News 2014

Tennessee families have even more time to register for one of two $5,290 scholarships awarded by the TNStars College Saving Sweepstakes. One family of an elementary school student and one family of a middle school student will be awarded $5,290 to set up college savings accounts. Contest entries will be received until December 31, 2014. Winners will be randomly drawn in January of 2015. TNStars, Tennessee’s 529 College Savings plan, celebrated its second anniversary in September with national accolades. SavingforCollege.com, a national clearinghouse for information on 529 programs, ranked TNStars in the top 10 of all direct-sold college savings programs. The group ranked TNStars eighth in investment performance over the last year. Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal posted a list of best-performing options in the nation. Tennessee offered an investment option with the best return on investment, a 55% rate of return over last year.
TNStars, a program administered by the Tennessee Treasury Department, provides Tennesseans with a low cost option for friends and family to begin saving for their children’s college expenses with certain tax advantages and special incentives. One option is an age-based fund that features more aggressive investments when children are younger that automatically becomes more conservative as children approach college age. Money can be withdrawn from TNStars accounts tax-free, provided it is used for qualified higher education expenses.
This year, two Tennessee families could get a huge jumpstart on saving for college. “We are giving away nearly $11,000 to encourage Tennessee families to start thinking about college savings today,” says Tennessee Treasurer David Lillard. “You have to think about investing for college as a marathon, not a sprint. Every step, no matter how big or small, will get you over the finish line.”
To enter the contest, students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade will participate in a coloring contest while students in 3rd through 8th grades will complete the TNStars Financial Scholars Challenge. More information on the contest can be found at www.TNStars.com.
Tennessee families are also eligible to receive financial incentives up to $375 for opening TNStars accounts. Details on how to qualify for those incentives are also available at www.TnStars.com.

Once every quarter the Cannon County Commissioners meet on Saturday mornings.  This past Saturday was the final quarter meeting of the year and instead of meeting on Tuesdays every month, the Cannon County Commissioners decided to move their monthly meetings to Thursdays beginning in November and keep the meetings that fall on the quarterly months to Saturdays the same as it now.   County Executive Mike Gannon returns to the chairman of the commission seat after being voted in by 6 commissioners.  Those six who voted for Gannon were Todd Hollandsworth, Mark Barker, Karen Ashford, Jamie Holloway, Glenn Steakley and Adam Melton.  Commissioners Russell Reed and Richie Hunter voted for Mark Barker to remain as chairman while Jim Bush got two commissioner votes for Chairman which were that of Brent Bush and himself.  Mark Barker was elected by his fellow commissioners as chairman pro tem.  The meeting got started with Commissioner Jim Bush stating that the County needs to bid on all insurance and fuel for all equipment.  He suggested that the commissioners look into enforcing the utilization of county equipment only for county business.  Bush also said that the County Policy concerning sick and vacation days as it is presently written is vague and needs to be re-evaluated and re-written.   Shirley Young a former worker at the County Trustee’s office was in the audience and she was called upon to explain her situation.  She stated that she had accumulated sick days and it was her understanding that she would be paid for those days after leaving her job.  Commissioner Jim Bush made a motion to pay Ms. Young for the accumulative sick days but the motion failed for a second.  Bush made the motion based on the fact that Ms. Young was told that she would the sick pay for the unused sick days.    Upon further investigation by County Executive Mike Gannon it was discovered that no county employee has ever been paid for unused sick days.  However sick days roll over into eligible employees retirement pay. Gannon said he had no problem paying Ms. Young for unused sick time.  Something that needed to be thought about since no one else got sick time pay was the fact that former employees would be coming back expecting their unused sick time too.  But with the motion failing for lack of a second, a motion was made for Gannon to look into seeing if Ms. Young can add those sick days to roll over into retirement and if she can, she can get paid through that.  That motion was seconded and passed. Other items on the agenda that were addressed included.  The Commissioners passed the budget amendments for the Sheriff’s Department and the Highway Department.  The Commissioners gave approval for the Mooretown Fire Department to section off some of the property of the Fire Department for a Fire Auxiliary Building.  The funding of the building will be done through fundraisers throughout the year.

Tennessee Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips announced today the Tennessee preliminary unemployment rate for September was 7.3 percent, one tenth of one percentage point lower than the 7.4 August revised rate. The U.S. preliminary rate for September was 5.9 percent, down from 6.1 percent in August.  Economic Summary

Tennessee’s September unemployment rate declined to 7.3 percent after four consecutive months of increasing rates.

Over the past year, Tennessee’s unemployment rate decreased from 8.2 percent to 7.3 percent while the national rate declined from 7.2 percent to 5.9 percent.

Total nonfarm employment increased 7,200 jobs from August to September. The largest increases occurred in accommodation/food services, education/health services, and government.

Over the year, nonfarm employment increased 60,700 jobs. The largest increases occurred in professional/business services, leisure/hospitality, and trade/transportation/utilities.
 

MTSU has the distinction of having internationally recognized chemist Harry Kroto as the first featured guest lecturer in the new Science Building, which opened this summer but celebrated a grand opening Oct. 15. 
Kroto, a native of England, is a 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recipient and member of the Florida State University faculty since 2004. Kroto shared the 1996 Nobel Prize with Robert F. Curl Jr. and Richard E. Smalley for their discovery of fullerenes, a series of carbon molecules, also known as “buckminsterfullerenes.”
 
Kroto will be appearing at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, in Science Building Amphitheater Room 1006 on the first floor. The event is free and open to the public. His talk is titled “Carbon in Nano and Outer Space.” A printable campus map can be found at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap14-15.
 
 
Visiting Middle Tennessee for the American Chemical Society’s annual Southeastern Regional meeting Oct. 16-19, Kroto will be appearing and speaking at both events at the invitation of MTSU chemistry professor Preston MacDougall.
 
“In 2008, we invited Robert Grubbs, also a Nobel Laureate, so I was aiming high,” said MacDougall, who is a member of the local organizing committee for the regional meeting. “I contacted Harry Kroto to ask if he would be our (American Chemical Society) speaker. He accepted. At that time, there were no plans for him to come to MTSU.”
 
In April, Kroto was a banquet speaker at a Dallas conference on molecular structure and dynamics that MacDougall attended and also was a guest speaker.
 
“I got to know Harry and his wife, Margaret, at this time,” MacDougall said. “They have a very strong passion for promoting science literacy, and involving young people in both doing science and promoting it among their peers via social media.”
 
Knowing this, MacDougall thought the Krotos would want to visit the Discovery Center at Murfree Spring, where Tara MacDougall, the MTSU faculty member’s wife, serves as CEO, during their trip to Nashville.
 
“They were indeed eager to do so,” said Preston MacDougall. “When it became clear the new Science Building would open earlier than expected, I made the suggestion that he give a public lecture on science as a wonderful means of celebrating the new building and drawing the community’s attention to this great new facility. Again, I was delighted when he accepted and was honored to have this privilege.”
 
Kroto said his original suggestion of the experiment in 1985 was based on about 11 years of laboratory work and radioastronomy (1974-85).
 
According to Kroto’s Florida State bio, the fullerene molecule consists of 60 carbon atoms arranged as a spheroid, in a pattern exactly matching the stitching on soccer balls. The configuration reminded Kroto of the geodesic domes designed by the late inventor/architect Buckminster Fuller, hence the name “buckminsterfullerines.”
 
When asked how life has been since receiving the Nobel Prize, Kroto said, “far more to do and very rewarding in talking to young scientists.”
 
Department of Chemistry Chair Greg Van Patten said Kroto spends some
time now in supporting the distribution of science education materials. 
 
Forced to retire after 37 years at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, Kroto landed in Tallahassee, Florida, because “FSU was the most keen to get me and support my education program,” he said.
 
The program is called GEOSET or Global Educational Outreach for Science Engineering and Technology. To learn more, visit www.geoset.info.
 
As for current research endeavors, Kroto said he is “working in nanotechnology metal organic framework systems and carbon cluster science” mainly at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at FSU. To learn more, visit http://www.magnet.fsu.edu.
 
Every fall, he hosts the annual “Open Minds” — a series of seven lectures to help spur creativity and scientific experimentation within FSU and surrounding community.

15 Seniors were spotlighted before Friday night’s final home football game of the season for the Cannon County Lions and by the end of the night one of those seniors found his way into the end zone to give his team one of the most memorable rare wins in the past few seasons as the Cannon County Lions defeated the Smith County Owls 21-13. Running back A.J. Daniel made the football field as familar as his own back yard as he cruised for 129 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns breaking out in big runs of 41 and 66 yards as well as scooping up a loose fumble and running it back 54 yards for a touchdown.  The game was a stark contrast for the Lions from not only the week before but for the entire season up to that point as Cannon entered the contest looking for their first win.   The Lions defense shut down the Smith County offense on two of the three times the Owls got into the red zone.  Cannon was able to put together 216 yards of total offense compared to the 221 yards of offense Smith County collected.  The Lions set the tone of the game taking the first drive all the way to the end zone.  After a 4th down punt, Cannon recovered the ball after it touched a Smith County player and continued the drive.  4 plays later AJ Daniel took off for a 41 yard touchdown run.  Cannon would make key defensive stops to go into the locker room ahead 7-0.  Smith County wasted no time getting things going in the 2nd half as they took their first offensive possession on a 80 yard drive to tie it 7-7.  Cannon would answer two minutes later as Daniels found the endzone again on the end of a 66 yard touchdown run.  Cannon stopped a potential drive right before the third quarter had ended but a fumble picked up by Daniels and run 54 yards for a touchdown  gave the Lions a 21-7 lead.  Smith would score late in the game but the Lions recovered an onside kick ran off the clock and ended up with the win.  Cannon’s next game will be on the road to Jamestown to meet York Insititute Friday night.

Three games left on the schedule for the Cannon County Lions football team and the Lions attempt to keep what happened last week in the blowout loss to Livingston from happening at their final home game of the season.  Friday night’s opponent Smith County comes to Woodbury with a young team but they are in position to take a second place finish in the district with a 3 and 4 overall record as two of those three wins came against Upperman and York Institute.  The Owls have lost two in a row including a come back from behind Warren County win last week.  Cannon suffered a meltdown against Livingston last week in a 61-0 loss.  Everything that the Lions did last week, they don’t need to repeat this week if they want a chance to hang around in this game.  Several turnovers once again helped Livingston put the game away early in the first half.  Cannon is still looking for their first win and tonight being Senior Night would be a great chance to grab that win but they need to play mistake free fundamental football.  Our broadcast coverage of Friday Night Football starts at 5:30 with Murphy’s Matchups, followed by Friday Night Thunder at 6:00.  At 6:45 we’ll crank up Tailgate with the kickoff at 7:00.  We encourage everyone to come out and support the Seniors in their final high school home football game.  You can listen to the game on AM-1540/FM96.7WBRY, online at wbry.com and through the TuneIn Radio app on your smart phones and tablets WBRY  

Early voting for the Nov. 4 election began Wednesday in Tennessee. Secretary of State Tre Hargett and Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins are encouraging Tennesseans to take advantage of the convenience of early voting, which will continue through Oct. 30. “With each passing year, early voting seems to increase in popularity,” Secretary Hargett said. “Tennesseans enjoy having more flexibility in the days and times when they can go vote. For some Tennesseans, it may not be practical to vote on Election Day. Early voting provides an alternative for those voters.”
“When people vote early, it tends to mean shorter lines on Election Day,” Coordinator Goins said. “That’s of benefit to voters and election workers.”
People can vote early at their county election commission headquarters. Many counties across the state also offer early voting at satellite locations. Information about early voting locations and hours is now available online and via a new smartphone app, called GoVoteTN, that the Secretary of State’s office unveiled this week. That app is available free of charge from the Apple Store and in Google Play.
Secretary Hargett and Coordinator Goins also remind voters to bring valid photo identification issued by the federal or Tennessee state government with them in order to cast their ballots.
Early voting has started here in Cannon County.  With this being the third day of early voting the Election Office wishes to remind the public of the hours early voting will take place. Friday, Early voting takes place between 9A-1P.  Saturday the Election Office will be open for early voting from 9A-12 noon.  Monday through Wednesday October 20th-22nd and Friday October 24th Hours are 9A-1P.  Early voting on Thursday October 23rd will be done from 2P-6P.  Early voting is done at the Cannon County Elections Office 301 West Main Street Suite 244

Lovingly ripped off from the classic film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”, SPAMALOT is the award-winning Broadway musical of the legendary tale of King Arthur’s quest to find the Holy Grail. There is a great deal of fun for fans of Monty Python’s unusual brand of sketch comedy. Dancing knights, ferocious killer rabbits and taunting Frenchmen make this the most unusual and hilarious twist on the King Arthur legend you’ve ever seen. There is rollicking silliness for the audience and cast alike! This production is directed by Dr. Darryl Deason with music direction by Allison Hall, choreography by Lauren Johnson. The show features Allison Hall, Gerald Melton, Matt Smith, Philip Boston, Blake Holliday, Jeffery LaPorte, Gayle Tate, Connor McCabe,  Ric Kinkade, Pearce Kinkade, Dale Tipps, David Campbell, and Cavendar Lane. The performance schedule for all shows is Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 with discounts available for students, seniors and groups and  may be purchased by calling the Arts Center box office at 615-563-(ARTS) 2787 or 1-800-235-9073. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.artscenterofcc.com. This show is rated PG13.
 

The PS Lifestyle Senior Solutions Expo is the place to go for older adults, their families and caregivers who are looking to enhance their lives and lifestyles. Enjoy the inspiration of aging-expert speakers and artists. Meet seasoned professionals who can assist in navigating life’s transitional moments. Experience the indulgence of pampering spa services and products. This free event will take place on Saturday, October 18, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Hall D of Nashville’s Music City Center. Expo activities include:
·         Seminars on important issues affecting older adults and their families.
·         Complimentary personal consultation on topics such as Legal Advice, Financial Options and Insurance.
·         Free health screenings.
·         Healthy-cooking demonstrations.
·         Second Wind Dreams Virtual Dementia Tour.
·         Exhibit booths with information on housing, home care, and hospice options.
·         PS Lifestyle’s Spa Pavillion offering complimentary spa services and product demonstrations: chair massages, paraffin hand wax, make-up stations and more.
·         Senior Solutions Fashion Show featuring models from local LeadingAge members communities.
·         
·         The Tennessee finals of the National Senior League Wii Bowling Championship.
·         Many other exciting attractions and engaging entertainment.
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The event is co-organized by the Council on Aging, Greater Nashville Regional Council Area Agency on Aging, Lipscomb University, LeadingAge, and LeadingAge Tennessee as part of LeadingAge’s 2014 annual meeting and expo.
 
Admission is free, and parking for attendees is available at Music City Center.
Exhibit opportunities are still available. For more information, or if you’re interested in attending the event, visit www.seniorsolutionsexpo.com or call 615-862-8828.
 

The Citizens and Concerned Citzens of Veterans continue to announce their various grand marshalls for the upcoming Veterans Day Parade in Woodbury in November.  Recently announced was the U.S. Navy Grand Marshall.  This year it’s Dale Bush.  Born while the nation was coming out of the great depression and about to enter World War II Oren Dale Bush was the 5th child or Oren and Nanny Bush  Dale grew up in the Bradyville community and learned to work hard. Dale finished Elementary school at Bradyville
and would later graduate from Woodbury Central High School in 1958. Upon
graduation he shipped out to the Great Lakes to serve in the US Navy. From
1958 to 1961, Dale served stateside and aboard the USS Tutuilia during the
administrations of Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy.  He was honorably
discharged and returned to Woodbury and married Mary Lynn Foster. They
raised two children Brent and Tandra (Cardosi).  He worked for Conwood
Tobacco Corporation in Cookeville and Knoxville from 1964 to 1972, and was
part owner and operator of Bush’s Supermarket in Woodbury from 1972 to
1992. After selling the business he became involved in politics and was
elected as County Executive. The Veterans and Concerned Citizens of Cannon County
 want to recognize Dale Bush for his service to his Nation, the community, and Service Vice Marshall representing the US Navy on this Veterans Day Celebration.