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144th Year • No. 54 Haywood County, Tennessee $1.00 Two Sections, 20 pages Brownsville STATES-GRAPHIC See recipe on page 5 Thursday, May 27, 2010 Although it was recommended by the county mayor and county attorney to consider a settlement of a potential sexual harassment lawsuit against the county, the board of commissioners voted unanimously to not pursue a settlement with the alleged victim. Mayor Franklin Smith and Attorney Michael Banks proposed a $35,000 set- tlement be awarded to the victim at Monday night’s monthly meeting. Sexual harassment allegations stemmed from a March incident involving Haywood County Jail Administrator Joe Bond and a county jail employee, in which Bond has been cleared of all criminal charges and has since retired from the department. Mayor Smith informed commission- ers TBI investigated the claims and reported back, “there was nothing criminal about what went on.” Smith said the county also requested the Crockett County Sheriff’s Department initiate an investigation in which they concluded the same findings as the TBI, but did advise the county “that- there was some credibility to some of the claims of sexual harassment.” During the investigation period, the employee was removed from the jail and transferred to the sheriff’s depart- ment. After Bond’s retirement the employee was moved back to her posi- tion at the jail. “We were told by the employee she was not interested in a lawsuit, or pressing criminal charges, but all she wanted was the harassment to stop,” said Smith. Since that time, the victim has employed the same attorney that has filed three previous lawsuits against the county. Banks advised the county would probably not be held liable for the alle- gations, due to the fact that once the county was made known of the situa- tion they handled it immediately and effectively. “Once we were made aware of it, we started taking care of the problem, we separated the (two parties), contacted the TBI, we organized our own investi- gation, I don‘t think there’s any real lia- bility on the county’s part, “explained Banks. “The county did everything we could possibly do once we were made aware of it, and there was nothing more that we could have done.” Banks also added if the victim did file a lawsuit, “we could probably get out of it at the summary judgment stage, which is early on in the lawsuit. We’ve also found out several things since the second investigation was completed that questions the credibil- ity of the victim.” Commissioners vote against settling potential lawsuit The Veterans of Foreign Wars, Daughters of the American Revolution and the United Daughters of the Confederacy will have a Memorial Day Program on Monday, May 31 at 11 A.M. on Court House Lawn under the trees near the monument. The guest speaker for the Memorial Day Program is General John Glad Castellaw. The program jointly sponsored by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4838, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the United Daughters of the Confederacy is designed to show respect and appreciation for our “fallen heroes.” General Castellaw, who is a native of Crockett County, was commissioned upon graduation from UTM. His early tours were in Marine units deploy- ing to the Mediterranean, Western Pacific and Middle East, where he served as a platoon commander and company executive officer in the 1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion, as an inspector-instructor with the 4th Tank Battalion, as a flight line officer and as an assistant operations officer. Promoted to field grade officer, he served as the executive officer of Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 26. He then commanded Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 264 during its Mediterranean deployment as the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Aviation Combat Element. As a colonel, he commanded Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 (MAWTS-1). His general officer commands were the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade in Okinawa, US FORCES INTERFET, conducting stabili- ty and security operations in East Timor, and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. Castellaw’s staff officer tours began in Marine Aircraft Groups 26 and 36. He served two tours in the Department of Aviation, Headquarters Marine Corps. His previous joint staff assignments were in the J3 Operations Directorate, U.S. European Command and with the Command Group, United Nations Protection Force Bosnia-Herzegovina, during the siege of Sarajevo. He attended the Basic School, the Amphibious Warfare School, the Armed Forces Staff College and the NATO Defense College. Castellaw, a CH-46 pilot, is a gradu- ate of the Marine Corps Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) Course. Memorial Day Speaker is Lieutenant General John G. Castellaw “Our future is not something that will just happen to us. It takes work,” said Senior Class First Vice-President Monica Austin. They were words that perhaps, couldn’t have been more fitting for the Class of 2010, as the bright group of young men and women have worked hard to get to the point of graduation. The only concern Monday night for the group of seniors was the weather. Looking back at the school year, it could be understood why cau- tious eyes were pointed towards the sky. Storms, ice and floods have interrupted home- coming, tests and nearly a prom. Even Principal Robert Mitchell, who will be retiring, kept the weather in mind while trying to move the graduation at a prompt rate. Mitchell even asked parents to keep their applause until the end. However, as parents cheered conti- nusly into the evining, it was apparent that his words fell on deaf and excitable ears. But the weather did hold up, as graduates accepted their diplomas and awards. It could be argued that the class of 2010 was one of Haywood County’s brightest. This year featured five valedictorians who each gave a speech. As for the awards given, there was a mul- titude: The following Distinguished Scholar Haywood High School Class of 2010 says hello to future Chamber Director Joe Ing described the 100-year old Carnegie building as just brick and mortar Friday at the centennial celebration of the Haywood County’s for- mer library and added the real celebration is to honor the people of Haywood County. “This building is old, but it’s a long way from dead,” said Ing before a crowd of local residents and business owners. “It’s alive and thriv- ing today.” The history-rich facility escaped demolition in 1992 when the community joined together in efforts to save the landmark through restora- tion. Today it is home to the Chamber of Commerce and houses many community meetings. “I would like to thank the great committee in 1992 for saving this building,” added Ing. “And also a great deal of thanks goes to Marty Williams for putting this all together.” Haywood County Mayor Franklin Smith also added sentiments for the commu- nity and the residents who took on the challenge of sav- ing the Carnegie. “This community believes in honoring our his- tory, learning from our past and looking forward to our future, and this building is a good example of that,” illus- trated Smith. Mayor Webb Banks added, “When this com- munity comes together, and really wants to do some- thing, we can get it done. This (building) is something we can all be proud of.” During the celebration, the Chamber announced the names of the art con- test winners naming Debra Hooper’s “Happy in Haywood County” as the first prize winner. Mark Kentrick’s “The Tradition” was named second and Dr. Donald’s Spencer’s “Read” was named third. Chamber celebrates Carnegie centennial SEE GRADUATION PAGE A3 SEE MEMORIAL PAGE A2 Debra Hooper was named first place in the Chamber art contest with her painting, “Happy in Haywood County.” Brownsville native Mark Kendrick placed second with his art piece, “Tradition.” Third place was awarded to Dr. Donald Spencer with his painting simply titled, “Read.” Kenny Ellington presents a cotton picture to the Chamber on behalf of the Warren family Friday at the Chamber’s 100th birthday of the former Carnegie Library. Also pictured is Chamber direc- tor Joe Ing. Chamber ambassador Donald Lee surveys the bril- liant artwork of local artists Friday at the Chamber birthday celebration of their facility. Thu 5/27 87/67 Mostly sunny early. Scattered thunder- storms developing later in the day. Fri 5/28 85/64 Partly cloudy with a stray thunderstorm. Sat 5/29 84/67 Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 60s.
