The Leader

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THE LEADER THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2012 ▪ VO L . 1 2 9 , N O. 8 ▪ T H E VO I C E O F TIPTON COUNTY S I N C E 1 8 8 6 ▪

SCHOOLS

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SAFE & SECURE Police presence, parent concern grows after Connecticut shooting

By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com

Above, Munford School Resource Officer Penny Barnes locks the front doors at Munford Elementary, a part of her daily routine. Below, Barnes meets with Munford Middle School's administrators to review security procedures. Barnes has served Munford's schools for 12 years. Photo by Echo Day

Every day is different for Munford School Resource Officer Penny Barnes. Each morning she goes around the school, checking to make sure everything is as it should be. She watches students and teachers as they enter the building, then locks all but one of the school's exterior doors. Then Officer Penny, as she is known to students, makes the rounds through the hallways of each of Munford's three schools. It's a big job, but it's one she's done for a dozen years now. "She's a vital part of our team," said MHS principal Darry Marshall. Each day is as busy as it is different, Barnes said, and this week she's been even busier, working to make sure students and teachers know they're safe in her schools. And, she assures, they are, the answer to the question of many Tipton County parents following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14. The rampage left 20 first graders and six faculty members dead. Munford Elementary School Assistant Principal Varissa Richardson said the school's been flooded with phone calls from concerned parents. "Mostly they just want reassurance." To help reassure that students are in a safe environment, the Tipton County Board of Education has requested an increased police presence at its 14 schools, even those with resource officers. They're continuing the security practices that have been in

Mostly they just want reassurance. VARISSA RICHARDSON ASST. PRINCIPAL, MES

place for years. "We're not doing anything differently than we have been doing," she said, explaining some of the schools' procedures. "I do all of that anyway." In addition to securing the facilities, most campuses have security cameras and visitor sign-ins, for instance. Details of the schools' seSEE SAFETY, PAGE A3

CRIME

Covington man charged with Ripley murder By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com A Covington man was charged with the murder of a Ripley store clerk Friday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reported. Kevin Grandberry, 35, was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of especially aggravated robbery in the Nov. 14 shooting that killed Deepal Patel. According to the TBI, Grandberry is believed to have entered the gas station at 2148 Highway 51 South and shot the 38-year-old GRANDBERRY clerk before taking the cash drawer and fleeing the scene. Several days later, the cash drawer and a piece of cloth used to cover his face were recovered behind the Lauderdale County Alternative School in Ripley. Earlier this month, the TBI developed a DNA profile from the cloth and matched it to the CODIS DNA profile of Grandberry, identifying him as the SEE CHARGED PAGE A3

INSIDE

Cpl. Christian Brown, shown in this photo from his homecoming in September, was reportedly humiliated on a Delta flight on Dec. 9. File photo

Marine humiliated on flight By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com Cpl. Christian Brown can’t talk about the day he was humiliated on a Delta flight, but his family friends can. “The word humiliated is not enough,” said Special Forces MSgt. Randal McKee, a family friend who has also been wounded in combat. “For me and fellow veterans, the word ‘disgusting’ is not

SHOOTING HOOPS Munford sweeps Brighton but loses to Covington. Find out more about high school basketball action. B1

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enough. Disgraceful. That doesn’t have enough meaning.” On a Dec. 9 flight from Atlanta to Washington, Brown was seated in the back of the plane, pushed down the narrow aisle in a wheelchair that witnesses say bumped seats all along the way. “He’s being pushed through the plane after it was fully loaded with passengers,” McKee said. “We all know how tight those aisles are. And as CB’s chair’s being banged

off of people’s arms, he’s apologizing and at this point the attention’s brought on him.” A fellow passenger, a retired helicopter pilot with 30 years of service with the Army, later formally complained to the airline. “He was obviously humiliated by being paraded through the aircraft and was visibly upset,” retired Army Col. Nickey Knighton, who was seated next to Brown,

FA-LA-LA-LA-LA!

Reader's Guide Opinion A4 Obituaries A6 Community A7 Correspondents A8 Education A10

Sports Puzzles Faith Classifieds Legals

B1 B3 B4 B6 B7

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given” Isaiah 9:6 Merry Christmas from Patriot Bank and Patriot Bank Mortgage

SEE BROWN, PAGE A3

Meet the TRA students who qualified for honor choir. A10

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