The Dickson Herald from Dickson, Tennessee • Page A1

DICKSON'SHOMETOWNNEWSPAPERSINCE1907 More than 60,000 people in Dickson County read our newspapers and use our websites every week. DicksonHerald.com VOL. 108NO. 104 2015 GANNETT INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED SUBSCRIBE: 1-800-520-9286 Morgan talks about playing iberty Bowl.

NEWS, 3A Christmas teddy bear delivery. NEIGHBORS, 5A 307 Lewis Hollow Road Dickson, TN 615-441-5595 www.griffin-mechanical.com Air conditioning and heating HVAC installation Financing Available TN-0001086415 Local Homes For Sale REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS 615-446-8999 TIME FOR A CHANGE No more renting in 2016 with this 1782 square foot manufactured home with permanent foundation on large level lot. Formal living dining rooms, large eat in kitchen refrigerator, microwave dishwasher, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, walk in closets $2500 toward new carpeting. 615-446-8999 $65,800 NEW BEGINNINGS Darling 3 bedroom ranch with both covered porch deck to enjoy the view of hilltop setting. Recently updated, new carpet, new paint, new windows, central heat air unit 3 years old concrete drive.

Stove, microwave dishwasher. Nice wooded lot oW ers privacy just minutes to town. 615-446-8999 $109,900 START THE NEW YEAR HERE be warm cozy by the replace! Love the covered front porch with so much eat in kitchen, appliances, hardwood tile, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths on main. Great burns location- acre lot- in-ground pool fenced back yard- 2 car attached garage concrete drive. 615-446-8999 $239,900 CELEBRATE MORE LEISURE TIME Great one story condo private end unit in the heart of Dickson.

Open airy 1453 square foot oor plan, formal living dining rooms, den, spacious fully applianced kitchen 2 pantries, clothes washer dryer, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, central electric heat air close to shopping schools. 615-446-8999 $134,900 The following were the most-discussed important stories in Dickson County for 2015 as decided by the Herald editorial staff. The stories are listed in chronological order. Dickson-to-Nashville bus The Regional Transportation Authority Dickson-to-Nashville express bus, Route 88X Dickson Express, officially started Jan. 5.

For a county in which 26 percent of the workforce commutes to Nashville, the bus service, which has a fare, is important to Dickson County and City of Dickson leaders. public transportation is important to our said Dickson County Mayor Bob Rial. initiative will demonstrate not only that there is a great need for transit in our area, but it will show our residents how easy and beneficial it is to use public The 56-person bus transports mornings and late afternoons Monday through Friday, leaving and arriving at the Dickson Walmart until a permanent location can be built at Livestock Road in Dickson. Sonya case ends David and Kim Hodgins, of Dickson County, ran out of legal options and dropped their three-year long custody battle for Sonya, the little girl they had raised since infancy, after a judge ruled that she no longer needs to be looked after by the state. The ruling took place in February and the decision was announced in August.

Top Dickson County stories of 2015 SeeStories, Page2A Among the projects listed under the $11.4 billion in backlogged road projects some already approved, oth- rs in the preliminary stages is an estimated $30 million project to directly connect State Route 840 with Highway 9 6 in Dickson County. The proposed 840-to-96 route is under the list, which are projects that are in phase and are seen as but not currently under development. Gov. Bill Haslam has been touring the state in recent months to bring attention to the low funding level for current and future state road projects. Haslam and Tennessee Department Transportation Commissioner John Schroer have regularly talked about a tate gas tax increase as a means to pump revenue into the depleted road construction coffers.

ickson County Mayor Bob Rial said is primary concern is that Dickson County motorists might possibly be a sked to pay an increased gas tax even hough only really new road built in the last 20 years or more was built by the ity of Rial noted that a large portion of the population commutes to work 26 percent in Dickson ommute to Nashville and have been paying the gas tax for those two decades. concern was they are telling me that a good idea for taxpayers in Dickson County who do a lot of commuting to pay higher gas taxes to pay for road projects we have never Rial said. In addition to the proposed direct connector from 840 to Highway 96, which has been discussed by county officials for about four years, other Dicks on County projects on the list include: East Piney Road bridge over East Fork Piney River, estimated cost: $727,000 Old Highway 47 bridge over Town ranch, estimated cost: $370,000 Dickson rest area on Interstate 40 enovation, estimated $3.75 million Two bridges on Yellow Creek Road, one for $820,000 and another for 808,00 All the projects are listed in and of ay phases of development. Statewide projects The cost to complete all the backlogged projects statewide that have been approved by legislators but which have funding is road projects backlog estimated at $36.5 million total $30M budgeted connect S.R. 840 with Highway 96 BY CHRIS GADD THE DICKSON HERALD SeeBacklog, Page4A The Dickson County chool Board at its last eeting Dec.

17 extended chools Director Dr. Danny contract to 2018 ith bonuses tied to his annual evaluation score. base pay of $125,000 remained the ame. The addendum to current con- ract outlines his performance pay as the following: Bonus of 4 percent of his salary, or $5,000, for an eval score of 4.25 or great- 3.5 percent bonus or $4,375 for a score 3.91to 4.25; 3 percent bonus or $3,750 for a score of 3.45 to 3.9; No bonus for score of 3.45 or less. he schools director is evaluated by ach school board member on a scale of 1 -5 in six categories.

Their scores for the director are then averaged for a single cumulative score. Since his hiring in 2012, evaluation scores have been: 2013 score: 4.107 2014 score: 4.073 2015 score: 3.74 Weeks contract extended 2018 Schools bonuses ased on evaluations HERALD ST AFF Weeks Saturday night, a Dickson man was hit hile standing in the right side, east- ound lane of Highway 70 near Luther Lake, according to a Dickson Police rep ort. ickson police were dispatched to Highway 70 near the intersection with illtop Road after receiving a call about an accident involving a vehicle and a male pedestrian on foot, according to the eport. No time was given, and the name of the pedestrian who was hit was also unnamed. Upon arrival officers shut down the roadway and started investigating the accident.

The male vehicle driver, who was also not named, said upon seeing the person in highway, that he immediately Pedestrian hit while standing Hwy. 70 HERALD STAFF SeeHit, Page4A SUBMITTED The always elaborately decorated owned by Wes and Mickey Freeman, at 302 Center Ave. in downtown Dickson. The Freemans have added decorations to the house for decades for both Christmas and Halloween. HOLIDAY HOUSE.