Bedford County Post

Homeless camps littered the banks of the Duck River before a cleanup by city works prompting the Shelbyville City Council’s proposed camping amendment to the loitering ordinance. –Photo by Mark McGee PRINCETON REVIEW Five Years in a Row AA/EEO/disability/vet Used with permission. ©2024 TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University. Library Cards get new look Page 3 Sports Page 12 Bell Buckle • Flat Creek • Normandy • Raus • Shelbyville • Unionville • Wartrace $1 Wednesday, June 12, 2024 Vol. 1 No. 44 B EDFORD C OUNTY P OST By MARK MCGEE mmcgee@ bedfordcountypost. com T he future of the homeless situation inside the city limits is one vote away from be- ing fi nalized. Shelbyville City Council members will vote on the second and fi nal reading an ad- dition to Shelbyville Municipal Code 10-213 which states “It would be unlawful for any person to camp and store personal property New ordinance addition on public camping part of City Council regular agenda Juneteenth celebration marks historical time of freedom From staff reports O n Tuesday, morning the City of Shelbyville Fire Depart- ment, in conjunctionwith the Bed- ford County Emergency Manage- ment Agency, held a 231 North Safety Summit to discuss the or- ganization needs for emergency response planning such as evacu- ations due to a business or orga- nization’s location along High- way 231 North in Shelbyville. The meeting was held this morning at the old Shelbyville Central High School building. Look for more coverage on Bedford County Post’s Facebook, web and print editions. Shelbyville Fire Chief Matt Doak sent a letter to Mary Beth Gribble, Interim Assistant Com- missioner-Fire Prevention for the Tennessee Department of Com- merce and Insurance, Christopher Bainbridge, Director of the Codes Enforcement Section – Fire Pre- vention in the State Fire Marshal’s O ffi ce and Philip Cameron, Plans Examiner Manager in the Codes Enforcement Section-Fire Pre- vention in the State Fire Marshal’s O ffi ce. With the Duksan Electera plant on Frank Martin Road scheduled to open this summer Doak ex- pressed numerous concerns in the letter involving both the inte- rior and exterior fi re suppression/ sprinkler systems that the City of Shelbyville formally requests as- sistance from the State Fire Mar- shal’s O ffi ce going forward. Some of the concerns are: The overall construction of the facility so far has had a num- ber of alterations from the origi- nal plans submitted to the State Fire Marshal’s O ffi ce, including a reduction in the size of the wa- ter storage tank from 300,000 gallons to 100,000 gallons. Fur- thermore, the discovery that due to Department of Transportation requirements for the use of twin axle trailers, the originally de- signed encapsulated foam system used at the point of product load- ing into single axle trailers will be rendered ine ffi cient or useless for fi re prevention purposes. No stamped engineered plans for the interior fi re suppression/ sprinkler systems have been re- ceived by the City’s Building and Codes Department for review. The exterior fi re suppression systems installation has been al- tered from received plans, includ- ing a meter pit and size reduced from 10 to 8, and an inadequate double-check valve back fl ow device creating a potential for cross-contamination to the water supply. According to Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation regulations for a Fire System Classi fi cation 6, this system should require a Reduced Pressure (RP) Back fl ow Preven- tion Device. Water supply from Bedford County Utility District (BCUD) appears insu ffi cient at this time from what was originally report- ed. On July 6, 2022, BCUD issued a letter to Duksan’s engineering fi rm, Gresham Smith, report- ing the results of a fl ow test on Hydrant #442 of approximately 1030 gallons a minute, static pres- Summit is being held to discuss Duksan Electera The Bedford County Courthouse lawn will be busy Saturday with the Bedford County “June- teenth” celebration featuring a variety of events. –Photo by Marilyn Ewing By MARK MCGEE mmcgee@ bedfordcountypost.com Slaves were freed by The Emancipation Proc- lamation of 1863, but not everyone received the news in a timely manner. Texas was the last Confederate State to hear the news and it came two months after the War Be- tween the States ended. On June 19, 1865 a group of Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with the news the approximately 250,000 slaves in the state were free. The day would be known as “Juneteenth”. Saturday Bedford County will hold a “June- teenth” celebration. The festivities begin early with a walk led by Robert Johnson, walk participants will meet at The Gilliland Historical House at 807 Lipscomb St. The walk will proceed to Tillman St. and then go past Purdy Court, Col- loredo Blvd. and Lane Parkway and then cross Highway 231 South. The walk will end on the East Side of the square. At 9 a.m. parade par- ticipants will line up at Southern Energy at 211 Lane4 Parkway. The route will go east dow n Lane Parkway, turn righ t on Spring St. and then go around the square and down North Main St. The parade will begin at 10 a.m. Participants are asked to decorate with a “June- teenth” theme. There is no entry fee. Entertainment and activities will be held on the square beginning with open remarks at 11 a.m. The celebration is scheduled to end at 4 p.m. The agenda starts with an opening prayer by Tony Cornish followed by a moment of silence for those who have passed. Gary Haile will sing the “National Anthem” followed by Tamika Coats performing the “Black National Anthem”. Carman Biggers will make a presentation on Juneteenth history fol- lowed by a song from Coats. Brenda Hodge will read a Juneteenth poem. Terry Cooper will speak on Bedford Coun- ty’s role in The Civil War. Vickie Cornish will announce the sponsors. City of Shelbyville Mayor Randy Carroll and Bedford County Mayor Chad Graham will greet the crowd. See Juneteenth, Page 5A See Duksan, Page 5A See Agenda, Page 5A Have a Moon Pie and RC in Bell Buckle From staff reports I t’s time once again to celebrate the combination of an RC Cola and a Moon Pie. Fans of both items will be in Bell Buckle Satur- day for the 29 th annual festival. It all gets started early with 10-K and 5-K runs. The craft and food booths open at 9 a.m. and will remain open all day. At 11:15 the always colorful parade will be held. At noon the main stage will feature the show “Viva Bell Buckle” and will also include the corona- tion of the king and queen. See Moon Pie, Page 5A The T-shirt booths are always busy during the RC-Moon Pie Festival in Bell Buckle. –Photo by Mark McGee