ELECTION COMMISSION PREPARES for early voting. A3 Herald-CitizenFRIDAY,Herald-Citizen FEBRUARY 7, 2020 | COOKEVILLE, TENNESSEE 118TH YEAR | NO. 27 75 CENTS Assistant district attorney resigns BY PAIGE STANAGE Gunn’s resig- exculpatory evidence, or evi- said. “It’s unheard of to hide “However, Mr. Gunn recog- HERALD-CITIZEN nation, eff ective dence favorable to the defen- a material witness.” nizes that the court’s posi- immediately, dant, in their possession to Dunaway issued a state- tion would make it diffi cult An assistant district comes after the defense. ment following Gunn’s resig- for him to continue to prac- attorney who was accused Judge Gary McK- Gunn reportedly had a nation. tice in the Criminal Court of withholding a witness in enzie handed crucial witness for his case “Thursday, I accepted the here, thus he has decided to rape trial in Putnam County down a Brady and did not provide contact resignation of Assistant Dis- continue his work as a prose- last week has resigned. violation ruling information for the witness, trict Attorney Bret Gunn,” cutor elsewhere.” Bret Gunn, an assistant Gunn in the Kevin or what would be included Dunaway said. “Mr. Gunn Gunn was also the prose- district attorney in the 13th Blake Hughes in his testimony, to Hughes’ was accused of impropriety cutor in a 2016 misdemeanor Judicial District, submit- rape trial last week. defense attorneys, Randy in a rape trial held last week. theft and assault case that ted his resignation to 13th Gunn was the lead prose- York, Shawn Fry and Brett He and I fi rmly maintain resulted in a hung jury. Judicial District Attorney cutor in that case. Knight. that he did nothing unethical Prosecutors, namely Gunn, General Bryant Dunaway The Brady rule requires “It was improper for them or outside the bounds of what Thursday. prosecutors to disclose to withhold the truth,” Fry the law permits. SEE DA, PAGE A2 H-C carrier rescued from floodwaters Man clung to tree for more than two hours waiting for help BY BEN WHEELER HERALD-CITIZEN One Herald-Citizen carrier is lucky to have survived after being trapped in rising waters after several inches of rain fell this week. Early Thursday morning, Roger Shelley had been making paper deliveries on his route after heavy rains had swept through the Upper Cumberland. Shelly was on Lafever Road and Burgess Mills Road when he found how dangerous the fl ood waters had become. “I have a few areas that fl ood on my route, and they were clear, so I assumed this one was as well,” Shelley said. “It was pitch black, and I turned the corner and didn’t even have a chance to hit my brakes.” Shelley’s car window had been down, and he was able to make it out of the car. But then he had to fi ght through the current. “Getting out of that car was the most important thing. I tried to swim to a big tree but couldn’t make it to it,” Shelley said. “I got to a tinier one, and I had a bluetooth headset connected to my phone. I called my family to get help, and then my phone went dead.” “I was trying to hold onto this tree but kept falling down into the water. I’m weak now. It took all I could to hold onto that tree.” After what Shelley said was roughly two and a half hours of clinging to the tree, a boat showed up to help rescue him. Putnam County and White County Rescue Squads assisted in the operation and helped pull Shelley from the water. His body tem- perature was roughly 90 degrees. Putnam County Rescue Squad PIO Daniel Harris said the water was deep enough that DAVID THOMPSON | PUTNAM COUNTY SWIFTWATER RESCUE Shelley’s car was completely submerged Putnam County Swiftwater Rescue Team members saved a Herald-Citizen carrier who encountered a flooded road during his delivery route Thursday morning. SEE FLOODING, PAGE A2 Board approves new school design BY JIM HERRIN square feet, potentially now zoned to attend HERALD-CITIZEN reducing the cost by Park View Elementary $1.2 million. School. It is expected to The Putnam County “No real changes to hold up to 1,000 stu- School Board Thursday the look,” Chamberlin dents. approved the revised told board members, Although they ap- schematic design for a noting that the estimat- proved the revised proposed new school in ed cost of the school as design, board members southwest Cookeville it is designed is approx- then voted to postpone — reducing the audito- imately $45.5 million. formally sending a rium seating from 1,000 The design still incor- proposal to the Putnam to 600 in an attempt to porates grades PreK-8 County Commission reduce the overall cost. in a building that would with a request for fund- Architect Kim be constructed on a 45- ing. Chamberlin said the acre site on Lee Semi- “We’re making sure revised plan for the nary Road. that we have all our proposed PreK-8 school Offi cials have said ducks in a row with will reduce the square that the new school is the commission,” said JIM HERRIN | HERALD-CITIZEN footage of the building intended to accommo- Architect Kim Chamberlin stands in front of schematic design plans for a from 187,000 to 181,000 date students who are SEE SCHOOL, PAGE A2 new school in Putnam County. herald-citizen.com INDEX 2 sections | 16 pages OBITUARIES Page A5 DEAR ABBY A6 COMICS A11 OPINION A4 Anna Scott, Double Springs Dallas Lowe, Cookeville CALENDAR A6 CROSSWORD A11 RELIGION A7 Donna Ashburn, Cookeville Micheal Hood, Cookeville CLASSIFIED B2 MORE! A6 SUDOKU A11 We Can Help... Call Laura Today! A2 HERALD-CITIZEN FROM PAGE 1 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2020 herald-citizen.com 0LOTTERY0 Thursday Stonecutting company coming to Baxter Cash 3 Evening 4-3-6, Lucky Sum: 13 BY PAIGE STANAGE The site is on Ward Mill Islanoglin) said he wanted to coming over from Italy. They’d Cash 3 Midday HERALD-CITIZEN Road. It is commercial land expand to middle Tennessee.” like for us to be ready with the 4-9-8, Lucky Sum: 21 owned by Horace Burks, own- Burks agreed to construct building’s construction.” More than 20 new jobs are er of Fixtur-World Designs, the building and have Anato- The business is scheduled to Cash 3 Morning coming to Baxter residents Inc. lia Granite & Marble sign a 10 be operating by May 1. 6-8-8, Lucky Sum: 22 upon competition of a new Bob Vick of Bob Vick & As- year lease to rent it. “It just looks like to me it’s business project. sociates Engineering provided It is a $3 million project that going to be very very diffi - Cash 4 Evening The site plan for Anatolia insight to the commission will provide Baxter with 20 to cult to get done in that time 3-1-2-2, Lucky Sum: 8 Granite & Marble, a business about the business. 25 jobs, Vick said. frame,” said Vick. that specializes in cutting “Anatolia is a company that “Anatolia has the equipment “It’s a pretty good project, Cash 4 Midday granite, marble, stone and Fixtur-World does a lot of scheduled to come in in April, and hopefully it’s going to be a 8-4-0-3, Lucky Sum: 15 metal, was approved in the work with,” Vick said. “Ana- and we’re gonna have to do long term thing. It’s certainly Cash 4 Morning Baxter Planning Commission tolia specializes in cutting a whole lot to get this done,” good to get another industry 0-4-7-4, Lucky Sum: 15 Thursday night. granite. Their owner (Temel Vick said. “The equipment is down here.” Cash4Life 04-05-08-25-47 Cash Ball: 4 School board 0READER SERVICES0 Address: approves 1300 Neal St. Cookeville, TN 38501 Mailing Address: director search P.O. Box 2729 Cookeville TN 38502 committee Phone: 931-526-9715 BY JIM HERRIN Fax: 931-526-1209 HERALD-CITIZEN News The Putnam County School Board [email protected] Thursday appointed a 12-member search Sports committee to fi nd the next director of [email protected] schools. Advertising Board members are looking to fi ll the [email protected] job left open when Jerry Boyd unexpect- Living edly resigned last month. Deputy Director [email protected] of Schools Corby King has been appointed Circulation to the interim job and has said he will be a [email protected] candidate for the permanent position. Business News Each board member was given the [email protected] opportunity to name two members of the Church News committee. Chair Dawn Fry chose CHS [email protected] assistant principal and special education School News teacher Michelle Bowman and Park View [email protected] Elementary School parent Kim Thorpe; Classified Ads Kim Cravens named Life Church pastor [email protected] and former Putnam County teacher Jason Baugh and parent Michael Detwiler; Letter Guidelines David McCormick’s choices are Burks El- All letters to the editor must be ementary School teacher Gerri Reese and signed and include the writer’s Prescott South parent Kayla Todd; Lynn name, address and phone McHenry selected former school board number. Letters are subject to chairman Eric Brown and retired busi- editing and/or rejection. A strict ness teacher Connie Dalton; Celeste Gam- 400-word limit will be enforced. mon chose retired educator Linda Nash Send letters to the mailing and former teacher and principal Michael address listed above, or email JIM HERRIN | HERALD-CITIZEN Meihls; and Jerry Maynard named Farm to [email protected].