THE LEADER THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 ▪ 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 ▪
A DREAM COME TRUE
$1
CIVIL COURT
Covington to pay $5.4M in damages By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com
Brighton Middle School students pose with three-year-old Maliya Irby after granting her wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation last week. Courtesy photo
BMS grants Disney wish By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com Friday was a day filled with surprises for threeyear-old Maliya Irby. Dressed in eye-catching sparkly boots and a tutu-like skirt, Maliya was all smiles as she learned her wish to visit Disney World was granted by Brighton Middle School. "It was very exciting," said Lee Ann Grantham, one of the school's National Junior Honor Society sponsors. Make-A-Wish is the NJHS
service project. In just one week, the middle school raised more than $7,500 for the fundraiser, more than $2,500 over the goal. "The honor society students actually voted to raise another $2,500 so we can be a two-wish school this year," Grantham said. Granting Maliya's wish was emotional for the students and Grantham said many cried during the reveal. You could hear a pin drop in the gym as students
dressed like popular Disney characters – such as Cinderella, Pochantas and Minnie Mouse – delivered the great news. Maliya's classmates from the Tipton County Preschool at Austin Peay Elementary made a special trip to the school to be there as the wish was granted. The preschool students donated a large portrait of Maliya, taken by Phil Ramsey and framed, to her family. When she was two months old, Maliya was diagnosed
with Stage 1 Wilms Tumors, which are cancerous tumors of the kidney. She also suffers from several other health conditions, but despite her struggles, grandmother Marilyn Muex said she's very loving. She and her family left to go to Disney World the following morning. "This was really great for our students," Grantham said. "They had a sense of accomplishment because they raised money and got to see where it goes. It shows them they can help."
BLACK HISTORY
Fayne reflects on integration, career By JEFF IRELAND jireland@covingtonleader.com Rickey Fayne, a former star athlete in Tipton County and an authority figure in the Tipton County school system for 35 years, stands 6-2 and weighs well north of 200 pounds. He looks pretty imposing. So when he cries, it gets one's attention. When Fayne, now 57, was in the sixth grade, he was one of the first black students to attend Brighton School, leaving behind all-black Bloomington School in 1966. One day a white student asked him to take a ride on his scooter. “I'd been trained,” says Fayne, tearing up and pausing between his words, “to stay with your brothers. You don't go anywhere with white folks.” Fayne followed his instincts, though, and rode around Brighton with the boy.
some Kool-Aid and a sandwich. The kid's mom showed up soon after that.
ALSO INSIDE Jerry "The King" Lawler's coming to town, B2
PARKS
Atoka project delayed indefinitely By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com
SEE ATOKA, A3
SEE FAYNE, A2
SPORTS ONE WIN AWAY Lady Cougars, Lady Chargers win region semifinals, B1
SEE SUIT, A3
In Atoka, plans for an amphitheater in Pioneer Park have been shelved for the time-being, officials announced last week. The proposed low-impact project has been delayed indefinitely as the Town of Atoka received approval to use the $500,000 Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant to assist in the purchase and installation of a splash pad in Walker Park. Atoka Parks and Recreation Director Brian Peel said in addition to the grant funds, money allocated to the amphitheater project would be reallocated for new picnic tables, trash cans and grills that are part of the Walker Park project. Pavilions and a splash pad are expected to be constructed this spring and open in July. The amphitheater was one of
Rickey Fayne was a well-known high school athlete in the 1970s. In this photo, he is shown outmanuevering Covington's Landon Smith for a rebound in the final of a Millington Invitational Tournament. He went on to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team. Courtesy photo
Eventually the pair got hungry and ended up at the kid's house. Fayne was invited inside and had
The City of Covington owes $5.4 million in damages to developers of the Sunrise and Cottonwood Place apartment complexes, a circuit court judge ruled on Feb. 15. The judgment was a dozen years in the making, said attorney J. Houston Gordon, and comes after a 2009 ruling that the city violated the federal Fair Housing Act in November 2000. The FHA makes it unlawful to "make unavailable or deny, a dwelling to any person because of race, religion, sex, familial status or national origin," but the court ruled the city was, in fact, guilty of this and more. In 2000, both Flat Iron Apartments, which would later be named Sunrise Apartments, and Cottonwood Place were approved for federal low income housing tax credits administered by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency. Both developments were located in zones designated for the construction of high density, multi-family residential properties and both seemed as if they'd be approved for construction by
HALF HIS SIZE
Reader's Guide Opinion A4 Obituaries A6 Community A7 Correspondents A8 Education A11
Sports Puzzles Faith Classifieds Legals
B1 B3 B4 B6 B7
A Covington man has lost more than half of his body weight A7
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