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THE LEADER THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012 ▪ VO L . 1 2 8 , N O. 1 8 ▪ T H E VO I C E O F TIPTON COUNTY S I N C E 1 8 8 6 ▪
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Monday reveals county’s first murder By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com Covington police and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are searching for the gunman they say killed Orlando Cobbins Monday night. Dominique Mitchell found her cousin shot to death, slumped over in his vehicle in the driveway of her Hill Avenue home. She told the media she thought she’d heard a gunshot, but wasn’t sure. “I didn’t know it was a gunshot until the police confirmed that he had a gunshot to
his chest,” she said. The 29-year-old’s murder is the first homicide in Covington this year, but it’s not the first homicide for Cobbins’ family. On Oct. 18, 2010, Cobbins’ cousin, Paula Croom Robinson and another postal clerk, Judy Spray, were shot to death at the Henning Post Office. A year ago, Chastain Montgomery Sr. confessed to the double murder after his 18-year-old son, Chastain Montgomery Jr., was shot by police during a pursuit that ended with a shoot-out in Mason. Montgomery is in federal custody and
is set to make his next appearance in court next Tuesday, Feb. 28. And now, while still waiting for justice in Robinson’s murder, the family must bury another of its own while investigators search for clues to another murder. Covington police and the TBI are referring the media to District Attorney General Mike Dunavant for information. Dunavant said there are no updates and that the case is still under investigation. Orlando Cobbins of Memphis is Tipton County and the City of Covington’s first murder victim of 2012. Courtesy photo
Covington siblings state winners By SHERRI ONORATI sonorati@covingtonleader.com Covington siblings, 12-year-old Mackenzie and nine-year-old Harley McNeal have shown the state of Tennessee that the lessons they have learned here in Tipton County about fire prevention are very important to them. As winners of the local fire prevention poster contest, the girls’ entries were submitted to the annual Tennessee Fire Marshal’s Office contest by Lt. Richard Griggs, Covington Fire Department training officer, where both proved to be state winners. “The poster contest gives students the opportunity to show what they have learned during our visits,” said Griggs. “It also gives us feedback and lets us know what we are teaching them is getting through.” In the 2009 contest, Covington Middle School sixth-grade student Mackenzie won first place as a fourth-grader. This year, she won the coveted Commissioner’s Choice Award. Julie Mix McPeak, Commissioner of the Department of Commerce and Insurance, who is also the state’s fire marshal, personally selected her poster as one of two state winners for the award. “It was an amazing opportunity to show my work to the commissioner and for her to love it,” said Mackenzie. “It was a great to be able to get the word out about fire prevention.” Harley won first place for Tennessee’s third-graders. She became interested in the contest after her older sister won a couple of years ago. “It was inspirational for me to learn about fire prevention and to share the message,” said the homeschooler. “It’s important for people to learn how to protect themselves and to prevent fires.” The girls are the daughters of Harley and Michelle McNeal who are very proud of their accomplishments. “We are absolutely proud of them,” said their mother Michelle. “It is very important that children understand the importance of fire prevention. Having the fire department provide that education in the schools gives them the knowledge to pass on what they learn. They are both very crafty girls and to be able to relate that in their posters helps them to be able to spread the message.” They each received $50 in cash, a certificate and a night’s stay in Nashville to attend the award banquet. “It’s a privilege for Tipton County to have not one state winner but two,” said Griggs. “All 96 counties SEE POSTERS, PAGE A3
Pictured left to right are Mackenzie McNeal, Lt. Richard Griggs, Covington Fire Department and Harley McNeal. Mackenzie and Harley are winners of the 2011 Tennessee State Fire Prevention Poster contest, winning the Commissioner’s Choice and first place for thirdgrade, respectively.
PAVING WALTER FLETCHER LANE:
Who’s responsible?
An 18-year-old debate in Gilt Edge continues over paving of road By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com
Residents of one Gilt Edge road are frustrated over its condition, and it’s an issue that’s caused a rift in the community for nearly two decades. The issue? Six families who live on Walter Fletcher Lane want the city to pave the dead end road, but the city refuses because it’s a private road. “It’s a festering sore that needs to get resolved,” said then-alderman Billy Fleming in an April 2007 interview with The Leader. Six years later, the problem still exists. “I moved here in 2005 and I’ve been working on getting someone to get this road some attention since 2006,” resident Todd Hill
said Monday. His neighbors are equally furious, all meeting with the media to discuss their frustrations. Getting their dead end road paved has turned into dead end after dead end. Walter Fletcher Lane is full of potholes; sparse areas of gravel cover it, but its surface is mostly dirt. School buses won’t travel it and the postmaster has allegedly threatened to discontinue delivery because of the road’s condition. Hill and his neighbors, one of whom is alderman Rodney McLillie, believe it is the city’s responsibility to pave the road, but mayor Steve Fletcher, who is related to the earlier landowners, disagrees. Fletcher cites a 1994 opinion by the late Duke Brasfield, Gilt Edge’s former city attorney, and 1996 road maintenance agreement, signed by residents, as his basis. County officials say the roadway is within the city limits and, therefore, not its responsibility ei-
Atoka sees spike in sales tax revenue Highest in city’s history By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com Economically speaking, things are starting to look up in Atoka where last month’s sales tax revenue was the highest ever in the town’s history. January’s report shows the town brought in $212,144 in sales tax revenue, a figure $18,000 greater than the same reporting period a year ago. “This represents the Christmas season,” said town administrator Brian
Koral. “January’s report is typically the peak season, it’s always our highest month with April coming in second.” Koral said it’s difficult to pinpoint a source for the surge in local spending, but attributes it to a potential turnaround in the economy, new businesses and residential growth. “It’s a combination of factors, really,” he said. “Perhaps people are feeling more confident in the economy and in the retail offerings here.” As gas prices rise – this week they
were recorded at an all-time high for this point in the year – Koral predicts locals will continue to shop at home, which stimulates the local economy. Half of all sales tax collected in Tipton County goes to the school system and the rest, minus processing fees with the trustee’s office, goes back to the municipal government. This allows the town to pave roads, for instance. And city services, he said, are not just funded by property taxes. SEE ATOKA, PAGE A3
ther. So who, actually, is responsible for the paving of the road? Public or private? To understand whether the road is public or private takes a look back into its history. Walter Fletcher Lane is an easement granted to Don and Ruth Pearson, former residents of house number 144, by the property’s former owner, Walter Fletcher Sr., in December 1979, according to a document provided by current residents. Walter Fletcher Sr., now deceased, is the grandfather of mayor Steve Fletcher. According to records held by the Tipton County Register of Deeds, Fletcher Sr. came to own an estimated 28 acres in March 1964. The land was previously owned by his brother, Joseph “Maynard” Fletcher, or his mother, Mrs. Kate Fletcher, and was divided between SEE LANE, PAGE A2
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