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Dyer County Community Complex “a blessing”
WILLIAM NORTHCUTT
The Dyer County Community Complex, located next to the fairgrounds on Community Park Road in Dyersburg, is a “blessing,” according to Dyer County Mayor Quick. The County Legislative Body (CLB) on January 9, 2023, approved the sale of property on Hornbrook, which housed county offices, and the purchase of the building on Community Park Road. The $2.15M purchase of the church was contingent upon sale of the Hornbrook property for $950,000.
After renovations, state and county offices geared toward social services of many kinds moved in. Quick said, “We’ve moved our Juvenile Services out there. It’s in a safer place now.” Additionally, the Community Complex houses the Northwest Tennessee Economic Development Council (NWEDC), the Department of Veteran Services, the Northwest Tennessee Human Resource Agency (NWTHRA), the Prevention Alliance of Dyersburg and Dyer County (PADD), and the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) offices. Quick also said that the complex provides parking for the University of Tennessee Mobile Nursing units which provide medical care to economically distressed or immobile people in Lake, Lauderdale, and Dyer Counties.
The Community Complex-housed agencies vary in their services. NWEDC provides commodities to families. Quick said, “They contribute close to $3M in commodities to the area.”
He said, “The NWTHRA provides 13 driver to help the elderly and disabled get to doctor appointments and shopping—they are a great help to Dyer County.”
PADD provides drug prevention services, and CASA provides advocates for abused and neglected children. These agencies often work in tangent with Juvenile Services, creating, according to Quick, a proximity that strengthens their ability to help the community.
The University of Tennessee Mobile Medical program is able to park their vehicles in the extended 11-acre parking lot. Quick said, “They have assisted the underprivileged and homeless too.”
Quick pointed out that many of the services work hand-in-hand with each other. For example, the “Office on Aging works with Veteran Services,” he said, “sometimes having gatherings of 60-70 people.”
He noted that the Complex gives veterans groups such as the American Legion somewhere to meet. Additionally, the purchase of the property has allowed the county to provide two acres to Sorghum Valley and the fairgrounds, which will, by next year, provide another entranceway to the fairgrounds and prevent patrons from having to park along Community Park Road.
Future plans include development in another existing building on the property into an event center for acts, much like Williams Auditorium in Henderson, Tennessee, which hosts name acts. Quick said he thinks the auditorium will eventually seat 850.