The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page B2

By LEA ANN OVERSTREET Robertson County Times Kathy Holloway is on a mission. She has taken a leave of absence from a full-time job to find her missing daughter and granddaughter. Holloway travels daily around Robertson County, looking for any sign of Jennifer Wix, 22, and 2- year-old Adrianna, who have been missing since March 24 from their Cross Plains home. Little has changed in the last few weeks in the case. Police still have no solid leads, officials said.

is my full-time job now. This is all I said Holloway, who wears a pin on her clothing with a picture of Jennifer and Adrianna. The pin keeps her family close to her as well as keeps Jennifer and faces in the eye. do anything that might help me find Holloway said. Holloway also is to the point where she will gladly take information anonymously as long as it leads to Jennifer and Adrianna.

someone knows something, they can phone it in anonymously. I care. I just want them Holloway said. Holloway reported her daughter and granddaughter missing. When she last spoke to Jennifer Wix, her daughter was upset over an argument had with live-in boyfriend, Joey Benton.

Authorities have used cadaver dogs to search some of Joey property at 6681 Owens Chapel Road, Springfield. They also have questioned Benton. Holloway has even consulted a psychic about the whereabouts of her daughter and granddaughter. The family also is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who finds the Wixes. Robertson County Times is part of the Middle Tennessee Community Newspapers.

CYANMAGYELBLK TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 2B Wednesday, April 14, 2004 THE TENNESSEAN www.tennessean.com 3 MIDSTATE 2B Walk for the benefit ofkids to start in fall Tennessee first lady Andrea Conte yesterday announced her 600-mile Walks for campaign to start in the fall. The walk is designed to raise awareness and money to address child abuse, but also will encourage fitness, officials said. The route has not been finalized for the walk, but expected to start Sept. 8 in Memphis, take a three-month winter break, and end May 1 in Blountville in East Tennessee. About 27 nonprofit groups, including 25 child advocacy centers, are part of the walk and a larger effort.

Anyone wanting to take part will be asked for a $35 donation and to enlist sponsors. For information, go to www.AndreaWalks.com or call 292-7027. ANNE PAINE Waverly project unchanged The widening of State Highway 13 into downtown Waverly will continue as planned, despite concern from some residents about effects on the town center. Work is set to begin in Humphreys County by early 2005 and will stretch from State Highway 230 to Main Street, the state Department of Transportation announced yesterday in a news release. TDOT reconsidered project details earlier this year after hearing about concerns.

Some suggested rerouting the project to Clydetan Road. is simply a better business decision to expand the highway at its current location rather than start from said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely in the media release. TDOT planners said there were too many environmental concerns with Clydetan, including possible bad effects on the Trace Creek area and truck traffic rerouting. The state has spent several million dollars acquiring rights of way. Nashville soldier honored Lt.

Col. Kim Orlando, a Nashvil- lian who was the highest-ranking Fort Campbell soldier to die in Iraq, has been posthumously inducted into the Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame. Orlando, commander of the 716th Military Police Battalion, died Oct. 16 near Karbala, Iraq, when he and several of his soldiers confronted a group of men who were out after curfew. A gun battle ensued, and Orlando and two other soldiers were mortally wounded.

Orlando was a graduate of Overton High School. The OCS Hall of Fame is at Fort Benning, one of several posts in the country where recruits aspiring to be Army officers are prepared to receive commissions as second lieutenants. A ceremony honoring the new inductees was held April 2. Eakin plans to be shown an opportunity to get a first glimpse of plans and renderings for the renovation and expansion of Eakin Elementary School at 7 tomorrow night in the auditorium. The historic neighborhood school was at risk of being torn down in 2001, but was saved by school and neighborhood activists.

The architects for the renovation, Earl Swenson Associates, will be at the community meeting, along with Hodgson Douglas, landscape architects. Teachers, staff, administrators, parents and other community leaders will attend the meeting. The Eakin auditorium is in the Cavert building, at the corner of 26th Avenue South and Fairfax. STAFF REPORTS CONTE ORLANDO MAURY By SUE McCLURE StaffWriter COLUMBIA Tears welled up in Betty eyes as she stood in a doorway at Columbia State Community College yesterday and watched a group of children in state foster care tour the college. know what some of them are going she said, smiling bravely at the bunch.

I be who I am today if not for my wonderful foster Now a secretary in Columbia academic services office, Yates spent six years in the foster-care system, so she jumped at the opportunity yesterday to participate in Columbia first Mentoring which gave foster-care children a chance to learn what college is like. They heard about entry requirements, necessary tests and applications, financial aid and course offerings. are lots of decisions have to Joey Scruggs, coordinator of enrollment management, told them. do what it takes to get you into the program interested in. We have everything from veterinary technician programs to law enforcement.

And we have programs that will get you into the work force in a short amount of The youths, ages 16 and 17, also learned that money has been set aside for their needs through the federally run John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. That includes money for school application and registration fees, interview clothes, summer school, driver education fees even car insurance. do not buy Ginger Laxton, independent living coordinator for UT-Knoxville, told the children. already gotten two calls about that.

But we do provide you with money to help with your she added. After listening to presentations, touring the campus and following their mentors through a portion of their day, several in the group expressed interest in attending college. Columbia State spokeswoman Kadi Lehnhart said the mentoring experience, co-sponsored by the state Department of Services and Vanderbilt Institute of Public Policy Studies, was intended to help the children hope to make this an annual event she said. we hope that our model will be implemented at other Sue McClure can be reached at 931486-3611 or Mentoring lesson about college Columbia State event helps kids in foster care BILL STEBER STAFF Diana Combs, student development counselor at Columbia State Community College, talks with high school students in the state foster care program about attending college during Mentoring at the career center. MIDSTATE BRIEFLY Finding missing kin is now Midstate full-time job ROBERTSON CORRECTION Visitation for carnival operator Ed Gregory, who died Sunday, was held yesterday.

An obituary on Page 1B of Tennessean gave an incorrect date. Services for Mr. Gregory will be at 4 p.m. today at Crievewood Baptist Church, 480 Hogan Road, Nashville. The newspaper regrets the error.

How to help Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Jennifer and Adrianna Wix can contact the Robertson County Department at 3847971. DAVIDSON By DIANE LONG StaffWriter About 100 parents packed into the Metro school board meeting last night to protest the proposed cut of programs for 3-year-olds at Hull-Jackson and Stanford elementary schools. Six speakers, including two students, took to the podium to tout the value of the classes as part of the focus on Montessori, a teaching method that stresses self- directed learning. Cutting two of most popular programs to save money would be a mistake, said parent Janet Pasinger. are fleeing the county, seeking quality Pasinger said.

affects our total tax base. Please, please save our The preschool cuts are part of an overall $42 million in current jobs and programs that may be eliminated from the 2004-05 budget. Board members also decided to consider a sliding-scale fee for the classes when they discuss the second-draft budget in a finance committee meeting Monday. That draft includes several new changes to save money, including reducing school board expenses, cutting salaries for top staff members, eliminating a subsidy for community education classes and reducing the teacher work year by one day. That change must be approved by the teachers union.

In other business, board members discussed a report on advanced classes in middle schools. Most of the 37 middle schools have at least two advanced classes in grades 7 or 8, while only 10 offer accelerated academics for fifth-graders. Chief Instructional Officer Sandy Johnson reported plans for a community task force to examine middle school academics. That report will come to the board in May. Board member Kathleen Harkey stressed that parents value advanced academics.

you build it, they will she said. Board members also approved a program at Margaret Allen Middle School, which is switching from a Montessori magnet program to become a zone school this fall. Principal Ganet Johnson outlined plans to blend some Montessori methods into the traditional instruction. Board member Lisa Hunt said some innovative ideas might come from the new blended program. think great she said.

may be elements that could be imported to other Diane Long covers education for The Tenn- essean Contact her at 726-5931 or at Parents oppose possible preschool program cuts HEALTHPLANS OUR MEMBERS HAVE BETTER THINGS TO SPEND THEIR MONEY ON BESIDES OVER PRICED HEALTH COVERAGE. IFYOUVALUECOMMONSENSE chanceyoubelongtoTRH. from ourmanyprograms.Including Call us at 1-877-874-8323 toll-free, visit our web site at www.trh.com or call the TRH representative at your local Farm Bureau office, and ask about individual and family plans such as PPOs, Medicare supplements, dental and group plans. Anddiscoverabetterwaytospend LASSES FREE ACTING CLASS With ALL MY veteran actor, Alan Dysert television-film-commercials www.moviecareers.net 385-5181 for info ERFORMING a RTS DIRECTOR Vanderbilt University Theatre Presents HAY FEVER by Noel Coward April 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17 For reservations or information Call 322-2404 To advertise in the Performing Arts Directory, Call Stacy Dallas 259-8853 A style Musical Revue Cumberland Arts Centre Dinner Theatre 710 Main St. Clarksville, TN.

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