GCHS teachers, staff proud of Reward School designation

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Dyer’s waste water plant construction is complete

El Vallarta opens in Rutherford

TRI-CITY REPORTERVOL. 120, NO. 50 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2012 DYER, TENNESSEE $1.00

THE

Top 5 Percent

Chris Belmont

Dyer Goodwill deliveryis Dec. 16

Sheriff’s open house honors special lady

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Rutherford stylist meets Elan Sassoon

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BY SAM THOMPSONThe Goodwill committee

met and made plans for this year’s program. The packout will be December 15th and delivery will be December 16th at 4:00 p.m.

If you can help in any way, please come out. If you would like to make a contribution to this program, you can do so at The Farmers and Merchants Bank or the branch bank at Food Rite. We appreciate all the contributions made toward this program.

Contributions for this week are: Mrs. Jackie Stover $100, First Presbyterian Church $300, Fairview Baptist Church $150, New Hope Baptist Church $250 for a total of $800.

Thank you for your contributions and hope to see you on the 15th or 16th.

BY MICHAEL ENOCHSThe long anticipated opening of El Vallarta Restaurant in

Rutherford took place on Thursday, December 6. El Vallarta is located at the site of the former Northside Market. The building has gone through a total transformation inside and out and has the atmosphere and charm of Old Mexico while serving excellent Mexican food.

The staff, operating under manager Jesus Alvarado, is very friendly and accommodating, making for a relaxing and enjoyable dining experience.

Alvarado reported that El Vallarta will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. throughout the year.

A ribbon cutting is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, December 14.

NOW OPEN - Manager Jesus Alvarado (far left) and the staff of El Vallarta Restaurant are now open and ready to serve the public fine Mexican

food. The restaurant is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. A ribbon cutting will be held at El Vallarta this Friday at 11 a.m.

A local stylist has had the opportunity to travel several places this year concerning the cosmetology industry. Chris Belmont is the owner and stylist of Chris’ Styling Studio located in downtown Rutherford.

Belmont has a passion for this profession he has been a part of for 30 years. He has also been an instructor off and on for most of his career.

Belmont’s cosmetology-related travels include trips to Puerto Rico, Denver, Colorado, Chicago, Illinois, Salt Lake City, Utah, Atlanta, Georgia, and Orlando, Florida.

On a recent trip to Miami, Florida as a guest artist at Bogy’s Hair Salon, owned by Rolando Torres, Belmont had the opportunity to meet the son of the late Vidal Sassoon, Elan Sassoon.

“It was a great experience,” said Belmont.

Elan Sassoon’s roots in the salon world are well-known. Sassoon is a beauty industry expert in his own right with over a decade of experience working with companies large and small. Sassoon opened the groundbreaking salons,

As Gibson County High School teachers gathered on Monday afternoon for a faculty meeting, Principal Jim Hughes asked everyone to gather in the gymnasium for a photo with GCHS’s Reward School banner.

“I would like for our teachers to get the recognition they deserve in our school receiving this honor,” said Hughes.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman announced in late summer that Gibson County High School was among the 169 schools in 2011-12 designated as Reward Schools. Reward Schools are the top five percent of schools in the state for annual growth and the top five percent for academic achievement.

Tennessee set out to become the fastest-improving educational system in the country by raising student performance each year. This was the first time the state recognized Tennessee schools that have shown the most progress year-over-year alongside the schools with the highest achievement scores on statewide tests.

The 2011-12 Reward Schools made these impressive accomplishments during a year when Tennessee saw unprecedented gains on the statewide Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP. As schools across the state made improvements and reached higher levels of proficiency, the 169 Reward Schools led the way.

Social studies and ACT prep teacher Judy Sanders said, “This award is a culmination of our

hard work and the hard work of our students. We don’t make progress without risk and we have taken risks.”

“This award showcases our great faculty and the hard work of our students,” said Jeremy Tate, science teacher.

“We took a hard look at where each student was, and together we committed a tremendous amount of effort to seeing how much we could grow and improve each student’s score, and the students really showed out on their EOC’s! I’m extremely proud of our students and teachers,” said English teacher Teresa Newell.

The Reward Schools are spread across 70 districts, located in major cities as well as rural areas, and 102 of the recognized schools serve mostly economically disadvantaged populations. A list of the schools can be found on the department’s website, at www.tn.gov/education/accountability.

“We were extremely proud when we were notified of Gibson County High School’s designation as a Reward School,” said Jared Myracle, GCSSD Supervisor of Instruction for grades 9-12. “It says a tremendous amount about the efforts of all our teachers, support staff, students, and families to be in the top five percent of schools for academic growth in the 2011-2012 school year. This is about more than just good test scores, it’s about the willingness of everyone involved with the instructional program at Gibson County to dedicate themselves to excellence and accept nothing less.”

BY DANNY JONES,THE GAZETTE

After welcoming a host of citizens to the seventh annual Open House at the Gibson County Correctional Complex in Trenton, Sunday, Sheriff Chuck Arnold lauded his staff and made a special presentation to a ‘special lady.’

“This is a day we reserve to officially say thank you to the citizens of our great county. It continues to be our mission to address those who threaten the security of our people and to confront crime wherever we may find it. It is also important that we recognize and appreciate that those same citizens we took an oath to protect also pay our way by funding this operation,” the sheriff said. “My administration remains committed to the safety of our county as well as conducting this office with responsible financial accountability,” he added. Sheriff Arnold went on to acknowledge the dedication and hard work of this staff that made the event possible.

“Each year, we talk about those who have made an impact on this county. It’s not the size of your bank account, the car you drive

BY MICHAEL ENOCHSConstruction and

improvements to the Dyer wastewater plant has recently been completed. The project was a major undertaking involving $420,000 in state government grants and a $30,000 matching grant from the city. Mayor Sam Thompson, City Recorder Jason Griggs and Alderman Jimmy Landrum were all very involved in the grant seeking process and overseeing the project.

Wastewater Supervisor William Caton stated, “Sam Thompson, Jason Griggs and Jimmy Landrum really worked hard to get the grant up for all of this. This grant would not have happened without them. Since 1995 Sam has got over $1.8 million in grants for this town. Sam was here everyday in 100-degree weather while the contractors were on the project. It was good to have someone here to keep an eye on things while we had to go about our other duties.”

In the long run, the city will save money because of the improvements.

Caton explained, “The entire main influent has been completely redone. There are new pumps, and controls. The new pista

REWARD SCHOOL BANNER - GCHS faculty and staff members proudly display the school’s new Reward School 2011-2012 banner. Gibson County High School was among the top five percent of schools in the state designated as a Reward School for annual growth and academic achievement