DOWN THE STRETCH: Tech loses to UTM. B1 Herald-CitizenFRIDAY,Herald-Citizen FEBRUARY 21, 2020 | COOKEVILLE, TENNESSEE 118TH YEAR | NO. 37 75 CENTS Opioid use drops; meth makes comeback BY PAIGE STANAGE ence earlier this month when that’s meth.” other agencies to help combat amine addiction is diff erent HERALD-CITIZEN he announced indictments He said that the number the increase. from treating an opioid against 15 people for meth- of people exposed to opioids “We’re having a lot of addiction. Methamphetamine use is amphetamine distribution during the crisis is tremen- conversations with our peers “There are medications on the rise since the opioid charges. dous. on the state level, like the that work with people to as- epidemic is winding down, “So here’s what we know, “We have a lot of folks who Department of Mental Health sist them with getting off opi- and that’s going to cause a which is based on drug trend have been exposed and are and Substance Abuse and oids,” Rausch said. “There’s host of problems, Tennessee analysis,” Rausch said. “It’s a addicted,” said Rausch. “So the Department of Safety,” nothing like that for meth. Bureau of Investigation Di- fl ow of uppers and downers. they’re looking for the next Rausch said. “We’re already People have to go cold turkey rector David Rausch said. We’re coming out of an opioid drug, and that’s the upper getting hit with the metham- from it. And the problem is Rausch talked about the in- crisis, which is a downer. So (meth).” phetamine issue and we know that meth use can rewire a crease at the Putnam County what we’re seeing now is the He said law enforcement it’s only going to get worse.” Sheriff ’s Offi ce press confer- upper that is taking over, and offi cials are working with Treating methamphet- SEE METH, PAGE A2 Housing authority tweaks plans City ordinances force HRA to reduce number of units BY JIM HERRIN HERALD-CITIZEN The board of Highlands Residential Ser- vices, Cookeville’s public housing authority, is reducing the planned number of units for the next phase of a development on Buff alo Valley Road. HRS Executive Director Dow Harris said offi cials had hoped to construct 60 units, but Cookeville zoning requirements caused them to change that plan. “It’s gotten complicated because the city is not going to allow us to develop Buff alo Valley more than 48 units unless we have a pass-through road,” he said. “To get out to CC Camp Road is very, very expensive.” Rather than incurring the additional cost of constructing the secondary access road, HRS will instead develop a 48-unit complex, made up of seven buildings. According to plans discussed by the board Thursday, that would include four one-bedroom homes, 34 two-bedroom units and 10 with three bed- rooms. The board is applying for 9-percent PAIGE STANAGE | HERALD-CITIZEN tax credit fi nancing from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency to help pay for Snow Dog the cost of the project, which will be named Stark enjoys the snow flurries in Cookeville Thursday morning. SEE HRA, PAGE A2 Planners to vote on rezoning BY BEN WHEELER The request was However, the concept HERALD-CITIZEN submitted as a redevel- plan could change. opment area overlay “Originally, we had More townhouses (RAO) but that request discussed why not and multi-family hous- was withdrawn be- extend CL down to (the ing could be coming to cause townhouses can’t property line), but we’ve Cookeville. be built in the RS-10, tried to avoid that any- Planners are consid- single-family residential where necessary,” Plan- ering a request to rezone zone. ning Director Jon Ward several lots on East Jere A concept plan from said. “We don’t want to Whitson Road and North developers shows that see commercial down Washington Avenue the existing structures these streets. If this deal from local commercial would be replaced by were to fall through, and single-family resi- 17 townhouses and 11 we’d have a commercial BEN WHEELER | HERALD-CITIZEN dential to multi-family structures housing 44 More townhouses and apartments could be headed for Washington residential. apartments. SEE REZONE, PAGE A2 Avenue and Jere Whitson Road. herald-citizen.com INDEX 2 sections | 18 pages OBITUARIES Page A5 HOW TO REACH US Herald-Citizen DEAR ABBY A10 COMICS A11 OPINION A4 Barry Sells, Monroe Call us: 931-526-9715 CALENDAR A6 CROSSWORD A11 RELIGION A7 Leonard Ledbetter, Livingston Come on in: 1300 Neal St, Cookeville TN 38501 CLASSIFIED B4 MORE! A10 SUDOKU A11 John Brown, Michigan On the web: www.herald-citizen.com We Can Help... Call Tiffany Today! A2 HERALD-CITIZEN FROM PAGE 1 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2020 herald-citizen.com 0LOTTERY0 Thursday Cash 3 Evening 3-0-2, Lucky Sum: 5 Cash 3 Midday 0-8-5, Lucky Sum: 13 Cash 3 Morning 1-3-4, Lucky Sum: 8 Cash 4 Evening 4-0-0-3, Lucky Sum: 7 Cash 4 Midday 1-9-8-7, Lucky Sum: 25 Cash 4 Morning 1-5-5-1, Lucky Sum: 12 Cash4Life Chamber Annual Meeting Sponsors 03-09-25-46-49 Cash Ball: 1 Sponsors of the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting with Gov. Bill Lee are Jonathan West, Twin Lakes; Gina Woodard, Ascend Federal Credit Union; Jennifer Stratton, Ascend Federal Credit Union; Gov. Bill Lee; 0READER SERVICES0 Phillip Baker, Farm Bureau; Pat Roper, First Horizon Bank; Paul Korth, Cookeville Regional Medical Center. Address: 1300 Neal St. Cookeville, TN 38501 TASA recognizes three LIFE FORCE members Mailing Address: ERLANGER — The Tennes- at the LIFE FORCE 2 base in P.O. Box 2729 see Ambulance Service Asso- Sparta. Cookeville TN 38502 ciation recognized Dr. Donald He is responsible for full- Barker; Robert Berger, fl ight time fl ight status as a fl ight Phone: 931-526-9715 paramedic; and Mark Eidson, nurse and coordinating out- Fax: 931-526-1209 fl ight nurse; for extraordinary reach education for 10 counties service in their fi elds during in Tennessee’s Upper Cumber- News the 2020 state conference held land Region [email protected] in Gatlinburg this week. “I am extremely proud of Sports Donald Barker, MD, re- these three individuals and [email protected] ceived Medical Director of their contributions to our Advertising the Year. For 28 years, LIFE program and health system,” [email protected] FORCE Air Medical has been Robbie Tester, senior director Living under the medical direction of for LIFE FORCE, EROC, and [email protected] Dr. Barker. Emergency Management at Er- Circulation LIFE FORCE paramedic langer, said. “Since 1988, LIFE [email protected] Robert Berger received Para- Mark Eidson, Robert Berger and Dr. Donald Barker were FORCE has been on the cut- Business News medic of the Year Award. In recently honored by the Tennessee Ambulance Service ting edge of critical transport [email protected] June of 1995, he joined LIFE Association. medicine. Without the medical Church News FORCE as a staff flight para- leadership of Dr. Barker and [email protected] medic on the newly created al Airport in 1996. LIFE FORCE fl ight nurse fl ight crew members like Rob- School News base in Sparta. He assisted in Berger oversees the safety Mark Eidson received the EMS ert and Mark, we would not be [email protected] driving the NICU transport program. He also keeps the Advocate Award. Eidson has where we are today. These men Classified Ads team until LIFE FORCE 2 staff informed about safety been with LIFE FORCE fi ve set the standards for others [email protected] moved into their new base at practices and any distribution years. For two years he has to follow, and I congratulate the Upper Cumberland Region- of safety related items. been clinical base educator them.” Letter Guidelines All letters to the editor must be signed and include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Letters are subject to HRA: City regulations force housing authority to change construction plans editing and/or rejection. A strict FROM PAGE A1 400-word limit will be enforced. Send letters to the mailing Hickory Valley. address listed above, or email The board also dis- to [email protected]. cussed the most cost-ef- fective way to develop Order a Photo the rest of the property Every photograph taken by a in the future. Herald-Citizen photographer “We don’t need to be and published in the paper overly dense on this is available for purchase. Go site, but we do want to to www.herald-citizen.com be effi cient,” said John and click on “Photo Gallery.” Haas of Edge Planning, Also, many photos included in Landscape and Urban online stories are available for Design. “We also deter- purchase. mined that we would prefer that every unit Subscriptions have its own individual To subscribe, call 931-526-9715. exterior entrance.” JIM HERRIN | HERALD-CITIZEN Visa, MasterCard, Discover Haas said topography From left, Highlands Residential Services board Chairman Robert Owens, board member Dan and AmEx accepted. on the existing site also Huff ines and Executive Director Dow Harris discuss access to the HRS project being developed on Rates: presents challenges, Bunker Hill Road. 3 mo 6 mo 1yr including the potential Carrier or need to build access “To build that road is Harris said a better he said. “We’re recom- The board approved Mail: 385 roads that would have $2 million, every pen- alternative might be to mending (trying) to a motion to pursue an Zip Code $28 $54 $95 to cross wetland areas, ny of it,” he said.