By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–At Monday evening’s meeting of the Henry County Commission, County Mayor John Penn Ridgeway announced there is a physician opening on the Henry County Medical Center board with the resignation of long-time member Dr. Scott Whitby and that he will be appointing a study committee to address a long-term plan for the structural problems at Grove Tower.
Ridgeway announced that Dr. Whitby will be retiring from the board “after 22 years of dedicated service”, which leaves an opening on the trustees’ board. The spot could be filled by any physician–MD or DO–who lives in Henry County and who isn’t a hospital employee.
Any physician interested in the position should send a statement of interest and a resume to Ridgeway’s office at the courthouse. Those will be presented to the county nominating committee at its September meeting, he said.
Ridgeway noted that “only 5 or 6 doctors have served on the board in the hospital’s 70 years. There’s just been a few willing to step up and take on that responsibility” and he thanked Dr. Whitby for his service.
On the subject of the continuing structural issues at the historic Grove Tower, Ridgeway said he is proposing a study committee which would consist of the county courthouse committee, Ridgeway, County Director of Schools Dr. Leah Watkins, and two members of the county school board to propose a solution.
As reported earlier, the county school staff in the Grove Tower building was ordered to vacate the structure in April. After receiving a preliminary report from structural engineers, the Henry County Schools board on August 10 voted to proceed with a temporary stabilization plan for Grove Tower and to move forward with a committee of the county schools and county commission members. The temporary stabilization plan approved by the county school board will cost $176,000.
Grove Tower was built in 1906. The Romanesque, Classical Revival structure is on the National Register of Historic Places and originally was the home of Grove High School. Grove High closed in 1969 and was replaced with Henry County High School when schools in the county were consolidated.
Ridgeway cautioned everyone that whatever is done to save the structure “is going to be pricey. But we need to address this because of the significance of the building, but it will be expensive.”
He recalled his father, former State Rep. Don Ridgeway telling him that the second floor of Grove Tower was condemned ‘for student use’ way back in 1972 and there has been a lot more shifting and settling of the building since then.
“We need to do our due diligence”, he said. “Grove Tower was a gift to the county in 1906 when the county did not have a money for a school.” Pharmacist E.W. Grove of Paris endowed the building to the county, using the money he earned from his Grove’s Chill Tonic. “And it’s our responsibility to keep it going,” he said. “But it will be expensive”.
In other business:
–Sheriff Josh Frey announced the sheriff’s office has received two big grants: $525,000 for more School Resource Officers; and a $391,000 grant that will pay for several things, such as freezer, sink, work table, medical exam table, work stand, inmate transport van, purchase of body scanner and slide driver for sally port gate.
Both grants are 100 percent funded and require no local match, he said.
–The commission approved a resolution to accept an interlocal agreement between Henry Co. government and the county Emergency Communications District to install a backup radio system.
Photo: County Commissioners listen to announcements from County Mayor John Penn Ridgeway. Photo by Shannon McFarlin.