Body Found in Holiday Lake, Believed to be Man Missing from early Janaury.

Crossville Police Department Press Release:

On the morning of Wednesday, the 24^th of January, 2018, the Crossville Police Department, working in conjunction with members of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Crossville Fire Department’s dive team, were investigating the area of Holiday Lake, in an attempt to locate a missing person.

The body of an adult male was recovered from the water, at approximately 10:35 am. The identity has not been confirmed but is believed to be that of Benjamin Heino, who was last seen at his Flamingo Drive residence on Friday 12/29/17, in Crossville, TN.

Holiday Lake file photo

Due to the freezing temperatures and the inaccessibility to the frozen lake, search efforts have been delayed until today. Following the recovery efforts, the investigation will continue. Any further information will be released upon the receipt of a positive identification and the completed investigation.

Our appreciation goes out to the assisting agencies for their valuable experience and expertise, which led to the successful and safe completion of this search.

Rock the Block brings out big crowds for fun and festivities

After the success of a series of downtown block parties, some downtown area merchants off of Main Street decided to try an alternative location for another block party and Rock the Block was born.  According to organizers, some 56 vendors participated in the event and the nice weather came in after an early shower and the crowds came out.

Stanley Street between Main Street and Webb Avenue was closed along with a side street and the area was filled with tents and tables and exhibits.  In addition some events were held across Highway 70 and the crowds milled about to see a live owl and exhibits from the TWRA.

A great crowd attended.

Kid fun inflatables

Kids loved climbing and sliding.

Rock Painting is the new thing

for kids and adults.

Even Crossville Rocks t-shirts.

Kids demonstrate martial arts

Cumberland Co. Archives volunteers

can help with genealogy.

Jim Young Reporter is sponsored by

PARK PLACE MOTORS,

A CARFAX Advantage Dealer.

Kids love bubbles.

People could snap up some Snap Dogs.

Members of the Crossville Police Department

Volunteers in Policing program

Popular characters with the kids.

The Crossville Fire Department demonstrated car

rescue techniques.

Horace Burgess was selling t-shirts

commemorating the upcoming

total solar eclipse.

McKenzie the Barred Owl met his fans.

Kids enjoyed seeing the TWRA's

exhibit of different animal skins

Kids got a chance to shoot BB guns

in a special inflatable range

Crossville city council member Pamala

Harris was promoting upcoming city events

and her employer Witt Financial while

Mr. and Mrs. Rob Harrison enjoyed the event

Some people even brought their own shade!

More from City Council Shooting Park Work session including video of speakers and comments.

Tuesday's work session on the proposed Crossville shooting sports park gave many the opportunity to speak on the matter including those with the state funding agency Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and those who both support and oppose the proposed location of the park.

Kenneth Carey addresses his participation in the project

Even those who are opposed to the Albert Frye location say they want to see the park located in Cumberland County, just not be located anywhere near their homes or property.

Members of the audience including supporters and those opposed

to the shooting sports park listen to 

TWRA commission member Jim Bledsoe

Crossville Mayor James Mayberry called the work session to give more of the public a chance to speak on the matter as public comments were not allowed at the special called meeting that may have killed the project, at least on the city's Albert Frye Road property. The first speaker was Jim Bledsoe, an outgoing member of the TWRA board of commissioners who has sought the project during the last 2 years of his term.

Meeting opened by Mayor Mayberry and comments by Jim Bledsoe

Bledsoe said that the proposed property was strategically picked because of its accessibility and proximity to I-40. "We have several shooting facilities across the state,” said Bledsoe, “This was going to be our middle Tennessee focus area.” Bledsoe explained that the property has been tied to the project since the beginning and is used as match for the grant. A local match of 25 percent is required for the federal grant. “This piece of property is essential for the project,” added Bledsoe, “Without it you'll have to start all over again. You'll have to go through a whole new grant writing process, back to ground zero.” Additionally, if the project isn't started by June 30, the funds will have to re-budgeted into TWRA's next budget and that is not guaranteed.

Cumberland County Mayor Kenneth Carey told Jim Young Reporter he has been promoting the project, as a private individual not promoting it in his capacity as mayor.  Carey made those comments in a meeting earlier Tuesday in his office.  That differentiation has not always been clear. 

At the council meeting Carey said that as a board member he will not receive any pay for his work on the project and he categorically denied there was any job he would take with the operation in the future.

Kenneth Carey remarks and other speakers including Roy South 

Local resident Roy South spoke saying that he had operated a shooting club for about 10 years in Putnam Co. and it was a popular attraction that even brought in visitors from 8 other countries during its operation.

Another local resident, Randall Kidwell spoke about the lack of zoning and that he lived very near the Crossville Raceway but he would rather keep the ability to do what he wanted with his property rather then have others tell him. Kidwell said that he was concerned that the small group of people fighting the project were able to shut it down adding that even if someone wanted to put in a daisy farm someone would object to it.

Comments by Randall Kidwell

Additional speakers at the council work session included Wade Davenport, Tom Pelfry and Harold Stryker.

Shooting Sports Park remains in limbo with shooting demo planned for Saturday.

While the turn out was a bit smaller, the discussion was every bit as lively for a work session on the proposed Crossville Shooting Sports Park held at city hall Tuesday evening.

It appeared few minds were changed by the discussion that included statements from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Cumberland Co. Mayor Kenneth Carey who promoted the project, according to his statements, not as Co. mayor but as a private citizen interested in promoting a strong youth shooting program. Carey said that he had been a youth shooting coach and knew the benefits of the program.

Cumberland County Mayor Kenneth Carey addresses the council 

on the Shooting Sports Park

TWRA's Jim Bledsoe also addressed the matter of the $2.2 million grant 

being tied to the current property and any changes could possibly

send the funds to another county.

But the opposition remained to the project location. Several of those who spoke against the project said they supported such a shooting sports park, just not where is it proposed on city property off of Albert Frye Road just north of I-40. There appear to be between 5 and 7 residences along Albert Frye Road. Additional homes on Chestnut Hill Road near I-40 have also complained about possible sound issues.

Cabin that is adjacent to the city property proposed for the

SHooting Park.  The city property starts at the tree line. 

While no decision can be made at a city council work session, a proposal to hold a demonstration shooting on the site for property owners in the area to hear the effects of gunfire on the site was discussed and set for Saturday morning April 1, at 10 AM.

The next time that a meeting on the topic might be held is on April 4, the date of the council's next regular work session.

We will have more to report on the meeting including videos of some of the comments coming.

Email from Barry Sumners, Asst. Director of TWRA on the status of the Shooting Sports Park location

The email below was sent from Assistant Director of TWRA Barry Sumners to Kenneth Carey on March 21, 2017.  This outlines some of the potential problems with a possible change in the location of the proposed Shooting Sports Park.  

We talked to Mr. Carey this morning and he said that he was not representing the county when he spoke to Crossville city council in past meetings.  There has been some confusion over that situation and if the county was involved in the project.  It turns out that the county is not part of the project and Carey has been acting, not as county mayor but as an interested individual.  He explained that a group of parents and gun sports supporters came to him seeking help as they knew he had dome some coaching as well and Carey said he agreed to "try and help them."

Kenneth Carey

Carey said he would be at the council Tuesday meeting and try and straighten out any confusion if he gets the opportunity to speak.  

He also said that there was no truth to rumors he would get a job out of the project after he left office and he would address that as well. 

Carey continued to say as he had previously that he hoped the project could possibly attract some gun manufacturers or other related industry to the community because of the shooting park.

The following email was sent to Carey at his official County email address.

Hello Mayor Carey,

I wanted to summarize our conversation earlier today regarding the possibility of moving the site for the Crossville range.

We received federal grant approval after submitting documents that support constructing the project at the Frye Rd. site. This included an evaluation of the impact on endangered species and approval from the State Historic Preservation Office.

If the location is changed we could re-apply to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (after securing the required compliance documents) and request that we be allowed to construct the range at a different site. Doing so would introduce a lot of uncertainty since we don’t know if a different site would comply with the federal requirements. It is quite possible that we would not find an approvable site and funding would revert.

Our standard contract language includes a clause titled “subject to funds availability” and TWRA is counting on the federal funds being available to construct the range.

Another related factor is that we have negotiated an agreement with the federal government to use the value of the Frye Rd. property as matching funds (see attachment), based on an appraisal of the site. A different site would of course have a different value and we would also have to start that process again.

I understand that there is some opposition to construction the range at the current site. If the location is changed, TWRA will work with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to try to make funding available for a different site.

Barry Sumners

Assistant Director- Staff Operations

TN Wildlife Resources Agency

TWRA says Shooting Sports Park would be "A Tremendous Opportunity" for Area. City Work session Tuesday at 5 PM

With a city council work session set for Tuesday afternoon at 5 PM at Crossville city hall on the proposed Crossville Shooting Sports Park, we asked the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency for a statement concerning the project that seemed to go quietly along for 18 months but became controversial in just the last several weeks.

The park project has been discussed for over a year and a half and the site between I-40 and Albert Frye Road has been the proposed location for most of that time. It is unclear if the county will lose the park to another county in middle Tennessee if the proposed site is not used but a long list of requirements because of the use of federal funds have already been done and the site meets all the requirements. One report indicates the cost of those studies was around $25,000.

In a special called meeting March 21, a majority of city council members reversed their action in February and voted to rescind approval of a contract that would have sold the 146 acres to the nonprofit Crossville Shooting Park, Inc. for one dollar. That vote reversed action in February approving the contract and sale after a number of property owners and area residents complained about the project being located near them and the fact that they had not been informed ahead of time about the proposed project.

TWRA's statement from the Crossville regional office says, “With the number of sportsmen and women in the area that enjoy the shooting sports, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) sees the addition of a shooting sports facility as a tremendous opportunity for the citizens of Cumberland County and beyond. This center will provide TWRA additional opportunities to serve the community with not only boating and hunter education classes, but many other educational sessions for adults and youth. Funding for this project was provided directly from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and not TWRA subsidies. TWRA is chiefly funded through the sales of hunting and fishing licenses.”

TWRA has committed $2.2 million from US Fish and Wildlife for the development and construction of the shooting park that would be operated by a nonprofit organization that has been formed. The funds for the project come from federal Pittman-Robertson funding generate by excise tax on ammunition and granted to states for conservation efforts, hunter's education and shooting projects and programs.

Crossville Mayor James Mayberry called for the work session saying the meeting will discuss some of the issues that have cropped up in the matter of the proposed Crossville Shooting Sports Park listed in the meeting call as "confusion, misinformation and clarification.”

Crossville Mayor Mayberry calls work session on Shooting Park "confusion, misinformation and clarification"

Because of public interest, Crossville Mayor James Mayberry is calling for the work session on Tuesday March 28 at 5 PM. He said the meeting will discuss some of the issues that have cropped up in the matter of the proposed Crossville Shooting Sports Park listed in the meeting call as "confusion, misinformation and clarification.

Crossville Mayor James Mayberry

Representatives of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency are expected to be at the meeting.  Mayberry said that a representative was at the called meeting and wanted to address the issue but no public comments are allowed at a called meeting.  TWRA is providing the 2.2 million dollars in federal funding to construct the park and a great deal of work and some money has already been spent on the Albert Frye Road site.

The park has been discussed for over a year and a half and the site between I-40 and Albert Frye Road has been the proposed location for most of that time.  It is unclear if the county will lose the park to another county if the proposed site is not used but that information may be clarified at the Tuesday meeting.

In a special called meeting March 21, a majority of city council members voted to rescind approval of a contract that would have sold the 146 acres to the nonprofit Crossville Shooting Park, Inc. for one dollar.  That vote reversed action in February approving the contract and sale after a number of property owners and area residents complained about the project being located near them and the fact that they had not been informed ahead of time about the proposed project.

The Area in lavender is the proposed acreage for the park

and the area in blue is the former city landfill.  At the 

bottom of the map is I-40 and at the top is Albert Frye Road.

The funds for the project come from federal Pittman-Robertson funding generate by excise tax on ammunition and granted to states for conservation efforts, hunter's education and shooting projects and programs.

The proposed location currently meets all the requirements for the use of the federal funds and environmental, historical and endangered species studies have been approved.

At a December work session, questions on funding and staffing remain. Kenneth Carey, a member of the nonprofit's board said they would determine if a full time position was needed or if all employees would be part-time. The grant requires that the facility be open at least 20 hours a week. According to Carey the plan is for the range to be open more then that and open to the public. He added it is not a membership type facility and that anyone can come a shoot.

Residents near proposed Shooting Sports Park pushing to have facility moved from Albert Frye Rd.

Even though the Crossville city council had completed the scheduled agenda, a number of people remained in the meeting room and Mayor James Mayberry recognized council member Pamala Harris “to deal with some old business.”

Harris talked about the Shooting Sports Park, a topic the council has discussed several times over the last 18 months and said there were some property owners and residents around the old city land fill property proposed for the location of the facility who had some comments. Harris said she had gotten a number of calls about the proposed project and several had concerns about how the facility would affect their homes and property near it. For the next 30 minutes, property owners and representatives of the shooting sports park organization discussed the proposed operation, possible noise issues and other concerns.

City engineer Tim Begley, standing left, shows council and others a map

of the property for the Shooting Sports Park.  

Residents in the area expressed concern about the noise level from the operation of a shooting facility and concern about the fact that none of them had been contacted by either the city, the county or the organization that is proposing the facility.

The city council first heard about the proposed facility some 18 months ago in June 2015 when Cumberland Co. Mayor Kenneth Carey shared the possibility of the facility at a council work session. Carey told council that the majority of the funding would come from the TWRA and could be a draw for tourists and visitors to the community as well as hosting possible tournaments.

After a year, the topic came back to the council and more details were shared including a firm request for use of property between I-40 and Albert Frye Rd. that the city once used a portion of as a landfill. Final plans became clearer late last year when the topic was against raised at council meetings and the council approved the transfer of a portion of the city's 217 acres to the not for profit corporation that will operate the park during their regular meeting in February.

The blue area is the city's property where the shooting park will be located.

The red circles indicate where the closest houses are.

During all these discussions a few objections to the project were brought up, mainly about competition with private businesses. Former councilman Pete Souza had suggested a public hearing on the project be held but none took place. The city's involvement in the program is through the donation of the property and a small supporting grant applied for from the state.

The group opposing the project said they had some 40 signatures on a petition seeking a new location for the project. Their concerns include noise that would not allow them to use their porches or yards and the effect it could have on their property values. There was discussion about the possible number of shots that might be fired in a day and James Wattenbarger said that the numbers being shared were far above what was expected though he did say any tournaments would include a high number of shots.

At one point, mayor James Mayberry pointed out that zoning in the community would possibly solve some of the kinds of problems being discussed. Those opposed felt the facility should be located in the Catoosa Wildlife area but were told that TWRA had turned down that option.

City attorney Will Ridley said that the city had signed a binding contract on the land transfer but the property had not yet been conveyed. Ridley added that if both sides agreed it could possibly be delayed.

Councilman J. H. Graham asked when the next meeting of the non-profit board would be held saying he felt people needed information on the noise level and number of shots to be fired as the numbers from both sides were substantially different.

Mr. Wattenbarger, who identified himself as a member of the non-profit's board said he had been to the Carroll Co. facility and their shooting park was in the industrial park but there were “hundreds of homes within one mile of the facility.”

Questions about the organization to receive the property were raised and Mr. Ridley said he had received a copy of the organizations state charter and other documents before the agreement was signed.

A statement from the group opposing is expected to be made at the public comment time during the March 14 council meeting along with the presentation of their petition.

Story on Shooting Sports Park from June 2015