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THE LEADER THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2012 ! VO L . 1 2 8 , N O. 2 2 ! T H E VO I C E O F TIPTON COUNTY S I N C E 1 8 8 6 !
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City takes stand with gang forum By SHERRI ONORATI sonorati@covingtonleader.com Covington High School was the setting on Monday for a community gang awareness forum, the response after several recent murders occurred in the city within weeks of each other, many who believe were gang-related.
Jimmy Chambers, a criminal investigator with the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office Gang and Narcotics Prosecution Unit, was the forum’s presenter for two sessions; one designed for students and another for parents. Speaking plainly, Chambers made the lecture, Gangs: What parents, community and
schools should know, easily understood and entertaining for both students and adults. Interjecting humor into the extremely serious subject seemed to go well with the attendees of both crowded sessions. “I’m going to be real with you,” he told the approximately 100 students from Covington and Brighton High Schools
who attended the student session. “Either you’ll get killed or you’re going to jail if you get in a gang, it’s that simple.” Chambers explained the common myths associated with gangs, the meaning of graffiti and the symbols, insignia and emblems. “I’d rather talk to you like this, so stay out of the gang,”
he said. “Because gang members are stupid. When you call yourself a gang member you are giving up all your rights. Gang members are my friends and some of you all may be my friends one day. Stay out of the gangs.” You don’t want this as your future.” Covington assistant princiSEE FORUM, PAGE A3
Saturday Brighton resident Tommy Hill found an estimated 25,000 bees swarming his wife’s Chevrolet Traverse. Courtesy Hill family
Honeycomb hideout: 25K bees make hive in engine CINDERELLA TO TAKE STAGE It’s opening night for the cast and crew of Cinderella. Above, Fellowe (Tim Birchfield) and
the fairy godmother (Kay Bridgewater) prepare Cinderella (Leah Watkins) for the ball. The show opens at 7 p.m. at the Ruffin Theater Thursday with a shows at the same time on Friday and Saturday; Sunday’s show will begin at 2 p.m. Photo by Sherri Onorati
be on the air,” said the 88-year-old. “I went to school in Memphis to get my license. Back then you needed a license and I had a hard time getting my license but I finally got it.” He started out with a 50-minute faith-based show and that evolved into a Saturday and Sunday morning program. Although his days have changed from a daily show to shows
It sounds a bit like something out of a Stephen King novel but what happened this week on Oaklawn wasn’t fiction: an estimated 25,000 bees swarmed Cristi Hill’s vehicle. “It’s the strangest thing I’ve ever heard of,” said her It’s the husband, Tommy. strangest thing “I’ve never seen bees in anyone’s I’ve ever heard car.” Saturday mornof. ing Cristi, Tommy and their daughter Lilly Grace went to breakfast - Tommy Hill in downtown Homeowner Memphis. All was well when they left, but when they returned they heard a lot of buzzing. And they were in for quite the surprise. “(Bees) covered the windshield, the hood and they were down in the engine,” Tommy said. The tens of thousands of bees apparently tried to create a hive in Cristi’s 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. Beekeeper Bill Hughes was called Sunday and when Tommy returned from church, Hughes was still there. “He told me he didn’t know how to get them out of there, that bees usually swarm tree limbs.” Hughes said the situation was quite unusual.
SEE RADIO, PAGE A3
SEE BEES, PAGE A2
Airing the word of the Lord Local DJ nearing Guinness record with 56 years on air By SHERRI ONORATI sonorati@covingtonleader.com There’s a legend growing in Tipton County that many people may not know about, but he’s getting close to Guinness World Record fame as the world’s longest serving DJ. Lawrence “Man” Hall of Covington has been a radio personality for WKBL-AM for the past 56 years. He began his lustrous career on Mar. 18, 1956. Ken Sparks and Bill Huffman started the station on Aug. 16, 1954 when it was located above Roper Drug Store on the square on Covington. Hall first started working for the radio station as a janitor because as he said it was hard back then for a Black man to get a good paying job. “Bob Whitely bought the station from Ken Sparks and Bill Huffman
Lawrence “Man” Hall, 88, has been airing a gospel program every Sunday since 1956. The current Guinness World Record holder is the same age, but lives in Hong Kong.
and I started cleaning the radio station for him,” remembers Hall. “One of the sponsors on the radio then was ‘Who wants to be a Big Star.’ I started with a 50-minute program every Sunday morning.” Hall said it was tougher to be a DJ than it is today when he started in radio. “Back then you needed a license to
EVENT
Honor ride to benefit wounded marine By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com MUNFORD – It started out as a simple honor ride for a wounded soldier, said Gill Riberdy, but it’s turned into so much more. “Everyone in the community has really stepped up,” he said. “The mayor has really opened a lot of doors for me to be able to
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put this together.” On Saturday, March 24, a motorcycle ride event to benefit Cpl. Christian “CB” Brown, a Munford marine injured in an IED explosion, will lead riders from Collierville to Munford’s new fire station. Brown, 24, lost both legs and one finger after the December 13, 2011 attack in Afghanistan. He
By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com
has been hospitalized in Washington, D.C. since the explosion and has already undergone several surgeries. Riberdy, a retired sailor and member of the Patriot Guard since its inception, said the ride was originally part of the Wounded Warrior Project, but he wanted to localize it. “I wanted to have the
HONOR RIDE FOR CPL. CHRISTIAN BROWN When: Sat., March 24, noon Where: Begins at Recycle Biker Shop, Collierville; ends at Munford fire station
ride here because he’s our wounded warrior,” he said. “It’s really grown SEE RIDE, PAGE A3
Patriot Bank Mortgage is now offering down !"#$%&'("))*)'"&+%(,-(.!(',(/01222(-,3(4."5*6%7( homebuyers. Please call us at 901-840-1911 or 901-475-6680 today for more details.
Reader’s Guide TODAY’S WEATHER Chance of rain. High 66, low 54.
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BRIGHTON FEST THIS WEEKEND The third annual Brighton Fest and Car Show will take place this Saturday, March 17, at Brighton High School. HOW TO REACH US Call 901.476.7116 Fax 901.476.0373 Email news@covingtonleader.com Visit us at 2001 Hwy. 51 South, Covington, TN 38019 or online at covingtonleader.com
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3/21/12 5:09:57 PM