Friday Herald-Citizen The Daily Newspaper of the Upper Cumberland 114th Year — No. 36 Cookeville, Tennessee, February 12, 2016 20 Pages — 2 Sections • 50¢ Weather First date turns into arrest for assault, disorderly conduct Tonight Tomorrow By TRACEY HACKETT ple whose first date ended with an arrest arranged to meet in person. Upon the officer’s arrival, he spoke with HERALD-CITIZEN Staff this week. According to a report by Cookeville Po- the alleged victim. Rachel Lynn Camarda, of Thomas Road lice Officer Colby Fox, the incident hap- “He said that he had met a woman on COOKEVILLE — This Valentine’s Day in Cookeville, was charged with assault pened at the Cookeville man’s home late the Internet recently, and tonight was the won’t likely bring heart-shaped boxes of and disorderly conduct for reportedly as- Tuesday night and very early Wednesday 14º 25º chocolates and red roses for a local cou- saulting a man she met online and morning. See DATE, Page 2 Complete forecast, Page 2 Man pleads Sports Early voting guilty to taking photos in park bathroom By TRACEY HACKETT HERALD-CITIZEN Staff COOKEVILLE — A Cookeville man arrested in October for taking inappropriate pictures in the men’s Top seed bathroom at Cane Creek Park has Upperman boys clinch pleaded guilty. 8-AA top seed /B1 Gordon Sardo, 28, of West End Street in Cookeville, pleaded guilty in Putnam County General Ses- sions Court this week to two counts of unlawful photographing in vio- Living lation of privacy. Judge John Hudson sentenced Sardo to 11 months and 29 days of probation and banned him from re- turning to any location within Cane Creek Park. Sardo was arrested following a Cookeville Police Department in- vestigation immediately following the incident in October. “One of two victims in this inci- dent had been changing clothes in the bathroom at Cane Creek Park Glass art Ty Kernea | Herald-Citizen when he noticed one of the other bathroom stalls was occupied and TTU’s work on display in Putnam County voter Ann Manzaro casts her ballot on Thursday during the second day of early voting for the saw a cell phone being held over Missouri /A7 March 1 presidential primary at the Putnam Election Commission Office on County Services Drive in Cookeville. the door of that stall,” said Capt. Voter turnout has been slow following several inches of snowfall this week. Carl Sells of the department’s criminal investigation division. Tennessee may be important in presidential primary The man exited the stall and an- Religion other man entered it. By LINDSAY McREYNOLDS vember election, Tennessee may be impor- difference based on the number of candi- He reportedly noticed the cell HERALD-CITIZEN Staff tant in helping selecting the frontrunners dates in that race. phone being raised above the stall for the next president, depending on which “Tennessee is a state up for grabs,” Put- in the public restroom as well. PUTNAM COUNTY — In the days lead- primary you’re talking about. nam County Republican Party Chairman Upon report of the incident, a ing up to Super Tuesday on March 1, when Although few of the 14 candidates in the Harvey McNeal told the Herald-Citizen. Cookeville police officer re- 15 states will hold primaries and caucuses Republican Primary have dropped out, to select presidential candidates for the No- voter turnout in that primary may make a See VOTE, Page 2 See PHOTOS, Page 14 Spunky stray with At CPAC Renewal Lecture series coming to crippling tumor TBC /A8 spreads hope, at Index TSC tomorrow Abby............................A7 By TRACEY HACKETT deputy stopped to ask if she Calendar......................A6 HERALD-CITIZEN Staff needed assistance. “I told him to wait a moment Crossword .................A13 COOKEVILLE — So far, while I approached her to Living ..........................A7 Hope is living up to her name. guage her friendliness,” she She’s a dog whose right front said. Obituaries ...................A3 leg is badly deformed by a Vick said she quickly found Jeanette Hunter large tumor, causing her to that the stray animal was un- William Cowen walk with a bad limp. afraid, approaching her with- When Open Heart Rescue’s out hesitation, and docile Steven Beed Cheryl Vick spotted the collar- enough to be lifted into her ve- Bennie Savage II less dog nearly two weeks ago hicle. Robert Benson on Washington Avenue, near Without the need for assis- the intersection of Whiteaker tance from the deputy, both Philip Vossel Springs Road, she said she went their separate ways, and Ashley Sweat thought the dog had been hit Hope’s journey with Vick offi- Opinion.......................A4 by a car. cially began. “She was in the middle of the When Vick got home with the Sports ..........................B1 road, and I noticed that she animal, she found underneath Sudoku ......................A13 was limping. Thinking that she the dog’s matted fur not a blunt Ty Kernea | Herald-Citizen Weather ......................A2 had been hit by a car and in- force injury from being hit by In a scene from “Dog Sees God” at the Cookeville Performing Arts Center, Tricia (Rachel jured, I stopped to check on a car but the giant tumor caus- Mayes) is passed out on the floor while concerned friends react: from left, Matt (Trenton her,” Vick said. ing the crippled canine to walk Nash), Marcy (Bailee Michaels) C.B. (Matthew Hooper), Beethoven (Braden Wahl), C.B.’s Although she is accustomed with a bad limp, her right front sister (Sy Matlock), and Van (Sean Kennon). Show times are at 8 p.m. Feb. 12, 13, 15, 16, to encountering strange ani- paw twisted at an unnatural 19 and 20, with a late show at 10 p.m. Feb. 18, and a matinee at 2 pm. Feb. 20. Tickets mals because of the Putnam angle. are $15 general admission, $12 senior citizens, $5 for non-Tech students, and free for County rescue she runs, Vick Tech students with their ID. For more information, call the TTU Theatre box office at 931- said she was grateful when a See HOPE, Page 2 372-6595, the CPAC box office at 931-528-1313 or visit www.tntech.edu/bdph/. (931)528-0474 Insurance at the lowest possible cost! • Why not make us prove it? A-2 — HERALD-CITIZEN, Cookeville, Tenn. — www.herald-citizen.com — Friday, February 12, 2016 LOCAL READER Fire affects Willow apartments DATE: SERVICES By TRACEY HACKETT First Contact us: HERALD-CITIZEN Staff Address: COOKEVILLE — The Cookeville Fire Department re- date 1300 Neal St. sponded to a blaze in some Cookeville, Tenn. apartments over a row of busi- nesses on South Willow Avenue goes Mailing Address: last night. The call came at 7:03 p.m., and P.O. Box 2729 the first firefighters arrived on badly Cookeville TN 38502 the scene at 7:05. “The residents of the apartment From Page 1 unit where the fire originated Phone: 931-526-9715 were awakened by their cat,” first time he had met with her in Fax: 931-526-1209 Chief Roger Fuqua told the Her- person,” the officer reports. ald-Citizen. The woman had arrived at the Email: The source of the blaze appears man’s house in a cab a couple of News to have been the kitchen stove, hours prior to the incident, and [email protected] he said. the man said it was obvious that Sports “It originated in the kitchen she had been drinking alcohol [email protected] area of one apartment unit and Ty Kernea | Herald-Citizen before her arrival. Advertising spread through the wall and into Nonetheless, he invited the The Cookeville Fire Department responded to a blaze that started in an apartment over [email protected] the kitchen of another,” Chief woman in, where they began get- some businesses on South Willow Avenue last night, with emergency medical per- Living Fuqua said. ting to know each other over sonnel on stand-by. No one was injured in the fire, but multiple apartment units and [email protected] It also went into the structure’s drinks. at least one business was affected. Circulation attic space, and several units “He said that they were sitting [email protected] sustained smoke and water dam- in the living room talking and Business News age. Sources say they believe the working to extinguish the fire extent of it, I thought it could getting to know each other while [email protected] Firefighters also had to cut off power outage affects a T-shirt until about 9:20. have been much worse,” Chief having a couple drinks,” the offi- Church News electrical power to a portion of shop in the lower level of the All four Cookeville fire sta- Fuqua said. cer reports. [email protected] the structure. structure. tions — 20 firefighters — re- The damage this morning was But after a couple of drinks, the School News The power is still off in that The damage from the fire itself sponded, and a call for another roughly estimated at $50,000. woman reportedly became bel- [email protected] portion of the building, and did not extend into those busi- shift to provide assistance was It’s the city’s third fire this ligerent. Classified Ads some electrical updates will nesses, sources say. also issued. week, and the county responded When the man asked her to [email protected] likely have to be made before it Although no one was injured, “They did a great job saving to a fire with a fatality on Sun- leave his home, he told the offi- can be restored.