At the city of Henry Mayor and Board of Alderman meeting on Tuesday night, a new full time and part time police officer were hired, after it was learned that full time officer and acting chief Nick Oatsvall would be leaving for a job with the city of Paris later this month. The board approved William Mellon for the part time position at thirty hours per week, ten dollars per hour, and David Andrews, Jr. for the full time position, at 40 hours per week, $11 dollars per hour.

Mellon comes to Henry with 14 years of experience with the Henry County Sheriff’s office and Andrews has 12 years of law enforcement experience, with the cities of Gleason and Dresden.

It is less than a week until Christmas!! Hopefully you all have finished up your shopping and won’t be fighting the crowds later this week to finish up.

Below is a list of this year’s Christmas closings & schedules:

• The Henry County School System and Paris Special School District will have an abbreviated day on Wednesday, then be closed the remainder of the year.

In the county school system, elementary and middle schools will close at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Grove School will close at 11:30 a.m. and Henry County High School will close at 11:40 a.m. Students will return to class on Jan. 4. The system plans an administrative day on Jan. 3.

• In PSSD, Rhea Elementary School will close at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Paris Elementary School will close at 10:35 a.m., and Inman Middle School will close at 10:45 a.m. There will be no afternoon kids club on Wednesday.

Students in PSSD will return to school on Jan. 4. The district has scheduled an administrative day on Jan. 3.

• The Tennessee Technology Center will be closed for classes Wednesday December 21st through Jan. 2.

• The Paris Public Works, Street and Sanitation departments will close at noon Friday and remain closed on Dec. 26. Garbage should be out by 7 a.m. Friday. The Dec. 26 and Dec. 27 garbage routes will be run on Dec. 27.

• The Paris-Henry County Landfill will be closed Saturday, Sunday and Dec. 26. The Paris-Henry County Animal Shelter will be closing at noon Friday and remain closed on Monday.

Closed Friday Dec. 23 and Monday Dec. 26:

• The Henry County Courthouse and Courthouse Annex.

• Henry County Health Department.

• The West Tennessee Career Center.

• The Northwest Tennessee Economic Development Council Service Center.

• The Northwest Tennessee Human Resources Agency Nutrition Center.

• The Paris Housing Authority office.

• The Henry County Office on Aging.

• The Henry County Recycling Center.

• Henry City Hall.

• The Paris-Henry County Chamber of Commerce office.

Closed Dec. 26:

• Offices at Paris City Hall.

• Windows at the Paris Post Office. The Post Office will be open on its regular schedule Friday and Saturday.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture office.

• Puryear City Hall.

Other schedules:

• Rhea Public Library will be closed Friday, Saturday and Monday, Dec. 26.

• The Henry County Extension Service office will be closed Dec. 26 through Jan. 2.

• The Sanders Senior Citizens Center will be closed Friday through Jan. 2.

Have a fun and safe Christmas holiday!!

If you are not much of a cook or would really like a break from fixing dinner this Thanksgiving, you can spend more time with your family and guests and get a nice Thanksgiving meal at a great price!

Tennessee State Park officials are pleased to announce that all eight state park restaurants will be open Thursday, November 24th, serving their annual Thanksgiving Day Feast. Thanksgiving turkey and all the traditional trimmings, along with an assortment of desserts, will be available beginning at 11 a.m. until closing at state park restaurants across Tennessee. Selections and prices will vary depending on location, ranging from $11.95 to $15.95 (excluding drink and gratuity). Group reservations are recommended.

The Tennessee State Park restaurants serving Thanksgiving Day dinner are:
Cumberland Mountain State Park – (931) 484-7186
David Crockett State Park (Lawrenceburg) – (931) 762-9541
Fall Creek Falls State Park – (423) 881-5241
Henry Horton State Park – (931) 364-2222
Montgomery Bell State Park – (615) 797-3101
Natchez Trace State Park – (731) 968-8176
Paris Landing State Park – (731) 642-4311
Pickwick Landing State Park – (731) 689-3135

The Henry County Patriots are on their way to the Final Four in Tennessee High School Football!! Way to go Big Red!!

The Patriots’ 24-14 won over Memphis Ridgeway last Friday night at Patriot Stadium in the third round of the Class 5A playoffs. Henry County will host Hendersonville High School in the state semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday, November 25, 2011.

We would like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all readers! As we know, holidays bring the closure of many businesses. Below is a list of the closures happening this holiday weekend.

Closed Wednesday-Friday:

• Schools in the Paris Special School District and Henry County School System.

• The Tennessee Technology Center.

Closed Thursday-Friday:

• The Paris Public Works, Street and Sanitation departments. Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s garbage routes will be run on Tuesday and Thursday’s and Friday’s routes will be run on Wednesday.

• Offices at Paris City Hall.

• The Henry County Courthouse and courthouse annex.

• The Henry County Health Department.

• The West Tennessee Career Center.

• The Paris Housing Authority office.

• The Northwest Tennessee Economic Development Council service center.

• The Northwest Tennessee Nutrition Center.

• The Henry County Office on Aging.

• The Henry County Recycling Center.

• The Paris-Henry County Chamber of Commerce office.

• The Henry County Extension Service office.

• Henry City Hall.

• Puryear City Hall.

Closed Thursday:

• The Post-Intelligencer office will be closed. The office will re-open and publication will resume on Friday.

• Windows at the Paris Post Office. Windows at the Post Office will be open 8 a.m.-noon Friday and Saturday.

• The Paris Civic Center. The center will be open for regular hours Friday-Sunday.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture office. The office will be open on Friday.

Closed Thursday-Saturday:

• Rhea Public Library.

• The Paris-Henry County Landfill and the Paris-Henry County Animal Shelter.

Have a happy and safe holiday!!

Happy Veterans Day to all who have served our country and risk their lives to keep us safe! Thanks for all you have done and all you continue to do. Several offices / places will be closed today in observance of the holiday.

Closed Friday:

• The Henry County Courthouse.

• The Henry County Courthouse annex.

• The Paris Housing Authority office.

• The Northwest Tennessee Economic Development service center.

• The Northwest Tennessee Nutrition Center.

• The Henry County Health Department.

• The Henry County Office on Aging.

• The Henry County Recycling Center.

• Windows at the Paris post office. There will be no residential mail delivery on Friday.

• The West Tennessee Career Center.

• Puryear City Hall.

Open Friday:

• Schools in the Paris Special School District and Henry County School System.

• Offices at Paris City Hall.

• The Paris Public Works, Street and Sanitation departments, Paris-Henry County Landfill and Paris-Henry County Animal Shelter.

• Henry City Hall.

• The Henry County Adult Learning Center.

• Paris Civic Center.

No Veterans Day program is planned this year at the Henry County Courthouse, however schools in Paris and Henry County have various programs slated for today.

A petition objecting to the use of cameras to ticket speeders has been circulated by businesses in McKenzie, Tennessee, claiming they have been affected by them. You hear of many people now avoiding going to McKenzie due to these cameras…they will take their business elsewhere if possible.

McKenzie City Attorney Laura Keeton has backed up the city’s officials by deeming the use of speed and red light cameras as being legal.

The controversial cameras are located on Highland Drive, which runs through the city on Hwy. 79S, and were installed in April. The speed limit along Highland was adjusted from 45 mph to 35 mph, and violators are issued $50 citations in the mail. The city has stopped issuing right on red citations at the intersections of Highland and Cedar and Cherrywood.

If you haven’t received it yet, you will be soon! Henry County property tax notices have begun being delivered to residents. Payment of your county property tax is due by February 29, 2012. Citizens have several options for paying their taxes. They may pay in person at the trustee’s office located in the courthouse annex, or by mail by sending payment to P.O. Box 776, Paris. They may also pay through the after-hours depository located on the front of the courthouse annex building or they may pay by credit card at www.henry.tennesseetrustee.com. And, now citizens can take advantage of a monthly bank draft option. This is a free service to the property owners and to the county. Please see your notice for further details.

The City of Henry has also begun mailing out their tax notices to city residents. Payment is due prior to February 28, 2012.

The town of Henry will host its annual Pioneer Days celebration this weekend, September 16th and 17th, in Henry.

Events will start Friday evening at 7 p.m. at the Henry County Saddle Club with fun and games. Admission is $3.00 a carload and concessions will be available for purchase.

Saturday at 10 a.m. is the parade, featuring Mr. & Mrs. Pioneer Phil and Jean Doyle. Line up will begin at 9 a.m. at Henry School. At 11 a.m. the bingo and cake walk begin inside the Civic Center.

Radio station WEIO, the Farm 100.9 in Huntingdon, is scheduled to broadcast from this year’s event beginning at 11 a.m.

A car show will begin at 11 a.m. Best of show and trophies will be awarded.

A karaoke contest is planned Saturday afternoon. Sign-up will start 1 p.m., with a $5 entry fee. The contest will begin at 2 p.m. Cash prizes will be awarded to winners.

Come out and dunk the city’s Chief of Police, sing your favorite song for the audience, play on the inflatable castle and double slide, play games and enjoy the cooler weather.

There will also be a dance Saturday evening at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center featuring The Teddy Bears. Admission will be $3 a person or $5 a couple.

The Henry County High School Patriots have won their second season football game against Hendersonville Beech Buccaneers!! Way to go Big Red! The Patriots defeated Beech by a final score of 37 to 17. They will return to play at home next Friday night and hope to score another win as they face off against Clarksville Kenwood at 7:30 p.m. on September 2nd.