General News

Secretary chases man downtown after theft from purse (04/30/08)
A Memphis man was arrested for theft on Tuesday after a woman whose pocketbook he stole chased him into the Dyer County Courthouse. James Jones, 60, 2815 Bay Wood in Memphis, was booked into the Dyer County Jail on a $500 bond. Teresa Shell, a legal secretary in attorney Ralph Lawson's 306 S. Church Ave. law office, said she and Lawson were talking about a case in the office's back room at about 1:45 p.m. when she heard the door open, then close a few seconds later...

Crockett TVA megasite no longer available (04/29/08)
Unveiled with much fanfare in September 2005 as TVA's fifth certified megasite in the Southeast U.S. for automobile production, the 1,600-acre West Tennessee Auto Park in Crockett County is no longer. Options on the property were not renewed in December 2007, said Crockett County Chamber of Commerce director Melissa Cox...

Car crashes into school bus; driver rescued from Unionville ditch (04/28/08)

Minister's body recovered from Carroll Co. lake (04/26/08)

Grassroots political movement scheduled to meet at Fairgrounds on May 3 (04/22/08)
A nascent political movement is scheduled to host an informational rally at the Dyer County Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 3. "It's a grassroots movement to get our politicians back to using the Constitution as the basis for their voting," said Fred Joyner of Jackson, who with wife of 51 years Shirley, and Jackson radio talk show host Steve Hilton, started the effort. "It's a way to air our displeasure."...

88 indictments include variety of sex crimes (04/21/08)

Suspect who stabbed sister plans to be his own attorney (04/21/08)
A 33-year-old man accused of repeatedly stabbing his sister intends to represent himself in court. Tony Adams, 412 Anchorage, was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with attempted first-degree murder. His sister, Teresa Adams, received nine stab wounds on her back, arm and head...

Benefit slated for local family who lost home in tornado (04/21/08)
It took only a matter of moments for a tornado to destroy the home of Josh and Brianna Hendren in the Elizabeth community in Crockett County. But in the aftermath of the devastation, their family and friends have rallied around them, with plans in place for a benefit dinner on Saturday, April 26...

State seeks to cancel diversion for former Tiptonville firefighters (04/03/08)
Two men who were sentenced in a series of Tiptonville fires could face additional sanctions. Both of the men -- James Blackburn and his grandson, Brandon Blackburn -- were placed on two years of pretrial diversion in September. The district attorney general's office has filed petitions asking that the diversion be terminated...

17-year-old charged with rape (04/02/08)
A 17-year-old was transferred to Dyer County Circuit Court on Tuesday to face rape and aggravated sexual battery charges as an adult. Timothy Andrew Pettie, no address listed, Dyersburg, was transported from Youth Villages in Memphis after a 30-day evaluation ordered in February by Juvenile Court Judge Tony Childress. He was charged with rape of child (less than 13 years of age) and aggravated sexual battery...

College unveils new user-friendly Web site (04/02/08)
Dyersburg State Community College went live with an updated version of its Web site on Tuesday. The new site provides a more user-friendly format for potential students to learn about the programs and classes offered by the college. DSCC Director of Public Information Jane Pate Vondy said the site contains nearly 400 pages of information and links for future students, community and business leaders and friends of the college to access information. ...

Trucker injured near county line when tree limbs break windshield (04/01/08)
A truck driver was injured when a tree limb dangling over the road hit his tractor-trailer Tuesday morning. Wayne McKnight, a driver for S & S Trucking in Ripley, was hauling a loaded 53-foot trailer eastbound near the Gibson County line at about 3 a.m. when the accident occurred...

Public defender services revoked in child abuse case (04/01/08)
The man accused of aggravated child abuse was released from the Dyer County Jail on Monday after posting a $25,000 bond. Joseph D. "Binks" Lee, 36, 313 Williams Dr., Dyersburg, was arrested on Friday after police investigators found he had assaulted a 12-year-old relative...

More roads closed as water rises in rural areas; more citations (03/31/08)
The 1.5-inch rainfall since Friday swelled already bloated streams to overtop their banks Saturday and Sunday, prompting a flash flood warning for Dyer County. Highway 105 south of Trimble, Tatumville Road south of Tatumville and Hogwallow Road northeast of Dyersburg were closed on Sunday, adding to the closed roads leading to the floodwaters in the western third of the county...

Suspect arrested for abuse of child (03/31/08)
A man suspected of abusing a 15-month old child was arrested by Dyersburg Police investigators on Friday. Joseph D. Lee, 36, 313 Williams Dr., Dyersburg, is lodged in the Dyer County Jail without bond. According to arrest documents, the 6-foot-4-inch, 280-lb. Lee is suspected to have abused the child after a relative of the child's saw bruises and sores in November 2007. The ensuing investigation resulted in the arrest...

Trimble man sentenced in arson case (03/31/08)
A Trimble man pleaded "no contest" to a charge of aggravated arson Monday, March 24, in Dyer County General Sessions Court. Gerry Haley, 30 Seltz St., was sentenced to 11 months, 29 days in jail, suspended to the time he'd already served. He was ordered to undergo an alcohol assessment and was placed on probation...

Overtime cools under Holden's first budget (03/30/08)
As planning for a new Dyersburg city government budget nears, a look back at the overtime expenses of 12 of the city's departments during Mayor John Holden's first year shows most are meeting their expenses for the first time in years. Holden said it's due to a focus on open dialogue...

Men accused of stealing car indicted in Fayette Co. (03/30/08)
A Fayette County grand jury indicted two men who were using a car stolen in Dyer County. Mario Smith of Galloway was indicted on charges of possession of cocaine with intent to sell, theft of property in excess of $10,000, evading arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia...

Reputed drug dealer bound over to jury (03/30/08)
A reputed drug dealer with a lengthy criminal history in Dyersburg faces a possible indictment in Lauderdale County. Quincy "Weezy" Johnson, 27, 227 Dandridge St., was arrested Jan. 10 and charged with possessing more than half an ounce of marijuana with intent to sell or distribute. That charge was bound over to the action of a grand jury during Lauderdale County General Sessions Court proceedings on Friday, March 14...

Newbern man shot by assailant (03/28/08)
A Newbern man was wounded by a gunshot shortly after midnight on Friday. According to witnesses and preliminary work by investigators, Aundra Vernal Gilton, 35, 635 Jones St., was shot once in the right leg while he was in the residence by an assailant who opened the front door and fired the shot from a handgun...

Women explain Ridgely murder (03/28/08)
A simmering feud escalated into a fight and ultimately ended with bloodshed and death on a Sunday afternoon in Ridgely. Now, 18-year-old Latandria "Rudy" Kimble faces a likely indictment for first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. Lake County General Sessions Court Judge Danny Goodman held a preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon and determined Wednesday afternoon that there was enough probable cause to bind the case over to the action of a grand jury. ...

Board again deliberated case in secret (03/27/08)
The Dyersburg Personnel Merit Board met on Monday and again denied former police officer Jim Porter's argument he was wrongfully terminated. But the panel violated the state's open records law by not giving public notice of the meeting. Porter's legal counsel, Dyersburg attorney Ralph Lawson, said he would seize on the mistake to file an appeal and question the violation of the Sunshine Law...

Contractor wants city as partner to finance subdivision (03/27/08)
If the city of Dyersburg would like to offer a new subdivision of "affordable housing" to residents of the area, it will have to foot part of the bill, said local developer and contractor Billy Escue. Escue met with members of the city's Finance Committee on Tuesday with a proposal for Westbrook Subdivision, a project that will offer 53 lots for new houses in what Escue called the middle-income bracket...

Animals moving inland ahead of flood (03/27/08)

Charges dropped against man accused of two murders (03/26/08)
Murder charges against a Dyersburg man were dropped Tuesday, March 25, in Dyer County Circuit Court. District Attorney General Phil Bivens announced that he did not intent to prosecute Aubrey Tremayne Eison on two counts of first-degree murder. Bivens explained that he's waiting for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to complete tests on evidence in the case. The test results were not going to be ready in time for the April 9 trial...

Eight arrested in meth house move cases to grand jury (03/26/08)
A grand jury is expected to consider charges against eight persons arrested in connection with an alleged methamphetamine lab in Fowlkes. All eight appeared in Dyer County General Sessions Court on Monday, March 24. Six participated in preliminary hearings and two waived their rights to a hearing...

SkyWarn class at Rescue Squad headquarters on Thursday (03/26/08)
A National Weather Service SkyWarn course is slated for Thursday at the Dyer County Rescue Squad headquarters in Newbern. "We're as happy as we can be to have this come here," said squad chief Ricky Gatlin. "It's rare to be able to get an event like this."...

Woman ordered to repay child's transplant fund (03/25/08)
A Dyersburg woman must repay $10,590 missing from her grandson's transplant fund, a circuit court judge declared Monday afternoon. Phyllis D. Vaughn, 57, 711 Wendell Ave., was charged with theft of property in excess of $10,000. She and her husband, Charles Norman Vaughn Sr., were in charge of a fund to benefit their grandson, Odell Terry, a teen-aged cystic fibrosis patient...

Rising floodwaters claim man's life (03/24/08)

Work against rising water ongoing (03/23/08)
The projected high-water point of the Mississippi River at Caruthersville on Saturday was dropped by a half-foot, to an even 40 feet, but was forecast to arrive on Friday instead of Tuesday. Thirty-two feet is flood stage. "As long as it stays on the other side of the Dyer County Little Levee," said farmer and local levee district member Jimmy Moody. "We should be OK. There's no reason to panic."...

Judge orders pretrial release revoked (03/21/08)
A rural Dyer County man was taken into federal custody on Thursday after his pretrial release was voided because his mother found he had continued making methamphetamine. Chad Wilson, 22, 6003 Tatumville Rd., was arrested by federal marshals at an address in Halls on Thursday, several law enforcement sources said...

Tri-county region easily meets state waste reduction goal (03/21/08)
Dyer, Crockett and Gibson counties produced less wastes in 2007 than the year before, and they sent a smaller percentage of those wastes to municipal landfills. The tri-county solid waste region easily surpassed a state-mandated 25 percent waste reduction goal. ...