The Lauderdale County Enterprise PUBLISHED WEEKLY – ONE SECTION 75¢ RIPLEY, TENNESSEE, JANUARY 2, 2014 14 PAGES VOLUME 129-NUMBER 15

©The Lauderdale County Enterprise

Christmas Deliveries Aid FamiliesFinds Weather Balloon

Renovation Begins

Realty Company To Close Business

Jennings Realty, located on the corner of Jackson Ave. and Main St., closed its business December 31st after several years of opera-tion. Floyd Akin, current owner, made the announce-ment last week that the business would close due to health issues.

The late Leland Jen-nings opened the real estate company in the late 1980's, which continued on after his death in the late 1990's. Ownership was transferred from his widow, Annie Laura Jennings, to Barry and June Bates. They ran the office until earlier this year, when they transferred ownership to Mr. Akin.

The building is owned by Becky Hendrix.

Officials Plan Public Forum

State Senator Lowe Fin-ney and State Representa-tive Craig Fitzhugh will speak at a town hall forum at 10 a.m. Monday, January 6th at the Lauderdale Coun-ty Commission on Aging, 605 Airport St., Halls.

“There are so many criti-cal issues before state lead-ers this year, and I hope we can find ways to make health insurance and college more affordable for working fami-lies. To represent you the best I can, I need you to come tell me what to do, and more of-ten I need you to come tell me what not to do,” said Senator Finney.

They will be on hand to answer any questions about state government and the up-coming session of the Gen-eral Assembly in Nashville.

“Our most important job is to listen to those who sent us to Nashville. I want people to come and share their prob-lems or concerns, so we can work toward a solution to-gether," said Rep. Fitzhugh.

Craig Fitzhugh is the state Representative for House District 82, which encom-passes Crockett, Haywood and Lauderdale counties.

Lowe Finney is the state Senator for Senate District 27 which encompasses Crock-ett, Dyer, Lake, Lauderdale and Madison counties.

Other local leaders will be in attendance, and the public is encouraged to attend.

New Machinery Added At Facility

Quaprotek, located on East Walker, off of High-way 19 East, installed a new machine last month and planned to add another before January. The com-pany which opened in 2011 planned to invest $22 mil-lion over five years and add more than 130 jobs. Cur-rently, the company has added a third shift to keep up with production and plans to have the newer ma-chinery ready to run in six to eight weeks.

Decorating Winners

Locals Charged After Shots Fired

James Coulston, 24, of Halls, and Markee Cogshell, 32, and Bradley Eskridge, 24, both of Ripley, were charged after shots were reported December 21st on Gay Street. Ripley Police have charged the three men with multiple charges in-cluding public intoxication, possession marijuana, reck-less endangerment, posses-sion of drug paraphernalia, and unlawful possession of a weapon. The men alledged-ly fired multiple rounds, but no one was injured.

Gates School To Be Demolished

The Town of Gates is planning an open house from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. January 18th, at the Gates Communtiy Center, before the building is demolished.

For more information or to assist, contact Shirley Dancy at Gates City Hall, 731-836-7501.

THE HOMES of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Belton, in upper photo, and Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Hodge, in lower photo, were among the winners of the Town of Halls Christmas Light Display. The Beltons, on S. College St., won the Mayor's Trophy and the Hodges, on Oak St., won Most Original. Other winners include Mr. and Mrs. Vance Brewster, W. Tigrett St., Most Creative; Mr. and Mrs. Greg Thur-mond, Armour Rd., Best Display of Lights; Mr. and Mrs. Dewayne Haley, Armour Rd., Christmas Fantasy; Dotsie Crihfield, W. Main St., Christmas Memories; and Mr. and Mrs. Torry Patrick, E. Main St., Best Decorated Door.

Will JOrdan, son of William and Lisa Jordan, of Hen-ning, found a weather balloon Friday, December 27th in a field across from their home on Highway 87, a couple miles east of Henning.

vOlunTEErS, of the Morn-ing Manna Food Pantry and Save the Children Outreach International, prepared 210 Christmas bags of groceries and another 150 Christmas gift bags for children for the holiday. Gifts distributed in-cluded a 32 inch, flat screen television, microwave, three bicycles, a tricycle, dolls and many other gifts from draw-ings. Some bags will be given away at 10 a.m. Saturday, January 4th, at 160 Church St. in Henning. New clothes for small children is also available but the child must be present to receive them. Morris J. Taylor, founder, and his wife, Linda, wished everyone a happy New Year and stated they appreciate the support given this year. Additional photos inside this issue.

THE building, which was the former Mickey's Su-perette, Main Street, on the north end of town, was purchased a few weeks ago by Ashraf Aabed and Am-mar Alomari from June Ann Hatch. The new owners are in the process of renovating the building to open a convenience store.