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Volume 107, Number 48, Wednesday, April 18, 2012

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CHIEF DENIES WRONGDOING Latest development in Bethel Springs police scandal By Jeff Whitten Head News Writer

CHESTER CO. REPEATS

AIM TEA PARTY

Bobcats fall to eagles in title game PAGE 1B

Alice in Wonderland performers wow children PAGE 2A

Paul Simpson, attorney for Bethel Springs Chief of Police T. E. “Pee Wee” Sowell, has issued a press release on his behalf denying any wrongdoing. “Chief Sowell has always conducted himself in a lawful and efficient manner as Police Chief of Bethel Springs and in his duties on December 4, 2011 issued a warning ticket according to proper police procedure. It is Chief Sowell’s position that he did

nothing wrong and the investigation by the District Attorney will vindicate him,” the statement said. Sowell was suspended without pay by Mayor Kay Cox in March. At the April 9 meeting of the Board of Aldermen, Cox said one of the reasons Sowell was suspended was that he changed a traffic ticket to a warning after it had been turned into the office. The board voted to pay Sowell retroactively for the past month in order to put him on an equal footing with policeman Bandy Burney, who had been suspended with pay,

after he was charged with patting Tiffany Shoate on the shoulder during a traffic stop. The board also voted not to pay either this month. The attorney general is investigating whether Sowell committed any illegal act. The board said that they would decide Sowell’s fate at a future meeting, depending on the results of the attorney general’s investigation. Alderman Bobby Gray moved to abolish Bethel Spring’s police department, but the motion was denied due to the lack of a second.

Attempted animal fighting conviction Car crashes into house trailer Offender gets probation, $50 fine By Christen Coulon

healthy and had food and water. However, the officers discovered that the food Ellis was referring to were the corpses of the pig and A Michie man was convicted of attempted cock goat. Ellis claimed to have found the animals dead on his property three days prior, and animal fighting, a Class A and said that he threw them into misdemeanor, in McNairy Counthe pin for his dogs to eat. ty General Sessions Court on Deputies were reported to April 5. Dogfighting is a centuries old activity have told Ellis at the scene that it Brent A. Ellis was initially which is now banned in all 50 states. was apparent that his dogs were charged with cock and animal fighting, a Class E felony, follow- Baiting is the term for placing a weak- not going to eat the dead aniing a February 16 incident when er animal into a cage with a fighting mals. West said that he cited Ellis McNairy County Sheriff’s Depu- dog. The dog is then expected to kill or for the fighting or baiting of anities, Jamie West and Sgt. Steve maul the weaker animal. mals and instructed him on the Ellsworth found a dead baby pig and baby goat in a pin with two In a recent investigation by the Inde- scene to properly dispose of the grown rottweilers during an in- pendent Appeal, area animal care pro- animal corpses. Following his conviction, Elspection of Ellis’s property on fessionals said that many stray pets Rushing Road. and other types of animals are used as lis was fined $50 by the court, ordered to pay court costs, The officers arrived on scene, bait for training fighting dogs. and was prohibited from any following a report of animal cruattempt to train dogs to fight. elty at that location. According to the incident report filed by (Editor’s note: Tennessee law prohibits all citizens West, Ellis claimed that his dogs were all from training dogs to fight.) Editor

v DID YOU KNOW?

Staff Photo by Jeff Whitten

A car crashed into a mobile home at Bethel Springs last Thursday, seriously injuring the driver. According to the electronic crash report provided by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Ricky J. Kyle, 19, of Selmer, was eastbound on Murray School Road, in a gray 1994 Pontiac Firebird. As he was negotiating a right hand curve, he lost control, ran off the left side of the road and struck a house trailer, causing heavy damage to it. Kyle suffered incapacitating injuries, was transported by Emergency Medical Services helicopter to the Med in Memphis. A spokesperson for the Med told the Independent Appeal last Monday that Kyle was in serious condition. He was cited for alleged recklessness and carelessness and violation of the financial responsibility law (lack of insurance).

Officers crack down on sex offenders in operation spring cleaning By Jeff Whitten Staff Writer

Officers from the U.S. Marshall’s office, the McNairy County Sheriff’s Department, the Selmer Police Department and the Narcotics Unit conducted a check on registered sex offenders in the county last Wednesday. During the sweep officers arrested Tommy Neal Miller of Bethel Springs and Willie Earl Spencer of Selmer for failure to register. Officers also captured Christopher Dale Roberson who was at large with warrants signed and Phillip Dale Kimmel (no charges listed). Dubbed operation Spring Cleaning, the officers checked on the registered sex offenders in the county. The U. S. Marshall’s office for the Western District of Tennessee got involved in cooperating with local law enforcement authorities in order to determine whether sex offenders were compliant with the terms of their probation or whether they were absconders due to the Adam Walsh Act, according to Inspector Don Hankinson of the U. S. Marshall’s office. The marshal’s office has an inspector in each of the 94 federal districts in the country. Each of these inspectors work with state and local law enforcement to set up a compliance operation, such as the one conducted here. Officers from the marshal’s office met with officers from the Sheriff’s Department and the Selmer Police Department previously in order to set up the operation. “We decided to do a compliance check out here to make sure that everybody’s registered and

MILLER ROBERSON SPENCER where they are supposed to be or if they’re missAs in many other Tennessee counties, this is ing in action,” Hankinson said. the first time such an operation has been conThe marshal’s service has the authority to as- ducted in McNairy County, in the 15 years Stricksist state and local law enforcement and to open land has worked in the Sheriff’s office. up an investigation of their own if the offender Hankinson has been doing this for three years crosses state lines and is residing in another state. and in most of the 12 West Tennessee counties he This is called an Adam Walsh investigation, Han- has worked, this is the first operation. kinson said. “They plan to do more after that,” Hankinson “We can charge some of these sex offenders said. with a federal violation, an Adam Walsh Act violaThere are 54 registered sex offenders in Mction,” Hankinson said. Nairy County, but officers did 57 checks because There are seven sheriff’s deputies and police some were added to the list by the Tennessee Buofficers and six from the marshal’s office, accord- reau of Investigation, Strickland said. ing to Chief Deputy Allen Strickland of the Sher“The important thing about this is that there iff’s Department. are three agencies working on this. For society, Sex offenders can have various conditions of these people are not just living wherever they probation or parole. Those convicted with crimes want, doing whatever they want. We are going to against a minor cannot be within 1,000 feet of a check on them. They will comply or there will be school or children’s playground. Officers will want warrants issued,” Strickland said. to know that offenders are living, working or goThe Sex Offender Registration and Notificaing to school where they are supposed to. tion Act passed in 2006, also known as the Adam

Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. This act requires that sex offenders register and be monitored after they rejoin society. The marshal’s service first had the personnel in place to work with state and local authorities in 2009. Different states imposed registration requirements in a piecemeal manner and sex offenders were moving to states where there were no such requirements prior to the passage of the federal law and laws in all 50 states. The sheriff’s department plans to participate in this operation at least once a year and to do its own checks in addition, Strickland said. “The Marshall’s service has done an amazing job for us. They have been very helpful,” Strickland said. In one recent case, a sex offender who left the county and state was located within three days, Strickland said. “They are very competent and capable. They do an awesome job,” Strickland said. “I’m always glad when someone is willing or wanting us to come out and work with them and do a compliance operation,” Hankinson said. Hankinson said it is good to be able to check on registrants because if they only go to an office and say where they live, you have to take their word. “We’re only a phone call away and if there is something we can help them on, not just sex offender warrants or sex offender registry, but any other violent felons, we’ll be glad to try to help out and state and local (law enforcement) that needs assistance,” Hankinson said.

Churchwell inducted into Rockabilly Hall of Fame By Jeff Whitten Head News Writer

Milledgeville agent/manager/ promoter Reggie Churchwell was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame last Saturday in Jackson. The induction speech was given of Louise Mandrell of the Mandrell sisters. “Most people think: what is the least I can do to help the situation? Reggie thinks: what is the very most I can do to help the situation?” Mandrell said. “I love you for all you have done for my family. Thank you for letting me be here. My sisters are jealous,” she continued. Letters of congratulations were read from Scotty Moore of Elvis Presley’s band, the Skiing Squirrel, the Oak Ridge Boys, George Jones and Barbara Mandrell. “I think of you often from my little one-room cage here at the Animal Actors Retirement Home in Hollywood, Calif.,” the letter from the squirrel said. The letter from the squirrel went on to note that Churchwell got his start in show business as a professional table cloth puller. Friend and fellow promoter Rod Harris also talked about one of

Churchwell’s adventures as a table cloth puller. He said that after seeing Churchwell successfully pull off a table cloth, he noticed that everyone sitting around the table picked up the dishes. Such dignitaries as Milledgeville Mayor Dannie Kennedy ABC 7 weather man Mike McEvoy and St. Sen. Lowe Finney spoke at the event. Kennedy presented Churchwell a plaque from the citizens of Milledgeville, honoring his achievement. Churchwell is the only agent/manager/promoter ever to be inducted into the hall of fame. In accepting the plaque, Churchwell told a story of someone who once said that Milledgeville was the hub of the world and you could go anywhere from there. “That is what I tried to do,” Churchwell said. “He likes to put smiles on people’s faces,” promoter Steven Tolman. “I was flattered that I was asked, surprised I might add,” Churchwell said in accepting the induction. Churchwell noted that he had retired as a table cloth puller due to injury. He acknowledged that he worked with the Water Skiing Squirrel but did not know the squirrel had retired.

Staff Photo by Jeff Whiten

Reggie Churchwell, McNairy County native, at his induction to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame last Saturday.

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