A fire destroyed four boats, five jet skis, a lawnmower, golf cart, and an ATV Friday morning at Buchanan Resort office located on Buchanan Resort Road.

The destroyed vehicles were located in a fenced storage area behind the building. The fire is believed to have started from a truck and spread to the nearby recreational vehicles. The fire burned the retaining fence and grass along a ditch down to the lake. The building was not damaged.

Buchanan Resort personnel and visitors moved unharmed vehicles away from the fire.

 

PARIS - A driver license testing center is scheduled to open at 1120 Tyson Avenue in Henry County by May 1. The new testing center will accommodate Carroll Countians as well as Henry County residents, many of whom have traveled to Dresden for services in recent years.

Henry County has not had its own driver's license testing center since shortly after September 11, 2001, when the McGarity National Guard Armory stopped housing a center.

Carroll County's driver license testing center, which was located in Huntingdon, closed May 2003 because of state budget cuts, according to Melissa McDonald of the Tennessee Department of Safety.

Henry County Mayor Brent Greer said the return of a licensing bureau to the county was because of the efforts of Henry County General Sessions Judge Hansel McCadams, who was instrumental in getting the center approved by the state.

The building at 120 Tyson is now owned by the county, who purchased it from Revel Enterprises in June 2005 at a cost of $375,000.

"The plan for the location of the driver's license center began when the Tennessee Vocational Rehabilitation Center, located next to the new testing center, was destroyed by a tornado in 2003," said McCadams. Construction on rebuilding that center was completed in 2005, he added.

The Henry County Commission recently approved an agreement to lease space (760 square feet) and provide utilities for the driver's license center at no cost to the state for a period of five years, ending April 30, 2011. The Department of Safety, however, would provide funding for staff and operations of the testing center.

The county Agriculture Extension Service office will be occupying the front of the building. The Ag Service relocated from the basement of the Post Office that was not handicap accessible, according to McCadams.

Tom Moore, assistant commissioner to the state Department of Safety, visited the building in late August at the county's request. The state made recommendations for adjusting the floor plans for the driver's license testing center, and then approved the building. The county is paying for the renovation costs.

According to Julie Oaks of the Tennessee Department of Safety, the testing center will be fully staffed and is expected to be open Monday through Friday of each week from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Drivers may also renew their driver's license at Henry County Clerk Jerry Bomar's office as well as at the new center.

"We are pleased that Governor Bredesen recognized the need to provide this center for Henry and Carroll county residents," said McCadams.

 

Despite near-million dollar repairs, a portion of State Route 22 north in Huntingdon is once more sinking.

A portion of State Route 22 north in Huntingdon is sinking again. In January 2005, the roadway, beginning at Thorne Lane and extending to Tank Range Road, starting sinking, eventually causing the southbound lanes to be closed.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation paid Dement Construction Company $969,504 to reconstruct the section of highway, including installing new rip rap rocks, subsurface drainage systems, guardrails, and re-sodding the adjacent banks and median, and applying a new coat of asphalt.

This week, the road has developed a "dip" in the recently repaired section of the highway. "Dip" approach warning signs were installed advising motorists to move to the left lane. Orange barrel barriers protected the newly damaged area before crews on Tuesday paved over the area to bring it level with the adjacent roadway.

  

The old and oft used adage "change is good", is not always true. If proof is what you need, just ask union representative and postal employee Danny Springer of Jackson's United States Postal facility.

"Changes regarding delivery time for 383xx zip code prefix mailings will definitely be affected if the processing operation is moved from Jackson to the Memphis postal service, and it will impact your area," noted Springer during an interview with The McKenzie Banner on January 20. Substantial amounts of mail from Carroll County are presently being routed through the Jackson facility.

Springer informed that postal regulators are currently reviewing delivery service and revenue savings data in an effort to determine the feasibility of such a venture.

Although he has heard much regarding the potential changes, Springer stated that he had not knowingly seen anyone associated with a review team at the Jackson facility. Springer noted that he was aware that an information package regarding the facilities operational function had been submitted for review.

Offering his assessment regarding the potential change, Springer said that delivery time for 383xx area mailings would probably be adversely affected.

"First class mail is presently handled in Jackson, but it may soon join processed services like standard and bulk mailings that are already being handled in Memphis." As an example to future delivery problems, Springer offered this scenario; "A person in Jackson could mail a first class letter from their home to a street address located across the road, and that letter will travel to Memphis for processing instead of being handled right here in Jackson. The reality is, if it takes an extra two or three days to deliver that letter in-town, chances are that the same service will apply for every other first class letter as well."

Springer stated that although Memphis had more processing equipment and handled a larger volume of mail than Jackson, he was not impressed. "When they took over for us during the time that the tornado devastated our town, mail service suffered. Their delivery and service speed was just not that great. I expect it will not be much improved if this change happens, either."

A major topic of concern for Springer involved the potential displacement of workers should the change be enacted.

"A lot of families may have to relocate. The postal Service hold vacancies for displaced workers, but you might have to move as far as 500 miles to find a position."

Springer expressed hope that the change might be avoided, but was not overly confident of that occurring. "We will have to wait and see how this plays out," he noted.

McKenzie Postmaster Chuck Wallace stated that the proposed transferal of mail sorting operations had been discussed by postal regulators, but have yet to be enacted upon.

Offering a more positive projection, Wallace said, "I would assume that the Postal Service will still target for the same one to two day delivery service for 382xx and 383xx mailings within our area regardless of any changes that may occur. I have been involved in teleconference discussions where contingency plans have been discussed, but finalized proposals have not been decided upon yet. The target date for announcement regarding any changes is April first, which is still a ways off."

He stated that the main reason that a mail sorting transfer might occur revolves around Memphis Postal Center's acquisition of technologically advanced computer sorting equipment. Wallace informed that the computer based sorting equipment is engineered to expedite large volumes of mail quickly and accurately.

Wallace noted that the latest Postal relocation proposal is part of a nationwide initiative seeking to consolidate operations, which could precipitate in a reduction of manpower. He said, "The Postal Service strives to operate at maximum efficiency. If more mail volume is allocated to the machines, less work hours would be allocated to postal employees impacted."

Wallace noted that first class mail volume had reduced by 6.7 percent, adding, "The Internet has hit us pretty hard. People are using e-mail more often to correspond or pay bills on-line, and that affects our sales."

Concluding the interview, Wallace stated that he did not expect any changes to occur regarding speed or service to area customers.