Becky Newbold

“What keeps you awake at night?”  Risks, for company owners, may be high on the list, guest speaker Chester Darden told the Hohenwald Lewis County Chamber of Commerce last week.

For three years the former Marine made his point, picking up a vote or two along the way.

Finally this time in a surprise outcome, even to Commissioner David Rentschler, the tide turned when seven Lewis County Commissioners voted no, upsetting a previously unquestioned compliance with a federal law.

Sixteen of Tennessee’s 95 counties will be eligible for a competitive grant of $17 million dollars, a representative of the South Central Tennessee Development District told the Hohenwald City Council last Thursday.  Tornado damage in 2008 was cited as the common factor.

Each county is potentially qualified for up to $1.2 million, up to $600,000 for each entity.  If one of the governments, either the City or County, does not apply, the other could be eligible for up to $750,000.

Mantria Executive Troy Wragg was unavailable for comment by phone at press time, but online reports indicate he, and partner Amanda Knorr, deny allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission of a Ponzi scheme.

The SEC charged the pair on November 16, 2009 with perpetrating a $30 million scheme in which more than 300 investors nationwide were encouraged to participate in environmentally friendly investment opportunities.

The interim mayor conducted the proceedings Monday evening as the Lewis County Board of Commissioners convened in their first meeting since the passing of former Lewis County Mayor Kenneth Turnbow.

Interim Mayor Jonah Keltner called for a moment of silence to pay respect to Mayor Turnbow and to allow silent prayers for his family before the business meeting began.

A permanent mayor will be chosen by the Commission on November 30, 2009.  The procedure is outlined in an advertisement on B • 5 of the print edition, November 19, 2009.

Winning for Lewis County’s Keg Springs Winery has become a reasonable expectation considering the number of honors received since their opening in June 2004.

And its smart business for one of Tennessee’s newest wineries at Belle Meade Plantation to call upon the expertise of Keg Springs’ Winemaker Brian Hamm as they open for business later this month.

Wines of the South  named Keg Springs’ Monks’s Blackberry as the 2009 Best of Fruit wine during the October 17, 2009 competition held at the University of Tennessee conference center.

A coming together of the city and the county in the economic and community development trenches last week netted uncertain results for the future uniting of each entity.

Joining the Hohenwald City Mayor and representatives from the Lewis County Board of Commissioners was Brooxie Carlton of the State Department of Economic and Community Development (EC&D) and Three Star program.  Carlton urged  a united front.

The conclusion of a Lewis County Board of Commissioners recess on August 24, 2009 may have signaled the end of more than ten years of Three Star certification for Lewis County.

If the office of Economic & Community Development is unfunded, the county will immediately lose years of work to achieve state certification which keeps Hohenwald, Lewis County in line for grant funding and low interest loans for infrastructure.  The certification also means the community meets State requirements for industrial readiness.  

This loss comes with a price.

“The country has awakened all of a sudden,” the junior senator said to a room of nearly 200 at the Tennessee Technology Center on Main Street, speaking of holding 23 town hall meetings plus more than 30 county meetings across Tennessee.