LOCAL NEWS UPDATES - FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2006

STORM PEELS METAL ROOF OFF OLD HOTEL, LIGHTNING DISRUPTS

ELECTRIC SERVICE FOR MANY CUSTOMERS WEDNESDAY NIGHT

 

A powerful storm with strong straight-line winds caused considerable damage on the Lafayette Public Square Wednesday evening, and electric service was disrupted for many Tri-County EMC customers as a result of numerous violent lightning strikes.

Tri-County spokesman Jerry Wilmore said Thursday that customers on Bratton Avenue, Gailbraith Lane (off Hwy. 52-E), and out Ferguson Hill Road in Lafayette, and Red Boiling Springs customers in Cotton Hollow were without electricity for as long as three hours as repair crews worked to restore service.

On the Public Square, strong winds took an already damaged metal roof completely off the historic White Hotel building, sending large sections of the roof structure onto the roofs of nearby businesses, and across the facade of the hotel itself. The roof section dangling from the hotel front was caught by live power lines, which had to be disconnected from the pole at the Citizens Bank corner of the Square before a TCEMC truck with a bucket and lineman could disconnect the lines from a transformer in front of the Cash Express offices.

The storm, with heavy rains, high winds and many lightning strikes, hit the Lafayette area about 6 p.m. Electric service was returned to all affected customers before 9 p.m. that same evening. Only one side of the Public Square was without power, and none of the businesses were open at the time of the storm and power outage.

City Police blocked off the southwest side of the Public Square for about an hour as police, fire department and other emergency personnel cleared debris from the road.

Considerable roof damaged was sustained by both the Cash Express building and by Macon Department Store. Both businesses also suffered interior damage from water pouring into the buildings from the punctured roof membranes.

No cost estimate of the damage was immediately available. Macon Department Store was temporarily closed for repairs, but the Cash Express offices were open for business Thursday.

TROOPER CALEB HARPER ACCEPTS DISCIPLINARY ACTION; APOLOGIZES FOR CONDUCT

Trooper Caleb Harper, after much thought and consideration, withdrew his request for a Level Four hearing concerning disciplinary action that was upheld by Captain J.R. Perry at a May 3 Level Three hearing.

"I believe that if I take the suspension, I can and will gain 40 years in a job that means a lot to me," Harper stated in a letter to Captain Danny Wilson, dated May 26.

In addition to withdrawing the hearing request, Harper apologized in the letter for his unprofessional conduct, in reference to interactions with Macon County Circuit Court Clerk Jennifer Hudson and Assistant District Attorney Tiffany Gipson on March 23.

Trooper Harper will be suspended for five days without pay, after which time he will return to work.

"The Department is pleased this situation is now behind us and is ready to move forward," said Department of Safety Communications Officer Julie Oaks.

HWY. 10-S ACCIDENT INJURES COOKEVILLE WOMAN THURSDAY

 

Linsey Arfsten of Cookeville, TN was transported to Macon County General Hospital by the Macon County Ambulance Service with non-life threatening injuries Thursday afternoon, June 1, 2006.  Ms. Arfsten was involved in a three-vehicle accident on Hwy. 10-S which occurred at about 12:30 p.m.

The injured woman's 2002 Honda had stopped in the northbound lane for a road work flagman when a 1996 Chevrolet driven by Hollis Scurlock, 3685 Kirbytown Road, hit the Honda in the rear end, pushing the Honda into a 2002 Ford U.C.H.R.A. van traveling south on Hwy. 10.

Neither Scurlock nor the driver of the van, Wayne Flynn, 303 Rose Street, Lafayette, were injured in the collision, which backed up traffic on the Lafayette Hill for about an hour. The Honda and Chevrolet automobiles were heavily damaged, while the Ford van sustained only minor damage.

THP Trooper Gerald Carter cited Scurlock for driving to close. Macon County Sheriff's deputy Larry West assisted in the accident investigation.