Lee Erwin reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Montgomery County Commissioners met Monday and along with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office honored the memory of Deputy David “Bubba” Johnson. Johnson’s patrol car crashed while he was on duty on the 41-A Bypass/Ashland City Road on January 12 2014.
Montgomery County Mayor Carolyn Bowers, Sheriff John Fuson and Chief Deputy John Smith recognized Johnson with a number of honors which were presented to Johnson’s family. Those Family members included his wife Jennifer, daughter Shelby, his parents and his brother Ray, who is also a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy.
The County Commission has also passed a resolution asking the Tennessee General Assembly to rename the 41-A Bypass/Ashland City Road, to the David “Bubba” Johnson Memorial Highway. The commission chambers were filled Monday and there was a standing ovation at the end of the presentation in memory of Johnson.
Commissioners also passed a resolution to move ahead with plans for the new Oakland Elementary School which is expected to be open for the start of the 2015 school year. Controversy arose at the meeting when some commissioners questioned the hiring of the former owner of the property for the site as the contractor to build the school.
At their January meeting, the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board approved a recommendation by school system staff to move away from its traditional construction method. The school system believes the new plan will offer the best value to students and taxpayers in Montgomery County.
The school in the Oakland area would have an 842 student capacity that could be expanded to become a 1,089 student capacity elementary school. The need for a new school is mainly because four current elementary schools, Rossview, Northeast, St. Bethlehem and Hazelwood are experiencing an unprecedented rate of growth.
The new RichEllen Park on Highway 149 in Montgomery County was on the County Commission agenda Monday. Commissioners heard an update from County Engineer Nick Powell on on the progress of the park and changes being made to the project.
The County Commission also voted in favor of reimbursing itself an amout of approximately $550,000,00 for cost saving measures related to the completion of the park. The park is expected to open in the spring of 2015.
Commissioners also approved accepting grant funds of $100,000 from the Tennessee Department of Transportation Division of the Governors Highway Safety Program to promote driver safety in Montgomery County.