News 2015

Artists of Off the Beaten Path cordially invite you to their 16th Annual Studio Tour, which takes place October 23-25, from 10:00 to 5:00 in and around DeKalb County. Take a drive through beautiful fall foliage as you tour 14 artist’s studios, watch demonstrations, buy handcrafted fine art and craft, and chat with more than 25 artists about their work and processes. Of the 14 different stops on the tour this year, there are three new stops in addition to six “visiting artists” participating, making for a wide-variety of contemporary fine-craft to see and purchase.
Some of the finest artistry and craftsmanship in the region will be represented in a wide-variety of artistic media: rake pottery, hand-blown glass, ceramics, handmade paper & books, reclaimed jewelry, sterling silver jewelry with semi-precious stones, woodturnings, architectural ceramics, women wearables, furniture, large-scale pulp painted canvases, ethnic-inspired dolls, and original paintings.
There is something for everyone at this family friendly event. Don’t miss this great opportunity to tour Tennessee’s beautiful autumn back-roads and support your local artists. For a printable tour map, list of artists on the tour and more information about Off the Beaten Path, visit www.offthebeatenpathtour.com  
 

A meeting of the DeKalb/Cannon County Amateur Radio Club will be held on Thursday, September 24th, 2015 – 6:30 PM at the DeKalb County Complex, 722 South Congress Blvd., Smithville, TN 37166. All local amateur radio operators and those interested in amateur radio are invited to attend.
Amateur radio operators also called “hams” communicate with other operators in the local area, statewide, nationally, and even worldwide. Hams also aid during times of emergencies with vital communication links. The DeKalb/Cannon County Amateur Radio Club is an affiliated club of the American Radio Relay League. Call 615-597-9563 for more information or check out the club’s webpage at http://www.dccarc.org.
 

The MTSU campus community and general public are welcome to participate in the fifth MTSU Drug Take-Back Day from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. today , near the Campus Pharmacy drive-thru. Led by MTSU Public Safety and Campus Pharmacy, officials and volunteers will be accepting unused or expired medication for safe disposal.
Anyone dropping off medications is asked to leave the medications in their original packaging. For prescription medicines, black out any personally identifying information on the label.
Those collecting the medications will be unable to accept sharps (needles) at this event. During the past three years, more than 100 pounds of medicine have been collected at this MTSU collection event. In total, nearly 400 tons of medicines have been disposed of nationally since take-back collections were initiated in 2010.
This event is part of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s overall efforts to remove excess drugs from communities where they could be abused or misused, diverted into the wrong hands or disposed of in environmentally unsafe ways.
 

The Cannon County S.A.V.E. program has announced their annual fund raiser S.A.V.E. Fest will be Saturday October 10th at the Justin M. Pemberton Memorial Arena.  The event will take place from noon until 6pm   Live music with the Gilley Brothers along with several games and vendor booths are planned for the day.  Games include a bounce house for the kids, a corn hole tournament and a unique contest called “Cow Patty Bingo”  Cannon County S.A.V.E. director Lisa Baird explained how “Cow Patty Bingo” works “There’ll be a huge board spread over the Arena ground with 250 squares available.  Each square will cost participants $50.  Bruce Steelman director of the UT Extension Service of Cannon County has agreed to loan one of his cows for this event.  The potential winnings is $2500 in cash and will go to the person who purchased the square that Bruce’s cow puts a fresh cow patty in.  In addition to fun and games, the S.A.V.E  Program which is a non profit organization committed to stopping the cycle of domestic violence in Cannon County will be offering a booth to educate people about domestic violence.  There will also be free blood pressure checks.  The Beesley Animal Foundation will have a booth and several other organizations. Proceeds will help fund operations of the S.A.V.E. domestic violence shelter.  For more information call 615-563-6690.

Cannon County Sheriff’s Deputies recently spotted a man they had been looking for on outstanding warrants and ended up arresting two for warrants.  According to Cannon County Sheriff’s Department reports, Deputy Jordan McGee was on patrol on old Murfreesboro Road when he observed a white Ford truck owned by Ronald Jernigan sitting at Russell’s Market.  Knowing that he had a warrant for his arrest, McGee pulled in and walked up to the vehicle.  That’s when he noticed a passenger in the vehicle that was identified as Christopher McCardell who also had a warrant out of Cannon County.  Both individuals were placed in cuffs and Mr. Jernigan gave consent to search his vehicle.  Between the seat and the console there was a Smith and Wesson shorty .45 pistol.  A search of the serial number came back that the gun was stolen out of Rutherford County.  Both were charged with Possession of Stolen property and theft over $500.  They will answer to the extra charges in General Sessions Court on November 3rd.

 PARQ (Preserve our Area’s Rural Qualities) has announced their next scheduled quarterly meeting  will be on Tuesday October 6, 2015 at 7:00 P.M. at 3632
Locke  Creek Road, Readyville TN 37149.
 Everyone is welcome and refreshments will be served!  Come and talk
about your ideas, concerns and visions or hear what is going on with
the community and the PARQ members.
If you are interested in attending or have any questions please call 563-8088 to confirm time and place.
 

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is now accepting grant proposals for projects that will help improve water quality and reduce or eliminate nonpoint source pollution. “Healthy waterways are critical to the overall health of our state,” Agriculture Commissioner Julius Johnson said. “These grants are a valuable resource for organizations and agencies that want to improve the quality of watersheds in urban and rural communities across Tennessee.”
Nonpoint source pollution is soil, urban runoff, fertilizers, chemicals and other contaminants that degrade surface and groundwater quality. The Nonpoint Source Program was created in 1987 as part of the Clean Water Act and provides funding to states to stop nonpoint source pollution.
Local governments, regional agencies, public institutions, private nonprofit organizations and other state agencies are eligible to apply for those federal dollars administered by TDA’s Water Resources office. Highest priority is given to projects that seek to make measurable improvements to waters impaired by nonpoint source pollution. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation assesses water quality.
The deadline for submitting grant proposals is Dec. 1. Proposals will be evaluated based on program goals and objectives, performance evaluation criteria and applicable EPA nonpoint source grant guidelines. Other priorities for funding include water quality related educational projects, projects that reduce urban runoff, and projects that aim to protect threatened waters.For more information, contact Sam Marshall with TDA’s Nonpoint Pollution Program at 615-837-5306 or sam.marshall@tn.gov.
 

 There’s a message prospective Middle Tennessee State University students and their parents will be hearing during upcoming preview days, the nine-city True Blue Tour and other recruiting-related activities. 
MTSU admissions and academic staff will be informing them guaranteed scholarships will be available for freshmen who meet the requirements and apply by Dec. 1.
 
For prospective students who achieve minimum ACT scores and achieve a 3.5 GPA or higher in high school, there will be guaranteed scholarships for students awarded Chancellor, Presidential, True Blue, Provost, National Merit and Achievement and National Hispanic Recognition Program Semifinalist scholarships.
 
The Buchanan Fellowship, DREAM (Diverse Representation and Educational Access at MTSU) and MTSU Foundation and departmental scholarships are competitive awards. To learn more about the guaranteed and competitive scholarships, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/.
 
Hundreds of prospective students and their families will be visiting campus starting at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, in the Student Union for the first of two Fall Preview Days and major recruiting events scheduled well into 2016. To find parking and building locations, a printable campus map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParking2015-16.
 
Students and their families are welcome to register for either the Sept. 26, Nov. 7 or March 19, 2016, preview days by visiting www.mtsu.edu/rsvp.
 
“The fall is a fantastic time to visit the MTSU campus,” said Wendi Pelfrey, interim director of undergraduate recruitment. “Not only is it a lively campus environment with our new and returning students, but it also gives prospective students plenty of time to research the institution and learn about deadlines such as Dec. 1.”
 
Winfrey added that fall preview days “give students plenty of time to get to know the MTSU campus and plan for the financial cost of college.”
 
The Department of Admissions website includes options for the annual True Blue Tour recruiting caravan, which will be visiting six Tennessee and three out of state cities between Sept. 29 and Nov. 11.
 
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee, college deans, counselors, advisers and personnel from virtually every campus department will visit Chattanooga Sept. 29; Atlanta and north Georgia Sept. 30; Johnson City and the Tri-Cities and Knoxville Oct. 19-20; Nashville Oct. 22; Huntsville and north Alabama Nov. 4; Memphis Nov. 9 and Jackson Nov. 10; and Bowling Green, Kentucky Nov. 11.
 
The preview day agenda has been altered from past years “to provide a more in-depth experience within each academic college within the university,” Pelfrey said.
 
Prospective students will have the opportunity to visit various facilities, tour labs and classroom spaces, take a campus tour and check out simulators, including those in aerospace and the Jennings A. Jones College of Business Trading Room.
 
Special Saturday campus tours are available Nov. 21 and Feb. 27 and April 16, 2016.
 
Daily campus tours also are available. Visit www.mtsu.edu/rsvp to find available dates and to register or call 615-898-5670 for more information.

A Cannon County man who was sleeping in a mini barn behind a church recently was arrested for Violation of Parole and drug charges.  According to Cannon County Sheriff’s Department Reports, Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a welfare check at McMahan and Ivy Bluff Roads regarding a male laying on the side of the road.  Deputies at first could not locate him but later made contact with a man identified as Samuel Brown.  Brown stated that he was fine and had been sleeping in the mini barn behind a church.  After running a check on Brown, it was discovered he had an active violation of parole.  While arresting him, processed marijuana was found in his pants as well as 21 pills of xanax and hydrocodone.  Brown was charged with simple possession of marijuana and possession of legend drug.  He will answer to the charges in General Sessions Court on November 3rd

The Mule Skinners Fall Wagon Train Tour of Cannon County takes place this week.  The Wagon train will leave the Justin M Pemberton Arena each morning on Wednesday Thursday and Friday at 9A.  Overnight camping arrangements are available.  Daily wagon train rides will vary throughout scenic Cannon County and average 15 to 20 miles daily.   For more infomation visit the website midtnmules.com email info@midtnmules.com or call Grady at 615-848-6867.