MCT 9-5-24

4A —The Marion Tribune, Thursday, September 5, 2024 women to reach their full potential by providing scholarships, personal development opportuni- ties, and a positive peer network. Participants in the program compete in various categories, in- cluding Interview, Scho- lastics, Talent, Fitness, and Self-Expression. During the week of July 19 and 20, Bynum, along with 15 other high school senior girls from TN, participated in in- dividual interviews and live performances, with Scholastics being scored based on high school transcripts submitted prior to the competition. Bynum’s success in these categories earned her the prestigious title. As the Distinguished Young Woman of Ten- nessee, Bynum will rep- resent the state at vari- ous public events over the next year, serving as a role model to young people and promoting the program’s national outreach message of “Be Your Best Self.” This message encourages self- esteem and excellence in young people through its fi ve guiding principles: Be Healthy, Be Involved, Be Studious, Be Ambi- tious, and Be Respon- sible. Expressing her grati- tude, Bynum said, “I am so honored to be the fi rst winner from Marion County and I am also so thankful for all the Mari- on County state represen- tatives who came before me that paved the way. If it were not for all of the people throughout my life who encouraged me to be a part of the Distin- guished Young Women Program, of which many participated in the State program themselves, I would have never known about this amazing op- portunity or I may have not had the courage to try it. I am also overwhelmed with emotions from the outpouring of love from our entire community. I would like to thank ev- eryone for their support. It means so much!” Since receiving the title, Bynum has been recognized at the Marion County Board of Educa- tion meeting on August 12 and the Marion Coun- ty Commission meeting on August 26. She was presented with an ap- preciation plaque at the BOE meeting and hon- ored with a proclamation plaque at the MCC meet- ing for her hard work and success in representing Marion County and the state of TN. For more information about the Distinguished Young Women program, contact Carly Bragg, National Headquarters Marketing and Com- munications Director, at 251-438-3621 or Carly@ DistinguishedYW.org, or visit www.Distinguished- YW.org. Bynum Continued from Page 1 In the last two years, they have collected more than 10,000 pounds of cans and plastic for recycling from The Caverns. The award for Busi- ness Recycler of the Year was presented to Dom- tar, a leading provider of a wide variety of fi ber- based projects. The orga- nization took the strate- gic move in 2020 to idle their Kingsport Mill and enter the containerboard market. Resuming opera- tion in 2023, the King- sport Mill is home to the second-largest recycled containerboard machine in North America, capa- ble of producing approxi- mately 600,000 tons of recycled linerboard and corrugated medium, an- nually. The Kingsport Mill is also the largest re- cycler of corrugated card- board in the state of TN. Metro Nashville re- ceived the Government Recycler of the Year. In 2023, Metro Waste Ser- vices, a division of Metro Water Services, intro- duced the Food Scraps Pickup Pilot, a program that provides free curb- side composting services to 750 Nashville house- holds for one year. MWS worked with contractor, Compost Nashville. To date, FSPP has collected 42 tons of food scraps and anticipates diverting approximately 115 tons of food waste from land fi lls by the end of the pilot year. This year’s Top Lead- er award was presented to Gary Wayne Hyde, Sanitation Department manager and Lawrence County Solid Waste di- rector for the City of Lawrenceburg and Law- rence County. Hyde has spent more than 40 years in the ever-changing and di ffi cult solid waste and recycling industry. In 2015, his department was awarded the Governor’s Environmental Steward- ship Award for Materi- als Management, and in 2022 he was awarded The Tennessee Solid Waste Director of the Year. Event Partner, the Tennessee Environmen- tal Conference, presented the 2024 Paul Hayden Memorial Award to Kathleen Gibi, execu- tive director of Keep the Tennessee River Beauti- ful. Gibi, a tireless advo- cate for the Tennessee River, rallied 994 volun- teers who removed more than 218,000 pounds of trash from the Tennessee River in 2023 alone. Jan Compton, Tennessee En- vironmental Conference director, presented the award. The Tom Hattle Me- morial Award went to Ginger Reasonover of The Environmental Council. Reasonover assists in the planning, coordinat- ing, and executing Recy- cling Roundup collection events across the state, collecting an average of 22,000 pounds of mate- rials at each Roundup. Reasonover is passionate about the environment, and goes above and be- yond in her community to promote recycling. She has received the TN Proj- ect Learning Tree Edu- cator of the Year award, NEED Primary Teacher of the YEAR and the Na- tional Geographic Certi- fi ed Educator award. In addition to the Recycling Awards, the Bob Fletcher Memorial Award Scholarship, in the amount of $2500, was presented to Lily Barrie. This scholarship will provide funding for Barrie to attend The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to study Political Science with a Minor in Environmen- tal Studies. The scholar- ship memorializes the late Bob Fletcher, a pas- sionate advocate helping counties, cities, and busi- nesses with household hazardous waste, recy- cling, and other environ- mental issues. Fletcher worked for the Tennessee Department of Environ- ment & Conservation. Visit TRC for more in- formation. Grotto Continued from Page 1 person sessions, culmi- nating in a graduation ceremony. Local community member Kelley Hogan, the Director of the Beene- Pearson Public Library in South Pittsburg, has been selected to participate in this prestigious program. Hogan expressed her ex- citement, stating, “Mari- on County has never had a representative, and I’m thrilled to have this hon- or.” She emphasized that having a representative from Marion County will directly impact local fam- ilies with members who have disabilities and will raise awareness about the resources and advo- cacy available to them. Beginning in Septem- ber, the program will equip Hogan and other participants with the knowledge and tools to engage with lawmakers and legislators, advocate for disability rights, and create bene fi cial policies. The curriculum is based on the Developmental Disabilities Act values of self-determination, inde- pendence, and inclusion, and covers areas such as advocacy, daily life, em- ployment, community living, and more. Participants will also work on a Group Advoca- cy Action Plan during the program, which they will continue to develop and implement after gradua- tion with the support of mentors and the Partners graduate network. The ultimate goal of the pro- gram is to empower peo- ple with disabilities and their families to bring about positive change in Tennessee communities and the systems that af- fect their lives. While the application window for the 2024- 2025 class is closed, those interested in fu- ture opportunities are encouraged to subscribe to the Council’s publica- tions and follow them on social media for up- dates. For more infor- mation, contact Cathlyn Smith, Director of Lead- ership Development, at cathlyn.k.smith@tn.gov or 615-686-3142. Partners Continued from Page 1 rear-view mirror and saw that the driver was taking something and had taken something to drink right before he stopped.” What should have been a routine tra ffi c stop deteriorated quickly. “I asked him if he had the registration, and he opened the glove box and handed me a title to the car,” said McGinness, who noted it was a white In fi nity 2000 model. “I asked him for his license, and he said that he didn’t have it, but his name was Jacob Lawson. I then asked him to step out of the vehicle and he asked why. I advised him that he did not have registra- tion to the vehicle, he did not have his license on him and that I would like to identify him.” The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in Pennsyl- vania v. Mimms, that it is not a violation of the Fourth Amendment to order someone out of their car and frisk them. They stated that the of- fi cers’ safety far out- weighed the slight incon- venience of asking a mo- torist to exit their vehicle while on a tra ffi c stop. The o ffi cer advised the man that he was standing in the roadway and would like to move to a safer location to con- tinue the discussion as to what, if anything, the in- dividual had consumed. “He then stated that he did not have to get out of the vehicle,” said Mc- Ginness. “I then advised him that he would get out of the vehicle, or I would have to place him under arrest. He stated that he was not getting out of the vehicle.” McGinness attempted to remove Lawson, whose verbal resistance turned physical. “I was able to get him out of the car and hold onto him, but he was try- ing to push me away from him. K9 O ffi cer [Brant] Voss arrived on scene and began to assist me. The driver got away from both of our grasps and was able to get back into the car. I continued to try and pull the driver out but was unsuccessful.” Both law enforcement o ffi cers attempted to de- ploy tasers, but neither deployed, a situation Mc- Ginness credited to using outdated equipment. “We then went hands on again and were able to pull him from the ve- hicle. At this time, three fi remen from Monteagle Fire assisted us,” said McGinness, who identi- fi ed Monteagle Fire Chief Travis Lawyer among them. “The driver had one cu ff on him and was able to get away from my grasp. He then got back in his car. Travis was able to get the handcu ff that was not on him yet and was able to pull him to keep him from trying to take o ff in the car. The driver tried pulling the handcu ff out of Travis’ hand.” Arriving on scene were Monteagle Police Chief William Raline and Patrolman Cody Smart, who joined in on the ef- fort to gain control of Lawson, a struggle that ended shortly thereafter with Lawson in hand- cu ff s. Lawson was trans- ported to Grundy County Jail by Deputy Young. McGinness su ff ered a minor injury to his back, Lawyer su ff ered a minor injury to his hand, and Voss su ff ered a more sig- ni fi cant injury to one leg. According to the re- port, Lawson continued a verbal objection to being arrested. “Deputy Young stated that Jacob screamed all the way to the jail,” said McGinness. Lawson was also charged with failure to provide a driver’s license, expired registration and no insurance. His fi rst court appearance is Sep- tember 12 before Judge William R. Anderson III. The charges and al- legations referenced in this release are merely accusations of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and un- til proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law. Lawson Continued from Page 1 Local 4-H group places fourth overall A group of young participants from Marion County represented Ten- nessee 4-H at the Southern Regional 4-H Horse Championships in Perry, Georgia, achieving an impressive 4th place overall as a team. Michaella Petty also earned recog- nition as the 10th highest individual in the competition. Their next compe- tition is the Quarter Horse Congress, and the team is actively seeking travel sponsors to support their participation in two upcoming national contests. Those interested in contributing can contact elowrey@utk.edu. Kimball board approves key policies and projects in swift monthly meeting LACIE SILVA Editor T he regular monthly meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for the Town of Kimball was held, where all agen- da items were approved without discussion. The meeting was brief, with only one item discussed under old business, one under new business, and one public comment is- sue addressed. Mayor Rex Pesnell provided an update un- der old business, inform- ing the board that the Marion County High- way Department has completed the paving of Spears Road at a cost of $15,527, as approved in a previous meeting. The board unani- mously approved all agenda items without discussion and are listed as follows: The public o ffi cial’s management and em- ployment practices liabil- ity policy with Builtwell Insurance Agency Incor- porated and the Green- wich Insurance Compa- ny, amounting to $4,916. The public entity partner’s general liabil- ity, personal injury liabil- ity, errors and omissions liability, automotive li- ability, and automotive physical damage policy, totaling $52,213. The public entity property and crime poli- cy, costing $49,263. The workers’ compen- sation and employers’ li- ability premium audit with public entity part- ners, which resulted in an additional $6,441. A $1,000 donation from the town to the Greater Jasper Jaycees for the boat races sched- uled in October. The town’s applica- tion for the 2025 Blue Cross Healthy Place proj- ects. The Kimball Fire and Rescue Department’s ap- plication for the Gary Si- nise Foundation grant. During the pub- lic comments, a citizen requested the board ad- dress a deteriorated sec- tion of road that required restriping. Mayor Rex Pesnell con fi rmed the speci fi c area needing at- tention, which is the por- tion of Dixie Lee Center Road running from the red light near Kimball City Hall, across from Dixie Lee Center Road, and extending behind Food City and in front of Lowe’s. Mayor Pesnell assured the citizen that he would look into hav- ing the necessary road maintenance completed.