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Downtown Days draws large crowd

This story originally appeared in the Oct. 13 issue of the Community Voice. For your own subscription, call 270-384-9454

The 2022 version of Downtown Days is now part of history, and it may have been the best one ever.

“It was the best crowd,” said Jada Atwood, a member of the Renaissance Columbia committee. “Overall, I am pretty sure it was the best crowd we’ve ever had from start to finish. I don’t know exactly how many people came, and I would hate to guess. We had different things bringing people in at different times of the day, so I think between Friday and Saturday our overall crowd was absolutely the biggest.”

Atwood said vendors had good things to say about last weekend, emphasizing the number of people who attended. Last year, almost 80 vendors secured spots. This year’s total was higher, Atwood said.

“The vendors increased this year,” she said. “Columbia Baptist Church did a lot this year for the festival with the cornhole tournament, the pancake breakfast, and the dog parade. We really appreciate that.”

New events are always key in drawing crowds to the festival, and Atwood thought the mullet pageant probably earned the most attention. This year’s musical entertainment also brought in fans.

“The mullet pageant was a hit; the concerts were great,” Atwood said. “People loved Doug Stone and McBride and the Ride. We heard a lot of good compliments about No Deceit and County Wide. It makes us feel better to get the music taken care of early, and we’ve already started working on that for next year.”

Atwood said Renaissance Columbia will be meeting within the next few weeks to begin planning the 2023 festival.

“As soon as we’re done with the festival, we usually give it about a week or two, and then we meet,” she said. “That meeting is mainly to go over things we didn’t like, things we might want to do different.”

Atwood said the committee is always looking for new ideas and encourages members of the community to get involved. Call 270-384- 2501 and ask for Atwood.

Veteran ‘Ebb’ Arnold found his spot in the military

This story originally appeared in the Sept. 15 issue of the Community Voice. For your own subscription, call 270-384-9454.

Edwin “Ebb” Arnold had a flashback to his time in the war last Saturday while taking part in the military recognition ceremony at the 2022 Revisit Knifley event. He had joined several veterans from many different wars and conflicts to be recognized for their service and duty to their country.

As Arnold and his fellow veterans were standing and wrapping up saying the Pledge of Allegiance, two C-130J Super Hercules airplanes flew over Knifley to add to the significance of the moment.

“I loved the ceremony at Knifley, I loved every bit of it,” said Arnold, a Korean Conflict survivor. “It was great to see everybody and be recognized. There were quite a few people there for the ceremony.

“From where I was sitting, I saw the planes coming before anybody else did. I thought they weren’t going very fast, but when they got to Knifley, they took off. For a moment there I was back in Korea.”

Arnold, 91, was born in the Plum Point community and was the tenth of 11 children. His appreciation of the military was prevalent during that time, but he had no inclination of joining. The draft changed that. He was originally called for the draft and was not accepted. Later, he was called for the draft again in 1952 and served in the Air Force.

After basic training, he was stationed in Yokohama, Japan for about a year before being transferred to Korea. Arnold said he never saw combat but always wanted to be a good soldier so he tried to learn everything he could.

“My time in the military was wonderful, and I loved the people,” Arnold said. “I don’t think being in the military changed me a bit. I was a country boy that went to church all my life, and I still am. I learned good discipline and how to work with people.”

Arnold said he miss- es his time in the military and even after all the years, though he can’t always remember their names, wonders whatever happened to some of the men and women he served with.

“I never regretted my time in the military,” said Arnold. “If I hadn’t been drafted, I wouldn’t have been able to see the places I was stationed in, met the people I did, and made the friends I made.”

Arnold later met his wife, Geraldine, and they had two children – Edwina and Gerry Dean – each still living in the region. Arnold likes to tell the story of his first date with Geraldine, which started with him stopping at her house on a whim.

Geraldine came out of the house, reportedly to go with some friends who were waiting in a car parked next to Arnold. Instead of getting in the car with her friends, she jumped in Arnold’s car. They were married for just over 60 years when she died in 2020.

By Scott Wilson
scott@adairvoice.com

Local businesses advised to use caution when donating

This story originally appeared in the Sept. 15 issue of the Community Voice. For your own subscription, call 270-384-9454.

A social media post by a local business owner warning others of a dishonest woman asking for donations ended up connecting the business community together and could lead to criminal charges.

Hot Tans owner Beth Stapp said she had donated several times to the woman she now believes was using the money for personal use. She once donated to the woman by writing a check to a church, but learned that the check was cashed at a local retail store.

The woman kept coming back, but Stapp started saying no. Soon after, Stapp received a phone call from someone asking for a donation, and she was surprised when the woman showed up to collect the donation she offered.

Just recently, the woman called again asking for a donation, and Stapp had had enough.

“I don’t post a lot of stuff, but I just wanted to rant basically,” Stapp said.

As business owners start- ed sharing their experiences, it became clear that numerous businesses have given the woman money for what appears to have been multiple fraudulent fundraising projects. They learned they were all duped by the same person using different schemes.

“I was completely floored,” Stapp said. “My in box stayed completely full of other business owners writing me. They all knew who she was; I didn’t have to hardly tell anybody who she was.”

Stapp said it was difficult to understand how the woman had been able to take advantage of so many businesses for so long, with some business sharing stories a year old.

“And it wasn’t one time. She came in multiple times. I’m just amazed at how long it went on for.”

One business owner said the woman had asked for checks for a church to be written out to her then came back a different time taking donations for a child’s travel sports team. Checks would be cashed within minutes of being written.

Some business own- ers reported that she received money for items that were never delivered. She has children in the local school system and some of her victims believed she represented legitimate school pro- grams when they donated to the cause. She would usually have a child with her when she asked for money.

Others said she requested money for a church, one church they later learned never even existed. Several business owners reported that she would come in the business and say she had called and was there to pick up a donation. When the business owner determined that a donation had not been approved, the woman would become argumentative.

While the whole conversation took place on Facebook , only one per- son tagged the woman being discussed and Stapp deleted the comment.

“It wasn’t about pointing a finger,” Stapp said, adding that she only wanted to make others aware of the situation. “This is one time social media did its job.”

Stephanie Feese, owner of Monkey Business, said she and her sister, Alex Antle, owner of Wild and Free, have donated to the woman several times when she claimed to be fundraising for a child’s school or church function. Once, they paid for shirts that were never delivered.

“I thought I was the only one, me and my sis- ter and I was going to let it go,” Feese said. Once she started seeing the feedback on Stapp’s post, she decided the woman needs to be stopped.

“I realized she hit half of Columbia, and I decid- ed it didn’t need to be let go, because she obviously is not going to stop doing this,” Feese said.

Feese has talked with several other business owners who felt the same way she did. They weren’t sure if any legal action could be taken, so Feese decided to find out. She has reached out to the Columbia City Police Department to see if criminal charges can be filed.

Police Chief Jr. Murphy said this week that from some of the details he has heard, there may be cause for criminal charges to be filed. He encourages business owners to con- tact the department and share their experiences so the department has a clear understanding of the allegations.

“There are criminal charges that can be filed, based on the situation. There is theft by decep- tion, failure to make required disposition… there are things that can be done,” Murphy said.

Several business owners have indicated that the woman presented herself as representing school programs but never followed up with products that were being purchased.

Athletic Director Craig Biggs said he was aware of one situation pertaining to misrepresentation prior to his recent hire but did not know details.

Biggs said he hopes that businesses would continue to support school pro- grams and not let the one bad experience change their generosity.

“Our booster clubs are still fundraising,” he said. “I would encourage our community to get out and support as many of our programs as they can; our programs are out trying to generate dollars to operate right now.”

If Stapp is any indication of the community response, Biggs won’t have a need to be concerned. She said she would continue to give, but she will be more careful.

“I donated today,” Stapp said. “This was not about the money. I’m not going to be doing cash donations anymore. A check is what they are getting.”

By Sharon Burton
snburton@adairvoice.com

CPD closes at least four cases with arrest

Story originally appeared in Sept. 8 issue of the Community Voice. For your subscription, call 270-384-94545

The Columbia Police Department followed several leads that resulted in the discovery of thou- sands of dollars in stolen proper- ty Friday that came from several thefts in Adair County.

Chief Jr. Murphy said several officers were involved in the case because the thefts were reported at different times over the past few months.

“This cleared up at least four of our cases,” Murphy said.

The sheriff ’s department and Probation and Parole were also involved in the investigation and some of the recovered property was linked to open cases at the sheriff ’s department.

One critical lead for the department came when an officer spot- ted an item for sale on Facebook Marketplace that appeared to be a stolen item on the list. As a result of the initial investigation, Tyler Grooms, of Columbia, was arrest- ed Friday on probation violations and search warrants were executed at a residence on Hutchison Loy Road and for some storage units.

Some of the recovered property had been stolen from storage units and Murphy said the prop- erty was recovered in storage units rented by Grooms at the same location where it was stolen. Due to the massive amount of property recovered, Murphy said some of it was logged and returned to owners. At least two of the victims were able to go to the Hutchison Loy location and retrieve property on Friday. “There was so much we couldn’t house it,” Murphy said. “I had to rent a storage unit myself to put stuff in.”

A large haul that was recovered turned out to be property stolen from a local business worth tens of thousands of dollar. It was returned to the owners, Murphy said.

Other property, including a car-haul- ing trailer, has yet to be identified but is also believed to be stolen. One firearm was traced back to a theft in Nashville, Murphy said. Other property appears to be from Taylor County.

Grooms, 31, was initially charged with possession of meth- amphetamine. He has now been charged with receiving stolen property over $10,000. One other arrest is pending, Murphy said.

By Sharon Burton
snburton@adairvoice.com

Cox’s death leaves void in community

This story originally appeared in the Sept. 8 issue of the Community Voice. For your subscription, call 270-384-9454.

Shelby Hatcher was enjoying herself one day with some friends on her father Bryan Robertson’s boat. As they normally did most weekends, Hatcher and her family and friends were having a meal, and this time her father and his culinary sidekick Jason (Jay) Cox were cooking a low country boil.

After some time on the water, Hatcher heard a commotion on the other side of the boat.

“For a while, everyone thought I had a shellfish allergy, so this day they were cooking a low country boil,” Hatcher said. “Jay would fix me chicken because he didn’t want me to eat the shellfish in the boil. That’s just how he was.

“The next thing I know I hear them hollering. I went over to where they were and the whole low country boil pot had fallen into the water. All the food was gone. I wasn’t too worried about it though because I had chicken to eat. Jay and my dad just laughed.”

Unfortunately, Hatcher won’t have the chance to make those kinds of memories anymore with Cox. The beloved partner and operator of A&J BBQ, with his son Aiden, passed away Aug. 31 in Bowling Green.

“I work in the emergency room at T.J. Columbia and, the following morning, I found out Jay had been brought in after I got off work,” Hatcher said. “They told me what happened and that Jay was on a ventilator. In a way, I am glad I wasn’t there, but in a way I wish I was there.”

Cox was born in 1973 to William Dale “Bill” and Carol Cox. He is survived by his mother, son Aiden, brother John Cox, and Burton, of Columbia. Graveside services were Sept. 5. Cox was an organ donor.

“It was hard on me. I felt like I should have been there, but it was probably God’s way of protecting me. I would have jumped in there, but I don’t know how much of a benefit it would have been. I knew it was critical, and when it is somebody that’s like family, it is different.”

Hatcher first met Cox when he and her father would hang out together. And whenever Jay and Brian were together, it usually involved food, and that was a common love of both of them.

“Any gathering, Fourth of July, whatever it is, Jay and my dad would cook,” Hatcher said. “Jay was always the first to arrive and the last to go home. He had a special relationship with my dad, so it was so special to me now that Jay is the first one of the group to be in heaven with my dad.”

Gidget Baker Royse said Cox never knew a stranger, and if he was your friend, he was a friend for life.

“Jay has been a friend of ours for as far back as I can remember, at that time he was probably at our house five to seven days a week,” said Royse. “He’s probably had as many meals at my house as I have.

“The thing about Jay was he wore his heart on his sleeve and he was so easy to talk to. He just cared about everyone. Jay did so much for the community, and he was involved in everything.”

Hatcher said when people pass, their friends often say there will never be another person like the deceased. She said there REALLY won’t be another Jay Cox.

“Jay was really special,” she said. “After the first time you met him, the next time he met you it was like you were his family. He always had a smile on his face, and I don’t know if I ever saw Jay in a bad mood.

“He is probably in heaven right now looking down and telling everyone not to be sad. This is a big void for everyone that knew him, because there won’t be another Jay Cox. He was a friend to everybody.”