Biography
Clay Bailey has covered Shelby County suburbs more than 20 years, at one time or another assigned to outlying offices in Germantown, Millington and currently as the bureau chief of the Bartlett office. He is a 1977 graduate of Memphis State University and started his local newspaper career at the old Press-Scimitar. Bailey joined The Commercial Appeal in 1983 after the closing of the Press-Scimitar. He also is a freelance sportswriter for the Associated Press. His wife, Martha, has tolerated his career and rants for more than 30 years, and they have a grown son and a married daughter.-
Property tax may temporarily double in Lakeland as city plays catch-up
Published 05/26/2012 at midnight
If Lakeland assesses its first property tax this summer and makes it retroactive to January, residents could temporarily pay double the proposed 85-cent rate to catch up.
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Former Germantown prosecutor pleads guilty to reckless driving in DUI case
Updated 05/25/2012 at 12:09 a.m.
Former Germantown prosecutor Joe Lee Wyatt pleaded guilty Thursday to reckless driving and refusing to submit to a blood-alcohol test in connection with a March 6 one-car traffic accident in Memphis, but a driving under the influence charge against him ...
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Lakeland airs property tax plans, schools
Published 05/23/2012 at midnight
Lakeland residents had the opportunity to tell city leaders about two of the most important issues in the city's history Tuesday night -- whether to hold a referendum on municipal schools and whether to enact the suburb's first property tax.
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Germantown teen arson suspect was in room with owners of Isaac Hayes home, authorities say
Updated 05/22/2012 at 11:24 p.m.
The 15-year-old girl charged with aggravated arson in a May 6 fire at Homewood Suites in Germantown was in the room with the couple who owned Isaac Hayes’ former home at the time of the fire, police confirmed Tuesday.
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Arrest gives slaying victim's family some relief, but questions remain
Updated 05/19/2012 at 12:10 a.m.
Thomas Schlender's family has waited anxiously in Nebraska for news from afar. The funeral for the 74-year-old grandfather was Thursday, but family members keep wondering why someone would shoot a man who was only driving to Florida to pick up ...
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Consultant for Shelby County suburbs defends school feasibility study
Updated 05/17/2012 at 11:06 p.m.
A consultant who advised the county’s suburbs that they could feasibly operate municipal school systems, defended his calculations today, while questioning Shelby County Commissioner Mike Ritz’s figures.
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Arlington eyes update for historic Depot Square
Updated 05/17/2012 at 12:09 a.m.
Arlington is reviewing its Depot Square district to see how much of the future will maintain the character of the past.
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Ballistics link two North Mississippi roadside slayings
Updated 05/16/2012 at 11:10 p.m.
The family of one of the victims -- Tom Schlender of Raymond, Neb. -- meanwhile speculated that robbery was a motive.
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Lakeland commissioners begin process to set school district referendum
Updated 05/12/2012 at 12:08 a.m.
Lakeland became the first suburb to start the ordinance process for its municipal school district today in a meeting representative of the pace at which outlying cities need to approve their part of the procedure.
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Two waive preliminary hearings in connection with theft of a church safe
Published 05/11/2012 at 12:03 p.m.
Two men charged in connection with the theft of a safe at a Bartlett church waived their preliminary hearings this morning, and their cases sent to the Shelby County Grand Jury for consideration.
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