January
January 2022 came in with subfreezing temperatures and the first beautiful white snow of the year. On the heels of warm weather and tornado warnings from December 2021, the colder temperatures were certainly much more fitting for the season. A week or so after the snow, more precipitation, combined with cold temps, created ice that looked pretty on the landscape but fortunately didn’t cause any travel problems.
The month of January saw the promotion of Chris Bevis to the position of General Manager here at The Wayne County News. Employed here since 1993, Bevis already had many years’ experience in production, delivery, and graphic design of the newspaper. Daniel Richardson, CEO of Magic Valley Publishing, said, “Chris Bevis absolutely has the experience and good character to fill the position of General Manager at The News. I have faith that he will continue to move our paper forward in a positive direction.”
February
In the month of February, the Collinwood Middle School Trojanettes and the Waynesboro Middle School Wildcats brought home championship trophies from the James C. Haile State Basketball Tournament. The CMS Trojanettes defeated the Waynesboro Middle School Lady Cats by a score of 31-22 to earn the title of AA State Champs. The WMS Wildcats pulled off a win over South Fentress in overtime with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Warren Camfield. Lindsay Statom from CMS and Michael Camfield from WMS received Coaches’ Awards at the tournament as well.
On February 1st, 2022, firefighters responded to a fire on Recycling Road in Collinwood. Connected mobile homes used for storage, owned by Edward Clark, caught fire, but zero losses were reported. The origin of the blaze was undetermined, but firefighters speculate that it could have started from an outlet.
A Kid’s Place Child Advocacy Center held their official ribbon cutting at their new Wayne County location in February. The center specializes in serving child victims of sexual abuse and severe physical abuse and their participating caregivers in Lawrence, Giles, Maury, and Wayne Counties. They are the only state certified Child Advocacy Center within these counties to provide free services to child victims of abuse. Their services include investigative interviews, forensic medical exams, therapy, family advocacy, and preventive & community awareness. They specialize in treating childhood trauma of sexual abuse, physical abuse, exposure to meth, witness to domestic abuse, and witness to homicide. They also offer free training in preventing, reporting, and detecting child abuse for parents and professionals in the communities they serve.
Ground was broken in Collinwood at 108 1st Avenue North in February for the newest addition to the Wayne County Dollar General family. Following a few months of relatively quick construction, the new Dollar General Market opened for business in May. It is now the largest Dollar General in the county and offers a wide selection of items, including fresh produce.
The Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards honored two Wayne Countians in February. One youth and one adult volunteer were selected from participating counties to receive the prestigious award, judged on the creativity used to solve a community problem and the impact of the volunteer service on the community. Katherine Reeves was selected as the Wayne County Adult Honoree. Katherine takes a very active role in several local groups. She volunteers with Toys for Tots, Waynesboro First United Methodist Church, The Butterfly Foundation, Country Road Animal Rescue, The Ladies in Pink Society, Wayne County Food Basket Drive, and a Scentsy Buddies drive. Katherine also founded Love Bug’s Initiative, later renamed to BJ’s Love in memory of BJ Eaton. Addie Kate Littrell was named the Wayne County Youth Honoree. Addie Kate has volunteered since age 12 for the American Heart Association’s yearly fundraiser. She also assisted with painting murals for Collinwood High School. Addie Kate led coin drives, blessing bag collection, and a toy collection for Operation Homefront. She is a youth group mentor, a vacation bible school leader, and was the President of Wayne County Junior Civitan Club.
A large wildfire driven by high winds burned through 62 acres in Wayne County on February 9. Firefighters from Ovilla, Topsy, Waynesboro Station 1, and the TN Forestry Division fought the fire, which began just off Highway 64 near the Lawrence and Wayne County line. Sources state that the fire may have ignited from a spark from a utility line. High winds and dry conditions contributed to the spread of the fire. Heavy smoke from the fire hung over the area for hours, requiring the Tennessee Highway Patrol to be near the scene for traffic control.
On Tuesday, February 15, the Waynesboro Fire Department responded to a call at Shady Grove mobile home park on Old Highway 64 in Waynesboro. When firefighters arrived on the scene, neighbors were fighting the fire with buckets of water, and had already knocked the fire down tremendously. Firefighters wet down the area and made sure there were no hot spots. The source of the fire was determined to be a space heater in the living room. The occupant of the home, Karen Risner, made her way out of her bedroom and was forced to go through the burning living room to escape. She was transported to the hospital for treatment of burns and smoke inhalation.
March
Construction on the Bevis Education Center’s forestry classroom began in March 2022. State-of-the-art simulators are provided in the forestry classroom for learning how to operate a log loader, hydraulic excavator, track-type tractor, and other equipment. There is also a truck driving simulator on site for individuals who wish to earn a CDL.
The Wayne County High School Lady Cats came away with the “Silver Ball” runner-up trophy during March in the Blue Cross Championships Class 1A Basketball State Tournament in Murfreesboro. The Lady Cats defeated Cloudland and Dresden before losing to McKenzie by four, 46-42, in the championship game. The Lady Cats finished the season with a 35-5 record, a district championship, a region championship, and the second place finish.
On March 18, 2022, the Waynesboro Police Department responded to a motor vehicle accident past the Old Highway 64 intersection on Savannah Highway. Upon arrival, officers found the driver, James Dinges of Waynesboro, ejected from the vehicle and lying on the right-hand shoulder of the roadway just behind his car. An 18-wheeler, driven by Roy Buie of Leoma, TN, had entered the inside lane from Old Highway 64 West when Dinges’ vehicle struck the back end of the log trailer with the driver’s side of his 2018 Nissan Sentra. Investigation showed this to be an unfortunate weather-related accident.
A major wind event struck Wayne County on Tuesday, March 22, damaging homes and businesses across the county. Toward the end of a day that had already produced heavy rain and gusty winds, either straight-line winds or a near touchdown of a tornado caused fear and damage in the county. Thankfully, no one was reported as being injured during the wind event. Many roofs and sheds were damaged, and trees were blown down in many parts of the county. Highway Superintendent Chuck Moser reported downed trees and debris in the roadways on Herbert Gallian Drive, Old Town Branch, Simmons Branch, Waterfall Road, Hurricane Creek, Upper Green River, and Johnson Hollow Road, with other roads being covered in debris as well. Damage to homes, sheds, and carports was also reported in the Sunny Acres area.
April
The month of April came in relatively quiet, but the city of Collinwood was soon jarred by vandalism to three buildings in town. The vandalism began in March when a large glass window in the Fast Pace building was broken, along with a pane of glass at Collinwood Hardware. On April 9, the glass front door of the Wayne County Bank in Collinwood was shattered by a rock in the same fashion as the Fast Pace incident.
As predicted by meteorologists, strong storms came through Wayne County on Wednesday, April 13, bringing heavy rainfall and devastating straight-line winds. Photos show a mobile home on Circle Bend Road near Waynesboro that was quite literally “cut in two” when a tree fell onto it during the storm. Thankfully, the home was unoccupied at the time. The dugout at the big baseball field at the Waynesboro Sportsplex was also heavily damaged in the storm. The roof of the dugout was blown off, and other storm debris was scattered across most of the Sportsplex area.
The Wayne County High School students in the Plant Science and Hydroculture, Landscaping and Greenhouse Management classes worked hard all year under the instruction of Mrs. Audra Flippo to get ready for their Spring Plant sale. They grew numerous bedding plants, hanging baskets, and vegetable plants. They also produced lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers in different hydroponic systems and shared them with staff, students, and the public. These students have learned about multiple methods of propagation like germinating seeds, rooting cuttings, and plant divisions.
