The Jackson Sun from Jackson, Tennessee • 3

IjOCAL Editor: Jimmy Hart Phone: 425-9760 Toll free: (800) 372-3922 Fax: 425-9639 Internet: contactusjacksonsun.com INSIDE StateLocal 4A Nation 5A Deaths' 6A World 6A Monday, April 28, 2003 3A for sDnfl mi IPpiiaDsiGDini hmm By MARG0 RIVERS The Tennessean MURFREESBORO Scott Galloway has attended six schools in the past nine years, without ever moving from his St. Johns Drive home. existing school, officials have to move students from schools farther away, creating a domino effect The system has added 10 new schools since 1998 to accommodate its growing population. Since the last school year, the system has added more than 1,000 students. And the board is expecting an additional 1,000 students next school year, Jordan said.

really know the lunch and bell schedules, the different layouts of the schools or the fastest ways to get to your classes." Galloway is among the Rutherford freshmen who have paid the price for growth in their county. While most students attend one elementary and one middle school, those such as Galloway who live near Thompson Lane and Memorial Boulevard have bounced from one facility to the next. School officials do not like moving students around every couple of years, but the continued growth has forced them to do so, said Ed Jordan, school board chairman. "You have to move children every time you open a school," Jordan said. The children who live nearest to the new school will move there first, he said.

To fill the vacant spaces in the Siegel. Frustrating? Yes, Galloway said. He said it usually takes students six months to get used to the fabric and routines of a school. By the time they get comfortable, they are being zoned to another school. "It's kind of confusing at times," said Galloway, who attends Blackman High School, which is farther from his house than Siegel High.

"You don't If the Rutherford County school board gets the money to open nearby Siegel High this fall, the freshman will have to move from his current high school to Across West Tennessee Benton: Democrats meet The Benton County Democratic Women's Club will meet on May 6 at the Catfish Restaurant in Camden. The group will eat at 6 p.m. and the meeting follows at 7 p.m. Carroll: Golf tourney The 2003 Northwest Tennessee Senior Games Golf Tournament will be May 5 at the Paris Landing State Park. The rain day will be May 6.

There will be a shotgun start at 8 a.m. Be at the course no later than 7 a.m. Green fee, including cart, will be $16.50, to be paid directly to Paris Landing State Park Golf Course on the day of the event For registration details, visit the Office on Aging at 625 High St. in Huntingdon or call 986-1985. Chester: School days Kindergarten preregistration will be held from 9 a.m.

to 5 p.m. Friday at North Chester School. Parents should come with their child and the following documents: official birth certificate, Social Security card, current physical exam and current shot record. Call Denise Woods between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.

at 989-8143. Crockett: Audit findings The state Comptroller of the Treasury's audit for the year ending on June 30, 2002, made several findings. The annual report's findings include that in the county executive's office, competitive bid specifications were limited to a particular manufacturer land competitive bids weren't solicited for lair conditioning units; in the road supervisor's office, competitive bids weren't solicited for hot-mix asphalt for nonstate-aid projects; in the trustee's office, written policies and procedures for routine computer operations weren't maintained; and in the sheriffs office, fees collected in the office weren't reported and paid to the county monthly as required by state statute. In other news: i Gadsden Elementary School will hold a Spring Carnival from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Saturday at the old Gadsden High School Gym with free admission and parking. There will be games, a cake walk, party jumpers, barbecue and hot dogs. All money raised goes toward purchasing new playground equipment for Gadsden Elementary. This event is sponsored by the Gadsden Elementary School PTO. Call 663-2453.

Decatur: Board meeting The Decatur County Commission meets in regular session at 7 p.m. today at the Court House in Decaturville. Items on the agenda include: a time change of 7:30 p.m. for future meetings of the commission and a ichange of date or cancellation of the May meeting due to Memorial Day. Gibson: Moving to Trenton School to hold reunion banquet Event takes place on May 24 at old Kenton High School gym By TONYA SMITH-KING Curtis Halford recently spoke to a classmate he hadn't talked to since they graduated in 1961.

He's looking forward to renewing more old acquaintances when the newly formed Kenton High School Alumni Association holds its first reunion and banquet May 24. "It's renewing old relationships," Halford said. "Some of those people you wonder why you lost contact with them, but you did. It'll just be good to get together again. I guess high school was a very important time to me.

My radio won't play anything but oldies." Invitations have been sent to more than 800 people, with the reunion open not only to high school students, but any 1 1, Iwj wMm A fK ft jj I (j II 3 i 1 II y- 4 ill I The Local Government Data Processing Center recently announced that it would be moving a regional office from Jackson to the Trenton Industrial Park. The center provides software and programs and handles the upkeep of computers for the City of flYenton and many other counties and Municipalities. Hardeman: Open for busmess Optimistic Lane graduates go forth into the world TOP: Lane College graduate Jeremy Dixon receives a hug from a faculty member on Sunday afternoon as he and the rest of the class of 2003 leave the J.F. Lane Health and Physical Education building following the commencement ceremony. ABOVE: Lane College graduate Stephanie Goins grins as she listens to a commencement speech on Sunday afternoon.

Goins had an extra special day she married her fiance Michael Jones and graduated with a degree in religion. RIGHT: Lane College graduate Tavares Collins links hands with his fraternity brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha following the commencement ceremony on Sunday. Photos by CARA EASTWOODThe Jackson Sun Security Finance has opened for business joff the court square in downtown Bolivar, and will hold its official grand opening from a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday.

It will include free refreshments and door prizes. Business hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 658-2970.

Hardin: Two roads 7 'i The Hardin County Commission Recently approved the addition of two new "i-nads to its Emergency 911 road maps. The county will now begin the upkeep of the rr 1 TT.J A I- Decathlon team returns home one who has. ever gone to school in the town of 1,300. Kenton hasn't had a high school since 1986 when the Obion County School system that had run it, closed it. Obion County closed the elementary school in 1991.

So, the town went without a school until last fall, when residents built a new elementary school. It is being operated by the Gibson County Special School District. Organizers are expecting a good turnout with participation from at least one high school graduate from as early as 1934, Halford said. The high school opened in 1929. A graduate from Nebraska has spearheaded the reunion effort for the last year, Halford said.

Sally Ritz of Loup City, graduated from KHS in 1960. She's made the roundtrip to Kenton several times to help make the event possible. She initially recruited Kenton High School graduate Marie Boucher of Kenton last summer to help with the effort. The two went to City Hall and got the names of two to three people from each class and sent letters to them. "I just thought it would be a good idea to get everyone together," Ritz said.

"People like me who live far away don't get to see all the people we graduated with and the friends we had in other grades. "Some of these people, I haven't seen since I left Kenton," she said. "I would like to see something like this take off and go every two years." Tonya Smith-King, 824-3640 If you go The newly established Kenton Alumni Association will hold its first reunion and banquet May 24 in the old Kenton High School gym. Activities will start at 2 p.m. and will continue until the banquet at 6:30 p.m.

The banquet is being catered. The cost to attend is $12.50 per person. Reservations may be made through May 1. Send checks made payable to The KHS Alumni Association to Wanda Tucker Long at 4724 Sidonia-Kenton Road, Kenton TN 38233 or call her at 749-5825. For more information, you may also call Curtis Halford at 692-2572.

new roaas. ine roaas are neage nppic Road in District 3 and Teal Lane in District Haywood: Play ball The Havwood Countv YMCA is organiz ing men's, women's and church softball leagues with seasons beginning in May ana lasting until the end of July. Call 772-9748 pr78U-lb4l. Henderson: Seminar offered 5 Briarwood Community Living Center at 41 Hnsnital Drive. Lexington, will sponsor i seminar on long-term insurance at 6:30 i a March of Dimes Walk raises $75,000 The annual March of Dimes Walk at Jackson Fairgrounds Park raised $75,000 Sunday for the nonprofit group.

The amount fell short of organizers' $100,000 goal, said division director Ginger Carver. But Carver expects more money to come in, since not all the teams have turned in their contributions. The money will be used to help raise awareness of the risks associated with premature births, she said. The Jackson Sun Consortium explores options for plant ERWIN An international consortium trying to put a uranium enrichment plant in Trousdale County visited three backup options. Officials from Louisiana Energy Services visited Unicoi County, Oak Ridge and New Mexico recently, despite considering 260 acres of old Tennessee Valley Authority land in Hartsville their primary choice.

The proposed $1.1 billion plant would produce fuel for nuclear reactors. The Associated Press p.m. Tuesday in tne aimng room ai onar-The sneaker will be Tim Walker, a Decathlon bios, 4A in several different categories. The team placed fourth in the nation in the Super Quiz portion, which is divided into two parts, oral and written. "For us to place fourth out of about 400 students is amazing," Luna said.

"We've never had more than one medal before. This has been clearly our best year." Team members William Godwin, Ngofeen Mputubwele, Jeremy Stopka, Caroline Tippens, Matt Clayton and Hakim each received at least one medal from the competition. "I've worked so hard, and to finally be able to reap the rewards is the climax," said Clayton, winner of a silver medal in speech in the student category. "We're all very happy right now and about as excited as we can be." The awards were far beyond what the team had hoped for, considering they were merely hoping to at least bring home one medal and to do well in the Super Quiz. "To do this well among the best schools in the nation speaks highly of our own schools in Jackson," Luna said.

"I think our kids have shown that there are talented students in our schools." representative of Met Life. Call Frances By TAJUANA CHESHIER tcheshierjacksonsun.com It won't take a plane to bring Jackson Central-Merry High School's Academic Decathlon team members home today because they're already floating on cloud nine. Nine national medals, first-place speaking awards, a scheduled speech in front of NBC executives and placing 11th in the nation are the reasons for the team's current high. "We've exceeded our expectations, and we're all really excited about that," said Zakir Hakim, who received a bronze medal in the Super Quiz and a bronze medal in art. Coach Teresa Luna described the team's good fortune as a blessing.

The team traveled to Erie, for its seventh consecutive national Academic Decathlon competition after one of its highest scores at the state competition. Teams include and students. "In the beginning of the season, I asked the kids to dare to dream," Luna said. "And they did it. They told me they were ready, and now I believe them." And ready they were.

Six of the team's nine members received either gold, silver or bronze medals Godwin exceeded his expectations by earning a perfect score in the speech and interview categories. "It's good to be recognized for something I love doing," Godwin said. "But I'm also excited for everybody on the team." Tippens, a senior, also broke new ground for the team by earning its first medal in the essay category. And Mputubwele, a junior, has beeij promised a return trip to Pennsylvania to speak for NBC executives. "It was so exciting to see our names on the screen during the banquet," he said.

Stopka was surprised by a medal in the speech category. "It was my goal to win at least one medal, but I would have never thought it would have been in speech," said Stopka, who claimed the silver medal in the student category. Coaches Luna and Lee Ann Robins couldn't have been more pleased with the ending of the team's last year together. "It was exhilarating, and I'm so proud of them," Robins said. "I'm proud that we competed against the best schools and had such an exceptional time." Tajuana Cheshier, 425-9758 i Blackstock or Sheila Mcuure Derween a.m.

and 4 p.m. at 968-6629. McNairy: Historical society The McNairy County Historical Society urin mppt at 7 D.m. Tuesday at the McCon nico Library in Selmer. The group will nom inate officers for the upcoming year.

Weakley: Chamber members The Weakley County Chamber of ntolrnmp the fnllnwinff new mem bers: Modern Woodmen of America, A (Country Keson ana apa ana ine rac- tory Connection, cau jd4-jo..