Top 10 Stories of 2003
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Where is Dr. Kumar? The mysterious disappearance of Dr. Kodehalli Prasannakumar from behind his home on Collins River Drive on Jan. 14 stirred questions and speculation for two months.
The questions were answered in March when the body of the local physician was found floating several miles downstream, his death attributed to suicide. However, the fact rescue squad members were unable to find the doctor in the relatively shallow waters of the Collins River invoked much speculation following his disappearance.
A friend told lawmen Kumar had threatened suicide and then ran toward a dock on the river behind his home. When authorities arrived, they found only a set of footprints leading to the river’s edge, a single shoe on the dock and a sweater, belonging to Kumar, floating in the water. Rescue squad boats scanned the river for days but were unable to find the doctor’s body, with officials saying the 32 degree water temperature would have killed anyone in the water in a matter of minutes.
The discovery of his body at Rock Island by fishermen led investigators to surmise the doctor’s body had been swept away by heavy currents, explaining why he was not found during dragging operations.
During his time in Warren County after immigrating here from his native India, Kumar was known as a philanthropist. He opened the House of Hope shortly before his death, providing a place for people with troubles to seek refuge and medical treatment, regardless of their ability to pay. The house was bulldozed recently as the property is for sale.
Men storm trailer, set lady on fire
In what lawmen called one of the most heinous crimes in memory, a 35-year-old woman was set on fire while she slept in a trailer at Measels Terrace View Estates in September.
The victim, Gina Thompson, suffered burns over 85 percent of her body and died eight days later. Prosecutors believe Thompson was doused in gasoline and set on fire by her attackers. She bolted from the trailer, still in flames, and sought help from a nearby resident.
Three suspects, two of whom had arrived in Tennessee just seven hours before the incident, were charged with murder a short time after the crime.
The suspects, Ruben Pimentel, 32, Luiz De La Cruz, 26, and his stepbrother, Luiz Gomez, 19, all face the death penalty if convicted. Their cases are set to go trial this summer and they are being held in lieu of bond.
Investigators believe the men became angry because they believed Thompson either stole or hid their drugs. The suspects then went to the residence, with one setting Thompson on fire as she slept on a couch while the others prevented witnesses from helping her.
Jealous husband kills two and himself
A jealous husband opened fire in July at Treemont Apartments, killing his estranged wife, the son of the landlord and himself.
The shooter, Kevin Lewis Martin, 33, began his rampage at the densely populated complex around 2 p.m., shooting Daniel Lee Cole, 22, at close range with a shotgun as he approached Martin’s vehicle. Martin then exited the vehicle, with which he had crashed into his estranged wife’s vehicle, and walked toward her apartment. He confronted Katrina Jean Nunley, 31, on the steps, where she stood talking on the phone to 911. He fired a round, killing her on the steps. Martin then stepped behind the complex and shot himself in the head.
It was later determined Martin had borrowed the shotgun earlier in the day and had made veiled threats. Lawmen believe Cole was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that Martin had initially planned to kill his estranged wife and himself.
Locals sent across world to attack Iraq
After giving Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein an ultimatum to leave his country by March 19, the United States went to war with Iraq days later.
Dozens of Warren County soldiers were among the estimated 200,000 troops initially deployed in the Persian Gulf area. Warren County had its residents fighting on the front lines, providing support aboard Navy aircraft carriers and missile launchers, and piloting planes.
Beginning the war by what was called the “Shock and Awe” stage, the U.S. pounded Iraq for 24 hours with bombs dropping virtually every minute. Ground troops were then sent in and received surprisingly little resistance in their march toward Baghdad.
American and British forces stormed through the country with such ease, President Bush announced the war was officially over May 1. After a prolonged search — that included killing two of his sons — Hussein was finally captured earlier this month.
While Hussein has been found, the vast arsenal of weapons of mass destruction he was said to possess has never been located.
As of figures released Monday, Dec. 22, some 463 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq. On or since May 1, when Bush declared the war over, 325 U.S. soldiers have died. Since the start of the war, 2,310 U.S. service members have been injured as a result of hostile actions.
Around 125,000 U.S. troops are still deployed in the Persian Gulf. The U.S. has already allocated over $160 billion for the war and rebuilding Iraq.
WastAway begins new process, injects jobs into local workforce
In a year rife with stories of economic troubles, the startup of WastAway, an innovative recycling process, was a breath of fresh air for Warren County residents worried about the loss of manufacturing jobs in the area.
The company signed an agreement with the county in October, 2002 to process all of the county’s household garbage once the previous contract with BFI ran out in June of this year. WastAway has managed to not only fulfill that original contract, but has offered to take the city of McMinnville’s garbage as well.
The process developed by WastAway takes household garbage and converts it into a product called “fluff” which can be used as is for various purposes, such as mulch for the nursery industry, or molded into a sturdy building material which functions much like wood for construction applications. In the process, the company has, in addition to providing a significant number of local jobs, purchased the former Aquatech and Findlay buildings, thus utilizing two structures left empty when those companies shut down and left the area.
But unfortunately, the startup of the fledgling company has not been without controversy. Some city residents in the area around the former Aquatech building have complained bitterly about the smell generated by the facility, leading city officials to hold off signing an agreement with WastAway until the odor issue can be cleared up, a problem company officials say they are working diligently to resolve.
City property tax plummets
A major reduction in property taxes made 2003 a banner year for city residents. City officials were true to their word as they cut city property taxes by 34 cents, from $1.94 to $1.60, after a local option sales tax referendum passed.
The referendum increased the local option sales tax from 2 percent to 2.75 percent, bringing it up to 9.75 percent – the maximum allowed by the state.
The idea to hold a sales tax referendum originally came about when city officials were trying to combat diminishing state-shared taxes which were a significant portion of the city’s budget.
Proponents said they felt a sales tax increase was a more equitable choice for increasing revenue because it spread out the tax burden to all consumers instead of just property owners.
The county was originally asked to join with the city in holding the referendum but county commissioners were unable to reach a decision in time to take advantage of the offer. After the measure passed in the city, the county subsequently voted to hold its own referendum during the primaries in February.
While the decrease in property taxes was a welcome relief for city residents, and officials were true to their original promise, city legislators stated they could not realistically say how long they would be able to avoid raising property taxes, but hoped it would be well into the future.
A.O. Smith sends local jobs to Mexico
The local workforce was dealt a damaging blow in April when A.O. Smith announced plans to eliminate at least 300 jobs from its McMinnville plant by the end of the year.
Fortunately for Warren County, many of those layoffs have been delayed. A.O. Smith spokesman Ed O’Conner said yesterday he didn’t have a timetable for when more local jobs would be moved to Mexico but said the company will not alter its initial plan even thought it’s been delayed.
“The net effect in terms of people is that 300 jobs will be leaving,” O’Conner said in announcing the layoffs in April. “There’s no way to make this sound good. It’s not good news for McMinnville.”
A.O. Smith had a workforce of 650 last December and currently employees around 500, according to O’Conner. He estimates the number of employees will be around 300 when layoffs are complete.
The reason for the layoffs is A.O. Smith is moving its fractional horsepower motor production to Mexico. O’Conner admitted this is not an ideal move, but it’s something the company must do for financial stability.
The ongoing layoffs are the latest in a series of cuts which have slashed the A.O. Smith workforce. The company was Warren County’s second largest employer in 2000 with a reported workforce of 925.
A.O. Smith is a $1.5 billion industry which manufactures two major lines – electric motors and hot water heaters.
Lowe’s constructs new store in town
Months of talk and speculation turned out to be accurate when Lowe’s announced in May it would be coming to McMinnville in 2004.
Lowe’s purchased a large portion of Cumberland Plaza shopping center from Edens & Avant and didn’t waste much time in demolishing the retail space it just bought, including the building which had previously been home to Wal-Mart.
Once demolition work was complete, construction began on a 94,000-square-foot Lowe’s Home Improvement Center in October. That construction is virtually finished and the facility will be turned over to Lowe’s in January.
Lowe’s will then have to hire employees, stock the store, and perform a number of final details. An opening is tentatively scheduled in April.
According to projections provided to our local Chamber of Commerce, Lowe’s plans to hire around 125 full-time and 50 part-time employees. Lowe’s also brings with it lofty projections and estimates it will have $30 million in retail sales during its first year of operation.
To make way for Lowe’s, China Wok and Holland’s Jewelry moved to new locations in Cumberland Plaza. Space has been made available for five other stores to locate in the building which formerly housed Food Lion. Dollar General, located at the end of the shopping center, remains unchanged.
Record crowds flock to new city pool
Warren County residents did without any sort of city pool during the summer of 2002 only to deal with a bittersweet celebration when the pool’s gala opening May 31 was soon followed by the death of longtime swim instructor Bill Gilley, in whose honor the facility was named.
Gilley and his wife, Jean, had been on hand to cut the ribbon for the opening on Saturday. Bill entered the hospital not long after to prepare for treatment of an ongoing heart problem, but sadly passed away the following Monday before the scheduled treatment could be performed.
The Gilleys had been two of the major forces in the movement to build a new pool, which generated some controversy early on when city residents voted down a bond issue to finance its construction. The city was able to find alternate funding, but many residents continued to grouse, claiming they had been led to believe they were voting down the pool itself, and not just the financing.
But even as the county mourned Bill Gilley’s passing, they were lauding his namesake facility. Record attendance numbers, despite a late opening, effectively silenced all the naysayers as the pool drew 31,000 visitors in the pool’s inaugural season.
Officers target Bonnaroo concert-goers
In what was one of the more controversial court decisions of 2003, General Sessions Judge Larry Ross dismissed citations for simple possession of marijuana received by some 24 mostly out-of-state motorists in the days leading up to June’s Bonnaroo music festival held in neighboring Coffee County. Ross said the arrests had the appearance of profiling.
The citations were made by sheriff’s deputies as part of a “high visibility” campaign. Such campaigns are generally put on during times of greater traffic on county roads, such as the Fourth of July and Labor Day weekend. But because no citations were made to local citizens during the Bonnaroo campaign, Ross said it had the appearance of selected enforcement, an appearance he said was “terrible.”
The judge said his ruling to dismiss was not an indication the court is soft on drugs, but rather that the court also cares about personal rights and the appearance of those rights.
Sheriff Jackie Matheny expressed disappointment in the judge’s ruling, saying he didn’t understand what the problem was.
Asked if the controversy would have any effect on future high visibility campaigns, the sheriff said he hopes a similar situation never happens again, but vowed “nothing is going to stop me from doing my job.”
Top 10 Stories
Southern Standard reporters were asked to rank their top 10 stories of 2003 by giving 10 points for their top story, 9 points for their second best story, on down to 1 point for their 10th story. With all 11 members of the newsroom voting, here are the results followed by total points received:
1. Dr. Kumar jumps in river, later found dead – 90 points
2. Lady set on fire, dies days later – 81 points
3. Double murder, suicide at Treemont Apartments – 66 points
4. Local soldiers fight for U.S. in Iraq – 58 points
5. WastAway begins operations, creates jobs – 53 points
6. City lowers property tax, raises sales tax – 51 points
7. A.O. Smith announces massive layoffs – 43 points
8. Lowe’s reveals plans to locate in McMinnville – 37 points
9. New city pool opens – 34 points
10. Bonnaroo court cases dismissed – 32 points