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Jury returns guilty verdict in 7 minutes
Lewd behavior leads to arrest and finding 14 grams of meth
Monitor Staff Reports
ATHENS–All it took was seven minutes for a Henderson County jury of six men and six women to convict Joy Lynn Everett, 47, of a second-degree felony drug charge Wednesday afternoon.
She was charged with Possession of Methamphetamine more than 4 grams and less than 200 grams on Sept. 14, 2010. Since that time, she has been charged with another similar drug charge Nov. 17, 2011, which a grand jury is expected to hear Feb. 23.
The verdict came at the conclusion of a trial taking place in 173rd Judicial District Court with Judge Dan Moore presiding.
Assistant district attorneys Justin Weiner and Nancy Rumor prosecuted the case.
The Jury heard testimony that at 6:22 a.m. Sept. 14, 2010, police officers Jessie Ison and Kenneth Bee from the Gun Barrel City Police Department were dispatched to Golden Belle Bingo in the Gun Barrel City Shopping Village to investigate a call on an intoxicated person.
An employee observed Everett asleep in a chair profusely rubbing her genital area and scratching her face. The employee called 911 after several unsuccessful attempts to get Everett to leave the premises. Multiple patrons had complained of Everett’s vulgar actions.
When the officers made contact with Everett they believed that she was under the influence of narcotics. A search of her purse revealed a leather cigarette case containing: 14.55 grams of methamphetamine, a digital scale, multiple baggies, torch lighters, and a glass pipe.
Ison testified that the pipe is what he would call “well used.” Everett was placed under arrest and taken into custody.
The Jury also heard testimony from Department of Public Safety lab technician Claybian Cloud, who confirmed that the substance found in her purse was methamphetamine and verified its weight.
In closing arguments, Weiner asked the jury to “use their common sense” when deliberating. “This is a relatively simple case,” Weiner said, “the Defendant not only said that the purse and cigarette case belonged to her, but she also consented to the search.”
District Attorney Scott McKee praised the work of the two Gun Barrel City officers as well as his prosecutors.
“The officers and prosecutors did a great job;” McKee said. “The quick verdict is a testament to just how well the case was investigated and prosecuted.”
McKee indicated that 14 grams is more than the usual amount kept for personal use and he is extremely pleased that officers were able to remove it from the street.
Everett has elected to have the Court assess her punishment, which Judge Moore is set to do April 3.
Everett faces up to 20 years in jail for the 2010 drug felony conviction.

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Healthcare discussed at chamber breakfast
By Pearl Cantrell
Monitor Staff Writer
SEVEN POINTS–Business leaders from Tool and Seven Points got an update on the Affordable Healthcare Act and other legislation awaiting extensions or court decisions Wednesday during its monthly breakfast meeting Wednesday.
Cedar Creek Pharmacy pharmacist Ron Woody was the featured speaker.
Woody said the Supreme Court is due to begin hearing arguments in early March. From 26 states on the unconstitutionality of one of the 10 titles, included in what some call Obamacare. A decision is forecast to be delivered in June, he said.
The Supreme Court could rule on the Act as a whole or on its titles individually, he said.
People generally don’t like being told they have to have health insurance, which most feel they don’t have because they can’t afford it, but do like other parts of the Act, like not being denied coverage due to preexisting conditions, he said.
“It would be better to have a lawyer or lawmaker here to talk about all this,” he said.
Most doctors aren’t accepting new patients who depend upon Medicaid because they feel, reimbursements will continue to be cut, he said.
“If you are in that scenario, don’t try to change doctors,” he said.
About 15 percent of Cedar Creek Pharmacy’s customers are Medicaid patients, so we’re getting by. But other independent pharmacies where 70 percent of its customers are Medicaid are up for sale, because they can’t survive in business with the reimbursements coming in below costs.
Chain pharmacies can continue to compete because their goal is to get people in the door because they know while they’re there they will likely purchase other things and so they are ready to accept the pharmacy as a loss leader, Woody explained. But this is really going to hurt pharmacies in rural areas, he predicted. In Texas there are 4,000 independent pharmacies, he said.
Treating a viral infection within 48 hours of symptoms with TamiFlu or similar medicine can greatly reduce symptoms and cut the course short, he said.
Since viruses mutate quickly, if trying to treat beyond this window know that it will just have to run its course. Of course, we can always treat the symptoms, he added.
“Getting the flu shot has been very effective,” he added. He has only seen a few flu cases this year.
In other news, chamber members heard Tool Elementary School principal Bill Morgan announce the district’s plans to add six more classrooms to the Tool campus beginning construction in the summer and hoping to complete it by the end of the year.
Starting enrollment for the three-year-old campus was 216 and is now 270, he said.
The school faces a second round of budget cuts in the 2012-13 school year, which will reduce programs and staffing. Meanwhile a lawsuit, working its way to the court, may result in budget relief before a third round of cuts, he said.

City calls May 12 special election
Monitor Staff Reports
GUN BARREL CITY–On Jan. 24, the city council ordered two elections for Saturday, May 12. The first will fill two council seats and mayor’s office, and the second, a special election.
Councilmen Dennis Baade, Place 4, and Melvyn Hayes, Place 2, and mayor Dennis Wood are completing their terms of office.
In a special election, voters will also be asked whether the quarter of 1 percent currently being set aside from funds due the Economic Development Corporation should be renewed, or whether they should revert back to the EDC.
First instituted by voters in 2004, the measure has to be renewed every four years or it automatically reverts to the EDC. The last time this appeared on the ballot was in 2008.
City treasurer Mickie Raney informed the council that presently the quarter of 1 percent makes up 75 percent of the city’s Road Fund, totaling $377,197.
EDC board president Steve Webster testified against the special election being called.
“Every day the EDC gets requests from businesses for (financial) assistance. In these tough economic times, we need all the funds we can get to support business and business expansion,” he said.
City secretary Christy Eckert presented council members with three options for conducting the elections.
The council decided to contract with the county to conduct the election using city-owned voting machines, rather than the city do it, which would monopolize Eckert’s time and take her away from her office all through the early voting period.
She also pointed out that just now, the city didn’t have any trained election judges or clerks to pool from, whereas the county did and paid them less money than the city has done in the past.
Even then, to have the county conduct the election will cost $3,370.13, Eckert reported.
The cost of the city running the election totaled $2,173.33 plus the cost of a judge and two clerks between $572 and $936, she said.
The city secretary’s wages to conduct early voting totaled $1,496.96.