The Leader

THE LEADERTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012 VOL . 129 , NO. 7 THE VOICE OF TIPTON COUNTY S INCE 1886 $1

Opinion A4Obituaries A6Sports A7Puzzles A10Education A11

Community B1 Engagements B2Faith B5Classifieds B7Legals B8

Reader's GuideLogan and Landon Clemons donate to food pantry.B5

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EVENT

Munford committed to fire safetyThough the city was criticized

last week by its partners for not adequately staffing their joint fire department, Munford of-ficials said they're committed to fire safety.

"We recognize that we need more firefighters, it's a glaring weakness," said mayor Dwayne Cole.

The fire department, which Munford shares with the Town of Atoka, currently staffs eight full-time firefighters. Cole said

there are approximately 30 volunteer firefighters, a number that often changes.

In Atoka, aldermen are upset that though $310,000 is paid annually for fire services, their station is not often manned.

The lack of adequate staffing has been a concern for the south cities for many years, but has been more of a hot topic lately when Munford did not budget funds for additional firefighters this year.

Valid concerns have arisen that understaffing could result in longer response times during emergencies.

The combined department serves more than 5,000 resi-dences within the cities' bound-aries alone, not to mention the businesses and the homes in the county.

The fire department is also responsible for responding to emergencies, such as accidents and medical calls, and requests

for mutual aid. Firefighters must also respond to a 911 call, even when it does not involve a legitimate emergency.

"It's an extremely high burden on them," Cole said Wednesday.

Despite this burden, however, fire chief Alan Barkelew said firefighters are doing the best they can do.

"We're making all of our calls," Barkelew said during the Dec. 4 meeting of Atoka's Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

Mayor: Staffi ng

a glaring weakness

By ECHO [email protected]

SEE MAFD, PAGE A3

CPD to host safety meetingBy ECHO [email protected]

On Monday, Covington police will host another safety aware-ness meeting, this time focusing on holiday safety.

"We're going to go over holiday safety tips," said Officer Danielle Faulk.

This summer, following a period of increased crime in the city, the depart-ment held a com-munity meeting that went over well. Faulk said Chief Tim Glass wants to continue meeting with the public.

"He really wants to be in touch with the community, to talk with residents and find out their needs and concerns," she said. "We want to cater to what they need and better assist the com-munity."

The meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the newly-named Covington Municipal Center, located at the corner of Church and Main streets in the former First Baptist Church facility.

The public is invited and encouraged to attend the meet-ing. It will be attended by the police chief, assistant chiefs and other city officials.

COVINGTON SAFETY AWARENESS MEETINGWhen: Monday, Dec. 17, 5:30 p.m.Where: Covington Municipal Center (former First Baptist Church)Why: Discuss holiday safety and other concerns

County ranks 43rd in healthBy ECHO [email protected]

Results of a new study indicate Tipton County is only the 43rd healthiest county in Tennessee and its residents are more obese than much of the nation.

The study is part of the 2012 Americas Health Rankings, an annual assessment of the na-tions health created by United Health Foundation in collabora-tion with the American Public Health Association and Partner-ship for Prevention.

According to the results, more than a third of Tipton Countys adult population is obese, a measure that is determined by having a body mass index of 30 or greater.

Comparable to all neighbor-ing counties, the adult obesity rate is 36 percent. The national benchmark is 25 percent and, at 32 percent, the statewide results are also above the average.

And while the obesity rate in the county and the state are greater than the national rates, Tennessee moved up two spots from 2011. It is currently ranked 39th in the country for overall health.

Sendentary lifestyles, violent crime and diabetes contrib-uted to the states low national ranking; however, the state performed well for its low prevalence of binge drinking and moderately well for its availabil-ity of primary care physicians

Sold: Millington Telephone expects no changes for customers

BEEN A GOOD BOY? At the Dickens Christmas on the Square event Saturday, Tiny Tim (Levi Howell) poses with Father Christmas (Richard Vandergrift) at the Chamber Center. For more photos see B1.

Photo by Echo Day


There will be no immediate changes in telephone, televi-sion and broadband service coming for residents of South Tipton County following the acquisition of Millington Tele-phone.

Ritter Communications, a provider of advanced tele-

communications services and broadband technologies to businesses and residential cus-tomers in northeast and cen-tral Arkansas, announced it completed its purchase of the communications company on Tuesday afternoon.

Right now, the only thing that has changed is the owner-ship, said Dan Hatzenbuehler, the companys CEO. This is

the beginning of a process, and all of us at Ritter are looking forward to new and exciting changes yet to come.

The company provides ser-vices to approximately 20,000 customers in parts of Tipton, Shelby, Haywood and Fayette counties.

Though it was announced no immediate changes were com-ing, the company said it plans

to upgrade equipment and en-hance services for customers in 2013.

That work begins now with a formal infrastructure assessment, said Ritter Com-munications President Chip Dickinson. Stay tuned for announcements regarding new advanced services in the months ahead.

Originally founded in 1912,

Millington Telephone was purchased by Mr. B.L. How-ard in 1928. More information about the companys history can be found at millingtontele-phonecompany.com/mtc_about.html.

Customers of Millington Telephone and Millington Cable will still be serviced by local offices in Munford and Millington.

Local librarians raise money for the Ladybug Library, a project headed by Kate Krull to donate more books to LeBonheur Childrens Hospital. B3

INSIDE

SEE HEALTH, PAGE A3


MUNFORD The death of a three-week-old infant is still under investigation, the Tipton County Sheriff's Office reported last week.

According to a press release from the depart-ment, deputies were dispatched to a home in the 2300 block of Drum-monds Road on Thurs-day, Dec. 6 after a father reportedly fell while holding the child.

The baby, Zayne Hunt-er DeMeza, was report-edly unresponsive at the time of the call and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Tipton County Medical Examiner Dr. Buffy Cook requested an autopsy. Results have not yet been

released."It is a tragedy for the

death of a child and cer-tainly we will use every resource available to de-termine the cause of this child's death," said Sher-iff J.T. "Pancho" Chum-ley.

Zayne is the son of newlyweds Chelsea and Bryan DeMeza and Jason Yelvington.

In addition to his parents, Zayne is also survived by his sister, Cayleigh Yelvington of Munford, grandparents, Christi and Mike Sartain of Atoka, Billy and Don-na Whitesides of Mun-ford and Jake and Carol Yelvington of Brighton.

His great-grandpar-

ents are Paul and Becky DeLashmit of Covington and Patrick and Janelle Cole of Drummonds.

The incident is be-ing investigated by the Criminal Investigations Division of the TCSO, the Dept. of Children's Services and by the Ten-nessee Bureau of Investi-gation.

It is not uncommon for infant deaths to be inves-tigated.

Authorities say the family is cooperating with detectives.

Visitation will be held Friday, Dec. 14 from 1 p.m. until the funeral ser-vice at 2 p.m. at Munford Funeral Home.

A2 Thursday, December 13, 2012 THE LEADER www.covingtonleader.com

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Infant death under investigation

Students attending the Methodist-Presbyterian preschool are all smiles after fi nding out the school plans to extend its hours.

Preschool makes plans to extend hoursBy JESSICA [email protected]

The Methodist-Pres-byterian preschool in Downtown Covington is extending their school hours to accommodate community members who desire additional hours of childcare, says director Andrea Frank-lin.

The school, which has classes on various days for ages 3, 4 and 5, is cur-rently open from 8 a.m. to noon. During this time the children are taught in

a structured, age-appro-priate classroom envi-ronment.

However, some parents have expressed a desire for the school's availabil-ity earlier in the morning and during the after-noon, and staff members are working to be able to meet these needs starting with the 2013-2014 school year.

Franklin says that when the school reopens after the summer break in August, their hours will extend from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will offer

a combination of more structured class time in the morning as well as free play and organized recreational activities lat-er in the afternoon.

The school is located in the First Presbyterian Church facilities and op-erates independently un-der the umbrella of the First Presbyterian and First Methodist churches of Covington.

Applications for the 2013-2014 school year will be available begin-ning in January for cur-rently enrolled students

and in February for new students. Acceptance into the program is on a first-come, first-serve basis at that time.

For more information concerning enrollment, call the school office at 476-2434.

Holidayopen House

Friday, December 1411 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Holiday HoursMonday, December 24 Close at 12 p.m.

Tuesday, December 25 ClosedWednesday, December 26 Closed

Tuesday, January 1 Closed

Bank of RipleyHome Style Service

Bank of TiptonBrancH of Bank of ripley

Don't miss the Christmas

Classic in today's edition!

Due to the holidays, deadlines for the Dec. 27 and Jan. 3 editions will be on the preceding Mondays at 10 a.m. The Leader offi ce will be closed on Tuesday, Dec. 25 and Tuesday, Jan. 1. We apologize for any

inconvenience.

www.covingtonleader.com Thursday, December 13, 2012 THE LEADER A3

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It was also during that meeting that aldermen decided to postpone the renewal of the fire services contract with Munford and see what it'd take to form an inde-pendent department.

Town attorney Lyle Jones is working to clar-ify a clause that would allow each city to termi-nate the contract should one hinder the progres-sion of fire services.

Though Atoka alder-men have expressed an interest in breaking the partnership with Mun-ford, Cole said the two cities are better off as partners.

"We do much better by working together and our citizens are better served, our ISO ratings are lower " he said. "Overall, the community is better served if we can keep the department as one."

In addition to fire services, Atoka is depen-dent upon Munford for natural gas, water and sewer services.

"All of these things are important to the bigger picture. We are good for them and they are good

for us. We're good for each other."

Cole said officials from both cities met last week in an effort to resolve the problem.

The solution to the problem hiring more firefighters is a solu-tion Munford can't af-ford this fiscal year.

"At this time, our revenues don't support additional firefight-ers," Cole said. "At any given day we don't have enough firefighters. We're not adequately staffed."

Atoka can afford it, however, and the city plans to offer Munford a grant to help pay fire-fighters' salaries.

The proposed plan would contribute ad-ditional funds to the fire department's budget and create up to two more full-time positions. Atoka would cover the cost for two years, then Munford would be re-sponsible for the salaries beginning with the third year.

Both parties are agree-ing to the plan, how-ever it is currently being reviewed before put in

place. Another plan to help

improve fire protection, in Atoka at least, is the overnight staffing of the town's Station 3, located on Walker Parkway.

"It's being staffed with volunteers and they're being paid to stay over-night there," Cole said.

The mayor said his town remains commit-ted to providing excel-lent fire service to South Tipton County. They've applied for several grants and are awaiting notifications.

"It's very important to us," he said. "And with the staff we have, we provide an exceptionally high level of service."

The Munford Board of Mayor and Aldermen meets again at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 17 at City Hall. The public is invited to attend.

MAFDContinued from A1

and per-capita public health funding.In Tipton County, 33 percent of

adults are reportedly physically inac-tive and 29 percent of adults are smok-ers. Eighty-two percent of adults have been screened for diabetes. Only 11 percent of adults in the county report excessive drinking.

At 2,675 to 1, Tipton County has the second-highest patient-to-physician ratio of its neighboring counties. By comparison, Lauderdale County has 5,320 patients per physician and Shelby County has 863.

For more results, see county-healthrankings.org.

HEALTHContinued from A1

www.covingtonleader.com

GOVERNMENT

Above, Ed Timberlake, Jere Hadley and Minnie Bommer were sworn in to serve as Covington aldermen at the city's meeting on Tuesday night. At right, Walker Adams is sworn in as an Atoka alderman by town attorney Lyle Jones on Tuesday, Dec. 4. Photos by Echo Day

New aldermen sworn in across Tipton CountyBy ECHO [email protected]

New aldermen have been sworn in in several Tipton County boards recently. In Atoka on Dec. 4, Walker Adams was sworn in to begin serving a two-year

term. Adams replaces Chris McConnell. Aldermen Bobby Hutchison and Brett Giannini won their bids for re-election

and were also sworn in by Jones last week.On Tuesday night in Brighton, Melissa Sartain and Sarah Crocker were sworn

in. The two are filling seats formerly held by Aldermen Jim Wyatt and Philip Mathis and mayor Jeff Scott won re-election

and were also sworn in. In Covington, Ed Timberlake, Jere Hadley and Minnie Bommer were sworn in

to serve as Covington aldermen at the city's meeting on Tuesday night. Bommer and Hadley replaced aldermen Shelvie Rose and Tommy Hatcher.

Alderman John E. Edwards was re-elected vice mayor by the board.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012 A4


Brian Blackley Publisher/General Manager

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News Echo Day News Editor

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Teri Jennings - Classified [email protected]

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THE LEADERUSPS 136-120Tipton Countys NEWSPAPER Since 1886 2001 Highway 51 SouthCovington, Tennessee 38019Published Every Thursday byTipton County Newspapers, LLCPHONE 901-476-7116www.covingtonleader.com

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

When it was close to Santy com-ing Momma reminded that I must be good or he wont stop. At this young age all the kids had been told the same thing by their par-ents. Remember how you got to thinking, well I wonder if Santy saw me when I was chasing the chickens? I didnt mean to kick the cat either but I couldnt help it as he got under my feet. Maybe once I forgot to wash behind my ears before Sunday school, but I hope no one saw me. I kicked over the oyster shells and didnt pick them up and Momma wondered why they were scat-tered so much? Not my fault as the feed trough jumped under my feet. Since none of this was brought up I figgered Im safe.

Years later when Momma, Dad-dy and I were preparing for Santy coming, little did I realize just how much Christmas meant to them? Daddy got a kick out of remind-ing me that I needed to go to bed at dark. He said, I thought this would make Santy come faster. They said as soon as we finished supper I blurted, I was sleepy and ready for bed. They agreed. While reading and sewing Mom-ma reminded back then often I would barely crack the door and peep to check under the still empty tree. No Santy. Of course they just smiled and kept looking busy.

Can you remember how it was

impossible to go to sleep waiting on the fat red suit? Ill admit there were times I was panic afraid that Santy would pass me by. Momma and Daddy reminded me our first Christmas or so we didnt have much but a few gifts that consisted

mostly of clothes we needed. Daddy never got too excited on wast-ing money for toys that were destroyed in a day or three. Buy some-thing like work clothes that you can use for several decades. Some Christmas spirit!

What thrilled Mom-ma promptin her fa-mous giggle was after a few hours of peepin

I would come in with my bottom lip draggin the wooden floor and

sit at her feet to reassure me Santy would stop. After a hug and kiss I felt better because my Momma said, yes he will come. My Momma loved me and wouldnt tell me a story.

Daddy kept reading his Press-Scimitar newspaper in his easy chair. Hed slide the paper to the side and remind me that Santy was comin but not until I was asleep. There are a lot kids he has to visit and if you are awake Santy is real smart and wont come. Momma said every time I would check the cookies and glass of sweet milk to see if he had taken a small swig and maybe a nibble. Once satis-fied I stumbled back to bed.

What was funny to Momma

and Daddy, once I was asleep, I couldnt hear it thunder much less the sleigh bells ringin when Santy hit the roof with Rudolph and Bub-ba. As hard as I tried not once did I wake up before my parents. They said I would sprint to the living room tree checking each wrapped gift loudly guessing what was hog tied in a certain box. Although I desired certain toys it didnt really matter now.

The warm morning stove would be roaring with the tree lights flick-ering as I opened my gifts from Santy. Momma and Daddy re-minded me years later, I carefully took the time to explain how each toy worked as if they didnt know. Christmas is indeed a special time of year with the gifts and excite-ment of the little ones still living in a fantasy world. The hard working, loving parents make all their wish-es come true. A time to reflect on the material items we possess, the wonderful friends and family we so dearly cherish. A time to wor-ship and count our many blessings as we celebrate our Saviors birth. Be thankful for what we have and pray for the young folks fighting to protect our country so we may be able to enjoy the above. How-ever, dont forget and remember the most important first six letters in Christmas. Thats what its all aboutSouthern Glory!

Otis Griffin is the author of the book Southern Raisin. He was born in Charleston, Tenn., and attended Rose-mark Grammar School and Bolton High School.

Momma said hes on the way

SOUTHERN RAISIN'OTIS GRIFFIN

Whos responsible?The events of Wednesday, 28 November, 2012,

when my husband was victim to a horrific auto-mobile accident on Highway 51 in Tipton County near Munford, has led me to ask the question: When a loved one is in an automobile accident and transported to the Baptist Tipton Hospital by ambulance, who is responsible for contacting the next of kin?

On Wednesday, 28 November, 2012, my husband did not come home for dinner. When I called him to see where he was, he appeared to be in a state of shock and answered he was at the hospital, the Volvo was mangled and he had been hit by truck an 18 wheel HAZMAT tankard truck to be exact. I asked my husband about the extent of his injuries and all he could say was come see for yourself. He then ended the call because the emergency room doctor had entered the room and wanted to start evaluating the extent of his injuries.

Not knowing the extent of his injuries I called Baptist Tipton to inquire about his condition. Of course given all the HEPPA restrictions, the person who answered the telephone was unable to give me any information about the extent of my husbands injuries, however she did confirm he had been admitted to the emergency room. When I asked her why no one had contacted me (his emergency contact) she indicated it was not part of her job. This was the first service inter-action that led me to ask the question: When a loved one is in an automobile accident and transported to the Baptist Tipton Hospital by ambulance, who is responsible for contacting the next of kin? It also brought to mind another question: Why does the medical professional ask for emergency contact information if they do not use it to contact next of kin? The prayerful drive from Millington to Covington seemed like forever not knowing the extent of my husbands injuries.

As I learned more about the events of the ac-cident and how the 18 wheel HAZMAT tankard truck had clipped/smashed the left back of our 1996 Volvo sedan, put the car into an 180-plus degree counter clockwise spin, hit the left front head on, caught the drivers side of the car be-tween the truck cab and the trainer and pushed the car down Highway 51 until it landed in the median in a ditch, all I could do was praise God for keeping my husband safe and relatively unharmed during what could have been a fatal accident. According to my husband he had asked the paramedics and/or Munford police at the accident scene as they were pulling him out of the car and strapping him to a stretcher to call his wife and gave them my phone number. This was the second service interaction that led me to ask the question: When a loved one is in an au-tomobile accident and transported to the Baptist Tipton Hospital by ambulance, who is respon-sible for contacting the next of kin?

I ask this question in hopes that someone in the future will not experience this lack of service from those who are involved with emergency/health care. I have also begun to question whether people in the emergency /health care profession have become so desensitized by daily routines and bureaucracy that they have forgot-ten the human side of their business.

To top things off, the truck driver who, as stated in the police report, was an inexperienced operator, drove into my husbands lane (with five witnesses confirming the aforementioned events of the accident) causing the accident and yet there was no indication in the Munford police report that he was issued a citation. Is that stan-dard protocol and/or did we overlook it in the police report?

Its rather pathetic how my husband (and I) were victim to the events on Wednesday, 28 November, 2012 when an inexperienced opera-tor of an 18 wheel HAZMAT tanker failed to keep in the proper lane and we are now expected to relive this horrific accident as we pursue the companys insurance claim adjuster to ensure they take responsibility for the damages. Whats wrong with that picture?

Sandra L. Keehner

Cause and effectCharles Krauthammer has a great command

of the American/English language. As a politi-cal analyst he has the capability of describing a situation with the right mixture of intelligence and common sense. However, he seems to be at a loss trying to analyze the outcome of the recent presidential election. When I asked a knowl-edgeable source for his input, he explained, Obama got more votes than Romney. This simple yet accurate response does not satisfy the entire question. It is only the result.

My vocation as a tractor mechanic requires a keen sense of analyzing problems. An assess-ment of the cause and effects of the problem provides the bigger picture. We already know the result more votes. But we want to know how and why. I have street sources who shall remain anonymous that partially answer that question quite eloquently. Before sharing the answer please allow me to elaborate so as to add credence to the assessment.

YOUR TURN

In our Your Turn section we feature answers to questions asked of our Facebook fans. is week we asked:

What was something on your

Christmas list

Want to participate in a future Your Turn opportunity? Like Covington Leader on Facebook for your chance to appear in a future edition!

NEXT WEEK: Whats the most

memorable Christmas gift youve ever received?

Well post the question on our Facebook page

Tuesday.

SEE LETTERS, PAGE A5

Rose Cousar, right, Tipton Countys assessor of property, was a recent guest speaker at the Covington Exchange Club. Exchangite Trish Wil-liams introduced Cousar to the club.

Covington High School principal Peggy Murdock spoke about her school at a recent meeting of the Covington Lions Club. Bill Enzor, left, was the program chairman and Lowell Friend is club president.

CIVIC CLUBS

A white Christmas and a sleigh ride.

PRISCILLA BROOKS LEGGETT

A mini bike.

RANDY RAY

As an 8 year old I wished for a drum set...now as a par-ent, I realize why it didnt show up under the tree!

KENDRA APFEL PARR

As a child I always wanted a grumpy talking care bear and all the care bears.

AMBER GAY

Peace on earth.

CASSIE SMITH HOY

that you never received but have always wanted?

www.covingtonleader.com THE LEADER Thursday, December 13, 2012 A5

FINANCIAL FOCUS

Seen one of these people?If so, call:

24-hour number: Central Dispatch 901-475-4300

Sheriffs Office Tipline: 901-475-3307; email: [email protected]

Tipton County CrimeStoppers 901-476-4411 Or contact any local law enforcement agency to

report any of these people.

TipTon CounTys Most Wanted

Need help gettingSocial Security Disability?

24 Years ExperienceVirginia M. Crutcher, Esq.SSA Attorney for 14 years

Call901.550.0350

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DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ARREST OR DETAIN ANY OF THE SUBJECTS OF THE WARRANTS LISTED IN THIS DATABASE. The list is current at the time of publishing and therefore recent changes in the status of warrants may not be reflected. It is possible that some warrants have been resolved and the matter is no longer pending. This information is being provided as a service to the public; however, neither the Tipton County Sheriff s Office nor The Leader cannot guarantee nor assume any liability for the accuracy of the information at the time of use. All warrants must be verified for accuracy through our system prior to an apprehension. All persons charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. NO ATTEMPT SHOULD BE MADE TO APPREHEND THESE INDIVIDUALS EXCEPT BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OR PEACE OFFICERS. SOME INDIVIDUALS MAY BE ARMED AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED DANGEROUS. If you recognize a name on the list, if you find your name, or if you find a discrepancy, please contact the Tipton County Sheriff s Office at 475-3300 or via email at [email protected].

crime stoppers of tipton county inc. is offering a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the person or

persons responsible for the deaths of:

John Curtis Rann, a 24-year-old white male who was found dead with several gunshot wounds on Black Springs Hill Road in southwest Tipton County on

Dec. 5, 1986. Rann had been missing since November 26, 1986.

Johnny Poole, a 23-year-old white male whose partially burned body was found on Oct. 25 1988,

in his burning pickup truck near the boat landing at Piljerk, on the Hatchie River. Poole had a gunshot

wound in his back.

If you have any information about either of the crimes, call Crime Stoppers at 901-476-4411. You

will NOT be required to give your name or testify in any court. The source of information given to Crime

Stoppers will be held in strict confidence.

Bernard, Chaunquinn Joshaben

Born: 2/23/1986150 Towering Heights Rd.

Drummonds, TN 38023Charge: Agg. burglary

Byberg, Michael Anthony

Born: 7/22/195715 Coleman Rd. 13Atoka, TN 38004

Charge: Agg. assault w/injury

Flowers, Daniko DeonBorn: 5/10/1988219 Kincaid Dr.

Munford, TN 38058Charge: Agg. assault with

injury x 2

Franks, Matthew AllenBorn: 3/12/19844477 N. Hwy 51

Henning, TN 38041 Charge: Burglary

Mason, Michael EdwardBorn: 9/9/1985786 Peeler Rd.

Covington, TN 38019Charge: Delivery of

marijuana, domestic assault

Mason, Torey EsterBorn: 3/20/1974

Covington, TN 38019Charge: Agg. burglary (parole violation), child support, driving on rev. license, poss. marijuna

Nelson, Leif EdwardBorn: 10/22/1963

201 Bass St.Munford, TN 38058Charge: Arson (parole

violation)

Ruffin, Elton TyroneBorn: 3/4/1973

5229 Corkwood Dr.Memphis, TN 38127Charge: Failure to pay

child support x 2

Tolliver, Derrick Dawayne

Born: 4/17/82412 Habitat Cove

Covington, TN 38019Charge: Agg. assault no

injury, disregard traffic order

Williams, Christopher Allen

Born: 12/27/1971217 Boals St.

Covington, TN 38019 Charge: Failure to pay

child support x 2

Bartram, Jennifer Aliene, 26, domestic assault, Dec. 7, TCSO Brown, Brian Lee, 30, contraband into penal inst., domestic assault, public intoxication; Dec. 8, MUPD Byrd, Currie Lee, 27, poss. of drug para. with intent to deliver, Dec. 3, TCSO Caster, Rafiele, 28, theft over $1,000, simple poss. marijuana; Dec. 3, MUPD Clemons, Nicole Leann, 20, shoplifting, Dec. 7, TCSO Dalton, Kenneth Brian, 40, poss. drug para. with intent to deliver, resisting arrest; Dec. 5, TCSO Deer, Amanda Joyce, 29, failure to pay child support, driving on rev./canc./susp. license; Dec. 3, TCSO Douglas, Eddie Duane, 36, convicted felon in poss. of firearm, poss. firearm/comm. dangerous felon, alteration of items, resisting, poss. legend. drug w/o prescription, poss. sch. III; Dec. 6, CPD Douglas, Leo Anthony, 25, criminal impersonation, Dec. 7, TCSO Eubanks, Jr., Michael Ray, 42, agg. assault no injury, Dec. 8, TCSO Flowers, Brandon Terrell, 29, domestic assault, Dec. 3, CPD Ford, Christopher Brian, 34, promo of meth. manuf., Dec. 5, TCSO Gillihan, Christopher

Andrew, 43, driving on rev../canc./susp. license; Dec. 2, BPD Goodwin, Tracy Evette, 30, driving on rev./canc./susp. license, registration law, theft of motor vehicle; Dec. 8, MPD Govan, Donald Lloyd, 46, driving on rev./canc./susp. license, Dec. 7, TCSO Hall, Cynthia Melissa, 44, driving on rev./canc./susp. license, driving right side of roadway, impeding traffic; Dec. 8, CPD Hall, James Arness, 46, criminal trespass, shoplifting; Dec. 6, CPD Hall, Setric Robert, 41, agg. assault with injury, Dec. 7, TCSO Hardee, David L., 18, simple poss. marijuana, Dec. 7, TCSO Harris, Thomas Richard, 42, poss. sch. II drug, poss. sch. IV drug; Dec. 5, TCSO Hobock Jr., Larry Lee, 24, poss. sch. III drug, Dec. 7, TCSO Hooper, Ashley Lauren, 24, domestic assault, Dec. 4, TCSO Horne, Scott Eric, 29, driving on rev./canc./susp. license, seat belt law, no insurance; Dec. 6, CPD Houston, Travis James, 19, DUI first offense, no seat belt; Dec. 3, MPD Howard, Mary Michelle, 44, DUI second offense, implied consent law, driving left of center; Dec. 3, MPD Hunt, Ashley Ann, 24,

shoplifting, Dec. 4, TCSO Isome, Randall Eugene, 30, domestic assault, Dec. 8, CPD Kasinger, James Howard, 30, theft $500 or less, Dec. 4, TCSO King, Heather Dawn, 21, shoplifting, Dec. 4, CPD King, Jackie Lavelle, 22, shoplifing, Dec. 4, CPD Link, Damion Undrel, 25, poss. sch. IV drug, Dec. 8, MPD Malone, A.C., 54, public intoxication, Dec. 7, CPD McBride, Mario Vonteze, 29, poss. controlled substance, Dec. 8, MPD McCullar, Jessica Faye, 29, contempt of court, Dec. 6, TCSO McRee, Pamala Marie, 45, theft, Dec. 7, TCSO McWherter, Matthew Lawrence, 30, domestic assault, Dec. 4, APD Miller, Antonio, 34, poss. sch. VI, Dec. 7, TCSO Miller, Curtis Dewayne, 30, domestic assault, Dec. 2, MUPD Moore, Anthony Ray, 38, domestic assault, Dec. 7, CPD ONeal, Barbara Sue, 49, theft under $500, Dec. 2, CPD Pinkston, Alanda Domnic, 29, following too close, driving on rev./canc./susp. license; Dec. 2, CPD Plourde, Marc William, 46, driving on rev./canc./susp. license, Dec. 6, BPD Porter, Billie Jean, 36, driving on rev./canc./susp. license, Dec. 6, BPD Pullen, Cindy Jeanette, 46, driving on rev./canc./susp. license, worthless check; Dec. 8, BPD

Smith, Stephanie Lynn, 29,violation of truancy law adult, Dec. 7, BPD Smith, Toby Carl, 41, failure to pay child support, Dec. 3, TCSO Smith, Wallace Melvin, 30, agg. assault with injury, Dec. 5, TCSO Smith, Warren Percy, 40, disorderly conduct, public intoxication; Dec. 8, TCSO Stafford Jr., Raymond Frederick, 46, domestic assault, Dec. 8, TCSO Stephens, Mark Anthony, 40, failure to pay child support x 3, Dec. 6, BPD Stewart, Michael Alex, 40, agg. assault no injury, domestic assault; Dec. 7, TCSO Taylor, Claude Filimore, 33, failure to pay child support, Dec. 3, TCSO Thompson, Dawn Marie, 33, driving on rev./canc./susp. license, Dec. 7, TCSO Vandiver, Robin Nicole, 30, shoplifting, Dec. 4, TCSO Walker, Randall Eugene, 28, driving on rev./canc./susp. license, Dec. 2, BPD Webster, Joshua David, 19, poss. sch. II with intent, poss. drug para. with intent to deliver; Dec. 2, TCSO White III, Henry, 53, domestic assault, driving on rev./canc./susp. license; Dec. 8, TCSO Wilks, Jamarae Rapheal, 19, driving on rev./canc./susp. license, disregard stop sign, light law; Dec. 6, TCSO Winchester, Bradley Eugene, 39, public intoxication, Dec. 6, MPD

Disclaimer: These persons are innocent until proven guilty. They will face charges in Tipton County General Sessions or Circuit Court unless warrants for their arrest were issued in another county (this may or may not be denoted in the listing of charges).

Under arrestThe following persons were booked into the Tipton County Correctional Facility during the week of Dec. 2-8.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Heres a disturbing statistic: One out of every five Americans over the age of 65 has been victimized by a financial scheme, according to the Investor Protection Trust, a nonprofit organization devoted to investor education. If your parents are in this age group, should you be concerned? And can you help them avoid being scammed so that they maintain control over their finances?

The answer to the first question is yes you should be concerned. Of course, as the num-bers above show, most aging Americans are not being swindled, which suggests they can take care of them-selves quite well. Still, its no secret that many fraud schemes target seniors because of their concen-trated wealth and in many cases, trusting nature. And as much as youd like to think otherwise, your parents could be susceptible to rip-off artists.

Fortunately, in regard to the second question above, you can indeed take steps to help prevent your parents from being fleeced. Here are a few suggestions:

Observe their behavior. If you live close to your parents, listen closely to any new friends, invest-ment deals or sweepstakes they mention during your normal inter-

actions.. If youre in a different city, try to stay abreast of your parents behavior by communicating with them frequently and by checking in with other family members or friends who have occasion to see your parents.

Urge them to watch out for suspicious e-mails. Youve prob-ably seen them the e-mails of-fering to reward you with huge amounts of money if you will only

contact such-and-such from a distant country and then put up a small sum to initiate some ill-defined transaction. You probably spam these without a moments thought and you should urge your par-ents to do the same. Re-mind them that any offer that sounds too good to be true is, without ques-

tion, neither good nor true. Encourage them to further

their financial education. Law en-forcement agencies, health care professionals and reputable fi-nancial services providers all offer personal financial management programs designed specifically for seniors. Look for these types of programs in your area, encourage your parents to attend and even consider going with them.

Become familiar with their fi-nancial situation. Having a serious discussion with your parents about their finances may not be easy

but its important. The more you know about their investments, re-tirement accounts and estate plans, the better prepared youll be to re-spond helpfully if they mention an action theyre considering taking that, to you, just doesnt sound ap-propriate.

Suggest professional help. If your parents are already working with a qualified financial profes-sional, theyre probably less likely to be victimized by fraud than if they were managing their finances on their own. And its a good idea for you to know their financial ad-visor, and for him or her to know you, as you may well be involved in your parents legacy planning. But if your parents dont already have a financial advisor, you may want to recommend one to them, particularly if its someone you al-ready know and trust.

Its entirely possible that your parents wont need any assistance in avoiding financial scams. But, just in case, be prepared to act on the above suggestions. Your inter-vention could help preserve your parents financial independence.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor. Steven Jones is an Edward Jones Financial Advi-sor in Atoka. Visit him at 360 Atoka McLaughlin Drive or call 901-837-9772.

Help older parents avoid financial scams

FINANCIAL FOCUSSTEVEN J. JONES

At this time there are four basic camps of demo-crats, each with its own agenda: a) the independent democrat a person who intelligently examines the issues and feels most comfortable with the democrats stated plans to address those issues (kudos to that group!); b) the yel-low dog democrat who, under no circumstances, would ever, ever vote for a republican. Thanks to natural attrition this group has been greatly reduced in numbers; c) there are those democrats who honestly believe in socialism and see the Democrat Party as the most assessable for their cause. These three groups did their share to help re-elect President Obama. But the fourth and newest flock of democrats was the most overwhelm-ing single force that de-feated Mitt Romney. The street name for this group is Demostrich. When historians attempt to re-cord the cause and effects of the 2012 election, three words, not yet officially recognized by wordsmiths, will accurately serve their

needs. Demostrich is one of those words.

The word is a compound of the words ostrich and democrat. The mascot of this new gaggle of voters is the ostrich, symbolic of the creature with its head in the sand. The human counterpart of the bird keeps his head in the sand regarding political information. The only time he pulls his head from the sand is at election time. He is aroused every four years to assume the privilege of casting his ballot for the democrat candidate. The second word freischidt, a German street word, defines goods and services over and beyond the basic needs of food, shelter and clothing provided at no charge by the govern-ment. Previously these items were considered to be luxuries.

The pronouncement of freischidt emits the most effective sound to trumpet the demostriches to pull from the sand to flock to the polls en masse. A demostrich is already programmed to vote for the democrat nominee. The timely clarion call by the news media and campaign ads proclaiming freischidt

provided the link that produced the plurality of numbers needed to defeat the republicans. It is a costly process. The cam-paign to re-elect President Obama cost the democrat party about a billion dol-lars (thats billion, with a B). This expense was covered by confiscated union dues, Hollywood elites, George Soros, and to a certain degree by tax payers. The purchased programmed, unthought-ful vote is equal to Mr. Krauthammers vote in the final count. It is going to require a tremendous elevation of awareness and many wise voters to overcome the numbers represented by the dem-ostriches. The promise of freischidt in return for their selfish vote is a greedy, yet effective motivation. As this trend continues we will eventually witness the fundamental change in America Barack Obama promised. Frankly, I do not like that change and I hope (and pray) that his socialist agenda fails. To avert that destiny we must encourage our fellow Americans the demostriches, to remove their heads from the sand more frequently, use their

eyes to see and their ears to hear and their minds to comprehend. There are no free lunches, nor should there by except for those among us truly in need of the basics: food, shelter, and clothing.

While demostrich and freischidt describe the cause of the outcome, a third word ineptocracy defines the effect of this fal-lacious election: a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing. And where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or least likely to succeed are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

These three words will likely earn a spot in the next edition of Simon-Shus-ters New World Dictionary of the American/English Language. Their defini-tions will each allude to the Nov. 6, 2012 re-election of President Barack Hussein Obama.

Bill WallaceCovington

LETTERSContinued from A4

Sharon Francies HolmesDate of Death - November 28, 2012

Sharon Francies Holmes, daughter of Sarah Holmes of Browns-ville and Herbert Henderson, expired November 28, 2012 at Baptist Hospital, Memphis.

Visitation was Friday Dec. 7, 2012 from 2-7 p.m. (wake 5:30-7) at Palmer Funeral Home Mason. Services were Saturday at noon at Belmont CME Church, Mason, with burial in Patterson Cem-etery in Somerville.

Her loving memories will forever remain in the hearts of her children: Larmont Holmes of Illinois, Prince Holmes of Somer-ville and Tonya (Eric) Flemming of Cordova; 12 siblings Willola Marshall, Jeanette (Jimmie) Cleaves, Bobbie Bonner, Brenda (Ty-rone) Worrles, Linda (Earl) Taylor, Darlene (Ronnie) Elcan, Shelia Johnson, Angela and Carolyn Henderson, Melvin (Doris) Davis, Michael Davis and Herbert Henderson Jr.; 12 grandchildren; a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

Those awaiting her arrival, the father that reared her as his own, James H. Davis, and siblings Augustus and James D. Davis, Earlene Campbell and James Holmes.

The Leader (Covington, Tenn.) December 13, 2012

Haywood WaltonDate of Death - December 1, 2012

Haywood Walton, 68, born to Al (Mary Coach) Walton, expired December 1, 2012 at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis.

Visitation was Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 from 2-7 p.m. at Palmer Fu-neral Home. Services were Saturday at 11 a.m. at Union Hill MB Church with burial in church cemetery, both in Gallaway.

Survivors include four siblings, Bernice Walton and Robert Wal-ton, both of Gallaway, Bessie Terry of Mason and Plummer Walton of Nashville; a host of other relatives and friends.

Four siblings, Charles, Al, Charlie and Lorine Walton preceed him in transition.


Zayne Hunter DeMezaDate of Death - December 6, 2012

Zayne Hunter DeMeza, 2 week old son of Chelsea and Bryan DeMeza and Jason Yelvington, passed away December 6, 2012.

He is also survived by his sister, Cayleigh Yelvington of Mun-ford; grandparents, Christi and Mike Sartain of Atoka Billy and Donna Whitesides of Munford, and Jake and Carol Yelvington of Brighton; great-grandparents, Paul and Becky DeLashmit of Covington, and Patrick and Janelle Cole of Drummonds.

Visitation will be held Friday, Dec. 14) from 1 p.m. until the service at 2 p.m. at Munford Funeral Home.


Mikayla MereAugust 18, 1994 December 6, 2012

Mikayla Mere, 18, of Burlison, passed away on Thursday, December 6. Funeral services were held on Tuesday, December 11 at the Covington Funeral Home chapel with interment in Magnolia Gardens Cemetery. She was a graduate of Brighton High

School, recently enlisted in the U. S. Air Force and was a cashier at Wal-Mart. She is survived by her mother, Penny Mere of Brighton; her father, Tim Mere of Burlison; one brother, Austin Mere of Burlison; and her grandparents, Lawrence and Mary Pruitt of Covington and Tim and Kim Mere of Burlison; and her great-grandmother, Mary Mere of New York. Friends may sign an online guestbook at www.covingtonfuneralhome.com.


Aubrey Charles PughDate of Death December 6, 2012

US Veteran Aubrey Charles Pugh, 86, son of the late David (Norphenia Rhodes) Pugh, expired at his residence on December 6, 2012.

Visitation will be held on Friday, Dec, 14, from 1-7 p.m. (wake 5:30-7) at Palmer Funeral Home. Services will be Saturday, Dec. 15 at noon at Hopewell M.B. Church, with burial in church cemetery all in Mason.

Survivors include a loving wife, Lessie Mae Kelly Pugh; six children: Johnathan Joe (Geralyn) Hunt, Bobby (Betty) Craw-ford, Lawrence Pugh, David Pugh, Michael Pugh and Lester (Carolyn) Pugh; three siblings: Gladys Lewis, Ruth Singleton and Dollie (Horace) Hall; 19 grandchildren, 17 great grandchil-dren, five great-great grandchildren, a host of other relatives and friends.

Preceding him in transition are two children, Ronald and Aubrey Pugh Dunbar, and five siblings, James Johnson, Eddie L. Pugh, Ethel Warren, William Pugh and Annie B. Pugh Johnson.

The family would like to express its sincere gratitude for the many expressions of love. May God bless each of you.


Nettie B. Currie BrownMay 27, 1927 December 7, 2012

Nettie B. Currie Brown, 85, of Brownsville, died on December 7, 2012. Funeral services will take place at 11 a.m. at Macedonia M.B. Church on Saturday, Dec. 15.


Evelyn Pickard GriffinApril 27, 1924 December 7, 2012

Evelyn Pickard Griffin, 88, a retired waitress and factory worker for Charms, died on December 7, 2012. She was the widow of Raymond D. Pickard and Morris A. Griffin and was a member of Randolph United Methodist Church.

Graveside services took place on Monday, Dec. 10 at Raven-scroft Cemetery. Maley-Yarbrough Funeral Home had charge of arrangements.

She is survived by her sons, Reggie (Carol) Pickard of Brighton and Dan (Alysia) Pickard of Covington; daughter Gloria Ann (Wayne) King of Athens, Ga.; brother Roy Ballard of Munford; sis-ter Dorothy Craig of Munford; four grandchildren: Craig, Ashton, Carla and Rachel; and three great-grandchildren: Madison, Ali and Annabelle.


Gina Louise Pirtle Dewalt KitchensJune 28, 1959 December 7, 2012

Gina Louise Pirtle Dewalt Kitchens, 53, of Ripley, died on December 7, 2012.

Funeral services will take place at 2:30 p.m. at Antioch Curve Baptist Church in Gates on Saturday, Dec. 15.


Lizzie Mae WilliamsDate of Death - December 7, 2012

Lizzie Mae Williams, 89, daughter of the late Claude Somerville and Ada Mae Williams, expired on December 7, 2012 at Volunteer Hospital in Martin.

Visitation will be Friday, Dec. 14, from 1-7 p.m. at Palmer Fu-neral Home. Family will receive friends on Saturday at noon prior to the services at 1 p.m. at Mason Church of Christ. Burial will follow at First Baptist Cemetery (aka Bailey), all in Mason.

Survivors include one sister, Addie B. Herron of Chicago, 10 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren, a host of other relatives and friends.

Three children and four siblings preceded her in transition.


Ricky Lewis Bowers Sr.Date of Death - December 8, 2012

Ricky Lewis Bowers Sr., 51, of Ripley, died on Saturday, Decem-ber 8, 2012.

Funeral services will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 16 at Thompsons Mortuary in Ripley. He will be buried at St. Luke Cemetery.


Jimmy O. MarbryDecember 9, 1942 - December 8, 2012

Jimmy O. Marbry, 69, passed away on December 8, 2012, at his residence in Conway, S.C. Mr. Marbry was a retired farmer and a veteran of the United States Army.

Mr. Marbry is survived by his companion, Carolyn Teasley of Conway, S.C.; daughters Bev-

erly Dunn of Eads and Debra Taylor of Brighton; mother Marie H. Marbry of Mason; brothers Terry Marbry and Troy Marbry of Mason; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Visitation for Mr. Marbry was held on Wednesday, December 12, from 6-8 p.m. The funeral services will be held on Thursday, Dec. 13 at 11 a.m. at the Maley-Yarbrough Chapel. Interment will be at Ebenezer Cemetery.


Richard Coy MorrisonDate of Death - December 9, 2012

Richard Coy Morrison, 74, of Brighton, a retired over-the-road truck driver for the Conwood Corporation, died on December 9, 2012. He was a mason with the Munford lodge, a maintenance man for the City of Munford and Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton and Standard Welders.

Funeral services took place on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. at Munford Funeral Home. He was buried at Clopton Cemetery.

Mr. Morrison is survived by his wife, Judy Elizabeth Pinner Morrison; sons Richard Keith (Mayuri) Morrison of Arlington and Matthew Wade (Carolyn) Morrison of Brighton; sister Nancy Campbell of Munford; brother Sam Morrison of Covington; and two grandchildren, Christian Morrison and Kevin Morrison.


Willie Pete Clarence SimpsonOctober 4, 1932 December 11, 2012

Willie Pete Clarence Simpson, 80, died on December 11, 2012. He was a retired bookkeeper for Ferrell Gas and a veteran of the United States Air Force.

He is survived by his wife, Carolyn Simpson of Covington; daughter Jacqualyne (Stephen) Wells of Covington; and sister Evelyn Byars of Covington.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Ruth Barnett. Services for Mr. Simpson will be held on Friday, Dec. 14 at 2

p.m. at Maley-Yarbrough Funeral Chapel. Visitation will take place on Thursday, Dec. 13 from 5-8 p.m., also at the funeral home. He will be buried at Covington Memorial Gardens.


www.covingtonleader.comObituaries

You are much more likely to die as a result of a medical mistake, called medical malpractice, than you are to die in a plane crash! As an injury lawyer, I see the effects of mistakes and even neglect, especially in nursing homes. Infections, wrong location surgeries and medication er-rors make a trip to a hospital far more dangerous than a long trip on a 747. Flying is so relatively safe, in fact, that the most dangerous part of a trip on a plane is the drive to the airport.

That being said, many more people avoid flying than are able to avoid a hospital stay. Doctors and nurses almost always do the best they can, but even they will admit that malpractice occurs,

despite their valiant efforts. It is widely agreed that 98,000

deaths occur each year due to all kinds of medical mistakes the equivalent of a fully loaded 747 crashing ev-ery other day. According to a congressionally man-dated study on Medicare recipients, during 2008, 1 in 7 hospital patients experienced at least one unintended-harm that prolonged his or her stay, caused permanent injury, required life-sustaining

treatment, or resulted in death. In a 2004 study, 20 out of 40 doc-tors ties were contaminated with dangerous bacteria. These ties can spread infections person to person. One study found harm-ful staph bacteria on 17 out of 84 stethoscopes!

Nevertheless, the actual odds of something happening rarely

seem to affect our behavior. For instance, millions will enter lot-teries this year. The largest jack-pots have odds of winning in the neighborhood of 1 in 175 million.

There are many things that are far more likely to happen to you than winning the biggest lottery. You are far more likely to be killed by a pit bull, injured by a vending machine or die in a bathtub than win the largest jackpot. However, its not impossible. In fact, you are slightly more likely to win it, than are your odds of being killed by a falling coconut.

Mr. Peel seeks justice for those injured in car accidents, work place incidents, medical malpractice, and nursing homes. He often addresses churches, clubs and groups with-out charge. Mr. Peel may be reached through PeelLawFirm.com wherein other articles may be accessed.

Odds of malpracticePAID ADVERTISEMENT

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Home cook Dori Rominger decks out her holiday table with this show-stealing - and delicious - Glazed Ham. Not only will it star on your holiday buffet, its heavenly aroma will fill the house with holiday cheer!

See step-by-step photos of Doris recipe plus thousands more from home cooks around the country at:

www.justapinch.com/glazedhamYoull also find a meal planner, coupons and

chances to win! Enjoy and remember, use just a pinch...pinch...

www.justapinch.com/glazedham

What You Need

8 lb precooked ham or 5 lb canned hamwhole cloves1 1/2 c brown sugar, firmly packed1/2 c maple syrup2 tbsp mustard1 tbsp corn starch1 can (1 lb-4 oz) unsweetened crushed pineapple

Directions

Cut rind off ham, if present.

Score top surface of ham, stud with cloves, and place fat side up on a rack in a

Glazed Ham

shallow baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven, approximately 15 minutes per pound, or follow wrapper directions.

Combine sugar, syrup and mustard.

Use cup of glaze to baste ham every 10 minutes during last 30 to 45 minutes of baking. Stir cornstarch into remaining glaze in saucepan. Add pineapple with juice. Simmer, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Serve sauce with ham.

I make this for my family every year ... and they just

love it!

By Janet Tharpe

- Janet- Janet

Brought to you by American Hometown MediaBrought to you by American Hometown Media

Dori RomingerSpringfield, MO(pop. 159,498)

Submitted by: Dori Rominger, Springfield, MO (pop. 159,498)

Community EventsThe Community Calendar is a

free service offered by The Leader. We make every effort to include all submissions for this section, however these items are printed as space becomes available. To guar-antee your event to be in the paper would require paid advertising. A complete list appears in the Com-munity Events section on our web site, www.covingtonleader.com

December 13The Tipton County Commis-

sion on Aging, located at 401 S. College St. in Covington, is hosting a Christmas open house from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Mrs. Kerry Overton has recently joined the TCCA staff as our new director. The community is invited to meet her along with the other staff, participants, and board members. The community is also invited to take an angel from the Angel Tree. Please bring gifts to the TCCA center on or before Dec. 19. They will be given out at the seniors Christmas luncheon.

The National Active & Re-tired Federal Employees As-sociation, Chapter 1382 meet-ing and annual Christmas luncheon will be held at noon at Old Timers Restaurant in Millington. The installation of the 2013 Officers for the chap-ter will also be conducted. For

more information, call Carolyn Cribbis at 413-7123.

There will be a Row Crop Production meeting at 8 a.m. at Post Office Barbeque, located at 9234 Hwy. 51 S. in Atoka. The event will feature speakers Dr. Larry Steckel on glyphosate re-sistant weed management, Bob Williams on corn and soybean varieties, Dr. Chris Main with a cotton update, and Dr. Angela McClure on GoBean fertility trials on soybeans. Breakfast will be provided. For more in-formation, call Becky Muller at 752-1207.

January 8A Munford and Drummonds

area Neighborhood Watch meeting will be held at the Qui-to/Drummonds Volunteer Fire Department from 7-8 p.m. For more information call Barbara Borum at 837-3244.

January 9The second annual Exchange

Club Fish Fry will be held at the First Baptist Church Family Life Center. The menu will include fried fish, blackened catfish, hush puppies, fries and slaw. Carry outs will be available at 5:30 p.m and dine in from 6 to 7 p.m. The cost is $7 per plate.



Cougars sweep IndiansLady Cougars recover from slow start

Boys move to 1-1 in league play with win

TodayUSJ @ TRA

FridayMunford @ BrightonCatholic @ TRARipley @ Covington

SaturdayMunford @ Covington

What'sNext

Munford's Precious Mills maneuvers from room in the paint during action against Jackson North Side on Friday. Mills scored 10 points as Munford remained perfect in league play with a 50-46 win. Photo by Jeff Ireland

By JEFF [email protected]

Two minutes into the third quar-ter of Friday night's Munford-Jackson North Side girls basketball game, the Lady Cougars found themselves trailing the one-win Lady Indians 32-25.

Munford head coach Steve Poin-dexter was not happy.

The Lady Cougars rallied for a 50-46 home win to move to 2-0 in league play and 7-2 overall, but it didn't make the coach feel much better after the game.

We weren't taking pride in play-ing to our potential, Poindexter said. We were assuming we would win. We played like an immature team. I'm very disappointed.

Munford went on a 7-0 run mid-way through the third quarter. The burst was punctuated by a 3-pointer from Precious Mills with 4:45 left in the third that tied the score at 32.

The Lady Cougars fell behind by three early in the fourth quarter, but Shaliyah Wiggins hit the third of her three 3-pointers moments later to tie the score and Robneisha Lee scored with 6:52 left to give Mun-ford a two-point lead they would never lose.

North Side (1-8, 0-2) trailed by two with four seconds left and had a chance to tie the game before a turnover.

Kierra Webb hit a pair of free

By JEFF [email protected]

Jackson North Side had a plan go-ing into Friday night's District 13-AAA game at Munford: slow down senior Jonathan Stark.

The Indians deployed a box-and-one defense in an attempt to limit the Cougars' leading scorer.

Stark was held to 10 points, less than half of his scoring average, but it didn't keep the Cougars from win-ning 45-40 to move to 1-1 in league play.

I knew it was coming, Munford coach Butch Hopkins said about the Indians' defensive strategy. I thought Jonathan handled it. He played defense. He didn't force things and when he got openings he took advantage of it.

With 2:23 left in the game, Mun-ford (7-2) led 39-37 before scoring six straight points to seal the win.

Stark and Andrea' Bell each hit a pair of free throws during the stretch and Kylon Hall had a dunk.

North Side's defense gave Mun-ford's perimeter shooters plenty of opportunities, but the shots were not going down for the most part.

We weren't making them, but I told them when you're open you've got to take them, Hopkins said.

Bell led Munford with 18 points and Hall finished with eight.

Munford lost its district opener at Dyer County on Dec. 4 and will have

SEE MHS, PAGE A8 SEE BOYS, PAGE A8

By STEVE [email protected]

The Chargers dug a deep hole in the first half Tuesday at Martin West-view, falling behind by as many as 15 points before prevailing 84-79.

Covington took a 30-29 lead halfway through the second period, only to see Westview go on a 21-9 run to close the half with a 50-39 advantage.

The Chargers (8-5 overall, 5-0 District 13-AA) came out firing in the second half and took the lead for good, 64-63, on a bucket by Demetri-us Dyson, who was the games high scorer with 28 points.

CHS would build a 10-point cushion at 76-66 but Westview did not quit, cutting the margin to 80-79 with 34.1 sec-onds left. Back-to-back

conversions of one-and-one opportunities by Dyson inside 10 seconds held off Westview (8-3, 4-1) to seal the win. Che-via Hughes had his best night as a Charger, chip-ping in 15 points. Bobby Shanks scored 10, includ-ing three big stick backs in the fourth and Jaylin Dyson shook off the foot-ball doldrums with 10 points.

CHS prevailed against arguably the two best guards in the district, An-tonio Hogard and Jazell Baker, who tallied 23 and 18, respectively.

In action Friday, trou-ble rebounding and hit-ting shots from the floor were a major issue for the Chargers at Dyersburg.

Covington connected on 24 of 30 free throws for 35 percent of their point total in a 69-56 win

Chargers rally past Westview

BHS downs JCMBy JEFF [email protected]

Alaina Bierdz had a big game Saturday night in Jackson to lead Brighton to a 54-17 win over Jack-son Central-Merry.

Bierdz scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Lady Cardi-nals (2-6) to their second win of the season.

Katelyn Price and Shay-na Johnson each added six points and McCallie Ruffin had a strong all-around game with five points, eight rebounds and five assists.

On Friday in the Lady Cards fell at Millington 52-33.

Bierdz led Brighton with 11 points. Ruffin had nine points and four

SEE CHS, PAGE A8

SEE BHS, PAGE A8

A8 Thursday, December 13, 2012 THE LEADER www.covingtonleader.com

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a chance to get above the .500 mark in the league tomorrow at Brigh-ton, the team that Stark played for last year.

Hopkins said he was happy to be leaving the gym Friday with a win.

It was an awful game But it's nice when you can play that poorly and still win, Hopkins said. There's a few times in the year when you play ugly. If you can win when you play ugly, that means you have done something.

throws with two seconds left to seal the win.

Lee, the team's leading scorer, scored six of her 10 points in the fourth quarter. Mills also had 10 and Wiggins finshed with nine.

Brendi Stokes kept North Side in the game with six 3-pointers in the first half and led all scor-ers with 23.

This time of the year is about getting better, Poindexter said. Tonight was absolutely not that. We went through the mo-tions like we didn't care. That's not what we do.

rebounds and Teiona Lewis finished with six points and four boards.

In boys action, Milling-ton defeated Brighton (0-7) 70-44.

Jericho Williams led the Cardinals with 15 points and Lorenzo Hunt added 10.

Jordan Browning paced Millington (5-1) with 17 points.

over the Trojans.CHS had difficulty

pulling away from Dy-ersburg (3-6) until late in the fourth period. The Trojans sliced a steady 8-10 point advantage to five at 48-43 early in the fourth period only to see the Chargers mount a 21-7 run to build a 69-52 lead with less than two minutes remaining.

Demetrius Dyson took game scoring hon-ors with a season high 35 points. Jaylin Dyson, fresh off the gridiron, was the only other Charger in double figures with 10 points.

Munford senior Kameron Foster brings the ball upcourt during action against Jackson North Side on Friday. Photo by Jeff Ireland

BHSContinued from A7

CHSContinued from A7

MHSContinued from A7

BOYSContinued from A7

MHS keeper signs scholarshipBy JEFF [email protected]

Munford senior Alex Selby has been one of the reasons for the improve-ment of the Lady Cou-gars soccer program the last four years.

Last Thursday the Lady Cougar goalkeeper was rewarded for her ac-complishments when she signed a soccer scholar-ship with Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss.

Selby started every game of her career in goal for Munford and holds school records for shutouts in a season and career, goals against av-erage, save percentage and minutes played.

She chose this Divi-sion III school over other schools for the opportu-nity that they provided to play soccer and major in biochemistry, said Kyle Selby, her father and

coach at Munford. Selby has excelled

off the pitch as well, maintaining a 4.0 GPA and winning academic

awards from the Ten-nessee Secondary School Athletic Association and National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

She helped Munford to a district championship this season and second place nishes in 2010 and 2011.

Munford senior Alex Selby signs a soccer scholarship with Mississippi College in front of her her parents, Kyle and Cheryl Selby, and MHS athletic director Steve McCullough.

Martin Westview hands Lady Chargers first lossBy STEVE [email protected]

The Lady Chargers have tradi-tionally not played well at Martin Westview and Tuesday night was no exception.

Unable to rebound or hit from the floor, CHS (10-1, 4-1) suffered their first loss of the season, falling 54-40 to the Westview Lady Char-gers (10-1, 5-0).

From the beginning, Coving-ton appeared to be sleepwalking. Playing without their standout point guard, Precious Harvey, who was sidelined with an injury, CHS seemed to take the night off.

We did not play, said Coving-

ton coach Dion Real. It was as if they said without Harvey that they were not going to play ei-ther. There was an attitude that we have so much talent that we do not have to go all out. That is about to change.

The score is no indication of the magnitude of the loss.

Had it not been for Precious Dy-sons game high 23 points, Cov-ington would have been drubbed. Teddy Vincent led Westview with 19 points. Tiffany Rechis added 16 and Kaley Leyhue 15 for the north-ern Lady Chargers.

Ashia Jones 35-point perfor-mance at Dyersburg last Friday was enough to propel Covington

past the usually tough Lady Tro-jans 75-68.

What appeared to be a laugher when Covington took its biggest lead at 58-36 late in the third pe-riod turned into a nailbiter.

Over the last two minutes of the third quarter and the first two of the fourth, Dyersburg (2-4) out-scored CHS 32-6 to get within six at 64-58 with 5:45 left.

With Precious Dyson talking up the slack on a late 3-pointer and a pair of free throws, CHS pushed back out to a 10 point lead and held on for the final two minutes for the win. Dyson had 18 points in the contest.

Get news online at www.covingtonleader.com

www.covingtonleader.com Thursday,December13,2012The Leader A9

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Hunting wild hogs not permitted in TennesseeA pair of guilty pleas

have been made in cas-es involving numerous charges with wild hogs in Moore and Lewis coun-ties in Middle Tennessee.Dr. Stacy Smith of

Lynchburg pleadedguilty to 16 counts of il-legalpossessionofwild-life. He also pleadedguiltytofailuretouseanapproved source, failureto maintain records fora preserve, violation ofa quarantine order and criminal conspiracy. Theveterinarian will have to pay $4,944 in fines andcourt costs.Timothy Chapman of

Mt. Pleasant pleadedguilty to seven counts of illegal possession ofwildlife. He receivedfines and court costs to-taling $1654 and loss of

hishuntingandtrappingprivilegesforoneyear.

The cases involved a jointeffortfromtheTen-nessee WildlifeResourcesAgen-cyspecial inves-tigation unit, wildlife officersfromTWRARe-gion II and III, Moore County DistrictAttorney,Lewis County DistrictAttorneyandtheTennesseeDepartmentofAgriculture.

The Smith case was settledAug.7,while theChapmanpleaagreementwas made Sept. 17. Theannouncement comes as a reward program hasnowbeenestablishedforinformation leading toa conviction of personsdealing in the sale, illegal

transportation and/orstockingofwildhogs.A reward of $3,500 is

now in effect and madepossible byc o n t r i b u t i o n s from TWRA,the Tennessee Department ofAgriculture, theTennessee Farm Bureau Federa-tion and the Ten-nessee Ornitho-

logical Society.Wild hogs cause ex-

tensive damage to farmcrops and wildlife habi-tat and contribute to ex-treme erosion and stream pollution and an arraydiseasesharmful to live-stock or other animals aand humans.A primary reason for

wild hogs' rapid spreadis illegal movement by

those who wish to es-tablish hog populationsforhunting inareas thatmay have little or no wild hog populations. Illegaltransport and release isthe leading contributing factor in the spread ofwild hogs.The TWRA is among

the more than 20 entities fromprivatesectororga-nizations and state gov-ernment agencies that have signed a Memoran-dum of Understanding(MOU)agreeingtoworkcooperatively in regardto wild hogs. The partnership be-

tween the private sec-tor and state agencies is working jointly to create and implement outreachtools to effectively dis-seminate information tothe public, defining the

problemsassociatedwithwild hogs in Tennessee and how the parties areworkingcooperativelytohelp landownerscombatthe problems associatedwith wild hogs.

Arnold Bull hosts Wild-life Chatter on WKBJ and has won numerous awards for his writing and televi-sion work. He can be reached at 476-4601 or [email protected].

Wildlife ChatterBy Arnold Bull

Dalton Ray, son of Jimmy and Kacie Ray, killed this eight-pointer while hunting in Cottonlake Bottom.

JD Rankin, 9 of Henning, killed his first buck, an 8 point, while hunting with his grandfather, David Rankin of Whitwell, on Thanksgiving Day. The deer was killed behind JD's house on a farm owned by his other grandfather, Neal Crain, of Ripley.

Curtis Fayne, left, outdid his friend Arzelle Elam by a wide margin fishing in Covington on Monday morning. Fayne caught a seven-pound bass while Elam had to settle for a 1.5-pounder. It's all in fun, said Elam. They're really biting now so we'll be back out there. Photo by Jeff Ireland

Apair of local boxerswill b

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