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THE
VOL. 122, 22, NO. 9
TRI-CITY REPORTER WEDNESDAY, FEBRUAR FEBRUARY 26, 2014
DYER, TENNESSEE
$1.00
Step Back in Time
Mark Renfroe
Renfroe is candidate for trustee
Mark Johnson
Johnson to run for juvenile judge Trenton attorney and city judge Mark Johnson is announcing his candidacy for Gibson County Juvenile Judge subject to the August 7th election. Johnson, 52, is a native of Madison County having attended and graduated from the Jackson city public schools. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin and received his law degree from the University of Memphis. Johnson has practiced law in Gibson County with Bill Barron for 24 of his 25 years as an attorney. His law practice includes juvenile law, child custody, divorce, bankruptcy, criminal defense, probate, real estate, Social Security disability, and personal injury/workers compensation. Johnson also serves as municipal judge for three cities in Gibson County. He has been the city judge in Trenton since 1994; Dyer since 2001; and Rutherford since 2011. He has served as the attorney for the Trenton Special School District since 2006 and has also represented the Gibson County Special School District and the city of Dyer. In 2010, Johnson received training at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nev. He and his wife, Pamela, have two children: Tori, 21, and Ross, 17. They are see page 3
Relay For Life kick off rescheduled for Thurs. The Gibson-North Relay for Life Kick-Off is rescheduled for Thursday, February 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the theater at Gibson County High School. If you are interested in helping with Relay or forming a team this year, please attend. We will have a brief program in the theater, followed by registrations and refreshments. Come join us as we do our part in helping find a cure for cancer!
SURVEYING MT. ZION - Dr. Carroll West and one of his team members from MTSU Center for Historic reservation survey the grounds of the old Mt. Zion School and cemetery on Monday. The team made pictures and will estimate the amount of funding it will take to preserve the one room school house (shown in the background). The school was built in the mid to late 1800’s and educated many generations of African-Americans students before desegregation. (photo by Mindy East)
Mt. Zion School is one step closer to historic preservation BY MINDY EAST Rev. Hollis Skinner’s dedication to have his childhood school, Mt. Zion School in Bradford put on the Tennessee and National Registry of Historical Places and its restoration is one step closer. On February 24, a small team from MTSU Center for Historic Preservation came to survey the Mt. Zion School. Dr. Carroll Van West and two graduates came to take pictures and estimate the amount of funding it would take to preserve the structure. The land that the school and church sit on now was purchased in 1855 for $5, Skinner said. The land was originally purchased and the building that is now the schoolhouse was built as Mt. Zion Community meetinghouse. Later, after slavery ended, it was turned into the Mt. Zion School. It was one classroom with grades from first to eighth. Dr. West said, “I don’t think the structure is the
original from the mid to late 1800s, but it does still have some of the original pieces. The logs on the backside of the school are notched together and not nailed.” Skinner is passionate about getting the school back to its original condition. After years of weathering, the floors are sagging and the windows are shattered. It is his dream to make it a more sound structure and to have people come and see the history behind the school his paternal grandparents, mother, siblings and he-himselfattended. The Mt. Zion School may not look as it once did. It is a step back in time just seeing the old waterspout outside. The children would pump water from the well into a pipe that has several holes drilled into it. This made a water fountain that several children could drink from at once. The school did not have running water or air see page 12
Gibson County residents among UT Martin 2014 WestStar class Eric Allen, Bill Joyner, Bradley Owen and Susan Taylor, all of Gibson County, are among 30 members of the 2014 WestStar class. WestStar was created in 1989 at the University of Tennessee at Martin to serve the multi-county area by providing leadership development and training. Representing 17 counties in the 21-county region, class members have a diverse range of occupations and volunteer leadership experiences. Owens is the managing shareholder attorney at Hardee, Martin & Donahoe, P.A.; and owner of The Victory 93.7 FM radio station; and owner of OCM Investments LLC. Currently he is president of the Dream Center of Jackson; board member, Milan Healthcare Foundation; board member, Carl Perkins Exchange Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Gibson County; city judge, Medina and Bradley Owens Bradford; Gibson &
And One...
Madison County Bar Associations; and the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. In 2013, he was the recipient of the Gibson County Young Professional of the Year Award and in 2009 was named one of Jackson’s Finest Young Professionals. By participating in WestStar, he hopes to gain a better understanding of how West Tennessee business leaders are dealing with the challenges of today in order to put him in a position to be part of the solution to the issues. Taylor is the administrative assistant at the Martin Medical Center, P.C., in Martin. Currently she is a member of the Gibson County Tourism Committee and the Kenton Fire Department. She is past member of the North Gibson Relay for Life, Obion County GOP chairman and vicechairman, Kenton White Squirrel Festival, Kenton Economic Development Committee, Kenton School Board Booster Susan Taylor see page 3
Mark Renfroe is announcing his candidacy for Gibson County Trustee. Renfroe is a resident of Bradford, TN and started school in the first grade in Trenton. He has lived in Gibson County most of his life. “I have owned and managed my own siding and window business in Gibson County for 29 years and for that time the people of Gibson County have trusted me with their most valuable asset, their homes,” said Renfroe. Renfroe served on the Bradford School Board for six years, was president of the Bradford Baseball Club for four years and president of Bradford PTO for four years. He is Chairman of the Gibson County GOP and has held that position for eight years. Renfroe has a son, Hunter, and a daughter, Hanna, currently in college at UT Knoxville. He is a member of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Skullbone. “I would appreciate your support and on August 7 this year I would appreciate your vote,” said Renfroe.
County primaries are set BY CRYSTAL BURNS The May 6th Gibson County primary elections are set. Last Thursday was the qualifying deadline for candidates, and the Gibson County Election Commission verified 13 men and women seeking offices ranging from county mayor to register of deeds. Democrats on the primary ballot are: Tom Witherspoon, County Mayor Kathi Burriss, Trustee Dana Davison, Trustee Robert Newell, Juvenile Judge Chuck Arnold, Sheriff Janice Jones, Circuit Court Clerk Joyce Brown, County Clerk Hilda Patterson, Register of Deeds Republicans, hosting their first primary in county history, have four candidates on the ballot. They are: see page 3
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VOL. 122, 22, NO. 9
TRI-CITY REPORTER WEDNESDAY, FEBRUAR FEBRUARY 26, 2014
DYER, TENNESSEE
$1.00
Step Back in Time
Mark Renfroe
Renfroe is candidate for trustee
Mark Johnson
Johnson to run for juvenile judge Trenton attorney and city judge Mark Johnson is announcing his candidacy for Gibson County Juvenile Judge subject to the August 7th election. Johnson, 52, is a native of Madison County having attended and graduated from the Jackson city public schools. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin and received his law degree from the University of Memphis. Johnson has practiced law in Gibson County with Bill Barron for 24 of his 25 years as an attorney. His law practice includes juvenile law, child custody, divorce, bankruptcy, criminal defense, probate, real estate, Social Security disability, and personal injury/workers compensation. Johnson also serves as municipal judge for three cities in Gibson County. He has been the city judge in Trenton since 1994; Dyer since 2001; and Rutherford since 2011. He has served as the attorney for the Trenton Special School District since 2006 and has also represented the Gibson County Special School District and the city of Dyer. In 2010, Johnson received training at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nev. He and his wife, Pamela, have two children: Tori, 21, and Ross, 17. They are see page 3
Relay For Life kick off rescheduled for Thurs. The Gibson-North Relay for Life Kick-Off is rescheduled for Thursday, February 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the theater at Gibson County High School. If you are interested in helping with Relay or forming a team this year, please attend. We will have a brief program in the theater, followed by registrations and refreshments. Come join us as we do our part in helping find a cure for cancer!
SURVEYING MT. ZION - Dr. Carroll West and one of his team members from MTSU Center for Historic reservation survey the grounds of the old Mt. Zion School and cemetery on Monday. The team made pictures and will estimate the amount of funding it will take to preserve the one room school house (shown in the background). The school was built in the mid to late 1800’s and educated many generations of African-Americans students before desegregation. (photo by Mindy East)
Mt. Zion School is one step closer to historic preservation BY MINDY EAST Rev. Hollis Skinner’s dedication to have his childhood school, Mt. Zion School in Bradford put on the Tennessee and National Registry of Historical Places and its restoration is one step closer. On February 24, a small team from MTSU Center for Historic Preservation came to survey the Mt. Zion School. Dr. Carroll Van West and two graduates came to take pictures and estimate the amount of funding it would take to preserve the structure. The land that the school and church sit on now was purchased in 1855 for $5, Skinner said. The land was originally purchased and the building that is now the schoolhouse was built as Mt. Zion Community meetinghouse. Later, after slavery ended, it was turned into the Mt. Zion School. It was one classroom with grades from first to eighth. Dr. West said, “I don’t think the structure is the
original from the mid to late 1800s, but it does still have some of the original pieces. The logs on the backside of the school are notched together and not nailed.” Skinner is passionate about getting the school back to its original condition. After years of weathering, the floors are sagging and the windows are shattered. It is his dream to make it a more sound structure and to have people come and see the history behind the school his paternal grandparents, mother, siblings and he-himselfattended. The Mt. Zion School may not look as it once did. It is a step back in time just seeing the old waterspout outside. The children would pump water from the well into a pipe that has several holes drilled into it. This made a water fountain that several children could drink from at once. The school did not have running water or air see page 12
Gibson County residents among UT Martin 2014 WestStar class Eric Allen, Bill Joyner, Bradley Owen and Susan Taylor, all of Gibson County, are among 30 members of the 2014 WestStar class. WestStar was created in 1989 at the University of Tennessee at Martin to serve the multi-county area by providing leadership development and training. Representing 17 counties in the 21-county region, class members have a diverse range of occupations and volunteer leadership experiences. Owens is the managing shareholder attorney at Hardee, Martin & Donahoe, P.A.; and owner of The Victory 93.7 FM radio station; and owner of OCM Investments LLC. Currently he is president of the Dream Center of Jackson; board member, Milan Healthcare Foundation; board member, Carl Perkins Exchange Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Gibson County; city judge, Medina and Bradley Owens Bradford; Gibson &
And One...
Madison County Bar Associations; and the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. In 2013, he was the recipient of the Gibson County Young Professional of the Year Award and in 2009 was named one of Jackson’s Finest Young Professionals. By participating in WestStar, he hopes to gain a better understanding of how West Tennessee business leaders are dealing with the challenges of today in order to put him in a position to be part of the solution to the issues. Taylor is the administrative assistant at the Martin Medical Center, P.C., in Martin. Currently she is a member of the Gibson County Tourism Committee and the Kenton Fire Department. She is past member of the North Gibson Relay for Life, Obion County GOP chairman and vicechairman, Kenton White Squirrel Festival, Kenton Economic Development Committee, Kenton School Board Booster Susan Taylor see page 3
Mark Renfroe is announcing his candidacy for Gibson County Trustee. Renfroe is a resident of Bradford, TN and started school in the first grade in Trenton. He has lived in Gibson County most of his life. “I have owned and managed my own siding and window business in Gibson County for 29 years and for that time the people of Gibson County have trusted me with their most valuable asset, their homes,” said Renfroe. Renfroe served on the Bradford School Board for six years, was president of the Bradford Baseball Club for four years and president of Bradford PTO for four years. He is Chairman of the Gibson County GOP and has held that position for eight years. Renfroe has a son, Hunter, and a daughter, Hanna, currently in college at UT Knoxville. He is a member of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Skullbone. “I would appreciate your support and on August 7 this year I would appreciate your vote,” said Renfroe.
County primaries are set BY CRYSTAL BURNS The May 6th Gibson County primary elections are set. Last Thursday was the qualifying deadline for candidates, and the Gibson County Election Commission verified 13 men and women seeking offices ranging from county mayor to register of deeds. Democrats on the primary ballot are: Tom Witherspoon, County Mayor Kathi Burriss, Trustee Dana Davison, Trustee Robert Newell, Juvenile Judge Chuck Arnold, Sheriff Janice Jones, Circuit Court Clerk Joyce Brown, County Clerk Hilda Patterson, Register of Deeds Republicans, hosting their first primary in county history, have four candidates on the ballot. They are: see page 3
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Call The Tri-City Reporter at ͽͻ-ͼ-ͽͿͺ To Subscribe!
