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THE LEADER
SERVING TIPTON COUNTY SINCE 1886 | COVINGTONLEADER.COM | VOL. 124, NO. 44 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2010
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Project Play set to reopen By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com
COVINGTON – Thursday the long-awaited Project Play grand opening will take place in Cobb-Parr Park. The event, a culmination of hundreds of hours of sweat equity by volunteers, comes six months after the playground was destroyed by arsonists. Organizer Lee Johnston,
who has been a key force in the rebuilding effort, said the grand opening is a chance to begin anew. “This is a new playground,” he said. The playground was designed by engineers at the Feathers Company, the same company responsible for the previous structure’s design. Though the new equipment is similar to its predecessor,
there have been some additions made, Johnston said. “There’s a contained area for small children where the parents can turn them loose and they can play,” he said. “There are also additional swings, slides and two misters the kids can run through if they get hot.” Johnston and more than 200 volunteers worked on the rebuild for nine days during
the second warmest summer on record. Much of the summer was spent under excessive heat warnings and with heat indices over 100 degrees most days, conditions were dangerous but volunteers cautiously pressed on. “I think we picked the hottest week in June and the hottest weekend in July to work, but the volunteers worked anyway,” said Covington Mayor
David Gordon. “That shows their commitment to this community.” After hundreds of hours of construction and landscaping, the playground will reopen to the public Thursday during a grand opening ceremony in the park. The festivities will include drawings for country hams from Billings Bald Butcher restaurant in addition to gift cards for volunteers. SEE PLAY, PAGE A2
Longtime county clerk retires By TIFFANY HOLLAND tholland@covingtonleader.com In 1968 as the America was going through a tumultuous time of change, 18 year old Pam Deen was taking on a new change of her own by taking a job at the county clerk office. But since then, as the county expanded through the years, Pam Deen has remained for 42 years, but that all came to end on Tuesday when she retired after her tireless service to her community. After working for a city judge in Millington the former county clerk Clara McMillan saw Deen in church and told her there was a job opening in her office and she was hired immediately. “I remember there was just four of us in a pickup truck going to work then,” said Deen. “The population was so small and not many people had cars so we just all rode to the office together.” The county clerk office also had other duties such as juvenile court, which would move to general sessions in 1982. But as the population increased the clerk’s office would hire more people. “Car tags were due in March and April so those months were so busy and the lines were so long,” said Deen. “But then we started the current system where it’s due every month to make things smoother.” In spite of all the new help, Deen has a permanent indention on her thumb for writing so many licenses, which use to be done by hand. After being elected to the county clerk in 1994, Deen has become a fixture associated with the SEE DEEN, PAGE A2
Mobile meth lab found at campground By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com BURLISON – Rose of Sharon Campground is well-known for its annual Christmas lights and displays, but Sunday was the scene of a meth lab bust, officials with the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office said. Just before midnight, deputies responded to the Glory Circle facility after reports of suspicious activity were made. Brother Carlton Rose, who for more than a decade has operated a rehabilitative ministry, said just after 11 p.m. Sunday night a car pulled into the campground without its lights on, which alerted an employee. Rose alleges the people in the car were there to steal gas. The two men had previously spent time in the facility, after being court-ordered to do so, and he said they knew where he kept the gas. “They never would have been at the campground if they didn’t run out of gas,” Rose said. Rose said after one of the men tried to run away, he took the key from the vehicle and let the trio believe he was finding gas for them. He called for deputies instead. “In a matter of minutes the first officer arrived,” Rose said. And when they did, they found more than just a trio who’d run out of gas. A “shake and bake” lab, meaning a contained meth lab, was found at the scene. After the trio discovered law enforcement had been called, they attempted to hide items behind SEE METH, PAGE A2
Three generations of the Naifeh family pose inside the Covington Naifehʼs grocery store. From left to right: manager Judson Naifeh, wife Dana, daughters Ally and Abby, son Oney and parents Sandra and Joe Naifeh. The business started on the square in Covington by Joe Naifeh, Judson Naifehʼs great-grandfather, in 1910 is now 100 years old. Photo courtesy Naifeh family.
Naifeh’s celebrates 100 years By TIFFANY HOLLAND tholland@covingtonleader.com A common saying is that a business needs to be profitable for three years in order to be a success. Since Naifeh’s has been up and running for 100 years this year, it is fair to say that not only is the grocery store a success, but a piece of history as well. This history will be celebrated on Wednesday, Sept. 8 beginning at 10 a.m. at the front of the Covington Naifeh’s store. Owners Joe and Sandra and Judson and Dana Naifeh invite customers to attend and have some refreshments and take advantage of some of the new sales all as a part of the store’s 100-year anniversary. Naifeh’s will also be giving out birthday t-shirts to the first 100 customers. For the next month, they plan on giving 100 items to the first 100 customers at both the Covington and Munford stores. The anniversary sale will last until Oct. 5 with some sales continuing all year. There will also be drawings for special bags of groceries and prizes at the end of it. The sales and specials are not an advertising venture, but a way for the store to give back to the community that kept in it business for a century. Synonymous with the city of Covington, Naifeh’s was formed in 1910 by Joseph Naifeh on the East Side of the Square. Ten years later, his son Oney Naifeh came to Covington from Beirut, Lebanon to help his father run the
Joe, Judson and Oney Naifeh pose for this undated photo. “Mr. Oney” was a fixture in the grocery store, well-known for handing out Dum Dum pops and keeping the cereal aisle organized. Photo courtesy Naifeh family.
store, a tradition that remains in the Naifeh family to this day. After Joe Naifeh died in 1929, Oney took over and had the first meat market in town. He also sold the first bottle of milk, loaf of bread, frozen orange juice and had the first shopping carts. Oney would also go on to buy out several grocery stores in Covington while keeping his store on the Square until 1966, when he moved into business with his son Joe who had worked in the store since he could walk. “I remember selling bottle of cokes there for a nickel when I was six or seven years old,” said Joe. “My father (Oney) just loved this store. He loved talking to the customers. It is my favorite part
now too.” Joe had built Naifeh’s Lucky Food Store at its current location on the Highway in Covington in 1963 and from there it grew in size. In 1994, Joe’s son Judson decided on joining the grocery business and has been the operator of the Covington store since. “I worked here in high school and went to college and wasn’t sure at first if I wanted in the grocery business,” said Judson. “But I came back and thought it was right for me. And I am so glad I did. I love being here.” In 1997, the Naifeh’s expanded by opening a store in Munford. While Judson and his wife Dana are the current Naifeh’s storeownSEE NAIFEHS, PAGE A5
AREA Area EVENTS events
Covington • Barretville • Millington • Collierville South Tipton • South Covington Morgage Offices: South Tipton • Millington • Arlington • Collierville
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This week’s This week’sFeatured featuredChurch: church:
9/2/10 5:30 p.m. Project Play Grand Opening Cobb Parr Park
Turn A7forfordetails details Turn to to Page Page A7
9/25/10 8 a.m. Heritage Day
Big Creek Church
9/1/10 5:36:46 PM