Three-Eight-Five Magazine Spring 2020

Our People • Our Stories

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385

Volume 4•Issue 3

Staff

Publisher Jack McNeely jack.mcneely@herald-citizen.com

Editor & Graphic Designer Don Foy don.foy@herald-citizen.com Contributors Lindsay McReynolds Kate Cook Jim Herrin Paige Stanage Ben Wheeler Scott Wilson Ben Craven Ad Composition Jody Webb Becky Watkins David Carvajal

Advertising Roger Wells Shaina McNeely Dusty Smith Stephanie Garrett Business Manager Sandy Malin Circulation & Distribution Keith McCormick Ronda Dodson

from the

Editor

To borrow a line from the Grateful Dead, “What a long, strange trip it’s been.” Since our previous magazine in January, we’ve seen unprecedented destruction and loss of life in our community from a tornado.

Then in the middle of the recovery, a pandemic shut most everything down, leaving many of our friends and neighbors unemployed, we hope temporarily. Everything was in doubt, even whether we would publish this magazine.

But here it is, and we hope you think it’s special. These are the stories of some of the people who ran to help their neighbors after the tornado. They ran in, not out.

These are the people who carried the injured past mounds of wreckage to a waiting ambulance.

These are the folks who drove through and over the debris to get survivors to safety.

These are the folks who faced the grim task of extricating bodies of the dead from what moments before had been their houses.

These are the heroes who live in our community. We will never forget what they did in the face of our nightmare.

385 Magazine is a publication of and distributed quarterly by the Herald-Citizen, a division of Cookeville Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored for retrieval by any means without written consent from the publisher.

385 Magazine is not responsible for unsolicited materials and the publisher accepts no responsibility for the contents or accuracy of claims in any advertisement in any issue. 385 Magazine is not responsible for errors, omissions or changes in information. The opinions of contributing writers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the magazine and its publisher.

Our mission is to promote the 385 zip code areas of the Upper Cumberland and to showcase their many attributes. We welcome ideas and suggestion for future editions of the magazine. Just send us a brief note via email. © 2020 Herald-Citizen 385 Magazine P.O. Box 2729 Cookeville, TN 38502 931.526.9715 Email: 385Magazine@herald-citizen.com

4 •385•Our People•Our Stories

Don Foy, Editor

Kim and Mike Phillips hold a photo of the daughter they were adopting, Bridgett McCormick, who was killed in the tornado. They are joined by daughter, Kayla Veers, and CPD Sgt. Jacob Byrd.

on the

Cover

Jack McNeely

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Contents HEROES: First Responders

8

Law enforcement officers, ambulance service paramedics and rescue squad members were some of the first heroes to arrive at the scene of the tornado.

The first heroes of the tornado were the people living in the neighborhoods who heard the cries and without a thought for themselves, rushed to help their neighbors.

18

HEROES: The Neighborhoods 26•

Photo Galleries Pictures taken by Herald-Citizen photographers of tornado cleanup work.

6•385•Our People•Our Stories

30•

Why I Love…

Cookeville Police Lt. Mike Herrick

Spring•2020•7

PCSO Deputy Josh Hull was off duty, but was one of the first on the tornado scene.

8 •385•Our People•Our Stories

HEROES

The first-responders who lived there were first to help others through aftermath of tornado Story by Jim Herrin

Photos by Jack McNeely

I

Putnam Rescue Squad member David Troglin in the Prosperity Pointe subdivision near Baxter.

n the aftermath of the deadliest tornado in Putnam County history, the county’s first responders rushed to provide help to those in need, even as they were themselves affected by the storms. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado first touched down in Putnam County at 1:49 a.m. March 3, about 2.5 miles northwest of Baxter, and grew deadlier as it moved east. “The tornado intensified to EF-1 and EF-2 intensity in the Prosperity Pointe subdivision just north of US 70N/Nashville Highway,” a weather service report said.

That’s the neighborhood of Putnam County Rescue Squad member David Troglin, who started going door-to-door within minutes.

“The third house I stopped at had been completely removed from the foundation, and I heard my neighbor screaming for help around back,” he said. “The rear basement wall had been pulled on top of the neighbor’s wife.”

Troglin started moving “chunks of concrete blocks” and was able to stabilize the woman’s open leg fracture until an ambulance arrived.

After checking on everyone in his neighborhood, he went to the McBroom Chapel Road area command post to offer help.

Kim Dyer of Putnam EMS had set up that command post in the park-

10•385•Our People•Our Stories

ing lot of McBroom Chapel church.

Dyer, who lives on Claude Loftis Road, had been awakened by her dogs and decided to seek more substantial shelter at the ambulance service building off South Willow Avenue. When the tornado struck neighborhoods she had just driven through, she quickly returned to the scene.

“We left the ambulance lights on, and I got on the P.A. to let them know we were there,” she said.

“Within 10 minutes, I had 30 or 40 people coming up.”

Her partner, Paramedic Zach Crandall, also responded from his home on Shipley Road.

“It was people carrying kids and people holding their broken arms up or limping,” he said. “One woman

came up to me and she had a little girl wrapped up in a blanket and said ‘do something,’ I said, ‘sure, what’s her name and she said I don’t know.

I found her in the road.’ That’s when it sank in that this was a lot worse than I could even fathom.”

After assessing the girl, who had a head injury, but was “breathing and was semi-responsive,” Crandall turned his attention to the next casualty.

“A group of civilians came up with a woman, who looked lifeless, on a door,” he said. “This woman was not breathing, but I got her and positioned her airway and she took a big, deep gasp in.”

With Crandall attending to the victim in the back of an ambulance and Dyer needed to coordinate

CPD officer and Putnam Rescue Squad member Mike Herrick and EMS Zach Crandall on a pile of rubble off Hensley Drive.

things from the command post, Mike Herrick, a CPD officer who has a background in EMS and was working with the Rescue Squad that morning, was recruited to drive the ambulance to the hospital. A second, less critically injured, patient sat next to him in the front seat.

Herrick said his early morning search through the neighborhoods of North McBroom Chapel Road and Hensley Drive was surreal.

“It was silent until I passed the one house standing next to the church.

Then I heard what turned out to be the fire alarms from all the houses

that were destroyed,” he said. “Then all I heard was screaming.”

The weather service said the tornado arrived at McBroom Chapel after intensifying to an EF-3 as it crossed Bloomington Road and Clemmons Road.

“The phone alarm went off right Spring•2020•11

CPD Lt. Anthony Leonard responded to the site with an ATV to navigate more easily through the massive debris. when it hit my neighborhood,” said Cookeville Police Lt. Chase Mathis. “The wind was roaring, and all of the sudden, stuff started smacking the house.”

Mathis said he “heard a big pop when, I guess, the transformer and all the power lines went down and all of the power went out.”

“I looked out, and there was, like, hazard lights out in the cattle pasture,” he said. “I thought ‘that’s odd, that doesn’t belong there,’ so I threw some boots and blue jeans on and took off down the road.”

He met up with Officer Colby Fox, who lives nearby, and they started checking houses, “just trying to account for people.”

As they were about to leave the area, four people came walking up to them from out of the woods.

“One is carrying something wrapped up in a blanket that turned out to be a toddler, and the other is carrying a small child,” Mathis said. “I grabbed the toddler because the woman was obviously exhausted. They’re barefooted.

They’re obviously in their nighttime clothes.”

They told Mathis they had come from a home on Mockingbird Hill Circle, but were uncertain as to how they got to Clemmons Road.

12•385•Our People•Our Stories

The Phillips family at their Herald Court homesite.

“We had them taken to a house that we were using as a makeshift safe area until we could get them to the hospital,” he said.

By that time, Mathis’ colleague, CPD Sgt. Jacob Byrd, was on the scene at Herald Court. Although he had been tracking the storms through the night, he learned of the tornado through a phone call.

“Mike and Kim Phillips called on our non-emergency line and said they were trapped inside their house,” he said.

Mike is a former Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper who now works as an officer for Volunteer State. His wife, Kim, is a sergeant with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.

“We’re only here by the grace of God,” Mike said. “That thing came through our front door.”

He said the two were asleep when the alert sounded on their phones.

“I ran upstairs and as soon as I turned left into our nine-year-old’s room, the windows just exploded in

A makeshift memoral for Bridgett McCormick near her home. the house,” he said. “I remember laying on my back and seeing the house fall and thinking ‘this is it,’ but it’s like God placed us in a furniture fort because the couch, the chair and the

table were all pulled together.”

That’s the situation Byrd found when he arrived.

“I could hear them, but I couldn’t see them,” he said. “The only thing

Spring•2020•13

PCSO dispatcher Randy Whiteaker made the call to ‘roll everybody’ when the tornado touched down. that was keeping up the weight of that house was a couch that was wedged up like a post. We were able to get Officer Rydr Cook into that hole, and me and the other officer, Jordan Harris, were trying to put our backs up against the weight because we were really nervous that the couch was going to give any second.

If it did, we were all in for it, but we had to get them out to medical help.”

The Phillips, who are foster parents, ended up with multiple stitches. Their daughter, Bridgett McCormick, who they were in the process of adopting, did not survive.

“Jacob, when they knew Bridgett was gone, said ‘I’m not leaving her here,’ and he picked her up over his shoulder and carried her probably half a mile down the road to an ambulance,” Phillips said. “That was amazing.”

Like others, Byrd then began going door to door.

“We were just trying to get everybody help,” he said. “That’s our job.

14 •385•Our People•Our Stories

We weren’t thinking about anything other than getting people help, trying to find everyone and anyone we could.”

Lt. Anthony Leonard arrived on the scene with a Polaris ATV to help officers access some of the roads.

“When I pulled up, there were also a bunch of residents out on foot trying to help with the rescue,” he said. “Those neighbors really came together. They put together a small army, and that was extremely helpful.”

Leonard helped coordinate efforts at a temporary command post that had been established at the Dipsy Doodle restaurant. As the scope of the rescue and recovery work expanded, the command post was relocated to a machine shop on West Broad Street.

“Barry and Diane Wilson were great to us,” said Lt. Tony Branch with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. “They opened up that shop and gave us free rein.”

Branch was at home in Silver Point when the tornado alert on his phone woke him up.

“Back toward the Baxter area, I could see a really dark cloud that really didn’t look right,” he said.

Like other first responders that morning, he immediately got ready to go in to work.

“I could tell from the radio traffic while I was enroute that we had significant casualties and a lot of damaged homes they were trying to sort through,” he said. “We had so many people responding, off-duty, I started trying to coordinate, so I knew who was there and where they were going.”

Deputy Josh Hull was one of those off duty officers, responding from his home in Cookeville. He and a shift sergeant were at the Dipsy Doodle discussing what needed to be done when they saw CPD Officer Craig Ragsdale “running up Highway 70” with a child in his arms.

“We assisted him to get that young

man directed toward the hospital because he needed medical attention,” Hull said. “He and I ran from the Dispy Doodle back down to Echo Valley Drive.”

Ragsdale’s home had been destroyed, but he was still assisting injured neighbors.

“His wife and children were in a minivan along with a couple of neighbors who had suffered injuries,” Hull said.

The two moved Ragsdale’s family to a neighbor’s house “to get them in the dry and do an assessment.”

“There was a young lady that had both legs broken, so I carried her down from the cul de sac down to Highway 70 to get her to medical personnel because she was starting to go into shock,” he said.

From there, Hull assisted the fire department as they extricated an elderly woman who was trapped under her house.

Back at the sheriff’s office, Dispatcher Randy Whiteaker and his partner had been watching the weather through the evening and keeping officers informed.

“I announced on the radio to all the units that we were under a tornado warning, to find some shelter if they can,” he said.

He then grabbed a portable radio and turned to the channel that storm spotters were using, hearing that there had been a confirmed touchdown.

“When I heard that, I started rolling everybody I had that way,” he said. “As dispatchers, we have to see everything with our ears, and just the tone of voice (from our units) was enough to let me know this was bad.”

Whiteaker had informed the sheriff’s department command staff of the situation even before the tornado hit.

“I had gotten a call from dispatch around 1 a.m., so I just went ahead and came on in to work,” said Maj. Greg Whittaker.

Whittaker said he first went to the home of a Cookeville city fireman off Plunk Whitson Road, where approx-

CPD Lt. Chase Mathis lives in the affected area and was one of the first on the scene to help victims. imately 30 people who were victims had gathered, and later responded to the McBroom Chapel and Hensley Drive area.

“I saw a lot of first responders who neglected their own safety to help others that morning,” he said. “Going across electrical lines or digging through debris. I’ve been out here a lot of years doing this job, and never had a prouder moment to be part of people willing to sacrifice.”

Sheriff’s Lt. Becky Wright added, “I knew the day was going to be emotional, but there was a mission.

There were so many people in need and so many things that needed to get done.”

Wright had helped search for victims on Herald Court before being sent over to the Echo Valley pool area.

“As I pulled up, they had recovered a body,” she said. “And with so much debris in the creek, it was highly likely we’d find somebody else.”

By that time, about 25 members of law enforcement, EMS, fire and rescue, including Mathis, were taking part in the search at Echo Valley.

“I’m a hands-on kind of guy. I feel helpless unless I’m doing something,” he said.

As Wright expected, searchers soon recovered, “a little tiny body”— the child of the woman they had found earlier.

Herrick said responders encountered similar situations in other areas.

“In the daylight, everybody I came across in the debris was deceased,” he said. “I’ve been in emergency services since 2000. I worked on an ambulance in Los Angeles County for two and a half years. I’ve seen gang violence and everything else, but this is the worst I’ve seen.”

The first responders say a debriefing held later in the week helped them decompress and start trying to process the tragedy.

“Most of that week, I had difficulty sleeping,” Herrick said. “I think we were prepared as best as we could be, but for a storm of this magnitude, no one had experienced anything like that.”

•385• Spring•2020•15

Kim and Mke Phillips have fostered six children over the years. After losing 13-year-old Bridgett McCormick to the March 3 tornado that claimed 19 lives in Putnam County, the family remains strong. From left, Rihanna Phillips, Charles Phillips, Destiny Phillips, Ethan McCormick, Cale Prater, Kim Phillips and Mike Phillips stand hand-in-hand overlooking what remains of their 2924 Herald Court residence.

16•385•Our People•Our Stories

Spring•2020•17

HEROES In the neighborhood

18 •385•Our People•Our Stories

I

Story by Lindsay McReynolds

n the hours and days that followed the most deadly, destructive tornado ever to hit Putnam County, those who survived, whether their homes made it or not, felt lucky to be alive. “When it first happened, it was so dark, you could just hear screaming.”

That’s how the Gambrell family described the tornado that claimed the lives and homes of many of their neighbors in the McBroom Chapel area.

“I barely got him in a secure room,” Lisa said of her husband, Barry.

“We’re blessed,” Lisa said. “At least close to 10 houses were destroyed in this area.”

Barry and Lisa Gambrell’s Mockingbird Hill Circle home, which was the same house Lisa grew up in, survived the storm.

“We had just remodeled it and moved back in,” Lisa said.

On the day President Donald Trump visited the McBroom Chapel area, Barry pointed to a brick house across the street that was completely leveled by the storm.

Much like Darrell and Amy Jennings’ home on North McBroom

Chapel Road was a refuge for many survivors, so was the Gambrells’.

“A dad and a daughter crawled out and made it to my house, an old couple across the street,” Barry said.

“I think I had about 10 people in my house who survived with minor injuries.”

“It’s amazing what a few seconds can do,” Lisa said.

Lisa and Barry’s home survived with some damage, likely caused by debris from other destroyed homes hitting theirs.

As they watched the president’s motorcade leaving their neighborhood, the couple already had pallets of shingles ready to make repairs.

Others were not so lucky. Just a few houses south, Stephanie Field and her son, Harlan Marsh, were among 11 in the neighborhood who died, including a family of three across the street, Josh and Erin Kimberlin and their son, Sawyer.

Nearly a week later, Gov. Bill Lee’s wife, Maria Lee, came to assist the survivors with Samaritan’s Purse, to clean up and help survivors search for anything they could save.

“We’re very sad for the lives lost and those left behind,” she said.

Tornado survivor Amy Jennings was one of those helping her neighbors recover anything she could.

“Our focus is our neighbors,” Amy

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said. “To do as much as we can.”

The Jennings received a tornado warning at 1:48 a.m. March 3.

“It was over by the time we got in the hallway. 2:01 was when it actually hit,” she said. “In five minutes, we went from tornado warning to our neighbors being gone.”

She said Darrell had tried to call 911 but couldn’t get through.

“He had his fire radio, and he screamed, ‘We need help! We’ve been hit!’”

That apparently woke up about 50 firefighters who responded.

The Jennings’ North McBroom Chapel Road home was one of few left standing. That made it a gathering place for the injured as they comforted each other in the dark.

“For some reason, everyone just came to our house,” Amy said. “Luke Carty, he’d bought a truck Saturday.

He busted out of it. He was picking up neighbors, off-roading to our house. We just had this room full of

scared people.”

Amy said Darrell tried to resuscitate Hattie Collins, the 4-year-old daughter of Matt and Macy Collins, but she didn’t survive.

Chad and Jill Mynatt, also neighbors of the Jennings, survived the tornado with their two children, Harper and Major, but Harper suffered a severe head injury.

“She had a frontal lobe injury,” Amy said. “She was brought to our house. We did what we could. We put shoes on everybody. We have to go shoe shopping because our kids gave away all their shoes. We put blankets and towels on everybody.”

The Jennings’ children, Megan Jennings, Ian Guidry and Daniel Jennings, helped carry injured children to waiting ambulances that couldn’t get through the wreckage.

“Our kids carried our neighbors’ babies to the church in the dark,” Amy said. “The ambulance could only get as far as the church. They

walked past five people (who were deceased already). I’m grateful it was dark.”

Both Cookeville Police Chief Randy Evans and Putnam Sheriff Eddie Farris both agreed it was difficult to get to the survivors and victims.

“Once we got to a certain point down Highway 70, the roads were just destroyed, blocked, from debris, trees, things all over the road,” Putnam Sheriff Eddie Farris said. “We had to send a mechanic down just to change tires, there was so much debris, nails. There was a point down there that everybody pretty much got out of their vehicles on foot, from the Westhaven neighborhood on down to Echo Valley, McBroom Chapel. We were just deploying everybody from a certain area. It was chaos, in between rescue, first aid, carrying victims, it really truly was a war zone.”

Law enforcement and civilians were working together to help the

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injured get to the hospital.

“A lot of triages were set up in people’s houses and yards,” Farris said. “RNs showing up from I don’t know where, highway patrol, deputies rendering first aid.”

Cookeville Regional Medical Center initiated their protocol for emergency response within minutes of the tornado hitting Putnam County.

By 10 a.m., barely eight hours later, CRMC Director of Communications Melahn Finley said they’d already treated 80 patients. Five were transferred to Erlanger.

Two went to University of Tennessee Medical Center.

One of those who was transferred to Knoxville was Harper Mynatt.

She spent about a month in UT Knoxville Medical Center.

“Today was a really good day,” Jill wrote on social media the day before Easter Sunday. “The past several weeks have been the most trying of my entire life. The grief and agony and pain have been almost too much to bear at times. But this weekend, we rejoice! Harper is with us! Our family is reunited!”

While Harper’s family stood by in the hospital, neighbors like Amy Jennings were searching for memorabilia among the wreckage of their homes.

“We’re still looking for Harper’s lovey. We have a feeling the lovey is there,” Amy said as she pointed to a pile of rubble behind the Mynatt home. “The back up lovey has been found, but you might as well have given her a potato.”

They also found items sentimental for those whose family members didn’t survive.

“They (volunteers) are here digging into layers and layers of dirt,” Amy said. “It’s amazing how you can dump the contents of a house into a backyard and find stuff.

“It’s neat to see belongings cherished that are savable,” she said.

“We’re finding awesome stuff for memories,” Amy said. “We found a Hattie Jo blanket in perfect condition.

Harper and Major’s baby blankets. We found their hospital bracelets. Finding stuff like that, it’s treasure, like if I found $1,000 out here.

“Keith and Cathy’s (Selby’s) house is over there. We found their class rings, we found their phones.”

Cathy’s phone was still working when it was recovered. “She (Cathy) missed a hair appointment,” Amy said.

“There’s text messages (from the morning of the tornado) asking if they’re okay.”

Putnam Emergency Management Agency Director Ty-

This fragment of a note was found in the debris. ler Smith said the tornado that hit Putnam County west of Cookeville and drove a quarter-mile-wide, two-mile path down Highway 70 could have been worse.

“The one that hit Putnam County went all the way almost to Bob’s (body shop),” Smith said.

A smaller, EF-0 tornado formed, and pulled the energy away from the more destructive EF-4.

“If that hadn’t formed, it would have hit Tech and the hospital,” Smith said.

Amy Jennings has a different thought.

“It’s all God,” Amy said. “God protected so many.”

•385•

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Spring•2020•21

With seven grandkids, I want to be there for all of it...

Now I can do everything that those kids can do, and they can do a lot.

THERESA ROMZEK Outpatient, Same-Day Total Knee Replacement Surgery

CRMC Offers Same-Day Total Knee Replacement

T

heresa Romzek of Cookeville, who had her right knee replaced a year ago as an inpatient, was excited to be Cookeville Regional’s first patient to have same-day, outpatient total knee replacement surgery when it came time to replace her left knee.

“I bragged that it took from 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.,” said Romzek, whose surgery was performed in late 2019.

Cookeville Regional is able to offer this major surgery on an outpatient basis because of several recent advances,

22•385•Our People•Our Stories

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Dr. John Turnbull checks Theresa Romzek’s range of motion after her total knee replacement. including robotic-assisted surgery and a new tourniquetless approach that reduces muscle damage, cutting pain and recovery time in half.

“We can’t offer same-day total knee replacement to all of our patients, but for a certain subset who are active and really want to get back into their lives quickly, we try to facilitate that for them if we think it’s possible and safe medically,” said Dr. John Turnbull, an orthopedic surgeon at Cookeville Regional and Tier 1 Orthopedic Institute.

Another crucial element in the success of outpatient total knee replacement is the addition of an orthopedic nurse navigator, Melissa Thompson, RN, BSN, ONN. “A big surgery like total knee or total hip replacement causes a lot of anxiety for a patient, and Melissa has really helped out in getting patients prepared so they know what to expect,” said Dr. Turnbull. “Within a month before surgery, our patients are meeting with her to get prepared for the process, to set their expectations reasonably and to make them more comfortable with the process.”

“They sent me home with the navigator’s number so I could call her at any time I felt worried or didn’t understand something,” said Romzek. “I was at physical therapy the next morning after surgery, and she was at my side then and for the next couple of weeks of therapy. I never felt alone, and that was all I needed.”

Romzek was walking without pain the day after her surgery, and within weeks, she was able to be more active for the first time in years, even hiking and walking in the river with her grandchildren.

CRMC Receives National Recognition in Orthopedics C

ookeville Regional Medical Center (CRMC) is recognized as Tennessee’s only hospital to receive the America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery Award™ for nine consecutive years, according to a national report by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.

CRMC was also recognized for the following clinical achievements in orthopedics: • ONLY IN TN – America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery™ for nine years in a row • ONLY IN TN – Orthopedic Surgery Excellence Award™ for 12 years in a row • ONLY IN TN – Nation’s Top 5% for Overall Orthopedic Services for four years in a row • ONLY IN TN – Nation’s Top 10% for Overall Orthopedic Services for 12 years in a row • 5-Star Recipient for Hip Fracture Treatment for 12 years in a row • 5-Star Recipient for Back Surgery for five years in a row The complete Healthgrades 2020 Report to the Nation and detailed study methodology can be found at partners.healthgrades.com/ healthgrades-quality-solutions/healthgrades-quality-awards/.

For more information about the orthopedics program at Cookeville Regional, call (931) 528-2541 or visit www.crmchealth.org.

PHYSICIANS REFERRAL LINE: (931) 783-2571 or (877) 377-2762

“With seven grandkids, I want to be there for all of it, and that’s what prompted me to get both of my knees done,” said Romzek.

“Now I can do everything that those kids can do, and they can do a lot.”

Spring•2020•23

Colorectal Screening Can Stop Cancer Before It Starts CRMG Makes It Easier Than Ever with Open Access Colonoscopy

I

n the United States, colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and in women, and the second most common cause of cancer deaths when men and women are combined.

It was expected to cause about 51,020 deaths during 2019.

SYMPTOMS Colorectal cancer might not cause symptoms right away, but if it does, it may cause one or more of these symptoms: • A change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation, or narrowing of the stool, that lasts for more than a few days • A feeling that you need to have a bowel movement that’s not relieved by having one

24 •385•Our People•Our Stories

• Rectal bleeding with bright red blood • Blood in the stool, which may make the stool look dark • Cramping or abdominal (belly) pain • Weakness and fatigue • Unintended weight loss

RISK FACTORS Those at greatest risk of developing colorectal cancer include….

• Anyone with a personal history of colorectal cancer or adenomas at any age • Anyone with a family history of colorectal cancer • Those with a well-documented family history of adenomas • Women diagnosed with uterine or ovarian cancer before 50 • Those with inflammatory bowel disease

Colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer can be prevented canbyberemoving prevented by removing suspicious polyps suspicious polyps RECOMMENDED SCREENINGS Colorectal cancer can be prevented by removing suspicious RECOMMENDED SCREENINGS polyps before they become cancerous and, if found early, the Colorectal cancer can be prevented by removing suspicious chances cure are much higher.and, if found early, the polyps before of they become cancerous chances of cure are much higher.

The patient will then fill out a brief medical history questionnaire they arehistory a candidate for the The patient will thento filldetermine out a briefifmedical open access program.

The questionnaire is for available questionnaire to determine if they are a candidate the online at crmedgroup.org/specialty/gastroenterology. open access program. The questionnaire is available online at

crmedgroup.org/specialty/gastroenterology.

Once the questionnaire is reviewed by a clinician, qualified patients will thenisbereviewed scheduled forqualified a colonoscopy.

Once the questionnaire by adirectly clinician, If will not then qualified for the open access the patient will patients be scheduled directly forprogram, a colonoscopy. be scheduled to see a gastroenterologist in the office If not qualified for the open access program, the patient will prior to scheduling colonoscopy. be scheduled to seethe a gastroenterologist in the office prior to • For normal-risk individuals, screening tests begin at age 50 and scheduling the colonoscopy. are repeatedindividuals, every 10 years.

• For normal-risk screening tests begin at age 50 and For high-risk individuals, screening colonoscopy needs to begin are •repeated every 10 years. before age 50 and be repeated at more frequent • For high-risk individuals, screening colonoscopy needsintervals to beginas a physician. beforerecommended age 50 and beby repeated at more frequent intervals as For more information, please visit recommended by a physician.

The strategy for reducing colorectal Thecancer strategy for reducing deaths is simple.colorectal cancer deaths is simple.

For more information, please visit crmedgroup.org/specialty/gastroenterology crmedgroup.org/specialty/gastroenterology or call the gastroenterology office of Cookeville or call the gastroenterology office of Cookeville Cookeville Regional Medical Group’s gastroenterologists now offer an “open access colonoscopy” program for the convenience Regional Medical Group at offer of antheir “openpatients. access colonoscopy” program for the convenience Regional Medical Group at

OPEN ACCESS COLONOSCOPY OPENCookeville ACCESSRegional COLONOSCOPY Medical Group’s gastroenterologists now

of their patients.

Open access colonoscopy allows a patient who has met certain Openhealth accesscriteria colonoscopy a patient who hasand metbecertain to skipallows the initial office visit scheduled healthdirectly criteriafor to askip the initial office visit and be scheduled colonoscopy. Patients may be referred to the directly for a colonoscopy.

Patients be referred to theinsurance does program by their primary caremay provider or, if their program their aprimary or, ifcall their does to not by require referral,care theprovider patient may theinsurance office directly not require a referral, the patient may call the office directly to schedule a colonoscopy exam. schedule a colonoscopy exam.

(931) 783-2616.

(931) 783-2616.

Spring•2020•25

As Putnam County tried to dig out from under the debris of the March 3 tornado, thousands of men, women and children volunteered to help with cleanup. Here are four pages of pictures of some of those volunteers.

Volunteers

Josh Forgey pushes a wheelbarrow full of boxes to help in collection of personal items scattered in the tornado.

Above, volunteers drag what’s left of a side or roof of a utility building to the side of the road for collection. At right, students Micah Kincaid, Kate Anderson, Jamal Aquilar and Aidan Jones carry relief supplies to homeowners and volunteers cleaning up after the tornado.

PUTNAM

1 MERCANTILE BANK ST

26•385•Our People•Our Stories

200 West Jackson St., Cookeville 931•528•MERC(6372) www.1stmerc.net

Putnam County Strong!

Spring•2020•27

Volunteers

Rachel McCormick, right, and her daughter, Ella, salvage items from Rachel’s sister-in-law’s home on Herald Court.

CITIZENS BANK 28 •385•Our People•Our Stories

51 E. Jackson Street | Cookeville, TN | 528.1999 www.citzcar.com

Volunteers sift through debris on Herald Court.

Helping families receive peace of mind since 1930.

Speck & Livingston Funeral Homes and Cremation | Livingston, TN | SpeckFuneral.com Spring•2020•29

Why I Love…

Cookeville

Mike Herrick, Cookeville Police How did you get started in police work?

I spent 5 years in the U.S. Coast Guard covering inland waterways in 5 counties in Northern California. Then I worked for an ambulance service in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties in California before moving to Tennessee in 2005. I started with the Cookeville Police Department in 2006 and began volunteering with the Putnam County Rescue Squad in 2014.

What is the best part of your job?

I am the Community Relations and Juvenile Programs Coordinator, and I tell everyone that I have the best job at the police department. I get to go out and speak at all of the community events and in every school. I get to show people that police officers are people too. Being involved with the Putnam County Rescue Squad allows me to continue to use my medical skills.

I am a first responder, along with being the Dive Team leader and an active member of the Swiftwater Rescue team.

Why are police, rescue so important?

Like many people in this community, as a first responder, we had to go from responding to an EF-4 tornado into dealing with the pandemic in a six-week period. Even under a Safer at Home mandate, bad things happen. People get sick, they get hurt, they do the wrong thing sometimes. Police, firefighters, nurses and all other first responders have to respond to the calls for service when they are needed. First responders have always thought about it, but it is ever more important now to think of what you have encountered during your day and the possibility of bringing it home and contaminating your home and those around you. The thing for everyone to remember is that we as first responders will still be there if needed.

AP Your Pets

Home Home Away From

Our mission is to provide a comfortable, clean, safe environment for your pet so they will enjoy staying with us when they can not stay at home!

3213 Cookeville Highway, Livingston • 931.498.3228 www.creaturecomfortspetretreat.com

30•385•Our People•Our Stories

visit us at VCAhospitals.com to sign up for a FREE pet health exam!

3207 Cookeville Hwy, Livingston • 931.498.3153

It is your life, your story, leave your Signature on it.

Providing Signature Service 24 hours a day

931-526-6384

crestlawnmemorial.com • Spring•