News 2012

US Army Specialist and local resident Franz Walkup has undergone many surgeries since he was severely wounded September 29th in Afghanistan.  Walkup has a long road to recovery but last Friday he was moved from Germany to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda Maryland.  A medical update on his condition.  Doctors have been able to get all infections from the gunshot wounds under control.  The next step is to get his abdominal incision closed up.  More surgery is scheduled today however they did take Franz off the breathing ventilator as he has made a major step in that he is breathing on his own.  Franz has thousands of people across the country supporting him as he continues to recover.  For those that would like to send mail to Franz you may do so by mailing him at Franz Walkup at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Specialist Franz Walkup ICU room 309 8901 Wisconsin Ave Bethesda Maryland 20889-5600.  The address will also be included in this news story for future reference in the news section of wbry.com  

The 2012 Countywide Rescue Fund Drive is now under way.  Some of the Rescue Squad’s tools are approaching 30 years of service and are in need of replacement.   Donations are being accepted online at www.CannonCountyRescue.com or donations can be mailed to the Cannon County Rescue Squad 618 Lehman Street Woodbury TN 37190.  For more information contact Capt Michael Underhill at 904-5002 or Tim Bell unit director at 615-894-2730  

.  Adams Memorial Library is temporarily operating in the partly remodeled meeting room on the lower level.  We are open regular hours and offer photocopy and faxing services as usual, as well as some public use computers.  The entire DVD collection is available along with a sampling of books from all collections and all of our newly arrived books.  Please stop in and see us in our “mini” location!  To get there, just take the sidewalk between the library and the Adams House Bed and Breakfast.  A 24-hour book return can be found there so that you can return materials even if we are closed and the room is ADA accessible. 
The remodeling of the library is proceeding by leaps and bounds.  The hazardous materials team has cleared away the asbestos that was underneath the old tile and work is being done on the sidewalks and parking lot.  We hope to be in our new home about the first of the year.

AGENDA FOR CANNON COUNTY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD“Special Called Meeting”WHERE:         CANNON COUNTY COURTHOUSETIME:              1:00 PMDate:               SATURDAY                 OCTOBER 20th, 20121. CALL TO ORDER
2. CLOSED DOOR ATTORNEY / CLIENT SESSION
3. RESOLVE THC SELECT INC. LEASE ISSUE
4. ADJOURN

Woodbury Grammar School Life Skills Teacher Loree DeArmond coaches a Special Olympics Flag Football Team which is comprised of athletes with disabilities from 13 different counties.  The team competed in a Tennessee state Flag Football Tournament and they are invited to play in a southeast regional tournament in November.  That tournament will take place in Illinois November 9th through the 11th.  The team is needing to raise funds to pay for expenses such as transportation, food and housing for that particular weekend.  Any monetary donations are appreciated and can be mailed to the Woodbury Grammar School in care of Special Olympics.    

The October meeting of the Woodbury Planning Commission scheduled for tonight has been canceled due to lack of business needed to be discusses or acted on.  The next meeting of the Woodbury Planning Commission will be Tuesday November 20

With Medicare’s open enrollment period starting October 15, there are over 1.2 million Medicare Beneficiaries in Tennessee that may be impacted not only by the open enrollment period but by changes that are being made to their Medicare benefits. People with Medicare will see some significant changes to the enrollment rules this fall. If they miss the opportunity to make adjustments to their plans during the open enrollment period, most people will have to wait to make changes until the next open enrollment period.
The following will change:
· Medicare’s Annual Coordinated Election Period (AEP) will take place October 15-December 7, 2012. Both Part D and Medicare Advantage plan members must make plan changes at this time.
· Medicare’s Annual Disenrollment Period (ADP) will take place from January 1-February 14, 2013. People with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will only be able to return to Original Medicare and join a stand-alone prescription drug (Part D) plan. In the past it was possible to switch Medicare Advantage plans from January 1-March 31.
Also, due to recent changes in Medicare requirements and payments, insurers may opt to change plan benefits, provider networks, and cost.
Plans might respond to the upcoming shifts in Medicare by:
·Raising beneficiaries’ premiums and/or cost-sharing
·Reducing their network of providers
·Reducing extra benefits
·Making quality improvements to obtain bonuses
·Withdrawing from the marketplace entirely
Others may not make dramatic changes. Beneficiaries should always check their coverage carefully each year to ensure they are enrolled in a plan that will continue to meet their health needs and budget.
TN SHIP (State Health Insurance and Assistance Program) counselors will be available to assist people with assessing their Medicare coverage options during this enrollment season. Medicare beneficiaries are encouraged to contact the local TN SHIP office as soon as possible to set up a counseling appointment. The number for beneficiaries to call is 1-877-801-0044.
The TN SHIP program receives grant funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide direct, local assistance to Medicare beneficiaries through one-on-one, counseling sessions (both in-person and over the phone), presentations, and public education programs. The national SHIP network includes over 1,300 local sponsoring organizations supporting over 12,000 counselors (mostly volunteers) and staff. Last year, SHIPs served over 2.5 million Medicare beneficiaries nationwide.
TN SHIP counselors can help Medicare beneficiaries:
Review current coverage
Check qualification for low-income programs
Compare plans with all available options
Search for specific plans online that meet specific prescription and medical needs
Give easy-to-understand answers to questions about Medicare
Help enroll in a plan online
Open enrollment this year lasts until December 7.

Motlow College, in order to provide more adult learners throughout the state with high school credentials, is partnering with the GED Testing Service to offer the GED test on computer. Registration and scheduling will be available to candidates on Oct. 15, and testing will begin on Nov. 13. Registering, scheduling and testing on computers will provide a new experience and new benefits for GED test-takers. These new features will improve the GED testing program, which is a gateway for adults to find jobs or better paying jobs, enter the workforce or college training programs, and better support themselves and their families. The GED test on computer includes the same test content currently offered on paper. Its accompanying systems will provide an array of new benefits for both the testing center and GED test-takers. Some of the initial benefits include one-stop online registration and scheduling available 24/7, flexible testing appointments for test-takers, instant test scores on four of five content areas, an introduction of basic keyboarding and computer skills, and enhanced test security. “Motlow College is proud to lead the way on GED testing on computer,” said Regina Burden, assistant vice president for student affairs at the College. Test-takers interested in taking the test on computer at Motlow College should go to GEDtestingservice.com. Offering GED testing on computer also has an important role to increasing accessibility and flexibility for test-takers, since a double-digit increase in the number of GED test-takers is expected by 2013. A new GED assessment is scheduled to be released in Jan. 2014, and a significant number of adults who haven’t taken or passed all five content areas will want to test before their scores expire at the end of 2013. The GED test is the only high school equivalency program recognized by all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Since 1942, more than 18 million adults have earned GED test credentials.

The Upper Cumberland Development District’s (UCDD) former executive director Wendy Askins called an independent living facility for seniors “one of the sweetest projects in the history of [her] career.” However, only a small handful of seniors lived in the facility after it was completed. And their accommodations were significantly less luxurious than those Askins and her daughter enjoyed after they moved into the publicly-funded facility’s main living quarters.   
A report released today by the State Comptroller’s Division of Investigations identified numerous UCDD transactions that did not appear to serve a public or governmental purpose.  The report concluded that the volume and type of inappropriate transactions identified indicates that the UCDD board of directors failed to uphold its duty to follow sound business and accounting practices, to ensure that all disbursements were appropriate, and to act in the best interests of the district and its goals.  
 
Development districts are created to promote economic growth and development and to serve those in need within each district’s boundaries.  The vast majority of funding for the Upper Cumberland Development District and its programs comes from taxpayer dollars from state and federal government.  
 
The Living the Dream Project was designed and planned by Askins while she served as executive director of the UCDD.  The Comptroller’s investigators questioned numerous transactions Askins ordered which did not appear to be in the development district’s best interests. The investigators pursued a trail of improper spending on a project that appeared to primarily benefit Askins and certain members of her family. 
 
Askins personally selected tens of thousands of dollars in upgrades for the main area of the home which she and her daughter occupied by themselves.  Askins paid more than $6,000 for steam showers for both her and her daughter’s bathrooms, more than $1,500 for a double-sided fireplace in the home’s main living area, nearly $1,000 for a fireplace in her own master bedroom, and more than $7,000 for decorative fountains.  Askins also spent more than $25,000 on a curved staircase for the home which led to her daughter’s upstairs living area.
 
By last February, the project had a price tag of nearly $1.4 million, the Comptroller’s report revealed.  
 
Among the many unnecessary purchases for the Living the Dream home, Askins and various family members received more than $24,000 in direct personal benefits from transactions she orchestrated with the development district.  Askins used nearly $10,000 in district funds to purchase used furniture, televisions and exercise equipment from herself for use in her Living the Dream home and more than $14,000 to purchase other used furniture and items from her immediate family.  She also submitted a false reimbursement request and received nearly $3,000 from UCDD for catering expenses related to a political campaign event not associated with the development district.   Additionally, Askins reimbursed herself $1,229 for other personal expenses such as fuel for her personal out-of-state travel and her personal credit card fees. 
 
In 2011, Askins spent $2,000 in UCDD funds to purchase a 3-D capable computer and $99 for 3-D glasses, and incurred over $600 in costs for ring-back tones, premium texts and music downloads on her district cell phone, according to investigators. 
 
The Comptroller’s report further details that at its 2010 annual meeting, the UCDD treated board members and approximately 80 other guests to food and entertainment at a local winery.  This meeting alone cost the agency more than $6,200 and appear to further no public or governmental purposes. 
 
Investigators attribute the magnitude of such waste and abuse to the fact that Askins and her deputy director had unfettered discretion to spend public funds on a far-too-wide range of items and that board members were not providing adequate oversight to protect the public’s interests.
 
“Even though the board may not be directly to blame for such rampant misuses of public funds, it was inherent in their fiduciary responsibilities to supervise Wendy Askins, the Living the Dream project, and to ensure that all development district funds were spent entirely for the benefit of those who are served by the district,” said L. Rene Brison, Assistant Director of Investigations for the Comptroller’s office.  
 
“These types of abuses of the public trust are likely to outrage many citizens who live within the Upper Cumberland Development District boundaries – and rightfully so,” Comptroller Justin P. Wilson said. “Every public dollar that’s spent for the personal benefit of a government official is one less dollar that can be spent to benefit the people who need government services. I hope and trust that the Upper Cumberland Development District will put safeguards in place to guard against this type of waste and abuse in the future.”
  

Agenda item number 10 on the docket of the agenda of the monthly meeting of the Cannon County Commissioners meeting Saturday read: “Talk with Homeland Security Director Faye Morse”  The Commissioners found it hard to talk to her since she didn’t show up.  However she sent an email to County Executive Mike Gannon that Commissioner Tony Neal read It stated effective Monday October 22nd at 12 noon she is resigning as Cannon County Fire Chief, a position that she has held since 1994.  Before the topic was over however, that position was not the only position that was in question.  The Commissioners unanimously approved a motion that would have the Commission Chairman Bob Stoetzel tell Cannon County Executive Mike Gannon that the Commission demand she be relieved of her duties as EMA Director of Cannon County as well.  The letter went on to state that she recommended the appointing of Michael Underhill to be the new Fire Chief upon her resignation.  The Commission accepted this appointment.  The motion was fueled by Commissioner Todd Hollandsworth who made a motion that was also unanimously approved that disbanded the current Homeland Security Board.  It was shared with the rest of the commissioners that last Tuesday night the Homeland Security met and only three members attended.  Furthermore the meeting was conducted without any type of public notice.  Commissioner Hollandsworth said that there needs to be a local board since grant money is still being distributed but that an overhaul was definitely needed.  In November’s meeting the Commissioners will reform the board and appoint new members.  Then 911 Director Roy Sullivan approached the Commission.  Mr. Sullivan presented the Commission with a 12 page report which chronicled some of the problems either with communication with EMA Director Morse, or accessing various emergency equipment that Morse houses at her residence and possible fraud.  In the report a 2006 Ford F-250 was purchased in May of 2006.  The vehicle has been inoperable for almost two years for an unexplained reason.  The County previously agreed to maintain or repair the truck, although the commission was not aware of the maintenance agreement to begin with.  Morse signed off on the agreement however.  Documentation later shows that it was listed as a trade in on another vehicle in 2011. The trade in value was listed as $2000 but the purchase price was over $30,000 to begin with.  Even though the registration shows it registered to Cannon County Emergency Management, the truck is parked on Director Faye Morse’s property.  Documentation shows Cannon County is paying full coverage for this vehicle’s insurance.  Another truck is being questioned as well.  A truck was purchased through grant money with the stipulation that it was to be used exclusively for moving equipment and personnel too and from an incident.  It is not to be used for administrative purposes.  There are reports that the truck has been driven around town on a regular basis which is not what it was intended for.  After reading the 12 page report, coupled by the fact that the Commissioners have repeatedly asked for a complete inventory list and still have not received one from Ms. Morse, the motion was made and unanimously approved giving Morse a vote of no confidence. The report and other documents will be turned into the State Comptroller’s office so that the State can come in and research for possible fraud violations.   In other actions of the Commission, the Board approved to appoint Roy Parker to the Cannon County Board Of Education.  Parker was a previous member of the board but retired.  Coach Mike Mayfield filled the position until he passed away last month from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
The Commission approved the budget amendments for the Library, County Garage and Capital Outlay.  They also approved a community development block grant that would add water lines on Basham Ridge, Finnie Simmons Road and the Backside of Lake Anne Road.