Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

During the regularly scheduled Committee of the Whole meeting of the Board of Commissioners held Monday night, several items were on the agenda, but most requested by the community, was the need to discuss the issue of increased loitering. In almost all cases made public, those loitering are not familiar faces.

One citizen recounts an instance that happened this week. “Saturday morning, I took the kids to get breakfast at Sonic when a man I’ve never seen before came up to the front of my car. It was apparent that he was ‘not with it,’ and was talking to himself dramatically with big motions. I rolled up my window and tried to pull off as fast as I could, but he continued walking toward my car, mumbling, staring directly at me. It was truly a scary situation.” Another citizen publicly asked what is being done to address the people walking our streets harassing people.

After hearing from several county and city officials, as well as the park board, Chief of Police Kevin Carroll vowed to triple the patrol to improve safety.

The County also proposed adding a Part-Time Security Guard to work an evening shift 5 hours a day, 7 days a week, at Memorial Park.

Also proposed was the park hire 2 or 3 people to cover these hours. Duties would include “being present at the park, not just sitting in the office, monitoring the property via golf cart, running off anyone disobeying park rules, securing all doors and buildings at the end of the shift, and more.” More discussion will be held.