The Jackson Sun from Jackson, Tennessee • 3

CALL US Tennessee ranks low for women's opportunities A new national study released Tuesday indicates that Tennessee is one of the MORE Across West Tennessee 4A Deaths 6A Nation 8A World 10A Questions, comments? Please call- MetroRegion Editor Christine Rook, 425-9668. Assistant City Editor Gregg Parker. 425-9760. Outside Madison County, 1-800-372-3922. E-mail address is jaxsun usit.net worst states for women to live in.

Page 8 A Wednesday, November 20, 1996 PAGE 3A imet SON Crockett movie: In the works or not? Towns with populations hovering in the usually don't attract much attention. But for two months of the year, more than 1,000 people from around the world descend on Rutherford, i Some come simply because they're curious, but most are forced to come by their children, who watch Davy Crockett on the Disney Channel and continually ds MADISON kXA COUNTY ll MCNAIRY 55 COUNTY EDUCATION open its first center in Selmer, in McNairy County, by fall of next year, Jackson State President Walter Nelms said. "What we're talking about is a center that people from Selmer, Adamsville, Bolivar and Savannah will have easy access to," Nelms said. "We've been offering courses in that area for years, but never a complete program." No site yet Officials haven't decided on a site for the school yet, but Nelms and others are considering the vacated Henco building in the Selmer Industrial Park. The facility lies just off the Selmer Bypass (U.S.

45) and would require only minor renovation, Mc Nairy County Executive Mike Smith said. The building was vacated earlier this year, when the Spectrum Corp. moved into a newer facility, he said. "I think they were originally going to use a temporary building for three or four years until a new one could be built," Smith said. "But when they saw this building, they thought it could be a permanent building." The school will probably require 15,000 to 18,000 square feet of the building, said Nelms.

When the center opens, it will offer a general associate's degree in science that can transfer to four-year institutions, Nelms said. More degrees may be added in the future. County, city and school of- Center will offer a general associate's degree in science that will transfer to other four-year institutions. By ROBIN DIXON The Jackson Sun The chance to receive a higher education for years has eluded some people who live in rural West Tennessee. And while some schools offer college-level courses, getting a degree often meant driving 50 or 60 miles to attend a 45-minute class.

On Thursday, officials from Jackson State Community College and McNairy County will announce those days may soon be over. The college hopes to Breaking down barriers: Woman joins 2 female patrol deputies i ill mImp B4 I IFYOU GO Officials from Jackson State Community College and the McNairy County Higher Education Advisory Committee will announce the opening of a new Jackson State Community College center in Selmer at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Selmer Civic Center. ficials have worked since July to get the center off the ground. It began when Jackson State administrators started discussing the feasibility of establishing a higher education center in the West Tennessee area.

Officials in Selmer then formed a higher education advisory committee to work with the school. Officials are in the process of Taylor, a six-year department veteran, said the past work displayed by female officers is proof that women are caDable of Taylor facing tough situations daily. She said women can be even more effective in some cases. "A lot of (officers) down here will tell you that women handle some situations better than men do," said Taylor, whose husband, Byron Taylor, is also an officer at the police department "It's very important, whether you're a male or female, you need good communication skills to be a good officer." Pawlowski said the danger involved in law enforcement was something that never crossed her mind. She said no one is safe from danger.

"If something is going to happen, it's going to happen. It doesn't matter whether you're a man or a woman," she said. LINE JUL rra-miim-n-tivnti tr nr i completing surveys that will advise the school how best to tailor its programs, Nelms said. "This is certainly something that's been in the thoughts of people for a very long time here," Smith said. "We were desperate for a place where our children could have a higher education." McNAIRY CO.

Changes improve ambulance dispatch By JENNIFER GRANT The Jackson Sun Since mid-July, McNairy County has had a little less bureaucracy when it comes to dispatching ambulances. The 911 service that already handles city and county dispatch services for fire and police officials took control of the county's ambulance dispatch service at that time. Since then, the system has been running a lot more smoothly, officials say. "It's a little more advanced" said 911 Director Ruth Prior to the takeover, services had been conducted through the emergency, unit of McNairy County General Hospital. Hands changed after a law went into effect this year requiring dispatchers to be EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatcher) certified.

After hospital officials opted out of their ambulance dispatch agreement, county officials voted to have 911 handle the service. "If a lady had a heart attack and they wanted to tell someone how to do CPR, we could tell them, but they couldn't because they don't have the schooling to do it," Travis said of the hospital's dispatch service. County Executive Mike Smith said the county was paying for the hospital's ambulance service, which included dispatching. With the changeover, officials had to pay an extra $40,000 annually. Information is fed to 911 from the local phone company, along with a phone number.

Two dispatchers are able to access the information as calls come in. They're aided by a database that tracks information about the caller's health conditions. Daryl Goodrum, Selmer fire chief and 911 board co-chairman, said overall, the new service is running smoothly. The main problem before stemmed from 911 dispatchers having to relay distress calls to the hospital's dispatch service. "It wasn't that they were having a big problem," he said.

"It was just going through too many hands." pester their parents to take them to the last home of Davy Crockett, a rustic log-cabin house that sits just off U.S. 45 in Rutherford. "It really Robin DIXON amazes you when you see how many people from so far away are interested in him," said City Recorder Ann Abbott "But I guess it's just not that interesting to people who live here." Movie inspires Abbott has met a family from Texas and another from Kansas that drove the long route to Rutherford. Both families came because their kids got hooked on Davy Crockett after a school report Ironically, the Crockett cabin, the town's most featured attraction, was almost destroyed in 1934. As the story goes, Fred P.

Elrod, who owned the local bank and who was the city recorder at the time, was working one day when a man came in and said that someone was about to destroy the landmark. Elrod went to the field where the cabin was located and paid the stranger $25 for the logs. Before the cabin was taken down, Elrod had the logs marked and had floor plans made, with the intention of rebuilding it somewhere else in town. Infamous movie Unfortunately, it wasn't until 1955 when the home was reconstructed. Can you guess why? "It was the movie," said Joe Bone, chairman of the Davy Crockett Cabin Commission.

"It just sparked up too much interest for no one not to know." Now a new film is in the works, or at least people here thought Four years ago, Bone took David Zucker (responsible for "Airplane!" and "The Naked on a tour of the Crockett cabin and the Rutherford area. Zucker, who admitted that Crockett was his hero, came with a camcorder in one hand and a historian in other, said Bone. He was "serious" about making the movie, said Bone. The last thing people heard, Zucker was tied up in acquiring the rights of an actor. "Sure, a big movie would be nice," said Bone.

"But people often confuse Crockett's history with his legend. This is about history." Robin Dixon is a Sun reporter. He can be reached at 901-855-3610 or 1-800-372-3922 outside Madison County. CHRIS STANFIELDThe Jackson Sun Madison County Sheriff's Deputy Rana Pawlowski picks up her assignments before heading out for her shift. Pawlowski's recent hiring made her the third female patrol deputy.

A new female patrol deputy balances family life and danger on the beat. By HENRY GOOLSBY The Jackson Sun Rana Pawlowski is used to trashing stereotypes. The 33-year-old North Side High graduate recently became one of only three female patrol deputies with the Madison County Sheriffs Department Before that, she served a stint in the U.S. Navy in the Caribbean and Hawaii. Like many career women, Pawlowski is now juggling career and family.

"For once, I'm finally leading the life I love," Pawlowski told a reporter recently. "To a lot of people, it may seem like a lot, but to me it's a full life." Nationwide, more women are joining the law enforcement profession. In Madison County, Pawlowski is one of three female patrol deputies. The Jackson Police Department, meanwhile, employs 13 women in the patrol division, five female investigators, a school resource officer, a crime technician, a community relations officer and a narcotics officer, according to Lt Edmond Cepparulo. One in the same Jackson Police Chief Rick Staples said the department does not differentiate between male or female officers when there's a call for service.

He said the officer's gender is only considered when a victim of crime makes the request "A police officer is a police officer. A call is a call," Staples said. "There are instances where a female officer is better able to handle a situation than a male. For instance, you may have a female rape victim who would feel more comfortable talking about the details of the crime to a female officer rather than talking to a male officer." Pawlowski said her daily regimen to prepare for her law enforcement duties is similar to what she went through in the military. Nearly every day begins around 6 a.m.

for the Pawlowski family, which includes Rana's husband, Tony, and her 8-year-old daughter, Ayana. After getting her daughter ready for school, then comes breakfast, exercise and chores. By 4 p.m., Pawlowski is ready to begin her shift at the sheriffs department She becomes a full-time officer until midnight. Staples and others acknowledge the dangers female and male officers alike face in their jobs. He said one of his department's officers, Donna Johnson, has seen such danger firsthand.

Johnson recently returned to work after being struck by a passing motorist, Staples said. A drunken driver riding through an accident scene struck Johnson's shoulder with the mirror on the door of his vehicle. Johnson, 44, a three-year department veteran, suffered damage to her shoulder and arm and missed a significant amount of work, Staples said. Johnson, who declined comment for this article, currently is wearing an arm sling while working light duty. Pledge for diversity The hiring of Pawlowski and the other two female patrol deputies is not by accident When Madison County Sheriff David Woolfork took office in 1994, the department had no female patrol officers.

Woolfork pledged then that he would be sensitive to the issue of hiring more women and minorities. "I've always said we have to look beyond race and gender and hire the most qualified people," he said. Jackson Officer Maria SUN perstar Vince Gill at 2325 Crestmoor Road, Nashville, Tenn. 37215. This address should answer all your questions.

Q. Can you give me the address of country singer Connie Smith? B.B., Trezevant A. You can write to Smith at 48 Music Square East, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Q.

How can I get in touch with Vince Gill? I'd also like to know where I can get concert information. A.T., Alamo A. You can write to country music su Man indicted in mail box destruction A 19-year-old Jackson man who faces attempted murder charges in Jackson City Court has been indicted in federal court in connection with more than 60 counts of mail box destruction and possessing mail documents. Federal prosecutors say Howard Trapp damaged mail boxes last month in post office lobbies from Union City to Bolivar. Prosecutors say Trapp would take and cash checks.

On Thursday, Trapp is scheduled to appear in City Court, where he faces charges of second-degree attempted murder. Wreck with injuries reported in Benton The Tennessee Highway Patrol reported a traffic accident with injuries on Interstate 40 in Benton County on Tuesday afternoon. Few details on the accident were available Tuesday night The Benton County Sheriffs Department reported a person trapped under a vehicle, but the highway patrol said there were no fatalities. The wreck occurred at 2:16 p.m. at the 133-mile marker of 1-40, according to state troopers.

The number of vehicles involved and injuries could not be determined from reports. 2 women report rapes in Jackson Two rapes were reported in the city of Jackson between 4:30 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m. Monday. A 32-year-old Bells woman said she was attacked by three men at 10 a.m.

Monday when she opened the door of her room at the Airways Motel. The woman told Jackson police one man held her down while the other two raped her. There are no suspects in the case. In an unrelated attack, a 40-year-old Jackson woman said a man she knew 'forcibly had sex with her at 145 Hol-'lywoodBlvd. Call Sun Line.

425-9656, or write to Sun Line, P.O. Box 1059. Jackson. Tenn. 38302.

for action and information. Include your name, phone number and address: they will be confidential. Consumer questions also may be asked of the State Consumer AlTairs Division at toll-free t800) i.