Four G’town Parcels Sold Back to Lender

Four parcels totaling 27 acres in Germantown have been sold back to the lender, First Citizens National Bank of Dyersburg, for $3.3 million following a foreclosure.

The previous owners – Waymon H. Welch Jr., Dawn Kinard and Cary R. Califf, trustee – defaulted on a $3.6 million loan through First Citizens dated July 12, 2007.

The ownership group lists an address of 7751 Wolf River Blvd. in Germantown, headquarters of Welch Realty.

Three of the four parcels are vacant and all are zoned “farm” and situated along the east side of Forest Hill-Irene Road.

The first is a 10.42-acre parcel appraised at $475,000, according to the Shelby County Assessor of Property. Its formal address is 2690 S. Forest-Hill Irene.

The second is an 11.44-acre parcel appraised at $770,200. It contains an 876-square-foot single-family home built in 1960 and has a formal address of 2760 S. Forest Hill-Irene.

The third is a 2.91-acre parcel appraised at 250,000. Its formal address is 9144 Echo Lake Cove.

And the fourth is a 2.21-acre parcel appraised at $216,100. Its formal address is 9165 Echo Lake Cove.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

County to Request Variances at Meeting

Among the zoning requests on tap at Wednesday’s Memphis-Shelby County Board of Adjustment Meeting is a series of zoning variances requested by county government.

They’re for a new forensic center planned along Poplar Avenue near Juvenile Court, and they involve a series of departures from the Medical Center Overlay Zoning District requirements.

For example, county government wants to change the number of parking spaces, building setback and parking placement it would otherwise be allowed under the current zoning. A planning official was not available at press time to discuss the project further.

The BZA meets Wednesday at 1 p.m. at City Hall, 125 North Main St.

– Andy Meek

CSX Reopens Line From Memphis to N’ville

CSX Transportation on Tuesday reopened its Memphis-Nashville rail line that was damaged by severe flooding in Middle Tennessee.

Operations were scheduled to resume at 5 p.m. local time for the entire 200-mile line between the two cities. Additional maintenance work is still required on the line, the Jacksonville, Fla.-based railroad announced.

“Despite the fact that many of our employees were directly affected by this tragic flooding, they brought an extraordinary focus to reopening the line and resuming service to our customers and the communities in that stricken area,” said CSX executive vice president and chief operating officer David Brown in a release

The early estimates had CSX resuming service in mid-June, but “work progressed more quickly due to the employees’ efforts,” Brown said.

– Eric Smith

End of CCHS Grant Means Seven Layoffs

Christ Community Health Services on June 1 will lay off seven employees, according to a notice from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development/Dislocated Worker Unit and confirmed by CCHS executive director Burt Waller.

The employees are affiliated with the organization’s CHOICES youth development program, which was funded for the past four years by a federal grant.

“The grant is soon ending, and thus, the program ends,” Waller wrote in an e-mail. “All of the staff knew from the time of employment that their employment, and the length of their employment, was dependent on the grant funds.”

Waller said CCHS is “following our prior practice for jobs based on grant funds,” something that is common among nonprofit organizations that occasionally receive federal grant money for specific projects.

The announcement in no way affects CCHS’s plans to expand, as announced last week when the organization was approved for $2.4 million in revenue bonds by the city-county Industrial Development Board.

For more on that story, see the May 21 edition of The Daily News, www.memphisdailynews.com.

– Eric Smith

WKNO to Air CCHS Documentary

In other Christ Community Health Services news, WKNO-TV will present a new half-hour documentary on the history and impact of the Memphis-area health service organization.

“Christ Community: A Ministry of Care” will premiere Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on WKNO/Channel 10.

CCHS is a nonprofit Christian organization focused on providing physical, emotional and spiritual support for Memphis’ underprivileged and medically underserved families.

Christ Community was founded in 1995 by David Pepperman, Rick Donlon, Karen Miller and Steve Besh and annually delivers health care to more than 48,000 people in Memphis through seven medical/dental clinics and mobile medical services.

The organization also serves an additional 67,000 people through its outreach programs.

The documentary, produced and directed by Pierre Kimsey, will re-air Friday at 9 p.m. on WKNO.

– Taylor Shoptaw

BofA CEO Has Ties to Bluff City

Brian Moynihan, Bank of America’s president and CEO, has a family connection to Memphis.

His brother, Patrick, now a missionary in Haiti, lived in Memphis in the 1990s when he was a commodities trader for Louis Dreyfus.

A profile of the brothers in the May-June issue of Brown University’s Alumni Magazine says Patrick Moynihan and his wife Christina lived in a Memphis suburb, and property records show a Patrick and Christina Moynihan as having owned a house in Cordova in the 1990s.

– Andy Meek

Komen Organization Distributes $850,000-Plus

The Memphis-MidSouth Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure has raised and distributed grants totaling $851,358 to combat breast cancer.

Dr. Susan Hoover, who chairs the grants committee, said the awarded money is the second largest dollar amount to date.

The money was generated through donations and fundraisers, including the annual Race for the Cure. This year’s race is set for Oct. 30, and the organization is seeking sponsors.

The $851,358 being distributed in Shelby, Desoto, Tunica, Tipton and

Fayette counties is to pay for breast cancer screenings, promote education about the disease and help with treatment programs.

Initiatives were funded at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Desoto, Baptist

Memorial Hospital for Women, Christ Community Health Center, the Church

Health Center, the Julie B. Baier Foundation, Memphis Cancer Foundation, The Regional Medical Center at Memphis, Urban Health Education and Support

Services, West Tennessee Area Health Education Center and Wings Cancer Foundation.

– Tom Wilemon

Deadline Near For Filing State Professional Tax

The state Department of Revenue says the professional privilege tax can be filed online in just minutes.

The deadline is June 1 for filing this tax.

A new addition to the state’s online filing options allows companies to file professional privilege tax returns on behalf of their employees and remit single bulk payments electronically at TN.gov/revenue.

The professional privilege tax must by filed by accountants, attorneys, dentists, engineers, pharmacists, physicians, veterinarians and others.

– The Associated Press

Tenn. House Commends Ariz. on Immigration Law

The Tennessee House has passed a resolution congratulating Arizona lawmakers and Gov. Jan Brewer for "their actions to protect their citizens and the borders of our great nation."

Republican Joe Carr of Lascassas sponsored the resolution. The Arizona law requires authorities to question people about their immigration status if they suspect visitors are in the U.S. illegally.

– The Associated Press