January
2- Crockett County Ambulance Service increased fees by $100 in each of the six base rates with an addition rate increase by $3 per mile. The ambulance service is also allowed to bill individuals for non-transport based on a charge schedule that includes no charge for services that were never requested by the patient initially and with no injuries or medical conditions to be warranted.
9- Crockett County mourned the loss of Alamo Assistant Police Chief Phil Park. Park suffered a stroke on December 5, 2017 that prevented him from returning to the job he loved before his death. Park enjoyed helping people and was proud of his family. He took his job seriously but always provided a bit a comic relief in the midst of any stressful situation.
16- Alamo First United Methodist Church began a monthly “Soup’s On” day to draw the community closer. The event served soup to anyone in the community who stopped by for lunch and fellowship.
Crockett also went blue this week in support of law enforcement. Along with multiple businesses and individuals decorating in blue, the Crockett County Chamber of Commerce also hosted a luncheon and dinner to show support to the community of blue.
23- Former 911 director, Brian Black, was sentenced to 57 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons for embezzlement as well as paying restitution to the estate of Oleen H. Fewell. He was convicted of embezzling at least $178,000 from the estate.
Crockett County Lady Cavalier, Anya Patterson was celebrated for achieving 1,000 career points during her time playing basketball at Crockett County High School. Patterson was humble about receiving the award and gave as much credit to her teammates for their family atmosphere and eagerness to win.
30- Save the Bells Theater shifted to Build the Bells Theater as reports reported a failed brick test that showed restoring the building would cost significantly more than rebuilding.
Former Crockett County Schools technology coordinator was indicted for theft over $60,000 and four counts of official misconduct. It was determined that he used school district money to improperly purchase technology equipment and then sold or personally used the equipment, resulting in a cash shortage of at least $114,028.52.
Former Milan High School band director, John Leslie Scruggs, was charged with three counts of statutory rape by an authority figure, four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and four counts of sexual contact with a minor by an authority figure in the Crockett County Grand Jury.
February
6- The Wesley’s Warriors Foundation held a night to remember where guest speakers included a young cancer survivor, Tyler Jones, and professional baseball player Casey McGehee. The event raised $15,954.
13- Dennis and Avronne Maddox were named 2019 Sweetheart Couple. Their comical loving banter fills the Alamo Nursing and Rehabilitation halls.
Local volunteer, Kathy Moore, was awarded the Governor’s Volunteer Stars Award for her work in the Buck Creek St. Jude Trail Ride.
Crockett County also lost a staple of the community in the passing of Stella Reece Gibson. She was always behind the scenes working in anything that made the community better and stronger. Her presence has been missed by many throughout the year.
20- Two new indictments were made in connection with the investigation of Ashley Jordan, former director of technology in the Crockett County Schools. Investigators found that Jordan falsified bids and quotes, created fake invoices and forged a signature in an effort to steer school business to his former private sector employer.
Crockett County High School boys basketball snagged their third consecutive 13AA district championship victory against South Gibson Hornets.
27- Heavy rain caused flooding and mudslides across the county.
Crockett County High School student, Molly Parlow, competed in the Miss Tennessee Teen Volunteer Pageant. Parlow is an advocate for multiple sclerosis (MS) and spent the year working along programs and volunteer groups promoting awareness for the disease as she lives with it herself.
March
6- John Leslie Scruggs was indicted on additional multi-jurisdictional charges and pled not guilty before the grand jury in circuit court.
Undercover agents with the West Tennessee judicial Violent Crime and Drug Task Force arrested Edmundo Hidrogo, of Maury City, following complaints that marijuana-oil vape pens were being bought and used at Crockett County High School.
Crockett County Boys Basketball snagged the Region 7AA championship for the first time in Cavalier history.
The Town of Alamo began accepting applications for downtown businesses to utilize the Tennessee Downtown Program grant that allowed $15,000 in improvements for downtown Alamo.
13- An unoccupied home at 71 S. Poplar Street in Alamo was fully involved when Alamo Fire Department arrived on Sunday, March 10. The home was a rental property with no tenants at the time.
Local schools rallied together for a joint pre-K registration process to help young students in the county be prepared to start school.
20- Students, faculty, family, and friends joined together at Crockett County Middle School to honor Jacob Lucas, a young farmer who died in a tragic ATV accident on March 16, 2018. A tree was planted outside of the school shortly after his passing and the community honored him in joining around the tree a year later.
27- The Town of Alamo completed a history project that honors former mayors of the town. In a ceremony, past mayors and their families viewed the unveiling. Pictures of past mayors, along with their dates of service to the town are now displayed in Alamo City Hall.
A local farming family was featured on the HISTORY channel. The Griggs Farm is a five-generation family farm rooted in Crockett County. The HISTORY channel followed the lives and farming of the Griggs family for months to show the day in and out process.
April
3- Crockett County Carl Perkins Center hosted their annual dinner and auction with a night of mystery. The roaring ‘20s murder mystery dinner was a huge success raising $37,000 to help with therapy and victim advocacy services to victims of child abuse in Crockett County.
Crockett County High School baseball team was the first in the state to commit to “Strike Out Tobacco.”
Phillip (P.A.) Pratt was named the new Crockett County Director of Schools beginning in July. His extensive work history with the school system in leadership positions beginning since 1995 gave him great insight into the position.
10- Alamo City School sixth grader, Jack Fancey, was chosen as a child ambassador to represent Middle Tennessee children as well as the Iroquois Steeplechase’s spirit of positivity and triumph.
Crockett County High School became part of the Amazon Future Engineer program and a recipient of funding from Amazon to begin offering computer science classes to students in the fall.
Café Relay celebrated another successful year and raised $2,765 by the First Baptist Relay for Life team.
17- Sidewalk repair began in Alamo to fulfill the city’s match obligation for the tourism grant that helped upgrade signs and tree plantations in the city.
Students at Crockett County High School learned what to expect in college with an “Any College Simulation.” They were placed in different situations to better understand different events that may occur following graduation.
24- A standoff early morning on April 20, was the result of Howard Kelly Williams shooting his mother’s caretaker. Williams suffered with mental disorders. After several hours of treating the scene like a barricaded suspect, it was discovered that Williams had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Cancer survivors were celebrated by the Crockett County Relay for Life in the annual survivor dinner. The guest speaker was Cristy Evans.
Crockett Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) had 36 students compete in various events at the state leadership conference. The team of high school students received outstanding HOSA chapter along with the most community service hours served by one member, Madison Rhodes.
May
1- Crockett County Neighbors Offering Assistance and Hope (NOAH) hosted their annual spaghetti supper, gospel singing and auction raising over $15,000 to help those who are dealing with cancer or other catastrophic illnesses or events in Crockett.
Crockett participated in national prescription drug take-back day. Local health professionals and law enforcement were available on court square in Alamo to take-back and dispose of unused and expired medications.
Crockett Future Farmers of America (FFA) was recognized at the West Tennessee Awards Program banquet. They placed ninth overall in West Tennessee, sixth in Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) division and ninth in Leadership division, along with multiple individual and team awards.
8- Maury City election results awarded Rayce Castellaw as town mayor and Bobby Wells, Billy Gibson, Wendy G. King, Letha S. Johnson and Erica L. Nance as aldermen.
A wreck on highway 412 resulted in one fatality on April 30. The incident involved a Nissan Murano driven by Chasity Nichole Clayton Thomas and a dump truck driven by Carl Kelly. Thomas struck the rear of the dump truck after it had slowed down to turn and died in the accident.
The Town of Alamo adopted a new waste disposal vender after receiving sealed bids. The process was lengthy and posed several questions as bid prices were allowed to be lowered and allegations of unfair process arose throughout the May 6 meeting. Republic was named the new garbage disposal company after a tied vote between the aldermen that resulted in Mayor John Avery Emison being the deciding vote. A representative from the comptrollers office stated on May 7, “we would certainly say that bids should not be verbally or otherwise amended after they are unsealed and opened publicly.”
15- A bus engulfed in flames on Highway 412 shut down traffic for an extended period while fire fighters from multiple departments extinguished the blaze. The bus had caught fire earlier in the day on I-40 and was being transported by wrecker after waiting several hours.
Crockett Adult Leadership class and the Crockett County Chamber of Commerce partnered with local businesses to give each high school senior a mailbox and a note reminding them that they always have a home in Crockett during the senior final walk.
22- A three vehicle accident on Old Jackson Road near Gumflat claimed the life of Christopher Ryan Kuykendall.
Three male juveniles were detained following a firearm burglary at RFC Tactical in Milan. The juveniles were students at Crockett County High School and Middle School.
29- The community mourned the loss of Mildred Brimm, a long time servant to the community. Brimm was always willing to pitch in and volunteer anywhere she saw a need.
More than 100 families received food assistance in he first food drive of the summer through Mid South Food Bank.
Half marathon runners competed in support of the Crockett Christmas Store, raising $2,880.
June
5- Relay for Life raised over $68,000 in their total for annual fundraising and celebrated in their Relaying for the Game of Life event at Crockett County High School.
Tennessee hosted a free fishing day across the state for all ages to enjoy fishing for free without a fishing license.
12- Two local youth qualified for national rodeo finals. Katie Jane Crook and Lane Mayfield represented Crockett in the event.
Taylor Cunningham and Terra Jackson were arrested at Davy Crockett Lake after fleeing from West Tennessee Drug Task Force agents. Two ounces of methamphetamine ice, approximately 300 Xanax pills, a loaded Glock 19 with a 30 round magazine and spare magazine, extended release Morphine pills, Ecstacy tabs, digital scales and over $3,300.
Additionally, four others were arrested after the Crockett County Sheriffs’ Department Criminal Investigation Division Unit served a search warrant where a methamphetamine lab was discovered on West Vine Street and a traffic stop on the same day resulted in other drug related arrests. Betty Hawkins, Draper Lee, Michael Rowan and Stacey Caksackkar were arrested during these events.
Two people were arrested for burglaries in Crockett following a shooting in Dyersburg. Roderick J. Turner and Zipporah Taylor allegedly used a gun from burglaries in Crockett during the shooting in Dyersburg.
19- Alamo Police Chief Jim Knox retired after years of service to the community. Knox began his career as a constable when he was 19 years old and moved through the ranks while serving the community in multiple areas throughout his career.
26- Green Frog Farm expanded with two new buildings that included a blacksmith shop and newspaper office. The two buildings featured many unique developments from Crockett County.
Alamo announced being the recipient of a WiFi grant that would give downtown Alamo five access points to those enjoying the area.
