Gibson County Pioneer Marching Band Week to be held November 27-December 1

By J. D. Pinkerton

The Dyer board voted and approved a resolution to celebrate November 27-December 1 as Gibson County Pioneer Marching Band Week in the city.

On November 4, the band captured the Tennessee Division I Championship. The Marching Pioneers swept first place in all categories, bringing home trophies for champion band, color guard, drum majors, and percussion.

Some other highlights of the board meeting were new employee hires, street repairs, and beer at tournaments.

The board accepted the resignation of Kevin Hurley of the street department.

Mayor Chris Younger asked that David McEwen be approved for the Dyer Industrial Board. It was voted and approved by the board.

Alderman Ray Carroll made a motion that Kris Todd, a volunteer firefighter and grant writer, apply for two grants, one for a truck and the other for special equipment. It was voted and approved by the board.

Alderman Tom Mikkelsen made a motion for the city to hire a part-time worker to fill in the gap. The board discussed the pros and cons of hiring anyone part or fulltime. The board voted to hire a part-time employee.

There was discussion on the street repairs going on in the city. Alternative means to try and save the city money were discussed. Carroll asked how many people came in with the PRI crew to make the repairs. The answer came from Younger who said three. Each one of the three was specialized in individual semantics of the job. Carroll said that he felt that if the city went in and tried to affect the repairs, they might be going in over their heads.

Carroll said, “Two years ago we started cleaning off sidewalks. We haven’t got those finished yet. Two years ago, we started cleaning ditches; we haven’t got those finished yet. You keep fighting off stuff and you’re not finishing what you got, you got a problem.” Carroll continued, “I’m not blaming Willie Caton; he has more than he can do now. We just don’t need to take on anything new now until we can finish what we’ve started.”

Alderman Ray Ivie said it would take another year before the city can finish what’s on its plate.

Caton said, “We had Orr road looking real nice and it’s grown back up again.We just don’t have the man power to stay caught up with everything.”

Mikkelsen said he talked with some guys playing slow pitch softball at the park who want to get tournament play started in Dyer. They said each team would pay $150-$200 to play in the tournament. They felt they could get 10-12 separate teams in it.

Mikkelsen said, “These were adults, not kids. I’m just trying to get Dyer on the map more.” Beer is part of baseball. They serve beer at the Jackson Generals games, the Northern states as well. Both Aldermen Michael Barron and Ray Ivie said the city couldn’t sell beer at the games.

Ivie said, “I guarantee you if there is a tournament anywhere in Gibson County, there is beer there. People bring it with them. Bringing it out in public, you can stop that.” Mikkelsen said, “I’m not talking high school kids, I’m talking after hours, adult games.”

Barron said, “They will buy their beer in Dyer, they will buy their chicken, they will go to the Toot and Tell It to eat.”