THE LEADER THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2012 ▪ VO L . 1 2 8 , N O. 3 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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Police, mayor speak out on crime By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com COVINGTON – A meeting held Friday night to discuss safety awareness and crime was "a good give and take," said mayor David Gordon. But it was not without some sobering moments. One resident shared an allegation of harassment by officers and another shared her son was randomly assaulted by a carload of probable gang
members. One resident, Jana Jones, told city leaders she was afraid to be outside. "Whether these are gang members or wannabes, when you can't go outside without fear of being killed, that's a bad thing." Gordon said he spends sleepless nights worrying about crime in his city. "As mayor, that's depressing thinking your citizens are afraid to be outside," he said.
To combat the recent wave of criminal activity, which police chief Tim Glass said is happening everywhere, officers have teamed up with deputies from the Tipton County Sheriff's Office to conduct more foot patrols up and down city streets. Many residents attribute crime to the city's known problem with gangs, however Glass said crime is more associated with drugs. Other problems, he told the
crowd, are lack of community involvement and repeat offenders. A year ago, Teresa Mason's son Darius "Dee Dee" Heaston was shot in Frazier Park on a busy summer night, with a lot of people in the park, but even a reward raised from $5,000 to $7,500 has left police without solid witnesses. "In the '80s when I first started, I could put out a $100 bill and solve any crime in this town," he said. "We raised that
reward to $7,500 and have had no calls." One man, Tony Dewayne Davis, was arrested and charged with Heaston's murder, however Glass said the district attorney had to dismiss the case against Davis because of problems with a witness. Davis, who Glass said he believes is responsible for the murder, is currently free. Glass said he and his offiSEE CRIME, PAGE A3
SPORTS
Atoka to host park meeting Munford's Turner Weston (12) and Nick Harper (5) try to bring down Covington's Carlos Williams after he intercepted a pass on Munford's first play from scrimmage Friday night. Williams picked off another pass later in the first quarter as Covington rolled to a 49-7 win. Photo by Jeff Ireland
Isaac changes Covington game time By JEFF IRELAND jireland@covingtonleader.com The bad weather accompanied with Hurricane Isaac hasn't hit West Tennessee just yet, but it's already affecting high school football. Covington's game that was scheduled for tomorrow night at Dyersburg has been moved to today at 7 p.m., marking the first time in recent history that an area high school
Hurricane's a game-changer The Chargers will face the Trojans tonight, instead of tomorrow, as West Tennessee is expected to see the remnants of Hurricane Isaac Friday.
football game has been rescheduled because of weather. “They thought it was a good idea because of the weather we're expecting,” said CHS athletic director
Mark McClain. “We're trying to get the word out to everybody that the game has been moved to Thursday.” Dyersburg High School has plans to host a college game on Saturday, which prompted the move to Thursday, McClain said. “They were worried because if the game couldn't be played Friday, it might've had to be moved to next week, which wouldn't have been good,” McClain said.
SCHOOLS
Four schools on Haslam's new Focus list the 10 percent of schools in the state with the largest achievement gap between groups of students, such as racial and ethnic groups, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, students with disabilities and Englishlanguage learners. Last week 167 of the state's schools were named Focus schools, including Austin Peay Elementary, Covington Integrated Arts Academy, Crestview Elementary and Crestivew Middle. "Schools on the Focus list
By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com When Tennessee was waived from the No Child Left Behind earlier this year, it created a new accountability program for schools. Schools are now designated in three categories – Reward, Priority and Focus – and four of Tipton County's 14 schools made the Focus list. Focus schools, said Kelli Gauthier, the Tennessee Department of Education's spokesperson, are
are not necessarily there because of low achievement," Gauthier said. "In fact, many showed excellent growth last year. Rather, the Focus designation provides districts the opportunity to look closely at particular subgroups of students who may be underperforming and to provide specific support and intervention." Schools on the Focus list have a subgroup success rate of less than five percent, according to information provided on the Tennessee Department
of Education's website (tn. gov/edcuation/accountability). "These schools will be eligible to apply for grants aimed at dramatically closing the achievement gap," she said. "Schools not awarded a competitive grant will be provided state resources to close their achievement gaps." The new accountability measures come as part of the First to the Top program, a program funded by $501 million in federal funds that aims at improvSEE FOCUS, PAGE A3
By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com A fire set by two juveniles this summer destroyed the pavilion at Atoka's Walker Park and now officials are making decisions about the rebuilding effort. City leaders have the option to rebuild the pavilion as it was or make changes to the park whose construction was only completed two years ago. "This is the perfect time to reassess the needs of the people who use the park," Koral said Monday. The meeting, which will be held tonight at 6:30 p.m., will give the public a chance to chime in and let officials know what changes they'd like to see with the park, if any. The city is considering three sketches. All incorporate soccer fields, picnic facilities and a playground, however these elements are in different locations in each rendering. One rendering features a proposed walking trail that would connect Walker Park, located at the corner of Meade Lake Road and Walker Parkway, with Pioneer Park, located near the opposite end of Walker Parkway. "We really want this to be a more usable space for the public," Koral said. "We want to know what elements of the park are used at present." The park was built in 2010 and was funded by a federal grant. It was named for Charles L. Walker who served as mayor for 41 years. The meeting will take place at Town Hall, located at 334 Atoka-Munford Avenue. The Leader's office will be closed on Monday, Sept. 3 in observance of Labor Day. We will reopen on Tuesday, Sept. 4. The deadline for advertising will be 10 a.m. on Tuesday. GOLD FOR FCCLA
INSIDE SETTING LOFTY GOALS With the return of sophomores Ann Marie Van Cleve and Callie McDaniel, as well as other key players, the Lady Chargers soccer team has set some lofty goals for this season. A20
Reader's Guide Opinion Obituaries Community Education Correspondents
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Faith Puzzles Classifieds Legals Sports
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Two BHS students bring home the gold from the STAR event. A8
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